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Hover on contents to view the track list. Click the red links to listen to mix samples
Right click music notes
to download a zip file of the songs.
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BAGMIX
A very mixed bag, tunes I picked up from around the web that I had to put on the iPod. The mellow tones of Allen Toussaint with Sweet Touch Of Love, R&B with Ann Sexton's Its All Over But The Shouting, ubergospel blues when Denise La Salle is Breaking Up Somebodys Home, funny stuff when Flight of the Conchords asks If You're Into It, a Dylanesque Desire by Goodtimes Goodtimes, classic rock provided by Irma Thomas singing Baby Don't Look Down, masterful piano of Oscar Peterson's Georgia on My Mind, worldish music by Pierre Didy Tchakounte with Yak'nou, the Pointer Sisters country crooning on Fairytale, and finally The Sweet Inspirations - Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday.
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AFROMIX
I was scrounging around www.24.com, a portal for african music and picked up an interesting mix of music that includes a mix of every kind of voice (black, white, english, afrikkan, male, female) in Africa today. It's a mixed bag, with the best being an a'capella song by Amaryonie (considered to be one of the finest Mbube groups in South Africa). The funniest is Afrikaans Folk Medley by DNA Strings - tribal white music. While you wait for the mix to download you can listen here to a short riff by Madala Kunene called Marketplace.
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XMASMIX
With the possible exceptions of John Lennon's So This is Christmas and Glenn Millers Jingle Bells it is highly unlikely that you have ever heard any of the songs in this mix. Definitely a break from the usual holiday fare. Most of them, like Brian Beathard's Damn It, I'm Vixen and Shirley Temple's I Want A Hippo for Christmas, are humorous, but my favorite is an old blues number recorded in 1937 by The Black Ace called Christmas Time Blues.
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JAZZMIX
Hard to go wrong with Cal Tjader, Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Hancock, Coltrane and Miles Davis. The surprise treasures in this mix include Jimmy Smith's sweet sweet sweet rendition of I Got A Woman and the delicate genius touch of Mary Lou Williams playing Holy Ghost. |
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ISLANDMIX
There are two versions of Paloma Negra in this mix, one by Lola Beltran that is contrasted to a beautifully executed version by Elliot Goldenthal & VA. The opening reminded me of the theme of Orson Welles' "The Third Man". A song that makes me happy (and which I dedicate to my friend Gail) is Puerto Rico by Vaya Con Dios. Another upbeat song in the mix is Tempo Perdido by Pink Martini. But everything in this mix will make you want to lay back in your beach chair, drink a mojito and watch the tide go out. |
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ROUGEMIX
This is an eclectic collection of women vocalists that ranges from Billie Holiday to Luscious Jackson with Susanne Vega and Sarah Vaughan thrown in for good measure. Lil Green's song "Knockin' Myself Out" definitely knocks me out, and Stubborn Beast by Jolie Holland has real cool twang thing going on. And lastly, At Last by Etta James is as good as that song gets. |
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BLUESMIX
Now this is the blues. Blues low, blues down, and blues dirty. Hurts so bad it feels good. While Blind Willie McTell is Searching The Desert for the Blues, Big Maybelle is drowning in an Ocean of Tears. As Roy Brown explains in Hard Luck Blues, 'Rocks is my pillow, the cold ground is my bed, the highway is my home, so I might as well be dead'. Break your heart and pass the bourbon. Listen to Mississippi John Hurt sing Nobodys Dirty Business |
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R&RMIX
A mixed up mix that only has in common the fact that I them. Mostly basic rock and roll here -- B B King's The Thrill Is Gone, Bo Diddley doing Can't Judge A Book By The Cover and Otis Redding Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay. Unusual selections include Earl Klugh's almost instrumental version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine and Miles Davis & Coltrane putting a different spin on Bye Bye Blackbird. In a nutshell, the real theme of this mix is the contribution of The Isley Brothers Its Your Thing. |
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SILLYMIX
A collection of silly songs, dumb lyrics, repetitive idiocy. Just the kind of music to play when the last thing you want to have is a serios thought in your head. The centerpiece of this nuttiness has to be Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot by the one-shot Swedish band, Caramba. A close runner up is Kotiharjun paalla sung by M.A. Numminen (who is definitely not from this planet). So the next time you are feeling suicidal and ready to reach for either a tranquilizer or a gun -- play this mix instead. |
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PEONYMIX
Another collection of female vocalists. This time with Ani DiFranco on one end and Tracy Chapman pulling up the rear. There is also Billie Holiday's Fine and Mellow and the only Carla Bruni song that I really like, Those Dancing Days Are Gone. This is good mix to play when you want to have a lot of different kinds of women come over to visit. And if that sounds politically incorrect to you, I base my defense on Nina Simone's Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.
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BLUEMIX
Blue. Not blues. Songs that sound like the color blue to me. Upbeat and swinging, or low and down. Beck sings, I've Got a Feeling, Billie Holiday wants you to take All of Me, Peggy Lee thinks It's A Good Day, and Glenn Miller is In The Mood. If that is too cheery for your taste, Morphine thinks You Look Like Rain and Tom Waits worrys about How It Gonna End. |
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THEMIX
What the songs in this mix have in common is that they are all "The" groups.
The Clovers, The Echoes, The Elegants, The Jewels, The Ronettes, etc. The music is early do wop, bop, pop, and rock&roll. The mix doesn't include any street corner acapella but Wheel Of Fortune by The Four Flames comes pretty close with only a faint snare drum keeping time and a sprinkle of piano keys. If you want a sample of the mix listen to The Jewels singing Hearts of Stone. |
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POTMIX
This collection is dedicated to a good friend who likes to puff the good green stuff. The songs all come from a time when the pleasure of smoking pot was not only popular - it was celebrated. This music is so infectiously joyous that if even you're not toking you can get a contact high. Here, puff on Fats Waller's Reefer Song |
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STORMYMIX
One song - Stormy Weather - interpreted by 12 different singers. There are countless covers of this song, the ones included are similar in composition so that differences in vocal quality are more obvious. The vocalists are: Billie Holiday, Chaka Khan, Chante Moore, Dinah Washington, Ethel Waters, Etta James, Gladys Knight, Joni Mitchell, Judy Garland, Lena Horne, Paloma San Basilio, and Sarah Vaughan. For a taste, have a listen to Etta James singing, well... Stormy Weather
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BOOPMIX
Helen Kane was a popular recording artist in the 1920s and 1930s who was known as "The Boop Boop Ba Doop Girl" because of her uniquely cute singing style. That style was later copied (or stolen) by the studio that created the Betty Boop Cartoons. This mix has a selection of familiar and not so familiar songs by Helen that are too twee for words. Like, for example,
I Wanna Be Bad.
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Anamaniacs - The Panama Canal
Bell Sisters - Boom Boom My Honey
Caramba - Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot
Doctor Demento - Curly Shuffle
Joe Dassin - Le Moustique
Jungle Jim and the Swingset - Got Three Days
M.A. Numminen - Kotiharjun paalla
Mayte Gaos - Mi Novio Esquimal
Muppets - Manah Manah
Richard Cheese - Creep
Twink - Pussycat
28mb
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Ani DiFranco - Imperfectly
Billie Holiday - Fine And Mellow
Carla Bruni - Those Dancing Days Are Gone
Eartha Kitt - Lovin' Spree
Edith Piaf - La Foule
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Irma Thomas - Baby Dont Look Down
Josephine Baker - Then Ill Be Happy
Nina Simone - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason
40mb
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Beck - I've Got A Feeling
Billie Holiday - All of Me
Django Reinhardt - Clair De Lune
Ella & Ellington - Don't Mean A Thing
Fats Domino - What A Price
Glenn Miller - In The Mood
Morphine - You Look Like Rain
Nina Simone - Feeling Good
Peggy Lee - It's A Good Day
Tom Waits - Hows It Gonna End
46mb
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Cubanisimo - Chan Chan
Elliot Goldenthal & VA - Paloma Negra
Laura Villasol Quinteto - TicoTico
Lola Beltran - Paloma Negra
Lola Flores - Maria de la O
Paco DeLucia - Almoraima
Pedro Infante - Nube Gris
Pink Martini -Tempo Perdido
Salif Keita - Djembe
Salif Keita & Cesaria Evora - Yamore
Vaya Con Dios - Puerto Rico
46mb
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Billie Holiday - Good Morning Heartache
Cassandra Wilson - Closer to You
Etta James - At Last
Jolie Holland - Stubborn Beast
Julie London - Cry Me A River
Lil Green - Knockin' Myself Out
Luscious Jackson - Stardust
Sarah Mclachlan - Dirty Little Secret
Sarah Vaughan - Lush Life
Susanne Vega - My Favorite Plums
44mb
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B B King - The Thrill Is Gone
Bo Diddley - Cant Judge A Book By The Cover
Earl Klugh - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Miles Davis & Coltrane - Bye Bye Blackbird
Otis Redding - Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay
Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come
Spoon - The Way We Get By
Temptations - Ain't Too Proud To Beg
The Isley Brothers - Its Your Thing
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl.
54mb
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Black Ace - Christmas Time Blues
Brian Beathard - Damn It, I'm Vixen
Glenn Miller Orchestra - Jingle Bells
Hank Snow - Reindeer Boogie
John Lennon - So This Is Christmas
Mogwai - Christmas Song
Orquesta Sanfer - Sleighride
Paddy Roberts - Merry XMas You Suckers
Shirley Temple - I Want a Hippo for Christmas
Paris Sisters - Man With The Mistletoe Mustache
30mb
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Cal Tjader - Black Orchid
Duke Ellington - In a Sentimental Mood
Ella Fitzgerald - Stormy Weather
Herbie Hancock - Vein Melter
Jimmy Smith - I Got A Woman
John Coltrane - After The Rain
Josh Jones - Blues in Havana
Mary Lou Williams - Holy Ghost
Miles Davis - I Fall in Love Too Easily
Szabo Gabor - Femme Fatale
69mb
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Big Joe Turner - Sweet Sixteen
Big Maybelle - Ocean Of Tears
Bill Broonzy - Good Liquor Gonna Carry Me Down
Blind Willie McTell - Searching The Desert
Delmore Brothers - Blues Stay Away From Me
Hattie McDaniel - Boo Hoo Blues
Mississippi John Hurt - Nobodys Dirty Business
Muddy Waters - Honey Bee
Roy Brown - Hard Luck Blues
The Harlem Hamfats - Why Don't You
30mb
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The Clovers - Don't You Know I Love You
The Echoes - Baby Blue
The Elegants - Little Star
The Five Satins - The Jones Girl
The Four Flames - Wheel Of Fortune
The Gongettes - Gong Gong I'm Blue
The Jewels - Hearts Of Stone
The Love Notes - Mathematics Of Love
The Mystics - Hushabye
The Ronettes - Here I Sit
21mb
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Barney Bigard Sextet - Sweet Marijuana Brown
Bea Foote - Weed
Bob Howard And His Boys - If You're A Viper
Buck Washington - Save The Roach For Me
Buster Bailey's Rhythm Busters - Light Up
Don Redman And His Orchestra - Reefer Man
Fats Waller - Reefer Song
Georgia White - The Stuff Is Here
Stuff Smith - Here Comes The Man
Trixie Smith - Jack I'm Mellow
25mb
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| STORMY WEATHER | |
| Billie Holiday | Gladys Knight |
| Chaka Khan | Joni Mitchell |
| Chante Moore | Judy Garland |
| Dinah Washington | Lena Horne |
| Ethel Waters | Paloma San Basilio |
| Etta James | Sarah Vaughan |
| 41mb | |
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Helen Kane - Aba Daba Honeymoon
Helen Kane - Button Up Your Overcoat
Helen Kane - Get Out And Get Under The Moon
Helen Kane - Go Barefoot All Winter Long
Helen Kane - I Have To Have You
Helen Kane - I Wanna Be Bad
Helen Kane - I Wanna Be Loved By You
Helen Kane - I'd Do Anything For You
Helen Kane - Is There Anything Wrong In That
Helen Kane - Thank Your Father
20mb
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Aletia Upstairs - African Girl
Amaryoni - Voet Sek Go Once
Breakfast Included - Burnt Toast
Die Melktert Kommissie - Thula Thula Suster
DNA Strings - Afrikaans Folk Medley
Hex - Medium To Rare
Hotwater - Bushfire
Kwani Experience - I Need Some Money
Philip DeVilliers - Razzle Bazzle
Thando - African Way
28mb
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Allen Toussaint - Sweet Touch Of Love
Ann Sexton - Its All Over But The Shouting
Denise La Salle - Breaking Up Somebodys Home
Flight of the Conchords - if youre into it
Goodtimes Goodtimes - Desire
Irma Thomas - Baby Don't Look Down
Oscar Peterson - Georgia on My Mind
Pierre Didy Tchakounte - Yak'nou
Pointer Sisters - Fairytale
The Sweet Inspirations - Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday
42mb
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ELLI FORDYCE
Almost Like Being In Love
Dindi
Hey There
I Thought About You
Imagination
It Could Happen To You
Love Is Here To Stay
Loverly
Something Cool
40mb
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