► Listen to Lost in a Maze
The banana orchards are fruitful this season, my friends. We’re back again with another great mixtape. This one is courtesy of my friend Jaron Widman.
In addition to being an exceedingly talented human, Jaron is also a proper music geek. He is thinking deeply. His is reading liner notes. He is analyzing lyrics. He knows which guitar was plugged into which amp on which take and why. Obviously, he has great taste.
I gave him little instruction and a totally blank canvas. In turn, he produced a thoroughly considered and slightly sinister masterpiece of vintage psychedelia. It’s not officially a Halloween mix, but it kind of accidentally became one. This was originally scheduled to publish next month, but it’s too good not to put out now.
Take it away...
Liner Notes by Jaron
The idea for this mix came from the first few lines of “My Friend Today” by The Left Banke: “Lost in a maze / cold are the days / blaming the names / aiming the blames.”
I love psychedelic music from the late ‘60s/early ‘70s, especially the very introspective stuff from bands like The Left Banke, and it struck me how the idea of being lost in a bad psychedelic trip isn’t that different from the idea of excessively ruminating and losing yourself in a maze of your memories.
I tried to create the feeling of that kind of maze here on this playlist—the twists and turns, the confident strides into the unknown, the anxiety and introspection as you realize you are lost, the hope that you can escape, and the slow realization that you are indeed stuck. Forever.
It’s eerie and unsettling and a bit nightmarish, which makes this a great companion mix for the Halloween season.
All of the songs were released between 1967–1972, I believe, and are from artists that flew below everyone’s radar. Hope you enjoy!
► Listen to Lost in a Maze
Tracklist:
If I Knew You Were The One - Richard Twice
Ritual #1 - The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Za Za Za Zilda - Zior
Elevated Observations? - The Hollies
Jusqu’à ce que la force de t’aimer me manque - Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes
My Friend Today - The Left Banke
No Silver Bird - The Hooterville Trolley
Beyond The Clouds - The Poppy Family
I Read You Like an Open Book - The Tages
Rose - Fifty Foot Hose
The World Might Fall Over - Monomono
Friends - Barefoot Jerry
Fly - J.K. & Co.
Peace Of Mind - Blue Cheer
Negra estrella “Tiny Sparrow” - Picnic
► Listen to Lost in a Maze
If you enjoyed the unsettling Halloween parts of this mix, check out:
☊ Vamps - Sunken and funky bone-chillers for Halloween.
☊ Hydes - A fall weather mixtape about keeping up appearances.
If you’re more interested in eclectic deep cuts, check out:
☊ The Asterian Luna - A soundtrack for the Astro Age.
☊ The Asterian Antares - More smooth sounds for the Astro Age.
☊ Waxwings - Good migrations.
☊ The Unsung - Spotlight on the world’s cult crooners, lost lounge acts, and forgotten voices from Anayat Fakhraie.
More writing from me:
Some comedy for McSweeney’s called I’m Your Three-Year-Old Interior Designer and This Is Your New Home Makeover.
Born to Run at 50 and the album Springsteen nearly released instead
And remember: We are the mixtape makers. And we are the streamers of streams.