theACF

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Member Since: 2/16/2003
Total Mixes: 25
Total Feedback: 64

Other Mixes By theACF

CD | Single Artist
CD | Alternative - Indie Rock
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CD | Alternative - Indie Rock
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Happy Songs For Happy People (SOTT 18, May 2004)

Artist Song
Gigolo Aunts  They Dont Know 
Peter Bruntnell  By the Time My Head Gets to Phoenix 
Mike Ruekberg  Years 
Andrew Cash  These Days 
The Pooh Sticks  Sweet Baby James 
APB  Something to Believe In 
The Love Generation  Let the Good Times In 
28th Day  25 Pills 
The Candy Skins  Everybody Loves You 
Translator  No Time Like Now 
Sparkler  Grand Arrival 
Jack Frost  Little Song 
The Woodentops  Good Thing 
The Loud Family  You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory 
Even As We Speak  Falling Down The Stairs 
Matt Keating  Lonely Blue 
The Hit Parade  On the Road to Beaconsfield 
The Lilac Time  Return To Yesterday 
Sparkler  I'll Keep You Warm 
The Hummingbirds  Sister Goldenhair 
The Eels  Skywriting 
Reckless Sleepers  If We Never Meet Again 
Ned Rifle  Trust (End Theme) 

Comment:

It's already time for another SOTT (Son of Tape Tree) mix swap. This one should have around 30 participants. Happy jangly melodies coupled with often bittersweet lyrics. Songs for falling in love and for falling apart. The closing track inspired me to design the cover using imagery from Hal Hartley's film "Trust". This may be a one-time thing, but for fun, I created a downloadable "sampler" of this mix.

Happy Sampler MP3 (8:44, 4,099MB)


1 Gigolo Aunts : They Don't Know (1994)
A great way to start things off. I pulled this wonderfully catchy tune from Vol. 10 of the UK Volume CD/Magazine series. I don't believe it was ever released on an album. It's a fine rendition of the song which was originally written and recorded by Kirsty MacColl and was a minor hit for Tracey Ullman in the 80s.

2 Peter Bruntnell : By the Time My Head Gets to Phoenix (2000)
Of all the pop tunes that have been written about cryogenic suspension, I bet you this one is the catchiest. At times Peter Bruntnell sounds quite a bit like Jay Farrar (Son Volt), but on this track, I'd say there is also a nod towards Teenage Fanclub.

3 Mike Ruekberg : Years (2002)
This great tune kicks off the film "Dummy", a sweet little comedy starring Adrien Brody, Illeana Douglas, and Milla Jovovich. Unfortunately mastering incompetence resulted in the extreme loudening of the signal on the soundtrack CD, diminishing overall the dynamic range. The track still sounds good, but I suspect it could have sounded better if the "mastering engineer" would have used some common sense.

4 Andrew Cash : These Days (1989)
From Andrew Cash's second album of pop americana. I used a track from his first album on SOTT16. After a third solo album, Andrew joined forces with his brother Peter (of the Skydiggers) and together they have released four albums. I believe those are a bit more in the country realm but I really haven't heard them. I need to give them a listen at some point.

5 The Pooh Sticks : Sweet Baby James (1991)
No...it's not a cover of the James Taylor song, but is a partial cover of The Four Seasons "Who Loves You".

6 APB : Something to Believe In (1985)
Quirky band from Scotland. I pulled this off of vinyl which I haven't played in a really long time. This has always been a memorable toe-tapper for me, but wow, was it mastered bright!! I adjusted the EQ a bit to fit better with the rest of the mix, but it's still a shade brighter than the others. I left it that way as part of its character.

7 The Love Generation : Let the Good Times In (1969)
Poster children for the "sunshine pop" movement. Here's a lyric excerpt:
"Let's find a dream that's built for two...yeah!
And then hop on a rainbow that's waiting for you"
Love Generation effectively became the songwriting team for the Partridge Family series. Initially they were going to sing all of the music as well. This song was featured in the pilot when Danny is trying to get the family "signed". After that, they discovered that David Cassidy could actually sing and so Love Generation was relegated to songwriting and backing tracks. There is a good interview at http://www.cmongethappy.com/interviews/tb/

Track notes continue at http://theacf.com/sott/happy.html 
image for mix

Feedback:

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LaTartaruga
Date: 4/15/2004
nice cover.
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Slack-a-gogo
Date: 4/15/2004
Great mix Brent! I have the feeling that I'm going to regret sitting out this round of SOTT based on some of the track listings I've already seen. It's all good but let me single out Reckless Sleepers, Woodentops, and Hummingbirds as excellent choices. Is the lead cut the same song that Tracey Ullman had a hit with? And excellent cover layout.
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laura.witkowski
Date: 4/15/2004
Very nice mix! Nice to see that Candyskins track -- that's a great song. What is SOTT?
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Sean Lally
Date: 4/15/2004
Awesome! Nice cover, too. Great Pooh Sticks pick. Let me know if you're up for a trade.
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sport !
Date: 4/15/2004
Excellent mix and cover....and as far as that film goes...I'll have to "Trust" you....
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Siobhan
Date: 4/16/2004
That is some of the best cover art I've seen here. Beautiful mix too - I wish I knew all of it, but what I know I like!
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p the swede
Date: 4/16/2004
awesome cover and great mix, love to hear it
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theACF
Date: 4/16/2004
Thanks all for the nice comments! To Dale, yes, the Gigolo Aunts track is the same song made popular by Tracey Ullman (and originally written and recorded by Kirsty MacColl). The Aunts do a fine version...ultra catchy. :-) To Sport, by all means check out "Trust" if you see it in the video store. It's a quirky little independent film by indie maestro Hal Hartley. Look for a young(er) Mrs. Soprano in it as well!
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valis
Date: 4/16/2004
Great mix Brent.., I miss the link to textual recitations & explanations. Loved it on 16 (I believe.) Good stuff!