A mix cd from Julian F; no immediately apparent theme (except maybe a small NZ slant) but lots of excellent music, most of it by artists previously unfamiliar to me.
The song most likely to be stuck in my head is "Death and the Maiden" by the Verlaines, and particularly the sung-chanted refrain: "Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine, Verlaine...". I would guess that they're from the early 80s; presumably they're named after Paul rather than Tom Verlaine (if either) but they do sound a bit like Television. Hella catchy either way. Also particularly enjoy "The Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton" by the Mountain Goats (I laughed out loud at the "hail hell" bit the first time I heard it, and it's got a heck of a great tune - I oughta listen to more of this guy's stuff), the stately folk/country-tinged low-key rockism of "Body's in Trouble" by Mary Margaret O'Hara and the heart-struck drama of "Sparrow Falls" by Woven Hand (which must surely be the guy from 16 Horsepower and is as good as anything on Secret South).
Other pleasing things about the mix:
* The closing song, "Infiltration", is by Sam Phillips, and is just the kind of thing I like - that sort of country-infused adult-oriented singer-songwriter stuff. But there's also a story about Sam Phillips in particular...see, somewhere along the line the Stealing Beauty soundtrack became a bit of a key record for me, carrying a great deal of emotional/affective freight (dreamy, airy, a bit melancholy but also very light - about exactly what you'd expect, given the music) given that I've neither seen the film nor ever had any direct external association formed with the soundtrack, and the two songs which close it are the key tracks in that respect: "You Won't Fall" by Lori Carson - and "I Need Love" by Sam Phillips.
* Whereas by contrast, "Dead Dogs Two" by Clouddead is normally precisely the kind of thing I would dislike, from the title to the self-consciously experimental and slightly tinny sound, but it's completely ace.
* Roxy Music! "In Every Dream Home A Heartache" is overblown and grand. hee hee.
* The singer in Van Der Graaf Generator sounds an awful lot like Bowie.
* "Run Run Run" by Goldenhorse is neat, and not really what I would've expected of the band based on their entry on the She Will Have Her Way set - equal parts 80s post-punk, 90s indie-pop and general post-millennial indie.
