HEADPHONE ODYSSEY THETA
Cross Jordan Singers – Out On The Ocean
The Beatles – Because
Gruff Rhys – Skylon
Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi’s Dead
Nikitch – Don’t Know Why
Adele – Love Song
Sufjan Stevens – Impossible Soul (shorter edit)
MIX NOTES
Offering – Gil Scott and the Midnight Band at their absolute peak, from 1975’s “The First Minute Of A New Day”. Just something smooth and mellow to set the mood.
Out On The Ocean – A gospel outfit out of Nashville that LOKEE schooled me on. Formed in 1947 and lasted through the 80s. “While an exact date for ‘Out on the Ocean’ has been hard to track down due to it not being released upon its recording, it was eventually released on ‘Who Will Wake Me in The Morning’, a 1965 LP put together by Sphere Sound. SS was Larry Utall’s (Bell Records owner) attempt to enter the mid-sixties ‘oldies’ market by releasing a mixture of out of print and never released sides from Blues and Gospel labels.” My dude knows his shit.
Because – an acapella version that was re-mastered for that weird Beatles Cirque Du Soleil thing. Just nice to hear the fab four with everything else stripped away – especially in headphones.
Skylon – this is an epic and hilarious 15 minute song from Welsh poet/singer/songwriter Gruff Rhys, about a guy sitting on an airplane next to a TV actress that he loathes. Then the plane gets highjacked. Then it turns out, he is an expert bomb defuser, but then he wonders if he should let the bomb explode simply to rid the world of this horrible TV actress.
Bela Lugosi’s Dead – I had too many stoned high school memories of Bauhaus so I put myself on a self-imposed 30 year hiatus. I am now peering back into the coffin and remembering why this song is so great. In retrospect it almost sounds like Bill Laswell covering Grace Jones.
Don’t Know Why – Nikitch is French producer Nicolas Morant, who makes footwork and trap beats with some subtle density many others lack.
Love Song – Try as I may, I simply can’t hate on Adele. The girl can sang. And she does a slow samba cover of The Cure? Count me in.
Impossible Soul (shorter edit) – Sufjan fans will point you to this 25 minute jam as irrevocable proof of his genius. I’m not sure what to call it, but if nothing else, I continue to admire his daring and ambition. He is definitely on some completely other shit. I had to edit out a good 10 minutes of this just to fit in on the mix. Enjoy.
