I wanna listen to some of these. Recommend me some of your favourites. Especially interested in ones that are mostly sorta chopped up odds n ends and bits and pieces rather than like 12 bsides or well produced songs that didnt make it onto an album.
Please note that no smashing pumpkins chat will be permitted in this thread.
Thank you.
Low - A Lifetime of Temporary Relief
Is the king of these. B sides, rare singles, session tracks, a few different versions. All great.
Subquestion: Does anyone outside of hiphop make mixtapes like that?
The track Boy King Trash from Wild Beasts last album was kinda like this. Demos and unused bits mixed into one long 20-minute behind the scenes mood piece. Has some really good moments and gives insight into the creative process, while also suggesting different ways the album could have turned out
This. Some of their best songs are on it - walk you out, don’t carry it all, because you stood still
Oh and songs for nico
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have a B-sides and rarities collection (imaginatively titled ‘B-Sides & Rarities’) which is very good of you like that sort of thing, although it might not be quite what you’re looking for.
Get the Elliott Smith Grand Mal collection.
Another Standard Folk Song is just… something else.
This is EXACTLY the kind of thing that i’m after but I cant stand these lot. Thanks tho!!!
The band Sorry had a couple of doodly mixtapes out last year. Think they were on their Bandcamp for dl.
I’m not really a fan of them but i remember that Eno produced James album ‘Wah Wah’ was released as a companion piece to ‘Laid’. Not heard it in about 20 years but if i remember rightly it was more experimental studio jams compared to the more structured ‘Laid’. Quite enjoyed it at the time.
just realised thom’s minidiscs is a good one
Was surprised by how much I enjoyed Pavement’s Secret History Vol 1
R.E.M.'s Dead Letter Office is great - there’s silly stuff, fairly pointless cover versions etc but it’s still great.
Does Sigur Ros Hvarf/Heim count?
That’s a pretty damn good selection of oddities (even though it was actually new recordings of oddities).
Also The National - The Virginia EP (released with the ‘a skin a night’ film). Great selection of oddities, demos, live versions (the version of lucky you is incredible) and a couple of recordings that hadn’t been released before
Rival Schools released an album a few years ago called ‘Found’, which was made up of demos for a second album they were making just before they split in the early 2000s. They subsequently reformed and released a proper second album. ‘Found’ was released a few years after that, and whilst it’s good (I’m pretty biased when it comes to Walter Schreifels), it’s mostly enjoyable to listen to and hear how certain songs evolved etc
Free Etherea by Balam Acab is another mixtapey type one of recentish times.
not heard him/them, what’s their deal?
He was about in those heady witch housey days, seemed to be more about him though. his first EP and debut album Wander/Wonder I still stick on every now and again. Electronica. Free Etherea is a mishmash including remixes of St Vincent, Animal Collective, and Drop It Like It’s Hot.
Holy Fuck have a cassette of odds and ends recorded on phones while on tour
(says $7 for some reason but it’s a free download if you download the individual sides separately)