Get your ow
n diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries newest entry

12:12 p.m. - June 15, 2007
Summer 2007 Mix #1
Ah, I realize that I haven�t been the silly lately. Well, my energies are elsewhere. But for you fans of cute � tonight is the Vacation Bible School program and not only will Katie be in it, but Kristin too. Since she�s now a big two-year old, she�s going to dance and sing and there�s no stopping her. Excitement plus!

Other than job searching and all that, I�ve been finishing up some iTunes projects, and because I�ve listened to a lot of songs lately I�ve been dropping songs into playlists for mixes. Well, I�ve decided that each mix should just be as random as they currently exist, so as I drop them in that will be how they will stay. You know, it�s kind of an anti-mix mix. Or an existential mix, because they are what they are.

Deep, eh?

Anyway, I have 11 right now, and probably will have a dozen or more before I have to get on with my life / career/ vocation. I don�t know if these will be sent out, they may be along with the other mixes that I have lying around that are not going to relocate.

Shall we? Let�s explore mix #1, though some of it has already been revealed earlier. But that�s OK, it�s tunes right?

1. Ballad Of Barbara � Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash released a boat load of records in his lifetime, and obviously some will be forgotten and lost amongst time. This is one that�s probably not as known as others, but it�s still worthy. It�s about a man from the country moving to the city, marrying a girl and then hearing the clarion call for home, and his wife says, �Nuh-uh!� and Johnny is all like �Uh-huh� and the wife goes, �See ya!� It�s not exactly what Lisa Douglas did to Oliver, is it? By the way, Barbara was married in a �soft blue gown�, so that�s trouble right there, I think. Right?

2. Don�t You Want Me � Moonshine Willy. I think I mentioned this before, but this a combo of bluegrass fiddles and beat with grungy guitar. It works, trust me, it works. I think my favorite musical spy would get a kick out of it!

3. Rock Me Again And Again And Again And Again And Again And Again � The Human League. And again, and again, and again, and again, and again, ad nauseum.

4. Sister Rosa � The Neville Brothers. It�s a good groove and a great message. I think the lyrics are a bit preachy at times, but I can give them a big pass because it�s a great tribute to Rosa Parks done by a legendary, yet little heard, band. It�s on iTunes, so you know what to do.

5. Never Gonna Fall In Love Again � Eric Carmen. Rock with Rachmaninoff? Ok, not as such, but darn the chorus stays with you. It�s a lamprey, attaching to your gut. OK, let�s not get carried away.

6. The Groom�s Still Waiting At The Altar � Bob Dylan. This is part of his churchy phase in the late 70�s and early 80�s, but he made some fine music then � a lot more vital and vibrant than the icky-poo generic Christian rock that exists now. My issue with Christian rock is that for the most part, bands aren�t willing to experiment or be edgy or stray a bit off the beaten path and it�s hard to stay on that message 24/7 in an album, so it gets wearing for me. Maybe that�s just me. I also prefer old-school churchy songs. Rock of ages, cleft for me, OK?

7. Don�t Call Me Whitney, Bobby � Islands. It may be slight, light and breezy, but the title is just killer, you know?

8. Painted Ladies � Ian Thomas. It�s Dave Thomas� (of SCTV fame � he was Doug McKenzie) brother. He had a nice career in Canada, but this was his only US hit. But he got a guest shot on SCTV once. Nice to have connections.

9. Interjections � Schoolhouse Rock. Hooray, I�m for the other team!

10. Krautmeyer � Dan Bern. I linked the lyrics earlier. They�re still a stitch. Would he get parole if he decided to go by Charles Krautmeyer instead of Manson?

11. He Can Hear His Brother Calling � The Long Ryders. An outtake from some demo sessions, this is a plaintive ballad that shows the strengths of the late, great Long Ryders. Oh, and it has a harmonica, sadly wailing in the intro. See, harmonicas? (There I go again!)

12. I Invented A Head � that dog. This was buried on an early B-side by this group. Ok, maybe for CD singles, they shouldn�t be called B-sides anymore, since you don�t flip over the CD to hear the other songs. At least, I don�t think you do. I know for my Goodfellas DVD I have to flip it over, but that�s a long-ass movie. Anywho, this showcases the gentle harmonies of the Haden sisters mixing with Anna Waronker�s voice and Petra (flutter!) chimes in with some nice violin as well.

13. Lazy Waters � I think I mentioned this one before. It�s probably the only decent song Skip Battin ever wrote for the Byrds, and the bass (of course) is prominent, but the harmonies are good as well. Oh, and there�s a plaintive harmonica here, too. I guess I�ll never let it go, eh?

14. Luxury Liner � The International Submarine Band. Gram Parsons formed this band before he joined the Byrds and then birthed the Flying Burrito Brothers. Country rock may well have started right here. �You think I�m lonesome � so do I.� That�s a man who recognizes the truth.

15. Daughter Of Darkness � Tom Jones. Is there any song where Tom Jones is subtle and understated? Any? OK, I didn�t think so. And that�s why we love him so!

16. New Toy � Lene Lovich. She was weird, yes, but underrated, and you can dance to it. No, really! And this actually has a chorus that you can transcribe accurately!

17. Try To Make It � Sloan. Another bunch of nice Canadians, and you know, they never really made it here in the States. Why is it that many of the good Canadian bands (besides Rush) we don�t go for, but like the Canadian dreck? Oh, perhaps it�s because the Canadian dreck tries to sound like American dreck? Yeah, probably. That explains Loverboy, at least, and Bryan Adams. Especially him.

18. Behind That Locked Door � George Harrison. Based on his later work, he probably should have made All Things Must Pass a single album and spread the good songs around to his later stuff. Because after this big blast, there wasn�t much in the well for George.

19. Return Of The Grievous Angel � Gram Parsons. It�s a shame he died so young, but it really was his own fault. But we have not only some great songs like this as his legacy, but he introduced Emmy Lou Harris to the world, so there�s that then.

20. Girls That Don�t Exist � The Records. The US of A is not the only country that has a blind spot to great power-pop bands. This English group didn�t get much traction in the UK, mainly because they existed at the tail end of punk and the beginning of the New Romantic and synth-pop movements, so there wasn�t much call for tuneful guitar based pop songs with some crunch to them. �Girls that don�t exist / dressed in clothes that I don�t see��very clever!

21. Robbie Fulks � Fountains Of Wayne Hotline. Just go buy it!

22. Johnny Cash � The Sound Of Laughter. Yet another rather obscure one to close this mix out, and this is a B-side that was on the Murder compilation. It�s Johnny talking about gunning down his ex that laughed at him. But like most Cash songs, he sings in jail, and while he�s not sorry about what he�s done, he�s takes responsibility and is tormented just the same.

That�s a good mix, eh? If I decided to tweak it, I�m sure it could make sense, but that�s life, you know. It�s random. Or maybe I�m just random. I think it�s both, you know.

 

previous - next

about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!