INSTANT KZSYOUTH ALL-STARS CLASSIC.

The incomparable Holy Page Records just blasted this Halloween mixtape our way: 25 tracks, none of them take themselves too seriously, and that’s why this works. Halloween themed too! The original cassette glows in the dark and has candy corn stickers. All songs are just as good as their titles (just flip it over and take a look why don’t you…), and although they align themselves mostly towards the electronic end of the spectrum, there is something for everyone in this goodie bag: lo-fi rap, ambient, thrasher rock, etc. There is probably nothing better than this album for those valiant 3-6 slots—trust me, it’s even better than playing Prince and Joe Meek at the same time.

FCC: 15, 16, 17, 18, 20

1. Slow bass strumming with eerie sound effects—vinyl static echoey vocals, dogs barking, samples from weirdass thrift store records etc.
2. Midtempo Seattle indie rock—sparse instrumentation makes everything that much more suspenseful. Plus there are some clutch sax parts—I’d pay money to see this guy and the White Plaza sax man have an epic duel.
*3. Swingy instrumental. Lots of plucky guitar and accordion, with a romantic air of nostalgia. 1950’s prom anyone?
*4. Spookly surfy guitar Halloween anthem. Brian Wilson wall of sound, layered vocals, a bit of a western thing going on, plus an unabashed nod to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
5. 30-second tape loop buildup explodes into a funky gyrating electro banger. Rob Walmart fans rejoice.
6. Loungy ambient. Gently tinkling percussion, a bit of jazz. Echoed washed-out lyrics at the very end.
*7. Beautiful acoustic guitar strumming, birds chirping, sunny vibes, hand-played percussion. Chill out brah.
8. Funky-fresh electro synth. Quincy Jones throwback. Dancey with echoed robotic lyrics.
*9. And now we get 80’s prom. Purple tuxes, buttery synth beats, disco balls—a few spoken word phrases make it that much more epic.
10. Spaz-electro-rock with lots of jangly percussion, reedy keyboards and Middle Eastern and North African flavor.
11. Dark moody intro, later transitions into a chill atmospheric lounge track with deep resonating piano chords.
*12. Midtempo xylophone and rainfall with occasional punctuating notes of keyboard. Awesome!
*13. I swear this is Tim Hecker remixed—shimmery chopped up and washed out keyboard samples put to a jivey beat. Tropical at times, and with a long fade-out. (Watch out for the 2 seconds of silence at 2:20)
14. Spooky ghost noises.
15. FCC (motherfucker) Lo-fi bedroom Halloween rap. Pretty goofy.
16. FCC (fuck) High-strung, desperate rap almost yelled.
17. FCC (fuck) Bouncy fuzzed-out Casio riffs. Spacey. Surreal male and female lyrics.
18. FCC (fuck) Slow-mo chopped and screwed—honest to goodness sounds like some dime-a-dozen H-Town mixtapes from Datpiff. The beat’s pretty good though—swollen electro/funk with sitar. I know, right?
19. Tracey Trance Casio improvisation—all done with a keyboard, probably in one sitting. Deceptively childish but also awesome.
20. FCC (shit) An interview about spirituality over a track of stabby keyboard improv. Brother, this is far out. Too bad about the “shit” that pops out towards the end.
*21. Opens with the sound of rainfall. Gently transforms into the most beautiful floaty keyboard blissouts ever. I only wish it could be longer.
*22. Ringing guitar intro. Later adds a bit of strings—sounds like an electric violin rewriting the rules of vibrato. Beautiful. Another top-notch slow-burner.
*23. Trippy electro magical realism with dial-up internet samples—heavy acid house influences.
*24. Introspective classical acoustic guitar piece with a bit of emotional humming. Stunning. A must for fans of Caligine.
*25. Badass Michael Jackson Thriller beat (complete with howling wolfs) with guest vocals by the chipmunk twins made famous by Daft Punk’s “Technologic.” Lyrics mostly concerning “tha beat” and “a freak in the sheets.” It’s only fitting that this comp ends with such a WTF moment. The last 1 minute is silence. Again. What just happened?