Mixtapery: Cuckoo Clock Shop (2012)

Welcome to another blahblahblahgay mixtape post. Due to Tyler at Southern Vision pointing out that people use Youtube for listening to music (this is foreign to me but clearly there's a market for it with the large volume of tracks uploaded to black backgrounds etc.) I have embedded videos at the end of this post.

As I briefly mentioned in the Like What? post the end of year mixtapes have been about compiling those songs and artists that have been the soundtrack to my year; mostly new finds or new albums from bands I love with some old stuff thrown in too. The major reason for the mixtape however is to share. Music has always been about sharing with others, learning from them and educating each other in music we might not have heard about otherwise. I've noticed with the massive growth in music online that finding things that my friends haven't heard of yet is getting harder and harder but hopefully this mixtape has something that you haven't yet heard and perhaps become part of the soundtrack to your 2013.

Highlights from this years mixtape for me as the compiler have to be linked to the few live shows we managed to get to in 2012.

Back at Easter we travelled to Sydney to see Taking Back Sunday with their original lineup for the first time. As major influences on my musical taste as a younger man their new album was a massive return to form and such a wonderful surprise that I still get excited when I scroll past it on my iPod, it's like when you reconnect with an old friend and discover that they are much more fun than you remember.

The history of TBS is complicated by the formation of Straylight Run by half of the band and when they played my favourite Straylight song back in Easter it was easily the most unexpected moment from any show I've ever been to, needless to say I sang along like nobody was listening.

We saw the fabulous Blood Red Shoes for the fifth time whilst we were in London, they were supporting Gaslight Anthem and so we got to see them perform on a bigger stage (especially compared to the London public toilet converted in to a music venue we had previously seen them at) with a bigger sound and listening to them you would never have guessed that they were just two skinny indie kids up there.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were another band we saw live in London and despite the poor stage presence they managed to turn a pleasant album on CD in to an overwhelming aural experience. They were supported that night by Hatcham Social who defied all opening act expectations by actually being good and making me want to buy their album. I can't remember the last time that happened.

The mixtape also features songs from albums I have reviewed this year by Pierce The Veil, General Fiasco and Alec Ounsworth, follow those links for full reviews.

So enough waffle, here's the zip file for you to download the complete mp3 experience uploading issues mean this zip is not ready yet, and don't forget to leave some comments on how you might prefer to receive this mixtape in future and how much you love the music obviously.
Cuckoo Clock Shop (2012) at Spotify


NY Girl by Hatcham Social

Everything Is The Same by Pull In Emergency

Cold by Blood Red Shoes

Lift by Pharaohs

3 Hearts by Johnny Foreigner

Elizabeth by The Kabeedies

Is This Love? Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Map To The Freezer by Stagecoach

Mimi Ash by Oh No! Yoko

The Age You Start Losing Friends by General Fiasco

An Exquisite Year For Charm by Hello Bear

We Got The Beat by The Go-Go's

It Ends & It Starts In A Dark Room by Lady Fortune

A Boat To Row, To Row, To You by Boat To Row

Belong by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Write About Love by Belle & Sebastian (featuring Carey Mulligan)

What Fun. by Alec Ounsworth

Girls by Elephants

Billy Liar by The Decemberists

This Is All Now by Taking Back Sunday

Dead End Dreams by Man Overboard

Existentialism on Prom Night by Straylight Run

I'm Low on Gas and You Need a Jacket by Pierce The Veil