musicoccurred

[musicoccurred]

The hottest ticket in town. My favorite type of show. Elizabeth in the UAB honor band. #musicoccurred #livemusic #honk @eas.0806 (at UAB's Alys Stephens Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/CXW9nMwrdpC/?utm_medium=tumblr

#musicoccurred #livemusic #honk

[musicoccurred]

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 https://www.instagram.com/p/CS9w23eLWOy/?utm_medium=tumblr

[musicoccurred]

My first indoor show in 500 some days. Fitting that it was at @saturnbham where my last one was. Tonight was Birmingham’s own St. Paul and the Broken Bones but Paul was unable to sing due to voice problems. Did they cancel? No! Instead they did a cool instrumental set AND rescheduled the show. Paul: Fellas I’ve got these Alabama Allergies, you have to go on without me tonight. Browan and rhythm section: We got you. Alabama/Memphis music legend, the silky smooth Al Gamble: You know I’m in the @thecitychampsmemphis right? I can do this all night. Horn section: Let’s get weird. Great night #musicoccurred (at Saturn Birmingham) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRrBDLPr6wA/?utm_medium=tumblr

#musicoccurred

[musicoccurred]

Patterson Hood sounding great at @standard_deluxe such a great venue. #musicoccurred #thankgodforlivemusic (at Standard Deluxe) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQkLhx8LuQk/?utm_medium=tumblr

#musicoccurred #thankgodforlivemusic

[musicoccurred]

Spinning the Champs this evening. #nowplaying https://www.instagram.com/p/CQFPPVMLb9J/?utm_medium=tumblr

#nowplaying

[musicoccurred]

I yapped about mixtapes over at the musicoccurred.com site. Link in bio. Give it a read willya? #musicoccurred (at Birmingham, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/COEsa66LOYF/?igshid=1d19ygqn5y1eh

#musicoccurred

[musicoccurred]

Mixtapes

The mixtape, a word that is dependent on who's using it and when. I'm middle-aged and came up in the 80s and 90s so it means something different to me than a kid today or a band camp rapper. Having said that, let's take a look at the different usages of mixtape and see if we can crown a winner of the top type of mixtape.

For those of us with achy knees and patches of gray in our hair, a mixtape was, first and foremost, actually on a tape. Now there were themes involved just as there are now with some of the others I'll mention in a bit. For instance, every Sunday there was Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 radio show. I would often drop a blank cassette in my boom box and hit record. I would then go watch TV in the living room and keep an ear out for the telltale 'click' of the tape running out. I'd run back to my room, flip the tape, and hit record again. You have to understand, before the internet, geez that never not sounds old, the radio ruled. Even with albums, cassettes, and later CDs you still listened to the radio all the time. That's why I love XM so much, there's something about having someone curate music for you. And even today with every song available at the tap of a finger there's something awesome when your jam comes on the radio. It just hits different. I digress. So now at the end of the countdown you have the top 40 songs of the week, or however many you had enough tapes for... You can now make a mixtape of your favorite tracks. Radio also had "Request and Dedication" shows where you could call in and request a song and give a little dedication to your amore. You could record that and toss it at the beginning of the mixtape and good things happen. Another type would be artist specific. Say you were a Michael Jackson fan, you could take Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad and make a tape of your favorite songs from each. Another would be genre, when I was first getting into blues and jazz, I'd borrow tapes from my Mom and friends to make mix tapes. And last but not least, the mixtape for your love interest. These were the ultimate, you'd diligently record songs from the radio and mix in a song or two from either an artist she didn't know or an obscure song from a known artist to show you were a deep brother. You weren't done yet! You'd then work hard on the label and of course the note to go along with those 10 songs that perfectly sum up your feelings for that person. On a side note, I'd like to take this opportunity to say if you were the object of my unrequited affection and received one of these, I apologize. Unless you liked it, then, hey girl.

Next up we have the burned CD mixtape. It is the evolutionary cousin to the cassette mixtape. While it took a while for CD burners to become ubiquitous, they eventually showed up, primarily in PCs. What was lost in recording from the radio was picked up by being able to download from Napster and pass along. Additionally, you could write or draw on the CD itself and the labels, if you went that route, were larger for track listing and any other info you wanted to toss in there.

Now we're moving on to the streaming portion of the discussion:

Note: I'm using playlist and mixtape interchangeably here.

One step removed from the burned CD and what seems lightyears beyond the cassette technologically is the custom, personally curated playlist. This can be a playlist you do for yourself; I have several in Spotify. I will sometimes dump an entire artist's collection in there to shuffle, or perhaps include only the tracks I like best. I also have one for jazz and one for funk called 'greasy.' But in the spirit of this piece, I'm thinking of a playlist that you create for someone else and share the link with them. I actually like this, not only can you send them a custom mix of songs that can express how you feel about them, but you can update the playlist anytime. It can be romantic or simply sharing new tunes with a homie.

Next, we have the algorithmically created playlist. When you sign in Spotify (I'm assuming other services offer similar features) and you get the daily list or the multiple "just for you" selections, this is what I'm referring to. Spotify uses the data from your listening habits to create playlists with songs from artists they think you'll like. It's pretty accurate with a few swings and misses. I have to say I'm a fan of including these playlists as well as listing other artists similar to the one you're listening to. I've discovered so many new bands this way. Alternatively, there are playlists that are created based on other factors. I work out with playlists on Spotify and XM such as Hip hop workout or Lithium Workout. These are likely created based on a beats per minute count. Some don't really fit the workout but have a faster beat. Overall, I like this style of mixtape/playlist.

Finally, we have the artist mixtape. This is generally hip hop but isn't necessarily limited to any specific genre. I relate it to an EP being released prior to an LP back in the day. Some of these have very rapid turnarounds, like a day or two so sometimes the quality of the mix isn't that great but topically it's right on time.

So how do these rank in terms of which mixtape format is best? Let's find out!

5. Artist Mixtape - This may be one of those "not for you" cases but I'm not a fan of most of these I've heard. Some are pretty good, but most feel rushed or worse, don't have a cohesive feel to the tracks. The ability for artists to drop tracks near instantly is pretty amazing and I do like the idea of it. We'll see how that continues to develop.

4. Algorithmically created playlist - While I use these pretty much every single day, they lack the human touch - hello, algorithm - which is what makes the mixtape great.

3. Burned CD - I probably surprised you here with this at number 3. I do think it has a lot of strengths and is still a physical object that gives the human touch. But there were some issues. If you're old enough to have gone through the burned CD era, you'll know the pain of burning a CD for it to simply not work. Sometimes the person you gave it to had a CD player that wouldn't play those or you needed a CD -R or +R or RW, it was awful.

2. Personally curated playlist - While fully digital and not that personal this does have the ability to add and remove songs as you go. Plus, when you email the link to the person you can toss in a nice note about how you thought about them when making it.

1. Cassette - I mean come on, it's called a mixTAPE right? Clear winner here. Yeah, I'm old but there was something about it.

Epilogue:

I listen to either streaming music or records. I'm resisting the urge to get back into cassettes even though I have a couple decks and tapes. My cassette collection didn't survive growing up. Honestly, I have no idea where they went. I still have my CDs but before I would play a CD, I would stream it. There's something human about playing a record or a cassette. We are a touching, feeling creature and it means something to flip that tape over or to hold the liner notes on a record. I think that's lost on the younger folks. As everything is digitized and available on a screen it loses some of its meaning. I like buying concert tickets online but man, there's something about lining up at Macy's or JC Penney's or wherever your ticket office was and buying a physical ticket they handed you. When I have the option, even if it's a couple bucks more I still try to get physical tickets. In 20 years, I can look at that stub and remember the show, I can't do that with a barcode on an app.

What's your favorite format or mixtape/playlist?

-js

[musicoccurred]

Couldn’t be left out. #cuttingrass with #sturgillsimpson at @seasickrecords @thirtytigers #musicoccurred (at Seasick Records) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNN5oXxrkpN/?igshid=1vdrq5fl61f14

#cuttingrass #sturgillsimpson #musicoccurred

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My first live show in nearly 13 months is my daughter’s High School Symphonic Band winter performance. Wouldn’t have it any other way. #musicoccurred @eas.0806 (at Thompson High School) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMgB7mRrUuk/?igshid=eqovruoliqe4

#musicoccurred

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2 words: Hot damn. The @thecitychampsmemphis are back. I’ve been stoked since the first hint this was happening. Got the record Friday but had to wait until today when I could devote the time. When you get legends like guitar wizard @joerestivo and the so so funky @sluprok on the kit with the silky smooth @algamble1 on the keys you know it’s time to: Get funky. Get groovy. #thechumps #musicoccurred #nowplaying #freshwax (at Birmingham, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMaqHFQLk-o/?igshid=wlx145r6oz0u

#thechumps #musicoccurred #nowplaying #freshwax

[musicoccurred]

In Praise of the CD-Single

I came of age in the 80s and 90s. I got my driver’s license in 1991 and quickly spent all my paltry part-time job's earnings on car stereo equipment and music. Initially it was cassettes but within a year or so I had upgraded to a CD player. I remember the first one I purchased for my car, it was a Panasonic from Wal-Mart and it was $400. That's a staggering amount of cash for someone in 1992, I think I was making $4.30/hr at Hardees. Thank the lord for layaway.

One of my favorite pastimes was just cruising around with a friend or two with tunes blasting. We got pretty creative in some of our cars. We passed around crappy amps and speakers, among other things.

As a broke kid I bought my share of cassette singles. These ran about a dollar or two and featured a single on the A-Side and another track on the B, often it was an instrumental version of the single. I didn't purchase a ton of them, I recorded Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40 every Sunday to make my mixtapes. But that's a different story altogether.

Enter the CD Single.

You must remember this was the early 90s, so no interwebz, no Spotify, no bandcamp. Given the digital nature of the CD and the fact that there was no additional cost in having extra tracks on them (more tracks on a cassette meant more tape...) it wasn't uncommon for a CD Single to have 3-5 tracks. Sometimes it was a live cut of the single, a cover, a true B-Side that wasn't on the album. But my personal favorite - the remix.

I can't stress this enough, unless you were in a club or knew a DJ you weren't getting too many remixes in Florence, AL.

I was crazy about these, blasting them constantly. This opened a whole new world of dance music.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Any list regarding music will undoubtedly circle around to Prince so we'll start w/ the man.

Prince - Gett Off From his Diamonds & Pearls record, he famously performed this track at the MTV Video Music Awards in assless pants. And it's on Spotify!

Up next, Michael Jackson - Jam. Featuring the late, great Heavy D with the feature. Cool video too. I don't see this one on Spotify, here's the Discogs link: The tracks are on YouTube, here's one:

Kris Kross - Jump Were they gimmicky with the backwards clothes? Yes. Was it fun with a great beat? Also yes. Thank you Spotify!

When PM Dawn came on the scene they really stood out with the hippy vibe, dance beat mixed with Hip Hop. I loved them right away. They had a couple hits but their biggest was "Set Adrift On Memory Bliss" a poetry filled rap using the hook from "True" by Spandau Ballet (another favorite of mine) Here's a YouTube link to the extended cut.

The final entry is a bit outside the time range and isn't about the remixes but about the B-Sides.

Those that know me, know I'm the biggest Pearl Jam fan. Their 3rd single and biggest video hit, "Jeremy" had a special international CD Single that, at the time, was a little hard to get. I eventually snagged one from Pegasus Records & Tapes (RIP) it featured:

Jeremy Footsteps Yellow Ledbetter

I know you can't throw a rock without hitting Yellow Ledbetter today but in the early-mid 90s it was difficult to get. 'Footsteps' was this raw, emotionally dark and powerful track that remains a favorite to this day.

CDs are pretty much gone, and CD-Singles are long gone but for a moment in time they brought me a lot of joy and had the car booming all over Florence.

What were some of your favorite CD Singles?

#album #cdsingle

[musicoccurred]

Spending a little time on this cold Friday night paying my respects to the late Chick Corea. Rest easy sir, you earned it. (at Alabaster, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLNm5oFL91B/?igshid=17g4tseubbw5o

[musicoccurred]

The fabulous City Champs are releasing their first record in a decade. You can pre-order the wax from their label @biglegalmess records. Get groovy and pick it up willya? #memphis #musicoccurred CC: @algamble1 @joerestivo @sluprok @thecitychampsmemphis (at Alabaster, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLLBsxYLstk/?igshid=a6nvfyk467cl

#memphis #musicoccurred

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@jasonisbell you sir are a legend, well done. (at Alabaster, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLH-JShLGcb/?igshid=nn7ldz2lqdrx

[musicoccurred]

Happy Birthday to the ATLien himself daddy fatsacks @bigboi #musicoccurred (at Birmingham, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKxid_3rzpv/?igshid=15lv7bwr7yi81

#musicoccurred

[musicoccurred]

What a song (at Alabaster, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKrvziTrnT7/?igshid=7uk21mxhh6ej

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Yes Yes @nas #musicoccurred (at Birmingham, Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKPKK2krP0Z/?igshid=cde06bx9h9s1

#musicoccurred