I’ve made some good mix tapes in my day – meaning, yes, cassette tapes – but basically I’ve never made a mix CD until now, just in time for the slow death of the CD medium itself. Anyway, I’ve put together 43:37 of music to distribute to my bandmates: Stephan Crump, Liberty Ellman, Jamie Fox, Dan Rieser and my producer Kevin Killen when we rehearse tomorrow. The mix is made up of a very diverse set of tracks that have inspired me sonically, vocally, sentimentally, thematically and/or groove-wise in recent months, as we prepare to go into the magic cave of Mission Sound Recording Studio on March 11th. Yes, we’re on a mission. Or at least I am, and hopefully a listen to these will help us cohere around that..
Here are the songs, in their completely random order:
1) Amassakoul ‘N’ Ténéré, Tinarawen Amassakoul
2) Beautiful Tango, Hindi Zahra Handmade
3) Five Years, David Bowie Ziggy Stardust
4) Yes We Can Can, Allen Toussaint Our New Orleans[1]
5) Grandma’s Hands, Bill Withers
6) Work It, Missy Elliot Under Construction[2]
7) Fearless, Jill Walsh[3]
8) Shoes, Jump, Stephan Crump with Rosetta Trio Reclamation[4]
9) One’s on the Way, Loretta Lynn[5]
10) Anything We Want, Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel
11) Con Toda Palabra, Lhasa, The Living Road[6]
[1] Mixed by Kevin Killen. I love how the piano lick makes the whole song start again at minute 2:00. From a great compilation to benefit Habitat for Humanity in its efforts in rebuilding New Orleans.
[2] no, you’re not supposed to know what she’s saying, except most of the time
[3] Jill died in December and I’ve been remembering her beauty and her generous vocal mentoring through her recordings. Live drums by Dan Reiser, recorded at Mission Sound.
[4] Featuring Liberty Ellman and Jamie Fox, inspired by Maceo Crump
[5] Written by Shel Silverstein of The Giving Tree fame.
[6] the first song played while laboring to give birth to Van Wallace Crump.
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