Other Mixes By Michael Cook
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Mixed Genre
CD
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Mixed Genre
MP3 Playlist
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Theme
CD
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Theme
CD
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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:
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 . . .
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.
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.
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!
Oh Mad One... we see your trap! Terrific.
This is up my alley.
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
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!!
Sorry I missed the silk papers but the mix is very well done.
very nice !