raxmix vol 10
Jun. 9th, 2023 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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likealarkYooo we're in the double digits now!
This mix was slow to coalesce. Songs dripped in one at a time, until one day I realized I was over 12 songs and then had to figure out which to use, lol. While the sources are what they always are—an unhealthy amount of vocaloid, retro shit, normie alternative shit—the vibe of this mix bounces around way more than it usually does. I'm very uncertain about the flow from song to song on this mixtape. The whole time I was blending it I was like ?????
There are a couple of tracks on this album that are meant to be listened to as a set. But when placed together they sound awful, so they're not literally next to each other. You'll see notes about it as we go!
It's yet another nekomata master cover, I have a problem. The original song is called "Afterimage d'automne." It uses accordion to lend a Parisian feel, and has a lovely jazzy swing. This song's jubeat chart uses a technique called holds, which I've always been scared of trying. I did it only because I love nekomata master so much and this song sounded so pretty, and oh my gosh, holds are so fun. I've been missing out. I've been playing this chart a LOT to practice, and so I wanted to use it here.
If you are not Rax but also like music, you're welcome to give this a listen too?
> DOWNLOAD <
( iTunes Playlist )
01. Nick Drake - River Man
This artist comes to me courtesy of Lily! (She's doing very well.) Nick Drake is a sad story—he was a shy, brilliant, mentally ill 1970s singer-songwriter who made a few timeless albums, and then died at 26. He was influential without being well known, in the way that some musicians are. Then, decades after his death, he was rediscovered due to an Apple commercial of all things and his work has made a resurgence. His albums are popular now. His music and his story both feel like one of a person born in the wrong time, or living outside of time entirely. I listened to all of his albums and this is my favorite song that he's made. I love this particular sound; Simon and Garfunkel has it, and so does Jim Croce. He was known for using open tuning and finger-picking techniques, and this track uses 5/4 time. This song is a matched set with another song on this mix, "Should Have Known Better" by Sufjan Stevens—I think they both approach the themes of mortality and spirituality in similar ways (lyrics about depression/mortality/actively choosing life despite despair, water imagery as a metaphor for time), but decades apart, and I find that interesting.
02. The Pointer Sisters - Yes We Can Can
I started calling my two dogs The Pointer Sisters. I looked the band up as a result, and then I learned they had all died with the last one passing just a few months ago, and I was devastated. I grew up listening to Pointer Sister albums in the car tape deck or on the record player when my mom was cleaning. Now as an adult, I went back and listened to a lot of their songs and realized that I probably got my obsession with harmonies from them, as well as The Fifth Dimension. Did you know they started as a country group? Did you know they did protest songs like this? Did you know they fucked with gender? Did you know that the deep bass voice on the chorus of "Automatic" is one of the Pointer sisters, that's just her voice? I didn't before I did a deep dive. They're so fucking good.
This particular song lasts forever but I'm a huge fan of the funky slow build. When the song finally opens up around the five minute mark you have no choice but to boogie. The groove on this song is huge. It feels very stripped down, especially compared to the lush disco orchestration they became most famous for, but it makes their voices shine through more and I love that. Also, I find the lyrics really meaningful.
03. YOASOBI - Monster (English Version)
Yoasobi is the matchup of famous vocaloid composer Ayase with utau (vocaloid cover singer) Ikura. Yoasobi is WILDLY popular now, especially for anime openings. Monster is the second opening of Beastars (a furry anime that's half a murder mystery and half an FLCL-like coming of age through queered sexuality story), but they also did the first opening and the Gundam Witch/Utena Gundam opening. Ayase's music is very very tricky to sing, with complex fast-paced melodies, large jumps between notes, and few spaces for breath; that Ikura sings them with such smooth aplomb is a demonstration of her skill. One of my favorite things about them is that they create English versions of their songs, and Ikura sings them. This song is a pair to "Rumor" by Police Picadilly, also on this mix; while that song gives an English sound to a Japanese song, Yoasobi's english covers attempt to capture the exact syllables of the original Japanese lyrics while also making sense in a totally different language. They come at the same concept from opposite directions and I think that's so cool. Listening to both songs without paying close attention, my ear has the reaction of "something is subtly wrong with this and I can't easily identify which language this is," a kind of auditory trick that I really enjoy.
04. Yurry Canon ft. GUMI - Syoujo Jigoku
I don't know why Yurry Canon insists on spelling "shoujo" like that, but the song title means "hellish girl" and the track is somewhat boilerplate for a vocaloid song. I don't really know why this song makes me think of you specifically. Certainly Gumi is part of it, but I think the key also has something to do with it, as well as the lyrics. I think also that the song's title and general concept is similar to "Shoujo Rei." And that it has that shear between "this is a super danceable bouncy song and also the lyrics are about crippling depression." You know I love that. I love that it has the word play of "Ai" to mean both "love" and "sorrow" in the chorus's first line. Wish this track was longer.
05. Autoheart - Scorpio
Sorry I'm repeating artists again. This album came out at the end of last year and I guess it's obvious why I put this on a raxmix. More seriously, I continue to love this gay as fuck band. Honestly think of Vriska every time I hear it. I like how this song plays with staccato words/sounds/guitar shrieks. Happy pride!
06. Sasakure.UK - The EmpERROR
I feel like I've spent so much time talking to you about sasakure.UK this year that his appearance on this mix can hardly be surprising. I got into him so hard this year though. He has such a unique, densely polyrhythmic, maximalist sound and apparently he's self-taught! I love how this song takes you on a journey through so many different auditory concepts. I love that it's his actual voice on this track. I think the bright trilling melodic line underneath his robotic nonsense lyrics gives this song such life. I listened to this song on repeat for like a month. It got me though some rough shifts when I was in Syracuse. Also, I think the conceit of the title is really cool.
07. Fousheé - Simmer Down
I have no idea how I found this track. I hear cute girl punk, I throw it on the raxmix. Simple.
Women are Venus, men belong to Mars
Non-binary blow this bitch to parts
This whole galaxy explodes, it's art
I'll steal the thunder, rob you for your heart
08. Zach Bryan - Something in the Orange
This song tended to come on my apple music playlist when I was cresting the hill going into work and the sun was just rising; it's definitely a good song to listen to at sunrise or sunset, but what I like about it is that it manages to capture that feeling. Modern folk is the descendant of country and this is one of those songs that makes me go, man, if country still sounded like this all the time, I'd be a huge fan. This was a #1 country hit in 2022. I think the imagery in the lyrics is beautiful, and his voice is beautiful.
09. Daði Freyr - Think About Things
I really wanted you to listen to this one! Sam got me into Eurovision this year. This was Iceland's Eurovision entry in 2020, and it was the favorite to win before the contest was cancelled by COVID. This guy has a band with his sister, wife, and friends, and he writes heartfelt, danceable songs about how much he loves his family. This particular song he wrote in anticipation of his first child being born. On first glance it reads as a romantic love song, but it's not. The "baby" in the lyrics is literally a baby. When listening to this song I felt like you might be able to identify with the lyrics, so I wanted to share it. (He is very popular at eurovision, though he didn't win. He wrote a second song called "Ten Years" which is about how much he loves his wife. He's just the nicest guy, and also his music videos are very charming.)
10. Official Hige Dandism - Cry Baby
This song is so fucking gorgeous. It showed up randomly on my itunes after I taught it that I want to consume a lot of jpop and that bridge made me go WHAT am I listening to right now. The songcraft on display here is INSANE. This is actually an opening to an anime called Tokyo Revengers that I have no interest in watching, but apparently the plot is about time travel, and so the lead singer/composer put in 10000 key changes to try and imitate that time travel feeling. The instrumentation is great. The mix is great. His voice is so full of raw emotion. THE KEY MODULATION. I wanted to see if the modulations made you as insane as me so I put it on this mix. My favorite part is the bridge, especially that one specific line where he nearly yodels. But I also love how the choruses open up like sunlight breaking through clouds. I love this song so, so much.
Please cross-compare with "Yes We Can Can" as two songs that approach build very differently. I think it's fascinating that they both impart a sense of traveling/motion over the course of the song in such different ways.
11. Police Picadilly ft. GUMI - Rumor
This song is a matched set with another song on this mix, Monster. They take opposite approaches to the same topic, which is making one language sound like another, or playing with accents. This song uses Gumi's english voice bank to sing Japanese and it gives it a unique, cool feel. Police Picadilly is an amazing vocaloid producer who no one knows anything about—they show up once a year, drop an absolutely fire track, provide zero commentary, and then vanish again. They're so mysterious that they don't release their songs on itunes or even spotify. Their aura of mystery is part of their appeal at this point. I found them because they did one of the best commissioned songs for Project Sekai, Beat Eater, but this one felt more like your vibe. Not only because it uses Gumi, but also because it has a kind of playful yet exhausted feeling I associate with you. Are we happy? Or is it depression? Idk, Gumi. Idk.
12. Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better
I've been told this guy is famous and everybody knows him and I'm the last person on this train, but I just discovered him this year, so. On the mix he goes. This song is a matched set with River Man, by Nick Drake—besides the very obvious auditory similarities, they're both songs kind of about the same thing. But what that thing is, I couldn't properly articulate to you. They're both kind of...soundscapes that convey emotion through dream imagery more than a concrete message. They're both songs that use water as a metaphor for time and impermanence. I was interested in the way this entire genre of music and sound is at least slightly influenced by this one guy who didn't get rediscovered for decades. As for Sufjan Stevens himself, I'm kind of fascinated by how weirdly and explicitly Christian his music is. I find it deeply resonant but also a little eerie.
Bonus Track: Tina Turner ft. David Bowie - Let's Dance
Sometimes the mourning ritual is no more elaborate than putting a song on a mixtape. Did you know that I don't like rock and I find David Bowie fairly boring? The first 60 seconds of this track are mostly forgettable. But then they get into the David Bowie track and I find so much joy in how Tina Turner kicks him out of his own song. She takes over. She's better at his song than he is. Her voice is a live wire and I miss her so much.
> DOWNLOAD <
( iTunes Playlist )
This mix was slow to coalesce. Songs dripped in one at a time, until one day I realized I was over 12 songs and then had to figure out which to use, lol. While the sources are what they always are—an unhealthy amount of vocaloid, retro shit, normie alternative shit—the vibe of this mix bounces around way more than it usually does. I'm very uncertain about the flow from song to song on this mixtape. The whole time I was blending it I was like ?????
There are a couple of tracks on this album that are meant to be listened to as a set. But when placed together they sound awful, so they're not literally next to each other. You'll see notes about it as we go!
It's yet another nekomata master cover, I have a problem. The original song is called "Afterimage d'automne." It uses accordion to lend a Parisian feel, and has a lovely jazzy swing. This song's jubeat chart uses a technique called holds, which I've always been scared of trying. I did it only because I love nekomata master so much and this song sounded so pretty, and oh my gosh, holds are so fun. I've been missing out. I've been playing this chart a LOT to practice, and so I wanted to use it here.
If you are not Rax but also like music, you're welcome to give this a listen too?
Bonus Track: Tina Turner & David Bowie - Let's Dance (Live)
|
( iTunes Playlist )
01. Nick Drake - River Man
This artist comes to me courtesy of Lily! (She's doing very well.) Nick Drake is a sad story—he was a shy, brilliant, mentally ill 1970s singer-songwriter who made a few timeless albums, and then died at 26. He was influential without being well known, in the way that some musicians are. Then, decades after his death, he was rediscovered due to an Apple commercial of all things and his work has made a resurgence. His albums are popular now. His music and his story both feel like one of a person born in the wrong time, or living outside of time entirely. I listened to all of his albums and this is my favorite song that he's made. I love this particular sound; Simon and Garfunkel has it, and so does Jim Croce. He was known for using open tuning and finger-picking techniques, and this track uses 5/4 time. This song is a matched set with another song on this mix, "Should Have Known Better" by Sufjan Stevens—I think they both approach the themes of mortality and spirituality in similar ways (lyrics about depression/mortality/actively choosing life despite despair, water imagery as a metaphor for time), but decades apart, and I find that interesting.
02. The Pointer Sisters - Yes We Can Can
I started calling my two dogs The Pointer Sisters. I looked the band up as a result, and then I learned they had all died with the last one passing just a few months ago, and I was devastated. I grew up listening to Pointer Sister albums in the car tape deck or on the record player when my mom was cleaning. Now as an adult, I went back and listened to a lot of their songs and realized that I probably got my obsession with harmonies from them, as well as The Fifth Dimension. Did you know they started as a country group? Did you know they did protest songs like this? Did you know they fucked with gender? Did you know that the deep bass voice on the chorus of "Automatic" is one of the Pointer sisters, that's just her voice? I didn't before I did a deep dive. They're so fucking good.
This particular song lasts forever but I'm a huge fan of the funky slow build. When the song finally opens up around the five minute mark you have no choice but to boogie. The groove on this song is huge. It feels very stripped down, especially compared to the lush disco orchestration they became most famous for, but it makes their voices shine through more and I love that. Also, I find the lyrics really meaningful.
03. YOASOBI - Monster (English Version)
Yoasobi is the matchup of famous vocaloid composer Ayase with utau (vocaloid cover singer) Ikura. Yoasobi is WILDLY popular now, especially for anime openings. Monster is the second opening of Beastars (a furry anime that's half a murder mystery and half an FLCL-like coming of age through queered sexuality story), but they also did the first opening and the Gundam Witch/Utena Gundam opening. Ayase's music is very very tricky to sing, with complex fast-paced melodies, large jumps between notes, and few spaces for breath; that Ikura sings them with such smooth aplomb is a demonstration of her skill. One of my favorite things about them is that they create English versions of their songs, and Ikura sings them. This song is a pair to "Rumor" by Police Picadilly, also on this mix; while that song gives an English sound to a Japanese song, Yoasobi's english covers attempt to capture the exact syllables of the original Japanese lyrics while also making sense in a totally different language. They come at the same concept from opposite directions and I think that's so cool. Listening to both songs without paying close attention, my ear has the reaction of "something is subtly wrong with this and I can't easily identify which language this is," a kind of auditory trick that I really enjoy.
04. Yurry Canon ft. GUMI - Syoujo Jigoku
I don't know why Yurry Canon insists on spelling "shoujo" like that, but the song title means "hellish girl" and the track is somewhat boilerplate for a vocaloid song. I don't really know why this song makes me think of you specifically. Certainly Gumi is part of it, but I think the key also has something to do with it, as well as the lyrics. I think also that the song's title and general concept is similar to "Shoujo Rei." And that it has that shear between "this is a super danceable bouncy song and also the lyrics are about crippling depression." You know I love that. I love that it has the word play of "Ai" to mean both "love" and "sorrow" in the chorus's first line. Wish this track was longer.
05. Autoheart - Scorpio
Sorry I'm repeating artists again. This album came out at the end of last year and I guess it's obvious why I put this on a raxmix. More seriously, I continue to love this gay as fuck band. Honestly think of Vriska every time I hear it. I like how this song plays with staccato words/sounds/guitar shrieks. Happy pride!
06. Sasakure.UK - The EmpERROR
I feel like I've spent so much time talking to you about sasakure.UK this year that his appearance on this mix can hardly be surprising. I got into him so hard this year though. He has such a unique, densely polyrhythmic, maximalist sound and apparently he's self-taught! I love how this song takes you on a journey through so many different auditory concepts. I love that it's his actual voice on this track. I think the bright trilling melodic line underneath his robotic nonsense lyrics gives this song such life. I listened to this song on repeat for like a month. It got me though some rough shifts when I was in Syracuse. Also, I think the conceit of the title is really cool.
07. Fousheé - Simmer Down
I have no idea how I found this track. I hear cute girl punk, I throw it on the raxmix. Simple.
Women are Venus, men belong to Mars
Non-binary blow this bitch to parts
This whole galaxy explodes, it's art
I'll steal the thunder, rob you for your heart
08. Zach Bryan - Something in the Orange
This song tended to come on my apple music playlist when I was cresting the hill going into work and the sun was just rising; it's definitely a good song to listen to at sunrise or sunset, but what I like about it is that it manages to capture that feeling. Modern folk is the descendant of country and this is one of those songs that makes me go, man, if country still sounded like this all the time, I'd be a huge fan. This was a #1 country hit in 2022. I think the imagery in the lyrics is beautiful, and his voice is beautiful.
09. Daði Freyr - Think About Things
I really wanted you to listen to this one! Sam got me into Eurovision this year. This was Iceland's Eurovision entry in 2020, and it was the favorite to win before the contest was cancelled by COVID. This guy has a band with his sister, wife, and friends, and he writes heartfelt, danceable songs about how much he loves his family. This particular song he wrote in anticipation of his first child being born. On first glance it reads as a romantic love song, but it's not. The "baby" in the lyrics is literally a baby. When listening to this song I felt like you might be able to identify with the lyrics, so I wanted to share it. (He is very popular at eurovision, though he didn't win. He wrote a second song called "Ten Years" which is about how much he loves his wife. He's just the nicest guy, and also his music videos are very charming.)
10. Official Hige Dandism - Cry Baby
This song is so fucking gorgeous. It showed up randomly on my itunes after I taught it that I want to consume a lot of jpop and that bridge made me go WHAT am I listening to right now. The songcraft on display here is INSANE. This is actually an opening to an anime called Tokyo Revengers that I have no interest in watching, but apparently the plot is about time travel, and so the lead singer/composer put in 10000 key changes to try and imitate that time travel feeling. The instrumentation is great. The mix is great. His voice is so full of raw emotion. THE KEY MODULATION. I wanted to see if the modulations made you as insane as me so I put it on this mix. My favorite part is the bridge, especially that one specific line where he nearly yodels. But I also love how the choruses open up like sunlight breaking through clouds. I love this song so, so much.
Please cross-compare with "Yes We Can Can" as two songs that approach build very differently. I think it's fascinating that they both impart a sense of traveling/motion over the course of the song in such different ways.
11. Police Picadilly ft. GUMI - Rumor
This song is a matched set with another song on this mix, Monster. They take opposite approaches to the same topic, which is making one language sound like another, or playing with accents. This song uses Gumi's english voice bank to sing Japanese and it gives it a unique, cool feel. Police Picadilly is an amazing vocaloid producer who no one knows anything about—they show up once a year, drop an absolutely fire track, provide zero commentary, and then vanish again. They're so mysterious that they don't release their songs on itunes or even spotify. Their aura of mystery is part of their appeal at this point. I found them because they did one of the best commissioned songs for Project Sekai, Beat Eater, but this one felt more like your vibe. Not only because it uses Gumi, but also because it has a kind of playful yet exhausted feeling I associate with you. Are we happy? Or is it depression? Idk, Gumi. Idk.
12. Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better
I've been told this guy is famous and everybody knows him and I'm the last person on this train, but I just discovered him this year, so. On the mix he goes. This song is a matched set with River Man, by Nick Drake—besides the very obvious auditory similarities, they're both songs kind of about the same thing. But what that thing is, I couldn't properly articulate to you. They're both kind of...soundscapes that convey emotion through dream imagery more than a concrete message. They're both songs that use water as a metaphor for time and impermanence. I was interested in the way this entire genre of music and sound is at least slightly influenced by this one guy who didn't get rediscovered for decades. As for Sufjan Stevens himself, I'm kind of fascinated by how weirdly and explicitly Christian his music is. I find it deeply resonant but also a little eerie.
Bonus Track: Tina Turner ft. David Bowie - Let's Dance
Sometimes the mourning ritual is no more elaborate than putting a song on a mixtape. Did you know that I don't like rock and I find David Bowie fairly boring? The first 60 seconds of this track are mostly forgettable. But then they get into the David Bowie track and I find so much joy in how Tina Turner kicks him out of his own song. She takes over. She's better at his song than he is. Her voice is a live wire and I miss her so much.
( iTunes Playlist )
