March 2011 Mixtape: Summer Night Dreams

Ever find yourself longing for a long lost time, only to wonder if it ever really existed?

Around 1996 I was driving a silver-primer painted 1977 Buick Le Sabre, a car older than myself, and blowing almost all of my summer paychecks on gasoline. I complain about gas now, but when you had an hour drive one way to your job and an hour the other and it required almost an entire tank of gas each way, that was a hard job and a giant waste of my paycheck. My mother would ask me to contribute to the family's bills but I had a hard time giving up my paycheck when at least 75% of it went to driving expenses. I could be stupid though, finding several hours between my morning and evening shifts to drive home, sleep for a few hours and then drive back, whereas it was summer and there was an empty school parking lot in a good neighborhood not far away that I could read, listen to music or nap in. Nevertheless, it did afford me a lot of time to perform one my most consistent activities, record shopping, and there was a great indie store named Quonset Hut nearby where I could still buy current releases on cassette and also get CDs and vinyl at great prices. All of the Quonset Huts are now gone, bar one that is pretty much a head shop and sells nothing musically related, but between there, the Record Exchanges throughout the Cleveland area and other indie stores, I bought a lot of great music that summer. I found myself listening to Tricky's Maxinquaye a lot and grabbed Nearly God as soon as it became available, but that year I found a record that really changed my perspective on music, Throbbing Pouch by Wagon Christ aka Luke Vibert. What a trippy record, conjuring visions of darkness and the unknown, all the while remaining wonderfully mellow. I'm not a pot smoker but, if I was, that album would have been my soundtrack. I also found a promo cassette of Everything But The Girl's Walking Wounded which is an immensely beautiful album that, while essentially completely different from the Wagon Christ album, had a similarly dark vibe running throughout. I would drive home around 11pm on the dark Cleveland highways listening to Tracey Thorn singing Walking Wounded or Single, having my heart ripped out every time, or vibing to Throbbing Pouch from start to finish because I didn't want to miss a moment of it. For me, this was the beginning of a regular hunt for midnight music, as I sometimes called it, and I later made a mixtape named 3am Eternal (I'm sure you get the reference) that stayed in my car forever.

Lately, I've been thinking about those warm summer nights, though it's funny how time blurs things. I feel like I lived through those records, but I'm not sure how accurate that statement is. When I look back I remember a lot of other music that had nothing to do with that world, a lot of experiences that were simply awful, and I have to wonder if I'm wearing rose-tinted glasses or not. The love of the music hasn't changed though, and I still find myself attracted to those summer grooves, and they were the inspiration for the mix this month. There are some tracks I thought about including that I've had here before so I passed on them, but I'm going to at least mention them. I hope you find this as enjoyable as I do.


The Unheard Music - March 2011 Mixtape: Summer Night Dreams

01 Still Going - Still Going Theme
Piano house returns! What a wonderful summer record, perfect for driving during a sunset.

02 Beck - Where It's At (Make Out City)
The Dust Brothers do a simple, more party oriented remix of Beck's re-breakthrough single.

03 Common Factor - Horizons
I first heard this on the Planet E Geology compilation. What a great track! Planet E, in general, is an amazing label and the first Geology compilation is essential house music.

04 DJ Shadow - Changeling
Endtroducing... is essential ephemera, though I always remember this track as sticking out. It's just so dreamy. Mutual Slump, on the other hand, doesn't get a lot of mention but is funky like nobody's business!

05 Q-Tip - That's Sexy (feat. Andre 3000)
This is an unreleased cut from an early version of Q-Tip's The Renaissance, back when it was named Live At The Renaissance and scheduled for release on Dreamworks. I'd much rather had an instrumental version of this one as Tip's flow takes away from the romanticism, but it's still a great track.

06 Massive Attack - Exchange
I don't fully understand why everyone was so "on" about Massive Attack's Mezzanine. It's a really depressing record. This is a beautiful track though and I always found myself skipping to it or the reprisal at the end of the album. Don't get me wrong though, I do love some Massive Attack, though I've always been more into Blue Lines or Protection, and the No Protection dub remix album is incredible!

07 Luke Vibert - Get Your Head Down
Wagon Christ's true identity, Luke brings hip-hop funk mixed with easy listening chill. An ex-girlfriend bought me a Ninja Tune comp with this track on it. This might sound cruel but that's the only good thing I want to remember about dating her.

08 3rd Bass - Gladiator (Easy Mo Bee Remix Instrumental)
I remember finding a lot of Easy Mo Bee productions that had a wonderful groove about them, but all I can seem to recall now is Craig Mack's Flava In Ya Ear and this. Maybe he didn't have that many incredible tracks. Anyone wanna refresh my memory?

09 Quasimoto - MHBs (Instrumental)
I played this to my girlfriend recently and initially she was loving it, until the lyrics kicked in! Beautiful groove.

10 The Pointer Sisters - How Long (Betcha' Got A Chick On The Side)
Never heard it on the radio and didn't hear it until listening to a Pointer Sisters compilation, though this would be in regular rotation if I had my own radio station. What a funky groove!

11 De La Soul - Breakadawn
This is an incredible track, though I'm glad De La never tried to make a career out of tracks like this or Ring, Ring, Ring. They're great on their own and don't need to be replicated, although I'm not sure how many people would want them to be. Still, you can't help but think of some after dark fun when you hear this.

12 Tigercity - Let Her Go
How did these guys perfectly capture the eighties in a record from only a few years ago? Their full-length, Ancient Lover, was a minor let down, but the EP before it, 2007's Pretend Not To Love, from which this is taken, is utterly perfect. It is available for purchase on iTunes and is worth the entire $5.94 they're asking.

13 The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By (Instrumental Edit)
I chopped a small portion from this so the mix would be under eighty minutes and burnable to a CD. Please forgive me!

14 Everything But The Girl - Good Cop Bad Cop
Shiv, the manager of the music department at WFAL, didn't see eye to eye with me, though that was really all my fault as I was young, cocky and thought I knew everything. He was much more informed than I was and I'm glad I eventually got smart enough to apologize and he was cool enough to accept it. This was one of the first tracks we agreed on, as he loved it just as much as I did. Tracey Thorn has such a sexy voice, though it's not the type of voice most people probably swoon over when they first hear it. This was one of those tracks I listened to on those summer nights while driving home, hoping to meet a girl who would make out with me while listening to Wagon Christ or Nine Inch Nails. That girl was a year or two off, but it was worth the wait. It's funny in retrospect, everyone always says they want to meet someone to make out with, but how long do you actually spend making out with them before you're trying to get their clothes off and put more than just your tongues together?

15 Amon Tobin - Nova
Oooh! Wouldn't have expected such a make-out classic on an album full of breaks and beats like Amon Tobin's Permutation, but I guess that's the secret. Amon knows just as much about rocking a party or wrecking your speakers as he does about sensuality and smooth grooves that set the mood! Bebel Gilberto later added vocals to this track and released it as Samba da Benção on her Tanto Tempo album. That's some make-out music, for certain, though the original instrumental is just as essential. Put this on at home around that certain someone and see what they say. Or do!



BONUS: Summer Night Dream Outtakes
These are tracks I considered for the mixtape but decided to leave off. They're in the main archive so you don't have to download this seperately. Enjoy!

01 Janet Jackson - When I Think Of You (David Morales House Mix '95 UK 7" Edit)
02 The Pharcyde - 4 Better Or 4 Worse (Instrumental)
03 Lucky Pierre - Cool Summer Night
04 The Herbaliser - The Blend (feat. What What aka Jean Grae) (Peanut Butter Blend by Peanut Butter Wolf)
05 Everything But The Girl - Walking Wounded