P’s & Q’s

In the category of unfinished business, I'm finally getting around to finishing my alphabet mixes. At this rate, I'm feeling a bit like Sufjan and his 50 States project. But hey, at least I have a realistic chance of finishing mine. After a 19-month delay, here’s P and Q:

1. Preservation… Aesop Rock & Del Tha Funky Homosapien
2. Paperback Writer… The Beatles
3. Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating… Ben Harper
4. Picture Book… Bill Lloyd & Tommy Womack
5. Perfect Games… The Broken West
6. Post Script… Finch
7. Pattern Skies… The Greenhornes
8. Party Pit… The Hold Steady
9. Permanent Hurt… John Hiatt
10. Pure… Lightning Seeds
11. Portland, Oregon… Loretta Lynn with Jack White
12. Postcard Of A Painting… Maxïmo Park
13. Piece Of Crap… Neil Young & Crazy Horse
14. People Got a Lotta Nerve… Neko Case
15. Pop Lie… Okkervil River
16. Portions For Foxes… Rilo Kiley
17. Paul Simon… The Russian Futurists
18. Prophet Of Doom… The Samples
19. Poison Lovers… Steve Earle
20. Panic… The Stills
21. Pure Juice… Summercamp
22. Pumping On Your Stereo… Supergrass
23. Pink Triangle… Weezer
24. Postcards From Hell… The Wood Brothers


1. Qué Onda Guero… Beck
2. Queen Of The World… The Bottle Rockets
3. Quattro (World Drifts In)… Calexico
4. Queen Of Charades… The Connells
5. Queen Of Hollywood… The Corrs
6. Queen Bitch… David Bowie
7. Quicksand… Dinosaur Jr
8. Quiet Houses… Fleet Foxes
9. Quiet Heart… The Go-Betweens
10. Quick Painless & Easy… Ivy
11. Quiet… John Mayer
12. Que Lindo Sueño… King Khan And The Shrines
13. Quiet As A Mouse… Margot & The Nuclear So And So's
14. Quiet Her… Matthew Sweet
15. Quannum World… Quannum MCs
16. Question… Rhett Miller
17. Quiet… Smashing Pumpkins
18. Queen Of Apology… The Sounds
19. QMS… T-Love
20. Quicksand… Travis

Nothing Better

1. Never Gonna Change… Drive-By Truckers
2. Naked As We Came… Iron & Wine
3. Nails In My Feet… Crowded House
4. Neal's Lament… Michael Andrews
5. Narcolepsy… Third Eye Blind
6. Never Tear Us Apart… INXS
7. Needle In The Hay… Elliott Smith
8. Nightingale Song… Toad the Wet Sprocket
9. Nightswimming… You Say Party! We Say Die!
10. No One Is To Blame… Howard Jones
11. N.M.I.… Sean Watkins
12. Nothing Better [Styrofoam Remix]… The Postal Service
13. New Slang… The Shins
14. No Room to Bleed… Ben Lee
15. Nightblindness… David Gray
16. Not A Job… Elbow
17. Not California… Hem
18. Nothing Left To Lose… Mat Kearney
19. Notice… Gomez
20. Night Walk… Belle & Sebastian
21. New Shoes… Paolo Nutini

Missing Link

1. Main Title… J.J. Abrams
2. Mercy Kiss… Abandoned Pools
3. My Own Worst Enemy… Lit
4. My Name Is Jonas… Weezer
5. My Sharona… The Knack
6. Man On The Moon… Sugar
7. Mary Jane’s Last Dance… Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
8. Mansion On The Hill… Neil Young & Crazy Horse
9. Making Memories… Rush
10. Massive Nights… The Hold Steady
11. Murray… Pete Yorn
12. Murdered By A Big Bomb… The Upwelling
13. Modern Way… Kaiser Chiefs
14. Moonage Daydream (live)… David Bowie
15. Me And Mia… Ted Leo / Pharmacists
16. Muscle Museum… Muse
17. My Coco… Stellastarr*
18. Motorcycle Drive By… Third Eye Blind
19. Missing Link… Dinosaur Jr & Del tha Funky Homosapien
20. Magic Power… Triumph

Little Wing

This was one of the easier Alphabet mixes. Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing” is one of my favorite songs, and since I own more than 20 versions of the song, it was just a matter of picking the best ones and fitting them on a CD.

1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
2. Derek And The Dominos
3. Gil Evans & The Gil Evans Orchestra
4. Sting
5. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
6. Skid Row
7. The Corrs
8. Pearl Jam
9. Vitamin String Quartet
10. Jenn Adams
11. Concrete Blonde
12. South Austin Jug Band
13. Tak Matsumoto
14. Mark Selby
15. Eric Steckel Band

Kaleidoscope

This one’s all over the place. In fact, I think I’ve created a new musical genre: Classic-Turkish-alt-jazz-grass-punk-hop-tronica.

1. Kelly Watch The Stars [Moog Cookbook Mix]… Air
2. Knowing… Outkast
3. Kids With Guns… Gorillaz
4. Kirmizi Biber… Bendeniz
5. Kite Flying Society… Mark Mothersbaugh
6. Kaleidoscope… Béla Fleck & The Flecktones
7. Keep Me… The Black Keys
8. Kashmir… Led Zeppelin
9. Kusursuzsun [acoustic version]… Emrah
10. Ken’s Ode to Joy… Michael Andrews
11. Knockin’ On Heaven's Door… Eric Clapton
12. Keep On… Braille
13. Koka Kola… The Clash
14. King Caesar… Head Automatica
15. KRS-Lightly (Ft. S.A. Smash)… Vast Aire
16. Kite Song [rough mix]… Rosie Thomas
17. Kephra… The Impossible Shapes
18. Knee Deep In The Beats… London Funk Allstars
19. Keystrokes… American Analog Set
20. Kare Kare… Crowded House
21. Korn Dogs… Danger Doom
22. Knock Me A Kiss… Louis Jordan

Just

Where the “I” mix was all about me, this one’s all about the ladies.

1. Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine… The Killers
2. Judy Is A Punk… The Ramones
3. Jackie Big Tits… The Kooks
4. Jamie… Weezer
5. Justine… 120 Days
6. Jenni’s Song (1:00 AM)… Matthew Good Band
7. Josephine… Teitur
8. Jane (live)… Barenaked Ladies
9. Jayme Lynn… Béla Fleck
10. Jackson… Hem
11. Jenny Don’t Be Hasty… Paolo Nutini
12. Jezebel… Iron & Wine
13. Julia… Chantal Kreviazuk
14. Jessamyn’s Reel… Chris Thile
15. Jacqueline… Franz Ferdinand
16. Jenny… Stellastarr*
17. Jennifer Save Me… Golden Smog
18. Jenny Wren… Paul McCartney
19. Jolene… Mindy Smith
20. Judy And The Dream Of Horses… Belle & Sebastian
21. Julia… Mando Saenz
22. Jen Is Bringin The Drugs… Margot & The Nuclear So And So’s

I, music fan

I’ve been crushed at work lately, but I finally had some free time this weekend to get back to reality. I did some serious spring cleaning to go with my seriously annoying spring cold, and got caught up on a lot of magazines and TV (Battlestar Galactica’s back!), but mostly I was able to sort through a plethora of new music. In turn, that motivated me to finally dust off the alphabet mixes, picking up with I. It’s always interesting to me how these mixes come together as I whittle down the playlists. In the case of this one, it became somewhat of an autobiographical mix: Everything here falls between the years 1983–1997, and the artists included all had some kind of impact on my musical tastes, guitar playing, and/or romantic life during that period. Really, it seemed rather natural that a mix of songs starting with “I” should be about me.

1. I Am One… Smashing Pumpkins
2. I Am Superman… R.E.M.
3. I Can Dream About You… Dan Hartman
4. I Can’t Wait… The Sundays
5. I Don't Think So… Dinosaur Jr
6. I Love You, What Are You?… Gene
7. I Remember You… Skid Row
8. I’ll Be Comin’ Around… The Bottle Rockets
9. I’ll Stick Around… Foo Fighters
10. I’ve Been Waiting… Matthew Sweet
11. If I Can’t Change Your Mind… Sugar
12. If You Leave… O.M.D.
13. In A Big Country… Big Country
14. In Bloom… Nirvana
15. In God’s Country… U2
16. In The Garage… Weezer
17. In The Valley… Midnight Oil
18. Into Your Arms… The Lemonheads
19. Iris… Live
20. It’s Only Love… Bryan Adams (with Tina Turner)
21. It’s So Easy… Guns N’ Roses

Hello Moto

1. Hot for Teacher… Van Halen
2. Have A Drink On Me… AC/DC
3. Have Mercy… Loretta Lynn
4. Hard to Handle… The Black Crowes
5. Hotel Yorba… The White Stripes
6. He Lays In The Reins… Calexico / Iron & Wine
7. Hunger Strike… Temple Of The Dog
8. Hail Hail… Pearl Jam
9. Holland, 1945… Neutral Milk Hotel
10. Hurry Tomorrow… Los Lobos
11. House Of Cards… Radiohead
12. Half A World Away… R.E.M.
13. Headfog… Jeep
14. Half Light… Athlete
15. Hallelujah… Ryan Adams
16. Hey Jealousy… Gin Blossoms
17. Hurt… Johnny Cash
18. Hurricane… Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories
19. Harriet's Got A Song… Ben Kweller
20. Handle With Care… Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins
21. Hello.........Goodbye… Sean Watkins

Glorified G

1. Get Funky… Teenage Fanclub
2. Good Weekend… Art Brut
3. Girlfriend In A Coma… The Smiths
4. Girls Who Play Guitars… Maxïmo Park
5. Get Out Of The City… Ivy
6. Gamble Everything For Love… Ben Lee
7. Geography… The Judybats
8. Get It Faster… Jimmy Eat World
9. Go Walking Down There… Chris Isaak
10. Get Lucky… Heatmiser
11. Get Off My Cloud… The Rolling Stones
12. Get Older… Matthew Sweet
13. Ghostriders… The Rewinds
14. Gladiator Heart… The Connells
15. Glasgow Mega-Snake… Mogwai
16. Go With The Flow… Queens of the Stone Age
17. Going Mobile… The Who
18. Glory Of True Love… John Prine
19. Good Vibrations… The Beach Boys
20. Grab It… Dinosaur Jr
21. Gravity Fails… The Bottle Rockets
22. Greg’s Last Day… The Starting Line
23. Gyasi Went Home… Bedouin Soundclash
24. Ghosts… Ted Leo / Pharmacists
25. Golden Slumbers… The Beatles

F’ed Up

1. Fire Exit… Mitch Hedberg
2. First Try… Tracy Chapman
3. Fingers Of Love… Crowded House
4. Fortress Around Your Heart… Sting
5. Forget About It… Alison Krauss
6. Fire Island, AK… The Long Winters
7. Fake… The Frames
8. Florida Silver Springs… The Impossible Shapes
9. Forty Mile Town… Eric Johnson
10. Fans… Kings of Leon
11. Fake Palindromes… Andrew Bird
12. Four Winds… Bright Eyes
13. Fall On Every Whim… Longwave
14. Flowermound… Collin Herring
15. Four-Eyed Girl… Rhett Miller
16. Friends of P… The Rentals
17. Finest Role… The Samples
18. For What It’s Worth… The Cardigans
19. Fake Empire… The National
20. Find The River… R.E.M.
21. Forever Young… Youth Group

Elegant Elephants Eclipse Eccentric Equestrians

1. Everything Is Everything…Phoenix
2. Easy Lover…Phil Collins & Philip Bailey
3. Empty Arms (alternate version)…Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
4. El Salvador…Athlete
5. Emily Kane…Art Brut
6. Either/Or…The Ocean Blue
7. Early Morning Rain…Paul Weller
8. Every Part Of Me…Sam Roberts
9. Easy on Yourself…Drive-By Truckers
10. Everyday I Love You Less And Less…Kaiser Chiefs
11. Everything We Are…The Shore
12. Eple…Röyksopp
13. Easier…Glen Phillips
14. Emaline…Ben Folds Five
15. Everytime…The Samples
16. Eleanor…Low Millions
17. Every Morning…Keb’ Mo’
18. Everybody Wants To Rule The World…Tears For Fears
19. Everybody’s Stalking…Badly Drawn Boy
20. Everything In 2’s…Better Than Ezra
21. Electrolite…R.E.M.
22. Even Here We Are…Paul Westerberg

Yo, D

The D mix:

1. Debonair…Afghan Whigs
2. Dashboard…Modest Mouse
3. Dear God…XTC
4. Drive…Incubus
5. Dance Monkey…Sage Francis
6. Dope Nose…Weezer
7. Dancing Days [Live]…Led Zeppelin
8. Dig For Fire…Pixies
9. Directions…Josh Rouse
10. Driftwood…Travis
11. December 4th (Mother Nature’s Son)…Jay-Z vs. the Beatles
12. Don’t Panic…Coldplay
13. Dirty Girl…eels
14. Down With Disease…Phish
15. Dreaming…O.M.D.
16. Denise…Fountains Of Wayne
17. Dim…Dada
18. Don’t Do Me Like That…Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
19. Days…David Bowie
20. Don’t Follow…Alice In Chains
21. Don’t Go Away…Oasis
22. Deliver Me…Robert Randolph & The Family Band

C is for Cookie

Sadly, no Sesame Street songs on this mix. But that reminds me of this ridiculous story. I’m all for instilling healthy habits in kids at a young age, but come on. Are American kids are fat because they’re imitating Cookie Monster? Very doubtful. Is it because they’re sitting on their asses watching too much TV (PBS included)? More likely, but I seriously doubt that Sesame Street can claim any responsibility for childhood obesity, cookie-induced or otherwise. Cookie Monster shovels cookies in his mouth. That’s what makes him funny (although if you really watch, more of the cookie falls out than makes it in his mouth... and that’s funny too). And really, “Fruity Monster” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Besides, everybody knows Bert & Ernie are the fruity ones.

1. Cliffs Of Dover [Live]...Eric Johnson
2. Communication Breakdown...Led Zeppelin
3. Capital H...Motion City Soundtrack
4. Can I Get With Ya Crazy Butt...The Notorious BIG vs. Gnarls Barkley
5. Classic...Hieroglyphics
6. Cellphone’s Dead...Beck
7. Clear Day Thunder...Jay Farrar
8. Cuts You Up...Peter Murphy
9. Cannonball [Radio Remix]...Damien Rice
10. Can’t Find My Way Home...Blind Faith
11. Cinnamon Girl...Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
12. Chills...Ben Lee
13. Center Of Attention...Guster
14. Close Your Eyes...Christophe Beck
15. Chocolate...Snow Patrol
16. Clarity...John Mayer
17. Corners Of Your Mind...Ivy
18. Coulibaly...Amadou & Mariam
19. Camera One...Josh Joplin Group
20. Crazy About You...Whiskeytown
21. Can’t Get Out Of Bed...The Charlatans UK
22. Chewbacca...Supernova
23. (Bonus Track)

This Post Brought to You by the Letter B

#2 in my Alphabet Mix series.

1. Babylon...David Gray
2. Back Before You Go...J. Mascis And The Fog
3. Back In Black...AC/DC
4. Back Of Your Mind...Collin Herring
5. Battle...Wolfstone
6. Begin The Begin...R.E.M.
7. Behind Blue Eyes [alternate version]...The Who
8. Bend And Break...Keane
9. Best Imitation Of Myself...Ben Folds Five
10. Big Country...Edgar Meyer with Béla Fleck and Mike Marshall
11. Big Me...Foo Fighters
12. Birth Of Words...The Samples
13. Black Eye...Uncle Tupelo
14. Bliss...Phish
15. Blue Sky Mine...Midnight Oil
16. Bombs Away...Paris Texas
17. Boulevard of Broken Songs...Green Day vs. Oasis/Travis/Aerosmith
18. Box Full Of Letters...Wilco
19. Boys Don’t Cry...The Cure
20. Breathing...Yellowcard
21. Bye, Bye, Bye...Further Seems Forever
22. Broad Ripple Is Burning [Live]...Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s

Alphabet Soup

My brother Doug had the fantastic idea to go through his iTunes library and make 26 mixes of songs beginning with each letter of the alphabet. I love this idea so much, I’m ripping it off. Aside from forcing me to make some really hard choices about my music library (for some letters, I have to cut down 100+ hours of music to fit on 1 CD), it’s also been a good excuse for me to go out and photograph some of the amazing signage around Denver for the CD covers (see above). So, kicking it off from the beginning, here’s the tracklist for my “A” mix.

1. Autobiographical (dialogue from High Fidelity)
2. American Idiot…Green Day
3. A Girl Like You…The Smithereens
4. A Lifetime…Better Than Ezra
5. Above The Clouds…Turin Brakes
6. After The Gold Rush…Neil Young
7. Ahead by a Century…The Tragically Hip
8. Again I Go Unnoticed…Dashboard Confessional
9. A Slow Fall…Riverside
10. Always Feel This Way…Tristan Prettyman
11. All I Want [Remix]…Toad The Wet Sprocket
12. Alleluias…Solar Twins
13. Apply Some Pressure…Maxïmo Park
14. Action…Clem Snide
15. Any Road…George Harrison
16. Answering Bell…Ryan Adams
17. And I’m Aching…Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
18. Always On The Run…Lenny Kravitz
19. Angels of the Silences…Counting Crows
20. Amazing Grace…Sean Kelly
21. Alright For Now…Tom Petty
22. All Night Thing…Temple Of The Dog
23. Always With Me, Always With You…Joe Satriani