Non-metal Themed Mixtape Game

[no country for old wainds]

Joe Cocker - The Weight
i'm not american enough for this shit anyway but the original is better. 5/10

Raznotravie - Katorga
i would happily listen to a full album of this stuff. 7/10

The Chills - Pink Frost
i should get around to exploring the dunedin movement, for which this is the banner tune. no idea how it differs from other goth/post-punk movements, but there's something uniquely unsettling about the tone of this song at least that's hard to describe. 9/10

The Isley Brothers' - Work to Do
fine but too smooth and classy for my tastes, i need more bite in my soul. 6/10

Kings of Nuthin - Get Busy Livin' or Get Busy Dyin'
man, now i wish i'd submitted fred neil's legendary 'that's the bag i'm in', would fit perfectly on this list so far.

this isn't exactly reinventing the wheel but it's a mix of sounds that never get tired, somewhere between blues and punk and rockabilly, raucous and raw and full of heart and swing. proper outsider music; it'd go down even better live in some shitty small town venue, but great anyway. 8/10

Lonesome Wyatt and Rachel Brooke - Scars
yeah, pretty lovely. probably better in album context 7/10

Murder by Death - Shiola
oh sup johnny cash wannabe. it honestly feels like half of these songs could've been chosen by the same person, which might seem one-dimensional but for me it's giving the playlist good flow. helps that i like my folk, gothic country etc though. another solid haunting tune, i find this kinda thing pretty easy to like. it's not far removed from an indie darling kinda sound (i.e. the national) but just about stays the right side. 7/10

Wishbone Ash - Throw Down the Sword
should win, will win. 10/10

Lord of the Rings Soundtrack - Flight to the Ford
quite a creative pick really, so points for that. one of the better, more restrained tunes on that soundtrack too, effectively tense. most importantly, it's pretty nobuo-esque in places. 8/10

Swans - Failure
i get why people who salivate over DCD would love this. 6/10

Chelsea Wolfe - The Abyss
basically sounds like beth gibbons singing over the future world map music in chrono trigger. 6/10

U2 - With or Without You
you guys are mistaken if you think you're gonna stop this coming last. 1/10

Lake of Tears - Devil's Diner
haha, decent enough cheese tbh. 6/10

 

[Carpe Mortem]

Joe Cooker - The Weight (Mad Dogs and Englishmen)
7/10

Really kinda feel good but still mournful. Feel good in that, fuck life sucks but I'ma keep going, kinda way. Very suburb at the tip of the city, not enough excitement yet not enough calm. I feel the burden. Drinking because it's what you do, not because it helps. But to be honest I think most songs of this ilk would have done just as nicely. Great pick anyways.


Raznotravie - Katorga
8.5/10

Nice touch with the heavy breathing right off the bat. This dude is already sick of singing this song his life is so burdensome. I found the choice of visual imagery a strong indication of what the fuck he's saying, really painted a picture for me. Alright, so it's a miner. And another fucking day with the pickaxe. And also people are shooting at him. Frontiers, nature, old school fuckin settlin' days. Fun instruments. I dig this a whole lot actually, just hope it's not secretly about something dumb.


The Chills - Pink Frost
1/10

I somewhat immediately hated this. What the fuck is this piece of shit doing, being fucking happy and shit? This aint no wilderness walk, motherfucker. Fuck off with your pastel colored icicles. Yeah, you better start crying, you're good at it. I don't care what you've done or that she's gone or that you missed your big shot playing as an extra in "party monster". I wish it involved a noose around your neck. Burn in hell, shoegaze.


The Isley Brothers' - Work to Do
5/10

Another sad dude with a shitty girlfriend. Never gets old. But hearing about his job did. Congratulations, welcome to adulthood, not really something to claim as a burden. If it was in another language, it'd be a really nice little song. Just the repetition really got on my nerves in this one.


Kings of Nuthin - Get Busy Livin' or Get Busy Dyin'
8/10

Damn, blistering vocals! I love that shit. Reminds me of the Superjail theme, good ol' psychobilly. Definitely feel the burden of existence in this, but like a crazy variant. He's being forced to make a choice, continue having a shitty life and take it up or down. Maybe cry on his car when he catches his woman slurpin someone else's milkshake at the drive-in theater. Great pick.


Lonesome Wyatt and Rachel Brooke - Scars
4/10

Don't get me wrong, I love the banjo kazooie soundtrack much as the next person. And like, this genre or whatever. But this didn't do it for me. I've heard talk of the outfit and there must have been a reason I never checked into much of their music. Too melodious, made me wanna sleep. Not peacefully, just boredly.


Murder by Death - Shiola
4/10

Johnny Cash worship to the max. I'm cool wittit. A little bit of a burden to my ears that it never brought anything memorable to the table though. And wtf is a shiola? A chick? Another word for shangri-la? That must be it... he's a juggalo. One of the really boring ones who are super into being trailer trash.


Wishbone Ash - Throw Down the Sword
7/10

The sexy was strong from the start, but as it went on lost a whole lot of that. Cool song instrumentally but the vocals could have used way more balls in this context. Then again I guess someone who's really beating themselves up over being a soldier and throws down their sword probably doesn't have the highest sperm count. Decent track anyhow, loved the guitar finoodling. Good pick, very relevant, and heavy in its way.


Lord of the Rings Soundtrack - Flight to the Ford
5/10

Meh. Not one of my favorite tracks by any means and I'm the kinda person that regularly jams this shit. There is no sense of burden here, it's just a pretty bit of score with some drama. Burden is a very specific feeling. It means, 'Ugghhhhhhhh.........' not 'AAAAHHHHHHHH!!'.


Swans - Failure
8/10

Pretty sure they're gonna be the Saint Vitus of the non-metal themed mixtape game. Swans are sweet, and it's not fair. This song in particular smacks you in your sad stupid face and realizes your own failures keenly. It personifies them. Do you feel heavy? Do you want to sleep? To die? Yes. Let it crush you, and don't bother apologizing to yourself or others. Let it crush you, you're worthless without being notable.


Chelsea Wolfe - The Abyss
5.5/10

I wish this band were instrumental. I've wished it many times. It's so hard to enjoy evanessence style vocals, just too try-hard feminine. Hard to explain. Quirky, sad, I'm sure her life sucks. If there weren't vocals, my life would suck a lot less, and I wouldn't feel the burden of if I should add or take away half a point.


U2 - With or Without You
2/10

Lol. I think I overdosed on this song a long time ago from watching movies. Not much to say. Don't care for them in general.


Lake of Tears - Devil's Diner
3/10

It really sucks that I didn't get a modicum of theme relation from this track because I actually quite liked it. It was just way too vague, the sense of burden is only because he's obsessing on it. Anything you obsess on would be burdensome. Shame.

 

[Omni]

Joe Cocker - The Weight 4/10

I've never been into this guy.

Raznotravie - Katorga 6/10

This is kinda neat.

The Chills - Pink Frost 7/10

I like this. I might investigate this further.

The Isley Brothers' - Work to Do 6/10

Not bad.

Kings of Nuthin - Get Busy Livin' or Get Busy Dyin' 7.5/10

This is pretty good.

Lonesome Wyatt and Rachel Brooke - Scars 6/10

Decent.

Murder by Death - Shiola 4/10

I'm not into this.

Wishbone Ash - Throw Down the Sword 10/10

Excellent. This should win.

Lord of the Rings Soundtrack - Flight to the Ford 1/10

I don't think it belongs. I also find this soundtrack and these movie adaptations in general to be mediocre.

Swans - Failure 9/10

Swans rule. This is one of their best songs.

Chelsea Wolfe - The Abyss 7/10

Pretty cool.

U2 - With or Without You 1/10

Lame.

Lake of Tears - Devil's Diner 2/10

I hated this.

Short reviews because of work.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

Joe Cooker - The Weight (Mad Dogs and Englishmen)
And this mixtape is off to a pretty unimpressive start. 4/10.

Raznotravie - Katorga
Cool sound and instrumentation, but not really sure what's going on here. 6/10.

The Chills - Pink Frost
I dunno. It's a fine monotonous track. 5/10.

The Isley Brothers' - Work to Do
I could've done without this track. 3/10.

Kings of Nuthin - Get Busy Livin' or Get Busy Dyin'
Fun , rockin' lo-fi tune. Cool scratchy vocals. 7/10.

Lonesome Wyatt and Rachel Brooke - Scars
This is a great album. Really interesting harmony going on here. 8/10.

Murder by Death - Shiola
Minimalistic and devastating. Them lyrics. Fucking love it. 10/10.

Wishbone Ash - Throw Down the Sword
Some decent melodic stuff here. Good guitar leads. But doesn't excite me. 5/10.

The Fellowship of the Ring OST - Flight to the Ford
Love these scores. I feel there are better tracks that demonstrate the burden of the ring than this. Whatever, still great. 7/10.

Swans - Failure
Fucking Swans! These guys know a thing or two about singing about burden. Killer tune. 8/10.

Chelsea Wolfe - The Abyss
Haunting stuff from her as usual. Like the piano and strings lots. Cool ending. 8/10.

U2 - With or Without You
I really dislike U2. This is one of the songs I can tolerate the most tho. 3/10.

Lake of Tears - Devil's Diner
Um... it wasn't all bad. 5/10.

Short reviews because it's me.

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

The Isley Brothers and Wishbone Ash are the best damn things on this mixtape.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

The Isley Brothers and Wishbone Ash are the best damn things on this mixtape.

Don't you just love subjectivity?

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

Don't you just love subjectivity?

When there's room for it, you bet I do. But I'll always choose objectivity if it's an option. Thankfully artistry, whether it be a painting or song, is almost wholly subjective, which is part of what makes it so fun.

 

[no country for old wainds]

The Isley Brothers and Wishbone Ash are the best damn things on this mixtape.

i don't think you were playing back then so i'm curious as to what you think of my first submission to this game, which is pretty much my ideal soul song:

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

I wasn't, I only joined the forums about a month ago. That's some premium quality soul music right there too, raw and low-fi, I dig it. I must admit my ideal type of soul has sleek, complex instrumentation and raw, poweful vocals, which would explain James Brown being my all-time favorite soul artist. I don't mind sleek vocals though, which is why I love The Isley Brothers so much along with a lot of the classic doo wop vocal groups like The Coasters and The Moonglows.

 

[CiG]

That Chelsea Wolfe song was pretty shit. I'm laughing at these ratings.

 

[dwellerINTHEdark]

That Chelsea Wolfe song was pretty shit. I'm laughing at these ratings.

So you gave it a 5/10. You need to reflect on your perception of "pretty shit".

 

[CiG]

5 is usually points for not being terrible, theme etc. Above 5 for me is when my personal tastes get involved. It's not the worst but yeah it's pretty shit, few redeeming factors.

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

5 is that special mid point for Cassette where he can't decide whether he wants to find the nearest rope and branch, or whether he wants to deepthroat the band or artist in question.

 

[CiG]

I'm too tipsy to make any sense out of that.

 

[no country for old wainds]

more ratings u cunts

 

[unknown]

Will submit mine by tomorrow evening

 

[Funerary_Doom]

I'm actually trying to be conniving by not being obvious with my choice. Also, I drunkenly typed in my ratings here and it fucking deleted... I'll have to retype.

 

[CiG]

Also, I drunkenly typed in my ratings here and it fucking deleted... I'll have to retype.

 

[Funerary_Doom]

Joe Cocker - The Weight 5/10
I never really liked this song. It's played a lot in commercials and stuff, but I think that's probably why. I always hear the chorus and yeah... not really into it. The guy has a nice voice though.

Raznotravie - Katorga 10/10
Katorga means "servitude" if anyone cares. Found this band ten years ago and dled them. Contacted them as well to see if I could get a CD or merch but they had ran out of that and basically said to dl whatever I found because there was some disconnect between their record company. Anyways, I love this song and basically listen to it everyday. I had a friend translate it for me in college but my desktop crapped out so I no longer have the translations. But yes, he is talking about burdens. This song really creates an atmosphere that I really like that i dont see replicated much at all (if others have recs i'm all ears). Also, any dance piece I do this is suddenly "deep" even when it sucks but it's just honestly because of this song, there's a lot of layers to play with and a lot of spaces. There's something kinda special about it. well at least to me. Okay, end rant. I love this song.


The Chills - Pink Forest 7/10
I liked this song a lot more than I thought I was. First impression was that "man this is going to be repetitive" but it's actually a good repetitive. Cute, nice and light track.

Isley Brothers - I've Got Work To Do 6/10
I was expecting some "Between the Sheets" smoothness. But this was OK.

King of Nuthin - Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying 4/10
He has a nice voice, but I didnt like this song. he has this awesome grit and I want the music to match up but it doesnt.

Lonesome Wyatt and Rachel Brooke - Scars 2/10
I feel like last time I typed this (before it got deleted) I liked it more. But this is just putting me to sleep. I'm probably getting this confused with another track though because it has a lot of things that I don't like in music. I suppose I should read the lyrics to get a better perspective on it... but I really just don't have the time at the moment.


Murder by Death - Shiola 6/10
Actually, I was right. I did get the last one confused with this track. This is kind of interesting. I like the feeling the music is portraying here.

Wishbone Ash - Throw Down the Sword 8/10
I enjoyed this. Nice solo at the end too. I'll have to listen more to this band but right now the vocals are a little weird for me. Is he Irish or something? There's an accent somewhere...


The Lord of the Rings - Flight to the Ford 2/10
I get it since the entire book is about "burden" but I mean, though this isn't terrible, I don't see how different it is from like.... many other epic movie scores. Maybe this is just my ignorance talking but like I could put this in a fighting piece, a running piece or whatever kind of piece and call it that... Idk. Let me just stop.

Swans - Failure 9/10
Agreed with @Carpe Mortem this is totally the Vitus of the metal themed mix tape. I like this song though and their wins aren't getting me as annoyed as the Vitus ones in the metal themed mix tape... yet.

Chelsea Wolf - The Abyss 9/10
This is really cool. I really liked it.


U2 - With or Without You 1/10
I hate Bono. I hate Bono. I hate Bono. I hate Bono. I hate Bono. I hate Bono. I hate U2 too.

Lake of Tears - Devil's Diner 2/10
Nahh. This is the world's most boring drummer too. Jeez.

Edit: Jeez, I think I was a lot nicer with these ratings when I was drunk first time around

 

[CiG]

Themes like BURDEN do bring out the cliché choices in us, since it's quite an obscure theme. Things will get better.