Brightest Young Things

A delicious musical treat created for you by Shelby Cinca & Stephen Guidry of The Cassettes
Annotated by Shelby Cinca
Download and listen here: http://thecassettes.muxtape.com/

Lothar & the Hand People - Machines
I bought this LP on a whim in the 90s at some point because i liked the cover. Little did I know then that the band's theremin is called "Lothar"... this song is kind of proto-steampunk in my mind. Nah, it is steampunk. Chapeau!

Men at Work - Down under
Always loved this song and it's a tribute to our new Aussie friends with the Australian/New Zealand release of 'Neath The Pale Moon last week.

Kavinsky - Wayfarer
I just love this guys stuff, super synthy John Carpenter meets Knight Rider music. In some ways it is influencing some of our newer material, not that we are going totally synth but Stephen's Moog parts are becoming more exciting and dramatic. Kavinsky is kind of a loafy drunk DJ but I think he's a great character. (Kavinsky DJing vid: )

The Cassettes - Old Man (Grotto Mix)
This is a bonus track on our double Aussie CD but a different mix with a bit more room mic. I think this mix captured our little basement session vibe better than the actual released version. A sea shanty.

Gus Viseur - Fiasco
I bought this in Paris at Paris Jazz Corner (http://www.parisjazzcorner.com/). Oddly enough I found out that the owner of the shoppe released Le Primtif Futur - a french "hot jazz" band that we played with at the Fete De La Musique a few years ago. I got this as a random gift for Stephen who is also our Accordionist. I tend to buy random gifts for people instead of during holidays and birthdays... much more exciting that way isn't it? A nice song.

Huun-Huur-Tu - Deke-Jo
We all love this Tuvan band. Ask Saadat to Tuvan throat sing... he really won't stop. He's usually at Tryst in the afternoons on the couch or working on his laptop somewhere with rolls of architectural plans. (Saadat Awan:

Split Enz - Six Months In A Leaky Boat
Stephen really likes this song... 80s pop with shanty lyrics and a Beatles style melody. Maybe we would have sounded like this 20 years ago.

Basokin - Mulume (world)
From Congotronics 2 - It's just great.

John Fahey - Medley: Deep River/Ol' Man River
Great guitarist and a great medley for a lazy afternoon.

Tom Petty - Saving Grace
The last Tom Petty is my favorite. Saadat is also a huge fan of early Tom Petty, while asking him about Tuvans, ask him about when Tom Petty says "allllriiigght" in one song as he has analyzed Tom Petty's linguistic meltdowns on early material with remarkable accuracy. I think this particular song though captures what I like to call the "steampunk beat" which is really just driving/straight drumming.

Neil Young - Like An Inca
Whoa. From our favorite Neil Young album "Trans". A highly unappreciated album with some moments (other than this and the first song) that surprisingly sound like Daft Punk or Kraftwerk complete with Vocoders and stuff, it will blow your mind. Go find Trans by Neil Young. This song particularly speaks to The Cassettes because of the lyrical content about Incas.

Antelope - Wandering Ghost
Best DC band since Fugazi - I would even say best band in DC at this very moment but really I'm just obsessed with their little minimal songs. I listened to this about 100+ times on tour while driving and even covered it on a gameboy using the nanoloop software. (Amazon link+ emusic link)

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and catch The Cassettes next here: http://dc.yurisnight.net/