The Top 10 Mixtapes of 2017 (Plus Broad Generalizations About the Audience)
I produced 32 mixtapes this year. That includes one that I made in the last week of December, 2016. It does not include any of the Star Time shows (because those aren't mixtapes), or the new mixtape I just finished for release next week. Once again, the amount of time I wasted on these things validates my annual impulse to publish a year-end recap on which ones were received the most warmly, or at least with both hands.
I’ve made a couple of rough determinations based on the final results of what mixtapes of mine you monsters eat up:
• You like the genre sweeps (glam, metal, country)
• You also seem to like the label retrospectives, even if they’re extra-long (Stiff, Deram)
• You’re happy to indulge my ‘60s and ‘70s sentiments on a continuing basis (too many to list)
• You’re surprisingly, even shockingly, responsive to (or patient with) the avant-gardy experimental pieces (three out of the four Misplex mixes & Doux rêves, mon industrie)
• You’re all right with the conceptual, narrative stuff (America [The Mixtape], Shruggio After Dark), and
• You hate foreigners.
Well, you don’t hate all foreigners, just the ones I put on my foreign-language mixtapes this year. I was particularly bitter about that, I have to tell you. Two mixes I made this year, Redeemer Rides Shotgun and Demand Nuance, featured a lot of Latin American and European artists respectively, and I was really happy with both of them. Neither was a success with the voting public. I don’t know if you’re getting contact xenophobia from Steve Bannon’s dermatologist or you just want people to speak English. But the foreign expeditions will not stop from my end. Mainly because they’re extremely fun, and partly because I hope one of the countries I featured notice it and offer me instant citizenship through 2020, at least. (Planning an Australian mix next year for the exact same reason.)
Five of the 32 mixes were for a series commemorating the end of Song Of The Day in March. I was certain these five mixtapes would be gigantic hits with a web audience primed for instant nostalgia. This was a misjudgment, as only two of them came anywhere close to the top 10 mixtapes of the year and one finished dead last. Kudos to you for moving on. I’ll join you shortly. When I feel like it.
Enough of that. Here are the 10 most popular new mixtapes I produced in 2017, in Casey Kasem order. Didn’t have time to come up with wine pairings, but you can't go wrong with a jug of Gallo, am I right?
10. High Cotton (#52, April 9)
It was high time for High Cotton, a classic country mix. I'd felt like I'd been neglecting country, which didn't feel right since the most successful band I've ever been in (not counting Harvey Sid Fisher's pickup units) was Rodeo Kill. This mix stops in the '70s, so no fog-machine synth-country on us. Favorite tracks: “No Parking Here” by Gene O’Quin, “Pinball Machine” by Lonnie Irving, “As Usual” by Wilma Burgess.9. F-Hole Variations (#65, Sept. 14)
In the vein of last year's Traps & Snares about percussion, this was a survey of pop songs with string sections. Some of these tracks were wedged in for novelty's sake (KISS with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), but on the whole it was pretty robust for a bunch of long-haired longhairs. Favorite tracks: “Football Fugue” by Pete Townshend, "Conquistador" by Procol Harum, “Clear Days” by Yes, “Cucurrucucu Paloma” by Caetano Veloso.8. Shruggio After Dark (#44, Feb. 6)
7. America (The Mixtape) (#43, Jan. 17)
Back in September 2016 I started a scripted mixtape about Donald Trump called Donward. I got about 25 minutes into it and decided it wasn't working. To date it's the only mixtape I've ever aborted. A few months later I started work on this one, expecting that it would be the sequel to Veritas Animus, which in my informed opinion is still the best mix I've ever put out. But I decided to take the temperature of something bigger than myself, so I reworked this mix as a sort of operatic commentary. It's not about Trump, although he shows up near the end. Instead it's kind of an abstract diagnosis of the lazy collective thinking that allowed him to get elected. I gave myself the part of an almost wordless, passive, white male rationalizer who just wants the country to move on. I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say it doesn't end well. Favorite tracks: “Expect the Unexpected” by John Howard, “Hide in Your Shell” by Supertramp, “Bye Bye Blues” by Jamison Ross.6. Forsooth, Baby (#70, Nov. 18)
5. Stiff for 2½ Hours (#58, May 29)
Shooting fish in a barrel. You can't make a boring mixtape with material from Stiff Records, even if you lose all sense of boundaries and take it to a whopping 150 minutes (my longest mix to date). It was an assembly line of British tartness and laughing gas. Favorite tracks: “I’m Partial to Your Abracadabra” by Ian Dury, “Gimme Your Heart” by the Subs, “They Don’t Know” by Kirsty MacColl, “Ballad of Lady Di” by The Hon. Nick Jones & Ian MacRae.4. Doux rêves, mon industrie (#41, Dec. 28, 2016)
I have no explanation for why this made #4 on the year. You were all supposed to be alienated by it. I don't even know what it was supposed to represent. It was aggressively unmarketable. It featured a Swedish lounge singer being assaulted by a drum solo and Richard Hell playing a preacher. I'm encouraged by the response. But you shouldn't be encouraging me. Favorite tracks: “Torsten Bark” by Lasse Berghagen, “Abominatron” by 33, “The Rev. Hell Gets Confused” by Richard Hell.3. Cerromar Circle — Birth of the Uncool (Summer 1977) (#64, Aug. 26)
2. Save It for the Gnostics (#62, July 14)
I don't do metal things on the blog often, but when I do, they're usually popular. I should learn my lesson. My very simple directive here was to put together a mix of metal bands who sprung up in the immediate aftermath of Black Sabbath in the late '60s and early '70s. I was so happy about this one that I actually played it for visiting guests one afternoon. That doesn't happen. Usually I deny all knowledge of anything on here. Favorite tracks: “Primitive Man” by Jerusalem, “Downer” by Randy California, “Rollin’ Down the Broadway” by Flied Egg, “Aries” by Writing On the Wall.1. Glamquake (#42, Jan. 13)
Kinda knew this would be a big one. Too many entry points for music fans across the board. It was a compilation featuring a style of music I have never particularly trusted: glam rock, tilted towards the bubblegum side rather than the conceptual Ziggy Stardust type. I like to think this was our last blast of special times together before the inauguration that will kill us all. Maybe we'll sweat it out another year. Either way, glam it up. Favorite tracks: “Dreams Are Ten a Penny” by Kincade, “Get Out, Take Your Mother With You” by Airship, “We Don’t Care Now” by Gumbo, “Sober Phobia” by Paul Ryan.The rest, ranked by popularity:
11. Misplex IV (#67)
12. The Best of Song of the Day, Vol. 2 (#47)
13. The Art of Giving Up 2 (730 Days) (#72)
14. A Dram of Deram (#71)
15. Expended Play – B-Sides 1968-72 (#66)
16. Misplex II (#57)
17. Mistral/Sirocco (#54)
18. Veritas Animus II (#59)
19. Misplex (#56)
20. The Best of Song of the Day, Vol. 4½ (#50)
21. A Pride Mix (#60)
22. Quasi-Ferment (#55)
23. My Brand Is KAOS – Shrug Festival 1994-1995 (#68)
24. Misplex III (#61)
25. The Best of Song of the Day, Vol. 4 (#49)
26. For People Who Are Going Places (#63)
27. The Best of Song of the Day, Vol. 1 (#46)
28. Demand Nuance (#69)
29. Free Music Archive Mix I (#51)
30. Catastrophe Theory (#53)
31. Redeemer Rides Shotgun (#45)
32. The Best of Song of the Day, Vol. 3 (#48)
And finally my personal favorites:
1. America (The Mixtape)
2. Forsooth, Baby
3. Save it for the Gnostics
4. Redeemer Rides Shotgun
5. The Best of Song of the Day, Vol. 4½
6. A Pride Mix
7. F-Hole Variations
8. Glamquake
9. Misplex IV
10. Demand Nuance
Thanks again for all your blind acceptance of my musical interests. We can do this another year, I suppose.
Comments