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About Today’s Mix:

Today’s mix comes from me! (Matt) We’re now 10 mixes deep, and I thought I’d jump in with another one of my own mixes. At the time that we launched this series, I was deep into a mix making addiction, and made quite a few that have been sitting on my hard drive. I burned one of them randomly at the end of last week, and after driving around this weekend listening to it a couple of times in the car, I thought I’d share it here. I’m thinking that I’ll jump in periodically with the occasional mix, in addition to the great mixes that you all have been submitting. I can play too, right? And when I say you all, it occurs to me that about 99 percent of the internet, hasn’t sent me a mix yet. So if you are in that category, get to it, and make it snappy! Submit, submit, SUBMIT!

Don’t I Look Like The Kind Of Guy You Used To Hate (download – link is good for one week)

1. “Nobody’s Hero” – Rush, from Counterparts – I associate this album with my junior high/high school buddy/former bandmate Jim. Rush got some good radio action with Roll The Bones, the album prior to this one. With Counterparts, not quite as much love from the radio, but Rush fans bought it anyway, and as I’ve come to learn, Rush fans are dedicated like that. Counterparts continues to be an album that comes to mind from time to time, and it always sounds good when it comes up on shuffle.

2. “Carmelita” – Warren Zevon – from Warren Zevon – Credit once again to Kevin for taking me beyond the hits with Zevon, and helping to point me towards the albums that I needed to hear. If I were to do the same, I’d suggest that I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead is a good primer that goes deeper than the single disc compilations. A few of my random favorites in the catalog – Life’ll Kill Ya, the Hindu Love Gods side project, and the absolutely epic live album Stand In The Fire, which is FINALLY available on CD. Hopefully someday they will put out an expanded version of that bad boy. Honorable mention to the acoustic live album Learning To Flinch, and further mention is deserved for Enjoy Every Sandwich, one of the best tribute albums I’ve ever heard. Solid.

P.S. – You’re right, I can never just recommend one…

3. “Kamera” – Wilco – from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Last weekend, I saw a great Cleveland trio of young ‘uns called Standing on Friday. Appropriately enough, I saw them on Friday night, playing their special blend of rock and roll during an opening set for Chris Allen and Don Dixon. Seven shows into their young career, they impressed me with covers of “Honey Bee” by Tom Petty, and “Jesus, Etc.” by Wilco. They introduced the Wilco cover as a choice that “we might pull this one off.” They shouldn’t have worried – they pulled it off, and then some. Secretly though, I was hoping they might tackle this one, since it had been on my mind from listening to this mix. I love it when a band unexpectedly blows my mind with a set of music – truly one of the great joys of going to live shows. But yeah, if we’re talking about Wilco, “Kamera” is one of the few songs that I actually prefer the studio version instead of live.

4. “Better Off Without Me” – The Gathering Field – from The Gathering Field – God, I love this band. These days, everybody and their brother has a home studio, but in 1994 when The Gathering Field was released, things weren’t exactly like that. Hearing this album from these Pittsburgh based locals was one of the first times that I was really impressed with production from a local band that sounded major label. The drums, always a pet peeve of mine, were well recorded and actually sounded like drums! What a concept!

The Gathering Field were part of a scene in Pittsburgh that had a lot of promise, with emerging artists that included The Clarks, Brownie Mary, and Rusted Root. I feel like lead singer Bill Deasy was still finding his voice with this album, which is not a knock at all on Deasy. With the release of the band’s next album Lost in America, Deasy found the mark, and the band released an instant classic for those that were lucky enough to hear it, and snagged a record deal with Atlantic Records. While the record deal didn’t work out so well, the band created a body of work spanning four albums deep that still holds up today, each and every one. I credit a lot of that to the pairing of Deasy with guitar player Dave Brown, who also recorded/produced the band’s albums. You can still catch the occasional reunion date from The Gathering Field in Pittsburgh, and you can snag their entire catalog on Itunes. “Better Off Without Me” isn’t my favorite song on The Gathering Field, but it’s certainly one of the early ones that caught my ear.

5. “Serenade” – Steve Miller Band – from Live from Chicago – Big credit to my high school friend Dana who made me go see two shows in the summer of ’93. One of those was Jimmy Buffett, because “I had to experience it.” The other one was Steve Miller Band, with Paul Rodgers opening. I was on the lawn at Blossom Music Center for the first time ever, for both. For Steve Miller Band, it rained hard for most of the night, and we got soaked, but the music onstage was worth getting drenched. I became a Steve Miller fan for life, and with his extensive output, I’m still catching up!

6. “You Must’ve Been A Beautiful Baby” – Bobby Darin – from Twist with Bobby Darin – Not a lot to say about this one, except that it came up on shuffle from my Billboard collection, and Bobby Darin is classic stuff, right? This one put a smile on my face, and sometimes that’s more than enough!

7. “Common Reactor” – Silversun Pickups – from Carnavas – Silversun Pickups are one of my favorite “new” bands, and yeah sure, I guess they have a lot of Smashing Pumpkins to their sound, but as much of a Pumpkins fan as I am, I think the lack of actual Corgan is one of the things I like best about SSPU. I waited anxiously hoping that Swoon, their new album would not suck, and you know what? It’s awesome. Props to yet another band here and now that actually manages to consistently deliver music worth hearing. I’m looking forward to seeing these guys when they come to Cleveland for a show at the Lakewood Civic on August 7th. Plug plug plug.

8. “The Never-Never” (demo) – Scout – from The Drummer on the Cover – Next to The Gathering Field, Scout is my OTHER favorite band. They’re in the unique category of bands that I spent my own money to bring them to Cleveland for a show, convinced that they’d never make it here otherwise. On that particular night, I was excited to learn that they were selling an EP of demo versions of songs slated for their forthcoming second album This Soft Life. This Soft Life = one of the coolest album titles ever. Perhaps you saw Scout performing on The Sopranos as “The Miami Relatives”? After a short hiatus, lead singer Ashen Keilyn is currently in the studio finishing up tracks for the band’s next album which will hopefully be released in late 2009. And, as it happens, several songs from This Soft Life have been used this year on Canada’s Degrassi: The Next Generation. Thanks a lot for the support, eh!

9. “Mr. Wrong” (live) – Cracker – from Garage D’Or – I tell people that I hate to meet people, and while it might not be apparent, it’s quite true at least with my inner me. I guess it would be appropriate to quote Clerks here – Dante: “You hate people!” Randal: “But I love gatherings. Ironic, isn’t it?” Enter “Mr. Wrong,” the tune that sums up for me the most nerve-wracking exercise of them all: meeting the parents. Why is it such a big thing? I dunno. When stressed, it often helps a lot to embrace my David Lowery – a quick thought of this song removes all stress. So yes, keep that in mind when I’m meeting your parents, I’m thinking of this song! P.S. – catch Cracker on tour right now supporting their new album Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey – there’s a Cleveland date on August 28th at the Beachland – yay!

10 – “Bi-Roads” – Mudpie – from Mudpie – My friend Chris Akin and I like to talk about some of the great “one and done” projects – bands that released one album and then went bye-bye. Mudpie is in that category, and came my way via the rock and roll collective that also introduced me to ATV yakker Kurt Torster. My buddy Marko told me about this Mudpie band, and said that I needed to hear it, and that I’d dig it. Over 10 years later, this is still one of my favorite no-name bands that I don’t know a lot about. I know a little bit more about the band now thanks to this Melodicrock.com interview with vocalist Keith Slack (Michael Schenker, Steelhouse Lane.) Of Mudpie, Slack reveals that the CD contained “some of the first songs I had ever co-written.” If that’s the case, let me tell you that these are some of the finest “first songs” I’ve ever heard. I picked up the Schenker live album featuring Slack, and lost track of his music after that. Turns out, he’s got a solo disc that came out a couple of years ago that you can snag via CDBaby.

11. “I Will Be Here” – Steve Winwood – from Refugees of the Heart – Seeing Winwood onstage with Clapton at Crossroads in 2007 reawakened my Winwood addiction in a big way. I went out and got everything I didn’t have in the Winwood solo catalog, and also picked up the 90’s Traffic reunion disc Far From Home. Refugees of the Heart was one of those albums, previously known to me only via the single “One and Only Man.” Winwood is good for at least one tune per album that hits you right in the gut emotionally, and “I Will Be Here” snags the victory on Refugees. I’m glad that Winwood is back out there and actively touring in the past few years, but I wish he would pay more attention to the hits that he had in the 80’s and early 90’s. Not only were they hit records – they were good tunes, and good albums. Back in the High Life and Roll With It will always be two of my favorite albums from the period.

12. “Miss William’s Guitar” – The Jayhawks – from Tomorrow The Green Grass – This is a great, great week for anyone living in Minneapolis: You’ve got the unique and special opportunity to see the Tomorrow The Green Grass lineup of The Jayhawks for the first time since 1995 at the Basilica Block Party on July 10th. I understand that they are playing at the same time as The Black Crowes, and I was consulted on what the appropriate choice would be in the situation. My answer: You can see The Black Crowes anytime, and another time – get your ass over to the stage to check out The Jayhawks with Gary Louris AND Mark Olson. There will be no regrets, and while you are at it, you can pick up the brand spankin’ new Jayhawks anthology Music From The North Country, tomorrow!

13. “If You Were Here” (Thompson Twins cover) – Cary Brothers – from Who You Are – There is no “the” in front of Cary and there are no “brothers” – just Cary Brothers, the artist. I’m a big fan of the cheapie album deals on AmazonMP3, and when I saw that Who You Are was the deal of the day, I had to check it out. I had heard the name, and the price was right. After downloading, I noticed “If You Were Here” and wondered if it could really be the Thompsons Twin track of the same name, and indeed it was.

When I first got Greatest Hits from Thompson Twins in 1996, I heard “If You Were Here” and flashed back hard. It’s one of those moments when you hear that song, and while I didn’t know it was Thompson Twins that did the track, I immediately recognized it from a Molly Ringwald movie of my childhood that I couldn’t recall. Answer: Sixteen Candles – another great John Hughes movie, and another great soundtrack. The Thompson Twins version always takes me to that place, and Cary Brothers manages to capture that same feeling, while updating it a tad. I really enjoyed the whole album overall, and look forward to hearing future stuff from Brothers, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll even see him live one of these days?

14. “Don’t I Look Like The Kind of Guy You Used To Hate” – Del Amitri – B-side from the “Nothing Ever Happens” import single – So take a look at these flash-lit photographs, you beautiful fake. Don’t I look like the kind of guy you used to hate?

God, I love Justin Currie!