Mixes

I was born during a (an?) historical period people refer to as the "1980s", so naturally the Mixtape holds a special importance when it comes to taking in the music of the times. MiniDisc has been my format of choice since 2001, and remains the ideal format when it comes to realtime digital editing and recording, updating and cataloguing. They're also virtually indestructible, impervious to dust or overplaying and, despite what anyone may tell you, still sound as crystal clear as the original compact disc. So, onward, and witness my obsessive compulsiveness taken to extremes. (All tracks are from lossless digital sources (CD, FLAC, etc) unless otherwise stated.)

Cassection

In 2022 I began issuing a new series of compilations on cassette tape. To find out more, visit the Forum.

Warning!

If I may also take the irony to remind you, on behalf of the British Phonographic Industry, that:

HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC AND IT'S ILLEGAL

You have been warned. I take no responsibility if recreating the following mixes will destroy or somehow kill your music, or any musicians in the local vicinity, but so far I've not encountered any ill effects. Except for one time, but that may have been the acid.

The 2006 Mixes

It wasn't until I came to Canada that I decided to fill the rainy days with establishing a formal system for mix discs, instead of making them, changing them and eventually overwriting the contents completely. By 2006 I had acquired enough music on CD alone to attempt to try and fill five full MiniDiscs of music of similar genre without repeating a single artist.

"Why?" you may ask. Well, I still used my portables in these days and spent a lot of time walking. To save pressing the "skip" buttons hundreds of times, wearing out buttons and batteries, I simply took my favourite songs and concentrated them in small packages. With bright and beaming 'color collection' blanks at the ready, I plugged in the optical connectors, programmed the compact disc player accordingly and fired up the Onkyo. Here is my attempt:

Disc 1

A post-punk theme runs through disc one. Naturally, my favourite songs and artists from the previous half decade are contained here. The Clash, of course. The Chameleons, naturally. Factory bands are represented by ACR, JD and SXXV (and, technically, one more. Can you guess?). 4AD artists are also present.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	A Certain Ratio	Flight
2.	The Chameleons	A Person Isn't Safe Anywhere These Days
3.	The Clash	One More Time
4.	Cocteau Twins	Feathers-Oar-Blades
5.	The Cure	Out Of This World
6.	Echo & The Bunnymen	Stars Are Stars
7.	Pere Ubu	The Modern Dance
8.	Wire	Go Ahead
9.	Bauhaus	Double Dare
10.	Joy Division	Disorder
11.	Skinny Puppy	Far Too Frail
12.	PiL	Memories
13.	Gang Of Four	Natural's Not In It
14.	My Bloody Valentine	Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)
15.	OMD	Bunker Soldiers	Peel session
16.	This Mortal Coil	Not Me
17.	Cabaret Voltaire	Yashar
18.	Magazine	Rhythm Of Cruelty	Single version
19.	Section 25	New Horizon
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'black' (80min) / Onkyo MD-105FX

Disc 2

The mood alters somewhat as more wistful and electronic pieces are introduced. The first two tracks are, in my opinion, stylistically aligned. I also find similarities between New Order's Procession and Belle & Sebastian's Electronic Renaissance - a good title for this disc.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Japan	Quiet Life	Album version
2.	Duran Duran	Anyone Out There
3.	New Order	Procession
4.	The Wake	Melancholy Man
5.	The Undertones	Beautiful Friend
6.	The Smiths	There Is A Light That Never Goes Out	'Very Best Of' version
7.	James	Tonight
8.	The Jam	The Dreams Of Children
9.	Belle & Sebastian	Electronic Renaissance
10.	808 State	Moses
11.	Soft Cell	Memorabilia	12 inch extended
12.	Simple Minds	I Travel	12 inch extended
13.	The Other Two	Movin' On
14.	The Sugarcubes	Birthday
15.	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Cities In Dust
16.	The Human League	You Remind Me Of Gold
17.	Gary Numan	Love Needs No Disguise
18.	Young Marble Giants	Eating Noddemix
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'purple' (80min) / Onkyo MD-105FX

Disc 3

I got sidetracked by the power of 1980s synthpop on this disc. Behold the 12 inch extended mix!

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Dead Or Alive	Brand New Lover
2.	Visage	Fade To Grey	12 inch extended
3.	Ultravox	Herr X	German language
4.	Propaganda	Dr. Mabuse	12 inch extended
5.	Heaven 17	Let Me Go
6.	Blancmange	Living On The Ceiling	12 inch extended
7.	Alphaville	Dance With Me	12 inch extended
8.	Sparks	When I'm With You
9.	Kraftwerk	Techno Pop	Outtake
10.	Kate Bush	Running Up That Hill
11.	The Church	Under The Milky Way
12.	Altered Images	I Could Be Happy
13.	The Psychedelic Furs	Love My Way
14.	Aztec Camera	Oblivious
15.	The Housemartins	Five Get Over Excited
16.	Haircut One Hundred	Favourite Shirts	12 inch extended
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'blue' (80min) / Onkyo MD-105FX

Disc 4

A mixed bag as artists are assembled from across several genres and decades to create this solid fourth disc. Oh, and Yes! The Beatles' track was re-added post 909 day. If you know what that means then a big bowl of Kudos to you. If you don't, then go away. You are clearly sane and well adjusted.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros	Sandpaper Blues
2.	Thompson Twins	Bouncing	'Master Hits' version
3.	Pulp	Babies
4.	Kaiser Chiefs	Modern Way
5.	The Manic Street Preachers	There By The Grace Of God
6.	The Stone Roses	I Wanna Be Adored
7.	The Names	Life By The Sea
8.	The Durutti Column	Sketch For Summer
9.	Starbase 109	Metrolink
10.	Crispy Ambulance	The Force And The Wisdom
11.	Brian Eno-David Byrne	Regiment
12.	Baby Dayliner	Raid!
13.	Madness	Mistakes
14.	Yazoo	Bad Connection
15.	Talk Talk	Does Caroline Know?
16.	Babble	The Stone
17.	Paul McCartney	We Got Married
18.	The Damned	Under The Floor Again
19.	Prefab Sprout	When Love Breaks Down
20.	The Beatles	Tomorrow Never Knows	Remaster
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'red' (80min) / Onkyo MD-105FX

Disc 5

Definitely a punk theme to the final disc of the 2006 Experiment. The Depeche Mode track clearly does not sit well, even though it is their very first release. I traded in the CD it was sourced from (in protest to the LOUDNESS wars), so it remains as my only digital representation. Fans will also note its historical significance.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Buzzcocks	Moving Away From The Pulsebeat
2.	The Stranglers	(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
3.	Jilted John	Jilted John
4.	The Stooges	Down On The Street
5.	Blondie	X-Offender
6.	XTC	Making Plans For Nigel
7.	Happy Mondays	Tart Tart
8.	Mission Of Burma	Fight Academy Songs
9.	The Strokes	Barely Legal	EP version
10.	U2	New Year's Day
11.	The Fall	Flat Of Angles
12.	Inspiral Carpets	Keep The Circle Around	Peel session
13.	Dead Kennedys	Holiday In Cambodia
14.	The Adverts	Gary Gilmore's Eyes
15.	Spizz Energi	Where's Captain Kirk?
16.	Adam & The Ants	The Magnificent Five
17.	The Only Ones	Lovers Of Today
18.	Depeche Mode	Photographic	'Some Bizarre' version
19.	Fad Gadget	Back To Nature
20.	Can	On The Beautiful Side Of A Romance
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'orange' (80min) / Onkyo MD-105FX

The 2007 Mixes

Disc 1

This disc was a reflection of the songs I was enjoying at the time. The honour of being the first repeated artist falls to Talk Talk, and by my reckoning, they thoroughly deserve it.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	When In Rome	The Promise
2.	Sad Lovers & Giants	Clint
3.	Talk Talk	Happiness Is Easy
4.	Thomas Dolby	Europa And The Pirate Twins
5.	808 State	Magical Dream
6.	Red Lorry Yellow Lorry	Talk About The Weather
7.	Crispy Ambulance	Not What I Expected
8.	Section 25	Can't Let Go
9.	Talking Heads	I Want To Live
10.	The Police	Canary In A Coalmine
11.	David Bowie	Golden Years
12.	My Bloody Valentine	Swallow
13.	De La Soul	Tread Water
14.	Falco	Der Kommissar	German language
15.	Wire	Ambitious	Alternate mix
16.	Wire	Madman's Honey	Alternate mix
17.	The Sound	Skeletons
18.	De La Soul	Jenifa (Taught Me)	12 inch version
19.	De La Soul	Me Myself And I	Oblapos Mode
20.	Gang Of Four	I Love A Man In A Uniform
	Recorded on Sony 'bianca' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 2

A sombre mix, perhaps made for falling asleep to.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	The Sound	Hothouse
2.	The Chameleons	Sally	Outtake
3.	The Cure	Faith
4.	Joy Division	Passover
5.	The Durutti Column	Sleep Will Come
6.	My Bloody Valentine	Lose My Breath
7.	The Smiths	Well I Wonder
8.	Depeche Mode	Blue Dress
9.	New Order	Thieves Like Us
10.	OMD	Annex
11.	The Cars	Since You're Gone
12.	Simple Minds	Someone, Somewhere In Summertime
13.	Happy Mondays	Olive Oil
14.	Harold Budd / Simon Raymonde / Robin Guthrie / Elizabeth Fraser	Sea, Swallow Me
15.	Dead Can Dance	The Carnival Is Over
16.	Wings	Bluebird
17.	Belle & Sebastian	Waiting For The Moon To Rise
18.	The Chameleons	Is It Any Wonder
19.	The Sound	Heartland
	Recorded on Sony Premium 'gold' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 3

Instead of following genres, or even rules dictating the repetition of the same artist, I just threw them down by instinct hoping to gain some form of flow. There is a slight anti-war/politics (they are the same thing after all, right?) theme to this disc, but I'm sure that's made obvious by the songs listed.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	U2	Seconds
2.	The Wake	On Our Honeymoon
3.	The Alarm	Rain In The Summertime
4.	Sad Lovers & Giants	Imagination	Re-recording
5.	Japan	The Unconventional
6.	Fad Gadget	Collapsing New People
7.	Erasure	Heart Of Stone
8.	A Flock Of Seagulls	Space Age Love Song
9.	The Pop Group	We Are Time
10.	XTC	Dear God
11.	The Cars	Heartbeat City
12.	U2	Pride (In The Name Of Love)
13.	The Alarm	The Stand
14.	The Cars	Touch And Go
15.	My Bloody Valentine	Strawberry Wine
16.	Frankie Goes To Hollywood	Welcome To The Pleasuredome
17.	Blancmange	Lose Your Love
18.	Blancmange	All Things Are Nice
19.	Paul Hardcastle	19
20.	The Strokes	I Can't Win
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'red' (80min) / Onkyo MD-105FX

The 2008 Mixes

2008 saw an acceleration in the minting of new discs since I now had a MiniDisc console in my car!

Disc 1

There is a minor reference to a certain BBC Play For Today within this bizarre collection of songs. If you can spot it, add another serving of Kudos to your bowl. 'The Tube' tracks were sourced, ironically, from YouTube.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	The Chameleons	Bobby Moore's Wine	Outtake
2.	The Doors	Touch Me
3.	Japan	Wish You Were Black
4.	13th Floor Elevators	You're Gonna Miss Me	Mono
5.	Talking Heads	Cities	5.1 stereo downmix
6.	Red Lorry Yellow Lorry	Hollow Eyes
7.	Demis Roussos	Forever And Ever
8.	Donna Summer	Love To Love You Baby
9.	Strawberry Alarm Clock	Incense And Peppermints
10.	OMD	Souvenir	Extended
11.	Cocteau Twins	Spooning Good Singing Gum
12.	The Cure	Birdmad Girl
13.	Faust	Giggy Smile	Alternate version
14.	Big Audio Dynamite	Sony
15.	808 State	Europa
16.	Primal Scream	Higher Than The Sun
17.	Dead Can Dance	East Of Eden
18.	The The	This Is The Day
19.	Lightning Seeds	Pure
20.	The Smiths	Barbarism Begins At Home	Live on the Tube (1984) [mono]
21.	The Fall	Smile	Live on the Tube (1983) [mono]
22.	The Fall	2x4	Live on the Tube (1983) [mono]
	Recorded on Sony Premium 'gold' (80min) / Onkyo MD-105FX, Sony MDS-JE520, Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 2

1980s electronic synthpop starts off the proceedings, but this disc evolves into something with a tad more depth. (Nothing But) Flowers is a wonderful song, and was used to excellent effect in Clerks 2.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	King	Love & Pride
2.	The Beat	Save It For Later
3.	U2	The Refugee
4.	Alphaville	Big In Japan
5.	Information Society	Pure Energy
6.	Camouflage	The Great Commandment
7.	Erasure	Victim Of Love
8.	Anything Box	Jubilation
9.	New Order	The Perfect Kiss	CD edit
10.	ABC	The Look Of Love
11.	Animotion	Obsession
12.	Dead Or Alive	My Heart Goes Bang
13.	Roxy Music	Don't Stop The Dance
14.	Blow Monkeys	Digging Your Scene
15.	The Housemartins	Happy Hour
16.	Tears For Fears	Head Over Heels	Plus Broken (Live)
17.	Missing Persons	Words
18.	'Til Tuesday	Are You Serious?
19.	Talking Heads	(Nothing But) Flowers
20.	Pink Floyd	Any Colour You Like
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'purple' (80min) / Sony MDS-JE520

Disc 3

This is a somewhat confused mix. It begun as an attempt to record down my favourite songs of the moment but lost direction midway. I admit it: The T-Rex tracks were tacked on the end to fill up remaining space, but that does not detract from my respect for him as an artist.

#	Artist	Song
1.	The Sound	The Unwritten Law
2.	The Chameleons	Up The Down Escalator
3.	Sad Lovers & Giants	Echoplay
4.	The Church	Reptile
5.	The Stone Roses	Bye Bye Badman
6.	A Flock Of Seagulls	What Am I Supposed To Do
7.	Stereolab	Cybele's Reverie
8.	U2	A Day Without Me
9.	Pink Floyd	A Pillow Of Winds
10.	The Teardrop Explodes	Treason
11.	The Clash	Shepherds Delight
12.	The Beat	Sole Salvation
13.	Flight Of The Conchords	Inner City Pressure
14.	The Jam	'A' Bomb In Wardour Street
15.	The Jam	Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
16.	David Bowie	The Man Who Sold The World
17.	Echo & The Bunnymen	Crystal Days
18.	The B-52's	Roam
19.	The Cure	Do The Hansa
20.	T-Rex	Metal Guru
21.	T-Rex	Light Of Love
22.	The Cars	It's All I Can Do
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'orange' (80min) / Sony MDS-JE520

The 2009 Mixes

A prolific year, and lots of artists covered. 2009 was fraught with turmoil and anxiety, but luckily my only record of it is six magneto-optic discs of music.

Disc 1

A reflective mix, and one of my favourites. It saw much service over the spring and summer of 2009, as I drove around under the sun of the Saanich Peninsula. The drummer on track one shares a surname with me and worked for Oasis. None of us is perfect.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Icicle Works	Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)
2.	Modern English	I Melt With You	Version?
3.	The Sound	Resistance
4.	Jean Michel Jarre	Oxygene IV
5.	The Psychedelic Furs	All That Money Wants
6.	Thompson Twins	Coastline
7.	Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros	Global A Go-Go
8.	Brian Eno	King's Lead Hat
9.	Talking Heads	The Great Curve	5.1 stereo downmix
10.	Blancmange	Game Above My Head
11.	The Teardrop Explodes	Bent Out Of Shape
12.	The Fall	Rebellious Jukebox
13.	PiL	Public Image
14.	808 State	Plan 9
15.	Depeche Mode	Walking In My Shoes
16.	Wire	Map Ref. 41°N 93°W
17.	Section 25	Crazy Wisdom
18.	Cocteau Twins	Millimillenary
	Recorded on Sony 'pearl blue' (74min) / Sony MDS-JE520

Disc 2

Back to a theme: good ol' punk thrash and their influences. This disc is a particular favourite of mine, flowing as it does quite well and ending superbly. It was recorded in one session on April 20th and likewise served me and my car well.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Jimi Hendrix	All Along The Watchtower
2.	Kaiser Chiefs	Ruby
3.	The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster	Mister Mental	mp3 source
4.	Section 25	Poppy Fields
5.	Led Zeppelin	Immigrant Song
6.	Gang Of Four	What We All Want
7.	Wire	Mannequin
8.	U2	Wire
9.	The Doors	Hello, I Love You	Correctly mastered
10.	The Teardrop Explodes	Brave Boys Keep Their Promises
11.	Talking Heads	Cities	Alternate version
12.	Modest Mouse	Steam Engenius
13.	Brian Eno-David Byrne	Mea Culpa
14.	Brian Eno	Backwater
15.	The Jam	All Around The World
16.	The Fall	Totally Wired
17.	Stiff Little Fingers	Suspect Device
18.	The Stooges	No Fun
19.	PiL	Poptones
	Recorded on TDK XS-iV (74min) / Sony MDS-JE520

Disc 3

A sequel, or rather a continuation, to the previous disc. Roughly halfway through, however, it diverts into more familiar territory of the random and the absurd.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	The Stooges	I Wanna Be Your Dog
2.	Chelsea	Right To Work
3.	Sex Pistols	Problems
4.	Buzzcocks	Harmony In My Head
5.	My Bloody Valentine	You Made Me Realise
6.	The Pop Group	We Are All Prostitutes
7.	Stockholm Monsters	How Corrupt Is Rough Trade?
8.	Stockholm Monsters	Kan Kill!
9.	A Flock Of Seagulls	Transfer Affection
10.	A Flock Of Seagulls	Modern Love Is Automatic
11.	Minny Pops	A Feeling
12.	Minny Pops	Tracking
13.	Section 25	Remembrance
14.	Stereolab	Ping Pong
15.	Stereolab	Outer Accelerator
16.	Pixies	Monkey Gone To Heaven
17.	Baby Dayliner	Madeline
18.	Baby Dayliner	Beat Downs
19.	The Cars	Running To You
20.	Thompson Twins	In The Beginning
21.	Modern English	Someone's Calling	7 inch mix
22.	Young Marble Giants	Sporting Life
	Recorded on Maxell 'blue' (80min) / Sony MDS-JE520

Disc 4

The archetypal 'post-punk' disc, with songs arranged in pairs. I originally used the (harsh sounding) remasters for the first two tracks but replaced them with versions from the original CD issue. At the time of its creation this disc contained every song I wanted to hear. Recorded on June 24th in a haze of marijuana.

#	Artist	Song
1.	Dead Can Dance	The Fatal Impact
2.	Dead Can Dance	The Trial
3.	The Psychedelic Furs	Sister Europe
4.	The Psychedelic Furs	Imitation Of Christ
5.	The Sound	Contact The Fact
6.	The Sound	Silent Air
7.	Echo & The Bunnymen	The Back Of Love
8.	Echo & The Bunnymen	Clay
9.	David Bowie	A New Career In A New Town
10.	David Bowie	Art Decade
11.	My Bloody Valentine	Cigarette In My Bed
12.	My Bloody Valentine	Drive It All Over Me
13.	Sad Lovers & Giants	A Map Of My World
14.	Sad Lovers & Giants	Life Under Glass
15.	The Names	Spectators Of Life
16.	The Names	Nightshift
17.	Section 25	Garageland
18.	Section 25	L'arte Du Math
	Recorded on Maxell 'green' (74min) / Sony MDS-JE520

Disc 5

An attempt to introduce Krautrock bands, as well as reference many other forms of media from Family Guy to Kubrick. Also, the first appearance of the mighty Scott Walker and of course, Gary Wilson. The first disc recorded entirely with my new Sony MDS-JB930 on a vintage 60 minute disc (Yes! the upside down ones). From now on all discs are timestamped by date and time. Perhaps many years in the future man will wonder what his ancestors did on certain seconds of certain days. In a far flung wavelength of space and time they will hear and they will rejoice.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Walter Carlos	Theme from A Clockwork Orange
2.	Faust	Jennifer	Alternate version
3.	Can	Oh Yeah
4.	NEU!	Super
5.	Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft	Als wär's das letzte Mal
6.	NEU!	Isi
7.	Herman Wouk?	Through Poland to a Jewish Village	YouTube sourced
8.	Scott Walker	Sons Of
9.	Wings	Deliver Your Children
10.	The Youngbloods	Get Together
11.	Talking Heads	Listening Wind	5.1 stereo downmix
12.	Simple Minds	Big Sleep
13.	Gary Wilson	When You Walk Into My Dreams
14.	Gary Wilson	And Then I Kissed Your Lips
15.	My Bloody Valentine	Moon Song
	Recorded on Sony MDW-60 'grey' (60min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 6

Ending the year on a high note indeed, this mix is a "lovely looking pair", sticking to that theme beautifully with a wide range of artists and genres. The beginning of my 'Fall' phase: the opening guitar notes of Industrial Estate chime like the sound of the back-to-work siren. Lykke Li has one of those voices, and The Sundays were actually damn good.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Lykke Li	Let It Fall
2.	Lykke Li	My Love
3.	Wire	Circumspect
4.	Wire	Four Long Years
5.	Scott Walker	On Your Own Again
6.	Scott Walker	The World's Strongest Man
7.	The Sundays	Here's Where The Story Ends
8.	The Sundays	You're Not The Only One I Know
9.	Gary Wilson	You Keep On Looking
10.	Gary Wilson	Groovy Girls Make Love At The Beach
11.	The Fall	Industrial Estate
12.	The Fall	Futures And Pasts
13.	New Order	Run
14.	New Order	Mr. Disco
15.	Daniel Lanois	I Love You
16.	Daniel Lanois	Space Kay
17.	Talk Talk	Life's What You Make It
18.	Talk Talk	Living In Another World
19.	My Bloody Valentine	Sometimes
20.	My Bloody Valentine	What You Want	Extended outro
	Recorded on Sony ES 'white' (74min) / Sony MDS-JB930

The 2010 Mixes

2010 is a focus more on favourite artists and an exploration of bands new to me.

Disc 1

Although it appears to be a lazily thrown together collection from just four artists, this disc actually contains the cream of three superb albums: In Rainbows, This Nation's Saving Grace and Voices & Images. The 'Banshees tracks would have been included a long time ago had not their studio equivalents been deemed sonically subpar by my own particular ear. Hence why they are drawn from the Peel session CD.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Halloween	Peel session
2.	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Hong Kong Garden	Peel session
3.	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Into The Light	Peel session
4.	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Starcrossed	Demo
5.	Radiohead	Bodysnatchers	Slow fade in
6.	Radiohead	Bangers And Mash
7.	Radiohead	Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
8.	Radiohead	Reckoner
9.	Radiohead	House Of Cards
10.	The Fall	Barmy
11.	The Fall	What You Need
12.	The Fall	Couldn't Get Ahead
13.	The Fall	My New House
14.	Camouflage	Helpless Helpless
15.	Camouflage	Winner Takes Nothing
16.	Camouflage	Strangers Thoughts
17.	Camouflage	From Ay To Bee
18.	Camouflage	Where Has The Childhood Gone
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'orange' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 2

Actually titled The Legend Of John Peel Continues. The honour of being the first repeated song in a different version falls to The Adverts, with Gary Gilmore's Eyes. Annex by OMD is also reprised from earlier on. My obsession with The Fall, much like John Peel's, continues unabated.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	The Fall	Jawbone And The Air Rifle	Peel session
2.	The Fall	Put Away	Peel session
3.	The Fall	R.O.D.	Peel session
4.	Gang Of Four	I Found That Essence Rare	Peel session
5.	Gang Of Four	Natural's Not In It	Peel session
6.	The Adverts	Gary Gilmore's Eyes	Peel session
7.	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Candyman	Peel session
8.	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Cannons	Peel session
9.	Siouxsie & The Banshees	Lands End	Peel session
10.	The Chameleons	Perfume Garden	Peel session
11.	The Smiths	This Charming Man	Peel session
12.	Happy Mondays	Olive Oil	Peel session
13.	New Order	Turn The Heater On	Peel session
14.	Cocteau Twins	Wax And Wane	Peel session
15.	Depeche Mode	Boys Say Go!	Peel session
16.	Cabaret Voltaire	Big Funk	Peel session
17.	The Wake	The Drill	Peel session
18.	The Wake	Here Comes Everybody	Peel session
19.	OMD	Annex	Peel session
20.	OMD	ABC Auto Industry [Extended outro]	Peel session
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'red' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 3

This mix is a definite attempt to slow down and lighten up. Another "going to sleep" collection of sorts, mostly courtesy of Frantz-Weymouth, Bailey-Currie. Some wonderfully wistful Scott Walker from his finest album (Scott 3) and Robin Sharrock's favourite Clash song of all time: Charlie Don't Surf. The Talking Heads outtakes are not at all inferior sounding and represent the hidden links between Remain In Light & My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts and Speaking In Tongues & Tom Tom Club.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Scott Walker	Rosemary
2.	Scott Walker	Butterfly
3.	The Clash	Charlie Don't Surf
4.	Tom Tom Club	Who Feelin' It
5.	Tom Tom Club	Superdreaming
6.	Tom Tom Club	Lesbians By The Lake
7.	OMD	Sacred Heart
8.	Thompson Twins	The Invisible Man
9.	The Cure	High
10.	Talking Heads	Dancing For Money	Unfinished outtake
11.	Talking Heads	Unison	Unfinished outtake
12.	Talking Heads	Double Groove	Unfinished outtake
13.	Babble	Just Like You
14.	Babble	Love Has No Name
15.	Babble	Into Ether
16.	Babble	Dreamfield
17.	Scott Walker	Hero Of The War
18.	Scott Walker	The Old Man's Back Again
19.	The Stranglers	Golden Brown
20.	Duran Duran	Tiger Tiger
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'orange' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 4

The first disc to master vinyl sources using a new Cambridge Audio 640P preamp. The Gary Wilson tracks have very slight surface noise; I think the Forgotten Lovers CD was sourced from vinyl. The versions I have are, alas, 192kbps mp3s of that CD, but still sound excellent. A somewhat eclectic disc I am rather proud of! Completed on June 22nd.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	The Fall	Shoulder Pads 1
2.	Cabaret Voltaire	Ghostalk	Vinyl source
3.	New Order	Everything's Gone Green	Vinyl source
4.	Wire	Ambulance Chasers	Original version
5.	The Doors	Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)	Correctly mastered
6.	The Fall	Bournemouth Runner
7.	Gary Wilson	Rhythm In Your Eyes	mp3 source
8.	Gary Wilson	Soul Travel	mp3 source
9.	Gary Wilson	Chrome Lover	mp3 source
10.	Gary Wilson	Sick Trip	mp3 source
11.	Gary Wilson	I Wanna Take You On A Sea Cruise	mp3 source
12.	Tom Tom Club	Measure Up
13.	Tom Tom Club	Never Took A Penny
14.	The The	GIANT	Vinyl source
15.	Strawberry Alarm Clock	Sit With The Guru
16.	Strawberry Alarm Clock	Barefoot In Baltimore
17.	The Fall	Shoulder Pads 2
	Recorded on TDK 'orange' (74min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 5

Some excellent songs on here, including one of Radiohead's finest from their Hail To The Thief album. Television, The Doors, Talking Heads and The Stooges represent the fine music to come out of the US during the '60s and '70s. Space's album Spiders is, in my opinion, a classic: "Now every time we see a crown, it only makes us want to fucking frown." It was also among the first ten CDs I ever bought. 'Culloden excerpt' is a short political statement against the British Army, charging once again my discs with subversive elements. The New Order track is a stunning ten minute rendition of the Sparks song and features some excellent keyboard work. All in all, a fine disc of mostly energetic songs. Completed 17th July.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Television	Marquee Moon
2.	The Doors	Light My Fire	Correctly mastered
3.	Radiohead	Where I End And You Begin
4.	The Fall	Fiery Jack
5.	Magazine	Cut-Out Shapes
6.	Happy Mondays	Judge Fudge	Vinyl source
7.	Space	Lovechild Of The Queen
8.	Gary Numan	Metal
9.	Talking Heads	The Good Thing
10.	Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft	Der Mussolini	German language
11.	Red Lorry Yellow Lorry	Silence	(plus 'Culloden' excerpt)
12.	The Stooges	1969
13.	Section 25	Hold Me
14.	Sad Lovers & Giants	3 Lines	Live
15.	New Order	When I'm With You (Live)	mp3 source
	Recorded on TDK 'blue-green-turquoise' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 6

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Dead Can Dance on Peep Show, and even more so when I heard Young Marble Giants (and Lykke Li) on Bored to Death. This disc once again features pairs of songs (with the exception of the five 'Budd tracks - I highly recommend The Pearl album!), although this time rather than grouping together I went for symmetry. So, we have some classic Cure, atmospheric Japan, the lovely Lykke Li and ambient brilliance from Harold Budd and Co. Recorded between September and October.

#	Artist	Song
1.	Stereolab	Pack Yr Romantic Mind
2.	Lykke Li	Little Bit
3.	Young Marble Giants	The Clock
4.	The Cure	All Cats Are Grey
5.	Japan	The Experience Of Swimming
6.	Harold Budd / Brian Eno (with Daniel Lanois)	Against The Sky
7.	Cocteau Twins	Otterley
8.	Harold Budd / Brian Eno (with Daniel Lanois)	Lost In The Humming Air
9.	Harold Budd / Simon Raymonde / Robin Guthrie / Elizabeth Fraser	Bloody And Blunt
10.	Dead Can Dance	Windfall
11.	Dead Can Dance	Rakim
12.	Harold Budd / Simon Raymonde / Robin Guthrie / Elizabeth Fraser	She Will Destroy You
13.	Harold Budd / Brian Eno (with Daniel Lanois)	Their Memories
14.	Cocteau Twins	Pandora
15.	Harold Budd / Brian Eno (with Daniel Lanois)	Still Return
16.	Japan	The Width Of A Room
17.	The Cure	The Funeral Party
18.	Young Marble Giants	Clicktalk
19.	Lykke Li	Hanging High
20.	Stereolab	Doubt
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'blue' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

The 2011 Mixes

Apparently I am still making MiniDisc mixes in 2011.

Disc 1

The first disc of 2011 was begun sometime in December of the previous year, but as is often the case, it can take me a while to slowly fill a disc with favourite songs from the time. This was one of those "slowly added to..." discs, brimming with old classics from my listening history (such as The Human League), fond memories of Manchester circa-2003 (Starbase 109) and references to the early Roman Empire (reflective of my current reading).

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	[dialogue]	"From the Emperor Tiberius to the Senate of Rome, Greetings..."	Mono
2.	The Fall	Petty Thief Lout
3.	Modern English	Machines
4.	Book Of Love	I Touch Roses	YouTube source
5.	The Chameleons	On The Beach	Radio session
6.	Section 25	Prepare To Live
7.	The Human League	Blind Youth
8.	Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus	When The Long Watches Of The Night	Mono
9.	Dead Can Dance	Fortune
10.	The Fall	Disney's Dream Debased
11.	Section 25	Sakura	Matrix Mix
12.	Starbase 109	Cash Machine
13.	Modern English	The Prize
14.	Gang Of Four	It's Her Factory
15.	The Chameleons	Nathan's Phase	Radio session
16.	Wilfred Josephs	Theme from I·Claudius	Mono
17.	Gang Of Four	We Live As We Dream, Alone
18.	Starbase 109	Cigarette
19.	The Human League	The Path Of Least Resistance
20.	Japan	Television
21.	Book Of Love	I Touch Roses	Full Bloom Version
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'black' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 2

Titled Village Fire and other stories. This disc was made mostly on February 10th, and contains the entire 'Village Fire' EP by James: Mastered not from the insanely loud CDs, but the original vinyl EP, which I was extremely fortunate to purchase for the sum of £4 at Discovery Records, Bradford, sometime in 2002. Two songs from the Short Circuit EP are present; the Warsaw one is introduced with a shout of "You all forgot Rudolf Hess!" from Bernard Sumner. He was of course still pottering around in Spandau Prison at this point (1977), whilst Albert Speer was enjoying a life of luxury, despite his mass employment of slave labour during the war. But I digress. "Intro to the Man-Machine" is an excerpt from Metropolis and is suitably dramatic, reminding us all of human toil. A lovely song from The Human League, and two masterpieces each from The Wake and Gary Numan.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Gottfried Huppertz	[Prologue]	Metropolis soundtrack
2.	Big Audio Dynamite	Ticket
3.	James	What's The World	Village Fire EP
4.	James	Folklore	Village Fire EP
5.	James	Fire So Close	Village Fire EP
6.	James	If Things Were Perfect	Village Fire EP
7.	James	Hymn From A Village	Village Fire EP
8.	The Fall	Hit The North
9.	Gottfried Huppertz	Intro to the Man-Machine	Metropolis soundtrack
10.	The Fall	Stepping Out	Live (Short Circuit EP)
11.	Warsaw (Joy Division)	At A Later Date	Live (Short Circuit EP)
12.	Gary Numan	Films
13.	Gary Numan	Conversation
14.	Tom Tom Club	Sunshine & Ecstacy
15.	Tom Tom Club	Dark Sneak Love Action
16.	The Human League	Life On Your Own
17.	The Wake	An Immaculate Conception
18.	The Wake	Something Outside
19.	Wire	The Finest Drops
20.	Wire	The Queen Of Ur & The King Of Um
21.	Starbase 109	Nursing Home
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'black' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 3

The third disc of 2011 took many weeks to complete. New songs were added on various days, some were deleted, many were auditioned. What is left is a decent enough disc. Radiohead's fantastic new album - The King Of Limbs - is represented by two of my favourite selections from it. Philip Jap, who produced an album in 1983 and then promptly disappeared, is featured. After the interlude and speaker phase test, songs are arranged in pairs. This is not laziness, but preference, especially when tracks segue into one another. All Night Party is the rather eerie single version, not the Peel session one which has an altogether more aggressive feel due to the presence of drums. The OMD track was the (superior) b-side to Locomotion.

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Babble	Spirit
2.	Can	Sing Swan Song
3.	Radiohead	Morning Mr. Magpie
4.	The Clash	The Cool Out
5.	The Fall	I Feel Voxish
6.	A Certain Ratio	All Night Party	Single version
7.	The Cure	Splintered In Her Head
8.	My Bloody Valentine	'Interlude MBV'	Instrumental
9.	TDK	Speaker phase test	Spoken word
10.	OMD	Her Body In My Soul
11.	Philip Jap	Save Us	mp3 source
12.	Cabaret Voltaire	Talking Time
13.	Cabaret Voltaire	Animation
14.	Wire	The Point Of Collapse
15.	Wire	Ahead
16.	Christian Death	Figurative Theatre
17.	Christian Death	Romeo's Distress
18.	The Cure	The Upstairs Room
19.	Radiohead	Lotus Flower
20.	Talking Heads	Seen And Not Seen	5.1 stereo downmix
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'blue' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Disc 4

This disc took many months to complete, mostly due to apathy, distraction and general busyness. I think I began it sometime in April, gradually adding and editing until on July 25th it was labelled and catalogued here. Thanks to Stoo for National Shite Day; it perfectly sums up the United Kingdom. Smashing Pumpkins? Meh, I was going to delete it (it's pretty "mainstream", whatever that means) but I've left it on. I can always skip it, and besides, eventually all the songs from Clerks II may find their way to this page. Mythos' Strange Guys sounds quite similar to the Manics' Design For Life, or is it just me? Either way, they're a Krautrock band but they sound different to NEU!, CAN and Faust. The first of the Twin Shadow songs reminded me of This Mortal Coil's Not Me, which appeared earlier. Slow is even better, containing a She's Lost Control style drum pattern, amongst other delightful and post-punk-sounding trickery. The Cure song which follows the Cocteux actually tricks the mind, since it opens in similar style to Sugar Hiccup. Confused yet? The Dubstar effort is from this era. It's interesting, at least. Until next time...

2012 update: I am not keen on this disc. It has been marked for re-working.

2013 update: This disc was re-worked slightly (three songs were replaced).

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	[sound effect]	Intro pulse	YT / Mono
2.	Dubblestandart, Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Ari Up	I Foo China (feat. Gudrun)
3.	Half Man Half Biscuit	National Shite Day	YouTube source
4.	The Fall	Hotcake
5.	The Smashing Pumpkins	1979
6.	The United States of America	Coming Down
7.	Talking Heads	Pull Up The Roots	5.1 stereo downmix
8.	Lily Allen	Smile
9.	Daft Punk	Robot Rock
10.	Mythos	Strange Guys
11.	Twin Shadow	For Now
12.	Mike Hugg	Wistful interlude	YT / Mono
13.	Twin Shadow	Slow
14.	The Smiths	The Hand That Rocks The Cradle	YT/Rem. src (Troy Tate version)
15.	Cocteau Twins	Five Ten Fiftyfold
16.	The Cure	Pictures Of You
17.	Thunderheist	Sweet 16	YouTube source
18.	Dubstar	Unchained Monologue	YouTube Source
19.	Kaiser Chiefs	Good Days Bad Days	YT src / radio mix?
20.	Lee Perry & Prince Jammy	Something On My Mind
21.	[sound effect]	End marker	YT / Mono
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'purple' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

The 2012 Mixes

One disc was minted between April and August. Excepting those months the equipment was all put away.

Disc (The Only) One

#	Artist	Song	Extra / Notes
1.	Cabaret Voltaire	Animation	YTS / TV / Mono
2.	Röyksopp	This Must Be It	YTS / radio edit?
3.	Front 242	Principles	YTS
4.	The Chills	Pink Frost
5.	Porcelain Raft	Drifting In And Out
6.	Grimes	Genesis
7.	Grimes	Oblivion
8.	Travis	Sing	YTS
9.	Best Coast	Our Deal	Radio Session
10.	Lee 'Scratch' Perry & The Mad Professor	Jungle Safari / Heads Of Government
11.	The Fall	Fit And Working Again
12.	Long Fin Killie	Godiva	Well-aimed Cantona!
13.	Coldplay	Don't Panic	YTS / radio edit?
14.	Nancy Sinatra	You Only Live Twice	YTS
15.	The Fall	English Scheme
16.	Flight Of The Conchords	If You're Into It	YTS
17.	Cabaret Voltaire	Yasher	YTS / Extended Remix
18.	The Pop Will Eat Itself	Axe Of Men	TYS (poor quality)
19.	Dubblestandart meets David Lynch & Lee 'Scratch' Perry	Chrome Optimism
	Recorded on Sony Color Collection 'black' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

The 2013 Mixes

On May 30th the Sony JB930 was dusted off once more. When powered up, it still displayed accurate date and time data. Details to follow...

The Classical Mixes

For some reason I began seriously listening to classical music in 2009. Henceforth, I sought to make mix discs in the same manner as those above. Recommendations from classical aficionados are certainly welcome. At present my collection is mostly made up of NAXOS selections.

Disc 1

I will admit that this disc is in part inspired by pieces heard on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but so what?

#	Composer	Title	Performer
1.	Johann Strauss II	Die Fledermaus (The Bat) - Overture	Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Martin Sieghart
2.	Tchaikovsky	Sleeping Beauty - Waltz	Czecho-Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra / Andrew Mogrelia
3.	Prokofiev	Romeo and Juliet, Ballet, Op. 64 - Montagues and Capulets	National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine / Andrew Mogrelia
4.	Wagner	Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) - Ride of the Valkyries	Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra / Uwe Mund
5.	Beethoven	Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, "Moonlight" - Adagio sostenuto	Jenő Jandó piano
6.	Mozart	Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K.467 - Andante	Jenő Jandó piano, Concentus Hungaricus / András Ligeti
7.	Johann Strauss II	Roses aus dem Süden: Waltz, Op. 388 (Roses from the South)	CSR Symphony Orchestra / Ondrej Lenárd
8.	Tchaikovsky	Swan Lake - Scène (Swan Theme)	CSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava) / Ondrej Lenárd
9.	Prokofiev	Cinderella, Ballet Suite No. 1, Op. 107 - Cinderella's Waltz	Ukranian State Symphony Orchestra / Theodore Kuchar
10.	Wagner	Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg)	Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (Katowice) / Johannes Wildner
11.	Beethoven	Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68, "Pastoral" - Allegro ma non troppo	Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia (Budapest) / Béla Drahos
12.	Mozart	Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K.550 - Molto allegro	Capella Istropolitana / Barry Wordsworth
	Recorded on JVC Crystal 'gold' (80min) / Sony MDS-JB930

Odometer readings

Certain Sony decks have built-in odometers, accessible in service mode. (Note: the 'Recording time' is how long the laser was set to the high power state, and is approximately 1/4 of actual recording time.)

Sony MDS-JE520

Deck purchased December, 2007.

Date	Recording time	Playing time
30/Dec/2007	3 hours	30 hours
20/May/2009	13 hours	381 hours
31/Jul/2010	14 hours	690 hours
16/May/2011	14 hours	757 hours

Sony MDS-JB930

Deck purchased August, 2009.

Date	Recording time	Playing time
21/Aug/2009	6 hours	55 hours
31/Jul/2010	17 hours	410 hours
16/May/2011	21 hours	827 hours
5/Jul/2012	22 hours	905 hours
15/Jul/2013	26 hours	1036 hours