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Afterword CD Swap – is there enough Space?

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We’re a little behind schedule (World Cup, new jobs and so), but we can swing open the doors to the third edition of the Afterword CD swap, hosted by your good self and @kid-dynamite. Come on in!
Our theme this time around, after the on-the-money cold is…..Space. Inner space, outer space, crawl spaces. Get out there man. New members are welcome to the bit of the Afterword that gets physical – yes you’ll need actual blank CDs, envelopes and postage stamps to take part. But the joy of receiving a CD of anonymous musical goodness through your letterbox cannot be underestimated.

In very plain English: you compile a CD of 12 tracks on the theme of Space. We put you in a group with two other people. You post yours to each of them, you get two from your other group members. You post your review of theirs, they post their review of yours. You send us your tracklist. We post them. that’s it. It is usually a lot of fun.

Those rules in full:

1 Sign up by the closing date by just letting us know in the comments to this post. Sign up for CD swap three: Space, closes at the end of July.
2 We will then pair everyone up with two other people – you compile a CD (more later) and post it to two others. So post two out, get two back. You swap your addresses via DMs so no-one except your pairs need know you live at 10 Downing Street @philipmaybot.
3 Your CD: one CD only. 12 tracks only. Theme: Space. Please rip your files without track or artist names so your partners can listen without prejudice. Artwork is up to you. MP3 tag is a free PC programme that allows you to strip all the artwork and info from your MP3 file.
4 DM us your track listing. DON’T POST IT ON THE SITE.
5 CDs to get to your partners in the mail by the end of August ( we will give you a gentle reminder on the blog).
6 You can then let the world know what you thought of the CDs you received in a megapost. Posting of reviews by mid-September.
7 We will post track listings at the end of September and watch the recriminations/accolades fly.

ps if you want to see what previous editions looked like search for CD swap

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Comments

  7. Compiles 12 obscure vinyl-only remixes from late Austro-Patagonian rapper dude and all round cadet S’Pace. Adds hidden 13th track from his erstwhile partner with the wheels of steel, Spac.E.

    I’m on board fellas.

  15. I’m in!
    Haven’t done a CD swap for a few years but think I still have some blank discs gathering dust in a corner. Unfortunately the printer that used to print pretty labels on them is now a thing of the past however.
    Also haven’t posted on here for ages, but am a frequent lurker.

    Hello!

    • New swappers especially welcome @winterish, no prior experience needed. Mp3tag will be your friend when you get to the ‘how do I anonymise my files’ bit. Some people do make printed labels, but a permanent marker scrawl is fine too. It’s whats inside that counts.

  22. Given we are swapping proper physical thingamajigs, would it be a good idea to ask everyone to burn proper audio CDs with full flavour .wav files; may as well use the best quality we can all play.

    Bit worried by the mention of mp3 tag editors (unless they also work with wavs?).

  23. Count me in please.

    Last time my offering ended up being a bit one-dimensional due to a lot of my music being in boxes as I was moving house.

    Not this time though, so will be looking at covering a lot more (moon) bases.

    • Posted yesterday. Don’t worry, after the scolding I got last time, there’s no twelve minute Cascadian black metal epics this time round. AND only twelve tracks. Well, thirteen.

      • Arrived yesterday thanks, out tonight and tomorrow so will give it an initial listen on Sunday I think.

        Meanwhile my shortlist (ho ho) is down to a mere 30 tracks (running to a shade over 2 hours) so have drawn a line there and nothing not already on that list is being considered 🙂

        Would’ve been 31 but I can’t find my CDsingle of “Saturn 5” anywhere, so there’ll be no Inspiral Carpets on there.

    • Way-hey! We’re on.

      Gimme a week or so folks, I’m off to Ireland shortly for a week’s break – I will be mentally compiling while physically whiling away the days, and then burning your CDs on my return.

          • Here goes, then, with the beautifully presented One Way Trip to Space, by @Locust (AW3). This came with an explanatory letter, explaining how this was version 2, the first being too swedish and/or too serious, surely two distinct entities……
            1. Lovely old fashioned analogue synth noodling, from a time, I guess, preceding ‘electronica/dance’. Is it Maurice’s boy Jean Michel, or perhaps Walter to Wendy? Too lively to be Tonto’s Expanding, I feel.
            2. ‘Ark at this! I might even have this bonkers celestial jazzers tune, but, I confess I seldom return to my shelves for a 2nd or 3rd listen. It seems to be about Jupiter but I recall he hails from Venus originally.
            3. Rappy so no real idea beyond word association: Space –> Planets. Dig? I found it not so diggable.
            4. Afro rap is strangely seeming much more to my taste, but I don’t know any. In french so Camaroonian? Malian? Or that french rapper, is it MC Solaar or somesuch, which sounds a bit spacey as in the sun. Is that even the right name?
            5. 80s alert. No idea. A bit too europoppy for me, with a side order of having listened to too much Kid Creole.
            6. Jeepers creepers, even more 80s and another foreign. Wild guess, it this the Take on Me hitmakers before they sang in english?
            7. Losing the will a bit here. 60s pop of a sort I would cross the street to avoid. Even with the trendy 1967 guitar solo. Ghastly.
            8. Give me a break, my knowledge of scandi Top of the Pops is non existent. Please tell them to stop.
            9. Please stop, please. especially the fake electric sitar……..
            10. That’s better. Very Agnes-sy, but I can’t place it. As it goes on I suspect it isn’t but at last one I can listen all the way through to, after the last 3.
            11. This too I like. Milky Way the subject and is it a harp being strummed? It isn’t Joanna so is it the other one, Sarah someone? Good ethnic pipes towards the end.
            12. Nice bit of bleep and booster motorik, becoming progressively sequencer driven as it builds, until some mildly deranged acid fried vocals start in the middle distance. Is it St Julian in one of his more kosmische moments? Or early Spiritualised? Am I warm? Spaceman 3?
            13. The bonus track. Atonal caterwauling putting me in mind of of the Slits, the Raincoats, something like that. I am a Skywalker said repeatedly doesn’t, I’m afraid, help.

            Well, I can’t say I enjoyed much if not all of this. One track only with any clear point of reference. Pity really, as I love the sleeve the disc came in.
            Sorry………

            • LOL – Sorry for torturing your ears, @retropath2! 😀
              I don’t love all of the the tracks myself ,actually, but I went for the space-iest lyrics and noises to honour the theme first and foremost – but I definitely do like quite a few more tracks than you do!
              Also, you must have misread my letter that clearly said there were just two non-Swedish tracks, and that steered your guesses very wrong in a few cases! The guys from track 4 will be surprised you thought that their Swedish was in fact French (I know I am!) I guess our stern language takes on a different quality when used in rap!

              It’s a Sarah on track 11 alright – but somehow I doubt that you’re thinking of the correct Sarah (this one’s most certainly unknown outside of Sweden). But I can’t think of who you might be thinking of…

              Very funny review however! I hope the experience wasn’t too awful for you…and you can always rip the best tracks from all three of us and use the sleeve for that space-compilation! 🙂

              • P.S. The “Sarah” I was trying to think of was/is a Mary, it seems, as in Lattimore, having read a review and liked the idea. I have it but have yet to listen, but thought it fair game to look thru’ my i-tunes stash for a clue. The only Sarahs I can think of are Blasko, Borges and MacLachlan, Saras being Watkins and as in Tegan and. Trying to be too clever, again I have i-tune searched my collection and Sara Isaakson might fit, if only as she stems from your vicinity, the one from the female duo Steely Dan covers album????

    • Hello @johnny99 & @carl, your CDs are in the post today!

      As for the track selection (13 tracks, but the first one’s only 15 seconds, so I hope I’m forgiven), I was somewhat spoilt for choice, and could have done whole themed “Space” selections from the 60s, 70s, soundtracks, even exotica/lounge and library music, but in the end I’ve gone for a mixture of stuff, hopefully Afterword-friendly, but with enough surprises to keep your interest… enjoy!

      • Cheers @metal-mickey – I have to confess my CD is still in preparation as I keep changing my mind. There is just so much . . . out there although I thought that just sending out “Space” by the KLF might be construed as cheating in some way !!
        I’m a little behind as we were at the “New Day Festival” in Kent all weekend and this week has been taken up with hospital visits to a couple of mates. Hoping to get it completed by the end of the weekend. I think we can forgive the extra track too mate.

        • Hi @johnny99, CD received safe & well, thank you!

          It’s already had one play, and as you might have discovered if you’ve played my CD (and as @carl will also find out), amazingly enough we have one duplicated track between us – maybe “Space” is smaller than we think 🙂

          (.. and another of your tracks was on my final longlist but was one of the last to get cut…)

          I’m targeting 5 plays each before submitting my reviews, maybe the end of next week, if not w/c 3rd September…

          • Maybe we just have very similar tastes in music @metal mickey ! I’ve played yours once ( I’ve been doing a LOT of work in the garden over the last couple of weeks so have not had much time) but have not yet received @carl‘s offering – perhaps the postman is having a listen as we speak !

    • Discs ready to be sent out, after discarding ideas about
      – a disc with the whole 50-minute version of “Moonloop”
      – a compilation with the usual suspects like Hawkwind, The Pink Floyd, and Dave Bowie
      – a compendium of German “Kosmische” tracks from the likes of Cosmic Jokers, The Nazgul and Weltraumstaunen

      You’ll be pleased to know that I didn’t even include this:

    • My humble offering has been launched to the intended recipients. I have purposefully burned the compilation as a single ‘track’ – both to avoid irritating gaps disturbing the flow between tracks – and to force the listener to, well, listen to it all, like or no. I anticipate scathing feedback in respect of this policy! 😉

      Should you prefer a non-amalgamated listening experience then you can grab my compilation from DropBox via the following link, artwork included:

      https://www.dropbox.com/s/0kttiku9ekimfld/ACD%202018%202%20Separate%20Tracks%20MP3s.zip?dl=0

      • Thanks – that download is very helpful as the CD (which I received on Saturday) won’t play on any of my CD players – and sounds like a shortwave radio broadcast from the Himalayas on my computer (maybe this is intentional…).

        • Argh – I did test the CDs before I mailed them out. Hope it’s not my new CD burning software… 🙁 LMK if you need me to re-send.

          BTW – your own CD arrived today – I shall look forward to listening over the weekend. Cheers! 🙂

          • Now here’s my thoughts about the SPACE compilation from @stellarX – track by track, although it came in one piece (how prog of you…).

            1. It starts with the expected spacey synthesizer sounds, but this soon turns into a mid-70s disco/soul tune, falsetto vocals ‘n’ all. No Roger Troutman in sight, groovy rhythm guitar though.
            2. And here comes the proper science fiction part: a song about the people of tomorrow, from the album Robert Fripp called the unrecognized other half of “In The Wake Of Poseidon”. I hadn’t noticed before how funky this track is.
            3. The earthy tones a fat stand-up bass (probably sampled, as it’s from France) open a more recent nouvelle vague tune about chocolate bars (double entendre probably intentional, as it’s from France). Nice string arrangement.
            4. The familiar sound of an 80s rhythm “machine” – this must be one of the dance remixes of 4AD’s big worldwide hit. We heard this stuff on our Walkman on the school bus in Morocco.
            5. The Man In The Moon – no, not Marty Kaufman. The lyrics are supposed to be funny and witty, but everything sounds a bit forced. Another fine string arrangement.
            6. Ah yes, our favorite born-again Christian, and the only acceptable kind of steak. Great track (but why didn’t I use it for my own compilation?).
            7. A spacey space ballad, all tinkling pianner, longing female vocals and lots of echo. The backing vocals from outer space come from a 1940s landline telephone, apparently.
            8. Boppin’ tune with fuzz guitar and slightly retro late 90s sound, probably recorded in some fancy studio with vintage analog equipment. And it points in the general direction of…
            9. Late fifties country pop from the IFTP hitmaker, recorded at Bradley’s Barn with Hank Garland on guitar and Floyd Cramer on piano.
            10. Back to the present, where 18-year-olds record on analog mixing desks in their dad’s recording studio, and release their music on 78 rpm records that everyone buys but no-one can play. Whatever happened to gravity indeed.
            11. This is the “funny” bonus track on someone clever’s album – fake crackling gramophone sound and fake ukulele. It’s like “Honey Pie” never happened.
            12. And here’s the Afterword-friendly track, from that girl in a summer dress with an acoustic guitar. Echo-y vocals notwithstanding, a beautiful track with nice guitar picking.

            And then it’s over. Too bad, as I would have loved to hear a full 70 minutes of this stuff. The track list will probably seem quite eclectic on paper, but it flows perfectly and will sure get plenty of “spins” in the future.
            (And, since you asked, I’ve got the original album from which the cover art was taken…)

            • Many thanks for the kind review. I’ve supplied my reciprocal feedback below but have no idea how to ‘tag’ you, to bring it to your attention, hence this reply, which will hopefully appear on your radar…

              Cheers!

    • After three listens here is my feedback for fatima Xberg’s SPACE themed mix CD:

      Mr Postie recently delivered the much-anticipated package all the way from Berlin. Lovely presentation: earth-tone block-colour cover in a jewel case. Cool CD produced to look like an old vinyl ’45. Groovy (literally). Bonus postcard and friendly message from sender; always appreciated.

      Clearly a LOT of effort, and no small aount of mixing skill, thas gone into producing this compilation. Throughout, there are myriad spoken word clips seamlessly spliced/over-layed with floaty mood music, merged with selected core compilation tracks. This works well, to reinforce the ‘Space’ theme and create a cohesive feel to the overall mix. It’s a neat trick, probably took a long time to achieve, and is something I would love to have the knowledege/capability of doing myself. Much applause for this.

      From the outset, I have to state that I did not recognise a single track in this compilation. Given that a lot of the tracks are instrumental, and liberally spliced/mixed with the spoken word/background music over-lays, it’s difficult for me to ascertain where the core tracks begin and end, so providing feedback is a challenge. An apology up-front: through no fault of the compiler, most if not all of the tracks are not my cup of tea – which is reflected in my feedback. I feel particularly churlish about this given the positive feeback my own mix cd received. No doubt this review will highlight my biblical musical ignorance but here goes…

      1) Spoken word narration ripped from (presumably an audio book of) ‘Twin Peaks’. No corresponding song, so whilst it fits the theme and is an interesting and atmospheric opening, I felt this was a bit of a missed opportunity to hear some music.

      2) Spoken word samples/overlays with Frank Sinatra’s ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ both in the background (initially) then the foreground – finally merging into a strange techno/bhangra instrumental, heavily sampling Gustav Holst’s ‘Mars – The Bringer Of War’ with the occasional spacey sound-effect thrown in. Very much sounds like it was mixed in someone’s bedroom; a bit of a musical mess and not really to my taste. More spoken samples form the track’s ‘outro’.

      3) A second, lengthier instrumental track. Plucked electric guitar with floaty flute overtones (or flute-a-like keyboardness) which builds nicely but never really goes anywhere. The guitar solo is a bit self-indulgent. Put me a bit in mind of Absolute Elsewhere’s ‘In Search Of Ancient Gods’ but am pretty sure it’s someone else. Sorry to have to admit that again, I was not a fan of this track and it took some doing to stay the course for ten minutes. Another spliced spoken-word outro.

      4) Third instrumental in a row. Beginning to yearn for lyric and a harmony or two. Not sure if this is some theme music or background music to a little-known, obscure sci-fi TV series? Sounds somewhat ‘prog’ in nature – but very 60s also. Quite repetetive and, very sad to say, a third ‘strike’ for my tastes – but a potential ‘ear-worm’.

      5) Extended spoken word intro backed by relaxing mood music; a mid-section of swelling space-synth, then suddenly from nowhere appears a down-beat vocal/acoustic guitar track. The vocal and lyric suggests 60s prog but it could well be a more recent homage to that era/genre. Not sure if the background synth is origially part of the track or not. He needs to cheer up a bit, mind.

      6) Sound-effect of water dripping into a pool precedes Merle Haggard introducing himself and his band for a twee country ditty. Not a particularly good quality recording (muffled, as if the speaker is sealed in a sack). More spoken word throughout. Whilst welcome as an intro/outro it’s somewhat obtrusive when trying to listen to the core song.

      7) Cosmic sound-effect intro. Foreign (to me) language spoken parts (East European?) over a VERY lengthy (15 minute) otherwise-instrumental, consisting primarily of a few repeated double-bass notes, some tinkly piano and a bit of mournful guitar. It doesn’t half go on. A dripping water repirise signals blissful release…

      8) Further NASA/Astronaut conversations lead into (another!) instrumental featuring, echo-ey, twangy, Shadows-esque guitar. Production quality sounds quite modern however. Sea sounds fade us out…

      9) Another spoken/floaty synth intro segues into a lively folk/rock number, which I’d bet my house on being Jethro Tull – before merging back into NASA-land.

      10) A reprise of track 4 announces another brief folk-(i.e. it features an accordion)-rock instrumental, sporting similar space sound-effects heard elsewhere in this compilation, then another spoken outro. This is a really weird track. I’m not entirely sure there is actually a single core song here as opposed to a custom hybrid specifically for the theme.

      11) Dreamy/trance-inducing modern soft-prog. The minimalist lyrics suggest it’s entitled ‘Space To Bakersfield’ but I have resisted resorting to Google to appear more hip & trendy than I have any right to aspire-to. Another hefty offering, weighing-in at nine minutes.

      12) Like track 10, I suspect this is another custom splicing of various bit of music and spoken word samples to sign off with.

      So – as mentioned at the outset the work that has gone into creating this overall mix is to be admired – it really is a fine piece of work in that respect. Similarly there is zero doubt that this is a full-fledged ‘SPACE’ themed mix, so top marks for that. You were not to know you were being paired with a boring partner who really just likes a nice tune and some lyrics. Deviant808 could tell you some tales…

      Thanks for the CD and apologies that I could not be more positive in my appraisal of the actual tracks. But anyway, I’m probably wrong. 😉

      • Thanks for the review – but what can I do…? I tried my best to come up with an Afterword-compatible selection (it includes The Stones, a track from an Afterword blogger, some nineties indie poppers, some prog – even a Stackridge track!). Next time I’ll probably have to include dialogue from “Neighbours” and “The Archers” for better results. 😉
        But anyway, I’m probably wrong, too.

  36. I think that’s it. I’ve tried to avoid repeating previous swaps, but holler if I’ve done it wrong. I also think I’ve got everybody who signed up, but again shout if you’re expecting a mention and you haven’t got one.

    To infinity and beyond!

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