Friday Collective Mixtape

FCM #16 - Songs I Loved In Elementary School Wow, I totally feel dated. I bet you do too! Big Welcome to Dan today, glad we've got the QA department represented. It's Dan's birthday today, so be sure to wish him well. Click here to download the whole FCM #16 or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Next week's Theme - Songs about buildings and food!

"Saturday Night" Bay City Rollers - 1977
Dan writes: I was a huge Bay City Rollers fan was I was a kid. Couldn't get enough. Even bought the 16 Prix fan magazine (I think that's what is was called) when I had saved enough money and mom wasn't looking. When they became the stars of the Saturday morning Krofft Superstar Hour back in the late '70s, I was a very happy child, even though the show didn't last very long.

"Wot" Captain Sensible - 1982
Justin Step writes: I got my first cassette player from Santa in first grade, but with no cassette to play! My uncle grabbed an unlabeled, white mix tape from his room for me, and that collection of New Wave songs formed the cornerstone of my musical identity. I clearly remember singing this song in a highly affected accent many times as a young sprout -- in the backseat of the Dodge Aspen en route to Burdette pool, in a call and response with my friends after watching WWF. I loved it, but unlike the B-52s and other artists on the mix, I never learned who sang it. So I searched for years and years, singing the chorus to all my most musically knowledgeable friends. Many recognized the tune but none could name the artist. Then, in a strange and frustrating episode, a pranker called my friend's dorm room phone when I was hanging there. He had been pranking the room frequently whenever people gathered, and would somehow always play a song that mattered to someone present, but would never speak. He played the Pogues one day, presumably for for Jeremy Allen, and I decided to sing a few lines of Wot! Into the phone before hanging up. The pranker called back, played my song and refused to speak. I had been taunted. Someone connected to my circle who not only knew the song, but owned it! Eventually, in my first days in Chicago, some guy at a record store counter recognized the lines straightaway, handed me the vinyl, so my lifelong quest to solve the mystery of Wot ended not with a bang, but a whimper.

"Pinball Wizard" The Who - 1969
Sarah writes: I'm not trying to get out of admitting that I had bad taste for a good portion of my life by choosing this one. In junior high I went through a boy-band phase and then a serious pop-punk phase - complete with Blink 182 fansite. In elementary school, though, I was still solidly under the influence of my parents. In the car we listened to either public radio or Dick Biondi. Before my sister and I started playing instruments the only time our house was filled with music was on Saturday mornings when we cleaned. My mom's record of choice: Simon and Garfunkle - Bridge Over Troubled Water. My dad's: The Who - Tommy. I knew all the words to both albums by the time I was 8. Not until I was much older did I realize how creepy Tommy really is, and how inappropriate it probably was for an 8 year old to be dusting and singing along to 'Fiddle About' and 'Acid Queen'…

"Hey, Mister Sun" Bobby Sherman - 1970
Walt writes: I'm not proud to say that I was a Bobby Sherman fan when I was a kid but as the years have gone by I'm no longer embarrassed by it. Sherman was a mainstay of Tiger Beat and 16 magazines when I was young and was also on a short-lived TV show "Here Come the Brides" with David Soul (Soul went on to play Hutch on "Starsky and Hutch"). Sherman had some hits like "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Julie, Julie, Julie" but I've always enjoyed "Hey, Mr. Sun."

"Home on the Range" Vic Chesnutt - 1997
Jennifer writes: I loved this song in grade school because I had a strong affinity for the west due to too many readings of Laura Ingalls Wilder books. This song made me think of little Laura out on the plains.

"America" Neil Diamond - 1980
Ben writes: I spent A LOT of time at Super Skate when I was in elementary school. Almost every saturday morning (and some Friday nights) I would show up to wait in line and rent my skates. Anthemic songs like Diamond's "America" were so amazing to me - the perfect soundtrack for my deft maneuvers. I was never big on fancy skating, but I loved to skate fast, weaving in and out of traffic, avoiding certain colors of lights as they hit the floor of the rink.

"Photograph" Def Leppard - 1993
Jane writes: Fourth Grade was a music awakening for me. Mtv was now a household name, and they still played videos. The music coming out of the boomboxes at the park and the jukebox at the afterschool hangout had just reached this incredible level of relevance. I finally got it! I think I'd been a little young up until that year to begin to pick up on what music excited ME… not just listen to what music my big sister and her trashy boyfriend listened to (although he did introduce me to Ratt).

But the timing couldn't have been more perfect for my epiphany, it was bumpered on either side by what may have been the most important album releases of my youth -- Def Leppard's Pyromania in '83 and Van Halen's 1984. If I remember correctly, The Police and Duran Duran had ruled my world up until this point, but there was a different kind of passion and danger in this music that enthralled me. It's a funny thing to say now because listening to these today, they're so mellow & tame.

Does this mean I'm a jaded mess? …always.

"Casino Royale" Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass - 1967
Walt writes: I was (and still am) a big James Bond fan, so it's only natural that one of the my favorite songs while I was in elementary school was the theme to "Casino Royale." Although the movie wasn't that good (and is not considered part of the movie canon), the theme by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass is outstanding. It was also the first 45 that I begged my parents to buy for me. I remember playing it over and over when I was 6 years old.

And yep, I'll be heading out to see Quantum of Solace this weekend.

"Slow and Low" Beastie Boys - 1986
Chris writes: As an elementary school student with friends who had wise, older siblings with infinite musical wisdom and interests, I had the privilege of being subjected to everything from Iron Maiden to Ice-T during my formative years. I didn't own much of my own music then, but I borrowed countless tapes and dug through my parents' vinyl for semi-relevant material. When I was about 8 years-old my mom, who was a skilled garage sale shopper, took me on one of her Saturday morning sojourns and it was amongst a pile of worthless items that I discovered the first vinyl record I would ever own: a bootleg rap compilation that included tracks from The Fat Boys, RUN DMC, KRS One, and "Slow and Low" by the Beastie Boys. This was the last track on the record and combined the shouting urgency of hair metal and the bass-heavy beats of Def Jam alumni. The music world opened a little wider and my love for listening (and crate digging) was just beginning.

"Whoomp! (There It Is)" Tag Team - 1993
Margaret writes: This was one of the first tapes I ever owned - I think I was 8 or 9 when I bought it. I have no clue how I even came across this song in the first place, but I listened to that tape pretty much non-stop, until I knew all the lyrics - which I can still recite to this day.

"…a party over here, party over there, wave your hands in the air, shake your derriere"

with lyrics like that, what's not to love?

"Chariots Of Fire" Vangelis - 1981
Allison writes: The 80s brought us a handful of one-named wunderkinds, musical stars whose cultural gravitas exceeded the trappings of a cumbersome surname. Madonna. Prince. Vangelis.

And just who WAS this Vangelis? Self-taught Greek composer. Pianist. Scorer of films, like Blade Runner (the soundtrack for which I came to love when I was much older) and Chariots of Fire.

Seriously, Chariots of Fire seemed like it was all over the place in the early 80s. I loved it with all the pure triumphant joy of a pigtailed girl running in circles around the backyard. Kid-faved music just feels more earnest than the teenage-faved tracks that are so often filtered through the self-conscious lens of social identification. It's just VICTORY! And JUBILATION! And RUNNING! What could be better at that age?

"Concerto for 2 Violins & Strings in D Minor" Perlman/Zukerman - 1986
Felix writes: The bulk of the music I heard as a kid was mostly classical (I was taught violin at an early age). I trained under the Suzuki Method (which involves a lot of memorization), with ten books total. Both parts of the Bach Double were in the Suzuki books (the 2nd part was in Book 4, the 1st part in Book 5). I've played both sides of the double, and it's a song firmly etched into my childhood.

One neat sidenote: I was at a music camp one summer where all the kid were Suzuki students. As an exercise, they grouped about 20 of us in two circles of ten. One circle played the first part, another the second… and the instructors had us walk in a circle as we played. After both parts were going, the instructors combined the circles, and made us do figure eights - as we moved from one circle to the other, we had to switch parts. For as nerdy as music camp can be, that was a pretty cool experience that I still remember fondly.

"Nothing Lasts For Long" The Samples - 1992
Christine writes: Is it bad when you have to pull out a calculator to figure out how old you were in a year gone past? Anyways, I was 13 when this album came out which puts me in 7th or 8th grade at the time. I remember my sister had this tape and it just captured my attention for some reason. I've always loved this song but was disturbed by his acceptance of the inevitable disintegration of his relationships. Makes a little more sense now, but it's still one of my older favorites.

"Blood Money" Bon Jovi - 1990
Brian writes: Ah Bon Jovi … My guiltiest of pleasures. I was even embarrassed to admit I was a fan when I was 10. It's also when I was 10 that JBJ released his first solo album, "Blaze of Glory" (aka the "Young Guns II" soundtrack). One of my favorite songs from that album was "Blood Money". I used to, just barely, play it on guitar and sing it anytime no one was home (I was too embarrassed to do it front of anyone…Some things never change). That aside, I dug up the tablature recently, and I still love playing/singing this song. It survives on it's melody and simplicity. You just have to ignore the awful Pat Garrett and Billy "the Kid" themed lyrics. Please destroy this after reading it.

"Wannabe" Spice Girls - 1996
Renata writes: This one was a struggle … I was quite obsessed with the likes of Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston from very early on. But, I've gotta give this one to my fifth grade graduation song: The Spice Girls’ Wannabe. Zig-a-zig-ahhhh! C’mon. Lyrics don’t get better than that! I have no idea how my fifth grade class managed to get this one through, but hey, it was worth it! (In case you were wondering, Hanson Bothers’ Mmm Bop was also one of our graduation songs. I want to say that one was played to appease the boys, though I can’t imagine their ever choosing it! “Girl Pow-ah,” as Posh would say.)

"Down" 311 - 1996
Justin Sid writes: This song, this album has huge nostalgia for me. I had just gotten my first portable player a very large and in charge Sony and I was ecstatic to have it. It came with far from noise canceling headphones and when played at high volumes everyone around you got a little concert too.

This was back when lived in South Bend, IN and I had just moved there with my family in the middle of the school year. Before school I would grab my CD player and this album and go wait outside our apartment complex with a few other kids for the bus. When the bus arrived I would plant my ass in the back seat and blast this 311 album on full volume. And because of the generic crappy headphones that accompanied the player everyone else got a little morning taste of rock. This was my morning routine for a long time. After awhile of this I was called the "311 Kid" by the other kids on the bus which actually went very well with my AOL screenname "A311Manic" that I had at the time. I even got in trouble with the bus driver for playing it so loud she could hear it all the way from the back of the bus. She even tried to ban CD players on the bus because of me! I grew to love this album and this band. Never loved the bus driver though.

"Coma" Guns N' Roses - 1991
Brian writes: Coma - Guns N' Roses - Use Your Illusion ITo celebrate the upcoming November 23, 2008 release of the new Guns N' Roses album, I've chosen a song from their last album ("The Spaghetti Incident" does not count). Released only 17 years ago, I was 11 years old when the "Use Your Illusion" double-album took over my life. I was already a huge GN'R fan from "Appetite…" and "Lies…", so I cracked open my piggy-bank and bought "Use Your Illusion" I and II the day they came out. I was pretty obsessed for a long time after. Not anymore though…Well, I start group therapy next week, so fingers crossed!

Anyway, one of my favorite GN'R songs then, and now, was "Coma". No verses, no choruses, just over 10 minutes of fantasticalness that I may or may not have (pretend) performed on occasion…From my stage (bed)…To my (imaginary) fans…When I was in elementary school (yesterday).

Labels: classical, folk, jazz, mixtape, pop, rap, rnb, rock

FCM #15 - COVERS & (one) MASHUP This is our second round of covers, and I dare say that this one is even tastier than the last. Hats off to Chris, who provided the only real mash-up on this mix. Also, I forgot to welcome Justin (Step) last week, so i'll thank him for the excellent songs on this mix as well as the horrible delights he offered for FCM #14 Click here to download the whole FCM #15 - COVERS & (one) MASHUP or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Let's VOTE again for next week's theme! Vote in the comments for (a) Autumn, the season! (b) Songs I loved in elementary school (c) Songs about buildings and food

"Paint It Black" The Love Sitars - 1967
Justin Step writes: I downloaded this track from one of my all-time favorite blogs ever, OfficeNaps. DJ Little Danny, the guy behind the site, is a curatorial genius. He posts tunes ripped from his massive and massively impressive collection of 45s, generally on Mondays, and generally in groups of three. This gem was posted alongside other 60s rock songs employing that most psychedelic of instruments, the sitar - visit Office Naps.

"Many Rivers To Cross" The Walkmen - 2006
Ben writes: On a backdrop of bright cymbals, a simple rock beat, strumming acoustics and zum-zumming strings, three jets take off in the form of electric guitars to sing us the sweetest sliding riff. That's what I picture swirling around Hamilton Leithauser's head as he guts out this song. He was born to sing it, you see. The Walkmen take Harry Nilsson's cover of Jimmy Cliff's original to the next level - the music is crisper and more cinematic, the vocals more gutteral and desperate.

"This Land Is Your Land" Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - 2006
Sarah writes: Folk/Funk = Best Genre Ever. I've been through both a Folk and a Funk phase over the past couple of years and this cover of Woody Guthrie's classic tune is a huge hit in my book. Even though "This Land..." has turned into the grade school theme song for all things wholesome, the lyrics aren't entirely shiney-happy:

"One bright sunny morning
in the shadow of the steeple,
down by the welfare office
I saw my people they stood there grumblin'
and I stood there wonderin'
if this land was made for you and me"

The change of key and tone totally emphasize the bittersweet, melancholic, introspective side of the song. And besides, who can resist those funky trumpet trills? You may recognize the Dap Kings from Amy Winehouse's album.

"What It's All About" Girl Talk - 2008
Chris writes: Girl Talk has become something of a phenomenon in the mixing/mashup world, finding a particularly fond audience in the indie dance crowd. His latest record, "Feed the Animals," condenses so many great samples and so many ridiculous mashups that it's hard to pick just one cut - this 4 minute track alone samples The Beastie Boys, Busta Rhymes, The Police, Ini Kamoze, Argent, KRS-one, Living Colour, and Paula Cole, to name a few. Listening to the album as a whole is a joy for total music nerds like myself who's knowledge of hooks spans a number of genres - there's a "what?! no way!" moment every 30 seconds or so on this record. Pick it up if you enjoy this kind of stuff, though I guess I should also mention that this may be the cleanest track on the record (there are a number of awesome mashups the use some of the filthiest lines from modern hip-hop mixed over the top of innocent and catchy piano lines from, say, Billy Joel).

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" Devo - 1978
Jane writes: From their first album, and in my humble opinion, one of the finest examples of a complete rearrangement cover... or as Randy Jackson on American Idol would say "Makin' it your own, dude".

I know there was much gushing when Devo made a multi-album appearance in Friday Music last year, so I'll spare my own except to say, they were light years ahead of their time and one of the best live shows I've ever seen in my LIFE!

"You Really Got Me" Van Halen - 1978
Walt writes: I got into The Kinks relatively late — 1980, to be exact and grew to love their music. Ray Davies writes great songs and his first one out of the gate, "You Really Got Me," is a masterpiece that has not only been covered but copied by too many bands to mention. Van Halen covered "You Really Got Me" back in 1978 and it lead to a resurgence in the popularity of The Kinks and nudged The Kinks further towards arena rock.

My introduction to Van Halen's cover of "You Really Got Me" happened late one Friday night at St. Francis College in Joliet. I was down visiting some friends and we were all imbibing waaay too much and an 8-Track of Van Halen's eponymous album was in the deck. Everyone was sprawled all over the room and too blasted to either turn the music down or off. Every 10 minutes or so, the deck would loudly ker-chunk to switch tracks and every time that would happen happen, everybody would rouse and every fourth time David Lee Roth would start in on that classic Kinks hit.

"Take Me To The River" Talking Heads - 1978
Christine writes: I have always been a fan of Talking Heads and this is one of their best. I have much respect for the Reverend and think these guys did him justice in their cover.

"Eleanor Rigby" Thrice - 2005
Justin Sid writes: A punk-rock version of the Beatles classic. I hope I don't offend any true Beatles fans. Enjoy!

"Just Like Heaven" Dinosaur Jr. - 1991
Justin Step writes: In my book, this is a well-nigh perfect cover. Dinosaur, Jr. takes a played-out post-punk pop classic from the Cure. They juice it with their grungy, 90s flavor, but don't depart far from the original in the first verse. Then when you've been lulled into comfort, and your brain is hungry for the saccharine sweet chorus that burned itself deeply into your synaptic pathways long ago, your expectations get shattered and your wig flipped. With one stomp on the pedal, Dinosaur, Jr. makes the song their own.

By the way, this MP3 file isn't borked... the song actually ends abruptly like this. As a bonus, here's a lo-fi video I found whilst searching for a digital copy.

"Jump" Mary Lou Lord - 1997
Felix writes: I know precious little about the artist (Mary Lou Lord), but I somehow got a hold of this track via Ben... and it's been a little gem that I've kept in my library ever since. Doing some quick searching this morning, I found out that this track is part of a tribute album entitled Everybody Wants Some: A Loose Interpretation of the Musical Genius of Van Halen. This song makes me feel like I'm sitting in a bar at 3PM, or 5AM.

"Here's to the State (Live)" Eddie Vedder - 2004ish
Brian writes: Originally written by Phil Och, "Here's to the State of Mississippi" was the closing track on his 1965 release, "I Ain't Marching Anymore". The song has been re-worked and covered many times, including Och's own re-worked version, "Here's to the State of Richard Nixon".

This re-worked version of "Here's to the State" saw the light of day around 2004. The rest of the story is in the song. And as inspiring/soothing as I have always found it, it just got better.

"$1000 Wedding" The Mekons - 1989
Jennifer writes: It is a shame that the death of the CD means the death of compilation and tribute albums because I have a certain fondness for comps and tributes.

This song comes from a tribute album for Gram Parsons. He was an amazing song writer from the Bakersfield scene that died far too early. The tribute album is great from start to finish so I suppose that is testament to what a great song writer he was. It was difficult for me to pick just one - but I like the way Jon Langford makes the song sound like a real bender.

"Across The Universe" Rufus Wainwright - 2002
Margaret writes: This song is truly beautiful, and I think Rufus did it justice for the "I Am Sam" soundtrack.

"Let Down" David Bazan's Black Cloud - 2007
TJ writes: This is a cover tune of Radiohead's "Let Down" from O.K. Computer. The entire cd has been redone by artists such as Doveman, Vampire Weekend, John Vanderslice, Cold War Kids, The Twilight Sad and more. So this is in a way a cover and a mashup contribution. You can stream it in it's entirety here - enjoy.

"Believe" Macha Loved Bedhead - 2000
Ben writes: This cover of Cher's "Believe" has been in my iTunes library since 2004, but at some point I deleted the ID3 tags and have never, UNTIL TODAY, been able to determine the artist that released it. Back-story aside, this is a clever and mopey version of a song that is so dramatic and over the top - the original makes me want to hide under a table. It begins with dial-tone phone beeps and just sort of sucks me in after that. A re-interpretation of the highest order. Remember when autotune was new?

"(Anew Hope) Star Wars" Meco - 1977
Walt writes: I've never been a BIG Star Wars fan, Star Trek was more my style but I'll always have a soft spot for the first film (really, the fourth chapter). At the time the film came out, disco was still quite popular and a guy named Meco came out with a bunch of disco inspired covers of the popular movies of the time. So it's time to put on your leisure suits and slinky cocktail dresses and dance on over to a galaxy far, far away!

And how about a disco-themed FCM?

Labels: cover, electronic, folk, jazz, mashup, mixtape, pop, remix, rnb, rock

FCM #12 - PLANES, TRAINS, & AUTOMOBILES Lots of transportation related songery here and nothing about those two pillows. (we'll save that for booty-shaking theme week!) Click here to download the whole FCM #12 - PTA or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Next friday's theme - VERBS! So pick a song that deals with one of your favorite action words and (if safe for work) submit alongside your song and description a photo of you or someone else performing that action.

"Paper Planes" M.I.A. - 2007
Margaret writes: I've been obsessed with this song for the past month or so - it's dang catchy and fun. She mentions planes, trains, trucks and pumping gas - apparently she's all about transportation. That's all I got.

"The Letter" Box Tops - 1967
Christine writes: Hold up Mister, the trainís not fast enough for this reignited lover, get him an airplane! Put aside the fact that she mailed him a letter that probably took at least two weeks to reach him and could be over him again by now, itís a pretty endearing song. This Memphis-bred group led by husky-voiced sixteen-year-old Alex Chilton broke free from the bubble-gum pop so many were apt to chase after in this era and instead relied on more local influences. Their first and probably best single skyrocketed to #1 but the rest of their "best of" CD still has some charmers like "Cry Like A Baby" and "Neon Rainbow."

"Flight 180" Bishop Allen - 2006
Ben writes: "My friends, my friends, I'm coming' home." Bishop Allen wrote a bunch of great songs in 2006 - this is only one of them. It's the lyrics and vocal delivery that keep me coming back to this tune. I love the way he weaves the flight narrative together with his own thoughts and preoccupations. It reminds me of the way I think and so it strikes me as being "true" - if you know what I mean.

"Red Eye" Ace Enders - 2008
TJ writes: This song is from the singer of a band I used to love back in my own band days called The Early Novemeber. I don't know if I've put anything from them on here bit I feel like I have. Anyways, whatever, here is a song called "RED EYE" by Ace Enders.

"Mission Control" No Knife - 1998
Chris writes: The second offering this week comes from an oft-overlooked post-rock band by the name of No Knife. They embody the opposite of the Louvin Brothers, though many things remain the same: two voices, an ambiguous story, travel to places unknown, and a lamentable fate. No Knife, however, is a pounding, swerving, diving ship of distorted guitar and throaty vocals that might certainly seem futuristic to the Louvin Bros. Here, No Knife is happily losing their shit over a botched space mission ("Monkey's a goner!"), whereas the Louvin Brothers were just saying goodbye to a girl they'd never see again. Ahhh, simple times.

"Planes Over the Skyline" Swervedriver - 2005
Nick writes: I am pretty convinced that every single Swervedriver song could fit this mix somehow, so here is one of them.

"No Train to Stockholm (Lee Hazlewood)" Dax Riggs - 2008
Brian writes: I know, I know..."Another Dax Riggs song? Isn't this thing supposed to be about discovering and posting new/different music?" Well, hear me out. I've only actually posted 1 Dax song so far, and the others that have followed are just really, really good songs made even better by Dax. So, I look at it as a 2 for 1 deal.

Dax has introduced me to the music of Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Nick Cave, Nick Lowe, Nick Drake and countless others not named Nick. In this case, Dax introduced me to the music of Lee Hazlewood (RIP).

In 1970, Hazlewood released Cowboy in Sweden as a soundtrack of sorts to accompany the TV show, also called Cowboy in Sweden, that Hazlewood starred in. Being an album for a TV show, it is somewhat on the poppier side, and very, very catchy. Near the middle comes a song that is fantastically catchy (especially the chorus), but with lyrics that are extremely powerful and way too relevant today. That song is No Train to Stockholm.

I had never heard of Hazlewood at the time, but in early February 2008 I came across this video of Dax performing No Train... It was instantly in my head. I looked up the lyrics and learned to play it on guitar immediately.

A couple weeks later, I saw Dax at Double Door, and he didn't play it. I was talking with him afterwards, and I mentioned the video and how great I thought it was. He asked if I wanted to hear it, and when I managed to form the word "YES", he grabbed his guitar and took me "backstage" (which at Double Door is pretty much like a boiler room in the basement...but with a couch and chair) to play it. It was just me, Dax and a girlfriend of his, and he played the hell out of this song, and a couple new songs, for me. It was a pretty awesome experience.

Anyway, here's a bootleg version of No Train to Stockholm from a couple weeks after that night. I believe it was the last show of the tour.

Wow! This is really long again...Ah well...

"In The Pines" The Louvin Brothers - 1956
Chris writes: I'm bringing two to the table this week because it was so damn hard to choose between the past AND the future of transportation. First up is an old country classic that dates back to days when a loved one could get on a train and never be seen or heard from again. It's "In the Pines", a number that's been covered and recreated throughout the last 100 or so years, but no one's done it quite as well as the Louvin Brothers (Smog came very close, however). Just try and get that train-whistle-like mournful harmony out of your head!

"Train Song [Live]" Tom Waits - 1988
Jane writes: Something tells me that the train songs for this theme are going to be waaaaay under-represented. I hope I'm wrong, because trains are fantastic.

Anyhoo, here's my contribution. I promise not to lay too much Tom Waits on the FCM, though it is by far my largest collection from any one artist. Blame it on me being a drunk in college and friends in record stores (records!!). I chose the live version of this song because it kicks off with a humorous story... a humorous story that leads into the most gutwrenching of laments. Weird juxtaposition. A rollercoaster of emotions. The tears of a clown.

I love this line:
"a steeple full of swallows that could never ring the bell"

I picture them, and it's the saddest part of the song for me. But I'm a sucker for birds and animals.

"Love In Vain" The Rolling Stones - 1969
Brian writes: This is one of my favorite Stones songs from possibly my favorite Stones album. It also happens to be a great train song (and it sort of sounds like Mick Jagger says blueline and redline when he's actually saying blue light and red light). It was originally written by Robert Johnson in the '30's, and later re-worked by the Stones on the album Let it Bleed. So, there you go...2 for 1.

"I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo" Glenn Miller - 1942
Renata writes: Perhaps a loose interpretation of our Trains, Planes, and Automobiles theme, Kalamazoo is a song my cousins and I grew up with as we spent time together on our annual Kouka family vacation up at Moose Lake in Wisconsin (Kouka = mom’s side of the family). The song is about a guy about to travel to Kalamazoo, MI (via plane!) to visit his love—the toast of Kalamazoo, of course! A loose fit, but a fit nonetheless :)

Grandpa always had the radio set to a big-band station and so Kalamazoo, along with other classics such as The Chattanooga Choo Choo and Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing), are songs I will always hold a certain fondness for! To add the story, this past April I drove through Kalamazoo on my way to a student advertising competition. I found this hilarious and immediately texted my cousin, Kimberly (who now lives out in California) to share in the excitement.

A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-IIIIIIII got a gal in Kalama-zoo-zoo-zoo-zoo …

"The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side" Magnetic Fields - 1999
Felix writes: I remember someone mentioning this album to me while in grad school (2000), but I didn't pick it up until after I arrived in Chicago. At the time, I was dating someone still living in Ohio, and from time to time would make the brutal drive from Barrington, IL to Columbus, OH after work on a Friday (oftentimes not arriving until 1AM, factoring in the time change).

Back when I was still listening to actual CD's, Volume 1 was one of my favorites of this album. This was a great song to sing to, and that final high G note at the end of the song is just... ridiculous.

"Motorway" The Kinks - 1972
Walt writes: Okay, it's been a couple of weeks since I tossed a Kinks song out there. Here's Motorway from the Everybody's in ShowBiz album from 1972 . Motorway food is the worst in the world!

"Always Crashing in the Same Car" David Bowie - 1977
Allison writes: Okay, here's a Bowie track from a seminal Bowie album (Low, circa 1977) that apart from a lyrical metaphor about crashing a car, also provides me a vehicle (Ha! Vehicle! Get it?!) for me to link to the video for one of my most favorite, most hilarious bits by Flight of the Conchords, "Bowie in Space."

"Passenger" Deftones - 2000
Justin writes: This is probably one of my favorite songs on the White Pony album, if not my favorite. I absolutely adore Maynard's singing voice and at the time was a really big Deftones fan. I felt the title and lyrics fit well for this week's theme and I thought I would share this with you.

"This time won't you please, Drive faster!"

"Flipside (featuring Peedi Crakk)" Freeway - 2003
Justin writes: I feel like there isn't enough rump shaking hip hop in the mixes so I'm ever so slyly inserting this into the list. Mostly because the artist has dubbed himself "Freeway" and discusses many automobiles in the rhymes that he drops. I mean just examine the first few lyrics he spits in this energetic piece.

"Cars (Jlab Mix)" Gary Numan - 1998
Walt writes: It's the only way to live...

"The Glass Is Half... Awesome" Inkwell - 2005
Justin writes: I found this band a few years ago whilst I was attempting to start a clothing line of the same name. Upon my "is this copyrighted" searches I found this group and generally liked their stuff a lot. I thought is was funny that had I not been pursuing the name check I would've never found them.

Anyway this one is very much about automobiles and it's catchy too!

Labels: big band, country, cover, electronic, folk, instrumental, pop, rap, rock

FCM #11 - DANCE PARTY I'm glad to see this mix come together organically and STILL include the "Cha Cha Slide." Admittedly, there are a LOT of different ways to dance and I'm sure you could go through most of them through the course of this mix. Don't miss Felix's link to "Partydance" which has been an office comedy favorite for some time. Click here to download the whole FCM #11 - Dance Party or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

We're voting again for next week's theme. Choose one or these. (1) Break Up Mixtape, (2) Planes, Trains & Automobiles, (3) Fight Songs

"Twistin' the Night Away" Sam Cooke - 1962
Felix writes: Really difficult time with this one. I don't tend to dance all that often (it's a rare thing for me, and usually only happens when I'm alone). While I was tempted to make my pick Ed Shepp's "Partydance", I decided to go with a more traditional pick: Mr. Sam Cooke.

"Genius of Love" Tom Tom Club - 1981
Sarah writes: I love funky dance parties! The first Wednesday of every month is Funk and Soul night at Danny's in Bucktown. The DJ duo Sheer Magic play the funkiest music ever recorded, and the tiny dance floor is packed with people who can't resist the beats! One of my favorite things - I look forward to it every month.

At first I had trouble narrowing it down to one song, but when I remembered 'Genius of Love,' the choice was clear. It speaks for itself. "Who needs to think when your feet just go?"

"Nobody Dances Anymore" Brandston - 2006
TJ writes: Well, this track is from the band Brandtson, a late high school/college fav of mine. This song is totally about people not dancing anymore so I figured it would fit perfectly. And it's always made my rump shake. Any for reals yo, please go check out the video. The whole thing is just people dancing to the song. Enjoy.

"Don't Leave Me This Way" Communards - 1985
Walt writes: Imagine a large ballroom dance floor with three dozen dancers in pink and champagne taffeta gowns with hoop-style skirts just rockin' out to this song ... well that's what I do.

"September" Earth, Wind and Fire - 1978
Margaret writes: I had never listened to funk music before I met Justin, but he's a big fan and now I'm hooked as well. We have a Saturday morning ritual where we blast funk music and dance around our living room like a couple of dorks, and this song is a standard on the playlist. It's impossible for me not to move to this song.

"Let's Pretend We're Married" Prince - 1983
James writes: Only Prince could pull off a line like this without taking a knee to the tenders:

"Excuse me but I need a mouth like yours
2 help me forget the girl that just walked out my door
Let's pretend we're married and do it all night"

"Paper Tiger" Spoon - 2002
Chris writes: I'm a big electro fan and there are a number of fantastic speaker-destroying tracks I thought I might like to include on this mix (see works from Justice, Boys Noize, Calvin Harris) but I decided to go with something more personal - hence this track from Spoon's Kill the Moonlight. When I first moved to Chicago I lived in a big, empty apartment in the Ukrainian Village for the first month and a half while waiting for a roommate. I had a chair, a desk, my computer, a bed, and a little TV stacked on a milk crate. I had no cable and no phone, and I didn't have a job either. I spent my time putting my portfolio together and doing a smattering of freelance work to keep myself alive. I didn't know a single soul in the city, but for that first month and a half it didn't really matter. I played my music loud, I became fascinated with Korean television (see: Age of Warriors), one of the few channels that I could get on my TV, and I sang and danced to break up the time I spent working away at my desk. I wore the grooves out (so to speak) on Kill the Moonlight, and Paper Tiger was the star of the show. I would stand up from my desk and shuffle around the bare living room whenever this song played, dancing a sort of soft shoe that seemed to perfectly fit the mood. Spoon have an acute minimalist's touch when it comes to instrumentation and they have perfected the science of finding just the bare essentials needed to create a beautiful song. Britt Daniel's closing lyric inspired daydreams of what the city might hold for me: someone to be with when I turned out the light.

"Strength Beyond Strength" Pantera - 1994
Brian writes: I was 14 years old when Pantera's Far Beyond Driven was released. I ditched school so I could get my hands on it immediately when the record store opened. My first listen was a magical one, and the thousands that followed were so inspiring and therapeutic to me in my youth. I still get chills when I hear it.

I was almost 15 when I saw Pantera live for the first time at The Aragon Ballroom in 1995. That was the first show I had ever been to like that, and I've never seen one like it since.

Just like the Far Beyond Driven CD, they opened up with Strength Beyond Strength. To this day, I have never seen a crowd move like they did at that moment. And I do mean the entire crowd...from front-to-back and side-to-side, that entire place was DAN-CING! I saw Pantera at least 5 more times after that show, and the reaction was nowhere near the same. Not your typical dance music I'm aware, but this is the dance music I grew up on.

"Cuttin' In" Chris Farlowe - 1966
Jane writes: Couples's skate time!! Oh my... hope I'm not the only slow dance in the mix this week.

Chris Farlowe is an incredible guilty pleasure of mine. Mostly known for very self-indulgent covers, it's a study in disbelief to listen to his music then find out that he LOOKS LIKE THIS!

"Beat Connection" LCD Soundsystem - 2002
Ben writes: Everybody here's afraid of fun. Dance-tastic. LCD Soundsystem opened their (2005) set in at The Metro with this song which (until that point) was never one of my favorites. The energy of that performance was like nothing i've experienced. I hear it in a different way now - and I LOVE it. I've listened countless times and nearly every time I bounce involuntarily, just like the crowd at The Metro and the drunk girl next to me who really wanted to grind... Yeow :(

"Wish" Ellen Allien - 2003
Allison writes: Ellen Allien is a kick-ass DJ from Berlin, and this super-danceable number, "Wish", is from her 2003 album Berlinette. The lyrics are at once oversimplistic and wistful, but the real star of the show are those shuddering, grinding (yet vaguely clinical) German beats. Yum!

"High Fidelity" Daft Punk - 1997
Nick writes: So I picked a Daft Punk song called "High Fidelity", which was featured on their first album, Homework. This predates their being robots by a few years. I picked this one because it seems like many people don't realize that Daft Punk had much of a career before Discovery beyond "Around the World". But their first album was and remains ridiculously influential in house music, especially among DJs, and it (along with, yes, "Around the World") gave them the popularity and money to turn into robots and record Discovery.

On Homework they called clicks 'n cuts with "High Fidelity" five years before Luomo and Akufen; they called progressive house with "Alive" three years before Sasha and Digweed; they recorded a synth line so ridiculous that they reprised it at the end of the album by playing it backwards, and it still managed to sound good.

This video of a rave in Milwaukee(!?) from 1994, three years before Homework came out, gives some good perspective. A few way-old Daft Punk tracks are duly chopped up and thrown in, but the majority of it is Detroit techno and acid house. Daft Punk have some interesting roots.

"21st Century Life" Sam Sparro - 2007
Justin writes: This Australian-Singer-Songwriter-Producer I discovered on one of my many internet surf-a-thons. Upon hopping website to website I fell upon this former child star's homepage and that's when I was entranced by this funktastic music video that immediately started playing without anyone's permission. Needless to say my ass began to shake. And then I got this stirring sensation in my legs and it quickly spread to my upper body. "My God!", I said to myself, "I can't stop the jive!"

That was a while ago, since then I've been plagued with the Chronic Jive. Every time this album plays my body is riddled with fits and vibrations. It's an overwhelming sensation that should not be under-whelmed. I recommend this song and album to everyone but listen at your discretion. You will not be able to stop the groove, funk, dance-pop, or jive. You know it, I know it, our asses know it. Enjoy!

"Whoo! Alright - Yeah... Uh Huh" The Rapture - 2006
Ben writes: This comes from The Rapture's second album, which is no where near as good as their first. I don't do a lot of dancing, but when this is on and I am home in my underwear I tend to gallop around a bit and enjoy myself.

"Casper Cha-Cha Slide (Live Platinum Band)" Casper & Col'Ta - 2000
Renata writes: I cannot dance. At all. Except to this lovely track. And by this track, I mean this exact version, which has played at every Junior High and High School dance I can remember … and almost every wedding I've ever attended. And I'm good. Real good. See you on the dance floor …

"Closer" Nine Inch Nails - 1994
Brian writes: I think it's pretty imperative that this band/song be in the mix.

Labels: electronic, mixtape, pop, rnb, rock, soul

FCM #9 - COLORS We've put together a fun one this week. Lots of good things to listen to and think about. A warm welcome to Sarah, who's joining us for the first time. Also, a big thanks to Allison for making this week's cover. If you want to do the next one, drop me a line! Click here to download the entire FCM #9 - COLORS or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Next week's Theme - From the Movies! Could be a song from a soundtrack or a song featured in a movie, whatever. Get your thinking caps on!

"Green" Ken Nordine - 1966
Allison writes: Please know that this track, GREEN, is part of an entire delightful album of colors by the great voiceover artist and word jazzist Ken Nordine. 34 tracks, each for a certain hue, from black to blue and crimson to puce! Funnily enough, this album's origins were in a handful of mid-60s radio spots Nordine recorded for a household paint company. People began calling in asking where they could find the music, and shortly thereafter, his record COLORS was born.

"Pretty Green" The Jam - 1980
Jane writes: I went through a huge Jam phase back in college, and this song was always one I would skip over because it's such a diversion from their 70's sound I'd grown to love. This was 80's, and I didn't dig it. What was this, disco?

But, like most of my music obsessions go, once you leave it behind for a while, you're much more able to say "This one song was my favorite by so and so" or "Looking back, I can see where they were going with this...", etc.

This was not my favorite song by the Jam, and I'm still not sure where they were going with it, but when I go back and play these records, I no longer skip it. That's saying something, right? In fact, I think Pretty Green is Pretty Great. And it's talking about buying fruit and jukebox plays with everyone's favorite green. The money kind.

"The Village Green Preservation Society" The Kinks - 1968
Walt writes: The Village Green Preservation Society by The Kinks is a great little song about the loss of tradition and how old things should be preserved and passed down while still leaving room for what's new. This version of the song is from the BBC sessions that many British artists performed in studio. And it's a Kinks song, so there, Ben! ;P

"Red and Purple" The Dodos - 2008
Nick writes: Here is a very good song by indie folk band The Dodos, who are from San Francisco.

"Blue" The Jayhawks - 1995
Felix writes: I first heard this song while an undergrad, but didn't really get hooked on it until late in my grad school career. Mostly it makes me think of being single, or of those transitional periods where friends are moving away... or you're moving away from friends.

"Red" Okkervil River - 2002
Ben writes: This is the first Okkervil River song that I ever heard. I love it for its soothing rhythm and the lovely melody.The lyrics in general and the way it comes together at the final climax - "...she still remembers your touch. I know that it's not much, but you still haven't lost her" - beautiful.

"Silver Lining" Rilo Kelly - 2007
TJ writes: This is a track from the latest Rilo Kiley cd. I really love Jenny Lewis for mainly her voice :) AND the fact that she was in "The Wizard" (I'm pretty sure I've stated this on one of these mixes already so sorry for the broken record :)

"Blackpowder" Jucifer - 2008
Brian writes: Sorry this is long, but I like to talk about music...

I wasn't sure about this theme at first, but upon searching iTunes for colors I came across so many random songs/bands I never would have thought of. I'm listening to one of them (Black Flag) as I type this. The color black seemed to bring back the best results, and I narrowed it down to two; The Black Art of Deception by Goatwhore and Blackpowder by Jucifer. In the end, I chose Blackpowder by Jucifer (sorry Goatwhore)!

Jucifer gets big points in my book for many reasons.
1. They are a guitar/vocal and drum duo (who also happen to be married)
2. The sold their home 8 years ago, and replaced it with an RV that they take around the world touring, almost non-stop
3. The guitarist/vocalist, Amber Valentine, is BEAUTIFUL and badass. She literally plays through a "wall of amplifiers" to create a textured guitar tone and bass guitar substitute.
4. The release that Blackpowder appears on, L'autrichienne, is a 21-song concept album about the French Revolution (with some songs sung in French). It was supposed to be a double album, but they squeezed it onto one disc to keep the price down for fans.

"I Think It Is Beautiful That You Are 256 Colors Too" Black Moth Super Rainbow - 2007
Chris writes: Black Moth Super Rainbow is an explosion of color and light and sound. It's a fuzzy, washed-out landscape of motion trails, blown out television tube hues and a bouncy late-70s PBS fantasy. It's visions from a softer sphere that are all played out in the swirling hiss and buzz of their music (bonus: no drugs needed). This is music that emanates from technicolor children's shows lost to the ether, re-bottled by this band in the form of sound collage. Listen to some of their other material and prepare to relive some faint, hauntingly happy childhood memories that aren't even your own.

"Black Hole Sun" Soundgarden - 1994
Justin writes: This track is a perfect addition to this weeks theme for color. Being post Temple of the Dog and pre Audioslave I loved this is a song as a kid and is really drew me in to become a big Soundgarden fan. Remember the creepy video with all the characters and their distorted expressions? It was a definitely a music video I will never forget.

"Sunken Cathedral" Claude Debussy - 1991
Sarah writes: When I think of colors and music, I think of timbre. Timbre (tone color) is what makes an oboe sound like an oboe, a tuba sound like a tuba, and Art Garfunkel sound like a cherub.

Impressionist painters emphasized how light effected subjects and focused more on the overall 'impression' of an image rather than the details - Debussy was an impressionist composer. Sunken Cathedral is for solo piano, but the piece is all about colors - especially when you listen to it with Monet's series of paintings of the Rouen Cathedral at different times of day in mind.

It moves pretty slowly, but try to make it to 3:30!

"Mellow Yellow" Donovan - 1966
Margaret writes: An old Gap commercial from the late 90's introduced me to this song, and I've had it stuck in my head ever since. I love the simplicity of it, and I also love the word "saffron" -- so it's a win-win for me.

"Green" Locash - 1998
Christine writes: So I was going through my collection trying to decide what to choose for this week's topic. After self-eliminating any bands that had a color in their name I came to realize that I was narrowed down to about 5 different versions of "Blue Moon". After contemplating for a moment why everyone and their mother covers that song, I kept scrolling and came upon this little gem. This is actually Rob's kid brother's band from highschool. Obviously now defunct, but for a group of teenagers, they really could put on a show. I have to admit their album fell short of what they could do live. I have to give them credit though for mixing in a DJ prior to Linkin Park coming on the scene. They've all pretty much moved on as most kids do except they can claim that one "made it" - their bass player Allen is now in Story of the Year on Epitaph Records.

"Little Green" Joni Mitchel - 1971
Masha writes: I confess! I used to love Joni Mitchell. The acoustic arrangements on her album "Blue" struck with me in high school. Here is "Little Green," a personal song written about the child she had to give up for adoption. "All I Want" "River" and "California" are other great ones on that album.

"99 Red Balloons" Nena - 1983
Walt writes: 99 Red Balloons is the English cover of 99 Luftballoons (99 Balloons) by the German band, Nena. The song made a big red splash in 1984. The song is about an over reaction between nations but most importantly it references both Captain Kirk and super-heroes.

Labels: classical, folk, instrumental, mixtape, pop, rock

FCM #7 - SONGS THAT TELL A STORY Plenty of sad tales in this weeks edition of FCM. This week's cover art is inspired by the true story of Marie Prevost outlined in Jane's contribution. Click here to download the entire FCM #7 - SONGS THAT TELL A STORY or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Next week's theme is for Labor Day - bring out those songs about loving work, hating work, just about work (or being off work!) or the work-a-day life. Labor! Work!

"Levon" Elton John - 1971
Chris writes: My mom was a fan of Elton John. She was particularly fond of the early Rock 'n Roll Elton that I still enjoy today. She played records quite a bit at home when I was growing up, the same ones in a continuous rotation, and this song found a particular place in my heart. Maybe it's the epic strings, the drum flourishes peppered throughout nearly every change, or the earnestness in Elton's voice as he sings - whatever it is, it captured me every time it came on the stereo. It wasn't until later in life that I really heard the song and appreciated the story that went along with it all. For me, it's all about the relationship between father and son, tradition and change, dreams and reality. The words are few, but they paint such a perfect portrait of the kind of man Levon is and the kind of man Jesus is afraid of becoming. It poses a question about truly living and the unspoken rules that govern what being a "good man" is all about. Is it following tradition, fighting for your country, earning money and raising your kid the same? Or is it about living life your way, traveling to Venus and disregarding your past? That's a question that only Jesus can answer.

"Real Talk" R. Kelly - 2007
Jennifer writes: When Ben said this week's theme was "Songs That Tell A Story", I immediately thought of all the folk and country singers that fit that criteria. Would I pick a song from Neil Diamond, Tom Petty or Johnny Cash? Did Pete Seeger seem appropriate? Or was Barry Manilow too much? Then it all became clear to me...... a modern day story teller is what we needed. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you R Kelly.

The obvious choice was a song off the monster that is "Trapped in the Closet" However, after listening to the thousands of ditties in Chapters 1-22 - such luminaries as "The Package", "You Can Do It, Pimp Lucious" and "The Reveal of the Little Person/Cherry Pie" - I realized I couldn't parse down such a classic at my whim. No - this story is best enjoyed in its entirety. I will leave that to Ben's New Hire Induction for the 25 or so people that have been hired since Allison had her Induction/Viewing Party of the Chapters.

I have selected one of R's newer songs that covers all the bases. "Real Talk" tells a story but also is a bit of a tale of morality - much like the Greek myths or Viking sagas of yore. Listen and learn, my friends. (Just don't listen to it too loudly as R has a potty mouth on this one)

"Don't You Want Me" The Human League - 1981
Christine writes: This week's submission come s with the assistance of my sister, Betsy. I was talking with them about how, with the exception of maybe the "humpty dance", most songs tell some sort of story so I found this week's topic difficult. She suggested this song and I have to agree with her for a few reasons. One, it's an awesome song from the 80's. Two, it's definitely got a story line - albeit the typical love and loss. Three, the unique (and sometimes comical if you think about it) two sides of the story line that are presented. I can picture these two going at while listening to this song.

"A Postcard To Nina" Jens Lekman - 2007
Nick writes: My selection this week is Jens Lekman's "A Postcard to Nina," the greatest song ever written about faking being someone's fiancee to their father. In 2007.

"Marie Provost" Nick Lowe - 1977
Jane writes: To lighten up this pack of (what I know will be) terribly depressing songs... because aren't most songs that tell a story depressing? I mean, who writes a song where the plot is running to the Jewel to pick up cheese and TP? Anyway, I'm bringing you this TRUE STORY song about Marie Prevost, a silent film star in the 20's/30's who turned to booze and eating disorders when the double-whammy of prohibition ending and the "talkies" beginning left her washed up and quite alone.

This isn't just a fallen star story though... in fact, many may have forgotten her amidst the other debaucherous tales of Hollywood Babylon except for the post-mortem scene she left behind after drinking and starving herself into an early death in 1937.

You see, she was found in her bed by the police almost two weeks after her death, HALF EATEN BY HER DACHSHUND.

"She was a winner/Who became her doggie's dinner."

So, yeah, I was just kidding about this not being depressing. It's crazy depressing. But like I said, no one writes story-telling songs about the mundane.

"Tennessee Waltz (Live)" Dax Riggs - 2008
Brian writes: Okay... I've stayed away from contributing any of my bootleg recordings in the past, but I guess that ends here. Some of the "best" songs I possess were never properly recorded, and they should be shared...crappy quality or not. Anyway, songs that tell a story...

Tennessee Waltz, was written in 1947 by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King. It was made popular in 1950 by Patti Page. It's been covered a zillion times since then. Leonard Cohen performed it live on occasion, adding an additional verse. His version was performed live by my favorite singer/songwriter, Dax Riggs, on May 1, 2008 at Chelsea's Cafe in Baton Rouge, LA.

Here's the audio and video of that performance. It's a great song, with a great melody, that tells the classic, universal story of having your heart broken (but it's told from a very unique perspective), and I've never heard anyone sing it quite as good as Dax.

"Last Kiss" Pearl Jam - 1999
Renata writes: Nothing against Ricky Nelson, but I’m partial to Pearl Jam’s rendition of Last Kiss. I’m one of those people who easily becomes fixated on one song and runs it on repeat for weeks. This was one of those tunes. The painful, yet everlastily-love-saturated lyrics hooked me. I want to say I stumbled upon Last Kiss sometime in Junior High, but could be totally lying to you right now—I really can’t remember! This is one of the few MP3s that has survived two computer swaps. Enjoy.

"Ghetto Cowboy" Mo Thugs - 1998
Margaret writes: I first heard this song the summer before I started high school. My friend's and I made it our mission to memorize all of the lyrics - and we sang it all summer long, usually in parts. It's ridiculously awesome.

"Stagger Lee" Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 1996
James writes: Parental warning: If profanity, violence, and deplorable sexual acts upset you, please don't listen to this song.

The story of Stagger Lee was first put to song close to 100 years ago. Since then, a variety of artists have put their spin on Stagger Lee; who, considering the time, has to be considered the "O.G."

Of all the versions that have been made, none leave a mark like Nick Cave and the Bad Seed's 1996 take on it. The Stagger Lee of this story could wipe the floor with both Bad Leroy Brown and Manowar with his shooting hand tied behind his back.

"Waterloo Sunset (Live)" The Kinks 1996
Walt writes: Ray Davies is a master storyteller and this is one of his masterpieces. While I've always loved the original 1967 version of this song, The Kinks performed acoustic versions of many of their songs in 1996. I really like Ray's vocals on this "newly" recorded version. The melancoly of song really gets me even through the veil of paranoia.

"My Sister" Tindersticks - 1995
Allison writes: My selection this week is from Tindersticks, one of my absolute favorite bands in the dark, lovely chamber pop category. "My Sister" is a shimmering, tumbling, Edward Gorey-esque narration of the life of vocalist Stuart Staples' fictional sibling. Staples lets loose quite an ode to this ill-fated lass, who among other things goes blind at age 5, burns down their house at 10 (inadvertently killing mum and the cat in the process), falls down the well on a drinking binge at age 13, moves in with her gym teacher at 15, and so on... I'll leave the rest to the song.

One caveat: the vocals are often hard to distinguish, so I'd recommend taking a gander at the lyrics online while listening. Otherwise you're liable to miss gems like these, her description of what she sees while blind:

I can see little twinkly stars, like Christmas tree lights in faraway windows / Rings of brightly coloured rocks floating around orange and mustard planets / I can see huge tiger striped fishes chasing tiny blue and yellow dashes, all tails and fins and bubbles.

"1000 Times A Day" The Early November - 2005
TJ writes: Sappy sappy love song about a boy and a girl who start going out when they were kids, breaking up and then getting married in the end. I like the fingerpicking in this song a lot as well as the melodies. The random trumpets at the end are nice too.

"Elizabeth Childers" Richard Buckner - 2000
Ben writes: Richard Buckner's The Hill consists of one single audio track that weaves through alt-country instrumentals and song versions of some of the poems from Spoon River Anthology (1915, Edgar Lee Masters). Each poem in Spoon River is an epitaph of a dead citizen (from Spoon River), delivered by the dead themselves. This is my favorite of Buckner's songs on The Hill (which I have liberated from the rest of the record). It's the story of Elizabeth Childers... a woman who died in childbirth along with the baby she was carrying. She sings about how it is well that her child did not come into the world, and tells a story about what hardship that child might have endured had he lived. It's tragic and even as I write this I feel tears welling up in behind my eyes!

"Medication" Damien Jurado - 2000
Felix writes: I first heard of Damien Jurado from Ben, and got entranced with this song. I have a thing where I'm able to loop a song, incessantly, for more times than is healthy. I mean, like a lot. What gets me most from this song is how all the characters intersect through the speaker, and the complexities/similarities between all the relationships.

"Tecumseh Valley" Townes Van Zandt - 1969
Ben writes: Townes Fan Zandt is one of my all-time favorite songwriters. This is from a live album where Townes plays by himself called A Gentle Evening WIth Townes Van Zandt. The story this song tells is tragic - quite possibly the saddest song I've ever heard. It's country folk, and in it we hear of financial hardship, affection death, depression, whoring, and despair. Sounds kind of like a joke about country music, I know, but Townes writes it real and sings it realer. I can barely get through singing this song without crying.

Labels: country, cover, folk, mixtape, pop, rnb, rock

FCM #6 - INSTRUMENTALS Shut your trap! You can't sing along to this mix unless you're really fond of humming. A big hearty welcome to Felix who joins us for the first time on this mix. Click here to download the entire FCM #6 - INSTRUMENTALS or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Next week's theme is still up for grabs - post a comment to cast your vote for (a) Girls Rock! (b) Love and Loss (c) Songs that tell a story. Voting ends on monday at noon so get on it!

"Better Go Home Now" Dirty Three - 1995
Jennifer writes: Dirty Three signed to the record label I worked for at that time. Right after they signed on with the label, they played a show in town and we all went to check them out. Earlier in the day, Warren, the violin player, had broken up with his girlfriend and proceeded to get drunk on Jack Daniels before the show and was smashed by the time they hit the stage. Right before launching into "Better Go Home Now", he rambled poetically (yet nonsensically) about his girlfriend and clouds and airplanes then fell to the stage and played this song from his back. I thought it was the most amazing performance ever.

Flash forward a few months... as it turned out, Warren had a lot of personal issues and was on again/off again with his girlfriend all the time and it turns out that the poetic ramblings was something he did for every show. So it wasn't really all that special after all but every time I hear this song, I think of that one performance.

"Rumble" Link Wray & His Ray Men - 1958
Jane writes: My dad had this one in his jukebox when I was little, and I used to play it and think it sounded dangerous and "dirty" compared with the other 60's pop that made up the selections. And I guess I wasn't the only one who felt that way -- it was actually banned on radio stations back in the day just because it sounded so menacing... "A rare feat for a song with no lyrics."

An iconic instrumental from an iconic artist who grandfathered the overdrive and distortion effects we hear in music everyday now. I had the honor of seeing Link Wray live about 11 years ago before he died, and I was absolutely starstruck.

"Closet Quencher" Eschatol - 2007
Justin writes: So this week because since it's instrumentals I decided to go with a selection from a band I know very well. The band is Eschatol (es-ka-tall) and I currently play guitar in this particular group.

About a year ago we were offered free recording time from The Playground studio over on west Grand. So we went in for a few days and cranked out a 4 song demo. It was our first recording experience that actually ended in a decent sounding demo. We have always tried to take these matters into our own hands and ended up failing miserably. This song is a part of a newer style we began writing in and will also be featured on our new album that we are preparing to release.

This song and the rest of the demo is available for listen and download at our website, eschatol.com

"The Haul" Calexico - 1995
Jennifer writes: They were on the same label (see Dirty Three above) and to this day are still my all time favorite artists to work with. They have since developed a fuller sound but this is off their first CD when they were just two guys playing multiple instruments.

"Mess Around" Professor Longhair - 1985
James writes: There was a brief time in my life when I wanted to learn how to play piano. Professor Longhair's the reason. His music is the Rosetta Stone that all New Orleans piano players learned from, and, decades later, still a great listen.

"Orion" Metallica - 1986
Brian writes: Man, these guys used to be so good. The whole song is great, but at about 4 minutes in you will find some of the greatest music ever written, in my opinion anyway. Man, these guys suck now...

"Invention No. 13 in A Minor, BWV 784" Glenn Gould
Felix writes: In college, I watched a film called "Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould" and got interested in Glenn Gould's music - specifically his Bach/Goldberg Variations. I'm not a huge Classical Music fan, but I really dug Gould's abilities on the piano - particularly with really fast pieces.

I got obsessed with doing a visualization of one of his pieces (the one I chose), and ended up creating a Flash project that displayed every note he played. I got so wrapped up in finishing the thing that I actually called in sick to work one day, just so I could stay at home and work on the thing. Gould Project

"The Pink Panther Theme" Henry Mancini - 1963
Walt writes: Well, first I was going to go with the Batman Theme song from 1966, but of course that's not an instrumental ... right? Not according to Adam West, who claims the the female-voiced "Batman"s in the tune were actually done with instruments. I'm not one to argue with Adam, but I still thought it was cheating. My next choice was "Green Onions" by Booker T and the MGs and while I think it's a great instrumental, I'm going to hold that one back until a later date. Which brings me to Henry Mancini. Once decided on the great Mancini, I had actually chosen a different tune, which I'm also going to hold back until we hit the Halloween-themed FCM. That in no way diminishes the Pink Panther theme, one of the greatest movie themes ever and instantly recognizable! I like this version because it's a bit longer and gets jazzier in latter third of the piece.

"Cavatina" Stanley Myers - 1976
Christine writes: My dad liked to play the Deerhunter soundtrack while we had brunch. Weird, but it's a very pretty instrumental. There is actually a lot more to the whole movement but I didn’t want to overburden anyone with it. If you would like the whole thing, let me know. As a side note, we used to call the soundtrack to Clockwork Orange the "silly record" ... I've had to revisit a few childhood memories because of that one. Enjoy!

"Stairway To Heaven" London Symphony Orchestra
Renata writes: For the life of me, I can’t remember if I heard the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Stairway to Heaven … or if, after hearing one of their performances, I obsessively downloaded a bunch of their performance tracks and their rendition of Stairway to Heaven was one of them. ANYHOW. I wasn’t able to find the CSO’s rendition on my computer or iTunes, so the London Symphony Orchestra’s version must do for now. Nothing like the power of a symphonic orchestra to add to the existing awesomeness of a classic.

"Palladio (1st Movement)" Karl Jenkins, London Philharmonic Orchestra & The Smith Quartet
Margaret writes: This one is a bit of a novelty - it's the song from the De Beers commercials in the late 90's. I played the violin when I was growing up, and we begged our orchestra conductor to let us play this song...she conceded, and we proceeded to butcher it because it was waaaaaaaaay too advanced for us, but we had a good time anyway. I love the cello and violin solos that take place after the first minute.

"Marche Slave, Op. 31" Gennadi Rozhdestvensky & London Symphony Orchestra
Margaret writes: I first heard this song from an episode of "Salute Your Shorts" when I was a kid. I loved it at the time, but had no clue what it was or how to get a hold of it. Then, as fate would have it, my jr. high orchestra conductor handed it out to us for an upcoming concert. I don't know exactly why I love it, but the first movement is one of my favorite pieces of music of all time. It just sounds so mischievious and sneaky.

"Built Then Burnt - On The Nature Of Daylight" A Silver Mt. Zion - Max Richter 2001, 2004
Ben writes: One night in 2004 I was working late and listening to music but zoning out in code-land. I had the crossfader set to several seconds in iTunes (the feature was new!) and this wonderful thing happened... "Built Then Burnt" by A Silver Mt. Zion transitioned into Max Richter's "On The Nature Of Daylight" and i didn't notice. BUT then I did notice. A week later I manually faded the two tracks into eachother to create one consistent file and that's what i've posted here. Two excellent songs that form one amazing journey. Unless you know where one starts and the other finishes it'll be hard to tell. wonderful.

"White Lake" Deaf Center - 2005
Allison writes: Deaf Center is a Norwegian duo on UK ambient/electro-classical label extraordinaire Type. Their 2006 full length, Pale Ravine, feels as if it could have been a soundtrack specifically scored for the dream I had the other night about walking through a fog-laden ancient forest (only I was hovering a foot off the ground) when an owl perched on my left shoulder and began cawing secret messages about buried caches of treasure. I highly recommend listening to not only this track, but the entire album, late at night while on the brink of sleep.

"Konigsforst 5" Gas - 1999
Nick writes: My contribution this week is a short-ish piece by Wolfgang Voigt, who recorded several influential deep techno albums in the late nineties and early 00s under the alias Gas. Voigt later went on to found the techno label Kompakt with Michael Mayer, which some years later released last year's Metacritic best-of album "From Here We Go Sublime" by the Field. Connections!

Contrary to the ID3 tag, everything he recorded was untitled. This is the fifth track from his 1999 album "Konigsforst" - his most critically celebrated, but probably not his most popular - later remastered and issued under the box set Nah und Fern.

Labels: classical, dreamy, electronic, folk, gypsy, instrumental, neo-classical, pop, rock

FCM #5 - DRIVING SONGS Start your engines! Make one last weekend road trip - at least to the Mars Cheese Castle. We've put together 15 driving songs to go along with you. Click here to download the entire FCM #5 - DRIVING SONGS or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Next week's Theme - Instrumentals! Sometimes it's time to tell the vocalist to shut up. Scour your collections for that brilliant instrumental!

"Intro / Sweet Jane (Live)" Lou Reed - 1973
Christine writes: Road trips... lot of memories I’d love to block out and some I hope to never forget. The essential roadtrip survival pack had to include mutually agreeable soundtracks for everyone in the car. Not an easy task when one wants to listen to their entire collection of Guided By Voices, the other wants nothing but Japanese Ska, and I just want to know if anyone has EVER heard of the radio. So, compromises were made prior to takeoff on what was even allowed in the car. One song everyone agreed to as the perfect “takeoff” song is what I present to you now. It’s this particular version that starts off low and unidentifiable and then rises to the culmination of Reed in one of his finest performances that sets off a great tone for any roadtrip... check your mirrors, peel out and enjoy.

"The Body Says No" New Pornographers - 2000
Nick writes: So here is a somewhat long story of the last time I got behind the wheel of a car, which was in April 2007.

My girlfriend Erin and I were still long-distance, and what had been the longest period of our not seeing each other was about to end with my flying to Chapel Hill on a Friday so we could drive up to DC and see the Dismemberment Plan's reunion show that Saturday. I get to O'Hare at 5:30p for an ostensible 7p departure, and by this point storms are pounding most of the eastern seaboard. My flight is cancelled, as is the next flight, and the next eight flights into RDU are booked solid with standby. So I ask about flights to several other airports around Chapel Hill and DC, figuring I can find some way to get up to DC by Saturday night. Turns out there is a 8:32 flight to DCA that I can get on. They book me for that and a DCA-RDU flight at 4:12a. Fine.

(In case you're wondering, I'm checking all of these numbers against an old blog post. I am not that good at remembering things.)

So waiting at the security barrier I start calling people I know in DC for crash space. One of my friends says he's game to have me crash, but he will also offer his car for me to drive down to Chapel Hill to see Erin. I take up the offer.

Of course, the ORD-DCA flight is delayed until 12:15a. Also, as if this couldn't get any more ridiculous, I get airsick for the first time in my life because we're flying through 850 miles of violent thunderstorm, and puke for two hours straight. At this point I miss my girlfriend a lot. Also, flights into DCA involve flying a really wonky path over the Potomac and then nosediving right at the end, cf.

wikipedia.org - Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (The River Visual approach)

, which doesn't help my stomach very much. Touch down at ~3:15a eastern, chug two venti mochas on an empty (emptied, ahem) stomach at the sbux kiosk, grab my luggage, take the car keys from Dave, promptly almost run his car off the 395 bridge into the Potomac in a panic - and drive the entire way to Erin's house through the storm, blaring bombastic, noisy rock at full blast, yelling the words to every song. Including this one.

Got there at sunup, around 7a.

flickr.com - photo of nick in sweaty crowd

I know that this song was featured on a CD Thursday some months ago, but I don't care.

"Roadrunner" Joan Jett - 1986
Walt writes: Hey, I'm on vacation -- so what better week for driving songs. Since we generally drive when we holiday, this one's a great rocker to get the blood pumping on the road. The cool thing about this song is that Joan Jett did quite a few local site drops in for it for many different cities.

"Little Honda" Yo La Tengo - 1997
Masha writes: It's as fun as a barrel of monkeys on a two wheel bike!

"Strange" Wire - 1977
Jane writes: Hey gang, remember cassette tapes back in the day? Remember how there were 3 or 4 cassette tapes that sat in your glovebox in case of driving emergencies where you forgot to bring along one of your supercool NEW cassette tapes? For me, one of those was a wonderful compilation of Wire. I even had a back-up of this compilation in the case that the tape would melt in the hot car (it happened twice!).

So my selection was the song that I would inevitably rewind and play at least one extra time whenever it came up. It's a song that accompanied me through happy drives and sad. The trip home from Six Flags, feeling so triumphant that I finally conquered the Giant Drop; or driving home from "the city" (downtown Peoria, at the time) bawling my eyes out over some loser guy...

The cadence lends itself well to driving too. It's a head bobber. This, and "The Zoo" by the Scorps may be my favorite head bobbers ever.

"She's Tight" Cheap Trick - 1986
James writes: Cheap Trick was (and remains) a big Midwest band whose songs are built for speeding on big Midwest roads (I-90 from Chicago to Rockford being the obvious choice here). Come for the sexual frustration and innuendo, stay for the arena-ready riffs.

"Punk Rocker" Teddybears - 2006
Chris writes: This song gets double points because it's both a driving song and a song ABOUT driving (and looking good). It's a silly little sing-a-long courtesy of the Teddybears, and everyone's favorite punk rocker Iggy Pop leads the charge. Just try to get that synth hook and chorus out of your head after driving to this one for a few hundred miles...

"Living is A Problem Because Everything Dies" Biffy Clyro - 2007
Justin writes: A while back I had to return to the world of auto theft after my brother breached a contract with a Russian crime lord to deliver high end cars. So I had call up all my old friends for a one night 'boost' to grab all these cars all the while avoiding apprehension by this dirt-bag auto-theft cop whose wanted to nail my ass for years. Needless to say when that pig of a cop got close, I was outta there in a minute! Boooyah!

Uh, this song reminds me of then.

"Boys Peel Out" Mercury Rev - 1993
Allison writes: Mercury Rev, in their early/mid-90s heyday, seemed to be most often described as space rock, though I'd place them on the more earnestly psychedelic Flaming-Lipsian side of the spectrum as opposed to the shuffling shimmering shoegaze of the day. This track is from their second album, Boces, and it made multiple appearances on a couple of my own roadtrip mixtapes. It's sweetly buoyant and fizzy, and a bit more suited for winding local highways (max speed 45mp/h) as opposed to a high speed tear down I-35.

"Mighty Good Leader" Audio Adrenaline - 1999
Sean writes: This song brings back good memories of our first ever roadtrip here in the States. We had just bought our first van in 1999 and our best friends from South Africa were visiting. We drove them around the Midwest and Audio Adrenaline's new album Underdog was blaring for a lot of that trip. This is the first track from that album.

"Undiscovered" Ashlee Simpson - 2004
Margaret writes: I know what you're thinking - more crappy music from Margaret - but just give this one a chance! I always listened to this song on the way to and from my crappy waitressing job, and although it's a bit sad (think unrequited love), the lyrics struck a chord with me at the time. Aside from the bit of scream-singing at the end, her voice sounds pretty good, and I love the intro music.

"Don't Stop" ATB - 1999
TJ writes: Well well, I'm going to go in a different direction this week. ATB, I don't know anything about them honestly, for the most part I only know this one song because many of my friends in high school loved this song and we'd always play it on the weekends when we were hanging out. Techno-ish but addicting as hell, and awesome driving music.

"Jack and Diane" John Cougar Mellencamp - 1982
Renata writes: To me, a great driving song is one that all passengers are able to sing along with. For my friends and I, Jack & Diane always hits the spot. Why? Well, it doesn't hold any particularly deep meaning for us, but it’s damn catchy and always a great excuse to stretch otherwise unused vocal chords …

"The Golden Age" Beck - 2002
Brian writes: Beck used to pick me up from my house every morning around 3:10am. He would drive me around wherever I felt like going. One day I told him he should mix it up and do a mostly-acoustic album. He asked what he should sing about? I told him to sing about driving me around empty highways in the middle of the night and early morning. He then started writing the first song off of Sea Change, The Golden Age... Right there behind the wheel! Guitar and all! That is, of course, all bullshit, but I think Sea Change is the perfect driving album, and The Golden Age is the perfect driving song (especially on late nights, early mornings or really anytime you just feel tired/defeated).

"Range Life" Pavement - 1994
Ben writes: In the summer of 1996 I took an impromptu road trip with two friends to northern California from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. My friend Jim brought a couple of Pavement CDs and I fell in love with the music during my driving shifts. I have a particularly vivid memory of coming down from the mountains into San Francisco just after sunset with my two friends sleeping and "Range Life" playing.

Labels: cover, mixtape, pop, rock

FCM #4 - CHILDHOOD MEMORIES We've collectively contributed those musical gems that stir up and inspire the child in each of us. Click here to download the entire FCM #4 - CHILDHOOD MEMORIES or hunt and peck below. If you like something or hate something or whatever, please make a comment! Some of these files are m4a format, so you should download them all with the link above or right click and save them to your machine.

Next week's Theme - Driving Songs! Submit that song that pumps you up for the long drive or keeps you rolling along through tired plains and mountain passes.

"Sesame Street Theme" - 1970
Jennifer writes: When I was 2 or 3, my parents had a turntable in my bedroom that I shared with my little sister. We listened to 3 records every single day when we were put to bed. Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book/Disney songs, and Sesame Street. To this day, whenever I hear a song from one of those records, I get extremely nostalgic. While my song may be an obvious choice, it had such a strong impact on my childhood that it has become a part of all my young memories.

"Downtown" Petula Clark - 1964
Walt writes: I grew up on the south side of Chicago in a working class family. My only real trips downtown were to accompany my dad to pick up my uncle from his elevator operator's job at the Tavern Club and driving him home. Most of the time I was asleep on these trips. Occasionally when I was awake I was transfixed by the lights of Mr. Kelly's night club, the 666 Club, George Diamond's Steak House, enormous ads for Cutty Sark Scotch and the glistening marqees of the Oriental and State-Lake theatres. So whenever I hear Petula Clark's Downtown it brings me back to my childhood and it doesn't hurt that it came out around the same time as my those trips. My only quibble with this song I love, is that it inadvertantly dated itself. Other than that, it's a true classic.

"Jump" Van Halen - 1984
Ben writes: I remember being 9 or 10 years old, dragged to some adult party with my parents, bored as could be. This song came on the big stereo, and I remember being TOTALLY enthralled by it. The synth line was envigorating. It seemed like the best_song_ever at the time. MONUMENTAL.

"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" C+C Music Factory - 1990
Margaret writes: Every year my elementary school had a carnival in the spring, and they always had this booth set up where you could create your own music video. I was already looking glamorous with my big poofy bangs, acid washed jeans, L.A. Gear light up shoes and fanny pack - the next step was obviously to get me in front of a camera. My sisters, their friends and I danced around to this song, and it may have been the best 4 minutes of my childhood. I still have the VHS copy if anyone wants to experience the awesomeness for themselves...

"What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" Information Society - 1988
Allison writes: I was not raised with pop music. My father was a pianist and my mother, apart from a few Barry Manilow 8-tracks, played nothing in the house. Around age 10 or 11 I finally got my own clock-radio, and hours of obsessive listening to Dallas' pop station at the time (Y-95) commenced. Blame it on some amalgam of Manilow/Streisand as my sole prior musical exposure, or blame it on the 80s, but my young mind found Information Society's "Pure Energy" to be nothing less than a REVELATION!

"Send Me an Angel" Real Life - 1983
TJ writes: This song brings me back to my endless times of watching "The Wizard" on VHS that I tapped form TV. I watched that so much and this song used to pump me up like no other. I'm sure you all know it and love it as much as I do.

"What's Next to the Moon" AC/DC - 1978
James writes: I don't believe in "best bands." Truth is, there's never been a band whose output has been consistently flawless from debut-to-demise.

Instead, I rank bands by specific clusters of years. Take, for example, the Rolling Stones, who have sucked for the past 30 years, thus negating their "Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World" tag. I think it makes more sense to say that the Stones from 67-78 were one of the best bands of all time. The same holds true for Led Zeppelin from 71-75, U2 from 85-91, and the Ramones from 76-81.

Add to that list AC/DC from 76-79. Discovering the Bon Scott-era AC/DC when I was attending Lincoln Junior High (go Spartans) was a revelation. These were ugly, blue-collar guys, singing songs about drinking, gambling, and sleeping with anything that moved (as with the Rubenesque "Rosie"). Forget sports heroes and champions of social justice, the members of AC/DC were my boyhood role models.

AC/DC from that period was rock and roll at its archetypal grittiest and greatest. Pound for pound, Angus Young's riffs were the ones that defined the misanthropic and misspent youths of myself and thousands of others.

As for Brian Johnson? Feh. I know "Back in Black" has its fervent loyalists, but once Bon checked out, the party was over for me.

Submitted for your pleasure, "What's Next to the Moon," a favorite from "Powerage."

"Look What the Cat Dragged In" Poison - 1986
Chris writes: When I was a youngster living in Alaska I had two best friends, Ben and Robin. Nick, Robin's older brother, was our idol - at 10 or 11 years old, he was the coolest, rawest dude around. He skateboarded, he had ripped jeans, and he would make us do terrible things like eat dog bone treats (Robin threw up). He let us hang around him sometimes, and for that we were grateful (and willing to do things like eat dog treats). He also provided my first mind-altering introduction to music thanks to a big silvery-metal boombox and a Poison tape. I distinctly remember him marching up to the lot of us as we sat in the bed of a truck, swinging that boombox in front of him and dropping it with a thud onto the tailgate. He punched the play button without saying a word and "Look What the Cat Dragged In" came thudding through those tinny speakers and straight into my heart. 2 years later someone else's older brother introduced me to Ice-T. Music owes a lot to older brothers.

"Shake Your Rump" Beastie Boys - 1989
Nick writes: Paul's Boutique was released when I was seven years old. I am offering absolutely no further explanation as to why this is on here.

"Two-Headed Boy" Neutral Milk Hotel - 1998
Brian writes: When I first started thinking about "childhood memory" songs, it was really only a question of which Bon Jovi or Guns N' Roses song I would choose. The more I thought about it though, the album that takes me back to my childhood more than any other is one I never even heard until about 2000 or so (maybe later). That album is "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel. The entire album has an innocence to it that brings back so many memories, and it just sort of reenergizes that childlike perception that sometimes gets lost as you get older. In particular, the song Two Headed Boy really takes me back to being a strange kid...

"Lay Lady Lay" Bob Dylan - 1969
Christine writes: Everything I listened to as a child was because my dad’s direct influence. Thankfully, he has great taste in music. One artist he played often when my sisters and I were younger was Dylan. This is my favorite song by him so enjoy.

"Atlantis" Donovan - 1968
Jane writes: Realizing that "Hurdy Gurdy Man" drove me into fits of laughter when I was little, my Dad gave me all of his Donovan 45rpm's and set me loose into that crazy man's mind... funny thing is, much of Donovan's music reads like children's songs anyway if you take out the innuendo and drug references.

So the story part of "Atlantis" absolutely blew my 7 yr. old mind, and I'm sure made me a horrible burden at Sunday School where my questions were already notorious amongst the teachers. I became obsessed with living underwater... which was intensified a few years later by the release of the movie "Splash" with Darryl Hannah and Tom Hanks. Yeah, I was a weird kid.

"Wish You Were Here" Pink Floyd - 1975
Justin writes: I love music of all types, but what really gets my blood moving is good ol' rock n' roll. And my father played all types of it while I was growing up. So I have some fond memories of the records he played from my childhood. Now I don't have tons of memories living with him as my parents divorced when I was like 10 and I've been living with my mother ever since. So I decided to pick this track because it sticks out the most for me out of all the albums my father would play. It reminds me of watching him attempt to play this tune on the guitar and sing it. He wasn't awesome at it but he always impressed me when he did. It will always be my favorite song Pink Floyd ever.

"Bein' Green" Kermit The Frog - 1970
Jennifer writes: (see her write-up for song #1)
 

Labels: folk, mixtape, pop, rap, rock