Stomp/Clap

Here's a mix that has been simmering in the back of my mind for a while. The theme is stomp/clap, meaning songs that contain that irresistible beat that causes humans to stomp their feet and clap their hands in close succession, possibly to a fast paced rhythm. I suppose there is a technical name for this beat, but I'll just call it the bluegrass polka. But without furthur ado, the mix:

Of course there is one further ado. I made this mix on 8tracks, a new platform that its ups and downs. It's easy to use, but due to weird copyrighty things, you can only listen to the mix in its intended order once. So basically, if you're going to listen to it, you better sit down and listen to it all the way through or you won't get the full experience. Or something.

Running Time: Aprox. 41 Min
Track List:
01. Simon and Garfunkel - Cecilia
02. Phosphorescent - I Am a Full Grown Man (I Will Lay in the Grass All Day)
03. The Dandy Warhols - The New Country
04. Cache Valley Drifters - Cumberland Blues [Grateful Dead]
05. Keller Williams - Porta Potty
06. Bitch and Animal - Drag King Bar
07. Fruition String Band - You Got This and I Got That
08. The People's Republic of Gefiltestan - Tree
09. The Can Kickers - Dingus Day Polka
10. Andrew Bird - Vidalia
11. Henri Fabergé and the Adorables - The Goddamn Light
12. Grateful Dead - Cold Jordan

There's the track list for future reference. I won't give a track pick for this mix because really these all shine in their own way. "Cecilia" is probably the stand-out song, the quintessential stomp-clapper. The Phosphorescent track is also awesome, though in my head I think it is a lot more stomp-clappy. I included the Keller Williams and Bitch and Animal songs for their sheer hilarity, because who said stomp-clapping had to be a serious matter? You might remember The People's Republic of etc. from my Dylan cover post, and The Fruition String Band also played a hand in my college career, via my friend Liz."The Goddamn Light" is also a rip-roarin' revival tune that always makes my atheist ass wanna testify or sumpthin'. I'm not exactly a Deadhead, but I think that "Cold Jordan" is my favorite Dead song, mainly because of this scene from the mind-blowing film Festival Express (watch it!). 


Anyway, as you can see I took a lot of time to figure out which few songs in my vast iTunes library deserved to be labeled as stomp/clap. If I missed any you can think of, be sure to let me know. And for your information, despite my boyfriend's claims, Queen's "We Will Rock You" is a stomp-stomp-clap, not stomp/clap. Know the difference.


I'm not sure how I feel about 8Track yet. I think it's good for fun mixes like this, but I think I would revert back to Grooveshark for mixes where order is especially important.

G'on and stomp/clap your hearts out, chillins. It's a hoe down where?

These are Songs Bob Wrote

This mix has been a long time coming. A lot of people I know get all up in arms about Bob Dylan; they either love him or hate him. Regardless of the man's vocal talents or personality flaws, I've gotta say I deeply respect his songwriting skills above all. Prolific, prophetic...probably something else that begins with 'P'. Anyway, in that vein, I thought I'd compile a mix of my favorite Dylan covers. I figured this would be a great test of Bobby D's songwriting abilities...how his work fares in the hands of others. I have heard a lot of shitty Dylan covers in my lifetime (and in my iTunes), so I had to sift through and pick out my absolute favs.
DISCLAIMER: many of these songs come from the I'm Not There original soundtrack. This is not my fault. Many of those songs  flat out rock, and it's the best collection of Dylan covers ever assembled by human beings. Fact.

Running Time: Aprox. 1 hr. 34 min. (Don't bitch, it used to be longer!)
Track Pick: Ani Difranco - Most of the Time

I have a huge thing for cover songs in general (though I'm not quite as fanatical as the bloke who does Cover Lay Down), but with these songs in particular, I love to hear how different artists interpret the words and tone of Dylan's compositions. The "Highway 61" cover is definitely the most fun, while "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" adds a new mournful layer to that tune. So beautiful! The Ani cover of course stands out for me 1) for it's clutch use of the banjo and 2) for being 100x better than the original song (featured in High Fidelity). Semi-interesting tidbit: The People's Republic of Gefiltestan is the Oberlin band I credit with launching my entire college destiny.

One additional note: the onelinedrawing cover on the playlist is different than the version I have, which is unfortunately from the iTunes store and is a huge pain in the ass to convert. It still gets the point across, though.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this mix will convert any Dylan haters, but perhaps it's a good conversation starter. :-P

Cate Blanchette: Best Dylan cover incarnate.

Fear Itself

Here is a mix to commemorate the upcoming Rally to Restore Sanity on October 30, 2010.

Standard 8track disclaimer: Due to weird copyrighty things, you can only listen to the mix in its intended order once. So basically, if you're going to listen to it, you better sit down and listen to it all the way through or you won't get the full experience

Running Time: Aprox. 50 minutes
01. Ani Difranco - Literal
02. Tim Fite - I'm Not Scared of You
03. The Long Winters - Scared Straight
04. Death Cab for Cutie - Pity and Fear
05. Suuns - Fear
06. Bon Iver - Creature Fear
07. Maritime - I'm Not Afraid
08. Alexi Murdoch - It's Only Fear
09. Stars - Don't Be Afraid to Sing
10. Otis Redding - Don't Be Afraid of Love
11. Andrew Bird - Don't Be Scared
12. The National - Afraid of Anyone*
13. Rogue Wave - Fear Itself
14. French Quarter - For Andy
15. Bob Marley - Three Little Birds

*Indicates track pick

The National song is what inspired this mix. I get shivers when I hear it, turn it up and listen to it over and over..."I defend my family / with my arms umbrella'd"...at times I get so scared that I want to just huddle up with the people I love and hang on for dear life. There is so much hatred and so much fear in this world that I find it hard to bear. And yet I'm a devoted liberal news junkie; I'm addicted and I can't get enough. I wish I had something eloquent or even original to say on this subject, but at the end of the day I feel frighteningly average and ridiculously indebted to the great minds that came before me. By the end of his life, not even Kurt Vonnegut thought this country could be saved. I'm still young enough to believe that he was wrong, but I expect I'll come around in the next 40 years or so.

Regardless of your views, please remember to vote this Tuesday. I know it's not the most important thing in the world, but it is the thing that connects us to those around us. This is our country and it belongs to all of its citizens, sane and insane. Mankind has struggled for thousands of years to obtain this right, so I know I'm going to use it.

Extraordinary Machines

Here is a mix I cooked up around the theme of ROBOTS!

Standard 8track disclaimer: Due to weird copyrighty things, you can only listen to the mix in its intended order once. So basically, if you're going to listen to it, you better sit down and listen to it all the way through or you won't get the full (sexy) experience.

Running Time: aprox. 1 hour
Track List:
01. Daft Punk - Technologic
02. Tullycraft - Building the Robot
03. Modest Mouse - Perpetual Motion Machine
04. Pixies - Bone Machine
05. The Thermals - My Little Machine
06. Nada Surf - Robot
07. Robyn - Robotboy
08. The Dresden Dolls - Coin Operated Boy
09. Fionna Apple - Extraordinary Machine
10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Machine
11. Stars - Sad Robot
12. Robyn - Fembot*
13. Daft Punk - Robot Rock
14. Caribou - Subotnick
15. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
16. The Flight of the Conchords - Robots
17. Justin Versnon + Aaron Dessner - Big Red Machine
18. Andrew Bird - Not a Robot, But a Ghost

*Indicates Track Pick

Truth be told I build this mix around the Robyn song (three words: automatic booty applications). I was actually a huge Robyn fan back in ...'97ish when she came out with her first CD. Her newest albums Bodyrock parts 1 and 2 are completely stellar pieces of pop. My new fantasy is a collaboration between Robyn and Lady Gaga.
There was also a time, back in my educational years, when the term "post-human" was thrown quite liberally around my post-modern English class. Annoying, yes, but certainly thought provoking...it's a future I don't think we're too far from.
Don't watch the movie A.I. unless you want to be deeply disturbed.
I suppose that's all I have to say about robots...

...the distant future.