the essentials
some years back, soo suggested that as a christmas gifts to each other, we could each compose the equivalent of a mix tape for each other of the "essential music" of our collections. the details of "essential music" were left to us to determine. (for example, i expected a CD of nothing but guided by voices, pavement, and the pixies from emma.)
as it had happened, a few years earlier - in 2000 - i had composed just such a mix. it followed my standard rules (which shall be defined momentarily), and was certainly never intended for public distribution. i don't even recall why i compiled it, save that it was conveniently easy to do when my then employer was in the midst of moving offices, and much of my work day was spent putting lab supplies into boxes. in the spirit of soo's request, though, i composed an accompanying volume, titled - creatively - 2003, following and continuing the same mix rules.
now, i can't speak for the group, but i know soo and i never followed through. in fact, the only CD's i ever received were from a good friend of the good doctor who has since passed out of my life, so i expect not much came of the idea elsewhere, either. but in 2005, still with the intention of distribution at this point only to soo, i compiled yet a third volume. and by that time i was on itunes and was able to compile the three volumes into a playlist called "the whole shebang." and that, dear readers, is what follows - after the rules, naturally, and draw your conclusions as you will.
these songs, obviously, must be from CD's which i owned at the time of compilation.
there shall be only one artist per mix. in this case, the rule applies across volumes, so that a song shall not appear on volume three which is by an artist who appears on a previous volume. similarly, artists who transcend groups shall not appear multiple times. for example, one must choose between a ryan adams solo song or a whiskeytown song, or a wilco song and an uncle tupelo song.
a cover song and a song by the original artist shall not appear together either.
no "themed" sides (if this were a tape) - that is, no clustering of "slow song" and "fast songs". or any other theme, for that matter, but slow/fast is the most common.
and that's the list of rules.
these are my rules. whether or not you choose to play by them is up to you.
the other list follows now.
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"carry the zero," built to spill (keep it like a secret)
"march of the pigs," nine inch nails (the downward spiral)
"achin' to be," the replacements (don't tell a soul)
"wallflower," bob dylan (the bootleg series)
"in the aeroplane over the sea," neutral milk hotel (in the aeroplane over the sea)
"abegail anne," jeremy enigk (return of the frog queen)
"red-eyed and blue," wilco (being there)
"wishlist," pearl jam (yield)
"heroes," david bowie ("heroes")
"eurotrash girl," cracker (kerosene hat)
"little time bomb," billy bragg (workers' playtime)
"losering," whiskeytown (strangers almanac)
"ball and chain," social distortion (social distortion)
"bob," NOFX (white trash, two heebs, and a bean)
"no surprises," radiohead (OK computer)
"texas river song," lyle lovett (step inside this house)
"ohio river boat song," palace music (lost blues and other songs)
"big brown eyes," the old 97's (too far to care)
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"i remember a time when once you used to love me," the dirty three (horse stories)
"bad days," the flaming lips (clouds taste metallic)
"more yellow birds," sparklehorse (it's a wonderful life)
"big boys," elvis costello and the attractions (this year's model, demo bonus track)
"my big mouth," the posies (dear 23)
"holmes," the grifters (crappin' you negative)
"jersey girl," tom waits (heartattack and vine)
"holiday," the get-up kids (something to write home about)
"halah," mazzy star (she hangs brightly)
"let's save tony orlando's house," yo la tengo (and then nothing turned itself inside out)
"aisle five," twin cam (stealing souvenirs)
"village green preservation society," the kinks (village green preservation society)
"carry me," tim easton (the truth about us)
"fast car," tracy chapman (tracy chapman)
"run for your life," the beatles (rubber soul)
"range life," pavement (crooked rain, crooked rain)
"blue moon revisited (song for elvis)," the cowboy junkies (the trinity sessions)
"highway patrolman," dar williams (badlands: a tribute to bruce springsteen's 'nebraska')
"the man comes around," johnny cash (american IV: the man comes around)
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"ball & biscuit," the white stripes (elephant)
"divorce song," liz phair (exile in guyville)
"powderfinger," neil young (rust never sleeps)
"right as rain," decatur (well-worn persuasion)
"thirteen," big star (#1 record/radio city)
"little red corvette," prince (1999)
"one chance," modest mouse (good news for people who love bad news)
"gone for good," the shins (chutes too narrow)
"a thousand miles from nowhere," dwight yoakam (dwightyoakamacoustic.net)
"sloop john B," the beach boys (pet sounds)
"mona lisas & mad hatters," elton john (honky chateau)
"the slow descent into alcoholism," the new pornographers (mass romantic)
"savory," jawbox (for your own special sweetheart)
"the things that you say that you do," dressy bessy (dressy bessy)
"everyday people," sly & the family stone (anthology)
"out of time," the rolling stones (metamorphosis)
"the scientist," coldplay (a rush of blood to the head)
"night is the day turned inside out," beulah (the coast is never clear)
"what i'll remember most," over the rhine (ohio)
"suspicious minds," elvis presley (a life in music)
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Comments
but yeah, coldplay is a "not guilty" i may not get to.. the first is my favorite, but i'm happy with them all. and they work best as a three disc set.
oh and beulah! yummy.
1.) Little Axe - "Dayton" The Wolf That House Built
2.) The Clash - "Bank Robber" (single)
3.) Bob Dylan - "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts" Blood on the Tracks
4.) Barry Adamson - "Black Amour" The King of Nothing Hill
5.) 10,000 Maniacs - "Because the Night" MTV Unplugged album
6.) Smashing Pumpkins - "Bullet With Buttefly Wings" Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
7.) Paul Simon - "Crazy Love, Vol. II" Graceland
8.) Metric - "Dead Disco" Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
9.) The Who - "Love Reign O'er Me" Quadrophenia
10.) The The - "Perfect" 12" Remix Version 45 RPM
11.) The Pixies - "Vamos"
12.) The Pietasters - "Tell You Why" Oolaloo
13.) Procol Harum - "A Whiter Shade of Pale" A Whiter Shade of Pale
14.) Talking Heads - "The Great Curve" Remain in Light
15.) Tom Waits - "Spare Parts I (A Nocturnal Emission)" Nighthawks at the Diner
there's in some cases a weird relationship with time here, because a couple years prior, big star would have made the first cut (same song, and yes, i've heard the covers). phair and prince might have shown up there too. meanwhile, the stones not showing up 'til 2005 is odd as they've been consistently way up there toward the top since about 1990. and my all-time favorite beatles song is "ticket to ride," so why "run for your life" made it over that is somewhat of a mystery, except that i must have been more angry in 2003. and yeah, that seems right. so yeah - the psychologist types might have some fun.
incidentally, my favorite beulah racord is "yoko" by a mile.
(can you tell I'm tired and grumpy?)
I would pick any Pumpkins song off Gish. Anything after Siamese Dream and ya lose me.
I want to wake up in the morning and find a pile of cds from the Mixtape Fairy!
1.) I Will Dare, The Replacements (Let it Be)
2.) Dead Flowers, The Rolling Stones (Sticky Fingers)
3.) Someone to Pull the Trigger, Matthew Sweet (Altered Beast)
4.) Greetings to the New Brunette, Billy Bragg (Talking to the Taxman about Poetry)
5.) True Dreams of Wichita, Soul Coughing (Ruby Vroom)
6.) Jeepster, T.Rex (Electric Warrior)
7.) Dear Chicago, Ryan Adams (Demolition)
8.) Lover, You Should Have Come Over, Jeff Buckley (Grace)
9.) You Wear it Well, Rod Stewart (The Very Best of)
10.) Marionette, Soul Asylum (Hang Time)
11.) Fuck and Run, Liz Phair (Exile in Guyville)
12.) Everyday I Write the Book, Elvis Costello & The Attractions (Best of)
13.) Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely, Husker Du (Candy Apple Grey)
14.) I'm Gonna Make You Love Me, The Jayhawks (Smile)
15.) Candy Floss, Wilco (Summerteeth)
16.) Guided By Wire, Neko Case & Her Boyfriends (Furnace Room Lullaby)
17.) Bad Reputation, Joan Jett (Bad Reputation)
18.) It's All Over Now, Baby Blue, Bob Dylan (The Essential)
1) White Man in Hammersmith Palais, The Clash (The Clash - natch)
2) Love Will Tear Us Apart, Joy Division (Substance)
3) Coolidge, The Descendents (All)
4) Grandma's Hands (Bill Withers - Best of)
5) Slavemaster, Gregory Issacs (The Rockers Original Soundtrack)
6) Paint a Vulgar Picture, the Smiths (Strangeways, Here We Come)
7) The Body of an American, the Pogues (Poguetry in Motion)
8) Venus, Television (Marquee Moon)
9) Protect ya Neck, the Wu Tang Clan (Enter the Wu Tang 36 Chambers)
10) Filler, Minor Threat (Discography)
11) Knowledge, Operation Ivy (Energy)
12) Born to Roll, Masta Ace (Sittin on Chrome)
13) 53rd and 3rd, The Ramones (the Ramones)
14) Changes, David Bowie (Hunky Dory)
15) Time for Heroes, the Libertines (Up the Bracket)
16) Pinball Wizard, the Who (Tommy)
17) <deliberately breaks rule> Long Shadow, Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros (Streetcore) </deliberately breaks rule>
Maybe it's because you usually resent having to follow rules, and now that you're in the position of creating them, it's not sitting well?
I recovered my list, but can't post until I'm at home. I'm taking it for a test run on the commute however - so far, so good.
I only figured since it was your blog, I'd honor your rules for creating a mix CD.
CC: i guess if we're not arguing about the songs, we may as well argue about the rules.
1. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) - Arcade Fire
2. My Little Brother - Art Brut
3. Everything I Try To Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right - The Decemberists
4. Exodus Damage - John Vanderslice
5. Callin' Out - Lyrics Born
6. Chicago - Sufjan Stevens
7. Never-Ending Math Equation - Modest Mouse
8. This Year - The Mountain Goats
9. Rosa Parks - Outkast
10. Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel
11. Gigantic - The Pixies
12. Myxomatosis - Radiohead
13. Sugarcube - Yo La Tengo
14. New York City - They Might Be Giants
I had to stop at 14 because I could just go on and on forever.