Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Get a Little Bit of Hi Fi

Date
August 3, 2011

Miracler
Ray Welter

Location
Richmond, CA

How do you know Raymond?
Well, even though it's NOT A CONTEST, he did just manage to win BEST CANDY IN THE HISTORY OF THE PRODGE, so maybe that's where? If not there, maybe There's More to Scandinavia Than Death Metal, a little shumpin' he cooked up for us in March of this year. Or perhaps it was Are You Going to the Show?, his tour de force from Nov. '09 which put Welter on your map. Then there was his The Wedding Present definitive collection from earlier that year. Or hey, perhaps it was the If It Ain't Scottish It's Crap mix he gave us in March '09—maybe that was it? Or oh! I think we found it: twas Let's Have a Meaningful Relationship, made just for you in Oct. '08. Beyond that, we go back to 2003, before which most of you were not even born. Though Mr. Welter did impress us old-timers with a 3-mix TKO that year. Anyway, the point is: he's been around, and if you don't know: now you know.

Ray Welter's thoughts as he wrote them down for you

When I floated the idea of not having a theme and just putting random songs on this mix to our hostess, she said “Good luck with that, but I’m sure a theme will come out anyway.” She was wrong (?!), but I do find it interesting the genres that came out: folk, indie, electronica, country, reggae, alt country, C86, etc. Maybe I’m not so one dimensional after all.

Enjoy!

The Angel of Death - Morbid subject (for some), but a beautiful song. I love it when Hank gets all Appalachia.

Nail in My Foot – Can’t have a mix without a kiwi offering.

I Saw The Light – Another by the great Hank Williams, this one a cover by The Weather Prophets. Peter Astor is one of my favorite Creation Records dudes (The Loft/The Weather Prophets/Peter Astor)

Vanity Fair – Drony electronica meets Stereolab meets Magnetic Fields

Sulfur – One of my favorites from this great C86 band. Funny, it’s a B-side throwaway.

Watch the Sunrise – The late, great Alex Chilton at his finest

Fallin’ & Flyin’ – Jeff Bridges. ‘nuff said.

Hey Latasha – I once saw these guys play on a loading dock in downtown LA. Amazing.

Gloomy Planets – Is there a thing such as German Folk? Hmm.

Arpeggiator (Demo) – Unusual for these guys, but still has angst they are known for.

Hi-Fi – Dear Zooey: It’s not you, it’s me. I just like this much better.

Please Pardon Yourself – One of the best live bands around.

Down by The River – True story: my first idea for this mix was all old skool ska and reggae. Seriously, I’m crappin’ you negative.

I Thought Angels Came From Heaven – When my Uncle Floyd passed away, they found a cassette with this and one other song on it. Probably done in the 70s, it is quite special to me. Fact: Uncle Floyd knew Leo Fender and worked for Fender Guitars from about ’55 to ’68! What?! BTW, that’s him on the cover art.

Mix is up. Please remember to listen and comment. And then comment on others.Your comments will be counted this weekend! Make sure you've got 3+ up from the last 3 months. Or suffer being tossed out of the kingdom of pop miracles! See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page.
Until next week,
XOK

22 comments:

Laura said...

I'm digging this eclectic mix, Ray, particularly the Big Star song.

Recliner Blog said...

Thanks Ray. Standouts upon first listen: David Kilgour, Chilton, Fugazi (unusual for them indeed), M. Ward (agreed, ditch Zooey), Uncle Floyd (what a perfect artifact! Is that his own creation?)

Tim Carroll said...

Ray -- is that your uncle in the convertible? That bronze upholstery is super swank. Thanks for the M. Ward title song. Love that guy's voice. Heard Ward in an interview explaining how he taught himself songwriting by learning to play the whole Beatles catalog, song by song. I for one would be way down for a vintage Ska/Rock Steady/Early Reggae mix. The earlier the better. All of that Clement Dodd Studio One music is so perfect.

Daniel Coffeen said...

Many moods and textures here — I love the way taste ranges.

Is that really Fugazi? Fuck, that sounds great.

Huge sucker for The Notwist. Not to mention Big Star. Both are perfect selections.

As for Hank, jesus: stops you in your tracks, don't it? Wow.

Fritz said...

Looking forward to digging into this one.

Tim: if you go to http://public.me.com/feifrig and use the password "dogtreats" you can download a zip file of ska/rocksteady called Oily Sounds, v.1. Enjoy!

Kelly Niland said...

Tim, do it. Fritz only deals the good stuff.

Fritz said...

As expected, lots of fun stuff in this mix. The Weather Prophets had me picturing Bernard Sumner in a Stetson and rhinstones. Fallin' & Flyin' reminded me that I liked the soundtrack a lot more than the movie, and the Fugazi track was a big surprise. I'll have to consult with my brother to see what else from their catalog might appeal in the same way.

Great way to start the day-- thanks!!

sarah e said...

Pepi, this mix makes me miss driving around with you in the Scirocco, the ocean beach bonfires, and eating not one but two hotdogs with nacho cheese from the liquor store across the street from your old SF apartment. Good times. Patches.

xtina said...

rockin random in richmond.
terrifically so.
thank you.

Gioia said...

Great mix, Ray! Will be listening to this often. Thank you, sir.

peter b said...

I dig the smorgasbord of sounds. I love that Sea-Saw track that sounds like Kraftwerk jumped in for a musical breakdown - and the trippy parts of The Notwist tune. That instrumental is most excellent too - I never would have guessed Fugazi. Mucho thanks.

Tim Carroll said...

Adam and Eve went up my sleeve and they never came down until Christmas Eve. Thanks, Fritz! [And thanks to Dennis Alcapone for that handy if indecipherable phrase.] Thanks, man. Been off the 3MPMP scene for a bit and just came upon your great gift collection. I sure do like that Dave and Ansell Collins number, "Atlantic One." The Collins' "Double Barrel" is a go-to fave of mine. The drunkenness of that organ is what I like so much about this era of Jamaican music. Like the listing trombones, the feeling is more booze than ganja. Speaking of drunks, "Musical Fight" is another gem that I've never heard before. Love the sound of breaking glass. Pop and hisses, too. Are these copies of your vinyl collection?

Tim Carroll said...

Green Moon! Love it. /// OK, so I did me some Web-ucating and found that Lloyd "Charmers" Tyrell is behind this collection. Lloyd's Wikipedia entry notes the obvious inspiration that his "Birth Control" had on The Specials' "Too Much Too Young." /// I remember my own happy discovery of original Ska, circa 1980. Gotta thank all those great Second Wave English bands (may Jah bless 'em) for hippin' kids everywhere to go back in time to the original Skinhead Moonstomp fountainhead.

Fritz said...

Tim-- the story I got with these is that they were recorded after hours by some record store employees in Brixton and then returned to the shelves the next day. Wish I owned the vinyl! In total I've got another six discs of these folks' material and 25 vols of Lee Perry productions from around '65 through '78. Lemme know if you're interested.

Tim Carroll said...

Interested indeed, Fritz!

Lee Perry anecdote: I went to see Perry play a small club here in Austin about five years back. He showed up at 2:45 A.M. -- long after the cops had stopped being polite about getting everyone to leave the place. Perry hit the stage just in time to be escorted off. Feeling upset with a guy known as "The Upsetter" would seem to be a pretty natural and common occurrence.

Fritz said...

Tim (and anyone else)-- remainder of the Oily Sounds set is up, along with York Gardens rock, and vols 1-4 of Music Sweet. Hope you enjoy, but now I'm going back to bed as my head hurts, my feet stink, and I don't love Jesus...

Tim Carroll said...

Thanks so much, Fritz! I'm downloading now. It may take a while to get back to you, as me and the fambly are about to head for the hills for three days' vacation.

Doug said...

A little bit of Ray Welter magic. I always look forward to your mixes, friend. And this one—per usual—does not disappoint. Sea-Saw is new to me, The Notwist is beautiful, and what up with that Fugazi track? Thank you...

pepe verde said...

Congratulations Ray, your mix rocks. From the stunning "The Angel of Death" to that amazing, heartmelting relic-on-cassette from your uncle, I enjoyed every bit. And I really like how there's a variety of styles within a fairly homogeneous theme.
This goes straight into the car stereo! Thanks for sharing.

sircvs said...

Ray, I can't wait to hear your mix.

Van said...

The David Kilgour was an especially nice treat for me. Also good to be reminded why I liked Seam so much.

Danny Lee said...

Really surprised at how much I like the Jeff Bridges cut.
And I thought Fugazi would be really hard and heavy, not slinky and melodic. Love Down By the River. Looking forward to your old school ska mix. Nice work!