In preparation for my end of year review posts I have discovered that my previous means of uploading my mixtapes/playlists have become a little outmoded. Three years of not sharing digitally will have that effect I suppose. So this first mixtape post is both an experiment and a preview of what's to come if all goes well.
I have a penchant for making mixtapes for my friends that dates back to actual cassette tapes, I'm sure my evolution to cd's and mp3 playlists is similar to a lot of people so I'm not making a massive hipster deal out of this fact. In general I made 3 or 4 a year at my peak and finished with an end of year "best of" for Christmas presents. Like What? was the most recent instalment of this practice, finished back in December 2011 and actually represents the last time I could be bothered to put something together. I was so lazy I didn't even make a real piece of artwork for it. Instead I provide you with this:
Looking at what I have started to put together for the 2012 edition and comparing it to this one, the similarities stand out as quite an indictment of how lazy in finding new music I have become in the past 12 months.
So what new things have I tried with this digital experiment? I have uploaded a complete zip folder of all 16 tracks if you feel like getting your hands on 95mb of music. I signed up to f**eb**k with a fake account so I could access Spotify and created a playlist too. It should be embedded below if things have gone smoothly and underneath is a link to the playlist within Spotify if you prefer. I have noticed however that one track is not available through Spotify, blame the label/band for being shortsighted.
I'd love some feedback on the modes of sharing as well as the mixtape itself, suggestions for other methods of sharing that might work for future mixtapes and of course feel free to share your own mixtapes with me, plus anything else that comes to mind too.
Full tracklisting:
1. Burying Davy by The Decemberists
2. Home Is A Fire by Death Cab For Cutie
3. Septemberism by Man Overboard
4. Santiago by The Kabeedies
5. Our Perfect Disease by The Wombats
6. Violence by Pegasus Bridge
7. Freud Links The Teeth And The Heart by Tellison
8. Songs About Your Girlfriend by Los Campesinos!
9. Simple Math by Manchester Orchestra
10. I'm Not Made Of Eyes by General Fiasco
11. Do You Want Me (Dead?) by All Time Low
12. It Doesn't Feel A Thing Like Falling by Taking Back Sunday
13. 200x by Johnny Foreigner
14. Since You've Been Gone (My Heart Swells) by Elephants
15. Let's Kill Tonight by Panic! At The Disco
16. I Can Show You by Tim & Jean
Good day to you all, here is a little recap of what blahblahblahToby has been up to since last we spoke.
On the movie viewing front we have forged ahead with the noir-a-thon whilst not even considering telling you all about if for even a second. Last we spoke we were up to 1944 yet here we are having just seen the incredible Samuel Fuller directed Pickup on South Street from 1953. I can't even comprehend writing that many reviews as a catchup but I may one day soon fill you in on a brief rundown of each incredible piece of classic cinema.
We are now proud subscribers to the Australian DVD rental service Quickflix which keeps sending me movies to watch and never complaining at their late return.
The end of the English football season saw us cancel our sports subscription with Foxtel and replace it with some of the worst movie channels I've ever seen. Did you know that TCM hardly ever broadcasts high quality picture and sound? I have to listen to a really horrible hissing constantly. However I did get the chance to see something amazing, The Petrified Forest starring Trevor Howard and Humphrey Bogart in the role that made him a star.
We had a nightmare of a time trying to see the new Ridley Scott, Prometheus. The trailers were incredible, the hype in my mind built to extreme levels, surely it was going to be the greatest movie ever? Check out the trailer complete with tension building music and a lack of Rafe Spall whilst I prepare The Adventure of the Couple Who Wanted to Watch Prometheus.
The Adventures of The Couple Who Wanted To Watch Prometheus
Toby saw the trailer for Prometheus and finally realised it was sort of a prequel to Alien. When Leah came home Toby said "watch this" and pressed play. Leah said "oh wow, we have to actully go to the cinema to see that."
Prometheus was released on Wednesday. Leah and Toby had a day off of work on Thursday. Toby checked the listings for the Belmont cinema and they arrived for the 11am 2D screening.
"I'm sorry, the 2D screening is playing in our Gold Lounge and costs an extra $20 each." This was the mouth breather behind the popcorn desk speaking. "Fuck that we'll go somewhere else," said Toby.
Toby checked the listings for another cinema and Leah drove for 30 minutes to get there. "I'm sorry, that screening is now in 3D" This was another mouth breather behind the popcorn desk speaking. "Fuck that I'm going to download it, at least that will be 2D." said Toby.
Toby was angry, Leah was mad. "I'm so fucking mad" said Leah. "I can't believe this fucking place" sid Toby.
It was Tuesday. Leah said "we should go and watch Prometheus." Toby said "OK"
Toby checked a third cinemas listings. They said it was showing in 2D only. Toby and Leah went to see Prometheus. The movie was in 2D. It wasn't actually very good.
And so ended the first trip to the cinema since February. Not much fun really.
I've been reading a lot. At present count I've read 139 books in 2012.
Remember how I wasn't as excited by Drive as everyone else? (check out the review if you've forgotten) I read the original novel by James Sallis (review here) and discovered that the movie was much better than I gave it credit for.
Amongst my favourite books of the year so far has been Savages by Don Winslow, a fantastic novel with an opening chapter that consists of the following:
Fuck you.
You may have noticed that Oliver Stone has adapted it in to a movie due for release this September. I'm unsure as to whether he will do the book justice but I'm still excited to see it.
And for all those noir afficionados out there, the discovery of Megan Abbott writing fabulous pulpy goodness in the style of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Jim Thompson and James M. Cain is something that you should be very excited by. Even if it's just for the artwork:
We took a trip across the country from Perth to Sydney relatively recently, all in the name of seeing a band. Nobody ever comes to Perth. It's a very isolated city, no matter how much money there is from the mining boom. That band was Taking Back Sunday, performing in Australia with their oriiginal lineup for the very first time. For a couple of former emo kids like me and Leah this was something we couldn't resist, especially as their new album was a fantastic return to form.
The gig wasn't amazing as the lead singer can't actually sing but we had a great time anyway and we even walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge at night to get to the show. Highlight of the evening, despite my extreme fear of heights!
Just to round out the blog with more interactive elements here why don't you enjoy this music video from the band we spent four hours on a plane travelling to see:
We've also been putting the finishing touches to our trip around Europe for this coming September. But I think I'll save that for my next post "So Toby, Now That You're Back On BBBG What's Happening?"
Good post title no?
Now for making dinner. I highly recommend visiting The Post Punk Kitchen for all your dinner ideas.
