What You Should Have Heard #80

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 want 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]

                                                               

Switchfoot Mix CD

1. The Sound – Hello Hurricane
2. Company Car – New Way to Be Human
3. Something More (Augustine’s Confession) – New Way to Be Human
4. Lonely Nation – Nothing Is Sound
5. Stars – Nothing Is Sound
6. The Shadow Proves the Sunshine – Nothing Is Sound
7. Easier Than Love – Nothing Is Sound
8. The Blues – Nothing Is Sound
9. Politicians – Nothing Is Sound
10. We Are One Tonight – Nothing Is Sound
11. Oh Gravity – Oh! Gravity
12. Meant to Live – The Beautiful Letdown
13. This Is Your Life – The Beautiful Letdown
14. More Than Fine – The Beautiful Letdown
15. Ammunition – The Beautiful Letdown
16. Dare You To Move – The Beautiful Letdown
17. Redemption – The Beautiful Letdown
18. The Beautiful Letdown – The Beautiful Letdown
19. Gone – The Beautiful Letdown
20. Monday Comes Around – The Beautiful Letdown

A few notes on Switchfoot:

• I don’t always like harsh music. Sure, I usually like it, but sometimes I need something a little cleaner, a little more uplifting. When I don’t want the lovey-dovey ballads or swinging sounds of Harry Connick, Jr. and would like to stick with rock ‘n roll, Switchfoot is my go-to band. They have replaced Huey Lewis and the News as my squeaky-clean band of choice.
• I don’t listen to Contemporary Christian music, so I had never heard of Switchfoot before they “crossed over” into mainstream rock. I’m not anti-Christian rock, I just haven’t heard any that I liked. It’s the same with music people might consider “devil rock.” I DO listen to Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, and I’ve never had a problem with them, their personalities, their beliefs or their lyrics. Regardless of whether what an artist does is a gimmick or not, it doesn’t affect the way I listen to their music. I listen to it as a whole. Their voices and the lyrics are just additional instruments that blend in with everything else. I know the words are there, but I can listen to them without them meaning anything. It’s just a little part of the whole. That said, although I’ve not heard much Christian rock, what I have heard I’ve not liked at all. I’m wondering, if I had heard any of their earlier stuff, would I have liked Switchfoot knowing that they were branded as a certain type of rock band?
• When searching for some videos to include, I found “Awakening.” While it is not a totally unpleasant song, I didn’t include it in the mix CD. I did, however, include the video below because it’s got Tony Hale (Buster Bluth in Arrested Development) playing a homemade version of Guitar Hero.

Switchfoot’s Official Site

Switchfoot’s Facebook page

Switchfoot’s Myspace page

Switchfoot’s Twitter feed

Switchfoot’s YouTube page

Switchfoot’s Wikipedia entry

Switchfoot’s AllMusic entry

Also, in case you've forgotten: When I can remember to add this to the bottom of my posts, I’m going to whore myself out with an impassioned plea: click on the ads. PLEASE click on the ads. I don’t care if you exit out of it immediately or actually look around. This isn’t some professional blog where I believe in the products I’m shilling. These are automatic ads placed by Google. But when you click ads, I get a little bit of money, and as a single father of three, every penny from every source helps...especially with Christmas looming on the horizon. So I’m going to keep this tiny bit of begging at the bottom of my posts, and I hope you’ll take an extra 10 seconds after reading my blog to click on an ad. The only thing it costs you is time. :) Thanks so much!