Connections on Your Stereo

Now that I'm invested in a tirelessly inspiring new band, I'm sure the lackluster effort I put into updating this here blog will decrease even more. But it's fully worth it -- for my health and yours. I will however certainly be adding to the burger files and updating you on all things Connections -- that new band I've been talking about. There have been multiple versions of what Connections has sounded like over the last 2 years, countless songs on countless discs, but those are all gone now. The three shows we are playing in Columbus should show how much things have evolved since Gold Circle (apologies to the aggro Kent band who was somewhat upset we were using that name, oh well -- was my favorite department store). Recordings are in the the works -- but for now we kick off Young Professional Band Appreciation Week in Columbus with a special mix for all of you. No track list and no texting on the dancefloor.

James Ferraro's FACT Mix

Funny. Just picked up a Glenn Jones album for $1 the other day. You can't go wrong with "If It Isn't Love" by New Edition in the autumn. Sounds like Ferraro is on exactly my same wavelength. All I ever want to make for you to consume here, sounds like a clear TDX mixtape full of forgotten 92.1 slow jams and new jack, melted beyond any reason of familiarity, and re-cut for an age when we'll need cassettes like this again. I can't vouch for the Teletubbies/Starbucks designed clarity of Ferraro's new Far Side Virtual (I much prefer the older stuff), but this mix has latest for weeks now.

  Go Here to Experience the Magic....

2011 Dusk of Summer Mix

It's been a long time. I know. I've had this Special Blend i the works for some time -- some of it's even tagged for December. Apologies if you care enough. You can find the last blend, the 2010 Season of Wither Mix -- here. (Right Click to Download)

Enjoy.



2011 Dusk of Summer Mix

1. Christine McVie – Got a Hold on Me
2. Greatest Hits – Fun Girls
3. SBTRKT – Wildfire
4. SWV – I’m So Into You
5. Part Time – Cassie (Won’t You Be My Doll)
6. Tove Styrke – High and Low
7. Marcos Valle – Tira A Mao
8. Sleep ∞ Over - Romantic Streams
9. Midnight Television – All Night
10. P.M. Dawn – I’d Die Without You
11. The Sea and Cake – Jackin’ the Ball
12. Twin Sister – Bad Street
13. Melted Toys – Wild Waves
14. Gross Magic – Sweetest Touch
15. Laptin – Livin’ 4
16. Switch – I Call Your Name

58:45

(A World of Wumme Production, 2011)


About the Dusk of Summer Mix:

The dusk of summer is something that’s become impossibly difficult to make tangible. Whether you’re 34 or 14 or 8, August in Ohio always has a way of exhaling, as if May through July have been months of sweat, short breaths, and short, exasperating, joy-infused breaths. And that’s with or without traipsing Europe, and that’s with or without the beach or being poolside, even with or without amusement parks and state fair -- as long as you’ve experienced the faint stench of overgrown, unmaintained foliage near an abandoned factory you’ve lived through summer eternal. Even if the weather doesn’t cooperate (you can’t complain in Ohio) wherever you live, there is always the imprint of summer and the season’s eventual shift. Sundown comes earlier and earlier, as if every passing day is a bittersweet reminder the “fun” is over. You better have your Moon Tower moment this weekend, or next, and if you don’t know what a Moon Tower moment is, cold beers in a lightning bug waning backyard is the moment. Post-Labor Day you’ve gone too far. It is business as usual as sleeves get longer and shorts disappear. Baseball either gets serious or deflates until spring. Browsing through the megastore, you almost want to buy back-to-school supplies just to re-align one’s scruples frazzled from the fever dreams and plastic memories which can accumulate over summer.

This could also be the Staycation Mix – but I’ve had a few summers of Staycations and that seems to be the norm – exploring my surroundings and soaking it all in. No need to cross state lines (though I could include a few trips to the BIG CITY as inspiration in my current design), as it’s really all here. It is. Or within radials of three or four hours NSEW.
Tough to assess where the mix stands in the realm of a three month holiday, but more than anything it reflects THE END, the dusk. There’s the obligatory Twin Sister cut (cause that’s what you’ll be jamming in Autumn) and Switch (recalling the regular theme of late ‘70s/early ‘80s street funk), some Teen Gloss and New Jill Swing, and Fleetwood Mac. The Mac has been a certified staple of summer – even if it’s only Christie McVie. Here’s to, not only the dusk, but also the hidden gems of summer.

2010 Season of Wither Mix

Yes. An Aerosmith song (perhaps the only thing besides It's a Shame About Ray and Ed O.G. and the Bulldogs I like from the city). Could not believe I hadn't heard "Season of Wither" before this seasonal shift, but it fits here. A epic '70s slow-burn, classic in every inch, moody and searing all the same (kinda like Autumn in Ohio). The rest of this culls from that mood - empty John Hughes hallways, roller-rinks in October (they always factor in), another Twin Sister song (cause they exemplify the Fleetwood Mac/Bjork hybrid of my dreams), pure lush and earth-tone warmth. There are a few on here that deserve explanation. International Feel is the closest I've heard of Agitation Free -- and they are native to Punta Del Este, Uruguay (a place to fall in love). There's Winwood and Collins cause my walkmen would've liked this on a paper route -- during the season. And Games? "Strawberry Skies" could be a contender for song of the year.

Please Enjoy. Make sure to download, lay to compact disc, and jam the fall foliage with this one. The Double River Rainbow Mix is no longer on the cloud. Left-click the link for that one. I promise I'll make a page where all of these can reside.

2010 Season of Wither Mix

(Download by right-clicking title and "saving file as.")

Balam Acab – “See Birds (Moon)”
Shannon – “Give Me Tonight”
Roxy Music – “Take a Chance With Me”
Twin Sister – “Meet the Frownies”
Steve Winwood – “Talking Back to the Night (Wumme Edit)”
International Feel – “The Coptic Sun”
Deerhunter – “Helicopter (Diplo and Luncie Mix)”
Games – “Strawberry Skies”
Philip Bailey and Phil Collins – “Easy Lover”
Ariel Pink – “Round and Round (Hood Internet Mix)”
Summer Camp – “Round the Moon”
Aerosmith – “Season of Wither”

(55:30)

(A World of Wumme Production, 2010)

2010 Double River Rainbow Mix

I promised you a new mix and here it is. I've been thinking heavily about the chill and the relax and how not living within close proximity to beach culture really limits the Midwest's propensity for vibes akin to these sine-wave-curving upstarts. We be drawn to water no matter where we live -- just like the open road, the wanderlust of the river is usually overpowering this time of year. Head off and eventually you'll find the sea. So this mix -- even more of a nostalgia trip than before -- is synthetic in its attempt to re-live the sunset on the surf, and absolutely real in its mission of being poolside, or knee-deep in the creek. Or the Great Miami. Like the exhaling little brother to the last mix. Enjoy. (For those who still haven't picked up the Maxi Single Summer Mix, it is now located HERE. Right Click Link to Save.)

2010 Double River Rainbow Mix (Right Click to Save)

1. Ollie and Jerry – “There’s No Stopping Us”
2. Aaliyah – “Back and Forth”
3. My Mine – “Hypnotic Tango”
4. Goodwill Falcon – “Gameboy Camera”
5. Scarlett and Black – “You Don’t Know”
6. The-Dream – “Yamaha”
7. Emeralds – “Double Helix”
8. Sipho Mabuse – “Burn Out”
9. Double – “Captain of Her Heart (Extended Mix)”
10. Keep Shelley in Athens – “Fokionos Negri Street”
11. Twin Sister – “Lady Daydream”
12. Spectral Display – “It Takes a Muscle to Fall in Love”
13. Oriol – “JAM”

(A World of Wumme Production, 2010)

2010 Maxi Single Summer Mix

The annual summer jam mix tape assemblage has become the rite of passage into these scalding and shimmering months ahead. This year it seems stress prevails -- brown pelicans, world cup follies, ulcer-baseball, skin tight budget, sweat, sweat, sweat -- so in the making of my Maxi Single Summer Mix I went to exhale, gathering together songs that extend with bonus beats and, for lack of a better term, chilled anti-ambition (a few blasters in place to keep it in the now). This is the summer to unwind, reset to zero, and keep hope alive (even if already dead). Please don't see this as doom-speak, quite the contrary -- it's a quiet retreat, for lack of a better term, off the grid, away from screens and phones and deafening trends and nostalgic whims. All of that fodder remains, because it has to, but for now it can sit in the rear until September. Here's to no shoes, horseshoes, fresh lime, and raw sugar.

2010 Maxi Single Summer Mix (Right Click to Save)

1. Peter Godwin – Images of Heaven
2. CEO – Illuminata
3. Wally Badarou – Chief Inspector
4. Golden Aces – Africa
5. Carly Simon – Why?
6. Sky Ferriera - One
7. Dominique Young Unique – Blaster
8. Everything But the Girl – Missing
9. Michael Francis – Survivor
10. New Edition – Once in a Lifetime Groove
11. Jermaine Stewart – We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off
12. The Alan Parsons Project – Don’t Answer Me

(00:51:13)

Please download (or just hit play while you read on further) -- place on your nearest compact disc or empeethree player -- jam and repeat as often as necessary. This is my first attempt at the seamless mix, so bear with the edits. You should enjoy it nonetheless. Proactive comments will be rewarded with more of these in the near future.