Instant Party Mixture: 8.24.2011

Once again, I’m in a mood to shake things up a bit here, and those who know me (or follow this blog even semi-regularly) know that I love a good mix. Having watched I Need That Record!, a good-not-great documentary on the downfall of indie record stores, last night, and being let down that it basically boiled down to older men from indie bands shaking their fists and grumbling “Fucking record companies! Grrr!!!” (instead of backing it up with hard evidence, of course; although it was fun to watch archival footage of Chuck D. berate perpetual jackass and blowhard Lars Ulrich for suing Napster.) However, I do feel somewhat guilty for having betrayed my love of record stores, and going the easy route with downloads and Internet purchases. Still, whenever I have cause to enter an independent record store, I do my best to spend a bit of time there, peruse the aisles, and make at least one or two purchases.

How is this relevant to a mix? Well, years ago, I would make a mix by recording it directly from the source to a tape, carefully editing together a tape that had a certain ebb and flow to it, to the point that it almost became a work of art to me. But the allure of drag-and-drop ease finally got to me, and when I started making mix CDs, the same principals applied, but the actual physical work was non-existent. These days, having no need for physical CDs, I’ve resorted to making a mix on my iPod or – at my laziest – simply hitting “shuffle” and going from there.

But some new and surprising selections do show up with this, and the depths of my iPod are often explored. In “Instant Party Mixture” (named after a previously unreleased Who song from 1966), and what is an inaugural category on Sound Round (because full album reviews are still beyond my attention span, and my perpetually-delayed “Best of 2011 … So Far” entry continues to gather dust while I collect contenders for the “Best of 2011 … The Rest” entry), I’m going to list the random playlist of the morning, with links to YouTube videos (where available) for extra measure. That way, if you’re so inclined, you can recreate the mix yourself! What fun!

(Work with me here, I’m trying something new.)

1. Arc (Pearl Jam)
2. Beating Of Hearts (XTC)
3. I’ve Seen That Movie Too (Elton John)
4. Just For The Record (Marillion)
5. Alabama Song (David Bowie)
6. Big George (Humble Pie)
7. The Bridge (Neil Young)
8. Fill Your Heart (David Bowie)
9. Tennessee (Gillian Welch)
10. Black Country Woman (Led Zeppelin)
11. Amongst The Waves (Pearl Jam)
12. Tumbling Dice (The Rolling Stones)
13. Kennel District (Pavement)