Who Do You Let In Your Bedroom?

As I would imagine is evident, I listen to music pretty much all the time.  Or at least every chance I get.  For instance, today while I was re-grouting our kitchen floor I listened to Rooftop Suicide Club's Always Like This (Which I came to own recently as the result of one person's awesomeness and generosity.  How I deserve to be on the receiving end of that, I'm still not exactly sure, but I totally dig it.) and Betty Goo's Superchthonic and Gooicide. Then to cap off a busy day we sat on the back porch with a big old glass of spiced apple wine and listened to Paula Kelley's Nothing/Everything.  No event is too small to have a soundtrack. 

Speaking of Nothing/Everything, it is a beautiful record and you really should own it.  I mean, if you like awesome things, of course.  It is dimensional and fun and sad and, I think, is perfectly complimented by her earlier release The Trouble With Success or How You Fit Into the World.  Honestly though, you just can't go wrong with anything The Divine PK has written, it's all...well...divine. 

But that's not what I'm here to ramble about (all evidence to the contrary). My second favorite thing in the world to soundtrack is going to sleep (the first is driving, so settle down pervs).  I know that sounds weird but I don't go to sleep like normal people.  My Husband, for instance, falls into bed and is generally asleep within mere moments.  I, on the other hand, will stare at the ceiling (or into the darkness) for half an hour at least, sometimes a couple hours before the Sandman comes to visit.  It's my own charming version of insomnia.  I like to see the silver lining though and the fact is, my lack of sleep affords me a great opportunity to listen to some of my favorite songs in a near perfect setting.  In my headphones, in the dark, with little else to distract me.

There is a certain openness of the soul that happens as I lay in the dark waiting for sleep.  A kind of vulnerability that just cannot be attained when I'm dressed for the day ready to face the world.  I mean, when I'm there, makeup scrubbed off, hair down, contacts out, jewelry off, there are no defenses, no mask, no bullshit.  Just me and the sounds pouring into my ears.  So naturally I choose my nighttime songs carefully.  I can't just put my iPod on shuffle and risk some kind of crap happening to my impressionable ears. 

Most nights, this is the time I want to listen to the stuff that really gets in.  I want to hear the arrangements with the most dimension, the lyrics that really hit home, sometimes even the songs that cause big cathartic tears to slip out of the corners of my eyes.  To that end, here's my most recently sleepy time play list:

1. "Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Simon and Garfunkel
2. "Relapse" - Betty Goo (This is one of those with a lyric that is so ouchie that I'm pretty sure I'm hearing it wrong, but I swear he says "so take my hand, Jeanne, smooth my hair and show me that I'm loved and you really, really care".  Jeanne was my mom's name and that line, wrapped up in that song, kills.)
3. "Hate Me" - Blue October (I'm pretty sure this song is not really very good, but something about it just slays me)
4. "Long December" - Counting Crows
5. "Someday" - Dr. Dog
6. "Lost Horizons" - Gin Blossoms
7. 'Sunday Morning Coming Down' - Johnny Cash (this song makes me cry every single time, I can't really explain it)
8. "Heavy Heart" - Madi Diaz
9. "All We Are" - Matt Nathanson (I love this song and it takes me back to the end of the concert in Nashville which was an absolutely perfect night, so now it's doubly perfect)
10. "Farther Down" - Neon Trees
11. "Thinkin Bout You" - Pat Monahan
12. "Night Racer" - Paula Kelley
13. "Heavy" - Train (far and away my favorite Train song, it's so wonderful and bluesy, I wish they'd go in this direction again, even just for a song or two here and there)
14. "Remark" - Rachel Platten
15. "Night the Bells Rang" - Ryan Schmidt
16. "Then I'll Be Smiling" - Matt Nathanson
17. "Who Wants to Live Forever" - Queen
18. "Disarm" - Smashing Pumpkins
19. "Perfect Blue Buildings" - Counting Crows
20. "The Boxer" - Simon and Garfunkel

Current Play List (I'll Get To It!)

I don't sleep very well or very much.  I've been that way my whole life; although, it did get notably worse a couple years ago.  More on that...um...never.  Anyway, as a result, every night when we go to bed, I listen to my iPod and play my gameboy until I get sleepy.  Last night the following conversation took place:

Me: These are snore cancelling ear buds, but I leave the left one out until you fall asleep so I can hear you when you say some random shit.
He: Do I say random shit?
Me: OH YEAH.
He: What's Pi to the fifth place?
Me: .....
He: Random like that?
Me: (after laughing hysterically) No, not usually quite that random.
He: You should tweet that.
Me: Whaa?  Now we're deciding what to say based on whether or not I'll tweet it?
He: Well yeah, I'm playing to a bigger audience now.
Me: Hahahahaha
He: You should tweet that too.
Me: HAHAHAHA

How could this possibly relate to music you ask?  Well, I'll tell you.  During this exchange, the unequalled Paula Kelley was singing in my right ear.  How did that impact the aforementioned conversation?  Well, because the song she was singing ("You Gonna Make It?", by the way) is part of the little play list that has kept me sane here lately.  That bit of sanity is what has allowed me to have even a shred of humor left in me after all that has happened the last couple (horrible) weeks.

So, just in case a shitty couple weeks befalls you in the future, let me share with you my musical Prozac:
1. Brollo (Acoustic) - Jon Palmer & the New Complainers
2. Radio - Jon Palmer & the New Complainers
3. Handbag - Betty Goo
4. Horseface - Betty Goo
5. Vanity - Betty Goo
6. Uncommon Courtesy - Betty Goo
7. Washed Up - Betty Goo
8. Over Your Head - Boy Wonder
9. X-Large - Boy Wonder
10. What About Everything? - Carbon Leaf
11. Lonesome - Dr. Dog
12. That Old Black Hole - Dr. Dog
13. Get Away - Dr. Dog
14. You Gonna Make It? - Paula Kelley
15. Slug - Paula Kelley
16. Lucie - Paula Kelley
17. The Girlfriend - Paula Kelley
18. The End of That - Plants and Animals
19. Song for Love - Plants and Animals
20. Don't Care What Time It Is - Rachel Platten
21. 53 Steps - Rachel Platten
22. You Don't Have To Go - Rachel Platten
23. All I Seem To Do - Rachel Platten
24. Don't Wanna Be Here - Rachel Platten
25. I Could Be a King - The Dunwells
26. Get Gone - White Arrows
27. Landslide - Steve Adamyk Band
28. Lost and Found - The Kill Van Kulls
29. My Time Has Just Begun - The Dead Trees
30. Pineapple Girl - Mister Heavenly
31. Sing In My Meadow - Cowboy Junkies
32. I Want to Forget - Psychic Twin
33. Church Clothes - Matt Nathanson
34. Lost Myself in Search of You - Matt Nathanson
35. Mercy - Matt Nathanson
36. Under Attack - Ryan Schmidt
37. White Horse - Ryan Schmidt
38. Go Where You Belong - Ryan Schmidt
39. Wasted - Micah
40. Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam

Wake Up!!

Someone told me that I would attract more readers here if I talked about more personal, day-to-day things.  Honestly, I don't know what could be more personal than how music affects us.  And I mean, my "Who Is She" page is pretty detailed and goodness knows I'm candid enough on twitter - what more could anyone possibly find interesting??

However, in the interest of, well, whatever this is in the interest of, let me tell you about my morning.  (Of course, it ends with a wicked good play list so just hang in there).  So I get up at 6:15am (give or take a snooze button or two) and let the dogs out.  The dogs are always taken care of before the humans in our house - that's how we roll.  Then I grumble around the house for an hour or so, mostly trying to convince myself to get it together and go to work.  After all that, the dogs, the shower, the cereal, the daily fight with my bangs (which I've been winning lately) and the decision of what to wear - I'm off.  And that's when the good stuff starts because during my commute, I get to pick the Wake Up music for the day. The stuff that'll clear the cobwebs out of my head and make me fit for human consumption by the time I get to work. 

As a side note, my husband exists in the house with me in the morning, but we don't really interact too much.  We're not one of those barfy couples that sits around having breakfast, reading the paper and making small talk in the mornings.  We sleep as long as humanly possible and there are no profound conversations going on.  Fortunately, we both agree that mornings suck major ass.

Anyway, I've determined over the last year or so that I need a longer commute.  I'm simply not done singing badly at the top of my lungs in 30 minutes!  I've only just gotten cranked up by then.  There just isn't enough time to get in a really fleshed out play list.  However, here's what I managed for this morning's wake up call:

"These Days" - Dr. Dog - Be the Void - I am loving the shit out of this record right now.  I have it on vinyl, CD and on my iPod so I can listen to it pretty much whenever and where ever - and I do.  But in the morning, I go for this song - the intro alone is like a shot of caffeine to the system. 

"When I'm Drunk" - Betty Goo - Gooicide - this one mostly made the list today because I wanted to hear the next song and it just doesn't sound right without this one playing first.

"Herve Villechaize" - Betty Goo - Gooicide - I'm still trying to spit out the second line of the chorus to this song successfully.  I'm pretty sure I'll never manage it, but trying to remember the words and fit them all in my mouth at once at least gets my mind moving.

"Lemonde" - Betty Goo - Gooicide - another song that I'm attempting to learn, which is a bit of a challenge given that I speak no french whatsoever.  So far I've gotten the word for "gasoline", so I mostly wait around for that line.

"Horseface" - Betty Goo - Gooicide - another song that has some very fast lines that I can't quite get.  Perhaps I can't get them because I'm trying at 7:30 in the freaking morning!! (By the way, I end up with so many off Gooicide because I just hate to break this album up.  I don't know what it is about it, but I just really prefer it as one big 46.7 minute song.)

"Don't Care What Time it Is" - Rachel Platten - Be Here - this song was my first favorite on this record and it is still really high on the list - especially after seeing it performed live.  Such a fun song, great to sing along with and absolutely perfect for car dancing!!

"X-Large" - Boy Wonder - Break the Spell, Etc. EP - another one that moves pretty quickly but I can actually sing this one without screwing it all up.  Well, I don't screw it up lyrically, I'm sure I'm butchering it otherwise.  And I love the arrangement on this one so much.  It's so fast and there's so much going on, I'd love to see it performed live.  And the drums are like punctuation marks - it's genius!  Clearly, I love it - I'll listen to it 2 or 3 times in a row if there's time - and there was this morning because I got behind Farmer Bill (my generic term for any slow-driving old farmer dude that I get behind on the road) and he was in no hurry to get anywhere.  As a matter-of-fact, I'm listening to it right this minute, but I can't sing along because I don't want to subject my co-workers to that.

So there you go, if that play list doesn't wake you up in the morning you should give some serious consideration to caffeine...or amphetamines.

Play List Wisdom II

For my birthday, my in-laws gave me Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape (among other things, including A Night At The Opera  by Queen on vinyl!).  I'm only 40-some pages into it and I would already recommend it to anyone who has ever made a mix tape (or, for the younger set, a play list).  After reading the first couple chapters last night, I felt very emotional and strange about the insomnia play list I was creating at 1:30am.
I wanted 20 songs (but because I apparently can't count - and I accidentally selected one song twice - I ended up with 19) and I wanted to pick only 1 song per artist.  I always find when I make play lists that way, it makes me focus more on the song than on some guy's voice (and it keeps me from making a Matt Nathanson play list - which wasn't what I was going for this time).  And last night I was in the mood for songs, not voices.  Still, when I got all done and looked at it, the play list is comprised of some of my favorite voices singing some of my favorite songs.  Figures.

I actually listened to it on shuffle since I was picking individual songs that all share a common feeling, not trying to create a story, so any order they played in was going to work for me. 

So here it is in no particular order:

1. Go Where You Belong - Ryan Schmidt - White Horse EP
2. Waste - Aaron Tap - Bronchitis
3. Forever Love - Anna Nalick - Wreck of the Day
4. She Talks to Angels - The Black Crowes - Shake Your Money Maker
5. Cover Me - Candlebox - Candlebox
6. Perfect Blue Buildings - Counting Crows - August & Everything After
7. Joey - Concrete Blonde - Recollection: The Best of Concrete Blonde
8. Enjoy the Silence - Depeche Mode - The Best of Depeche Mode, Vol. 1
9. Tired of You - Foo Fighters - One by One
10. One More Try - George Michael - Faith
11. Hang - Matchbox 20 - Yourself or Someone Like You
12. Kiss Quick - Matt Nathanson - Modern Love
13. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See
14. Time - Micah - Coast to Coast
15. I Gave You All - Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
16. Don't Know Why - Norah Jones - Come Away With Me
17. In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel - So
18. I Want to Forget - Psychic Twin - Deepest Part/I Want to Forget
19. Disarm - Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
**EDIT 20. Heavy - Train - Train - (I found the perfect song to finish this one.  My only question is how didn't I think of this last night??)
I am really, really fond of this play list. I'm always impressed with myself when I filter through my not small music collection and find a little group of songs that all strike me the same way.  I am not, however, a fan of odd numbers, so as soon as I figure out that 20th song to round it out, I think I'm going to burn this one to a CD.  Of course, then I'll have to name it - anybody know a catchy synonym for "Awesome"?

One-Hit Wonders of My iPod

The best and by far the worst thing about the way we buy music these days is the fact that you can buy one song at a time.  Sure, there have always been singles released, but they had cover art and a B-side, in other words, they were packaged as a mini experience. These days, you can buy pretty much any song you want, one at a time, with no respect for the album it was a part of.  Songs aren't really supposed to be stand-alone things.  They are part of something bigger.  But in today's culture of instant gratification, we want to buy it quick, download it quick, listen to it quick, move on.  Who can be bothered with an entire album?  That's like, almost an hour! 

Well, I can.  I love albums.  It is a wonderful thing when I have time to listen to a full record from start to finish.  To experience the whole thing the way it was intended.

That being said, I am super guilty of buying individual songs.  I do that shit all the time.  Usually because it's the only song I know by that artist, or it's the only one I like.  Or because I preview the rest of the album and it it doesn't sound anything like the single they released and it doesn't appeal to me.  Or sometimes it's just a music budget thing.  I have $1.29 I want to spend on that artist, but not $10.  It happens. 

As a result, I've ended up with a number of artists that only have one song in my collection.  Some of these I'd like to get the full album, but not all of them. To clarify, these artists are not one-hit wonders in the traditional sense (well, I suppose some of them are), these are just people I only own one song from.  Once I scanned through my entire iPod, I found that I had over 70 songs that were the only song I owned by that artist, so narrowing this down to my favorite 20 of those was quite a task.  You would not believe some of the crazy shit I have that ended up on the cutting room floor (so to speak).

So for your viewing (and potential listening) pleasure, here are my own personal Top 20 One-Hit Wonders:

20. "Creep" - Radiohead
19. "Good" - Better Than Ezra
18. "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon" - Urge Overkill (I know it was Neil Diamond's originally)
17. "Counting Blue Cars" - Dishwalla
16. "A Girl Like You" - Edwyn Collins
15. "John the Fisherman" - Primus
14. "Closing Time" - Semisonic
13. "At Last" - Etta James
12. "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" - Cake
11. "New Age Girl" - Dead Eye Dick
10. "Tempted 1994" - Squeeze
9. "Sex and Candy" - Marcy Playground
8. "Feeling Good" - Nina Simone
7. "My Sharona" - The Knack
6. "You Can Call Me Al" - Paul Simon (I guess this counts - it's the only song I have of him solo)
5. "Laid" - James
4. "Pour Some Sugar On Me" - Def Leppard
3. "I Wanna Be Sedated" - The Ramones
2. "Fade Into You" - Mazzy Star
1. "Hold On Loosely" - .38 Special

And, only because I just couldn't cut it down to 20, here are 10 honorable mentions in no particular order:
"Sour Times" - Portishead
"Time of the Season" - The Zombies
"Pepper" - Butthole Surfers
"Possum Kingdom" - The Toadies
"Once Bitten Twice Shy" - White Snake
"Seventeen" - Winger
"Fire and Rain" - James Taylor
"Don't Know Why" - Nora Jones
"If You Could Only See" - Tonic
"Naked Eye" - Luscious Jackson

Angry Songs

Because I am in a terrifically crappy mood today (Happy Holidays, my ass), I thought I'd make of list of my top ten angry songs.  So just in case you are loving this time of year too, here is a little play list for us to share:

10. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morisette - Jagged Little Pill
      This was Alanis at her angry, angsty best.  The song doesn't fit all aggravations, but it is fun to sing loud when you're just pissed.

9. Crazy Bitch - Buck Cherry - 15
     Probably not really a great song in general, but any song with "fuck" in it 13 times is good on a bad day.

8. Stupify - Disturbed - The Sickness
    Really, almost any Disturbed song would fit here - it was a toss up.

7. Keep Away - Godsmack - Keep Away
    How fun is this one to scream??

6. Freak on a Leash - Korn - Follow the Leader
    I dig this song in any mood, but especially love it when I'm irked.

5. One Step Closer - Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
    "One step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break!!!!" - what more can I say?

4. Ain't My Bitch - Metallica - Load
    Obviously, heavy metal (although, it is a bit of a stretch to call Load "heavy") is written by angry people - thank goodness!!

3. Last Resort - Papa Roach - Infest
    "Do you even care if I die bleeding?" - perfect angry lyrics.

2. Fuck You - Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer
    This one needs no explanation.

1. Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
    If you don't own this song (in fact, the whole album) and crank it up every so often...then there is just no help for you.

I'm sure I missed some - any suggestions?

Maybe soon I'll post a "songs to cheer you up" list!

Play List Wisdom

The night before last, I made myself a little mixed tape to bring to work to listen to (and by that I mean that I created a play list in iTunes and burned it to a CD, of course).  Here it is:

1. U.R.A. Fever - The Kills - Midnight Boom
2. Curve of the Earth - Matt Nathanson - Beneath These Fireworks
3. Sour Cherry - The Kills - Midnight Boom
4. White Blank Page - Mumford & Sons - Sign No More
5. More Than This - Matt Nathanson - At The Point
6. Snowblind - Rob Thomas - Cradlesong
7. Airplanes - B.O.B. featuring Hayley Williams - Airplanes
8. Pretty the World - Matt Nathanson - Beneath These Fireworks
9. Fire On The Mountain - Rob Thomas - Cradlesong
10. Bottom of the Sea - Matt Nathanson - Modern Love
11. Mockingbird - Rob Thomas - Cradlesong
12. Don't Come Around Here No More - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits
13. Princess - Matt Nathanson - When Everything Meant Everything
14. Getting Late - Rob Thomas - Cradlesong
15. Faster - Matt Nathanson - Modern Love
16. Sleep Til The War Is Over - Rob Thomas - Cradlesong
17. Bed of Lies - Matchbox Twenty - Mad Season
18. Until I Fall Away - Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience
19. Drop To Hold You - Matt Nathanson - Modern Love
20. Losing My Mind - Maroon 5 - The B-Sides Collection

So now that I'm on day 2 of this CD, I've determined a couple things about my mad play list making skills. 

First, putting 'Curve of the Earth' between two The Kills songs was pure genius, my ears delight in the juxtaposition. However, following that up with Mumford & Sons was a bad move.  Also, B.O.B. should not ever be wedged between Rob Thomas & Matt Nathanson.

After the awesomeness that is contained in this play list, 'Losing My Mind' (which I love when listening to other Maroon 5) just sounds like a mess.  And 'Don't Come Around Here No More' needs to be turned up louder than is appropriate at work to really be enjoyed.

I have also determined that while Matt Nathanson is the protein of every play list I create lately, Rob Thomas is clearly the side dish and everything else is just seasoning.

Finally, I'm glad that I'm not responsible for creating the sequence of any album, ever.  I would never settle on a "correct" order.  I have multiple play lists on my iPod of the same songs in different orders, or just adding 1 song that will make the list *perfect* or removing a song that was messing it up and I still end up shuffling half the time.  In the end, it all just heightens my respect for these artists because just listening to the whole albums, the way they were given to us, is almost always the best way to hear these songs.