Imaginary Sounds Mix 13: Cut the Kids in Half

Finally it's here. I've been working on this mix over the last couple weeks or so in between getting ready for the new semester. I actually started a mix with a different theme, but got distracted. Getting back to the point though--that new semester. It's coming fast and I'm going to be pretty busy. Bates Love Motel and I won't forget about the blog though. There will be mixes when time permits, and lots of Singles. Anyway, on to what is definitely the longest mix we've constructed yet.
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(download disk 1) [94MB]
(disk 2) [116MB]
(disk 3) [100MB]

Ghandi once famously said that the reason he wasn't a Christian wasn't because of Jesus' teachings, but because of Christians themselves. Where the hell am I going with this?

Radiohead are one of the most revered bands in popular music. They've been called the saviors of rock music and had 75% of the most superfluous reviews ever written about them. They've been praised by everyone from the poppiest pop groups to some of our generation's Jazz greats.

What happens though, when anyone gets that much critical praise, especially by those music aficianados who wear them as a "I listen to decent music" is disdain and backlash. It's true, Radiohead IS amazing, but once you've heard it 10,000 times, and once from your little sister who also listens to Hannah Montana, it's just an aggravation. And so much like Ghandi, many people have been turned away from Radiohead by the incessant acclaim of their fans. Frankly, I don't blame them. All this has in turn evolved into backlash--something that is all too familiar to the objective onlooker in a time where it's not hip to like what's liked by everyone else. In a couple words--that sucks.

Why did I write that diatribe? Because it was my inspiration for this mix. I theorized; what if the great music could be disconnected from the persona and image of the band, could it then be listened to with fresh unbiased ears? The perfect model of this experiment is the cover song. And...so I spent the next two weeks scouring the internet and listening to over 150 different Radiohead cover songs and compiled the best into this 3....yes, 3 disk mix. Let me know how that theory works out.

Disk 1:

1. Vampire Weekend - Exit Music (For A Film)

2. Shapeling - Morning Bell

3. Gnarls Barkley - Reckoner

4. Corporate Love Breakdown - Planet Telex

5. Duncan Sheik - Fake Plastic Trees

6. Sarah Slean - Climbing Up the Walls

7. The Flaming Lips - Knives Out

8. Citizen Cope - Karma Police

9. The Yoshida Brothers - The National Anthem

10. Sia - Paranoid Android

11. James Daly - Like Spinning Plates

12. Jacksta - Faust Arp

13. Sister Jack - Last Flowers ('Til the Hospital)

14. Damien Rice - Creep

15. Eliza Lumley - Let Down


Disk 2:

1. Mark Ronson (feat. Phantom Planet) - Just

2. Sebadohead - Fog (Again)

3. Calico Horse - Idioteque

4. Doveman - Airbag

5. Michael Armstrong - Sail to the Moon

6. Jack Conte - Exit Music (For a Film)

7. Chris Thile - Morning Bell

8. Hard 'N' Phirm - Rodeohead (Medley)

9. DRMS7888 - Knives Out

10. Hanson - Optimistic

11. Gillian Welch - Black Star

12. Storms - Myxamatosis

13. John Vanderslice - Karma Police

14. David Bazan's Black Cloud - Let Down

15. doof - Lift

16. Christopher O'Riley - You


Disk 3:

1. Mobius Band - Subterranean Homesick Alien

2. Panic at the Disco - Karma Police

3. UnusablSigna - Lucky

4. Morgan Heritage - Electioneering

5. Jorge Drexler - High and Dry

6. Chris Walla - Polyethelyne (Parts 1 and 2)

7. Flash Hawk Parlor Ensemble - Amnesiac/Morning Bell

8. Osunlade & Erro - Everything In It's Right Place

9. Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Creep

10. Marissa Nadler (feat. Black Hole Infinity) - No Surprises

11. John Mayer - Kid A

12. Phuzzbot and the Caveman - Pop is Dead

13. The Punch Brothers - Pakt Like Sardines in a Tin Box

14. The Darkness - Street Spirit (Fade Out)

15. 佐藤タイジ - Idioteque

16. Brad Mehldau - Exit Music (For a Film)

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There are many, many more covers than just these, and I kept a lot more that are not on this mix. If there is demand for such a thing, I might just upload a Cut the Kids in Half B-Sides mix with some of those that weren't included. Let me know.