Thursday, November 16, 2006

Cause of death: Heart failure due to tequila and morphine overdose


Such is the cause of death listed for one Cecil Ingram Connor, III better known to some of us as Gram Parsons. This coming Sunday will mark 33 years since that fateful concoction knocked one of country musics more interesting characters out of the game - aged 26. A solo artist as well as a member of both The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, he is best known for a series of recordings which anticipate the so-called country rock of the 1970s and the alt-country movement that began around 1990. To mark the occassion I played the following songs from across Parson's oevre:

Life in Prison - The Byrds
Dim Lights - The Flying Burrito Brothers
Hot Burrito #1 - The Flying Burrito Brothers
We'll Sweep Out the Ashes - Gram Parsons and the Fallen Angels (live radio broadcast)
Return of the Grevious Angel - Gram Parsons
Ooh Las Vegas - Gram Parsons
Love Hurts - Gram Parsons (duet w/ Emmylou Harris)
Sin City - Beck and Emmylou Harris

There's a fantastic bio of Gram Parsons called
Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons, by Ben Fong-Torres if you're interested or quite a good article (that I contributed to years ago) here in Wikipedia. Worth a read if at least for the intriguing tale of his cremation by manager Phil Kaufman, a story that has taken on legendary proportions and been treated on screen numerous times.

The full playlist of Country Mike's Hauraki Hoedown can be found here.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

This weeks Mix & Mash Radio Show - 11 November 2006

Yeah, good to get back in the seat after a week getting used to turning into a responsible adult, father type person somewhat earlier than expected this week!! and a good week to return it was too - Lots of new releases to keep at least this old man entertained!!!

Fatboy Slim returned with a new single, Champion Sound (which he cheekily put on his greatest hits CD a few months back), the Gossip released a single stuffed full of brillaint remixes off last years single Standing in the way of Control' and Basement Jaxx released an intruiging little track with a bit of a country flavour to it 'Take me back to your house'. Not forgetting the new single CSS - Alala (New single from the Brazilian band that brought you 'Let's make love and listen to death from above' - And it's darn funky. Essentially it's a bunch of hot Brazilian girls and an old guy making electro-party tunes in the LCD Soundsystem stylee.

Also worth a mention is The Good, The Bad And The Queen - Herculean (Out last Tuesday, 31st October) brand new from Damon Albarns's latest project and very fine it is too! He's turning out to be a bit of a national institution is our Damon isn't he?

Somewhere during the show I did play Spiller's Cry Baby (Röyksopp remix) for my new baby Bam Bam which did indeed make me cry! Must be going soft afterall!!!

Hour 1 Part 1 - 19:30


Guns n Bombs - Crossover Appeal
Fatboy Slim - Champion sound (Released on 6th November and already on his greatest hits CD out a few months back - which is a bit cheeky!!!)
The Gossip - Standing in the way of control (Playgroup mix) (From a new single release of last years brilliant Standing in the way of control from the Gossip - Other remixes include Headman, Playgroup, Tronik Youth and a belter from Soulwax.
Basement Jaxx - Take me back to your house (Out on 30 Oct 2006)


Hour 1 Part 3 - 21:56

CSS - Alala Released 30th October)
The Cure v Boomtown Rats v New Order dont like mondays its friday (club mix)(A brand new mix from Mark Vidler of Go Home Productions fame. For a copy of this and two other tracks from his new EP go to www.gohomeproductions.co.uk)
Datarock - Fa fa fa
Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel like Dancing - Erol Alkan's Carnival of Light re-work - ESSENTIAL!!!


Hour 2 Part 1 - 22:01

Beck - Nausea (new beck.com)
Teddybears - PUnkrocker
Wolfmother - Joker & the thief (to be released on 20 Nov 2006) I LOVE Wolfmother!!! :-)
The Good, The Bad And The Queen - Herculean (Out last Tuesday, 31st October)
Lily Allen - Littlest Things (Out on 9th November) Brilliant, love the lyrics from this third single from Lily Allen. The album is priceless!!
Air - Alpha Beta Gaga (Mark Ronson Instrumental Mix)


Hour 2 Part 3 - 24:31

The 25 minute mix

Spank Rock - Bump (Switch Remix)
Moby - Go (Trentemoller Remix) (Check out the superb Twin Peaks sample on this brilliant track, essentially more Trentemoller than Mody!)
Spiller - Jumbo
Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler

Enough said, all quality tunes, impecably mixed into 25 glorious minutes! :-) Go to http://kimberleymansfield.multiply.com/music/item/31

Until next time!