Segue... Could we be heading into a New Golden Age of the Party Mix?

[blue2blue]

From the time I got my first serious tape recorder (I was 12 -- the machine may have only had 5" reels and been mono -- but it plugged in and had a capstan), one of my joys has been making what we now sometimes call mix tapes or party mixes.

 

Just now, I was listening to a randomized shuffle mix of some of my faves via my MOG subscription, shaking my head over the still spikey but now forever bittersweet humor of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" when that random shuffling delivered up as the next song, War's dark and scary "Slipping Into Darkness" -- a 'perfect' segue (unless, I guess, one thinks it's too on-the-nose).

 

It made me kind of nostalgic for those days in the late 70s and 80s when I seldom threw a party without having at least one or two specially programmed tapes of music (which had the added benefit of making it easier to keep my rather delicate turntable out of the hands of my drunke friends -- I was not at all past taping the lid shut).

 

 

One one hand, subscription services that have been going for a while (like Rhapsody, which I was very happy with for some years -- until I heard the 320 kbps streams from MOG, which blow away the presumably 128-160kbps streams from Rhap) and they have made putting together such party mixes super easy.

 

But, until recently, you've been stuck exchanging your playlists with others who also subscribed.

 

Enter new free tiers from Spotify, Rdio, and MOG (actually, Spot's been in Europe with a free tier for a couple years; MOG has been around for a while in the US [only] but is just now adding a free tier).

 

Add to that, a new redesign of Facebook (yes, another one) that will feature what we're told is a tight integration with Spotify and MOG that will allow the exchange of songs and playlists (within the limits imposed by those free/ad-driven tiers).

 

 

Could this promote a 'New Golden Age of the Party Mix'?

 

 

 

Facebook Music Platform Plan Should Surface Next Week

Forbes - 6 hours ago

Facebook is expected to announce the launch of its much-hyped music service in f8, its annual developers' conference, on September 22. ...

In-Depth: Analysis: Music industry banks on free in effort to get paid? Reuters

Blog: MOG makes move to freemium? San Francisco Chronicle (blog)

Rdio music service soon going completely free

[blue2blue]

Holy crap... another on the nose segue...

 

The lost and lamented Tim Buckley singing "Song of the Sirens"... followed by his son Jeff -- gone now a few years himself -- singing his stunning version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

 

 

(Mind you, it's kind of a stacked deck, here, as my current play queue is about half drawn [before the shuffle] from a playlist I created the day after Amy Winehouse died, with selections chosen to mark her passing.)

[Dingoist]

I honestly prefer L. Cohen's original lyrics to hallelujah, but that's my snobbishness. It's one of my staple tunes (though I haven't been playing that as often, as I've been experimenting... apparently ending an evening with "Everybody Knows" was in retrospect a rather too laid back tune that brought the audience down instead of up).

 

I do miss making "mix tapes"... I remember when I was 15 I met some pretty girls from a local school, so I made a "Catholic School Girls Rule" mix tape, spent hours picking the tune-age (I went to the protestant school not far away). The one I made the mix for I was too chicken sh$t to ask her out. Holy heck, I was such a insecure geek back then, but than again, I'm still a geek and insecure, but no longer make mix tapes to express my emotional state to women. But if I started doing that again, I'm sure my wife wouldn't approve.

 

The last one I ever did was a mix CD instead of tape was for my girlfriend at the time, and was more of a John Mayer centric with "Your body is a Wonderland" on it twice (one was a live version). I think it worked 'cause she married me, though sometimes I wonder about the wise-ness of that CD...

 

Now, I hit "shuffle" or somesuch on the pc. Isn't as satisfying though as actually getting a 60 or 90 min tape, carefully choosing the A/B sides (and of course, the beginning of each side has to be a monumental selection that sets the tone).

 

I've been test driving Slacker Radio recently, and I think I'll try MOG next.

[the stranger]

Not sure, but I do think the last couple years has seen The New Wave of Texas Grindcore.

 

I'm definitely down with the party mix, though. I love a good variety. Numerous websites, like mixcloud.com, have sprung up catering to exactly this demographic.

[blue2blue]

Not sure, but I do think the last couple years has seen The New Wave of Texas Grindcore. I'm definitely down with the party mix, though. I love a good variety. Numerous websites, like mixcloud.com, have sprung up catering to exactly this demographic.

Mixcloud looks pretty interesting. They really wanted me to watch their tutorial video (which I really didn't want to do as I was already listening to music and just wanted to read a paragraph or two) but I finally found enough printed info to get the idea that you upload actual mixes, which is a pretty cool idea in many ways but definitely some sweat equity involved. (That said, it may be that sweat equity factor that caused me to bond with some of my own party tapes.)

 

It might be fun to do some spins and do the announcer thing. Although, it must be said, it's a rare music radio announcer/dj I have much use for. Basically, if they've got the chops to pick music I want to hear -- and don't go on too long -- I figure they've earned the right to jabber some... that said, you wouldn't want to hear that over and over. Back in the mid-late 60s when I was just rediscovering rock I used to tape a few guys' shows, but pausing or otherwise cutting out their announcing. I had one night that was iconic DJ B. Mitchell Reid's last show (or one of his last shows) on a top 40 station that was turning news, so he was freed from the format restrictions. And he played a great mix of stuff that I kept for years until the tape (and deck) were stolen. But I did cut him out of it... still his stamp was on it. (Later, in the mid-70s, it seemed like BMR lost his guiding wheel. But that was a good night.)

 

 

One of the most popular playlists on MOG -- or two, technically -- is a recreation of most of the 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die book. (MOG has had a 500 song limit on playlists.) It's a pretty great list, overall, although as it moves into the 70s and 80s, my interest drops off somewhat. It's not that he doesn't have some great, fairly obscure stuff in there, but there's also some other stuff that's just not up my alley. Still, it's a zeitgeist kinda thing... you can't really represent the late 70s without some Journey and such, I guess.

[Lukenskywalker]

i made party mixes in the 80's 90's when I was between wives and always had a crowd over...

Two comments I remember from my drunken coked up friends...

'Hey Luke, what are we listenin' to...did you order this from Kay-tel?'

 

I told a girl, 'this is a party mix' and she went into the kitchen looking for the bowl of Wheat Cheks and peanuts.

[blue2blue]

 

i made party mixes in the 80's 90's when I was between wives and always had a crowd over... Two comments I remember from my drunken coked up friends... 'Hey Luke, what are we listenin' to...did you order this from Kay-tel?' I told a girl, 'this is a party mix' and she went into the kitchen looking for the bowl of Wheat Cheks and peanuts.

 

That's it, I'm starting a series of party mixes called Dry Roasted, Vol 1... etc. Extra MSG...

 

While I often snuck a lot of oldies in, my sense of mischief making is far too deeply ingrained for any of my own mix tapes to be mistaken for Kay-tel collections. Unless they've started mixing Pere Ubu or John Zorn in with the Coasters and the Everlys.

 

 

____________________

 

 

 

PS... I have to admit, I'm getting kind of interested in MixCloud... until I found out how little most DJs are paid, I thought that sounded like a good gig when I was a kid.

[Lukenskywalker]

Ah, 'Old guy', so you remember Kay-tel?

iI's nice to talk w/ a contemporary...Everlys...my older bro know all the upper harmonies,,,we did 'Cathy's Clown at 'everly' Batchelor (sp)

party we gigged at...we just changed the name of the bride,,,hopefully it wasn't more than 3 sylables...

 

I mixed the big Eighties stars, Police, Marley, wif' some ZZ, Yellowman, Edith Piaf,and Strauss from my parents collection...

 

from my older bros collection of 45's.... I threw in some Duane Eddy, Don gibson, ' Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, old Sun recordings from Elvis...my fave 'Mystery Train'...Jerry Lee, Alvino Rey, Eddie Cocharan (sp) again...They weren't great mixes tech-wise...I 'm sure any of you guys could have done a better job doing my mix while doing another routine task at the same time.....

 

.my mixes were filled with quick noise making cut offs, hissing tape and scratchy skips from old 45's that still had soda and potato chip grease on them from the Fifties...

I just dug out 45's of 'Travelin' Man' by Ricky Nelson and 'We Gotta get Outta this Place' by the Animals.... Johnny Angel? can't make out the female artist...

Memo: Google tomorrow...'Johnny Angel'

Anyway, sorry for the rant..

 

Yo Blue, I think the only guy older than us is Mike Rivers snd I think I have much to learn from him.

 

____________________

[djwayne]

Back in the old old days, I had a turntable with a record changer that would hold 5 or 6 albums, which would automatically drop down onto the turntable one at a time....so you'd set up you albums and let it go. I even had a gizmo for playing a stack of 45's.

[Lukenskywalker]

 

Back in the old old days, I had a turntable with a record changer that would hold 5 or 6 albums, which would automatically drop down onto the turntable one at a time....so you'd set up you albums and let it go. I even had a gizmo for playing a stack of 45's.

 

 

Ooops . djwayne welcome to the 'Old Guy club'..

.Er, ah, sorry about this but..I'm a former Law Enforcement Officer and a current Notary Public for the State of New Jersey...

 

May I see your Social Security check stub or your AARP club membership card please....

[djwayne]

 

Ooops . djwayne welcome to the 'Old Guy club'.. .Er, ah, sorry about this but..I'm a former Law Enforcement Officer and a current Notary Public for the State of New Jersey... May I see your Social Security check stub or your AARP club membership card please....

 

 

Not now, I'm napping.

[Lee Knight]

It's what makes a great DJ great. Beat matching and crossmixing are awesome, but they are only as cool as the DJ's ability to get right the context of genre mixing, vibe mixing and subject matter mixing.

 

Sounds cool, Mr. Blue.

 

Rehab and Slipping Into Darkness are about as perfect as it gets...

[blue2blue]

Ah, 'Old guy', so you remember Kay-tel? iI's nice to talk w/ a contemporary...Everlys...my older bro know all the upper harmonies,,,we did 'Cathy's Clown at 'everly' Batchelor (sp) party we gigged at...we just changed the name of the bride,,,hopefully it wasn't more than 3 sylables... I mixed the big Eighties stars, Police, Marley, wif' some ZZ, Yellowman, Edith Piaf,and Strauss from my parents collection... from my older bros collection of 45's.... I threw in some Duane Eddy, Don gibson, ' Johnny Cash, Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps, old Sun recordings from Elvis...my fave 'Mystery Train'...Jerry Lee, Alvino Rey, Eddie Cocharan (sp) again...They weren't great mixes tech-wise...I 'm sure any of you guys could have done a better job doing my mix while doing another routine task at the same time..... .my mixes were filled with quick noise making cut offs, hissing tape and scratchy skips from old 45's that still had soda and potato chip grease on them from the Fifties... I just dug out 45's of 'Travelin' Man' by Ricky Nelson and 'We Gotta get Outta this Place' by the Animals.... Johnny Angel? can't make out the female artist... Memo: Google tomorrow...'Johnny Angel' Anyway, sorry for the rant.. Yo Blue, I think the only guy older than us is Mike Rivers snd I think I have much to learn from him. ____________________

Wasn't Johnny Angel by Shelley Fabere? I remember both she and a then-teenaged Paul Petersen both got featured spots singing their respective hits on the Donna Reed show they played the children on. Petersen's rather cloying tune, "But She Can't Find Her Keys," seemed designed to trade on the same turf as the same basic era's "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb." (And people wondered why the English Invasion took off?)

[blue2blue]

 

Back in the old old days, I had a turntable with a record changer that would hold 5 or 6 albums, which would automatically drop down onto the turntable one at a time....so you'd set up you albums and let it go. I even had a gizmo for playing a stack of 45's.

Yeah... my first two 'serious' turntables (my very first was from an old $14 record player I bought without a tone arm for 50 cents at the Goodwill as-is lot and stuck a $1.75 tone arm+cartridge on when I was 11 or 12) were changers, in fact, both Garrards. (Fool me once, it's on me. Fool me twice and I must be a teen audiophile on a budget.) I did buy a 45 adapter thingie for the first one. The second was a Lab 80 and it had a proprietary auto spindle that didn't use an over-arm pusher/stabilizer and which you could replace with a short, 'single' spindle. It was designed as an 'audiophile' changer, had a low mass afromosia wood tonearm, anti-skating mechanism, dampened automated queueing but was quirky and a bit unpredictable. (Imagine.) I'd stack it with LPs sometimes but they recommended a max of 6, the auto spindle was unreliable, and I soon used it as a single disk semi-manual.

 

But I had my tape machine which I updated with an actual stereo, 7" reel deck from Sony after my first, full time summer job after high school (it was virtually impossible to find work in my area if you weren't 18, so I fed my hi fi habit by mowing lawns, washing cars, and selling cleaning organic products door to door before that), and I loved to make 'mood tapes' on it.

 

In my mind's eye, without question, were those fab bachelor pad stereos hidden behind motorized tambour doors that would automatically appear and start playing when the bachelor in question hit one button that also dimmed the lights... before the hippie thing, I really envisioned myself as a swinging bachelor pad kind of guy, seducing gorgeous debutantes in shimmering, flimsy evening gowns while cool jazz murmured in the background. Peter Gunn was a huge influence on my aspirations.

[blue2blue]

Not now, I'm napping.

Don't forget to set the alarm on your Jitterbug to wake you up for the Senior Twighlight Dinner Special, sonny.

[Lukenskywalker]

 

Don't forget to set the alarm on your Jitterbug to wake you up for the Senior Twighlight Dinner Special, sonny.

 

 

Yeah, and don't forget to 'clap out' the lights t'night after you go to bed.

[Lukenskywalker]

 

Wasn't Johnny Angel by Shelley Fabere? I remember both she and a then-teenaged Paul Petersen both got featured spots singing their respective hits on the Donna Reed show they played the children on. Petersen's rather cloying tune, "But She Can't Find Her Keys," seemed designed to trade on the same turf as the same basic era's "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb." (And people wondered why the English Invasion took off?)

 

 

You are Right On, there was a documentary just before the 'British Invasion; on the one and only Public station at the time...here in the Metro Phila/NYC area it was Channel 13...

The Doc was about the sad state of American Pop at the time...the saccharine 'cleaned up' music by Right wing anti-commie/pinko Zealots to glean out any 'Colored/or Negro' influeneces in mainstream US music....

ergo, we were force-fed 'fluff' from the likes of Shelly and Paul, Fabian, Bobby Rydell, Frankie and Annette...ad nauseum

The Doumentary indicated so prophetically, that 'a new Sheriff will be in (Pop)town' soon.

 

Then...whoa, 1964.... The opening chords of 'I wanna Hold your Hand'

How {censored}ing Cool was that?

 

Kookie...wasn't that Edd Byrnes...? 77 Sunset Strip...

Peter Gunn theme song...my Dad taught me that. along with the opening guitar riff from 'Don't be Cruel' which IMO both rank up there with the opening guitar riffs of Smoke on the Water, Sunshine of your Love, Day Tripper, and Satisfaction.

[blue2blue]

Ed "Kookie" Burns, with the famous, swooping pompadour and the fully tricked out bucket T with, as I recall it, a chromed up blown hemi... hold on...

 

 

Excuuuuse me... looks more like quad 2 barrels?

 

My knowledge of hot rods is lost in my adolescence. By the time I was car owning age, I'd moved on to girls and the allure of the hippie era... very un-hot rod.

[Lukenskywalker]

Ed "Kookie" Burns, with the famous, swooping pompadour and the fully tricked out bucket T with, as I recall it, a chromed up blown hemi... hold on... Excuuuuse me... looks more like quad 2 barrels? My knowledge of hot rods is lost in my adolescence. By the time I was car owning age, I'd moved on to girls and the allure of the hippie era... very un- hot rod.

 

he should have went w/dual Quads...my Dad always thought that Edd had some'sugar in his tank' as he put it... but I think he was mixing him up with Tab Hunter from Hawaiian Eye.

[blue2blue]

Edd... right! Yeah, I dunno about him, but it seemed kind of hard to find a guy in Hollywood with that look who, well, you know...

 

At least we could count on Efrem Zimbalist, Jr, to be heavy in the loafers.

 

And then there's 77 Sunset Strip series co-star Roger Smith. Married this whole time (since '67) to Ann-Margret. Roger appears to have been a pretty good guitar player, too.

 

[video=youtube;r2qpCEeznr8]

(Of course, there's a phantom bongo player in there but Roger seems to be pantomiming/syncing his part pretty right on... I particularly like how he has to look up when he repositions his hand 5 frets or so... Best thing, though, is the indifferent shrug from the waiter.)

[djwayne]

 

Yeah, and don't forget to 'clap out' the lights t'night after you go to bed.

 

 

No I leave the lights on to keep the boogeyman away, and in case I have to get up to go peee....don't want to trip over stuff....besides I don't have a clap on/clap off.

 

If your momma told you there's no such thing as a boogieman, .....she lied.

[Lukenskywalker]

man, WHERE do you find this stuff?

No phantom Bongo Player there...that was the young Chicas heart pounding as he played/sang...loved the way his lips disappeared into his boca when he did that chord change you mentioned.

 

The Waiters shrug? priceless.

[Lukenskywalker]

 

No I leave the lights on to keep the boogeyman away, and in case I have to get up to go peee....don't want to trip over stuff....besides I don't have a clap on/clap off. If your momma told you there's no such thing as a boogieman, .....she lied.

 

I have to get up and pee many times...my dog always positions himself in front of me to try and trip me up...Kinda weird, like he knows he's the primary beneficiary on my Life Insurance...

Thus,I have taken to wearing a Miners Helmet with a light attached to wend my way to the Loo,

I will be able to see the hardwood floor coming up to greet me as I trip over my 75 lb. Golden Retriever and hopefully with the Helmet I will suffer no head trauma.

 

Mom always believed in Boogiemen...she married Dad...

[blue2blue]

man, WHERE do you find this stuff? No phantom Bongo Player there...that was the young Chicas heart pounding as he played/sang...loved the way his lips disappeared into his boca when he did that chord change you mentioned. The Waiters shrug? priceless.

I found the whole episode on... Vimeo? I think that was it. It's gone now. I don't find it via Google, either.

 

It kills me. You've got people sitting on this great content. Stuff like 77 Sunset Strip or Perry Mason. Stuff that's been in syndication. Library stuff. You could put it up on the web and charge ads for it.

 

CBS.com does have 40 Perry Mason's up. But there's, like, 250 of them or something. But CBS.com has had the same 40 for years.

 

(And then it's nutty trying to watch because the commercials are SO much louder than the show, it's amazing. The commercials start off peaking 12 dB louder overall and then are, of course, super squashed. By the time you get done, the commercials are 18 dB RMS louder in represantitive sections. At least Hulu was still balancing their shows with their commercials last time I watched it. Netflix really spoiled me. I never realized how much commercials distract from my enjoyment of a show. I always hated movies broken by commercials but because TV shows are built for the ads, I didn't think it bothered me so much. But, man, I'd rather watch old TV than watch new TV with commercials.)

[gubu]

I love 8tracks.com. FWIW