June 12, 2013
Miracler
Mark Ulriksen
Location
San Francisco
How do we love Mark Ulriksen? Let's count the ways. Starting with Dec. '12's Deck Them Halls, about which you guys said:
This is just so...impossibly perfect. Merry Christmas, Mark! Fabulous holiday mix! Loving every minute. Thanks for brightening my day. That Joseph Spence tune has been on my xmas short list from the day I heard it. Thanks for spreading the gospel. Having a small xmas gathering tonight and can't wait to put this on repeat, pour myself a rumtopf cocktail and get into the spirit. Thanks! Thumbs up on the rest, especially Ramsey Lewis, Woody Phillips, Jimmy Smith, and the forgotten Roches track. And Grisman with duck, WTF. Pretty much all the mood music I need for the season. Now I need some snow. This is a perfect holiday mix. That Tony Bennett cut is amazing. It makes me happy every time it plays. The stand out for me though is the Joseph Spence song. What a great and delightfully odd version. Thanks Mark. Somehow I've stumbled into the regrettable situation where my brother expects a Christmas CD every year. Mark, you have not only saved me (as the 3mpm gang has done before) but you have made a totes awesome thing here: great variety, nice surprises, and genuinely good music. This mix won't stop playing over here! I don't have the power to press the space bar. Every song is a delight, and how you made it flow so smoothly across like 9 different genres is a Christmas miracle. Even songs I don't usually love—My Favorite Things and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy—find a whole new life in the hands of these artists (totally agree with above Tony Bennett comments—he's magical here). And everything you say about Sinatra is true. Joseph Spence! For anybody unfamiliar with Mr. Spence, Ry Cooder says Spence is a big influence on his guitar style. As for Spence's "singing"? Maybe, possibly, he was just a tad nutsoid as well as being a musical genius. Love that guy. The other day, before downloading this mix, I was substitute-teaching a music class at the blind school here in Austin and someone asked what my favorite Christmas song was. Charles Brown's "Merry Christmas Baby" got the spontaneous vote. Different from Otis Redding's version here, Brown's "Merry Christmas Baby" verges on being sad. It isn't exactly a bummer -- Brown hasn't had a drink all day but he's lit up like a Christmas tree -- but it's definitely bluesy. Christmas is the Seasonal Affected Disorder holiday. We've been listening to your glad tiddings mix over and over again! I am not one to shy away from Christmas music, as folks know, and yet, it is all new me. I really love the Tony Bennett, John Hicks, The Drifters, Count Basie, and the Hampton String Quartet - which happens to be the only version of this song that I can stomach! Way back in the 80's, when I lived in Boston, Mark was the first person I knew who, as an adult, collected Christmas music, non-ironically. I believe he was the inspiration for me buying a Boston Rock Christmas featuring such happening Boston bands as Robin Lane and the Chartbusters and the Lyres. I now have a collection of well over 400 holiday songs. It's my daughter's favorite playlist. Thank you Mark for all the new gems. Happy Holidays to all you Miraclers. This is a really terrific mix of music! Thanks!! Always nice to have holiday music that doesn't blow - thanks for winning the war on Christmas!
Then there was March '12's Get Outta Town about which you wrote 20 more paeans. And then, factor in the fact that he always sends me chocolate containing some form of sea salt in the mix (he knows I'm a fan), AND, that we can brag that we're music buddies with one of the New Yorker's most prolific cover illustrators, and that's before you even listen to THIS WEEK'S mix, and it's like a pile-up of affection here for the man who is, as we speak, taking his own advice, out walking the earth.
Liner Notes by MU
I Walk the Earth
No great theme here to this mix other than eclecticism, one of my favorite ism's.
1. Always good to start a mix with an anthem, especially a short one.
2. David Bromberg- "The New Lee Highway Blues"
First heard this on KUSF when they had former KSAN dj's at the mike for a weekend. I taped all of it, on crummy TDK cassettes, and none of our three tape decks works anymore anyway. I digress. Not knowing who sang this, even shazam not helping, I resigned myself to never knowing who did this. And then I heard David Bromberg perform at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass recently and had my aha moment.
3. The Blue Chips- "Crying Holy Unto the Lord"
From the fantastic gospel boxed set "Goodbye Babylon". Expensive but worth it.
4. Augie Goupil And His Royal Tahitians- "Vana Vana"
Whenever we travel I like to make mixes to go with the territory. Last year we went to Hawaii and I found this gem on the aptly named cd Vintage Hawaiian Music. "Vana Vana" means "don'ttrytokaraokethis".
5. The Coasters- Brazil"
Another radio discovery. Unfortunately this digital version doesn't have the half minute slow fade-in guitar solo that introduces the original recording. Heard it on KPFA one night and immediately set out to track it down but every version seems to be this slightly truncated one.
6. Bud Freeman & Bob Wilbur- "Just One of Those Things"
Some super swinging Cole Porter.
7. King Biscuit Time- "Walk the Earth"
Know nothing about the band or the singer Steve Mason except what wikipedia tells me. But love this tune. Plus it's my seque song to other genres. I like a hard working song.
8. Cut Copy- "Where I'm Going"
Another band I'm not familiar with and just happened to find in my library. It's like a character in a David Byrne song-how did it get here?? Sounds like the song is going from the Velvet Underground to Sloan,via The Beach Boys and ending with The Beatles.
9. R.L. Burnside' "It's Bad You Know"
First heard this on The Sopranos. So much great music on that show. Mr. Burnside gets to open for my Day of the Dead Day on the Green, featuring all the acts I got into too late and never saw live, or alive.
10. Doyle Bramhall- "Is it News?"
Actually Bramhall should open that Day of the Dead show.
11. The Orb- "Little Fluffy Clouds"
Even Ricky Lee Jones' interviews are musical.
12. Citizen Cope- "Every Waking Moment"
Some musicians have a voice or a sound that just resonates immediately and they can sing almost anything and you'll like it. Count me in on the Citizen.
22 comments:
Whoa Nelly - David Bromberg!
Oooh, no liner notes!
Very exciting, each song is like taking a blindfolded swing at a piñata. No peeking!
This is way super-cool cover art.
And I think the first Citizen Cope track in the Project. Good eye (and ear).
High keeper rate and painless grooves. Thanks for sharing, Mark!
Bromberg, Bramhall and Burnside. Coasters, Cut Copy and Cope. You are killing it, not just musically, but with alliterative awesomeness. I wish this mix was a radio station and I could tune in whenever I needed my day to be better. You never disappoint, Mr. Ulriksen.
Love the sequencing on this one -- so many genres (especially towards the beginning) but yet it moved my ears along on a path that made sense. I especially loved the version of "Just One of Those Things." Thanks for a great mix!
What a perfect way to start a mix. There is nothing like a good fanfare. I feel like David Bromberg should be familiar to me, but he's new and I like it. The banjo is fantastic. The Blue Chips are amazing. I so enjoy old gospel. The Coasters cut is fantastic. King Biscuit Time is new to me too. The thumping bass made my little dog nervous, but then the chorus kicked in and we were both thrilled. I've been hearing about Cut Copy for a while now, but haven't heard their stuff. Where I'm Going is a great song. I got to know Burnside when Jon Spencer became involved with him. Such good stuff. I tried to come up with a term to describe the Doyle Bramhall cut and all I could come up with was "thick" and I mean that in the best way possible. Citizen Cope is a big draw in Seattle and I've never understood it until now. What a great sone. Thanks Mark.
Aptly titled - it's all over the map. And so good. Love the Fox intro (writes the guy who had Apocalypse-Now Sheen-babble on his last mix); I never knew it was the Prague Philharmonic. A bunch of new favorites (Vana Vana, Cut Copy, and King Biscuit especially each have big hooks in me) and some grad-school throwbacks (Orb Burnside). Thanks Mark!
Ha, "Orb Burnside"
Cut Copy's good stuff - perfect summer song. Doyle's got a bit of a Stevie Ray thing going. Always heard he was great and now I know why. And the Bromberg is a complete turnaround but I love that too. Thanks for walking around to so many places, Mark.
I know the tendancy is to leave long comments, but for now I have to say this mix is blowing me away, the range of styles,the sequencing, but not of that matters a jot if the songs don't measure up - and they certainly do. Can't get the Steve Mason track out of my head (his latest has similar moments by the way), and that stellar country track by David Bromberg.
This sets the bar alarmingly high for the rest of us, so, er, thanks Mark!
Paul Rhodes
You had me at The Blue Chips and The Coasters. This one just goes from strength to strength. Thanks, Mark!
Heaping helpings of goodness on here. The fanfare sets the stage nicely for Bromberg's exploration of the shitty side of being on the road as opposed to its romance. Augie Goupil was like having a large cup of Kona injected directly into my veins - so relentless! Also enjoyed the Orbs, Cut Copy, and R.L. Burnside offerings, but man oh man - King Biscuit Time? Entirely new to me and soon to be investigated more thoroughly in hopes that the rest of the catalog will yield more gems like this one.
Thanks again, sir!
Agree with Karl about King Biscuit Time. New to me as well, and then a little research tells me it's Stephen Mason from Beta Band. And all is right with the universe again. Go, ye Scotsman!
What a blast to get all this love, thanks for the feedback folks. The bar is ALWAYS high on the Prodge so I'm happy to have cleared the hurdle.
Cheers mates,
Mark
The stick is connecting with the piñata on Bromberg, Blue Chips, and The Orb. Cut Copy made a big hole and dumped a bunch of candy, but King Biscuit Time released the motherlode.
The whole mix is a giant sweet treat, Mark. As someone who's been to a dental specialist twice this week, I am extra grateful for this giant pile of sweetness that won't rot my teeth.
How do they say in Italian ... Bravissimo?! Sì, Sì!
Chiming in late but following the consensus-- terrific stuff! Bromberg and Burnside are familiar and always welcome additions to my collection. Love the Blue Chips and need to pester a friend to send me that box set as he promised a while back...
Cut Copy and Doyle Bramhall are new to me and I'm looking forward to investigating their respective catalogs further.
Thanks for another fun collection (mrs. fritz also sends a big thumbs-up)!
Fun, fabulous. So many treats. Love!
I love, love, LOVE the backing vocals on the Coasters song. "BREAH-zil"!!!
Melissa, re the Coasters...me too!
Sorry for the late, late commentary. I've been in a hole...
I enjoyed this immensely. Only new a few of the artists. Big smile with the intro...that just grew bigger w/ each track. Nice and eclectic. Standouts include Mr. Bromberg, King Biscuit, R.L. Burnside, Cut Copy.
Here is a pathetically late comment for a stellar mix. I particularly enjoyed the three B's on this mix: Bromberg, Burnside, and Bramhall. And the Citizen Cope closer is my favorite; I didn't want the mix to end so I just had to put that song on repeat for a while. Thanks!
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