The Return of The Mixtape - the September 2024 Spin Challenge!

Day 18 - Audio code for computers
Play something that makes you think of video games, preferably classic 80’s games. Or play something electronic.

Floating Points - Cascade

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Had my initial listen to this last week while driving into Portland for record shopping the day after I returned from Hawaii. I decided to get this on my stop in Super-Electric Records. Absolutely stellar tech house record. Electronic music has been quite strong in 2024, especially among the casual indieheads with a late push, and there's still a few more notable names to drop (Kelly Lee Owens, Caribou, Boards of Canada, and a few others). You can bet this will be in my favorites of the year list.
I won't argue against having another house record to bolster future DJ sets. Sam Shepard is back in his bag.
 
Fleetwood-Matt said:
One of my absolute favorite albums of the decade so far. Also reminded me that one of the coolest things I have in my collection in a flexi disc she did with the title track and “Don’t Start Now” the she released for her Grammy for your consideration campaign
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Right on. 🔥
Wicked Dreamer said:
“Good In Bed” is a decent song tho the sound doesn’t mesh with the rest of the album imo
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This has grown on me since the release year. It's not bad. If only Stuart Price took wheel of the production of that track and the last (tho the final cut is kinda unsalvageable)...
 
Day 20 – The old well-worn favorite mixtape
Your favorite mixed tape
You popped it into the deck
Don't care if it's out of date
Ol' Cat Power and classic Beck
-The Tragically Hip, Coffee Girl (from We Are The Same, 2009)
Play something that has stayed on constant rotation for you over the years.

Maybe not constant, but many many many spins.

I'll add The Wizard to my playlist because, well, it's The fucking WIZARD.
(sorry for the swear)

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Day 21 - The road trip mixtape
“Sometimes all I want is to head West on 20 in a car I can't afford, with a plan I don't have, just me, my music, and the road” – Deborah, Baby Driver (directed by Edgar Wright, 2017).
Cassettes found a perfect home in car stereos.
Play something that you feel is great to accompany a road trip

My wife and I have taken countless roadtrips, short and long. We travel well together for sure. This one, first on CD, then iPod, then streaming, has been on our roadtrip playlists for a long time. It's always great to have a record that you both sing along to...

For the playlist song, I'll go with The Distance. It was the song that first directed me towards Cake. I'll add one for my wife, she's partial
to Race Car Ya-Yas.

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Playlist
Social Distortion - Cold Feelings
Led Zeppelin - Friends
The Beatles - I’ve Just Seen a Face
Nina Simone - Feeling Good
Waylon Jennings - Gold Dust Woman
The Gourds - Gin and Juice
Steve Earle - Burnin' it Down
My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves
Tom Waits - 9th and Hennepin
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - Between the Mustard and the Mayo
Joni Mitchell - Nancy Whiskey
Antonio Carlos Jobim - Sabia
Rolling Stones - Bitch
The Doors - Not to Touch the Earth
The Police - Demolition Man
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke
Carole King - So Far Away
Billy Squier - In the Dark
Jim O'Rourke - 94 the Long Way
Black Sabbath - The Wizard
Cake - The Distance/Race Car Ya-Yas
 
Day 25 – The Boom Box
Play something that might be good to breakdance to. Make Phil Wizard and Ray Gun proud.

De La Soul "De La Soul Is Dead" (1991 Tommy Boy; 2019 club reissue)
I'm going with A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturday", which should work well for breakdancing to and fits nicely in the mix.

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1. Thundercat "Oh Sheit It's X"
2. ABC "Poison Arrow"
3. Elvis Costello "The Beat"
4. Serge Gainsbourg "Requiem Pour Un Twisteur"
5. Camp Lo "Nicky Barnes aka It's Alright"
6. Theophilus London feat. Solange and Devonté Hinds "Flying Overseas"
7. War "The Cisco Kid"
8. Bob Marley & The Wailers "Roots Rock Reggae"
9. MC Solaar "Interlude"
10. Kaytranada "Dance Dance Dance Dance"
11. The Brooks "Drinking"
12. Les Rita Mitsouko "Andy"
13. INXS "Need You Tonight"
14. David Bowie "Fame"
15. Stevie Wonder "Sir Duke"
16. The Clash "This Is Radio Clash"
17. King Curtis "Whole Lotta Love (live)"
18. Blur "Jubilee"
19. Gorillaz "Dare"
20. Jean Leloup "Le Monde Est A Pleurer"
21. Talking Heads "Slippery People (live)"
22. Todd Rundgren "Wolfman Jack"
23. Toro Y Moi "Postman"
24. Prince "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore"
25. De La Soul "A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday"
 
Day 19 – Fast-Forward and Rewind
Play an album you feel must be listened to in its entirety.

Mr. Bungle - California

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I can't remember the last time I've listened to just a lone number on here, it's always been straight through. Not saying there aren't worthy standalone tracks, as it's one of my top50 all time. "Sweet Charity" might fool an unsuspecting listener thinking that California is a tropical, surfy paradise instead into the genre mishmash that it is.
Speaking of the tropical-sounding "Sweet Charity," I have yet to share my Hawaii visit having returned this past week. I will get to it...sometime.
 
Day 20 – The old well-worn favorite mixtape
Play something that has stayed on constant rotation for you over the years.

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

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Also one of my top50 all time. Ever since high school, this has been in my rolodex of memories and gets at least one play every year.
 
Day 21 - The road trip mixtape
Play something that you feel is great to accompany a road trip.

Jamie XX - In Colour

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Combined with the windows rolled down on the highway, this record feels something special. Embodying a primal aura of the gathering at a party or festival.
 
Day 25 – The Boom Box
Play something that might be good to breakdance to. Make Phil Wizard and Ray Gun proud.

If we are going to include an Australian breakdancer, we should include an Australian rapper for her to dance to. Which I think is limited to exactly one in my collection. Ambrose gets the nod for Grim Reaper here.

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard ~ Omnium Gatherum

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Day 22 - The auto-reverse function
You need to flip the tape from side A to side B to continue playing it… unless your deck has an auto-reverse function, then it can play the opposite side backwards.
Play something with so many record flips you wish you could have the equivalent of an auto-reverse function on your turntable.

Lotsa flippin...

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Day 23 – Sending mixtapes in the mail
“And you should actually make me a tape for once, because, Joshua, I am the only person in this world who actually likes you.” – message on mixtape, Jake Adelstein listening on Walkman to tape he received from his sister in America, while walking in the streets of Tokyo circa 1995 (Tokyo Vice, created by JT Rogers, 2022-2024)
One of the things we used to do with mixtapes was send them off in the mail to distant loved-ones. I remember sending one to my wife while she was doing a summer course in China in 1998. That one had a mix of French and English tracks I dubbed off a bunch of my CD’s and it ended up getting a lot of play with the Montrealers with her there on the stereo of the bus that would take them around to different sites.
Play something from a country far away from you, or play something that references the mail in any way.

Ride - Going Blank Again

Not only is Oxford really far from here, album closer "OX4" gets its title from a postal code in the city.

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jamieanderson1968 said:
Day 23 – Sending mixtapes in the mail
Play something from a country far away from you, or play something that references the mail in any way.

GBV - King Shit & the Golden Boys (Postal Blowfish)
Originally only available as part of the GBV box set, an odds and sods compilation of unreleased songs. But at the time GBV cast offs were better than a lot of band’s A-material.
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Scooped!
 
Day 24 – Scotch tape and the record/play-only tabs
Scotch tape and cassettes, another relationship that is very familiar to those that grew-up during that era but not necessarily to those born later. So how do you prevent having your tape accidentally recorded over? By breaking the little tabs on the top of the cassette. Commercial cassettes actually came without tabs – so with holes in those positions – to prevent accidentally recording over them. But you could restore recordability with a little piece of Scotch tape to cover the hole (although you would get mixed results if you tried it on commercial albums, because of the chemistry of the tape, which regular decks could not handle) .
Play a record that would be perfect if it was not for that one track that you find just messes it up. Imagine you could just record over it, is there any other track you would replace it with (say a single or B-side from that era)?

R.E.M. - Green

I actually don't mind "Stand" as a dumb fun single, but I never really felt it fit in the middle of the album.

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Day 26 – The romantic mix
Play something romantic or play something by one of the bands from the “new romantics” movement of the 80’s.

Duran Duran "Rio" (1982 EMI Japan)
Here it is. Needed to drop this at some point. Had at least two other prompts where it was close, but this is it. New Romantic movement band and a classic "Turbo" record. Adding "My Own Way" into the mix.

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1. Thundercat "Oh Sheit It's X"
2. ABC "Poison Arrow"
3. Elvis Costello "The Beat"
4. Serge Gainsbourg "Requiem Pour Un Twisteur"
5. Camp Lo "Nicky Barnes aka It's Alright"
6. Theophilus London feat. Solange and Devonté Hinds "Flying Overseas"
7. War "The Cisco Kid"
8. Bob Marley & The Wailers "Roots Rock Reggae"
9. MC Solaar "Interlude"
10. Kaytranada "Dance Dance Dance Dance"
11. The Brooks "Drinking"
12. Les Rita Mitsouko "Andy"
13. INXS "Need You Tonight"
14. David Bowie "Fame"
15. Stevie Wonder "Sir Duke"
16. The Clash "This Is Radio Clash"
17. King Curtis "Whole Lotta Love (live)"
18. Blur "Jubilee"
19. Gorillaz "Dare"
20. Jean Leloup "Le Monde Est A Pleurer"
21. Talking Heads "Slippery People (live)"
22. Todd Rundgren "Wolfman Jack"
23. Toro Y Moi "Postman"
24. Prince "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore"
25. De La Soul "A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday"
26. Duran Duran "My Own Way"
 
Day 26 – The romantic mix
Play something romantic or play something by one of the bands from the “new romantics” movement of the 80’s.

According to my very unscientific study (one ranker list) The Human League is the second best New Romantic band, beat out by Duran Duran. This KTEL comp kicks off with Don't You Want me, so that gets on the playlist next.

Various Artists ~ Hit Express

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Day 27 – Your friend, your psychiatrist, your solace
Play a record you turn to when you need music to be your friend.

José James "1978" (2024 Rainbow Blonde)
I sort of snookered myself a bit with this one because there isn't any single record I turn to when I'm looking for solace. Sure, there are records that I've had on regular rotation for decades, but, usually, I turn to music in general when I need to change my mind. Often, it's whatever my current favorite is at the moment. And right now, a record I turn to a lot is this one. It's such a beautiful soul album, ranging from fun to serious themes, very much like classic soul records of the 70's. For the mix, I'm going with Planet Nine.

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1. Thundercat "Oh Sheit It's X"
2. ABC "Poison Arrow"
3. Elvis Costello "The Beat"
4. Serge Gainsbourg "Requiem Pour Un Twisteur"
5. Camp Lo "Nicky Barnes aka It's Alright"
6. Theophilus London feat. Solange and Devonté Hinds "Flying Overseas"
7. War "The Cisco Kid"
8. Bob Marley & The Wailers "Roots Rock Reggae"
9. MC Solaar "Interlude"
10. Kaytranada "Dance Dance Dance Dance"
11. The Brooks "Drinking"
12. Les Rita Mitsouko "Andy"
13. INXS "Need You Tonight"
14. David Bowie "Fame"
15. Stevie Wonder "Sir Duke"
16. The Clash "This Is Radio Clash"
17. King Curtis "Whole Lotta Love (live)"
18. Blur "Jubilee"
19. Gorillaz "Dare"
20. Jean Leloup "Le Monde Est A Pleurer"
21. Talking Heads "Slippery People (live)"
22. Todd Rundgren "Wolfman Jack"
23. Toro Y Moi "Postman"
24. Prince "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore"
25. De La Soul "A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday"
26. Duran Duran "My Own Way"
27. José James "Planet Nine"
 
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