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5:34 p.m. - February 26, 2008
The Heart Mix Part Two - For My Sis!
Ah, back home again in�Minnesota.

That doesn�t really have the ring to it, does it?

Anyway, I�m back and doing well. My sister is getting better. She really appreciated the visit, and thanks again for the good vibrations.

So, let�s get on with part deux of the �Heart� Mix, shall we? These are songs that either my sister doesn�t know (probably) or would be surprised that I�d mix (possibly).

Disc 2

1. Another Nail In My Heart � Squeeze. Thanks to MTV, I learned to love Squeeze late in 1982, and I�ve been a fan ever since. This is off of the Argybargy album, which is one of the best records that I own. Every song is packed with melodies and wry lyrics. The drum sound, though, leaves something to be desired, at least to my ears. Anyway, here�s a pretty clever video for a great song.

2. Half A Heart � Tommy Conwell. Oh, Tommy. He came close, but didn�t quite get fame and fortune. He followed The Hooters out of Philly with his band, The Young Rumblers, but his heartland / Springsteen rock-and-roll fell on deaf ears in 1986-87. I guess there was no room for that kind of rock then, ya know. If you can find the Rumble record, get it.

3. Two Hearts Beat As One � U2. Of all of the U2 songs that were semi-popular at least, this one seems to have been forgotten. The War album featured some heavy basslines from Adam Clayton, which I always appreciate. Bono may be older now, but he had the attitude then, too!

4. Hammer In My Heart � Utopia. You gotta crank this one up! That synth sound coupled with the bass and cowbell is killer! And Rundgren lets rip on his guitar with a monster riff!

5. Sheer Heart Attack � Queen. No, this isn�t from the album of the same name. This was on News Of The World and joins �Houses Of The Holy� and other songs that I�m forgetting in my haste and fog of �songs by a band that appeared on an album different than the album the song was named for� or something more eloquent than that. The song rocks, but on vinyl, I didn�t quite like the sudden beginning. Roger Taylor sings this on the album, but here it�s Freddie, and I like the intro bit better her than just rushing into it.

6. Kickstart My Heart � Motley Crue. Back when they were decadent, they thought they ruled the world. Well, they were close. Anyway, iTunes has a scant supply of Crue on hand. Why? (Same with Def Leppard! It up and disappeared!)

7. Listen To My Heart � The Ramones. You tend to forget just how weird and revolutionary the first Ramones album was. Put it on in headphones and listen to the total separation in channels, just like the Beatles first stereo records. Thanks to YouTube you can see them in concert! That�s Marky on drums, so it must be 1978 or so�

8. My Heart Is A Flower � King Missile. Whilst going through my iTunes collection, I�m discarding a lot of King Missile because some of the songs just not funny anymore. But John Hall�s winners are true winners. This incarnation of the band was his most rocking, and that seemed to suit him better and give him the impetus to restrain his writing a bit. This had a fantastic video, too!

9. Heart Of The City � Nick Lowe. Nick Lowe�s Jesus Of Cool album was just re-released. Here in the States, it was known as Pure Pop For Now People. No matter the title, or track order, it was a dynamite record. I guess this clip is from the Live Stiffs concert tour. Oh, to have been there.

10. Heart � Camper Van Beethoven. You know, you can only think of one band if you want demented pseudo-ska played with bouzoukis. At least that�s what I�m calling this. This is from the brilliantly titled EP Vampire Can Mating Oven/.

11. Hearts Are Trump � Trio. Those wacky Germans who gave us �Da Da Da� (along with �Anna� and �Boom Boom�) also released this little ode that�s played on cheap guitar, cheap drum kit, and cheap Casio with cheap backing vocals and cheap deadpan lead vocals. But no matter the cost, it�s still a tune, man!

12. Doors Of Your Heart � The English Beat. They titled their second album Wha�Ppen and fans said the same thing after the split up a couple of years later. But at least they left us with good, clever tunes. This one is Kristin approved, by the way. When I was searching for the videos for this set she heard it and started to boogie!

13. All Of My Heart � ABC. This is another good one for the headphones, basically just to hear how rich and lush the sound is. There are some great sounding records that came out in this time frame, and I�m afraid that�s lost now for whatever reason. They also added a stylish video, to boot. Well, basically everything they did had style.

14. The Captain Of Her Heart � Double. For some strange reason, I have a soft spot in my heart for this rather sappy thing. I am an old softie.

15. Expressway To Your Heart � The Soul Survivors. You know, I had a clip for this one, but it just got yanked. Why? Anyway, if you know this one, it�s a classic mid-60�s soul tune with a great groove and then some plaintive vocals backed by a B-3. It�s around on comps, I�m sure, so you can find it.

16. Every Beat Of My Heart � Josie And The Pussycats. As much as kids loved their show, they didn�t sell that many records. But this is a great single, and there�s a great tribute video as well. Cheryl Ladd was on this as a backup singer (she was �Melody�, for what it�s worth).

17. Take A Heart � The Sorrows. I�ve mixed this obscure UK 60�s single a few times, and it�s always been a hit. Go find it if you can! �Why�d you break my heart?�

18. Only In Your Heart � America. Yes, my taste goes to the mushy at times. On record, the coda is a weird little backwards thing that is right out the mid-60�s. After seeing that clip, I think every band that had any kind of hit and has at least one member that can walk and breathe on his own is back on the road. See, this is what happens when you legalize casinos everywhere!

19. She�s A Heartbreaker � ZZ Top. I had to include this for my sister, because she said that she saw ZZ Top live and they did have live cows on stage. Moo! Moo! This comes from the underrated Tejas album, which had a lot of country elements. Billy Gibbons still cooked on it, though!

20. Give Back The Key To My Heart � Uncle Tupelo. They paid tribute to an influence by recording this song with the great Doug Sahm. The original, by my reckoning, was first done in 1976 by Sahm and the Texas Tornadoes. But it�s out of print. Sigh.

21. My Heart Is Broken � Ryan Adams. Adams pulled a �CCR� a couple of years ago and released three albums. This was from the second one, Jacksonville City Nights but I couldn�t find a performance video or any video for it. It�s a great country tune, though. I guess Whiskeytown did this on a rare single in 1997 but it hasn�t been released. Adams knows a good tune and knows how to recycle it, to boot!

22. Murder (Or A Heart Attack) � The Old 97�s. I waver hot and cold about this band. I really don�t like Rhett Miller that well solo � I think he needs a rowdy band like this to keep him honest. Here�s a video from a live show, totally out of synch, but at least you can kinda hear the tune. He�s got a gift for wordplay and melody, that Miller. But still, I waver.

23. Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight � Whiskeytown. I have two versions of this, but I prefer the one that was a bonus track on Faithless Street because it�s a bit rawer. Ryan Adams, again, with Caitlin Cary on harmonies and fiddle live in St. Louis. I�m glad people had the foresight to take cameras in there.

24. My Heart Skips A Beat � Buck Owens. Well, I think that�s what got my sister into this mess in the first place! Buck has a nice outfit, don�t you agree??

Well, there�s part two of my CD extravaganza for my sister. Coming soon, the disc I received for the CDP mix, plus back to the Smed Top 200! Enjoy!

 

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