Gender Studies

Date
May 29, 2013

Miracler
Karl Eifrig

Location
Illinois

Pornographic illustrations aside,
Karl Eifrig, the second of our one-two punch of Miracling Eifrig Bros, knows how to craft a mighty fine mix, as he did in Jan. 12 with A Little Burst of Energy.

Stuff you said about that:
I really didn't want to shovel the driveway today. So I listened to this mix, got all amped up and shoveled, like, 8 driveways. I thank you and my neighbors than you.    I've been trying very hard to resist commenting, before I have listened to this a couple times, but it's hard cause this burst has a lot of sweetness!     Super dead-on mix. Even the newer songs take me back to a certain time. Back to a time of spontaneous dance parties that'd knock over the furniture and spill beer all over on the carpet-- but only in the best possible way.     Lots of stuff here that's new to me, including the very likable Mikal Cronin. It's good to be reminded of the great Joe Jackson. Nice mix! Entertaining and informative liner notes. Thanks, Karl!     Nicely edited mix; tickled the nostalgia button well without going overboard (although I think I want my Vapors LP back...) She Shelia would be the perfect "putting together a caper" music for a summer teen romp. We can work up a treatment soon I hope.     Good call on the Vapors. Text book case of a band poorly served by a misunderstood novelty song. Good Jam-y power pop.     Super fun mix, Karl. I haven't heard much of this, so it's been really cool to experience it. Favorites for me, I think, are The Producers and Gentlemen Jesse. Yeah!     Just queued this up on this sunny San Francisco day and it's on its third rotation. I love this stuff, all catchy, punchy and mostly new to me. Thanks Karl for introducing me to The Busy Signals, Sultans, Flake Music and the local lad Cronin.Infectious foot-stompers. Great liner notes too.     Thanks for the Flake Music / Shins history lesson. Totally loved 'Submarines'! Do I hear echoes of Flop there?     Prodigious slabs of power pop, Karl. The Mikal Cronin instantly got me. Never heard of the guy. Love the shortest tunes - Sultans, Busy Signals, Gentleman Jesse. The crashing guitars with the sweet, soaring vocals. They all do 1979 proud.     Nicely focused mix. It's like a heavy dose of caffeine. I keep getting carried away and break out into annoying desktop drumming. Just one of the new-to-me highlights: Busy Signals = excellent.     A very tight little mix, Karl. Thank you. (It helps having a cool older brother, doesn't it?) And now I must be going—for some reason, I have an uncontrollable desire to listen to my old Plimsouls records.     Get along - possibly my favorite song of the new year!     This is so up my alley, it really sounds like me (having a ball) DJing at my favorite pub back in Madrid --except of course, for the amazing couple of tracks I didn't know! Welcome Karl, thanks for an amazing mix!

What's he brung us for 2013? Read on/listen in. 

Liner Notes by KE

I had the idea for this mix a while ago – going boy-girl-boy-girl with song titles. Songs would pop into my head and I’d think, “That’d be perfect,” then promptly forget ‘em. As I was getting a list together, Ray’s excellent “13 Songs About Girls” mix came out and I felt challenged to do my best. I got my mix in tasty shape, then went to double-check it against the previously prodged songs, which resulted in stuff like “Taste of Cindy,” “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken,” and “Julie’s In the Drug Squad” being nixed due to the good taste of my fellow prodgers. What we have here is surely just the tip of the iceberg as far as this idea could go, but I hope you find it enjoyable.

The Equals - Michael and His Slipper Tree

            Just try and not have this stuck in your head for hours.

Slade – Gudbuy T’Jane

It’s always freaked me out that Slade were as huge as they were (across the pond, at least) – as much as I love Noddy Holder’s vocals, I can’t imagine him as a pop idol. 

The Figgs – Simon Simone

Stick with me for a while, and you’ll find that a few bands seem to creep onto every mix I make. The Figgs are one of those bands, so even if you don’t share my obsession, I hope you’ll enjoy this number.

Art Brut – Emily Kane

Cute and weird song that seems appropriate for the age of Googling high school crushes to see if they’ve gotten as odd-looking as we have. As frontman Eddie Argos says in the leadoff track on their debut album, “yes, this is my singing voice.”

The Vapors – Jimmie Jones

What was that I said about certain bands making repeat appearances on my mixes?

Smoking Popes – Megan

Chicago boys who almost made it big, the Popes made little pop masterpieces, slightly punked up and sung in a croon by the leader, who ended up finding Christ and retiring for a while. This is from their big major-label debut and makes me smile.

Wavves – Linus Spacehead

I was torn about including this one, since it violates the idea that the songs should have the proper name not only in the title but also in the lyrics, but it felt so right that I couldn’t send it packing. From “King of the Beach,” which is a good (but hyper) headphone album fer sher.

The Need – Rim Me Isabella

This one just had to be included, since I have a 13-year old’s sense of humor. The best two-woman-circus-prog-metal-dyke-power band you’ll hear this week, I guarantee.

Magnetic Fields – Reno Dakota

Stephen Merritt’s been appearing frequently on the prodge for the past few months, but that’s because he writes such great songs. This one seemed like a wonderful way to bring us back to a more stripped-down feel, which leads us to:

Trio – Anna Letmein Letmeout

            Of course.

Led Zeppelin – Poor Tom

A deep cut from Coda. Surely a trifle by anyone’s standards, but I could listen to Bonham rock that groove for hours.

John Grant – Sigourney Weaver

I felt like celebrity names was also kind of cheating, but this song is too good not to share. The story I heard is that he went to record this album (“Queen of Denmark”) with Midlake, and they introduced him to the works of Bread, which made him say, “That’s the sound.” Pretty successful, I’d say.

Soft Boys – Mr. Kennedy

Again, kind of cheating, especially since this doesn’t even feature a first name, but this is one of the songs that led to this mix, and it’s so beautiful that I couldn’t help it. The appearance of Mr. Hitchcock and the gang on so many recent mixes also encouraged me.

Lower Dens – Rosie

            A nice mellow way to get to the (almost) end of our journey.

Bonus track: Honorable Mentions

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