Here it is, the first of hopefully many Hitsville U.K. mixtapes to wrap your ears around. First compiled by me for Siobhain on her trip to Hong Kong (hence the title), it’s now up here for download. Go ahead, it’s brilliant. Do you like it? Do you hate it? Let us know either way!
Alex Turner - Stuck On The Puzzle (Intro)
Noah And The Whale - Paradise Stars
Dog Is Dead - Young
The Teardrop Explodes - Reward
Editors - No Sound But The Wind (Live)
David Lynch - Good Day Today
Teen Daze - Let’s Fall Asleep Together
Childish Gambino - Freaks & Geeks
Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This
jj - New Work
Bob Dylan - Moonshiner
Elbow - Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl
Segal - Last Of My Kind
Editors - No Sound But The Wind (Full Band Version)
British Sea Power - Who’s In Control
The National - Think You Can Wait
Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You
Gold Panda - Same Dream China
Spiritualized - Soul On Fire
Childish Gambino - Bitch Look At Me Now (Two Weeks)
Patrick Wolf - The City
Woodpigeon - A Slight Return Home
LCD Soundsystem - New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down (Live)
Six songs. Nine minutes, forty-nine seconds. Just from those stats, you know Bust It! ain’t a Pink Floyd tribute act. Distilling the thrilling anger on Black Flag in all their forms (the million-mile-a-minute hardcore to the slower, darker, more intricate period), the New England five-piece are a refreshingly loud presence in modern music. Okay, so “Hell Is Other People” isn’t revolutionary or reinventing the concept of rock & roll, but it is one of the most exciting nine minutes you’re likely to listen to this year.
8/10
Girls - Vomit
The combination of “Girls” and “Vomit” does conjure up images of a Daily Mail article on binge drinking, but this latest track from the San Francisco band is a world away from the world of British nightlife. It’s a more epic and uplifting affair than their debut, a sign of musical maturation perhaps. The verses are reminiscent of Bends-era Radiohead, all picked guitars and sullen vocals, but it builds into a mighty chorus of organs, backing singers, as well as a massively scuzzy guitar solo. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was an entirely different band than the one that released “Album”. The band’s new album, “Father, Son, Holy Ghost”, released September 12th, will sure be an interesting one to hear.
H.U.K. Mixtape #11 - Speechless
Geddit? “Speechless”, Charlie Chaplin on the cover, thirty instrumental songs? I probably say this with every mixtape, but this might just be my favourite one yet. Encompassing soundtracks, ambient, actual instrumentals and beats, this is the best one and a half hours without lyrics you’ll listen to today (tooting my own horn slightly).
PS. Tracks 24 and 30 are the wrong way round, but you can just rearrange them if you wish.
PPS. Forgive me for the five Yann Tiersen tracks. I just love the Amelie soundtrack.
Following on from his hauntingly beautiful debut album Learning, Mike Hadreas aka Perfume Genius will return next year with Put Your Back N 2 It. The Seattle singer-songwriter will release his second album on February 20th 2012. The artwork can be seen above, and the tracklisting for the record is:
AWOL Marine
Normal Song
No Tear
17
Take Me Home
Dirge
Dark Parts
All Waters
Hood
Put Your Back N 2 It
Hadreas has made “All Waters” available for free download as a taste of the album. Click here to download the track. Swapping piano for a more synth-based sound, the track is as atmospheric and melancholy as you’d expect. Definitely one to look out for in the new year.
Well, the end of the year is upon us, and what better way to close 2011 than with a long-overdue Hitsville Mixtape! One hour and fifteen minutes of non-stop musical brilliance. Literally non-stop, we’ve finally found the way of turning our mixtapes into one continuous track, so no skipping the songs you’ve never heard.
PS. Those record skips are meant to be on there, alas iTunes made them six seconds long for some reason, so the effect is sort of lost now. Damned technology.
As you might be able to tell, we’ve been quite busy over the festive period. Not with actual article writing of course, don’t be silly, but with mixtape compiling! Yes, we’re now on our 14th(!) mixtape, and thanks to the rediscovery of Audacity, these four are better than ever. Instead of a bunch of messy collection of tracks, our mixtapes are now compiled into one long file, for your listening pleasure. You’ve now got almost five hours of aural awesomeness to get you through the next week or so. We’re too good to you lot (NB: #11 - Bah Humbug is the refined version of the last mixtape posted; it flows a lot better now).
There’s also quite a few little surprises for the keen-eared amongst you and a handful of exclusive mixes created by our very own editor… Click the links below and enjoy!
A summer of fun, frolics and festivals is less than six weeks away, and we here at Hitsville are a helpful bunch so we’ve compiled a list of tips and hints for you festival virgins (and those of you who’ve forgotten everything on getting through as many weekenders as you’re thinking of attending unscathed.
Pack your bag at least a few hours before leaving. No one wants to be the person who turns up with their sunglasses and expensive camera, but without essentials like a tent, wellies, a sleeping bag, food, warm clothes or a brain.
Make friends with the surrounding camps. You never know when you’ll need to borrow some extra alcohol or firewood. However, avoid that camp populated solely by snotty, posh kids who appear shocked at the notion of having fun and letting yourself go.
If you see some bashing out Libertines/Bon Iver covers on an acoustic guitar, report them immediately, because that person is a dick.
Never underestimate the deliciousness of greasy fast food from a burger van, especially at 9AM on a Sunday morning.
You really think you’re all going to get up at 7AM on Monday morning to pack away those huge expensive tents, and avoid the rush to leave the site? Oh you poor deluded soul. Your best bet is to buy the second cheapest tent possible (the very cheapest probably won’t even last an hour) and inconspicuously leave it behind on the way home.
Considering Mother Nature is an unpredictable madam at the best of times, don’t bet against the heavens opening at some point over the weekend. Just hope you packed that waterproof.
Even though it’s summertime, festival nights are colder than conversations with a bitter ex. If you’re anything like me, you’ll end up wearing every item of clothing you packed just to stay remotely warm.
Don’t act like a massive twat all day and expect people to let you use and borrow their stuff because you’ve used/ruined everything you brought. And mos likely a lot of what they brought too.
Roll mats are useless. Gazebos are indispensable. Camping chairs too, unless you want a ridiculous game of musical chairs whenever you want to sit around camp.
Dry shampoo is essential. Unless you wake up every morning with a pristine, perfectly coiffed barnet, in which case you’re not human.
Don’t wander off to the bar any time there’s a band you don’t know playing. Stick around and you might discover something mindblowingly brilliant (or laughably terrible, but either way it’s something to talk about).
Tweeting during sets is unacceptable… except in times of extreme boredom.
Alternative stages and comedy tents are a must. In fact, make sure to check out everywhere that’s not the main stage. Keep an open mind, so open that you somehow end up at one of the hardcore stages when you only came to see Florence + The Machine.
Nothing cures a hangover like more alcohol. Alternatively, two paracetamol with water or OJ do just fine too, if your liver can’t take it.
Definitely take as many drugs as possible from anyone who offers, even if what they have doesn’t even look remotely drug-like. That way you’ll spend the entire weekend in a blurry haze listening to bands that sound like someone beating a violin with a cat, talking to electricity pylons, dancing to the sound of a hot dog van and wake up on Monday morning wearing nothing but nothing but a straw hat and a smile. Because why else did you pay £250 for a ticket?
BRING MONEY! LOTS OF IT! With the price of merchandise, posters, arena alcohol, food and god knows what else, you’re gonna need a tentful of cash if you want to make it to Monday.
If you’re planning on doing the no-pants dance over the weekend, use protection kids. Being a festival baby can’t be a nice thing. Also, make sure you’ve got an empty tent before stumbling back for some lovin’.
For the hygienists out there, you’re gonna want a separate bag for all your miscellanea. Roll on deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, sun lotion, face wipes… then again, you’re just going to end up getting sweaty and grubby the next day, so hygiene goes out the window.
A torch is always useful, as is the superhuman, ability to dodge insanely-placed tent wires. Soon you’ll need to be a gymnast to avoid tripping over on the way back to camp after curfew.
Parents gonna parent, so expect numerous texts throughout the days. On the subject of phones, bring at least eight spares with double that amount of fully-charged replacement batteries. I’ve learnt that strangers are surprisingly wary of being asked to use their phone.
Boo bands who play the “playing up to the locals” card. No one likes a suck-up.
You know that two-thirds full Strongbow bottle that’s been at your camp for the last few days, but you’ve yet to see anyone drink from? …yeah, that ain’t cider.
If staying by the Main Stage all day and you’re not one for rushing down the front or being squashed by legions of sweaty teenagers, the perfect viewpoints are the fence in front of the TV camera tower or the one at the back of first crowd area. This way you’ve got a clear view of the bands and the screens with no dick’eds directly behind you, plus you’ve got somewhere to lean against, which is vital if you’re a lazy bugger like me
WHO TO SEE OVER THE SUMMER, AT…
I’ll Be Your Mirror, curated by Mogwai - 25th -27th May Slayer Mogwai Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat Yuck
Download Festival - 8th-10th June Metallica The Prodigy Black Sabbath Slash NOFX Billy Talent Dropkick Murphys Gallows
Isle Of Wight Festival - 22nd-24th June Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Madness Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds Noah And The Whale
Radio 1 Hackney Weekend Jay-Z Rihanna
RockWerchter - 28th June-1st July Blink-182 Skream Jack White Garbage Gossip
Wireless Festival - 6th-8th July Nicki Minaj The Roots The Weeknd A$AP Rocky Santigold AraabMuzik
T In The Park - 6th-8th July The Stone Roses Elbow The Darkness Childish Gambino Miles Kane Miike Snow Zulu Winter Frank Turner
2000 Trees - 12th-14th July 65daysofstatic The Futureheads Guillemots Dry The River Sonic Boom Six S.C.U.M Summer Camp 2:54 Dog Is Dead Tall Ships
Latitude Festival - 12th-15th July Bon Iver Metronomy Janelle Monae Laura Marling Richard Hawley Wild Beasts SBTRKT M83 Explosions In The Sky Django Djano Perfume Genius Iceage
Benicassim International Festival - 12th-15th July Bob Dylan Buzzcocks Bombay Bicycle Club Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Kurt Vile Dizzee Rascal
Tramlines Festival - 20th-22nd July Roots Manuva Rolo Tomassi Alt-J Frankie & The Heartstrings We Are Scientists Future Of The Left The Heartbreaks Toddla Sound Charli XCX
Field Day - 6th August Beirut Blood Orange Crocodiles Death Grips Gold Panda Grimes Koralleven The Men Sleigh Bells Summer Camp
Pukkelpop - 16th-18th August Bjork Bloc Party Lykke Li Jamie Woon A-Trak
Rock en Seine - 24th-26th August Green Day Frank Ocean Eagles Of Death Metal Little Dragon
Reading & Leeds Festivals - 24th-26th August The Cure Kasabian Foo Fighters The Black Keys Crystal Castles OFWGKTA Los Campesinos! Pulled Apart By Horses The Maccabees The Hives The Cribs Mastodon Azealia Banks Pure Love The Joy Formidable
End Of The Road Festival - 31st August - 2nd September Grizzly Bear Beach House Dirty Three The Antlers Alabama Shakes Willis Earl Beal Peggy Sue
Bestival - 6th-9th September New Order Stevie Wonder De La Soul Sigur Ros The xx Justice Friendly Fires Warpaint
109 plays!
NEW/// LOS CAMPESINOS! - TIPTOE THROUGH THE TRUE BITS
Here’s a slightly unexpected surprise. A new Los Campesinos! track, not related to their stuttering Heat Rash project, and no sign of a new album so far, “Tiptoe Through The True Bits” sees the ever-evolving seven piece continue down the road they started on with Hello Sadness; funereal pace, mournful guitar picking, lyrics that pack a hefty emotional punch; the brass augmentation that featured regularly on 2010’s Romance Is Boring makes a welcome comeback here too. It’s one more heartbreak anthem to add to the constantly growing LC! arsenal, but is it too much to ask for something a little more up-tempo next?
![Well, the end of the year is upon us, and what better way to close 2011 than with a long-overdue Hitsville Mixtape! One hour and fifteen minutes of non-stop musical brilliance. Literally non-stop, we’ve finally found the way of turning our mixtapes into one continuous track, so no skipping the songs you’ve never heard.
PS. Those record skips are meant to be on there, alas iTunes made them six seconds long for some reason, so the effect is sort of lost now. Damned technology.
[DOWNLOAD HERE]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwl81eLNWo1ql3b9bo1_1280.png)
