Sled Island Mix

My dad was so fired up for Sled Island that he wanted to flood his ipod with tunes from the bands playing this week in Calgary.

It has now resulted in a sweet new Al Emes mixtape - I helped him string it together... Check it out:


"Pete Emes of Smalltown DJs has a musical mastermind of a Dad who is a also a fan of Sled Island. Going beyond regular fandom, Mr.Al Emes put his discerning ears to work and created this great Sled Island mix made up entirely of Sled Island bands. Al is very excited about this year’s lineup and he had a tough time choosing between Extinction and Answer to Yourself by The Soft Pack. "

Emes Sled Island 11 for 2011

Link to Download mix











Tracklist:

1) Freeway - Kurt Vile

2) 23 - Blonde Redhead

3) Sleep Forever - Crocodiles

4) Easy - Deer Tick

5) Camp Out - An Horse

6) Castanets - Alejandro Escovedo

7) Back to the Sea - Sandwitches

8) Absinthe Party - Minus the Bear

9) Dead Sound - The Raveonettes

10) Harlem River Blues - Justin Townes Earle

11) Extinction - The Soft Pack

Something About England: A California Girl in London... Part Six

So, there's obviously a bit to say. It got to the point where I was overwhelmed by how much has gone on between my last post and this one. But as I'm departing for LA next week, I figured my perspective would change. So I'm making every effort to sum up my journey thus far. Its been a magnificent one. And judging by my current track record, each day is only going to grow more fruitful, more exciting, and further aspirations will unfold each day. Its all quite extraordinary, and seems to only be continuing down that path! I can't see my time in LA as anything but a good thing, for it will not only give me time to further appreciate the glorious adventure these last six months have been - but it also allows me the opportunity to plan for the future. I'm so thrilled to see my family, friends, and bask in the superlative Los Angeles sun. I genuinely feel like the luckiest lady on the planet, for I have such an sumptuous life on either side of the Atlantic. I get to temporarily step out of my life here, knowing that I've literally accomplished everything I was after and  I get to come back! I get to saunter back into my life in Los Angeles, experiencing only the very best assets of the city I share a love/hate relationship with. Friendships will resume as if no time has passed and family will be ever present. Life, I can truly say I adore you.

But obviously much has ensued in the last month... I watched the incredible Blu-ray release of Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour '74 and fell a little bit in love with him, his music and his attitude toward it.
Throughout the footage, he just exudes an innate sweetness. I find his devoted workman ethic toward his craft and the fact that he never seemed to be desperately chasing success to be standout feats. He did what he did, he did it well and he was content with that. Still, he never had a wife, long time girlfriend or any children. His devotion led to what one can only perceive as a sadness and loneliness, as he drank himself to oblivion, leading to his untimely death at forty seven.

I also saw Queens of the Stone Age at the Roundhouse, on Josh Homme's birthday. (See next issue of Mojo for my summation of the evening!) Though I can't boast immense knowledge about the Queens, I enjoyed myself immensely. They have a great vibe about them, with Homme successfully riling up the entire audience. The crowd was engaged and having a grand time (some quite actively expressing as much). The band played the entirety of their scorching debut, followed by requests from the audience. Afterward, we debunked to the bar above the Roundhouse. Josh Homme, despite the fact that it was his birthday, was endlessly attentive and, dare I say, tender with every fan that approached him. Finally he whispered "I have to get out of here!" and escaped.

For Mojo, I interviewed the chatty and attentive Jack Steadman of Bombay Bicycle Club, the truly fabulous Nona Hendryx of Labelle (who went above and beyond), and Ben Ottewell of Gomez. Ben and I bantered back and forth about the glory of Led Zeppelin II and his immense praise for Mr. Page. Nona's interview is in the next issue of Mojo, and the others will follow, I imagine.

Also for Mojo, I ventured on a coach through the depths of Surrey for a Ringo event. Mild controversy surrounded the piece I penned for the Mojo website, which I will allow you to judge for yourself. The Mojo staff was fully encouraging, but acted accordingly under the powers that be. Read it here.

You can also read a piece I penned for the Mojo website, on my immense love of Joni Mitchell's Blue. More of the sort will follow. I also got my first contributor credit in this month's issue with Bob Marley on the cover.

Finally, Mojo did a special edition titled Mojo 60's, which I had an active hand in. Its now on sale and you can get it here!

A tale of discovering the Rolling Stones...

The end of the sixties were a tumultuous time for the Rolling Stones. From drug busts to ill-conceived albums (Their Satanic Majesties Request), the future looked dire for rock and roll’s premier bad boys. 1968 saw them prove their musical strengths with the illuminating Beggars Banquet, but all was not well in the Stones camp. Founder Brian Jones was kicked out of the group and replaced by baby-faced Bluesbreaker Mick Taylor. Soon after, Jones drowned in the pool of his idyllic Cotchford Farm in Sussex. The remarkable Let It Bleed is the sound of the Stones truly getting back on their feet and kicking into high gear.

Before the album’s December 1969 release, the Stones embarked on their first American tour since 1966. Tour manager Sam Cutler took the liberties of declaring the band “the greatest rock and roll band in the world” and nobody disagreed. The benchmark tour became legend, immortalized in the film Gimme Shelter. The release of Let It Bleed at the end of the year further cemented their mythic status. On the same day of the album’s release was the disastrous Altamont Free Concert, during which an eighteen-year-old boy was stabbed, caught on camera for Gimme Shelter.

While Beggars Banquet was the first Stones LP I discovered, Let It Bleed brought on a tidal wave of encompassing Stones obsession. I engulfed myself in the many tales of their wanton lifestyle, as I gleefully boogied to what I now view as their most vibrant, buoyant album.

Let It Bleed is an album that perfectly exposes the raw talent of the Rolling Stones, in the midst of their most creative period. Its also perhaps the first album to capitalize on the raunchy aura that surrounded the band, captured on the sensuous Live With Me, driven by Keith Richards on bass, as well as the title track (“There will always be a space in my parking lot, when you need a little coke and sympathy”).

The cool seduction of Midnight Rambler acts as the album’s centerpiece, though it’s a composition best displayed on the live album that followed Let It Bleed, Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! The number was taken to tantalizing heights onstage by Mick Taylor, proving that he was certainly the most musically endowed Stone.

Still, it’s the cryptic air of Monkey Man that stands as the album’s gem. The gradual layering of instruments adds excitement and Keith Richards proves himself to be a devil on the guitar, providing jumpy riffs and sensational slide.

The band close the curtain on the sixties with the hymn-like You Can’t Always Get What You Want, their take on love, politics and drugs. Simultaneously conveying optimism and disillusion, the song is the perfect closer to an album that defined an era.