Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What You Should Have Heard #26


My Mix CDs

I’ve got a lot of music but limited space to hold it in, especially in my car. So I’ve gone the old tried-and-true way of making mix CDs to have access to as many bands as possible while driving. I’m going slightly old-school since I’m a bit backwards and have no iPod.

Most of the songs will be more upbeat, with probably only the occasional ballad or slower song included. I like to sing in the car, and the more upbeat songs are more fun to sing.

I’ll be going in alpha-numeric order with these, so if you’re wanting to argue with me about what Weezer songs should be included, you’re going to be waiting for a while.

My only limitations are that I use 80 min. discs, and I’m only going to use one disc per band/artist. I will make exceptions for only my most favorite bands with huge playlists (Foo Fighters and Self, off the top of my head), but I’d really like to boil everything down to just one disc.

Here’s the list guide:

Track # - Song Name - Album Name [Artist if album is by a different artist]


Blue October Mix CD

  1. Independently Happy – Consent to Treatment
  2. James – Consent to Treatment
  3. HRSA – Consent to Treatment
  4. Breakfast After 10 – Consent to Treatment
  5. Balance Beam – Consent to Treatment
  6. Amnesia – Consent to Treatment
  7. Into the Ocean – Foiled
  8. Hate Me – Foiled
  9. Congratulations – Foiled
  10. Overweight – Foiled
  11. X Amount of Words – Foiled
  12. Drilled a Wire Through My Cheek – Foiled
  13. Sound of Pulling Heaven Down – Foiled
  14. Clumsy Card House – History for Sale
  15. Razorblade – History for Sale
  16. Calling You – History for Sale
  17. 3 Weeks, She Sleeps – History for Sale
  18. Inner Glow – History for Sale
  19. Somebody – History for Sale

My first exposure to Blue October was their hit “Hate Me” from Foiled. And really, I didn’t like it. But almost constant radio play drilled it into my head, and it grew on me, enough that I decided to check out the rest of the CD. Wow. I really didn’t give these guys a chance.

This is a versatile group. They can sound hard (“James,” “Razorblade,” “Somebody”). They can sound soft (“Congratulations,” “3 Weeks, She Sleeps”). They can sound a bit poppy (“Inner Glow,” “Into the Ocean”). But through it all they’re introspective and thoughtful. I liken it to listening to lyrical poetry. I know I’ll use a similar comparison again when I get to Soul Coughing, but that’s a bit more beatnik coffee house, Avant Garde poetry.

I started out with 24 songs in my first cut, just shy of 100 minutes. Needing to cut out 20 minutes of music, I ended up with 19 songs. Approaching Normal is the least represented album on the disc (with…zero songs), mostly because it’s the newest. I wanted to keep “Say It” on the disc, but I just didn’t think it, or any other song on the album, stacked up to the 19 songs that made the cut from the other three. I’m more invested in the songs from the earlier albums just because I’ve had more time to listen to them.


Here’s “Into the Ocean.” It shows the bands softer side, I think. I wish there were a video for “Inner Glow,” but there’s not.

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