Guest Mix – Jason Sebastian Russo (Mercury Rev / Hopewell)

This Heat – Horizontal Hold
This just always blows my mind. Consider that it’s a live Peel session, recorded to tape without digital editing.
 
Can – Turtles Have Short Legs
I’m a devoted Can fan. I was once lucky enough to play with Damo Suzuki at a festival called Truck. I didn’t meet half the musicians until after we played the show. I actually didn’t get to meet some of them at all. Damo refused to discuss what he wanted to do beforehand. We did fifty minutes of improvised music in front of 5,000 perplexed British kids. When I’m having a bad day, this track never fails to make me happy.
 
J K & Co – Fly
Classic first wave psychedelic balladry. So. Comforting.
 
Mercury Rev – Syringe Mouth
More luck, this band moved to my shitty hometown (Poughkeepsie, NY) and I played bass with them for years. Syringe Mouth is from their brilliant first LP, Lego My Ego. The sound of this song pretty much sums up the frozen, impotent rage of being stuck in Upstate NY with naught to do but hitch to your job at Sausage ‘n Stuff.
 
Rollerskate Skinny – Lunasa
After being a massive fan of Ken Griffen for many years I was overjoyed to move into the apartment above his. My brother and I used to play Rollerskate Skinny’s first album when we were trying to start Hopewell. This song was my particular fav.
 
St. Johnny – Down The Drain 
The singer of St. Johnny (and later the brilliant Grand Mal) ALSO lives in this building. I basically live in a halfway house for fallen musicians. You can throw a dart at his career and never miss. Try it.
 
Unrest – Teenage Suicide
I only put this on here because I haven’t heard it since high school. I remember them being a super tight band, but this is just a sloppy romp. I love that a song called Teenage Suicide can sound so fun.
 
Bardo Pond – Tommy Gun Angel
I did a fair amount of carpet gazing to this band. Psychedelic music is deeply emotional. This song makes my heart split open.
 
John Cale- You Know More Than I Know
A staple of my mix tapes/burned CDs for years. For the sentiment in general, but mostly because of the killer first line.