The days are shorter, the nights are colder. And so I found myself compelled to make a mix to fit this mood. So here it is, a collection beautiful, etherial sounds from some of my favorite female artists. Songbirds who are Mon the rise whose sounds you can curl up to…or fly away with.
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the OCMD Mixtape – “Lime Taffy” [audio http://www.415project.com/theOCMD/limetaffy.mp3]
Artist: Lady Fortune
Album: The Light from the Television EP
Homeland: UK
Label: Moorhouse Records
Release Date: 12/13/10 (or 13/12/10 for you Brits)
Featured Track: “Mixtape”
Don’t you love when the lyrics to a song just nail it? Yeah, I got that feeling when I listened to this track from UK-based Lady Fortune. I knew from the moment I heard it that Nick (the vocalist who sent me it) and I were going to get along. I completely agree with his mixtape sentiments. (Eye to eye, Nick.) It reminds me of what I like most about music, which is it’s ability to more elegantly express or articulate a sentiment or feeling. Even if that sentiment is music snobbery. With a sound a bit like The Strokes meets Jamie T., they’re beginning to make some buzz across the pond. Their new EP, The Light from the Television, is due out on Moorhouse Records next month.
Good food, good wine, good friends, good music. Do you need anything more than that? You can get all that and then some this Thursday, October 8, at the hottest restaurant in San Francisco right now – the Mission district’s Flour + Water – where the OCMD will be curating an evening of strictly local music.
This unassuming neighborhood gem has earned the praise of The New York Times, WSJ, and our very own Michael Bauer. Even though the entire town is busting down the doors of this place, the owners remain decidedly laid-back and committed to preserving the hip, low-key neighborhood vibe. Fitting with that theme, I’m excited to share the local love by featuring some of the best up and coming bands San Francisco has to offer. To celebrate the occasion, the restaurant has set aside several coveted tables to bestow on a few lucky readers for this Thursday. First four readers to email me at theocmd@gmail.com wins!
Here’s a taste of what’s to come. Enjoy the mix!
1. Papercuts, “Future Primitive”
2. Ty Segall, “Lovely One”
3. Sic Alps, “L Mansion”
4. Thee Oh Sees, “Can You See”
5. Leopold & His Fiction, “Tiger Lily”
6. The Ferocious Few, “Crazy Love”
7. The Dodos, “Fables”
8. Girls, “Lust for Life”
9. The Mantles, “Burden”
10. Garrett Pierce, “Your Feet In Wet Cement”
11. John Vanderslice, “Tremble and Tear”
12. LoveLikeFire, “William”
13. Stripmall Architecture, “Version”
14. Lilofee, “Lock and Key”
My rock-n-roll vacation is just days, hours away. I’ve been combing the line up of 1400 bands for weeks now. My list is made, I’m checking it twice and trying to keep the panic at bay as I struggle to find a way to fit it all in.
SXSW is the equivalent of Mecca for the indie music junkie, like me. It’s the place you go to discover the best new artists everyone else will be listening 6 months or a year from now, depending on where you fall on the music curve. And already I’ve found some gems. Here’s a sample of a few bands I’m particularly excited to see. Believe me, there are many, many more. Some of them are classics reunited – like Echo and The Bunneymen and Red Red Meat – others somewhat establish, but most are new to the scene and trying to break out. Enjoy!
the OCMD SXSW Playlist #1
1. Benjy Ferree – “Pisstopher Christoper”
2. Obits – “Pine On”
3. Abe Vigoda – “Don’t Lie”
4. New Villager – “Rich Doors”
5. Foreign Born – “Vacationing People”
6. Iran – “Buddy”
7. Red Red Meat – “Gauze”
8. Wheat – “El Sincero”
9. Echo & The Bunnymen – “Killing Moon”
10. Handsome Furs – “Dumb Animals”
11. Wintersleep – “Drunk on Aluminum”
12. White Lies – “Death”
13. Let’s Wrestle – “I Won’t Lie to You”
14. The Transpersonals – “Twenty Twelve”
15. White Denim – “Mess Up Your Hair”
I’m in a 70s bohemian state of mind at the moment. All I want are wide leg jeans, vintage print blouses and great big sunglasses so I can look at the world through yellow-tinged lenses and feel like this. Luckily there’s a new crop of lo-fi, AM Gold music to match my mood. Enjoy my Sunshine Daydream. To get the MP3 file, sign up for the OCMD Mixtape newsletter.
Whoo hoo! Two more days to Outside Lands and Radiohead. Here’s a mix I compiled of the bands I’m looking forward to seeing on Friday. If I can cram it all in. Enjoy! If you want the MP3 file, you’ll need to sign up for the OCMD Mixtape newsletter.
“They were into you, so they made you a tape. Today you don’t have a cassette player, but you still can’t toss that mix. We share the stories and the soundtrack to your earliest loves.”
–Manifesto from CASSETTE FROM MY EX
Now that’s what I’m talking about! This site is all about people who searched for the deeper meaning of the mixtape. It features mixes and the stories behind them from random and notable people, like Claudia Gonson – the drummer of The Magnetic Fields (have I mentioned I have an obsession with female drummers?) I love it.
Lately, I’ve been obsessed with cover songs. And nostalgic for the mixtape. I miss the mixtape, frankly, and wish it would come back. Mix CDs are great and all, but the ‘drag and drop’ medium doesn’t require the same amount of effort, thoughtfulness and dedication as making a mixtape did. It’s one thing to find the right songs and arrange them…but to actually time the songs so you didn’t run out of tape? That’s an art form.
And in that sense, they seemed more meaningful too. I just can’t recall anyone today being particularly impressed by a mix CD they were given. But remember when someone gave you a mixtape in the day? That was…WOW.
It’s been far too long since I’ve made or have been given a mixtape. But I’m changing that today with my first mixtape to you (albeit digital) – a collection of my favorite indie cover songs. There will be more to come. So if you like this and want more, you’ll have to subscribe to my Mixtape Podcast to receive them.
the OCMD – Best Covers Mixtape
1. Cryptacize – Peg (Steely Dan cover)
2. Johnathon Wilson – La Isla Bonita (Madonna cover)
3. Midnight Movies – Mes Reves de Satin (Moody Blues cover)
4. Japancakes – Only Shallow (MBV cover)
5. Sonic Youth – Superstar (Carpenters cover)
6. Grizzly Bear – Owner of a Lonely Hearts (Yes cover)
7. We are Scientists – Hoppipolla (Sigur Ros cover)
8. Jose Gonzalez – Teardrop (Massive Attack cover)
9. Marissa Nadler – No Surprises (Radiohead cover)
10. St. Vincent – These Days (Jackson Browne cover)
11. Cat Power – Ramblin’ (Wo)man (Hank Williams cover)
12. Vampire Weekend – Exit Music (for a Film) (Radiohead cover)
13. Sons and Daughters – Killer (Adamski cover)
14. The Cloud Room – Blue Monday (New Order cover)
15. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Another Satellite (XTC cover)
16. The Paper Scissors – I can’t Go for That (Hall & Oates cover)
the OCMD 