mixtape maestro (2.0)

Earlier this week, Little Joy (the side project act of Strokes’ drummer Fabrizio Moretti, Los Hermanos singer Rodrigo Amarante and singer/ songwriter Binki Shapiro) took a trip to the Daytrotter studios for a couple of live performances, and the posted sessions quickly reminded Mixtape Maestro how much of a pleasantly sublime treat their much overlooked 2008 self-titled debut remains (and how much we look forward to any of their future endeavors in-between day job gigs).

One of the featured performances is the Strokes-y “Keep Me In Mind”, an upbeat summertime rocker revolving around a man’s discovery of a “Dear John” letter that’s somehow both cruel and charming (“Frankly dear, i’m forced to give it up/ Tried my hand and now I’ve had enough/ Even though we have to say goodbye/ Keep me in mind”).

Given the blurried quality of the album version, hearing “Mind” in the crystal-clear clarity of a live context makes it’s even more of a favorite. Now we can better grasp the song’s dancing twin guitar interweavery magic, as well as the ragged edges of Amarante’s lazy croon, which adds a nice wearied tone in his echoed reciting of the title.

Hear/ snatch up the Daytrotter performance below.

DL: “Keep Me In Mind (Live Daytrotter Session)” (alt)

On “Don’t Watch Me Dancing”, a highlight cut from the recently released eponymous debut of somewhat-”supergroup” Little Joy (members are Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, Los Hermanos frontman Rodrigo Amarante and LA musician Binki Shapiro), the combined serenity of a hushed, twangy waltz and the delicate, near-whisper coo of Shapiro casts the kind of cottony-soft ear candy you wish all your dreams could be soundtracked with.

Through plucked, lullabye-like melodics that float on like the lightest of breezes eventually blossoming into a male harmony-laden Wall of Sound whirl, the listener is introduced to Miss “Margarita”, a “Sunday social” queen who “sways between suitors on a broken heel”. Binks’ drowsy narration is lined with both heavy weariness and somber fascination as she tracks the character’s cyclical trail through constantly new surroundings, where she re-enacts an increasingly tiresome “hit-it-then-quit-it” act over and over again.

A quietly tranquilizing little gem, “Don’t Watch Me Dancing” might not completely calm the yearn for the next Strokes’ project, but it accomplishes enough to spark anticipation for what other “little joys” Little Joy have to offer during the next between-album hiatus of Fab’s day gig.

DL: “Don’t Watch Me Dancing” (alt)