Whoa,
Been a while. Not too cool, but this is Fucking Lame Shit. I've kind of been sitting on this mix for a while and it finally started getting uncomfortable. First things first - I love mixes. Ever since I heard the last 40 mins of DJ Shadow's BBC Radio 1 essential mix, which comprised of near untraceable, practically nameless incredible psych with it's eery, religious overtones not to mention the flawless transitions therein, I was in it for good.
The notions of band names, personas, and time periods just seem to vanish in a mix, which was a new and refreshing concept to me when I first got turned onto the whole idea - the songs that once had a context within all of the above mentioned traits of a musical group were place on their own in an entirely new context, where the song had to speak for itself. When it's placed in between the right tunes, a song can take on a new appeal, and if it's done right, the listening experience can be spine-tingling. Another one of the merits of a good mix is that you might not just discover a new favorite band, but dozens of them. Ok, perhaps the song that made it onto the mix was the best that a certain group had to offer, but it always got me doing a fair amount of google detective work.
The people at online stations like Dublab, Viva Radio, and at blogs like Lovefingers all value and offer great mixes, the kind that have kept me looking and listening for more. Some of your favorite musicians in this day and age might take it upon themselves to put mixes out there, and recently sites like muxtape.com have allowed pretty much anyone with an internet connection to host their mixes freely on the 'net. If you dig electro parties or electronic music in general, it is very likely that you appreciate a good mix; great DJs can keep a party going for hours based on their mixing strengths, and it always gets the crowd off to hear one of their favorite jams creeping up on them at the end of a groovy beat, only to lead into the song that they've been waiting to hear all night.
Enough obvious ramble though, I'd hate to place too much emphasis on the mixer, although I tend to idolize them myself - I suppose it just makes me happy to hear that some folks have a startlingly unique ear for music. Yet tons of people, musicians or not, make mixes, for friends or lovers, to capture some moment in time. What I'm putting out here for you is a sort of a collection of songs that could capture this moment in time for me, but I am really trying to make something that both you and I can listen to and associate with good days to come. I call this series No Ego because I'm just trying to cut the bullshit. I believe that these are good songs, not exactly obscure, but rather a little less commonplace. Of course I hope that these songs sound new and interesting to you, but also easy to tune into and eventually, get lost in.
This mix focuses on love. I could've gathered tons of love songs, or just picked a bunch of songs that concern love and lovers. Wait, no I couldn't have, because there are a million fucking songs about love, it's practically never ending. Alright then, instead I just chose some tunes that sounded like love, hence the title. Whether in the lyrics or the music itself, these songs just sound like love to me, simply put. Either totally free, uppity, or miserable, these things all come with love in the sense that they are that much more expressive than your average rocky, droney, or dancey song. Don't get me wrong though, background music is something I can appreciate too.
Well, I already have a couple more stewing around in my head, but I'm not about to haphazardly rush them along their respective thematic guidelines, so be patient. The time has come for myself and all of you to be legit and rad, so I'll stop myself here because I'm not about to demystify anything more than I already have.
...although if you want a tracklisting, just ask.
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No Ego 1: Sounds Like Love
