May Music Madness

What was I listening to in May? Well, there’s this…

1. “Cheap and Cheerful” by the Kills
2. “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol
3. “Change of Time” by Josh Ritter
4. “No Regrets” by Aesop Rock
5. “I’ve See it All (live)” by Björk
6. “Rock Bottom Riser” by Smog
7. “Wicked Game” by Giant Drag
8. “I Don’t Need No Doctor” by John Mayer
9. “Down With the Sickness” by the String Quartet
10. “Animal Festival” by Stricken City
11. “Sweet Sister Delia” by the Loves
12. “It’s Money That Matters” by Randy Newman
13. “Atomic Power” by Uncle Tupelo
14. “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” by Pete Seeger
15. “Which Side Are You On (live)” by Ani DiFranco
16. “When the Roses Bloom Again” by Sally Timms
17. “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” by the Pogues

…which is my regular mix of the month. But there’s also this…and be careful, because that way lies madness.

See, it all started a couple of weeks ago with a post at theinferior4 about MGMT’s new song about Brian Eno (named, appropriately enough, “Brian Eno”). Paul Di Filippo called it “A new entry in that small category of rock songs whose subject matter is named fellow rockers.” And, because I am slightly touched in the head when it comes to these things, I decided to go off in search of all the other songs in that category.

I probably should have known better. The last time I got it in my head to do this kind of musical research, I ended up with this crazy covers project. I actually still find it really interesting — lots of songs we don’t think of as covers in fact are — but it was pretty unwieldy as a mix CD to send out to people. But this time the focus seemed narrow enough to keep the final product under four CDs.

Well, almost. I think this probably clocks in at three discs, and even that took some doing.

My mix of “Band Songs” is by no means exhaustive; even at 50 tracks, there are plenty of songs I left out, excised from the final list because I didn’t like them or couldn’t find them, because they name-check but aren’t really about the other artist, or simply because I had way too many songs on there already. There’s a certain line between mix CD and Wikipedia entry, and I was already erring too far on the side of the latter.

And the truth is, I do want to share this, because there’s some really good music on here. It’s a lot of music, to be sure, and maybe a little overwhelming, but for what’s essentially a gimmick run amok, I’m pleased with the final contents of these discs. (Even if I’m equally pleased to be putting this project to bed.)

So here’s the thing. Send me a single mix CD, anywhere from ten to twenty songs, and I’ll send you a copy of all of this, my May mix and “Band Songs.” I like hearing new music, music you think I’ll like or just music that you like. And, at least for the next month, I’ll send you these two mixes in exchange.

What fun is my insanity if I can’t occasionally inflict it on other people?