Chocolate Grinder Mix 13
"The Man Who Made A Beast Of Himself"
I love variety, and for this mix I've selected the spaciest hip-hop, the creepiest electronica, and the freakiest folk, making it the perfect concoction to soundtrack the depths of your next ether binge. Through the latest bloopy gifts from Alpha Pup, an epic progressive selection from prodigy Nathan Fake, and bizarre indie electronic hybrids from Niobe and Joan Of Arc, Chocolate Grinder is proud to bring you some of the most spectacular mutants of the year, too weird to live, too rare to die. Unusual for the series, recent re-releases have placed tracks from Young MC's 1989 debut (no, I didn't pick "Bust A Move") and the 70s recordings of the gloriously absurd Kath Bloom in the CG range. As a TMT reader, you get used to things like seeing your dead grandmother crawling up your leg with a knife in her teeth, but nobody should be asked to handle this trip.
01. Ras G - "Earthly Matters" (Brotha From Anotha Planet)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Alpha Pup - Ras G
02. Nosaj Thing - "Us" (Drift)
- Start time: 4:51; Links: Alpha Pup - Nosaj Thing
03. Serengeti & Polyphonic - "My Patriotism" (Terradactyl)
- Start time: 7:55; Links: Anticon - Serengeti & Polyphonic
04. Young MC - "Non Stop" (Stone Cold Rhymin')
- Start time: 10:53; Links: Delicious Vinyl
05. Voodeux - "3rd Floor" (The Paranormal)
- Start time: 14:16; Links: Mothership - Voodeux
06. Nathan Fake - "Castle Rising" (Hard Islands)
- Start time: 18:49; Links: Border Community - Nathan Fake
07. Kath Bloom - "The Breeze/My Baby Cries" (Love Takes This Course)
- Start time: 27:46; Links: Chapter - Kath Bloom
08. Fink - "Six Weeks" (Sort Of Revolution)
- Start time: 31:57; Links: Ninja Tune - Fink
09. Joan Of Arc - "Flowers" (Flowers)
- Start time: 34:59; Links: Polyvinyl - Joan Of Arc
10. Niobe - "Lovely Day" (Blackbird's Echo)
- Start time: 41:36; Links: Tomlab - Niobe
Chocolate Grinder Mix 12
"The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even"
I titled this mix after Marcel Duchamp's The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (a.k.a. The Large Glass), an artwork from which the title Chocolate Grinder derives its name. For an artist who (in)famously submitted a toilet to an art show, I thought it appropriate to cobble together a mix of tunes that hinge more heavily on context for "understanding." (Not that you can't go in blind, if that's your thing.) My last mix was about as rock as I get, so this time I primarily emphasized songs that were either more overtly fluid (Mountains, Andrew Broder) or so grippingly visceral (Talibam!, John Wiese) that you can't help but reexamine our heftiest mythologies. I also included an older track, "His Mister's Pet Whistles," from the forthcoming reissue of the criminally overlooked Major Organ release. Sit tight and you'll get some consonance toward the end.
01. Nice at Home - "Never Use a Condom More Than Once" (Visitor)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Nice at Home
02. Pink Mountain - "Thee Red Lion" (Pink Mountain)
- Start time: 1:17; Links: Sickroom - Pink Mountain
03. Sore Eros - "Below It Begins" (Second Chants)
- Start time: 6:18; Links: SHDWPLY - Sore Eros
04. Major Organ and the Adding Machine - "His Mister's Pet Whistles" (Major Organ and the Adding Machine)
- Start time: 8:28; Links: Orange Twin - Major Organ Wikipedia
05. Andrew Broder - "Where The Guy Gets Killed" (Spiraling)
- Start time: 10:48; Links: Andrew Broder
06. Talibam! - "Entertaining The After Beast" (Boogie In The Breeze Blocks)
- Start time: 15:45; Links: ESP-Disk - Talibam!
07. Oneida - "What's Up, Jackal" (Rated O)
- Start time: 21:04; Links: Jagjaguwar - Oneida
08. John Wiese - "Circle Snare (Second Part)" (Circle Snare)
- Start time: 24:08; Links: No Fun - John Wiese
09. Mountains - "Choral" (Choral)
- Start time: 29:11; Links: Thrill Jockey - Mountains
10. James Blackshaw - "Cross" (The Glass Bead Game)
- Start time: 41:57; Links: Young God - James Blackshaw
Chocolate Grinder Mix 11
"From: Keith, For: Meghan McCain"
In case you were wondering, we try to get permission for all the songs on these Chocolate Grinder mixes. We'll ask record labels, management, and publicists to use an artist's material, but we rarely contact the artists themselves. For Chocolate Grinder Mix 11, I decided to take the whole process over to MySpace, where the only thing coming between my pleas for tracks and the brilliant, visionary musicians making them was MySpace's shittily designed webpage and a glitchy music player. Some of the artists here are more known than others, but they were all super, super nice and quick to respond! For all the bands that I've left off, this is only volume one of who knows how many. Keep up the good work! NUFF SAID.
01. Aquwa Boys - "Come On Baby"
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Aquwa Boys
02. Silk Flowers - "Chance of Showersl"
- Start time: 1:34; Links: Silk Flowers
03. Tiny Fights- "Whats Mine"
- Start time: 5:50; Links: Tiny Fights
04. WETDOG - "8 Days"
- Start time: 9:43; Links: WETDOG
05. Rainbow Arabia - "The Basta"
- Start time: 11:43; Links: Rainbow Arabia
06. The Craters - "Kissables"
- Start time: 15:24; Links: The Craters
07. The Yataris - "Matty Hand is On Fire pt. 1"
- Start time: 16:53; Links: The Yataris
08. Zola Jesus - "Odessa"
- Start time: 19:56; Links: Zola Jesus
09. MEGA WAND - "Faux Reign"
- Start time: 24:00; Links: MEGA WAND
10. Max Elliott - "Go Down Moses"
- Start time: 26:40; Links: Max Elliott
Chocolate Grinder Mix 10
"The Analog Dreams of Electric Sheep"
Some people don't like computer music. I know. I was once one of them. I was a classic rock guy who thought (and often said aloud) electronic music had no soul. Then something mystical, or probably chemical, happened. It was like I felt my own heart beating for the first time. All these wonderful build-ups, breakdowns, arpeggios, basslines, pads, bloops, and bleeps started swirling in my head like a tornado. Ever since, I've been addicted to pure electric sound and all of its various forms. If approached with an open mind, and preferably a touch of social lubrication, this mix should do the same for you. This journey gathers the finest producers from Canada, Venezuela, America, Germany, Australia, and the UK to guide you through vintage throwback, moody orchestral, nu-breaks, hip-hop, indie funk, progressive acid, and other wild variations of the electronic form. Jon Hopkins, fresh from co-producing Coldplay with Eno, delivers a sweeping mood piece as intricate in its bass tweaks as in its melodic piano progression. Edmonton's Shout Out Out Out Out finds hope in dark places with their two drummers, four bassists, and an army of synths. Both of those songs come from albums that will be making some year-end lists this year. Many selections here are rarer, but no less pivotal. Since the majority of these tracks were designed to be played at festivals and nightclubs with massive sound systems, this mix should be played at a high volume and in dim yet colorful lighting to get the maximum effect.
01. DJ Hell - "Germania" (Teufelswerk)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: International Deejay Gigolo - DJ Hell
02. Jon Hopkins - "Vessel" (Insides)
- Start time: 8:45; Links: Domino - Jon Hopkins
03. Seventh Swami - "Forever You Forever Me" (Here For Now)
- Start time: 13:00; Links: Muti Music - Seventh Swami
04. Spoonbill - "Wonkball" (Zoomorphic)
- Start time: 18:37; Links: Omelette - Spoonbill
05. Sole & The Skyrider Band - "Nothing Is Free (Subtitle Remix)" (Remix LP)
- Start time: 23:13; Links: Black Canyon - Sole & The Skyrider Band
06. EPROM - "64 Bytes (ill.gates Rmx feat. Meesha & Mat The Alien)" (64 Bytes Remixes)
- Start time: 25:58; Links: Addictech - EPROM
07. Yppah - "Gumball Machine Weekend" (Gumball Machine Weekend EP)
- Start time: 29:50; Links: Ninja Tune - Yppah
08. Jogger - "Nice Tights" (Friends of Friends Volume 1)
- Start time: 33:47; Links: FoF Music - Jogger
09. Shout Out Out Out Out - "Remind Me In Dark Times" (Reintegration Time)
- Start time: 38:34; Links: Normals Welcome - Shout Out Out Out Out
10. Kid606 - "Good Times" (Shout At The Döner)
- Start time: 47:20; Links: Tigerbeat6 - Kid606
Chocolate Grinder Mix 09
"Acid in the Style of David Spade"
This mix is intended to take us somewhere, if not spiritually, then at least geographically. We start out in Philadelphia with Hermit Thrushes (new LP Slight due in June) and travel to various U.S. cities like Brooklyn with Dirty Projectors ("Stillness Is the Move" 12-inch single on Domino), New York with Headless Heroes, Oakland with Cryptacize, Atlanta with Deerhunter (Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP due in June on Kranky), and Williamsport with Akron/Family (new LP Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free due 5/5). After making a short but sweet stop with Yonlu in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, we head to Ethiopia to catch Mulatu Astake with UK-based The Heliocentrics. The mix ends in West Africa, first in Burkina Faso with Hermas Zopoula (whose Espoir will be released May 19 via Asthmatic Kitty) and then in Senegal with Mor Thiam, the latter of which takes us all the way back to 1972 (a reissue of Thiam's Spiritual Jazz will be released soon on Now-Again Records). In this age of globalization, it's refreshing to know that music can still overtly reflect a geographical bias.
01. Hermit Thrushes - "Snowflake Heart" (Slight Fountain)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Joyful Noise - Hermit Thrushes
02. Dirty Projectors - "Stillness Is the Move" (Bitte Orca)
- Start time: 2:04; Links: Domino - Dirty Projectors
03. Cryptacize - "Tail & Mane" (Mythomania)
- Start time: 7:18; Links: Asthmatic Kitty - Cryptacize
04. Deerhunter - "Rainwater Cassette Exchange" (Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP)
- Start time: 10:33; Links: Kranky - Deerhunter
05. Akron/Family - "Everyone Is Guilty" (Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free)
- Start time: 12:50; Links: Dead Oceans - Akron/Family
06. Headless Heroes - "True Love Will Find You in the End" (The Silence of Love)
- Start time: 18:43; Links: Names - Headless Heroes
07. Yonlu - "Little Kids" (A Society in Which No Tear Is Shed Is Inconceivably Mediocre)
- Start time: 22:00; Links: Luaka Bop>http://www.luakabop.com] - [Yonlu
08. Mulatu Astake & The Heliocentrics - "Addis Black Widow" (Inspiration Information)
- Start time: 23:16; Links: Strut - The Heliocentrics - Mulatu Astatke
09. Hermas Zopoula - "Alpha Et Omega" (Espoir)
- Start time: 26:53; Links: Asthmatic Kitty - Hermas Zopoula
10. Mor Thiam - "Ayo Ayo Nene" (Spiritual Jazz)
- Start time: 29:20; Links: Now-Again Records - Mor Thiam
Chocolate Grinder Mix 08
"Michelle Obama Playlist No. 1"
I've been watching Ken Burns' Jazz documentary miniseries lately. Through all the talking head hyperbole, the earliest incarnations of the music -- "minstrel music" and ragtime -- expose steady rhythm and heavy syncopation as the broader genre's first massive innovation. A lot of people have trouble believing that jazz and swing were once America's form of popular music, but as the youth's first real exposure to driving rhythm, it's no wonder. Since then, harmony has become increasingly homogenized --losing its regional associations -- while rhythm has continued to be boiled down to basic elements. Popular music is still very much about the "beat." I put together this mix with that simple truth in mind.
01. The Cool Kids - "Pennies" (When Fish Ride Bicycles)
- Start time: 0:00; links: The Cool Kids -
Chocolate Ind.
02. Mr. Oizo - "Cut Dick" (Lambs Anger)
- Start Time: 3:00; links: [Mr. Oizo->www.myspace.com/oizo3000] - [Ed Banger->www.edbangerrecords.com]
03. CLP - "Superconfidential" (Supercontinental)
- Start Time: 5:48; links: CLP - Shitkatapult
04. DOOM feat. Ghostface Killah - "Chinatown Wars"
- Start time: 9:59; links: DOOM
05. DJ Signify feat. Aesop Rock - "Low Tide" (Of Cities)
- Start time: 13:28; links: DJ Signify - Bully Records
06. Cry Baby Genius - "Welcome to the Horror" (Patty Marcell's Big Shot Yard Sale)
- Start time: 17:43; links: Cry Baby Genius - [Squids Eye->www.squidseyerecords.com]
07. Myka 9 - "To the Sky" (1969)
- Start time: 20:57; links: Myka 9 - Fake Four
08. Kraddy - "Android Porn" (single)
- Start time: 23:37; links: Kraddy - Glitch Mob Unlimited
09. Busdriver feat. Flying Lotus - "Will He (inaugural tribute)"
- Start time: 30:30; links: Busdriver
10. Bizzart - "Android Hearts" (Future Stars and Small Wonders)
- Start time: 33:31; links: Bizzart - Joyful Noise
Chocolate Grinder Mix 07
"Theme from Grutzi Elvis"
When I first picked these tracks, I thought assembling them into a mix would be a breeze. Turns out the fidelity differences -- compare, for example, Stuart and Caan's "Holy Moment" with Hi-Red Center's "Symmetry Chameleon" or Andrew Broder's "All Automatic" with Felicia Atkinson's "Curir" -- proved more difficult than I thought. I ended staying up until the wee hours of the early morning, tinkering with transitions and adjusting levels, just so that you, dear reader, would have another mix to listen to. Basically, I'm whining, but I'm done now, so just enjoy the mix and don't say I never did nothing for you.
01. Humcrush - "Bullfight" (Rest at Worlds End)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Humcrush - Rune Grammofon
02. Hi Red Center - "Symmetry Chameleon" (Assemble)
- Start time: 0:51; Links: Hi Red Center - Joyful Noise
03. DM Stith - "Pity Dance" (Heavy Ghost)
- Start time: 5:24; Links: DM Stith - Asthmatic Kitty
04. Andrew Broder - "All Automatic" (We Had to Eat the Owl)
- Start time: 9:40; Links: Andrew Broder
05. Stuart and Caan - "Holy Moment" (The Mayfly Dance)
- Start time: 14:25; Links: Stuart and Caan - Knw-Yr-Own
06. Swan Lake - "Spanish Gold" (Enemy Mine)
- Start time: 18:17; Links: Swan Lake - Jagjaguwar
07. Crystal Antlers - "Andrew" (Tentacles)
- Start time: 23:28; Links: Crystal Antlers - Touch and Go
08. Felicia Atkinson - "Curir" (La La La)
- Start time: 26:53; Links: Felicia Atkinson - SPEKK
09. Emeralds - "Up in The Air" (What Happened)
- Start time: 28:58; Links: Emeralds - No Fun Productions
10. Animal Hospital - "...and ever" (Memory)
- Start time: 32:31; Links: Animal Hospital - Barge
Chocolate Grinder Mix 06
"Don't Doomgaze Childhood Wander Alone"
This mix is more of a trip than my last installment, less post-coital and more absinthe freebase. The bizarre "future primitive" vocal loop stylings of Scotland's Wounded Knee and the prickly acoustic guitar of Washington's legendary Kelly Joe Phelps sandwich a selection of hypnotic tracks that struggle to fall easily into a genre classification. With the possible exception of the upbeat Brazilian MPC house excursion of Azaxx (generously provided by Tru Thoughts), I feel all the tracks more or less build off each other like a proper mix should, rather than as the random collection of exciting new tracks it basically is. The birds from Balky Mule's Syd Barrett-meets-Damon Albarn mesh with Bibio's nostalgic wilderness, which leads to Shuttle (one of the electronic tracks to hear this year) going down a cave, and so forth. Buy the ticket, take the ride.
01. Wounded Knee - "My Wooden Cupboard" (Shimmering New Vistas)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Benbecula - Wounded Knee
02. The Balky Mule - "Dust Bird Baths" (The Length Of The Rail)
- Start time: 4:12; Links: FatCat - The Balky Mule
03. Bibio - "Weekend Wildfire" (Vignetting The Compost)
- Start time: 8:08; Links: Mush - Bibio
04. Shuttle - "Tunnel" (Tunnel EP)
- Start time: 13:15; Links: Ninja Tune - Shuttle
05. Tycho - "Cascade (Live Version)" (Ghostly Swim)
- Start time: 17:49; Links: Ghostly International - Tycho
06. Gui Boratto - "Colors" (Take My Breath Away)
- Start time: 21:41; Links: Kompakt - Gui Boratto
07. The Show Is The Rainbow - "Who He Says He Is" (Wet Fist)
- Start time: 25:39; Links: Retard Disco - The Show Is The Rainbow
08. Azaxx - "Wild Strawberry Jelly" (The Exotic Delight Bay)
- Start time: 29:28; Links: Tru Thoughts - Azaxx
09. The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - "München" (Mutations EP)
- Start time: 33:45; Links: Ad Noiseam - The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble
10. Kelly Joe Phelps - "Blowing Dust 40 Miles" (Western Bell)
- Start time: 39:44; Links: Black Hen - Kelly Joe Phelps
[Artwork: Keith Kawaii]
Chocolate Grinder Mix 05
"Brained By Falling Masonry"
This was originally supposed to be my "indie rock" mix. I don't listen to a whole lot of it and thought it'd be a nice challenge to create a mix that would, in my mind, place more emphasis on the form rather than the content -- trying to examine the recurring characteristics of my mixes through a style I'm admittedly very picky about. However, my predilection towards the more adventurous quickly seeped its way in. Consequently, what results is a mix that I feel unfairly makes some of the "noisier" sounds -- Alva Noto, Anthony Pateras & Robin Fox, Giuseppe Ielasi -- function as "transition" tracks (so if you find these tracks interesting, seek out the albums!). I suppose the assumption is that melodic music is more befitting of a mix -- but, oddly enough, what originally started out as an "indie rock" mix now has me thinking about how I can turn this assumption on its head. Are you pumped to hear this mix now??
"Brained By Falling Masonry" tracklist:
01. Alva Noto - "Xerrox Teion" (Xerrox Vol. 2)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: raster-noton - Alva Noto
02. Banjo Or Freakout - "Mr No" (single)
- Start time: 1:55; Links: No Pain in Pop - Banjo or Freakout
03. Anthony Pateras & Robin Fox - "You're All Answers" (End of Daze)
- Start time: 6:40; Links: Editions Mego - Anthony Pateras & Robin Fox
04. Cryptacize/C. Spencer Yeh - "Mini-Mythomania" (remix of Mythomania)
- Start time: 12:17; Links: Asthmatic Kitty - Cryptacize- C. Spencer Yeh
05. Shearing Pinx - "Smarts" (Ultra Snake)
- Start time: 15:35; Links: Endless Latino - Shearing Pinx
06. Antony and the Johnsons - "The Crying Light" (The Crying Light)
- Start time: 18:01; Links: Secretly Canadian - Antony and the Johnsons
07. Giuseppe Ielasi - [Untitled - Track 1] (Aix)
- Start time: 21:09; Links: 12k - Giuseppe Ielasi
08. Blackout Beach - "Astoria, Menthol Lite, Hilltop, Wave of Evil, 1982" (Skin of Evil)
- Start time: 24:27; Links: Soft Abuse - Blackout Beach
09. Mirah - "Gone Are the Days" ((a)spera)
- Start time: 29:21; Links: K - Mirah
10. Lotus Plaza - "Whiteout" (The Floodlight Collective)
- Start time: 32:59; Links: Kranky - Lotus Plaza
Chocolate Grinder Mix 04
"The Space Bud Fuzz Lounge Revolt"
When I sit down to make a mix, I do my best to include a little something for everybody, but also united by some intangible common thread. Despite working within a limited range of only new songs, I believe I achieved this here. Running the gamut from circuit-bent indie to instrumental hip-hop and breaks, the tone lends itself to a post-coital chill, getting a bit restless and ready for pancakes by the end. Hints toward my leftist politics and my use of humor as a coping mechanism arise throughout, especially the whistling in the Odd Nosdam track, the ranting and duck calls in the Filastine, and whatever Fol Chen is. It's a trip you can return to often, one that may reveal more about me than you ever cared to know.
"The Space Bud Fuzz Lounge Revolt" tracklist:
01. The Long Lost - "Amiss" (The Long Lost)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: Ninja Tune - The Long Lost
02. Skyrider - "Everyday Of Their Lives" (Skyrider)
- Start time: 2:56; Links: Sticks & Stones - Skyrider
03. Baja - "Kitten (Chaos & Numerology)" (Aether Obelisk)
- Start time: 6:50; Links: Other Electricities - Baja
04. Broadway Project - "Keats" (One Divided Soul)
- Start time: 10:40; Links: ODS - Broadway Project
05. Fol Chen - "You And Your Sister In Jericho" (Part I: John Shade, Your Fortune's Made)
- Start time: 14:55; Links: Asthmatic Kitty - Fol Chen
06. Odd Nosdam - "Fly Mode" (T.I.M.E)
- Start time: 20:51; Links: Anticon - Odd Nosdam
07. Sleeper - "Condition OR Effect" (Behind Every Mask)
- Start time: 23:39; Links: Mush - Sleeper
08. Filastine - "Bitrate Sneers" (Dirty Bomb)
- Start time: 28:33; Links: Soot - Filastine
09. Nanda - "Caveman" (Constant Change)
- Start time: 32:09; Links: Multi Music - Nanda
10. Qua - "The Magnificent Mister" (Q&A)
- Start time: 36:50; Links: Mush - Qua
[Artwork: Keith Kawaii]
Chocolate Grinder Mix 03
"Pumpkin Gets a Snakebite"
This is our first 2009 mix, and I've already managed to contaminate the temporal purity by including a 2008 song, Ryland Bouchard's "Woke Up Alone" (which didn't quite fit my first mix). The rest of the tracks, however, are so fresh and new that most of them have yet to be officially released, including a track from Dan Deacon's much-anticipated new album, Bromst, another from the hyped-up WAVVVES LP (which has been bumped to March), and one from Tim Hecker's An Imaginary Country, which sounds significantly better in its original context. Anyway, I'm sorta in love with my transition from the Psychic Ills track to the Dent May track, so take note and prepare yourself to be in awe of my mixing skills.
"Pumpkin Gets a Snakebite" tracklist:
01. Dirty Projectors + David Byrne - "Knotty Pine" (Dark Was The Night)
- Start time: 0:00; Links: 4AD - Dirty Projectors - David Byrne
02. Rose For Bohdan - "Boy Heaven" (There it is, The Creeping Moral Decay of the Past Thousand Years)
- Start time: 2:18; Links: Realicide Youth - Rose For Bohdan
03. Death Sentence: PANDA! - "New China Blazers" (Insects Awaken)
- Start time: 3:28; Links: Upset the Rhythm - Death Sentence: PANDA!
04. Psychic Ills - "Sub Synth" (Mirror Eye)
- Start time: 4:43; Links: The Social Registry - Psychic Ills
05. Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele - "Meet Me in the Garden" (The Good Feeling Music)
- Start time: 6:39; Links: Paw Tracks - Dent May
06. Dan Deacon - "Get Older" (Bromst)
- Start time: 10:01; Links: Carpark - Dan Deacon
07. Ryland Bouchard - "Woke Up Alone" (Seeds)
- Start time: 16:33; Links: Swim Slowly - Ryland Bouchard
08. Tim Hecker - "Sea of Pulses" (An Imaginary Country)
- Start time: 19:23; Links: Kranky - Tim Hecker
09. Bosque Brown - "Went Walking" (Baby)
- Start time: 23:59; Links: Burnt Toast Vinyl - Bosque Brown
10. WAVVES - "So Bored" (WAVVVES)
- Start time: 27:43; Links: Fat Possum - WAVVES
