Playlist: A Lazy Shade Of Winter Mix (12-01-2010)

"Mixtape" is a simulatenously dated yet timeless term. I recall recording songs off the local oldies radio station (Oldies 103.3 WODS-Boston) onto cassettes in my bedroom in middle school so I could listen to stuff like "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Riders on the Storm" without waiting for the DJ to cycle through his library of 87 songs and get back to the one I wanted to hear. On the other hand, I recall the all-too-short days of Muxtape (five fucking months!) when users could create digital mixes for other users to peruse; now, the site is just a photo of cassette and nothing else, thanks to the generous folks at the RIAA. And now, it seems like cassettes are becoming more popular in some circles for the collecting/nostalgia/tangibility aspect of them, while some are just capitalizing on this feeling and incorporating it into more modern technology (see: the mixtape USB drive). So what's my point? No matter what the format, people will always be looking to share music and, specifically, music organized in a way that makes sense to them in a meaningful way, whatever meaning that may be. In my short time on earth, the only thing I can really say for certain about humankind is that we have a tendency and desire to extract order from chaos, in direct violation of the second law of thermodynamics, and musical mixes and playlists are but a small, yet immensely enjoyable, way of doing just that.

So here I present the first post in an indeterminately ongoing series of musical mixes. Every once in a while, when I feel so inclined, I'll share a playlist of songs that I've been jamming lately or just really like or feel strongly about or think you will enjoy or . . . whatever. They may or may not represent my mood and they may or may not just be great tunes, in general, so try not to read too much or too little into the songs themselves or the mix as a whole. There, vague enough for ya?

This first mix is somewhat punnily titled "A Lazy Shade Of Winter" since we seem to be reluctantly and dazedly slipping into the shallow end of the winter months here in Pittsburgh, it being December 1st already and yet the dreary, drizzling, coldish rainy weather tells me that the goddess of seasonal change is only just stepping off of the autumnal ledge and dipping her anthropomorphic toe into the pool of wintry wondrousness. I am, in fact, looking forward to flurries and hats and gloves and scarves and boots and hot chocolate and seeing my breath the minute I open the door to my apartment building even though I haven't stepped outside yet. In the meantime, I'm totally cool with hanging back with Mother Nature and saying, "Hang on a sec, Winter, I'm feelin' lazy, I'll be with you soon..."

A Lazy Shade Of Winter Mix (11-30-2010)
mixed by Brendan Sullivan
1) Tama Impala / "Solitude Is Bliss" / Innerspeaker (2010) Modular Recordings
2) The Spires / "Held" / Curved Space EP (2010) Beehouse Records
3) Beach Fossils / "Lazy Day" / Beach Fossils (2010) Captured Tracks
4) The National / "Anyone's Ghost" / High Violet (2010) 4AD
5) Lohio / "Wind and Leaves" / Family Tree EP (2010) self-released
6) The Greenhornes / "The Way It's Meant To Be" / Dual Mono (2002) Telstar Records
7) Electrelane / "To The East" / No Shouts, No Calls (2007) Too Pure
8) Neva Dinova / "Ahh" / The Hate Yourself Change (2005) Crank! A Record Company
9) Warpaint / "Undertow" / The Fool (2010) Rough Trade
10) Of Montreal / "Famine Affair" / False Priest (2010) Polyvinyl
11) Disappears / "Magics" / Lux (2010) Kranky
12) Buildings Breeding / "Emmawood" / In The Key Of Calloused Fingers (2009) Devil In The Woods
13) The Greenhornes / "There Is An End" / Dual Mono (2002) Telstar Records
14) Dandelion Snow / "The Grand Scheme Of Things" / The Grand Scheme Of Things (2010) Big Bullet Records
15) Sebadoh / "Soul and Fire" / Bubble And Scrape (1993) Sub Pop
16) Dr. Dog / "Jackie Wants a Black Eye" / Shame Shame (2010) ANTI-



(download mp3 here)

[Note: I obviously do not own any of the copyrights to the music contained herein, so if you really want to crack down, bemyfuckingguest. To the rest of you, please go out and support these artists if you like them; I've included them here because I sincerely enjoy their music and want others to experience it, too. So, basically, I want this to be shared with as many people as possible but only if I know that, somehow, it will help support the musicians represented here. Do what you can, and the rest will work itself out.]

Video jams, upcoming concert: Dandelion Snow / "The Grand Scheme Of Things" and White Wives / "Hungry Ghost"

Artist: Dandelion Snow
Song: "The Grand Scheme Of Things"
Album: The Grand Scheme Of Things
Label: Big Bullet Records
Released: June 1, 2010

Dandelion Snow is the stage name of singer/songwriter Roger Harvey, who has laid claim to NYC, Portland and Pittbsburgh as home towns. I somehow stumbled on his blog/website a couple months ago, and then saw that he was on the bill for a local show I was definitely attending and got pretty excited. I'd been jamming this track periodically since finding it. The guitar twang and throbbing organ and buried banjo lines and rollicking drums . . . it's fucking perfect for tapping your finger on the steering wheel as you coast down an empty highway. And that's what I'm thinking about as I listen to it, tapping my toe on the floor as if I were pushing down on the gas pedal and staring at the white walls of my bedroom like it's a window to the flat, corn-filled skyscapes of Kansas. Wistful and wishful thinking, I know, but anything that can remind me of the greatness that is On The Road earns a place in my mind and heart. The lyrics do wonders to help this comparison, too, discussing a cross-the-country-and-back-again road trip slash musical tour full of truck stop sleeping, violent rednecks, record shopping, the fuzz, drinking, gambling, awesome times, etc. And the video has some old-timey, grainy footage of driving and a little boy who's running around looking for his place in . . . well, the grand scheme of things.



[I thoroughly enjoyed his live set at the Lava Lounge last week, too. Stay tuned for a show review; live video here: part 1 part 2]

Dandelion Snow's website mentions another band he is now a part of, and I've done some internet searching and figured out that White Wives is a punk band featuring Roger Harvey (DS), Chris Barker and Chris Head (from fucking Anti-Flag!), Andy T. (bassist of The Code), and Tyler Kweder (drummer of American Armada). The band has been on a November tour with The Lawrence Arms, and they will be playing in Pittsburgh on December 28 at Garfield Artworks. The lineup looks to be heavy on the in-your-face punk, which is quite different from Dandelion Snow, but I'm looking forward to seeing what that's like. See ya there. Here's a live White Wives song called "Hungry Ghost":

///WHITE.WIVES\\\ HUNGRY GHOSTS. INITIAL HAPPENING. Sept. 3rd 2010 from White Wives on Vimeo.

Dandelion Snow
Website (sign up for the mailing list there and get a free mp3)
MySpace
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Bandcamp
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Reverb Nation
Album reviews of The Grand Scheme Of Things: 1 2

White Wives
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Concert review / upcoming show: Big Snow Big Thaw

Sunday, October 24, 2010 at a cozy house in East Liberty



Okay, this is partly a joke and partly serious :-) Big Snow Big Thaw is actually my buddy Jim (from Draw Us Lines) and his friend Dave, who I've met a few times now. I forget which one is Snow and which one is Thaw, so they'll have to set you straight on that. This wasn't quite a "concert" in the sense of the shows that I usually attend; this was an informal gathering of friends and acquaintances on a beautiful Sunday morning in the fine autumn time for some pancakes and coffee and a serenade of songs from the two aforementioned gentlemen. I have to say I wasn't entirely thrilled at the prospect of bussing to East Liberty at 10:00 a.m. after a late Saturday night, but in the end, I'm really glad I did. This place was at the end of the street in a quiet neighborhood with a fenced in yard so the extremely energetic puppy dog could run around freely. There were a dozen or so folks there, in all, with a few faces I recognized and some new people to meet. We were served vegan banana pancakes and maple syrup from an old rum bottle, plus a spread of delicious fruit, and a plate of bacon for the meat-eaters. Oh yeah, there was a big jug of coffee, too, thankfully. Neil Young's Harvest was playing on the stereo and I could hear the leaves rustling in the wind outside through the porch screen door. It was the perfect setting for some folk music.

After milling about for a while and chatting with folks, we settled into our chairs for an intimate performance from Jim and Dave. Jim plays banjo and Dave plays acoustic guitar and they both sing, and they do all of it well. With no other accompaniment or effects, they really filled the living room of this place with lovely sounds and heartfelt tunes. The first song they played was a cover (forget who, sorry) and then they played a bunch of originals that one or the other or both had written, plus one other cover song (a sweet version of local band Boca Chica's song "Lake Erie"). The banjo/guitar combo works really well for them and they have good vocal harmonies, with Jim hitting more of the high notes and David staying in the lower range. They had soft, melodic songs and quiet moments mostly, but they could really bust out a rockin' riff if they had to, and they did that a few times; in fact, this was the first time I'd seen an audience member tell a musician that his folk song was "badass". All in all, it was a really good time. I don't want to spoil the surprise too much because their first show is coming up rather soon: Thursday, November 18th, 2010 @ the Lava Lounge on the South Side. They're playing with other locals Dandelion Snow and the Justin Andrew Band. Lava Lounge is a fairly intimate venue with a small stage, so I think it will suit them all well. See yinz there!