The Muxtape is back! Only I’m going back to calling it a Mixtape. Muxtape was shut down by the RIAA this summer, and I cried in my beer for days over it. I don’t know who this Justin kid is, but I feel like he represented the Say Anything generation well in his fight to keep online mixes alive.
Go Justin.
Enter, Open Tape. Bryan became tired of all my sleeping under the bed covers and not bathing as I grieved the loss of online music sharing, and he tracked down this similar music sharing opportunity. I asked him how it was different, and he said “it’s open sourced.”
I have no idea what that means.
But what do I care, really, as long as it works?! The main difference I see is that instead of me uploading songs to an external website like Muxtape, I’m uploading songs to my own website. I actually think this is better, because now I don’t have to depend on the continuity of a third party’s system, and I don’t have to delete an old mix to post a new one. I can post as many mixes as my host server can handle, which Bryan says is a lot.
So here we go with Mix #1 (yes, technically it’s mix #6, but I’m starting the count over with the new system) – to listen to it, right click here to open in a new tab or window. If you like it, leave a comment, and I’ll send a copy to a random winner.
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The Hold Steady – Stuck Between Stations
Michael Dean Damron & Thee Loyal Bastards – By the Time I Get to Heaven
The Ting Tings – That’s Not My Name
The Faint – Take Me to the Hospital
Belle & Sebastian – If She Wants Me
Badly Drawn Boy – Silent Sigh
Wolf Parade – California Dreamer
Stereo MC’s – Connected
The Temptations – Ball of Confusion
The Neville Brothers – Way Down in the Hole
Paris Combo – Fibre De Verre
Peter Gabriel – Down to Earth
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“She was a really cool kisser and she wasn’t all that strict of a Christian.”
I love a good blue collar rock song in the vein of Bruce Springsteen. It’s difficult for me to listen to this without playing some serious air drums. Thomas prefers the guitar. Ruthie twirls.
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“…that’s what the world is today…”
It’s crazy how timeless this song is, just insert the political/social/economic drama of the moment. Also, did I mention I’m a big fan of Motown? Somehow, despite the fact I was raised in a completely white middle class suburb, I latched on to funk and Motown at an early age and hold a special place in my heart for the young Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five.
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“…you gotta keep the devil way down in the hole…”
When Bryan and I snuggled in to start Season 2 of The Wire, I eagerly anticipated the Blind Boys of Alabama theme song, Way Down In the Hole. After watching Season 1, that song identified the show for me like Woke Up This Morning by A3 identified The Sopranos. I can’t hear that song anymore without hearing Tony Soprano’s voice in my head.
So I was very offended when the show started with a different song. Well, it was different, yet familiar, and it wasn’t until Tom Waits hit the chorus that I realized it was the same song, sung and arranged by a different artist. This version is actually from the Season 3 intro, and is done by the Neville Brothers. I now know The Wire uses a different arrangement for the same song for each of its five season.
I thought that was kind of a cool idea once I got over the devastation of my world being out of order.
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“bleh bleh bleh bleh bleh…”
Those aren’t really the lyrics to a song, but I don’t speak French and have no idea how to even spell what I’m hearing. After watching The Triplets of Belleville I decided I just MUST HAVE FRENCH MUSIC (well, it was that and after watching Kevin Kline in French Kiss). I’m not sure why I didn’t just buy the soundtrack, but the French Cafe collection from Putumayo music turned out to be a great find. I highly recommend Putumayo for exploring a variety of world music.
Fibre De Verre is the type of music I imagine all Parisians listen to as they sit at outdoor cafe tables, wearing black turtlenecks and smoking cigarettes from sexy long holders (and now that I’ve discovered that web site I feel I MUST own some Bitch Sticks).