Yoz's Burning Man 2002 CDs

During Burning Man 2002, I gave out a few music compilations I'd burnt to CD. Hopefully you have one (or more) of these already, and it's why you're here. If not, ask me for one and I'll see what I can do. (I've linked to downloadable MP3s when easy)

If you've got one of these CDs, let me know what you think of it!

The compilations were:

A Spastic Education

A compilation of random silliness, mainly composed of bootlegs and mixes I made myself, snippets from movie soundtracks, comedy clips and the occasional actually good tune. I don't really know where the title came from. When I was cutting up the labels in Kinko's, this sweet old lady who seemed rather lonely was wandering around smiling at people and watching what they were doing. She wandered over to me at the guillotine and tried to read my labels upside-down. "A Special Education..." she read. "How nice! Are you a teacher?" (I didn't correct her.)

1: Yoz - Plastic Gangplank mix

For a while now I've been wanting to do the kind of mixes I admire so much that I've heard from DJs like Jon Carter, Liam Howlett and Osymyso, where they basically try and cram as many tunes into as short a mix as possible while still keeping the thing danceable and entertaining. So this is my first attempt at such a thing, using the fabulous MixMeister. It's mostly pretty hip-hoppy. (You can download an MP3 of this mix here - 12MB)

The tracks in the mix are:

  1. Woody Allen - The Moose
  2. Strata 3 - (It's Not A) Man's World
  3. Cutty Ranks - Stopper (accapella)
  4. Depth Charge - Poison Clan 95
  5. MC Solaar - Comme Dans Un Film
  6. Cut Killer - La Haine
  7. DJ Shadow - The Number Song (Cut Chemist party mix)
  8. Black Sheep - This Or That
  9. Bassbin Twins - DJs Never Did That
  10. Tracey Lee feat. Busta Rhymes and Pirate Of The Reepz - The Theme (The After Party remix)
  11. Plaid - Shackbu
  12. UNKLE - Berry Meditation (last ever mix)
2: Etienne De Crecy - Tempovision (radio edit)
Unlike the instrumental album version, this is a gorgeous pop/soul vocal track. Video's fab too.
3: Yoz - It's Not Flat But It's Okay
My first boot, ripped off from something I heard Basement Jaxx do years ago. Done in MixMeister, just a straight overlay. (You can download it here)
4: The Times - Lundi Bleu
Sorry about the poor quality, but I love this tune. Well, I did at the time. On further listens I realised I probably should have cut it down a bit. Anyway, it's a New Order cover in terrible schoolboy French by Ed Ball that also makes nods to "Touched By The Hand Of God".
5: Powerpuff Girls - Bubblevicious
Bubbles, fed up of being the cute wimpy one, decides she wants to be hardcore.
6: Origin Unknown - Truly One (2002 remix part 1)
Big funky manic jump-up drum'n'bass thing.
7: Marvin Hamlisch - Bond 77
007 does disco! From The Spy Who Loved Me. (You remember, that bit where the Lotus turns into a submarine and they get chased by scuba divers. I grew up with that film.) This tune has taken on extra significance since BM, due to Jess (of eVille) revealing that she's Marvin Hamlisch's second cousin (or something).
8: Space Ghost - Minky Boodle
Leslie wants to marry Brak. I know she does, she told me, and I think the world should know.
9: Dillinger's Massive Dub Beats - Sensimilla
Also probably too long, but still. Massive!
10: Wendy Carlos - The Light Sailer
Geek moment: This is from the Tron soundtrack, which has been missing in action for many years but has just got a very welcome re-release. There's also a Tron sequel in the works. Take a look at Wendy Carlos's site, and see if you can work out what the hell she's talking about here.
11: Bill Bailey - Phillip Glass plays "Pop Goes The Weasel"
Fantastic British musical comedian who's now diversified into acting. He also does a great Richard Clayderman, Tom Waits, and the incidental music from "Starsky and Hutch"
12: Yoz - Magical Sound Spiller (You Can't Out Run A Groovejet)
Another boot with Mixmeister, this time with rather more cutting up and stuff. Of course you recognise the tune... you spent enough growing-up time in arcades, didn't you? Download it here.
13: Half Man Half Biscuit - Dickie Davies Eyes
Contains the line "Brian Moore's head looks uncannily like London Planetarium", which became the name of a football fanzine. (Brian Moore died during Burning Man last year. I found out when Tom made me connect to the web, using the playa satellite uplink, to find out the England v Germany score. It was worth it.)
14: John Hegley - Greavsie
More football-related silliness, from the best bespectacled poet ever to come out of Luton. (I've just realised I may be giving the impression that I am some kind of football fan. Uh oh.)
15: David Shire - Main Title from "The Taking Of Pelham 123"
Surely one of the coolest movie themes ever. I've wanted to get hold of this for years, and finally managed it thanks to the late-lamented Audiogalaxy. Coldcut also included it in a recent mix CD. The film starred an actor who I loved so much that I named one of my servers after him.
16: Aphex Twin - Windowlicker (end-roll version)
As featured during the end credits of the video.
17: Piano Magic - How Does It Feel
From a Spacemen 3 tribute album.
18: Bent - Always In My Heart
I completely adore this tune. I've always had a soft spot for good trancey Balearic dance and this massages that spot lasciviously. The rest of the album is fantastic too.
19: Missy Elliot vs X-Press 2 - Missyizum
One of the best boots I've ever heard; good enough to warrant a stand-alone release. An insanely brilliant house track.
20: Quincy Jones & Don Black - Get A Bloomin' Move On
Better known as "The Self-Preservation Society", from the Italian Job soundtrack. (Michael Caine, gold bullion, Mini Coopers racing around Turin... you don't remember? Bloody Yanks.)

Such A Scream

Mostly loud brash poppy stuff.

1: Tom Waits - Such A Scream
From the Bone Machine album. One day someone's going to do a trashy pop cover of this and it'll be huge.
2: United Future Organisation - United Future Airlines (Astral Hijack mix)
A stunningly good remix by Simon Richmond, a.k.a. Palm Skin Productions (featured elsewhere on this disc). UFO are three Japanese jazz fiends.
3: Steve Beresford - Couleur Café
From the Gainsbourg tribute album, Great Jewish Music.
4: The Avalanches - With My Baby
For some reason this was excluded from their (hugely succesful) album. I find that bizarre, as it's easily my favourite of their tracks.
5: The Fall - Choc Stock
"Now all the bourgeoisie/They hate our crazy schemes/Because we like pop-sick stickers/And we like weaker tea." It's worth tracking down the Saint Etienne live version of this.
6: Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy
None of Aphex's work could really be considered normal, but this is completely evil and twisted yet surprisingly accessible (if you're into metal, anyway). Video's insane, though.
7: King Django - Nacht Shifl Ken Kayro
I got this from my Oregonian friend Lev; he put it on once when I was staying over, telling me he had this fantastic Yiddish klezmer/reggae hybrid, and halfway through the CD there's this amazing Madness cover. I got down on my knees and begged him for it.
8: Sheila Chandra - Speaking In Tongues III
"Vocal drumming", apparently.
9: Palm Skin Productions - Beats Of Burden
More conventional than most of his work, but I'm such a sucker for a good break.
10: Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart - Wine, Women And Song
B-side to "Becoming More Like God".
11: 808 State - Mondays
From the Foundations charity compilation, presumably done during the Don Solaris sessions.
12: Dennis Waterman - I Could Be So Good For You
Theme from the much-loved British TV show Minder. Usually one of the first things I play for my BMCCC chums once I get behind the speakers at Burning Man; reminds us of home, y'know. (And our total cultural superiority, of course.)
13: The Freestylers - B-Boy Stance (Mighty Supernaturals On My Radio mix)
Remix of a single from the fantastic We Rock Hard album.
14: Fridge - There Is No Try
I want to find out more about these guys; the stuff I've heard from them is really varied in style (ranging from post-rock noodling to happy bouncy twanging like this) but it's mostly great.
15: Stina Nordenstam & Anton Fier - I Could Still (Be An Actor)
From the Photographer's Wife EP, the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist. Fier (of The Golden Palominos) recruited Nordenstam for a session, and a three-track EP resulted. More might have been recorded but they didn't get on, which is a great shame as I'm completely in love with the record.
16: Ramsey Lewis - What's The Name Of This Funk
As donated by my funktastical chum Rudolf. "Don't fake the funk or your nose will grow."
17: Halo Benders - Don't Touch My Bikini
Another one I heard on TV and occasionally kept an eye out for until Audiogalaxy provided. The guy behind this band went on to do the Dub Narcotic Sound System.
18: Howie B - Hey Jack (UNKLE Metamorphosis mix)
When they get their egos under control UNKLE can do amazing stuff, and this is hypnotic.
19: Yat-Kha - Chorumal Bodum
I heard this on Radio 3's Late Junction when driving one night and nearly crashed the car, it was so good. Yat-Kha are from Eastern Russia, Albert Kuvezin does "Tuvan throat singing" and it's like nothing I've ever heard before.
20: 10cc - Fresh Air For My Mama
Forgive me. I was always a fan.

Action At A Distance

Downtempo/chilled stuff to alternately soothe and disturb.

1: Matmos - Action At A Distance
Don't know much about Matmos but nearly everything I've heard from them has been good so far. They seem pretty big already, which shows how far the world has moved on while I've been ignoring it.
2: Andrea Parker - Atacama Giant
From her first release, the Melodious Thunk EP.
3: Gus Gus - Polymovie
A b-side/remix, I think. I loved their first two albums, after which they apparently went quite downhill. Still want to check the rest out, though.
4: Red Stars Theory - North To Next Exit
Another band I don't know much about but I've liked everything I've heard by them. This is getting distressingly repetitive.
5: Palm Skin Productions - New Love Games For Your Monkey
Easily the best track title on any of the CDs.
6: Bedouin Ascent - Broadway Boogie Woogie
This is one of my favourite tracks ever. I got it from Macro Dub Infection 1.
7: Do Make Say Think - The Landlord Is Dead
From the Montreal post-rock crowd that spawned Godspeed You Black Emperor, I think. Patti probably knows them.
8: Nobukazu Takemura - Let My Fish Loose
This track just pops up everywhere. Sorry.
9: Jack Wilkins - Red Clay
Another one from Rudolf. This one's been sampled all over.
10: Curd Duca - Jerhovski
They do lots of cute short (1 or 2 minute) tracks.
11: Acid Brass - Pacific 202
The Acid Brass project was basically a guy called Jeremy Deller who wanted to hear a load of classic techno tracks performed entirely by a brass band. They put on a series of concerts in London in '97, and went on to feature on the KLF's "Fuck The Millenium" single. (I was lucky enough to be at the Barbican launch event, 23 minutes long) Anyway, this is a cover of the 808 State favourite.
12: IO - Libre (Stasis mix)
Delicious release from the Mo'Wax "Excursions in Techno" series.
13: Grantby - Grimble
Grantby (Dan Grigson) hardly released anything but it's all completely beautiful. If you can find it, the Timebooth EP on Cup Of Tea Records is essential. Gives trip-hop a good name.
14: Bent - Winter
More Bent! No idea where this comes from. AG appeared to have a whole load of fantastic unreleased Bent material.
15: Bark Psychosis - A Street Scene
Bark Psychosis were part of the early-90's post-rock scene with Disco Inferno and Flying Saucer Attack. This is a heartbreakingly beautiful tune and I have loved it for years.
16: The Ecstasy Of Saint Theresa - Exit
Czechoslovakian Seefeel-esque ambient rock band who I first saw supporting Guernica at the Camden Falcon back in '94 or so. Since then they've gone in a more Lamb/Bows (i.e. floaty d'n'b) direction.

Yoz's Music Videos

A collection of my favourite recent music videos in various file formats.

Aphex Twin - Come To Daddy
Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
Both of these are by Chris Cunningham, both use the same "Richard James's face on everyone" technique, and both are brilliantly twisted, but apart from that they're very different. Come To Daddy is a horror scenario in a tower block and Windowlicker is a fantastic piss-take of bootylicious hip-hop videos.
Beastie Boys - Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim mix)
They just love dressing up and being stupid, don't they. I've never before seen a different video for a remix, though.
Bjork - All Is Full Of Love
Another Chris Cunningham production that won a shedload of awards. It's an incredibly powerful and moving piece.
Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar
A Michel Gondry video. Apparently he and his brother just took several train rides across France, then spent a couple of months compositing. Several people I've shown this video to only get it on the second or third viewing. My favourite touch is the black & white towers in the distance in the first minute, following the bass notes.
Cibo Matto - Sugar Water
Another Michel Gondry one. Dashed clever. Needs repeated viewing.
Daft Punk - Around The World
Gondry again. One of his most well-known clips.
Daft Punk - Da Funk
By Spike Jonze, who also directed "Being John Malkovitch". "Oh, this is that one with the guy with a dog's head, right?" It's all in him not being able to turn off the radio.
Dirty Vegas - Days Go By
This track has been way overplayed in America and nothing else by the band seems remotely as good, which is a great shame. Gorgeous video, though: Great choreography and a nice storyline.
Fatboy Slim - Ya Mama (Push The Tempo)
From the Swedish production team Traktor. Apparently it was done with (erased) harnesses attached to people's arms.
Osymyso - John's Not Mad
Osymyso did the original bootleg, which samples Tears For Fears, Eminem and others, along with an ancient episode of British science show Q.E.D. about John Davidson, a kid with Tourette's. Cartel Communique did a fantastic job of glueing all the relevant bits of video together. It's kind of a statement about the contradictory roles of swearing and insanity in our society, I think. Something like that.
Playgroup - Number One
Yum! Note the references to several other videos, including "Billie Jean", "Virtual Insanity" and "Around The World" (featured above).
R.E.M. - Imitation Of Life
When I first saw this I thought that either they'd done a load of smart compositing/CG work or they'd taken the difficult route of just preparing and timing everything insanely well. Turns out it was the latter. (The NY Press wets itself here)
Radiohead - Pyramid Song
Directed by Shynola. "Thom Yorke sent us a very disjointed couple of paragraphs about a dream he'd had about lights in the sky and a load of survivors floating in an aircraft carrier after an unhnown disaster or event and we took our inspiration from that."
Royksopp - Remind Me
Infographic-tastic. The single release is a drastically remixed from the album version, which is a pity.
Squarepusher - Come On My Selector
Cunningham again. As this page says, the video follows the audio so closely you wonder which came first.
The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl
Gondry, who has always wanted to do a Lego animation, apparently. One thing I love here is the way the lighting is deliberately changing to make it look amateurish/punk.

Yoz's MP3s

The MP3 disc has all three of the above audio mixes on it, along with a load of other stuff including complete DJ mixes by The Avalanches, the Plump DJs and Osymyso, a wonderful short story by David Rakoff, some more comedy, a track written by my Israeli friend Shira and a whole load of good tunes. (No videos, though.)

-- Yoz