Mixtape 205 • Holding The Ocean
Enter Tommy Guerrero’s world of light breeze and perfect t-shirt weather.
Enter Tommy Guerrero’s world of light breeze and perfect t-shirt weather.
All hail the mighty kraken — it’s about time some brave band took up the Squid name for themselves.
Out of all the songs to receive Animal Collective’s swirling dayglo treatment, “Jimmy Mack” might be the most unexpected yet the most deserving. Elsewhere tonight, loyal listener Underdog, usually located in the wilds of Georgia, was able to tune in around lunchtime while traveling in Japan, making the second show in a row with a listener based in Asia. Get me marketing!
Always a special treat to be back on the air after missing a show. This is the third show in a year that I’ve started with a Fugazi cover, in this case Failure taking on “Waiting Room” with their trademark grinding, implacable approach. The power of these songs, its distinctive musicality and lyrical content, is undiminished in the hands of any band bold enough to take on the material. Tonight also featured the confluence of several loyal listeners, including James in California, Underdog in Georgia, and Charley who is on South Korea time and got to take benefit from the time zone.
Sure, we’ve all heard of the Eiffel Tower, but what do we know about the architect whose name it bears? April March breaks it all down on this version of the Pixies’ song. Also in this show, a special-delivery track from Planets in the Ocean, a new project from one of my favorite vocalists, Robb Benson.
Why had I not heard of this Zach Hill (Death Grips, Hella) side project before? The I.L.Y.s hit a lot of my targets — noisy, harshly pop, and completely willing to blur the line between the analog and the digital. The video for tonight’s feature track is also something to behold, though I’d avoid it if you have a thing about bugs. Lots of bugs.
The effervescent jangle of German trio A Tale of Golden Keys is intricately engineered to make your ears ask “what was that?”
It’s easy to suspect Ray LaMontagne came from a recently unearthed time capsule documenting the folkie scene of half a century ago.
Pitch perfect UK reggae from the Slits vocalist, full of heavenly harmonies and thumping bass.
Even obscurists get to form supergroups, and Filthy Friends is one of the top entries in that category, with membership from Sleater-Kinney, the Young Fresh Fellows, the Fastbacks, and more.