HELLO, EVERYBODY!

When I started this blog last April never once did I think it would become what it is today. I was leaving school for the summer and I knew I’d be bored with extra time so into the blogging world I dove. It was initially intended to be something for my friends to read so that they could see what music I was listening to. I posted links to free music downloads and frequently made mixes for them to download and then before I knew it Cactus-Mouth became a full-blown music blog with a loyal reader base. Whaaat?!

I am so immensely grateful for the opportunities that this blog has afforded me. I’ve met so many cool people and made some really great friends and I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. So in honor of a year well spent I decided to ask some of my favorite musical homies if they wanted to contribute to a celebratory mixtape. This monster is the result of that. I respect and thank each and every cool cat that went into making this mixtape happen. And I’d also like to thank you, my lovely readers, for caring enough to read this blog and spur it on into its second year.

On this mixtape you will find some all new, mostly exclusive songs from just a few of my favorite people. You will also find the debut of 16 and Pregnant, a new side project by Sam Ray and Rachel Levy. So download this thing and spread it around. It should be a good time.

…

COOL CATS:

1 Kiss Kiss Fantastic :: “We’re Building Cities Now”
2 Fruit Flesh :: “Cater Gator”
3 Babes :: “Slow Drugs (ft. Sixteen Notes and Bad Feelings)”
4 H | p s :: “Salted Slug”
5 Cough Cool :: “New Haircut”
6 Die Jungen :: “As Long As You Want”
7 Ricky Eat Acid :: “when i was four”
8 Yoke :: “CEILING FAN”
9 Speedway Star :: “I’m Yours”
10 Good Amount :: “Real Moment”
11 Waylon Thornton and the Heavy Hands :: “Crawl Up Out the Sewer”
12 Acid Glasses :: “Amends”
13 16 and Pregnant :: “Poison”
14 liquid skulls :: “i/xi”
15 The Neighborhood :: “Just Grow Up”

…

DOWNLOAD

 

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Happy Friday the 13th!

Ok, here is the promised second half of Tears On My Pillow. It took a bit longer than expected, and some of the artists that planned on being involved weren’t able to; but it’s like they say, “all good things take time.” If you enjoyed the first half, then I’m sure you’ll like this one too. It rocks a little harder than the first one, but really who’s complaining?

Once again I’d like to give a big thanks to everyone who helped make this possible including: all the bands/artists, The Future Cat (who made the matching artwork), and Unholy Rhythms for her support on this second half. Enjoy it, everyone!

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Tears On My Pillow: Part II

1 My Parasol - “Tears On My Pillow” (Little Anthony and The Imperials)

2 School Knights - “Runaway” (Del Shannon)

3 Holytigress - “Blue Moon” (Elvis Presley)

4 Shimmering Stars (ft. Sue McClure) - “Love Is Strange” (Mickey & Sylvia)

5 High Pop - “Not a Second Time” (The Beatles)

6 Lizard Kisses - “Please Stay” (The Drifters)

7 Acid Glasses - “Tonight You Belong To Me” (Patience and Prudence)

8 SLUTEVER - “Tongue Tied” (Wanda Jackson)

9 Guitars - “Good Times” (Sam Cooke)

10 Cloud Nothings - “Johnny Get Angry” (Joanie Sommers)

11 Filardo - “Il se fait tard” (François Hardy)

12 Ba Babes - “I Can’t Control Myself” (The Troggs)

13 Kid Counselor - “Girl of the North Country” (Bob Dylan)

DOWNLOAD // ALT DOWNLOAD

 

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If you’re ready for it, here is the third installment of the Cactus-Mouth/Unholy Rhythms collaborative mixtape series. Since we did mixtapes for Christmas and then Valentine’s Day we realized that our third effort should also have a theme. So I came up with the idea of covering songs from the late 1950’s through the early 1960’s. It was a special time in pop music, a more innocent time. It’s also the music that we were raised on. I have fond memories of taking naps as a little kid while my parents listened to Sam Cooke, Patsy Cline, The Everly Brothers, and others. So this was a special project for me.

We asked some of our favorite artists to choose and cover one of their favorite songs from this specific era. Each artist had their own favorites and they also knew which sort of song would best fit their individual style. In addition, the stellar artist The Future Cat lent her talents to the beautiful lady on the cover artwork. All together the result was more amazing than I could have ever hoped. U/R and I have been working on this mixtape for a couple months now, so we’re really excited for everyone to hear it. We would also love to endlessly thank each of the artists that worked on this for us. Many of them had hectic schedules, but found time to help us out. This is all their work, we take no credit.

Now there are bound to be some familiar faces on this mixtape, but hopefully there are also some that are new to you. Each artist is absolutely amazing and is totally deserving of your time, so I encourage you to check them out. Oh, and I’ve also included a link to the original songs so you can check them out too (so just click the original artist). OK, I’ve blathered on enough. We now proudly present you with:

Tears On My Pillow: Part I

1 Mutual Benefit - “Cupid” (Sam Cooke)

2 Chains of Love - “Stay” (Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs)

3 Sore Eros - “Palisades Park” (Freddy Cannon)

4 Adelyn Rose - “Broken Hearted Melody” (Sarah Vaughn)

5 Die Jungen - “I’m Sorry” (Bo Diddley & the Carnations)

6 Tashaki Miyaki - “Nothing Can Change This Love” (Sam Cooke)

7 M o r o - “Sound of Silence” (Simon & Garfunkel)

8 Heavy Hawaii - “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (The Everly Brothers)

9 Blue Jungle - “Who’s Sorry Now” (Connie Francis)

10 His Clancyness - “Love Hurts” (The Everly Brothers)

11 Wisdom Tooth - “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” (Tiny Tim)

12 Piresian Beach - “Where You Gonna Go” (Art Guy)

13 Le Chevalier - “Non, je ne regrette rien” (Edith Piaf)

14 Grandpa Was a Lion - “Moon River” (Johnny Mercer & Henry Mancini)

DOWNLOAD

*And if you guys like Tears On My Pillow: Part I, then keep your eyes peeled because you’ll looove Part II. It should be out in a few weeks!*

 

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**Thanks to all the bands we worked with. We love you guys. And a big thanks to Unholy Rhythms for being the best mixtape collaborator in the blogosphere. Enjoy it, everyone. And have a happy VALENTINE’S DAY!!**

unholyrhythms:

(collage/cover by Cactus-Mouth)

Love - sometimes elusive, sometimes painful. At some point in our life, we may experience love and with that feeling might come heartbreak. 

After the success of our Holiday Sweaters & Egg Nog compilation, Cactus-Mouth and I decided to team up again for two of music’s great subject matters: love & heartbreak. We asked artists to give us their interpretation of either a love or heartbreak song - exclusively for us. While some may tug at your heart strings, they are never too saccharine or sappy, nor are they too dismal or bleak. This is a MONSTER mix - 20 different artists - 71 minutes of heart-stopping goodness.

We were super lucky to get such wonderful contributions from these artists. This time around we had some amazing covers - from the stupendously catchy “Not Feeling The Love (Trapped In The Black Lodge)” R. Kelly cover by Kuhrye-oo, the Wintercoats’ sublime “Someone To Share My Life With” Jens Lekman cover, Naminé’s echo-y, heartbreaking New Order “Bizarre Love Triangle” cover, and the swirling, swoon worthy “The Way You Look Tonight” Frank Sinatra cover by Saskatchewan. They do the originals justice and even surpass them, if I say so myself.

I feel so grateful to have newer artists on board like: Moths (he released a video for our track yesterday), Under Alien Skies, clownfacee, Youth Castles, and Pressed And, as well as some of my dream comp artists like Jeans Wilder, Local Winds & Top Girls, Fielded, and Welcome Back Sailors. We also pulled in the likes of such talented folks as Medic Hands, Sutja Gutiérrez, Kiss Kiss Fantastic, and Ra Calium. A big special shout out to my eternal homeboy, the ever wonderful, ever helpful: Guerre. No exclusive comp of mine (collaboration or not) will ever be complete without some input from him!

Before I close, I must add that one of the most giggle inducing (in a completely good way) tracks on the comp is Butterclock’s “breakUPparadize”. Drawing from “Gangster Paradise”, it will leave you both slightly heartbroken yet smiling. ALSO, a radically different, super lo-fi mono track from Ricky Eat Acid entitled “Seventeen”.

I want to thank each and every artist on the mix, my good buddy Cactus Mouth, and, most of all, you for listening. FEEL THE LOVE! ♥ 

We Fall Apart: Unholy Rhythms & Cactus Mouth Valentine’s Day Mix

1. Kuhrye-oo - “Not Feeling The Love (Trapped In The Black Lodge)”
2. Ra Calium - “I Feel Love”
3. Welcome Back Sailors - “Season”
4. Pressed And - “Ona”
5. Guerre - “She Wolf”
6. Naminé - “Bizzare Love Triangle”
7. Butterclock  - “breakUPparadize”
8. Fielded - “The Key”
9. Wintercoats - “Someone To Share My Life With”
10. Kiss Kiss Fantastic - “Lonesome George”
11. clownfacee - “Our Autumn & Our Fall”
12. Under Alien Skies - “To Part To”
13. Medic Hands - “Glitter”
14. Youth Castles - “Love & Honesty”
15. Sutja Gutierrez - “I Can See The Devil (Valentine’s Day)”
16. Moths - “<3”
17. Ricky Eat Acid - Seventeen
18. Jeans Wilder - “Gushers”
19. Local Winds & Top Girls - “We Fall Apart”
20. Saskatchewan - “The Way You Look Tonight”

♥ Download here.

♪ File under: electronic, chamber pop, heartbreak, love, reverb, more reverb, not feeling the love, feeling the love, unholy rhythms, cactus mouth, valentine’s day mix, covers, glo-fi, lo-fi, ethereal

 

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*Cactus-Mouth and Unholy Rhythms Premiere!!*

About a month ago Unholy Rhythms and I (with some support from Yvyynyl) decided to collectively put together a wintry mixtape. We asked some of our favorite artists to contribute an exclusive song and then we sat back as they, one by one, sent us their contributions. The result is a really fun, really cheerful winter mixtape. While some artists decided to write songs about wintertime, some took a more Christmas-themed route. You’ll no doubt recognize many of the artists on here, but hopefully some will be new to your ears. As always, look them up and lend them your support, because they all deserve it. Without further ado, we present you with:

“Holiday Sweaters & Egg Nog” A Cactus-Mouth & U/R Christmas 2010 Mix

1. BAnanas Symphony :: “Holidaze”
2. unouomedude :: “Emelia”
3. Ra Calium :: “SNOW FALLS”
4. DannielRadall :: “Love Is You”
5. Closed Cassette :: “Things Must Get Done”
6. Megafortress :: “Silent Night”
7. Craig Cruiser :: “Snowed In”
8. Dream Band :: “Missa Do Galo”
9. Ricky Eat Acid :: “wntrsngs”
10. Guerre :: “MF”
11. Holy Spirits :: “The Sea”
12. Martha! Mother :: “Michael W. Smit”
13. SNOWMINE :: “Nervous”
14. Mutual Benefit :: “Silent Nite”

Download HERE  or HERE or even HERE

**Merry Christmas, everyone!**

 

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You know it when you hear it, and we’ve all heard it before. That beat, that catchy beat,  “Boom, boom boom, cha!”. In 1963 Phil Spector wrote the song “Be My Baby” for the adrobale Ronettes. The song was an instant smash hit and whether they knew it or not, the song would go on to leave an indelible mark on the music industry. Since then artists have been reusing the beat over and over again (just look at The Jesus and Mary Chain on Psychocandy). 

While many have taken the beat and made it their own, no scene has adopted it with more pride than the indie rock universe. It’s almost like a longstanding joke that anyone can be in on. It wasn’t until I intentionally started seeking these songs out that I realized just how many of them were in my music collection. Artist after artist sported the beat proudly like some sort of badge of honor. As I slowly collected the songs, I realized that it would make a great (and funny) mixtape. With that being said I present you with:

We Got the Beat: The “Be My Baby” Legacy

1 Kiss Kiss Fantastic — “Violet”
2 Spectrals — “Leave Me Be”
3 Reading Rainbow — “I Will Wait”
4 The Blanche Hudson Weekend — “Crying Shame”
5 Fungi Girls — “Dream of Oz”
6 The Maine Coons — “My Kinda Luv”
7 Black Lips — “I’ll Be with You”
8 His Clancyness — “Just Like Monday (early vers)”
9 La Sera — “Never Come Around”
10 Hanoi Janes — “Sag Sag Sag”
11 Las Robertas — “Street Feelings”
12 Pure Ecstasy — “DWLDWD”
13 Eternal Summers — “I Must Winter”
14 Ghost Animal — “California Summer pt. 2”
15 Christmas Island — “My Baby”

DOWNLOAD 

 

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KILLED in CARS: Special Halloween Mixtape ›

 

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If you follow my blog then it is probably no surprise that I love pop music from the late 1950s and early 1960’s. Frankie Valli. Connie Francis. The Beach Boys. The Everly Brothers. I love it all. Now I also love indie music (duh), so here is where those two loves converge.

The following is a mixtape of cover songs that I’ve slowly collected in my iTunes. They are songs by some of my favorite artists from the 50’s/60’s covered by some of my favorite artists of today. I’m calling it California Nights, I hope you nosepickers enjoy it.

California Nights:

1 The Postelles — “Everyday” (Buddy Holly)

2 Girls — “End of the World” (Skeeter Davis)

3 Dum Dum Girls — “Let It Be Me” (The Everly Brothers)

4 Micah P. Hinson — “Sleepwalk” (Santo & Johnny)

5 Ty Segall — “Pretty Woman” (Roy Orbison)

6 Best Coast — “That’s the Way Boys Are” (Lesley Gore)

7 Atlas Sound — “Unchained Melody” (The Righteous Brothers)

8 Summer Camp — “I Only Have Eyes for You” (The Flamingos)

9 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. — “God Only Knows” (The Beach Boys)

10 The Morning Benders — “Crying” (Roy Orbison)

11 Grizzly Bear — “He Hit Me” (The Crystals)

12 Asobi Seksu — “And Then He Kissed Me” (The Crystals)

13 Vivian Girls — “He’s Gone” (The Chantels)

14 Secret Colours — “Tomorrow Never Knows” (The Beatles)

DOWNLOAD

 

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So this is going to be the last mixtape for a while. I am only in SLC for another week before I head back to PA. Then there will be awkward few weeks where I drive to North Carolina for a week, drive back, pack up and head back to Philly. So yeah, the last summer mixtape. This one is pretty dreamy for the most part. Then it kinda ends on a nightmarish note. Ha. Enjoy it.

Also, visit the band’s sites. Support them. Many give away free music. You know the dance.

YA DIG?

1 Liam the Younger — “Ode”

2 Minks — “Ophelia”

3 Heavy Times — “Mathwich”

4 Atlantic At Pacific — “Sunburn”

5 TUNGS — “Dream Machine”

6 Foxes in Fiction — “Lately” (Memoryhouse Cover)

7 Misiiko and Kuhmoo — “DTUJJJJJ”

8 Wise Blood — “2 ALL THE GIRLS WHO HAVE TRUSTED ME”

9 Splash Wave — “Shake the Razor Wheels”

10 Jeans Wilder — “Sugar Water”

11 Forest Swords — “Hjurt”

12 The Eeries — “Ain’t It a Shame”

13 Craft Spells — “Party Talk”

14 Flow Child — “The Wind Will Rise”

15 Dog Bite — “camera eyes”

16 Monster Rally — “Steal”

17 †‡† — “gOth bb”

LINK LINK LINK LINK (LINK)

**Also, if you haven’t checked out the recent mixtape by Boy Attractions, then you are really missing out. Those guys sure know their way around good music.**

 

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So yeah, here’s the mixtape I felt like making. Some of these songs are still green and some not so much.

If you like what you hear, most of these cats give their stuff away for free, so definitely take advantage of that. As far as the others go, you know the drill.

MAJOR BUMMER:

1 Pure Ecstasy — ‘Alexandria’
2 Blackhawks — ‘The Cost’
3 Ricky Eat Acid — ‘SMILE’
4 Abe Vidoga — ‘Throwing Shade’
5 Teen Spirits — ‘Silent Rooms’
6 Winks — ‘Weed Makes Sex Weird’
7 Orgone Accumulators — ‘Immanentise the Nesschaton’
8 watch out for rockets — ‘loretta’
9 Ghost Animal — ‘California Summer pt. 2’
10 BRANDON BIONDO — ‘WESTWORLD’
11 Hocus Tocus — ‘so fast’
12 Tennis — ‘Marathon’
13 Andy Petr — ‘Sunglasses’
14 Craft Spells — ‘The Fog Rose High’
15 The Letter Box Project — ‘Temporary Home’
16 Spinning Beach Ball of Death — ‘gated summer’
17 Weed Diamond — ‘Mint In My Mouth’
18 LAKE R▲DIO — “Martin Hannett’s Ghost’

http://www.mediafire.com/?mxznfthm2mz

 

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Looking for a job while I live here in Salt Lake City has been discouraging to say the least. I am not convinced that I am going to find a job. Especially if those doing the hiring know that I plan on moving back to Philadelphia in August. It sucks. One good thing is that my free time allows me to keep up with all of the exciting things that are going on in the music scene right now. These mixes I make are reflections of the music that I find and enjoy, and this one has some really great stuff on it. Some of the artists on here are part of a growing number of artists that are releasing their music for free (Man Legs, unouomedude, Phèdre, Arch M, Ricky Eat Acid, Change Leopardon, and EASYBOY.) As generous as they are, not all bands can afford to do so, so if you like something on here, look the artist up and support them. I hope you guys enjoy this stuff as much as I do.

KnuckleSandwich:

1 Man Legs — “Girls Are Tuff”
2 Puro Instinct — “I’ve Got Some Happiness”
3 unouomedude — “Buildings”
4 Dirty Beaches — “True Blue”
5 Phèdre — “Ode to the Swinger”
6 Slutever — “No Offense”
7 Prizes — “Dartmoor”
8 Black Lips — “Before You Judge Me”
9 Arch M — “cave grill”
10 Tennis — “South Carolina”
11 Gun Outfit — “Last Chants”
12 Ricky Eat Acid — “Angry Clouds”
13 Weekend — “End Times”
14 Jeans Wilder — “The Kid”
15 Change Leopardon — “Canvas Shoes”
16 Little Girls — “Delaware”
17 EASYBOY — “Concerning Technology”
18 Laurel Halo — “Coriolis”

DOWNLOAD: http://www.mediafire.com/?jgbnyrygtif

*link fixed. my bad. thanks, jecca!*

 

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So I guess I’m doing these things weekly or whatever. I guess as long as people are downloading them, I’ll keep doing them. These are all pretty new songs, so yeah, you’re ahead of the curve. My palms are sweaty.

Big Meanie:

1 No Monster Club — “The Jukebox Speaks”
2 Com Truise — “Sundriped”
3 Dirty Beaches — “Golden Desert Sun”
4 Family Trees — “Dream Talkin”
5 Wavves — “Post Acid”
6 The Samps — “F.X.N.C.”
7 Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin — “Sink / Let It Sway”
8 All Saints  Day — “You Can’t Be Alone”
9 Blackbird Blackbird — “Hawaii”
10 Secret Colours — “Jellybean”
11 Nude Beach — “Fire”
12 Hooray! — “Up”
13 Ganglians — “Blood On the Sand”
14 Candy Claws — “Silent Time of Earth.”
15 Teenage Reverb — “Under the Weather”
16 Blessure Grave — “Stranger In the House”
17 The Sandwitches — “Song of Songs”

Beeee Goooood: http://www.mediafire.com/?uinyytjrodl

 

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