Mix Disc Mix Down

We talk a lot about music over at the WV Blogger Forum. Inspired by all that talk, Scarlet decided to organize a mix-CD swap amongst the board regulars. I've already inflicted my peculiar tastes on my victim, so it's time for me to do a quick once-over of the disc I got. My disc came from Mr. Lantern over at Saved By the Torso.

The track list:

“In ‘n’ Out of Grace” – Mudhoney
“Nevermind” – The Replacements
“Case” – Lucero
“Left of the Dial” – The Replacements
“Goin’ Out West” – Tom Waits
“Unsatisfied” – The Replacements
“Kamera” – Wilco
“Beyond the Wheel” – Soundgarden
“Hold It Now” – Beastie Boys (w/sample from “Take the Time”)
“Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love” – Van Halen
“What Else Would You Have Me Be” – Lucero
“Charmed Life” – Mike Ness
“History Lesson” – The Minutemen

For the most part, this stuff was all new to me. With a few exceptions, I'd heard of most of these artists, but not heard anything (or much of anything) by them. Among the completely new to me group is The Replacements, obviously a favorite of Jackie's. Of those three tracks, I really like "Unsatisfied" (nice 12-string intro) and "Left of the Dial." "Nevermind" is a little too whiny for my tastes, but still pretty good. The other multiple-song group here, Lucero, is the one I'm most likely to go track down now. I particularly like the harp and keys on "Case." Also completely new to me were Mike Ness (nice slide) and The Minutemen (didn't really make an impression on me).

From the "I know of them, but . . ." file, I like the Mudhoney track. Great little intro (the sort of earnest teenage rant that Zappa satirized on "Teen-Age Wind"), nice riff - reminds me of something from the Clerks soundtrack.

Tom Waits is somewhat of an acquired taste, I think - he's got one of those "distinctive voices" that either endears him to you or is off putting (think Dylan, Neil Young, or Captain Beefheart). I'm in the latter group with Waits, although I like the song itself quite a bit (any tune that references "making the parole officer happy" scores points with me).

The Soundgarden track is the most off-the-beaten path of this group, with Chris Cornell's high metal vocals reminding me of The Mars Volta, a bit (I can't understand either of them). It's got balls 'n' chunk, which, as Mike Portnoy once observed, is where it's at.

As for the Beastie Boys - eh, I'm not really a rap fan. Some of their other stuff I've heard I like a little better, and they guested on Futurama so you know they're good guys, but it's not my thing (interesting continuity note - the "Hold It Now" vocal sample is the same one used on Dream Theater's "Take the Time," if I'm not mistaken).

I actually own a Wilco album, A Ghost Is Born, so I know their stuff. I know a lot of people like the band a whole lot, but they just don't connect with me. I like their stuff ("Kamera" is a good tune), but it doesn't really fire my engines the way I expected it might. I also actually own a Van (Freakin') Halen album - the self-titled debut, so I'm very familiar with "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love."

Overall, this little swap exposed me to a lot of stuff I hadn't heard before. Some I liked a lot, some didn't really flip my switch, but none of it caused any gross intestinal distress. I'd call that mission accomplished! Thanks, Jackie!