Cast Iron Table (detail), Nimbin, NSW, Australia
Since moving to the country, I have been driving a lot. I don’t particularly like it and I am not particularly good at it: my friends still tease me for driving straight into a ditch twenty years ago. It was not my fault: it was foggy and I was late for Magnum PI.
Not being able to read while travelling, I have quickly gone through our CD collection and grown bored of it. I have resorted to talking books but there is only so much Stacy Schiff, Julia Cameon and Pema Chödrön that my toddler son can tolerate: it had to be new music. Like Rob Fleming in Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity, I started mixing tapes.
My taste in music is unadventurous and moderately daggy: I basically like crescendos and ballads delivered in not-too-experimental pop. I can’t stand the ads and the fake frantic pace of commercial radio so, for convenience, I started my search on the internet: I opened an account on MySpace, I subscribed to Flavorpill, which regularly reviews music and Last.fm, which is a sort of music TIVO: it Eavesdrops onto your itunes and then comes up with suggestions. I took note of the lineup for the ARIA Awards and even listened to the ABC Radio National Album of the Week, which is a bit of a hit an miss: often missing talent and hitting on ethnic rubbish that ought to be good because it comes from some far away country’s obscure minority group.
I started buying CDs from street buskers and at music festivals and dug out gems like Nano Stern and John Butler. I even pinched CDs from my fiends’ cars, whenever I had a chance to drive them (I did returned them, once recorded the best tracks). More recently, I have kept an ear out for recommendations on Open Salon and gratefully taken some from Margaret Feike and Nick Leshi.
And then, I started mixing:
Maurizio Viani
| The Future | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| Bed Intruder Song (feat. Kelly Dodson) | Antoine Dodson & The Gregory Brothers | Bed Intruder Song (feat. Kelly Dodson) – Single |
| Let’s Get Out of Here | Les Savy Fav | Root for Ruin |
| Lemonade | Braids | Native Speaker |
| Plath Heart | Braids | Native Speaker |
| The Look of Love | ABC | The Look of Love – The Very Best of ABC |
| Moulinette | Anna Calvi | Jezebel / Moulinette – Single |
| Home | LCD Soundsystem | This Is Happening |
| Telephone | Lady GaGa & Beyoncé | The Fame Monster (Deluxe Version) |
| Born This Way | Lady GaGa | Born This Way – Single |
| Whenever | The Black Eyed Peas | The Beginning & The Best of the E.N.D. (Deluxe Version) |
| Fashion Beats | The Black Eyed Peas | The Beginning & The Best of the E.N.D. (Deluxe Version) |
| Space Maker | AIR | Pocket Symphony |
| The Flood | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| BIGGER THAN US@SAF | White Lies | |
| Crook Plumbing | The On Fires | Betrayer |
| Hotel Room | The On Fires | Betrayer |
| Time Flies | The Firetree | The Space Between |
| Rolling In The Deep | Adele | 21 |
| Melancholy Intro | The On Fires | Betrayer |
| A me ricordi il mare | Daniele Silvestri | Il latitante |
| Shape | Sugababes | Late Night Moods |
| Half Mast | Empire of the Sun | Walking On a Dream (Special Edition) |
| 2012 (It Ain’t the End) [feat. Nicki Minaj] | Jay Sean | 2012 (It Ain’t the End) [feat. Nicki Minaj] – Single |
| When Monkeys Turn | The On Fires | Betrayer |
| Bring it on | Loren And The Grow Your Owns | Slow Burn |
| Skeleton | The On Fires | Betrayer |
| Dzoka Kumba | Yeshe | World Citizen |
| Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) | Marvin Gaye | 100 Essential Motown (Disc 4) |
| Nobody Wants | The On Fires | Betrayer |
| Stickwitu | The Pussicat Dolls | Hot Party |
| It Can’t Come Quickly Enough | Scissor Sisters | Scissor Sisters |
| Goonengerry To Degraves St | Simon Asquith | Goonengerry To Degraves St |
| Ugly | Sugarbabes | Hot Party |
| Fango (feat. Ben Harper) | Jovanotti | Safari |
| The Year of Looking Inwards | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| Zebra | The John Butler Trio | Sunrise Over Sea |
| Toubabau | Afro Dizzi Act | Peace Love & Unity |
| Many Worlds to Walk Track 09 | Arun | |
| Missa Papae Marcelli – Sanctus & Benedictus | Peter Phillips: Tallis Scholars | Allegri – Misere, Palestrina – Missa Papae Marcelli, Music Written For The Sistine Chapel |
| Intermezzo 1 | Mew | |
| Fifty On Our Foreheads | White Lies | To Lose My Life |
| Easy | The Commodores | 100 Essential Motown (Disc 5) |
| The Bamboos Theme | The Bamboos | Rawville |
| Only One | Dan Greenwood | Late Night Moods |
| Missing | Everything But The Girl | Late Night Moods |
| Beach | Mew | |
| Caroline | The John Butler Trio | Grand National |
| Blame It On The Girls | Mika | The Boy Who Knew Too Much |
| I See You | Mika | The Boy Who Knew Too Much |
| Kal Ho Naa Ho | Sonu Nigam | Kal Ho Naa Ho |
| It’s All Your Fault | Pink | Funhouse |
| Kevin’s Fix | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| Not The Boy Next Door | Hugh Jackman and Trio | The Boy From Oz |
| Don’t Stop Me Now | Queen | Greatest Hits I |
| Track 05 | Sunday Sounds | |
| Standing On the Shore | Empire of the Sun | Walking On a Dream (Special Edition) |
| Look Into My Eyes | Ray Mang | Bullet Proof – EP |
| Te Dejo Madrid | Shakira | Laundry Service |
| Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World | U2 | Achtung Baby |
| Fango (feat. Ben Harper) | Jovanotti | Safari |
| Walking On a Dream | Empire of the Sun | Walking On a Dream (Special Edition) |
| This Orient | Foals | This Orient – EP |
| Work (Freemasons Radio Edit) | Kelly Rowland | Work (Freemasons Radio Edit) – Single |
| Alive | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies) [Bonus Track Version] |
| I Gotta Feeling | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies) [Bonus Track Version] |
| Heartbeat | Annie | Anniemal |
| Without You | Empire of the Sun | Walking On a Dream (Special Edition) |
| Dance Yrself Clean | LCD Soundsystem | This Is Happening |
| Fu’s CD | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| Death | White Lies | To Lose My Life |
| Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses | U2 | Achtung Baby |
| Get Me Bodied | Beyoncé | B’Day |
| The Fear | Lily Allen | It’s Not Me, It’s You |
| Poker Face | Lady GaGa | The Fame |
| Please Don’t Leave Me | Pink | Funhouse |
| Glass, Concrete and Stone | David Byrne | Grown Backwards |
| Better Than | The John Butler Trio | Grand National |
| Happy Ending / Over My Shoulder | Mika | Life In Cartoon Motion |
| Steer | Missy Higgins | On A Clear Night |
| Once In A While | k.d. lang | Watershed |
| Talk To Me | Keri Noble | Late Night Moods |
| Landslide | Dixie Chicks | Home |
| Penso Positivo | Jovanotti | Lorenzo 1994 |
| Black & Gold | Sam Sparro | Sam Sparro |
| New Terrain | Mew | |
| Manhattan | Kings Of Leon | Only By The Night |
| Here We Go Again | Angus & Julia Stone | A Book Like This |
| Eurotrash | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| The Fear | Lily Allen | It’s Not Me, It’s You |
| Poker Face | Lady GaGa | The Fame |
| Volevo Un Gatto Nero | Zecchino D’Oro | Compilation Kids 2009 03 |
| No Apagues La Luz | Enrique Iglesias | Escape |
| Parlami | Anna Oxa | I Grandi Successi |
| Hula Hoop | Plastic Bertrand | Ca Plane Pour Moi |
| Ufo Robot | Cartoon Warriors | Compilation Kids 2009 03 |
| Life In A Northern Town (LP Version) | The Dream Academy | The Dream Academy |
| Pensiero stupendo | Patty Pravo | Aristocratica |
| La Zanzara | Zecchino D’Oro | Compilation Kids 2009 03 |
| Slave to the Rhythm | Grace Jones | Island Life |
| La vie en rose | Grace Jones | Island Life |
| Il Torero Camomillo | Zecchino D’Oro | Compilation Kids 2009 03 |
| Penso Positivo | Jovanotti | Lorenzo 1994 |
| Piove | Jovanotti | Lorenzo 1994 |
| I Due Liocorni | Consuelo’s Band | Compilation Kids 2009 03 |
| Serenata Rap | Jovanotti | Lorenzo 1994 |
| La Bellezza Stravagante | Ivano Fossati | Lampo Viaggiatore |
| Stella Nascente | Ornella Vanoni | …Adesso |
| Stranger | Angus & Julia Stone | A Book Like This |
| Dead Birds’ Synphony | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| Be Mine! | Robyn | Robyn |
| Faccia di velluto | Daniele Silvestri | Il latitante |
| Almeno tu nell’universo | Mia Martini | The Best of Mia Martini |
| Meet Me Halfway | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies) [Bonus Track Version] |
| Let Me Know | Róisín Murphy | Overpowered |
| Out of My Head | Black Eyed Peas | The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies) [Bonus Track Version] |
| Scarlet Ribbons | Róisín Murphy | Overpowered |
| Incredible | Shapeshifters | Hot Party Vol 2 |
| Left of Center | Suzanne Vega | Tried and True – The Best of Suzanne Vega |
| Prima era prima | Daniele Silvestri | Il latitante |
| Wow | Kylie Minogue | X (Bonus Track Version) |
| Marlene On the Wall | Suzanne Vega | Tried and True – The Best of Suzanne Vega |
| Like a Leaf from a Tree In Its Dying Season | I Hear Sirens | I Hear Sirens – EP |
| Il suo nome | Daniele Silvestri | Il latitante |
| Children | Robert Miles | Ultimate Dance Party 1997 |
| Find A Way_Final.mp3 | Mojada | Mastered |
| April 2009 | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| Lonesome Day | Bruce Springsteen | The Essential Bruce Springsteen |
| Into the Fire | Bruce Springsteen | The Rising |
| You’re Missing | Bruce Springsteen | The Rising |
| This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) | Natalie Cole | Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle |
| Crazy In Love | Beyoncé | Dangerously In Love |
| Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) | Beyoncé | I Am…Sasha Fierce |
| In My Place | Coldplay | Splendour In The Grass |
| Katalyst | Uprock This | Splendour In The Grass |
| Glass, Concrete and Stone | David Byrne | Grown Backwards |
| John Butler Trio | Home Is Where The Heart Is | Splendour In The Grass |
| Hot Fudge | Robbie Williams | Live: Summer 2003 |
| Any Other World | Mika | Life In Cartoon Motion |
| Happy Ending / Over My Shoulder | Mika | Life In Cartoon Motion |
| Steer | Missy Higgins | On A Clear Night |
| Once In A While | k.d. lang | Watershed |
| Talk To Me | Keri Noble | Late Night Moods |
| Flame Trees | The Sacred Heart School | Flame Trees – Single |
| Many Worlds to Walk Track 09 | Arun | |
| March 2009 | ||
| Title | Artist | Album |
| Ultraviolet (Light My Way) | U2 | Achtung Baby |
| Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses | U2 | Achtung Baby |
| Get Me Bodied | Beyoncé | B’Day |
| Deja Vu | Beyoncé Feat. Jay-Z | B’Day |
| Early Winter | Gwen Stefani | The Sweet Escape |
| The Sweet Escape | Gwen Stefani Feat. Akon | The Sweet Escape |
| The Long Way Around | Dixie Chicks | Taking The Long Way |
| Landslide | Dixie Chicks | Home |
| Maahi Ve | Sadhna Sargam, Sujata Bhattacharya, Udit Narayan & Sonu Nigam | Kal Ho Naa Ho |
| Inner Smile | Texas | Bend It Like Beckham |
| Closer | Kings Of Leon | Only By The Night |
| Revelry | Kings Of Leon | Only By The Night |
| Moving in the Right Direction | Pasadenas | Yours Sincerely |
| Too Many Questions | Sam Sparro | Sam Sparro |
| Black & Gold | Sam Sparro | Sam Sparro |
| I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ | Scissor Sisters | Ta-Dah! |
| Gold | Interference | Once |
| Fallen From The Sky | Glen Hansard | Once |
| Feel Alright | Everything But The Girl | Worldwide |