AN EDUCATION

VOLUME ONE

VOLUME TWO

VOLUME THREE

It still completely amazes me when I come across a great mixtape blog. As someone who is often shamelessly at the helm of my own self-indulgent DJ sets, it's nice to stumble upon mixes that make me feel like maybe I'm not so selfish after all. Somewhere out there, there are like-minded people with awesome record collections who just get it. And best of all, they like to share them with people like you and I.

The Musicophilia mixtape blog is no exception. It literally made me nervous. Kind of like walking into your favorite record store with only 10 minutes to burn. Thankfully, the site is eerily calming and breaks down its treasure trove of 45-minute mixes into non-panic-attack-inducing digestible bits. It's ok, you can download one mix and visit another time. It. will. all. still. be. there., spazz.

If you download one thing from Musicophilia, it should be the above three mixtape volumes. They're perfect for any young girl (or boy, for that matter) in need of a proper education on some of the best female-led post punk outfits of all time, such as Au Pairs, Maximum Joy, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Creatures, Grace Jones, Chris and Cosey, Marilyn & the Movie Stars, E.S.G., Laurie Anderson, Vivien Goldman and Jane Hudson. (Sorry, I totally couldn't stop myself with that list. Yeah, it's that good.)

Thank you to Musicophilia for preserving the tradition of the mixtape as a way to expose listeners to new sounds, and pass on the reverence for these amazing underground artists.

Via @kassetteklub

YEAH, I'M BUYIN' IT

Zola Jesus // Night // Sacred Bones

THE SCENES OF MY LIFE ARE SWEPT BY THE TIDE

Just got The Names second LP Swimming in the post. I've been DYING for this record for weeks and finally tracked down a slightly beat up copy from a seller in Germany, who was worried about how it would fare through the volcanic ash. But alas, it appeared on my doorstep last week and has been a ray of light shining from my record player ever since. I can't wait to play it out live!

"Life By the Sea" (above) is the sole reason I fell in love with this band but the rest of the album has grown on me, as well. No wonder, since all of their records were produced by Martin Hannett (New Order, Joy Division).



"Night Shift" (below), The Names' first single produced by Hannett, is probably the band's most popular but I prefer their later output, which is a more melodic and layered version of their earlier stuff. I'm just weak like that.



The Names became a casualty in the death of post punk, but got back together in 2008 to release a new album called Monsters Next Door. I'm afraid to check it out.