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

111 and 112: Odyssey

Mixes 111 and 112 were composed at the same time. I used a photo taken of an art installation for the cover photos. We had just returned from a trip to Texas, where we visited an art museum. The cover for #111 (in orange) is the original color of the art installation; #112 (in blue) is the "negative" image of the same photo.

The Title: Odyssey is the name of an avant-garde Journey cover band we saw perform while we were visiting Texas.

The Tracks: I really dug deep into the history books for some of these songs:

1. Claire - The Push Stars
2. In the Meantime - Spacehog
3. Hey Jude / Sgt. Pepper (Reprise) - From The Beatles "LOVE"
4. Why Does This Always Happen to Me? - "Weird Al" Yankovic featuring Ben Folds on piano
5. In Between Days - Ben Folds
6. One-Sided Love Affair - Elvis Presley
7. Ain't Never Gonna Give You Up - (the only) Paula Abdul (song I like)
8. Big Bang Baby - Stone Temple Pilots
9. Cinnamon Girl - Suzanne Hoffs & Matthew Sweet
10. Poison - Bel Biv Devoe
11. You Only Live Twice - Pat DiNizio (the Smithereens lead singer, on solo piano, covering the Bond theme song.)
12. Divine Intervention (DEMO) - Matthew Sweet
13. Where Or When - Dave Edmunds
14. Hey Porter - Johnny Cash
15. Memphis - Chuck Berry
16. See the World - Gomez
17. Speed of Sound - Coldplay
18. Help Me, Suzanne - Rhett Miller
19. Better Days - Bruce Springsteen, featuring Randy Jackson on bass
20. Age Of Consent - Grant Lee Phillips

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1. Sly - The Cat Empire
2. Driven To Tears - The Police
3. Tell Her This - Del Amitri
4. Nothing Lasts - Son Volt
5. You're So Damn Hot - OK Go
6. What'd I Say, Pts 1 & 2 - Ray Charles
7. Life On A Chain - Pete Yorn
8. New Frontier - Counting Crows
9. TLC: Creep
10. Going Through The Motions - Aimee Mann
11. Think I'm In Love - Beck
12. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is - Jet
13. Sold Me Down The River - The Alarm (I put this Alarm song next to the Jet song because they both remind me of the Rolling Stones.)
14. I Want It All - Queen (I heard this Queen song on a Coca-Cola commercial.)
15. Jesusland - Ben Folds
16. Somebody Told Me - The Killers
17. Get Back - The Beatles, from the CD "Love"
18. Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order

110: S**T Blended Up

The title was inspired by a monologue we heard at the comedic showcase Mortified- the woman was reading from her teenage diary, an entry about summer camp and the so-called "food" the campers were fed.
The Cover: the top half is my face, with my vintage sunglasses I bought from an Indonesian man on eBay; the bottom half is my wife brushing her teeth.
The tracks: the blend is a little forced. I try not to use the same tracks on mixes repeatedly, but I should not have used that particular Jennifer Trynin song. I had just read her autobiography Everything I'm Cracked Up To Be, and I wanted to include a song of hers, but I should have stuck to one of the "hits" instead of trying to include a "deep cut". I need to learn that I don't have to be adventurous with EVERY choice! On the other hand, I dug deep for the Semisonic track "El Matador", which I now really love. I had just read the drummer's autobiography, So You Wanna Be A Rock & Roll Star, which inspired that choice. The last track is U2's "Vertigo", which I shoulda left off. I was sick of that song at the time, and I am sick of it now:

1. Battle Without Honor or Humanity TOMOYASU HOTEI (aka That Song from Kill Bill)
2. Let Keane In KEANE vs PAUL McCARTNEY (a great mashup)
3. Crazy GNARLS BARKLEY
4. Give Judy My Notice BEN FOLDS a very early-70s country-rock vibe.
5. Least Complicated INDIGO GIRLS
6. Monkey COUNTING CROWS
7. Lose Yourself EMINEM (an awesome song on its own, even better in the context of the movie 8 Mile.)
8. Let It Be Me SHAGGY vs THE BEATLES
9. El Matador SEMISONIC
10. Pictures of You LIT (an okay cover of the Cure song. The original was in those Hewlett-Packard computer printer commercials at the time.)
11. Come Around RHETT MILLER
12. Any Little Town THE PUSH STARS
13. When You Were Young THE KILLERS
14. Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again) WILCO
15. Rock Your Body JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
16. Time Won't Let Me THE SMITHEREENS
17. Bad Reputation JOAN JETT
18. Vertigo U2

109: American Talk Show Rest Stop

The Cover: my wife and our friends looked sorta like a rock band in this photo I snapped on the street after our attendance of a "Daily Show" taping (summer 2006.) This visit also informed the title, based on the Phil Ayoub track "American Highway Rest Stop":

1. A Life Of Illusion - the opening titles song from The Forty-Year-Old Virgin by Joe Walsh;
2. Just Pretend - The Bens (Folds, Lee, and I can't remember the third?);
3. Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae;
4. Right Time,Wrong Place - Bonnie Raitt and BB King;
5. Hearts For Sale - The Rolling Stones (a song I nearly forgot from Steel Wheels);
6. The Edge Of Forever - This Dream Academy song is from the soundtrack of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, when Ferris and Sloane say goodbye at the end of the day;
7. Break (A mashup of The Beastie Boys over Queen's "I Want To Break Free";
8. Listen (A mashup of "Shake Your Rump", "Root Down", and "Radio Ga Ga";
9. If You Talk Too Much - People In Planes (I saw this CD advertised in a TV commercial, of all places, and I liked this song. I bought the CD on sale at Target for $4.99);
10. Closer To You - Liz Phair;
11. Sunday Morning - Maroon Five;
12. Day Tripper - The Beatles - with a false start included, and no fadeout;
13. Always The Last To Know - Del Amitri;
14. American Highway Rest Stop - My friend Robert is a fan of Phil Ayoub, so he came up to Cambridge from NYC to see Phil at a CD release party, and Robert invited me along.
15. I Know There's Something Going On (I heard this song on the PA system at a restaurant, and I remembered the song but had no idea who it was. It sounded like Phil Collins on drums, and I was right- it's Frida, one of the ladies from ABBA, and her sole solo single hit);
16. September - Earth Wind and Fire;
17. Sexx Laws - Beck;
18. Rockin' Down The Highway - The Doobie Brothers;
19. Point of Know Return - Kansas;
20. Feel Flows - The Beach Boys song from the closing credits of "Almost Famous"

Our Wedding Favor Music Mix

It was surprisingly hard to select and agree on 80 minutes worth of music that was personal, appropriate, and fit well together. Artists that are our favorites, like Bruce Springsteen, didn't quite fit. On the other hand, bands which are barely on our radar (Haircut 100) made it when the song was just perfect for the moment. Read on for more about our wedding favor mix...
1. “Across The Universe” The Beatles • It was tough picking just one song. This is Emily’s favorite.
2. “I Love Every Little Thing About You” Stevie Wonder • I once bought three Stevie Wonder CDs in one day, and lived to tell the tale.
3. “Radio Sweetheart” Elvis Costello • We both love Elvis, and Emily used this song at the start of her college radio show.
4. “Fearless Love” Bonnie Raitt • This is an old favorite – I heard it as background music in the movie Sideways.
5. “Fair” Ben Folds Five • If our love for music were a Venn diagram, Ben Folds would be at the center of the overlap. We actually attended the same BF concert two months before we met. A very When Harry Met Sally moment, wouldn't you say?
6. "Kiss On My List" Daryl Hall & John Oates • The first cassette I bought from the Record & Tape Club was Hall & Oates Rock 'n' Soul Pt. 1. Of course, I still have the tape.
7. "Come Rain Or Come Shine" Ella Fitzgerald • For Emily, it’s impossible to pick a favorite American songbook standard, but it had to be Ella.
8. “Sunday Morning” Maroon Five • This song sounds like the soundtrack to our own screwball romantic comedy.
9. “Black Coffee In Bed” Squeeze (live 1990) • Yes, this is a breakup song, but it means a lot to us. I wrote in my online personal ad that my "most humbling moment" was when I couldn't hit the high notes in this song anymore! Emily was naturally charmed, and the rest is history.
10. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” Clem Snide • A cover version of Emily’s favorite Velvet Underground song.
11. “Lovely Day” Bill Withers • The soul classic that also reminds Emily of rollerskating up and down the driveway, circa 1982.
12. “What A Fool Believes” The Doobie Brothers • Song of the Year from 1979, this one goes out to Miss Amy Armstrong, our fellow Michael McDonald-o-phile!
13. “The Good Part” Wilco (live) • On our second date, we went to see a documentary about Emily’s favorite band. It's hard to find a Wilco song with a positive outlook on love, but this fits the bill.
14. “The Painter” Neil Young • From the album Prairie Wind, we first heard this in the amazing concert film Neil Young: Heart of Gold.
15. “This Old Heart Of Mine” The Isley Brothers • We had to include some Motown here, and Nat has a soft spot for this 1965 hit as it's prominently featured in his favorite “Moonlighting” episode!
16. "Love Plus One" Haircut 100 • This song sounds like the soundtrack to our own John Hughes 80’s teen drama.
17. “Drive South” John Hiatt • I once got John Hiatt’s autograph, but I was too nervous to engage him in conversation, can you believe it?
18. “Waiting For My Real Life To Begin” Colin Hay is the lead singer from Men At Work, a teenage favorite for both me & Em, all grown up here.
19. “Delirious Love” Neil Diamond • Another classic from our youth reincarnated!
20. “Age of Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine” featuring the Cast of The Forty-Year-Old Virgin • Feel free to sing along, just like the end of the movie...