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KEEPING IT LOCAL: RIEGER VS. CHAMBERLAIN
Mixtape
2. “4th Night" by Hope for Agoldensuramer
WC: I've loved this song for years. Happy to be
in the position to take it down off the shelf and
share it OK, TU say it: this is my favorite song!
Very sexy and honest at the same time. Usually
doesn't work like that
AR: Effortless harmonies and unison singing
with minimal musical accompaniment, creating a haunting,
ethereal atmosphere... languid and lovely.
3. "It Is What It If" by Vk Chesnutt
WC: I can't begin to imagine what I could say about Vic.
I never met him. His musk has moved and inspired me in the
years since I've moved here. This tune has a fantastic ending.
AR: Excellent choice! Amazing lyrics comparing himself to
many famous literary monsters... building into a masterful,
awe-inspiring, self-deprecating, anti-religious diatribe. This
is a perfect example of Vic's lyrical and musical prowess-
unmatched by any in Athens or elsewhere.
4. "An HiunHtn Instance" by Foar Eyes (of Montreal
. cover)
WC: Hmm. All I can say is I can't believe how intense the
ukulele gets toward the end of the song. Rock on, Erin [Lovett]!
AR: I like the way that the multi-tracked vocals are brought
in and out from time to time to effectively accentuate certain
phrases. Very nice mood overall.
3. "1 Don't ThinkYou'll Make It" by Cat Sad
WC: Always a sucker for a girl with a baritone guitar! I had
the pleasure of working in a kitchen with Helen [Rhinehart] a
few years ago. They changed the name before they broke up, but
I don't remember what it was... Get Sad still has a MySpace.
AR: Thick, fuzzed-out bass, heavy, pounding drums, noisy
guitars and a slow pacing create a dark and mysterious
soundscape.
6« "Tongue" by R.E.M.
WC: One of us had to do it! Organ and piano?! Falsetto
Stipe?! Overly simple guitar?! This isn't R.E.M.! Yes it is. And it's
sexy as summer... eat it up, Athens!
it over the top, and Tim's crazed
soul-singer delivery is killer.
9. "Rest of Me" by Sam Sniper
WC: The Sniper guys have always been good to me I've been
trying to talk them into starting a label with me. Very talented
musicians and engineers. They drink OK, too.
AR: A weird ballad. I really like the warbling, effected back
ing vocals a lot Nice cacophonous buildup at the end.
10. "Pink Gardenia" by Flat Duo Jets
WC: Gonna go out like I came in, but let's change up the ski
mask and Rambo knife for a motorcycle jacket and some chains.
You're all fools if you miss Dex [Romweber] when he roles
through town... fools!
AR: “Great great band... Along with the Cramps they led
the '80s rockabilly revival, but they brought their own unique
and potent sleazy vibe to it.
Andrew Rieger's Mixtape
1. "Do the Method" by Method Actors
AR: Released in 1980, a great blast of nervous, jittery energy
with some sonic similarities to peers such as Pylon and Mission
of Burma.
WC: I can definitely hear the Burma. Also maybe some
Plimsouls and Devo. Like the guitar lick and the lyrics. Good
opener.
2. "When t Laugh" by The Glands
AR: A fantastic pop/rock gem—hard rocking and catchy, fea
turing a blazing slide guitar solo that comes out of nowhere in
the middle to blast your face off.
„ WC: Great choice! One of the most listenable pop songs
to escape Athena's vice-tight grip. Perfect summer tune. Love
songs that do “do do do do"!
3. "Turtle Song" by Olivia Tremor Control and Kahimi
Karie ,
AR: tittle known and unUkely collaboration between these
Athens psychedelic masters and whispery Japanese chanteuse
Kahimi Karie. It successfully melds the band's melodic experi
mentations with Karie's child-like cooing.
WC: Yes! I need more of this. I need to know more about
this. Like, was this ever released in the States? Where was it
recorded? When was it made? My brain hurts!
AR: It was an EP only released in Japan. I think around
1999-2000. They recorded a lot of it at their home studio and
some with David Barbe at Chase Park, I think.
6. "Bony Maurine" by The Visitations
AR: An excellent combination of organic and
electronic elements with lovely wistful lyrical
imagery makes for a truly unique recording.
WC: This is my favorite of your tracks. It's a
wonderful song—well written, well recorded and
well played. I'm gonna actually spend money on
this. Also, pretty sure this is the first band to
have the misfortune of sharing a bill with me in
Athens.
7. "Withering" by Vic Chesnutt
AR: Vic was, in my opinion, Athens' best-ever
songwriter, so it's hard to pick just one of his
songs, but this one always connected with me
in all its lethargic, loping beauty. When I played
with Vic fora few years right before his death, I
insisted we ploy this song live, and I always loved
trying to replicate the meandering, intertwining
guitar lead outro played here by Vic and Jeffrey
Richards, though we never quite nailed the sublime beauty cap
tured here.
WC: I definitely ag a that Vic is the best you can get
in Athens.-The most clever, ironic, bitter and hilarious lyrics
I've ever heard... here or anywhere else. I recommend every
Athenian own at least At the Cut. Damn, that's a fantastic
record!
8. "Until Your Temples Are Pounding" by Madia
AR: A majestic instrumental mixing fuzz bass and all man
ner of bizarre and lovely sounding hammered Indonesian
instruments, the soaring melody and raucous performance is
magnificent
WC: Jesus! The answer is yes, my temples are pounding.
Had to start this one over and turn it up. Don't even want to
try naming a single instrument on this track. Do I hear bag
pipes? I love it!
9. "Head Full of Shit" by Jack 0' Nuts
AR: One of the greatest live acts I've ever witnessed. Dextrous
musicianship with some similarities to their peers at the time
such as Jesus Lizard and Slint with depraved, sexual lyrical ram-
blings that combine for a sonic experience like no other.
WC: This took me a few times through before I liked it. I
do, though. Reminds me of the Chicago scene. The guitar is all
over the place. Kind of makes me want to start a fight.
10. "Double Axel" by Still Small Voice and the Joyful
Noise
AR: A mournful, wintry dirge with an appropriately glacial
pace slowly builds into a powerful crescendo.
WC: What a great way to finish. Chill tune with great dis
tortion tones and understated vocals. Can't decide if I want to
take a drive through the country or take a shower.
1. "Zero Sum Situation" by Man ray
Why William Chamberlain picked this track:
Manray was my pick for band of the year. Try to
never miss a Caledonia show. They own that room.
This song should come with a ski mask and Rambo
knife.
Andrew Rieger's reaction: Simultaneously
melodic and menacing, punctuated by squiggly
guitar bursts and a super-tight rhythm section...
quite pummeling and dynamic!
4. "Why Do Lonely Men & Women want to Break Each
Other's Hearts?" by The Star Room Boys
AR: "Drunk, wild and free," indeed! Truly and honestly as
good as any classics of country music by George Jones, Merle
Haggard or WiUie Nelson—lyrically, vocally and musically.
WC: Blame it on my momma, I'll take some sad honky tonk
over anything. Especially when it concerns drinking and broken
hearts. Is that two pedals I hear?
5. "Don't Think About Death" by The Humms
AR: One of my current favorite newer Athens bands, this track
is a fine example of their fuzzy, scuzzy, melodic garage rock.
WC: I'm thinking I'm on the beach and Dracula is there.
Wolfman, too. Also, who's that doing the limbo? It's Mummy.
You're so silly, Mummy. Monster beach party. Get
it on!
As AthFest invades downtown, it's impossible to deny the
power and presence of our music scene. There are hundreds of
bands spanning countless genres, and they're all rooted in our
little town. In keeping with the spirit of celebrating all things
Athens, this week's Mixtape Wars features all local music from
across the decades.
Scene vet Andrew Rieger, frontman for Elf Power (playing
Pulaski Street Stage, 7:45 p.m. on Saturday), dug deep into
his personal archives for a selection of obscure gems both old
and new for his local mixtape. "I opted to omit songs by more
popular acts like R.E.M., The B-52s, Pylon, Neutral Milk Hotel,
etc.," says Rieger, "even though those are some of my all time
favorite bands, in order to examine some lesser known songs
that are equally deserving of praise."
He's paired with relative newcomer William Chamberlain,
Flicker barkeep and frontman for Flagpole award-nominated
country-rock act Vestibules (playing midnight at Flicker on
Friday). "I searched for some personal songs more than obscure
[ones]," says Chamberlain on his mixtape strategy. "I felt like
with it being a local theme, it should be a little more nostal
gic, and I tried to give praise where I thought it deserved."
William Chamberlain's
AR: I hadn't heard this live version before. It's great—an
anomaly in the R.E.M. catalog for sure. It sounds like an old
Motown ballad. The falsetto is really nice and really out of
character for Michael, making it that much cooler. The long
held out note at the end is fantastic, and I love the simple,
distorted guitar solo leading into the breakdown.
7. "Old Echo" by Nesey Gallons
WC: Nesey had come to be one of my closest friends in
Athens. Too bad he's gone. Here's an old chestnut...
AR: I like the muffled, ghostly nature of the recording giv
ing it a timeless feel The vocals and sparse playing add to the
eerie feel.
8. "JiU" by Itawy ItoaM* & tlm ItamMeiv
WC: Oh, those wild Wednesdays when I'm bartending and
Tim [Schreiber] is one of three patrons... and there are candles
and chill jazz music Wild. Be careful you don't catch a boot to
the face at the show at Flicker Friday of AthFest It's not just a
clever name.
AR: This distorted live recording is great, capturing the
unhinged, deranged blast of this great live act A great.
14 FLAGPOLE.COM • JUNE 20, 2012