What You Should Have Heard #86

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.

So I finally got a Smart Phone a couple of months ago. I've now got a Spotify account with more than 10,000 songs in various playlists, so I guess I'm done with CDs. I'm going to see this through to the end, though. Well, through Yellowcard, at least. I got a bunch of miscellaneous CDs that contain a bunch of bands with a song or two by each.

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]

                                                               

Tracy Bonham Mix CD

1. I Was Born Without You – Blink the Brightest
2. Eyes – Blink the Brightest
3. Dumbo Sun – Blink the Brightest
4. Naked – Blink the Brightest
5. Freed – Down Here
6. Behind Every Good Woman – Down Here
7. Fake It – Down Here
8. Cold Day in Hell – Down Here
9. Jumping Bean – Down Here
10. Meathook – Down Here
11. Mother Mother – The Burdens of Being Upright
12. Navy Bean – The Burdens of Being Upright
13. Tell It to the Sky – The Burdens of Being Upright
14. Kisses – The Burdens of Being Upright
15. The One – The Burdens of Being Upright
16. One Hit Wonder – The Burdens of Being Upright
17. Sharks Can’t Sleep – The Burdens of Being Upright
18. Bulldog – The Burdens of Being Upright
19. Every Breath – The Burdens of Being Upright
20. 30 Seconds – The Burdens of Being Upright
21. The Real – The Burdens of Being Upright

A few notes on Tool:

• Bonham’s debut album The Burdens of Being Upright is almost a flawless album in my opinion. Only one song, track 5 “Brain Crack,” isn’t included in this mix. I think it’s just a wonderfully put-together album. The music, the lyrics, and the unexpected addition of the violin come together to form a great listening experience.
• With four years between TBoBU and her follow-up album Down Here, she kind of fell off my radar. When I did finally get around to listening to it, a lot of the harshness that drew me to her debut was missing. That’s something I’ve noticed with Garbage and No Doubt, too. These bands/performers have evolved their styles over the years (I’d say No Doubt/Gwen Stefani has been the most drastic), and while I’ll never fault a group for evolving, it makes me a bit sad when it evolves away from my musical tastes.
• One of the best concert-going experiences I’ve had, one that’s probably in my top three if I’d have to rank them, was Everclear’s Summerland tour. They played the upper area of Starwood Amphitheater, a Nashville-area venue which is sadly no more. On the bill were 7 Year Bitch, Spacehog, Tracy Bonham and Everclear. Tickets were reasonable, the show was a couple weeks before my freshman year of college started and a group of friends were interested in going, so I was pretty excited. Between Everclear’s Sparkle and Fade, Spacehog’s Resident Alien and Bonham’s debut album, these three bands were taking up a lot of my CD player’s time, so I was sure this was going to turn into a good show. The week prior, I ended up winning an invite to a meet-and-greet for Spacehog at a Nashville radio station for the afternoon of the concert. There was pizza and a short acoustic set, then we were able to get pictures taken with the band. It was tiny and awesome. The concert that night didn’t disappoint. 7 Year Bitch took the stage first, and they were extremely forgettable. I think they screamed way too much. Bonham was next, and I was mesmerized by the combination of her vocals and violin skills. While Spacehog and Everclear were more energized, I thought Bonham was the highlight of the evening.

Tracy Bonham’s Official Site

Tracy Bonham’s Facebook page

Tracy Bonham’s Myspace page

Tracy Bonham’s Twitter feed

Tracy Bonham’s Wikipedia entry

Tracy Bonham’s AllMusic entry

Tracy Bonham’s YouTube page

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!