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 Post subject: 2006 OBNER MIX EXCHANGE REVIEW: MICEELF!
PostPosted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:58 pm 
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Please post all reviews for Miceelf's mix in this thread.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 6:55 pm 
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Pick the Sound and Let it Drop

cover art:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q258 ... p2copy.jpg

tracklisting:

Part I: Illness and Consumption
01 First Floor Power – The Dream
02 Elliott Smith – Pretty Mary K
03 Cass McCombs – I Went to the Hospital
04 Lisa Germano – Cancer of Everything
05 Talking Heads – Drugs (alternate version)

Part II: Love and Illusion
06 Of Montreal – Kissing in the Grass
07 The Replacements – I Will Dare
08 Built to Spill – Else
09 Hip Whips – Temple in My Heart
10 Brando – Abby Laine

Part III: Obsession and Denial
11 The Minders – Black Balloon
12 Dolly Mixture – Everything and More
13 The Chrysler – Blue Gold
14 Pram – Little Monkey, Little Angel
15 Jim Guthrie – So Small

Part IV: Assimilation and Withdrawal
16 Kings of Convenience - Summer on the Westhill
17 Shelby Lynne – Leavin’
18 The Twin Atlas – The Game is Fixed
19 Pete and the Pirates – She Doesn’t Belong
20 Cleaners from Venus - Ilya Kuryakin Looked At Me

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:09 pm 
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My favorite mix so far. I like in some weird way every track. It's a very eclectic mix, something I really enjoyed about it. I don't how, but I could tell it was from a girl, just by it's variety alone.

Good choices, great mix. i'll be listening to this quite a bit.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:29 pm 
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posthumus Wrote:
My favorite mix so far. I like in some weird way every track. It's a very eclectic mix, something I really enjoyed about it. I don't how, but I could tell it was from a girl, just by it's variety alone.

Good choices, great mix. i'll be listening to this quite a bit.


Please tell me this is not your official review.


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:04 am 
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Part I: Illness and Consumption
01 First Floor Power – The Dream - Nice opening groove and I like the woman's voice. Decent song and I think it could grow on me. 3/5.
02 Elliott Smith – Pretty Mary K - love this Elliot Smith song. Beautiful melody. 5/5.
03 Cass McCombs – I Went to the Hospital - never heard this before but its pretty good. I like the lyrics as well. 3/5.
04 Lisa Germano – Cancer of Everything - Dont know much about Lisa Germano but have heard of her a few times. I dont really like this. Too much noise and a weird voice. 1/5.
05 Talking Heads – Drugs (alternate version) - i like the talking heads, but haen't heard this song and I dont like it. 1/5.

Part II: Love and Illusion
06 Of Montreal – Kissing in the Grass - I used to be into this album but Of Montreal tends to bore me these days. Nice instrumentation, however. 2/5.
07 The Replacements – I Will Dare - one of my favorite songs. I mean listen to that. Nearly a perfect song. 5/5.
08 Built to Spill – Else - I honestly dont know if I've ever hearda Built to Spill song. I've avoided them based on others' opinions...which is probably retarded. This isnt what I thought they sounded like. This isnt half bad. 3/5.
09 Hip Whips – Temple in My Heart - i was skeptical but I do like this. I like the keys. The guy's voice is kind of annoying but I'd like to hear some of their other stuff. 2+/5.
10 Brando – Abby Laine - again, I kind of like this. Nothing mind-blowing but an enjoyable song. 3/5.

Part III: Obsession and Denial
11 The Minders – Black Balloon - I have heard this before...maybe on a mix you gave me some other time. Not sure but I do like it. I am sensing a trend here. I like most of these songs but don't really love any of them. That's ok in my book. 3/5.
12 Dolly Mixture – Everything and More - jangly guitars are always appreciated. Weak vocals, however. Nice little ditty but maybe a little forgettable. Doesn't really go anywhere. 2/5.
13 The Chrysler – Blue Gold - where do you find all these bands? I really like this. A little Halstead-esque. 3+/5.
14 Pram – Little Monkey, Little Angel - she swings, she misses. 1/5.
15 Jim Guthrie – So Small - another pretty good song. I'm running out of things to say, can't you tell? This song is very relaxing. I just poured myself a glass of pinot noir and took off my pants...oh nevermind. 3/5.

Part IV: Assimilation and Withdrawal
16 Kings of Convenience - Summer on the Westhill - Are these guys related to the Kings of Leon...well guess not but its pretty good. Very good...reminds me of Red House Painters a bit. This folky shit gets me every time. 4/5.
17 Shelby Lynne – Leavin’ - haven't heard much Shelby Lynee. I thought she was a country artist but this sounds has some soul. Not bad. 3/5.
18 The Twin Atlas – The Game is Fixed - another hidden pop gem. Sounds a bit like the Shins. Very nice. Jangly guitars again. What you've done a good job of is getting a lot of 3 minute songs which I almost always prefer. 4/5.
19 Pete and the Pirates – She Doesn’t Belong - I feel a mutiny coming on. Well - i like the song allright but not the guy's voice all that much. These guys need to get louder and play harder. Hit that drum. Still, kind of a toe-tapper. 2/5.
20 Cleaners from Venus - Ilya Kuryakin Looked At Me - Ive heard a lot about this band. This is really f'n good. Nice lyrics. I should check this band out. 4/5.

Great job Melissa. This is the first mix I could see myself really playing a lot. Tons of bands I've never heard before and songs that are really catchy and fun. I gotta agree with Promethium here. Fantastic.

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PostPosted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:02 pm 
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Part I: Illness and Consumption
01 First Floor Power – The Dream
Reminds me of an upbeat Nico. 2/5

02 Elliott Smith – Pretty Mary K
Great track. 4/5

03 Cass McCombs – I Went to the Hospital
I do love this song. It has a timeless appeal. 4/5

04 Lisa Germano – Cancer of Everything
Not a fan 1/5

05 Talking Heads – Drugs (alternate version)
A dark track. Weird. 2/5

Part II: Love and Illusion
06 Of Montreal – Kissing in the Grass
Like the bass. but not much else 2/5

07 The Replacements – I Will Dare
Not a fan, but don't hate 2/5

08 Built to Spill – Else
I liked this okay. 3/5

09 Hip Whips – Temple in My Heart
Not a fan 1/5

10 Brando – Abby Laine
I liked this alot 4/5

Part III: Obsession and Denial
11 The Minders – Black Balloon
A cool track, great beat. Nice change up. 4/5

12 Dolly Mixture – Everything and More
Not a fan but the beat is catchy 3/5

13 The Chrysler – Blue Gold
Timeless and very mellow. 3.5/5

14 Pram – Little Monkey, Little Angel
I like her voice but it's covered up. 2/5

15 Jim Guthrie – So Small
Another timeless song. fun beat, and a lovely melody. 3.5/5

Part IV: Assimilation and Withdrawal
16 Kings of Convenience - Summer on the Westhill
Big fan. Like the song outside of this album. 5/5

17 Shelby Lynne – Leavin’
Timeless appeal. 3/5

18 The Twin Atlas – The Game is Fixed
Don't mind this track 3/5

19 Pete and the Pirates – She Doesn’t Belong
Decent, 3/5

20 Cleaners from Venus - Ilya Kuryakin Looked At Me
Not a fan 1/5

On the whole, it may seem like I'm pretty meh about the tracks, but the albums collective pacing is very good and the songs work well within. Only one track will see life outside of this album for me, but in a way, that's a good thing as the album's integrity remains whole and not splintered. I really do appreciate the album.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 19, 2006 2:52 pm 
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Part I: Illness and Consumption

1. First Floor Power – The Dream – The first ten seconds of guitar strumming sounded promising but then it turned into Saturday night at the lesbian coffeehouse. (1/5)

2. Elliott Smith – Pretty Mary K – While it’s not my favorite Elliot Smith song, I always like his voice and the musical arrangement here is very pretty. (3/5)

3. Cass McComb – I Went to the Hospital – A thirteen year old’s journal entry put to music. Oh, and he never really ends up in the hospital. 0/5

4. Lisa Germano – Cancer of Everything – Love the arrangement. Her voice is okay but this song could be so much better if Marianne Faithful was singing it. The title is a bit melodramatic. (3/5)

5. Talking Heads – Drugs (alternate version) – An barely okay song made worse by putting it in context with the past few songs. (1/5)


Part II: Love and Illusion

6. Of Montreal – Kissing in the Grass – Not a fan. I’d rather hear XTC do a much richer version of this. (2/5)

7. The Replacements – I Will Dare – A welcome relief from the somber tone of this mix. (3/5)

8. Built to Spill – Else – A good song I’d like to listen to again without the constraints of this disc. (3/5)

9. Hip Whips – Temple in My Heart – Is there a voice inside all that ruckus? A whole lotta noise without any soul . (1/5)

10. Brando – Abby Laine - It’s got 60’s hook I like but I just wish the vocals weren’t so fey. (2/5)


Part III: Obsession and Denial

11. The Minders – Black Balloon – It reminds me of a silly but sincere McCartney tune (one of the good ones). With a little mouth to mouth from George Martin this could be okay. Oh yeah, he’s dead. Oh wait, he’s not. But he should be after that Vegas debacle. I digress. (1/5)

12. Dolly Mixture – Everything and More – Another decent song made worse by yet another weak, chick singer. (2/5)

13. The Chrysler – Blue Gold – Meh. (1/5)

14. Pram – Little Monkey, Little Angel – A dissonant mess trying to pass itself off as what? Some kind of avant-garde, jazzy, 1950’s Paris sampler? Not a bit of authenticity here. (0/5)

15. Jim Guthrie – So Small – Even though I’ve never heard this song, I’ve heard this song. A lot. In fact, too much. (0/5)


Part IV: Assimilation and Withdrawal

16. Kings of Convenience - Simply not my thing. (2/5)

[b]17. Shelby Lynne – Leavin’
– Pretty good song. Strong vocals and arrangements but the spoken word in songs are hard to pull off and that’s where she misses the mark. All in all a good find for me. I want to check out more. (3/5)

18. The Twin Atlas – The Game is Fixed – I like this. A palette cleanser in a sea of fairly non-optimistic tunes. (3/5)

19. Pete and the Pirates – She Doesn’t Belong – Another okay song ruined by some strained, fake Belle and Sebastian vocals. (2/5)

20. Cleaners from Venus - Ilya Kuryakin Looked At Me – Ha ha ha. Fun, upbeat song. Nice way to end the mix.(3.5/5)

Image


This is just not my kind of a mix. It starts so low that by the time I get to the Talking Heads’ song it’s just a matter of whether I slit my wrists horizontally or vertically. I like a couple of the songs but with few exceptions, the music gets more and more cheerless as the mix continues. Due to the break titles some of the music gets a little over the top on the high drama scale.

But on a better note there are some nice finds here and I appreciate the effort you took in really personalizing this mix. I also really like your cover image.


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 23, 2006 12:53 am 
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Part I: Illness and Consumption
01 First Floor Power – The Dream After a few listens, this one still doesn't sink in. Don't know if it's the vocal quality, or the clunky lyrics.

02 Elliott Smith – Pretty Mary K Decent enough, he's channeling a lot of Meddle-esque Pink Floyd here.

03 Cass McCombs – I Went to the Hospital Very close to whining here, not an artist I'd explore further.

04 Lisa Germano – Cancer of Everything I really dis-like the little-girl voice--while I'm not a fan of trying to write the most depressing song ever written, I still respect the effort, but not the execution.

05 Talking Heads – Drugs (alternate version) This version is soooo much better than album version--the desperation and strung-out quality in Byrne's creates a fantastic atmosphere. Aces.

Part II: Love and Illusion
06 Of Montreal – Kissing in the Grass Meh.

07 The Replacements – I Will Dare This has always been my favorite 'Mats song.

08 Built to Spill – Else Surprisingly decent--my first intro to BTS. Will have to check out more.

09 Hip Whips – Temple in My Heart A bit unrefined, but I like it.

10 Brando – Abby Laine This one didn't leave much of an impression.

Part III: Obsession and Denial
11 The Minders – Black Balloon I dig this one, it's got pep.

12 Dolly Mixture – Everything and More I like this one too--it smacks a lot of the Velvets, and the "hey hey hey" background vox make the song.

13 The Chrysler – Blue Gold This sounds so much like Simon and Garfunkle that I should hate it on principal, but it's catchy and I can't bring myself not to dig it.

14 Pram – Little Monkey, Little Angel Ick. Dreadful.

15 Jim Guthrie – So Small This one's dull.

Part IV: Assimilation and Withdrawal
16 Kings of Convenience - Summer on the Westhill Not a whole lot going on here.

17 Shelby Lynne – Leavin’ This one's not working for me either.

18 The Twin Atlas – The Game is Fixed This one's a little better, it seems very familiar but I can't place it.

19 Pete and the Pirates – She Doesn’t Belong This one's not so bad, although "Pete's" voice starts to grate after a while.

20 Cleaners from Venus - Ilya Kuryakin Looked At Me I've loved this song for nearly 20 years now--and I'm curious to see others' views on it. I put a different song from this album on my mix. Splendid.



Thanks for the mix! There's some swell stuff on here.


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 26, 2006 6:43 pm 
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I know you're going for a certain mood here, so I've been listening with that in mind.

Part I: Illness and Consumption

01 First Floor Power – The Dream
You know that scene in movies from the swingin' '60s in which a female lead suddenly breaks into song? I'm thinking specifically of Claudine Longet in The Party, but it could be scores of others. Well, that's what this song reminds me of. An actress singing lyrics hastily written for the film instead of the music, and music that tries to approximate (and misses the mark of) whatever's popular at the time of filming. In this case, "whatever's popular" appears to be marginally-talented indie acts strumming variables of the chords to "Sweet Jane". Not atrocious, but just finish up quick so we can get on with the movie. 2/5

02 Elliott Smith – Pretty Mary K
I liked Heatmiser's Mic City Sons and hoped for greater things out of Elliott Smith's solo career. This is the sort of ballad, however, that lost my interest in him. It attempts drama by piling on instruments and background vocals instead of containing any drama in the song itself. So, unfortunately, the thing that most impresses me about Elliott Smith is STILL his resolve to stab himself in the chest TWICE. I wish I had that kind of jam. 3/5

03 Cass McCombs – I Went to the Hospital
This sounds like "A Whiter Shade of Pale" with all the pomp and majesty hoovered out of it. And it hits a mood of sadness and stays there - although the lyrics skirt dangerously close to whining. An A+ for mood. Songwriting... I dunno. 3/5

04 Lisa Germano – Cancer of Everything
This song is spectacularly downbeat. I love everything about it - except for the little girl register that Lisa employs for half of every verse. Damn near KILLS this thing. What was she thinking? 3/5

05 Talking Heads – Drugs (alternate version)
Well, this certainly puts me smack dab in the middle of an unpleasant acid trip. I'm tense. I'm nervous. I'm keyed up. I'm starting to grit my teeth. I guess that's what they were going for. 3/5

Part II: Love and Illusion

06 Of Montreal – Kissing in the Grass
Claudine Longet again - but this time with external genitalia. Also, Lou Reed can get away with only being able to hit two notes (and both of them flat), but Lou is Lou. I don't know the name of the singer for Of Montreal, and I think I'd like to keep it that way. There's some nice jazzy bass work here, but the rest of it just kind of makes me want to throw myself under a firetruck. 2/5

07 The Replacements – I Will Dare
For this mix, I think I would've gone for "Sixteen Blue". 5/5

08 Built to Spill – Else
I've never pursued Built to Spill, mostly because the dude sings like a strangulated ewe. But this is pretty good. That bendy guitar part is a very effective hook, and the rest of the song hits that same twilit mood of resignation as "I Went To The Hospital". 4/5

09 Hip Whips – Temple in My Heart
I love the SOUND of this song - the rockin' church organ and the white boy testifying - but, really, calling this a song stretches the definition completely out of shape. It's more of a jam. A great jam too. They were onto something good, just didn't put the work into finishing it. 3/5

10 Brando – Abby Laine
The title had me worried right from the start. Surely nobody thinks that's wit? And the band carried through on the promise of the title - content to merely suggest at something instead of standing up and doing it. 2/5

Part III: Obsession and Denial

11 The Minders – Black Balloon
There's something interesting going on in the music track, but the song lacks anything for me to latch onto. Pleasant, but I forget I'm listening to it while I'm listening to it. 2/5

12 Dolly Mixture – Everything and More
There's a song here. A real honest-to-god song. It doesn't help that the singer sounds like a self-conscious grade niner trying out for the school glee club. And even though there's a similarity here to the Go-Gos, Dolly Mixture makes the sugary noowave pop of the Go-Gos comparatively sound like Atari Teenage Riot. 3/5

13 The Chrysler – Blue Gold
This mix's mood of melancholy keeps getting interrupted by timid wimpiness. I guess my mood doesn't quite match up. This song is nice but indistinct. It's like Beulah with all semblance of personality and humor jettisoned in favor of smug self-satisfaction. 2/5

14 Pram – Little Monkey, Little Angel
Holy annoying. Earwigs crawling under my epidermis would be easier to take. Put an extra shell in the shotgun, mama, we got another one on the list. 0/5

15 Jim Guthrie – So Small
This comes as blessed relief after the Pram atrocity. Maybe that makes it sound better than it is. We'll just have to accept that risk. 4/5

Part IV: Assimilation and Withdrawal

16 Kings of Convenience - Summer on the Westhill
Okay, now we're depressed. Perfectly and hopelessly depressed. Pass the razors. 4/5

17 Shelby Lynne – Leavin’
This is from I Am Shelby Lynne. It's the only Lynne album worth owning IMO - it catches that Dusty in Memphis country soul groove on every track. This isn't my fave song from the album, but that certainly isn't criticism. 4/5

18 The Twin Atlas – The Game is Fixed
S'okay, but the mood is broken again. This sounds like happy people pretending to be depressed people, and they just didn't try goddamned hard enough. 2/5

19 Pete and the Pirates – She Doesn’t Belong
I'm afraid I've now reached my saturation point of wishy-washy vocalists and jangly strumming. It's just not there for me. 2/5

20 Cleaners from Venus - Ilya Kuryakin Looked At Me
And the mood is shattered - but at least you shattered it with a good, strong kick. I like Martin Newell - although appreciation of his unrelenting quirk is dependent on the highest arcs of my biorhythms - and, of course, any mention of Ilya Kuryakin gets extra points in my book. It's a small book. 3/5


A lot of the songs on this mix definitely work as mood, MiceElf - although I think the mood tends towards the schizophrenic. It seems much of the music aims for melancholy and only reaches timid and unconfident - but that might be my prejudice against twee speaking. I give this mix very high marks for its abundance of obscure bands that I've never heard of - and with some of them I'll delve further into their catalogues.

Also the artwork and concept of this mix is pretty great. I only wish the sly, sad sense of humor in your design carried over into more of the music.

Thanks for the mix!


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