Tuesday, September 6, 2011

What You Should Have Heard #72


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]
                                                                

Seven Mary Three Mix CD

Disc 1

  1. Peel – Orange Avenue
  2. Over Your Shoulder – Orange Avenue
  3. Chasing You – Orange Avenue
  4. Each Little Mystery – Orange Avenue
  5. In Between – Orange Avenue
  6. Southwestern State – Orange Avenue
  7. Devil’s Holy Joke – Orange Avenue
  8. Lucky – Rock Crown
  9. Rock Crown – Rock Crown
  10. Needle Can’t Burn (What the Needle Can’t Find) – Rock Crown
  11. Honey of Generation – Rock Crown
  12. Home Stretch – Rock Crown
  13. Times Like These – Rock Crown
  14. What Angry Blue – Rock Crown
  15. Houdini’s Angels – Rock Crown
  16. Player Piano – Rock Crown

Disc 2

  1. Water’s Edge – American Standard
  2. Cumbersome – American Standard
  3. My My – American Standard
  4. Headstrong – American Standard
  5. Margaret – American Standard
  6. Punch In Punch Out – American Standard
  7. Favorite Dog – American Standard
  8. Without You Feels – Dis-Location
  9. Bark No Bite – Dis-Location
  10. Blue Letter – Dis-Location
  11. By Your Side – Dis-Location
  12. Sleepwalking – The Economy of Sound
  13. Wait – The Economy of Sound
  14. Summer is Over – The Economy of Sound
  15. Still I Find You – The Economy of Sound
  16. Zeroes and Ones – The Economy of Sound
  17. Steal a Car – The Economy of Sound

A few notes on Seven Mary Three:

  • I think it’s sad that most people, at least most of my friends, only know “Cumbersome” and “Water’s Edge” from 7M3. Good songs, yes, but not great songs.
  • My favorite songs by 7M3 are the mellower, simpler ones. For half the song, “Devil’s Holy Joke” Orange Avenue is just lead singer Jason Ross and a guitar. “Times Like These” from Rock Crown has a similar feel. My favorite, though, is “Punch In Punch Out” from American Standard. It’s just Ross and an expertly played drum kit. It’s mesmerizing to listen to, and it’s really just simple and beautiful song.
  • That said, these guys can rock. Their Wikipedia page has them listed as post-grunge or alternative, but I like to think of them as the evolution of southern rock. I think a lot of that may have to do with Ross’s voice, I don’t know. There’s not much (if any) of a country sound to the music, but just listen to that twang at the beginning of “What Angry Blue?” from Rock Crown. It can be heard a bit in “Over Your Shoulder” and “Southwestern State” from Orange Avenue and “Wait,” “Summer is Over” and “Still I Find You” from The Economy of Sound. And although musically it might not sound like southern rock, listen to the lyrics of “Favorite Dog” from American Standard. That is a blues and/or country song if I’ve ever heard one.
  • I’m trying to include lots of videos now instead of just one or two, but sometimes record labels can be dicks about allowing embedding of their artists’ videos. I’m running into that problem now. I’ll give you what I can, though. Here’s an acoustic version of “Cumbersome” done the radio station that I listen to when I’m in the car, 102.9 The Buzz in Nashville.



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