Philadelphia rock band Beach Slang were already tabbed for a nice October with the release of debut full-length The Things We Do To Find People Like Us, out on Halloween Eve via Polyvinyl Records. But now the band has added to that release with their ongoing mixtape collection, “Here, I Made This For You”, which drops October 17 for Cassette Store Day.
Included on the mix, limited to 500 red cassettes, are covers of Ride (“Like a Daydream”), Senseless Things (“Too Much Kissing”), The Plimsouls (“Million Miles Away”), and Best Kissers in the World (“Pickin’ Flowers For”), as well as a badass straight-on take of Dramarama’s 1985 guitar-rock prognosticator “Anything, Anything”.
It’s a pretty faithful take on the original, which was already as close to perfection as a song gets. Listen to it below via Beach Slang’s Soundcloud.
“I’ve always been sort of clumsy,” writes James Alex. “Mostly, meaning socially. That’s tricky business when you’ve got a big, gooey heart. But, yeah, when I can’t quite figure out how to say a thing to someone, I make tapes for them. I need them to know how much I mean it, you know? That’s what this is: me letting you know how much I mean it. Every drunk sing along, every sweaty hug, every shirt you wear, record you grab, letter you write, thing you say… it’s a really wild heart-sweller. Thank you for all of it.”
He adds: “For Volume I, I landed here. I mean, lots of songs mean something to me. These six mean a whole lot. I hope they will to you. If you already know them, play them loud and remember it all. If you don’t, I hope they feel like something you’ve been waiting for. Some people tell me I overly romanticize rock & roll. That I have too much of a dreamer head. I’ve never apologized for that. Nah, not even once.”
Beach Slang play Great Scott in Allston on November 24; full dates down south.
Beach Slang 2015 North American Tour
10/15 – The Emporium – Patchogue, NY^
10/16 – Upstate Concert Hall – Clifton Park, NY^
10/17 – Chameleon Club – Lancaster, PA^
10/24 – The Southern – Charlottesville, VA
10/25 – Neptunes – Raleigh, NC
10/26 – The Milestone Club – Charlotte, NC%
10/27 – The Masquerade – Purgatory – Atlanta, GA%
10/28 – Pre-Fest 2015 – Ybor City, FL
10/31 – The Fest – Gainesville, FL
11/2 – The End – Nashville, FL%@
11/3 – The Firebird – St. Louis, MO%@
11/4 – Jackpot Music Hall – Lawrence, KS%@
11/6 – Larimer Lounge — Denver, CO %@
11/7 – Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT%@
11/8 – The Watercooler – Boise, ID%@
11/9 – The Vera Project – Seattle, WA%@
11/10 – The Cobalt – Vancouver, BC%@
11/11 – Analog Cafe – Portland, OR%@
11/12 – The Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA%@
11/13 – The Hideout (San Diego Music Thing) @ San Diego, CA %@
11/14 – Bootleg – Los Angeles, CA%@
11/15 – The Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ%@
11/17 – Mohawk – Austin, TX%@
11/18 – Doublewide – Dallas, TX%@
11/20 – The Outland Ballroom – Springfield, MO%@
11/22 – Mac’s Bar – Lansing, MI%@
11/23 – Lee’s Palace – The Cave (Upstairs) – Toronto, ON%@
11/24 – Great Scott – Allston, MA%@
12/16 – Amityville Music Hall – Long Island, NY%@
12/17 – Knitting Factory – Brooklyn, NY%@
12/19 – First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA%@
* w/ The Hotelier
% w/ Cayetana
# w/ Tommy Stinson
^ w/ The Bouncing Souls
% w/ Lithuania
@ w/ Worriers