Bonus DCE Mix #2: The Wedding Present

Date November 8, 2009

Bonus Miracler Ray Welter

Location Richmond, CA

The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girlfriend

A Concise History of The Wedding Present

1. Once More / 2. You Should Always Keep In Touch WithYour Friends / 3. Getting Nowhere Fast / 4. Every Mother’s Son / 5. Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft / 6. What Did Your Last Servant Die Of? / 7. A Million Miles / 8. I’m Not Always So Stupid / 9. Why Are You Being So Reasonable Now? / 10. Corduroy / 11. Gone / 12. Make Me Smile (Come up And See Me) / 13. Dan Dare / 14. Dalliance / 15. Blue Eyes / 16. Sticky / 17. Silver Shorts / 18. Swimming Pools, Movie Stars / 19. 2, 3, Go / 20. Kansas / 21. Convertible / 22. Drive / 23. It’s For you / 24. Spider-Man On Hollywood

The first time I heard The Wedding Present was on a free NME cassette giveaway called C86 that my friend was playing in the tape deck of his ancient Dodge Dart. Little did I know the impact that this cassette would have on my musical tastes for the next several years (and to this day, in fact). The stand out song, for me, was “This Boy Can Wait” by a band called The Wedding Present. As a guitarist (albeit a beginner) the first thing I thought was “How the hell can he play so fast?” It must have been the recording or something done in the studio. It must be.

And what the hell was up with his voice?

Then I saw them live. The first time was probably at Bogart’s in Long Beach around 1988 or so. He did play that fast. For every song. So much that he (his name is David Gedge) had to change guitars after every song because he either broke a string or it went out of tune. I was hooked. I also ended up peeing next to Gedge in the bathroom. And no, I did not talk him up.

The joke early on was that a lot of the songs seemed to sound similar which The Wedding Present made fun of by printing up t-shirts that said “The Wedding Present” on the front, and “All The Songs Sound The Same” on the back. I can’t tell you what exactly it is about them that has had me hooked for so long. They have had their hits and misses over the years and I definitely prefer earlier material over more recent stuff, but they have remained fiercely independent, only dabbling with a major label once in their long career. So if you’ve never heard The Wedding Present, note that this is only a small sampling of their catalogue and if you like it, go get some more! If you are already familiar with them, then hopefully this compilation will remind you of how great they were and are.

Ray Welter 2009

Mix is here. You like? Let the Miracler know in the comments section below. XOK

An Envious Sliver Broke

Date November 4, 2009

Miracler SB

Location San Francisco

The question hovers somewhere around us, just out of view:

How and when am I going to die?

The intimation of mortality plants itself in us when we're quite young - the dead animal in the road, the relative passing away in our infancy.

Track 1: Lalo Schifrin "The Killer"

We begin playing in the mud of language, learning nursery rhymes to keep death at bay.

Track 2: The Tiger Lillies with Kronos Quartet "ABC"

Adolescence brings defiance and foolhardiness.

Track 3: Lightspeed Champion "Let the Bitches Die"

And sometimes people go too far.

Track 4:The Fall "Bill is Dead"

Still we challenge our demise, romanticize it, shrug it off, spit in its face, or tie it to sex.

Track 5: The Rural Alberta Advantage "The Deadroads"
Track 6: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin "Dead Right"

Track 7: Silver Jews "Like Like The The The Death"

Track 8: The Hives "Die, All Right"

Track 9: The High Strung "Show a Sign of Life"

But when we meet it face to face, or in the lives of those near us, we change our tune.

Track 10: Absentee "The Nurses Don't Notice a Thing"

Track 11: Calexico "Bend in the Road"

Will your death be cool?

Track 12: Ty Segall "Die Tonight"

Will it be filled with longing and regret?

Track 13: The Go Betweens "Orpheus Beach"

Track 14: The Greenhornes with Holly Golightly "There is an End"

Will it be a classic movie unfolding of your finest and brightest memories?

Track15: Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros "From Willesden to Cricklewood"

Track16: Belle and Sebastien "Rollercoaster Ride"

Will it be something entirely alien to you?

Track 17: Ultre "Peace Corpse"

Or will it be Emily Dickinson's "formal feeling"?

Track 18: Durutti Column "Requiem Again"

Perhaps I'm just morbid. Let's dance...

Track 19: Wyclef Jean "Staying Alive"

Here's hoping you and I keep crankin' it and skankin' it like an Alabama robin for a very long time!

Track 20: The Teacher "Soul Vibration"

Mix is here

Enjoy, XOK

A World of Fine Dining and Pop Miracles

Date October 28, 2009

Miracler Allie Fung

Location Oakland, CA

About AF by AF

Allie has been kicking it in the Bay Area since 1993. With her man (fellow Miracler Jeff Morris) behind the scenes, she’s been desperately trying to avoid the trappings of being a Rockridge drone but has slowly succumbed, as evidenced by the $18 they spent on peaches at the Temescal Farmer’s Market the other week. She & Jeff still have not waited 30+ mins in the Bake Sale Betty line but give them another 5 years. When she’s not mocking her teva-baby-sandal neighbors, she’s partying it up like she’s a 25-year-old Princeton graduate (Cloister!), watching copious amounts of TV on her two tivos, guarding her inheritance from her soon-to-be-born niece or nephew and planning her next trip with her certifiably thrifty parents.

Liner Notes

#1 Too Fake / Hockey • If Rod Stewart and The Strokes had a baby, it would be this band.

#2 Make Light / Passion Pit • I’ve been told that they suck live but this ain’t live.

#3 Cold Dust Girl / Hey Champ • Princeton alums, what what!

#4 1901 / Phoenix • I’ve been waiting to like this band since their first album. Freakin’ finally.

#5 Planetman / Ultrachorus • This song makes me want to do aerobics at 350 bpm!

#6 Heartbeat / Late of the Pier • If Franz Ferdinand & The Cars had a baby, it would be this band.

#7 My Mirror Speaks / Death Cab for Cutie • Didn’t jump on the DCFC bandwagon when they played at the OC’s Bait Shop but I’m jumping now.

#8 I Feel Better / Frightened Rabbit • LOVE this song. Makes me want to run for miles and rip my guts out. Not necessarily in that order.

#9 Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs • Karen O. Enough said.

#10 Another Runaway / Ladyhawke • Yes, it was also an ‘80’s movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Matthew Broderick but the kids who listen to her now don’t even know who Matthew Broderick is.

#11 Half Asleep / School of Seven Bells • I want to harmonize like they harmonize.

#12 Nobody Could Change Your Mind / The Generationals • I love how tin-ny and janky they sound. Like they’re playing in a storm drain pipe.

#13 She Moves in Her Own Way / The Kooks • The simple guitar strumming and the distinctive British accent, so up my alley.

#14 The Weakest Shade of Blue / The Pernice Brothers • Yes, this was featured in a paint commercial but that doesn’t make it any less catchy and plaintive.

#15 This Love Is F*****g Right! / The Pains of Being Pure at Heart • Jeff says they’re derivative of some 80’s band but couldn’t name them. If you know, please indicate in the comment section. P.S. – the drummer is amazing.

#16 Geraldine / Glasvegas • The lead singer + keyboardist are kind of douches live but again, this ain’t live.

#17 My Girls / Animal Collective • They are just so weirdly wonderful.

#18 Don’t Haunt This Place / Rural Alberta Advantage • I know this is a repeat from Kellen’s mix (and sure, maybe that was a repeat too….) but for freak sake it has been sitting in my mix for 3 months. Plus I’m ALBERTA!

#19 Ragged Wood / Fleet Foxes • When I hear this song, I feel like I should be riding boxcars through the lush green mountains as the sun is just starting to set.

#20 Scenic World / Beirut • Scene: 1920’s Sutro Baths, everything is bathed in sepia tone. Boy & girl meet cute. Frivolity and frolicking ensue.

Mix is here. Enjoy. XOK

Definitive Collection Exchange: First DCE Bonus Mix is UP

Thanks, Miraclers, for your enthusiastic attendance at our 2009 social as well as your passionately curated contributions. I'm now staring at a large stack of bonus fabulousness to be shared here in the coming months and it is GOOD-LOOKING STUFF. Above, a little teaser of what you can look forward to.

And with that, I give you our first DCE Bonus Mix: mine! It may be tacky to go first, but the urgency of this mix, "The Bee Gees The 70's Have Kept You From," requires that it be shared with you now—all manners to the wind. The Brothers Gibb have already lost 3 decades to the public misconception of their talents. The truth needs to come out—now.

Mix is here. Enjoy. XOK

Kellen Comes Alive!

Date October 21, 2009

Miracler Pete Kellen

Location Milwaukee, WI

Pete Kellen may be new to our group, but he's not to the inner-workings of a super-cohesive pop mix. An advertising writer who lives with his wife in Milwaukee and works all over the US of A, Mr. Kellen has this to say about his mix: "With a few notable exceptions (De La Soul, Modest Mouse, a couple others), these are all bands I've seen in the last year. So this isn't just music I like. It's music I plopped down my hard-earned money to see."

Ah, the pleasures of birth control.

Mix is here. Enjoy, XOK

Ooooooh! Hostess is PISSED!

Dear Miraclers,

As you know, we've got a big group of music lovers here. Look around: 90 of you! And as Your Hostess has expressed a few times, this ain't her only gig. It is, however, her only unpaid gig. So on a 'what's in it for me' level, it needs to be fun, to make it worth the effort. That's how it goes.

And yet:

despite 4 reminder emails, the few e-z mix-making directions we have for this group:

1. I need a disk, one that you've tested and that works and that doesn't include any repeats from former mixes

2. Cover art

3. A track list

4. And a candy bar

5. All of this by the Friday preceding your upload date

have been fully followed by only one of the first eight Miraclers.

As a result, Season 3 has been one long unanaesthetized root canal for Your Hostess. Decidedly un-fun. I can't/won't track you down for something you signed up for.

If you lack the capacity to participate, let me know this now, and I'll take you off the email list and assign your date to a more fully formed Miracler.

Tougher yet: This group will be shut down if it continues to be such a stress/time-suck.

Naturally, that's not my desire. But I need for all of you to be as responsive when your turn comes up as the day you pressed 'send' to join this group.

It's usually lots of fun. Let's get back to that.

Thanks,

Kelly

And PS, if you'd like a reminder of when your date is, go here.

Swingy

Date October 14

Miracler Sam Koritz

Location San Francisco/Albany, CA

Liner note from Sam:

Meanwhile, back in the States....

Mix is here. Enjoy, XOK

Anyone need a downloading refresher?

Make sure you're on track, cuz from now on it'll be assumed that you know this stuff, and we've got over 80 mixes to go still which you shan't want to miss.

To properly download a 3MPM mix:

1. Click on the 'mix is here' link in the post of your choice.

2. This will send you to 'Kelly's iDisk.' You'll see a screen. It'll ask you for log-in/password info.

3. Consult your email for that information and type it in.

4. Then select the mix you want from the list there. Then:

5. Then go find the mix in the 'downloads' place on your computer.

6. Then click and drag that folder into your iTunes or whatever you use.

7. Then enjoy. E-Z.

You’re cordially invited/Note change of venue!

{Click to enlarge.}

B3 PS

Do you believe in Miracles? You're about to. Follow this Miracle Math.

1. Last Wednesday, Doug Patterson fills his scheduled mix with ALL B3.

2. This Wednesday, Doug has a birthday. Guess what his wife's gift is. (It's not Jimmy Smith, RIP.) And from his birth year, no less.

3. Miracle Moral: DREAM BIG.