113 Man Band

The Tracks: This is the first mix I composed after purchasing a "USB" turntable. A miracle of modern technology, a "USB" turntable is simply a record player with both traditional "RCA" output wires and a USB cable output. This feature makes it easy to play music from vinyl on your PC and record it. Since I bought this new turntable, I have listened to dozens of LPs and 45s which I haven't played in years. All I have to do is press RECORD, and I can save these songs as MP3s, import them into iTunes, and I can add them to playlists. I may never buy an album recorded before 1987 again, when I can find a used LP at a record store or a yard sale for 99¢ ! Number 1 on this mix is Marvin Hamlisch's solo piano "Solace", a melancholy track from The Sting movie soundtrack. The LP was a birthday gift from my wife in 2005, with autographs from stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford!

The Title: While composing this mix, I started to notice there were a bunch of tracks where the artist played all the instruments themselves, either live or multitracked. So I called the mix One (Hundred and Thirteen) Man Band.

The Cover: I did a GIS for the artwork, and the font inspired the pink and grey color scheme.

1. Solace - Marvin Hamlisch - Solo piano
2. The Hardest Button To Button - The White Stripes - As heard on The Simpsons
3. Zak & Sara - Ben Folds - My sister-in-law Sara's name would have been Zak had she been a boy!
4. Don't Look Back - Barry & The Remains (A Boston-based band most famous for opening for The Beatles on tour.)
5. Midnight Blue - Lou Gramm - HMV cutout bin
6. Slipping Away - Dave Edmunds (Edmunds let Jeff Lynne (ELO) produce this LP, and as a result, the normally roots rockin' Dave sounds distinctly New Wavy here.
7. I Wanna Know - The Mavericks - Scrubs TV show
8. Let's Live For Today - The Grass Roots (I still have a hard time believing that the same Creed Bratton who played guitar on this song is the same guy from The Office.)
9. Trouble - Lindsay Buckingham - Austin TX record store
10. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? - Prince (the great B-side to "1999")
11. I Think She Likes Me - Treat Her Right - Providence RI yard sale
12. Diner - Martin Sexton - Scrubs TV show
13. My Favorite Waste of Time - Marshall Crenshaw - One Man Band
14. Strapped For Cash - Fountains of Wayne
15. All For Leyna - Billy Joel - Birthday present, circa 1986
16. When The Stars Go Blue - Blake Lewis - American Idol
17. It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference - Todd Rundgren - One Man Band
18. What Matters - Matthew Sweet
19. Roscoe - Midlake - CD swap with George
20. What Can I Say? - Brandi Carlile - Tower Records liquidation sale
21. Daylight Fading - Counting Crows - Yard sale
22. More Than This - Norah Jones