Evan challenged me to make a mix of artists from one country. Then he told me I couldn't do Canada. Then he told me I couldn't do the UK. Well, geeeeeeez oh man, Evan! I'm not sitting over there in ASIALAND listening to weird foreign music. So this mix is not long. And it's Australian. So grab a Foster's, get some Outback takeout, and toss your boomerang around to these tunes.
OMG I LOVE NATALIE IMBRUGLIA. This is not a joke. I think her Left Of The Middle album is awesome.
6. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over
Basically, I googled "popular Australia bands" and went with whatever I vaguely knew!
7. Air Supply - All Out Of Love
Second verse, same as the first (see above).
8. Jet - Look What You've Done
I've always secretly loved this awful song. It's my curse: I love shitty love songs! Finally I had a legit reason to download it. Thanks, Evan!
9. Silverchair - Ana's Song (Open Fire)
'90s angst at it's finest. It's been too long since I had enough Silverchair in my life. (Note: Lead singer was married to Natalie Imbruglia for five or so years!)
10. Colin Hay - Overkill
Colin Hay was the singer for Men at Work. "Overkill" is a Men at Work song. Still counts.
One of the fews songs I was able to immediately mentally add to the list when Evan suggested it.
12. Ben Lee - Grammercy Park Hotel
I'd forgotten all about this song! But it's awesome and I can't find it online anywhere to link to. It's on Something to Remember Me By. Worth looking for if you're industrious like that.
13. Wolfmother - Vagabond
We'll go with an epic-sounding track to wrap things up.
Every person in my group of friends had this soundtrack in their car. It wasn't the soundtrack to a wonderfully quirky movie with one of my favorite characters of all time (Max Fischer!), but the soundtrack to a summer full of shenanigans no one else in our town seemed to get but us.
2. Iggy Pop - Lust for Life (Trainspotting)
I tried to get the girls on my freshman dorm floor to watch Trainspotting with me within the first month of my first semester of college. That was not my smartest idea. "Lust for Life" is one of those songs that so amazingly encompasses the scene in which it appears that it's no longer background noise, but a character all its own.
SONG & MOVIE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wko_IweA6R0
3. Phoenix - Too Young (Lost in Translation)
It's been a few years since I watched Lost in Translation in its entirety. My memory is fuzzy as to how prominently this song is (or is not) used in the movie. Regardless, I played the fuck out of this song when I was a college DJ. It was a difficult choice between this and Jesus & Mary Chain's "Just Like Honey."
4. The Cardigans - Lovefool (William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet)
Who doesn't love this song? Honestly. As for the movie, I resisted it for a long time - until I had to write a paper for my Shakespeare course in college comparing the written words to a film adaptation. I ended up really liking Baz Luhrmann's version and the soundtrack.
5. The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition (500 Days of Summer)
Whether or not this track will stand the test of time remains to be seen. But because it is so fresh in my mind, I cannot exclude it. It's the kind of song I think a band finishes writing and just knows someone is going to put it in a movie and then use it in the trailer.
6. Third Eye Blind - Graduate (Can't Hardly Wait)
Third Eye Blind is one of my guiltiest pleasures. Can't Hardly Wait is the kind of teen movie I live for. Combine the two and it's heaven.
SONG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV4APJzW1qc
7. Green Day - J. A. R. (Angus)
You know those movies you LOVED when you were young and impressionable? And how when you watch them now in your mid/late-twenties and are disappointed when it seems so completely different than how you remember it? Yeah, that definitely did not happen with me and Angus. I rewatched it for the first time in years a few months ago and it still hits every high note. (Also: Green Day! What the fuck happened to you?!)
8. John Parr - St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion) (St. Elmo's Fire)
Honestly, I didn't know this song existed until August 2009. Once I heard it on a friend's playlist during a road trip, I was hooked. After making a carload of tired travelers listen to it on repeat while driving through Arizona, I arrived back in Boston and downloaded it immediately. Then I watched the movie. Dumb movie. Awesome song.
9. Gin Blossoms - Til I Hear It From You (Empire Records)
Empire Records is a perfect movie. "Til I Hear It From You" is a perfect song.
10. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris (City of Angels)
I've never seen City of Angels, and I have no plans to. I hate Nicholas Cage. He makes me cringe. And I've never been a huge Goo Goo Dolls fan, but this song makes so much sense for this kind of movie. It might not be something I want to listen to all the time, but on a recent flight I watched part of VH1's Songs of the '90s and couldn't resist really liking this afterall.
11. Seal - Kiss from a Rose (Batman Forever)
The movie SUCKED. But the soundtrack was awesome. I remember it being one of the first CDs that was truly mine and not borrowed from my parents or a friend. "Kiss from a Rose" is a personal favorite, because I had my first slow dance to it at a Teen Center. The boy told me I looked like a Tickle Me Elmo doll. (In his defense, I was wearing a red, fuzzy sweater...)
12. Aimee Mann - Wise Up (Magnolia)
I can still remember sitting in the theater being blown away by this scene and song.
13. Michael Andrews & Gary Jules - Mad World (Donnie Darko)
Another song that perfectly fits the movie it's in and the point in which it appears.
14. Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram - Somewhere Out There (An American Tail)
Shut the fuck up.
15. Bryan Adams - Everything I Do (I Do It For You) (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)
Yep. You can continue to shut the fuck up. Because this is awesome.
SONG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGoWtY_h4xo
16. Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes (Say Anything)
The first time I saw this movie, I caught it midway through on TV. I started falling in love with it, so I turned it off and drove to Sam Goody (Sam Goody!) in the mall and bought the VHS tape. Since then, every boy has been compared (typically unfavorably) to Lloyd Dobler.
17. Phil Collins - Against All Odds (Against All Odds)
I nearly included "You'll Be In My Heart" since it was by Phil Collins and written for Tarzan. Then I remembered this much much much better Phil Collins song was written for Against All Odds (which I've never seen, but oh well). And enjoy.
18. Pulp - Like a Friend (Great Expectations)
When this song kicks in, it makes me wish I'd have made a movie to put it in.
(Note: These are my favorites of 2009. They are probably not THE BEST by any means. But they are songs I discovered and loved throughout the past twelve months. When the song is from an album I thought was THE BEST, I put a double asterisk next to the artist name. Enjoy!)
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp
"Ambling Alp" is a great example of how I should learn to be more patient. I had a complete Favorites of 2009 list and was ready to officially set it in stone. Then I woke up on a Monday morning and heard this. Then I walked to the train on that abnormally warm December morning and played it on repeat. I probably listened to it thirty times by the end of the day. The last song I absolutely loved in 2009 makes the perfect first track to this collection.
Jemina Pearl - Ecstatic Appeal
It's like this girl reached inside of my head, pulled out all of my thoughts, put them on paper as lyrics, and then wrote a fun pop song. Oh, the joys of being a Gemini! (NOTE: Ignore the images and just listen to the music. Why is there not a normal YouTube clip of this yet?)
Phoenix** - 1901
Certainly, this is the Song of 2009. "1901" was a staple to any good dance night or party; the perfect climax to a stiflingly hot, incredibly fun Phoenix show in DC; and gave three exhausted travelers the ability to shout "Phoenix in Phoenix!" on the last night of the whirlwind Square States trip.
Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
Maybe this is cheating, but I don't care. A new - a better! - version of "Skeleton Boy" was released in 2009, and it gets a spot on my favorites list for the following reasons: a) an amazing video with the band as dancing skeletons (i.e. perfect in my book), b) seeing them play the Paradise a couple weekends ago was like watching three best friends throw an incredible party onstage, and c) I too harshly judged Friendly Fires in 2008 and would like to take back any disparaging things I said about their record.
Passion Pit** - Moth's Wings
The hype surrounding Passion Pit was (still is?) a little insane. When the record came out, I listened to it on repeat for a few weeks, which might have been too much of a good thing. "Moth's Wings" still stands out as my favorite song off of Manners, and it's the only one I listen to frequently - at times, daily. I'm happy I got to see them play a secret show at Great Scott earlier in the year. Now I don't feel bad about not forking over $30 to see them play the House of Blues in 2010.
Japandroids** - Sovereignty
The recipe to a disastrously hungover Tuesday morning: a Tremblay brother, an unknown number of PBRs, Japandroids at Great Scott, and being the last two people in the place besides the guy behind the bar. This show was awesome. This record is incredible. Maybe I should have picked "Young Hearts Spark Fire" or "The Boys are Leaving Town" for this list; either is a better, more accessible introduction to these guys. But you know what? It's raining in Vancouver, and I don't give a fuck.
Pains of Being Pure at Heart** - Contender
Simply put: wonderfully noisy indie pop.
Princeton - Show Some Love, When Your Man Gets Home
Their name sums up the first 1:45 of this song: sort of stuffy, kind of pretentious, ivy league tedium. Then, all I want to do is put on a cute little dress and have a little dance party alone in my room.
Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
The consistent pounding of the keys, the vocal harmonies. Slightly sweeping effect. I like this song.
Bat for Lashes - Daniel
The sexiest song of 2009.
XX** - Heart Skipped a Beat
This song (and this record) wins the award for "Album I'm Most Likely Walking Around Listening To At Night On Backroads So I Can Lip-synch And No One Will Notice." Every song is so simple that they're complex. The perfect balance of guy/girl dueling. It's subtle and alluring, and something I still haven't been able to stop listening to for weeks now.
Metric** - Blindness
Emily Haines has officially become my idol. Metric is sneaking its way into my list of favorites ever.
Doves - Kingdom of Rust
On every album Doves releases, there are always one or two excellent movie-moment-esque songs that I latch onto and consequently forget to listen to the record of the record. "Kingdom of Rust" is that track.
Owen** - Good Friends, Bad Habits
Owen released an album this year. That's all you need to know, really. (Also, that he is perfect.)
AA Bondy - Mightiest of Guns
Possibly the most beautifully sad song of 2009. My favorite lyric of the year also comes from this: "tomorrow I'll be out of my mind / the bear will dance and the organ will grind / and I'm laughing because I know there ain't no sin / all the world on the head of a pin / turning fast beneath the mightiest of guns."
Noah and the Whale** - Stranger/Blue Skies
In a way, I kind of cheated again. I took the last two minutes of "Stranger" (which, oddly, is my least favorite song on this album) and stuck it onto the beginning of "Blue Skies." It just seems so much more cohesive that way. This record drove me to drink. For a week straight. It's that good and that depressing. (NOTE: This video does not have the "Stranger" beginning. If I give you a copy of the mix, you'll have to combined track. This video is a trailer for the movie the band made to go with the album. I've not seen it. I'm terrified that it will throw me back into another bender...)
REALITY BITES I'm a dreamer. I spend more than half of my days in a weird fantasy world where I have entire conversations with people and react to situations that have never happened. I'm constantly scoring a movie within my mind, writing scenes in my memory. Music allows for this to happen. And now, thanks to Brendan, everyone can glimpse the tunes that are optimal when running away from reality.
1. Loney, Dear - I Was Only Going Out (escape at 1:23) One day, I'm going to sit down and write out the scenes that have been building the movie in my mind. This song will be part of the soundtrack. I've tied it so tightly to a specific image that every time I listen to this song, I'm lost for nearly four minutes.
2. Holy Fuck - Lovely Allen (escape at 2:25) First time I heard this I was on a plane that was starting to land. Sadly, I was landing in Orlando for a National Sales Meeting. But I dream about this being the perfect song for the beginning of an adventure.
3. M83 - We Own the Sky (escape at 1:12) M83 might be the master of escapism. This song comes on while I'm on the train and it's a one-way ticket to my own little world of thoughts.
4. Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness (escape at 0:01) This is one of those songs you put on and all of a sudden you just want to run as fast as you can as far as you can without looking back.
5. The Stone Roses - Waterfall (escape at 0:30) Close your eyes while this plays and you're in the warmth of a summer sun. No cares. No worries. Just let it all go.
6. VHS or Beta - Bring On the Comets (escape at 1:27) Takes you from reality to an atmospherically wonderland land with an ever-present downbeat.
7. Flock of Seagulls - I Ran (escape at 0:41) My secret wish: to live the life of a Bret East Ellis character. One where I abuse all the drugs, have all the sex, and break every rule. I'll never have the unbridled courage or balls to do so, so this song will have to do.
8. The Get Up Kids - I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel (escape at 0:45) This is on and I'm 17 again. And everything is awesome.
9. Jemina Pearl - Ecstatic Appeal (escape at 0:30) This is my new favorite song. I listened to it 20 times one afternoon. When I hear it, I want to be on stage, singing this song. (This is the WORST video - do not judge the song based on this!)
10. Sigur Ros - Inni mer singer vitleysingur (escape at 2:17) What Sigur Ros song is not an opportunity for escape?
11. Filter - Miss Blue (escape at 1:49) And, out of left field, I offer you a song from Filter. When I was 17, I used to listen to this a lot while driving around - mostly procrastinating before arriving at school. Windows down, music loud, my mind wandering (which probably explains all the car accidents…)
12. Owen - You Should Do It Now While It's On Your Mind (escape at 0:01) Whenever I need a break from life. Whenever it seems overwhelming or like everything is against me. This is the song I turn to. I listen to it in the dark. And when it's over, things are OK again.
13. Stars - Going Going Gone (escape at 0:47) Lush. Beautiful. Like a lovely dream should be.
14. Badly Drawn Boy - The Shining (escape at 1:18) There's a scene in the move Get Over It where the two main characters (Ben Foster and Kirsten Dunst) transition to a magical forest world while this song plays. It's perfect.
15. Pulp - Like a Friend (escape at 2:12) And… GO.
16. Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl (escape at 2:00) I'm certain I've used this in a playlist before, but it's the ultimate reality-bender for me. If I ever do pen that screenplay, this is a requisite song for a very, very specific scene.
I can count all of the things I actually like about living in New England on one hand. On the list would certainly be the fall. Watching the leaves go from green to brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red is truly a pleasure. You wake up one morning and it's like you're living life in a technicolor movie. Or on an artist's palette. I'll never tire of long walks during this time of year. The perfect fall playlist is a necessity. There are certain songs that bring out the crispness in the air, the crunchiness of the leaves beneath your feet, and the sharpness of life around you. Here is my collection of fall songs.
Falling 2009 1. Noah and the Whale - Blue Skies Taken from an album called The First Days of Spring, this is my new ultimate fall song. I started listening to this record when the weather started to change, and it encapsulates the perfect fall mood. There's hope in the fall; this season is a time for making changes in the positive direction.
"this is the last song that i write while still in love with you / this is the last song that i write while you're even on my mind / cause it's time to leave those feelings behind / cause blue skies are coming / but i know that it's hard"
2. Elliott - Drive On To Me This Elliott album is a fall standard. It reminds me of the Pitt campus in October, walking to the radio station early in the morning.
3. Georgie James - More Lights That there isn't a good YouTube clip of this song is a true shame.
4. Matt Pond PA - So Much Trouble Even the video has falling leaves. There could have been only one thing on Matt Pond' mind when he worked on Several Arrows Later: fall. With songs like this, "Halloween," and "The Trees and the Wild," it's a great record for a perfect fall afternoon.
5. Jason Collett - Out of Time
6. Ryan Adams - Gonna Make You Love Me I would have chosen "Halloweenhead," but I'll save that for my Halloween mix (wink, wink). Ryan Adams needs to be on any fall mix. Just cause.
7. Band of Horses - Funeral
8. The Wrens - She Sends Kisses I was obsessed with this song one fall during college. It's heartache and it's something so familiar, but every time I listen to it I hear something new. But nothing will replace the feeling of autumn permanently timestamped on this track.
9. Wilco - Ashes of American Flags Back in the days of LiveJournal (way back in the days of LiveJournal!), a friend once commented on a post of mine with these lyrics: "all my lies are always wishes." I think about that line often. One of the worst things I do is lie. I lie about the dumbest fucking things too. Maybe they're less lies and more exaggerations. But are these lies/exaggerations just wishes for what I want to really have happen? I seem to walk around the most during the fall, which leaves me with all the time in the world to think about these things.
10. The Shins - Gone For Good
11. Rocky Votolato - Before You Were Born Also a complete shame that there isn't a great YouTube clip of this. "Before You Were Born" is a perennial favorite of mine. It sounds like the perfect soundtrack to rolling around in a pile of leaves with a crush. Hooded sweatshirts. Sitting on a bench drinking hot cocoa. Also, nothing beats this line: "under blankets and maps to keep up warm."
12. Josh Ritter - Monster Ballads The best time to have a crush is the fall. People who say that about the spring or summer are crazy. There is nothing better than having a crush in the fall. It's hard to explain why this song makes me think of that.
13. Jets to Brazil - Cat Heaven
14. Hot Rod Circuit - This Is Not the Time or Place This is fresh in my mind after seeing Andy Jackson do an acoustic set on Sunday night in Boston. This song = I'm 17 again. (UGH to no good clips…)
15. The Dreadful Yawns - You've Been Recorded My friend Ross recommended The Dreadful Yawns to me. I've given the album Rest many listens, but the opening track, "You've Been Recorded," is so good sometimes I just stop there and listen to it over and over again. I think it's an excellent fall song.
16. Iron & Wine - Naked As We Came This song seemed like too obvious a choice to include. But after seeing (and cringing through most of) The Mysteries of Pittsburgh this year, I cannot separate this song from the montage scene of Art, Cleveland, and Jane running around the city. Especially the part of the montage at Point State Park where they're playing football. I sat in a pretty empty theater by myself trying not to cry. But this song, that shot, and my longing to be home again won over and I sobbed.
17. AA Bondy - There's a Reason This fall, I've been listening to AA Bondy with near (if I were) religious fervor. It's been the soundtrack to my nights, it's been my fallback when I don't know what else to listen to.
18. Alexi Murdoch - All My Days
19. The Lemonheads - The Outdoor Type
20. New Order - Run Wild My favorite New Order song. One of my favorite all-time songs. I have dreams of writing a screenplay and putting words to paper to go along with all the stories in my head. And this will be the closing song. Without a doubt.
I've been in love with Owen for years. I remember the first song I ever heard from him and everything about that moment when I pressed play. Seeing him live will never cease to leave an ear-to-ear grin on my face for days. Or that creepy stalker/star-struck look I have right up there. I met him. I spoke to him. And I'd never been so nervous!
1. One Of These Days One of these days I'll make some money / And buy myself those things that I want: / Acrylic paints, acoustic guitar strings, a new bicycle seat / For my ride over to your house each night
2. Who Found Who'se Hair In Who's Bed? I’m usually not one to speak out / But your decisions of late are, on all accounts / Pretty fucked up / And not in a good way
3. Good Friends, Bad Habits Well sometimes, like every time a train passes / I get jealous of the long nights / And blurred lights / The red eyes / The bar fights / Where in the hell am I, and how did I get here? / And which way to the nearest train?
4. You Should Do It Now While It's On Your Mind It's your last chance to change things / I know you've been getting by / But I saw you at the party without a drink in hand or a word in mouth / Nothing to do or talk about / Poor skinny fat kid without any interest in making friends / It's not easy being / But i know, it's not easy being [This song makes more sense to me than I care to admit!]
5. The Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi Could you love someone who does whatever he wants to do / Whenever I want to? / It's a simple question / I'm only asking 'cause I don't want to die alone
6. More Than Words [Extreme cover! Excellent.]
7. Femme Fatale [We've been over this. An Owen cover of a Velvet Underground song about Edie Sedgwick. Perfect?]
8. New Leaves You'll spend your whole fucking life walking
9. Declaration Of Incompetence I don't know what I think / I'm unsure that I could or couldn't care less or more / About everyone I do or don't know
10. Breaking Away We're two bicyles, ridden / Too tired to know / Which one of us of us two / Was dumb enough to choose the other as a lover
11. Bags of Bones We're two bags of bones / broken and talking of people we both know in common / Amongst other things that I shouldn't mention
12. Never Meant [This exchange between Mike Kinsella and some dude who doesn't know much is hysterical - and from the Owen MySpace page:
Date: Nov 20, 2008 11:35 PM You should really put Never Meant as a cover since it is by American Football and you didn't write it. :| I apologize if you already did, but I didn't see anything about it. That's one of my favorite songs and that's why I'm reacting like this.
From: OWEN Date: Nov 20, 2008 6:08 PM ummm...but i did write it. mk
Why are you lying? They wrote that song circa 1999. You pretty much changed some lyrics around to make it your own (which really sucks by the way.) What's the harm of putting "cover" after it? You're a disgrace to the music business if you can't even write your own music and steal other people's amazing work.
From: OWEN Date: Nov 20, 2008 11:35 PM um (again)....I can't tell if you're joking or not, but I'm laughing anyway... mk
You are making me facepalm to no end. Why would I be joking about this? And WHY are you playing stupid? You can get in serious trouble for doing this. Hello copyrights. You can stop trying to sound like you're right, WHEN YOU KNOW you aren't. So why are you doing this? Take the song down or change it so it says it's a cover. It's just wrong. How could you do this? Do you have a conscience? And if you really are that stupid.. (Which I doubt) http://www. myspace. com/amfootball - It's right there. Liars like you live the shortest lives.]
13. Nobody's Nothing Go on, get out of here / You’ve got everything you came for / Warm arms, a warm bed to fall into / When you can’t get what you did out of your head
14. The Ghost of What Should Have Been What else in this fucking empty room reminds me of fucking you? / An orphaned couch where I spent some long nights / While you went out with our friends [Here's another that hits where it hurts.]
15. Curtain Call From now on it's do's and don'ts / To a room of antique maps and ghosts / Where I have been where I will go
16. Places to Go You were taking a break from life / You were traveling light / (A pair of walking shoes and a sweater) / You were where you were / When you pictured where you'd be: / Anywhere but home [This was the first song of Owen's I ever heard. And it's still my favorite. Always will be.]
Evan's Challenge: a playlist comprised of songs from artists you haven't used on a mix yet.
At first, I thought this would be really difficult. Once I compiled the artists I'd already used, I started looking at the other bands' songs and tried to find a key element - something easy enough to see without having to listen to a billion songs and find a common link. After going through artists A-G, I saw a pattern I could use to eke out a playlist: Girls and Boys. Here I present Girls Who Love Boys / Boys Who Love Girls. Enjoy!
1. Blur - Girls & Boys Perfect opening track for this list!
2. Phoenix - Girlfriend I was surprised to find I hadn't used a Phoenix song on a mix yet!
3. Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy Also very surprised at the lack of Friendly Fires tracks. I love this album. And I especially love how this lead boy moves. This is one of my favorite music videos of the year.
4. Cut Off Your Hands - Girl Nothing too special about this. I'm not as fond of this track as I am of another song from this group.
5. Discovery - I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend This Discovery album was kind of "eh." The best track was the reworked "Can You Tell" from Ra Ra Riot called "Can You Discover."
6. Headlights - Market Girl A pretty little tune.
7. the bird and the bee - Fucking Boyfriend Fucking boyfriends…
8. Beck - Girl
9. The Cure - Boys Don't Cry It's okay to cry, boys!
10. The Presets - Girl (You Chew My Mind Up) This is incredibly fun live!
11. Aloha - Boys in the Bathtub This is one of my favorite Aloha songs! I love Aloha. Some of the nicest dudes on the planet.
12. Death Cab for Cutie - Technicolor Girls
13. Placebo - 20th Century Boy ROCK. This song always makes me want to dance and take up destructive bad habits. Velvet Goldmine is one of my favorite movies.
14. Neko Case - Prison Girls
15. Neutral Milk Hotel - Two-Headed Boy Dear Neutral Milk Hotel, Please reunite and play a couple shows. I will fly to see you. Promise.
16. Ugly Casanova - Hotcha Girls Something nice to take us out…
Evan and I were talking the other day about rainy day mixes and how we've probably made hundreds of these. Today is the beginning of an especially rainy weekend in Boston. So, this morning I made a mix.
1. Loney, Dear - Sinister in a State of Hope I downloaded this Loney, Dear album on a whim. I was about to take the train home to Pittsburgh for the holidays and I needed new music to keep me entertained on the 12-hour ride. Somewhere on the edge of Pennsylvania, I finally pressed play on this album. "Sinister in a State of Hope" was the first track, and as it started, rain began to fall. Few things comfort me like traveling by train through a steady rain.
2. Noah & the Whale - Slow Glass The live version of this song here does absolutely no justice to the lushness of this song on the record. I have no doubt that this album - The First Days of Spring - will end up being in my top three of 2009. It's beautiful.
3. My Blood Valentine - Sometimes
4. Woods - Rain On I sprinkled in some "rain songs" [and then I made that pun]. Be proud of me.
5. The Last Town Chorus - Huntsville, 1989 There's no video for this song on YouTube, and it's not on her MySpace page. But it's an excellent rainy day song, so seek it out.
6. Travis - Why Does It Always Rain On Me? Here for obvious reasons.
7. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - House Fire The guitar playing in this song sounds like raindrops.
8. Matt Pryor - Dear Lover Here's another I cannot find a video or MySpace link for. It's delightfully rainy-day-y though.
9. Onelinedrawing - Um… Onelinedrawing is Jonah Matranga and he grew up in Brookline. This song is sad. And it's OK to be sad on a rainy day like today.
10. Billie Myers - Kiss the Rain Because it's an awesome song from the '90s that we shouldn't let fade into eternal obscurity.
11. The Album Leaf - One Day I'll Be On Time Like the SSLYBY song, this song sounds like raindrops. Falling into puddles and onto paper-thin rooftops.
12. Owen - Declaration of Incompetence My love for Owen is extreme and unwavering. My only wish: that he'd play tracks from his self-titled debut album. He never does, and these songs are undoubtedly my favorites. On rainy days, I often feel a mess. I don't shower in the morning, because it's unlikely I'm venturing outdoors to be with people. I sit and stew and think about the disaster my life has become in Boston [I'm being dramatic]. "If you don't want to see the worst in me … just leave."
13. Rocky Votolato - White Daisy Passing I remember a night during my sophomore year in college when - on the way to CMJ in NYC - radio station friends and I stopped and stayed with a friend of mine at Bucknell. While my college friends hung out inside, my high school friend and I sat on back porch, the screens just barely protecting us from a cold rain. Though I didn't hear this song until many, many years later, it makes me think about that night on the porch.
14. Phil Collins - I Wish It Would Rain Down Phil Collins wrote a song with the word "rain" in the title, so of course it's included here.
15. Sunny Day Real Estate - Rain Song More raindrops!
16. Colin Hay - I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You
17. AA Bondy - Black Rain, Black Rain I just started listening to AA Bondy. And I love this song.
18. Bon Iver - re: Stacks This is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Bon Iver is perfect for rainy days. Perfect.
I love love love love duets. They make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
1. Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights of Thunder Let's start a band. We'll sing cute songs like these. And it will be awesome. And poppy. It's got to be poppy.
2. The Anniversary - All Things Ordinary Most of my entries of this list will be bands with two singers - something I know Evan strayed away from. I love the dynamic of a guy and a girl singing. The Anniversary is one of the first bands that I encountered that did this in a way that made sense to me. And since that fateful evening, I've been obsessed with the idea of this kind of band.
3. Mystery Jets - Young Love This is a cute song. I like cute things. Therefore, I like this song.
4. Chairlift - Bruises Yeah, so this was in an iPod commercial, but it's a little subversive while still being a beee-boopy pop song. Beee-boop!
5. Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline) Kevin Drew is a lucky man. He often enjoys the pleasure of song with ladies like Amy Millan, Emily Haines, and (in this track) Feist. How does one guy get so lucky?
6. The Teenagers - Homecoming This one is just tongue-in-cheek fun. "I fucked an American slut." v. "I loved my English romance." Perfection.
7. Jason Collett - Hangover Days I think Canada must have just those three girls: Amy, Emily, and Leslie. I believe this is Emily here (on the recording - the video is Feist). I'd give just about anything to be one of these girls.
8. Finley Quaye & William Orbit - Dice I know nothing about these two other than this song was used on The OC. Does that make it automatically good? Sure. As long as it involves a cute Seth Cohen moment.
9. Damien Rice - 9 This woman's voice is hauntingly beautiful. I saw Damien Rice play before 9 Crimes came out, and he brought her along. The audience was breathless with every note she sang. It's unbelievable. 10. Jimmy Eat World - A Praise Chorus And now for something completely different. Davey, sing me something I know!
11. Stars - Midnight Coward Stars will probably go down as one of my favorite bands of all time. I love the Torq/Amy combo. Their songs are stories and their lyrics are often conversations.
12. The Kills - U. R. A. Fever The Kills are like the anti-Stars. While Stars write mostly whimsical love songs, I mostly expect the two in The Kills to be constantly engaged in a fist fight.
13. Mates of State - Everyone Needs an Editor An early track from these indie-darlings. They do everything together it seems: music, live, work, make babies, raise babies. It's all them all the time. I don't know if I think that's awesome or insane.
14. Rainer Maria - Breakfast of Champions Kyle & Cait. Another great pairing of voices.
15. The New Pornographers - Adventures in Solitude A non-Neko Case New Pornos track. I like the addition of this new gal. She compliments A.C. Newman very well.
16. Phil Collins - Separate Lives OOOOOOOOH YES. Here my Phil sings with Marilyn Martin. (I don't know who that is.) And they sing themselves a nice power slow jam ballad. It's awesome. And it deserves to be the closing track because of how awesome it is.
Allison lives in Boston. Evan lives in Singapore. They both love music and found another mutual love in putting together playlists of all sorts, shapes, and kinds. Here, they challenge each other with a theme, both come up with a mix of songs clocking in under 80 minutes, and work together (er, fight?) to come up with the ultimate playlist for that theme based on their suggestions.
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