I think anyone would agree that inadvertently doing a good job is pretty great. That’s probably why I enjoy revisiting the fourth volume of my Mixtape series so often.
According to my wife, when I gave her these original mixes, the fourth volume was one that she kept going back to. Alongside the opening track being by the criminally-underrated solo career of the oh-so prolific Jonathan Boulet, and featuring cuts from Bob Evans, The Getaway Plan, Birds Of Tokyo, Frenzal Rhomb, and more, it was actually a really solid mix of songs that I put together here.
In fact, due to my wife’s fondness for this mix, it’s probably the one I’ve listened to the most, and the one I’ve had the most time to reflect on.
This one also has a really good flow to it all, starting soft, amping up, and then ending on a nice slow note – in fact, The Middle East’s ‘Blood’ is a song that we both revisit incredibly frequently (and one that rarely leaves me dry-eyed).
Given my wife was American and I was doing my best to introduce her to as much Australian music as possible, my initial versions of these mixes (in plain white paper sleeves with printed text) were originally going to feature handwritten notes as well. So, I came upon the idea of surprising her by placing songs with paired stories alongside each other. This is why track No. 3 (Bob Evans’ ‘Pasha Bulker (Where Did I Go Wrong?)’) and track No. 4 (Jebediah’s ‘Please Leave’) are sequenced as such, given that Kevin Mitchell sings on both, and I wanted to put a note there informing her of such.
I had actually forgotten about these notes until now, so I don’t know if I ever utilised them or if it all fell by the wayside when I decided to print them, but that was the plan. Incidentally, I’m somewhat surprised (if I’m following that same pattern of placing similar projects next to each other) that Birds Of Tokyo isn’t followed by a Karnivool song, but I assume it would have ruined the vibe.
On the artwork front, real ones will recognise how I’ve simply made my own version of Rage Against The Machine’s Renegades album (which is in turn a take on Robert Indiana’s Love series). However, this is also an example of where I started to ensure the word ‘Mixtape’ (or a variation thereof) was included wherever it could be on the artwork. I didn’t follow that plan religiously, but it was fun to try and do where I could.
Lastly, the quote on the back flap comes from the lyrics of Ball Park Music’s ‘iFly’. I’d be lying if I said I would have ever expected to see Ball Park Music one day supporting Oasis when I first put this tape together, years after discovering that song for free on the triple j website.
Mixtape, Vol. 4 – Gallery
Mixtape, Vol. 4 – Tracklist
Side 1:
1. ‘A Community Service Announcement’ – Jonathan Boulet (2009)
2. ‘Pasha Bulker (Where Did I Go Wrong?)’ – Bob Evans (2009)
3. ‘Please Leave’ – Jebediah (1999)
4. ‘Plans’ – Birds Of Tokyo (2010)
5. ‘Rock It’ – Little Red (2010)
6. ‘Shadows’ – The Getaway Plan (2008)
7. ‘Mummy Doesn’t Know You’re A Nazi’ – Frenzal Rhomb (2011)
8. ‘Not The Same’ – Bodyjar (2000)
9. ‘Paco Doesn’t Love Me’ – The Spazzys (2004)
10. ‘Break It (Down James Brown)’ – Offcutts (2003)
11. ‘Elephant’ – Tame Impala (2012)
12. ‘Slide In Next To Me’ – Red Riders (2006)
Side 2:
1. ‘Exerciser’ – Rhubarb (1999)
2. ‘iFly’ – Ball Park Music (2010)
3. ‘My Happiness’ – Powderfinger (2000)
4. ‘Home’ – Skunkhour (2001)
5. ‘Monsters’ – Something For Kate (2001)
6. ‘Oh! Hark!’ – Lisa Mitchell (2009)
7. ‘The Shake’ – Kisschasy (2005)
8. ‘Russia’ – TISM (1995)
9. ‘Cathy’s Clown’ – You Am I (1995)
10. ‘Soon We’ll Be Found’ – Sia (2008)
11. ‘Blood’ – The Middle East (2008)