Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010 | 21:01
Autechre - Second Bad Vilbel
I made a two-disc mix of songs that have made me who I am. Over the next few weeks (months) I will attempt to explain each of these songs. I am quite sure I haven't covered every song that matters to me, but I have wedged most of them onto these two CDs.
Autechre says they hate the video for this. It's an early Chris Cunningham video, before he was known for his work with Aphex Twin. It's some sort of machine shown on closed circuit TV as it moves and shifts, almost like a Transformer.
I mention this, because that's how I first heard this song, when it was new on MTV. I have no idea how late I had to be up to catch it on MTV, but there it was, this weird, low-resolution image with these static bursts and some odd beats. I'd never heard anything like it. I didn't know what to make of it. Then it was over and I didn't hear it again for years.
The album came out in 1996, but I did not get it until 1999. I may have heard the song in between somewhere, but I can't be sure. I don't think I even knew it was the song from the video until I got the Chris Cunningham video collection. The song was familiar, but the entire Tri Repetae++ was blowing me away so I didn't have the braincells to place it. This may not be the best track on this release, but it was the single and the one that introduced me to Autechre.
It's still a standout track on a superlative album. Though Autechre may have become more technically proficient since 1996, they haven't captured the same blend of melody and beats as they did on Tri Repetae.
Thursday, Oct. 07, 2010 | 15:59
Underworld - Cowgirl
I made a two-disc mix of songs that have made me who I am. Over the next few weeks (months) I will attempt to explain each of these songs. I am quite sure I haven't covered every song that matters to me, but I have wedged most of them onto these two CDs.
I heard a lot about this band before I knew any of their music. I can't remember whether I got into them before or after Trainspotting, but "born slippy:NUXX" wasn't what drew me to them. It wasn't any particular song. I had read reviews, read raves about 'dubnobasswithmyheadman' and 'second toughest in the infants', and I knew I had to get those albums. Still, like so many other bands, I put it off. I had other things on my mind.
Then one day in college I read an interview with Trent Reznor in Alternative Press. I forget whether it was in the main article or a sidebar, but the interviewer asked him what he was listening to at the moment. The only thing I remember was him saying that he'd just been turned on to 'second toughest in the infants' and thought it was incredible. As an intense nine inch nails fan, I took this as a sign to get the album. It wasn't long before I had both of Underworld's first two albums along with the singles and a few obscure imports. I was a budding completist, searching websites for a deal on rare discs, Underworld music I didn't already have.
Although "born slippy:NUXX" was their big breakthrough hit, and "Pearls Girl" would eventually rank among my favorites (the whole of 'second toughest in the infants' is incredible still) "Cowgirl" was probably the first song that stood out to me. I played the 'Dirty Epic / Cowgirl' single repeatedly, despite also having 'dubnobasswithmyheadman' and 'second toughest in the infants'. Along with the original instrumental "Rez", the construction of the song and progression of the music and lyrics simply blew me away. I had never heard anything like it. The song was almost like a puzzle, gradually coming together as I listened to it.
When I turn to Underworld now, mostly I play 'second toughest in the infants'. It is easily their best album. The end of 'dubnobasswithmyheadman' starts to bore me, and the single, with three mixes each of "Dirty Epic" and "Cowgirl" can sound repetitive. The song that always gets me, though, the one that still gets me going, is "Cowgirl".
