Almost Ready

Date

July 6, 2011

Miracler

Alexandra Tyler

Location

Oakland, CA

A fresh new face for the Prodge! Stuff I love about Alex Tyler, by Your Hostess

1. She hails from Michigan. So, funny/ friendly/ direct/ thoughtful and all those other (real!) Midwestern qualities. Solid.

2. Her look: Esther Williams on ecstasy meets Valley of the Dolls on dolls meets Xanadu Olivia Newton-John on roller skates. Each morning before the mirror, Ms. Tyler actually defies Coco Chanel's adage and puts one more accessory ON. And if there's not at least one sparkly piece on her, she goes back into the house to fix that.

3. She won't tell you this, but our gal's a super-talented advertising creative type. Over the years, she's worked with G. Stefani, S. Doggy Dogg, K. West, J. Z, and some normal clients too. If you're curious, here's a blog with some of her work.

4. But mostly I just like her cuz she's true-blue and super-fun and always seems to find the bright side of stuff. I think by the time you're done with today's mix, you'll agree heartily.

Oh, couple of factoids before you hit 'play':

Big bummer: Alex also had that fabu Mayer Hawthorne track on her mix (which lead off Toby's last week) when she sent it to me a couple of weeks ago. Happens. But in this case: double-bummer, cuz MH's actually an old friend of hers! Boo-hoo. But enjoy it in a new context here. Also, yes, Doug Patterson, you had 'Pull Shapes' on a past mix, but try as we may to avoid, repeats happen too. Alex wasn't yet in the Prodge then, so we'll give her a pass. Especially since her mix is super-Doug-friendly. Oh, and PS: consider Track 14 CLAIMED as Your Hostess' personal Major League Baseball at-bat song, should such things ever become necessary.

Bits About Me, by AT

Hmmm, I'm a Devil-Ette (synchronized 60s go-go dancing, aka The Rock-n-Roll Rockettes! http://devilettes.com), a crazy retro design blogger behind modern kiddo, recently voted one of Lucky Magazine's fave kid's design blogs—Woot!, a master (mistress??) of vintage clothing, and I count my "romantic weekend getaway" with our Prodge Hostess to the Marin Songbird Cottage (under the auspices of screenplay co-writing) a couple of summers ago as one of my fondest memories.

LINER NOTES

As a big ol thriftaholic and collector of vintage everything, I initially I wanted to do a mix of all groovy 60s tunes...but then I thought it might be fun to take a look at some modern stuff that is heavily retro- inspired. While these newbies come close, nothin' beats the originals. So I had to toss in some old tunes too.

Thanks for lettin' me play, Miraclers! It's been an inspiring season.

1. Begin the Beguine - April Stevens & Nino Tempo I took the easy way out...but really it's always best to start at the very beguine-ing.

2. The Boat that I Rowed - Sodsai Chaengkij 1967 was a big year for this song. Neil Diamond wrote and recorded it. Then Lulu did her own version. And finally this bee-hived cutie from Bangkok did her own rendition.

3. Hey, Me I'm Riding - Lee Hazelwood I've always had a soft spot for 60s crooner Lee through his partnership with Nancy Sinatra—and the brilliantly titled album "Poet, Fool or Bum?"

4. Pull Shapes - The Pipettes This girl trio is so damn cute. I'm not sure what the hell Pull Shapes means (someone told me it was British slang for dancing?) all I know is that this song gets me movin'.

5. Jerk It Out - The Caesars Another shake and shimmy from some fun lovin' Swedes (aren't all Swedes fun loving?).

6. Breakin' The Chains of Love - Fitz and the Tantrums These guys are a more recent discovery for me. I love the name. I like the music even better.

7. Chick Habit - April March Originally recorded by France Gall as "Laisse Tomber les Filles" (perhaps the one case where the English name is more pleasing than the French) April March's snarky version is pretty swell.

8. The Ills - Mayer Hawthorne My Detroit home boy.

9. Better Things - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings Ms Jones has the funky soul thing down...and with the Dap Kings backing her, this woman is clearly ready.

10. Beat Me til I'm Blue - Alan Hawkshaw OK, back in the time machine again. This fella was mostly known for composing movie soundtracks but he did release an album under the name The Mohawks. OK. He also formed a band called Rumplestiltskin, but we don't really like to talk about that. Mmmmm, that tasty Hammond is so good it hurts.

11. Beatnik Daddy - Barbara Evans Deceptively sweet, Babs was clearly the bad girl at Annette's pajama party.

12. Time of the Season - The Zombies It's one of their most well known, and one of my faves.

13. You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse Overplayed and overexposed, it took me a while to give ol Amy a spin again. I'm sure glad I did, because she still sounds great.

14. How You Like Me Now - The Heavy {Insert James Brown-style grunt.} Yeah, you might remember it from that damn Kia commercial but as Allie Fung said, "deal with it" ;-)

15. Of Sex and Demise - Man or Astroman? Science fiction infused surf rock. What's not to like?

Mix is up. Listen and comment. And then comment on others. Cuz that's the deal. See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page.

Until next week,

XOK