Musicophilia Blog (by that guy who did '1981') Updates Thread

I updated my Flash plugin and now it seems to work. . .

which version have you got? mine is shockwave flash 9.0 r124. and where would i get a new one? this add-on business seems to be a mess in firefox. i have no problem with ie.

i tried the latest version on the adobe site, to absolutely no avail. the version number didn't even change after installation.

here at home i have shockwave flash 9.0 r115. this is a joke. i can't even listen to youtube videos anymore. they stop for ages after two seconds and then there is no sound. not that i miss something but what the hell.

This is what fixed it for me: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/?promoid=DXLUJ

thanks a lot, version 10 does the trick.

concerning the download link you could ask here as there is just a flash play button and no link in the posts in google feed reader, it is a tumblr blog though.

Thanks for that, Alex. I've actually become friends with that guy, he does a nice blog. I think it does come down to that one being a tumblr blog--tumbler hides the location of mp3s.

What I gather is that basically Reader just takes the first URL it finds that ends in ".mp3" and puts that in the built-in player (with the "original audio source" link for whatever reason). The only workaround I can think of right now is putting in a reference to some generic mp3 first in every post that just literally says "please visit musicophiliadaily.wordpress.com to listen to this track" and that will be what gets played in Reader, but that isn't what I really want. I want people to be able to stream the audio in Reader, just not download the source files. . .

Finally a new mix up at Musicophilia:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/electromance1.jpg?w=500&h=500

Various - ‘Electromance’ (1969-2006)

01. Silver Apples - “I Have Known Love” (1969) (3:49)
02. Giorgio Moroder - “From Here to Eternity” (1977) (4:11)
03. Radiohead - “Worrywort” (2001) (4:28)
04. The Knife - “Heartbeats” (2002) (3:51)
05. Prefuse 73 - “Why I Love You” (2003) (2:38)
06. Rachel’s - “Artemisia” (1999) (2:37)
07. Herbert - “The Audience” (2001) (5:45)
08. Arthur Russell - “Just a Blip” (1985) (3:33)
09. Depeche Mode - “I Want You Now” (1987) (3:00)
10. Outkast - “Love In War” (2003) (2:56)
11. Burial - “Distant Lights” (2006) (2:18)
12. Mos Def - “Climb” (1999) (3:58)
13. Prince - “I Wanna Be Your Lover” (1979) (3:04)
14. Vitalic - “U and I” (2005) (2:23)
15. Suicide - “Cheree” (Remix) (1977) (3:20)
16. Kraftwerk - “Computer Love” (1981) (3:19)
17. Laurie Anderson - “Walking & Falling” (1982) (1:53)
18. Scritti Politti - “The Sweetest Girl” (1982) (4:16)
19. Rebecca Gates - “Lure & Cast” (2001) (3:16)
20. Portishead - “It Could Be Sweet” (1994) (4:15)
21. Brian Eno - “By This River” (1977) (2:30)
22. Bjork - “Undo” (2001) (5:41)

[Total Time: 77:00]

Find it here at Musicophilia.

Also, a bunch of good stuff up at Musicophilia Daily last week--Bill Cosby's cosmic free-funk, a great Bjork b-side, Creation, Godley & Creme, Can b-side, The Blue Nile, Bernard Estardy, Japanese No Wave offshoot Friction, a great Wire b-side, The Congos, Daniel Menche, plus two batches of tracks from the 1981 'Briefcase' disc--and a bunch of good stuff coming this week, starting today with a made Burundi recording and unsung Canterbury heroes Caravan. Audio problems seem to be resolved for the time being.

Thanks!

I've got a new idea and I need your help:

Things are still getting cooking over at Musicophilia Daily a few weeks in. Already there have been over 40 tracks shared, numerous links, and even an original review. There’s another feature I’d like to add– but in order to do so I’ll need your participation. I’ve already talked with half a dozen of you whom I know to be talented musicians; I suspect, given the sort of stuff we’re listening to here, that there are many more of you. And I would like to showcase music made by Musicophilia listeners, for other listeners. I know it wouldn’t be the biggest bit of publicity you’re likely to receive, but it would certainly be reaching discerning and passionate ears.

So if you’d like to be featured, leave a comment with a link to your music (be sure to use a working email address–nobody but me will see it). I can’t guarantee anything, but if what you’re doing seems like it might appeal to Musicophilia listeners, I’ll get in touch with you. I’d like to use one or two choice tracks to stream directly in the blog post, along with artwork or a photograph, which I’ll need you to supply; then I’ll write up a snappy blurb, and link to your site(s)/MySpace/Facebook/etc. I feel like this would really add something to what I’m putting together with these two blogs, so I would really appreciate your participation.

Link to the post is here. Please don't be shy! Thanks!

The first non-box set "addendum" mix to '1981' just posted: a DNW compilation of tracks from '81

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/how-to-say-1981-in-german.jpg?w=500&h=500

1 9 8 1 | How To Say 1981 In German

01 Neonbabies - “Profi” [3:51]
02 Absolute Body Control - “Is There an Exit” [4:09]
03 Grauzone - “Ich Lieb Sie” [3:16]
04 Palais Schaumburg - “Gute Luft” [2:38]
05 Beranek - “Crystal Dream” [3:23]
06 Geisterfahrer - “Himmel auf Erden” [1:56]
07 Pyrolator - “Elefantendisco” [3:10]
08 Klopferbande - “Am Hauptfelsen” [4:45]
09 Sudenten Creche - “Are Kisses Out of Fashion?” [3:19]
10 Din a Testbild - “Logischer Gefrierpunkt” [4:11]
11 Kitchen and The Plastic Spoons - “Filmen” [3:35]
12 Metro Pakt - “Neue Straßen” [2:40]
13 Kosmonautentraum - “Kosmonautentraum No. 6″ [1:12]
14 Mythos - “Robot Secret Agents” [3:05]
15 1000 Ohm - “A.G.N.E.S.” [6:22]
16 Les Vampyrettes - “Biomutanten” [4:39]
17 Deutsche Wertarbeit - “Deutscher Wald” [4:01]
18 Matthias Schuster - “Schlaglichter” [2:38]
19 Van Kaye and Ignit - “Opera of Worms” [3:59]
20 Starter - “Part of You” [3:10]
21 Exkurs - “Fakten” [3:55]
22 Weltklang - “Veb Heimat” [2:26]

[Total Time 76:20]

Check it out at Musicophilia.

8th of 9 '1981' mixes is up today-- 'Fire':

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/1981-fire.jpg?w=500&h=500

1 9 8 1 | F i r e

01 A Certain Ratio - Waterline [3:36]
02 New Order - Chosen Time [4:07]
03 Fad Gadget - Make Room (Edit) [3:18]
04 Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics [3:12]
05 David Byrne - The Red House [3:22]
06 Creatures - But Not Them [3:20]
07 Raybeats - Calhoun Surf [1:53]
08 Suburbs - Tired of My Plans [3:33]
09 David Thomas - Crickets in the Flats [4:59]
10 Killing Joke - Butcher (Edit) [3:12]
11 Japan - Talking Drum [3:33]
12 The B-52’s - Give Me Back My Man (Remix) (Edit) [3:04]
13 Lizzy Mercier-Descloux - Room Mate [2:44]
14 The Beat - Too Nice To Talk To [3:08]
15 Lounge Lizards - Do The Wrong Thing [2:39]
16 INXS - Stay Young [3:24]
17 Prince - Controversy [3:28]
18 Talking Heads - Houses in Motion (Edit) [2:51]
19 Bauhaus - Of Lillies & Remains (Edit) [2:51]
20 The Specials - Ghost Town (Edit) [3:47]
21 Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love [4:02]
22 Wire - Midnight Bahnhof Cafe (Edit) [2:38]
23 Family Fodder - Emergency [2:39]
24 Raincoats - Shouting Out Loud [4:54]

[Total Time: 80:14]

Get it at Musicophilia. Only one more to go!

A Musicophilia first just went up: a complete out-of-print post-punk album, one that no one else seems to have shared. It will definitely appeal to fans of the '1981' box set.

Check it out here.

The payoff who clicked through on the above April foolery was this:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/1981_briefcase-small.jpg?w=500&h=500

'1981 Briefcase, Volume 1'

Among the highlights from the twenty artists in this collection: 1000 Ohm, Absolute Body Control, and Beranek (also featured in higher quality as part of the “1981 addendum” mix, ‘How To Say 1981 in German‘); early A Flock of Seagulls and ABC; Adam & The Ants; Alternative TV; 49 Americans side-group Avocados; pre-Bangles The Bangs; The Work-related Black Sheep; Blondie; and Cyndi Lauper’s first foray, Blue Angel, amongst others.

Catch it here, and new tracks each weekend here.

Ha! You totally fooled me! And almost a week after the 1st!

Thing is, Ive always had this fascination with the Seychelles Islands. So the second I saw that a lost classic post-punk album came from there, I clicked away. Great job!

The return of the Musique du Monde label! The third 'Les Miniatures' volume went up today:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/les-miniatures-volume-14.jpg?w=500&h=500

Various Artists - 'Les Miniatures' Volume 14
(10" LP, Musique du Monde, France - 1975)

Side A:
01 [00'00"] Janko NILOVIC - "Flock" (Percussions Dans L'Espace, 1974, Yugoslavia)
02 [01'20"] Shuggie OTIS - "Happy House" (Inspiration Information, 1974, USA)
03 [02'24"] Popol VUH - "Kleiner Krieger" (Einsjager & Siebenjager, 1974, Germany)
04 [03'18"] Penguin CAFE ORCHESTRA - "From the Colonies" (Unreleased, 1975, England)
05 [04'48"] Marvin GAYE - "The Break In (Police Shoot Big)" (Trouble Man, 1972, USA)
06 [06'39"] The RESIDENTS- "Boots" (Meet The Residents, 1974, USA)
07 [07'30"] Bernard PARMEGIANI - "Incidences/Battements" (Unreleased, 1975, France)
08 [09'15"] Curt BOETTCHER - "Without Her" (There's An Innocent Face, 1973, USA)
09 [10'37"] Hugh HOPPER - "Minitrue" (1984, 1973, England)
10 [11'55"] The AGGROVATORS - "I Am Lost Dub" (Unreleased, 1975, Jamaica)
11 [13'38"] KRAFTWERK - "Uranium" (Radio-Activity, 1975, Germany)

Side B:
01 [00'00"] Free DESIGN - "Fugue" (There Is A Song, 1972, USA)
02 [02'00"] David SNELL - "International Flight" (Unreleased, 1973, England)
03 [03'54"] Franco BATTIATO - "Cariocinesi" (Fetus, 1972, Italy)
04 [05'45"] Karl HEINZ SCHAFER - "Kidnapping" (Les Gants Blancs du Diable, 1973, France)
05 [07'04"] Big STAR - "I'm In Love With a Girl" (Radio City, 1974, USA)
06 [08'48"] Brigitte FONTAINE & ARESKI - "Les Petites Madones" (L'Incindie, 1974, France)
07 [09'42"] Barry WHITE - "Stick Up" (Together Brothers, 1974, USA)
08 [11'39"] Bryan FERRY - "Rivers of Salt" (These Foolish Things, 1973, England)
09 [13'22"] Brian ENO - "Another Green World" (Another Green World, 1975, England)

[Total Time: 29' 36"]

Rough translation, back cover text:
"It's a big world--on a small record! This is the groove the world spins on today, with the melodies that get you singing and beats that can't be stopped! Take a trip at thirty-three and a third rotations per minute, the new speed of sound, and get yourself "funkified" These are the tunes that will bounce through the streets in France, in England, in the United States, in Italy, in Jamaica, even in Yugoslavia. You'll get it all with 'Les Miniatures'!"

It's available for download (with a couple streamable sample tracks, if you need convincing) at Musicophilia here.

The ninth of nine main mixes from the '1981' box set is up:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/1981-ice.jpg?w=500&h=500

1 9 8 1 | I c e

01 Holger Czukay - Fragrance (Edit) [3:16]
02 Jerry Harrison - Worlds In Collision [5:03]
03 Comsat Angels - Restless [3:16]
04 Selecter - Their Dream Goes On [3:42]
05 Gun Club - Promise Me [2:37]
06 ESG - You're No Good [3:12]
07 Siouxsie & The Banshees - Into the Light [4:15]
08 Laurie Anderson - O Superman [8:21]
09 Phew - Fragment (Edit) [2:37]
10 Honeymoon Killers - Histoire a Suivre [3:05]
11 The Del-Byzanteens - Girl's Imagination [6:44]
12 Was (Not Was) - Oh, Mr. Friction [3:32]
13 Brian Eno & David Byrne - A Secret Life [2:30]
14 Echo & The Bunnymen - All My Colours [4:03]
15 Material - Square Dance [4:27]
16 Ryuichi Sakamoto - Kachakuchane (Edit) [2:50]
17 Grace Jones - Nightclubbing [5:04]
18 The Slits - Earthbeat (Peel Session) (Edit) [5:44]
19 Robert Wyatt - Born Again Cretin [3:06]
20 Delta 5 - Different Fur [2:37]

It's at Musicophilia; more 1981 stuff is at the 'Briefcase' tracks at Musicophilia Daily. If you've liked the box set, spread the word. Thanks!

Finally got 'em all! Thanx bub!

Collect 'em all! Hope you like the last one, Kevin--one of my faves, and the last one I finished, if I remember correctly.

I'm really enjoying it. Never heard of The Del-Byzanteens before. Worked really well after the Holger Czukay track (also new to me). iTunes was playing the tracks out of order.

How did you program the tracks? Or did I miss that somewhere on the site?

In any event, thanx billions for all your hard work. It's very much appreciated.

I'm not sure I know what you mean by "program" here. . .

Billions! Wow! Thank you, um, googles for listening : )

How did you decide the order of the tracks?

Oh, gotcha. I tend to just pick the tracks I want to be on a mix, maybe a couple extra; then start randomly trying combinations. Nothing too methodical, really. The '1981' set was on a somewhat larger scale, obviously; and I did spend a lot of time on culling and sequencing and getting the levels right and manually removing pops and clicks and all that, but I think the running orders came pretty easily. The set went through three versions, and a couple of the mixes changed a lot.

OK thanx, sounds. Still have only heard bits and pieces. I'll report back with faves whenever I finish the thing.

'1981 Briefcase, Volume 2'

Now that all nine of the main '1981' mixes are available, I'm compiling the 'Briefcase' tracks. 2nd collection (20 tracks) is up today.

A fun one up today: covers of classics (rock, pop, r&b, etc.) by post-punkers. As a bonus, links to all the originals.

Various - No Heroes

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/folder.jpg?w=500&h=500

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/00_various_-_no-heroes_2xlp_1982_sleeve-02_small.jpg?w=500&h=500

Post-punk is often quite catchy in its way, and so there’s plenty of singability, listenability, pop ability on display–some of which actually had some popular impact in the grand tradition of the commercial cover tune. The Beatles get channeled by Yellow Magic Orchestra, The Feelies, and Hecter Zazou. Lee Dorsey and Al Green are both faves, fueling Devo and Trio, Talking Heads and Orange Juice, respectively. There’s Motown and funk love to spare, with A Certain Ratio, Flying Lizards, Soft Cell and The Slits being careful to avoid direct theft they can’t pull off, but honoring the sources with their own quirks firmly displayed. Straight-up pop is in evidence with Lydia Lunch, Tom Tom Club, Lene Lovich, Plastics and Antena joining the Oldies parade–and even Psychedelic Furs tackling “Mack the Knife”. As for the “I Hate Pink Floyd” sentiment, Dolphins aren’t having it, and The Pretenders clearly don’t hate the Kinks. Lizy Mercier-Descloux and the Selecter take you to the movies, and XTC and The Cure of all people show Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix love. The Gun Club reach back to Robert Johnson, and Siouxsie’s Creatures laud The Troggs. Only Bauhaus and Japan cover material you’d think of as post-punk-approved–Eno and The Velvets–but they do it with aplomb. I can’t say most of this music eclipses the originals–be sure to check below for links to all of the source tracks–but it’s all a lot of fun.

Check it out here at Musicophilia.

You do amazing work.

Thanks so much! The artists do the work, I just do my bit to spread the word.

Link to the 'No Heroes' mix was down, it's been fixed. Sorry for any inconvenience.

New mix up that's safe to play around your significant other even if they're not also a music geek. . . Simple, beautiful, spare music.

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/folder2.jpg?w=500&h=500

Various Artists – ‘Still’

Part I
01 [00:00] Giovanni Maria Trabaci – “Toccata Seconda & Ligature Per L’arpa” (1630s)
02 [02:57] Dave Brubeck – “Fujiyama” (1964)
03 [07:54] Mark Hollis – “Inside Looking Out” (1998)
04 [14:06] Brigitte Fontaine & Areski – “Declaration de Sinistre” (1974)
05 [16:11] Noday Family – “Mago Uta” (1968)
06 [18:18] Moondog – “Marimba Mondo 2″ (1977)
07 [23:30] Nick Drake – “Rider On the Wheel” (1970)
08 [26:00] L.S. Gelik – “Bandung (Mang Koko)” (1992)
09 [29:36] Rachel’s – “Egon & Gertie” (1996)
10 [32:35] Nina Simone – “Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair” (1966)

Part II
11 [00:00] Bob Dylan – “Moonshiner” (1963)
12 [05:02] Miles Davis – “In A Silent Way” (1970)
13 [09:12] Joni Mitchell – “A Case of You” (1971)
14 [13:32] Toumani Diabate – “Jarabi” (1989)
15 [18:32] Colin Blunstone – “Though You’re Far Away” (1971)
16 [21:52] Gerald Bole – “Moonlight” (1983)
17 [23:56] Low – “Long Long Long” (1998)
18 [27:41] Keith Jarrett – “Don’t Ever Leave Me” (1999)
19 [30:18] Tongan Folk Musicians – “Faikava Love Song” (1974)
20 [32:58] Arthur Russell – “Our Last night Together” (1986)

[Total Time: 72:24]

Available for download, with streaming samples, at Musicophilia here.

nice. judging from the tracklist, looks like a super-moody mix! i've been falling behind w/ this blog, but i think now is the time to catch up! thanks for all the music ...

Ha, I guess it could be called "moody"--hopefully not in a bad way : )

currently reading this book http://www.musicophilia.com/

i didn't like that book at all. bloated and repetitive. insights into music equal zero. reminded me somehow of allen carr and his books on drugs and dependency. a total waste of time.

i'm kinda feeling you. i studied psychology in college. this just feels like a text book. it's all just about brain injuries. and old people that like classical music.

I thought it was a pleasant read, a few really enjoyable anecdotes, a few really frightening auditory possibilities. It's not a particularly in-depth or sustained thesis, but I didn't get the impression it intended to be.

After a bit of hibernation, including a lovely two week stay in a hospital, Musicophilia should be getting going again. Recently I've been honored to feature guest mixes by the creative minds behind Portland's The Harvey Girls and Chattanooga's Love, Execution Style. They're really eclectic, adding new wrinkles to the blog as well as a good bit of shared spirit with the things I've done there. I hope to be back with *finally* completed mixes of my own--some I've only been working on for months--in the next couple weeks.

Afternöön Röck Blöck

First new mix since escaping the hospital, in the 'Musique du Monde' vein but edging toward the post-punk stuff. Part one of a series of (at least) three:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/folder.jpg?w=500&h=500

Various Artists - 'Le Mystère de la Musique,' Volume One
(Musique du Monde, France - 1977)

A1 [00:00] Henri TEXIER - "Le Piroguier" (Amir, 1976) France
A2 [04:04] Joni MITCHELL - "The Jungle Line" (The Hissing of Summer Lawns, 1975) Canada
A3 [08:25] Arthur RUSSELL - "Goodbye Old Paint" (Unreleased, 1975) USA
A4 [11:52] Osama KITAJIMA - "Tengu, A Long-Nosed Goblin" (Benzaiten, 1974) Japan
A5 [14:47] Bernard PARMEGIANI - "Incidences: Battements" (De Natura Sonorum, 1975) France
A6 [16:30] Lou REED - "Kicks" (Coney Island Baby, 1976) USA

B1 [00:00] Alan PARKER & John CAMERON - "Sahara Sunrise" (Afro Rock, 1973) England
B2 [02:59] Brigitte FONTAINE & ARESKI - "La Harpe Jaune" (Vous et Nous, 1977) France
B3 [05:43] Le ORME - "India" (Contrappunti, 1974) Italy
B4 [08:44] Sun RA - "That's How I Feel" (Unreleased, 1977) USA
B5 [14:07] HARMONIA - "Trace" (Unreleased, 1976) Germany
B6 [15:09] Iggy POP - "Nightclubbing" (The Idiot, 1977) USA
B7 [18:53] Hamilton BOHANNON - "Come Dance With Me" (On My Way, 1977) USA

[Total Time: 45:37]

Rough Translation, Back Cover:
"How does one describe the mystery of music? Perhaps it's best to let music speak for itself: language may get in the way. And so we present 'Le Mystère de la Musique,' which explores the changing sound of a world where borders are disintegrating between sounds, and between people. Across the discs of this series you will find feelings of the night, of the unknown, of the new and as yet undefined. This music refuses to fit itself to the old, established genres and boundaries. Instead, it pushes forward into a future where freedom of expression and breadth of creativity are the central reasons for being. The mystery is not a riddle to be solved: it asks you to revel in the indescribable, the unknown, the journey and not the destination. Open your ears, and your mind will follow, through the mystery of music."

Grab that one here.

I've also added a handy Visual Mix Index since, approaching the 1st birthday of the blog, there are now over 50 mixes. Hope you dig it.

looks good! sorry to hear about the hospital stay, hope everything is better now! was just listening to one of the "Latter Day Can" mixes you made -- some great stuff on there.

Thanks, Tyler. Hope you like this one--there are a couple more going up soon. Late Can definitely doesn't get enough credit--but putting together the post-Can one was revelatory even for me--I'd just never thought of it as a sum-total, but it really adds up into some great stuff.

i don't have much patience for the kraut/postpunk stuff, but sir, your Still mix was probably the best long-playing record i have heard this year. revelatory.

Wow, that's really cool to hear, Sean. I try to make something for (almost) everybody. 'Still' actually ended up being "useful" in the hospital--had it playing during a couple in-room procedures, nurses all commented it was very calming : )

Next volume in the Le Mystère de la Musique series is up. This one has a little more "daylight," a little more song-oriented:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/folder1.jpg?w=500&h=500

Various Artists – ‘Le Mystère de la Musique,’ Volume Two
(Musique du Monde, France – 1977)

A1 [00:00] Kevin AYERS – “Thank You Very Much (Demo)” (Unreleased, 1975) England
A2 [02:56] David BOWIE – “Weeping Wall” (Low, 1977) England
A3 [05:45] Emmanuelle PARRENIN – “Topaze” (Maison Rose, 1977) France
A4 [07:26] Albert MARCOEUR – “Elle Itait Belle” (Album a Colorier, 1976) France
A5 [10:17] Laurie ANDERSON – “It’s Not the Bullet That Kills You” (Airwaves, 1976) USA
A6 [13:55] Robert WYATT – “Song for Che” (Ruth is Stranger Than Richard, 1975) England
A7 [17:28] Roy AYERS – “A Tear To A Smile” (A Tear To A Smile, 1975) USA

B1 [00:00] Luciano CILIO – “Dialoghi dal Presente, Part 3″ (Dialoghi dal Presenti, 1977) Italy
B2 [02:06] TELEVISION – “Prove It” (Marquee Moon, 1977) USA
B3 [07:04] This HEAT – “Basement Boy” (BBC session, 1977) England
B4 [08:40] Augustus PABLO – “East of the River Nile” (East of the River Nile, 1977) Jamaica
B5 [11:28] Lewis FUREY – “Last Night” (Lewis Furey, 1975) Canada
B6 [14:25] Brian ENO – “Aragon” (Unreleased, 1976) England
B7 [15:30] Penguin CAFE ORCHESTRA – “Chartered Flight” (Music From the Penguin Cafe, 1976) England
B8 [21:09] Sibylle BAIER – “The End” (Unreleased, 1974) Germany

[Total Time: 46:56]

Get it here (with several streaming sample tracks).

Awesome tracklist & artwork as usual !

Thanks, sir. Third volume in the series, a much darker affair, coming up next week.

The Musicophilia blog turns one year old today. . .

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/musicophilia-birthdaycake.jpg?w=178&h=242

October 4th marks the one-year anniversary of Musicophilia’s first post and first mix, and in that time the blog has featured almost one mix for every week (indexed here), which between them have been downloaded over 15,000 times with nearly 70,000 views and at least 200 subscribers.

Got a poll up, and a little drawing going for a few CDs (Kluster, David Axelrod, Jean-Jacque Perrey at least) for those who leave a comment. Check it out here.

Part three of the ‘Le Mystère de la Musique‘ trilogy of mid-70s compilations is now up:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/folder3.jpg?w=500&h=500

Various Artists – ‘Le Mystère de la Musique,’ Volume Three
(Musique du Monde, France – 1977)

A1 [00:00] David AXELROD – “Everything Counts” (Heavy Axe, 1975) USA
A2 [06:52] Big STAR – “Nightime” (Unreleased, 1976) England
A3 [09:38] Bob MARLEY – “Jamming (Version)” (Unreleased, 1977) Jamaica
A4 [12:39] Stevie WONDER – “Pastime Paradise” (Songs in the Key of Life, 1976) USA
A5 [16:00] Ennio MORRICONE – “Un Salotto Troppo Elegante” (Stato Interessante, 1977) Italy
A6 [17:47] Roxy MUSIC – “Sentimental Fool” (Siren, 1975) England

B1 [00:00] Jorge BEN – “Errare Humanum Est” (A Tabua de Esmeralda, 1974) Brazil
B2 [04:48] Pere UBU – “Heaven” (”The Modern Dance” single, 1977) USA
B3 [07:52] Willie NELSON – “Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain” (The Red-Headed Stranger, 1975) USA
B4 [10:07] Miles DAVIS – “He Loved Him Madly” (Get Up With It, 1975) USA
B5 [18:54] Lard FREE – “Tatkooz a Roulette” (I’m Around About Midnight, 1975) France
B6 [20:36] CYMANDE – “One More” (Cymande, 1972) Guyana & Jamaica

[Total Time: 46:54]

It's an accessible, deeply funky, but slightly dark and contemplative affair, a counterpoint to the more uptempo feeling of the second volume. I hope you dig it--get it here at Musicophilia.

Also, if you missed it before, if you like the mixes at Musicophilia, please take a moment to participate in the 1st Birthday poll and drop a comment there to be entered in a drawing for free CDs from favorites like David Axelrod, Kluster and Jean-Jacque Perrey.

Just in case you missed it over at the Flaming Lips - 'Embryonic' thread--I've put together a mix inspired by, and possibly digging in the roots of, the Lips' astonishing new album:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/zygotic-small.jpg?w=500&h=500

Various Artists - 'Zygotic' (After the Flaming Lips' 'Embryonic') (2009)

‘Embryonic’s central production feature is the classic Lips technique of very heavily compressing the drums, creating a distorted, absolutely massive sound, this time devoted to more intricate and sexier beats than ever before. Other sonic “solids” are created with stabs of distorted guitar, swooping harps, distant bells, and subtle percussion. But despite these distorted and compressed elements, the music is (literally) highly dynamic, and around and between these sonic boulders and rocks is a beautiful and melodious stream of electric piano and organ, treated vocals, strings and xylophones, and ambient texture. ‘Zygotic‘ recreates this blend from two major strands. First, art rock (Krautrock especially,) sound library and soundtrack music, and fusion jazz–all with drums as huge as possible–recreate the bursting energy and ferocious beats. And second, work from minimalists, hazy psychedelia and musique concrete artists creates the contemplative web of melody and texture that holds the mix together.

From the heavy camp, we have artists like Led Zeppelin (who created the original mammoth rock drum sound) and Miles Davis (with the insanely heavy “Rated X”), early Kraftwerk, Ennio Morricone’s The Feed-Back, the Silver Apples, Jaki Liebezeit-led Can, This Heat’s Charles Hayward, White Noise, Heldon, Joe Ufer, Janko Nilovic and Faust. Adding texture and experimentalism are Tod Dockstader, Jon Appleton, Yoko Ono, Erkki Kurenniemi, Pierre Henry, Dick Raiijmakers, Alvin Curran, Tangerine Dream’s Klaus Schultze, Francois Bayle, and Bernard Parmegiani. And tying it all together with moody beauty are David Axelrod, Roy Budd, Pierre Arvay, Mother Mallard’s Portable Masterpiece Co., Neu, Cluster, Alice Coltrane, Nino Nardini, Egisto Macchi, Joe Meek, Bernard Estardy, Brian Eno, Luciano Cilio, Franco Battiato and the United States of America. Of course, none of these is segregated from the rest, and hopefully it is their intertwining which makes this mix a successful homage to ‘Embryonic‘.

Download the mix here at Musicophilia, and stream the new Flaming Lips album here.

Two new mixes posted since last I updated here. One is a straight-ahead favorites of 2009 (from the perspective of someone picking it up almost by accident); but the more exciting one in my opinion is the following, which began as a "favorites of the decade" mix, but evolved into a much more singular and enveloping sound-journey:

http://musicophilia.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/folder1.jpg?w=500&h=500

'A Decade in the Dark' (2000-2009)

Ten years out from 2019, it’s pretty clear ‘Blade Runner‘ was a little off the mark in terms of flying cars, bio-engineered supermen, a resurgent retro-Deco architecture (alas), and attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. But as this first decade of the new millennium comes to a close, I can’t help but feel like the film nevertheless got more right than we might like to admit. Not the least is the pervading sense of darkness; no, things aren’t literally gritty, wet and ever-dark, but it’s not hard to feel after this bungled decade that things might not be soon enough if things carry on with current trajectory. The upside of this noir condition is that uncertain times, a futurism that isn’t optimism, and the melted cultural edges of an internet age have produced a lot of fantastic music that wouldn’t sound the least bit out of place in the sin dens and street bazaars (and cold storage laboratories) of ‘Blade Runner‘.

01 [00:00] The Knife – “Silent Shout” (Silent Shout, 2006)
02 [04:30] Daniel Menche – “Concussions, Part 2″ (Concussions, 2005)
03 [04:58] Erykah Badu – “The Healer” (New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), 2008)
04 [08:40] Bjork – “Where Is The Line” (Medulla, 2004)
05 [13:17] Burial – “U Hurt Me” (Burial, 2006)
06 [18:29] Portishead – “Machine Gun” (Third, 2008)
07 [23:04] Junior Boys – “When No One Cares” (So This Is Goodbye, 2007)
08 [27:00] Low - “Breaker” (Drums & Guns, 2007)
09 [29:46] Flaming Lips – “See the Leaves” (Embryonic, 2009)
10 [34:08] David Sylvian – “Late Night Shopping” (Blemish, 2003)
11 [36:52] Thom Yorke – “The Clock” (The Eraser, 2006)
12 [41:11] David Thomas & Two Pale Boys – “Surf’s Up” (Surf’s Up!, 2001)
13 [49:42] The For Carnation – “Moonbeams” (The For Carnation, 2000)
14 [59:00] Fennesz – “Onsay” (Venice, 2004)

[Total Time: 60:00]

Get it here at Musicophilia

Went over 20,000 mixes downloaded this week! Totally amazed, and hopefully I've spurred some music purchases.

It's been slow lately, but I've got several series cooking, including a singer-songwriter series, a sound library bunch, and more "post post-punk" 80s/90s/00s mixes.