Rika's Holiday Mix 2009

As posted on my blog: It's not a straightforward holiday mix, but I tried to package a celebratory essence into this mix with songs that range from party-starters to contemplative. There are four songs that are most relevant to Christmas: the new Julian Casablancas cover "I Wish It Was Christmas Today", which I talked about in this post, the sewage-washed "Happy Holidays, You Bastard" song by Blink 182, Fucked Up feat. almost every hip artist out there "Do They Know It's Christmas?", and my personal favorite Rob Halford of Judas Priest "We Three Kings" off his Christmas album (yes, he has a Christmas album) Winter Songs.

The track listing:
1. Julian Casablancas "I Wish It Was Christmas Today"
2. Andrew W.K. "Long Live the Party" from The Wolf
3. Blink 182 "Happy Holidays, You Bastard from Take off Your Pants and Jacket
4. M83 "Graveyard Girl" from Saturday = Youth
5. The Mountain Goats "Heretic Pride" from Heretic Pride
6. Boris "Six, Three Times" from Pink
7. The Ramones "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World" from All the Stuff (And More) Vol. 1
8. Van Halen "Eruption" from Van Halen
9. Rob Halford "We Three Kings" from Winter Songs
10. Goat Horn "Rotten Roll" from Storming the Gates
11. Pentagram "The World We Love Again" from Be Forewarned
12. Megadeth "In My Darkest Hour" from So Far, So Good, ... So What!
13. Junior Senior "Move Your Feet" from D-D-Don't Stop the Beat
14. Reggie and the Full Effect "Mood 4 Luv (feat. Fluxation)" from Under the Tray
15. Party of Helicopters "Cover Me" from Please Believe It
16. Lemuria "Home for the Holidays" from Demo
17. Rivers Cuomo "Lover in the Snow" from Alone: the Home Recordings
18. Fucked Up "Do They Know It's Christmas?" which if you personally buy in iTunes, will fund one of the three organizations the song is fundraising.

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As always, please purchase albums from selected artists you fancy if your money flow allows you to do so.

Shikari - 1999-2003

Year: 2004
Genre: hardcore/metal-infused screamo
Label: Level Plane (click link to purchase)

It's the itch that needed to be relieved. Netherlands' Shikari (Japanese for "body hunters") dared to tag a ton of tremolo and chainsaw riffage, d-beats, and tasteful breakdowns to the screamo genre. Hell, it's much faster and heavier than many bands in that genre, but that's not really too difficult to pull off, right? All one has to do is tap on the shoulders of several others and ask them to join a band that would blast away all chances of igniting sissy steps and the arbitrary finger dance. I guess that's not the best description one can give of this compliation. If you're curious to see what elements of grind, black metal, and hardcore can add to a screamo band, then download this album. They've recently reunited, playing two shows over the summer. There's a rumor going around that a tentative US tour is in the talks!

Track listing:
1. Post Student Syndrome
2. Copycat
3. Robot Wars
4. ...And Just When I Thought I Had It All Figured Out
5. Written In Some Depressing Mood
6. Encounters
7. You Know So Well
8. Fuel
9. In Existence
10.The Kids Shouldn't Be Playing With Fire
11. Tekila
12. Attitude
13. Dead Men
14. Morning Wood
15. Utopia Dismantled
16. The Last Thing
17. Biela
18. Fall On Proverb (Unbroken)
19. Ons Land

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Photo provided by band's website

Downcast - s/t 7"

Year: 1990
Genre: Hardcore
Label: Ebullition (You can buy here, but you need to buy $100 worth of stuff...)

It was the start of an era of baggy pants, metal ball necklaces, and hardcore bands getting sludgy and a little "too serious." Downcast was a Californian band who did all this before your typical 90s hardcore roster. You can easily get a hint of their Metallica influence in this very short, four-track release - one of the first from Ebullition - and more particularly in "Schedule" and "Lie." In reference to perhaps a more "relevant" time frame, "Hate Comes Easy" may remind people of early Zao when they were established in Parkersburg, WV and not Pennsylvania - except Downcast doesn't go on all fours for Jesus. Doesn't it sound beautiful when metal and hardcore merge? My favorite tracks are "Hate Comes Easy" and "Lie."

Track Listing:
1. Hate Comes Easy
2. Schedule
3. Lie
4. Force

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Photo provided