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Minstrel Fridays

Set & Drift presents the Minstrel Fridays podcast, a series of mixtapes from creative minds across the globe. Minstrel Fridays lets you peek inside the head of artists, musicians, designers, architects, philosophers, bikesmiths, etc, through the universal medium – musical inspiration.

Plant Yourself: A Mixtape

March 5, 2010 – 12:01 am

These are some songs that have been swilling in my head for the past few months. They’re not particularly slow, and they’re not particularly fast. So, just sit down. Put on your headphones. Take a deep breath, and plant yourself. You’re exactly where you need to be right now.

- Andrea

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Right-click here (and select “Save…”) to download the mix to your iSomething.
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01 Brothers Johnson \ Strawberry Letter 23
02 Tyvek \ Bicycle Fantasy II
03 Best Coast \ Wish He Was You
04 Christmas Island \ Blackout Summer
05 caUSE Co-MOTION! \ Baby Don’t Do It
06 Ancient Crux \ Demand Respect
07 So Cow \ Halcyon Days
08 Cloud Nothings \ Ooh You
09 Brown Recluse \ Skeletons (Demo)
10 The Bobby Fuller Four \ Let Her Dance
11 The Mantles \ Bury Me Dead
12 Jefferson Airplane \ White Rabbit
13 Warpaint \ Krimson
14 Veronica Falls \ Beachy Head
15 Yellow Fever \ Cats and Rats
16 Grass Widow \ To Where
17 Yes Please \ Buddy Friend
18 Body Language \ At A Glance (Toro y Moi Remix)
19 Memoryhouse \ To the Lighthouse
20 The Vaselines \ Molly’s Lips
21 Twin Sister \ Dry Hump
22 Cassis Orange \ Listen Heartbeat
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Stand and Deliver

February 19, 2010 – 12:01 am

Music is universal. Love, hate, happiness, sadness, joy and wonder are universal. Music is life. Songs create the soundtrack to our lives. Music is essential to my being and has changed my life in many ways. Originally I was going to make a CD that was the soundtrack to my life then add songs from my favorite soundtracks. The new year has arrived and I decided to put together the mix that created itself on shuffle while I was on my hour walk. It’s a new year and time to live in the present and not always have everything planned or figured out. Enjoy the mix and share it with your friends. Joie de vivre!

Jen Correia
KGTV Helicopter Reporter
Music News Reporter
X1FM VJ

Blog: http://thefullservicereport.tumblr.com/
Twitter: @jencorreia

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>> Right-click here << and save this mix on your iPod/iPhone.

1. Across the Universe: Fiona Apple
2. Man Ray: The Futureheads
3. Ready Steady Go: Generation X
4. Investigative Reports: Genius/GZA
5. Kevin is Gay: Giant Drag
6. Transmission: Joy Division
7. Waltz for Koop: Koop
8. The Body Says No: New Pornographers
9. Shady Lane: Pavement
10. Insistor: Tapes N’ Tapes
11. Grow Up and Blow Away: Metric
12. Fences: The Soft Pack – RMX Phoenix song
13. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space: Spiritualized
14. Destination Venus: Rezillos
15. Ca Plane Pour Moi: Plastic Bertrand
16. The Greatest: Cat Power
17. It Was a Good Day: Ice Cube
18. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?: She and Him
19. Pictures of Houses: Tilly and the Wall
20. DJ: Amanda Blank
21. Stand and Deliver: Adam Ant

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Sweet Sixteen of 2009

January 30, 2010 – 3:01 am

Sweet Sixteen – the birthday that lots of teenage girls celebrate with a massive party…but me, well I celebrated by getting my very first electric guitar. Though it’s been years since I turned 16, the Sweet Sixteen lives on in an annual challenge I most look forward to: pick my favorite albums from the year, choose my favorite songs from those albums, put them all together in a neat little mix, package them up with a dorky album cover and distribute to both willing and unwilling friends. It’s pretty typical for these songs to end up being very tied to certain times and places in my memory, so in the end, each Sweet Sixteen mix serves as a really good reminder of what happened over the course of that year. 2009 was one of my favorite years in music to date. I’m excited to see what 2010 has in store. Happy New Year!

—
Lauren Daniels
SeattleGraffiti

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1. Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear
2. Heart Skipped A Beat – The XX
3. Turn Me Well – Micachu
4. Coast of Carolina – Telekinesis
5. Fables – The Dodos
6. Just The Same But Brand New – St. Vincent
7. i am the changer – Cotton Jones
8. This Tornado Loves You – Neko Case
9. When We Swam – Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
10. Maybe So, Maybe No – Mayer Hawthorne
11. French Navy – Camera Obscura
12. Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
13. Lalita – The Love Language
14. I And Love And You – The Avett Brothers
15. Sirens – Grand Hallway
16. 1901  –   Phoenix

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Deserted Island Mix

September 25, 2009 – 12:21 am

deserted-island

This is a brief mix of music I might take with me on a desert island. I picked it fast and decisively, as if someone was forcing me to leave abruptly, saying I might never come back. I tried to choose different genres and moods of music for my purposes of trying to live life apart from the rest of the world. In the end if I found that I had this list of songs around I might be content for a long time. Some songs just keep getting better…..

Heather Ace
San Diego House Parties

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  1. Murderer – Barrington Levy
  2. Pimper’s Paradise – Bob Marley & The Wailers
  3. Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down – Interpol
  4. Hair Down – Cold War Kids
  5. Take Five – Dave Brubeck
  6. The Beast – The Fugees
  7. Hit Me! – The Sounds
  8. Silent House – Dixie Chicks
  9. Your Heart Is An Empty Room – Death Cab for Cutie
  10. Sullivan Street – Counting Crows
  11. I Only Have Eyes For You – The Flamingos
  12. Lose Control – Missy Elliott
  13. Digital – Joy Division
  14. Weed Party – Band of Horses
  15. The Long Way Around – Dixie Chicks
  16. Sunday Morning – No Doubt
  17. Supermix – The Notorious B.I.G.
  18. Brothers On A Hotel Bed – Death Cab for Cutie
  19. Minha Galera – Manu Chao
  20. Lovesick Blues – Patsy Cline
  21. Brand New Colony – The Postal Service
  22. There Is a Light That Never Goes Out – The Smiths
  23. Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect – The Decemberists

Photo credit: HighContrast

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Shop at Lou’s

September 11, 2009 – 12:17 pm

shop-at-lous

There are only a few spots in each city that define its culture, create neighbors out of strangers, and become a weekly part of life for everyone from grandpa to high school emoboys and girls. Lou’s Records, which has been around since 1980, is one such institution in North County San Diego. It’s part of what I like to call the Holy Trinity of Leucadia, which includes The Pannikin, Ducky Waddles and of course, Lou’s.

Record shops infamously employ some interesting characters and Lou’s is no exception. Neil McLean, the creator of this installment of Minstrel Fridays (and a loyal Lou’s employee), is from England, stands about eye-level with me (6’7″), and shares music knowledge with a humble and thorough passion. Never aloof, always generous, and naturally jovial, Neil is one of a kind. After walking – yes walking– 6 miles to attend one our Sanctuary143 art events, he waltzed into the gallery with a smile and proceeded to jot down about 30 or 40 bands he suggested I check out. His hand-writing is shitty, but that list was like a gold mine for me.

But Neil McLean is more than that – he’s also a creative genius who’s hard at work creating a stop-motion animation series in his garage. This “televisual situation comedy” entitled DUNGEON is 6 years in the making, and the disturbingly funny trailer shows signs of greatness with Adult Swim written all over it. Like any creative pursuing an ambitious feat (or what he calls “my idea”), Neil has moments of doubt about the project, stemming from his lack of funds to the validity of spending 6 years building animatronic puppets and miniature sets.

That’s where you come in. This mixtape is obviously a shameless plug for Lou’s, keyword shameless. Many of you will recognize several tracks, but there are plenty of obscure gems that only Neil could dish out. Enjoy the mix, support a noble record store, and in the process, Neil’s project!

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So where’s the tracklist?

It’s up to you to uncover the tracks! We’re giving away a Josh Higgins print for the first person to get the entire tracklist correct. Take a guess in the comment field below. Or go visit Lou’s and ask Neil… he’s always happy to share.

Winner’s Choice!

The winner gets to choose between these two limited edition hand-screen prints by Josh Higgins. Both are out of print and impossible to find.

higgins

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Acamonchi mixtape

August 28, 2009 – 4:14 pm

acamonchi

Acamonchi is moving to NYC next week! As a tribute to Acamonchi’s creative influence on San Diego, we asked him to create a mixtape. Rock out to it on your way to Streetscene or as a pre-Critical Mass warmup.

A big thanks to Acamonchi for giving back to the community through punk, bicycles, art, and positive messages about food (he’s vegan). You will be missed!

Connect with Acamonchi: Website | Facebook | Flickr

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  1. The Misantroph – Neoangin
  2. Dog Days – Matthew Dear
  3. Actionist Respoke – Mouse On Mars
  4. Strateface/Kcl0 (07/10/99) – Lackluster
  5. Tanino – Latinsizer
  6. La Torre Y el Diablo – Ford Proco
  7. Bad Natured (Vocal Reprise) – Styrofoam
  8. Brothel Trainbox. – Sindri
  9. Pax Romana II – Si.Da
  10. Out There Somewhere (Part 2) – Orbital
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2114 Ebers

August 7, 2009 – 6:45 am

sezio_crest(500)

“The addictions need to be fed,
in the white house that we live in.
Water pours in, as we’re dancing.
In other people’s eyes, we’re drowning.”

Sezio sprouted from a group of artists and musicians living in a white house on Ebers street in Ocean Beach, Ca.  The creative, collaborative mindset of its residents spread contagiously to visitors and passer-bys.  At any given hour there was screen printing in the garage, painting on the front porch and a jam session in the living room or on the roof.  Luckily, Andrew Heine’s Pro Tools was running around the clock, and almost all of it was recorded.

This group of tracks has shaped my current musical taste.  The warmth of the house combined with the organic sounds of plane engines and doors creaking make you feel like you are sitting in the room… and I was.

Track Listing:

01 – “Wish You Well” by Andrew, Jim & Leah
02 – “Lay Back Down (It’s Easy)” by Dogcatcher
03 – “All At Once” by Dogcatcher
04 – “Morning Smile” by Pretty Too Bad
05 – “Pictures And Such” by Pretty Too Bad
06 – “An Ocean Beach Afternoon” by Brian Holwerda
07 – “Battle Hymn Of My Republic” by Brian Holwerda
08 – “Firehouse House Fire 1939″ by Demasiado
09 – “The Mean We” by Demasiado
10 – “Boogie” by Wade Youman

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Track Notes:

01 – This song was written and recorded in an afternoon.  Andrew and Leah share the spotlight here, but as always Jim Hughes is nailing perfect harmonies.

02,03 – Dogcatcher included Andrew Heine, Damon DeLaPaz, Jim Hughes and Brian Holwerda.  Andrew’s music always took a back seat to his art and playing in other people’s projects (Blackout Party, Irradio).  Now that he’s in the Bay Area, I’m hoping for a solo record sometime soon.

04,05 – Pretty Too Bad is a side project of Clayton Edward (Demasiado).  The initial piano-based tracks he recorded at Ebers have been in my iTunes rotation for a while.

06,07 – Brian Holwerda has been a good friend for a long time.  I’ve had the privilege of seeing him develop as a musician and songwriter for the last decade, and over that time this group of tracks stick out in my mind.

08,09 – Demasiado at this moment in time was Jon, Damon, Clayton and Eric.  Damon was the first to move into the house, with Clayton and Jon to follow.  The living room served as a great place to demo new tracks, Firehouse House Fire being my all time favorite.

10 – Wade Youman is an extremely gifted drummer, and one of the most spontaneous humans I know.  There’s a Morey Boogie Board sticker on the window in the Ebers‘ kitchen, and I’m pretty sure Wade saw that and wrote this song on the spot (with backup from the house musicians).

=

Thanks for listening and “have a bitchin’ summer, mother-fucker.”

- Zack Nielsen
sezio.org

andrew_ebers(500)

Photo by Kyle Borges – For more click here.

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Northward the Wagons

July 24, 2009 – 12:42 pm

northward-the-wagons-b

Mix tapes make me nervous. When Sean and Stacy first asked me to participate in their Minstrel Fridays series, I said yes and then never got around to it. Even though I’ve been writing about music for nearly a decade in this town, I’m very protective of my personal taste. Sometimes it’s questionable. And I don’t have a database of obscure knowledge stored in my scatter-brain, nor an astounding collection of music, though I try.

But it’s not just that. I wanted there to be a story behind this compilation. Nothing too literal, mind you. Perhaps more of an air than a story. An optimistic attitude. Some of the songs have personal meaning; some just cheer me up.

By the way, the current chapter of my real-life story has a happy ending. I’m in love and I’m moving to Seattle with my man after spending my entire adult existence in San Diego. Talk about new and exciting. Life-affirming, really. It was a long wait, but here it finally is. So I decided to make a mellow mix that reflects this mood of love, nostalgia, melancholy, and adventure. You won’t find the latest, coolest indie tunes, if that’s what you’re looking for. Just my heart.

I’m skipping town on July 30. I hope I’ve said goodbye to everybody. I’ve complained about it a lot, but I’ve also loved it in San Diego. To my family, friends, and the people who have inspired me with their creative and intellectual feats heroic over the years: Thank you. I will miss you. Please don’t forget me.

xo,
AnnaMaria
www.uccellinimedia.com

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  1. “Summertime” by Jesca Hoop
  2. “Love” by J Dilla feat. Pharoahe Monch
  3. “Via Con Me” by Paolo Conte
  4. “Sunshine” by Matt Costa
  5. “Flying High” by Brisa Roché
  6. “Quiet Houses” by Fleet Foxes
  7. “My Baby Just Cares for Me” by Nina Simone
  8. “We’re All in the Dance” by Feist
  9. “May This Be Love” by Jimi Hendrix
  10. “He Needs Me” with Shelly Duvall (from Popeye), arranged by Jon Brion
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Well what do you thrash?

July 10, 2009 – 11:59 am

adrian-demain

I’m often asked who my musical influences are, what kind of music I like and listen to. These days I’m inclined to answer with the Duke Ellington statement that there are only two kinds of music, good or bad. I’ve been surrounded by music my entire life and have had the good fortune of being exposed to a wide variety of artists from an early age; my dad listened to Caruso, my mom cranked “Abbey Road” and the Platters every Sunday doing housework, my sisters had 45′s of James Brown, The Sweet and Ian Dury, my brother rocked Santana and Clapton. Thanks to them my ears have been wide open ever since. Music is the friend that’s always been there for me. It comforts, consoles, excites, envigorates and enlightens. It gives me everything I need and asks nothing in return. This small mix of songs is merely a glimpse into the ever growing library of music that I love.

I’ve called the mix Well what do you thrash? – a nod to my skating days via Thrashin’ the movie.

- Adrian Demain

Catch Adrian at an upcoming show: www.myspace.com/adriandemain2

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  1. Attitude Song \\ Steve Vai
  2. Shadrach \\ The Beastie Boys
  3. The Caterpillar \\ The Cure
  4. Strange Meeting \\ Bill Frisell
  5. Sand \\ Jules Ah See
  6. I’ve Seen It All \\ Björk
  7. Skating \\ Vince Guaraldi Trio
  8. Nobody’s Hero \\ Stiff Little Fingers
  9. Galloping Guitar ’49 \\ Chet Atkins
  10. Airegin \\ Wes Montgomery
  11. You Look That Good To Me \\ Joe Clay
  12. Come Fly With Me \\ Frank Sinatra
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Going Places Mixtape

June 19, 2009 – 1:43 am

These songs are special to me in many ways but mostly because they all remind me of travel, long drives, walking around, seeing different places. For many years thoughts about going places have been just as valuable as actually leaving, since I couldn’t afford the time or money it took to go. So you could say I’ve been traveling in my head. Each song has specific parts that remind me of this:

1. (bare voice)
2. And the hands of hobo fishermen, they fish off the city bridges, the city bridges.
3. You can’t go home again; each time it’s different.
4. Please don’t confront me with my failures; I had not forgotten them.
5. (harmony)
6. I’m headed for a land that’s far away, beside the crystal fountains.
7. Get up from your old couch, with your heart full of flowers – you’ve been broken far too long.
Pass the guy with the heart so blue, he’s got nothing for you to use; it’s all bound to get better. Everyone always misses you when you’re gone, every time you just pick up and run. Eyes black and blue from the war, you’re defeated by your own army.
8. (layers 3:46)
9. (strings 2:04)
10. I’m challenging you in the stormiest sea, each wave is as high as a building. I have a golden sword in my hand; twelve ships are waiting.

- Steph Walker
www.walkersteph.com

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Track list:
1. Blue Horse Special – Paul Winter Consort
2. The Bike of Jonas – Peter and the Wolf
3. On a Neck, On a Spit – Grizzly Bear
4. These Days – Nico
5. Walking in Jerusalem – Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys
6. Big Rock Candy Mountain – Harry McClintock
7. Message to Myself After Franny Was Born – The Lightning Bug Situation
8. Le Moulin – Yann Tiersen
9. Night in the Draw – Balmorhea
10. Golden Sword – Winter Family

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