The air on Railroad's still making the same sound

The Saturday Club - Seven Months on the Run

I quit my job today, so I sure as hell ain't going to spend tonight writing. In lieu of any other material to post, I guess I'll just have to go ahead and leak some more of my mixtape (Emerald City! Coming as soon as I get my computer fixed!). Here's a song that I've had sitting around for a couple years, though this recording was only done a month or so ago.

The only thing lesser than Os is Mike Vicks

I may have a few more Summer Jamz left for you yet, so check back over the next couple days. When it' definitely all done, I'll put up a guide for the whole thing, so keep an eye out out for that. Meanwhile, remember when I posted half a 7-song meme, promising to complete it later? Well, you regular readers know that I always keep my promises, and I always keep them ridiculously late, so, enough of the intro, here's my part II of the following:

That's 7 grams for you fools who ain't hip

"List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring."

No Age - Things I Did When I Was Dead

I didn't like No Age, or its album Nouns, much when I first heard it, and while I still don't think it's anywhere near the 9.2 Pfork gave it, I have begun to quite enjoy a few of its songs. My other two favorites, "Teen Creeps," and "Ripped Knees," won me over by eventually convincing me they were pop-punk with extra fuzz, but "When I Was Dead" is something quite different. It's soft and dreamy, a mechanical drone leavened with beautiul piano chords. They caress the discord, molding it into something gently but definitely melodic. I've heard fans describe No Age as both ambient and noise; this track comes closest to conforming to that description.

Weezer - Heart Songs

People don't like Weezer's "Heart Songs." I get that. It's embarassing. Music fandom is embarassing. We're all deifying some bullshit made by (mostly) braindead retards who can bang out a tune on a guitar or whatever and holler out some words that we want to sing along to. And we can be forgiven for enjoying that. But what we're all so embarassed to admit, and what "Heart Songs" is more than happy to cop to, is that these compositions play such an important role in our lives, and with no real reason, either. Rivers Cuomo makes himself look stupid by admitting to what we all do anyway; find extraordinary meaning in pulpy pop culture. Even the supposed cream of pop music, like Bob Dylan, or the Beatles, can't compete with the likes of Shakespeare or Godard or Da Vinci or Tchaikovsky or Hemingway.

Indie rock fans, in particular, hate the facile, populist nature of our obsession being pointed out to us. They (we?) think they're more refined than the masses, and it hurts to be reminded we're quibbling over degrees of lowness in art. High Fidelity is loathed because it understands how infantile music obsessives can be, and celebrates it. That "The O.C." or Juno or any other similar piece of corporate ephemera could accurately reflect any segment of indie fandom was seen by those very fans as a travesty.

"Heart Songs" catalogues biographically music that has resonated for Cuomo: "Mr Springsteen said he had a Hungry Heart." When rappers do this, as in Ray Cash's "Bumpin' My Music" or Mr. Lif's "Return of the B-Boy," they can masquerade it as history, and Daft Punk's "Teachers" shields itself by means of the list, the vanguard of obsessives. Cuomo, however, explains nothing more than why the songs mean so much to him, and finishes by rejoicing that his band has made music that other people relate to in the same way he relates to the songs he has mentioned. That he interpolates a snatch of Weezer's own tune "Only in Dreams" suggests he has a pretty good idea of what one of those particularly fan-resonant songs might be.

The rest of The Red Album is pretty awful (remember when I wrote this? I can't believe "Pork and Beans" sucked me into thinking I should get excited about them again), but this is exactly what Weezer fans have been crying out for: a personal, emotional tune, rather than the glib distance that has characterized Weezer's past four albums.

Crystal Castles vs HEALTH - Crimewave

Should I be ashamed to admit that I first discovered this track, and by extension, Crystal Castles, on an episode of Gossip Girl? From what I'd heard previously of this duo, I thought it quite likely they wouldn't interest me in the slightest; reports of their music seemed to suggest they were unpleasant, unsubtle egotists. Perhaps they are, but this track is nonetheless suitable for soundtracking trashy teen soaps like Gossip Girl, and I mean that as a compliment. The cut-up, stuttering vocals and glassy bleeps make it more like mainstream club music than you'd expect of a pair of Canadian indie favorites; a lot of this isn't too far from Timbaland's work on Nelly Furtado's Loose (though, of course, a little more straightforward and a little more abrasive). I'm not sure what HEALTH has to do with it (another oft-talked about band whom I have not bothered to check out), but they and Crystal Castles have put together quite an addictive tune.

The Cool Kids - What Up Man

I won't get into convoluted analysis of hipster rap (as all analyses of hipster rap are), but I will get into the beat of this song: the cymbals are a voice saying "tick," the kick is a voice saying "bass" and in place of the snare is a voice saying "clap." It works, which is either astounding or completely obvious. The lyrics are pleasant inanities about going shopping at the grocery store combined with dialogue like "All I got is five dollars/So you broke, man?/I thought I had ten dollars!/So you broke, then" and absurd boasts ("I could go catfish-fishing and come up with a whale"). Because of the place they hold in contemporary hip-hop, it's easy to overthink the Cool Kids. "What Up Man," though, is not a complicated song, and trying to make it so obscures how easy it is to enjoy it.

Summer Jamz '08 #15: Sach O

Summer Jamz ‘08 #15: Sach O
http://www.sendspace.com/file/josps9

Sach O blogs for Ohword.com where his angry rants make the natives restless. He can currently be found somewhere in Thailand but will be returning to North-America in August to record a pop album. We’re not sure if he’s joking.

Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with The Passion of the Weiss and What Was it Anyway.

1.The Beastie Boys – Mark on the Bus
2. Marlena Shaw – California Soul
3. The Stone Roses – Elephant Stone
4. Gal Costa – Lost in Paradise
5. Doris – Waiting at the Station
6. Happy Mondays – Hallelujah (MacColl mix)
7. Bucktown (Interlude)
8. Juvenile – Ghetto Children
9. Society of Soul ft. TLC – Changes
10. Main Ingredient – Summer Breeze
11. The Decemberists – Summersong
12. Fleet Foxes – Blue Ridge Mountains
13. The Pharcyde – She Said (Jay Dee Remix)
14. Friday Foster (Interlude)
15. The Mary Jane Girls – All Night Long
16. Tricky – You Don’t
17. De La Soul ft. Maceo Parker – I be Blowin’
18. The Notorious B.I.G – Juicy
19. Akhenaton ft. Fonky Family – Bad Boys de Marseilles
20. The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon
21. Of Montreal – An Eluardian Instance (Live)
22. Sach – Who’s the Deejay? (Madlib vs. Cheech n Chong)

Summer doesn’t mean much in the tropics, at least for visiting white people. Sure it rains more (less tourists, cheaper rooms) but the shift from “hotter than a 92 Dre beat” to “almost unbearable” isn’t quite the same as going from frosty to scorching. Back home (Montreal, that French place with the indie bands) summer is the single most important part of life, the 3 to 4 month window where it’s warm enough to go outside and the town suddenly explodes with festivals, street parties and every other imaginable excuse to get out and enjoy life before the icy hand of winter creeps back in. Summer out there makes people do crazy things, I’ve quit jobs over good weather and more than one demented drug binge has been undertaken solely because “it’s nice out”. Summer also results in radio hits that skirt the line between good and awful so subtly that it’s years before you realize in horror that Incubus and Noreaga are permanently associated with cherished memories. But if there’s one thing I’ve missed about summer back home on this trip (6 months and counting in Asia), it’s the cycle. The slow build from the minute the leaves are out to the last bacchanalian blowout come early September. With all of this in mind, here’s a mix dedicated to my favorite summer moments.

1. “The fuck-going-to-work song” The Beastie Boys – Mark on the Bus

A proper mixtape needs a proper intro just like a good summer needs that moment of clarity when you suddenly realize that you only live once and that welfare checks can pay the rent this go around. Keyboard Money Mark may be singing about heading to work for the man, but it sounds like he’s 3 miles high and building a b-ball court for a guy called MCA.

2. “The Opening credit song” Marlena Shaw – California Soul

Someone once said that mixtapes are how we score the films of our lives. Actually, lots of people have said that, usually after listening to entirely too much Phish. But if ever I need to match the title sequence of some long lost black 60’s coming of age story to a song, it’ll be Marlena Shaw’s California Soul. DJ Premier knows what’s up.

3. “The crazy night out song” The Stone Roses – Elephant Stone

I’ve met more than my fair share of British people while traveling through Asia and more or less every single one above the age of 25 has an undying love for this band. I knew they were big out there but I had no idea that the entire United Kingdom lost its virginity to their music while we were stuck with Milli Vanilli. Anyways, summer’s all about partying and while I don’t approve of Nu Rave, M.I.A or most UK dance music in general, this is a surefire classic.

4. “The morning after song” Gal Costa – Lost in Paradise

Everyone remembers the hangover, but no one ever gives props to those perfect mornings where the right combination of time, liquor and junk food leaves your digestive system perfectly unscathed. Gal Costa’s “Lost in Paradise” captures that feeling effortlessly, from the hazy horns of the intro to the slowly building verses to the explosive finale. The perfect song for when you’re feeling good enough to get up but don’t really need to.

5. “The Road Trip Song” Doris – Waiting at the Station

I’m cheating a bit with this one since it’s definitely inspired by my summer/winter abroad this year rather than my time in Montreal, but anyone who’s taken a road trip without a proper car can relate. Train stations aren’t nearly as romantic as their depictions in novels or films, but they’re not half bad places to people watch either. The Swedish soul singer Doris’ take on waiting around for one’s ride out of town after a winter slaving for the man is liberation music at it’s finest.

6. “The Drug Song” – Happy Mondays – Hallelujah (MacColl Mix)

Simply put, Sean Ryder’s drug intake puts anyone short of Keith Richards to shame. While this means that his attempted comeback at Coachella last year was a predictable disaster, it also made for some interesting music during his band’s early 90’s peak. Riding a mechanical rhythm, Hallelujah’s sacrilegious melding of drugs, dance and religion would be the perfect song for an Candy flip fueled freak-out if only the rest of the party remembered it.

7. “The interlude” – Bucktown

Interludes are what separate mixtapes from…better mixtapes with interludes. Plus summer’s all about seeing flicks with the crew. Hopefully your viewing is half as bad ass as Bucktown.

8. “The Bounce Song” – Juvenile – Ghetto Children

Ok, I know what you’re thinking: “did this East Coast elitist motherfucker just put a Juvenile song on his tape?!” (Alternately, “that’s technically not a bounce song”). To this I answer, “yes I did” (and alternately, “I don’t care”). Like it or not, for the past 10 years every summer’s had its southern anthem and as far as I’m concerned, they were never better than Cash Money’s initial onslaught on the mainstream consciousness. I mean, just compare this album cut to Lollipop or anything by Yung Berg.

9. “The house-party slow jam” – Society of Soul ft. TLC - Changes

Try as I might, my house parties never managed to be quite as cool as Biggie’s “One More Chance” video. Maybe it’s because I don’t know any video hoes. Still, I always throw this on around 2AM in the blind hope that chicks will spontaneously make out with each other and that my pimp game will suddenly improve.

10. “The clean-up song” – The Main Ingredient – Summer Breeze

Cleaning up after house parties is a bitch. If you’re like me, you’re either coming down or entirely too hype for such a routine activity. But friends don’t let friends deal with random puke on their own. I promise that if you throw this bad boy on, the job won’t be half as bad and you’ll be done in time for sunrise and McDonalds breakfast.

11. “The white girl song” – The Decemberists – Summersong

Ok, so I win no points for originality here, but if you’ve ever dealt with quasi-arty white chicks, you know that’s the point. Making out with Colin Meloy warbling in the background after a date is probably up there with putting on a Peter Frampton or Foreigner record in the 70’s but if it gets me in, I got no shame. Although I draw the line at Maroon 5.

12. “The living-out-in-the-woods song” Fleet Foxes – Blue Ridge Mountains

Indie darlings they are and I’m not totally sold on the album but even I can’t deny just how dope “Blue Ridge Mountains” is. While I can’t front on how awesome Montreal gets in the summer, I always try to spend at least one week out in the mountains to really get away from it all. This will be the soundtrack for that expedition when I touch down back home.

13. “The laying-around-in-bed-with-her song” The Pharcyde – She Said (Jay Dee remix)

This one’s really all about the beat and chorus. Who cares if the Pharcyde are going on about rejection for the thousandth time? Dilla’s dropping an early gem and the hook is so smooth that your one night stand is onto round two before you know it.

14. “The Interlude redux” – Friday Foster

Keeping with the theme…

15. “The well known retro funk song” – Mary Jane Girls – All Night Long

Everyone from Redman to LL Cool J has bitten off a chunk of this Rick James produced classic and with good reason. Sure your parents probably recognize it and it might make an appearance at your cousin Jon Jon’s wedding but its one of the tightest, sexiest grooves of the 80’s and it’s not nearly as synthesized as your typical Prince jam. I stand by this one.

16. “The stoner song” – Tricky – You Don’t

Trip-Hop is supremely unpopular right now. I mean, even Portishead all but abandoned it for their newest album and they freaking invented the sound. It’s a shame, I’ll take heavy boom-bap drums, fat basslines and sexy vocals over 808’s, gurgling synths and annoying dance-floor call-and-response chants any day. Here’s a test: put this on when your pretentious music snob friends are around after everyone’s sufficiently high. Odds are, they’ll all ask what it is and recoil in horror when they realize that they actually *gasp* like an uncool record.

17. “The instrumental song” – De La Soul ft. Maceo Parker – I be Blowin’

Just in case you’re still high and don’t want to move after the last one. You know I take care of ya. Incidentally, with all the talk about Outkast and Lauryn Hill introducing genre bending pop elements to rap with their 98 releases, how come no one ever gives De La props for having the balls to let MACEO PARKER drop 5 minutes of funky jazz waaay back in 93? It’s a damn shame.

18. “The Feel-good classic rap song” – The Notorious B.I.G – Juicy

This Mp3 is actually ripped from my original “Ready to Die” cassette purchased in 95. No lie. Every summer tape needs at least one crazy known rap jam for everyone to sing along to. This is that jam. Interestingly enough, I notice that the “Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis” line gets people the most hyped these days. Videogame nostalgia stand up!

19. “The French rap song that Sach tries to push on us” – AKH ft. Fonky Family – Bad Boys de Marseilles.

Marseilles was to French Hip Hop as LA was to the States…if Wu-Tang was from L.A. and everyone was cynical and North-African. This track was a MONSTER summer hit out there spawning two remixes, a career for the Fonky Family and a full-time rap radio station. Now you’ve gotta listen to it because this is my mixtape dammit and I’m not curbing my eccentricities. Just pretend it’s what the cool kids are listening to.

20. “The summer’s over song” – The Kinks – Sunny Afternoon

And just like that, it’s over. It’s the end of August and you’ve wasted another season drinking, smoking, eating, partying and avoiding responsibilities. Ain’t it grand? But now you gotta face reality and the only one there to take your side is Mr. Ray Davies and his motley band of misfits.

21. “The nostalgic look back song” – Of Montreal – An Eluardian Instance (Live)

The nostalgic song…OF THE FUTURE! Seriously though, committed fan that I am, I had to throw something from Of Montreal’s upcoming “Skeletal Lamping” onto this mix even if the actual record hasn’t leaked yet. An uptempo pop track celebrating everything fun about summer time (with no mentions of transsexuals like most recent Kevin Barnes songs), this is the perfect way to look back at a season well spent.

22. “The Outro” – Sach (Madlib vs. Cheech N Chong) – Who’s the Deejay?

Just because it was lying around the iPod with those other two interludes.

***

More summer:

Summer Jamz '08 #14: Douglas Reinhardt’s “Sugar Pies and Lullabies” by Douglas Reinhardt
" I think for the most part, the mix plays out like a child/Artie Lange crashing after a sugar overload. Very fast, very anxious in the beginning and then it just falls into a deep slumber at the end."

Summer Jamz '08 #13: Douglas Martin's Days and Nights by Douglas Martin
"...An aural journey of a beautiful summer day, from the moment your head leaves the pillow it's still damp from drool, to the moment where your eyelids are heavy and you're nodding off like you're on dope (no Pusha T)."

Summer Jamz '08 #12: Disco Vietnam Presents Soul Korea: The Ultimate Summer Blunt Sesh by Barry Schwartz
"The tracks selected for Disco Vietnam Presents Soul Korea all share the crucial yet elusive element of groove, each song more dangerously absorbing than the last."

Summer Jamz '08 #11: G'Z Up, Prose Down by Jeff Weiss
"Pure California ride music to cannon out of every car stereo, soundtrack every party, the ideal accessory to cheap weed, smuggled liquor and the baking black asphalt."

Summer Jamz '08 #10: What Is by Mike Powell
"The summer mix—full of hot tunes advocating general irresponsibility—is basically a sham..."

Summer Jamz '08 #9: Compiled by Nate DeYoung & Todd Hutlock
"If we have a theme for this mix, it would be ‘nothing from the new milennium.’ Well, for Hutlock’s portion of the mix..."

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Privately Owned by Theon Weber
"I'm typing this from a studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, at the tail end of a hazy First of July..."

Summer Jamz '08 #7: Daydreamin' by Andrew Gaerig and John M. Cunningham
"For this mix we focused on the theme of "daydreams." Pour yourself a drink that requires an umbrella, kick off your flip-flops, and take a listen."

Summer Jamz '08 #6: It's Not the Heat by Jeff Siegel and Kevin J. Elliott
"This mix is a reflection of soupy, unrelenting humidity. A heat mirage. A little dancing, but not too much, because we must lie down and rehydrate."

Summer Jamz '08 #5: Compiled by Jayson Greene and Stewart Voegtlin
"Oh, geezus. Didn’t we all wanna give up the goose when the sweat ceased to dribble and ran?"

Summer Jamz '08 #4: Compiled by Paul Scott and Ian Mathers
For their summer mix, Paul and Ian decided to have a conversation, or maybe an argument, thanks to one inarguable fact: Ian hates summer.

Summer Jamz '08 #3: Dear Summer... by Jonathan Bradley
"My mix is for the times everything is still and quiet and perfect ... I haven’t included any yacht rock or Eagles tunes, but that’s all I can guarantee."

Summer Jamz '08 #2: State of the Union, Jack by Mike Orme and Nick Southall
"Two former Stylus Magazine compatriots ... celebrate the summer by splitting halves of a mix CD, each trying to fill their side with songs the other writer would put on a summer mix."

Summer Jamz '08 #1: Compiled by Alfred Soto and Dan Weiss
"In the context of summer, vastness suggests the abrogation of responsibility: school and relationships, mostly..."

Summer Jamz '08 #14: Douglas Reinhardt

Summer Jamz ‘08 #14: Douglas Reinhardt’s “Sugar Pies and Lullabies”
http://www.sendspace.com/file/josps9

Sometimes, Douglas Reinhardt blogs at Skeet on Mischa. Sometimes, he blogs at Defamer. At all times, he is well-caffeinated.

Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with The Passion of the Weiss and What Was it Anyway.

Track Listing:

1. “Fresh” by Daft Punk
2. “Bring It On” by Playgroup Featuring Kathleen Hannah
3. “Ring The Alarm” by Tenor Saw
4. “Say Wussup” by Small Breed
5. “Skeleton” by Abe Vigoda
6. “Dance Walhalla” by Times New Viking
7. “Skulls” by The Misfits
8. “The Search For Cherry Red” by Jonathan Fire Eater
9. “ Challenge The Throne” by Mika Miko
10. “Standing By The Sea” by Husker Du
11. “See You Again” by Miley Cyrus
12. “Sleeper Hold” by No Age
13. “Cohesion” by The Minutemen
14. “Postcards From Tiny Islands” by The Walkmen
15. “ I Can’t Get My Eyes Off” by Prefuse 73
16. “Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours” by Wu Tang Clan
17. “ Open The Gate” (Dub) by King Tubby & Lee Perry
18. “Redondo Beach” (Live) by Morrissey
19. “Your Hand In Mine” by Explosions In The Sky
20. “Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi” (Automator Remix) by Air
21. “Silent Morning” by The Rapture
22. “Dark Days” by DJ Shadow
23. “Goodnight Assholes” by David Cross

Any collection of summer jamz, mixtapes have to be an odd assortment of new and old. Stuff to sing along with, but without having to dig out that old Pennywise chestnut, “Bro Hymn” while on that late night drive. Stuff to get you excited while still on that late night drive and the stoplights are not in your favor. And with the new stuff hopefully over time will become the sing along classics or the songs that you air drum along with while stuck on the freeway. It’s a cliché, but there’s a good reason why it’s a cliché, summer jamz are the soundtrack to our lives and memories. Hearing that one song might remember that day at the beach where the MILF tried to pick you up or that night where you heard terrible second hand accounts of how the local scene kids got into a fight with a bunch of frat guys at the go to 24 hour fast food place; my memories and the second hand tales I heard involved a girl dumping an entire bowl of pico de gallo on somebody at four in the morning, which lead to the 24 hour place no longer being open for 24 hours a day.

Knowing me, the problem in making this could’ve been going overboard with the current crop of LA punk stuff. Instead, I kept it to a minimum, thankfully, but it could’ve easily been a very premature ‘Best Of No Age’ mix. Instead, there’s one No Age song and a couple other Smell related bands. These songs also hint at my current quarter life musical crisis; hence the Morrissey, the Misfits, and Miley Cyrus. Then again, every summer needs a great pop song and oddly, “See You Again” is a great pop song with a catchy chorus and easy to dance beat. I think for the most part, the mix plays out like a child/Artie Lange crashing after a sugar overload. Very fast, very anxious in the beginning and then it just falls into a deep slumber at the end. I highly suggest listening the last couple of tunes during a sunset with a nice, ice cold tall can of Tecate wrapped in a brown paper bag in your hand. Also, apparently, there’s a skeleton motif, so that goes out to all of the psych majors.

As my mixtape tradition dictates, thank you to: The Usual Suspects, all the girls at the American Apparel stores that won’t give me the time of the day, Greg Ginn, Diablo Cody, Old Town Pasadena, Jiffy Lube, Albertacos, Swingers, The Donut Place Next To The Detroit Bar, David Lynch, Baba Boey, Leighton Meester “Wizards Of Waverly Place,” Hip Hop, Miller High Life, Gingers, Sun Dresses, Frank Bascombe, Don Drapper, and Barack Obama.

***

More summer:

Summer Jamz '08 #13: Douglas Martin's Days and Nights by Douglas Martin
"...An aural journey of a beautiful summer day, from the moment your head leaves the pillow it's still damp from drool, to the moment where your eyelids are heavy and you're nodding off like you're on dope (no Pusha T)."

Summer Jamz '08 #12: Disco Vietnam Presents Soul Korea: The Ultimate Summer Blunt Sesh by Barry Schwartz
"The tracks selected for Disco Vietnam Presents Soul Korea all share the crucial yet elusive element of groove, each song more dangerously absorbing than the last."

Summer Jamz '08 #11: G'Z Up, Prose Down by Jeff Weiss
"Pure California ride music to cannon out of every car stereo, soundtrack every party, the ideal accessory to cheap weed, smuggled liquor and the baking black asphalt."

Summer Jamz '08 #10: What Is by Mike Powell
"The summer mix—full of hot tunes advocating general irresponsibility—is basically a sham..."

Summer Jamz '08 #9: Compiled by Nate DeYoung & Todd Hutlock
"If we have a theme for this mix, it would be ‘nothing from the new milennium.’ Well, for Hutlock’s portion of the mix..."

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Privately Owned by Theon Weber
"I'm typing this from a studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, at the tail end of a hazy First of July..."

Summer Jamz '08 #7: Daydreamin' by Andrew Gaerig and John M. Cunningham
"For this mix we focused on the theme of "daydreams." Pour yourself a drink that requires an umbrella, kick off your flip-flops, and take a listen."

Summer Jamz '08 #6: It's Not the Heat by Jeff Siegel and Kevin J. Elliott
"This mix is a reflection of soupy, unrelenting humidity. A heat mirage. A little dancing, but not too much, because we must lie down and rehydrate."

Summer Jamz '08 #5: Compiled by Jayson Greene and Stewart Voegtlin
"Oh, geezus. Didn’t we all wanna give up the goose when the sweat ceased to dribble and ran?"

Summer Jamz '08 #4: Compiled by Paul Scott and Ian Mathers
For their summer mix, Paul and Ian decided to have a conversation, or maybe an argument, thanks to one inarguable fact: Ian hates summer.

Summer Jamz '08 #3: Dear Summer... by Jonathan Bradley
"My mix is for the times everything is still and quiet and perfect ... I haven’t included any yacht rock or Eagles tunes, but that’s all I can guarantee."

Summer Jamz '08 #2: State of the Union, Jack by Mike Orme and Nick Southall
"Two former Stylus Magazine compatriots ... celebrate the summer by splitting halves of a mix CD, each trying to fill their side with songs the other writer would put on a summer mix."

Summer Jamz '08 #1: Compiled by Alfred Soto and Dan Weiss
"In the context of summer, vastness suggests the abrogation of responsibility: school and relationships, mostly..."

Summer Jamz '08 #13: Douglas Martin

Summer Jamz '08 #13: Douglas Martin's Days and Nights
http://www.sendspace.com/file/vudu8d

Douglas Martin is a singer/songwriter living in Seattle. He records and blogs under the name Fresh Cherries From Yakima. He may be the best musician with “Cherry” in his name since Neneh Cherry. Screw you Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.

Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with The Passion of the Weiss and What Was it Anyway.

Most years, I go back and forth about whether I enjoy hot or cold weather more. Would I rather bundle up and crank the heat up as far as I can without setting my blinds on fire, or would I rather withstand not having an air-conditioner in my apartment for the sake of a few extra hours of daylight and the ability to rock Super V-Neck Tees that veer dangerously close to making me look like a bald-headed girl? (Note: I'm actually using music and blogging as a front to jump-start my American Apparel modeling career.) It could be because of the tunes, it could be because of the innumerable pints of White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle ice cream, or it could be because in Seattle, we had our hottest day of the year in April. Whatever the reason, in 2008, summer wins.

So, in a method to reinforce to everyone how pretentious I am, my tape is somewhat conceptual; an aural journey of a beautiful summer day, from the moment your head leaves the pillow it's still damp from drool, to the moment where your eyelids are heavy and you're nodding off like you're on dope (no Pusha T). And, as a favor to the world, I've opted not to include any actual Fresh Cherries from Yakima songs. You're welcome.

ALTERNATE THESIS: What's summer if you can't throw a chick on the track like Just Blaze? You'll understand where I'm getting at in a minute.

SIDE A: DAY.

1. Bill Callahan- Day:
Like nearly every young black man that was brought in the South (North Carolina, stand up), I was raised in the church. And when I say raised in the church, I mean raised: Bible Study on Wednesday nights, Children's Choir Practice on Saturday afternoons, Sunday School on Sunday morning, Regular Service directly after, and I had to BEG my grandmother to let me stay home from Sunday Evening Service, or I'd just pretend that I didn't finish my homework. "Day" is Bill Callahan in his Johnny-Cash-Gone-Gospel phase, with bouncing drums, pianos, tambourines and soulful background vocals. It sounds like something my grandma would have played while fixing me some hash browns on Sunday morning, clapping along in her kitchen. Sometimes, I can picture her calling me up and asking why I don't go to church anymore. I'd probably tell her it's because my homework's not done.

2. PWRFL Power- It's Okay:
This is as close as "indie" gets to a children's song, and I mean that in the best possible way. With it's bright chords and prodigious fingerpicking, "It's Okay" is the perfect audio companion for a beautiful Pacific-Northwest summer day. Sometimes, I play the song for my four-year-old niece, and she dances around gleefully. I'm just glad that I haven't yet had to explain to her what it means when Kaz Nomura sings, "It's okay to release your powerful power." When the time comes, that'll be her mother's job.

3. The Mountain Goats- Itzcuintli-Totzli Days:
In my opinion, John Darnielle is the Mike Jordan of the mic recordings, my favorite lyricist of all-time. "Itzcuintli-Totzli Days," couples Aztec mythology with vivid images of summer (naked shoulders, a bunny stomping all over the garden) to make a spectacular sing-along, perfect for summer afternoons. Plus, if I can out myself as a Goats geek for a minute, there aren't many female background singers with harmonies as beautiful as the Bright Mountain Choir; the only thing that even comes close are those girls from the Dirty Projectors. Another Mountain Goats tune appropriate for the Summer of 2008 is "Cubs in Five," due to the spectacular season the Cubbies are having, and because baseball is the only great American sport going on right now. I mean, what are you going to watch, Wimbledon?

4. Abe Vigoda- Animal Ghosts:
Have you ever been drunk in the mid-afternoon, like really fucking shitfaced? You know, when the combination of booze and sun makes you all bleary-eyed and squinting, struggling to see your friend two feet ahead of you? Well, whenever I listen to "Animal Ghosts," it reminds me of the feeling, all the way down to the lyrics, which I can only pick out every third or fourth word. I can hardly understand what people are saying when I'm drunk, too.

5. TV on the Radio- Staring at the Sun:
In spite of being terribly literal, "Staring at the Sun" is a perfect summer song, because the guitars (or synths, or whatever the fuck they are) sound like they've been frying on the sidewalk along with the eggs on the hottest day of the year. The heavy pulsating of the whatever-the-fuck-they-are before the drums kick in reminds me of the feeling you get when it's super hot, and your pulse is throbbing, searching for an ice cold bottle or glass of water to dump on yourself (No Busta Rhymes).

6. Vivian Girls- Wild Eyes:
Another song with guitars (they really are guitars this time) that sound like they've been cooking in the sun for way too long, only this time with corroded, proto-punk production, beautifully thrashing drums, and-- at this point, a must for the Douglas Martin Summer-- beautiful female vocals. "Wild Eyes" sounds like the cute girls you wanted to date (preferably all, but at least one), beating the shit out of their instruments in your neighbor's garage, all artsy cool and charming amateurishness. Why didn't the whole "Shoegaze Girl-Group" thing get thought of sooner?

7. Modest Mouse- Perfect Disguise:
Issac Brock is a lyricist's lyricist. Adam Brody (probably the only-and-last time an O.C. cast member gets name-dropped sans sarcasm on a music blog) once famously said that Brock's lyrics "held the secret to the universe," which is hard for me to disagree with. But, beyond the talk of the creation of the world ("3rd Planet"), characteristic moody centerpieces ("Lives"), and an Aesopian fable about his sister getting eaten by animals ("Wild Packs of Family Dogs"), The Moon and Antarctica also showed Brock's singular talent as a brilliant kiss-off artist: "Need me to fall down/So you can climb up/Some fool-ass ladder/Well, good luck/I hope, I hope there's something better up there."

8. Radiohead- Let Down:
In Spin Magazine's 20 Years of Alternative Music book, Will Hermes writes about listening to Ok Computer in an ice cream parlor, specifically referencing "Let Down" as the perfect song to listen to while getting your two (or three, you fucking glutton) scoops. The heart-wrenchingly gorgeous guitar line from Jonny Greenwood sort of sends your mind into a vertigo of vivid colors as Thom Yorke beautifully harmonizes with himself about being squashed in the ground. Now, I get the sort of gooseflesh you get from eating too much ice cream not only when I hear the song, but every time I eat ice cream, because the song plays in my head every time I have a waffle cone in my hand.

9. Jay-Z- Never Change:
It wouldn't be a Summer Jamz mix without the once-reigning-and-undisputed and the current owner-and-proprietor of Summer. "Never Change," may not remind of you summer at first, but with its Kanye-helmed beat and open-hearted nostalgia, it's perfect for driving around the city on a hot summer night with all the windows down and the streetlights and buildings buzzing past you. The Original Mr. Carter not only drops serious words of wisdom ("We all fish, better teach your folk," "Chains is cool to cop, but more important is lawyer fees"), but also creates a hustler's anthem. Even the closest you've ever come to hustling is fucking off your Summer Reading to mow lawns, Hov's got you. Fuck y'all; we needed money for Atari.

10. Raekwon- Heaven and Hell:
Outside of Outkast, Rae and Ghost are rap's perfect dynamic duo. They're don't have the the Felix and Oscar (please tell me you guys got the Odd Couple reference; peace to Nick at Nite) push-and-pull that Big and Dre 3000 proudly display; they're at times too similar. However, their styles compliment each other perfectly, especially over this all-time-great RZA soul beat, with Rae waking up at ten, "about to make moves that slide like grease," and Ghost being Ghost, seeing some cat "up in Bojangles, strangling a 40-Oz./With 10-G's worth of gold bangles." The melancholy backdrop is so wonderful, it doesn't really matter that Rae and Ghost do two-minutes worth of shout-outs at the end; you just wanna play it until it's over.

11. Cave Singers- Elephant Clouds:
With it's shimmering guitars and galloping drums, "Elephant Clouds" is perfect for driving into the sunset.

12. The Walkmen- Thinking of a Dream I Had:
Starting off with an 80's Hardcore-Punk riff and a tribal thump, when the organ comes in on the chorus, it sounds like The Walkmen are ushering summer in themselves. Hamilton Leithauser drunkenly singing, "We're gonna have a good time tonight," works very well with what's going on musically, and works as a great accompaniment to the sun going on. Then, suddenly, there's an apeshit crescendo, with Leithauser screaming, "NOONE SPEAKS TO ME THAT WAY," and you're left hoping that his night goes as good as he originally thought.

SIDE B: NIGHT.

13. Panda Bear- I'm Not:
When I famously stated that my mom loves Person Pitch(!), I was talking to her about what she liked about the album. She pointed out that there are some songs on the album are great for falling asleep to, and cited "I'm Not" specifically (as "the one where it sounds like the only thing he's saying is 'I'm not' the whole time"). The repetitive, high-pitched vocal sample, coupled with the soft drums and Noah Lennox's eternally boyish, ethereal vocals amazingly prove that you don't need expensive synths to do ambient music.

14. 50 Cent- Heat:
Remember when people actually liked 50 Cent? When those G-Unit Mixtapes came and spread like napalm throughout the rap consciousness, making Get Rich or Die Tryin' one of the fastest-selling rap records of all-time (A million in a week is impressive, especially these days, Weezy, but 50 sold 800,000+ in four days)? That's because Get Rich signified the arrival of a bulletproof asshole, an overabundantly charismatic anti-hero who smiled (albeit with as much nihilism in his heart as Manson, but still) more than he scowled, giggling with childlike glee everytime gunshots were fired. In "Heat," among providing probably the best song of 50's career, Curtis brilliantly sums up summer in TWO BARS: "In the 'hood, summertime is the killin' season/It's hot out this bitch, that's a good 'nuff reason!" Maybe this is the reason Dom Imus had his right to
intelligently speak on race relations in America revoked for a second-straight time.

Furthermore, It's a crying shame we (who aren't haters) ended up being wrong about 50.

15. The Microphones- Solar System:
Starting out with a flurry of unlistenable white noise (you might want to turn the volume down for the first thirty seconds or so), Phil Elvrum, with gorgeous backing harmonies, singing about being haunted by the memories of a girl (I think), repeating at the end, "I know you're out there." The wistful sadness of the track (spoiler alert: MORE FEMALE BACKING HARMONIES) makes it a lock for a summer night.

16. Bonnie "Prince" Billy- Raining in Darling:
The beginning of the track continues in the same wistful sadness that I talked about with the previous track, but the end of the song is the payoff, where the drums crash in a climax with Will Oldham wailing, "It don't rain anymore."

17. No Age- Semi-Sorted:
Whenever I listen to No Age (for all intents and purposes, probably my favorite new band of the last few years), it reminds me of their hometown of Los Angeles, a city in which I've never visited, but none of the good things. I'm talking dirty beaches, smoggy air, abandoned air, and heat, heat heat. Of course, being a Northwest kid, I'm sure I'm stereotyping, but I think the dirt and the grime of big cities are much more attractive than a gentrified metropolis. "Semi-Sorted" starts out with a couple minutes of dirty, dingy ambiance which threatens to run longer in length the actual "song" part of the song, then kicks in with guitar squall, a four-on-the-floor kick stomp, and Dean Spunt's boyish vocals. Then, the song goes from introverted-stomp to visceral-stomp, and the next thing you know, it's over, just like summer.

18. Weezer- Only in Dreams:
Before we get too far off the subject of artists that peaked early (see also: Cent, 50), Weezer's eponymous debut ("Well, fuck, half their catalog is eponymous, Douglas Martin") was probably rock music's first grunge-pop record, with distortion and winks of feedback showing up as much as the incredibly studied pop songwriting. This, the album-ending opus, is much like driving at night during a road trip; peaks and valleys and quiet and loud and long crescendos. I dare you to listen to it and not get the opening bass riff stuck in your head.

19. Cat Power- Back of Your Head:
"Back of Your Head" is like the late-night, drunk-and-teary-eyed phone call from an ex really late at night, with Chan Marshall's simple-but-catchy fingerpicking and her vocal rambling and bleak pessimism ("Can't you see that we're going to hell?"). This is the perfect soundtrack for the comedown, and proof that Marshall was way hotter back when she was batshit crazy.

20. Tiny Vipers- The Downward:
Hands Across the Void, Tiny Vipers' sad-and-beautiful debut, is perfect for a sweltering-hot and deeply depressive summer night, a soundtrack for drowning in post-bar night caps, thinking about your past. The drones at the end of this song is probably the closest thing music comes to staring inside of an abyss.

21. Bill Callahan- Night:
With its twinkling glockenspiel and sparse piano line, "Night" is a beautiful piece to end your night, falling in-and-out of sleep right after your head hits the pillow. The lyrics themselves could even be about the summer sun: "We stand under it/But we don't understand it."

douglas martin

http://www.myspace.com/freshcherriesfromyakima

***

More summer:

Summer Jamz '08 #12: Disco Vietnam Presents Soul Korea: The Ultimate Summer Blunt Sesh by Barry Schwartz
"The tracks selected for Disco Vietnam Presents Soul Korea all share the crucial yet elusive element of groove, each song more dangerously absorbing than the last."

Summer Jamz '08 #11: G'Z Up, Prose Down by Jeff Weiss
"Pure California ride music to cannon out of every car stereo, soundtrack every party, the ideal accessory to cheap weed, smuggled liquor and the baking black asphalt."

Summer Jamz '08 #10: What Is by Mike Powell
"The summer mix—full of hot tunes advocating general irresponsibility—is basically a sham..."

Summer Jamz '08 #9: Compiled by Nate DeYoung & Todd Hutlock
"If we have a theme for this mix, it would be ‘nothing from the new milennium.’ Well, for Hutlock’s portion of the mix..."

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Privately Owned by Theon Weber
"I'm typing this from a studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, at the tail end of a hazy First of July..."

Summer Jamz '08 #7: Daydreamin' by Andrew Gaerig and John M. Cunningham
"For this mix we focused on the theme of "daydreams." Pour yourself a drink that requires an umbrella, kick off your flip-flops, and take a listen."

Summer Jamz '08 #6: It's Not the Heat by Jeff Siegel and Kevin J. Elliott
"This mix is a reflection of soupy, unrelenting humidity. A heat mirage. A little dancing, but not too much, because we must lie down and rehydrate."

Summer Jamz '08 #5: Compiled by Jayson Greene and Stewart Voegtlin
"Oh, geezus. Didn’t we all wanna give up the goose when the sweat ceased to dribble and ran?"

Summer Jamz '08 #4: Compiled by Paul Scott and Ian Mathers
For their summer mix, Paul and Ian decided to have a conversation, or maybe an argument, thanks to one inarguable fact: Ian hates summer.

Summer Jamz '08 #3: Dear Summer... by Jonathan Bradley
"My mix is for the times everything is still and quiet and perfect ... I haven’t included any yacht rock or Eagles tunes, but that’s all I can guarantee."

Summer Jamz '08 #2: State of the Union, Jack by Mike Orme and Nick Southall
"Two former Stylus Magazine compatriots ... celebrate the summer by splitting halves of a mix CD, each trying to fill their side with songs the other writer would put on a summer mix."

Summer Jamz '08 #1: Compiled by Alfred Soto and Dan Weiss
"In the context of summer, vastness suggests the abrogation of responsibility: school and relationships, mostly..."

Summer Jamz '08 #12: Barry Schwartz

Summer Jamz '08 #12: Disco Vietnam Presents Soul Korea: The Ultimate Summer Blunt Sesh
http://sharebee.com/8b113323
http://discovietnam.muxtape.com/

Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with The Passion of the Weiss and What Was it Anyway.

01. Aretha Franklin – I Get High
02. Spanky Wilson – You
03. Syl Johnson – Concrete Reservation
04. Smith – I Just Wanna Make Love to You
05. The Dynamics – Funky Key
06. J.R. Bailey – Everything I Want I See in You
07. Detroit Emeralds – Til You Decide to Come Home
08. Lynn Williams – Don’t Be Surprised
09. Barbara & the Browns – I’m Gonna Start a War
10. Undisputed Truth – Ma
11. Chicago Gangsters – Smoke
12. Curtis Mayfield – Back to the World

We aspire to the condition of sustained groove. Separate the English from the Dutch and discard its useless entrails on the sun-baked parking lot asphalt beside your front left tire. Gentlemen, we can rebuild it; we have the technology. Fingers of stone grind purple golden nuggets into dust. Paper folded over firmly, enveloped in its vanilla leaf, twisted into a cone-shaped cannon. Better. Stronger. Faster. A spark, a flame. Bye-bye. The Jedi, from NY, stalking city sidewalks cuttin’ headz before we rotate back to the world.

The tracks selected for Disco Vietnam Presents Soul Korea all share the crucial yet elusive element of groove, each song more dangerously absorbing than the last. Soul Korea is reserved for those gorgeous summer days spent trapped in windowless office dungeons connecting plots and collecting props. When the clock strikes 5:00pm you’re free to leave but that sure as hell doesn’t mean you’re free. Soul Korea is part reminder, part reprieve; if you’ve earned it you deserve it. An hour of true freedom a day and everyday is your birthday.

***

More summer:

Summer Jamz '08 #11: G'Z Up, Prose Down by Jeff Weiss
"Pure California ride music to cannon out of every car stereo, soundtrack every party, the ideal accessory to cheap weed, smuggled liquor and the baking black asphalt."

Summer Jamz '08 #10: What Is by Mike Powell
"The summer mix—full of hot tunes advocating general irresponsibility—is basically a sham..."

Summer Jamz '08 #9: Compiled by Nate DeYoung & Todd Hutlock
"If we have a theme for this mix, it would be ‘nothing from the new milennium.’ Well, for Hutlock’s portion of the mix..."

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Privately Owned by Theon Weber
"I'm typing this from a studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, at the tail end of a hazy First of July..."

Summer Jamz '08 #7: Daydreamin' by Andrew Gaerig and John M. Cunningham
"For this mix we focused on the theme of "daydreams." Pour yourself a drink that requires an umbrella, kick off your flip-flops, and take a listen."

Summer Jamz '08 #6: It's Not the Heat by Jeff Siegel and Kevin J. Elliott
"This mix is a reflection of soupy, unrelenting humidity. A heat mirage. A little dancing, but not too much, because we must lie down and rehydrate."

Summer Jamz '08 #5: Compiled by Jayson Greene and Stewart Voegtlin
"Oh, geezus. Didn’t we all wanna give up the goose when the sweat ceased to dribble and ran?"

Summer Jamz '08 #4: Compiled by Paul Scott and Ian Mathers
For their summer mix, Paul and Ian decided to have a conversation, or maybe an argument, thanks to one inarguable fact: Ian hates summer.

Summer Jamz '08 #3: Dear Summer... by Jonathan Bradley
"My mix is for the times everything is still and quiet and perfect ... I haven’t included any yacht rock or Eagles tunes, but that’s all I can guarantee."

Summer Jamz '08 #2: State of the Union, Jack by Mike Orme and Nick Southall
"Two former Stylus Magazine compatriots ... celebrate the summer by splitting halves of a mix CD, each trying to fill their side with songs the other writer would put on a summer mix."

Summer Jamz '08 #1: Compiled by Alfred Soto and Dan Weiss
"In the context of summer, vastness suggests the abrogation of responsibility: school and relationships, mostly..."

Summer Jamz '08 #11: Jeff Weiss

Summer Jamz '08 #11: G'Z Up, Prose Down
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4NBDRWLQ

Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with The Passion of the Weiss and What Was it Anyway.

01. Parliament-“Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)
02. N.W.A.-“Alwayz Into Somethin’”
03. Dr. Dre-“Nuthin’ But a G Thang”
04. Above the Law ft. 2Pac & Money B-“Call It What U Want”
05. The Dove Shack-“Summertime in the LBC”
06. Domino-“Getto Jam”
07. The Twinz-“Round N’ Round”
08. Snoop Doggy Dogg-“Gin and Juice”
09. 2Pac ft. Shock G & Money B-“I Get Around”
10. Mista Grimm ft. Nate Dogg & Warren G-“Indo Smoke”
11. Ice Cube ft. George Clinton-“Bop Gun”
12. The Lady of Rage-“Afro Puffs”
13. Sam Sneed ft. Dr. Dre-“U Better Recognize”
14. The D.O.C.-“The D.O.C. and The Doctor”
15. DJ Quik-“Jus Lyke Compton”
16. W.C. and the Maad Circle-“The One”
17. Tha Dogg Pound-“Let’s Play House”
18. Kurupt ft. Nate Dogg-“Girls All Pause”
19. Warren G ft. Nate Dogg & Snoop-“Game Don’t Wait”
20. Warren G & Nate Dogg-“Regulate”
21. Warren G & Nate Dogg-“Nobody Does It Better”
22. Parliament-“P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)”

Radio raised me. Power 106 and 92.3, The Beat, filtering in fuzzy and faint from the battered and bruised transistor, blank cassette in at all times—just in case. “Gin and Juice” and Maxells as madelines and tea, inside my broom closet bedroom, tattered with tapes as trophies. The holy trinity: The Chronic. Regulate and Doggystyle; the latter, swiped from a shuttered Music Plus, purchased by me for a mere $7 from a kleptomaniac, entrepreneurial ex-friend. Last I heard, he’d moved to Northern Arizona to escape from drug dealers. In the process, he found God and eventually assumed a position in an evangelical Korean Ministry.

Contrasted with the cluttered condo clusterfuck of this last Bush year, that Los Angeles of 1992 seems almost unrecognizable. Back then, South Central, Compton and the land south of the Ten still smoldered, a burn-out husk from the Rodney King riots that had erupted a few moths prior, as though to prove Ice Cube’s point. The city had an almost martial tone to it, there were unspoken boundaries you didn’t cross and “the club” on every steering wheel. Crips, Bloods and Bullets waged internecine warfare* so the shrill sirens of Fox 11 News at 10 told us. Hell, even in the rich parts of town, neurotic school administrators banned Raiders and Kings garb for being gang affiliated, though the closest their students had come to ‘banging’ was the Whack-A-Mole at Chuck E. Cheese.

So maybe Mike Davis was right. Maybe Los Angeles was a city of quartz. But if so, it was about to turn platinum. Thing is, everything changed when The Chronic dropped. The Dre of N.W.A. that “didn’t smoke weed or cess,” was dead, his politics largely muted. Instead, he’d found the good drugs, a stack of Parliament samples and a lanky, ex-Long Beach Crip with a flow ostensibly ordained by God to soundtrack hot and hazy Sunday BBQ’s. The combination was unstoppable and by the time Snoop’s debut dropped the next fall, G-Funk had everyone on lock, from Baldwin Hills to Bel Air, from Compton to Calabasas. You want proof that Jayceon Taylor is full of shit? Because of no self-respecting Angeleno would’ve ever bragged about shop-lifting The Chronic in ’95. What was dude listening to before that? P.M. Dawn? Snap? Jesus Jones?

The story’s rote by now. The big money boom. Suge Knight, the mad villain, burning blunts and Cohibas, glowering at the world from a plush aerie inside a pitch black Wilshire Blvd. skyscraper, the same one shared by Larry Flynt and Hustler, on the corner of Beverly Hills’ restaurant row. Dre turned hip-hop’s Howard Hughes, hibernating deep in the West Valley, obsessed with the unattainable notion of perfection and whether Winstrol could make his biceps as big as his ego. Snoop became more brand than rapper. Warren G got busted for taking Nate Dogg’s advice to be “high like every day.” And as for poor Nathan Hale, that perpetually underrated R&B master, he was somehow felled by a stroke before the age of 40. God knows what happened to Sam Sneed? Drugs. Jail. The PGA Tour?

But for a few short years there, say that stretch from The Riots until 2Pac got shot, G-Funk owned the sound of our summers. Pure California ride music to cannon out of every car stereo, soundtrack every party, the ideal accessory to cheap weed, smuggled liquor and the baking black asphalt. I don’t know what kids listen to today. Weezy? Jeezy? The Game’s compelling but hollow nostalgia? We had it good. After all, who better to make sun-scorched jams than the kids from the real land of the endless summer? Like Nate Dogg and Warren G said, “Nobody Does It Better.”

***

More summer:

Summer Jamz '08 #10: What Is by Mike Powell
"The summer mix—full of hot tunes advocating general irresponsibility—is basically a sham..."

Summer Jamz '08 #9: Compiled by Nate DeYoung & Todd Hutlock
"If we have a theme for this mix, it would be ‘nothing from the new milennium.’ Well, for Hutlock’s portion of the mix..."

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Privately Owned by Theon Weber
"I'm typing this from a studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, at the tail end of a hazy First of July..."

Summer Jamz '08 #7: Daydreamin' by Andrew Gaerig and John M. Cunningham
"For this mix we focused on the theme of "daydreams." Pour yourself a drink that requires an umbrella, kick off your flip-flops, and take a listen."

Summer Jamz '08 #6: It's Not the Heat by Jeff Siegel and Kevin J. Elliott
"This mix is a reflection of soupy, unrelenting humidity. A heat mirage. A little dancing, but not too much, because we must lie down and rehydrate."

Summer Jamz '08 #5: Compiled by Jayson Greene and Stewart Voegtlin
"Oh, geezus. Didn’t we all wanna give up the goose when the sweat ceased to dribble and ran?"

Summer Jamz '08 #4: Compiled by Paul Scott and Ian Mathers
For their summer mix, Paul and Ian decided to have a conversation, or maybe an argument, thanks to one inarguable fact: Ian hates summer.

Summer Jamz '08 #3: Dear Summer... by Jonathan Bradley
"My mix is for the times everything is still and quiet and perfect ... I haven’t included any yacht rock or Eagles tunes, but that’s all I can guarantee."

Summer Jamz '08 #2: State of the Union, Jack by Mike Orme and Nick Southall
"Two former Stylus Magazine compatriots ... celebrate the summer by splitting halves of a mix CD, each trying to fill their side with songs the other writer would put on a summer mix."

Summer Jamz '08 #1: Compiled by Alfred Soto and Dan Weiss
"In the context of summer, vastness suggests the abrogation of responsibility: school and relationships, mostly..."

Summer Jamz '08 #10: Mike Powell

Summer Jamz '08 #10: What Is
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ucf276

Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with The Passion of the Weiss and What Was it Anyway.

01. Baka Pygmies - Hut Song
02. Disco Inferno - It's a Kid's World
03. Lord Melody - Carnival Proclamation
04. Junior Murvin - Roots Train
05. The Who - Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand
06. Tabu Ley Rochereau - Aon Aon
07. Johnny Osbourne - Murderer (Heavenless Riddim)
08. Mouse on Mars - Catching Butterflies With Hands
09. Allen Toussaint - Southern Nights
10. Bennie Maupin - Past is Past
11. Animal Collective - Street Flash
12. Wally Badarou - Voices
13. Kate & Anna McGarrigle - Heartbeats Accelerating
14. Kid Creole - Off the Coast of Me
15. Junior Byles - Cutting Razor
16. Prince Far I - Jamaican Heroes
17. Franco - Kinsiona
18. Jackie Mittoo - Ayatollah

My primary concern with the summer jam is the winter jam. By which I mean only the exceptionally stupid and antisocial have a hard time celebrating summer. Daylight lasts longer in summer; summer is also hotter. People traffic public walkways in greater numbers. They wear less and drink more. From subway cars of commuters arises a syncopation of grunts and pants; Rorschach blots of sweat form over butterfly tattoos and the lip of leather belts. It is gross and rather beautiful, mostly because we all suffer.

And yet the summer mix—full of hot tunes advocating general irresponsibility—is basically a sham: You will have a few opportunities to press your moistness against that of another, perhaps in a pool house or a deserted side-street, but most likely you will spend the summer at work. Your victories outside it—day trips, solitary nights outdoors—will come as spiritual coups buried amongst long afternoons of daydreaming in temperature-regulated rooms.

So I guess I was appealing to the idea of summer, if not summer itself. Which, for me, turns out to mean pigmy chanting (1), Congolese pop (6, 17); reggae (4, 7, 15, 18) played by unshakably melancholic (16) white women accompanied by Celtic fiddle (13). And some other stuff, I suppose.

But when I look this all over, I realize that I have no winter jamz—I have only jamz. Summer is a synonym for liberation, an association held over from a time when the season actually meant we didn’t have anything to do (unless your parents were farmers; if that’s the case, and you worked the farm, I find that pretty admirable, for the record). This is the same music I listen to in the winter, it’s just that now I forgo long johns and scotch for wit’s-end concoctions of Smirnoff and sweetened lime juice (which I just choked on in a kind of alarming manner). Hold your head high: summer is a feeling; summer’s what you make it—if you don’t have it now, you can always have it in December.

***

More summer:

Summer Jamz '08 #9: Compiled by Nate DeYoung & Todd Hutlock
"If we have a theme for this mix, it would be ‘nothing from the new milennium.’ Well, for Hutlock’s portion of the mix..."

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Privately Owned by Theon Weber
"I'm typing this from a studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, at the tail end of a hazy First of July..."

Summer Jamz '08 #7: Daydreamin' by Andrew Gaerig and John M. Cunningham
"For this mix we focused on the theme of "daydreams." Pour yourself a drink that requires an umbrella, kick off your flip-flops, and take a listen."

Summer Jamz '08 #6: It's Not the Heat by Jeff Siegel and Kevin J. Elliott
"This mix is a reflection of soupy, unrelenting humidity. A heat mirage. A little dancing, but not too much, because we must lie down and rehydrate."

Summer Jamz '08 #5: Compiled by Jayson Greene and Stewart Voegtlin
"Oh, geezus. Didn’t we all wanna give up the goose when the sweat ceased to dribble and ran?"

Summer Jamz '08 #4: Compiled by Paul Scott and Ian Mathers
For their summer mix, Paul and Ian decided to have a conversation, or maybe an argument, thanks to one inarguable fact: Ian hates summer.

Summer Jamz '08 #3: Dear Summer... by Jonathan Bradley
"My mix is for the times everything is still and quiet and perfect ... I haven’t included any yacht rock or Eagles tunes, but that’s all I can guarantee."

Summer Jamz '08 #2: State of the Union, Jack by Mike Orme and Nick Southall
"Two former Stylus Magazine compatriots ... celebrate the summer by splitting halves of a mix CD, each trying to fill their side with songs the other writer would put on a summer mix."

Summer Jamz '08 #1: Compiled by Alfred Soto and Dan Weiss
"In the context of summer, vastness suggests the abrogation of responsibility: school and relationships, mostly..."

What’s wrong with “No Air”?

Some of you may remember me saying Summer Jamz was taking one day off and, by implication, would return on Monday. You John McCains need to take your brain medicine; I said Summer Jamz will return on Tuesday. Warm weather tunes are back in town tomorrow (or, technically, later on today).

Chris Brown, if only you were old enough to grow a bad teenage mustache, Jordin Sparks would go out with you in a second

The Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown duet, “No Air” looks like it’s shaping up to be the song of the summer (northern summer, of course; that’s where most pop music lives), and the song’s critical moment comes in the first line of the pre-chorus bridge, when Sparks sings, “But how do you expect me to live alone with just me?” It’s not a rhetorical question. Sparks sings it like she’s being confronted, in that moment, with the possibility of a life without her beloved, and she is demanding an explanation. The song turns to ice, and if you’ve ever been so infatuated with someone that it is unbearable to be without them, you’ll recognize the feeling. You want to know exactly why you’re forced to endure this heartsickness. “Who’s in charge here?” you want to demand. “There must be an explanation! Why are you doing this to me?”

“No Air” can’t maintain this emotional intensity. The song itself is strangely unmoving; Brown and Sparks weep and wail, quite beautifully so in the video, but they can’t again capture the chilling incapacitation of the song’s central conceit: that for each of these singers, being without the other is comparable to asphyxiation.

It’s quite a dire circumstance they posit for themselves, and yet, I’m unmoved. Or, I’m not moved enough. A song that claims being without another person is like being without oxygen should carry enough emotional heft that the listener can empathize with the sentiment, but apart from that “how do you expect me...” line, “No Air” is a curiously middling affair.

Part of the problem is that the music isn’t as bereft as the feeling it attempts to describe. It is sparse enough — much of the song consists of just a beat and a keyboard line — but this keyboard line blossoms into a twinkling cascade of notes. There’s nothing wrong with it per se, but for a song about suffocation it sounds far too airy. The music suggests anything but a vacuum. Likewise, Brown and Sparks, though delivering a respectable vocal performance (and in the case of Sparks, a more than respectable one), have their vocals layered and extensively treated. The song is excessively thick and full for a track concerned with a void. With this much exhalation, how can we possibly believe there is really no air?

Yes, Chris Brown. I am jealous. Fuck you.

If the problem is indeed one of production, it carries over to another version of the song, that by country singer Rissi Palmer. Palmer is a low level star responsible for grazing the bottom end of the Billboard charts with a couple of promising, but not outstanding songs. She’s notable for being a rare African-American singer to find any amount of recent success in this vastly Caucasian-dominated genre.

Palmer’s “No Air” cover is, even by contemporary country standards, not very country sounding. It distinguishes itself from the original by virtue of organic instrumentation, rather than the computer generated sounds of the Sparks version, and a brief slide guitar interlude that presents itself toward the end of the track. And like the Sparks version, it is a warm, full song about a chilling void. It is no improvement.

Usefully, radio is playing another song that illustrates the deficiencies of “No Air.” The British singer Leona Lewis’ hit “Bleeding Love” is exactly a model for what the Sparks hit could have been.

Like Sparks’ song, “Bleeding Love” uses a physical ailment to describe an emotional one; in this case, Lewis vulnerability around her lover is supposedly akin to profuse plasma loss. Unlike the Sparks song, though, Lewis’ effort sounds like the malady it expresses. The music is cold and distant; it feels as if the blood is draining out of the song. When Lewis sings “you cut me open and I ... keep bleeding love,” she sounds like the life is fading out of her. Her reliance on her significant other ceases to be academic and becomes aural, and thus actual. Hearing this song on the radio, you get the urge to call 9-1-1 and demand “Get this woman a doctor!” With Sparks and Brown? “That’s sweet, guys, but get over it already.”

"We the purple"? What the hell was that?

No Summer Jamz today, mostly because nearly every single one of the Summer Jamz writers is American (other than me, there's a Canadian and two Englishmen, all of whom have written), and is currently celebrating the independence of their nation by blowing up a small part of it. Or something.

So, I'll get in the spirit of things: Happy Birthday America. I hope you all have a great time celebrating your freedom. To help you along, please enjoy my gift to you: Screw Rock 'n' Roll's Favorite 4th of July Songs. Congratulations, guys. On that day in 1776, you started something pretty great.

(And if you're wondering why an Australian is dedicating a post to a U.S. holiday, it might help to read this and especially this. Maybe even this, this, and this, though don't read too much into those. And if you're still confused, remember, people who actually know me don't really get it, so my advice is to just accept it and move on.)

But, wait, wait, wait. Tuesday was Canada Day, and I actually meant to honor Canada on that day with some Canadian ish. But I had Summer Jamz to run, and I thought Canada wouldn't mind too much if I left it until next year. But, since we have the opportunity, before we begin the list, I'll drop one song in belated celebration of Canada Day. Canada, this one's for you.

The Weakerthans - Tournament of Hearts
Canada, I've spent no more than three days within yours borders. So forgive me if this is an offensively stereotypical view of your country. But the Weakerthans track "Tournament of Hearts" appeals to me because it offers a rare thing in pop music; an unmistakably Canadian theme and setting. I won't pretend to understand all the references - apparently nearly every lyric is a curling reference - but the description of a winter-beset curling tournament is an enchanting view of the Great White North. The fact that all that curling lingo is being used to describe emo girlfriend anxiety makes it even better. I'm sure there's more to Canada than a lounge full of farmers "for the 7:30 draw," but the notion that somewhere in the world, a group of people will congregate to push heavy weights along ice by means of broom, and that such an occasion could be used to describe a relationship is rather wonderful.

Screw Rock 'n' Roll's Favorite 4th of July Songs

Martina McBride - Independence Day
I wrote about this a couple weeks back, but at that time, I focused on the darker qualities of the song. And, no doubt, they're there. But this works as a celebration, too. When McBride's vast voice opens up in the chorus, belting out, "Let freedom ring," even those of us whose national holiday is not being referenced can be forgiven for wanting to chuck a big box of tea into Boston Harbor.

Shooter Jennings - 4th of July
Waylon junior's Independence Day tune skips the fireworks and heads out on to the open road. It's the idea of liberation through movement that makes this song so intrinsically American, and Jennings, driving across the country with a woman who looks like "a queen in [her] nightgown," makes his summer road trip something vital and essential. It helps that the chorus is so fun to shout along with, too, though I had to google to find out that "Stranglehold," the rock 'n' roll song of which they could take no more was a Ted Nugent track. I only knew of that guy from the Beastie Boys oddity "The Biz vs The Nuge." I guess out in the country, they even have different rock 'n' roll.

Ryan Adams - New York, New York
It makes sense that Ryan Adams could make a great 4th of July tune, because much of Adams' career has been based on his earnest replication of the American rock music tradition; he attempts to join the greats by learning and adopting their mythology. It's a short step from that to studying and replicating a wider American mythology. Adams is "shuffling through the city on the 4th of July" with "a firecracker waiting to blow," and he sings about the holiday and the city with such celebratory gusto that living in a shitty little apartment on Avenue A sounds like the best thing ever.

The Killers - Sam's Town
The Killers know the American mythology, but unlike Adams, are uncomfortable inserting themselves into it. Brandon Flowers wants to make a sweeping vision of Americana, but he's aware that the country he lives in is more complex than the stories it tells itself about it. He claims "an American masquerade" is running through his veins, and then fumblingly lists a series of patriotic paraphenalia: "I still remember Grandma Dixie's wake/I'd never really known anybody that died before/Red, white and blue up on a birthday cake/My brother he was born on the fourth of July, and that's all." He doesn't succeed in working out how to tell a new story to replace the one's he recognizes as untrue, but his neurotic self-examination is illuminating nonetheless.

The Hold Steady - Killer Parties
Again, the idea of liberation through movement, but in this case, the liberation is in the form of a never-ending stream of new parties, and new people to party with. The pursuit of happiness, perhaps? Regardless, the lyrics are a curiously appropriate dedication for the country, a place filled with great people and, indeed, killer parties: "We heard about this place they called the United States/We found out Virginia really is for the lovers/Philly is full of friendly friends that will love you like a brother/Pensacola parties hard with poppers pills and Pepsi/Ybor City is tres speedy but they throw such killer parties."

Summer Jamz '08 #9: Nate DeYoung & Todd Hutlock

Banner swiped from Adventures in Sonic Fiction

Summer Jamz '08 #9: Nate DeYoung & Todd Hutlock
http://www.sendspace.com/file/58zmwc

Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with The Passion of the Weiss and What Was it Anyway.

Tracklisting:
1. Bandulu - Phase In Version
2. Delta Funktionen - Nebula
3. Two Lone Swordsmen - Turn the Filter Off
4. The Mole - Hey Girl (I Feel So Good)
5. Stephen Beaupre - Fish Fry
6. Sweet Exorcist - Clonk (Freebass)
7. Matthew Styles - We Said Nothing
8. Ernesto Ferreyra - The Last Shooter
9. Robert Hood - Master Builder
10. Slowhouse - Unknown Track 3
11. Teste - The Wipe (5 AM Synaptic)

If we have a theme for this mix, it would be ‘nothing from the new milennium.’ Well, for Hutlock’s portion of the mix - he went so far as trying to convince me that ‘everything old is new again.’ And if that’s not a plea for a way out of a mid-life crisis, I don’t know what it is.

Old jokes aside, Hut gave me some nice surprises - “Phase in Version” is a little wonky Basic Channel rush. Todd crushes hard on this track - it probably doesn’t hurt that it was released on a Creation sub-label - and I can finally say I totally agree with him. Same goes for Sweet Exorcist. But those of us with Warp fixations already knew that. Maybe my favorite of Hut’s choices is Teste’s send-off of “The Wipe.” It’s pretty bleak for a summer jam, but the bassline nuzzles in just right.

If everything old is new again, then there’s only one constant in my selections and that’s keeping it as ephemeral as possible. Tracks like Matthew Styles’ “We Said Nothing” might be a nice little trick - detuned drums and an insistent analog synth screwdriving - but I don’t care how it ages. It’s perfect for right now. Same goes for the overwhelm-o-disco of Mole’s “Hey Girl (I Feel So Good).” But Stephen Beupre has spent the longest time as my instant-fix, from the spring deep into the summer. “Fish Fry” is nothing but modest - a slow accumulation of atmosphere, held down by just the vibrato of a meandering melody.

Ableton didn’t play nice so this “mix” is unmixed. It’s a paint-by-numbers, if you will, so make your own.
--Nate DeYoung

***

More summer:

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Privately Owned by Theon Weber
"I'm typing this from a studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, at the tail end of a hazy First of July..."

Summer Jamz '08 #7: Daydreamin' by Andrew Gaerig and John M. Cunningham
"For this mix we focused on the theme of "daydreams." Pour yourself a drink that requires an umbrella, kick off your flip-flops, and take a listen."

Summer Jamz '08 #6: It's Not the Heat by Jeff Siegel and Kevin J. Elliott
"This mix is a reflection of soupy, unrelenting humidity. A heat mirage. A little dancing, but not too much, because we must lie down and rehydrate."

Summer Jamz '08 #5: Compiled by Jayson Greene and Stewart Voegtlin
"Oh, geezus. Didn’t we all wanna give up the goose when the sweat ceased to dribble and ran?"

Summer Jamz '08 #4: Compiled by Paul Scott and Ian Mathers
For their summer mix, Paul and Ian decided to have a conversation, or maybe an argument, thanks to one inarguable fact: Ian hates summer.

Summer Jamz '08 #3: Dear Summer... by Jonathan Bradley
"My mix is for the times everything is still and quiet and perfect ... I haven’t included any yacht rock or Eagles tunes, but that’s all I can guarantee."

Summer Jamz '08 #2: State of the Union, Jack by Mike Orme and Nick Southall
"Two former Stylus Magazine compatriots ... celebrate the summer by splitting halves of a mix CD, each trying to fill their side with songs the other writer would put on a summer mix."

Summer Jamz '08 #1: Compiled by Alfred Soto and Dan Weiss
"In the context of summer, vastness suggests the abrogation of responsibility: school and relationships, mostly..."

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Theon Weber

Summer Jamz '08 #8: Privately Owned
http://www.sendspace.com/file/tll7no

In high school, a little deranged, I called what most people call mix CDs "Grand Anthologies", and gave each one an oblique title and liner notes written as if I had an audience of millions (if a particular Grand Anthology didn't soundtrack my walk to school as well as I'd hoped, I'd refer in the notes for the next one to "disappointing sales"). The last Grand Anthology came out in 2004 - my senior year. It was called "Grand Anthology: The Last One", so with this new one - which by the way is called "Privately Owned" - I join the ranks of Jay-Z, Michael Jordan, and Dick Nixon. Understand that I have since 2004 become clearer, neater, except when it comes to Grand Anthology liner notes. Because the liner notes for "Privately Owned" were written in a hurry, and I'm not sure they make sense. The album's about summer. Just keep that in mind.

Each Summer Jam is proudly co-hosted with The Passion of the Weiss and What Was it Anyway.

01 T H E W R E N S. surprise, honeycomb.
02 G H O S T F A C E K I L L A H. walk around.
03 T H E K I N K S. top of the pops.
04 O U T K A S T. gasoline dreams.
05 U 2. zooropa.
06 B L U R. on your own.
07 B I K I N I K I L L. i like fucking.
08 W H Y ?. fatalist palmistry.
09 T H E R U N A W A Y S. queens of noise.
10 O K K E R V I L R I V E R. plus ones.
11 T H E R O L L I N G S T O N E S. ventilator blues.
12 E M I N E M. my fault.
13 T R A V E L I N G W I L B U R Y S. margarita.
14 D A V I D B Y R N E. miss america.
15 R A D I O H E A D. palo alto.
16 F U N K A D E L I C. can you get to that.
17 T H E V E R O N I C A S. untouched.
18 Y E A H Y E A H Y E A H S. dudley.
19 T H E D A N D Y W A R H O L S. big indian.
20 L I L ' W A Y N E. sky's the limit (ride 4 my niggaz)

SURPRISE, HONEYCOMB (1). I'm typing this from a studio apartment in Portland, Oregon, at the tail end of a hazy First of July, and what this song is about - besides picking up an old crush as accompanist for a murder spree - is summer restlessness, the desire to get something done, even if it isn't constructive, and the (secondary) desire to get someone to do it with. But itches lead to impulses, and impulses don't always pan out. Witness WALK AROUND (2), in which Ghostface, always the world's tensest gangsta, shoots someone without quite meaning to, can't get over it, and by the end is pacing back and forth, waving off suggestions and requests to chill, insisting he isn't going crazy, and finally going back outside because "I can't take this shit no more; it's too hot". Which it is.

Then again, sometimes things work out, transient or not; TOP OF THE POPS (3) chronicles the first half of what Ray Davies' dry crankiness makes clear will end badly, but that's what happens in summer: three months of cresting thrills and then it's September. This song doesn't end in September, though - it ends in, oh, early July, time to break out the hamburgers and camping permits and GASOLINE DREAMS (4), a flag-burning so severe (and festive!) we need ZOOROPA (5) to come down from it. Zooropa is all about being in Europe and looking at advertisements from behind sunglasses, which makes them look cool (polarization), and it's probably best to keep the sunglasses on what with the light and the heat and the haze and ON YOUR OWN (6), which might make some kind of lyrical sense beyond Damon Albarn's vague state-of-the-States, um, "tapestry" (Ross Perot is mentioned, and California, and the chorus - "my joy of life is on a roll" - appears to have been translated from something) but which doesn't need to because vague tapestries are precisely the sort of thing to which we're itching to pledge allegiance.

So: we've got a season and a country, now we need some ideology. It's too hot to really work at this, so let's go with I LIKE FUCKING (7), which along with "White Boy" and probably "New Radio" is the angry giggly capstone of Bikini Kill's most attractive pyramid. The thing about this band is they were funny. Nobody remembers they were funny because we prefer it when feminists aren't funny, but they were hilarious, contradicting and mocking and caricaturing themselves, slipping the real rightousness as much under the radar as they could considering they were called Bikini Kill and were always talking about rape. This song builds through two minutes of punchy polemic before concluding with BK's most profound bit of sarcasm: I believe in the radical possibilities of pleasure, BABE - well I mean why wouldn't you, but the answer to that's all in the sneer, and the antidote for the sneer's in the guitars. Drop from the heights of radical female pleasure to the depths of overarticulate male misery for FATALIST PALMISTRY (8), the song on this mix in which, though we talk a big game, a lot of us will be spending our summer: our ability to cope is directly proportional to how funny we can be about how screwed we are. This is a defense mechanism, but it's a good one; it only falls to something like QUEENS OF NOISE (9), from the Runaways' second album (1977), with guitars hissing from inside the postapocalyptic Haze the Stones pumped out of the fog machines at Altamont to shroud the Seventies. (I don't think there were actually any fog machines at Altamont.) The Haze is what summer sounds like, always has been; not the Summer Of Love but whichever one Blue Oyster Cult meant. Everything inside it comes out diffused, flattened, hard to get close to. Summer lovers don't cuddle like winter ones.

Let's slow down for a second, then. PLUS ONES (10) is the same Haze scrubbed and mocked by some autumn asshole, remembering a garland of song titles and fiddling with them, and ah yes remember this song? that one? me too, pass the canapes while I don another sweater. It is impossible, in July, to imagine again being so sophisticated! Right now everything's sweat and itches and barbarism, and let's check back in with Ghostface who's still trying to deal (geddit), and VENTILATOR BLUES (11), besides being from Exile On Main Street which understood the Haze better than any of the other albums caught in it, contains one of Mick Jagger's wisest dumbest lines - "everybody needs some kind of ventilator" which doesn't mean anyone's going to get one, which is how you end up with messes like MY FAULT (12). Now this takes place in the spring, expressly, but only because "take" rhymes with "break" and "break" goes with "spring"; pretend for a second that "take" rhymes with "vacation" - which it almost could, really, and Eminem's supposed to be a professional; why isn't he on top of this - and it makes more sense, because stupid guys getting stupid girls to do stupid things at stupid parties is really a summer-vacation thing; spring break is when stupid guys get stupid girls to do stupid things on TV. So this girl's taken all these mushrooms (which Em totally did mean to give her, and being so upfront about this in the first verse and such an equivocating coward about it in the chorus is why he's funny) and she's gonna die, and the thing is, you don't stay at these parties, not unless whatever's gone wrong really is your fault - you leave poor Marshall Mathers panicking in the corner over the maybecorpse of the girl he maybemeant to give mushrooms, and you're back into the Haze, and the Traveling Wilburys, old navigators themselves of its slipstreams and dead spots, are playing MARGARITA (13), one of the oddest songs ever written. Fades in, rambles, fades out; Dylan's probably freestyling; Tom Petty gets a closing line delivered so much like a joke it actually becomes one. "She wrote a long letter on a short piece of paper". You're home - the party's over - and is it August already?

MISS AMERICA (14) is - well, pick your poison. A) the girl you're chasing all three months; B) like those other America songs we played, but funnier, meaner; C) just that song where David Byrne says both "fuck" and "I'll be your teenage fanclub". Whichever you choose you can dance to it (you!) and as we coast nervously towards September sarcastic songs about girls who are also sociopolitical frameworks are the kinds of ironies we prefer with our iced teas. ("American Woman", by the way, has the Haze, but I don't like it as much.) Speaking of which here's Radiohead, who never met a sociopolitical framework they didn't want to stand next to making scary faces, sunning themselves in dystopian PALO ALTO (15), enjoying Orwell's Indian summer. This is what the Haze sounded like in 1997. In 1971 it didn't sound like Funkadelic because Funkadelic weren't into haze (they more dug earth), which is why CAN YOU GET TO THAT (16) is here - as respite, and also because, remember, it's the last week of August by now, and there's barely any Haze any more, just weird chilly winds and a little bit of sighing less-than-green-ery, and someone's making preparations for the coming separation, and are we about to hit the comedown? The last four tracks, the last four days.

UNTOUCHED (17), then - by a lover, by the accomplishments our serial killer dreamt of back on track one, by Miss America, but not by those Goddamn strings which really aren't going to leave you alone, or the grasping useless wistfulness you and the Veronicas can't shake. You've got wet eyes now, letting go of things, and so does my favorite active band, whose DUDLEY (18) is a nursery rhyme about loss, hot cold season gonna sink in my sweat, God I wish it was still as hot as it used to be, that the days were as long. There's barely enough sunlight now for platitudes and summations. BIG INDIAN (19) has both - Polonial hand-me-downs from figurative fathers, end-of-song triumphalism, and OH we just hit September. It's not summer anymore. So feel free to pretend this last song doesn't exist. But you're going to need it, like nuts, for the winter. You're going to need its braggadocio - so absurd it's noble - and its sense of apocalypse tastefully quieter than its sense of self-importance. You're going to need to remember, like it says on laminated flyers in elementary school lunchrooms - they can't print this stuff if it's not true - SKY'S THE LIMIT (20). While you're here why don't you boast along with Lil' Wayne - birds don't fly without your permission. It isn't true, of course. They're flying south. Go ahead, let them. And hunker down.

***

More summer:

Summer Jamz '08 #7: Daydreamin' by Andrew Gaerig and John M. Cunningham
"For this mix we focused on the theme of "daydreams." Pour yourself a drink that requires an umbrella, kick off your flip-flops, and take a listen."

Summer Jamz '08 #6: It's Not the Heat by Jeff Siegel and Kevin J. Elliott
"This mix is a reflection of soupy, unrelenting humidity. A heat mirage. A little dancing, but not too much, because we must lie down and rehydrate."

Summer Jamz '08 #5: Compiled by Jayson Greene and Stewart Voegtlin
"Oh, geezus. Didn’t we all wanna give up the goose when the sweat ceased to dribble and ran?"

Summer Jamz '08 #4: Compiled by Paul Scott and Ian Mathers
For their summer mix, Paul and Ian decided to have a conversation, or maybe an argument, thanks to one inarguable fact: Ian hates summer.

Summer Jamz '08 #3: Dear Summer... by Jonathan Bradley
"My mix is for the times everything is still and quiet and perfect ... I haven’t included any yacht rock or Eagles tunes, but that’s all I can guarantee."

Summer Jamz '08 #2: State of the Union, Jack by Mike Orme and Nick Southall
"Two former Stylus Magazine compatriots ... celebrate the summer by splitting halves of a mix CD, each trying to fill their side with songs the other writer would put on a summer mix."

Summer Jamz '08 #1: Compiled by Alfred Soto and Dan Weiss
"In the context of summer, vastness suggests the abrogation of responsibility: school and relationships, mostly..."