Catching Up With Lo-Fi
This mix is by quarterwhipped and is about the big guns of the lo-fi scene.
Why It’s Pretentious: So the ever-amazing A-Hoff had her triumphant return to the Dirty Nash last week and we got to talking about Nashville hipsters vs Boston hipsters. In her infinite wisdom, she proclaimed that Nashville is all “Yeah, I’m really into lo-fi right now” and Boston is all “I own every album by Jeff Buckley on vinyl.” I’m from Nashville. So here’s some lo-fi. Check out the rest of “Catching Up With” series; it’s solid gold. Also, I’m sorry for the abundance of Dirty Beaches lately #imnotsorry
Download via MediaFire.
Breaking Badass
This mix is by Ben of The Digital Sundials and is about meth, the dark side, and the dad from Malcolm in the Middle.
Why It’s Pretentious: Besides starting and ending with Stephen Malkmus (the Bob Dylan of pretentious indie rock), I, the literary genius you could only hope to be, sat down and analyzed Bryan Cranston’s character Walter White from AMC’s Breaking Bad. Walt is a mild mannered chemistry teacher-turned-meth kinpin who initially wants to acquire a modest $2.5 million nest egg for his family after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, but later decides that his family are a bunch of hacks (I’m summarizing here) and keeps cooking meth for the hell of it. Breaking Bad is different from other shows on basic cable (Hell, HBO) because over the course of it’s run, the protagonist gradually morphs into an antagonist . At first he is weary about sneaking into his own house after midnight; eventually you’ll see him shoot some liquored up Cholo without blinking an eye. He could crash a bus full of orphans into a no-kill puppy shelter (Spoiler: he doesn’t) and you’d still root for that deplorable bastard. Did I mention that Bryan Cranston played Hal in Malcom in the Middle? BONUS NOSTALGIA.
Side note: Ben made this. Ben is in high school. In fact, he is in my old high school. Pretentious Mixtapes Ben Made In The Same High School I Made My Pretentious Mixtapes. New blog name. Spread it around.
Tracklisting and complete download after the jump.
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Wolf Creek Ryder
This mix is about Halloween circa 1979 and why you shouldn’t pick up hitchhikers in Arkansas.
Why It’s Pretentious: This is the first 90-minute tape I’ve made in a long time. Even I think 90-minute tapes are pretentious, but I had to make room for a 9-minute song from a vaguely obscure psych rock band from the 60s, so, y’know, do what you gotta do. It’s inspired by all those old 70s-80s horror films where you pick up a stranger or your car breaks down at the side of the road and, next thing you know, you’re getting kidnapped/killed/eaten. (Also, there’s some monsters thrown in, on account of, what’s Halloween without monsters?) On a similar note, I want you guys to know that Wolf Creek is basically Australian Chainsaw Massacre and, after I watched it, my parents MOVED TO WOLF CREEK. So you see how that’s terrifying.
Also, I feel like I’m gonna have to justify the last song. While you listen to the end of the second side, picture this old dude sitting in the dark, in the middle of a shack, surrounded by dead bodies, maybe sewing the remains of a sawed-off arm to someone else’s hand, smiling forever. Okay, that song should be sufficiently creepy now.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN. DON’T LET STRANGERS INTO YOUR CAR. SAFETY FIRST, INTERNET.
Side One: Download (Right Click Save-As)
Side Two: Download (Right Click Save-As)
Tracklisting after the jump.
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dirty needles dirty knees (the fuzzed out love mix)
This mix is about what I assume it’s like to be a heroin addict in love but DON’T WORRY MOM it’s just an assumption okay? jeez.
Why It’s Pretentious: Every time I go on a trip, I have to make a mix first. (This could also be generalized as “every time I do anything or have any sort of feeling, I have to make a mix first.”) Especially when there’s a flight involved because when else are you allowed to just listen to music without any interruptions or anyone judging you for not “doing something important”? So when I found myself trapped in the basement during a tornado and faced with the impending need to pack for the next day’s flight, I knew there was only one thing to do: make a drug mix.
“This is not the first time I’ve made a mix about heroin,” I told our new roommate Morgan. And indeed it is not; the first one, which is pretty hard to live up to if I do say so myself, is an epic about a recovering heroin addict and his prostitute girlfriend told backwards. It’s just an assumption, mom. This one is a little less convoluted. It’s not even particularly about heroin or love. It’s more about the feeling of getting lost in fuzzy music— you know, the kind that Kurt Cobain would probably be into if he were still alive. (Although, what do I know? I was three at the time.) Yes, Kurt is featured, as well as a few of your other favorite 90s alternative bands. (Remember when “alternative” meant something? Me neither; I was three at the time.) Also making the cut: The Big Pink and Jeremy Buller doing half-remembered-nightmare covers of Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams” and Best Coast’s “I Want To,” respectively; Best Coast playing their own songs; and Jeff The B-Hood, who will be playing The End tonight for Freakin’ Weekend. The boys rarely do their thing here in Nashville anymore, so if you’re in town, you better get there and get there early. What’s that, you ask? Will I be there?
You bet your strung-out ass I will be.
Download: right click, save-as.
Tracklisting etc after the jump.
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