The Memory Mixes – Part 7: Foreign Affairs

Hipper Campus Memories (Fall 2003 – Spring 2004)

In the Fall of 2003, I started taking classes at Temple University.

This was one of the best times of my life. 

I was getting deeper into psychology and neuroscience courses. Meeting and befriending more people than I ever had known, and enjoying arts, culture, and great food whenever I could.

Shoutout to the Temple food trucks…

So what else could I do: but make an obnoxiously jubilant mix to commemorate those great days in the big city. 

But on a national level, I felt so alienated by the policies and rhetoric that were taking hold.

The Bush administration itself was only partially to blame. I’ll never forgive their unchecked hubris with respect to foreign policy, but the scary climate was largely due to media figures like Sean Hannity and Anne Coulter whipping their audiences into a frenzy.

And, more importantly, due to the everyday people who began to lap up authoritarian gestures like flecks of blood in the air.

Everyday people like my family.

I had nursed a dream of studying abroad long before George Bush Jr became president… but his time in office certainly strengthened my longing to get away.

I looked into my options, and I submitted an application.

The following year, I would successfully get away.

Here’s my mix for undergrad year 3: 

1. “Neon Meate Dreams of a Octafish” — Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
2. “Love in War” — Outkast
3. “F-ck the Pain Away” — Peaches
4. “Joote Dedo Paise Lelo” — Lata Mangeshkar
5. “I’m Wild About Horns on Automobiles” — Billy Hays and His Orchestra
6. “Torn Green Velvet Eyes” — The Magnetic Fields
7. “Deep Fried Frenz” — MF DOOM
8. “Government Center” — The Modern Lovers
9. “Simple Man” — Klaus Nomi
10. “House of Jealous Lovers” — The Rapture
11. “Lucky Star” — Basement Jaxx w/ Dizzee Rasal
12. “Don’t Touch Me Tomato” — George Symonette
13. “On the Surface” — Pere Ubu
14. “Souvenir” — OMD
15. “Love Is Only a Feeling” — The Darkness
16. “The Second Line” — Clinic
17. “The Man Who Loved Beer” — David Byrne
18. “I’ve Got My Car and My TV” — Faust
19. “Don’t Dare to Tell Me” — Teresa Teng
20. “Michael” — Franz Ferdinand
21. “Resolution” — John Coltrane
22. “Frijoles” — Aesop Rock

And the bonus:

1. “Fix Up, Look Sharp” — Dizzee Rascal
2. “Love Is the Drug” — Roxy Music
3. “Weeping Chandelier” — The Tiger Lilies
4. “Jing Jing” — Shoukichi Kina & Ry Cooder
5. “Stupid Man” — Lou Reed
6. “Vitamin C” — CAN
7. “Invisible” — Ornette Coleman
8. “13 de Maio” — Caetano Veloso
9. “No Letting Go” — Wayne Wonder
10. “Go To Sleep” — Radiohead
11. “Without You” — David Bowie
12. “Blinded by the Lights” — The Streets
13. “What is the Light?” — The Flaming Lips
14. “Why” — Yoko Ono
15. “Baby” — Os Mutantes
16. “Saint Mary” — Sparklehorse
17. “Float On” — Modest Mouse
18. “Rain Dance” — Herbie Hancock
19. “M’Bifo” — Rokia Traore

Look to the East (Fall 2004 – Spring 2005)

I spent this next academic year studying in Tokyo, Japan. This was my first time in a foreign country, as I’ve written about previously.

For this playlist, I wanted to capture the whole experience:

It’s a mix of excitement…

Novelty…

Charm…

Fun…

Wonder…

Disorientation…

and also some frustration, some moments of disconnection.

Capped off by sadness at the prospect of leaving! 

I’m sure others who have lived abroad can relate. 

You’ll also notice that my hipster gatekeeping walls are starting to erode.

And I start to embrace tunes that grab me, no matter where they come from. I guess Tokyo made a poptimist of me. Can you keep up?

1. “Who Could Win a Rabbit” — Animal Collective
2. “Figaro” — Madvillain
3. “Sunrise” — BENNIE K
4. “A Minha Menina” — Os Mutantes
5. “Us” — Regina Spektor
6. “Mr. Clarinet” — The Birthday Party
7. “My Pal Foot Foot” — The Shaggs
8. “Lose My Breath” — Destiny’s Child
9. “Sugar Daddy” — Frank Black
10. “Smoke and Mirrors” — The Magnetic Fields
11. “Gunjou Hiyori — Tokyo Jihen
12. “Staring at the Sun” — TV On the Radio
13. “Koko Kuduchi” — Rinsho Kadekaru, w/ Seijin Noborikawa
14. “The Imposter” — Elvis Costello
15. “Stinking Drunk” — Big Black
16. “Sakura Drops” — Utada Hikaru
17. “The Red House” — David Byrne
18. “Hospitalsische Kinder / Engel Der Vernichtung” — Einsturzende Neubauten
19. “Golden Streams” — The Hidden Cameras”
20. “Tinsagu no Hana” — Kaori Futenma
21. “Worry Wort” — Radiohead

And the bonus:

1. “I Just Want to Play Piano” — Mark Mallman
2. “Matsuken Samba II” — Ken Matsudaira
3. “Maps” — Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4. “Atavu Chanda” — Vijaya Anand
5. “No, No, No” — Yoko Ono
6. “Get Low” — Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz
7. “Brian the Vampire” — Xiu Xiu
8. “He Woke Me Up Again” — Sufjan Stevens
9. “Come Sta, La Luna” — CAN
10. “MILK” — Rip Slime
11. “Tapr” — Autechre
12. “Pattern Recognition” — Sonic Youth
13. “Terminator X to the Edge of Panic” — Public Enemy
14. “Real World” — Pere Ubu
15. “Entenraku, Norigaku Sanben” — The Imperial Court Ensemble
16. “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” — The Flaming Lips
17. “JOY” — Yuki
18. “20 Jazz Funk Greats” — Throbbing Gristle

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