"Belles of May"

May 2006
for: Spinning Will

1. A Widow's Toast - Neko Case
2. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
3. Gold Lion - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. He's Got the Power - The Exciters
5. Portions For Foxes - Rilo Kiley
6. Pleasant As May - Dolly Parton
7. Don't Drink Poison - Le Tigre
8. Galang - M.I.A.
9. Car Song - Elastica
10. Bells - Electrelane
11. Absinthe - Beth Orton
12. Welcome To The Club - Jean Chapel
13. Long Island - That Dog
14. Can't Help Loving That Man - Trudy Richards
15. At The Back Of The Shell - The Kills
16. Do I Move You? - Nina Simone
17. Coin-Operated Boy - Dresden Dolls
18. Little Sparrow - Bettye LaVette
19. Midi Dans Le Salon De La Duchesse - Keren Ann
20. Love & Communication - Cat Power
21. Unemployed In Summertime - Emiliana Torrini
22. Different Drum - Stone Poneys
23. Yr Room - The Shortwave Set

Comments of the mix: A mix of ladies, made for a guy. Before I got my mix assignment, I came up with this title, mostly just to use Dolly's "Pleasant as May." Dolly, of course, is a big-haired belle. But I tried to keep this group pretty diverse. There are definitely some artists here that clash with the girly-girly images on the cover. The first two tracks present a classic mixing horror, the unexpected volume shift. In iTunes, we have Neko Case's ringing invocation blasted away by Joan Jett. On CD, however that Neko track is recorded at such a high volume, and Joan as such a medium-low, that the effect is ruined. This is one of those cases where I agonized over reburning the CD with a different track order. Ultimately, I just liked it too much. I apologetically mentioned the issue in my note to Spinning Will.