- music -
Mixtapes & Radio Sessions
 |
Radio Soundhog Vol. 5 - 33 Problems |
I can't remember a great deal about the making of this mix. It was put together over three evenings at the start of January 2005 from what I recall. Those evenings saw me in a really bad mood for various reasons (certain working relationships had turned to shit, cancelled gigs, arguments with other friends and loved ones, metal shards in my eye after an accident with an angle grinder... that sort of thing) and a lot of it came out here. An odd way of relieving one's tensions perhaps, but it made me feel a bit better for a few days. The copious amounts of red wine I was guzzling during the process helped a bit as well, and probably account for the pretty ludicrous ending to the mix (as well as the decision to put The Scorpions into there, I assume!)
From a technical point of view, this was the first project I put together in Ableton Live (version 4 I think it was) which is now my sonic weapon of choice. The 'warp' function for straightening out tempo fluctuations in samples was a godsend, and allowed me to use yet more diverse material without having to spend hours chopping it up into tiny parts, stretching/shrinking them, and stitching it all back together again. I couldn't use anything else now, but you only get out what you put in of course. And I put in a hell of a lot.
The smashed Beetle on the cover photo is also quite significant - not only had 2004 seen me in a car accident which destroyed my 1956 Beetle and did a fair bit of damage to my face as it went through the windscreen, but my long time love affair with the 'scene' surrounding the vehicles ended in yet more bitterness and resentment after getting 'too involved'. The closer you get to the centre of something, the more shit you discover at the core, I find... (the hundreds of 'flies' buzzing around don't help either). 'Scenes' are A Bad Thing, in music or any other walk of life - be warned. Anyway...
There are many parts of this mix that still bring a smirk to my face... I'm particularly fond of the part where things get really intense, as Mario Savio's 1964 speech to student activists at Berkeley gives even more anger to Vitalic's awesome 'Fanfares'. 'Your Love' coming in over Blackstrobe's DM remix. The opening of Cabaret Voltaire's seminal 'Nag Nag Nag' being stretched over one of Soulwax's finest tunes. Getting my favourite dance tune in history on there ('Hardcore Uproar')... The use of the A House tune is, of course, totally ironic. Honestly. Play this mix as loud as you possibly can.
David Holmes - Rip Rip
Terranova feat. Ari Up- Mongril
Demis Rousoss - Oh My Friends, You've Been Untrue To Me
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks
Jay-Z - 99 Problems
Renegade Soundwave - Traitor
Bad Company- Feel Like Making Love
Sheer Taft - Cascades
The Commodores- Assembly Line
Dynamix II - Give The DJ A Break
Incredible Bongo Band - Apache
Destiny's Child- Lose My Breath
Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin' Beats
Colosseum - The Kettle
Indeep - Last Night A Dj Saved My Life
808 State - Magical Dream
Joe Budden - Pump It Up
Together - Hardcore Uproar
C'hantal - The Realm
Slade - I Won't Let It 'appen Again
Alter Ego - Rocker
Visage - Fade To Grey
The Prodigy - Girls
Michael Jackson - Bad
LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
Daft Punk - Da Funk
Super Discount - Fast Track
Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody
The Scorpions - Is There Anybody There
Liquid Liquid - Bellhead
Vitalic - Fanfares
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Depeche Mode - Something To Do (Black Strobe Mix)
The Prodigy - Your Love
Aphex Twin - Digeredoo
Soulwax - NY Excuse (Fast Version)
The Faces - Too Bad
Venetian Snares - Twelve
A House - I Am The Grestest
Spike Milligan - Theme from 'Q5'