Vibrant

Date
September 7, 2016

Miracler 
Chris von Sneidern

Location
San Francisco

Welcome to Autumn, Miraclers
Hope your summer vacations were spectacular. Here in SF, we're on about Day 2 of ours (summer, that is) and it's magnificent, if you're not a school kid in Week 3 of the semester, in which case, it sucks.

Today's Miracler
has been with us since Season One, treating us over the last 13 years (yeah!) to a free range of music, from 2014's Mellow Bold Types to 2012's Spanish ABBA mix to 2011's What a Mess: Ordophon-Upon-Avon Archives to 2010's Folk Songs from the Old Kit Bag (a favorite then & now of Your Hostess) and 2008's I'd Rather Be Normal Than Happy not to mention his inaugural power-pop mix from 2003, before there was iTunes and everyone had to burn cd's and mail them in envelopes with stamps on them.

And speaking of Apple products, it's prescient given today's announcement that Mr. von S's cover features a cordfree phone, considering he sent me his mix weeks ago and didn't even mention that aspect (though he is kind of dancing around it with the phone references, I guess). That's just like him: ahead of the times but no need to brag about it.  

Liner Notes from CvS
In making way for our new vibrant SF surroundings, there is less room for departing technology of hats, obsolete human interaction, and thankfully, emotional discomfort. Even Frankie shown here can text someone to help him feel a little less alone in the wee small hours of the morning.

The future is bright, like Vegas at night, and anything your wildest imagination could dream up has already been invented, just waiting for someone to scale it so we can all have it for $100. I bring you a decidedly short playlist-mixtape-compilation for your delectation. Our hostess asked me to pen a few words, so rather than phone it in, let me think a second:

We start with some instrumentals. I wanted to ease in rather than hit you with a bombastic eclectic little gift. Will there be any affected singing I don’t like on this mix?

Herman’s Hermits into Can- they’re essentially the same song to my ears. One a little closer to the sound of Donovan, but that’s thanks to the great producer Mickey Most. “Just do what we did for Don, and let’s break for lunch.”

I was told yesterday there is a Can documentary out there, featuring Vitamin C? I haven’t seen it, but good for them. I wanted to fit in with the 3mpm group, so I put some Talking Heads in here. A few years ago, I was invited to ride up Mt Tam with Prairie Prince and Jerry Harrison, and I thought, “9 am, that’s kinda early to ride my bike. Besides, what has Jerry Harrison done since the Modern Lovers broke up?” I admit I didn’t understand until recently that he was in TH. Sorry, my bad. More texting.

I like Gabor Szabo, his ratty “gypsy” tone on guitar keeps it safely away from any smooth jazz leanings, although I listen to my fair share of that too. And Bobby Womack is panned to the other side, patiently letting the Hungarian take all the solos. I had intended to put “Azure Blue” on instead; a different album track from High Contrast.

Then I steer my choices decidedly more toward what I think of as an American sound, despite including two English acts. Terry Reid claims that Richie Havens taught him a lot of guitar. The Clash were ga-ga for NYC.

God Bless Mickey Newbury. People say he sounds like he’s trying to sound like someone else. I don’t hear that yet.

cvs

MARCELLA, YOU ARE NEXT!

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