MPS MIXTAPE PRESERVATION SOCIETY HOUR 28

Back in the day, my friends and I liked to make themed mixtapes and mix CDs. Themes were challenging to make because we couldn't be accused of just haphazardly throwing them together. (One lazy way of putting a mixtape together was to basically plunder someone else's mixtape, particularly the tape of someone whom the recipient had never met) A theme meant that you'd taken more time, energy and thought than normal in assembling the mix. It wasn't just songs you liked-- they had to fit the criterion you'd established for yourself.

One of the best theme mixtapes I ever made was based on a friend's idea: he decided to make an "Off-White Album" based on alternate versions of songs from The Beatles' White Album (which, as every serious fan knows, is titled simply The Beatles) that he culled from the Beatles Anthology 3 collection mixed in with songs from the actual album. I went one further and made a mix composed of covers of the songs from the White Album, and it took off to the point where friends were requesting their own copies.

I lost my copy of that mix (or, most likely, someone purloined it from me) but I still have the list of songs, and when I first started this podcast my goal was to reproduce the mix at some point. I have decided that mow is the time to do so. But I've altered the list significantly,so it's not exactly the same as the mix I made over five years ago. I have discovered better cover versions since then, and substituted them for the ones that were lacking. I mean, I love The Breeders' version of "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" but I have personally played it out and now no longer feel the novelty. It used to be a part of the mix and now it is not.

Speaking of which, here is the list and who sings what:

1. "Back In The U.S.S.R." by Dead Kennedys, from the Live From The Deaf Club live CD that finally saw the light of day some time ago.

2. "Dear Prudence" by Siouxsie & The Banshees. A classic, never gets old.

3. "Glass Onion" by Arif Mardin. I discovered this version before I ever saw the documentary about Mardin titled The Greatest Ears In Town. Must-see moviemaking.

4. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" by Arthur Conley. A reggae rocksteady version of The Fab Four's botched attempt at ska. I almost used No Doubt's version. You're welcome.

5. "Wild Honey Pie" by The Pixies, from their live BBC album.

6. "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill" by Deerhoof, an interesting take on a strange John Lennon ditty.

7. "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame All-Stars, which was recorded in 2007 included Prince and Tom Petty. Wowsers.

8. "Happiness Is A Warm Gun" by Bellorage. I never heard of her before this. I had a hard time deciding which version would replace The Breeders, because there were plenty, including a Spanish-language one by a band called Los Loud Jets that I nixed only because it might be a little too left-field to throw in this mix. Yes, even I found it strange and unsettling, and yet quite good. I settled on this one by L.A. performer Bellorage because it also is quite good, but there are several on You Tube that warrant attention.

9. "Martha My Dear" by The Other Favorites, aka Carson McKee and Josh Turner. I replaced the version from Ambrose Slade aka just regular old Slade because I liked Turner and McKee's version better. All the versions I saw online had the most ornate arrangements and this one is simple because it's just a voice, a banjo, and a guitar. Very down-home.

10. "I'm So Tired" by Say Hi, formerly known as Say Hi To Your Mom. I almost didn't go with this one but I had grown weary of the live Elliott Smith version I'd used before, and there's something kind of cool about this version that drew me in. Maybe it's the original treatment of the vocal melody, which threw me off at first but eventually won me over.

11. "Blackbird" by Billy Preston. A no-brainer.

12. "Piggies" by Theodore Bikel. This one was the prize winner for Oddest Entry, by far. Last time I used the Danger Mouse mash-up of "Change Clothes" from the infamous Grey Album because, believe it or not, at the time I couldn't find a cover version of this George Harrison song. I figured no one ever covered it, but I was wrong. This sounds like it was done shortly after the album came out in 1968, and I know of Bikel from his lone appearance in a "Twilight Zone" episode from the third season. So it had to go in the mix, and it fits perfectly.

13. "Rocky Raccoon" by The Moments, they of "Love On A Two Way Street" fame. Soulful take on a McCartney deep cut.

14. "Don't Pass Me By" by Field Music. This is my least favorite song on The Beatles... and perhaps my least favorite Beatles song EVER. Sorry Ringo. However, this group post-modernizes it to the point where I now think quite highly of it.

15. "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" by Lydia Lunch & Clint Ruin. Their version is really fucking good! I added some of a Sam Kinison bit about Charles Manson, who died recently, because I always thought it was funny how Kinison used this song title in the joke. Of all the songs he could've picked... Sam really had a sense of the absurd beneath all the screaming.

"I Will" by Sally Harmon. This is such a sapfest. I passed on several covers from the likes of Alison Krause and Art Garfunkel, instead opting to go for an instrumental Muzak-y style piano rendition. It's actually quite beautiful and more tolerable this way.

"Julia" by Bill Frisell. Jazz cats like this song a lot, there's plenty of versions done by fusion guys and the like. It's got a one-note melody for the most part but its the changing rhythms and keys that, I think that attracts jazzbos to it.

Next week, the second half will include songs from The Feelies, Pat Benatar, and Terry Manning. Talk about variety!