Michael Cook

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Member Since: 1/2/2002
Total Mixes: 20
Total Feedback: 9

Other Mixes By Michael Cook

CD | Mixed Genre
MP3 Playlist | Theme

The Last Days of Feudal Japan

Artist Song
From Shogun Assassin, sampled by Liquid Swords  "People said his brain was infected by devils" monologue, edited directly after the scream. 
The Mops  Haiku 
Andrew Bird  A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left 
Tristeza  Japan Mountain 
Robyn  Konichiwa Bitches 
The RZA  Samurai Theme 
Yeah Yeah Yeahs  Warrior 
Morning Musume  Koi no Dance Site 
Wakusei  Gigantic [Pixies cover] 
PJ Harvey  Kamikaze 
Neko Case  Maybe Sparrow 
The Brilliant Green  Kuroi Tsubasa (Black Wings) 
Yaida Hitomi  Over the Distance 
The Magnetic Fields  Tokyo A-Go-Go 
Ayumi Hamasaki  Opening Run 
Tujiko Noriko  Tokyo Tower 
The 5,6,7,8's  Ah-So! 
Tomoyasu Hotei  Thrill 
Penpals  Here Comes Your Man [Pixies cover] 
Sonic Youth  Superstar [Carpenters cover] 
Kishi-dan  One Night Carnival 
Melting Holidays  Rainbow, Rainbow 
nobodyknows+  Kokoro Odoru 

Comment:

This mix was a birthday present for a friend heading to Japan a few months later. In crafting the disc I had two goals in mind: 1) to make successful use of as many Japanese artists as possible without compromising my ability to narrate some sort of story (since neither of us know the language); 2) to straddle as many worlds as possible -- the traditional landscape, the spectacularized samurai, the cyberpunk imagination, the fashion-minded badass asthetic, the gleefully ironic embrace of pop, and so on. Basically to take all of our western cliched cultural ideas about Japan, throw them in a blender and come out with something both pretty and indie and then every so often unabashedly not, as with the bombastic closing credits tracks. It also had to be listenable for someone with no patience for abrasive noise. And here we are.

The story fuses pop-feudal Japan with Gibsonian cyberpunk and imagines the journey of a country orphan to Tokyo to kill the head of one of the country's leading corporations and thus avenge her family. I'm pretty happy with how this came out. I particularly like the idea of repurposing "Here Comes Your Man" to be about the appearance of the story's nemesis, and then immediately subverting that with a song about self-destructive star worship. And the overblown ridiculousness of the Robyn cut as well as some of the later tracks make me smile every time I hear them.

The cd was packaged in a modified card mailer. Artwork was handcraft from paint and a variety of silk papers. No photo is available unfortunately.

Download Mix (100mb Zip via YouSendIt)

Feedback:

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gobi
Date: 9/22/2006
Cook-Sahn, looks/sounds impressive and ambitious. I only know the Neko, PJ Harvey, Sonic Youth picks here (and I know 5678's but not the song). Thanks for the download, I'll need it . . .
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boodean
Date: 9/22/2006
The looks really nice, what I know of it. I love that Andrew Bird song. His album was one of my favorites from last year.
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abangaku
Date: 9/22/2006
well this is just so ambitious that it's crazy. i'll have to refer back to this one the next time i want to stretch my idea of what a mix concept can be. as for the music itself, i know nothing. but that's perfectly okay by me.
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Nomates
Date: 9/23/2006
What a tremendous undertaking. The notes are a revelation in themselves. I am woefully ignorant of 99.8 per cent of the tracks, so, many thanks for the download. Would that you were able to show the artwork. But hey, let's not be greedy. Marvellous!
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Bear
Date: 9/24/2006
Oh Mad One... we see your trap! Terrific.
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DJ Karen Adams
Date: 9/24/2006
This is up my alley.
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blasikin
Date: 9/26/2006
Just browsed through your labours of love previously posted,incredibly cool stuff. Can't wait to hear this. Also, of course, check out the "original soundtracks" exhibit....http://www.artofthemix.org/FindAMix/GetExhibit.aspx?ExhibitId=72
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sammyg123
Date: 9/27/2006
I caught this late last night just as it was about to drop off the board. Phew, so glad I caught it. Listened to this today and it's awesome. More mixes! Please!!
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Mixxer
Date: 10/28/2006
Sorry I missed the silk papers but the mix is very well done.
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senatorhung
Date: 4/18/2008
very nice !