April Mix

The content of a mixed cd I made recently. If you are a fan of the mixed tape or cd, I urge you to check out my ex-husband's website, www.artofthemix.org where a whole community has catalyzed around their shared love of this craft...

I made this mix for my new friend, Ross in Portland...

1. Dylan- Oh, Sister: Gorgeous song, fiddle and harmonica sublime, Emmylou Harris, interesting narrative. 'nuff said.

2. Jose Gonzalez-Heartbeats: Heard The Knife's original, first and got so hooked. Thanks to Gwen for her awesome holiday mix, which included it. This cover is lovely and fits nicely with overall vibe of this mix.

3. Iron and Wine- Jezebel: Last year on New Years Eve I had a Radio 8 Ball (www.radio8ball.com) reading from Andras Jones, the proprietor thereof. Without much further commentary, suffice it to say that this song spoke to me on a very personal basis. My curiousity was piqued regarding the historical figure known as Jezebel and I did a bit of research on this infamous historical character.

In brief (and very likely somewhat inaccurate and a bit biased) summary, Jezebel meant "woman of Ba'al, or God in her native tongue. When she married and moved to Israel, her beliefs ran counter to the monotheism of Judaism, where she ended up in a showdown battle to the death with the historical figure who would become known as the prophet Elijah. In Hebrew, her name translated to "woman of dung". Ultimately, she lost and was thrown out the window of her room and eaten by dogs. She was in fact, a very loyal wife, but a “pagan” through and through. Interestingly archeological evidence indicates that in ancient Persian culture, images of women sitting in windows connote whores. Thus, she precedes the Magdalene as an "occult" sacred whore figure whose power, beliefs and practices ran counter to the general Judeo-Christian patriarchal project. Picking up on a theme, here?

4. John Lennon- Oh, Yoko: Always liked this song, but it isn't an all time fave or anything. It popped into my head recently and inspired this whole mix, rather mysteriously. I was a die-hard Beatle-file as a youth. Always been fascinated by John and Yoko’s relationship. The intimacy of “in the middle of bath, shave, etc" is an example of their comfort offering listeners this window into the very personal fabric of their lives in a way that no other rock stars of their caliber have ever offered -Their great strength and ultimately a factor in his demise... Dylanesque harmonica!

5. Mirah & Spectratone International- “Share This Place” -Community: Love the bass and the harmony on this. Check out http://www.lorigoldston.com/sharethisplace.htm for details on this multimedia collaboration…

6. Mirah & Spectratone International- “Share This Place” -Gestation of the Sacred Beetle: SI is quasi-chamber orchestra featuring a Turkish Oud and Middle Eastern percussion, both of which are musical passions of mine. Love the Oud. It may be my favorite instrument on earth. This song has a poignancy that gets me. Saw them perform this whole show at the Henry Art Gallery in November. Got to meet Mirah, too. It was cool:)

7. Joni Mitchell: Hejira: She is a lifelong shero of mine. This is one of my favorite songs of all time. Evocative imagery, Jaco Pastorius on bass. I think, dare I say it, that she may be the greatest lyricist in American popular music... Feel free to debate on this point.

8. Neko Case- Knock Loud: One of the most incredible songs I have ever heard. Love alt-country Neko, but the rawness of this one just kills me.

9. Dylan- Buckets of Rain: Favorite Dylan song on favorite Dylan record.

10. Broken Social Scene- Stars and Sons: Oh, such a yummy song. The bouncing quarter sample! This song is featured in the BSS soundtrack for the film, Half Nelson, which, incidentally is awesome, if you didn't see it. MMM, Ryan Gosling...

11. Brian Eno- Golden Hours: Used to listen to this record (Another Green World) a lot on the drive between Ann Arbor and Detroit when I was in grad school at Michigan many moons ago. I still see the dead dogs on the side of the decaying highway exit in poor beleaguered Detroit whenever I listen to this, despite its lilting electronica and Robert Fripp guitar solo...

12. Joan Armatrading- Cool Blue Steel Stole My Heart: This is my all-time favorite song by her. The refrain always gets me.

13. Marc Bolan- Jeepster: Mmm. Marc Bolan. Unplugged!- Acoustic Warrior...

14. Jim O’Rourke- Good Times: Love this whole EP and Loose Fur, too. Not so into his experimental stuff. He writes such consistently beautiful songs and such dark, twisted lyrics.

15. The Roches- Hammond Song: Another Robert Fripp guitar solo! Love the family dynamics depicted in these lyrics: "We'll always love you, but..."

16. Crosby, Stills, and Nash- 49 Bye Byes: Ok, i sometimes think of CSN as a "starter" record because so many teenagers discover it early in their rock education. But that may be a bit unfair. There are some classics on it, SJB, Helplessly Hoping, The one that is clearly aimed at Joni Mitchell after her romance with Graham Nash ended (there is a mirror image of it on her third album, For the Roses. Can I remember the names of either songs at the moment- no. sorry!) and this song, which never ceases to wound my heart.

17. Sarah Siskind- Lovin’s for Fools. Heartbreaking. My friend, Brandon posted the You Tube video of her performing it with Justin Vernon, the lead singer of Bon Iver and Bill Frisell. Heard it once and instantly fell in love with it. Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5AddiEtMn0