Trying to find time to write an introduction to this week's mix has been difficult, so we'll make this short and sweet. Style and Substance, the third entry in our series, is intended to showcase a few bands that defy conformity and challenge expectations. For some listeners, these songs may be mere forays into stylistic expression, nothing more and nothing less. I would argue, however, that even though style is paramount to the execution of this material, each song is substantive in its own right. Scratch beneath the surface, and you'll find creative artists at the top of their game. Style and Substance... Is the title of this mix making sense now?
The mix begins with a sample of dialogue from Pulp Fiction, a film rife with style and substance; it contains one of the most popular and influential soundtracks of all time. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion kicks off the music and is followed by one of my favorite tracks by the Beastie Boys. Marilyn Manson turns up the volume with an Alice Cooper-influenced tale of a drug-addled magician (hey, it's a creative song), followed by an acoustic number by the Violent Femmes (a band who has incorporated nearly every musical style available). The rest, my friends, will speak for itself. Enjoy!
01. Ezekiel 25/17 • Samuel L. Jackson
02. Bellbottoms • The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
03. Sabotage • Beastie Boys
04. Dope Hat • Marilyn Manson
05. I'm Nothing • Violent Femmes
06. Possum Kingdom • Toadies
07. In The Mind Of The Bourgeois Reader • Sonic Youth
08. Biscuits For Smut • Helmet
09. Hole In The Bucket • Spearhead
10. Screenwriter's Blues • Soul Coughing
11. Safeway Cart • Neil Young
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The title is definitely fitting and once again, you illustrate how one of the charms of a mixtape is provided through its flow from one song to the next. I remember getting mixtapes where how the individual songs fit together became so ingrained in my musical psyche that I had a hard time switching back to the actual album. I have a feeling these mixes may be similar in their ability to "redefine" the music that is now over 15 years old...
ReplyDeleteAgreed! There is a song by the Jesus and Mary Chain ("Between Planets") that you put on a mix for me many years ago. I loved the song, picked up Automatic, but found that I actually enjoyed hearing the song on your mix more than I did the proper album. Among the other songs on your cassette, "Between Planets" sounded fresher, more alive.
ReplyDeleteSequencing a mixtape is a rather obsessive and perhaps overly time-consuming process, but it's surely part of the fun. I actually go through three of four drafts before I settle on a final sequence. For Style and Substance, I actually swapped a song by the Manic Street Preachers for the track by Helmet simply because it better fit the album. The Manic Street Preachers song is a whole lot better, but this mix just wasn't flowing right with it. Obsessive? Admittedly so.