Deolinda - Neo-Fado (a misshapedmixtape)

If Aloe Blacc or Raphael Saadiq (two of my favorite contemporary artists) can be called neo-soul (which in actuality is not really a proper label for either), then I figure the Portuguese group Deolinda can be called neo-fado. I have been listening to Deolinda for the last couple of years after being put onto them after reading some dude's blog (where else?) and their music comes from such a soulful, heart-place (which is a BIG reason why I’ve been more and more attuned to world music in recent years… because it seems that so much American [esp. Caucasian] music comes from such a head-place – in short, it doesn’t make me FEEL much).

Anyway, neo-fado (a made-up genre name that I just coined and, coincidentally, the name of this mixtape) is in reference to the Portuguese style of music, fado, that can be traced back to at least the 1820s according to wikipedia. Oh, and the word “fado” also translates to English as meaning "destiny" or "fate." However, unlike traditional fado music (which is mournful and is traditionally performed in all-black attire), Deolinda have put their own twist on it... and the stunning vocals of Ana Bacalhau don't hurt either. This is the kind of music that you can listen to a lot and never grow tired of it.

A little backstory: The band is named after the fictional character of Deolinda, a 40-year-old spinster who lives with her cats and goldfish in a Lisbon apartment and watches through her window as the world goes by. This "character" is merrily unmarried, in love and out of love, and writes her own songs by peeking through the curtains of her window, drawing inspiration from the old gramophone records that once belonged to her grandmother and by the bizarre and strange life of her neighbors.

I am job-hunting today, so I’m cutting some corners on this write-up. The fact that I can’t speak Portuguese is a good excuse also. Though Portuguese has GOT TO be the most beautiful language in the world...

To read more about Deolinda, I highly recommend checking out this fantastic article that was posted on The Bluegrass Special website [note: Deolinda sounds nothing like bluegrass, so sorry/happy to disappoint depending on which side of the fence you're on in that regard... but hey, everybody likes Carolina Chocolate Drops, right?]

My biggest task in this week's post was to attempt an English translation of one of Deolinda’s songs (working from a rough English translation that a native Portuguese speaker posted on the internet), which seemed like a good thing to do, as their song “Parva Que Sou” relates to my state of being right now. Deolinda performed “Parva Que Sou” at the beginning of 2011, and though it has not been officially released as a single, it has been a sensation in Portugal and in Europe (see youtube video here).

One would imagine that “Parva Que Sou” will appear on their third album, which will face the daunting task of trying to equal their first two records: “Canção ao Lado” (2008) and “Dois Selos e Um Carimbo” (2010). I wonder if "Parva Que Sou" may in fact mark a shift in the Deolinda-aesthetic, as its message seems to come from a younger voice and not from the mouth of a 40-year-old spinster? Maybe it is the niece of Deolinda. I am not sure. Regardless, this mixtape features tracks from those first two albums, plus a live version of “Parva Que Sou” as a bonus track.

And here is my attempted translation “Parva Que Sou” ("What An Idiot I Am")… excuse any mistakes… like I said, I was working from an existing translation:

I belong to the “without a wage” generation

And I do not mind this being so

What an idiot I am

Because things are bad and will stay so

I’m lucky enough to even be an intern

What an idiot I am

And I keep thinking, what a stupid world

Where to become a slave, one must first earn a degree

I am from the “homes given to us by our parents” generation

If I already have everything, why want anything more?

What an idiot I am

I keep putting off having a husband or children

And I still have to pay off the car

What an idiot I am

And I keep thinking, what a stupid world

Where to become a slave, one must first earn a degree

I am from the “why bother complaining” generation

There is always somebody worse off from me on TV

What an idiot I am

I am from the “can’t take anymore” generation

As this situation has gone on for too long

And I am not an idiot

As I keep thinking, what a stupid world

Where to become a slave, one must first earn a degree
--

 

Without further ado, here is the tracklist for Deolinda – “Neo-Fado (a misshapedmixtape)” [peep the download link in the “comments”]:

01 : Mal Por Mal

02 : Fado Toninho

03 : Não Sei Falar De Amor

04 : Contado Ninguém Acredita

05 : Eu Tenho Um Melro

06 : Lisboa Não É Cidade Perfeita

07 : Fado Castigo

08 : Ai Rapaz

09 : Canção Ao Lado

10 : Garçonete Da Casa De Fado

11 : Clandestino

12 : Se Uma Onda Invertesse A Marcha

13 : Um Contra O Outro

14 : Não Tenho Mais Razões

15 : Passou Por Mim E Sorriu

16 : Sem Noção

17 : A Problemática Colocação De Mastro

18 : Ignaras Vedetas

19 : Quando Janto Em Restaurantes

20 : Alvalade E As Portas De Benfica

21 : Canção Da Tal Guitarra

22 : Fado Notário

23 : Parva Que Sou (Live)

Lupe Fiasco - L.ast A.lbum S.ans E.rroneously R.ecorded S.ongs (a misshapedmixtape)

[Pre-warning: this post is my shambling mess of a ramble of some loose-thinking semi-logic... and there's no download link... so buy the tracks and then re-sequence them like this (oh what fun!)... see comment below...]

"I remember bein' in Chicago the day Obama became president-elect. He was playin' basketball, and I was actually in the gym where he was playin'. The people I was with was shakin' hands and takin' pictures, and I was like, I can't shake his hand because I don't know what he's gonna do. It would be dishonest of me to shake his hand 'cos I don't really believe in the American system like that. So I went home, because I didn't want to go to Grant Park to be in the midst of the madness, and watched his speech on television. As soon as he said, 'We need to get our troops out of Iraq,' I was like, 'Yaaaay!' But then he said, ' … and get 'em to the real war in Afghanistan,' and I was like, 'Aw, fuck. I gotta pay for some more bombs.' That kinda pissed me off." – Lupe Fiasco (quote from the March 3, 2011 issue of The Guardian)

Lupe Fiasco doesn’t fuck around. He is a free thinker. He challenges us. He challenges himself. He’s a brilliant artist. I consider Lupe to be one of the greatest writers of our age (rappers are in the Norton Anthology now too, in case you didn’t realize it).

Then, last March I heard “Lasers” (his third album). Simply put, I was flabbergasted. His first two albums were perfect 10s for me. Not many albums of the last five years are up there for me. But then “Lasers”? This one was... um... maybe a 6... with a couple songs that flat out sucked. What the shit happened, Lupe?

Well, many would say that the answer to that question is simple: Atlantic Records.

"We wanted Lasers to be a humongous record. There are so many ways of doing that. You can approach it in a very sleazy way – just throw money at it, go get a lot of the big-name artists, let them hijack it for you and just ride that wave into success. Or you can knuckle down and try to make a really great, different, classic, Kid A kid of thing, with commercial appeal and broad subject matter. The label wanted to do it the sleazy way." – Lupe Fiasco (from The Guardian) 

So why am I posting about this on misshapedmixtapes? After all, none of this is news to anyone who remotely follows good hip-hop (and therefore has heard ALL ABOUT Lupe’s fallout with his label on the internet).  

I guess the reason I’m writing about Lupe today is that on Tuesday night (this week) the whole “Lasers” saga came full circle (in my eyes).

Here was Lupe on stage at the BET Hip-Hop Awards performing “Words I Never Said” (a song off of what has become a commercially-successful "Lasers" album) while wearing an #OCCUPY t-shirt alongside Erykah Badu providing backing-vocals (who was concealed for most of the song behind a burka).

And you know what? It was awesome. It’s a great song. And I can’t fault his message. It rings true. And while I’m sitting on my ass watching the baseball playoffs, I’m sure that there a lot of Lupe fans (or other smart free-thinking people… maybe Animal Collective fans?) who are out and part of the #OCCUPY movement now. And this movement has a lot going for it. I think that it’s pretty neat.

So, in that way, the BET performance felt redemptive of what has been a strange past twelve months for Lupe. However… while watching the performance, I couldn’t help but getting a weird double-take feeling in seeing Lupe in full-on activist/protestor/bad-ass mode. After all, it was last October when the whole “petition to release the album!” movement was going on in full-force and a number of Lupe’s fans protested outside Atlantic Records' offices in New York City on October 15, 2010 (Atlantic and Lupe had reached a stand-off at this point and Atlantic was seemingly never going to release ANY of his shit).

I’m all for protesting and exercising our right to free speech and shit… but what did those Lupe fans end up with? A pop-rap album with SOME good shit and some songs that completely blow (Trey Songz needs to step off my favorite artists’ albums). This doesn’t even mention the song that DIDN’T make the (label’s) cut and was passed on to his label-mate B.o.B. – who made “Nothing On You” a smash hit. [sidenote: I have heard Lupe’s verses on the original, never-officially-released “Nothing On You” and they were probably the most lackluster lines that he ever wrote… so maybe it never seeing the light of day was for the best. {side-sidenote: I thought that B.o.B. actually pulled the whole “pop-rap album” off remarkably well – even though the cool-kid critics gave him SHIT for it… though I hope that he can one day break free of Atlantic Records and can put out the kind of music that he wants to… or just keep dropping mixtapes on the side that are better than his actual albums like most rappers do these days} end side-sidenote. Wait. [re-start with side-sidebar {oh yeah, I put Lupe’s version of “Nothing On You” as a bonus track to this week’s misshapedmixtape coz it’s REALLY bizarro to listen to}.].

(Fuck worrying about putting periods inside or outside of brackets/parentheses?!?! I’m going to protest that!).

Where was I? Oh yeah, I guess I’m just thinking out loud about where this whole #OCCUPY movement fits in as its own populist movement? What expectations do we have for it? In short, what’s going to be the net gain? I don’t mean to sound cynical (a number of my friends are into the #OCCUPY movement and I respect them for that), but what are we going to end up with?

(I want to put a footnote here but I don’t know how to do it on blogspot. As you can tell from this post [spoiler alert] I’m attempting to equate #OCCUPY with “Lasers”… and while I’m not sure they’re perfectly synonymous to each other, I do want to cite the earlier Lupe quote that he had hoped that “Lasers” would be “a Kid A kind of thing, with commercial appeal and broad subject matter.”) {Follow-up question: how many people have listened to Kid A and even know what the message behind it is? I saw Radiohead at Bonnaroo. I would say maybe 10% if I was being generous}

I truly adore Lupe. He can be sage-like. I respect the fact that he didn’t shake Obama’s hand at the basketball court… and that “Words I Never Said” calls Obama out (lyric: “Gaza strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say shit / That’s why I ain’t vote for him, next one either / I’m a part of the problem, my problem is I’m peaceful / And I believe in the people.”) He’s brave. No doubt.

That said, we need to tread carefully in these times and keep our heads on as straight as possible and our expectations in check. Coz maybe in the end, our protests will bless us with something like “Lasers”… an album that is exasperating and in the end falls short in SO MANY WAYS.

As you can tell, I’m a pessimist. But that’s just because I used to be such a die-hard, never-flinching optimist... who springs from the grave, leaping gracefully onto my right shoulder now and screams: “Hey! In retrospect “Lasers” did have its moments of greatness and (by re-sequencing the album and cutting out the bullshit) it can be appreciated and treasured! Think globally, act loca---”…

So I’m going to do a misshapedmixtape on “Lasers.” 

Shit, I BETTER do one. I’ve written enough about it already!

I could go into an in-depth analysis of each of the strange creatures that inhabit Lupe’s “Lasers” album as songs (Exhibit A would be the ultimate fuck-you-to-the-label-if-you-listen-carefully-to-the-lyrics Modest Mouse sampling song that Atlantic Records forced on him and Exhibit B would be the really grating “State Run Radio” that I hate SO MUCH but I had to put on this mixtape because it’s basically the theme song of this post).

However, in the end, all of that would serve as side-chatter to my main concern of living in this modern age as an artist/human being. Lupe was quoted saying that the process of “Lasers” made him suicidal. As an artist, he was UNABLE to compromise. But he was locked into a contract. And we, for better or worse, are locked in the American system and/or any number of other disconcerting big intangible thingies.

I’ll stop my post here… because I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with this… Instead, I’ll let Lupe finish this off:

“Solzhenitsyn put it very quaintly. Basically, there's a duality in everything – there's two sides to every story. Sometimes they complement each other, and sometimes they conflict… I can be Picasso if you want that, and I could do Guernica for you all day. Or, if you want me to paint your dog, I'll come to your house and paint your dog. Once I know my role, I'll play my role to a T. If I'm supposed to be the slave artist, chained to the desk, painting poodles, so be it. Make me rich! You'll get rich in the process as well. But I'm gonna let the world know I'm painting poodles." – Lupe Fiasco (from The Guardian)

Here's the tracklist for Lupe Fiasco - "L.ast A.lbum S.ans E.rroneously R.ecorded S.ongs (a misshapedmixtape)" [you can check for a few added notes -- I obviously added lots of songs that weren't on the original album -- in "comments"... but no link]:

01 : Letting Go (ft Sarah Green)

02 : Words I Never Said (ft Skylar Grey)

03 : Beautiful Lasers (2Ways) (ft MDMA)

04 : Break The Chain (ft Eric Turner & Sway)

05 : All Black Everything

06 : If You Want To (ft Travis Barker & Pharrell Williams)

07 : State Run Radio (ft Matt Mahaffey)

08 : The Show Goes On

09 : Till I Get There

10 : I'm Beaming

11 : Shining Down (ft Matthew Santos)

12 : Never Forget You (ft John Legend)

13 : We Can Do It Now (ft Common & Jennifer Hudson)

14 : Resurrection (ft Kenna)

15 : Don't Look Down (ft Mos Def, Kanye West & Big Sean)

16 : Don't Stop! (ft Pharrell Williams & Kanye West)

17 : The National Anthem (ft Thom Yorke)

18 : Us Placers (ft Pharrell Williams, Kanye West & Thom Yorke)

19 : Building Minds Faster

20 : Tightrope Remix (ft Janelle Monáe & B.o.B)

21 : Nothin On You (ft Bruno Mars & B.o.B)

Nneka - From Africa 2 U (a misshapedmixtape)

I know that I am two days late on this one. But trust me... it's worth the wait. 

Nneka is a Nigerian/German artist that I'm not going to classify. Coz labels are usually lame and sell things short. And I'd probably call her post-post-colonial or something retarded like that. So I won't. 

Anyway, she is GREAT. If you like female artists such as Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu or Mystic (or, to name some newer artists: Janelle Monáe, Dessa or Santogold) then be prepared to fall in love. All six of those artists are among my top-favorites... and Nneka is pushing her way up to join them.

So yeah, that's my pitch. Download this shit already.

A bit more context, Nneka released her latest album, "Soul Is Heavy,” last week in Europe (not yet in the US though). "Soul Is Heavy" follows the two excellent albums that Nneka already released ("Victim of Truth" in 2005 and "No Longer at Ease" in 2008). Unfortunately, neither of those albums ever officially crossed the Atlantic, but there was a 2010 release ("Concrete Jungle") that packaged some of her best songs together on an album for an American audience.

This mix features my personal favorites culled from all three Euro-released albums (including her latest... plus a J.Period remix and two other songs off of an EP) painstakingly sequenced to feel like a real album. I probably spent TOO MUCH time on this tape... but I think that in the end it actually flows together better than "Concrete Jungle" did (in general, Nneka does cover a lot of ground and different styles in her releases, so it was a good challenge).

I hope it serves as a proper introduction to Nneka... though I did omit some fantastic songs ("Come With Me", "The Uncomfortable Truth", "Beautiful" and the album version mixes of "Heartbeat" and "Walking" are just some that come to mind), in part because I wanted to encourage you to actually BUY Nneka's stuff (that you can find). These are the types of artists that we need to support (especially in the USA).

An added bonus is that this mix has a manageable length that can fit onto one CD (if that's still the way you prefer to digest yr musical vitamins... actually I try to shoot for sub-80 minutes most weeks).

You'll find the download link in the "comments" section... and here's the track list below:

Nneka - "From Africa 2 U (a misshapedmixtape)"

01 : Africans [Victim Of Truth]
02 : Camouflage [Soul Is Heavy]

03 : Focus [No Longer At Ease]
04 : Showin Love [Victim Of Truth]
05 : Heartbeat (Remix ft Nas) [Heartbeat EP]
06 : God Of Mercy [Victim Of Truth]
07 : Sleep (ft Ms Dynamite) [Soul Is Heavy]
08 : Walking (J.Period Remix ft Jay Electronica) [The Madness]
09 : Soul Is Heavy [Soul Is Heavy]
10 : Suffri [No Longer At Ease]
11 : God Knows Why (ft Black Thought) [Soul Is Heavy]
12 : Changes [Victim Of Truth]
13 : Mind vs. Heart [No Longer At Ease]
14 : Stay [Soul Is Heavy]
15 : Kangpe (ft Wesley Williams) [No Longer At Ease]
16 : Burning Bush [Victim Of Truth]
17 : Shining Star [Soul Is Heavy]
18 : From Africa 2 U [No Longer At Ease]
19 : V.I.P. [Soul Is Heavy]
20 : Heartbeat (Chase & Status Guitar Mix) [Heartbeat EP]

J. Cole – Cole’s Mined (a misshapedmixtape)

I’m listening to a preview of J. Cole’s debut album, “Cole World: A Sideline Story,” as I write this post up. It will be officially released tomorrow (September 27) through Roc Nation, and I have been looking forward to it for a long time. But now that I’m listening to it, an album that some claimed would be a 2011 “Illmatic” (um… talk about setting someone up for disappointment), it frankly isn’t as great as I was hoping it would be (not that I thought it would touch “Illmatic”… I was thinking maybe “College Dropout”). I need to listen to it more, but my impression at this point is that “A Sideline Story” is a very, very good album… with tracks that range from phenomenal (“Lost Ones”) to excellent (2/4/11/13/14/15) to… ummm… a song with Trey Songz and another with Drake. Like most albums it’s a mixed bag… (I think that someday I really ought to post a list of recent albums that ARE solid the whole way through because there HAVE been some great ones lately).

So yes… before I introduce my “Cole’s Mined” mixtape and laud Cole’s profound skills as a producer and lyricist, I feel a need to place a little asterisk here from the get-go. 

*here

Because, in all honesty, I meant this mixtape to be a promotion for people to go out tomorrow and grab what I anticipated would be the best overground hip-hop album of the year. Coz yeah, people talking about how mainstream hip-hop sucks (ok, most of it does) has been really pissing me off lately, and I wanted to see something that was being marketed AND was smart. Anyway, I’m losing some momentum on this push as we speak... and even as the album is getting much better from track 10 on, I didn’t want to extol something before listening to it first (I may have made that mistake with the Beck-produced Malkmus album that I was so amped up for earlier... I mean, it was A-okay, but did not end up being a great album either… sorry!).

Regardless, I’m thinking that you, my dearly discerning readers, should listen to this ridiculously good mixtape instead of buying the album (for the time being), as it contains what I consider to be the crème de la crème of free music that J. Cole has released online (through mixtapes) for the past four years. Then, once you fall in love with J. Cole’s genius, you can go out and support him and his music by buying his official album (with the realization that it may not live up to the hype). Because shit, listening to kick-ass track after kick-ass track on this svelte misshapedmixtape, you’d be crazy to not get really, really sma’xcited about what this young Fayetteville, North Carolina native will be bringing to the music industry for years to come. (One note: I was tempted to make this mix a double LP but decided to pick the finest -- like I civet who chooses carefully and then poops out only the best coffee beans -- so that we could stay under the 80 minute mark).

Okay now, where to start? First and foremost, I think that it’s important to note that J. Cole is both a rapper and a beatsmith… and that, in my opinion, he’s equally adept at both. For those that have been following this blog from the beginning, J. Cole actually contributed two beats that are on the XV mixtape (“Smallville” and “Watch Me Go”). As an MC, he showed tremendous potential and hunger when he dropped his first mixtape, “The Come Up Mixtape Vol. 1,” back in 2007. And he’s only gotten better since then (and signing with Jay-Z surely helped). I especially love his storytelling ability (check the heartbreaking “Killers”; identity-searching as a teen in “I Got It”; or the self-deprecating love-song “Dreams”).

I don’t want to put up any of his “quotable” lyrics here because I think that when J. Cole is working at his peak, he is able to produce poetry of the highest level. So please, enjoy this latest misshapedmixtape installment. And yeah, then maybe you can even go and grab the album. If you want.

J. Cole – “Cole’s Mined (a misshapedmixtape)" tracklist below (check for download link in “comments”):

01 : Too Deep For The Intro [Friday Night Lights]

02 : Premeditated Murder [Friday Night Lights]

03 : Killers [The Last Stretch]

04 : Losing My Balance [The Warm Up]

05 : Leave Me Alone [Roc Nation 2011]

06 : Blow Up [Friday Night Lights]

07 : Playground [For The Ville]

08 : Before I'm Gone [Friday Night Lights]

09 : World Is Empty [The Warm Up]

10 : Dolla & A Dream [The Come Up]

11 : Shook Ones (Freestyle) [For The Ville]

12 : The Badness (ft Omen) [The Warm Up]

13 : Cost Me A Lot [Friday Night Lights]

14 : Dead Presidents II [The Warm Up]

15 : We On [The Last Stretch]

16 : Dreams [The Warm Up]

17 : Enchanted (ft Omen) [Friday Night Lights]

18 : Show Me Something [For The Ville]

19 : I Got It [For The Ville]

20 : Lil Ghetto Nigga [The Come Up]

21 : The Last Stretch [The Last Stretch]

22 : Farewell [Friday Night Lights]

Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day (a misshapedmixtape)

It’s September. It’s 70 degrees out. Baseball playoffs are coming soon. I’m about to head to the dog beach. I’m feeling pretty happy that “Mad Men” won the Emmy for best drama yet again. In short, in my universe it feels like perfect Belle & Sebastian weather.

I’ve had a soft-spot for B&S for a long time. They are simply oh-so-good. Every time a song of theirs pops up as part of a movie soundtrack, I get chills. And goodness me, they have such a killer catalog of songs. Unless you never pretended to not be a hipster, you probably love Belle & Sebastian as well. Damn hipsters.

But, if I’m perfectly honest, they only have one album that I completely love (“If You’re Feeling Sinister”). The other ones just don’t quite work as ALBUMS for me. But that’s just me. Please convince me of my wrongness and drop a comment. I would like being proven wrong. But I’m wrong about as often as Shanna Zolman misses a free throw (which was 4.3% of the time during her record-setting season at Tennessee).  

So here’s a collection of my personal favorites from the Glasgow chamber-pop dang-it’s-hot rockers. To be honest, I haven’t checked out their latest stuff... so this just spans their big six of albums between 1996-2006.

Here’s the tracklist for "Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day (a misshapedmixtape)" [download link in "comments"]:

01 : Women's Realm [Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant]

02 : She's Losing It [Tigermilk]

03 : Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying [If You're Feeling Sinister]

04 : If You're Feeling Sinister [If You're Feeling Sinister]

05 : I Fought In A War [Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant]

06 : Lord Anthony [Dear Catastrophe Waitress]

07 : Expectations [Tigermilk]

08 : Dress Up In You [The Life Pursuit]

09 : The Stars Of Track And Field [If You're Feeling Sinister]

10 : Sleep The Clock Around [The Boy With The Arab Strap]

11 : Don't Leave The Light On Baby [Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk...]

12 : The State I Am In [Tigermilk]

13 : Like Dylan In The Movies [If You're Feeling Sinister]

14 : It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career [The Boy With The Arab Strap]

15 : You're Just A Baby [Tigermilk]

16 : Another Sunny Day [The Life Pursuit]

17 : Piazza, New York Catcher [Dear Catastrophe Waitress]

18 : The Chalet Lines [Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant]

19 : The Fox In The Snow [If You're Feeling Sinister]

20 : Is It Wicked Not To Care? [The Boy With The Arab Strap]

KiD CuDi - CuDi's UnCommon '08-'09 (a misshapedmixtape)

Sometimes I can be so stupid with music. Exactly two years ago (9/12/09) when Kid Cudi released his debut album, “Man on the Moon: The End of Day,” I completely wrote it off. No, I did more than that. I thought that it sucked and I went out of my way to tell people that they should NOT listen to Kid Cudi... this after casually listening to the album all the way through (once)… and seeing the underwhelming “Make Her Say” video (more than once). 


It didn’t help that “Make Her Say” sampled Lady Gaga, was cutesily degrading towards women (but not Lady Gaga), had lyrics that seemed written for 12-year-olds, and that Cudi’s verse was the worst part of an overall bad song (though Common and Kanye were also lame on it). All of these things together instilled a confident smugness within me that Cudi undoubtedly sucked -- which got me to the point where I shouted out “Man, you guys sure sound a lot better without Kid Cudi overtop your music!” at a rad Ratatat show.

Okay, maybe I only shouted that in my head.

But if I was off my medication it would’ve happened out loud. And that’s beside the point because I DID shout it in my head. So there. Zing! Anyway... did I mention that I can be stupid about music sometimes? Coz yeah, I was wrong about Kid Cudi. Real wrong.

To defend my original snap judgment, Kid Cudi isn’t a great rapper. And he’s a worse singer than rapper (and he sings a lot). And “Make Her Say” was the worst song on the album – not because of the other faults that I mentioned (or because it was mainstream radio fodder) – but more importantly because it does not fit with the theme of the rest of the album (and now I promise not to talk about that song for the rest of this post even though I listened to it the other day for the first time in a long time and it made me chuckle and I thought for a second that it wasn’t half-bad).

However, be that (i.e. all these negative things that I’m blathering on about) as it may, Kid Cudi is a brilliant songwriter. I mean, brilliant. He’s also easily one of the most original artists putting out music (regardless of genre) these days and has the balls to do whatever he wants (supposedly a rock album will be his next release). So yeah, I owe Kid Cudi an apology… Dear Kid Cudi, your debut album was actually (almost) perfect and you were releasing straight fire in 2008 & 2009 and you are a nice guy and it’s pretty cool that you recruited Ratatat to be on your album and I like that you’re from the Midwest and your (other) music videos are freaking cool. In summary, your music is good. I’m sorry.

But back to the now-you-know-it’s-actually-awesome “Man on the Moon: The End of Day” debut album. There is one unfortunately bad thing about it that remains. Alas, motherfucking Common narrates throughout the album (arghhh!) effectively destroying the flow of a masterpiece while contributing completely uninteresting debonair-voiced commentary that has made me hit the >> button on ITunes WAY too often. Why did you have to do that Common? Why?

Actually, allow me to rant (even more), Common had a terrible 2008 & 2009. Not only did he release the ONLY bad album of his career (actually “Universal Mind Control” teeters past bad and into god-awful territory), he also graced the silver screen as an actor in TWO ultra-shit movies: “Street Kings” and “Terminator Salvation.” I am a big Common fan (with an unhealthy affinity for the weirdness on “Electric Circus”), so I am not just being mean. I expect that when Common’s new album comes out later this year, it will be good. I might even go to see him in concert for a third time. But I will NEVER forgive him for ruining such a beautiful album.

But wait, what happens if you cut out ALL of the Common narration from “Man on the Moon: The End of Day” and take out a few other throwaway tracks (including the song that is not to be named again) and ADD some virtuohsick songs off the “A Kid Named Cudi” mixtape from 2008? Here it is: “CuDi's UnCommon '08-'09 (a misshapedmixtape).”

In conclusion, if you’re familiar with Cudi’s debut album you will see that I did NOT tinker much with the track order/flow of it for this mix. He DEFINITELY knew what he was doing when he sequenced that album together in what he classifies as “Five Acts.” However, I put in “Man On The Moon” (off the mixtape) as track one (prelude to Act I) and then took some creative liberties after the end of the third act to (in my opinion) improve the final two acts. I’m really proud of this one, so please share it with your friends and loved ones, and bring some more traffic to the misshapedmixtapes website. We had tons of hits on the launch (granted, that XV mix is tough to top), but this is all good ass shit. 


I’m sadly aware that this music is truly “misshaped” – coz I wish I could give each of you a Maxell 110-minute double-sided cassette instead of a download link – but these mixes take as much time and love to craft as back when I was using the ol’ stop-start on my parents’ stereo. So enjoy it. And I’m sorry, but my tape recorder is broken now (sad face).

Tracklist below (check for download link in "comments):

01 : Man On The Moon

02 : In My Dreams (Cudder Anthem)

03 : Soundtrack 2 My Life

04 : Simple As...

05 : Solo Dolo (Nightmare)

06 : Heart Of A Lion (Kid Cudi Theme Music)

07 : My World (ft Billy Craven)

08 : Day N Nite (Nightmare)

09 : Sky Might Fall

10 : Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part I)

11 : 50 Ways To Make A Record

12 : Alive (Nightmare) (ft Ratatat)

13 : Cudi Zone

14 : Pursuit Of Happiness (Nightmare) (ft MGMT & Ratatat)

15 : The Prayer

16 : Embrace The Martian

17 : Up Up & Away

18 : Heaven At Nite

Sparklehorse (a pair of misshapedmixtapes)

When Mark Linkous died a year-and-a-half ago (taking his own life), a truly great artist was lost -- and he was lost pretty quietly too. I’ve recently talked to a number of people that have “heard of” Sparklehorse but never “heard them,” which is a damn shame. As for me, I probably would’ve been in the same boat except that I saw Linkous open for Tortoise at the Metro about 8 years ago (one of the most unique concert pairings that I’ve experienced). I loved his set from that show and the whole “It’s A Wonderful Life” album (minus the Tom Waits song). But then I lost track of Sparklehorse (probably as a result of listening to 95% hip-hop for a stretch there) and didn’t come back to Linkous until my good friend Ben re-introduced me to his stuff a few years ago. I’m so glad that he did.

I won’t spend too many words attempting to describe his music (achingly delicate?). I have been listening to a lot of it over the past couple of years and it locks perfectly into a particular mindspace of my own. It is what it is. It’s good.

I made two mixes. The first (“Sick Of Goodbyes”) is a short one (38 minutes) that covers more of the rocking ground. It’s a good introduction to Sparklehorse. If you liked alt rock in the 90’s, you’ll like this.

The second one (“It’s A Sad & Beautiful World”) is the one that I prefer. I guess you could call it chill mood music (you can play it while napping!) but I hope that doesn't sell it short. I made this particular mix awhile ago (then tweaked it a bit) and have listened to it more than any other album of the last five years (except for Eluvium’s “Copia”). And yeah, I usually don’t listen to one thing over-and-over-again… unlike certain former roommates that I’ve had.

One note: the songs on these mixes are Sparklehorse songs… so there’s nothing from the collaborations with Fennesz or Danger Mouse/David Lynch. Also, please please go and buy an album if you like this stuff. It’ll be something that sticks with you. I will say that one reason I do like absorbing my Sparklehorse in mixtape form is that the albums sometimes veer into too many sonic territories for my personal liking. And yeah, at least one or two abrasive noise-experiments tend to pop-up on each Sparklehorse album proper… and those are rad for like a listen or two, but then end up being tracks (or ends of songs) that I skip.

This week, September 9th, would have been Linkous' 49th birthday. Listen to his cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” (on the second mix). That sums up what I’d most want to say.

Here are the track lists for the two tapes (download link for both together is in "comments"):

Sparklehorse - Sick Of Goodbyes (a mishapedmixtape)

01 : Piano Fire

02 : Sick Of Goodbyes

03 : Hey, Joe

04 : Maria's Little Elbows

05 : Hundreds Of Sparrows

06 : Don't Take My Sunshine Away

07 : Mountains

08 : Knives Of Summertime

09 : Comfort Me

10 : Chest Full Of Dying Hawks

11 : Saturday

Sparklehorse – It’s A Sad & Beautiful World (a mishapedmixtape)

01 : Homecoming Queen

02 : Spirit Ditch

03 : Heart Of Darkness

04 : Sad & Beautiful World

05 : Painbirds

06 : Saint Mary

07 : Sunshine

08 : Come On In

09 : All Night Home

10 : Box Of Stars, Pt. 2

11 : Junebug

12 : It's A Wonderful Life

13 : Gold Day

14 : Sea Of Teeth

15 : Apple Bed

16 : Eyepennies

17 : More Yellow Birds

18 : Little Fat Baby

19 : Morning Hollow

20 : Getting It Wrong

21 : Shade And Honey

22 : See The Light

23 : Return To Me

24 : Some Sweet Day

25 : Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover)

26 : Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain (aka Maxine)