music

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?

Sunday comes round again

So today…

I read some Kaleidotrope submissions, while lounging in the backyard with my iPad. The weather was just too nice to stay indoors all day, and that slush pile isn’t getting any smaller. I’m usually pretty good about responding to submissions within a couple of months, three at the outset, but I do still have some stories sitting in my in-box from February and March that need to be answered. That need to be read.

I watched this week’s Doctor Who Confidential. Because sometimes you just want to peek under the hood and see how these things work.

I got a propane tank refilled — or, rather, swapped out an empty tank for a new one — at the local Home Depot.

I went for a short walk. Along the way, I listened to this week’s episode of Studio 360, which was really terrific — Martha Plimpton’s Springsteen cover and Josh Ritter especially — but which made me sorry all over again that I hadn’t managed to get tickets to the live taping in Manhattan last week. I’ve been to the Jerome L. Greene Space before, for a live taping of the Sound of Young America — a taping that’s now available on DVD, as it happens — and it’s a really nice intimate venue. The show sounded great on my headphones, but I suspect it was even better in person.

I plodded away at the New York Times Sunday crossword, this week back on paper, since the slightly weird formatting of the themed answers made it impossible for them to offer the puzzle online (and through their iPad app). I’m not sure I like that theme, though I’ll admit it’s a clever structural trick. In the end, I think I find it simply more aggravating than anything.

I mowed the back lawn.

And that’s about it. Time, I think, for bed.

Thursday various

Thursday various