Sometimes I write too much in this space about my own mix - this time I'm going to write too little.
But, I do want to comment on a couple of other things.
First, I reallly love all you guys. I put up Burnmix 1 in June 2010. It is now 11 years later and I'm posting 133. We've gone from making physical CDs and mailing them to digital downloads. I realize how much I've grown to appreciate the 1st of each month (well....the 1st for most of us, anyways :) ) when I know that there's going to be a new mix to dig into. I'm sorry we lost Andy along the way, but....we also gained a few members (6 to 9 to 8) since starting. The group is dominated by ARHS Class of '98 and KRA folks past and present, but Saunders and Kristin rounded things out nicely. It's a great group of people and even when it's hard to stay connected, Burnmix is a touchstone that we can always rely on each month to see where one of our collective crew's head is at. So - thank you, Burnmixers. (Do you remember we were almost the Seedy Mixers?)
Second, thank you Noah. I think we take for granted that this site is here and so easy to use and plug music into. I was using the "Songs" section earlier to check that my songs weren't dupes (there was one, but I'm not telling who) and marveled at this section alone - how easy it is to sort songs by title, artist, date, mixer, etc. According to our statitician (hmm, also named Noah), we currently, prior to this mix, have 2114 songs on Burnmix. You'd have to listen straight through for 5 days, 19 hours, 4 minutes and 23 seconds (given a few seconds or too, probably) to hear the entire catalogue. Burnmix is still in existence because of Noah - without him we would have crashed and burned out of the gate. The poor guy doesn't even get to truly enjoy the challenge of "The Best of...." every year. Sorry, Noah - it's really fun. Anyway, I know I'm stating the obvous and you're all nodding your heads in agreement, but I still think it's good to REstate the obvious sometimes.
No burning thing going on in this mix.....just stuff I like. It's mellow - and mostly great vocal performances, in my opinion. Please make sure, however, that you check out the last song - Folasade - AmaPiano music from South Africa by Kabza de Small. It's last because....I didn't know where else to put a tune like this. It's a great song and way to end a mix, but I don't want it to get lost in its "lastness". I really dig the This Is the Kit tune too.
Go Burnmixers - hope to see you all down the road.
John
PS....Cover photo courtesy of #earthpix - Instagram
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Lake Street Dive / Anymore
A pretty mellow tune - as most of them are - out of the gate. Love the soft vibe of this song - and Rachael Price's lithe voice.
More Info from Last.FM
Lake Street Dive is an American band founded in 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band's original members are Rachael Price (lead vocals), Mike "McDuck" Olson (trumpet, guitar), Bridget Kearney (upright bass), and Mike Calabrese (drums). Akie Bermiss (keyboards) joined the band on tour in 2017 and is on their 2018 album. Lake Street Dive started at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The band was named after a street with many dive bars in Olson's hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Ben Howard / What A Day
This song haunts me. Poppy drum machine underlays layers of guitars for Ben's quivering tenor.
More Info from Last.FM
Ben Howard (born 24 April 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, born in London. He moved to Totnes, Devon, in his teens. Howard's musically-inclined parents exposed him at a young age to their favourite records from singer-songwriter artists such as Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and John Martyn. Howard began writing his own songs and after a short spell studying journalism, he decided in 2009 at the age of 21 to become a full-time musician. After building up a reputation with his gigs across the UK Read more on Last.fm more...
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This Is the Kit / Keep Going
Something about this song - the structure, the shimmering guitar tremolo, the word imagery - keeps me coming back. And I love Kate Stable's voice.
More Info from Last.FM
This Is The Kit is an English band formed by musician / singer Kate Stables (lead vocals, banjo, guitar), with: Jesse D Vernon (bass, guitar, violin), Jamie Whitby-Coles (drums), Rozi Plain (vocals, guitar), Neil Smith (guitar) and Philip Sirop (batterie). Stables has been turning heads in all the right places since 2003: a first album Krülle Bol produced by John Parish , singles (Two Wooden Spoons) released by Rob da Bank’s label Sunday Best and a long-awaited second album on Dreamboat Records in 2010. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Mustafa / Ali
A late addition - intimate vocal and cross-current of rhythms and synths. Mysterious and soothing. An ode to a friend who was slain in 2017.
More Info from Last.FM
Mustafa Ahmed (born July 28, 1996), better known by his stage names Mustafa the Poet and Mustafa, is a poet, singer, songwriter and filmmaker from Toronto, Ontario. Mustafa Ahmed was born in Toronto, Ontario to Sudanese parents. When he was in grade 7, he performed an original piece, "A Single Rose", at Nelson Mandela Park Public School. The piece got a lot of attention, earning him high praises at Toronto's Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2009. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Lou Barlow / Over You
Another late addition - used to be in Dinosaur Jr. Short, but poignant.
More Info from Last.FM
Lou Barlow (born Louis Knox Barlow on July 17, 1966, in Dayton, Ohio) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, and The Folk Implosion, Barlow, from a base in Western Mass-Boston in 1982, is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though born in Dayton, Ohio, Barlow was raised in Jackson, Michigan and then Westfield, Massachusetts. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Japanese Breakfast / Posing In Bondage
Michelle Zauner aka Japanese Breakfast. A wall of sound - glacial echoing synths and staccato percussion at times. Love the swirling depth of the drop into the chorus.
More Info from Last.FM
A side project from her work as front woman of Philadelphia indie punk band Little Big League, Michelle Zauner released a tape in June 2013 under the solo moniker Japanese Breakfast. The tape was titled June and boasted thirty tracks written and recorded every day of the month. A stark deviation from Little Big League's guitar-based indie rock, it showcased Zauner's dark lyrics, unique vocals and inherent knack for pop melody. Two bedroom pop cassettes later Read more on Last.fm more...
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P.J. Harding & Noah Cyrus / The Worst of You
A bit of a Civil Wars thing going on here. A collaboration between an Aussie and an American. Nice album/collaboration
More Info from Last.FM
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Arooj Aftab / Mohabbat
In Brooklyn now - via Pakistand and Berklee School of Music. Bryn scooped me on Arooj in her last mix, but I couldn't take this out of the rotation....too ethereal and beautiful. This is a cover of a song (ghazal/poem-song) done by many artists of Pakistani heritage.
More Info from Last.FM
An aspiring young musician from Lahore, Pakistan, Arooj Aftab is currently pursuing a degree in Music Production and Engineering at the Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts. Arooj hopes that four years of intense music study will allow her to develop her passion and talent and grant her the hands-on experience she needs. Arooj is also very sensitive to global issues. She speaks openly for betterment of social issues in her country and around the world. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Kevin Morby / Dumcane
Lots of Kevin Morby on previous mixes, but love this new single. It's actually not a new song - an outtake from his Singing Saws sessions in 2016 - but lost until recently - found in the archives and just released.
More Info from Last.FM
Kevin Morby is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the bass guitarist of the folk rock band Woods, and the frontman of The Babies, Morby began a solo career in 2013. Harlem River marked the solo debut. Known for his work as the singer/guitarist for the Brooklyn band The Babies and bassist for Woods, the Kansas City native and new Los Angeles resident, calls the record “an homage to New York City,” his adopted home for the past five years. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Mina Tindle / Lions
What a voice!! French artist (real name is Pauline de Lassus Saint-Genies) married to a guy from The National....who we saw walking down the street in NYC one day. :)
More Info from Last.FM
Mina Tindle is a young Parisian musician who, over the last few years, has lent her voice to a wide range of different musical projects. She has sung with The National on Boxer, with J.P. Nataf on Claire (and her own debut album) and with Toy Fight on Peplum. Gaetan Roussel invited her to sing Talking Heads songs with him on acclaimed French music television show Taratata and she worked with Sergio Dias from Os Mutantes and the Palmtree Family to recreate the rich vocal harmonies of Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Bones of J.R. Jones / Howl
Jonathan Robert Linaberry - aka J.R. Jones. This song swings...and smolders.
More Info from Last.FM
The Bones of J.R. Jones is a project from American singer, guitarist, and songwriter Jonathon Linaberry (born in central New York State in 1982). J.R. is said to have started dabbling in music when he was six and his mother mandated – as she did with his older and younger brothers – that he take piano lessons. A self-taught guitar and banjo player, J.R.’s fondness for old gospel hymns, bluesmen like Son House and R.L. Burnside, and artists like The Carter Family and Tom Waits Read more on Last.fm more...
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Mereba / Rider
Marian Mereba - protege of Stevie Wonder. Soft, velvety and sultry. Another last minute addition.
More Info from Last.FM
Marian Mereba, better known mononymously as Mereba, (born September 19, 1990), is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. Mereba cites her Ethiopian heritage as a major influence on her music. Other musical influences include Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., TLC, Alanis Morissette, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Nirvana. After graduating high school at 17, Mereba continued her education at her parents' insistence, attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Read more on Last.fm more...
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David Gray / Heart & Soul
He's been around awhile, but never made it onto a burnmix... until now.
More Info from Last.FM
There are multiple artists by the name of David Gray, including: 1) a British singer-songwriter 2) an Italian disco musician 3) an American singer-songwriter 4) drummer for the British blackened death metal band Akercocke 5) a musician from South Africa 1) David Gray is a British singer-songwriter born on June 13, 1968 in Sale, United Kingdom. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later in 1999. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Sarah Jarosz / Morning
A pure unadulterated talent. You can imagine her playing this in your living room. Great electric guitar about half way through.
More Info from Last.FM
Sarah Jarosz (born 23 May 1991 in Austin, Texas) is an American alt-country musician and singer-songwriter from Texas. Her first CD, Song Up in Her Head, was released in 2009, with her tune "Mansinneedof" nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Country Instrumental Performance. Her second album, Follow Me Down, was released in 2011. Her third album, Build Me Up from Bones, was released on September 24, 2013 through Sugar Hill Records. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa & TRESOR / Folasade
Also known as Scorpion Kings. AmaPiano - a style of house music that emerged in South Africa in 2012 - a blend of deep house, jazz and lounge music. Love this song - infectious rhythm - try not to tap your foot to this one once it gets going.
More Info from Last.FM