TAPESWITHOUTCASES - SETBLOCK NR. 8

ZUM MIX: It’s great to have a longer and live show this time. I decided to take it as the occasion to kind of describe myself in music, meaning that I’ve chosen some of the songs that I’ve liked the most so far. Most of them are from the 90’s, some are older and others a bit more recent. So no new music in here, but rather an ensemble of songs that were part of my soundtrack when I was 20 or so. TRACKLIST & COMMENTS: Three Mile Pilot - Glitter Wave Another Desert, Another Sea is one of my favorite albums and the one that I like the most from Three Mile Pilot, a band from San Diego that was mostly active in the 90’s. Most of its songs are dark and slow, but Glitter Wave is instead a crazy tune, full of sounds, choirs, pauses and fast accelerations. For all these reasons, it’s a perfect song to start the day with. The Black Heart Procession - It’s a Crime I Never Told You About The Diamonds In Your Eyes A love song by the BHP band, still form San Diego and composed by members of the Three Mile Pilot (you may recognize the voice of Pall Jenkins). Although speaking of a past love and regrets, it has a catchy rhythm that makes you dance. I can’t remember now how many times I’ve been dancing to this. The Van Pelt - Nanzen Kills A Cat The Van Pelt is one of the bands I like the most. They were also active in the 90’s but last summer they did few reunion shows and I hope there will be more soon. The title of this song comes form an anecdote of Zen Buddhism, that of a Zen Master that cuts a cat into two when the two monks that are arguing for the ownership of the cat cannot stop the fight. More than a song it’s a speech on how absurd human behavior can be. Karate - There Are Ghosts Again a spoken song by Geoff Farina and his band Karate. The band was peculiar in the indie rock scene for their marked jazz influence. Although the band ended, Farina still makes music and tours very often in Europe and particularly in Italy since his wife is italian. There Are Ghosts is one of the most known songs by Karate, taken from their album The Bed Is in the Ocean. Blonde Redhead - Falling Man Still referring to ghosts (or better to the differences between ghosts and humans) is this great song by Blonde Redhead. Two-thirds italian and one-third japanese, Blonde redhead are active since early 90’s and recently released a new album (they will be in Switzerland next March but only for one date in Geneva…). Gastr Del Sol - The Seasons Reverse This song is taken from the latest album (probably the most accessible one) of Gastr Del Sol, formed at that time by David Grubbs and Jim O’Rourke. Both are composers, multi-instrumentalists and sometimes producers who like to experiment with sounds. If you like math rock, weird arrangements and free improvisation, this is a band for you. Sonic Youth - Skip Tracer There are not enough words to explain what Sonic Youth and their songs represent for me. Here I’ve chosen a “spoken song” written by Lee Ranaldo together with his wife, while being at a show by Mecca Normal. Besides, Jim O’Rourke was also at some point a member of Sonic Youth, although not permanently. Fugazi - Turnover And here comes a band known not only for the music but also for their strong activism and rebellion towards mainstream music industry. Despite their songs being intense and angry, they did not want people to do violent slam dancing at their shows. Turnover is the opening song of Repeater, their first full-length studio album, which set a benchmark for post-hardcore/punk music. Old Time Relijun - Adaga This is a crazy band from Olympia le d by a charismatic musician: Arrington de Dionyso. I like their wild and primordial spirit… as well as their crazy and sometimes hypnotic musical arrangements. Beat Happening - Indian Summer Again a band that cannot be ignored for their role in the indie and lo-fi music, and for their easy-going attitude. Their songs are a perfect mix of naive pop minimalism and indie style. Another peculiarity is that the band members were often switching instruments and lead vocals. Also, I particularly like the deep voice of Calvin Johnson. The Clash - Rock The Casbah This is a song that surely everyone knows. Inspired by a ban on Western music happening in Iran in the early 80’s, it speaks about the rebellion of people who what to rock the casbah against their king, who wants to ban rock music in his reign. Together with the next three songs, it is one of the songs I listened to the most in my adolescence. Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) I like songs that appear to be funny and easy because of their melody, but their lyrics are instead incredibly sad. Here I will simply quote what David Byrne said about his song: “That's a love song made up almost completely of non sequiturs, phrases that may have a strong emotional resonance but don't have any narrative qualities. It's a real honest kind of love song. I don't think I've ever done a real love song before. Mine always had a sort of reservation, or a twist. I tried to write one that wasn't corny, that didn't sound stupid or lame the way many do. I think I succeeded; I was pretty happy with that.” Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart Again, a naive melody for one of the saddest love songs ever. Released shortly after Curtis’ suicide, this is Joy Division’s signature song and also the most covered one, by other famous artists such as Swans, The Cure, Jose Gonzalez, Atoms For Peace and many others. The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out A masterpiece by Johnny Marr and Morrissey from The Queen Is Dead album… and again sad lyrics on top of a naive melody. Part of its lyrics are taken from those of “Lonely Planet Boy”by the New York Dolls, one of the favorite bands of Morrissey. Belle & Sebastian - Dirty Dream Number Two Clearly influenced by The Smiths is the indie pop band Belle & Sebastian from Glasgow. I like the way they mix folk and pop music and their lyrics. This songs also seems to have a sort of Motown vibe that makes it perfect for dancing. Blur - Clover Over Dover Still from UK are the Blur, surely one of the bands I listened to the most when going to high school. In particular, I remember I played Parklife and this song like crazy during a trip to Germany with my schoolmates. Maybe other songs from that album are more popular than this one, but Clover Over Dover still remains one of my favorites. Suede - Stay Together This song by Suede never appeared in one of their full length but it is rather a single released few months before the Dog Man Star album. Actually the last one that sees Bernard Butler as guitarist of the band. I am particularly attached to this song as it reminds me of one of my best friends and the circumstances that led to our meeting. Eels - Flower Once I went to a concert by Faith No More in Bologna and I saw this band opening for them, at the time of their debut album. It was love at first sight, especially for “Mister E” or “E” (Mark Oliver Everett), the only constant member of the band. This is my favorite song from Beautiful Freak, which is for me special for the way E manages to put into words intimate themes like family, death, illness, love and so on… Beck - Lost Cause This is one of the songs I like the most from Beck, surely one of the most versatile singer-songwriter-musicians of these latest 20 years. Lost Cause is taken from the Sea Change album, which in respect to the previous ones is more acoustic and intimate. This is for all the lost causes each of us has loved. Califone - Spider’s House This song was a gift from a friend at one of my birthdays. It made me know the music of Tim Rutili, who I did not know before. He is a great guitar player and he likes to combine different styles: blues, folk, rock, pop but also electronic. Two year ago he played in Exil here in Zurich and it was one of the best concerts I’ve been to. I hope he’ll come back soon. Nick Drake - Pink Moon Nick Drake is one of my favorite songwriters ever. This is the title song of his third and last album, where he explicitly wanted not to have any other instrument than his bare guitar. The sweet and bitter Pink Moon song is the only exception since a piano accompanies the guitar. Arab Strap - Not Quite A Yes Known for their very personal and direct lyrics on sexuality, Arab Strap was a duo consisting of Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton. This song is from Philophobia, their second album and the one that made me know them. I find it very relaxing and perfect for cozy and lazy sundays. Tindersticks - Let’s Pretend Also this song is a perfect soundtrack for relaxing mornings and indeed this band recorded many soundtracks for movies. I like them for their sounds, which combines orchestral arrangements with elements of jazz and soul. The deep voice of Stuart A. Staples is also peculiar. Beirut - Nantes Orcherstral music and movie atmospheres are also ingredients of the balkan folk/baroque songs of Beirut, alias Zach Condon. Nantes is taken from his second and french-style album The Flying Club Cub, which includes also contributions by Owen Pallett. I like how this song starts kind of slowly with mainly vocals, then more and more instruments are progressively added and make it full of different colors. Mercury Rev - Little Rhymes If there’s a band that can make you think of other possible worlds, this is Mercury Rev. Their psychedelic and dreamy songs make you feel as if you are traveling in time and space. All Is Dream is the album that makes me travel with mind the most. Grandaddy - Summer Here Kids Grandaddy are also psychedelic and dreamy, plus they also use elements of noise and folk music too Grandaddy. And then there’s the acute and discoidal and drunk voice of Jason Lytle. All these things together make them simply perfect to me. I am never tired to listen to their songs and they one of my favorite bands ever! Guided by Voices - My Valuable Hunting Knife From a crazy band to another one, mainly identified with its singer and songwriter Robert Pollard. He is known for being an extremely prolific author of very short and often weird songs. This is for instance a song about starting a new life with a valuable hunting knife as new wife… Pavement - Range Life Dissonant, lo-fi songs are also those by Pavement. This song is one of the third single from their album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. A curiosity about it is that is started a long lasting feud between the band and Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkings who got offended by the explicit reference to his band and music included in the lyrics of this song. Dinosaur Jr. - Out There Compared to other alternative rock and noise bands, Dinosaur Jr have more references to classic rock. I like them for the dynamism of their songs. They often alternate loud and quiet moments, as well long moments of guitar distortions. Also, J Mascis often plays with the volume of his voice and this also makes their songs always changing and surprising the listener. Modest Mouse - Paper Thin Walls Compared to others, they had more commercial success and they are now about to release a new album. Still they maintained their crazy spirit so far. Paper This Walls is taken from the album The Moon & Antarctica, which is their first album with a major label. But it still has the mix of weird lyrics and edgy rock sound that is a signature of this band. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci - Sweet Johnny Probably one of the strangest bands I have listened to so far, not only for their sound (a mix of folk, pop, psychedelia and more…) but also because of their choice of singing often in Welsh. Maybe the final part of this middle part of this song will clarify better what I mean. Have a look also at the funny video of this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9FnVL5dUnM Neutral Milk Hotel - Two-Headed Boy Closing the entire setblock is this song by Nautral Milk Hotel. I just love this band. They simply have all the things I like in music, from lyrics to sound and instrumentation. I consider myself very lucky cause I’ve been able to see them live last year in summer during their reunion tour and I hope there will be more occasions in the future.

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