I'm sorry that I haven't been updating here more this week. I've been in a bit of a funk. I'm not sure if it was the blues or the mean reds. It's made irritable, and left me with very little energy for writing.
What I have been doing is playing with the playlist features of my iPod/iTunes to come up with some new mixes. I find myself getting more and more into doing this. My CD buying habits have tapered off over the years. With a collection numbering about 600, I suspect I may have reached my quota, or it just may be that our new house is causing the CD budget to suffer. I've been meaning to write an entry about the half dozen CDs I received/purchased in the first six months of the year. I've got to be writing from my computer at home though -- the date when I put CDs into iTunes is the only way I can keep track anymore.
Anyway, the latest mix I completed is entitled 4x4+2 (Summer Afternoon). Basically, I was looking for an hour set of music that would set a nice, sunny easygoing summer afternoon kind of vibe. The name comes from the fact that the 18 songs are divided thematically into four groups of four, with an extra two tracks thrown in. Here's the song list:
Stop This Train - John Mayer
Into The Mystic - Van Morrison
The Very Thought Of You - James Hunter
A Sunday Kind Of Love - Etta James
I call this the R&B group. The John Mayer track starts with an easy going almost lullaby-like vibe that just continues through the next three songs. I wanted to find music that felt like cool water on a warm day; something that could feed a need and cure what ails you.
Two Loves Have I - Nat 'King' Cole (with Stuff Smith)
Hot Lunch - The Asylum Street Spankers
Somewhere A Long Time Ago - Pete Anderson
Rag Mama Rag - The Band
This the "fiddle" set; all four songs feature a strong fiddle part. This is a direct response the last mix CD that Harri3tspy sent me. She had fiddles. I have fiddles. The Nat Cole tune makes a nice bridge from the Etta Jamess.
Hell To Pay - Dan Baird
Make Mayan A Hawaiian - Southern Culture On The Skids
Soul For Every Cowboy - Big Head Todd & The Monsters
Lovesong Of The Buzzard - Iron & Wine
This is the "Slow Burn" set. These are all mid-tempo tunes with savoir-faire, mostly by male singer-songwriters. I wanted to add a little intensity to the mix, but you never want too much of that on a warm summer afternoon.
Joy Of My Life - John Fogerty
This is the first of the two added songs. I needed something that would set up a simpler mood, and this does it with slow joyful lyric driven by Fogerty's dobro playing.
Hopes Too High - Tift Merritt
Good Enough - Sarah McLachlan
One Sweet Love - Sara Bareilles
Lullaby - The Dixie Chicks
The last group of four is composed of women singer-songwriters. There is the mountain clear alt country stylings of Tift Merritt, an old favorite from Sarah McLachlan, a new one from Sara Bareilles (of "Love Song" fame), and a gentle lullaby from The Dixie Chicks.
Forget The Flowers - Wilco
This track got thrown into the mix late in its development and seemed to be a good way to either end on an upbeat note, or bridge back to the first track (if the playlist is on 'repeat').
said drgeek
on 2008-06-20 at 1:35 p.m.
|
The Wayback Machine - To Infinity And Beyond
|