It's awesome.

5/5

You're too kind.

Tracklisting's done but I'm not posting it until people receive their copies.

Let the masses rejoice; I cut the Fiery Furnaces track from the final mix.

Bump.

And here is the first of the official mixes to make it to the mailbox...

Alongwaltz - Terrified of Telephones and Shopping Malls and Knives...

1. Polyphonic Spree "It's The Sun" – One of those concepts I enjoy reading about more than listening to. Tripping Daisy were a sort of 2nd tier alt.band back in the days when grunge was king, and burying Tripping Daisy's failed pop songs under a landfill of french horns and choral arrangements doesn't exactly improve on the problem at hand. Holy cluttered. (2/5)

2. Stars "Elevator Love Letter" – This is pleasant, if a little innocuous. Reminds me of that song on Martha and the Muffins Metro Music that wasn't "Echo Beach". I damn near feel like noo wave dancing. (3/5)

3. Magnetic Fields "I Think I Need A New Heart" – I'm kinda with this song until the chorus, which sounds like someone just grabbed Stephen Merritt's nutsack and gave it a twist in the middle of him singing. Not enough to hurt, y'know, just enough to take his mind off the melody. I was gonna call this innocuous, but that chorus gets more annoying with each play, so it's about as innocuous as sacrificing children in the name of Satan. (1/5)

4. The 6ths "You You You You You" – Another pleasant ditty - and at this point, let's just agree that word innocuous is a modifier used in every review. This song sounds like what I'd imagine someone like Petula Clark would sound like in the shower, or like a song that got left out of Bye Bye Birdie for not having enough emotional depth. (1/5)

5. Hawksley Workman "Safe And Sound" – I like this. More understated and humble than the usual Hawksley fare. (3/5)

6. Eels "Climbing To The Moon" – For me, a mix is the best way to listen to Eels. Standing alone, I can appreciate the craft, the melodicism, and the attention to detail, whereas the individual songs on an Eels album tend to sink into a soup of sameness. (3/5)

7. Broken Social Scene "Lover's Spit" – Sure, one of the better moments off of You Forgot It In People. I appreciate the mood of resigned melancholy, but six minutes is a long time to hang that melancholy on a single hook. (3/5)

8. The Parkas "Giants In My Field" – One of those bouncy pop songs that's as hard to dislike as it is hard to like. The template was there; they filled it in; that's 3 minutes less silence in the world. So, like, mission accomplished. (2/5)

9. Daniel Johnston "Living Life" – I don't find other people's psychoses all that entertaining. Pretty sure I'll never listen to this again. (unrateable)

10. The Most Serene Republic "Anhoi Polloi" - I've been wanting to hear these guys, so thanks for including them. I didn't buy the album, of course, due to my longstanding vow to never support Toronto artists, especially any of those involved in that whole "Torontopia" debacle. Anyway, now that I've heard them, I don't quite know what to say, except that I'm sure their moms are all proud and play this stuff whenever they host bridge night.(2/5)

11. The Weakerthans "Aside" – Nice. The Weakerthans get in and get out in 3 minutes, and in that short amount of time they manage to play around with dynamics and build up to a nice climax for that last chorus. Now get that new album going, y'bastids. (4/5)

12. Blake Babies "Out There" – I read an interview with Neko Case in which she stated that one of her greatest fears was to "sing like a girl". I can't prove it, but I'd put money on the possibility that she was referring to something like this. Julianna Hatfield is, in a word, chirpy. But then again, I've always preferred women with pubic hair to girls without. (2/5)

13. Guster "I Spy" – This is the first I've heard from Guster, so thanks again. Are those bongos? I like the bongos. The rest of it is professional but pretty meh. (3/5)

14. Elvis Presley "His Latest Flame" – A great voice at the service of utter tripe. I guess Col. Tom was way ahead of his time, in that he turned the King of Rock 'n' Roll into the Mariah Carey of the '60s. Must've seen the writing on the wall. (3/5)

15. Feist "It's Cool To Love Your Family" – I like this quite a lot, more for the quality of her voice and that slightly fuzzy/twangy guitar than for the song itself. I'll be curious to see where Feist takes herself in the future, because at this point there's not much standing in her way. (4/5)

16. Richard Buckner "Surprise, AZ" – Love this song. (4/5)

17. Eric's Trip "Sand" – Just because someone whispers words while strumming a guitar doesn't mean they've written a song. It just means they have access to recording equipment. (1/5)

18. Joanna Newsom "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" – Y'know, it's not bad at all until she hits that high register of hers, and then suddenly all the glassware in the house shatters and the neighbor's tomcat tries to hump our mailbox. She should know better. Or someone should. I guess we can decide on blame later. (2/5)

__________________________________________________


So given your love of twee, alongwaltz, I've got to admit that was nowhere near as painful as I feared. In fact, there's quite of few songs that I'm very glad to have.

But what does this mix say about Alongwaltz as a person? I guess the title is meant as a giveaway - but I don't know if I buy that. If you're courageous enough to brave listening to Joanna Newsom on a regular basis, then telephones have gotta be nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

I hate talking on the phone and I am genuinely terrified of knives. I don't use them at all.
I work in a shopping mall, though, so John K. isn't quite writing from my life.


Also, 43 out of 90 is almost a pass. So I'll take it. I was expecting worse from Rad.

It came from Canada so it must have been expensive and for that I give two thumbs up.

The music side of things, I'm currently obsessed with MBV, Smashing Pumpkins, Emperor and pretty much all things with heavy reverb (guess what's gonna be on my mix) so I'm not wrapping my head around these mixes like I should.

Any suggestions? Do I need to be high? On the road? At a bar? What's the best environment to get this stuff?

To get my mix? Maybe riding the bus or train, looking out the window.

I don't do drugs, drink, go to bars, or drive. So it's a pretty sober affair.

Sorry for the delay.

Alongwaltz - Terrified of Telephones and Shopping Malls and Knives...

1. Polyphonic Spree "It's The Sun" – Thought I'd be a fan of the Spree until I bought an album. As Rads said, it's cluttered. Still, the song has its moments here and there. (3/5)

2. Stars "Elevator Love Letter" – I saw this band at a New Pornographers show and could not bear them. This song gets points for being better than I expected. (3/5)

3. Magnetic Fields "I Think I Need A New Heart" – I like the Magnetic Fields, but I usually never make it through a whole disc of 69 Love Songs in one sitting. Something about Merritt's voice. It's great for a mix, though. (4/5)

4. The 6ths "You You You You You" – This sounds like it belongs on a Magnetic Fields album. Great follow-up. (After some investigation, I realize this is another Merritt band.) (5/5)

5. Hawksley Workman "Safe And Sound" – This song was tolerable for a bit more than a minute. (1/5)

6. Eels "Climbing To The Moon" – Good band. Decent song. (3/5)

7. Broken Social Scene "Lover's Spit" – Good stuff. (5/5)

8. The Parkas "Giants In My Field" – I kept thinking I might like this song, but ended up finding it bland. (2/5)

9. Daniel Johnston "Living Life" – I know I should look into Daniel Johnston's work, but I never have. Heck, I even bought a 'Best-of' album, but it remains unopened. I like this song. Bonus points for reminding me to open that album. (5/5)

10. The Most Serene Republic "Anhoi Polloi" - An okay song, but I really don't like the vocals. (2/5)

11. The Weakerthans "Aside" – These are The Weakerthans? Huh. (2/5)

12. Blake Babies "Out There" – I don't like much. (2/5)

13. Guster "I Spy" – Sounds like something you'd hear while shopping at Petco. I was under the impression I'd like Guster, but song leads me to believe that is not the case. (1/5)

14. Elvis Presley "His Latest Flame" – I like. (4/5)

15. Feist "It's Cool To Love Your Family" – Can't really make up my mind on this one. Sounds like I might enjoy it on an album of Feist songs, but it's not doing it for me on this mix. (3/5)

16. Richard Buckner "Surprise, AZ" – Meh. (2/5)

17. Eric's Trip "Sand" – Enjoyable. (3/5)

18. Joanna Newsom "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" – Enjoyable. Good closing song. (4/5)

Overall: 3/5

I think my Petco comment applies to a few songs here. Some of these songs are just very unmemorable, like the songs on the Musak-provided soundtracks in retail chains everywhere.

On the other hand, my comment to the Feist song might also apply to other songs here. Some of these songs might sound better on their actual albums than on a mix.

Alongwaltz - Terrified of Telephones and Shopping Malls and Knives...

1. Polyphonic Spree "It's The Sun" – Is this the cult that floats around on stage in multi-colored robes? I’m pretty sure this song was cut from the original Broadway version of Hair. A tip of the trumpet to Sgt. Pepper. (1/5)

2. Stars "Elevator Love Letter" – The repetitive strumming and droning of the guitars saves this for me. I’m a sucker for that kind of thing. I like the lyrics enough but cannot deal with the fey singing. (2/5)

3. Magnetic Fields "I Think I Need A New Heart" – I really want to hate this song but it’s catchy. It goes on a little too long and would be better at 45 seconds or so and listened to once or twice a year. (1/5)

4. The 6ths "You You You You You" – No No No No No No. Dumb, insipid and annoying, I have renamed this band The Melissas*. (0/5)

5. Hawksley Workman "Safe And Sound" – Hey, I really like this song. (3/5)

6. Eels "Climbing To The Moon" – Hey, I really like this song, too. It just goes to show that I do indeed like softer songs when they’re well crafted and not sung by some 21 year old trust fund baby in a faux falsetto. Really nice. (3/5)

7. Broken Social Scene "Lover's Spit" – It’s good. It’s too long. And it’s bringing down the mix for me. (3/5)

8. The Parkas "Giants In My Field" – The singer over enunciates so much that when he sings “you mess with our friends, you’re messing with us.” it’s just plain laughable. Plus there’s spelling going on and unless it’s r-e-s-p-e-c-t that’s a little lame. (1/5)

9. Daniel Johnston "Living Life" – This made me laugh pretty hard. It’s supposed to, right? (0/5)

10. The Most Serene Republic "Anhoi Polloi" - I get it. We’re serious and artsy because we have strings and off beat rhythms and crescendos. Sounds like a bunch of post BFA conceptual artists bemoaning the fact that they don’t even have the skills to draw caricatures at Six Flags. (0/5)

11. The Weakerthans "Aside" – Finally. A real song. Love these guys. Spine. They’ve got spines. Atta boy, Harley. (4/5)

12. Blake Babies "Out There" – Okay, I’m usually a sucker for this kind of thing but not today. It’s just not a very good song and they strain way to much on those high notes. They’re no Dressy Bessy. (1/5)

13. Guster "I Spy" – Mediocre moaning at best. I’m so tired of songs like this. Even the bongos failed to move me. (1/5)

14. Elvis Presley "His Latest Flame" – Elvis does his best with a very lame song. This is so weak. Sounds like a tiny toy piano back there. Gets a 3 based on Elvis’s vocals. It would get a 4 if it was a capella. (3/5)

15. Feist "It's Cool To Love Your Family" – The song reminds me of an okay Jonathan Richman song. Very nice arrangement but I’m on the fence with her vocals. Makes me want to check Feist out a little more which says a lot because I am a very lazy person. (3/5)

16. Richard Buckner "Surprise, AZ" – BEST song on the mix. A supreme find for me. If I listen to this a few more times it may go to a 5. (4/5)

17. Eric's Trip "Sand" – As Rosalind Russell said to Natalie Wood in Gypsy: “SING OUT, Louise!” This guy could be singing the secrets to world peace forever and I still wouldn’t care enough to turn it up. (0/5)

18. Joanna Newsom "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" – It’s never good when I laugh 15 seconds into a...ummm...song. Was she discovered while she worked craft services for Lord of the Rings? I really don’t get it. At all. Oh, and she “plays” the harp like Madonna “played” flamenco guitar. (0/5)


All in all, not too bad. A few keepers fer shure. Seems like you buy into bands with all kinds of bells and whistles and flowing robes and crowns of flowers. Your only salvation is that you put some really strong music alongside the weak stuff. There’s hope for you young man. But don’t blame me when you look put that Polyphonic Spree on in five years and wonder what the hell you were thinking. I know this to be true because at 15 I owned 2 Uriah Heap albums.


*not a reference to our very own miceelf.

I changed my mind. I don't want any more reviews.

Well, maybe red's.

But nobody else.

Alongwaltz - Terrified of Telephones and Shopping Malls and Knives...

1. Polyphonic Spree "It's The Sun" – One of my absolute least favorite songs on their debut album. The Polyphonic Spree is ridiculous, it's true...but they have a small handful of good songs. I hate this one though. (1/10)

2. Stars "Elevator Love Letter" – Stars are a difficult band for me. Pop music for hipsters. I like a decent amount of their stuff, but seeing them live almost forever ruined what I think of them. They're a decent enough band when only Amy sings, it's often good. When Torquil opens his mouth I want to punch him in the face. I do like this song well enough though. (6/10)

3. Magnetic Fields "I Think I Need A New Heart" – Somehow with all the "Indie" music I listen to and how I love quirky singer/songwriters...I have never really gotten into Stephen. I have disliked as many songs of his as I have liked. The feel of this song is very nice and poppy, something I like. The lyrics are cute too. I like it quite a lot. (8/10)

4. The 6ths "You You You You You" – It's nice to listen to unless you really actually delve into the song. Points for pleasantness, but pretty lame also. (5/10)

5. Hawksley Workman "Safe And Sound" – It's a song that the John Mayer fans of the world would love, but a bit better than the usual fare. I might seek this guy out, but probably not. (4/10)

6. Eels "Climbing To The Moon" – It's E. It's an Eels song. Pretty epic fare, but also pretty meh. (4/10)

7. Broken Social Scene "Lover's Spit" – I guess this song fits with the couple of songs you've played prior to this but I have no idea why you chose it other than that, as its probably the worst song YFIIP. Still a decent song from one of my favorite current bands, but just...doesn't go anywhere in this context. (4/10)

8. The Parkas "Giants In My Field" – It's got a cute 90s pop feel to it. Mixed feelings (6/10)

9. Daniel Johnston "Living Life" – The story of Daniel Johnston will forever be better than his music. He was NEVER the best songwriter in the world. (0/10)

10. The Most Serene Republic "Anhoi Polloi" - Probably the worst of the slew of popular canadian indie rock acts out there. (2/10)

11. The Weakerthans "Aside" – Never gotten into the Weakerthans, but this may be something that makes me do so. Much better than the last few songs. Definitely the apex of the mix. (8/10)

12. Blake Babies "Out There" – Just not good. (1/10)

13. Guster "I Spy" – Boy do I hate this band. (1/10)

14. Elvis Presley "His Latest Flame" – Classic for the most part. Doesn't fit with the rest of the mix really, but I'm basically the last person who can say that. (7/10)

15. Feist "It's Cool To Love Your Family" – It's not a great song, but its a Feist song and I just adore her so much. Something I have never been able to put my finger on. (7/10)

16. Richard Buckner "Surprise, AZ" – Never been able to decide about Richard Buckner. This doesn't really do anything for me, but I do like the instrumentation. (5/10)

17. Eric's Trip "Sand" – Should not exist. Is this your friend or something? (1/10)

18. Joanna Newsom "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" – I'm not a Joanna fanatic, nor a Joanna hater. I like her, I like this song. I like this album. It works well as a closer. Never thought of it that way. (7/10)

This mix just exists. There are some strong songs, but about 3/5 strong songs I already knew and liked, so I'm not really learning anything new. Which is ok. I understand your taste through this mix, and I can see that we won't agree on a whole lot (as you stated on your review of my mix). But that's sort of the point of this whole exchange. I'm indifferent about most of it, but I don't hate it. Thanks for taking the time to send it out of course.

Alongwaltz - Terrified of Telephones and Shopping Malls and Knives...

1. Polyphonic Spree "It's The Sun" – Pretty silly fluff, but I can't say that I really mind it. Sets a nice bright tone for the mix. Should have ended a little prior to the 4 minute mark, though, if not sooner. (3/5)

2. Stars "Elevator Love Letter" – It's kind of like this band had a list of everything a pop song needs to appeal to indie kids. Male/female vocals? Check. An expansive, anthemic feel that would make it feel right at home on the Garden State soundtrack? Check. A modern "glitchy" instrumental quirk, like backwards guitar? Check. Anyway, it's pleasant, but feels generic and formulaic to me. (2/5)

3. Magnetic Fields "I Think I Need A New Heart" – I'll echo contradiction's thoughts on this one. I like as much as I dislike what I've heard of Merritt's work, but this one gets it right. Pop with a unique character. (3/5)

4. The 6ths "You You You You You" – Just too cutesy for me. And too slight. (1/5)

5. Hawksley Workman "Safe And Sound" – So I'm not much of a romantic, I guess. This kind of thing just isn't for me. (1/5)

6. Eels "Climbing To The Moon" – This is from the only Eels album that I own, and I've always felt that this was one of the better songs on it. However, the last few times I've listened to it, I've been a little put off by the lyrics. It works in the context of the album because it's part of a larger story, but by itself it feels a little too precious somehow. Anyway, I still like the way it sounds, especially the chorus. (3/5)

7. Broken Social Scene "Lover's Spit" – Never quite got into BSS. Listening to them now, they seem to suffer a little from Stars syndrome: indie pop by the numbers. I like this a little better, I guess. (3/5)

8. The Parkas "Giants In My Field" – I don't really know where to begin with this. I like pretty much nothing about it. (0/5)

9. Daniel Johnston "Living Life" – Pretty jarring in this context, but I guess that's a welcome change since I was getting a little bored there. This guy's written some great songs, but most of the ones I like are the almost disturbingly sad ones or ones that show a sort of primitve but damaged optimism. I don't know what this is. (1/5)

10. The Most Serene Republic "Anhoi Polloi" - I'm surprised that this has inspired such uniformly negative reviews above especially when you consider what sort of things often get a pass around here. Oh, wait, looking at who wrote those the reviews, I totally get it. Yeah, it's unnecessarily bombastic. Yeah, it's meandering. And, well, it's pretty forgettable. (2/5)

11. The Weakerthans "Aside" – Hm. I know some people who absolutely love this band, but Reconstruction Site has been gathering dust (so to speak) on my harddrive since I got it. I guess it will continue to do so. This kind of bombastic pop punk never seems to command the sort of emotional weight that it's trying so desperately hard for. (2/5)

12. Blake Babies "Out There" – Man, you've got BALLS listening to shit like this. If you'd ride down Parkway between Ponce and North Ave. (it's a really short stretch - you could do it) BLASTING this shit with your windows down, driving really fucking slow and making eye contact with every single person you see, you'd be my fucking hero. (And yes, Parkway really is the name of a street here. It's the next one over from Boulevard.) (0/5)

13. Guster "I Spy" – I don't know which part of this song makes me angriest. Might be the hand drums. (0/5)

14. Elvis Presley "His Latest Flame" – Man, I just don't really like Elvis, I guess. I don't know. I'm pretty sure there's some Elvis songs I like way more than this. (2/5)

15. Feist "It's Cool To Love Your Family" – I do like Feist. I think I'd rather hear pretty much anything from Let It Die over this one, but it's not too bad. (2/5)

16. Richard Buckner "Surprise, AZ" – I like most of the Buckner I've heard. I don't know about this one, though. The lyrics are a little annoying, and the music is just your average alt-country. (2/5)

17. Eric's Trip "Sand" – I'm familiar with this song from the Microphones version on It Was Hot so We Stayed in the Water. Apparently they breathed life into a ghost of a song. I like the lyrics to this for some inexplicable reason, and even though this version is pretty weak, I think there's a decent song underneath. (3/5)

18. Joanna Newsom "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" – I'm on your side when it comes to Joanna. Best song on the mix, and it's not even my favorite song from her first album. (4/5)

I've enjoyed reading your chronological thread, and this works pretty nicely as a means of illuminating that a little more. Needless to say, we don't have a whole lot in common taste-wise, but I think I found this mix to be pretty enjoyable, considering. I like how you made the cover art, but, like, I can't help but wonder if you picked those specific panels just for me. I'm really not a junkie. Honest. And I never forget to masturbate.

Thanks for the mix.

ALONGWALTZ MIX - Terrified of Telephones and Shopping Malls and Knives…

1. Polyphonic Spree - "It's the Sun" - I like the Polyphonic Spree generally, but this is almost a bit too sweet even for me, and gets annoying after a while.

4. The 6ths - "You You You You You" - Very nice song. A lot of the 6ths collaborations are hit and miss, especially on Hyacinths and Whistles, but this one with Katherine Whalen works well.

5. Hawksley Workman - "Safe and Sound" - This starts off with promise, but sy the end of this song I'm ready for it to be over. It’s not a terrible song, but it just doesn’t seem to go anywhere.

7. Broken Social Scene - "Lover's Spit" - I love this song, but given the general nature of this mix, it was a pretty predictable inclusion.

8. The Parkas - "Giants In My Field" - This track is new to me, and is okay, but I’ve heard way too many songs that sound much like this to have much interest in it.

13. Guster - "I Spy" - I admit that this one grew on me upon repeated listens, but remains relatively mediocre.

14. Elvis - "His Latest Flame" - The one track on this comp that didn’t seem to be an indie rock darling of the last five years really had me scratching my head. It breaks up a decent flow to this comp, and I don’t understand its inclusion at all (not to mention that I don’t like Elvis much at all, anyway).

15. Feist - "It's Cool To Love Your Family" - This is new to me, and is a good one. I like the string arrangements and I will look further into Feist’s catalog.

18. Joanna Newsom - "Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie" - This is a favorite of mine, and is a great closer.

Overall, I thought the mix was decent, but just seems to be a straight up recent indie rock mix. This would be fine (and is fine if that's what ALONGWALTZ is really into), but I already have most of it, not to mention have listened to a lot of it recently. However, it was nice to listen to the few tracks that were new to me and the Feist track made it worthwhile.