skoolbus39

I originally set out to make a lean-and-mean mix of my favorite music from oh-seven. I tried, but couldn’t whittle it down to a single, hour-long set. Sure, editing down longer tracks would accommodate most of my shortlist, but excerpts compromised what made the originals great: A two- or three-minute “Ocean Of Emptiness” began to sound more like a puddle. “Symphony For The Surrealists” lost its derby clock automatic elephant when reduced to a “movement.”

So, comforted by other mixes that sprawled across two sets, I reconsidered. Now, it’s all here: the mighty “Atlas” (Fehlmann’s stood head-and-shoulders above Tyondai & The Chipmunks’), both parts of Ost & Kjex’s thrilling mungophony, Durrty’s goodz, the only track I liked off the LCD Soundsystem album, and all seventeen glorious minutes of Âme’s “Fiori.”

By contrast, a few of the shorter songs benefited from a nip and a tuck. Some appear in truncated or remixed form. The context is changed, but the essence remains. They also serve as relief from the aforementioned epics.

These mixes are heavy on the electronic tip. Save for Marnie Stern’s deedily-deedily-deedily Stratocaster, not much rock actually rawked this year – not for me anyway. Consider me unenthused about yet another band selling Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, or Jesus & Mary Chain as the next big thing – now even louder!

Folk? Jazz? Reggae? I'm a fan, but found myself listening mostly to reissues this year. If you have any contemporary suggestions, I’d love to hear them. In fact, if you have any questions or comments, don’t hesitate to drop me a line at ryan [at] skoolbus39 [dot] com.

I’ve got some more mixes in the works. Stay tuned.

Part one:

1. The Focus Group "Wake Up! He's Here" [Ghost Box]
2. Justice "D.A.N.C.E. [Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix]" [Ed Banger Records / Because Music]
3. LCD Soundsystem "Get Innocuous" [DFA / EMI / Capitol]
4. Ost & Kjex "Milano Model (A Thrilling Mungophony In Two Parts)" [Dialect Recordings]
5. Julianna Barwick "Dancing With Friends" [Má Fama Sessions]
6. Panda Bear "Bro's [Remix By Terrestrial Tones]" [Fat Cat Records]
7. Lietterschpich "Celebration Segregation!!!" [Heart & Crossbone]
8. Marnie Stern "Vibrational Match" [Kill Rock Stars]
9. nsi. "7" [Sähkö Recordings]
10. Winter Family "Winter Family" [Sub Rosa]
11. The 7th Plain "Symphony For The Surrealists" [Ostgut Tonträger]
12. Patrick Wolf "Augustine" [Loog]

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Part two:

1. Strategy "Running On Empty" [Kranky]
2. Róisín Murphy "Checking On Me" [EMI]
3. Lil Mama "Lip Gloss" [Jive]
4. Buraka Som Sistema "Yah! [featuring Petty]" [Modular]
5. Farah "Law Of Life" [Italians Do It Better]
6. Âme "Fiori [Original Mix]" [Ostgut Tonträger]
7. DeepChord Presents Echospace "Ocean Of Emptiness" [Modern Love]
8. Thomas Fehlmann "Atlas" [Kompakt]
9. Burial "Ghost Hardware" [Hyperdub]
10. Durrty Goodz "Switching Songs II" [Awkward]

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