Hello! This is the first issue of the summer series that i've planned for a while. The point was to ask some of best people from my fav bands to make some sort of mixtapes, list of albums, videos, photos or wthatever else coming in mind that have strong summer vibe to it, cause, you know, it's still summer out there.
So, less words, the first issue is absolutely fantastic set of write up and music from Amos Pitsch of Wisconsin's pop combo Tenement. Hope you'enjoy it as much as i'm. Let's start.
Amos Pitsch summer middle finger - by Colin "Wild Man"
Here in
the Midwestern United States, the Summer Season represents a whirl-wind of
hopes and dreams all year round. During the height of the sub-tropical summer
swelter of Wisconsin, schoolyard urchins embrace the solar touch through belly
flops into deep puddles and ants set aflame under magnifying glass. Meanwhile,
the older and slower-moving natives of this land find the closest, darkest,
coldest cavern to slip into and cease all thought or ambition of any kind. This
is a meditation of sorts; anticipation of sun-down, silence, and an old
fleeting friend that goes by the name of Autumn.
Summer soon passes, and Autumn too.
Nature begins sprinkling its salt across the land. Snow plows scrape the
pavement, and the railroad & construction workers in the midst of winter
layoff find themselves scraping by on seemingly nothing. The children, in their
snow suits, marvel at the freezing temperature of their snot, tongues, and
toes, and find that even at mid day, they rarely cast a shadow. Everyone's a
vampire here in the Wintertime. The world often wonders why we boast so many
serial killers and hopelessly obese health criminals. Spend a lifetime of
Winters in this world we call home, and you might begin to understand.
...And so for the old and sessile
creatures once mentioned, thoughts of green grass and brow sweat and toe jam
come surging back like a lust for a lover once forgotten, but now so achingly;
painfully remembered.
Summer... the season of bleeding
sweat in the crossfire of a shreiking, shivering box fan. The season of of
skin. The season of sound; of rhythm. Of COLOR and bright light and
electricity. Cultivation in the countryside, and restlessness & violence in
the inner city. It's the season of love, hate; the season of LIFE!
Mikey asked that I make some sort of
mixtape for summer. I couldn't decide which mood was most appropriate, so I put
together two mixes; one for daytime, and one for night. The daytime mix varies
from bouncing dreamy melodies fit for slow motion car rides or paper boy routes
(The Figgs' "Barely There", Shadowy Men's "Who Painted"),
to celebratory and hopeful dance numbers (The Meters' "Sophisticated
Cissy", The Fame Gang's "Can I Change My Mind", The Impressions'
"We're A Winner", Al Anderson's "Going Back...") to love
and lust (Ike and Tina's "It Ain't Right", NRBQ's "I Got a
Little Secret", Barbara Lewis' "Puppy Love", Betty Wright's
"Give Me Back..."), and the summer day time anthem, "We'll Be
Doing Time", by The Figgs. The evening mix sticks to slower, moodier
melodies. Maybe damp rather than soaking wet, and a cool breeze rather than a
heat wave. The McGuire Sisters' "Moonglow" is an exception, as if to
say, "That's All Folks!"
Straight from my turntable to your digital device, ENJOY.
Amos Pitsch, July 2013
Moods for
Summer Day
1. The
Figgs - Barely There #1
2. The
Fame Gang - Can I Change My Mind
3. Ike +
Tina Turner - It Ain't Right (Lovin to be Lovin)
4. NRBQ -
I Got a Little Secret
5.
Barbara Lewis - Puppy Love
6. The
Meters - Sophisticated Cissy
7. The
Impressions - We're A Winner
8. Betty
Wright - Give Me Back My Man
9. Al
Anderson - Going Back Down to Indiana
10.
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet - Who Painted Whistler's Mother
11. The
Figgs - We'll Be Doing Time
Moods for
Summer Evening
1.
Dorothy Ashby - Life Has Its Trials
2. Les
Baxter & Harry Revel - Celestial Nocturne
3. Etta
James - Dream
4. Goodnight
Loving - Summer Dream
5.
Charlie Parker - Summertime
6.
Charles Mingus - Weird Nightmare
7. Erik
Satie - Trois Gymnopedies
8. Brenda
Lee - Emotions
