The Lovers' Album of the Week

The Flaming Lips/Various Artists LateNightTales

I once knew someone who hated the term "mix tape"; he always contested that what one really meant to say when referring to those personal musical expressions was a "compilation tape." While I understood his argument (in the sense that there is no real mixing involved), I always associated the term "compilation" with one of those free CDs you find in music magazines that carelessly dump various artists together without any concern for how the songs flow from one to the other (nevermind that you'll be lucky to find more than a song or two worthy of repeated listens). A good mix tape (because everyone has gotten that bad one) is so enjoyable because not only does it expose you to new music but it also comes from someone who cared about you enough to take the time to properly structure it. (For rules on how to correctly make a mix tape read Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.) And if there is any band that I believe cares about me...it's The Flaming Lips. So it's not surprising that the Azuli label has chosen the Lips for the job of MC'ing the latest edition of their LateNightTales series (previous artists from the series include Jamiroquai, Nightmares On Wax, and Four Tet). And luckily for us, the Lips have taken the challenge with joyful care. (If all this sounds familiar to you, then you probably have come across the iTunes Music Store's "Celebrity Playlists.") The Lips' version of LateNightTales follows the "theme" approach of creating a mix tape with songs that sound most perfect in the quiet moments that the late night can bring forth. Tunes from Chris Bell, Nick Drake, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Miles Davis, and even 10cc(!) are so beautifully calming that I could see myself using this one to fall to sleep--and believe me this isn't a negative. Ironically, the one song that breaks away from the theme is the Lips' own contribution, a cover of sorts of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army," aka "Harry Potter’s and George W. Bush’s Severed Head Army Mix." While the song is entertaining (and probably more so in concert), it disturbs the flow of the album. But this is really only a minor quibble because LateNightTales isn't meant to be a perfect album. Like all great mix tapes, LateNightTales is about exposing the listener to a variety of different artists, all the while keeping them wondering what's coming up next.

Click here to listen to samples from the album. (Be forewarned the flash is a bit annoying.)

The Music Lovers playlist for 3/10/05

1. Seven Nation Army - The Flaming Lips from LateNightTales 2. Revelation - The Blue Van from The Art of Rolling 3. Broken Mouth Blues - Nic Armstrong from The Greatest White Liar 4. Random Car - Built Like Alaska from Autumland 5. Island of the Honest Man - Hot Hot Heat from Elevator 6. City Lights - Husky Rescue from Country Falls 7. We're Winning - Fog from 10th Avenue Freakout 8. No Room For Change - Crystal Skulls from Blocked Numbers 9. Experiment - A Frames from Black Forest 10. The Last Words of Lesley Gore - The Gena Rowlands Band from Le Merde Et Les Etoiles 11. Bird - Pit Er Pat from Shakey 12. Women To Control - Ak-Momo from Return To N.Y. 13. Us - Regina Spektor from Soviet Kitsch 14. Ave Grave - Thee Shallows from More Deep Cuts 15. Stories - The Gunshy from No Man's Blues 16. Mounds of Money - The Capitol Years from Let Them Drink 17. Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights - Aqueduct from I Sold Gold 18. Doo-Right - Neutral Mute from Roc-Sac 19. On the Face Of It - The Evens from Protest Records 20. Rondo Acapricio - Tosca from J.A.C. 21. Looking Through the Facets of a Plastic Jewel - Bibio from Fi 22. Motorcycle - Audible from Sky Signal 23. (David Bowie I Love You) Since I Was Six - Brian Jonestown Massacre from Take It From the Man! 24. Harmed - Film School from Harmed 7" 25. They Should Have Given You the Oscar - Jens Lekman from Live from Stora Teatern 26. Avantcore - Busdriver from Fear of a Black Tangent 27. Animals Are Cut In Two - Half-Handed Cloud from Thy Is A Word And Feet Need Lamps 28. Tremolo - Lismore from We Could Connect Or We Could Not 29. Alabama Sunshine - The Rapture from DFA Compilation #2 30. Benenth the Trees - Robbers on High Street from Tree City 31. We Say Goodbye To Ourselves - Eluvium from Talk Amongst the Trees 32. Neighbor To Neighbor - Sam Prekop from Who's Your New Professor 33. Big Boat - M. Ward from Transistor Radio 34. Shadows of Salford - Doves from Some Cities 35. Krafty - New Order from Waiting for the Siren's Call

The Memphis Beat Playlist for 3/8/05

From the Easley-McCain Studios tribute show:

1. Father to a Sister of Thought - Pavement from Wowee Zowee 2. Box Full of Letters - Wilco from A.M. 3. Happy Man - Sparklehorse from Distored Ghost EP 4. Last Man Alive - The Grifters from Ain't My Lookout 5. As Long - Reigning Sound from Break Up..Break Down 6. We're Going To Be Friends - The White Stripes from White Blood Cells 7. My Mind Was Messed Around At the Time - Tav Falco from Life Sentence at the Cathouse 8. Satin In a Coffin - Modest Mouse from Good News For People Who Love Bad News 9. The Offical Rally Song - Guided by Voices from The Offical Rally Song EP 10. Little Trouble Girl - Sonic Youth from Washing Machine 11. Nude as the News - Cat Power from What Would the Community Think 12. Chicken Dog - Jon Spencer Blues Explosion from Now I Got Worry 13. Viet Nam War Blues - Oblivians from Soul Food 14. Bank, Gun, Jail - Tearjerkers from Bad Mood Rising 15. Trains Across the Sea - Silver Jews from Starlite Walker 16. Portland, Oregon - Loretta Lynn from Van Lear Rose 17. (End of) Travelling - Palace Music from Lost Blues and Other Songs 18. The Glass - Wrote Your Own Removal

The Memphis Beat Honors Easley Studios

As you might have heard, the legendary Easley-McCain Studios suffered severe fire damage last week. We here at the Lovers would like to express our deepest sympathies to Doug as well as to all those amazing artists who have been hard at work recording there recently (Blair Combest, The Pirates, Brad Postlethwaite, etc.) Tune in to The Memphis Beat this Tuesday from 1 - 2pm for a special show (including a brand new tune from the Glass!) celebrating all those successful years on Deadrick.

Click here for an article about the incident from Andria Lisle.