The First :30.........August

My August mix is out the door. I titled it "The First :30" for one simple, unanimous reason:
On each song, I was hooked after the first 30 seconds. First time around. Sold.

I can't guarantee that you'll be sold, but at the very least there's something for everyone. And perhaps everything for no one.

Here's a breakdown of the songs that had me at hello...

1. Freestyle by Lateef the Truthspeaker
It's the first track on a mixtape by Lateef. Solid. Freestyle and lots of hype and full of shout-outs. His intention was to get people excited about HIS mixtape. Couldn't resist using it for mine. His original album is seamless so don't be alarmed when the track ends abruptly.

2. M79 by Vampire Weekend
I stumbled on this band a few months back and love their sound. This song is apparently named after a bus in NYC that carries a lot of old people on it.

3. Sad Sad City by Ghostland Observatory
A co-worker introduced me to these guys recently and to tell you the truth, this is the only song i've heard from them. And I love it. And I especially love people who drop by your office unannounced to give you new, free music (he literally just handed me a CD as I was typing this btw... of a musician named Yann Tiersen album title "L'Absente" ... supposedly this guy did the soundtrack to Amelie) Crazy.

4. Kick Down by Long Beach Dub All Stars
Most, if not all of you have heard this song. I don't need to splain anything about it except that I found a stack of mixtapes I made in high school, and this song was on one of them.

5. Romantic Death by The Sun
A friend who worked for WEA music group gave me this CD when he was promoting it a couple years ago. This was track 4 I think. I especially like the buildup at the beginning. The song may get old, but like the title of my mix, it pulled me in on the first :30.

6. Ja Sei Namorar by Tribalistas
This is my obligatory foreign track. Many mixes had one, and this is mine. This song was everywhere in Italy a few years ago and I fell in love with it. David and I talk about songs we'd put on our longboard soundtrack.... I would ride to this.

7. Take a Number by Typical Cats
This is the start of my favorite sequence on the album. This group is composed of 3 lyricists with very different backgrounds and perspectives. During the first 10 seconds of the first verse, you get hit with 40 words. To put THAT into perspective, the next track on my mix has only 10 words in the first 10 seconds of the first verse.

8. Talk Show Host by Radiohead
If you're a Radiohead fan, you've heard this song and love it. If you like Radiohead songs but aren't a professed fan; you haven't heard this song, and you WILL love it. It can be found on the Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack. First time I heard it, I cried.

9. Jazzy Belle by Outkast
The first 30 seconds of this track are my favorite first :30 from any Outkast album. Give it 20 seconds or so... but when it comes....well....so will you

If you don't already know, it's from ATLiens.

10. One Million Miles Away by J. Ralph
Found this song in a commercial back in high school. It's obscure and needs to be here to fill the "I bet you've never heard this song before" role. It's beautiful and gives you time to regroup after Jazzy Belle. This song concludes my favorite sequence on the album.

11. Down the Mountain by Robinella
Voice of an angel. They're a local group who play every Sunday at Barley's in Knoxville. Robin Ella Contreras is the lead singer. This is their fourth album (first under the new name ... old name was Robinella and the CC String Band) You may or may not have heard it. Hope you haven't though...

12. Collapse by Mute Math
OK. I don't LOVE this band, but I love this song and the progression it makes into the next song, which flows seamlessly on the studio album. I couldn't resist putting them both in here. It's short, but BIG and instrumental. Mind the cut at the end of the song (again this was a seamless studio album)

13. Typical by Mute Math
Couldn't pull this song away from its mother. If you haven't heard of Mute Math, you may think it's Filter.

14. Dreadlock Holiday by 10 cc
I heard this on the soundtrack to Snatch and assumed it was a Bob Marley song I hadn't heard of before. I was wrong. It's not Bob Marley. And that was the main reason I put it on the album. That and the first :30 are wonderful and easy to listen to. If you don't like the first :30, you'll hate the rest of it. This is reggae. Don't expect some mind-blowing bridge around 2:30 minutes in.

15. They are Night Zombies!! They are (...) by Sufjan Stevens
I don't know anyone who hasn't heard of Sufjan Stevens yet. It was a different story 2 years ago though... This is my favorite song from the album "Come on Feel the Illinoise. " For some reason, this song has some indescribable sound.. One that MANY other songs have, but what's common with each of them is that they're all found toward the end of an album. Almost like the artist is saving the best for last or something ...

16. Rain All Day by Fleming and John
This song is risky. It's Love or Hate on this one. The band is OK in my mind. Some people love them, but I just love this song.

17. Make No Sound by Gomez
This is another song I found in an old stack of mix cds.

18. Oh You Pretty Things by David Bowie
David Bowie.... yep. I did it. And I kind of cheated with this song because it's not the first :30 that I fell in love with; but everything after the first chorus starts.

19. The Wreckoning by Lateef the Truthspeaker
I couldn't leave him out. Especially not after my opening track. I admire his lyricism. Maybe you will too.

20. International Players by UGK
Otherwise known as Underground Kingz. Even if you don't like this type of music, give it a try and pretend that you love it. You won't regret it. At about 1:15 Pimp C comes on, and this verse is my definition of a guilty pleasure. So I put it last.
Here's a video for you to enjoy.
http://videos.onsmash.com/v/P7Gq8Vei3QX3nEtw


enjoy!

BS