TheDeathSet - Artificially Sweetened

Both the МИШКА Bandcamp and Discogs peg the release date for this mashup set as November 2010, so far be it for me to argue in favor of an earlier release, at least in terms of year or season. But I swear ta Gawd that this came out whilst still in my first marriage, when I lived out in the suburbs and hadn't a fucking clue how to balance work, relationship, and leisure. And thus I did not get to see TheDeathSet in their formative years, when they moved from Australia to Baltimore and mingled with folks who I'd been booking just a few short years before. I was clueless, other than knowing some Aussies were lighting it up downtown whilst I first managed a GameStop, then started buying bobbleheads for a distributor.

So my memories of downloading this mingle with that time on ennui, first riding strong, then fading into a new brightness that came with divorce and a move back into the city. I'd never been much for the whole mashup scene, but this just felt like a really well curated DJ set, which is what I assume it was intended to be all along. Anyone wild enough to mix Bad Brains with Cee-Lo Green, to mix the Ramones and Roni Size...welp, that's got my vote for bop of the moment. It was a very good soundtrack for the first time I'd felt really alive in a while. I'm having another one of those moments right now, where I can feel the wave starting to build, that this could be, as one Craig Finn once described it, "a constructive summer".

Should I find some shekels to restart the old cassette label in the next year, I think I'm going to bootleg this one, so it has a physical version out there in the world. Until then...

Bandcamp

Click here to download.

Ghostface Killah x Max Tannone - Ghostfunk

I've been fighting a sore shoulder and an ongoing headache for the past two days, which, oddly enough, makes it difficult to put ideas to pixels and talk about music. Forgiveness, please.

This is the chocolate and peanut butter of mash-ups for me. "Ghostfunk" is Ghostface Killah acapellas over afrobeat/highlife music. This shit works because of course it does. I'ma tell you right now that "Dear Psychedelic Woman" is a go-to mixtape track for me. It's a can't miss banger. I've only ever had this as MP3s, although it appears that there have been a few pressings on vinyl over the past nine years. If anyone wants to send me a copy for my upcoming birthday, I wouldn't say "no".

Here's where I point out that you can get "Ghostfunk" as a pay-what-you-want from Max Tannone's Bandcamp, and, reasonably, you should. I'm a big believer in actually paying for music, especially since there are platforms like Bandcamp which allow you to directly buy from the artist, thus ensuring they receive the greatest return on their work. Max's latest release came out in March, benefitting Food Bank for New York City. If you're into mash-ups, particularly remixes of 80s lover's rock, you'll totally be into "Trading WAV Sound System".

Discogs

Click here to download.