Concert Photos - Fleetwood Mac

A year ago - we were able to see Fleetwood Mac in Auckland NZ.  Neil Finn and Mike Campbell had joined the tour and brought a different type of energy to the band.  They were obviously tired from having completed  a significantly long tour but this was a great night with Neil Finn performing in front of a home crowd.  Neil and I actually share a connection.  Back in 1974, he was on holiday in Christchurch NZ staying with a friend of mine and we went out for a day and kicked around together as young lads do. Here's some photos I took from the concert:

Concert Photos - Billy Idol

My wife and I go to as many concerts as we can.  Sadly, COVID-19 has destroyed that and so all we have for now is memories of concerts gone by.  Here's some photos I took at a Billy Idol concert we were at in January 2020 in Taupo New Zealand.

The Mixtape Isn't Dead

I remember spending countless hours grabbing my favorite tracks off records to put onto a cassette tape to listen to in my car or Sony Walkman.  It was lots of fun finding cool songs but it could also be quite frustrating trying to fit that last track onto the end of a C90 cassette, only to get within seconds of getting there and then hearing the tick-tick-tick of the tape deck before it shut off.  There were songs where you had to do fade-outs using the record volume sliders and others where you had to do fade-ins. Then there was that dreaded moment when you heard the tape scrunching up inside the cassette player  and all those hours of work lost - I never did back-ups in those days.

The tape cassette may be gone but the concept of the mixtape is still well and truly alive - it's just that it is now on a digital medium.  Over many years - I have pretty much digitized all of my vinyl LP collection and ripped my cd collection and stored it all onto hard drives on my music server. (now backed up).  Using my beloved Logitech Squeezebox - I can play all of my music over wifi through my stereo system at the touch of a button.  But I still need to take my music out with me (now on an SD card on my phone) when I travel to work, fly somewhere or when I'm out driving.  So.....I still spend countless hours putting together music compilations for a portable selection of my music collection.

I enjoy working off a single song or a theme and building it out so that the tracks compliment each other and come together as a single listening experience.  I like to experiment bringing different genres together with songs that work well together (mostly).  It's very satisfying when you finalise the compilation with a collection of 10-12 songs that gel together and suit a particular mood or occasion. 

So for me - the mixtape is far from dead.

Starchild

The 'Starchild' compilation carries on with the heavier music theme from my previous post but this one has a much broader genre selection and is a bit different. I've selected tracks from Hard Rock, Alt Rock, Industrial & Rap Rock genres and also edited two tracks to merge them into one. 'Syss' (Viikate) is an instrumental track that I liked and I decided to pair it with 'Silent Waters' (Amorphis) with a little bit of editing to allow it to blend. As I put the compilation together I tried different track combo's and decided to add Eisbrecher and Hollywood Undead into the mix to expand the musical boundaries.  I play this rather loud and I quite like how it sounds.  

I'd welcome any feedback on any of my compilations.

Tracklist:

01 - Syss & Silent Waters - Viikate & Amorphis

02 - Perfect Strangers - Jorn

03 - Vergissmeinnicht - Eisbrecher

04 - Let It Die - Starset

05 - We Don't Belong - Black Veil Brides

06 - Killing Me Slowly - Bad Wolves

07 - Starchildren - Keldien

08 - I Don't Wanna Die - Hollywood Undead

09 - Alone - Amorphis

10 - Signs - Coldspell

11 - All Rise - Wayland

12 - Adrenaline - Fragile Things

Starchild

  

Dreamer

I had a bit of spare time today, which allowed me to post this week's compilation a little earlier.  Who knows - I may be able to add another one before the week ends.  'Dreamer' is a much heavier listening experience compared with the previous compilations I've posted.  It has tracks mostly from the Alt Rock genre and is for those days when I need a loud a burst of music that will give the speakers a good workout.  

Tracklist

01 - Odd Behaviour - Burn The Rez
02 - Letting Go - Charlie Oxford

03 - No Saving Me - Framing Hanley

04 - So Leicht - Heisskalt

05 - Take Me Back - Kongos

06 - The Black Market - Rise Against

07 - Dreamer - Royal Bliss

08 - Same Damn Life - Seether

09 - The Wait - Sevendust

10 - My Demons - Starset

11 - Daylight - Takida

12 - Heavy - Theory Of A Deadman

Dreamer

Eclectic Music Vol 1

This weeks compilation is one I made back in 2012. It's a mix of songs from different genres that could be best described as eclectic when combined into a single compilation.  Probably not everyone's cup of tea but I guess that's what personal compilations are all about - they're relevant to the music tastes of the person who puts them together.

Tracklist:

01 - Wish I Didn't Miss You - Angie Stone

02 - Heart Of Gold - Boney M

03 - Summer Wine - Demmis Roussos

04 - Busindre Reel - Hevia

05 - The Man Who Sold The World - Jordis Unga

06 - You Were Always On My Mind - Fantasia Barrino

07 - Black Horse & The Cherry Tree - K T Tunstall

08 - Lay Lady Lay - Magnet (feat. Gemma Haye)

09 - Guns & Arrows - Midge Ure

10 - Sinnerman (Felix Da House Cat Heavenly House Remix) - Nina Simone

11 - I'll Melt With You - Nouvelle Vague

12 - Imagine - Jordis Unga

13 - MacMillan River Love Song - Oliver Shanti & Friends

14 - Let's Never Stop Falling In Love - Pink Martini

15 - All That I Am - Rob Thomas

16 - Love Is Blindness - Trespassers William

17 - Helvegen - Wardruna

Eclectic Music Vol.1

Worlds Away

My 'Worlds Away' compilation has more of a lighter rock flavor to it and mixes tracks from some well known artists with perhaps a few lessor known ones.  The compilation opens with a folk rock song from 'The Wilderness Of Manitoba' and finishes up with a well known Bowie cover by L.A. Guns.  

Tracklist:

01 - Echoes - Wilderness Of Manitoba

02 - I'll Wait For You - Stanfour

03 - Lucky That Way - Joe Walsh

04 - Stolen Car - Jimmy Barnes

05 - Lonely Beautiful People - Goodbye June

06 - Turn It Up! - Sully Erna

07 - The Ballad Of The Little Man - World Party

08 - Worlds Away - The Black Sorrows

09 - Ghost Towns - Radical Face

10 - Mercy Rain - Peter Murphy

11 - Painted Moon - The Silencers

12 - Moonage Daydream - L.A. Guns

Worlds Away

Blood Balloons

This compilation, which I've titled 'Blood Balloons' (from the Emm Gryner track) has a pop/electronica/synth-pop flavor running through it. The compilation closes out with a soul/funk number from Tower Of Power, which is probably a little out of place compared to the rest of the tracks (hence putting it at the end) but I kinda like it.  Enjoy.

Track List:

01 - Shadow Girl - Emm Grymer

02 - Monochrome (Sunset Neon Mix) - Scandroid

03 - Lose My Mind - Dean Lewis

04 - Please Don't - Milo Greene

05 - Gone - Nights

06 - Turn My Screw - Star Meets Sea

07 - Tonight - Timecop1983 (feat, Backinthefuture)

08 - Sex On Fire (acoustic) - Blame Jones

09 - Tearing Me Up - Bob Moses

10 - Move - Milo Greene

11 - Surround - Nights

12 - Blood Balloons - Emm Grymer

13 - Run For Your Life - Bertie Blackman

14 - The Creepshow - Sticks & Stones

15 - On The Soul Side Of Town - Tower Of Power

Blood Balloons

Addicted

'Addicted' is one of my newer compilations that has an interesting mix of artists - some who are probably a bit more obscure. I've ordered the tracks into a blend that I like, which has a nice rock feel throughout. Hope you like it.

Track List:

01 - Red Tide - Starflyer 59
02 - Is This Love - City Sleeps
03 - Tethered - Anchor & Braille
04 - Free - Switchfoot
05 - Addicted - Bad Signal
06 - Martyrs - Saint Asonia
07 - Won't Let You Go - Long Way Home
08 - Before The Devil Knows - John Floreani
09 - All The Children - The Airborne Toxic Event
10 - Waiting On You - Nitrate
11 - Don't Let - Stereophonics
12 - Black Saturday - Mando Diao

Addicted

Chrome Waves

My very first post so bound to have made some early mistakes setting up this blog but no doubt I'll get the hang of it.

'Chrome Waves' is a slightly eclectic music compilation that crosses different genres.  I sometimes start with this when I'm not sure what I really want to listen to.

Tracklist:

01 - Waiting For The Worm To Turn - Bourgeois Tagg
02 - Chrome Waves - Ride
03 - Contemplation Rose - Van Morrison
04 - Jolene - Candi Station
05 - Oh! Darling - Beatles
06 - Outbreak Of Love - Midnight Oil
07 - With A Gun - Steely Dan
08 - Patchouli - Squeeze (UK)
09 - Daysleeper - R.E.M
10 - Ooh La La - The Faces
11 - Penny Lane (Mystery Mix) - Beatles
12 - Wheels - Flying Burrito Brothers

Chrome Waves