I've been wanting to make this mix since November of last year when I turned 45. Sometimes I have an idea of what songs I want to include in a mix, but gaps will linger for a while in my head. The songs that build a bridge from one artist or style to another may not present themselves until weeks or sometimes months later. I just wanted to get back to letting some of my constant inspirations sit alongside current favorites. These days when I'm not thinking about music, I'm thinking about my own mortality (a side effect of getting older, I suppose), so there are some songs that deal with that in both serious and more sardonic ways.
For anyone that ever wondered why I feel so strongly about music, perhaps the quick story I share at the beginning will shed some light on that. I still say that my party rocking days as a DJ are over and mixes like these are just proof of that, but really...I'm okay with that. I was the side room DJ most of the time for a reason. That's where I truly belonged. I don't think that my heart and my selection are built for peak hour time slots, but I'm sure that my wife would strongly disagree, given her love for the house music sets I used to spin. Granted, there are times that I feel like dancing, but then I start making mixes like this and I'm reminded that it's good to break away from a locked groove sometimes. Everything in moderation, right? Even the need to stick to a 4/4 rhythm structure isn't exempt from that practice.
I should probably let the music do the talking from here. We can always pick up the conversation again on the other side of this. Hope you get something good out of this one.
Track list:
Alice Coltrane - Wisdom Eye [Antarctica Starts Here]
Bullion - I Just Wasn't Made For These Times [self-released]
jitwam - Temptations [Tartelet]
Don Leisure - Only Built 4 Turkish Linx [First Word]
Intellexual - Boca [Fantasy / Concord]
Nautic - Navy Blue [DEEK Recordings]
Andrew Wasylyk - Through the Field Beyond the Trees Lies the Ocean [Athens Of The North]
Sun Ra - State Street [Evidence Music]
Frank Zappa - Down In De Dew [Rykodisc]
Champagne Dub - Schmooze Fest part 2 [Faith And Industry]
Dabrye - Lil Mufukuz (feat. Doom) [Ghostly International]
Dr. Who Dat? - Kelly Drive [Lex Recordings]
Eric Lau - Val In Time [First Word]
Denaun Porter - gOd LaUgHs [self-released]
10cc - The Hospital Song [UK]
Phonte - Expensive Genes [+FE Music]
Dorian Concept - You Give And Give [Brainfeeder Recordings]
Alphabets Heaven - Kieron [WotNot]
Machinedrum - Rise N Fall [Ninja Tune]
Plug - Delicious [Nothing/Interscope]
The Range - Life Like This [Donky Pitch]
Antipop Consortium - Smores [75 Ark]
4Hero - Play With The Changes [Milan]
Alessandro Alessandroni - Underground Disco [Four Flies]
Run Child Run - Untitled [self-released]
Cocteau Twins - Three-Swept [Capitol]
Louis Cole - Trying Not To Die [Brainfeeder Recordings]
Lonnie Holley - There Was Always Water [Jagjagwuar]
Geeez 'n' Gosh - Nobody Knows... / We Call On Him [Mille Plateaux]
Vula Viel - Do Not Be Afraid [self-released]
Eugene McDaniels - Sagittarius Red [Water]
