November 20, 2013
Miracler
Todd Bonne
Location
Brooklyn
If it feels like it's been way too long since our last Todd Bonne mix,
you are right. 17 months! Let's never let it happen again. Especially in this weather, which screams out for some of that signature TB singer-songerwriter lo-fi moodiness.
Some of your TWENTY-EIGHT comments (remember those days?) about Todd's last opus, Gone Today:
Oh.... it's THAT Lee Marvin.Cool. And is it wrong that the word that keeps coming to mind as I listen to the mix is "groovy?" Peace out, I'm diving back in. —— I need a 12 step program for this mix. I am deep in some addictive behavior: cannot. stop. listening to it . —— A song from Paint Your Wagon? I like how you roll, Todd Bonne. And no, I am not gay. —— Hell is in Hello...classic. Snow can burn your eyes, but only people make you cry! This kind of talent crossover is much preferred to seeing Tom Cruise be a rockstar. —— Wow, this mix is fantastic! I'm particularly taken with the Robert Forster track, but each track is singularly fascinating. Thank you. —— Really enjoying this mix Todd....and just like last year's mix, I haven't heard of a single sole. LOVE that! —— I am really enjoying this mix Todd. Many things I didn't know and a lot to thank for, the presence of Cozy Powell making me smile being but one of them. Blast from the (teen) past! And Odyssey: sweet. And thanks for Smokey and his Sister! Didn't know, looooved it. —— Beautiful music man, I keep hitting 'play' over and over. I can't wait to listen to it under a tree this Summer. —— This Robert Forster song is haunting me in the very best, best way. —— i blush at half of these song titles. maybe it's just me. great opening song and anything by robert forester is welcome. great mix, todd. —— Another transportive, ethereal and evocative mix from Mr Bonne. The Robert Forster song has a Neil Young Harvest Moon quality that I'm loving, also really digging Jackson C. Frank, Nine Circles, and the dreamy ending tune Smokey and His Sisters. Good stuff. Many thanks! —— This mix keeps its murky vibe throughout, that's a good thing. —— Cozy Powell? WTF? Love it. Other standouts for me: FJ McMahon, Odyssey, Maxine Sellers (Those strings! Those horns! Those back-up singers!), and Smokey and His Sisters (That name!). Thank you very much, Todd. —— Wandering Star was a bold move. 'Paint Your Wagon' was a must-see saturday afternoon movie in our household whenever it was on: as a result, it's one of those movies I like more than the critical consensus would deem reasonable. —— That humming chorus starting off the Lee Marvin number did it for me. A grand entrance. Dark Side of the Road also connected immediately. I love when a song does that. The five acoustic tracks at the beginning all are new to me and really flow together. Kind of like sitting in a cool little club where you're a few chairs away from the performer. —— Great mix of stuff I've never heard a lick of before. Standouts include Forster, Wilcox, and Smokey. And yes, Cozy Powell, WTF!? Thoroughly enjoyed. Good road tripper. —— It also just occurred to me that those Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes cats must have received an advance copy of this mix. —— So I'm sitting at my desk, cruising my way through this mix, enjoying the manly vibe, and suddenly I'm thumping my foot at this track by someone whose name is completely unfamiliar to me. Who the hell is Cozy Powell? —— Thanks, Todd Bonne, for helping me connect the dots in my far-from-complete hard-rock education. And for posting such a rockin' mix. —— Really, really love this mix, burned it and I have been playing it in my truck, seems so appropriate. The Bob Desper tune got to me, sung with such simplicity. Very good. And the Odyssey bit is great too. The whole mix just shines with wry and twangy, and a good on ya for including a Robert Forster cut. And that is the most soulfull Moby Grape song I can ever remember.... —— A mix after my own heart. I really loved this one, feels like a soundtrack. Desper and Jackson Frank especially got me. THANKS! —— You had me with Paint Your Wagon. I think that album got played about 15,ooo times at my house in 1969. Is it still embarrassing if you were only eight years old at the time? Great mix; thanks. PS - I second all of Greg's B-movie nominations. —— DAMN this is a sublimely satisfying and perfect mix. Lee Marvin! Cozy Powell! Robert Forster! Moby Grape! And a bunch of beautiful mysteries that I have to hear more from -- like Jackson C. Frank. —— I listened to this mix over and over. Especially liked the Cozy Powell track. Thank you. —— Was listening at work the other day and a woman walked in and in 2 notes - srsly- said "Paint Your Wagon" ... it was a moment, and maybe you had to be there, but I loved it. This mix is getting its grooves worn, for sure. —— I love this mix! Favorite new discoveries (as of now): Nine Circles and FJ. Mc Mahon. This is one of those comps that will definitely turn into a music buying spree. Thanks for leading me to new places! —— Love it just as much as Swirly Bird, which was one of my favorite mixes yet. Wilcox, Desper and Smokey all have that mesmerizing, almost spooky psyche folk sound that you dig up for us. Thanks!
Leading us to today. Your lucky Hostess has been enjoying a headstart on this mix, and is pretty sure you'll like filling up on this Emptyness.
Please note: Because Todd's mix arrived to me as MP3's (should be audio tracks instead, future Miraclers), these files are clinging to their original track order from their past lives, so to hear the mix in the intended order, click on Track # in your iTunes window.
Track List
1. Death — Concrete Whistle
2. You Don't Know What It's Like — Exuma
3. Facing All the Same Tomorrows — Vernon Wray
4. Brain — The Action
5. Weird Herald — Saratoga James
6. U.F.O. — Larry Norman
7. Dandelions — The Children of Sunshine
8. Wheel of the Law — Kendra Smith
9. My Spirit's Calling — Roger Rodier
10. Show Me to the Window — Robert Lester Folsom
11. Morning Sun — Dave Bixby
12. Jesse — Jill Cislaghi
13. You Say — Michael Chapman
14. Sun Came Up — Dantalian's Chariot
15. Coyote's Cry — Mossy Davidson
Mix is UP. Same password—check your inbox. Make sure you come back and comment! To comment on this mix, click on the 'Comment' button below the post and write something. If you don't have/want to use your Google etc. accounts, just type your name in the "Name" box and you are done. See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page soon. XOK
20 comments:
Does anyone else remember an Orange Crush soda pop commercial from the early 70s that featured a young couple in love with a jingle that went something like "feels so good...you want your first Crush to last...don't let it go so fast...". For reasons I can't even begin to explain, the Larry Norman "U.F.O." song reminds me of that TV ad. No, I don't know why.
I imagine myself seeing Concrete Whistle perform "Death" at Amnesia in the Mission in SF. It just seems to fit.
Also, I got five extra songs that aren't on the track list when I downloaded this. I assume everyone else did, as well; it can't just be me.
Hey Melissa,
Ha—those 5 songs at the end are in fact not intended to be extra—they're just Your Hostess's spacing out that there was a third column of iTunes listings on the screen (behind other Safari screens) when I typed them in.
I'm still getting used to the new iTunes—I fought updating until it was literally required. But the presentation of album info is weird and random (three columns, huh? At least try to simulate a 2-sided record album, Apple...)
Anyway, thanks for letting me know. I have since added the last 5 tracks to the post here.
XOK
I loved the folky, hushed groove of this. This was one mix that sent me straight to Wikipedia to look up all these artists, many of whom seemed to have toiled in (mellow) obscurity. So many of the tracks appealed to me, but standouts for me were The Action, Sunshine Children (who basically lived out my childhood dream) and Robert Lester Folsom. And Dave Bixby sounded so modern to me -- I was surprised that he recorded that music so long ago. A great ear-opener for me!
Death is delicious. What a great song. I love the stomp box beat of You Don’t Know What It’s like. The background vocals are fantastic. Vernon Wray has such a great voice. It’s like a toned-down Lee Hazelwood. The Action has a great guitar sound. I really like the explosiveness of this song. The Children of Sunshine cut is fantastic. It takes me back to the Langley School of Music album, which, if you haven’t heard, is a must find. I got such a great Velvet Underground feeling from the Kendra Smith cut. Fantastic. When the Robert Lester Folsom cut opened with “most of my life I’ve been sad”, I was hooked. What a great opening line. I wonder if Dave Bixby knows how much he influenced Elbow, The Morning Benders and even Villagers. The Michael Chapman cut is like rising out of the grave. Dantalian’s Chariot is another throw back to the Velvet Underground. I wonder how much they borrowed and how much influenced them. Well done, Todd, well done.
Nice consistent tone to the mix & without that a mix is just a confused noise. The Kendra Smith song is a classic that takes me back 20 years or whatever. Joe Carducci said that punk rock was the nihilistic end of baby boom dreams, a similar argument could be made for downbeat druggie folk music. Thanks for sharing, Todd.
Wow. This mix is a standout for me. Really beautiful.
Thank you!
Was just listening and reading up on Link Wray today. Saw that Vernon was his brother and made some of his best records, and was thinking whether he had any songs himself. Next thing I come here and see this...
Capsule review:
"This is a mix of winningly warm and comfortingly crackly deep cuts from obscure artists."
I love the consistency of mood and texture, which made the whole thing cohesive without becoming monotonous.
Standouts for me are Concrete Whistle (sounds like a fictitious band that The Rutles played with), The Action, Larry Norman (I'll bet this LP's in Fleet Foxes' collections), and Kendra Smith (my first listen through was blind, so my love of Opal had nothing to do with picking this one!).
All new to me (aside from the Action) and all tickling my folky-weirdo bone... That sounds wrong, but maybe you know what I mean...
Anyhow, really dig the aforementioned Action, Saratoga James, and Roger Rodier as overall stand-outs for me. However it's Dave Bixby that's totally knocked me out this time-- fantastic cut! I will be looking to get a copy of Ode to Quetzalcoatl shortly. Actually, I'll be trying to hunt down an awful lot of these tracks, so thanks in advance!
Nice mellow mood music mix. It all flows together smoothly. Wasn't familiar with a single artist or song. Standouts for me: Bixby, Chapman, Children of Sunshine, Rodier, Smith and The Action. Who are these people?? Got myself a homework assignment.
Um, this may just be my favorite mix of the year. I'm on the next to last song, and I haven't skipped one yet. And none have I heard before, which is also exciting. I love it!!
This mix is a real treat, perfect for working on a cold, rainy day, and Atlanta has had plenty of those lately. My favorites are "Brain" and "Sun Came Up".
Great mix Todd. Standouts for me are "Brain" and "Wheel of the Law" but they're just icing on really delicious cake. Thanks!
Even Google can't keep up with a Todd Bonne mix. You can look, but you won't find shit about many of the artists he brings us. Which somehow makes them even cooler. Vernon Wray had a lovely voice, Concrete Whistle's "Death" is an enigma wrapped inside some cotton candy and the Dave Bixby track is just mesmerizing. Sorry I'm late to comment. I've been enjoying the freak out of this burned-out collection. Thanks, Todd!
Absolutely, how many artists that I have never heard of can fit in one mix, this may take the case, kudos. Love the concept, and the execution. It is so cool to see the thoughtful roll out, Dave Bixby Super Special, and the action as well, well done
Just to let you know
A is Arthur B, and I am just relistening to this mix, and diggin it even more, Concrete Whistle, a revelation, the whole thing is so damn smart
great hearing kendra smith - that is such a great record.
The Action! Haven't heard them in a long time and they sounded great.
Thanks for a great mix!
I LOVE this mix. It's the perfect compliment to a sunny but freezing day. Whistfully upbeat. Woefully peppy. And oddly rejuvenating— filling you up with musical awesomeness when you are running on Empty. Todd, I'm so sorry I'm late to the party on commenting on this but it's def one of my favorites. Way to end out the season!
Another great, atmospheric and strange Todd Bonne mix. I've been listening to this one over & over. Someone should make a movie to go along with it! Thanks Todd.
I really love a Todd Bonne mix. Really a lot.
Not sure exactly what's up with me (sorry Kelly), but I'm finding it hard to comment on mixes immediately upon listening. Many need a month or more of consistent play/exposure for me to comment properly.
For the past month or so I've found myself listening to this mix over and over (as opposed to mixed in with the rest of the recent Prodge offerings). I absolutely love this mix. So sad and sweet. Sort of Harold and Maude soundtrack-esque. I imagine a youth walking, pondering, whilst these songs play over the montage. Skipping stones, swinging on a swing off a tree in a field, picking blades of grass....
Standout tracks: Death (Beatles by way of Gilbert O'Sullivan?), Sun Came Up, Wheel of the Law, Brain. But really, I like the whole dang thing. Thanks so much for another keeper, Todd. I hope you'll forgive my tardiness in commenting.
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