Leonland - Leon Barnard
Leon's Spectrum Mixes
Sometime in 2005 I made my first "Spectrum" CD, a mix of songs intended to present the spectrum of my listening tastes, and somehow (hopefully) fit together to form an enjoyable listening experience. The secondary goal was to expose my friends to new music that I was excited about. For the first time I am putting them online, so that I can share them with more people.
Each mix contains some of my favorites from my archive, plus new songs that I had discovered recently that got me excited. With the exception of number 10, which I based on the mix I made for my wedding, none of them have a theme, although perhaps they reflect something about my general state at the time I made them.
Enjoy...
Clicking on the links will launch a music player in a new window. There might be a delay at times while the songs are loading.
- Leon's Spectrum No. 14
- Leon's Spectrum No. 13
- Leon's Spectrum No. 12
- Leon's Spectrum No. 11
- Leon's Spectrum No. 10
- Leon's Spectrum No. 9
- Leon's Spectrum No. 8
- Leon's Spectrum No. 7
- Leon's Spectrum No. 6
- Leon's Spectrum No. 5
- Leon's Spectrum No. 4
- Leon's Spectrum No. 3
- Leon's Spectrum No. 2
- Leon's Spectrum No. 1
In addition to making mixes, I also sometimes write reviews of the music I buy, which are listed below.
Random Review
Artist: Aesop RockTitle: Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives
Year: 2005
Rating: ***
Notes: I was really disappointed in this EP from my favorite hip-hop artist. Aesop Rock seems to have finally submitted to the genre of hip-hop. While his first two albums could barely be called hip-hop because their style was so fresh and unique, this one wants to be called Underground hip-hop, which, while not mainstream, has a prescribed formula. That alone wouldn't necessarily be so terrible, but it feels like Aesop Rock just ran out of things to say. This disc sounds forced, whereas his previous songs were so interesting to listen to. The saving grace of this disc is that it includes an 88-page booklet with the lyrics to all of his albums, which reads like poetry.
Recent Reviews
| Artist | Title | Year | Rating | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various Artists | Rawkus Records: Best of Decade I (1995-2005) | 2005 | ****½ | Read review |
| Cassius | 15 Again | 2006 | ***½ | Read review |
| Easy Star All-Stars | Radiodread | 2006 | **** | Read review |
| Danger Doom | The Mouse and the Mask | 2005 | ****½ | Read review |
| Gnarls Barkley | St. Elsewhere | 2006 | **** | Read review |
| The Roots | Phrenology | 2002 | ****½ | Read review |
| Mos Def & Talib Kweli | Black Star | 1998 | ***** | Read review |
| People Under the Stairs | O.S.T. | 2002 | ****½ | Read review |
| Clap Your Hands Say Yeah | Clap Your Hands Say Yeah | 2005 | ***½ | Read review |
| D'Angelo | Voodoo | 2000 | ****½ | Read review |
| Quasimoto | The Further Adventures of Lord Quas | 2005 | ***½ | Read review |
| Quasimoto | The Unseen [Instrumentals] | 2001 | ****½ | Read review |
Songs I've Been Into Lately
| Song | Artist | Album | Track No. | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Tuxedo Rap" | People Under the Stairs | Stepfather | 6 | Read review |
| "The Girl I Can't Forget" | Fountains of Wayne | Out-Of-State Plates [Disc 2] | 2 | Read review |
| "Get Ta Steppin'" | Hi-Tek (feat. Mos Def & Vinia Mojica) | Hi-Teknology | 9 | Read review |
| "Raw Addict, Pt. 2" | Quasimoto | The Further Adventures of Lord Quas | 24 | Read review |
| "6b Panorama" | Aesop Rock | Float | 11 | Read review |
| "The Hop" | Radio City | Music Is My Art | 2 | Read review |
| "Sagg Shootin' His Arrow" | Jimmy Smith | Root Down | 1 | Read review |
| "Since I've Been Loving You" | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin III | 4 | Read review |
| "Robot Rock" | Daft Punk | Human After All | 3 | Read review |
| "Degobrah" | Butter 08 | Butter 08 | 10 | Read review |
Review Queue
| Artist | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Jonny Greenwood | Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller | 2007 |
| Dengue Fever | Escape from Dragon House | 2005 |
| Zero 7 | The Garden | 2006 |
| Zero 7 | When It Falls | 2004 |
| Aesop Rock | Daylight | 2002 |
| Jurassic 5 | Feedback | 2006 |
| The Roots | Game Theory | 2006 |
| Beck | Mutations | 1998 |
| Beck | Guero | 2005 |
| Jimmy Smith | Back at the Chicken Shack | 1960 |
| Röyksopp | The Understanding | 2005 |