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For those of my friends who might enjoy a small peek into a corner of my soul that doesn't get much air around these parts, I offer the contents of a couple of my favorite 'mix' CDs (yeah, I know; I'll be getting an Ipod one of these days, but I haven't just yet; other stuff keeps climbing over it in the budgetary priorities). Just so you know it's not just all Beatles, all the time. . .
First, I compiled a mix of some of my favorite Classic Rock tunes:
I'm Your Captain - Grand Funk Railroad
I'm Free - The Who
Black Magic Woman - Santana
Riders On the Storm - The Doors
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin
Angie - Rolling Stones
Dream On - Aerosmith
Lucky Man - Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Crazy On You - Heart
More Than a Feeling - Boston
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - The Eurhythmics
Katmandu - Bob Seger
Almost all 70s stuff, as I look at it. Starting and ending with a couple of the more prominent Michigan bands from back in the day. And just for the record, these are songs I like musically; I'm not endorsing any messages, or worldviews, or lifestyles. In case anybody was wondering. . .
I also put together a mix of Jazz and Easy Listening tunes:
Classical Gas (acoustic version) - Mason Williams
Feels So Good - Chuck Mangione
Hill Street Blues - Mike Post
Kari - Bob James & Earl Klugh
Cast Your Fate to the Wind - George Benson
Chariots of Fire - Vangelis
Bouree - Jethro Tull (and, uh, JS Bach)
Mother Nature's Son - The Beatles
Follow Me - John Denver
You've Got a Friend - James Taylor
Lean On Me - Bill Withers
Danny's Song - Loggins & Messina
Just the Two of Us - Bill Withers
Time In a Bottle - Jim Croce
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot
One of Us - Joan Osborne
A nice, eclectic mix, if I may say so myself. A few comments, as many of these tunes have multiple well-known versions. . . I much prefer the acoustic version of 'Classical Gas' (the one often attributed erroneously to Eric Clapton) to the more commonly-heard 'orchestral' version. Also, please don't give me John Denver's version of 'Mother Nature's Son' (his Mother Nature is more like a shrieking harpie; just sayin'); although I like his version of 'Follow Me' just fine (GF2 was very fond of that song; fortunately, so is Molly). I have a hard time choosing between James Taylor's 'You've Got a Friend' (which was the first recorded version) and Carole King's (she wrote the song, after all); I recently heard a duet version of the two of them singing together, which might just be best of all. 'Lean On Me' is a Bill Withers song. Period. Club Nouveau's 'rappified' version is, at best, a pale imitation. MHO. Anne Murray's version of 'Danny's Song' is probably better known, but Loggins & Messina is the original version, and it has a rawer emotional edge to it that touches my soul. As to 'Edmund Fitz' - it's a Great Lakes thing; you wouldn't understand. And I'm not generally a fan of Joan Osborne, but that one song is just stunning, for asking the Right Question - what if God was One of Us, indeed?
And I have a mix of my favorite Love Songs; you know, the ones that, when Molly and I dance to 'em at weddings, set a really nice romantic mood:
(I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You - Elvis
Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers
And I Love Her - The Beatles
When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge
Just the Two of Us - Bill Withers
Something - George Harrison
Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney
Danny's Song - Loggins & Messina
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - James Taylor
My Love - Paul McCartney
Natural Woman - Carole King
Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
A bit of duplication with the Easy Listening mix, and more Beatles stuff. But mostly, just sweet, romantic stuff, occasionally bordering on erotic ('Oh, my love, my darling, I hunger for your touch' never fails to send chills down my spine). If Molly had brown eyes, I might include Van Morrison's 'Brown-Eyed Girl'.
But - what did I miss? What songs are on your favorite 'mixes'?
I don't know if any of this strikes you all as the least bit 'self-revelatory' on my part, or not. But just maybe, it gives you a small glimpse into my soul, and helps you know me just a little bit better. . .
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Molly and the kids (at least, the younger half of 'em) and I
13 comments:
I'm in total agreement with your Led Zeppelin, Queen, Boston, Aerosmith and Eurythmic choices! All great songs on my Fave Choices of all time list.
I also really like the Joan Osborne choice and the Edmund Fitzgerald song, along with Time in a Bottle.
I must not be into love songs, because none of those strike my fancy. And Bob Seger?? Um, no!
Hope you had a great time on your trip.
I love all the classic rock ones, and some of those would be on my list. But seriously, you can't come up with ANYTHING post-1988 besides Joan Osbourne?
My favorites list would be really long. And it would probably change depending on how I feel that day. Even my iPod probably doesn't have a very good representation of my absolute favorite songs. I'll need some time to think about it...
Hope your trip went well!
can't go wrong with santana or clapton or james taylor. i also like the joan osbourne pick.
blood, sweat, and tears "you've made me so very happy" will always have special meaning for me, though i am also a fan of "lucretia macevil."
i spent 4 hours driving to maryland and 4 hours driving back. i put my ipod on shuffle and enjoyed a ridiculously eclectic mix that varied from alanis morisette to ladysmith black mambazo to prince to peter,paul, and mary to jason mraz to van halen to steel pan orchestras to trace adkins and on and on.....
oh yes, also a fan of eurythmics. annie lennox has such a great voice.
Well, some of us are too lazy to do mixes and favorites and alla that. I gotta buncha musical junk that I play now and then, though I must say that's it's got a far wider range than average ....
... maybe I'll snark a list of it for y'all to laugh at. Matybe not.
There's a part of my heart that weeps to see Eurythmics on a list labeled as classic rock!
The whole Joan Osbourne cd that has What If God Was One Of Us on it is pretty good, actually. Espcially 'Saint Theresa' and 'Right Hand Man'
Hope your trip went off without any hitches and was a good time for all!
Cocotte - Hey, another thumbs-up for Edmund Fitz! But then, you probably live closer to a Great Lake than I do. . .
And I know. . . you've just been to too many weddings with Old-Time Rock-n-Roll. And Seger really is kind of a 'Michigan thing', so I won't hold it against you. . . ;)
FTN - Hey, I was a little proud of myself that I actually have two songs from after I graduated college. . . No wait, a couple of the jazz tunes are from the 80s, too. . .
Lime - Gosh, you're even more 'eclectic' than I am. . . ;) But c'mon, you know you can't make an obscure reference to 'special meaning' without telling the story. . .
I'm also fond of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (especially Beautiful Rain). And Annie Lennox' voice speaks for itself (*ahem*; as if anything else would, I suppose). Are you old enough to remember Joan Baez?
Xavier - Oh, go ahead and snark away. . .
faDKoG - So how do you think I feel that folks like FTN were born years after the Beatles broke up?
And it's funny, but the only other title I remember from that Joan Osborne CD is Let's Just Get Naked. . .
;)
Okay, I threw a quick list together, but I realized that it's easier for me to pick BANDS than specific SONGS. Here's what I came up with on short notice:
One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces - Ben Folds Five
Birdhouse In Your Soul (or maybe Ana Ng) - They Might Be Giants
Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix
Break on Through - The Doors
Ring True - Poor Old Lu
anything from Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Through the Fire and the Flames - DragonForce
Ants Marching - Dave Matthews Band
Slither - Velvet Revolver
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynrd
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Need - Grammatrain
anything from Faith Hope Love - King's X
I Will Not Be Silent - David Crowder
Take Me In - Kutless
One - Metallica
anything from Live at the New Earth - Waterdeep
Welcome to the Jungle - Guns n Roses
Don't Stop Believing - Journey
Pride - U2
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
I'm woefully short on female vocalists. I need to add some Heart or something.
the link to why i like BS&T's song so much is here
http://houseoflime.blogspot.com/2007/02/da-count-this-makes-me-so-very-happy.html
and yes, i now joan baez and enjoy her too.
FTN - I suppose the fact that I've only even heard of about half of those bands (to say nothing of the songs) is indicative of some sort of fossilization on my part. . .
But hey, you gotta have Heart (ba-doomp!) . . .
Lime - Thanks for the link. Very sweet; just like you. . . ;)
Joan Baez and Annie Lennox are probably the two most phenomenal female voices I've ever heard. . .
You know, the thing that saddens me most about the new digital age of music is the loss of the MixTape. I remember spending hours cueing and recording and adjusting volume and whatnot, all to create that perfect tape.
Oh, and your Romantic CD Mix? Reminds me a lot of a mix tape that a certain "player" I once knew (no worries -- I never fell for him, just knew him well enough to be privy to the ways he wooed the girls...) loved to play for his girlfriends during some, err.. Face Time! :D
I wonder if they knew how many other girls heard the same tape?
Flutter - Yup; you are definitely just working yer way down the list, arntcha?
I know what you mean; there's a real sense of accomplishment when you finally finished one of those things. . .
And waitaminit. . . you girls compare notes on yer makeout music? ;)
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