C says, “Compile a 15-song soundtrack for your life so far.”

What would a movie of your life be like?

That’s the first question that I landed on when I started tackling this post.  Trying to imagine what kind of soundtrack requires a knowledge of the movie; is it a sweeping, strings-lush instrumental score, 80s covers by nu-metal bands, pop songs reinterpreted by the film’s cast or a selection of self-consciously indie songs designed to sell records to college students.

What is, for instance, the story in my life?  I don’t know, and it troubles me that I don’t know. My perspective, maybe, is skewed: I’m too close for analysis. Is it the story about a decent guy who got damaged by a bad relationship and then found love again? An artist or academic who gave up on the things he used to be passionate about to nuzzle up to corporate stability? A sad, introspective film about an aging, out-of-shape fanboy who realizes that his Wolverine action figures won’t keep him warm at night? What is the throughline of my life?   I started thinking about it chronologically, but that’s a fool’s errand. I mean, a movie about my life wouldn’t encompass all 31 years, and besides that leaves me with only one song per two point whatever years.

And I haven’t even thought about the music at this point.

When I say that I find Rob Gordon a sympathetic character, this is the sort of behavior and thinking that I’m referring to.

I tried to establish a theme. I worked on this for awhile. Was that theme something about living the face of emotional adversity or about, I don’t know, using only Beta Band songs? There are plenty of soundtracks that have been effective using gimmicks like that, but they tend to be exceptions to the rule.

What rule? That soundtracks are collections of songs completely devoid of a binding cartilage. The Anchorman soundtrack, with its connecting intros by Ron Burgundy, is not subject to this rule, by the way.

So I set out to put together a list of 15 songs that could play in the background during montages, be featured in set pieces or at least one embarrassing karaoke scene, and of course have an upbeat indie song for the titles and an awkward song choice that has nothing to do with the rest of the already kind of fractured song list to play over the end credits as a marketing hook to bring in band completists, the sort of people who’d buy the New Moon soundtrack even though “Meet Me On The Equinox” isn’t a very good Death Cab for Cutie song.

Anyway, after some introspection and some polling among my friends, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that my life story is an awkward indie dramedy.  One of my friends posited that I might be played by Michael Cera, which made me cry a little bit, but is hilarious in its dissonance (I hope).

So…

1. The Mountain Goats – Alibi (which will play over the scribbly-looking, poorly animated opening credits)

2. Kenny Ellis – Swingin’ Dreidel

3. Frank Black and the Catholics – Nadine

4. Nostalgia 77 – Seven Nation Army

5. Stellastarr* – Prom Zombie

6. Elvis Costello and the Impostors – Uncomplicated

7. David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust (this would be the awkward karaoke song)

8. REM – Redhead Walking

9. Stan Bush – The Touch (this is the song that everyone will assume is the awkward karaoke song if they haven’t seen the movie)

10. Ben Folds – Give Judy My Notice

11. Manic Street Preachers – Your Love Alone Is Not Enough

12. Bear Vs Shark – Rich Old People Say Fuck Yeah Hey Hey

13. Lenlow – Kanye Mahna (Cake vs. Kanye West)

14. M. Ward – One Hundred Million Years

15. Fall Out Boy – Alpha Dog

An extended car ride is always a good excuse to make a mix cd.  Extended car trips are a crucible of human relationships; when you are trapped in a car for several hours with no exits and a limited number of people to interact with, music can either supplant or, in the best case scenario, enhance the company. Putting the correct mix together is key; what you listen to is going to affect the way you drive, the way you act, the way you refuse to put up with that jackass in the Jetta trying to totally cut you off, man.  She Who Must Not Be Named complained frequently that my road mixes were too strummy and depressing. I think they embrace the breezy, laid back and frequently optimistic attitude that is the right mind to have while behind the wheel.  Because road trips are for breezy, laid back diversions.  Like giant Paul Bunyan statues.  Or mysterious castles.  Abandoned amusement parks. Ghost towns.  Chance encounters with the Harlem Globetrotters and/or Phyllis Diller.

A road trip where I listened to nothing but, say, Priestess, The Sword and Dragonforce would not have that vibe.  A road trip where the mix had lots of Abba and Santa Esmeralda (as someone might have suggested to me in the past) would make me crash into a telephone pole.

I firmly believe that any good trip has to begin with “Thunder Road.”  I know that I’m all about the cover songs, but for this purpose, it has always got to be Bruce.  If you don’t like “Thunder Road,” never go on a road trip with me.

I made two mixes for last weekend’s Aquarian Expedition to Bethel Woods, NY.  One is entirely 60s-themed and features mostly songs from artists that were at the festival, plus a few others (and the Folksmen’s cover of “Start Me Up,” for no real reason that I can discern).  The other, which kicks off with “Thunder Road,” is a more modern mix that runs the gamut from Springsteen to Little Boots.  I had the interesting experience of being really ridiculously tired when I burned the mixes and was actually a little unsure on first listen what was going to be on them.

What’s your favorite road trip song?

(Click the Snuggie to d/l)

1. Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler cover) – Tori Amos

2. Careless Whisper (WHAM! cover) – Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright

3. Girlfriend In A Coma (The Smiths cover) – Joshua Radin

4. Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen cover) – Teagan and Sara

5. In Between Days (The Cure cover) – Ben Folds

6. Send Me An Angel (Real Life cover) – Dirty On Purpose

7. Refugee (Tom Petty cover) – Melissa Etheridge

8. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper cover) – Ben Gibbard

9. Lovers In A Dangerous Time (Bruce Cockburn cover) – Barenaked Ladies

10. Kangaroo (Big Star cover) – Bat For Lashes

11. I Want A New Drug (Huey Lewis and the News cover) – Glen Phillips

12. When Doves Cry (Prince cover) – Damien Rice

13. People Are Strange (The Doors cover) – Echo and the Bunnymen

14. Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits cover) – The Killers

15. Jessie’s Girl (Rick Springfield cover) – OK Go

16. Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler cover) – The Dan Band

Three of these tracks have been featured in FCS posts before, I know. But I really like them. Heck, I could have probably done nothing but Cure covers (OK Go also has a rather insubstantial cover of The Lovecats floating around, and Bat For Lashes has an interesting take on A Forest).

Notes:

Track 6: Wait, it’s not “Simian Angel?” Huh.

Track 9: I dig Bruce Cockburn’s songs, but the overly synth-y feel of his early stuff, like “Lovers In A Dangerous Time,” suits neither his protest folk (“If I Had A Rocket Launcher,” for instance) or his more ballad-y fare. BNL, on the other hand, nails the song, and this version of it is one of my favorites on a desert-island level.

Track 10: Okay, I know that Alex Chilton’s band was completely inactive during the 80s, but I’m just sneaking this on here. First, Natasha Kahn just has a Voice, and it has that same ethereal quality to it that I love about Lourdes Hernandez (aka Russian Red). Second, “Kangaroo” is my fave Big Star song.

Track 12: If you’ve not heard Australian radio station Triple J’s “Like A Version” compilations and you’re a cover enthusiast, you are Missing Out. This is from one of the discs. Damien Rice also has a cover of “Creep” aka The Radiohead Song That People Who Are Really Into Radiohead Don’t Like, a song I have enough versions of to warrant its own post in the future.

Track 13: A cover from the 80s, not an 80s cover, this breaks the rules, too. Rules are made to be broken. Plus, who doesn’t love The Lost Boys.

Track 14: Because who doesn’t love Empire Records (or Hot Fuzz, for that matter?) This track isn’t what I’d expect from The Killers at all.

Track 16: The circle completes itself. A live version of that seminal cover from Old School‘s wedding band.

Tomorrow is the end of Project Mixtape Week, and I’m going to close it down with an explosion of 80s covers (because it’s also Friday Cover Songs day, you dig?).  But today I’m going to slow it down and talk a bit and open it up (fingers crossed) for comment.

One of the anecdotes that I often tell to illuminate people on my general cluelessness with girls is that a coworker, when I was in high school, gave me a mixtape that started with Ani Difranco’s “Untouchable Face,” a song she “really wanted me to listen to. Really listen to,” she immediately added for emphasis.  My response, upon listening, was to ask her if she could copy some more Ani Difranco music because I really liked it.  Hi, this is me.  I’m stupid.  Going back to Monday’s mix, the storied song that I can’t listen to all the way through?  On a mix CD that someone made for me (its intention was obvious; I am not that dense).

What kind of mixecdotes do you have?  Do you have any specific OCD tendencies when it comes to making them?  Me, I generally sneak Christmas songs  onto mixtapes for no reason.

Talk to me.

(Click teh kitteh to download)

PLAYLIST

1. Final Fantasy – Power Of Love (Celine Dion cover)

2. Beck – Ghettochip Malfunction (Hell Yes)

3. Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

4. TMBG – Experimental Film

5. Regina Spektor – Dance Anthem of the 80s

6. Ben Folds – There’s Always Someone Cooler Than You

7. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Me and Mia

8. Dar Williams – Teen For God

9. Defiance, Ohio – Oh Susquehanna!

10. Cake – Arco Arena

11. Death Cab For Cutie – Marching Bands of Manhattan

12. Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine

13. Lene Lovich – I Think We’re Alone Now (Japanese Version)

14. The Dynamites – Body Snatcher

15. The Saturday Knights – 45

16. The Hooters – And We Danced

17. Hospital Bombers – The Devil’s Music

18. Josh Joplin Group – Siddharthas of Suburbia

19. Paris Texas – Bombs Away

20. Mark Ronson – God Put A Smile On Your Face (Coldplay cover)

21. Elvis Costello – Radio Sweetheart

22. Chocolate Rain (8-Bit Remix)

As the title of this mix implies, this is a bit less dreary than the offerings of the past two days (although, I’ve heard good reviews from a few of you who have actually listened to it).

I have been thinking, and I have determined that I don’t really have any dedicated, emotional rivalry or hatred with other bloggers online. I want to change that. So, I’m putting out an open call for someone to embroil myself in a blog war with. Under the glaring light of my snarky cynicism, you will wither away like Lot’s dessicated, salt-turned wife and vanish in the breeze. That is what I bring to the table. Silver members also receive a commemorative tote bag.

Today, I thought about a mix of nothing but songs from horror movie soundtracks, but really, there’s not a lot of merit to most horror movie soundtracks.  But since I do love the horror genre, the idea of a murderous mixtape appealed to me.

Click the Shatner mask to download.

1. Secret – The Pierces

2. Wilco – Bull Black Nova

3. Psycho Killer – Talking Heads

4. Cannibal’s Hymn – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

5. The Ledge – Lori McKenna

6. Satin In A Coffin – Modest Mouse

7. Comin’ Home – Murder By Death

8. Wrap Your Arms Around Me – Barenaked Ladies

9. Angry Johnny – Poe

10. Die Motherfucker Die – Get Set Go

11. Hipster Vigilante – Felix Sarco

12. The Last of the Famous International Playboys – Morrissey

13. You Could Make A Killing – Aimee Mann

14. The Boogie Monster – Gnarls Barkley

15. Michael Myers Resplendent – The Mountain Goats

16. One More Murder – Better Than Ezra

I promise things will be more upbeat tomorrow.  In keeping with the mixtape theme, look for my take on Jennifer’s Body later today.

It has been a year since my own private D-Day, and as such, I think it’s only fitting to kick off Project Mixtape week with a mix of sad songs about failed relationships. Click on Fry’s dog to download a .zip of the mix. Listen responsibly.

1. You Kill Me – Paper Route

2. Standard Bitter Love Song #7 – The Mountain Goats

3. You Had Time – Ani DiFranco

4. When Will Happiness Find Me Again? – Frank Black and the Catholics

5. Walk Away (Live) – Ben Harper

6. Helena – Nickel Creek

7. 9 Crimes (Demo) – Damien Rice

8. Wave a White Flag – Elvis Costello

9. Rumors – Josh Ritter

10. Favorite Girl – Joseph Arthur

11. The Last Polka (Live) – Ben Folds

12. Watch Her Disappear – Tom Waits

13. The Ice Is Getting Thinner – Death Cab For Cutie

14. Never Get There – Showbag

15. Keep Your Distance (Richard Thompson Cover) – Buddy and Julie Miller

16. Metal Airplanes – Matthew Good

I have an odd compulsion to listen to music that matches my mood. It’s cathartic. So, when I’m in a mope about something, listening to maudlin, fatalistic music is a panacea. Am I alone in this?

With that said, I perhaps made this mix a bit too well. As a consequence of my relationship with music in general and several of these songs in specific, some of them summon…associations when listening. There’s at least one song on here that I still find myself unable to listen to all the way through, something I didn’t realize until I tried to listen to it.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody reading this that I am an Elvis Costello fanboy.  Heck, I even had an EC themed blog once upon a time (that Matt and I have talked about reviving).  He is what I believe the kids call ‘my jam.’

Since it seems to be something I do, I’m going to post a cover of Elvis and a cover by Elvis.

Elliot Smith – Last Boat Leaving (Elvis Costello cover)

Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris – Love Hurts (Nazareth cover)

Listen. Enjoy.

BTW, gang, I’m declaring next week Project: Mixtape week.  I haven’t had a theme week in awhile and theme weeks are fun.  I’ll post a new mix every day. Audience participation is encouraged.

In honor of crass commercialism all around the world, I have crafted a mixtape in honor of the best promotion ever – Christmas In July. Why are July and December so inextricably linked? I have no idea, and I don’t pretend to have answers.

These are songs:

1. The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping
2. Patton Oswalt – My Christmas Memory
3. The Chipmunks – The Chipmunks Song
4. Guster – Donde Esta Santa Claus?
5. Sufjan Stevens – Come On! Let’s Boogey To The Elf Dance!
6. Fiona Apple – Frosty The Snowman
7. Badly Drawn Boy – Donna and Blitzen
8. Colossus – Charlie Brown Cut-Up
9. Thurl Ravenscroft – You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch
10. Beck – The Little Drum Machine Boy
11. Run DMC – Christmas In Hollis
12. Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hot Christmas
13. The Killers – A Great Big Sled
14. Nellie McKay – Christmas Dirge
15. Paper Route – City Trucks
16. Flaming Lips – White Christmas

Enjoy the holiday mood (dang, I forgot “Holiday Mood,” by The Apples In Stereo) and check back here for MP3 goodness later.

The last Project Mixtape entry was a placeholder birthday gift for someone. The ‘real’ gift is still en route, and the old mix CD, which I deemed flawed, was never given to Intended Recipient. As I inferred last time, the old playlist was given a bit of a Six Million Dollar Man treatment in order to make it faster, stronger, yadda yadda. And so, disastrously belated and still in lieu of the ‘real’ gift, the 2.0 version of the disc will probably find its way into its future owner’s hands today.

If I had to pick a loose theme or mood to label this with, it would probably be “Songs You Can Dance Around To When Nobody Else Is Looking”.  Granted, that doesn’t work with all of the songs, but  I think it works with an overwhelming majority of them.  The rest are just good summertime music.

This time, a .zip of the contents will actually follow later today. The playlist (with notes) is as follows.

William Fitzsimmons – King of Wishful Thinking [I had to keep this track; I straight up love it. And, as Fitzsimmons geekily admits in the intro, the Pretty Woman soundtrack is a great soundtrack. I think that "King" is one of those songs that suffers due to the era it was first made in - it is inextricably 90s unless it is drastically reinterpreted like it is here. I feel the same way about a lot of Bruce Cockburn's back catalog, too - nobody needs synth-heavy protest-folk.]

Edwyn Collins – A Girl Like You [I have been infected with this song to the point where I felt forced to watch Empire Records again a few days ago ever since hearing it on the radio during lunch a few weeks ago. I hadn't heard it in forever, and now want to hear it all the time.]

Jarvis Cocker – Black Magic [For me, this song is basically the essence of the perfect summer driving music. I love it so much.]

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Where’d You Go? [The plan in my original track listing was to segment the tracks into little groups of 3s, which holds together in the first half of the playlist but eventually couldn't keep its own continuity. "Where'd You Go?" was originally Track 2, square in the middle of a trio of 90s movie soundtrack staples (disastrously, I do not have a digital copy of Coolio's "Rollin' With the Homies"). Instead of the Clueless soundtrack, this is from Live At The Middle East.]

Booker T and the Drive-By Truckers – Hey Ya [You can never have too much organ.]

Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele – You Can’t Force A Dance Party [Yes, this song is kind of campy and silly. But I have been listening to Dent May in heavy rotation lately. It's good frivolous background music.]

Ben Folds Five – Kate

Josh Ritter – Wolves

Of Montreal – Don’t Stop Believin’

Rilo Kiley – Frug [I dare you to listen to this song and not have it improve your mood or cause you to dance around.]

The Mountain Goats – This Year

Tom Waits – Downtown Train [My favorite song in the entire world, which strikes me as ironic because although 1) I love cover songs and 2) the cover version of this is much more notable than the original, I cannot stand the cover.]

The Weepies – San Francisco [It's not really a cover because the original track is by Steve Tannen - the male half of the Weepies - but the slower tempo and Deb Talan's backing vocals give the song a more ethereal quality that really carries into the final portion of the track list.]

Lady Gaga – Poker Face (Piano Version) [As infectious as the original unfortunately is, this version of "Poker Face" is my favorite hands-down.]

Badly Drawn Boy – Cause A Rockslide [Between "You're the jive guru and I wanna sing along with you," and "Your sweetness could cause a rockslide," this song has the best lyrics.]

Paper Route – Be Healed [I've been listening to Paper Route a good deal in the last few weeks, and "Be Healed" is probably the best track on their debut album. I can't help myself from including it.]

Elvis Costello – Veronica

Download “Project Mixtape – 06.15.09” [.zip]