Tuesday, May 3, 2011

What You Should Have Heard #54

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]


Mike Doughty Mix CD

  1. I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancin’ – Golden Delicious
  2. Put It Down – Golden Delicious
  3. 27 Jennifers – Golden Delicious
  4. Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well – Haughty Melodic
  5. Unsingable Name – Haughty Melodic
  6. Madeline and Nine – Haughty Melodic
  7. Busting Up a Starbucks – Haughty Melodic
  8. American Car – Haughty Melodic
  9. Tremendous Brunettes – Haughty Melodic
  10. I Hear the Bells – Haughty Melodic
  11. Sunken-Eyed Girl – Haughty Melodic
  12. His Truth is Marching On – Haughty Melodic
  13. Your Misfortune – Haughty Melodic
  14. Lord Lord Help Me Just to Rock Rock On – Sad Man Happy Man
  15. Ossining – Skittish/Rockity Roll
  16. Mr. Xcitement – Mink Car [They Might Be Giants]
  17. Never Gonna Come Back Down – Movement in Still Life [BT]
  18. (Firetruck) – Smofe and Smang: Live in Minneapolis
  19. Firetruck – Smofe and Smang: Live in Minneapolis

A few notes on Mike Doughty:
  • I’m actually pretty disappointed in my Doughty mix CD. I had thought it would have had more songs on it. And I kind of feel like I cheated just a bit so I’d have enough of his solo songs to make a mix CD that hit 60 minutes. Two of the songs (both of which happen to be collaborations with other artists) sound much more like Soul Coughing tracks than his solo work. But they’re listed as M. Doughty collaborations and not Soul Coughing collaborations, so I’m running with it.
  • Whenever a singer has been in multiple bands or has gone solo after being in a band, I usually combine all their work into one CD. The Chris Cornell CD will have his Soundgarden stuff, his solo stuff and his Audioslave stuff. Ditto for Rob Zombie, Ken Andrews, Bleu, etc. But with Mike Doughty, I thought that his solo stuff was so far removed from his Soul Coughing stuff that they needed separate discs. I like his solo stuff better, although I do have a place in my heart for SC. It’s just that I can’t listen to a lot of it in one sitting. It’s a little too techno, too beatnik jazz poetry for me. I appreciate it as art, but I can just get behind his solo stuff better.
  • I don’t really include live tracks in these things because they are rarely better than the studio tracks, but I love the little “Firetruck” song, of which there is no studio recording.
  • I chose the Golden Delicious version of “27 Jennifers” rather than the Skittish/Rockity Roll version because it sounded more polished. Also, I think the difference in track length would have dropped me below my 60 minute minimum.
  • Seeing that most of the CD is filled with Haughty Melodic tracks, I think I need to go back and really pay attention to Golden Delicious and Sad Man Happy Man.
  • I had really hoped that there would be an official video for “Sunken-Eyed Girl,” because that’s my favorite Doughty song, but there’s not. So instead, I’m including TWO videos to make up for it. Don’t get me wrong, “27 Jennifers” and “Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well” are great songs…I just like “SEG” better.



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