This week’s EP was curated by Jeremy Sroka, the mastermind behind HI54LOFI, probably the most essential blog/radio station on the internet. Jeremy also runs 95EH, a blog-form homage to his new hometown Kimberly, BC. Check it out and feel jealous that we can’t all live there!

Packing / Unpacking

by Jeremy Sroka

1) Song with a name in the title

Marie – Townes Van Zandt (with Willie Nelson)

I thought that the lack of specific-ness for this song prompt was going to stress me out. I mean, there are a lot of songs with names in the title, so how was I going to pick one? I started off my thinking process by wishing that there would have been a more specific ‘name of famous person’ or something filter, but then I remembered how much I love this Townes & Willie collaboration ‘Marie’. And too think I was briefly considered giving this spot to The Goo Goo Dolls ‘Name’.

2) Song that reminds you of your favourite video game

The Alley (War) – Big Trouble In Little China Soundtrack (John Carpenter)

I have not played video games since I lived at home and had a video game console. I only made it as far as a Playstation 1, but my fondest joystick memories are probably the Double Dragon marathons spent on the Nintendo. And since I just included a metal version of the Double Dragon theme song for my Rigby mix for The Grey Estates  I figured I better go with something else that reminds me of that era of personal peak video gaming. And it turns out it was the soundtrack to Big Trouble In Little China. I guess Kurt Russell fathered a lot of us kids born in the 80s (metaphorically speaking, but maybe literally too).

3) Song that sounds like the bottom of the ocean

Heavy – William Ryan Fritch

When I saw this song prompt I immediately thought of William Ryan Fritch. When it comes to floating & falling, nobody’s music captures those feelings better. I haven’t been to the bottom of the ocean myself, but I imagine it sounds pretty heavy down there.

Aberdeen – Mando Diao

I like to say that I’m an excellent dancer, but the reality is that I’m (probably) not. I figure it’s a mixture of not being much of a ‘dance=y’ person to begin + rarely feeling comfortable being ‘dance-y’ in public even when I’m feeling a little ‘dance-y’ on the inside (i.e. drunk-y). Maybe if places put on tunes like this Mando Diao one, instead of some Top 40 hit that came with instructions on how to dance to it (instructions I haven’t read), maybe I could become the excellent dancer I lie about already being. Or maybe I’ll just continue doing my best dancing at our flat to songs like this.

5) Song you’d play during the apocalypse

(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – Cat Power

I actually made a little ‘apocalypse ‘ mix on 8tracks a few years ago (well, that was for the rapture, but same difference). Anyways, this song is not on that 8tracks mix, but I can imagine putting it on my headphones and walking cinematically slow down some apocalyptic / raptured high street.

6) Song from at least 20 years ago

Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues – Danny O’Keefe

I only came across this gem from ’67 within the last year, which, considering the age I turned in 2016 and the line “yr not a kid at 33’, the timing of this discovery feels timely. Throw in the fact that my girlfriends name is ‘Charlie’ and that we’ve spent the last 4 years hopping around Europe and Canada (including an extended trip back to Denmark due to an unexpected loss in Charlie’s family tree), this song lands a lot of jabs to my head every listen.

Here’s the whole thing in one go so you can hit repeat, sit back, and take it all in.

Be sure to read everything Jeremy Sroka does on HI54LOFI and 95EH, and check back next week for the next Mystery Mini Mix.

The post Mystery Mini Mix: Jeremy Sroka appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Oh, and there’ll one a month from now on, which will give us plenty of time to have a think of a new idea before we catch up to present day.

The year 2000 was remarkable for lots of reasons. We got to be the first people to see a new millennium in, well, a millennium, Putin took over within the Kremlin, Bush Jnr. all but made it into the Oval Office, films such as Gladiator, O Brother Where Art Thou? and the indomitable Chicken Run thrilled the public, and, most importantly, Roberto Di Matteo won the cup (again). There were also some pretty notable musical releases, and we’ve cherry-picked some of our favourites (admittedly in retrospect) for your listening pleasure below:

Tracklisting:

1) Shellac – Prayer to God
2) The New Pornographers – Letter From an Occupant
3) Pedro the Lion – Simple Economics
4) Johnny Cash – I See A Darkness
5) Bratmobile – It’s Common But We Don’t Talk About It
6) Elliott Smith – Son of Sam
7) Cat Power – Satisfaction
8) Sleater Kinney – You’re No Rock ‘n Roll Fun
9) Lifter Puller – Nice Nice
10) At The Drive In – One Armed Scissor
11) Dillinger Four – Who Didn’t Kill Bambi?
12) Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Yr. Skinny Fists, Like Antennas to Heaven…
13) Yo La Tengo – Everyday
14) Múm – Asleep On a Train
15) Sigur Ros – Staralfur
16) The Weakerthans – Left & Leaving
17) Damien Jurado – Johnny Go Riding
18) Songs:Ohia – The Ocean’s Nerves
19) Ryan Adams – Come Pick Me Up
20) Smog – Permanent Smile

The post Millennium Mix: 2000 appeared first on Various Small Flames.

Opener ‘Liars & Thieves’, is pretty much a folk song, with an acoustic strum rotating beneath Lauren Brown’s sultry vocals. ‘Constellation Lines’ has a slightly more electronic flavour, with a persistent drum beat and slightly ominous sounding synths.

Brown’s vocals are great throughout and add a real intimacy and dreamlike quality to the album. There is also a sliver of melancholy which permeates through the album, providing that strange tinge of sadness that all the best dreams leave behind.

The band list Cat Power, Mazzy Star, Sharon Van Etten and The xx as influences, and (perhaps with the addition of Beach House) that sounds pretty accurate to me. If you like any of those artists then you should definitely give The Lion’s Den a try.

Get the album via the Twin Oaks Bandcamp page for the ludicrously low price of just $5 (just over three quid for us in the UK).

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