Brief Hiatus

There'll be a period of a week or so of relative inactivity while Emily and I go to Melbourne, to catch the second week of the Australian Open. See you in February!

Eels Mixtape

Not too much to say about this one. I've always held Daisies of the Galaxy and Beautiful Freak in high regard (as you can probably tell by the track selection), while Souljacker and Shootenanny! have taken a little longer for me to grasp. Nonetheless, there are plenty of amazing Eels songs to choose from for a playlist, and I like the contrast between E's very delicate utterances and his flat-out rockers, both of which are fully represented here.

1. I Write the B-Sides (Rotten World Blues EP)
2. That's Not Really Funny (Souljacker)
3. Tiger In My Tank (Daisies of the Galaxy)
4. I Like Birds (Daisies of the Galaxy)
5. My Beloved Monster (Beautiful Freak)
6. Your Lucky Day In Hell (Beautiful Freak)
7. It's a Motherfucker (Daisies of the Galaxy)
8. Souljacker, Part II (Souljacker)
9. Hey Man (Now You're Really Living) (Blinking Lights and Other Revelations)
10. The Sound of Fear (Daisies of the Galaxy)
11. Guest List (Beautiful Freak)
12. Jeannie's Diary (Daisies of the Galaxy)
13. Friendly Ghost (Souljacker)
14. Novocaine For the Soul (Beautiful Freak)
15. A Daisy Through Concrete (Daisies of the Galaxy)

Incidentally, the new Eels record, End Times, comes out today.

Morrissey Mixtape

Even though I would say I ultimately prefer songs from The Smiths' canon to the solo output of their former gladioli-wielding, bespectacled frontman, there's no denying that Morrissey's later work is far more interesting to look upon. As an artist who has fallen in and out of public favour multiple times in the two decades since leaving Marr, Rourke, and Joyce behind, and who has consequently made a habit of his own reinvention, his music covers an incredibly varied set of bases, both in terms of instrumentation and genre.

Yet at the same time, a Morrissey song can only be a Morrissey song. Marked by his witty and learned wordplay and intertextuality, injected with his morose worldview and introspective self-obsession, and cherry-topped with his uniquely off-kilter singing style, even the most contrastive of Morrissey's tracks nonetheless come together as one; they unite and take over, if you will.

For the purpose of consistency, then, the first half of this playlist focuses mainly on Steven's most recent renaissance trifecta, You Are the Quarry, Ringleader of the Tormentors, and Years of Refusal, while the latter half shifts back a little earlier to Kill Uncle and Vauxhall and I. There'll also be a Smiths playlist to follow (which works well on the b-side of this cassette).

1. It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small (Swords)
2. How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel? (You Are The Quarry)
3. Something is Squeezing My Skull (Years of Refusal)
4. Irish Blood, English Heart (You Are The Quarry)
5. Hold On To Your Friends (Vauxhall and I)
6. Asian Rut (Kill Uncle) / You're The One For Me, Fatty (Your Arsenal)
7. I Will See You in Far Off Places (Ringleader of the Tormentors)
8. All You Need is Me (Years of Refusal)
9. Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice (Swords)
10. I've Changed My Plea To Guilty (My Love Life [single])
11. I Am Hated For Loving (Vauxhall and I)
12. (I'm) The End of the Family Line (Kill Uncle)
13. I Don't Mind if You Forget Me (Viva Hate)
14. There's a Place in Hell For Me and My Friends (Kill Uncle)

Elliott Smith Mixtape

Another Artist Mixtape; this time, Elliott Smith. The late, great, Portland-based songwriter has probably been my most consistently listened-to artist of the past two years (another artist I discovered, once again, thanks to the soundtrack of The Royal Tenenbaums), and it's not hard to see why. From the minute you first hear his "spiderweb thin" vocal delivery, intricate finger picking guitar style, and his Beatles-esque pop craftsmanship, the endearingly introverted yet uniquely captivating quality of his music hits you with full force.

But at the same time, his influential songwriting, along with that of a previously featured artist, Daniel Johnston, is just as hard to pin down as it would be to replicate. Each of his albums stands out as an entirely separate entity. Their respective sets of songs work together both musically and thematically, showcasing a specific area of Elliott's psyche appropriate to the present stage of his life; early solo recordings made while in Heatmiser, his shift upwards from indie- to major record label, his sudden reception into the mainstream with an Oscar nomination, his ongoing alcoholism, and finally his descent towards suicidal depression. To a fan, any particular song when listened to on its own would conjure up feelings similarly felt with the other songs on the same album, such is their flow and cohesion.

As such, it's hard to get the same flow to a compilation, which has to veer between the quiet, guitar-plucked / drum-brushed, whispery numbers of Roman Candle and Elliott Smith, and those fully-instrumented grandiose songs from Figure 8 and XO which fly with the full effect of Elliott's musicianship. So the songs in this mix are simply my favourites. The ones which, at some time or another in the last two years, I have been completely obsessed with, and which I could listen to forever. As for the arrangement, I tried to make each song lead into the next, but out of the context of their own albums all that usually happens is I'll want to go off and listen to each song again, surrounded by its original counterparts.

1. Between the Bars (Either/Or)
2. Everything Reminds Me of Her (Figure 8)
3. Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands (XO)
4. Memory Lane (From a Basement On the Hill)
5. Whatever (Folk Song in C) (New Moon) / Bottle Up and Explode! (XO)
6. Single File (Elliott Smith) / Wouldn't Mama Be Proud? (Figure 8)
7. Waltz #2 (XO)
8. No Name #2 (Roman Candle)
9. Alphabet Town (Elliott Smith)
10. Somebody That I Used To Know (Figure 8)
11. Angeles (Either/Or)
12. Kiwi Maddog 20/20 (Roman Candle)
13. King's Crossing (From a Basement On the Hill)
14. Son of Sam (Figure 8)
15. I Didn't Understand (XO)

Cat Empire Mixtape

Just a quick post before I go to work, with an Artist Mixtape of the Cat Empire, Australia's answer to the high-flying subgenre of reggae / ska / jazz / funk-fusion.

Although it may seem short, the Cat Empire are renowned for delving into long, apparently improvised breakdowns and bridges, and so their songs often grace the 6-minute mark. As such, at only ten songs this playlist nonetheless reaches the full 45-minutes, along the way showcasing their exceptional talent in world-conscious songwriting and sublime musicianship.

1. The Chariot (The Cat Empire)
2. The Car Song (Two Shoes)
3. One Four Five (The Cat Empire)
4. Saltwater (Two Shoes)
5. Rhyme & Reason (The Sun)
6. The Lost Song (The Cat Empire)
7. Sol y Sombra (Two Shoes)
8. The Wine Song (The Cat Empire)
9. Fishies (So Many Nights)
10. How To Explain? (The Cat Empire)

Daniel Johnston Mixtape

Making a compilation which best surmises DJ's talents / insanity is difficult for several reasons. For one, he has a lot of albums with a LOT of songs, and there is often a distinct sound to each one, particularly those recorded in the 90s and onwards with real...better musicians. To put it another way, smudging together a song recorded as a demo on an old cassette recorder in a basement in Texas in 1985 and a song recorded in a studio on a budget of more than $0 often sounds bad, and accentuates neither songs' best features. Then there are the little 'skits' which occupy about half the total track time on each early album: recordings made of the young Johnston's interactions with family, friends, and his beloved Laurie, not to mention garbled sound effects and child's toys ("the coyote goes...hroooowwwwwww"). The lad was nothing if not a passionate archivist, but they hardly contribute to a cohesive mix.

Furthermore, since Danny's influential music reads almost in biographical harmony with his personal mental health, it's hard not to place his best works simply in chronological order, and let them tell that story on their own. Add to that the fact that even listening to these songs is an experience in itself; you get overwhelmed thinking they are among the most amazing and inspirational, happy, yet sad songs ever written, but not being able to pinpoint quite why. All in all, it's a challenging ordeal.

So this mix is about as exemplary as I could make it, even if it is a little Songs of Pain-heavy. And while it does draw mainly from those pivotal early scrappy recordings about love, loss, (premarital) sex and God, I've included a handful of those more recent tracks where Daniel's haunting voice is somehow sucked to the forefront of a full band ensemble, even though in my mind that is not what Daniel's music is supposed to be. But even without an organised tracklist, each song on its own successfully illustrates the inner workings of a tortured musical genius, someone who was on MTV at least four times.

1. Grievances (Songs of Pain)
2. Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Your Grievances (Yip/Jump Music)
3. I Had Lost My Mind (Don't Be Scared)
4. Like a Monkey in a Zoo (Songs of Pain)
5. Devil Town (1990)
6. Lousy Weekend (Fun)
7. Held the Hand (1990)
8. Wild West Virginia (Songs of Pain)
9. Running Water (Hi, How Are You: The Unfinished Album)
10. Casper the Friendly Ghost (Yip/Jump Music)
11. Premarital Sex (Songs of Pain)
12. Laurie (Artistic Vice)
13. Crazy Love (Fun)
14. Some Things Last a Long Time (1990)
15. Joy Without Pleasure (Songs of Pain)
16. Walking the Cow (Hi, How Are You: The Unfinished Album)
17. Go (Respect)
18. True Love Will Find You in the End (1990)

If you have an iPod touch or iPhone, make sure to check Hi, How Are You?, Daniel's own game application.

Den Som Läser Detta Är Snygg (Swedish Playlist)

A few years ago I totally got into Swedish music, and as a direct consequence of this sudden and harmless shift in my musical preference, the amount of Swedish music in my collection increased by about 4000%. I had been toying with hand-picking my favourite songs to go onto numerous playlists for some time, but this particular selection is the set I picked for a CD I sent to Emily last year.

It shows off the unique brand of wintery AlternPop-TweeRock that Swedes pull off so well.

1. Hemstad - 'Patrik Sjöberg' (Hemstad)
2. Hello Saferide - 'My Best Friend' (Introducing...Hello Saferide)
3. Maia Hirasawa - 'And I Found This Boy' (Though, I'm Just Me)
4. Laakso - 'Aussie Girl' (I Miss You, I'm Pregnant)
5. Billie the Vision & the Dancers - 'A Beautiful Night In Oslo' (Where the Ocean Meets My Hand)
6. Lasse Lindh - 'Vilse i Det Svarta' (Jag Tyckte Jag Var Glad)
7. Frida Hyvönen - 'Once I Was a Serene Teenaged Child' (Until Death Comes)
8. El Perro del Mar - 'Dog' (El Perro del Mar)
9. Bo Kaspers Orkester - 'Undantag' (Hittills)
10. My darling YOU! - 'LAST4EVER' (The Winter Will Take Us All)
11. Florence Valentine - 'Pokerkväll i Vårby Gård' (Pokerkväll i Vårby Gård)
12. Säkert! - 'Sanningsdan' (Säkert!)
13. Marit Bergman - 'You're With Me' (Baby Dry Your Eye)
14. Jens Lekman - 'You Can Call Me Al [live]' (Radio P3 Session)
15. Håkan Hellström - 'Äntligen På Väg' (Luften Bor i Mina Steg)
16. Anna Ternheim - 'I'll Follow You Tonight' (Somebody Outside)
17. Cardigans - 'Carnival' (Life)

For more, check out the Swedes Please blog, which I've been reading ever since my interest in Swedish music was sparked; it's a veritable treasure trove of all the latest nuggets of wonder from Sweden.

Weezer Mixtape

This playlist was fun to make as I got to totally ignore the fact that Weezer even existed after 2002. As a result, it leans prominently on their two best (and first) albums, The Blue Album and Pinkerton, while borrowing a few of their later pop-rock scorchers. Best of all, 'Hash Pipe' is nowhere to be found.

This is one of my favourite mixtapes to listen to, since it's almost as good as listening to Pinkerton.

1. Knock-Down Drag-Out (Weezer (The Green Album))
2. Getchoo (Pinkerton)
3. The World Has Turned and Left Me Here (Weezer (The Blue Album))
4. The Good Life (Pinkerton)
5. Holiday (Weezer (The Blue Album))
6. Photograph (Weezer (The Green Album))
7. Dope Nose (Maladroit)
8. El Scorcho (Pinkerton)
9. My Name is Jonas (Weezer (The Blue Album))
10. Why Bother (Pinkerton)
11. Keep Fishin' (Maladroit)
12. Only in Dreams (Weezer (The Blue Album))
13. Across the Sea (Pinkerton)

When googling 'Weezer', I came across this 8-bit covers album. Worth a listen if that's your bag.

Paul Simon Mixtape

First on the chopping block: the legend that is Paul Simon.

I've been something of an admirer of the shorter half of Simon and Garfunkel since childhood, when a cassette copy of Graceland was a permanent resident of my dad's car and would occasionally find its way into the tape deck on road trips to Cambridge. However, it was only after watching Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums in my teens (which is responsible for carving not only a significant portion of my subsequent taste in music, but also perhaps my current worldview), that I began to actively research what is now one of my all-time favourite performers.

The song of his from that particular soundtrack, 'Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard', kicks off the mix, which goes on to chart most of his popular solo tracks as well as one or two hidden gems buried in his oeuvre, before closing on another soundtrack appearance, 'Father & Daughter' from The Wild Thornberrys. As such, there is little room for his work with Art Garfunkel, although I am also a fan of S&G. Nonetheless, this mix is very much The Paul Simon Show.

1. Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard (Paul Simon)
2. You Can Call Me Al (Graceland)
3. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (Still Crazy After All These Years)
4. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (Graceland)
5. Something So Right (There Goes Rhymin' Simon)
6. Song About the Moon (Hearts and Bones)
7. Still Crazy After All These Years (Still Crazy After All These Years)
8. Run That Body Down (Paul Simon)
9. The Cool, Cool River (Rhythm of the Saints)
10. Slip Slidin' Away (Greatest Hits: Shining Like a National Guitar)
11. Father and Daughter (Surprise)

So there you have the format of this site. If you check the labels of each blog entry, you'll find the category of the post as well as the genre of its artist(s). I'll try to keep it organised. Keep posted!

A Little Introduction

Hi there! Welcome to the new blog, Overnight To Auckland, on which I'll be posting tracklistings for playlists and mixtapes of my own creation, which you can replicate yourself, or - far more likely - which will be referenced by myself later in case Winamp and iTunes elects to destroy all my handiwork again.

My name is Jamie and I usually think in playlists, and put entirely too much thought into the sequencing of songs, most of which aren't even mine. The reason for this is pretty straightforward; I HATE the shuffle feature, because it's incapable of recognising that the placing of a very loud, raucous metal song immediately after a barely audible, twangy folk song is not something I want to experience; much less can it flow as pleasingly and seamlessly as a human-made playlist. As a result, I have a library of different mixes and track-listings, and I'd like to share any which I deem worthy in new posts on this blog.

On the whole they'll be split up into one of two groupings: artist mixtapes (which are all by one artist or different bands featuring the same person/people, and which are measured to be as close to 45 minutes as track-timings will allow...perfect for fitting on one side of a cassette tape...remember them?) or linked by a theme (which are linked by a theme).

Incidentally, the name Overnight To Auckland refers to a loooong roadtrip playlist I've been making (currently round about six and a half hours long) designed to keep me awake, alert and reckless all night long on an overnight trip up to Auckland from Wellington with my girlfriend before we go on holiday.

Stay tuned!