Tracklist:

1. Dante's Lament
2. The Connells - Scotty's Lament
3. Ashtray Boy - There Is a Fountain
4. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
5. Dancing Hoods - Graveyard Shift
6. Close Lobsters - Skyscrapers of St. Mirin
7. The Glands - Fortress
8. Kirsty MacColl - Days
9. Digital Sex - Tortured Beauty
10. Brian Eno - You Don't Miss Your Water
11. Ezekiel 25:17
12. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - And This Is What the Devil Does
13. Front 242 - Quite Unusual (12" version)
14. Kinski - Semaphore
15. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
16. Girls Against Boys - Raindrop
17. NoMeansNo - The Tower
18. Refused - The Shape of Punk To Come
19. Wire - Raft Ants
20. Corrosion of Conformity - Holier
21. Libido Boyz - Put Away Your Prejudice
22. Dead Kennedys - Let's Lynch the Landlord
23. The Misfits - Hybrid Moments

Awesome.

Thanks!

The Commute

1. Dante's Lament
Either shit or get off the pot.

2. The Connells - Scotty's Lament
I've loved this song for a while now. I think I first heard about it on the CMJ Top 1000. I've heard a bunch of songs by the Connells now, but this is probably still my favorite. 9/10

3. Ashtray Boy - There Is A Fountain
I'm undecided. I think I don't really like this song but would like other songs by the band. 6/10

4. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
Another stone cold classic. I've loved this song since the first time I heard the first five seconds. 10/10

5. Dancing Hoods - Graveyard Shift
Not bad. Pleasant enough but nothing I'd regularly return to. 7/10

6. Close Lobsters - Skyscrapers Of St. Mirin
I like this more than I should. It's pretty formulaic but there's the something extra there that is really drawing me in. 8/10

7. The Glands - Fortress
I thought this was Helium at first. Definitely doesn't sound like any Glands song I've ever heard before. But it's good, never-the-less. 7/10

8. Kirsty MacColl - Days
A Kinks cover, yes? I actually heard the Guster version first. I don't know if I've even heard the original yet. I don't like this as much as Guster's though. It just lacks any real power to it. 4/10

9. Digital Sex - Tortured Beauty
This isn't bad. It just sounds like nearly every single '80s song. 3/10

10. Brian Eno - You Don't Miss Your Water
Yeah, I really need to listen to more Eno. I just don't have a clue where to start. His catalogue is staggering. 9/10

11. Ezekiel 25:17
I don't understand this, aside from how it works as a segway into the next track.

12. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - And This Is What The Devil Does
Pretty good. 7/10

13. Front 242 - Quite Unusual [12" Version]
I didn't like this at first but it picks up, though it does tend to go on a bit long. 6/10

14. Kinski - Semaphore
Not bad, for an instrumental. But this is the point where the length of the disc is really starting to become pronounced. 5/10

15. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
This reminds me of that whole Can/Captain Beefheart style of music that I really don't care for at all. 2/10

16. Girls Against Boys - Raindrop
Sing, don't shout. 1/10

17. NoMeansNo - The Tower
See #16. 1/10

18. Refused - The Shape Of Punk To Come
See #17. This reminds me of Alexisonfire and other modern screamo bands. 1/10

19. Wire - Raft Ants
Oh, stop. What did I do to deserve this? 1/10

20. Corrosion Of Conformity - Holier
1/10

21. Libido Boys - Put Away Your Prejudice
2/10

22. Dead Kennedys - Let's Lynch The Landlord
Never really listened to the Dead Kennedys but this is better than I thought it would be. It's not enough to make me want to check out more but I didn't skip this track so that places it higher than the last few. 4/10

23. The Misfits - Hybrid Moments
Alright. 5/10


Final Thoughts:
The first half of the mix is probably my favorite that I've gotten from this mix exchange so far. I was going to complain about the length of this one too, because 80 minutes of music you're not that into is a lot to sit through. But I skipped through almost the entire second half so it didn't wind up being that long.

I used to open my overnight radio slot with this song. Excellent!

Disclaimer: I’ve had a few drinks so forgive me if I say anything that’s insulting.

01. Dante's Lament
“Enough already, let’s get to the music. ”

02. The Connells - Scotty's Lament
“Wow, I don’t think I’ve liked one Connells song that I‘ve heard, but I like this one. Very nice. Putting that lame Dante’s Lament to the side, the mix is off to a nice start.”
RATING: 7.0

03. Ashtray Boy - There Is A Fountain
“Hmmm…nice. Another song I like. Only negative, it’s a little short, and I’m not talking about Mormo’s dick.”
RATING: 7.5

04. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
“Like I told some Obners in chat, this song makes me wanna take off my clothes and go bareback, it’s that fucking good. WOW! Craigslist, here I come.”
RATING: 9.0

05. Dancing Hoods - Graveyard Shift
“Uhhh…OK. This sounds like something you’d hear on the Singles soundtrack. Not bad. It sounds like he’s says graveyard shit.”
RATING: 6.5

06. Close Lobsters - Skyscrapers of St. Mirin
“Oh boy, where’s Rads’ batch when I need it. Damn, this song is awesome. Craigslist, here I come. Uhhh…”
RATING: 8.5

07. The Glands - Fortress
“I’d like to one day sing a Glands song at karaoke. Yeah. The vocals are sexy as hell. Yeah.”
RATING: 7.0

08. Kirsty MacColl - Days
“Who? Kristy McNichol? This song sucks.”
RATING: 4.5

09. Digital Sex - Tortured Beauty
“Digital sex? Hmmm. Tortured beauty? Hmmm. What the fuck am I listening to? Stone, this song is over 6 minutes long.”
RATING: 5.0

10. Brian Eno - You Don't Miss Your Water
“I’ve somehow stumbled onto Naked’s mix. I feel like going to a liturgy.”
RATING: 5.5

11. Ezekiel 25:17
“Huh? What?”

12. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - And This Is What the Devil Does
“OK, I guess this isn’t Naked’s mix. I dunno, I’m not feeling this song. It’s actually a little annoying.”
RATING: 4.0

13. Front 242 - Quite Unusual (12" version)
“Uhhh, no, more of the same. What happened to this mix?”
RATING: 5.0

14. Kinski - Semaphore
“Oh, OK, we’re back. This is fucking awesome. It’s an instrumental track but it’s a fucking awesome instrumental track. I gotta check out more of this Kinski.”
RATING: 8.5

15. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
“OK, Stone, you’ve redeemed yourself. I love this. The mix fucking woke up already.”
RATING: 7.0

16. Girls Against Boys - Raindrop
“Nice. I really like this. 3 great songs in a row. About time. The mix took a short nap after that Glands song. OK, I feel like moshing against the wall. God help me.”
RATING: 7.5

17. NoMeansNo - The Tower
“This rocks. Is this punk? I actually like it. Yeah, sing it brother.”
RATING: 6.5

18. Refused - The Shape of Punk To Come
“OK, one of my favorite songs on this mix. This is fucking awesome. This is really punk? Awesome.”
RATING: 7.0

19. Wire - Raft Ants
“Isn’t this song on Drinky’s mix? I thought Wire were more of a pop band. I guess not. This is OK, I suppose. It‘s actually given me a headache.”
RATING: 5.5

20. Corrosion of Conformity - Holier
“This mix is bipolar. This is a little too rough for me. Next.”
RATING: 4.5

21. Libido Boyz - Put Away Your Prejudice
“Ugh. Sorry no.”
RATING: 3.0

22. Dead Kennedys - Let's Lynch the Landlord
“OK, this is awesome. Very nice. It’s hardcore but listenable.”
RATING: 7.5

23. The Misfits - Hybrid Moments
“I suppose this is an appropriate ending. It’s a good ending to the mix. Very nice.”
RATING: 6.5

This mix was hit or miss for me. It started off very well, the first 7 songs being great to excellent. Somewhere in the middle, Stone got a little too experimental and missed his mark, in my opinion. It was pretty brutal, until the Kinski song comes along and saves the mix. That song (along with the Only Ones) is worth this mix. But once again, after a few great songs, Stone goes experimenting again and falls flat on his face. The last two songs make it so you don’t end this mix with a bitter taste in your mouth. Overall, some great songs on a bipolar mix.
Thanks Stone.


OVERALL RATING: 6.33 (Music) + 1.00 (Effort) = 7.33 (…out of 10)

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HOW YOU COMPARE TO OTHER OBNERS

01. SAINT PATRICK Histoire De La Pop Music (Disc 1) – 7.78

02. DUMPJACK The Booze And The Drugs (Disc 1) - 7.48

03. STONE The Commute - 7.33

04. BGL3 Walking Through Confusion With A Smile On My Face – 7.28

05. RPARIS74 Disc 2: The Deep Blue Sea - 7.21

06. DNORWOOD If I Take You Home, Will You Respect Me In The Morning? (Disc 1) - 7.19

so i just dl'd a close lobsters album from emusic. holy shit. do not know how this band eluded me all this time. anyone who knows my tastes knows I would eat this up. goddamn almost perfect.

Which one? They only had three, and they're all really good. They never got popular, even with the college crowd, but there were a few people I knew in college who really liked them, and got me hooked.

Sorry for the delay...been kind of preoccupied lately. In fact, I think this might be my first post on obner in 7 or so days...

The Commute

1. Dante's Lament
What is this from?

2. The Connells - Scotty's Lament
I like this one a lot (especially the chorus), even more so than the other Connells song that appears on bg13’s mix. It didn’t take as long to grow on me.
8.5/10

3. Ashtray Boy - There Is A Fountain
Short. Jangly. Fine with me.
7/10

4. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
This starts off with that melody that instantaneously makes me think of Bush’s “Glycerine” – which normally pisses me off. But it forges enough into an anthemic punk groove with a great melody and playful guitar solo to where it distinguishes itself in a favorable way.
7.5/10

5. Dancing Hoods - Graveyard Shift
I like it. Kinda reminds me of The La’s.
7.5/10

6. Close Lobsters - Skyscrapers Of St. Mirin
Man, who are these bands? This is very late 80s/early 90s alternative/indie pop. This is great!
8.0/10

7. The Glands - Fortress
Slowing things down a bit. Not really a stand out track for me in the first half of the mix, but that vibraphone is a nice touch.
6/10

8. Kirsty MacColl - Days
This is pleasant, warm, kind of in the same vein as Neko Case or something.
8/10

9. Digital Sex - Tortured Beauty
And we’re back to the late 80s again but with more new wave-ish pop flare. I kind of like the synth bass groove on the verses. It just doesn’t need to go on for 7+ minutes.
6.5/10

10. Brian Eno - You Don't Miss Your Water
I must admit I find this more casually listenable than most of what appears on the Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks record, which is the only Brian Eno recording I own. It does have that church hymn quality about it, but a bit more ethereal.
6/10

11. Ezekiel 25:17
Preach it, Sammy.

12. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - And This Is What The Devil Does
It’s good to see someone with the balls to put industrial/dance based stuff on a mix. From my personal observations, you just don’t come across that kind of thing much here. This isn’t really grabbing me overall. It might work at a club or something…
5.5/10

13. Front 242 - Quite Unusual [12" Version]
Again with the industrial/dance. Not horrible, but it ain’t “Headhunter.” Man, I probably would have loved this 15 years ago during my big industrial and new wave phase. The only Front 242 CD I ever owned was Front by Front.
5.5/10

14. Kinski - Semaphore
This is kind of a cool instrumental that starts off driven by a heavily tremolo’d guitar line for the first 2 minutes. It gives the impression that it’s quieting down only to explode without warning into Isis or Pelican-like heaviness.
7/10

15. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
Seen the name before but wasn’t familiar with the sound. Wow. It sounds like TV on the Radio may need to cut them a check.
6.5/10

16. Girls Against Boys - Raindrop
This rocks most formidably.
7.5/10

17. NoMeansNo - The Tower
So does this.
7/10

18. Refused - The Shape Of Punk To Come
I liked the drumming on this one quite a bit. If RATM were a little more like this, they’d have gotten more spins from me.
6.5/10

19. Wire - Raft Ants
My first exposure to Wire. Not at all what I was expecting. I kind of like the buzzy guitar sound that kicks off the song. But overall, it doesn’t do a great deal for me. Something tells me that they didn’t always sound like this.
5.5/10

20. Corrosion Of Conformity - Holier
I saw that American Hardcore movie and found it enjoyable. One of the big lines was “Normal people didn’t listen to hardcore, and we liked it that way.” I’m hardly 100% normal, but this is a bit too militant for my tastes.
4/10

21. Libido Boys - Put Away Your Prejudice
In the same camp as the Corrosion of Conformity song. This type of music seldom rises above the level of “morbid curiosity” for me. But I can see why people like it.
4/10

22. Dead Kennedys - Let's Lynch The Landlord
OK, we’re back on track. A little more up my alley. After hearing this and “Police Truck” from dnorwood’s mix, I see I’ve clearly missed out on this band – which I intend to remedy a.s.a.p.
7/10

23. The Misfits - Hybrid Moments
Generally speaking, I just don’t dig Danzig. But when I hear this, I’m willing to recognize he was at least previously part of something good. This is a far cry from what I heard when I saw him live a few years ago. I can barely hear his voice on this track though. This almost sounds like a live recording.
6/10

Thanks Stone! Quite different from the other mixes. Especially the second half. I think I second OPA!'s assertion that this mix is quite bipolar. The evening commute sounds rather...angry. As if either it was a rough day at work or traffic is pissing you off. Some bands here I might look further into. I already have a Dead Kennedys coming to me from lala.

The Commute

1. Dante's Lament - Nice touch here.

2. The Connells - Scotty's Lament - Nice tune, obvious 80s feel to this, making me feel like I'm in the 2nd act of a John Hughes movie. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because I think there's a decent chance I could hit on Molly Ringwald in the third act. 4/5

3. Ashtray Boy - There Is A Fountain - Never heard of this band/artist, but hey, this I like a lot! Pretty simple tune, but something about it appeals to me. It can't just be the name Ashtray Boy. Also it's short and snappy. I like that. 4.5/5

4. The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet - Never heard these guys either but like it nearly immediately. Good pop song. 4/5

5. Dancing Hoods - Graveyard Shift - I have to say I'm enjoying the 80s theme going here. I should say that I'm a priori identifying these songs as from that decade without knowing anything about them, but there's no mistaking this sound at all. I really like this one too, and once again, have never heard this before. 4/5

6. Close Lobsters - Skyscrapers Of St. Mirin - Another one I've never heard before, yet am really enjoying as well. I mean, this song, and many of the previous don't have anything specifically remarkable about them (e.g. no gigantic hooks), which is perhaps why they don't regularly appear on the local radio stations 80's lunch hour special, but these are still very good pop songs. 3.5/5

7. The Glands - Fortress - This sounds different from the first 6 songs, so there's a bit of a shift now. I don't know this band either, but it's unmistakably a 90s band. This really doesn't have anything remarkable about it at all. It's not bad, but just kind of sleepy, like most of the mid-90s actually. 2/5

8. Kirsty MacColl - Days - Ah, I like her voice a lot. I've never heard much of her solo work at all. Embarrassingly, I think the only instance where I've heard her sing is on 'Fairytale of New York'. This is a nice song, one I'd dig hearing on a spring day or something. But only in the morning. 4/5

9. Digital Sex - Tortured Beauty - Back to the 80s feel. I got to say at this point, The Glands and Kirsty are kind of sticking out a bit. I don't know the band, and this song doesn't make me enthusiastic at the proposition of more. 1/5

10. Brian Eno - You Don't Miss Your Water - This was all right, but not really my thing to be honest. 2/5

11. Ezekiel 25:17 - Poor Brett.

12. My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - And This Is What The Devil Does - Another band I've heard more about than actually heard. This isn't too bad. I went through a phase where I listened to a lot of Ministry and Al's affiliated bands for awhile in the 90s, so I can dig this stuff. Actually I'm more reminded of Pop Will Eat Itself actually, which I listened to a lot of in '91. I would have listened to this as well. 4/5

13. Front 242 - Quite Unusual [12" Version] - Based on what I've stated above I should enjoy it, but it's not quite dumb or heavy enough for me. 2/5

14. Kinski - Semaphore - This was not for me. At all. 0.5/5

15. Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance - This I loved immediately. I really need to hear more of this band. In fact, I ripped this song right off the mix for the ipod. Great stuff. 5/5

16. Girls Against Boys - Raindrop - Got one GAB album which I break out from time to time (Freak-on-ica, I believe). After hearing this, I broke it out again. Another band I need to hear a bit more from. Excellent stuff. 5/5

17. NoMeansNo - The Tower - Okay, really hitting the stride, at least for me. This is pretty fucking good. I crank this one up every time it comes on. Good and loud. 5/5

18. Refused - The Shape Of Punk To Come - I hate the vocals, but the music has a pretty good groove going. Well, I guess hate is too strong, but it could have been better. (EDIT. No wait, I hate them) 1.5/5

19. Wire - Raft Ants - I hate this. 0/5

20. Corrosion Of Conformity - Holier - And the good part of the mix ends for me. Goddamn I don't like this at all. 0/5

21. Libido Boys - Put Away Your Prejudice It's official, I really don't like stuff like this at all. I don't know if I'd necessarily call it Hardcore or what but all I know is I didn't like it when I was 14, 24 and now (nearly) 34. Not for me. 1/5

22. Dead Kennedys - Let's Lynch The Landlord - This was moderately better than the previous songs, but I never got the fuss over these guys. Part of me thinks it just had to do with them being First Amendment poster boys, because there had to be a 1000 plus bands doing it just as well, or even better, as this band who never got even close to the press they did. Fortune smiled on them, I guess. 1.5/5

23. The Misfits - Hybrid Moments - I like some Misfits actually, but I think I like the humour and Danzig's crooning howl. They had that something to separate them from the pack, in my mind. I personally prefer Lucifuge to anything else he's done, but that's my burden. 2/5


Final Thoughts:

This mix was pretty much all over the map. We had our 80s moment at the beginning, with a short segue into a few isolated songs, then back into the 80s into the stuff I guess I would call the dance-rock portion, into the hardcore. Personally, I loved the dance rock stuff and would welcome a whole mix of that stuff someday. And the first 6 songs at the beginning were great, too. So, kind of disorganized overall in terms of tempo and feel, but that was the purpose with the 'Morning' Vs. 'Evening' commute, so I can't fault you there. Thanks for the intro into some stuff I probably never would have heard before. 7.1/10