Mixtape Ahoy! Part Two

POP'S YER UNCLE VOLUME THREE (DISC TWO)

1. Burial - Broken Home (The sound of urban despair and decay sounds even more vital and relevant now that the skies are grey and the nights are long. Burial's self-titled is one of the year's best albums, no doubt. Get it now if you haven't already.)
2. My My - Clean Break (One of the more upbeat numbers from My My's new album on Playhouse, Songs For The Gentle. My My are generally a little warmer and less austere than the usual minimal stuff and 'Clean Break' with its subtle disco edges brings to mind a European take on Metro Area.)
3. Roxy Music - The Thrill Of It All (M.A.N.D.Y. Vs. Booka Shade Remix) (At some point inbetween compiling this mixtape and now, I've really gone off this. At first it sounded nicely familiar, but then I realised that it's just a less euphoric, therefore lesser version of 'In White Rooms'. Nevertheless, here it is, for your listening pleasure.)
4. The Glimmers - Time 4 Action (Padded Cell Remix) (A strutting bassline anchors this dub-disco rework of The Glimmers' latest, while PC chuck in weird fx and noises to pique your interest, seemingly at random, a bit like an aural version of action painting. More intriguing devilment from the DC Recordings stable.)
5. Putsch '79 - Doin' It (Daniel Wang Remix) (Balihu's Daniel Wang camps the original up a notch or two, resulting in sheer, synthetic discoid thrills. Music for the hips.)
6. BT Express - Peace Pipe (The first of two Tom Moulton-touched crackers on this second part of the mixtape, this is one that you all should know. If you don't, shame on you. Redeem yourself by cranking this up and get on down with your bad self.)
7. Of Montreal - The Past Is A Grotesque Animal (One of the best, strangest songs I've heard in a long time; a twelve-minute electro-pop epic that eschews the verse-chorus-verse for a nervily eddying riff that twists itself around, changing key, climbing, then dropping, while Kevin Barnes rants away about "Swedish festivals", tearing "our fucking bodies apart" and other stuff, growing more manic and paranoid by the minute. Brilliant stuff.)
8. Talking Heads - Life During Wartime (Live) (THE best recorded version of 'Life During Wartime' is this one, to be found on The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads. David Byrne whoops and hiccups even more like a ball of nervous energy than normal, while the extended band (it was when Adrian Belew, Bernie Worrell and Nona Hendryx had joined) whip up a stupidly tight frenzy in the background, with Belew's guitar stabs coming to the fore. Awesome.)
9. Pull Tiger Tail - Animator (I hear the kids are going completely monkey-poo for these guys. They shared a house with Klaxons, you know? As with all these hip young things, I've approached them with just the right amount of cynicism, but the boys know their way around a catchy chorus. When stuck for a hook, repeat one word again and again and again and again. "Animator, animatooor, animatooor, animator, animatoor, animatoor, animator...")
10. The Apples In Stereo - Skyway (While it's not quite up to the standard of their masterpiece, Fun Trick Noisemaker, the forthcoming Apples In Stereo long-player, New Magnetic Wonder is a joyous thrill-ride, packed with power-pop gems. 'Skyway' is one of the highlights, with its SFA-esque "do-do-do-do-do-do"'s.)
11. Deerhoof - Wrong Time Capsule (Since compiling this, I've heard Deerhoof's snazzy new record. This cut from The Runners Four will have to do for now though. More about Friend Opportunity soon.)
12. Jeremy Warmsley - I Promise (Strapping young lad, Jeremy Warmsley writes tender songs about love and betrayal. He also wears braces. Don't hold that against him though, as you'll be missing out on a promising talent.)
13. King Creosote - 678 (Chorlton & The Wh'Earlies Version) (Recorded with Texan Mancs, The Earlies, this version of '678' is better than the one that appears on KC Rules OK, in my opinion. KC finds the joy in repetition and, probably, stretches the coda out beyond breaking point, but it hammers home the song's subject matter of not wanting to be a big star and just being happy with what you get. Lovely.)
14. Grace Jones - La Vie En Rose (12" Only Promo Version) (The second of our Tom Moulton productions this week and the mixtape closer, is this big fat slice of camp. It doesn't get much more lavish than Grace Jones + Edith Piaf + Tom Moulton. It can only equal bliss.)

Pop's Yer Uncle Volume Three (Disc Two) Zipped and Megauploaded