Track list:
Jason Nazary - An Easy Slide On
Petter Eldh - Slakten Makten Takten
On-Ly - Bureaucratic Collectivism
Nettle - The Ballad of Jimmy Hollin is More Awkward Than That (Leafcutter John Remix)
Collocutor - The Angry One
Antipop Consortium - Rinseflow
J. Givens - Ignorantro
Diego Cortez - Delta
London Jazz IV - Death Is Near
Steven Jesse Bernstein - No No Man (Part One)
William S. Fischer - Green Forever
Galapagoose - Weight
Comfort Fit - Worlds Falling Apart
TJ - Time Is Wasting
Intellexual - Over The Hill
In March of 2019, I presented my first Fading Into Obscurity mix to the world entitled As On Your Way You Go, which was a combination of words and music in tribute to my father, Gerald Allen Smith. Ever since his death in 2018, I've been making my way towards a place of understanding regarding what I perceived to be his risk-taking nature and my perpetual need to play it safe. A recent conversation with my mother revealed to me that he had a methodical and analytical side, that I did in fact get it from him. That's the best news I've heard in weeks.
Sarcastic Bastards Anonymous was recorded on the fourth anniversary of my father's death. As much as this mix is for him, it's also for Frank Zappa, whose comments on stupidity in the universe serve as an introduction. After the Zappa documentary was released, I revisited Frank's music, concert footage and interviews in a big way and really haven't stopped since. In addition, this mix takes its cues from the movie God Bless America, which was written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. A question posed by the film's protagonist, Frank Murdoch, is one that I ask myself often: "Why have a civilization anymore if we are no longer interested in being civilized?" Mixes like these tend to serve as confirmation that I don't really have a desire to be a DJ in the traditional sense anymore. I like the "off-road" moments of mixing too much, those times where blends veer away from the beaten path of the locked groove, those segments where what a selector has to say doesn't necessarily require a rhythm or for beats to be in sync.
Fading Into Obscurity grew out of the fear of dying before I have a chance to walk in my purpose and the nagging sense that time is running out. These mixes are part of my way of coming to grips with my own mortality. This one's filled with little moments that speak to me, from the insistent, punctuated brass stabs of Petter Eldh's "Slakten Makten Takten" to the sonic consensus between acoustic guitar and laptop-generated noise on Nettle's "The Ballad of Jimmy Hollin is More Awkward Than That." High Priest's opening verse on "Rinseflow" by Antipop Consortium punched me square in the chest earlier this year. This song is part of their Tragic Epilogue album released in 2000. Over two decades later, this album still serves as a musical and lyrical reminder of what is possible in hip-hop. Something about High Priest's verse speaks directly to where I am in life right now. This song is one of the key selections in this mix alongside TJ's "Time Is Wasting," so tender and homespun. It's a weathered recording, which lends to its charm.
"Ignorantro" by J. Givens follows the Antipop cut and I love how it sounds like the rapper's ego overheats right before it explodes. "Delta" by Diego Cortez is a piece that I am absolutely fascinated by because the duet between piano and cornet never actually happened in real time. Butch Morris listens to Cortez's piano solo a few times and then records his cornet solo not while he's listening to Cortez's recording, but based off of his memory of the recording. That just wrinkles my brain. It sounds like they're reacting to each other in the same studio session, but that's not what we're hearing at all. The end result is still achingly beautiful, though.
I was completely obsessed with poet Steven Jesse Bernstein's Prison album in my college radio days. Produced by Steve Fisk, Bernstein's voice is the epitome of a sarcastic, sardonic outlook on everything. It's the voice of a man who has seen and been through WAY too much. Including "No No Man (Part One)" was a no brainer and the same can be said for "Death Is Near" by London Jazz IV. I love the 5/4 time signature and the backing vocals that really accentuate the bounce and swing of this piece. William S. Fischer's "Green Forever" comes from his Circles album, a fascinating fusion of jazz and rock textures. Galapagoose's "Weight" feels drunken and disoriented placed alongside the dystopian downtempo of Comfort Fit's "Worlds Falling Apart," but both songs still manage for beams of light to shine through the darkness.
By the time "Over The Hill" by Intellexual fades out, there are no neat conclusions. It sounds like I'm still trying to figure things out, and I like that. As for that nagging sense that time is running out, every now and then I repeat the song title of a K15 instrumental to myself, the same song that closes out my first Fading Into Obscurity mix: "You're Alive (There's Still Time)." There's comfort in that practice.
