The “Miscellaneous” Mixes: Math Rock! 19 Bands, 99 Minutes, 28 Songs

So here’s yet another mix from the Cousin Matt collection.  He made this mix back in 1999, and although it’s difficult to tell, the title is quite clever.  He actually wrote it down the spine of the case so it read vertically.  Named Math Rock, the numbers in 1999, when added together as single digits, equal 28.  See what he did there?  Math?  Cousin Matt, you so crazy!

In looking over the tracklist, particularly at the top of Side A, I think it’s safe to say someone was in his Elephant 6 phase, no?  Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Beulah, Of Montreal.  I mean, if that’s not a tip of the cap to the good of Denver via Ruston, LA, I don’t know what is.  Sadly, I’ve only seen Beulah and Of Montreal in person (thus, I never got a chance to see NMH, the creators of my favorite record of all time, live).  Don’t get me wrong; both Beulah and Of Montreal were fantastic, albeit incredibly strange in the case of the latter.  In fact, I had beers with frontman Kevin Barnes after the performance at Schuba’s in Chicago, back in (I believe) 1999.  His face was covered in white powder with a Dali-esque mustache drawn on.  He was unbelievably strange, which is hard to believe considering their recent slew of records.  Still, weird or not, Kevin Barnes and the rest of Of Montreal continue to put out solid records.

A couple notes on the mixes below.  First, the link to Quasi’s “Birds” is not actually “Birds,” as I couldn’t find a link to it.  Instead, I linked to one of my favorite Quasi tracks, a live performance of “Our Happiness Is Guaranteed.”  Second, in 1999, The Flaming Lips’ The Soft Bulletin was my “Record of the Year.”  It remains my favorite Lips record.    

Math Rock! 19 Bands, 99 Minutes, 28 Songs (Side A):

1. Neutral Milk Hotel – “Song Against Sex”
2. Olivia Tremor Control – “Hide Away”
3. Elf Power – “High Atop the Silver Branches”
4. Beulah – “Emma Blowgun’s Last Stand”
5. Of Montreal – “A Collection of Poems About Water”
6. The Flaming Lips – “Buggin’”
7. Lenola – “Stood Up By a Cold Front”
8. Elevator to Hell – “Backteeth”
9. Juno – “All Your Friends Are Comedians”
10. The Beta Band – “Brokenupadingdong”
11. Home – “Seganation”
12. Quasi – “Birds”
13. Beulah – “Ballad of the Lonely Argonaut”
14. Guided By Voices – “Wrecking Now”
15. Built to Spill – “Time Trap”

Math Rock! 19 Bands, 99 Minutes, 28 Songs (Side B):

1. Guided By Voices – “Teenage FBI”
2. Sleater-Kinney – “End of You”
3. The Supersuckers – “How to Maximize Your Kill Count”
4. Pavement – “Platform Blues”
5. Sparklehorse – “Chaos of the Galaxy/Happy Man”
6. Neutral Milk Hotel – “Naomi”
7. Olivia Tremor Control – “Hilltop Procession”
8. Home – “Forgiveness”
9. Cornelius – “Count Five or Six”
10. The Beta Band – “Dogs Got a Bone”
11. The Flaming Lips – “Suddenly Everything Has Changed”
12. Quasi – “Skeleton”
13. Juno – “Leave a Clean Camp and a Dead Fire”

Hope you enjoyed the latest “Miscellaneous” Mix.  Honestly, there are tons more in the hopper, so stick with me on this.  Too much good music not to share it with the world.  Oh, and you.  Thanks once again for the assist, Cousin Matt.

Until next time, have at it, you vultures!

BD