The Second Coming of the…um…MIX
Ok, I’m trying something different here with this new mix. I’m loading all of the individual tracks up to a site where you can preview them and download only the ones you want. I figured this will be easier than getting something you don’t like, or already have.
I was going to go with a theme, as I have several in mind, but I just keep putting off the update and haven’t had the time to organize my thoughts to get it all together. So, I went with another random mix of songs that I’m spinning a lot of lately. These are all songs that I keep listening to over and over again, despite how many times I hear them. So, in my opinion, they are just THAT good.
There’s not much prefacing to do here, so I’ll just go right into it. Music can be found here:
http://updog.multiply.com/music/item/11
Ignore some of the weird MP3 tagging on the site….it pulls from the tags embedded in the MP3’s…some of which I’ve not edited yet. So, when you see “Syd - Dammit (good), the song is not called “Dammit (good)”, you’re just getting the “good” edit I have of the song, free of clicks and hisses and skips (because a version or two I had of it from other cd’s were old and skipped.). There you have it.
As for the blog itself, i’m still working out the kinks and have had a heck of a time formatting this mother-humper. So, bear with me a while and i’ll get it all figured out in due time. Now, where’s my HTML for Dummies book?
OK, onto the patented guide*.
(*guide not actually patented)
Augustana - Boston: In a little under a month, I’ll be going to Boston again, which will pretty much be a stop as I head to both Vermont to the north and New York to the south…but that’s a different story. This song always gets me thinking about my favorite city…on occasion, it has even nearly brought a tear to my eye. Yeah…I love Boston that much. Scary, huh? This version of the song is the one called the “2005 version”. It’s the one used in the video and sounds a bit more “full”. The piano is less “plinky” and more of a background instrument and the drums are more prominent. I think I like the early version better, but this is the one that got me hooked.
Beautiful South - Dream a Little Dream of Me: This is a cover of one of my favorite classic songs. It’s been done a billion times by a billion people, but this version is one of my favorites. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this song, as it stands and this cover does it justice.
Ben Folds - Fred Jones Pt. 2: Ben Folds can really write song. For example, this one is an emotional ditty about a man’s last day at work. It’s a touching song that really makes you think about the way we treat people as they move on from their job. I’ve had a lost of last days, and this songs makes me think about some of them. PS - Yay to our buddy Sam for getting to play drums with Ben on his upcoming tour. It’s gonna be legen…….dary.Brian Bergeron - Anna: Yes, I had him on my last mix. Yes, I’m putting him up here again. But no more, people. Go buy this guy’s music and support yet another great New England singer-songwriter. This new(ish) song is catchy-catchy, I don’t see how anyone couldn’t like this song. So, yeah…see his shows, buy his music: http://www.brianbergeron.net/merch.php
Carbon Leaf - Grey Sky Eyes: I recently came into more of Carbon Leaf’s album collection and found this little gem. These Virginia (also a great place) guys are also very good at writing a great song that sticks in your head. This song is one of their slower, moodier songs…but I love them that way.
Colin Hay - Waiting For My Real Life to Begin: This song was used in an episode of ‘Scrubs’ when a woman imagined what death would be like. The version on the show featured the cast singing the song, but the original version (by former Man At Work frontman, Colin Hay) is a hauntingly great song. I really like the vocals on this song, and the way most of his songs are written: sad with a glimmer of hope.
Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You Into the Dark: Speaking of sad…this song gets me every time, but I can’t stop listening to it’s musical goodness. I can’t even begin to think about what to say about this song to make it any better than it already is. Just listen to it. Listen good. And, yes…it’s semi-popular…what am I doing listing music that you can hear on the radio or MTV or something? I don’t know, but there are more to come.Dirty on Purpose - No Radio: This song has a crazy-weird video based on an 80’s aerobic workout video. Despite that, I still like the song. I saw these guys opening for Rogue Wave once and liked them, but never really listened to their music until I was watching Subterranean on MTV2…yes, that program again.
Islands - Bucky Little Wing: This song is a hidden track on the Island’s debut cd, and I’ve trimmed it down to remove the exceptionally long running time of rain only, before going into the song. While it sounds nice on the album with the rain, as a stand-alone track, I figured it’d be best to remove it. This another one of those weirdly sad-happy songs that I tend to gravitate quite often.
M Ward - Chinese Translation: This one’s a simple tune by M Ward, that tells a story of a man seeking advice from a man who…you’ll see.
Matt Skiba - The City That Day: I picked up this EP of Matt Skiba’s not long ago and fell in love with this song. It’s acoustic-awesomeness makes me wish I could play guitar. And sing. And write songs.
Push Stars - Any Little Town - This is an oldie, but a goodie. The Push Stars are yet another New England band I can’t help but like. This song, in particular, was probably their biggest hit, and it was only really regional at best. I actually last heard it in a CVS Pharmacy in Cambridge, Mass a few years ago. The first time I heard it, I was working part-time at a store in the mall and it was on our in-store sound system. The system would display the artist and title of the song in the back office, so after a few times of hearing it, I ran back there and wrote down the track info. The rest is history. The song has been a constant in my rotation for about…I’d say five or six years now.Regina Spektor - On the Radio: My wife hates this lady’s music. I, for one, really like it. I generally have an aversion to female singers for some reason (with a few exceptions), but this woman can belt out a quirky piano driven tune that gets me thinking about the lyrics and melody, plus gets me to sing along.
Rogue Wave - March: This song is relevant for one more day at the time of this writing. So, I decided to include it in this mix. This track also has the distinction of being a harder to find song, since it was only released on a cd sampler from a UK magazine. I bought the magazine just for this one song, but found some other nice stuff in there as well.
Straylight Run - Existentialism on Prom Night: I got hooked on this song via its video, which is brilliant. The song has a nice driving piano (which I seem to gravitate towards these days) and some great lyrics. All I need to get me hooked on a song are those things, it doesn’t matter if the song gets popular or not…which this one did. Speaking of, this version posted is the video version of the song (or “demo” version). The official album release varied slighty and cut about 30 seconds out…I like this one better.
Syd - Dammit: This is the first song that got me into Syd. Seven years later, I’m still listening. This is his version of Blink-182’s “Dammit” that puts a whole new spin on the original. It slows it town into an almost ballad-like state and really captures the emotion behind the lyrics. It still amazes me every time I hear this song. Syd’s got a new album coming out in a month…i can’t wait.
The Shins - Phantom Limb: yes, yes…another semi-popular song. How popular? It was on SNL, for one. And for another…sheesh…I heard it in Wal-Mart last night on their music system. What. The. Hell? All of that aside, and even after all of the buzz that surrounded the band after the movie “Garden State”. I still like this song and it’s weird little hooks and melodies. Lead singer James Mercer sure writes some enigmatic lyrics, but a little weirdness every now and again is good.And i’ll leave you with some visual fun:
Sam and Ben Folds in London -
