Your opinion, please: 366-band, 411 track 1981 box set

The response of the 2nd round has been really quick! 12+ copies will go out today at lunch. The "+" can mean you, if you got an email from me yesterday and are able to respond in the next few hours. Thanks!

You're good, thanks--your copy will head out in a couple hours!

Thanks!

As said upthread, obscurity is definitely in the ear of the beholder - I'm a nave in ILM-land so this is my first exposure to many of these artists and songs.

12 more copies went out this afternoon, should be arriving all next week.

ASTONISHING.

this sets the bar so amazingly high for any kind of personal mix project. I am in awe. It's just such a goddam beautiful thing to hold in your hand. Listening to disc 1 now.

Yes, definitely. In fact, I think you asked the same question a while ago? Just email me at the address below. Thanks.

I'm trying not to re-read the tracklisting, to surprise myself with it later...

listened to only the first two discs, so far. great fun.

thanks, very much, I.M.!

I don't have the list in front of me, but I'm pretty sure I have, and I've already sent you your copy. I'll make sure, though.

Sven ---

Made it in word/pagemaker/photoshop, printed at a local reprographics shop, folded/stapled myself.

RJG ---

Cool, glad it got there.

I got it from www.ioproducts.com. A slightly bootleg looking website, but I haven't had any problems buying from them.

Finding those CD-Rs made me really happy, too. I've had maybe two failed burns in over 1,500.

The whole thing is kindof like those zines, in that the aesthetic was partly a product of my material limitations.

Why yes! Please read upthread. :-)

So far I'm finding that about 10% of it is stuff I'm very familiar with by some of my favorite bands. Another 10 or 20% is stuff I'm pretty familiar with but haven't heard for years. But the great part is of course the 30 or 40% of it that are songs I've never heard or artists I've never heard of but want to hear more immediately. I'll add some more in-depth thoughts later when I've had more time to digest.

I hope you aren't finding the stuff you don't know to be substancially lower quality than the stuff you do know.

http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=passions

I was never all that into them, myself, but I guess it's kindof interesting they shared a label with the Cure.

Personally, the Passions are one of the more underrated female-lead post-punk bands I know, along with PragVec and Neonbabies (whom I just discovered) and maybe Y Pants. They're a much poppier type of post-punk generally, but with a nice slightly dark rock polish to them. I highly recommend '30,000 Feet Over China,' but 'Michael & Miranda' are both quite good, too. As they're both well out of print (and not looking likely to be otherwise, that I'm aware) email me and I'll see about getting copies to you.

O. Nate ---

Thanks so much! Several people have used that word to describe the set, and I take it as a high compliment of the one thing I can take credit for, which is putting all this stuff in one little place.

I wish I could explicate my choices like you have, Ned. But I guess if I could, it would take 20 pages, as long as this mix is. . .

Yeah, the Passions were amazing. Barbara Gogan's still active musically.

Oh, and also the time John Peel read out the final verse of "d'ye ken John peel" that I had been looking for, to put online as a tribute last year. Bit late now tho.

If you're having those responses halfway through the first disc, I think it's going to be a fun set for you : )

That kind of thing makes me really happy. All my experience with this music is obviously out of context--nevertheless, it's associated with many memories even for me. That I picked the right tracks to bring back the time for those who were there---pure luck, but gratifying nonetheless.

Yeah, I spent a sort of absurd amount of time normalising and doing subtle dynamic gain and manually removing the worst pops to get the stuff to sound good together. Fortunately, there was usually a general cleanliness and sparcity of production on a lot of music then, so production-wise they were easeier to flow together than, say, Big Black, My Bloody Valentine, and a pre-war blues record, etc. But the quality of recording, mastering, mixing varies pretty greatly. It was a lot of work, but hopefully worth it--the sort of thing that hopefully no one will really notice, unless they're prone to thinking about that sort of thing.

I found that by reencoding the briefcase tracks at a slightly lower bitrate (still VBR) I could fit a _LOT_ more on the disc. So, I've now changed it to hold 252 tracks, 207 bands who aren't on the main mixes. This has allowed me to fit in a lot of the stuff I'd previously had to leave out but didn't want to based on musical interest/quality. I don't think it's noticably diminished the audio quality--they were already mp3s, so either you already didn't like how they sounded or you probably won't notice the difference.

Anybody whose copy hasn't gone out yet will get this version. With this disc, the set now comes to officially 408 bands/artists, 482 tracks, 24.5 hours.

Now, to be fair, I'd like to offer to send this version to everyone who's already got a copy, if they think they need _MORE_ 1981. Alternately, I'll make the folder available on my soulseek. So, email me at the address below. If you need a physical replacement, it'll take a while---as in, when I'm done with all the copies of the full set, which could be months from now. But I'd still like to make it available to you.

*PLEASE* make sure to make your subject line say "BRIEFCASE" so I'll notice the emails seperate from others.

Here's the updated briefcase tracklist:

231. Agent Orange - Miserlou (2:06)
232. Black Flag - What I See (1:55)
233. Blue Orchids - Dumb Magician (2:54)
234. Blue Nile - The Second Act (4:20)
235. British Electronic Foundation - Optimum Chant (4:11)
236. Cabaret Voltaire - Landslide (2:07)
237. Cardboards - Electrical Generator (3:32)
238. Comsat Angels - Now I Know (BBC) (4:14)
239. Crash Course in Science - Flying Turns (2:58)
240. Creatures - Thumb (3:58)
241. Cure, The - Primary (3:34)
242. Dancing Cigarettes - Puppies in a Sack (4:22)
243. dB's, The - I'm In Love (3:28)
244. Diagram Brothers - Bricks (2:42)
245. Dif Juz - Cs (4:49)
246. DNA - 5-30 (1:04)
247. Durutti Column - Jaqueline (2:19)
248. Embarrassment, The - Sexy Singer Girl (2:14)
249. Eno, Brian and David Byrne - Mea Culpa (Edit) (1:46)
250. Eurythmics - Sing-Sing (4:05)
251. Fall, The - Lie Dream of a Casino Soul (3:11)
252. Family Fodder - Dinosaur Sex (9:01)
253. Fire Engines - Discord (Single) (2:40)
254. Gang of Four - Outside the Trains Don't Run On Time (3:17)
255. Go-Go's - Automatic (3:08)
256. Homosexuals - In Search of the Perfect Baby (5:28)
257. Liaisons Dangereuses - Etre Assis Ou Danser (3:26)
258. Liquid Liquid - Lock Groove (In) (3:56)
259. Lounge Lizards - Ballad (3:25)
260. Minutemen, The - Boiling (0:57)
261. New Musik - This World Of Walter (2:55)
262. Newman, Colin - Inventory (2:11)
263. Orange Juice - Wan Light (2:30)
264. Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Yodel 1 (4:09)
265. Public Image Ltd - Go Back (3:46)
266. Sound, The - Judgement (5:03)
267. Stranglers - Everybody Loves You When you're Dead (2:41)
268. Teardrop Explodes, The - . . .and The Fighting Takes Over (3:54)
269. Wire - Our Swimmer (Edit) (2:29)
270. X - The Once Over Twice (2:30)
271. Yellow Magic Orchestra - Seoul Music (4:45)
272. Young Marble Giants - Posed by Models (1:24)
273. You've Got Foetus on Your Breath - I Am Surrounded by Incompetence (4:52)
274. Zoomers - From the Planet Moon (2:55)
275. 45 Grave - 45 Grave (3:21)
276. 999 - Bongos on the Nile (2:55)
277. A Flock of Seagulls - Telecommunication (2:32)
278. ABC - Tears Are Not Enough (Edit) (2:22)
279. Adam & The Ants - Prince Charming (3:17)
280. Airmail - In a Moment (5:16)
281. Alternative TV - My Hand Is Still Wet (3:19)
282. Angelic Upstarts - I Understand (2:53)
283. APB - Talk To Me (3:00)
284. Aquila - Without a Care (4:16)
285. Article 58 - Lost & Found (3:26)
286. Au Pairs - Love Song (2:48)
287. Avacados - I Never Knew (2:23)
288. Babylon Dance Band - When I'm Home (2:34)
289. Bad Brains - Pay to Cum (1:30)
290. Bangs, The - Getting Out Of Hand (2:14)
291. Beakers, The - Four Steps Toward a Cultural Revolution (1:29)
292. Beelzebub Youth - Push Push Push (2:03)
293. Bene Gesserit - Do You Know (3:48)
294. Berlinski Zid - Mozgani na Asfaltu (2:44)
295. Birnbaum, Dara - Kojak-Wang (0:55)
296. Black Uhuru - Youth Of Eglington (5:02)
297. Blackouts - Young Man (2:57)
298. Blah Blah Blah - Central Park (3:53)
299. Blancmange - Sad Day (Early) (2:24)
300. Blasters - This Is It (2:15)
301. Blondie - Rapture (Edit) (3:39)
302. B-Movie - Remembrance Day (3:44)
303. Bouncing Czechs - 1992 (Edit) (2:22)
304. Bow Wow Wow - Why Are Babies So Wise (2:55)
305. Bunnydrums - Little Room (3:04)
306. Buzz - Life Ends (1:57)
307. Calm, The - Lol Coxhill (2:09)
308. Chameleons - Here Today (BBC) (3:43)
309. Chefs - Someone I Know (2:07)
310. Chemicals Made From Dirt - Ike (2:27)
311. Cherry Boys - Too Much Confusion (2:44)
312. China Shop - Kowtow (3:53)
313. Chords, The - One More Minute (3:35)
314. Christian Death - Dogs (2:54)
315. Clash, The - The Magnificent Dance (3:25)
316. Club Tango - Performance (Edit) (2:24)
317. Colours Out of Time - The Waiting (BBC) (3:38)
318. Commericals - Simon (2:18)
319. Conservatives - Suburban Bitch (1:21)
320. Crispy Ambulance - The Presence (Edit) (3:19)
321. Dalek I Love You - Heartbeat (2:53)
322. Damned, The - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Edit) (2:51)
323. Dangerous Girls - Men in Suits (2:41)
324. Danse Society - Continent (4:40)
325. Dark Day - Extermination (1:10)
326. Deep Freeze Mice - Dr. Z (3:38)
327. Department S - Age Concern (2:31)
328. Digital Dinosaurs - The Sideways Man (2:22)
329. Doctor Mix & The Remix - Brand New Cadillac (1:47)
330. Dramatis - Love Needs No Disguise (4:39)
331. Drowning Craze - Storage Case (3:05)
332. Dum Dum Dum - Dum Dum Dum (2:56)
333. Effigies - Strong Box (1:11)
334. Eight Eyed Spy - Lazy In Love (2:56)
335. Ejectors - Little Johnny (2:41)
336. Electric Guitars - Continental Shelf (2:55)
337. Essential Logic - Fanfare In the Garden (3:06)
338. Ex, The - Weapons for El Salvador (2:47)
339. Factrix - Thin Line (2:20)
340. Fair, Jad - Fish Can Talk (0:52)
341. Fast Set, The - King of the Rumbling Spires (2:00)
342. Fifteen Minutes - Last Chance for You (2:39)
343. Fingerprintz - Shadowed (3:04)
344. Five Or Six - The Trial (2:49)
345. Fleshtones - The Dreg (3:10)
346. Freddy And The Fruitloops - Right & Wrong (3:09)
347. Front 242 - Body to Body (4:10)
348. Generation X - Dancing With Myself (3:47)
349. George Harrassment - Yoghurt (1:20)
350. Gifted Children - Lichtenstein Girl (3:13)
351. Gilbert & Lewis - Hung Up To Dry Whilst Building An Arch (2:24)
352. Girls At Our Best - Go for Gold (3:22)
353. Gizmos - Biscuits & Gravy (2:05)
354. Goldman, Vivien - Launderette (3:44)
355. Gordon, Kim & Miranda - Working Youth (0:49)
356. Haig, Paul - Mad Horses (4:34)
357. Haircut 100 - Favourite Shirt (3:05)
358. Harrison, Kevin - People in Space (1:55)
359. Icehouse - Icehouse (Edit) (3:04)
360. Icicle Works - When Winter Lasted Forever (Edit) (2:25)
361. In Camera - Die Laughing (4:38)
362. Ippu-Do - Mission Impossible Theme (2:22)
363. It's Immaterial - A Gigantic Raft (Edit) (3:23)
364. Jackson, Joe - Beat Crazy (3:21)
365. Jagatara - Hey Say! (Edit) (2:58)
366. Jam, The - Absolute Beginners (2:51)
367. Kontakt Microfoon Orkest - Do the Residue (4:49)
368. Lambrettas, The - Decent Town (3:12)
369. Last Four Digits - Diddy Wah Diddy (1:52)
370. Leer, Thomas - Kings Of Sham (3:55)
371. Legal Weapon - Daddy's Gone Mad (2:36)
372. Liliput - Eisiger Wind (3:28)
373. Limp, The - Marked Man (2:45)
374. Lovich, Lene - New Toy (3:15)
375. Ludus - Mutilate (2:33)
376. Macs, The - I'm 37 (2:39)
377. Malaria - How Do You Like My New Dog (2:49)
378. Marine - Life in Reverse (2:44)
379. Mass - Cross Purposes (4:26)
380. Maximum Joy - Strech (Edit) (2:57)
381. Medium Medium - The Glitterhouse (2:16)
382. Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now (3:19)
383. Metal Urbain - Hysterie Connective (Early Version) (2:43)
384. Meteors - Graveyard Stomp (2:05)
385. Method Actors, The - You (3:59)
386. Minny Pops - Dolphin's Spurt (2:56)
387. Misfits, The - Halloween (1:46)
388. Modern English - Black Houses (5:44)
389. Monochrome Set - Ten Don'ts For Honeymooners (3:05)
390. Moore, Thurston - The Fucking Youth Of Today (0:49)
391. Mr Science - Mr. Science (2:23)
392. My Captains - Converse (4:29)
393. Naked Lunch - La Femme (5:23)
394. Names - Music For Someone (1:56)
395. Nasmak - Vaseline des Artistes (3:14)
396. Native Hipsters - Tropical Fish in the Sink (3:38)
397. Neonbabies - Profi (3:50)
398. Neonbabies - Spass Muss Sein (1:57)
399. Neu Electrikk - Lust of Berlin (2:46)
400. No More - Suicide Commando (3:19)
401. Oingo Boingo - Capitalism (3:40)
402. Our Daughter's Wedding - Airlines (3:35)
403. Passage - Hip Rebels (3:28)
404. Philosophic Collage - Toxic Poppies (1:34)
405. Pin Group - Ambivalence (3:28)
406. Plimsouls - Mini-Skirt Minnie (2:42)
407. Plus Instruments - Things (2:20)
408. Poison Girls - Ideologically Unsound (2:39)
409. Police, The - Darkness (3:10)
410. Polyphonic Size - Mothers Little Helper (3:06)
411. Polyrock - Rain (4:01)
412. Pop, Iggy - Sea of Love (3:40)
413. Positive Noise - End In Tears (3:47)
414. Post Raisin Band - Pink Lincoln (2:25)
415. Predator - He Thinks He Knows Me (3:00)
416. Quad Pi - Near You (2:07)
417. Rally Go - Mass Brew Action (2:34)
418. Ranaldo, Lee - Shift (0:45)
419. Red Asphalt - Red Asphalt (1:51)
420. Red Cross - Puss 'N' Boots (2:33)
421. Red Krayola - An Old Man's Dream (2:30)
422. Reflections - 4 Countries (1:53)
423. Revillos - She's Fallen In Love with a Monster Man (3:19)
424. Room, The - Bated Breath (4:01)
425. Russell, Arthur - Sketch for Face of Helen (Edit) (3:31)
426. Schizoid - White House (3:13)
427. Scientists - She Said She Loves Me (2:09)
428. Second Layer - Distortion (Edit) (2:39)
429. Shivvers - Remember Tonight (3:21)
430. Simple Minds - Theme for Great Cities (Edit) (4:13)
431. Ski Patrol - Cut (3:55)
432. Slow Children - Spring in Fialta (3:24)
433. Slugfuckers - Schizo Revolution(1981) (mid-fi) (3:44)
434. Social Distortion - Telling Them (3:08)
435. Sort Sol - Misguided (4:19)
436. Spandau Ballet - To Cut A Long Story Short (Edit) (3:19)
437. Spanish Dogs - Cleveland (2:39)
438. Splodgenessabounds - Cowpunk Medlum (2:36)
439. Starter - Part of You (3:09)
440. Stolen Power - Little White Lies (2:45)
441. Strutz - Break Point (2:21)
442. Student Nurse - Discover Your Feet (2:34)
443. Suburban Lawns - Computer Date (1:05)
444. Subway Sect, The - Parallel Lines (2:38)
445. Surplus Stock - Let's Kill Each Other (3:19)
446. Swamp Children - Call Me Honey (4:53)
447. Swell Maps - Forest Fire (released 1981) (3:01)
448. Takahashi, Yukihiro - Something in the Air (4:51)
449. Tame O'Mearas - Curl Curl (2:18)
450. Tanks - March of the Slugs (4:39)
451. Teenage Filmstars - I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape (2:55)
452. Telefones - Solid Ground (3:12)
453. Tenants - Submind (2:48)
454. The Past Seven Days - Raindance (Edit) (4:57)
455. The The - Untitled (3:23)
456. Theatre of Hate - My Own Invention (3:17)
457. Theoretical Girls - Electronic Angie (Studio) (3:37)
458. Thompson Twins - Politics (2:20)
459. Times, The - Biff! Bang! Pow! (2:51)
460. Triffids - This Boy (2:55)
461. TSOL - I'm Tired Of Life (1:50)
462. Tucker, Maureen - Louie Louie (2:41)
463. Two by Fours - Another 8 Hours (1:34)
464. UB40 - One in Ten (4:33)
465. Urban Verbs - Business and the Rational Mind (4:51)
466. Urinals - I Hate (2:02)
467. U-Turn - Price of Fame (2:16)
468. Vapors, The - Jimmie Jones (Single Version) (3:23)
469. Visage - Mind Of A Toy (4:28)
470. Vital Disorder - Let's Talk About Prams (2:17)
471. Volk, Hugh - Talk of the Town (2:04)
472. Walking Floors - No Next Time (2:26)
473. Wall of Voodoo - Crack the Bell (3:33)
474. Wanderers - Beyond the Law (2:08)
475. Watt, Ben - Departure (1:35)
476. Weirdos, The - Weird World (Demo) (3:02)
477. Wild West - Fierce Atoms (2:25)
478. Work, The - Duty (1:04)
479. xAx - Banging Your Head (3:41)
480. Xmal Deutschland - Schwarz Welt (2:39)
481. Xpozez - New Law (1:19)
482. Zounds - Demystification (3:45)