Slow Gold

Like my thoughts on egg foo young and tornados, tonight’s broadcast is all over the map—but I’m increasingly fond of intensely personal playlists that ratfuck the algorithm. We kick off with a Breakfast Club anthem pitched down into Sisters of Mercy gloom, followed by a heavy slice of Detroit electro I bought in '95 and played to death, entranced by its bottomless growl. Years later, I heard this track on a compilation CD and realized it was meant to be played at 45rpm. This might be the godhead of my passion for slowing things down, and the ritual continues with a song from ’74 that reminds me of my parents’ kitchen and the big romance they had when they were young. Then comes a dub techno staple that sounds like a beautiful machine at 40% speed, which gives way to a Swans track I love. It came to mind after reading Adam Greenfield’s delightful piece about wanting to eat God while watching them perform—and I discovered “Leaving Meaning” degrades into a lovely ambient song if you fiddle with the equalizer and douse it in reverb. Then we head to heartbeat city, here we come.Simple Minds - Don’t You Forget About Me (38% slower)The Breakfast Club | 1985 | MoreWill Web - Spacewalk (30% slower)Cosmic Driveby | Direct Beat, 1995The Hollies - The Air That I Breathe (20% slower)Hollies | EMI, 1974Vladislav Delay - Huone (46% slower)Multila | Chain Reaction, 2000 | BandcampSwans - Leaving Meaning (20% slower)Leaving Meaning | Mute, 2019 | BandcampPole - Hafen (40% slower)2 | Kliff/Matador, 1999 | BandcampAphex Twin - #1 (Cliffs) (42% slower)Selected Ambient Works II | Warp, 1994 | BandcampThe Cars - Jacki (31% slower)Heartbeat City | Elektra, 1984Thank you for listening.The request lines are open.Enjoy life and get the full Midnight Radio experience delivered directly to your inbox ’round midnight on the 1st and 15th of each month.