Nobody likes Mondays, but one thing that might help make the work week (if you have a job) go by quicker is this week's Summer Fridays mix which is totally late and only arriving now. I scrapped a nearly-completed version cause it wasn't working and redid the whole thing. Which is what happened with Toy Story 2, and everybody likes the way that eventually turned out. While on this Pixar analogy, I should like to point out that there are no Randy Newman songs on this mix. Cover art this week comes courtesy five-year-old music fan Diaz, who likes hearts. I told her she could pick a song for the mix and she chose The Thompson Twins' "Hold Me Now" which ended up serving as inspiration for the whole thing when I redid it.
DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.4
TRACKLIST
1. Johnny Boy - You Are the Generation Who Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve
2. The Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now
3. Pacific - Sunset Blvd
4. The Wave Machines - Keep the Lights On
5. Savoir Adore - Bodies
6. The Radio Dept. - David (The Rice Twins Mix)
7. The Juan Maclean - One Day
8. Esser - Work it Out
9. La Roux - Bulletproof
10. The New Sins - Feeling Have Changed
11. Sally Shapiro - Miracle
12. Bachelorette - Her Rotating Head
13. The Sound of Arrows - M.A.G.I.C.
14. Datarock - Computer Camp Love
15. Chaz Jankel - Number One
16. Ladyhawke - Manipulating Woman
17. The Dream Academy - The Edge of Forever
If you'd like to contribute artwork to a forthcoming Summer Fridays mix, please get in touch, either in the comments or via email, which can be found on this blog's right sidebar. Hope you like this one, I think it might be worth the wait. No shuffling, dammit! Since most people get Friday off for the July 4th weekend, the next Summer Fridays mix will actually go up Thursday morning. If I can get my act together.
Liner notes after the jump:
1. Johnny Boy - You Are the Generation Who Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve
Johnny Boy actually went on to make an album two years after releasing this Spector-esque single in 2004 but I kinda wish they hadn't. There was just no way to follow up something this original, this awesome with anything that could match it. (And they didn't.) Just pretend it's the only thing that exists by them. It still sounds great.
2. The Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now
Diaz's contribution to the mix. I'm still not crazy about the falsetto vocals that are in the chorus in the latter part of this song, but otherwise this is one of the better New Wave crossover hits of the mid-80s.
3. Pacific - Sunset Blvd
I am a sucker for both '70s soft rock and '80s synth pop, so Pacific's deft melding of the two was an instant hit with me. It was actually released in America, though the only times I've seen it was in used bins. It's a good record!
4. The Wave Machines - Keep the Lights On
There's a "Miss You" sort of vibe going on here. The Wave Machines are from Liverpool and while I can't say I'm in love with the whole of their album, Wave If You're Really There, but this song always makes me strut.
5. Savoir Adore - Bodies
If this song hasn't grabbed you yet, you haven't gotten to the chorus yet. There it is. See, I told ya. Their debut is out in two weeks.
6. The Radio Dept. - David (The Rice Twins Mix)
I like this mix of the Radio Dept. new single better than the original version. When the Legends were in town last week, I asked singer Johan (who runs Labrador Records) when we can expect the album. He said, "Whenever they deliver it to me I guess." Reassuring.
7. The Juan Maclean - One Day
If you like The Human League's Dare, you should immediately go out and pick up the new Juan Maclean album, The Future Will Come, which is excellent. I like the way the production doesn't go the obvious dancefloor orgasm route which you kind of keep waiting to happen but never quite does (you get it for the last 30 seconds or so). Such a tease.
8. Esser - Work it Out
Esser's debut album is little more than a collection of his (mostly) download-only singles from the last year and a half. That's not slight. Most of them are pretty great, so unless you're a superfan you probably haven't heard a lot of them.
9. La Roux - Bulletproof
The jury's still out on these electro poppers, but I do like this song even though it reminds me of Dead or Alive.
10. The New Sins - Feeling Have Changed
This is Louise Hayter from New Young Pony Club, and her debut single "It Doesn't Work Like That" was on a Summer Fridays Mix last year. This is her second single, maybe not quite reaching the heights of that first one but still pretty good. She's a pokey little puppy with releasing stuff so maybe we'll see an album around the time we get one from Radio Dept.
11. Sally Shapiro - Miracle
New single from this enigmatic Swede duo. I thought it was a female solo artist named Sally Shapiro too, till I was put straight. It's kind of like Hootie & the Blowfish, but Scandinavian, in the neo-italo-disco mode. Got that? It doesn't matter. Just listen to the nice tune.
12. Bachelorette - Her Rotating Head
New Zealand's Bachelorette will play the Seaport this Friday opening for Here We Go Magic. She was great at Cake Shop a few weeks ago. This is from her highly-recommended new album, My Electric Family. Her voice has a mysterious quality to it I can't quite pin down. And great songs. Very Moroder-esque, don't you think?
13. The Sound of Arrows - M.A.G.I.C.
One of my favorite songs of 2009, it's got a real listen-repeat-listen-repeat-abiltiy. If it doesn't grab you the first time, listen again immediately. And then again. It'll sink it's hooks into you.
14. Datarock - Computer Camp Love
My favorite Datarock song, novelty for sure with it's Grease-stealing hook, but it never fails to put a smile on my face. "She's not that kind of a girl, booger!"
15. Chaz Jankel - Number One
I've written about this song before and as I said then, it features prominently in one of Real Genius' many montages. The original version of the song is over seven minutes long with many instrumental passages, so I made my own "radio edit," trimming parts here and there, cutting out three mintues or so. Hopefully I didn't chop out your favorite part.
16. Ladyhawke - Manipulating Woman
This song woulda been a hit in 1985 (actually from this year), and you can just hear it being used in a movie montage, though maybe not Real Genius. So it fits in well here.
17. The Dream Academy - The Edge of Forever
The production on Dream Academy's debut (the one with "Life in a Northern Town") reeks of 1985, but I gotta say this album, in and of itself, is pretty great. Like most of this album, "The Edge of Forever" (you might recognize it from Ferris Beuller's Day Off) is HUGE and ambitious, and you can just hear the hopes of a generation of young people that thought a song could change the world. I miss those days.
I have to say that Dream Academy's album is still one of my favorites. I really like the overall feeling of the album. I think The Love Parade is an amazing cut. I seem to remember hearing that Paul McCartney had something to do with this album-does anyone know anything about this?
Posted by: Renee Bernotavicius | Monday, June 29, 2009 at 05:50 PM