Blogariddims Round Up

So - nearly 2 months of blogariddims have gone by with nary a whisper from my vocal circuits. It feels a bit like the self-loathing and despair brought on by a hospital stay followed by weeks of DIY and home improvement have worn off somewhat, so now seems a good time to update things as theres no telling how long this will last before I lapse into somnolence once again.

First on the list is Blogariddims 45 / Fusion part 1 from the profligate DJ Zhao:
Zhao was scheduled for a Blogariddims way back in '06, but for various reasons it never happened. I'm very happy that he was squeezed back into the schedule though as this mix is a superlative example of how mash-ups and cross genre mixing can be a good thing, as his technically excellent mixing and playful selection make for a highly entertaining listen. I've been listening to this since it came out and I still haven't absorbed it fully. Also recommended is his Ngoma mix Vol.1.

Blogariddims 46 / Doppelmix from the mysterious Doppelganger was next up:

I've been a fan of Dopplegangers' writings for a while now, he's one of the few bloggers out there who can bring theory into an analysis of music, comics and (ahem) doctor who! without coming across like an elitist polo-neck wearing twat. His trademark doodlewerk is great too, having made the job of Woofah layout somewhat of a more enjoyable task. I knew he would come up with an epic post to go with his mix (and he has), but I had no idea what his selection would be like, so I was happily surprised when this monomaniacally dark episode hit the airwaves. In his own words:

I started off with such grand aspirations:.... an architectonic mix... a psychometric reckoning... a map... a narrative of the psyche. The return of the repressed in the form of the 'Theme from Joe 90'. A hint of the Lacanian Real in 'Power Rangers - Mystic Force" (surprisingly good). 'Voodoo Ray' exhumed from the collective unconscious. A fragrant Kruder and Dorfmeister - smelling more of cred than sweat... representatives from the psychotopographical corners of the inner globe... a cathartic purge of my musical unconscious....

But there's a reason for repression: assembled together in the exercise yard - lined up like a Colditz count with a couple of dummy prisoners thrown into the line-up, those boys looked ugly....

So I went for one note: Not a neurotic exhumation of the past, but a single psychotic present. A Deleuzian walk in the sunshine..... a dark yodel.....

And so, having just had our apples and oranges, it was time for something even less easily comparable... dragonfruit maybe?

Kid Shirt, FACT writer, geomantic music critic, and techno-occultist extraordinare picked up the mantle with Blogariddims 47 / Ontological Hysteria

I've pretty much run out of superlatives at this point, so I just have two things to say about this set.

1. This is probably one of the episodes Ive put on repeat the most, I dunno why really, I just put it on and I don't feel the need to flick. Either its something to do with mood, pacing and atmosphere, or some kind of subliminal 192kbps incantation encoded along with the rest audio information.
   
   
2. Any mix that starts with two tunes from goblin has got to be good.

Here's what the man himself has to say:

This mix is a deliberately genreclectic collection, ie it doesn’t plough any particular musical furrow. Instead, the tunes are linked around a vague theme of, erm, Ontological Hysteria – in that they all display some sense of impending pandemonium, either real or imagined…all the artists or songs here reveal some level of inner tension that manifests itself in the form of all sorts of batty symptoms from low-level teeth-grinding to full-on howling-at-the-moon midnight bareneck nekkid dancing. Songs on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown, basically.

And thats that. Posting guilt absolved - for now.

Next episode out on Monday.