Video of the Day

I don't know what the shuffle setting on Spotify was trying to tell me this morning, but it wasn't encouraging. "Suffocate" by Cold, "Hey, Johnny Park" by Foo Fighters, this song, and "Houdini's Angels" by Seven Mary Three. Ugh. I'm not ashamed to say that this morning's disposition was gloomy, to say the least.

These lyrics didn't help:

"I can't hold on
[To what I want when I'm stretched so thin]
It's all too much to take in
I can't hold on
[To anything watching everything spin]
With thoughts of failure sinking in"

But I'm better now. Friends are a good thing to have. :)

Also, I never realized how depressing Linkin Park can be. I tend to stick with the more upbeat stuff, but I actually listened to this song this morning, and wow.



And just for kicks and giggles, this .gif wall has been me for the past week (if not for the past year and a half). Also, I fail at .gif walls, so just go hereto see the original. The sentiment is still the same.

Video of the Day

I've been on a bit of a Linkin Park kick. This song isn't new and neither is the video, but sometimes you just have to hop in that Wayback Machine and jump back to...2001. Ah, it was such a simpler time back then. I started my first job out of college, I was engaged, kids weren't even a thought, and I had a very respectable comic book collection. Now, I'm in a different position with the same company, I'm divorced, I've got three kids, and I'm just now starting to replace the comic book collection I sold shortly before my first child was born. Being an adult is HARD.

What You Should Have Heard #50

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]

Linkin Park Mix CD

1. It’s Goin’ Down – Built from Scratch [X-Ecutioners]
2. Papercut – Hybrid Theory
3. One Step Closer – Hybrid Theory
4. Points of Authority – Hybrid Theory
5. Crawling – Hybrid Theory
6. In the End – Hybrid Theory
7. Place for My Head – Hybrid Theory
8. Forgotten – Hybrid Theory
9. High Voltage – Hybrid Theory
10. Don’t Stay – Meteora
11. Lying from You – Meteora
12. Faint – Meteora
13. Figure.09 – Meteora
14. Breaking the Habit – Meteora
15. Nobody is Listening – Meteora
16. Given Up – Minutes to Midnight
17. Bleed It Out – Minutes to Midnight
18. Standing in the Middle – Underground v4.0
19. Dirt Off Your Shoulder/Lying from You – Collision Course
20. Big Pimpin’/Papercut – Collision Course
21. Jigga What/Faint – Collision Course
22. Numb/Encore – Collision Course
23. Izzo/In the End – Collision Course
24. Points of Authority/99 Problems/One Step Closer – Collision Course

A few notes on Linkin Park:

• Thirty-two tracks and 107 minutes at the first cut. This one is going to be trickier than I thought it would. I’ve got the entirety of Collision Course, the mash-up album with Jay-Z, on here, and I’d like to keep it, but remixes are usually what I get rid of first. Hmm.
• I ended up getting rid of a few songs that I liked musically, but not lyrically or vocally (“Numb,” “What I’ve Done,” “No Roads Left” for example).
• I think LP works best when they’re pushing the tempo, pushing the beats, and really pumping the listener up. “Bleed It Out” from Minutes to Midnight really illustrates this, I think. I love the way that song is put together.
• When I first started listening to LP in college, I always had it in my mind that they were like a next-generation 311. They’re kind of like the younger, more hyper brother to the laid back and easy-going 311.
• Vocally, I prefer Mike Shinoda over Chester Bennington. I guess that’s why I put “It’s Goin’ Down” by the X-Ecutioners on here. It features Shinoda, and it’s awesome.
• I’m a huge fan of mash-ups, especially when they’re well done. And really, you can’t get a more well-done track than one (or an entire EP) produced by the people who are actually being mashed up. DJ Dangermouse did something great with The Grey Album, his mash-up of Jay-Z’s black album and The Beatles’ white album, but Collision Course is better.

Linkin Park Official Website

Linkin Park Wikipedia entry

Linkin Park AllMusic entry

Linkin Park Twitter feed

Linkin Park Facebook page

Linkin Park MySpace page

Linkin Park YouTube channel