[Post Post-Punk] – ‘Evensong’ (1985-1995)

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‘The Dawning,’ from November 2015, has remained one of my favorite Musicophilia mixes in the blog’s eight year run.  And so, prompted by some kind words from listeners who found its rich brew of emotional openness and pop sophistication similarly compelling, I’ve tried to put together a direct sequel.  ‘Evensong‘ (1985-1995) shifts forward a few years, and deeper into the twilight and the night.  But while the songs and sounds glide from one into the next, the emotional range is surprisingly varied, if dreamlike.

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One of my formative musical experiences was around age eight to twelve, putting any cassette I could find, of any music–I don’t even remember what, now–into my cheap little player with dying batteries, a flickering green light, and a tinny built-in speaker, fighting sleep with eyes closed so that I could spend a little time with nothing but music and the pictures it projected into my head, blending with my dreams as I lost the struggle.  Not that I’d encourage you to sleep through my mixes, but I think this mix (and its predecessor) are my attempts to recreate that feeling of intimacy–fortunately with a lot better fidelity.  Some of these songs have been favorites of mine since almost those days, and I bet at least some of them are favorites of yours, too.  But the less well known artists make great contributions, not lost in the shadows of the big trees.

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Tears for Fears and Peter Gabriel return from ‘The Dawning,‘ as do Mick Karn and David Sylvian via Rain Tree Crow.  They’re joined by other long-time favorite artists (and a few more recent discoveris).  Some are hugely popular, others well known, and a few much less so: R.E.M., Sade, The Cure, Depeche Mode; Portishead, Bjork (with Hector Zazou), Tortoise, Massive Attack, Low, Slowdive; Michael Brook & Pieter Nooten, Shelleyan Orphan, Stina Nordenstam, Evelyn Glennie, The Innocence Mission, Disco Inferno, Bark Psychosis, It’s Immaterial.  I love them all, and I hope you will to.  I must convey my immense thanks, as with ‘The Dawning,’ to my friend and a true artist and appreciator of art, Eric Scheidt, for allowing me to purloin another of his incredibly evocative photographs for the cover.  I made literally a dozen versions with various of his photos, and every one so beautifully captured the spirit of this music it was nearly impossible to pick only one.  The image I finally selected depicts a sort of elegy for the memory of an aged tree, once proud and beautiful, now a stump, but rich with texture, on which the bouquet of white roses rests.  There’s a metaphor for the push and pull and intermingling between sadness and beauty in there somewhere, and that’s what this music is about, too.

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Various – ‘Evensong’
(1985-1995)

 

Part I

01 [00:00] It’s Immaterial – New Brighton” (Song, 1990)
02 [05:31] Tears for Fears – “The Working Hour” (Songs From the Big Chair, 1985)
03 [12:06] Tortoise – “His Second Story Island” (Tortoise, 1994)
04 [14:14] Michael Brook & Pieter Nooten – “Searching” (Sleeps With the Fishes, 1987)
05 [17:07] Shelleyan Orphan – “One Hundred Hands” (Helleborine, 1987)
06 [21:29] Stina Nordenstam – “A Walk In the Park” (Memories of a Color, 1991)
07 [24:54] Sade – “Pearls” (Love Deluxe, 1992)
08 [29:38] Massive Attack – “Protection” (Protection, 1994)
09 [37:26] The Cure – “The Same Deep Water As You” (Disintegration, 1989)
10 [46:19] Depche Mode- “Waiting For the Night” (Violator, 1990)

 

Part II

11 [52:41] Evelyn Glennie – “Light in Darkness” (Light In Darkness, 1991)
12 [55:59] R.E.M. – “Sweetness Follows” (Automatic For the People, 1992)
13 [60:21] The Innocence Mission – “Medjugorje” (The Innocence Mission, 1989)
14 [61:53] Disco Inferno – “Second Language” (Second Language EP, 1994)
15 [66:52] Slowdive – “Rutti” (Pygmalion, 1995)
16 [76:53] Rain Tree Crow – “Cries and Whispers” (Rain Tree Crow, 1991)
17 [79:26] Bark Psychosis – “Pendulum Man” (Hex, 1994)
18 [82:37] Peter Gabriel – “Mercy Street” (So, 1986)
19 [88:27] Low – “Sunshine” (I Could Live In Hope, 1994)
20 [91:35] Portishead – “Roads” (Dummy, 1994)
21 [96:44] Hector Zazou & Bjork – “Visur Vatnsenda-Rosu” (Songs From the Cold Seas, 1994)

 

[Total Time: 1:40:43]

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Download ‘Evensong’ Here (177MB)

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