Diving For Pearls

Side 1 of a CD-R compiled by Atom Boy @ Metropolis Studios, Shizuoka, Japan, for me and Mrs. K in November 2004.

I've split this 20-track compilation into two vinyl facsimile sides as tracks 10 and 11 feel very much like the close of one side and the start of another. Also, I'm recreating this mix and writing this post very, very late on a Friday night-into-Saturday morning and I'm likely to fall asleep at the keyboard if I attempt the whole mix in one go...

So, this was a gift from my sibling, who was living on the other side of the world at the time. I'm not quite sure what the occasion was - it was out of synch for an anniversary, birthday or Christmas gift so it may well have been a random act of generosity.

On paper, this side is a great mix of alternative classics from the 1980s, nudging into the 1990s, with a ton of teen favourites. The only thing that marred the original CD-R was that the compilation coincided with Atom Boy's discovery of open source mixing and editing software, so every track was cross-faded into the other, without exception to unfortunately irritating effect. My recreation has ditched that for a more traditional, but hopefully more sympathetic segue from one song to the next.

But I can't deny that the track listing is really very wonderful. Side 2 is equally beautiful and you won't have to wait too long to find out why.

1) Bedbugs And Ballyhoo (Single Version): Echo & The Bunnymen (1985)

2) Down On Mission Street (Album Version): Lloyd Cole & The Commotions (1984)

3) Life In A Northern Town (7" Mix): The Dream Academy (1985)

4) Powderfinger (Cover of Neil Young): Cowboy Junkies (1990)

5) An Elegant Chaos (Album Version): Julian Cope (1984)

6) Rainy Season (Album Version): Howard Devoto (1983)

7) Shipbuilding: Robert Wyatt (1982)

8) The End Of The Affair: Weekend (1982)

9) The Last Dictator I: Crime & The City Solution (1990)

10) For One Moment (Cover of Lee Hazlewood): Marc Almond (1986)

1982: La Varieté: 8

1982: Shipbuilding EP: 7

1983: Jerky Versions Of The Dream: 6

1984: Rattlesnakes: 2

1984: World Shut Your Mouth: 5

1985: Bring On The Dancing Horses EP: 1

1985: The Dream Academy: 3

1986: A Woman's Story EP: 10

1990: Paradise Discotheque: 9

1990: The Caution Horses: 4

Side One (40:10)