Farewell

118 / March 2020 / Andy Grogan

I've given this a lot of thought and have decided that this is my final Burnmix. Lots of reasons for this decision, but mostly it just feels like the right moment to depart, as we approach our 10 year anniversary. For the last year or so, I haven't really given everyone's mixes proper attention, and even with my own, I feel less and less motivated to compile what I'm listening to. Could be information overload. Could be politics. Could just be the right moment. As the cover art says, "it's not you. It's me."

So with that in mind, I pulled together a mix of songs that have been in active rotation for me lately, along with some tunes that fit the farewell. If I were entirely honest, it would have included Gordon Lightfoot, but he just didn't fit the tone of the mix. But man, his singles are stellar.

Ten years!! That's insane. Joe has been my warm-up act for a decade! So many life changes for all of us since we started this. If y'all do a compilation mix for #120, I'd love to participate, but otherwise, we'll call it a day with this mix.

I really value the connections I've developed with each of you, and as I've mentioned before, it's been a really important way to stay connected to a place I love since we moved back to Nashville. Perhaps the board can meet and consider granting me Emeritus status so that I can occasionally drop in and comment on mixes.

And with that - much love to all y'all. This is a damn good mix to go out on.

And Bonnie Raitt still sucks.

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  1. The Paranoid Style / Turpitude

    The woman who leads this band whose name esacpes me and I'm too lazy to google it, is the best music critic happening right now and her lyrics are excellent. This one's for GenX.

    More Info from Last.FM

    The Paranoid Style are Tim Bracy (Mendoza Line) and Elizabeth Nelson (Bird of Youth). They released a six song EP in 2013 called "The Purposes of Music in General". Read more on Last.fm more...

  2. Siouxsie and the Banshees / Cities in Dust

    What I would give for a Siouxsie reunion tour. Ever present when I was a kid, I didn't give them my full attention until much later. Such good stuff.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Siouxsie and the Banshees were an influential English rock band which formed during 1976 in London. Initially associated with the British punk rock scene, the band quickly evolved to create, "A form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation." The Times would also cite Siouxsie and the Banshees as, "One of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era." After their split in the year 1996 Read more on Last.fm more...

  3. Nick Lowe / Cracking Up

    Elvis Costello's best sounding albums were produced by Nick, and the dude can write some amazing songs.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Nick Lowe (born Nicholas Drain Lowe, 24 March 1949, Walton-on-Thames, England) is a well-respected British singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. A pivotal figure in U.K. pub rock, punk rock, power pop, and new wave throughout the 70s and later, Lowe was a key member of bands such as Brinsley Schwarz and Rockpile (with Dave Edmunds). Perhaps best known for his songs "(What's So Funny 'bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" and "Cruel to Be Kind", he has also famously done production work for Elvis Costello. Read more on Last.fm more...

  4. Talking Heads / Mind

    For my money, the best Talking Heads track. This song is Booker T and the MGs after a semester at art school.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Talking Heads were a new wave band which formed in 1974 in New York City, New York, United States. The band originally consisted of David Byrne (vocals, guitar), Tina Weymouth (bass) and Chris Frantz (drums), who had met while attending the Rhode Island School of Design. The band added Jerry Harrison (keyboards & guitar) in early 1977. The band released eight studio albums before disbanding in 1991. Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. Read more on Last.fm more...

  5. Neu! / Negativland

    These guys. Epic stuff.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Neu! (the German word for "new", pronounced "noy") a band from Düsseldorf, Germany, were probably the archetypal example of what the UK music press at the time dubbed krautrock. The band had minimal commercial success when active from 1971 to 1975, but are credited with being a huge influence on a diverse group of artists, including The Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd., David Bowie, Gary Numan, Ultravox, Simple Minds, DEVO, Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Stereolab, Wilco as well as the current electronic music scene. Read more on Last.fm more...

  6. Wire / Mannequin

    Seeing them in March. Keith Richards once said something about all the best songs include ooos.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Wire is a band formed in 1976 in Watford, England and after splitting in 1980, have reformed three times. They consist of Colin Newman (vocals, guitar), Graham Lewis (vocals, bass) and Robert Gotobed (drums). Founding guitarist Bruce Gilbert left in 2004. In 2008, Margaret Fielder McGinnis of Laika joined the band as their touring guitarist, but as of 2010 has been replaced by Matt Simms. Wire's debut album, Pink Flag (1977), contains songs which are diverse in mood and style Read more on Last.fm more...

  7. Graham Parker / Local Girls

    I wish I'd had this advice growing up in Rome, GA.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Graham Parker (born November 18, 1950 in London) is a British rock singer and songwriter. He continues to be best-known as the leader (and singer) of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour, though he has has a number of solo albums to his name. Despite moderate commercial success, he has consistently been hailed by critics as one the most prominent musicians of his generation, with his wittily-heated, often class-conscious lyrics and energy-fueled music preceding the arrival punk rock and new wave music. Read more on Last.fm more...

  8. Can / Vitamin C

    Are you waiting for the streetcar? Another Can track! This one sounds classic and current all at the same time. Surely this has been sampled.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Can was an experimental rock group founded in Cologne, Germany in 1968. Describing themselves as an "anarchist community", they constructed their music largely through improvisation and editing, in a way similar to several avant-garde composers of the time. They had only occasional commercial success, but exerted a huge influence on subsequent rock and electronic music. They are generally held to be one of the finest of the original Krautrock bands, and are among the most important experimental artists in recent music history. Read more on Last.fm more...

  9. Crumb / Cracking

    The only new thing on here.

    More Info from Last.FM

    There is more than one artist with this name: 1) Crumb got together in 2004 with no great plan in mind except to play back to basics short guitar pop tunes. They are Dez Foley (drums/vocals), Fiachra McCarthy (bass) and the late Derrick Dalton (guitar/vocals) 2)The San Francisco alternative rock band Crumb was formed in 1993 by vocalist Robby Cronholm and guitarist Mark Weinberg, longtime friends who first began writing and performing together while still in high school. Read more on Last.fm more...

  10. The Records / Starry Eyes

    Tidal shuffle led me to this. They have a few other great singles.

    More Info from Last.FM

    The Records were an English power pop band formed in 1978. They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite "Starry Eyes". The Records formed out of the ashes of the Kursaal Flyers, a pub rock group featuring drummer Will Birch. In 1977, John Wicks joined the band as a rhythm guitarist, and he and Birch quickly started writing songs together, Wicks as composer, Birch as lyricist. The Kursaal Flyers dissolved three months after Wicks joined Read more on Last.fm more...

  11. The Only Ones / Another Girl Another Planet

    You may know this because of The Replacements.

    More Info from Last.FM

    The Only Ones are an English rock band, formed in London in 1976 and originally disbanded in 1982. They were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the musical territory in between punk, power pop and hard rock, with noticeable influences from psychedelia. The Only Ones reformed in 2007 after their biggest hit "Another Girl, Another Planet" was used in a Vodafone ad campaign in 2006, and picked up as the introduction theme to Irish DJ Dave Fanning's radio show. Read more on Last.fm more...

  12. Elvis Costello / Green Shirt

    Produced by Nick Lowe.

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    Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an internationally known English singer-songwriter. Gaining prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-70s, he burst into fame with his critically acclaimed 1977 debut 'My Aim Is True', still one of the most successful debuts of all time. He soon did much work in the genres of punk rock, power pop, and New Wave after he formed Elvis Costello & The Attractions. Read more on Last.fm more...

  13. Kraftwerk / The Robots

    I'm taking Jack (7 yrs) to see Kraftwerk in July. The entire show is just four old German guys standing at computers, with a huge screen behind them. The entire audience gets 3D glasses, and it's supposed to be amazing. Hoping to blow a young, impressionable mind.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Kraftwerk ("power plant" in English) is an electronic band founded in 1970 in Düsseldorf, Germany. They pioneered electronic music in the 70s and are considered one of the most important and influential bands of their genre, often described as "the godfathers of electronic music". Kraftwerk's sound is minimalistic and strictly electronic; it combines driving, repetitive rhythms with catchy melodies and vocals usually sung through a vocoder. The current line-up consists of Ralf Hütter (the only original member) Read more on Last.fm more...

  14. Queens of the Stone Age / Long Slow Goodbye

    Ten years ago, the first track on my first mix was Them Crooked Vultures (featuring Josh Homme from Queens). So, I leave you almost where I began.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Queens of the Stone Age is a rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States. The band is frequently labeled stoner rock, although they reject the label. They developed a style of riff-oriented, heavy music which the band's founder and mastermind Josh Homme described as "robot rock", saying that he "wanted to create a heavy sound based on a solid jam, just pound it into your head". Since then, their sound has evolved to incorporate a variety of different styles and influences. Read more on Last.fm more...

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