I’m late posting my July Mix of covers… Although I appear to also be the first to post. I guess summer in Seattle gets busy for folks…

Aiko’s Covers Mix

1. The Origin of Love—Rufus Wainwright (from Hedwig & the Angry Inch)
2. Bigmouth Strikes Again—Placebo (The Smiths)
3. Street Spirit—The Darkness (Radiohead)
4. Satisfaction (I Can’t Get No)—Devo (The Rolling Stones)
5. Indian Summer—Luna (Beat Happening)
6. Romeo And Juliet—The Killers (Dire Straits)
7. Can’t Take My Eyes Off You—Muse (Frankie Valli)
8. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa—Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel (Vampire Weekend)
9. Here Comes the Sun—Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel (The Beatles)
10. Burn Rubber—Bright Eyes (Simon Joyner)
11. Sweet Child o’ Mine—Taken By Trees (Guns ‘n Roses)
12. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door—Antony & The Johnsons (Bob Dylan)
13. Let’s Dance—M. Ward (David Bowie)
14. Cosmic Dancer—Morrissey (T. Rex)
15. Mad World—Gary Jules (Tears for Fears)
16. Bizarre Love Triangle—Frente (New Order)
17. The Origin of Love—Jonathan Richman (from Hedwig & the Angry Inch)
18. Tumbling Down—The Venus in Furs* (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)

I didn’t follow my own suggestion of making a CD with the originals, because I’m missing some (my collection tends to be spotty with classics, like I’m missing those Bob Dylan and Stones and Beatles songs). What can I say, you can’t always get what you want.

*The Venus in Furs is a band that was made just for the movie Velvet Goldmine…

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My thought with this mix was to have some stereotypically dude music mixed in with not so stereotypically dude music (with nonetheless “dude” themes) that gets progressively more out of hand until Slayer pushes us over the edge and fades out with fifty seconds of static and feedback. After that there are some songs that just kinda make fun of dudes who have no direction and party too hard.

Download Aiko’s Dude Party Mix

1. Kansas- Carry on Wayward Son
2. Fear- I Love Livin’ in the City
3. Guns N’ Roses- Sweet Child O’ Mine
4. AC/DC- You Shook Me All Night Long
5. The Darkness- Knockers
6. Twisted Sister- We’re Not Gonna Take It
7. The Murder City Devils- Rum and Whiskey
8. Placebo- Spite & Malice
9. The Vibrators- Rip Up The City
10. System of a Down- Violent Pornography
11. Slayer- Raining Blood

12. Cake- Rock ‘n’ Roll Lifestyle
13. Bangs- He’s a Groupie
14. !!!- All My Heroes Are Weirdos
15. Patrik Fitzgerald- All My Friends Are Dead Now
16. The Unicorns- Ready To Die

Of this music I would like to say 1) I unironically like System of a Down, 2) I originally had Ultimate Dude Andrew WK’s “Ready to Die” on here, but thought it would be funnier to end with the Unicorn’s song of the same name, and 3) I think that Placebo song with its refrain of “Drugs, guns, fucking in the streets… Revolution!” might just be the most badass song on here.

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Straight-up mainstream, commercial music is often the best summer music I think: stuff everybody knows and everybody can sing along with.  Stuff that’s playing on the radio and blasting from everybody’s car stereo.  This is a mix of that music with some old songs, newer songs, and random upbeat tracks from otherwise not super summery albums.  Some of these songs I associate with specific summers, some of them I just think you can groove to.  The first CD is more upbeat stuff; it’s road-trip tested and approved.  The second mix is more for chilling out.  I put these together so they work as either one long mix or as individual mixes.

Click on the title to download each mix.

Disc 1: Heating Up
1.    Hazel Eyes—The Darkness
2.    You Shook Me All Night Long—AC/DC
3.    Kids In America—The Muffs
Just try not to drive fast with the windows down while listening to this song.
4.    You! Me! Dancing!—Los Campesinos
If you’ve never seen these guys live and get an opportunity, I highly recommend it.  So much energy, so much fun.
5.    Mardy Bum—Arctic Monkeys
6.    The Modern Age—The Strokes
7.    Together Forever In Love—Go Sailor
8.    I Was Born (A Unicorn)—The Unicorns
This is off Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone, which is one of my favorite albums of all time and I can listen to in any season.  But this song is especially good in summer.
9.    Take It Off—Dick Dale
Clearly, the king of the surf guitar belongs on a summer mix.
10.     Hey Ya—Outkast
I strongly associate this song with the summer of ‘04.  It was featured at every house party I went to.
11.    Move Your Feet—Junior Senior
Ditto with this song.
12.    Pacemaker—Jamie T
This album, Panic Prevention, is one of my favorites.  Also good any time of year.
13.    Si Señor—Control Machete
This is possibly my favorite summer jam in this whole mix.  It’s just this kind of menacing sounding Mexican rap.  The thing about it is, the worse your stereo, the better it sounds.  I love driving to it; I have a pretty crummy car stereo.
14.    Random—Lady Sovereign
15.    Shut The Club Down—Girl Talk
Girl Talk=instant dance party.
16.    I Can’t Get You Out Of My Head—Kylie Minogue
I should feel shame for how much I love this song, but I don’t.  Also a classic from my pre-21 house party days.
17.    Canned Heat—Jamiroquai
Another one that was big at house parties when I was 19, pre-Napoleaon Dynamite.
18.    Crazy—Gnarls Barkley
Nothing says summer ‘06 to me like this song.
19.    No One—Alicia Keys
Crank this and drive.

Disc 2: Cooling Down
1.    You’re Gorgeous—Baby Bird
Because what says summer more than a semi-exploitative fling?
2.    Gemini (Birthday Song)—Why?
3.    Temptation—New Order
4.    Niagara Falls—Harlem Shakes
If you talk to me about music for more than two minutes, you’ll likely learn of my love of this band.  After at least three years together, their first album, Technicolor Health, finally came out in March, and I listen to it about once a day. It’s a good one for spring and summer.
5.    Lovedust—Luna
6.    For the Actor—Mates Of State
Not really what I’d think of as a summery band, but if some cruise line can use this song to sell vacations, I figure it fits on here.
7.    Climbing—Persephone’s Bees
8.    Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town—Talking Heads
I’m super into this as a sumer jam right now.
9.    Dancing In The Street—The Mamas & The Papas
10.    Don’t You Just Know It—The Sonics
Some classic local flavor.
11.    Parties In The U.S.A.—Jonathan Richman
12.    Shake-N-Stomp—Dick Dale
13.    Hot Fun In The Summer Time—Sly & The Family Stone
The informal survey this month’s mixes suggests this might be the most-included song this time around.
14.    Wait Till The Summer Comes Along—The Kinks
15.    Muriel The Actor—Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
I love Steve Harley and this album, The Human Menagerie, is great summer listening.  I’m into anything with a calypso sound to it.
16.    Jogging Gorgeous Summer—Islands
17.    Don’t Look Back—David Lindley

Enjoy!

xo
Aiko

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I wrote an epic novel for my liner notes, and I will post the Cliffs notes soon.

Here’s my tape:

And here’s my track listing, in rough chronological order of my life:

1.    Red River Valley—Larry Groce & Disneyland Children’s Sing-Along Chorus
2.    Bye Bye Love – David Lindley
3.    All That She Wants – Ace of Base
4.    Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again—Andrew Lloyd Weber
5.    Glycerine – Bush
6.    Name – The Goo Goo Dolls
7.    The Man Who Sold the World – Nirvana
8.    Cabaret—John Kander & Frank Ebb
9.    The Boxer—Simon and Garfunkel
10.    Late Night, Maudlin Street—Morrissey
11.    1963 – New Order
12.    Baby Baby—The Vibrators
13.    Tumbling Down—The Venus in Furs
14.    My Only Vice—Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
15.    Haligh, Haligh, A Lie, Haligh—Bright Eyes
16.    Agenda Suicide—The Faint
17.    Instant Pleasure—Rufus Wainwright
18.    Glendora—Rilo Kiley
19.    Virgin with a Memory—Destroyer
20.    I Will Find You—Simon Joyner
21.    Strictly Game—Harlem Shakes
22.    Come Sail Away—Styx

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Sad Bastard mix:

Carissa’s Wierd-A Loose Hair Falls Into A Glass Of Water Without Ice
Silver Jews-Like Like The The The Death
Songs: Ohia-Tigress
The Go-Betweens-Love Goes On
Echo & The Bunnymen-The Killing Moon
Kim Carnes-Bette Davis Eyes
Hot Chip-Look After Me
Antony & The Johnsons-Hope There’s Someone
Eels-It’s A Motherfucker
Fences-The Same Tattoos
Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins-Happy
Gillian Welch-Dear Someone
Lucinda Williams-Price To Pay
Johnny Cash-Sunday Morning Coming Down
Simon Joyner-I Wrote a Song About the Ocean

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