i have just mailed out all the October cds tonight, a little behind schedule. i hope they get to you soon.
As a note, i didn't mean for this mix to be so personal, in the sense that i am randomly sharing my life with a group of people that i don't know at all (except for a small taste of your fine musical preferences), but i suppose that all my mix tapes are about mood and feeling and memory. i am not sure though, why i decided to spill so much personal bullshit in the liner notes. So please pardon the over-sharing.
The Badlands is not as emo as the title might suggest. Actually, it is far more literal in the geographical sense, in that i was remembering a trip at the end of this summer through the badlands of the Alberta prairies. And it was a good trip, and a good summer, save for, well, i guess, feelings and emotions, which are not my forte.
The other thing about this mix is that i spent summer traversing the whole of North America for microbial conferences (yay grad school reimbursements!) and other fun life stuff, one of the stops being nxne in Toronto. nxne was a lot of fun and it was a blast running around in the nighttime heat trying to see as many awesome bands as possible with friends, so a lot of the bands on the mix were at nxne. And in hindsight, they are all super good at capturing my state of internal craziness, hence the appearance of so many nxne alumni on the mix.
So i hope you enjoy The Badlands. And thank you for letting me be a part of Eleventilicious.
cy
Cynthia,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great surprise opening up the mail and finding your CD. The stark, B&W ink drawing and handwriting on the case insert knocked me out before I even played the CD! And I found your written sentiments heartfelt and honest, as well as compelling.
Then there's the music. Well, let me just say, it's probably the club CD this year that features the most bands I know the least about, and I mean that in a good way. It's opening my ears a lot wider than they were, and I'm happily exploring some of the bands beyond their CD cuts already.
Great job!
I have to say, I'm really enjoying BADLANDS. Great compilation and introduction to great music. Thank you!!!! I'm thoroughly enjoying it. --Ileana
ReplyDeleteI usually approach a mix CD as a music consumer, listening for songs that I like, and fast-forwarding through the ones I don't. As mix CDs tend to be collections of favorite tunes following a certain theme, it's expected that there will be chaff among the wheat. "Badlands" is clearly more than a clever compilation of tracks. The liner notes hint at it being a chronicle of an eventful summer, and it is certainly that and more - it's a snapshot of a unique and fleeting time and place that is preserved in music.
ReplyDeleteMy initial observation is that it's frankly quieter than I had expected - solo acoustic ballads interspersed with soft loops and samples. Then I started paying attention to the lyrics - the cycle of reckless abandon and regret in "You Already Know", the shimmering nostalgia of "Golden Haze", and the bare and open confession of "Tan Lines." This is not "easy listening." I only recognized three artists (Air, Bombay Bicycle Club, and Dum Dum Girls) but found it all refreshingly accessible. The dream-like mood of "Tunnel Vision" was so intoxicating that I didn't want it to end. This is a true gift.
Paul, your review was so eloquent! I'm embarrassed by my simplistic comments above. I will have to listen for the lyrics now and listen in on the "reckless abandon" of "You Already Know" and the "dream-like mood" of "Tunnel Vision." Your thorough review makes me want to hear it again with a different "ear." Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIleana - no need to feel embarrassed! I just thought I'd share that for me the mix had some additional rewards beyond the music. I find I've been lazy about listening to lyrics as I've gotten older. Years of melodic but nonsensical streams of semi-consciousness at the hands of Guided By Voices will do that to you.
ReplyDeletePaul: Where's the "LIKE" button? :) While I like melodies for sure, it's mostly lyrics for me. Surprisingly, I listened to the music first and decided how much I liked it musically. Am listening to it now with a second ear for the lyrics. I love your writing BTW. It has soul.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this disc Cynthia. I am really drawn to the authenticity and grittiness of the confessional singer-songwriter. In that same way I am drawn to the biopic of an aquaintance's recent life events. Thanks for sharing and for putting yourself out there a litte.
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