I recently made a biographical mix for Eliza, and after she wound up liking it, I thought I would make another one one for a different friend. I'm really, really anal about song choice when it comes making mixes, though -- I made two for Eliza because I hated the first one so much after I made it, and have only made one other mix of this type for anyone because I'm such a perfectionist -- and only got a half-dozen songs in before ripping my hair out in frustration.

I was still in a mix making mood, so instead of making one for a friend, I decided I'd make one for me. This didn't prove to be too much easier, but I was at least able to finish it, and when I told Anne about it, she demanded that I share it when I finally got around to making it, so here it is:

Fair warning; it's more than a little emo.

1. Shinedown - Simple Man

My mama told me when I was young
Said sit beside me my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this it'll help you some sunny day
Oh, yeah it will

Oh, take your time, don't live too fast
Troubles will come and they will pass
You'll find a woman and you'll find love
And don't forget that there is a someone up above

And be a simple kind of man
And be something you'll love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?
Then you can

2. Sage Francis - Sea Lion

Ma, Ma, look what I did, Ma
Look what i did to my hands, I broke 'em.
You gave me the stone, gave me the chisel, didn't say how to hold 'em.
Didn't say to give away every piece of the puzzle 'til i was left with nothin'
But I took it upon myself to crush it up and distribute the dust.

Get in the bus. Hop in the van.
Jump in the water. Crawl to the land.
Build another castle out of sand.
 Break it down and then get into the saddle again.

3. Led Zeppelin - Good Times, Bad Times

In the days of my youth, I was told what it means to be a man,
Now I've reached that age, I've tried to do all those things the best I can.
No matter how I try, I find my way into the same old jam.

[...]

Sixteen, I fell in love with a girl as sweet as could be,
Only took a couple of days 'til she was rid of me.
She swore that she would be all mine and love me till the end,
But when I whispered in her ear, I lost another friend, oooh.

4. Blue October - Into the Ocean

I want to swim away but don't know how
Sometimes it feels just like I'm falling in the ocean
Let the waves up, take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion, yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now come down
Let the rain come down

Where is the coastguard?
I keep looking each direction
For a spotlight, give me something
I need something for protection
Maybe flotsam, junk will do just fine
the jetsam sunk, I'm left behind
I'm treading for my life, believe me
(How can I keep up this breathing?)

5. Modest Mouse - Missed the Boat

Oh, and I know this of myself
I assume as much for other people
Oh, and I know this of myself
We've listened to more of life's end gong than the sound of life's sweet bells
Was it ever worth it, was there all that much to gain?
Well, we knew we'd missed the boat and we'd already missed the plane
We didn't read the invite we just danced at our own wake
All our favorites were playing so we could shake shake shake shake shake

6. Dar Williams - Are You Out There?

Last night we drank in parking lots
And why do we drink? I guess we do it 'cause
And when I turned your station on
You sounded more familiar than that party was
You more familiar than that party
It's the first time I stayed up all night
It's getting light I hear the birds
I'm driving home on empty streets
I think I put my shirt on backwards

7. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen the Rain?

Yesterday and days before
Sun is cold and rain is hard
I know
Been that way for all my time

'til forever, on it goes
Through the circle, fast and slow
I know
It cant stop, I wonder

8. Tegan and Sara - Dancing in the Dark

I get up in the evening, and I ain't got nothing to say
I come home in the moring, I go to bed feeling the same way
I ain't nothing but tired, man I'm just tired and bored with myself

[...]

Message keeps getting clearer, radio's on and I'm moving round the place
I check myself out in the mirror I wanna change my clothes my hair my face
Man I ain't getting nowhere just sitting in a dump like this
There's something happening somewhere baby I just know that there is

9. Buzzcocks - Why Can't I Touch It?

Well it seems so real I can see it
And it seems so real I can feel it
And it seems so real I can taste it
And it seems so real I can hear it
So why can't I touch it?
So why can't I touch it?

10. Alanis Morissette - All I Really Want

And I am fascinated by the spiritual man
I am humbled by his humble nature
What I wouldn't give to find a soulmate
Someone else to catch this drift
And what I wouldn't give to meet a kindred
Enough about me, let's talk about you for a minute
Enough about you, let's talk about life for a while
The conflicts, the craziness and the sound of pretenses
Falling all around...all around
Why are you so petrified of silence
Here can you handle this?

11. O.A.R. - Heard the World

Fear, is holding me here.
The television got me seeing unclear.
Bravery, my neighbor, moved away.
Cause I don't need to be courageous today.
If the world was crumbling down, I don't wanna be alone.
NO, locked up in this place.

12. K's Choice - Shadowman

Any time tomorrow a part of me will die
And a new one will be born
Any time tomorrow
I'll get sick of asking why
Sick of all the darkness I have worn
Any time tomorrow
I will try to do what's right
Making sense of all I can
Any time tomorrow
I'll pretend to see the light
I just might
Shadowman

13. Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
Beneath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed
By the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

14. Butterfly Boucher - Another White Dash

There is
Something exciting about leaving everything behind
There is something
Deep and pulling leaving everything behind
Something about having everything
You think you'll ever need
Sitting in the seat next to you

15. John Mayer - Why, Georgia

I rent a room and I fill the spaces with
wood in places to make it feel like home
but all I feel's alone
It might be a quarter life crisis
or just the stirring in my soul

Either way, I wonder sometimes
about the outcome
of a still verdictless life

16. Garth Brooks - When There's No One Around

This is a song that nobody knows
I couldn't begin to describe how it goes
But it makes me cry or laugh right out loud
It's a song that I sing when there's no one around

[...]

This is a glimpse of the child that's within
He's so immature but he's still my best friend
If he could learn how to fly he'd never touch down
He's the kid that I am when there's no one around

17. R.E.M. - Losing My Religion

Every whisper
Of every waking hour I'm
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool, fool
Oh no, I've said too much
I set it up

18. Type O Negative - Cinnamon Girl

I wanna live
with a cinnamon girl
I could be happy
the rest of my life
With a cinnamon girl.

A dreamer of pictures
I run in the night
You see us together,
chasing the moonlight,
My cinnamon girl.

19. PJ Harvey - You Said Something

We lean against railings
Describing the colours
And the smells of our homelands
Acting like lovers
How did we get here?
To this point of living?
I held my breath
And you said something

And I am doing nothing wrong
Riding in your car
Your radio playing
We sing up to the eighth floor
A rooftop, in Manhattan
One in the morning
When you said something
That I've never forgotten
When you said something
That was really important

20. Foo Fighters - Times Like These (Acoustic)

I am a new day rising
I'm a brand new sky
To hang the stars upon tonight
I am a little divided
Do I stay or run away
And leave it all behind?

All twenty songs in .rar format

In other music news, I've done pretty much nothing but download and listen to albums all weekend (I am finishing up my 30th album, Little Voice by Sara Bareilles), and have found a couple really good bands, chief amongst them Foxboro Hot Tubs, a Green Day side project that plays '60s garage rock, and Peeping Tom, a Mike Patton side project and collaboration with various hip hop and pop artists that plays experimental trip hop. Really good stuff.

I also rediscovered just how much I love Creedence Clearwater Revival. I've also discovered that I'm no fan of the Traveling Wilburys, that I still don't really care for Lynyrd Skynyrd unless it's Sweet Home Alabama, and that Cannonball is sung by The Breeders, not Veruca Salt like I previously thought.

Tags: alanis morrisette, biographical mix, blue october, butterfly boucher, buzzcocks, creedence clearwater revival, dar williams, foo fighters, garth brooks, john mayer, k's choice, led zeppelin, modest mouse, musicshare, o.a.r., pj harvey, r.e.m., sage francis, shinedown, simon and garfunkel, tegan and sara, type o negative
Current Mood: melancholy
Current Music: "Many the Miles" - Sara Bareilles