Preliminaries
Mixed tape is a forum exposing people to music outside their usual bubble. It consists of little more than a group of people suggesting eclectic tunes they enjoy; especially ones they feel may have slipped under the other's radars.
These recommendations are sent out via a mailing list and later archived on this page. They are sent out in the format "Artist — Album (Year) — Song Title" to <mixedtape@umich.edu> every Friday. Sometimes, people also take the time to send in a few descriptive lines. If you'd like to join the fun, please let me know.
Archived Suggestions
- Kula Shaker—K (1996)—Tattva
"'Kula Shaker' are clearly the more esoteric of my listening choices. They're an overtly trippy, psychedelic, linear combination of a (high) experimental George Harrison, and Oasis. They're an acquired taste, but once they've grown onto you, you can't have enough. There are numerous Indian influences which clearly add to an already rich musical canvas. (No one said these reviews had to be unbiased.)" — HN
- Royksopp—Melody A.M. (2002)—Remind Me
"A fairly representative track from this Norwegian down-tempo-ish group. I highly recommend this LP." — JEO
- Paul Weller—Wild Wood (Cd single - import) (1999)—Wild Wood (Paul Weller vs Portishead Mix)
"I don't actually possess this import, just culled it back in the day when I used to download music from the internet. This gem was found while doing a search for portishead remixes. I subsequently downloaded more stuff by him (Weller apparently was in the Jam), but nothing really interested me as much as this one did. folky guitars + trip hop electronica = music gold. or as one of the reviewers on amazon.com more clearly put it: 'Die Kombination Paul Weller und Portishead ergnzen sich hier einfach fantastisch. Ich wurde mir gerne mal Paul Weller mit einer anderen Begleitband wunschen. Tausch doch mal Steve White aus.'" — SC
- Mike Doughty—Haughty Melodic (2005)—Looking At The World From The Bottom Of A Well
"A track you may have heard on various TV promos, this one is from the frontman of that former purveyor of (often senseless) rhymes known as Soul Coughing. Not a bad album to check out; more acoustic than thumping beats." — JEO
- Blur—Parklife (1994)—Parklife
"Returning to more Britpop, we turn our attention this week to 'Blur'. This is a band that's constantly reinventing themselves, and one I really like, but hate on principle. The album 'Parklife', their most fully realized work by far (and extremely commercially successful), was released just around the time they were perilously closed to bankruptcy (disastrous American tours, of course) and just one meeting from being dropped. The song 'Parklife', though catchy, barely made it into the album because the producers weren't sure of its sing-along-ability; the lyrics being narrated and all." — HN
- The Slip—Angels Come on Time (2002)
"Mellow, velvet, experimental, groovy guitar, drums and bass. Listen to it and take your time because the payoff is huge." — JAR
- Stereolab—Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)—Transona Five
"One of the best bands I've ever seen live." — EMD
- Porcupine Tree—In Absentia (2002)—Trains
"Not exactly Brit Pop, but a quasi-thinking [wo]man's group. The latter-half banjo interlude, in my mind, is reminiscent of great 'codas' like [Clapton's] "Layla"'s piano exit or even Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain". This is a good one." — JEO
- Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra—Mozart Violin Concertos Nos 1-3 (1989)—Violin Concerto No.2 in D
"This is just handwavey evidence against the rumour brewing that my play-lists are uni-faceted. It isn't the entire piece but approximately a third, the initial section with a moderately quick? (allegro moderato) tempo." — HN
- "Mos Def—Black on Both Sides (1999)—Miss Fat Booty"
"something a little more lighthearted this week. this song always makes me smile...the mighty mos def lamenting about the chick with that "ass so fat you can see it from the front" who bore him a child then left... (sorry if I ruined the plot for you) " — SC
- Screaming Trees—Dust (1996)—Sworn and Broken
"Seattle's Screaming Trees' post-grunge 'Dust' was one of my favorite LPs of high school, and possibly of all time. Check out the Wurlitzer solo on this track." — JEO
- John Lee Hooker—Live at Cafe au Go-Go and Soledad Prison (1966)—What's the Matter Baby
"My favorite during this past summer and probably one of the sexiest blues songs ever. Bonus: It's live!" — SC
- Oasis—The Masterplan (1998)—The Masterplan
"This is one of my favorite songs from an album that almost never was. It is an epic anthem, with full orchestral backup. On par with the quintessential rock star lifestyle, 'Oasis' have have been in hot water numerous times. On one such occasion, when it looked like the band had nearly dissolved, Sony (the evil mega-corporation who were handling their records at the time) decided to make a quick buck and bundled a bunch of earlier unreleased "sub par" tracks relegated to being B-sides to spawn what became 'The Masterplan'. Of course, in my not so unbiased opinion, a collection of Oasis' B-sides is easily cooler than most band's regular tracks." — HN
- Nirvana—Bleach (1989)—Downer
"This is one of Nirvana's earlier albums before they were as polished and popular. Good stuff." — EMD
- Lithium Project—Passo Fundo (2001)—Moments in Neon
"This whole album is very good, in my humble opinion." — EMD
- Young American Primitive—Young American Primitive (1993)—Ritual
"My favorite song of all time. Excellent CD, sadly it's out of print. Everytime I listen to it, I'm reminded of driving along out of Yellowstone via the Beartooth Highway in Southern Montana—Once called "America's most beautiful road" by Charles Kuralt." — SC
- The Verve—A Storm In Heaven (1993)—Virtual World
"Almost all the music I listen to is of the genre BritPop—alternative rock from the UK during the early to mid '90s—so a bulk of my suggestions will be from bands of this class. 'The Verve' is no different, and even if you haven't heard of them, you've probably heard a song or two, especially the track 'Bittersweet Symphony' which has made its way into a few (really awful) movies' soundtracks. I think I enjoy the track I picked because it really blends the flute in, enhancing an already subtle guitar backdrop—and I'm a fan of the flute." — HN
- The Police—Reggatta De Blanc (1979)—Bring On The Night
"A look back at Der Polizei's seminal White Reggae record. 'Bring on the night / I couldn't stand another hour of daylight.'" — JEO
- DJ Krush—Zen (2001)—Song 1
— EMD
- Ali Farka Toure & Ry Cooder—Talking Timbuktu (1994)—Ai Du
— EMD
- Dr. John—In The Right Place (1973)—Right Place Wrong Time
"As has been popular in the weeks following Katrina, I felt a nod to a New Orleans original (Dr. John) was in order for my first contribution to the CML Mix Tape. This is actually the only Dr. John song that I know, and is by far his most popular (and it was barely that). Enjoy." — JEO
- Blind Melon—Nico (1996)—Soul one
"'Blind Melon' was another one of those phenomenal bands whose careers were cut short by substance abuse. Unlike most of the seriously-studio-polished albums one often gets to hear, 'Nico' is one of those rare cases where it's just very raw. I personally find 'Soul One' extremely tender, through its undressed undertones." — HN