Violet

"Give Me Back My Heart Attack"-Land of Talk

"Please Don't Stop the Rain"-James Morrison

I only know a couple of singles, so..."Gravity?" I guess. :shrug: Editors

Comparisons to Celine Dion? Unforgiveable. :angry: D'ya really think so? I hope you're right. Yep, it's true. I looked it up. :nod:

^ "Twilight Omens" is my favorite track off that FF album. Great choice. :D

Oomph!

"Separator"-Radiohead

"Under Tha Influence (Follow Me)"-CeeLo Green

"Survive"-Lacuna Coil

In high school, for band, we played "Back in Black" for a stand tune one year. For some reason, I didn't know until then that it was an AC/DC song. :shrug: Bloc Party

"Always Happens Like That"-Kaiser Chiefs

"Find Yourself a Safe Place"-Editors

1. "Wherever"-Mew 2. "Love Only Knows"-Josh Groban 3. "Wrapped Up in Books"-Belle & Sebastian 4. "Starlings"-Elbow 5. "The San Luis Valley"-Mesita 6. "Romance, Op. 36"-Camille Saint-Säens 7. "Surfers Hymn"-Panda Bear 8. "St. Christopher"-Ham Sandwich 9. "Crystal"-Mannheim Steamroller 10. "Streetgang, Pt. 3"-Alaska in Winter

I really can't stand Bright Eyes, but I'll pick "Lua," just because it's one of the ones I remember not sounding so bad that I couldn't listen to it. Anna Calvi

You know, you're absolutely right. Would you still happen to have that tape from MTE 9, by chance? I'd love to have it. And all of your other ones, for that matter. I had them on my desktop, but I think I accidentally deleted them not too long ago. :disappointed:

All I know about her live is that I saw her when she was on "American Idol" not too long ago, and she sounded awful. I was severely disappointed.

OMG. Chris. :heart: I'm kinda confused as to what you're saying. I've kept a solid record of who I have made tapes for and received tapes from, and you haven't made me one yet until now. I will say that I have listened to several of yours to review them because your original recipient failed to do so. (Which is fine, because I got exposed to so much good music through them, anyway.) It's nice to finally have one from you that I can call my special tape. You always make such wonderful mixes, and this one is no different. I really wouldn't have thought twice about listening to Aphex Twin until your mix. A couple of other things: ♦ I had no idea that Sharon van Etten's backup singer could sound as good as she does. I'll definitely look into that. ♦ I've heard of Memoryhouse before, but I don't think I've ever listened to them. Given how that was arguably my favorite thing on the tape, I'll definitely look more into them now. ♦ I really need to look more into some electronic music. Until your tape, Four Tet, deadmau5 and Daft Punk were about as far as I got. :lol: Again, thank you SO SO much. It's fabulous. :hug:

Would you rather them go back and sound OK or keep going on the track they were headed and continue to sound like garbage?

Review tiiiiime! :cheesy: I hope you don't mind reading. I wrote quite a bit, as I often tend to do. Just looking at the tape before I listen to it, there were a few observations I want to point out. 1. The very first thing I noticed was that it was called “For Violet.” That means you either know me or have heard of me in some way. Either way, I like having that sort of familiarity, even though I don’t know who you are just yet. :nice: 2. It has 20 songs on it. I love that. I’m a very musical person, and the more music I get on a mixtape, the better. Thanks for that. :thumbsup: 3. I’m glad I looked at it on my laptop before I started because I noticed that while the track numbers were changed on the song titles, they weren’t on the actual track numbers. There are multiple songs with the same track number, and one of the tracks was labeled as #35, which I found rather odd in an interesting sort of way. It’s not that big of a deal, though. I’ll just put them in the proper order. I’m sure you put this together with the intention of having me listen to it in a specific order, and I want to honor that. Having said all that, it’s time to review what you’ve done. Here we go. 1. This has an ethereal beginning which grows into an acoustic guitar. It’s slow and very calm sounding. It’s like folk and ambient had a child. This song has some very clean, soft female vocals which are very beautiful. There’s a male backing vocalist as well, and they harmonize so well together. The more I listen to this, the more I love it. This sounds like something I would listen to, and I can definitely use more of whoever this is. This may very well be the best opening track in a mixtape I’ve ever had. I’m psyched for what else is to come. 2. Another ethereal beginning with a choir of voices. It quickly dissipates into this indie sound with another female vocalist. Her voice isn’t as great as the girl in the previous song, but hers isn’t too shabby, either. I think it’s just that her voice, quality wise, sounds a tad more…squeaky? I can’t think of a better word. It reminds me of Lily Allen, in a way, but without the Mockney accent. Is this a British artist? She sounds it. 3. A woodwind choir at the beginning? Very interesting. With some strings, too. …Wait. This is a classical piece of music. Oh my gosh. This is great! :D I like the sound of this a whole lot. …But wait. Now it goes into a synth wave, then into some guitar with the same stuff later. And now voicals? I’m so confused as to what this is, but I highly enjoy it. The male vocals are very pretty and match the song so well. Now that I think about it, this sounds like something an artist along the lines of Sufjan Stevens might do. There were several twists in the song, but I think I enjoy that. The song kept me guessing, and I enjoyed it all the way through. Thanks for this one! 4. This one moves so much quicker. It’s the most electronic of the bunch so far. It sounds cute. It reminds me of Port Blue, in a way. It’s a nice change from all the pretty stuff that I’ve been listening to thus far. As lovely as the other stuff was, it’s nice to know the whole tape won’t be like that. I’m not the most knowledgeable in electronic music, but this is pretty nice, and I could perhaps get more into it, starting with this artist. 5. An interlude of sorts. It sounds like some older gentleman singing on top of some beautiful string work. The strings are the best part of this song. <3 6. More electronic/ambient music. OOOH, it goes into this guitar solo with a beat and more ambience. I’m digging this. This song has so many layers. Wow, another female vocalist. Not only does this make as a woman (I’m a bit of a feminist in some ways, not gonna lie), but also as a listener. I have been listening to a lot of female voices lately, and this just helps push my knowledge and love for them even further. This track here in the ending part sounds so magical, with the moving synths, the layers of long notes underneath, and the woman’s clear vocals. I love this a whole bunch. I really do. 7. Yes! Piano! I was wondering if I was ever going to hear any of that. It’s combined with some electronic beats and some occasional interruptions from the strings. It gets busier and becomes truly electronic, then goes back as a violin takes over the main line. The piano is added back again later. This tape just becomes more and more interesting. The only thing I think I might have an issue with is that high-pitched buzzing noise that comes in during the latter portion of the song. I thought something was wrong with my ears at first, but it stopped when the song ended, so it had to have been from the tune. I suppose that’s partly my fault for listening to music so loudly, but I feel like I can’t hear all of the underlying layers of a song if I don’t have it at a certain volume. Anyway, other than that one bit, it’s a nice tune. 8. …Wow. This is different. :lol: Actually, after that beginning part, it falls nicely into this tune that reminds me a LOT of Pogo. If it is Pogo, I don’t own this particular song. I’m thinking it’s not, though. Pogo’s music is usually a bit more upbeat than this number. This song is more of a slower tune with a nice groove. I don’t know what phrase the woman is singing throughout the song, but it sounds like it might be French. I can’t really tell; it sounds muddled. This song has a lot of different things going on; one can’t possibly detect everything in a song like this one in just one listen. I’m sure I’ll find stuff I didn’t notice before even after listening to this song for a while. The ending seems different from the rest of the song. Does it segue into another song on the original album? I’m just asking out of curiosity. Speaking of segueing, this song went into the next track without me noticing. Nice work on the transition here. 9. This one starts along the lines of the first track, but is a bit more upbeat. The female vocals (I think there are two of them, actually), are more subdued. It’s hard to pick out lyrics when they sing like that, but seeing as I haven’t really messed with the lyrics at all on this tape so far (which is rather unorthodox for me, honestly, but I’ve just been so caught up in the musical part of the tape), I’m not bothered. It was pretty nice. It reminded me a little bit of Braids, for some reason. The only “negative” thing I have to say about this track is that I wish it didn’t end so soon. I started listening to it, and the next thing I know, it’s over. I was like, “Awww, already?” It’s a nice one, though; don’t worry. 10. This one is another electronic number. I like this one in the sense that it’s constantly adding new layers and changing to keep my mind occupied. I feel like that’s something lacking in some of the electronic music that I don’t like, so to have this one do what it does is great. I can tell that it’s based on one musical idea, but it takes that idea and morphs it into something new throughout the song, almost like a theme and variations, but not quite. The song goes acoustic for a little bit in the second half of the song, which is also great and gives it a bit more musical flavor. Halfway through the tape, I can honestly say that I really enjoy everything so far. 11. LOLWUT? This sounds like some cheesy theme song music from the ‘60s or something. It’s also in French, though, and I’m not sure what sort of TV they had in France back in the day. Actually, it’s kinda cute in a weird sort of way. I just think it’s such a huge break from everything else, so I was surprised to hear it. Heh. I like the ending when it changes keys and she’s all “La la la la la la la la la.” 12. This one starts with running water and a few notes specifically place. It picks up after a little bit and eventually continues on with a solid beat. This has another French singer. Do I detect a bit of autotune? Interesting. This is somewhat of a minimal track, but not enough so to where I feel like there’s no substance. I know virtually nothing about French music, whether it be from France or Canada, so this could help kickstart that. 13. This starts with synth chords and adds some strings as it progresses. Suddenly, it goes into this rhythmic section with various percussion. “We could talk all night, but talking isn’t real. We could put a name on it, but it’s not the real name.” The vocalist has an interesting twang to her voice. (I think it’s a she, but I can’t be sure. It sounds quite androgynous to me.) I don’t like this as much as a lot of the other stuff, but it’s by no means bad. I like the lyrics quite a bit, and it gets better as it goes on. 14. It starts with an indie folk sort of vibe. “This was their last night on the continent, and production was shutting down. Drinks and goodbyes were had all around. The wine tasted like sunshine in the basement.” This deep, male voice also sounds French. I’m starting to get the idea that my mixtape maker either really enjoys French music or is a native French speaker. Maybe it’s both. Anyway, this is an adorable little song. It goes into a huge instrumental break in the middle, which is fine. It breaks the flow of what was going on in the beginning; it would’ve started to sound monotonous, had it kept going much longer. I’m a little disappointed that the vocalist didn’t come back in at the end, and the instrumental half probably went on a bit too long, but it’s still a good number. 15. This one starts with electric guitar and some soft, echoic background vocals. A female vocalist enters. The vocals are alright, but I feel like this song doesn’t really go much of anywhere. I got bored with it, really. This song reminds me of Beach House, in a way. I don’t really listen to them, but I’ve heard a few of their songs before, and I think they sound something like this. While I don’t hate this, I’m not a huge fan. Sorry. 16. Rhythmic acoustic guitar starts this and takes off. Nice introduction. It has vocal harmony; yay! I’m a huge fan of harmonization in music; I wish more people would do it. The addition of the vocals gives this a lovely indie feel. I think it’s the timber of the main vocalist that makes me feel that way. I appreciate the beat of the drums as it gets into the second verse. Oh wait…it changed tempo on me randomly. HA. It eventually builds back to the original tempo, though, so that’s fine. It has a lovely Listening to this song makes me feel very happy. I don’t know, it’s just feel-good music to me. 17. “Would you like some sweets, Willie?” “What would you like then?” “Can I have one of these and one of these and two of those, please?” I’ve heard this artist before on a different tape. (I don’t think it was one of mine, though.) I can’t remember who it is, though. I just remember the distinctive talking voice of the man who comes in later after the samples I just typed up have been going for a while. The song I remember listened to started with that guy saying that boots were made for walking in the rain or something like that. Anyway, songs like this one confuse me. I almost started to get annoyed after hearing “Would you like some sweets, Willie?” so many times. Thankfully, this songs wasn’t quite two minutes long, so I didn’t have to deal with that for very long. 18. This has a very synthy beginning. The notes move around here and there as it wants. It sounds like it has a good flow. There are also different synths that get added in as the song progresses, giving it added texture. There’s so much going on in here. The song slowly morphs into a different melody, almost without me realizing. The new idea just slowly made itself known. This song just sounds very natural to me in the way it changes, and it takes a smart person to make something like that work. This is a great number. 19. This starts with some pulsating notes, almost in sort of waves. There are some vocals, but they’re drowned out by the background music. I think I caught a snippet of lyrics about somebody selling crack or something. Did I mishear that, or is that really part of the song? There’s some arpeggiation going on in the song after the singing, which doesn’t last nearly as long as I thought it was going to. I like it, but I was a bit confused as to why they did some of the things that they did. Oh well, I’m sure they had their reasons. It’s still an alright song. 20. The closer start with some electric guitar bits. I’ve come to the realization that this is an instrumental. I think that if And So I Watch You Afar weren’t so rock-oriented and did softer songs, they might sound like this. Oh wait, there ARE vocals. They just took a while to get here (almost 2 ½ minutes). The voices reminded me of Animal Collective, for some strange reason. Actually, the more I listen to them, the more I think they sound drunk. Not that they actually are, but it’s muddled and slurred, and I can’t really pick out what they’re saying. This song went on longer than I wanted it. I’m not really a huge fan of this one, either. It doesn’t really feel like a solid closer to me, either. Sorry. Well, there you have it. I really enjoyed your tape as a whole. I thought the first half was better than the second half, and the second half had some nice jewels in there. To be honest, I feel like this tape was perfectly tailored for me in the sense that it exposed me to so much stuff that I haven’t heard before in genres that I don’t explore nearly as much as I probably should. I feel like I’ve grown so much musically just by listening to your tape, and I can only hope to grow more as I find out who these artists are and learn more about them. Thank you so much for the wonderful tape you made me. :hug: :hug: :hug:

I've taken a nice, solid listen to my mixtape. I have a nice basis for a review written up, but I plan on listening to it some more so I can talk about it in a bit more detail before I put it up and tell you what I think. :nice:

It took me the longest time to find anything redeeming about PS. It's a good thing "Love Is the End" is on there. I have a rather soft spot for that song. As far as "Night Train," it generally wasn't very good. "Clear Skies" is a nice number, but it doesn't match the rest of the EP too well. "Looking Back" is catchy, but it's also a "Rocky" theme song ripoff. There's "My Shadow," too, but that song was well-known in the Keane community as a B-side before its appearance on the EP, so I don't even count that one, really. The other stuff...ohmygosh. Don't even get me started on "Your Love." I can't stand it. :bomb: Having said all that, while I haven't listened to "Strangeland" yet, from what I've heard in "Silenced by the Night," it sounds promising. I'll take a listen some time after I'm done with the mixtape exchange.

Your tape sounds really interesting, Chris. Hmmm. :thinking: Anyway, I just downloaded mine. Seeing how it is just by looking at it, I'm pretty stoked to listen to it. I'll elaborate why that is in my review. I''ve gotta go listen to this now. :cheesy: :escaping:

Well, I don't know them all that well, but I've heard of them. I think I have one of their songs on the mixtape Alyssa made me for MTE 7, which is the extent of my knowledge of them. Dry the River

^ Well, it helps expose you to new music, too, so it can't hurt to participate. Also, veterans of the exchange are always here to help you in case you need it. :nice:

I'm guessing the muddledness has to do with the way it was recorded. That, and the guitar player probably could have played a little stronger. Glad you guys liked it! :D