http://8tracks.com/Moon_S...tmoonsongs






The decline of the human psyche is a powerful force. In 1970 an event occurred that profoundly and negatively altered my life. The next 25 years were a dream walk on the dark side. I gained weight, severed ties with most of my friends, entered a disastrous marriage and didn’t cry ~ ever ~ even when my dad died. The music I had been immersed in was no longer part of my daily existence. My focus was on getting through each day, one foot, then the other, until I could fall asleep at the end of it. In 1996, the Universal Code, or Divine Intervention, presented two people who brought Light back into my world. I met an amazing therapist who challenged everything I thought I believed. Also, Nathan Renner and I became friends. On August 8th of that year, Nathan and I spent 15 hours together facing the demons I’d hidden for so long. Although he was less than half my age, his wisdom and insight were that of an “Old Soul”. By necessity, Nathan, being a Renner, it was also required that part of August 8th be dedicated to music. When he played Bjork’s "Headphones" I knew this was the voice I’d wanted to hear all of my life. The epiphany I experienced that day would enrich my life, restore and nurture the emotions I had banished and open the musical floodgates that had once been so imperative to me. I celebrate August 8th as my Spiritual Rebirth. My relationship with life is now a joyous and grateful journey, rich with a few great friends and family, my animals and my incredible music collection.

Thank you for listening to my mix. It won’t be to everyone’s taste but reflects the dark side of my spirit that I am closest to. Many of you will recognize the artists, but the songs are some of their more obscure selections. In keeping with the original spirit of this music sharing project, I decided to showcase rarities by some of my favourite artists that hopefully most of you haven't been exposed to yet. These include side projects, compilation tracks, live renditions, B-Sides or collaborations that may be unfamiliar. There is an eerie, underground vibe to them but also a sense of beauty and depth that I hope will resonate with you.

Thanks Paris Dean (sextonseven) for sending all the discs and for putting my mix up. You are the sweetest heart ~ your thank you box should be at your doorstep tomorrow. Thank you Nathan ~ you are Light. Nikki


1. "Sister Midnight" by David Bowie (taken from the live DVD A Reality Tour, 2004)

One of my favourite artists... I told Nathan I needed a dark and obscure song of Bowie's to open my set. He immediately recommended this treasure saying that it had been a collaboration between Iggy Pop and Bowie. This was one of the highlights The Idiot from 1977, the first of many fruitful projects the 2 would come up with that year. Bowie later transformed the track for his own use as "Red Money" included on Lodger a few years later. He performed this occasionally during his 1976 tour and revived it more recently during shows supporting the Reality album. This is the cleanest, and best available live version of this song. Plus, it rocks and I wanted to get everyone's attention. And ya know, the title was too good to pass up.


2. "My Soul Don’t Dream" by Me'Shell Ndegéocello & Keb Mo (included on the soundtrack to the film Down in the Delta, 1998)

Continuing with the upbeat vibe, I chose one of her bluesier guitar excursions. Recommended on a Me'Shell thread by some orgers, this reminds me of the late 60's when my friends and I would invade the old Grande Ballroom in Detroit. I heard Janis there live and the albino Winters brothers. Husky and deep as MeShell often is, the soul of that woman ~ just amazes me.


3. "Sweet Butterfly" by Charles Webster featuring Del St. Joseph (on his album Born on the 24th of July, 2001)

Sent several years ago to me by a friend, this begins the descent into my dark night ~ intriguing and trippy ~ hold on and enjoy. This segment of my mix I find somehow holds together really well. These next 3 songs seem like they were meant to form a sequence. This song has always reminded me of Nearly God era Tricky, with its dark, murky seduction. Part of the joy of rediscovering music has been finding through-lines and secret passageways that connect one artist to another and lead you from song to song.


4. "Euro Zero Zero" by Massive Attack (B-Side of the single Teardrop, 1998)

"I function better when I get approximately high"...

This song scares me, but draws me in and doesn't let go. Again, the Tricky connection is apparent. Before researching a bit further, I thought he was involved with this song. As it turns out, some of his lyrics are borrowed near the end. The verse starting with "Take a second of me, you beckon I'll be", is directly from his own "Suffocated Love" from Maxinquaye.


5. "Taxi (white boy)" by Tricky & Martina Topley-Bird (available on the Japanese import and vinyl versions of Angels with Dirty Faces)

The obvious natural progression would be to the man himself. Nathan and I met him in Pontiac a decade ago during his tour for Angels, the same time period this song was released. We spent nearly an hour talking with him after the show, giving gifts and telling stories. The night ended with him rifling through our CD book and sending him with an original copy of Prince's Crystal Ball. He is as warm and friendly as his music is dark. Tori will bring you to the emotional depths and hold tightly to your hand through it ~ Tricky may go there with you but you may both get lost ~ or so it seems. No one will ever be better with him than Martina.


6. "Tears of the World (Lacrimae Mundi)" by Angels Of Venice (from their self-titled album, 1999)

This is the melody of my soul ~ a sad and dark stormy night filled with creatures of the Underworld. Complex beauty and mystical undercurrents create hope and redemption. One of my favourite discoveries has been a weekly broadcast series out of San Francisco. They focus on 'slow music for fast times' with a sophisticated, intellectual edge. This track came from their "Gothica" show and it remains in heavy rotation in my home. www.hos.com contains everything you need to know about this wonderful series.

When compiling this mix, Nathan and I discovered that the order of the tracks had a natural flow from one emotional extreme to another. And there seemed to be a clear division. Just like records and cassettes are divided into sides, this haunting instrumental provides the necessary bridge between the seductive, nocturnal first half and the ethereal, dreamy connection to the spirit world of the second half.


7. "Song to the Siren" by Elizabeth Fraser (from the collective This Mortal Coil's It'll End In Tears, 1984)

Elizabeth Fraser was the Cocteau Twins' compelling and unique voice. This is a collaboration with 4AD artists. There is a melancholy, wistful longing in this song that perfectly sets the tone for this side of my mix.


8. "Sanvean" by Dead Can Dance (available first on their live album "Toward The Within", 1993)

Lisa Gerrard's voice is so painfully, exquisitely beautiful. The first time I heard this song I had a profound dream about it ~ like genetic osmosis it seemed I had lived the dream ancient times ago. If you haven’t heard Immortal Memory please look for it ~ exceptionally beautiful and powerful. She is known for her operatic range and her ability to sing in a complex combination of ancient tongues and a language created all on her own. Aside from being label-mates, this is another connection between Lisa and Liz. This was the first airing of my favourite Dead Can Dance song, as their live shows became highly sought after for featuring unreleased material. This later became available as a solo work on Lisa Gerrard's The Mirror Pool.


9. "Thoroughly Lost to Logic (Little One Poem)" by David Sylvian & Ryuichi Sakamoto (from Sakamoto's album "Discord", 1998)

A small bonus track poem from one of my favorite artists.


10. "Atom and Cell" by Nine Horses (on their lone album Snow Borne Sorrow, 2005)

Only a few days ago, I discovered that David Sylvian had spoken with a homeless woman on the streets of New York City on 9/10/2001, then wrote this song. Lyrically, he has an incredible depth and insight. Musically he can be stark or complex, jazz infused or rich with strings and composition. His smoky voice lends a vulnerable humanistic quality that deepens the experience. Nine Horses is a side project with his brother and Ryuichi Sakamoto among other collaborators.


11. "Sweet Sweet Intuition" by Björk featuring Guy Sigsworth (B-Side of the single It's Oh So Quiet, 1995)

My most cherished of all artists ~ Björk ~ a wonderment of a creature. Fearless, independent and like an ancient/futuristic being of immeasurable creative cells. Which brings me full circle to the musical doors opening 12 years ago. When I heard her sing 'These cells are virgins' in "Headphones", I realized that my self-actualization would be complete if I have no virgin cells at my life's end. This also ties beautifully into the previous song's message of 'pushing your consciousness into every atom and cell'. Another parallel exists between Sylvian's crazed dream poem of "Thoroughly Lost to Logic" and Björk's message of 'Fuck logic, fuck logic...bravo to instinct...and sweet intution, honey'. There's a feeling I have that as a species, we've lost that 6th sense that connects us to nature, our ancestors, the spirit world and the center of our being. Above all other artists, she seems to be in tune with that primal part of herself that so many of us are afraid to inhabit. With just an organ and her voice, she is able to convey that intangible force of instinct.

The songs that I chose for this project are connected through their nighttime beauty - but there's a comfort inside that darkness. Just like a full moon through the night sky, music breaking through silence has the power to awaken something inside us.

Pleasant dreams...
[Edited 9/7/08 23:46pm]

first!!!

Bonus track! ??@?@?@?@



I have to disqualify SO many people...


Heheheh. I can see you have like THREE regular album tracks... weirdo.

Hehehe, someone woke up...

I am at Lisa at the moment!
[Edited 9/8/08 0:09am]

I have a lot more to add, but I just want to quickly say that I love this mix and I love the person who made it.

Okay. This was an easy one for me. Your tape, being the only lady in a pool of men, was something I looked forward to, besides the fact that we had SO many musical connections since we bumped into eachother's stratospheres. So I let this all wash over me.

And, as I am at the moment where you were in 98, maybe somewhat before that moment, I suppose, I really connect with most of the featured songs. It's always a bit hard if there are songs on there that you know so intimately, as Sweet Sweet Intuition, Song To The Siren or Euro Zero Zero, but then you totally overwhelm me with the exact right sequence and the great flow of the album.

It's easier to write about as well, hehehe. It helps your tape caught me at an emotional, insomniac time. So that helps me to tap into something familiar like your musical choice easily.

Greatest surprises are Charles Webster and Tricky & Martina Topley-Bird's Taxi (White Boy), which always managed to escape me. Totally unknown to me and the faves of the songs I never heard before.
Comfort zones Meshell, Bowie, Sylvian, Sakamoto balance the songs that speak to me only because they speak to you. Personally I do not like Sanvaen or Tears Of The World much, but your text and your sequence gives it poignancy to me.

To me, this was a sort of homecoming, but with some family members I never met before, ya know? I love it and will listen to it often, cuz you feel like more than my Org sister. You are one of those few Orgers I never met but feel a deep connection with, due to our intense orgnotes over the years and the understanding radiating from all you ever said to me. That's how this mix feels to me; it's recognition.

And again I have to return to the sequence. Not only musically well placed, but often also more meaningful on a deeper level, like the bridge between Fraser/Gerrard/Sylvian & Sakamoto/Nine Horses and Björk.

Thanks for the trip!

TRON said:

Plus I like the fact you made it a duo thingie. Sweet.

HamsterHuey said:

Oh, it was totally Nikki's baby. I was just the friendly nursemaid.

lovely tracklist. can't wait to listen.

TRON said:

I can hear you discussing it ("I need a Bowie song, Nathan! But DARK! And BROODING!") .

And GOOD description. PUSH, Nikki! PUSH!

LoL

HamsterHuey said:

We spent HOURS...

TRON said:

I knooooow. (read this as Cybil in Fawlty Towers)

HamsterHuey said:

You should hear the songs she left off.

TRON said:

Make it a CD project!

Wow. This one looks deep! I can't wait.

I'm starting to get a bit intimidated, though. Going last is becoming scarier and scarier.

By the way, is that moon graphic from the Buggles' video, Video Killed the Radio Star?

Lammastide said:

Be afraid, be VERY afraid...

HamsterHuey said:

Now THAT is something to be afraid of.

HamsterHuey said:

It's a Bonus POEM. It doesn't count.

HamsterHuey said:

Thank you for listening and for the response. You are very high on my list of "best" orgers and I feel a kinship with you too. n

MoonSongs said:

I was listening to POEMS just now...

Moonsongs!

If I still had to do my mix I'd be a bit overwhelmed too! Because this seems very well thought out, deep and intimate. I don't know you too well, Nikki, but from what I gathered (near a great lake, loving the nature, even sacrificing certain modernities (the in-for-ma-tion high-way )), I couldn't have expected these songs. While Bjork very well fitted into my one-dimensional view of you, I expected more bright and organic music. So I'll take my time to digest these tracks with care.

I think it's great that, in the spirit of this project, you choose mostly rarities. I does make it a lot more difficult to pick an album from an artist you've introduced me to!

Review will follow, as I'm also behind...

I had no idea, Nikki that you took this project so seriously! I'm going to really enjoy listening to this one as I read your notes which upon first glance look very deep. It was my pleasure helping you out and uploading your songs.

oops
[Edited 9/9/08 15:15pm]

Lammastide said:

My mix in two weeks isn't deep at all. It's just ten songs I like--nothing more, nothing less.

sextonseven said:

TRON said:

bad typo.

TRON said:

Let me fix that before someone gets the wrong idea.

sextonseven said:

Too late!

TRON said:

I hope Nikki didn't see it.

sextonseven said:

It's cute! And if she didn't, I'ma tell her.