wanting to fuck me slowly.
you're an idiot.

You could try, but seriously?

Note to self: While you're there, flirt with Dana's husband.

Rparis – the Deep Blue Sea
(btw, first review I’ve done in my “new” workspace in the office, so I can’t crank the tunes as loud as maybe I’d prefer)

1. Alejandro Escovedo – Pissed Off 2 AM
I’m not familiar with Alejandro’s music at all, so this was a nice introduction. This is fitting in nicely with my current mindset, unfortunately. 3/5
2. M. Ward – Four Hours in Washington
Ha, yet another song that fits in nicely with my current mindset. This song reminds me of how often I look over at the clock at night when I can’t fall asleep, and it becomes a ritualistic self-torture. 3/5
3. Gram Parsons – Return of the Grievous Angel
Good thing I watched the Gram Parsons documentary this weekend, as this now means a lot more to me. Quite beautiful. 4/5
4. Grant Lee Buffalo – Mockingbirds
You know, I normally don’t consider myself a Grant Lee Buffalo fan. I’d actually heard this song before, but didn’t realize that’s who it was. I kinda like it… am I allowed to make an exception to my usually generalized negative opinions about certain bands? 3/5
5. The Jayhawks – Settled Down Like Rain
Again, not really my favorite band, but damn if the song isn’t resonating with me. This is kinda hard listening to this Rodney… not because you picked the songs… it’s just the songs are picking at me. 3/5
6. Damien Jurado – Denton, TX
Ok, enough with the sadness… you’re making me want to kill myself. Good tune regardless. 3/5
7. Pogues – Summer in Siam
Funny thing, I thought the same thing as Dumpjack about it sounding like holiday music. How can one not smile when hearing Shane slur through his lyrics? 4/5
8. Lucinda Williams – Essence
Lucinda is one of those artists I should love and appreciate, right? She’s one of those pioneering female voices I should herald as the voice of women everywhere, right? I can’t seem to get into her regardless. The song itself and the sentiment is understandably universal though. 3/5
9. Crowded House – Distant Sun
Well, to me, anything Neil Finn touches is pure gold, and this is no exception. Is it wrong that I get a tad orgasmic when I hear his voice? 5/5
10. The Posies – Solar Sister
While I remember the Posies, for whatever reason, I never really got into them or gave them much of a listen. And while this track is bouncy and fun and likeable, it’s not doing a ton for me unfortunately. 2/5
11. INXS – Don’t Change
Unfuckwithable. Thank you. 5/5
12. New Order – Leave Me Alone
Wow, I haven’t heard this song in ages. I don’t think I even have this anymore… I seem to remember dumping it at Goodwill with a bunch of other cassette tapes last year. I’d forgotten the beautiful simplicity of it. 4/5
13. Tim Easton – Black Hearted Ways
Odd transition from the last song, but I’ve come to appreciate your varied tastes, Rodney. Again, as you know, I’m not a big fan of all things alt-country, but you’re at least forcing me to listen to things I wouldn’t normally seek out, and that is ALWAYS a good thing to me—keeps me guessing and educated at the same time. 3/5
14. Hem – Not California
BEAUTIFUL. I love this. I’ve only got one of their cd’s (Rabbit Songs), but they’re quite an ensemble in my opinion. 5/5
15. Mojave 3 – Bringin’ Me Home
Not bad, but didn’t move me much. 2/5
16. The Church – Bel Air
For someone like me who claims to like the Church, I really don’t have a good knowledge of their back catalog… oh, wait, there was that one guitarist I dated in college who tried to emulate Marty Willson-Piper, but failed miserably. You’ve got kind of a Oz/NZ thing going on with this disc, don’t you? 4/5
17. The Go-Betweens – Apology Accepted
Heh, I can still remember buying this cassette when I was 16 years old (yep, you guessed it—got dumped with New Order at Goodwill last year). I’d forgotten how beautiful this was. 4/5
18. Pete Droge – Straylin’ Street (live)
Not very familiar with Pete Droge honestly, but his voice is beautiful and soulful. 3/5
19. Townes Van Zandt – To Live is to Fly (live)
Yet another tune that now means something to me since I saw the doc about him. This is a perfect way to end your cd, Rod… good on ya man. 4/5

Overall: 3.5/5

Rodney, I apologize for taking so long to review your cd (double apologies to Kit and Stone!). I must say, you had me worried when you joked in chatzy once that I’d hate your disc, but I knew I wouldn’t. I think we all “know” and respect each other well enough around here that even if it ain’t my bag, it doesn’t make it bad. And if anything, I love hearing new things and exploring genres I’m not very familiar with. So for that—thank you for the edumacation. If I had to pick one cd over the other, clearly the Devil was the one that had me rockin’, drinkin’, swearin’, and fightin’. The Deep Blue Sea at times made me want to kill myself, not because of your choices, but some of the lyrics were just a little TOO close to home for me. But it was still beautiful… pain is beautiful sometimes, ain’t it?

unfortunately, after i sent this out and listened to it a few times myself I thought - shit - this might hit too close to home for a few obners I know. glad you enjoyed. and yes - i've always like austalia/nz bands.

I’ll preface my not-so-enlightened sounding itemized commentary with saying that I really like the concept of this double mix – great title and idea! I definitely feel like I know where Mr. P. is coming from musically now. I’m afraid quite a bit of it sounded “same-y” to me but maybe because I’m just not used to listening to so much guitar and ‘alt-country’ rock. I feel the mixes have the most personality when he changes up the tempo and styling. For example, at around track 5 of disc 1 through to the end has a nice flow. Even though I think some of my favorite songs were on disc 2, there didn’t seem to be as good as flow as the latter part of disc 1. Okay, I’ll stop dithering and post my “official” review:

Disc 1: The Devil

1. Ike Reilly: Hip Hop Thighs #17
A fun bouncy start which makes me dance in my seat whilst driving which I guess is the purpose – lyrics are ok’ish but still scores a 4/5
2. Supersuckers: Pretty Fucked Up
A formulaic nightmare complete with guitar solo and the lyrics are gawd awful – ugh the chorus alone should warrant it a negative score but I’ll be nice with a 1/5
3. Slobberbone: Your Excuse
Nice guitar rock with much better lyrics than the last one; rocks a 3/5
4. Son Volt: Drown
Similar guitar and vocal stylizations as the last one; rocks nicely with a 3/5
5. The White Stripes: Offend In Every Way
I like the tone of this one and glad for the break from the similar sounding above songs; 4/5
6. Bob Dylan & The Band: Katie's Been Gone
Another nice change in flow – nice pop tone; 5/5
7. Elvis Costello: Blame It On Cain
Didn’t know this and enjoyed it in its simplicity; 4/5
8. Johnny Cash: Cocaine Blues (Live)
Brilliant; 5/5
9. Richmond Fontaine: The Warehouse Life
Another nice transition and lovely song; 5/5
10. Richard Buckner & Jon Langford: The Inca Princess
Nice rocky song with jangly pop impulses; 4/5
11. The Replacements : Color Me Impressed
Not my favorite Replacements song but a good one nonetheless; 4/5
12. The Hold Steady: Massive Night
Great, great song; 5/5
13. The National: Lit Up
Love the guitar in this; 4/5
14. The Raveonettes: Little Animal
Cute song with fun noisy guitar – makes me laugh and shimmy my hips; 4/5
15. The Libertines: Can't Stand Me Now
Another fun rocky pop song with funny lyrics; 4/5
16. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Do You Love Me?
I will always love Nick; 4/5
17. Echo & The Bunnymen: Villiers Terrace
I’ve always like the manic ending to this song; 4/5
18. Lucero: I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight
Not a bad song – not a great song; 3/5
19. Uncle Tupelo: Still Be Around
Not a bad song – not a great song; 3/5
20. Neko Case: Twist The Knife
Her voice and vocal styling is a great mood setter here and the song is a good platform to tell a story (vs. the furling of meaningless lyrics); 4/5
21. Matthew Ryan: Sweetie
Mix 1 ends loops around to the bouncy guitar beginning – tis’ another ok song; 3/5

Disc 2: The Deep Blue Sea

1. Alejandro Escovedo: Pissed Off 2 A.M.
Nice subdued beginning – this guy’s voice reminds me of Neil Diamond (!?!); 4/5
2. M. Ward: Four Hours In Washington
Great, moody strumming guitar song with nice retro feel – only thing I can fault about it is the bum ending (fix that Mr. P.!); 5/5
3. Gram Parsons: Return Of The Grievous Angel
I’m not the biggest fan of steel guitar but I’ll score this reasonably for the story-telling; 3/5
4. Grant Lee Buffalo: Mockingbirds
Great voice and interesting song especially when it coalesces into something Beatle-esque; 4/5
5. The Jayhawks: Settled Down Like Rain
Nice song but is lacking in that “pop hook” that I tend to favor; 3/5
6. Damien Jurado: Denton, TX
Very nice, unaffected guitar and piano song with lovely harmony; 4/5
7. Pogues: Summer In Siam
I always loved this song but it makes me think of Christmas instead of summer; 4/5
8. Lucinda Williams: Essence
Cool lady – cool song; 4/5
9. Crowded House: Distant Sun
Nice, poppy, radio-friendly; 4/5
10. The Posies: Solar Sister
Jangly guitar with nice harmonies; hooks me with a 4/5
11. INXS: Don't Change
Flash-back to high school -- song still holds up well; 4/5
12. New Order: Leave Me Alone
Great song from one of my all-time favorite albums; 5/5
(btw, Joe Pernice does a great cover of this on his Chappaquiddick Skyline “side” project)
13. Tim Easton: Black Hearted Ways
I like this song more each listen; 4/5
14. Hem: Not California
Such a catchy song – its been a favorite of our local NPR station so I’ve been hearing it quite a bit but still don’t mind as the vocals are nice; 4/5
15. Mojave 3: Bringin' Me Home
Nice, sweet, low-key song; 4/5
16. The Church: Bel-Air
Mellow with a few interesting tempo changes to give it some life; 3/5
17. The Go-Betweens: Apology Accepted
Good song – great band; 4/5
18. Pete Droge: Straylin' Street (Live)
Not a bad song – not enough hook for me though; 3/5
19. Townes Van Zandt: To Live Is To Fly (Live)
Great singer/songwriter – great song; 5/5

Disc 1: The Devil

1. Ike Reilly: Hip Hop Thighs #17 – heh…I bought this CD for $0.98 not too long ago. Prior to that, the only song of his I knew was “Farm Girl” from his newer CD when he tacked on the “Assassination.” This isn’t bad. He pulls off the unaffected wise-ass thing well enough.
7/10

2. Supersuckers: Pretty Fucked Up – I have a friend that really likes this band. I went so far as to buy that 8-song live EP they released. I’ve lately been skipping this track whenever it comes on though. It’s not an aural nuisance. I guess I tend to prefer them at their twangiest. Even their “Hey Ya” cover surpasses this. I do kind of like the guitar solo so I can’t bring myself to give it lower than a 5.
5/10

3. Slobberbone: Your Excuse – This I really do like, despite the repetitiveness of it. Keeps getting better and better with each spin. My favorite of the louder alt-country tracks on this mix.
8/10

4. Son Volt: Drown – Not bad, but I’m not really into it. I like most Wilco and Uncle Tupelo I’ve heard. Never got around to checking out Son Volt. I’m sure they’d have something I’d like.
6/10

5. The White Stripes: Offend In Every Way – This is just a great album all the way through. Classic lead guitar riff. To think I nearly sold it back upon buying it 5 years ago. Insane…
8.5/10

6. Bob Dylan & The Band: Katie's Been Gone – One of Bob’s more melodic moments that I wasn’t familiar with prior to hearing this mix. Good choice.
7/10

7. Elvis Costello: Blame It On Cain – I like a lot of Elvis Costello but I’ve never heard this track before. He’s completely in his element here. Nice.
8/10

8. Johnny Cash: Cocaine Blues (Live) – Love this. Not many can cram a compelling story into 2:48 like Cash.
9/10

9. Richmond Fontaine: The Warehouse Life – Although I’m sure this is on here for a reason, it just feels like a filler song. I might need more time with it, I don’t know. The lyrics are good enough to warrant at least a 6 for me.
6/10

10. Richard Buckner & Jon Langford: The Inca Princess – From the driving beat to the singer’s conversational delivery to the guitar solo beginning at 1:21, this had me hook line and sinker.
8/10

11. The Replacements: Color Me Impressed – This is fine, but I liked the song “Unsatisfied” from bg13’s mix more. This seems to have an “outsider looking in” feel, lyrically. Being relatively new to The Replacements, I’ve since purchased that Don’t You Know Who I Think I Was? comp in a desperate attempt to play catch up. This song is on it. One of the more punk-infused tracks. But I guess that’s kind of how they started out.
6.5/10

12. The Hold Steady: Massive Nights – This was a pretty big record for me in the later part of 2006 mainly because of 4 songs: "Stuck Between Stations," "Chips Ahoy," "You Can Make Him Like You” and yes, "Massive Nights.”
8/10

13. The National: Lit Up – I like the way it begins, but it starts to lose me when the guy starts singing. And there’s not much happening melodically that’s getting my attention after multiple listens.
6/10

14. The Raveonettes: Little Animal – Never heard them before. Kind of noisey in a J&MC kind of way, which isn’t what I was expecting. I always thought they had a female vocalist for a lead singer with a sound like The Distillers or something. This is fine.
6.5/10

15. The Libertines: Can't Stand Me Now – My intro to all things Pete Doherty was a Babyshambles song earlier this year on an obner mix. I didn’t really care for it. This is much better.
7.5/10

16. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Do You Love Me? – Great lead off song to a great album. This is the version on the “best of” CD I think though.
9/10

17. Echo & The Bunnymen: Villiers Terrace – Not one of my fav Echo songs but still much better than the “Life at Brian’s Sessions” version that appears on the Ocean Rain re-issue.
6.5/10

18. Lucero: I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight – Don’t really know much about these guys. Seems like they have a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band meets Cracker thing going. The singer’s voice has a cool rasp that adds to the song’s anthemic appeal.
8/10

19. Uncle Tupelo: Still Be Around – All I have is their Anthology release and I enjoy it quite a bit. Good song - especially lyrically.
7.5/10

20. Neko Case: Twist The Knife – Fox Confessor was my first album of hers, but it was a top 20 album for me. I found her vocals to be an acquired taste, which in retrospect seems odd since there’s nothing particularly inaccessible about it.
7.5/10

21. Matthew Ryan: Sweetie – Great chorus on this one.
7/10


Disc 2: The Deep Blue Sea

1. Alejandro Escovedo: Pissed Off 2 A.M. – From the piano to the female background vox to the intricate percussion, it’s well arranged from start to finish. Great opener.
8/10

2. M. Ward: Four Hours In Washington – Excellent. One hell of a teaser-intro and I like the way it builds. I’m a sucker for those shuffling-type rhythms as well.
8.5/10

3. Gram Parsons: Return Of The Grievous Angel – Someone from The 77s board put this on a mix CD for me a couple of years back. Great song.
8/10

4. Grant Lee Buffalo: Mockingbirds – Singer almost sounds Bowie-like on the verses and then sounds like a less pitch-challenged Daniel Smith on the chorus. This is my favorite song on the mix. Actually, it might be my favorite from the whole exchange. Already have this CD coming to me from lala. Outstanding. If the rest of the CD is as good as this…
9.5/10

5. The Jayhawks: Settled Down Like Rain – I tend to take my alt-country in moderation, but there are enough solid hooks and vocal harmonies all throughout the song for my liking. I’m open to more from these guys.
8/10

6. Damien Jurado: Denton, TX – Weird...I thought about putting something from Waters Ave. S on my little Christian-based mix since that was the sole DJ album that made it into xtian bookstores (joint release via Sub Pop/Tooth and Nail). I didn’t get into DJ until Ghost of David came out though. I don’t have this record yet, but this has renewed my interest in him.
7/10

7. Pogues: Summer In Siam – It may have summer in the title, but it has more of a winter feel. Not in a dark, dreary way. Sounds like it should be on the Love Actually soundtrack or something. I like that spiraling piano bit.
8.5/10

8. Lucinda Williams: Essence – I can appreciate the sensuous longing in both the lyrics and delivery. Goes on a little long, but I like it.
6.5/10

9. Crowded House: Distant Sun – I didn’t realize so many obnish like Crowded House until this mix exchange. Good to see.
8/10

10. The Posies: Solar Sister – A decent slice of power pop. It’s a repetitive hook, but a good one.
7/10

11. INXS: Don't Change – I used to have a bunch of INXS cassettes as a teenager. Now all I have is their Shine Like it Does anthology, and that’s all I feel I really need. I’m familiar with this song and don’t dislike it, but it’s not one I really listen to if and when I do listen to INXS.
6.5/10

12. New Order: Leave Me Alone – I like a lot of New Order. This isn’t horrible, but it’s not connecting with me for some reason.
5/10

13. Tim Easton: Black Hearted Ways – Not familiar with this guy. Goes down easy. Has a good melody. Can’t see myself going out of my way to hear more.
7/10

14. Hem: Not California – This is the slow-grower on the mix. Kinda had me ho-humming for a while. But one day at work, I stopped everything to see what I was listening to and quickly adjusted my 2 star rating to a 4.
7.5/10

15. Mojave 3: Bringin' Me Home – This is good, but man…I miss Slowdive.
6.5/10

16. The Church: Bel-Air – Another 80s alternative-pop act I manage to keep dodging despite consistent recommendations. Reminds me of Simple Minds or Big Country or something. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But something tells me they might have done better than this.
6/10

17. The Go-Betweens: Apology Accepted – I always wanted to check them out because I kept hearing how good 16 Lovers Lane is, but forgot. Thanks for the intro. I’m interested in hearing more.
7/10

18. Pete Droge: Straylin' Street (Live) – This is good, but I like the song by this guy on Dumpjack’s mix a little more.
7/10

19. Townes Van Zandt: To Live Is To Fly (Live) – The lyrics alone propel this one into the upper ranks. “We all got holes to fill. Them holes are all that's real. Some fall on you like a storm. Sometimes you dig your own.” Indeed.
8.0

Thanks for the mix rparis…sorry for the delay in reviewing it. I normally let mixes settle in for a bit before attempting to review them, but even for a double disc mix I took quite a while with this one. It almost seems like an extension of Dumpjack’s mix. A lot of good songs here that I’ll surely return to in the future.