#002 - The Reminder

Just 'round about 9:00pm, on my way to Wednesday night Karaoke, I'm going to drop this one in Cedar's mailbox.



Cedar and I had dated for a couple of months. Unfortunately it didn't work out; but we managed to forge one of the most valuable friendships I have. I don't think she's ever gotten a mixed tape. In fact, I don't think she's even seen High Fidelity, which by hipster standards is somewhat of a crime. Our friendship at this point consists of mostly us calling each other or texting or emailing each other and letting each other know how our lives are going. We're huge moral support for each other to be better people. Everyone needs a friend like that. Someone who knows all the intimate details about you, and can tell you straight what they think you might need in your life, but can also listen to you.



Cedar is fairly political, was at the bush protest, and I thought she should have a very limited selection of political tracks on here. Political isn't generally where her music interests lie. Generally I decided to make it mostly about songs that we used to listen together. The first time I saw It Might Get Loud, it was with her, at the Princess Theater.




Side A

1. Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks - Mothership (remasters) 2007


2. Wintersleep - Oblivion - Welcome To The Night Sky 2008


3. Them Crooked Vultures - New Fang - Them Crooked Vultures 2009


4. The Dears - 22: Death Of All The Romance (live) - Thank You Good Night Sold Out 2004


5. Feist - Lonely Lonely - Let It Die - 2005


6. Coeur De Pirate - La Vie Est Ailleurs - Coeur De Pirate - 2008


7. The Clash - English Civil War - The Singles (remasters) 2007


8. The Shins - New Slang - Oh, Inverted World 2001


9. Saosin - It's All Over Now - In Search Of Solid Ground - 2009

Side B

1. Alice In Chains - Check My Brain - Black Gives Way To Blue 2009


2. U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday (live) - Elevation Live From Boston 2001


3. White Stripes - 300mph Outpour Blues - Icky Thump 2007


4. Von Bondies - C'mon C'mon - Pawn Shoppe Heart 2004


5. Againstme! - Even At Our Worst We're Still Better Than Most - Searching For A Former Clarity 2005


6. Anti Flag - One Trillion Dollars - For Blood And Empire 2006


7. Alexisonfire - Emerald Street - Old Crows Young Cardinals 2009


8. Bedouin Soundclash - Gunships - Street Gospels 2007


9. Matthew Good - On Nights Like Tonight - Vancouver 2009


10. Gaslight Anthem - Great Expectations - '59 Sound 2008

I made a major faux pas on this one. Great Expectations runs out before it gets to the end. I thought I got enough of it not to do it over again. I found some really cool Matt Good rant for just before On Nights Like Tonight on youtube; something from when he used to do a rant on MuchMusic. I remember when I used to read his rant, the 'manifesto' on his website all the time, back in '99. There were no blogs then. I guess you could call him a pioneer. I used to put stuff on our own band website. I would get in shit a lot for that. Now everyone talks about everything and airs out all their dirty laundry. I think I'm safe airing mixed tape playlists.

Oh, and what does the title mean? I mean, I know it's a title of a Feist album, of which none of the songs make the tape. It's because I said I would go to Hawksley Workman with her (also doesn't appear on the tape) on March 14th. She emailed me to remind me the other day, or else I might have totally forgotten. Last time I saw Hawksley? With Jess, in March 2004, the same person I made the last tape for. You only go to Hawksley so you can stand beside someone you have a certain uneasy tension with.

Beatrice Martin has replaced sex for me: Random 001

So it turns out that Beatrice Martin (Coeur De Pirate), cute little Beatrice Martin with that cute little french voice and her cute little folk songs is a dirty, dirty nude model. And by that I use nude model very loosely. Someone could have said to me "how could you not have known?" Well, I heard about her through a friend who ordered the CD after hearing about her on CBC Radio 3. Of course, he goes to google her and what does he get: (this one is work safe, but if you just google image search her you can get much worse ones)

Looks like she was also a model for something called 'godsgirls' which I can only imagine is a ripoff of SG. Most of the images makes it look like she and her ex got a hold of the camera while she was in the shower and decided to have some fun with it.

Meanwhile, I've been working on a new tape, but progress has been slowgoing, namely due to my hectic work schedule. My main rig had some sort of error I had to deal with, and now it seems to be okay. So after I decided to take a break from it, and scald the shit out of myself in the shower for no particular reason, I decided to come here and post this random tidbit.

So, Beatrice Martin: does her appearance in this blog give me less credibility, or more?

I know this is early, I don't have a tape done, and it's not Music This Week until Thursday, but to quote a very infamous young woman

"This blog has replaced sex for me."

Music This Week 002: En Francais?

I'm giving a listen to Coeur De Pirate, self titled 2008. It almost didn't make this week's cut because UPS sucks, and apparently has a hard time delivering simple packages. Speaking of shipping scandals, SIGG, the Swiss urban canteen maker is receiving a nice package from me filled with my less-than-year-old 1.0L 'Frames' bottle for replacement due to the inner liner peeling off. Some of you might remember how this company advertised how acceptionally eco-friendly their stuff supposedly is, at $25 a bottle, and then there was a voluntary recall because the epoxy in the liner might have contained BPA.

As for Coeur De Pirate (Beatrice Martin), I'm diggin' it, even though I can't understand half of what she's saying, unlike any other good Canadian who would recognize most the words in his second official language (or first, depending on where you live).

Most of what you get here is French folk based alternative, without percussion, so expect a lot of piano based tracks and some acoustic guitar; and a few things you might expect out of something produced out of Arts & Crafts records' based and old Feist songs.

My favourite track: La Vie Est Ailleurs

Here's some stuff you can add to your playlist this week:

1. La Vie Est Ailleurs - Coeur De Pirate - Coeur De Pirate 2008
2. In A Jar - Brand New - Daisy 2009
3. Still I Rise - Shadowsfall - Retribution 2009
4. Von Bondies - Only To Haunt You - Love, Hate & Then There's You 2009
5. Fondu Au Noir - Coeur De Pirate - Coeur De Pirate 2008

Next week we'll be taking in some Bend Sinister and the Gabe Dixon band.

Music This Week 001; Alexisonfire Kills People

You can't just take a band like Alexisonfire and put them on a free stage. There will be a riot.

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/More+than+injured+crowd+topples+fence+Yaletown+LiveCity/2573504/story.html

I always remember what annoys me so much about all ages shows, and the reason I like to see bands play in smaller, more intimate venues.

Music This Week

I've been in a mellow and reflective mood this week; about love, life, and the city. Here's some good stuff if you're in the same mood.

1. Alexisonfire - Emerald Street - Old Crows/Young Cardinals 2009
2. Metric - Gold Guns Girls - Fantasies 2009
3. Metric - Satellite Mind - Fantasies 2009
4. The Gaslight Anthem - Here's Looking At You, Kid - '59 Sound 2008
5. Them Crooked Vultures - No One Loves Me, Neither Do I - Self Titled 2009

Add these to your playlist and enjoy.

#001 - Genuinely Thinking Of You

I generally wouldn't want to post a tape before the recipient had found it in the mail, or had it handed to them, but in this case it's going to Toronto, and it may take a while to get there. Also, as it were, Jess, whom requested the tape, had posted her post-card to me in her blog (see http://deltiologicalstudies.blogspot.com/) and because curiousity killed me, I went ahead and read it before it appeared in my mailbox. I suppose she could do the same if she really wanted, but it would really ruin things.

Here is #001 - Genuinely Thinking Of You

Track Listings:

Side A

1. Songs For Sarah Jane - Hawksley Workman - Meat 2010
2. These Eyes Are On The Exit - Grade - At Both Ends Split EP 2010
3. Robots 3 Humans 0 - Norma Jean - Vs. The Anti Mother 2008
4. Rest My Chemistry - Interpol - Our Love To Admire - 2007
5. Metal Airplanes - Matthew Good - Hospital Music 2007
6. Complete Control - The Clash - The Clash 1979 (remaster - The Singles 2007)
7. The Patient Ferris Wheel - The Gaslight Anthem - '59 Sound 2008
8. Our Age - The Constantines - Kensington Heights 2008
9. Milk Lizard - The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works - 2007
10. Drive (Cars cover) - Deftones - rumored Saturday Night Wrist (export? bootleg?) 2006

Side B

1. Roman Holiday - Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic 2009
2. Come Undone (Depeche Mode cover) It Dies Today - Lividity 2009
3. Maybe I'll Catch Fire (Acoustic) Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony 2009
4. Bitches In Tokyo - Stars - In Our Bedroom After The War 2007
5. I Still Remember - Bloc Party - Weekend In The City 2007
6. Pale Bride - Von Bondies - Love, Hate & Then There's You 2009
7. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart EP 1980 (Essentials 2007)
8. Love Has Lead Us Astray - Thursday - Common Existence 2009
9. Talking Through Glass - Thrice - Beggars 2009
10. Everything Must Go - Taking Back Sunday - New Again 2009
11. (Bonus Track Not Listed) Black Gives Way To Blue - Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue 2009

There were indeed some problems with this one. For one, I found that TDK's D90 Type I, 0 bias tapes are somewhat garbage. I can hear attenuation wavering on some of the tracks. I'm not buying those again. I got them from Staples next door to the bank I work at. I'd prefer to go with Memorex tapes if I could still find them. Second, there were some substitutions. The tape was originally supposed to start side B with Them Crooked Vultures No One Loves Me, Niether Do I, but my CD deck wouldn't recognize the CD for some reason as being loaded, and I had a major problem with my computer output missing an entire channel of audio. So I had to scratch it entirely. Also left off was Marvelous Slut by Everytime I Die. On the CD, both Roman Holiday and Marvelous Slut are too short to probably stand alone, so I thought I would splice them together. It ran too long, and I decided to leave off Marvelous Slut, especially since it includes an appearance by Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and I already used one of their songs on the tape. Stars was a last second addition, and my original track listing had Von Bondies Only To Haunt You instead of Pale Bride, but I think all things aside (whether I'm sending a message or not) Pale Bride is just a better song.

This one goes in the mail tomorrow and will likely take up to two weeks to reach Jess based on when her postcard is dated and how long it took to reach me. I only hope she absolutely DOES NOT READ THIS POST before it gets to her. I put that warning in the wrong place, didn't I?

REQUESTS

Have a request for a cassette?

Email me at: istillhaveatapeplayer@gmail.com

I'll do my best to fill it quickly. Of course, the best requests come via trade.

I Still Have A Tape Player

Somewhere between the early 70's and the turn of the century there was one medium that, even when became irrelevent, they still installed the equipment for in most new vehicles, most component stereo systems, and even things like boats and RV's. I'm thinking of the cassette tape. If you were thinking of anything else, I'd kind of like to know what it was.

Although the manufacture of cassette tapes for public consumption dropped drastically in the mid to late 1990's, there were still provisions for cassette tapes in auto stereos until 2005 (and perhaps even past then, and in many component stereos even today.

Now, this could be so people could play their old collection of cassettes (which shouldn't be that large), or it could be for something much larger.

Thurston Moore wrote a book about the mixed tape. Nick Hornby wrote a book that defined the rules of making one; and later John Cusack appeared in the movie based on the book. It's been a way to inform and exchange ideas. It's been a way to let your friends know what you listen to. It's been a cheesy valentine's day present. It's been a staple of pop culture for perhaps 30 years.

I still have a tape player; and I intend to use it.