1. "BACKYARD GUYS" - 20/20
2. "READY ANYTIME" - STIV BATORS
3. "HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS" - THE GEARS
4 "TOMORROW BELONGS TO YOU" - GARY VALENTINE
5. "ROCK & ROLL GIRL" - THE BEAT
6. "MODERN KICKS" - THE EXPLODING HEARTS
7. "NOTHING ELSE TO DO" - THE POINTED STICKS
8. "HANDGRENADE HEART" - THE ZEROS
9. " YOU [BUST OUT]" - RADIO ALARM CLOCKS
10. " TOP DOWN" - TEENAGE HEAD
11. "SUICIDE CLUB" - THE MODERNETTES
12. "COME HERE AND DO IT" - THE EXPLOSIVES
13. "STAR CROSSED LOVERS" - ELECTRIC SHADOWS
14. "IT'S YOU TONIGHT" - THE FLASHCUBES
15. "DADDY IS A JET" - CANDY
16. "TWO TRACKS LEFT" - MOODS FOR MODERNS
17. "LAST NIGHT" - MOBERLYS
18. "MAYBE I'LL JUST KEEP YOU HANGING ON" - THE DEAL
19. "I DON'T WANNA BE YOUNG" - RPMS
20. "TEACH ME" - THE MUMPS
21. "STAY YOUNG" - THE DIMESTORE HALOES


I really wanted to have a theme this time and althought I had a couple ideas I wasn't able to flesh them out in time for the mix. I was reluctant to make a mix similar to the last one but as the deadline approached I decided to stick with what I am most familiar with, powerpop, so I picked a bunch of artists that I knew I wanted on the disc and from there came up with a track list. As the disc came together I noticed a very loose theme starting to take shape. It starts with the first song which is about a guy thinking about a favorite high school girlfriend and how he would trade everything to go back to that time. The rest of the songs give me the same feeling of wanting to go back to the days when I was young and dumb and full of cum. Hopefully you guys will have fun with this mix. If there is anyone not involved in this mix who would like a copy feel free to PM me.

Are you in group A or B?

Jimmy from the Dimestore Haloes is on the Nosieboard but doesn't post so much.

I'm in group A (T-Bone's). Yeah Jimmy is a friend of mine. I started out as a fan of the Dimestore Haloes and later got to know him. He's in group A as well.

Vinny, great mix as usual. Do you have the Candy Lp now? Did M. Wouters get that for you. Anyhoo, it was great to see old chestnuts like Teenage head and the Mumps on there. Could you burn me the Candy LP if you have it. You'll never guess who covered "kids in the city" (hint: I sang one of his songs onstage with the Gobshites earlier tonight.) Jimmy

Photographic evidence:

Nice, I should've hung out with you guys this weekend too : )

anytime, my friend

Ok, so I'm in group B, but MrWhirly and I traded independently. This is easily one of the best mixes I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. I feel like the guys in the Guiness ads: "BRILLIANT!" The cover is brilliant, with the phrenology model with the handlettered song titles. The song selection is brilliant. I could listen to Handgrenade Heart, Rock and Roll Girl, and Suicide Club all day long. Catchy, crunchy, sticky-sweet with a kick in the balls. I LOVE IT!

Thanks for the kind words. I don't know about brilliant but I was pretty happy with my mix this time. I'm glad to see someone liked it. The three songs you picked are some of my favs too.

a man with impeccable taste. and i'm not just saying that because we overlapped a handful of songs (although it doesn't hurt. HEE-HAW!). but yeah, he used the electric shadows and teenage head songs that i probably would've used had i not used the ones i did. but yeah, fucking killer mix yet again from mrW. probably my favorite in the lot so far.

amazing fun fact: the cover of the first teenage head lp is the wallpaper photo on my cellphone, because nothing says "HELLO!" like 4 dainty canadians.

Hey Ack, glad you liked this one. I was a bit concerned cuz I was using songs from comps I have sent you recently (Pointed Sticks & Modernettes). Hopefully I was able to include a song or two you were not that familiar with. Finding new stuff is the best part of getting these things and you always come through. I love the Teenage Head cover, what a great idea to use it for wallpaper.

Hey Mr.Whirly, I liked your last one and this one was a solid follow up. A good pick-me-up rock mix.

After two mixes with the Exploding Hearts on it, I've come to the conclusion that we lost a good band too early. "Modern Kicks" is good one as well as the one on your earlier mix... too bad that's that for the Exploding Hearts. I haven't heard if they're trying to move on with a new singer or anything..

I also liked the Flashcubes tune, as well as the Zeros and 20/20. Everything else sounded about right, but a lot of it blended together for me. Maybe that's my only complaint, small that it is, that there weren't many tempo changes in the rock to make some tracks stand out. But no biggie, overall this was a good one.

Kapow, thanks for listening and giving me your honest opinion. I was starting to think that the only people who had listened to my mix were the people I know personally.
I can see what you mean about the lack of tempo changes and everything starting to sound the same. Being a big fan of this type of music I didn't notice before but after reading your comments I can see what you mean. I agree with your comment about the Exploding Hearts. We certainly lost a great band way before their time. Unfortunately three of the four members died in a van accident so they will not be reforming. They put out a couple of singles and a killer album. Both the cuts I used are from their album Guitar Romantic which is readily available. I highly recommend it. The singles are a bit harder to find and tend to be very expensive. I have a disc that contains a few singles tracks, some unrealeased tracks and demos from the lp. I would be happy to burn a copy for you if you would like, just PM me. Anyway, thanks for your comments

terry (guitar player, only surviving member) is in a new band called Nice Boys. They have a 45 out now on Discourage and it's pretty okay. Definitely a grower.

I also traded independently with Mr. Whirly, and, not knowing him personally, thought his last mix and this one were real solid comps. The true test is that they actually spend time in my car-meaning-I listen to them frequently. Too many comps only have one or two or maybe five songs I like on them, but this only has one that I don't like. That's a pretty high fuckin' batting average. I don't mind that the tempos tend towards the same...it's all upbeat, so that's a good thing. Excellent time of year for this shit. I'll be listening with the sun roof open on the way to the cape, if it ain't still rainin'.
A+

In an eerily similar occurrence my reaction to Mr. Whirly's mix upon first hearing it was just like the one he had after first hearing my mix: a sort of "ehhh......don't...think, unfortunately, that this one is gonna fly..." It seemed too samey. That illusion got peeled away more and more with each airing. I've heard it now 4 or 5 times and it has honestly become one of my favorite mixes of all in the 6 rounds of this trading. Very, very much the opposite of jaded, cynical, or bitter or world-weary. A real direct, honest, sometimes hilarious ("High School Girls", "Suicide Club"), sometimes a bit baffling ("Daddy is a Jet, daughter is a soldier??) look at the things of life in these songs. It would take too long to name every song I like. I'll name some of the very top shelf ones for me though:
1. Backyard Guys -- I feel like I was definitely one of these guys.
2. High School Girls
3. Modern Kicks
4. Handgrenade Heart -- until I looked at the title of this one I thought he was saying "Gotta, gotta, hangin' it hard for the love for you" - I like ununderstandable lyrics like that, even though in the end they're inaccurate.
5. Top Down - great driving song.
6. Suicide Club - is there one in Boston?
7. Come Here and Do It -- one of the top "dancing songs" I've ever heard, not obnoxious.
8. It's You Tonight -- that opening riff reminds me of some other song......what is it? One of the more melodic, lighter pop songs here, nice contrast, "Maybe I'll Just Keep you Hanging On" was along these lines too.
9. I Don't Wanna Be Young - Beatley, exceptionally well-done.
10. Teach me -- this one blew me away in its simple but dead-on lyrics/sentiment.

Mr. Whirly -- I really would like to know the year for all of these songs, and where these bands are from, if you know that too. Thanks a lot for this mix. I urge those who haven't delved into this one to do so. It leaves me with a feeling I rarely get anymore from music.

Thanks for the review. I wasn't sure if this would be up your alley or not. Here is the info you requested.

1. "BACKYARD GUYS" - 20/20 (79 L.A. via Oklahoma)
2. "READY ANYTIME" - STIV BATORS (79 L.A. via Cleveland)
3. "HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS" - THE GEARS (80 L.A.)
4 "TOMORROW BELONGS TO YOU" - GARY VALENTINE (77 L.A. via NYC)
5. "ROCK & ROLL GIRL" - THE BEAT (79 L.A.)
6. "MODERN KICKS" - THE EXPLODING HEARTS (03 Portland OR)
7. "NOTHING ELSE TO DO" - THE POINTED STICKS (80 Vancouver)
8. "HANDGRENADE HEART" - THE ZEROS (78-80? L.A.)
9. " YOU [BUST OUT]" - RADIO ALARM CLOCKS (83 Cleveland)
10. " TOP DOWN" - TEENAGE HEAD (79 Ontario)
11. "SUICIDE CLUB" - THE MODERNETTES (80 Vancouver)
12. "COME HERE AND DO IT" - THE EXPLOSIVES (82 Austin)
13. "STAR CROSSED LOVERS" - ELECTRIC SHADOWS (04 NYC)
14. "IT'S YOU TONIGHT" - THE FLASHCUBES (77-80? Syracuse)
15. "DADDY IS A JET" - CANDY (81 L.A.)
16. "TWO TRACKS LEFT" - MOODS FOR MODERNS (01 Detroit)
17. "LAST NIGHT" - MOBERLYS (79 Seattle )
18. "MAYBE I'LL JUST KEEP YOU HANGING ON" - THE DEAL (80 Charlotteville VA)
19. "I DON'T WANNA BE YOUNG" - RPMS (81 Milwaukee)
20. "TEACH ME" - THE MUMPS (75 NYC)
21. "STAY YOUNG" - THE DIMESTORE HALOES (02 Boston)

Thanks, Vinny, for all of that info. Interesting how a lot of it falls during the late '70s, early '80s but I'm not surprised as it basically fits my perception of that era. Sort of the post-classic, heavier or prog rock era but pre-the darker, more dissonant new wave stuff that came along. Curious: in general did these songs come from compilations that you have or more from full length albums by these bands? What I'm getting at is that I hope you have more good music from these bands and that's more likely to happen if you have the whole albums. My guess is also that a lot of this stuff is pretty hard to find nowadays. I'm glad to be the beneficiary of your research and collecting!

Thanks again Mike for your interest. The reason most of this stuff is from late '70s early '80s is because that is my favorite era for music. A lot of the cooler punk, powerpop and new wave came out then and I crave that stuff. I'm always on the look out for it whether it's mainstream or the hard to find stuff. To answer you question I got most of this stuff from the artists album or the comp albums of the artist. The RPMs and Radio Alarm Clocks come from a various artists comp called Teenline, a kind of Killed by Death comp that a guy in Western Mass does. I have three of the discs and I love them.
The Pointed Sticks and Modernettes stuff come from a comp of each that includes all of their recorded output. They are very out of print and expensive as hell. I paid stoopid money for them but I just had to have them. The Pointed Sticks album Perfect Youth was just recently re-issued. The Mumps is from another out of print comp called Fatal Charm that might be a little easier to find. T
The Explosives, Gary Valentine, Flash Cubes and Candy are from comps that are still in print.
The Stiv Bators song is off of the album Disconnected that was just re-issued as a 25th anniversary edition. The first two Paul Collin's Beat albums were recently re-issued on one disc and I believe the Gears was recently re-issued as well. The Teenage Head disc is another one of those hard to find out of print albums.
I hope this answered most of you questions. If you need anymore info let me know. If you would like some more, especially from the out of print stuff feel free to PM me.