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:
- “Neon Meate Dreams of a Octafish” — Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
- “Love in War” — Outkast
- “F-ck the Pain Away” — Peaches
- “Joote Dedo Paise Lelo” — Lata Mangeshkar
- “I’m Wild About Horns on Automobiles” — Billy Hays and His Orchestra
- “Torn Green Velvet Eyes” — The Magnetic Fields
- “Deep Fried Frenz” — MF DOOM
- “Government Center” — The Modern Lovers
- “Simple Man” — Klaus Nomi
- “House of Jealous Lovers” — The Rapture
- “Lucky Star” — Basement Jaxx w/ Dizzee Rasal
- “Don’t Touch Me Tomato” — George Symonette
- “On the Surface” — Pere Ubu
- “Souvenir” — OMD
- “Love Is Only a Feeling” — The Darkness
- “The Second Line” — Clinic
- “The Man Who Loved Beer” — David Byrne
- “I’ve Got My Car and My TV” — Faust
- “Don’t Dare to Tell Me” — Teresa Teng
- “Michael” — Franz Ferdinand
- “Resolution” — John Coltrane
- “Frijoles” — Aesop Rock
And the bonus:
- “Fix Up, Look Sharp” — Dizzee Rascal
- “Love Is the Drug” — Roxy Music
- “Weeping Chandelier” — The Tiger Lilies
- “Jing Jing” — Shoukichi Kina & Ry Cooder
- “Stupid Man” — Lou Reed
- “Vitamin C” — CAN
- “Invisible” — Ornette Coleman
- “13 de Maio” — Caetano Veloso
- “No Letting Go” — Wayne Wonder
- “Go To Sleep” — Radiohead
- “Without You” — David Bowie
- “Blinded by the Lights” — The Streets
- “What is the Light?” — The Flaming Lips
- “Why” — Yoko Ono
- “Baby” — Os Mutantes
- “Saint Mary” — Sparklehorse
- “Float On” — Modest Mouse
- “Rain Dance” — Herbie Hancock
- “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?
- “Who Could Win a Rabbit” — Animal Collective
- “Figaro” — Madvillain
- “Sunrise” — BENNIE K
- “A Minha Menina” — Os Mutantes
- “Us” — Regina Spektor
- “Mr. Clarinet” — The Birthday Party
- “My Pal Foot Foot” — The Shaggs
- “Lose My Breath” — Destiny’s Child
- “Sugar Daddy” — Frank Black
- “Smoke and Mirrors” — The Magnetic Fields
- “Gunjou Hiyori — Tokyo Jihen
- “Staring at the Sun” — TV On the Radio
- “Koko Kuduchi” — Rinsho Kadekaru, w/ Seijin Noborikawa
- “The Imposter” — Elvis Costello
- “Stinking Drunk” — Big Black
- “Sakura Drops” — Utada Hikaru
- “The Red House” — David Byrne
- “Hospitalsische Kinder / Engel Der Vernichtung” — Einsturzende Neubauten
- “Golden Streams” — The Hidden Cameras”
- “Tinsagu no Hana” — Kaori Futenma
- “Worry Wort” — Radiohead
And the bonus:
- “I Just Want to Play Piano” — Mark Mallman
- “Matsuken Samba II” — Ken Matsudaira
- “Maps” — Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- “Atavu Chanda” — Vijaya Anand
- “No, No, No” — Yoko Ono
- “Get Low” — Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz
- “Brian the Vampire” — Xiu Xiu
- “He Woke Me Up Again” — Sufjan Stevens
- “Come Sta, La Luna” — CAN
- “MILK” — Rip Slime
- “Tapr” — Autechre
- “Pattern Recognition” — Sonic Youth
- “Terminator X to the Edge of Panic” — Public Enemy
- “Real World” — Pere Ubu
- “Entenraku, Norigaku Sanben” — The Imperial Court Ensemble
- “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” — The Flaming Lips
- “JOY” — Yuki
- “20 Jazz Funk Greats” — Throbbing Gristle
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Here are the YouTube links for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
2003-2004 Main Mix (Temple U Dance Party!)
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzqYLiKrHIUxTijPrEE51fdbeZjtkcrj&si=vLFB9lzqdgDdP48o
2003-2004 Bonus
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzqYLiKrHIV4ZGLg5FBcgXZSUJ1Myv0v&si=3aoV3401QW0L83bc
2004-2005 Main Mix (Tokyo Drifter)
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzqYLiKrHIXGJPTlVRGdcG64v-gCb6P-&si=RFELhlP3xjsA6ABo
2004-2005 Bonus
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmzqYLiKrHIWypD6KpV_rM13xb4OTPKEH&si=QgC2fM9C6wI3GPO-
All over the map, literally and figuratively. I love that you have The Shaggs next to Destiny’s Child. That’s the kind of schizophrenic juxtaposition I like. Bonus points for George Symonette.
The Shaggs as a concept is fascinating, in that it’s a rare opportunity to hear what music could sound like if it is was made by someone with what would appear to be no knowledge of conventional ways music is made and no influence from the outside world. That said, after hearing it once, that was enough for me. I also can’t get the backstory out of my head regarding the girls and their relationship with their father, that led to this music being made. That’s just where I’m at with the whole Shaggs thing.
Their father seemed like a creep and a tyrant, though that’s unfortunately not so rare in music history. Despite his restrictions and all common sense, the girls managed to develop a sound together that almost no one else had hit upon.
Like Wesley Willis, I’m sure there are plenty of people who look down on the Wiggins sisters, but songs like “Foot Foot” and “My Companion” give me joy.
You know, in the year that I spent studying in Tokyo, I only took 100 or so photos. Partly because I simply don’t think or want to take pictures when I’m experiencing something in the moment. But also because I had a somewhat cheap digital camera at the time with very little storage space on the memory card.
Bonus Beats: Some Japanese ad jingles!
My favorite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QUrM0kJkjc
And a close second:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMRDGwmy0Lc
I knew very few of these, but 3 of the ones I do know have major significance. Anything off of Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, Franz Ferdinand’s self-titled or the Lips’ The Soft Bulletin is foundational text for me for different eras of my musical awakening. If you had thrown in Big Star, I would start to feel stalked. Been a bit swamped, but I will need to dig into these playlists at some point, as I would imagine some great music awaits. It has been fun accompanying you in the wayback machine on this musical journey.
Thanks! Definitely check them out when you get a chance!
(still haven’t heard Big Star yet. Does a Replacements song about Alex Chilton count?)
No it does not, but it does give you a hint at how influential they were on so many beloved 80s and 90s bands. Just about any jangle pop/power pop band in the 90s can trace their lineage back to Big Star. That is not an exaggeration.
I told you this before, rollerboogie, but it bears repeating. That time you wrote about wanting to kick a box because somebody equated Big Star with the Barenaked Ladies made me LOL for real.
I was thinking about that yesterday.
I admire that your playlists are all over the place, genre-wise. I’ve essentially given up on expanding beyond what I’m currently discovering because there is just SO. MUCH. OUT. THERE.
It gives me a sense of helplessness, staring into the abyss. By focusing on a few select genres, I feel as if I have some knowledge/control over it…and that began in February 2005 when Y-100 went off the air.
My family is as culturally shallow as yours, and they never understood my yearning to leave, though my stepmother always assumed I’d leave the country, never to return.
As for the sadness of leaving, ventures abroad to me are a microcosm of life:
Well, this was the peak of my young adulthood, and the peak of my social life. I was constantly getting recommendations, going to shows, and just stumbling on great music and movies and stuff (I didn’t even talk about the Russ Meyer movie marathon or the film festival where I saw director Takashi Miike). Needless to say, things are quite different for me now.
In fact, I had largely stopped getting into new music in 2016 or so. I managed to absorb some stuff, but was mostly digging back into music that I already had (I was going deep in the Kinks, and various classical compositions). I get that sense of helplessness. For me, it was exhaustion, and feeling overwhelmed.
But, especially in the Trump years, I wanted to start celebrating new art and music. That’s a big reason why I became a Stereogum regular in the first place: it’s such a great source for new releases.
I still make yearly mixes, but now, instead of being records of any music I’ve gotten into, they are exclusively new releases. It’s an exercise to actively compel me to get into new music, and to compile the best of what I’ve found.
I can agree with your thoughts on ventures abroad. I am currently writing something that touches on that notion.
It’s been a pleasure joining you on your journey and seeing how your tastes have developed and changed. Seems like kids grow up so quick these days.
It’s about 50/50 on songs I’m familiar with this week.
Thinking about stages of development, I reckon there’s a standard 4.
First stage; listen to everything with no preconception or sense of what you’re supposed to like. Everything is awesome.
Second stage; get into music, become aware of genres and pick a favourite that blocks out the rest and develop preconceptions about the lack of worth of those compared to your own favourite
Third stage; get over yourself, realise life is too short to worry about what is considered worthy, broaden your horizons and open yourself up to the world
Fourth stage; too much to keep up with, retreat into the comfort of familiarity.
I’d put myself at around stage 3.25. Of course, your mileage and own experiences may vary.
I went from Stage 3 to 4, and then back to 3 again. Life is short, so let’s rock out to some chicken yodels!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ppm5_AGtbTo
Theres a genre i never knew i needed in my life; Japanese chicken yodelling. Takeo has a new fan in my 12 year old, she’s now sharing it with all her friends.
Holy moly, The Shaggs!
The album title that never was; Holy Moly, Its The Shaggs!
My work here is done.
Like the Shaggs, that title is better than the Beatles.
Stephin Merritt is an inspired lyricist.
On a ferris wheel
Looking out on Coney Island
Under more stars
Than there are prostitutes in Thailand
I was absolutely obsessed with this couplet. I thought it was just so incredibly brilliant.
Nobody writes at that level.
On “Swinging London”, I encountered the word “grok” for the first time.
His legacy is secure. But I would love another album.
Merritt references Hawaii from time to time. The engineer Eric Masunaga is Oahu-born and a member of The Dambuilders, who was even less popular than Poi Dog Pondering. What I didn’t know, something I learned this year, was the Hawaii connection to …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of the Dead.
I’m listening to “Sugar Daddy” for the first time. That’s a deep cut.
Great mix of the familiar and unfamiliar, as usual: A Roxy Music song I recognize.
Stephin Merritt’s got a ton of great lines.
–You just get out what they put in, and they never put in enough.
Love is like a bottle of gin, but a bottle of gin is not like love.
–‘Cause I always say “I love you” when I mean “turn out the light.”
— Home was anywhere with diesel gas, love was a trucker’s hand
— Astronomy will have to be revised
and on and on
You know what they used to say about the 20 Jazz Funk Greats album by Throbbing Gristle?
They’re not jazz.
They’re not funk.
There’s not 20 of them.
And they’re not great.
I feel bad for the handful of people who picked it up in used bins expecting something very, very different based on the album sleeve.
Perversely, it was the band’s most accessible outing. But tell that to the kid who has to suffer trough the industrial grind of “What a Day.”
I had no idea that David Byrne had covered “The Man Who Loved Beer” — I just love the Lambchop original.
https://youtu.be/0vTjGZzMXCM?si=T-9Gb2uPRbXqFEOx
Yeah, it’s great. David’s version turned me onto the original.