Where did it go? Summer's over folks. Yes I know it doesn't technically end till September 21 but Labor Day signifies the end of the season. Back to school, network TV shows less crappy reality shows, we can start eating oysters again without fear. And so finishes 13 weeks of mixes from yours truly. Like last year, I decided to make the last one a double, divided into day (pop) and night (dance, or at least "dance-y" you be the judge). I hope you made the most of the summer and enjoyed these.

Art for the Day mix was done by my most frequent contributor, Kate Bryant, who did the first mix of Summer 2009. It reeks of Summer In Brooklyn, don't you think? The art for the Night mix was done by me, in my living room, using a long shutter on the camera and the LED light on my cable remote as a pen. This will be my last opportunity to remind you that these mixes are actually mixed together, the songs blend, so no shuffle please. It will sound jarring and unpleasing to the ear. And nobody needs that. 

Have a great long weekend.  


DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.13: DAY

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.13: NIGHT

 


Summer Fridays 2.13 Day tracklist:

1. The Cribs – We Share the Same Skies
2. The Hidden Cameras – The Na
3. Adventures in Stereo – You Hurt Me More Than You Know
4. Bye Bye Bicycle – Navigation
5. JEFF the Brotherhood – Bone Jam
6. The Wedding Present – It's a Gas
7. The High Dials – My Heart is Pinned to Your Sleeve
8. Tap Tap – Codeine
9. Hospitality – Liberal Arts
10. Kings of Convenience – Mrs. Cold
11. Virgin Sleep – Love
12. Atlas Sound w/ Laetitia Sadier – Quick Canal
13. Pastels/Tenniscoats – Vivid Youth
14. Princeton - I Left My Love in Nagasaki
15. Your Twenties – Billionaires
16. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars
17. The Magnetic Fields – The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing
18. The Kinks – Autumn Almanac

  



Summer Fridays 2.13 Night tracklist:

1. Bent - Invisible Pedestrian
2. The Weathermen – Poison
3. Friendly Fires – Kiss of Life
4. Jack Penate – Everything is New
5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than The Stars (Saint Etienne visits Lord Spank Remix)
6. Metronomy - Not Made For Love (Astronomer Remix)
7. OMD - Genetic Engineering
8. Zoot Woman – Just a Friend of Mine
9. Delorean - Seasun
10. Pop Will Eat Itself – Another Man's Rhubarb
11. Stardeath & White Dwarfs – Return to the Sun
12. Dan Black – Alone
13. The Golden Silvers – True Romance (True No. 9 Blues)
14. Super Furry Animals - The Very Best of Neil Diamond
15. Caribou – Lord Leopard

Liner notes follow after the jump.

Summer Fridays 2.13 Day tracklist

1. The Cribs – We Share the Same Skies
I was worried Johnny Marr joining the Cribs would mess up the filial bond, but Ignore the Ignorant (out Monday) might be their best yet. And it's definitely Marr's Smithiest guitar playing since his time in The The.
 

2. The Hidden Cameras – The Na
Somewhere between The Chills and the Gay Mens Chorus are Canada's Hidden Cameras who always have at least one brilliant song per album, usually more. This one definitely qualifies, from their brand-new fourth LP, Origin: Orphan.

3. Adventures in Stereo – You Hurt Me More Than You Know
Jim Beattie was in Primal Scream, then in Spirea X. This was his third group, super high-concept. The music is all sample based, but I'm not sure whether these are authentic girl group samples or snippets they created on their own and looped. Either way, AiS fashioned their own sound, even much of it all runs together. One song here and there, however, is pretty brilliant.
 

4. Bye Bye Bicycle – Navigation
Sweden's BBB are not dissimilar to their neighbors The Mary Onettes (or other Swedes) who milk '80s Anglo rock like the Cure and Echo & the Bunnymen. This is the current single and though the strings threaten to get a little too gypsy at time, it's a quality tune.

5. JEFF the Brotherhood – Bone Jam
Oh yeah. Nashville's Jake and Jamin Orall rock as hard as a band with three times as many members. And their live shows are wild. Last time I saw them i got hit in the chest with a bottle rocket. Which wasn't cool at all, but it had yet to blow up, I didn't get burned, and the band didn't do it. Your experience may be less dangerous, but their solos will be just as incendiary. 
  

6. The Wedding Present – It's a Gas
From TWP's 1994 album Watusi, their only record for Island and the only one that is currently out of print. Steve Fisk produced, it's their most idiosyncratic in their whole catalog, and has some of their poppiest songs. This is one of my favorite songs of theirs ever.
  

7. The High Dials – My Heart is Pinned to Your Sleeve
Criminally underheard Montreal band, this is from last year's Moon Country which made my 2008 Top Ten. Seriously rock-solid stuff, great melodies and harmonies and these guys can play. I mean it, buy it now. 
  

8. Tap Tap – Codeine
This is Tom from Pete & the Pirates on his own and Tap Tap predates his more-known band. I'm not really sure where the difference lies, it's not so different from P&tP, maybe a bit mellower, a bit more orchestrated, but the songs are still great. The album it's from, On My Way, is out soon on Stolen Recordings. And Pete & the Pirates are almost done with their new album too, and may be playing this year's CMJ.
  

9. Hospitality – Liberal Arts
If you ever wished Audry Hepburn could really sing like she did in the opening of Breakfast at Tiffany's, you might want to check out Hospitality, whose singer Amber Papini has a similar coquettish cadence, and her songs have an indie-Mancini vibe to them too. Or at least they did. Newer songs they're playing live are a bit more rock, which is fine, but I do swoon a bit with songs like this one.
  

10. Kings of Convenience – Mrs. Cold
Press notes have said that "Mrs. Cold" is one of the more upbeat numbers on KoC's upcoming third album, Declaration of Dependence, will be exceedingly mellow. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Erland Oye has exceptional taste, and no doubt this is quite lovely.
  

11. Virgin Sleep – Love
"The advanced publicity for 'Love.' the first of only two singles by the enchantingly named Virgin Sleep, asserted that the song was based on a Buddhist chant. The mantra 'om mane padme hum' (roughly translated as 'a jewel in the lotus') can be heard in its final bars, though the tune probably owed as much to a sluggish reading of the Trogg's 'Wild Thing' than to exotic influences.  – MOJO

12. Atlas Sound w/ Laetitia Sadier – Quick Canal
Epic and awesome centerpiece to the new Atlas Sound album, featuring Stereolab's chanteuse. Bradford Cox has been on a 16-month hot streak, let's hope he keeps making music at this pace and quality. Yes, it's eight minutes long. And worth it.
  

13. Pastels/Tenniscoats – Vivid Youth
Lovely collaboration between Scottish indiepop stalwarts Pastels and Japanese band Tenniscoats. It seems more the latter than the former, but it's great nonetheless. A perfect rainy day album. Even if the sun's out.
  

14. Princeton - I Left My Love in Nagasaki
They're young, they're good looking, they write undeniably catchy songs. I kind of feel like Princeton are Vampire Weekend without the multicultural influences, which is just fine by be. I say that knowing full well this song is called "I Left My Love in Nagasaki"… it's not VW's influences, at least. Their album's out digitally on Tuesday, and in physical form September 29.
  

15. Your Twenties – Billionaires
Gabriel Stebbing spent the last couple years as a touring member of Metronomy and now he's on his own making sparkly guitar pop like this ace single. To find out how Metronomy is doing without him, see the "Night" mix which is also part of this post.
  

16. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars
Lead track from TPOBPAH's new EP which finds the band exploring new sounds and at least one new chord. But like always, the hooks are undeniable. A remix of this track is on the other mix.
  

17. The Magnetic Fields – The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing
It's hard to believe Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs is ten years old. 1999 had a lot of classics, but this is the only one that needed three discs to prove it.
  

18. The Kinks – Autumn Almanac

How did it get to be September already?

Summer Fridays 2.13 Night tracklist:

1. Bent - Invisible Pedestrian
I know nothing about this band who I assume is a duo because all these mysterious dance acts (Air, Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx, Zero 7, etc etc) seem to be two people. This their debut, Programmed to Love, never got much juice in the U.S. but I think it holds up better than almost any of the other records from aforementioned duos. It's weirder, catchier, and less in-your-face…staying with you much longer. Seek it out. 
  

2. The Weathermen – Poison
Belgian-American duo I discovered while a college radio DJ, they were just industrial enough to be cool (that's right, industrial was once cool. Ok, maybe not), but pop enough to not frighten people away. This was the closest thing they ever had to a hit. Narrator Susanna Stammer makes appearances on other Weathermen records, but none more menacing than here: "I used to go out with your drummer. I made his life miserable, and now I'll start on you."
  

3. Friendly Fires – Kiss of Life
Brand new single from this UK band whose debut album has grown in stature on my stereo in the past year. I think this is pretty great… except for the "KISS OF LIFE-IFE-IFE-IFE" part which sounds like it should be in a Nivea commercial with slo-mo water splashing across a model's face. Yet it doesn't ruin the song for me, but I do feel a need to exfoliate.
  

4. Jack Penate – Everything is New
If you haven't checked out Jack's sophomore album, to which this is the title track, do so now. It's definitely a summer record, drenched in perspiration. You can feel it, thick on your skin, like you just danced all night in some illegal club somewhere that you shouldn't be at this late.

5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than The Stars (Saint Etienne visits Lord Spank Remix)
Saint Etienne remix TPOBPAH which must be blowing their Anglophile/indiephile minds. The synthy/dancey version of them sounds a lot like Trembling Blue Stars if you ask me.
  

6. Metronomy - Not Made For Love (Astronomer Remix)
Hey, it's new Metronomy! Joseph Mount has reconfigured the group — post Gabriel's leaving to front Your Twenties full-time —  to be a four-piece, now with a drummer and a girl bassist. The two new songs I've heard sound like they might be just demos but clearly this remix is legit? And good.
  

7. OMD - Genetic Engineering
Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark always had a leg up on other synthpop bands because they had an honest-to-god real rhythm section. A real drummer is always, always the way to go. (Listen up, The XX!). They got a bit silly by the mid-'80s but 1982's Dazzle Ships still sounds great today. Dig the typewriter backing.
  

8. Zoot Woman – Just a Friend of Mine
Stuart Pryce, who you may know as Jacques Lu Cont, is a dance music maestro but he also has a "rock" band, Zoot Woman, who are kind of like Japan or Duran Duran. Sleek and sexy. I'm not sure their new album (first in six years) equals their first two, but "Just a Friend of Mine" is pretty good.
  

9. Delorean - Seasun
Blissed-out dance pop from Barcelona, Spain who build swirling symphonies of strings, handclaps, harmonies that is hard to resist even when you say to yourself "this kind of reminds me of Technotronic."
  

10. Pop Will Eat Itself – Another Man's Rhubarb
Admission: I loved PWEI from 1988 – 1991 and somewhere in my closet I have a promo item black denim jacket with the techno-skull logo from their 1991 album, Cure for Sanity, emblazoned across the back. I thought it was soooo cool back then. I don't wear it anymore (it was always too big) but I still hold on to it. And I still like the Poppies. You know singer Clint Mansell is the guy who wrote the score for Requiem for a Dream, don't you? But yes, they sure looked dumb in 1991. 
  

11. Stardeath & White Dwarfs – Return to the Sun
Wayne Coyne's nephew roadies for Flaming Lips for years and then forms his own psychedelic pop band. The rest of their album is much noisier than this. But still worth checking out
  

12. Dan Black – Alone
I'll be honest, I don't know a whole lot about Dan Black, other than he used to be in a group called The Servant who I also know nothing about. But this song is nice.
  

13. The Golden Silvers – True Romance (True No. 9 Blues)
Kind of this year's Alphabeat, super poppy, super infectious dance pop. (Though not as treacly as Alphabeat by any stretch.) They kind of remind me of ABC, though maybe not on this song.
  

14. Super Furry Animals – The Very Best of Neil Diamond
Just…the…very best….just the very best. No filler. And no actual Neil. Just the very best.
  

15. Caribou - Lord Leopard
Sometimes you need a 1:37 song to take you to a full hour. It was this or some Ken Nordine spoken word track about the color Chartreuse. Count yourself lucky.

So this is, I think, going to be the penultimate Summer Fridays mix for 2009. I know it's sad. Only one more. But on the bright side… still one more! A lot more new stuff this week, including such states as Florida, California, Indiana and Brooklyn. I'm pretty sure Brooklyn is a state, I live here. This week's cover is courtesy SB reader (and graphic designer/illustrator) Olivia Todd who delivered some swell mixed media. That's three excellent covers in a row. Here's where I would normally beg for submissions for art, but I've got the last one covered, thanks. Aren't you sad you didn't write in? Also, you know the drill: this is an actual mix, the songs segue together, so putting this on shuffle would be a bad thing.

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.12

Tracklist:
 
1.   Billy Nicholls – Would You Believe?
2.   Car-Sick Cars – Zhong Man Hai
3.   Moose - Don't Bring Me Down
4.   Holiday Shores – Bradley Bear
5.   Love Tractor – Venice
6.   The Bats – Never Said Goodbye
7.   The Fresh & Onlys – Grey Eyed Girl
8.   Miracle Legion – All for the Best
9.   Robyn Hitchcock – I Watch the Cars
10. Surfer Blood – Floating Vibes
11. Sugarplastic - Talk Back
12. The Zombies – These Friends of Mine
13. Brown Recluse – Night Train
14. The Jazz Butcher – Rain
15. The Babies - Meet Me in the City
16. Sic Alps – L.Mansion
17. Fire - My Father's Name Was Dad
18. Blue Jungle – Here We Go Again
19. Marmoset - Strawbery Shortcakes
20. The Postmarks – No One Said This Would Be Easy

Have a great weekend! "Liner Notes" after the jump.

1.  Billy Nicholls - Would You Believe?
Grandiose 1968 single from 20-year-old Andrew Loog Oldham prodigy Billy Nicholls that covers a lot of ground in it's two-and-a-half minute running time. You may notice the distinctive pipes of Small Faces' Steve Marriot's singing backup. The album to which this was the title track is a lost classic.
 

2.  Car-Sick Cars – Zhong Man Hai
In place of the usual French pop track on these mixes is some indie rock straight from Beijing. They're kind of China's answer to Sonic Youth, which sort of makes them the Chinese Blumfeld. A visiting friend who now lives in Beijing played this for me last night and I redid the mix (which I'd already uploaded) to accommodate it, I liked it so much (and the song it replaced wasn't working). Apologies to Car-Sick Cars and their fans: this song is actually over six minutes long, but I cut it down to just over two. Listen to the original and you'll understand why.
 
3.  Moose – Don't Bring Me Down
One of the many sterling tracks from Moose's debut LP, …XYZ. Before this, the band were most definitely in the gauzy shoegaze realm, and whether it was producer Mitch Easter's influence or the band just wanted to brighten things up, but their now "Cocteau Twins go country" sound was a shock to most people when they heard it. Certainly their record company who dropped the band almost immediately upon ...XYZ's release and deleted the album from it's catalog. It's been out of print since 1992 (and fetched crazy prices on Ebay) but just got reissued on Cherry Red. Highly recommended.
  

4.  Holiday Shores – Bradley Bear
Florida used to be synonymous with crappy music, be it Luther Campbell hip hop, icky nu-metal, or the spawn of The Mickey Mouse Club. But there's two bands on this mix that show a different side to the state. Holiday Shores are from Tallahassee and kind of have that same vibe as Real Estate, Beach Fossils with maybe a little more focus on melody. If you live in NYC, they're playing this weekend. If not, seek out their debut, Columbus'd the Whim.
   

5.  Love Tractor – Venice
One of Athens, Georgia's lesser known bands of the '80s who didn't quite get the national exposure they probably deserved, partly due to being a mostly instrumental band for a good chunk of their career. (Parly due to label woes too.) This is from their 1989 album Themes from Venus by which time they'd fully embraced singing and become less weird. There's saxophone on this but it's still real good. I'm kind of shocked to now see that nearly everything they ever did is now available via Emusic. 
  

6.  The Bats – Never Said Goodbye
The Bats 1990 album The Law of Things is the perfect place to start with these New Zealanders. It's got all the elements: the harmonies, Kay Woodward's snaky guitar lines that dance around the basslines, and Robert Scott's amazing songs. I always have trouble picking one song to represent the band, but this does it pretty well.
  

7.  The Fresh & Onlys – Grey Eyed Girl
Title track from the SF band's second album of 2009 which is out in a week or two on Woodsist. It should be evident to readers of this blog that I'm a big fan, so I won't go on and on, but I really like the lead guitar on this one. Look for album #3 early next year. And look for them on tour with Thee Oh Sees in October.
  

8.  Miracle Legion – All for the Best
One of the great unheard bands of the '80s and early '90s, Boston's Miracle Legion are as revered as R.E.M. in some camps, though that's probably some sort of elitism at play there, but seriously they were great and it's one of the biggest shames in the world that their entire catalogue is out-of-print. "The Backyard" is their classic single, but I've always dug this one from 1987's Surprise Surprise Surprise. Marc Mulcahy's solo work is great too. (His most recent, In Pursuit of Your Happiness, made my Best of 2005 list.) There's an all-star tribute/benefit for Mulcahy coming out soon and Thom Yorke covers this track.
  

9.  Robyn Hitchcock – I Watch the Cars
From Robyn's solo debut Black Snake Diamond Role and this is some paranoid OCD shit here. Two versions of this song are on the CD release of the album. The other is weirdly funky and cool in it's own way, but this adrenalized take suits the lyrics best.
  

10. Surfer Blood – Floating Vibes
The other Florida band on this mix. Went to see them knowing almost nothing going in and left kind of blown away, wishing I'd seen them earlier in the week when they still had more shows in town to play. I've seen some Beach Boys comparisons but that's just pure laziness. Pixies, maybe, but really more post-Pixies indie rock… mid-'90s style when bands could really play but just disliked fancy production. Keep an eye out for these guys. 
  

11. The Sugarplastic – Talk Back
I've always liked L.A.'s Sugarplastic, who remind me of what the Turtles might have sounded like if they'd been an indie band in the '90s. They would always make it onto mix tapes because their songs are short and you could always find a good one that fit the end of a tape. This has some George Harrison style slide guitar and soloing on it. Nice little underrated band.
  

12. The Zombies – These Friends of Mine
We've entered the baroque portion of the mix with one of my favorite songs from the Zombies' Odessy & Oracle, an album that has gone from undiscovered to relatively omnipresent in the last ten years. MOJO has certainly done it's job with this one. Fans have finally convinced Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent that it's great record too, though I'm not sure they actually think so, as up until the Odessy & Oracle anniversary show, the favored horrible Argent (the band) songs instead of perfect pop gems like this one. This song is perfect for engagement/wedding parties, btw.
  

13. Brown Recluse – Night Train
It's hard not to think of The Zombies when you listen to Philly's Brown Recluse (especially when you put their song directly after a Zombies track like I've done here) but, like The Sneetches before them, they take the influences and make it their own, with great songs and spot-on production. This is from a new EP out soon on Slumberland, but their debut mini-LP from a couple years ago is worth picking up too.

  

14. The Jazz Butcher – Rain
I learned to play guitar listening to Jazz Butcher albums, one of the first artists I really glommed onto when I went to college. I like nearly all his stuff, even when he went totally Spacemen 3 for about five years, but my favorites come from his mid-'80s period when virtuoso Max Eider was on lead guitar, who contributes some awesome backwards guitar on this one that is clearly indebted to the Velvet Underground.
  

15. The Babies – Meet Me in the City
If you troll the Hype Machine or Elbo.ws for the current most-blogged tracks, you've probably already heard this one from this offshoot of Woods and Vivian Girls. Well, here it is again. It doesn't seem like that much at first, but it grows on you and, to be honest, I think I like this better than anything on the new Vivian Girls album. There's an X vibe to this, no?
  

16. Sic Alps – L.Mansion
Oh happy day, new Sic Alps. On Slumberland no less, home of Matt Hartmann's old band, Henry's Dress. (Memo to self: Henry's Dress would be good for a mix.) This is the first Sic Alps recording to feature recently-aquired drummer Ty Segall who is awesome in his own right. Between the two, you'd think there'd be a thick layer of sludge to be smeared all over this single, but it's easily the cleanest thing Sic Alps have ever done and, dare I say it, is a little Spoon-esque. But no less good for it. Fuzz lovers don't fear: recent live reports say they're keeping the sonics good and dirty.
  

17. Fire - My Father's Name Was Dad
One of the great lost teen angst songs, from 1967, though you might not know it from the dumb/brilliant title. After this, their debut single, the band shot themselves in the foot (perhaps further) by making a concept album about a magic shoemaker. No lie. 
  

18. Blue Jungle – Here We Go Again
Kind of L.A.'s Vivian Girls, but more gothy. I dig it. The band can't seem to hold a steady line-up but singer Blu Blu seems to be handling the reins — and cracking the whip — with Mark E. Smith authority. They're finally going to tour beyond the West Coast in October… maybe they'll play near you. If you want to hear more, download freebies here.
  

19. Marmoset - Strawbery Shortcakes
The band that put Indie in Indianapolis and have kept it there since 1995. Singer/bassist Jorma Whittaker is a musical sponge who will talk your ear off about anything from Al Green to early Creation Records, yet his interpretation of pop music as heard in Marmoset is skewed and distinct and consistently cool. This is from their new album, Tea Tornado, that has at least three songs about fruit. This is one of them.
  

20. The Postmarks – No One Said This Would Be Easy
This one's got a Nancy & Lee or Scott Walker vibe to it, what with the sweeping strings and castanets. The latter provide the perfect ending to this mix, I think. 

We may be running out of Summer (not that the thermometer is currently any indication) but I'm not running out of songs. That said, I'm pretty sure this mix features the least new music of any of this season's sets, but I've tried to put in a little of every decade. A lot of Scandinavia on this one too, that would be lily-white without them anyway. That said, I think this one is really strong in that if you like the first song, you're gonna like the whole thing. 

Cover art is by my friend Kelly who recently left NYC to go to grad school for landscape architecture at UVA. The cover is based on "a project from landscape summer school. it's the summer solstice sunrise over some mexican heather grass in charlottesville." It's one of the best Summer Fridays covers yet, I think. If you think you can do better,  I'm gonna do these mixes through the end of Summer proper, so get in touch. In the meantime, I'll remind you that these songs segue together so no shuffle!

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.1

Here's the tracklist:

1. The Pernice Brothers – Working Girls
2. The Mary Onettes – Puzzles
3. Jens Lekman – Maple Leaves
4. Ride - Making Judy Smile
5. The Woodentops – Travelling Man
6. The Wannadies – Friends
7. Cast - Alright
8. The Byrds – So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star
9. The Grapes of Wrath – Do You Want to Tell Me?
10. The The – Slow Emotion Replay
11. Sondre Lerche – I Cannot Let You Go
12. Prefab Sprout – Appetite
13. The Left Banke – I've Got Something on My Mind
14. Pale Saints – Colours and Shapes
15. New Pornographers – Laws Have Changed
16. Superheroes - What's Going On?
17. The Stone Roses – What the World is Waiting For
18. Eggstone - Waiting for the Bell

 Liner notes after the jump.

1. The Pernice Brothers – Working Girls
My initial idea was to put something from Joe Pernice's new soundtrack to his novel, It Feels So Good When I Stop, maybe his cover of "Chevy Van," but it was too light, too acoustic to work in the Summer Fridays context. After trying a dozen worthy Pernice Brothers songs, I settled on the opening track of 2001's World Won't End because it sounds like an opening track, a perfect way to start this mix. And I've always loved the morose humor of the line "Contemplating suicide or a graduate degree."
  

2. The Mary Onettes – Puzzles
Like almost every band on Labrador, The Mary Onettes seem forever stuck in an '80s groove but yet do it so well you don't really care. For their second album, Islands (due in November), the main development is the hiring of a string section which makes their songs all the more sweeping and dramatic, and you could imagine "Puzzles" being used in a John Hughes movie (probably Some Kind of Wonderful) if they had only existed then. 
  

3. Jens Lekman – Maple Leaves
Few Swedish musicians sing in their native tongue, yet most seem to have a command of the English language better than most from UK or North America. This was always one of my favorite Jens Lekman songs because it plays on the language barrier in a clever/funny way, plus it shows off his use of expert use of samples (in this case The Mamas & the Papas' "Do You Wanna Dance"). Also, it references The Fall.
  

4. Ride – Making Judy Smile
One of Andy Bell's more concise pop moments from Ride's best album, Going Blank Again. Awesome bassline, awesome harmonies, awesome guitar solo… why aren't they still together? Why does Bell settle for playing bass in Oasis? One of the reunions I would genuinely look forward to seeing, and whom still are probably capable of another good album.
  

5. The Woodentops – Travelling Man
From one of my all-time favorite '80s albums, Giant. The breakneck speed, the clatter of the production, and most of all the melodies. Truly a lost classic that I listen to probably once a month. Trying to pick a song off it was more about one that fit with everything else than the best song from the album. I think I did ok.
  

6. The Wannadies – Friends
Criminally underrated Swedish band that shoulda been at least huge on commercial alternative radio, but they barely released records here, despite "You & Me Song"'s starring appearance on the Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet soundtrack. This is from 1996's Bagsy Me, maybe their best album, but you can't really go wrong with any of them.

7. Cast – Alright
This was John Power's band after Lee Mavers kicked him out of The La's. Not anything too deep lyrically, but… the hooks are undeniable. As a pop single, "Alright" is absolutely airtight and joyous. Much of the post-Oasis Britpop scene feels hollow now, but Cast's debut, All Change, holds up well.
  

8. The Byrds – So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star
In under two minutes, the Byrds lay out fame as cynically, correctly, and melodically as possible. Great song, and the lyrics still hold true today.
  

9. The Grapes of Wrath – Do You Want to Tell Me?
Maybe a footnote today, but these Canadians were college radio mainstays in the late '80s/ early '90s. This was the first single to their 1989 album, Now and Again, and I don't think it's dated a bit.
  

10. The The – Slow Emotion Replay
Maybe the last record to feature Johnny Marr sounding like Johnny Marr. The ex-Smith actually spent more time as guitarist in The The than working with Morrissey, though I think that's really only calendar-wise. (The Smiths rival the Beatles for most music out in a short period of time.) Anyway, this is one of The The's best singles from 1992s excellent Dusk. Matt Johnson, make a new record, won't you?
  

11. Sondre Lerche – I Cannot Let You Go
The only other "new" song on this mix, from Lerche's forthcoming album Heartbeat Radio which is out next month. The inspiration for "I Cannot Let You Go" is clearly Prefab Sprout… dig those female backing vocals. If you doubt me, just wait for the next song on this mix…
  

12. Prefab Sprout – Appetite
…which is from Prefab Sprout's 1984 classic Steve McQueen, whose songs shine through the overly-synthy Thomas Dolby production. I used to think this song was about a new mother talking to her baby, but apparently it's a warning against material gain. I like my interpretation better.
  

13. The Left Banke – I've Got Something on My Mind
The harpsichord is so good on this, it's sustained to separate songs: this and Jens Lekman's "Black Cab" which lifts it hook, line, and sinker but makes something new and great from it. Of course, The Left Banke's original is just about perfect on it's own.
  

14. Pale Saints – Colours and Shapes
Maybe the best 4AD band of the 1990 – 1992 period, melding the dreaminess of the label's original roster (Cocteau Twins, Dif Juz) with the noisier new signings (Pixies, Throwing Muses). This track, with it's "Boys Don't Cry" ascending chord progression, is an obscurity that was originally only available as a Japanese import called Mrs. Dolphin that I paid nearly $30 for in 1993. Now you can get it via Emusic. So much for completism. 
  

15. New Pornographers – Laws Have Changed
Recently named the #201 track of the 00s by Pitchfork, I found it kind of hard to single out a track from 2003's Electric Version. That album is near-perfect if you ask me.
  

16. Superheroes – What's Going On?
Superheroes opened for Junior Senior at Mercury Lounge back in 2003 and I knew nothing about them going in, but I listen to their records more than JS now. Frontman Thomas Troelsen dumped three bottles of water on himself within three songs and I remember thinking "I hope he doesn't electrocute himself." He didn't, though he gave up Superheroes for the dance pop group Private who Perez Hilton likes a lot. This band is better.
  

17. The Stone Roses – What the World is Waiting For
I am dumbfounded that The Stone Roses' near-perfect debut album is 20 years old. This song is maybe just slightly younger than that, the b-side of Madchester classic "Elephant Stone" but this is the better track, maybe the Roses best-ever? (OK, "Waterfall" is amazing.) The album is getting the Anniversary treatment, remastered by producer John Leckie who has given the CD back it's bottom end (originally mastered from the vinyl version which can't handle all that bass) without giving it any of the current compression/clipping that is prevalent in most music made today. Which is to say it still sounds awesome. If you don't own it (the reissue comes with all the b-sides and subsequent singles), your collection isn't complete.
  

18. Eggstone – Waiting for the Bell
Fey Swedes who were never going to set the world on fire, but they made some really fine records. I like this one the chiming yet dirty guitar sound (this was produced by Torr Johanssen, who did the early Cardigans albums, and Franz Ferdinand's first), as well as the extended outro which could personally go on for 20 minutes just as it is and I'd be just fine with that. BUT IT DOESN'T. 

This week's is another that wildly swings from genre to genre but I think it works. Dig the pro artwork this week, from my friend Greg who is an illustrator and toy designer. Clearly my mixes have always had a K-Tel vibe about them, and I like the way he worked the numbering into it subtly. Very clever! He wrote the text too, or at least copied from Wikipedia, and you can read it clearly in the hi-res cover that's included in the download. There did seem to be a sentence missing: "No shuffling!"

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.10 

Tracklist:

1.  Lovvers - OCD Go Go Girls 
2.  The Cribs - You Were Always the One 
3.  Horace Andy - Sky Larking 
4.  Big Audio Dynamite - Sambadrome 
5.  Simian Mobile Disco - Bad Blood (feat Alexis Taylor) 
6.  The Walker Brothers - If I Promise 
7.  The Apartments - The Shyest Time 
8.  Easterhouse - Whistling in the Dark 
9.  Grass Widow - To Where 
10. [ingenting] - Halleluja! 
11. Beach Fossils - Vacation 
12. Brilliant Colors - Should I Tell You? 
13. Trashcan Sinatras - Hayfever 
14. Generationals - Nobody Could Change Your Mind 
15. A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head 
16. Gorky's Zygotic Monkey - Meyhu Aros Tan Haf 
17. Fluffy Lumber - Cruisers 
18. Luna - Lost in Space 
19. BOAT - Name Tossers

Liner notes after the jump.

1.  Lovvers - OCD Go Go Girls
Those giant timpani drums at the start of this song just screamed "start of tape" to me. I like these guys despite the unnecessary and kind of annoying double consonant in their name. But they do the garage punk thing very well, and their live show is a sweaty thing of beauty. And they're English, which kind of makes them better at it.

2.  The Cribs - You Were Always the One 
I have an affection for the Cribs that keeps me listening to their records more than other bands that started around the same time (2002-2003) and I think part of it has to be that they're brothers. It comes through in the music. Which has me wondering how Johnny Marr joining the band will affect that. Less "whoa-ohs" I'd imagine, less onstage horseplay. Until we hear that album, here's their first song of theirs I ever heard and it still sounds great.
  
3.  Horace Andy - Skylarking 
I really like reggae but I'm very picky about the stuff I like. Saxophone is okay, but not the solo-y kind. Drum machines only if on a really dubby track. The tinnier the better. I want it to sound like an A.M. radio with a sub-woofer attached. Is that weird? My favorite tracks, like "Skylarking," don't sound like they have an era attached, more that they've been beamed here from outer space

4.  Big Audio Dynamite - Sambadrome 
Mick Jones' post-Clash band doesn't get a lot of credit these days, and are remembered more for the B.A.D. II years after all the black guys quit the band. Sorry, but in my mind Don Letts was as crucial to B.A.D. as Jones, and their first four albums were smart, funny and endlessly inventive hybrid pop. No. 10 Upping St remains my favorite, which was co-produced by Joe Strummer, who also co-wrote a lot of the songs. This one, though, was a Jones/Letts collaboration and feels very hot and humid to me.
  
5.  Simian Mobile Disco - Bad Blood (feat Alexis Taylor) 
Less squelchy than your average SMD track, probably due to the vocal style Alexis Taylor brings to it. It doesn't sound like Hot Chip, either…well not really. More like "Popcorn" by Hot Butter. With vocals. 
  
6.  The Walker Brothers - If I Promise 
I think this is actually a John Walker solo single but you can find it on most of the Walker Brothers compilations. The trombone on the chorus is kind of hilarious if you pay attention to it. My favorite part of the song is the "Haven't slept in a month of Sundays) near the beginning that they only do once in the song. That's what makes me hit repeat.
  
7.  The Apartments - The Shyest Time 
This is from the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack which was packed-to-the-gills with obscure UK rock bands. Stephen Hague produced pretty much the whole thing, giving it a real uniformity to the record but also kind of rendering it lifeless in an '80s gloss. (Kind of like the movie, actually.) There are some gems (Furniture's "Brilliant Mind"), some cheese (Flesh for Lulu's "I Go Crazy") and this song that I'm affectionate for and not quite sure why. These Australians actually had a longer career than many on this soundtrack; check out 1995's A Life Full of Farewells if this piques your interest.
  
8.  Easterhouse - Whistling in the Dark
You could learn a lot about music from John Hughes movies even without the soundtrack. Eric Stoltz's character in Some Kind of Wonderful had a poster on his bedroom wall of Easterhouse's Contenders and I bought the album solely on that basis, one of the better blind purchases I made in the day. While the super-left-leaning lyrics have dated, the music (not unlike the Chameleons or early Smiths or The Sound) holds up well.
  
9.  Grass Widow - To Where
San Francisco all-girl trio whose debut LP is worth seeking out… it's only on vinyl. Shambolic (in a good way), C-86 type stuff is always welcome in these parts, and it won't be the only band on this mix that I could use this paragraph unchanged as a descriptor.
  
10. [ingenting] - Halleluja!
Maybe the only band to ever feature brackets in their name, these Swedes' translate to "nothing" and sing exclusively in their native tongue but their anthemic brand of indie pop is pretty winning. And after a couple listens the chorus will be stuck firmly in your head.
  
11. Beach Fossils - Vacation
I like everything about this song except the vocals, which are fed, unnecessarily, through some sort of old vibrato effect. I think Beach Fossils probably consider this their "thing," those affected vocals. But, really, shouldn't your songs be your "thing"? They've got good songs. I'm sure the singer's voice is just fine on it's own. Doing stuff like that makes it seem like you've got something to hide. This single works despite this, which says a lot as to what they got going for them.
  
12. Brilliant Colors - Should I Tell You? 
These guys are better than their low-fi recordings suggest. I saw them at the Woodsist/Captured Tracks Festival and they were one of the day's surprises, and I liked them better than recent shows I saw of Vivian Girls and Leichtenstien (both girl trios working similar idioms). 
  
13. Trashcan Sinatras - Hay fever 
From thier somewhat forgotten second album, I've Seen Everything, which is maybe the best thing TCS ever did. Easily one of the most underrated bands of the last 20 years, who've been crushed by every sort of music industry mishap you can imagine, barring choking on vomit. But we've got the music.
  
14. Generationals - Nobody Could Change Your Mind 
The only thing I know about Generationals is that they're from New Orleans. Listening to the record, though, shows these guys know big hooks and clever production. The album's a little all over the map, but the songs are all good.
  
15. A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head 
"The Loudest Band in Brooklyn" signed to Mute and are now battling The Horrors for best new shoegaze album, one that takes the standard elements and is doing something new, or at least different, with them. and writing good songs underneath all that squall. It's also still really loud. This is the title track from their new album which is out October 6. 
  
16. Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Meyhu Aros Tan Haf 
This translates to "I Can't Wait for Summer" in Welsh, and this typifies the Gorkys sound: pastoral, in a renaissance fair sort of way, but with a strong Brian Wilson influence. And a great "la la la" chorus.
  
17. Fluffy Lumbers - Cruisers
These guys (well, really it's one guy from NJ) are making the blog rounds and while it's a little early in Fluffy Lumbers career to be heaping praise, this song is indeed pretty great. Can't wait to hear more.
 
18. Luna - Lost in Space 
Dean Wareham has milked more from the Velvets than just about any other musician without the initials L.R. Almost all of it is good too, even if he is prone to lazy, silly rhymes like "Lazy" with "Crazy." This is one of the more lovely moments from Luna's third alb
um, Penthouse.

19. BOAT - Name Tossers 
In general I try not to repeat bands on these Summer Fridays mixes, certainly not within the same year, but all I do is listen to this new BOAT album so I really couldn't resist putting another song from their forthcoming Setting the Paces on here. I think this is my favorite song on it, a little Built to Spill going on I think.

Number nine in our summer series was an attempt not to sound kitchen sink-y, with a definite point of view: light, airy, fun. Hopefully I pulled that off. For the cover art this week, my friend Kirstie Shanley let me use (and crop) this photo of Chicago's Windy City Rubber Ducky Derby. The original photo is here. Hope you enjoy this one, which features three songs you could call "hip hop." I'm only slightly out of my element here. Have a good weekend…and no shuffling!

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.9

Here's the tracklist:

1. Jon Astley – Jane's Getting Serious
2. The Big Pink – Dominos
3. De La Soul – A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"
4. General Public – Where's the Line?
5. Almond Marzipan – Summer Love
6. Princeton – Calypso Gold
7. Javelin – Tell Me, What Will It Be?
8. Steely Dan – Peg
9. Tahiti 80 – Heartbeat
10. JJ – Things Will Never Be The Same Again
11. Estelle – 1980
12. The Baja Marimba Band – Flyin' High
13. Stereolab – Captain Easychord
14. Saint Etienne – Goodnight Jack
15. The Experimental Pop Band – Dead Sea
16. Spearmint – A Week Away
17. Speech Debelle -Spinnin' 

"Liner notes" after the jump.

1. Jon Astley – Jane's Getting Serious
A producer first and foremost (and most famously on The Who's "Who Are You?"), Jon Astley put out two quirky pop albums in the late '80s and this is from his debut, Everyone Loves the Pilot (Except the Crew). It's maybe better known as the background music for that Heinz ketchup commercial that starred Matt LeBlanc. 

2. The Big Pink – Dominos
I don't know a whole lot about this London duo, but I do like this song which to me sounds like it coulda come out in 1991. That drumbeat just reaks of that year and I almost followed this song with Chapterhouse's "Pearl" just for the comparison, but that wasn't really the direction I wanted to go on this mix. Instead… 

3. De La Soul – A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"
…this gem from De La Soul's disappointing second album, De La Soul is Dead where they somewhat tried to shed their hippy/happy image by cursing a lot and making a generally darker record. But this is the song people remember off this album. I think Q-Tip just brings sunshine to the party.
 

4. General Public – Where's the Line?
People make fun of Ranking Roger's striped afro he had on the first General Public album, and it is very, very '80s in its synthy, bouncy pop, but this is before bad, late-'80s production took the wind out of record's sails. General Public were a real band, and the songs are just rediculously catchy. I love, love, love the first GP album and this is one of the great non-singles from the album and with in the first 10 seconds you get one of Dave Wakeling's signature hiccup groans. Totally awesome.
  
  
5. Almond Marzipan – Summer Love
This is from that great, impossible to find compilation of '60s/'70s baroque pop, Tea & Symphony, and I don't know a damn thing about Almond Marzipan. (If you do a search, this blog is one of the top results.) But it's a cool song
  

6. Princeton – Calypso Gold
These three good looking young lads from L.A. are the kind of band I tend to hate upon seeing their press photos and bio, but their songs are pretty charming and hard to resist. This is from thier debut, Cocoon of Love, which is out next month.
 

7. Javelin – Tell Me, What Will It Be?
Hodge-podge pop that kind of reminds me of the more laid back moments from that first Go Team album. And like them, I wonder how they're going to play it live.
  

8. Steely Dan – Peg
Oh shit! I just brought out the big guns here. I think when you're in your 20s, you think you're too cool for Steely Dan. But then you hit 30 and realize they're cooler than you'll ever be…ever. But everybody loves, "Peg," right? Wouldn't it be awesome if you could get Michael McDonald's backup vocals isolated and turned into a mellotron loop?
 

9. Tahiti 80 – Heartbeat
In my mind I had high hopes that this song would segue seamlessly with the Dan, beats matching perfectly. And maybe I coulda jimmy'd it till it did, but I made this mix at 3AM last night so it didn't quite work out that way. Once again I have failed. But in spirit, this track from these Frenchies' 2000 album flows quite nicely.
  

10. JJ – Things Will Never Be The Same Again
Mysterious Swedes making dreamy pop is nothing new and these Tough Alliance-affiliated folks have indeed made a lovely record. I love that lead keyboard sound that manages to sound like pizzicatto strings and steel drum at the same time.
 

11. Estelle – 1980
Five years before she teamed up with Kanye for "American Boy" she released this utterly charming debut single, a bio of her life up to that point. BBC 6Music used to play this all the time, and then-DJ Andrew Collins in particular loved this track and it became ingrained in my brain. The lyrics still make me smile.
  

12. The Baja Marimba Band – Flyin' High
A musical cohorts of Martin Denny and Herb Alpert, Julias Wechter fronted the BMB and made the sort of breezy instrumentals I associate with Blake Edwards movies. As awesome as the marimbas are in the song, it's that trombone that makes it groove.
 

13. Stereolab – Captain Easychord
Even on so-so Stereolab records there's at least one great song, and "Captain Easychord" is it for 2001's Sound Dust. Actually it's more like two songs, but both are good. I thought about just using the first half of the song here, but in the end I couldn't cut the baby in two.

14. Saint Etienne – Goodnight Jack
This is from 1998's In Good Humor, the album Saint Etienne made with Swedish producer Torr Johanssen who did the first two Cardigans albums. It was a real shock at the time, hearing real instruments instead of synths and samples, but I think it holds up as one of their best albums.
  

15. The Experimental Pop Band – Dead Sea
Davey Woodward was in Brilliant Corners and then formed EPB in the mid-'90s and this is the closing track from their great debut album, Discgrotesque. I think it's thier best song, too.
  

16. Spearmint – A Week Away
A friend told me that Spearmint were namechecked in that indie romcom 500 Days of Summer which sounds contrived to me, as they were the kind of obscure twee disco band that nobody knows about and I don't think I'd believe it coming out of Joseph Gordon Levit or Zooey Dechannel's mouth. Spearmint were always a little too overtly indiepop for me to listen to a whole record, but they did have some great songs…this was one of them.
  

17. Speech Debelle – Spinnin'
She's up for the Mercury Prize this year, and kind of like that first Estelle record, there's a lot of great elements here and the production is idiosyncratic without calling attention to itself, and Speech has great flow. The sentiment of the chorus is a little banal, but the overall vibe wins out.

Hope you're not getting tired of these, I still enjoy making them. This is Number Nine in the Sound Bites Summer Fridays series, designed specifically to eliviate seasonal stress and alergies. This week's edition features fake reggae, real reggae, fake Thin Lizzy, French pop, goth pop, Swedish pop, an appearance from the Elephant Six roster, various aural ephemera and new tracks from BOAT, The Xx, Champagne Socialists and Cornershop. That's exciting, isn't it? Cover art this week was done by me, mainly because I forgot to get back to the people who've actually offered make one. (Will get back to you, I promise.) Have a swell weekend, and no shuffling!

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.8

Here's the tracklist:

1. 10CC - Dreadlock Holiday
2. Hot Chip – The Warning
3. Augustus Pablo – King Tubby Meets the Rockers Downtown
4. The Blue Nile – Tinseltown in the Rain
5. Broadcast - Come on Let's Go
6. Belle & Sebastian – I'm a Cuckoo
7. BOAT - Lately
8. The Boo Radleys – Wish I Was Skinny
9. The Xx – Basic Space
10. The Chrysler – While the Tide is High
11. The Olivia Tremor Control – Courtyard
12. The Champagne Socialists – Blue Genes
13. Imperial Teen – Ivanka
14. Phoenix - Consolation Prizes
15. Modern English – Life in the Gladhouse
16. Cornershop - The Roll Off Characteristics (Of History In The Making)
17. Max Eider – Who Loves You Now?

If you're interested in making cover art for one of these, do get in touch.

Liner notes after the jump.

1. 10cc - Dreadlock Holiday
I always saw 10cc as the UK equivalent of Steely Dan, and not just because both bands' names were sexual references. (Look it up.) Super-smart pranksters. This song is supposedly based on a true story about the Moody Blues misadventures in Barbados. There is a certain guilty pleasure element to this song, but if you were to ask if I like it, I'd have to say "no…I LOVE IT!"

2. Hot Chip – The Warning
Title track from the best album of 2006. I listened to The Warning so much I had to put it away for a while, but I recently pulled it out and it's still amazing. Electronic, but 100% human.

3. Augustus Pablo – King Tubby Meets the Rockers Downtown
The melodica is a cool instrument but in the wrong hands it will just make you sound like The Hooters. In Augustus Pablo's hands, it becomes sinister and sexy. And this was the track first did it.

4. The Blue Nile – Tinseltown in the Rain
Absolutely gorgeous single from the Blue Nile's classic, essential debut album, A Walk Across the Rooftops. If the "Do I love you? YES I love you!" part doesn't get you, you have a heart of stone.

5. Broadcast - Come on Let's Go
The temperature just dropped about 20 degrees with this track, maybe the ultimate Broadcast song from their album The Noise Made by People. I remember reading chickfactor at the time and nearly every band interviewed picked this as their single of the year.

6. Belle & Sebastian – I'm a Cuckoo
When Belle & Sebastian announced that Trevor Horn was going to produce their then-new album, visions of bombast (Seal, ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood) danced through our heads, but what he really did was put the focus back on great pop songs. Which meant mostly Stuart Murdoch's songs. This one's clearly a musical nod to Thin Lizzy, who are also mentioned in the lyrics (rhyming "Tokyo" with "Thin Lizzy-oh").

7. BOAT - Lately
Hey look it's new BOAT! This if from their forthcoming album, Setting the Pace, which isn't out until October. It is awesome and I couldn't resist putting this track on a mix, as it's really a summer kind of album. When they played NYC last year, they closed with this song at both shows. If BOAT lived in NYC, I would go see every local show they play.

8. The Boo Radleys – Wish I Was Skinny
From their sprawling Giant Steps album, which turned them from noisy shoegazers to a band with a lot more possibilites. My friend Toby and I were pretty much Boo Radleys superfan completists, though we never went as a far as getting the Giant Steps cover art tatooed on our backs. Nice little pop song, this.

9. The Xx – Basic Space
Minimal electronic quartet from England who will be in NYC in two weeks — they're opening for School of Seven Bells at the Seaport. I realize it slows things down at the start of the song, but I like the space in this song. There's a lot of room to breath here, which in today's compressed-as-shit recording technics, a little fresh air is welcome.

10. The Chrysler – While the Tide is High
Great, underheard Swedish band whose latest album, Cold War Classic is absolutely worth picking up if you like this track. Winsome, melancholic, dreamy folk pop. That's enough adjectives.

11. The Olivia Tremor Control – Courtyard
Other Music used to be on my walk home from work back when it first opened which was around the time the whole Elephant 6 thing was big, and I have distinct memories of this album being played in the store somewhat constantly. It's a weird record, with a lot of noisy, psychedelic diversions but a lot of great pop in there too.

12. The Champagne Socialists – Blue Genes
New single on Slumberland, a label that shouldn't be ignored these days. The Champagne Socialists are from LA, they're a duo and this is a catchy song. Don't know much beyond that, but certainly that's enough for now.

13. Imperial Teen – Ivanka
This is my favorite Imperial Teen song, it's from 2002's On. If you don't know, this was the band Roddy Bottum formed after leaving Faith No More. I don't really get a chance to drive these days, but if I did I imagine this song would be a fun one to listen to while breaking the speed limit.

14. Phoenix - Consolation Prizes
I used "Lisztomania" on my SoundBites Of Spring mix, which is currently odds-on-favorite for single of the year. This one's from 2006's It's Never Been Like That and it's almost as good. This song is impossible to dislike, though I'm sure some people claim they do. But they're in denial.

15. Modern English – Life in the Gladhouse
From the same album as "I Melt With You" but this is the best track. And it will never be used to sell cheeseburgers. Go ahead and prove me wrong, Carl's Jr!

16. Cornershop - The Roll Off Characteristics (Of History In The Making)
First new Cornershop album in six year, it's called Judy Sucks a Lemon for Breakfast. This is the current single and is good to dance around your home to, when no one is watching.

17. Max Eider – Who Loves You Now?
Technically this song is by the Jazz Butcher, from the Distressed Gentlefolk album but it's the only one Max sings, so I'm going to go and rewrite history and just credit it to him. Because it's true. He'd make an album of similar jazzy material the same year, The Best Kisser in the World, which is great and worth seeking out.

DOWNLOAND SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.7

Here's the tracklist. I'll try and get liner notes up over the weekend.

1.  The Horrors – Scarlet Fields
2.  Archers of Loaf – Wrong
3.  Free Energy – Free Energy
4.  Zaza - Sooner or Later
5.  Engineers – Sometimes I Realize
6.  Number One Cup – Waiting for the Lions
7.  Flaming Lips – Silver Trembling Hands
8.  Uninhabitable Mansions – Do You Have a Strategy?
9.  Fergus & Geronimo – Harder Than It's Ever Been
10. Jale – Not Happy
11. Pavement - Gold Soundz
12. Echo & the Bunnymen – Rescue
13. Blow Up – Good to Me
14. Sex Clark Five – Detention Girls
15. Nodzz - True to Life
16. Let's Active – In Little Ways
17. Official Secrets Act – The Girl from the BBC
18. Unrest - Makeout Club

After last week's unintentional vacation from these mixes, we're back, rested and ready. In NYC it finally got hot and humid and I think that stickiness permates Summer Fridays 2.6. At least until we get to The Duckworth Lewis Method, but by then it's almost over. I also raided my early-'90s CD collection for this one a bit, but tried to put a bunch of new stuff on here too. Cover photo is Coney Island at the end of last year's Siren Festival. I remind you: if you'd like to contribute cover art, I'd love to have you do it. Just drop a line via email. 

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.6 

Tracklist:

1.  Love and Rockets – It Could Be Sunshine
2.  Erik Blood – Saved You
3.  Spoon – Advance Cassette
4.  The Clientele – I Wonder Who We Are?
5.  MEW – Beach
6.  Kings of Convenience – Misread
7.  Wild Beasts – We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues
8.  The Flirtations – Nothing But a Heartbreak
9.  Novillero – The Hypothesist
10. The Smiths – What Difference Does it Make?
11. Suede- Metal Mickey
12. Lilys – Ginger
13. Lush – De-Luxe
14. Jay Reatard – Wounded
15. The Beatles – I'm Happy Just to Dance With You
16. Biblio – Ambivalence Avenue
17. Orange Juice – Hokoyo
18. The Duckworth Lewis Method – The Age of Revolution

DISCLAIMER: The songs segue together, so no shuffle please. I bet you're tired of me saying that. Liner notes after the jump.

1.  Love and Rockets – It Could Be Sunshine
I don't do it on purpose, but there always seems to be at least one song per mix that has "sun" or "beach" or "summer" in the title. There's two this week. This is from L&R's classic 1986 album, Express, which still sounds awesome, saxaphone and all.
 
2.  Erik Blood – Saved You
Toby and Finest Kiss has jokingly dubbed Mr. Blood's sound as "soulgaze" which is accurate if a bit too cringeworthy to actually use. The former Turn Ons guitarist and producer extraordinaire let's all his loves come through on his awesome solo debut, making it the ultimate makeout record for those who have both Swervedriver and Al Green in their CD collections. Maybe not, but that's what I just wrote and I'm not taking it back. It's currently only available digitally, but it's gettable at all the normal places. 
  
3.  Spoon – Advance Cassette
Back in the day, if you were a journalist or worked in radio, you got your pre-release versions of albums via the Advance Cassette. I've got a box at my parents' house full of them. It's a funny thing to write a love song about, but that's Spoon for you. I somehow doubt anyone will write a lovesong called "Rapidshare RAR" but you never know.

4.  The Clientele – I Wonder Who We Are?
I wasn't as high on the last Clientele album as most people (I prefer Strange Geometry) but this first taste of their upcoming Bonfires on the Heath makes me pretty excited to hear the rest of it. 
  
5.  MEW – Beach
I can take or leave MEW to be honest, but I always check out the new record, because when they're on these Danes are capable of some amazing sounds. (Like most of Frengers.) I haven't drunk too deeply from their upcoming No More Stories, but this track is the way I like them: minimal math, maximum pop.

6.  Kings of Convenience – Misread
It's been five years since Riot on an Empty Street which is way too long to be without new KoC music. Granted, Erland Oye has stayed busy with The Whitest Boy Alive and DJ mixes, but nothing is quite like the regal pop these two produce.
 
7.  Wild Beasts – We Still Got The Taste Dancing On Our Tongues
Like the Associates, the Veils or Antony, the vocals are the dealbreaker with Wild Beasts — there's actually two singers, both of whom have their balls in a vice — but if you can get into it, this is sexy, sublime stuff. Their new album, Two Dancers, may not have anything as immediate as "Devil's Crayon" but it's hands-down a much better (and more listenable) record. The guitarwork awesome; the lyrics filthy.
  
8.  The Flirtations – Nothing But a Heartbreak
What a fantastic sounding single, no? A minor hit in 1968, "Nothing but A Heartbreak" is now a staple at Northern Soul nights wherever those are held. (England, mostly.) You can get it on the essential One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Groups Lost and Found, which is an endless well of obscure and semi-obscure gems.
  
9.  Novillero – The Hypothesist
These guys are from Winnepeg, Manitoba and they rarely make it down to America but they played here for CMJ 2006 which is where I first heard them and they knocked me back enough to buy their CD at the merch table.
  
10. The Smiths – What Difference Does it Make?
I love just about everything the Smiths ever did — even "Golden Lights" — but it's the sound from their first nine months or so, the first album and those early Peel Sessions, that stick with me the most. It's amazing to think The Smiths were only together for four and a half years.
  
11. Suede- Metal Mickey
I saw Suede on their first American tour and for the last song, singer Brett Anderson was swinging the mike around his head like a lasso. On the final chord, he held one arm up, closed his eyes and let the mike cord wrap around his body with the mike eventually landing in his other hand. It remains one of the most amazing things I've ever seen someone do onstage.
  
12. Lilys – Ginger
The Lilys have adoped many styles over the years, but I was always partial to the Dinosaur Jr shoegaze they unleashed on their A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns EP.
  
13. Lush – De-Luxe
Probably Lush's finest moment. Like most UK indie-loving boys of the time, I had a huge crush on Miki Berenyi. Miki, where are you now?
  
14. Jay Reatard – Wounded
I avoided listening to Jay for some time because of his name. That's a dumb thing to do. His new album, Watch Me Fail, is pretty great and you can download this teaser from his website.
  
15. The Beatles – I'm Happy Just to Dance With You
Like the Smiths, the Beatles put out an incredible ammount of amazing music in a very short period of time. Also like Moz and co, I like the early stuff the best, even the "formula" songs like this one from A Hard Day's Night.
  
16. Biblio – Ambivalence Avenue
Tammy from local record store Sound Fix turned me on to Biblio who is sort of like a more structured El Guincho to these ears — bliss out music with a tropical vibe. Makes you want a drink with an umbrella in it.
  
17. Orange Juice – Hokoyo
From Orange Juice's second album, Rip it Up, the first to feature percussionist Zeke Manyika and his influence is clearly a part of it, and he sings co-lead with Edwyn Collins here on this high life influenced track. 
  
18. The Duckworth Lewis Method – The Age of Revolution
Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy has teamed with Thomas Walsh of Pugwash (me either?) for this concept album about the sport of Cricket. No other way around it, it's pure novelty but kind of a fun listen. This is the album's title track, sort of tip of the hat to Lord Kitchener and other Trinidadian musicians. And you don't have to understand the sport to like this track.

It's a big holiday weekend, I'm already late enough so I'll spare you the liner notes you probably don't read anyway. Those are zeppoles, by the way, from the Giglio Festival in Williamsburg (which is where I live) which starts July 8. Zeppoles are the best fried bread, better than elephant ears or funnel cakes. And few things mean summer in Brooklyn more than them. Hopefully you'll find this week's mix almost as tasty. A shout-out to Toby at The Finest Kiss, whose new Basementcast is where I heard the Rose Elinor Dougall track. Enjoy the weekend.

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.5

1.  Roxy Music – Pyjamarama
2.  McLusky - She Will Only Bring You Happiness
3.  The Mo-Dettes – Fandango
4.  The Monochrome Set – Martians Go Home
5.  Rose Elinor Dougall – Start/Stop/Synchro
6.  Ultramarine feat. Robert Wyatt – Kingdom
7.  Joe Crow - Compulsion
8.  Pete Shelley – Homosapien
9.  The Clean – Anything Could Happen
10.  Ganglians - Lost Words
11.  The Divine Comedy – The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count
12.  The Bird and the Bee – Diamond Dave
13.  Colin Blunstone – She Loves the Way They Love Her
14.  Don Gibson – Sea of Heartbreak
15.  Jacques Dutronc – Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi
16.  Pink Floyd – See Emily Play
17.  Pulp - Mile End
18.  Miracle Legion – The Backyard

Nobody likes Mondays, but one thing that might help make the work week (if you have a job) go by quicker is this week's Summer Fridays mix which is totally late and only arriving now. I scrapped a nearly-completed version cause it wasn't working and redid the whole thing. Which is what happened with Toy Story 2, and everybody likes the way that eventually turned out. While on this Pixar analogy, I should like to point out that there are no Randy Newman songs on this mix. Cover art this week comes courtesy five-year-old music fan Diaz, who likes hearts. I told her she could pick a song for the mix and she chose The Thompson Twins' "Hold Me Now" which ended up serving as inspiration for the whole thing when I redid it.

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 2.4

TRACKLIST 

1. Johnny Boy – You Are the Generation Who Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve
2. The Thompson Twins – Hold Me Now
3. Pacific - Sunset Blvd
4. The Wave Machines – Keep the Lights On
5. Savoir Adore – Bodies
6. The Radio Dept. – David (The Rice Twins Mix)
7. The Juan Maclean – One Day
8. Esser - Work it Out
9. La Roux – Bulletproof
10. The New Sins – Feeling Have Changed
11. Sally Shapiro – Miracle
12. Bachelorette - Her Rotating Head
13. The Sound of Arrows – M.A.G.I.C.
14. Datarock - Computer Camp Love
15. Chaz Jankel – Number One
16. Ladyhawke - Manipulating Woman
17. The Dream Academy – The Edge of Forever

If you'd like to contribute artwork to a forthcoming Summer Fridays mix, please get in touch, either in the comments or via email, which can be found on this blog's right sidebar. Hope you like this one, I think it might be worth the wait. No shuffling, dammit! Since most people get Friday off for the July 4th weekend, the next Summer Fridays mix will actually go up Thursday morning. If I can get my act together.

Liner notes after the jump:

1. Johnny Boy – You Are the Generation Who Bought More Shoes and You Get What You Deserve
Johnny Boy actually went on to make an album two years after releasing this Spector-esque single in 2004 but I kinda wish they hadn't. There was just no way to follow up something this original, this awesome with anything that could match it. (And they didn't.) Just pretend it's the only thing that exists by them. It still sounds great.
 
2. The Thompson Twins – Hold Me Now
Diaz's contribution to the mix. I'm still not crazy about the falsetto vocals that are in the chorus in the latter part of this song, but otherwise this is one of the better New Wave crossover hits of the mid-80s. 
  
3. Pacific – Sunset Blvd
I am a sucker for both '70s soft rock and '80s synth pop, so Pacific's deft melding of the two was an instant hit with me. It was actually released in America, though the only times I've seen it was in used bins. It's a good record! 
 
4. The Wave Machines – Keep the Lights On
There's a "Miss You" sort of vibe going on here. The Wave Machines are from Liverpool and while I can't say I'm in love with the whole of their album, Wave If You're Really There, but this song always makes me strut.
 
5. Savoir Adore – Bodies
If this song hasn't grabbed you yet, you haven't gotten to the chorus yet. There it is. See, I told ya. Their debut is out in two weeks.
 
6. The Radio Dept. – David (The Rice Twins Mix)
I like this mix of the Radio Dept. new single better than the original version. When the Legends were in town last week, I asked singer Johan (who runs Labrador Records) when we can expect the album. He said, "Whenever they deliver it to me I guess." Reassuring.

7. The Juan Maclean – One Day
If you like The Human League's Dare, you should immediately go out and pick up the new Juan Maclean album, The Future Will Come, which is excellent. I like the way the production doesn't go the obvious dancefloor orgasm route which you kind of keep waiting to happen but never quite does (you get it for the last 30 seconds or so). Such a tease.
 
8. Esser – Work it Out
Esser's debut album is little more than a collection of his (mostly) download-only singles from the last year and a half. That's not slight. Most of them are pretty great, so unless you're a superfan you probably haven't heard a lot of them. 
  
9. La Roux – Bulletproof
The jury's still out on these electro poppers, but I do like this song even though it reminds me of Dead or Alive.
 
10. The New Sins – Feeling Have Changed
This is Louise Hayter from New Young Pony Club, and her debut single "It Doesn't Work Like That" was on a Summer Fridays Mix last year. This is her second single, maybe not quite reaching the heights of that first one but still pretty good. She's a pokey little puppy with releasing stuff so maybe we'll see an album around the time we get one from Radio Dept.
  
11. Sally Shapiro – Miracle
New single from this enigmatic Swede duo. I thought it was a female solo artist named Sally Shapiro too, till I was put straight. It's kind of like Hootie & the Blowfish, but Scandinavian, in the neo-italo-disco mode. Got that? It doesn't matter. Just listen to the nice tune.
  
12. Bachelorette – Her Rotating Head
New Zealand's Bachelorette will play the Seaport this Friday opening for Here We Go Magic. She was great at Cake Shop a few weeks ago. This is from her highly-recommended new album, My Electric Family. Her voice has a mysterious quality to it I can't quite pin down. And great songs. Very Moroder-esque, don't you think?
  
13. The Sound of Arrows – M.A.G.I.C.
One of my favorite songs of 2009, it's got a real listen-repeat-listen-repeat-abiltiy. If it doesn't grab you the first time, listen again immediately. And then again. It'll sink it's hooks into you.
  
14. Datarock – Computer Camp Love
My favorite Datarock song, novelty for sure with it's Grease-stealing hook, but it never fails to put a smile on my face. "She's not that kind of a girl, booger!"
  
15. Chaz Jankel – Number One
I've written about this song before and as I said then, it features prominently in one of Real Genius' many montages. The original version of the song is over seven minutes long with many instrumental passages, so I made my own "radio edit," trimming parts here and there, cutting out three mintues or so.  Hopefully I didn't chop out your favorite part.
  
16. Ladyhawke – Manipulating Woman
This song woulda been a hit in 1985 (actually from this year), and you can just hear it being used in a movie montage, though maybe not Real Genius. So it fits in well here.
  
17. The Dream Academy – The Edge of Forever
The production on Dream Academy's debut (the one with "Life in a Northern Town") reeks of 1985, but I gotta say this album, in and of itself, is pretty great. Like most of this album, "The Edge of Forever" (you might recognize it from Ferris Beuller's Day Off) is HUGE and ambitious, and you can just hear the hopes of a generation of young people that thought a song could change the world. I miss those days.