If I pride myself on any one thing, it’s my distinct inability to be proud of only one thing at a time. That being said, if I had to pick one because I’m forcing myself to, I’d go with my knack for arranging kick-ass playlists.
My latest mix CD which I was commissioned to arrange for listening at work was entitled “Submitted For Your Refusal”, and was composed of a seemingly random assortment of fantastic music. The guidelines for the tracks were: every song had to be more or less upbeat, no song could contain offensive language, no song could be “too country” (whatever that may mean), and every song must be fucking great.
There's nothing about this picture that doesn't fucking rock.
The format I employed was that of exactly 100 songs spread out over 33 artists. This means that every artist contributes 3 songs to the album, with (obviously) one exception.
Since I released the CD a few weeks ago I’ve been getting a lot of formal requests to see a posted version of the actual playlist somewhere and I thought, “Well, fuck. How am I gonna accomplish that?” And then I remembered that I have a blog website, and the problem solved itself.
SUBMITTED FOR YOUR REFUSAL:
- Picture Book – The Kinks
- Cotton Fields – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
- Don’t Look Back in Anger – Oasis
- Uprising – Muse
- Letter to Memphis – The Pixies
- Pot Kettle Black – Wilco
- Ruby – Kaiser Chiefs
- Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones
- Lithium – Nirvana
- The Damage in Your Heart – Weezer
- You Don’t Know What Love Is – The White Stripes
- Like a Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan
- The Engine Driver – The Decemberists
- Magick – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
- Jigsaw Falling Into Place – Radiohead
- Easy On Yourself – Drive-By Truckers
- When the Levee Breaks – Led Zeppelin
- Back in the U.S.S.R. – The Beatles
- Waitin’ for Superman – The Flaming Lips
- Somewhere in Ohio – The Jayhawks
- Pavlov’s Bell – Aimee Mann
- Michael – Knock Knock
- Thousands Are Sailing – The Pogues
- Publish My Love – Rogue Wave
- Blue Sunny Day – Jonathan Coulton
- Lonely Holiday – Old 97’s
- Envelopes – Sleeping at Last
- Can’t Even Tie Your Own Shoes – Golden Smog
- Stay Away – L’Arc-en-Ciel
- Maria – Kathleen Edwards
- Bisbee Blue – Calexico
- Left of the Dial – The Replacements
- Stay Young – Oasis
- Bird in a Cage – Old 97’s
- Sometimes It Won’t Feel Like It Should – Knock Knock
- Black Jack Davey – The White Stripes
- Never Miss a Beat – Kaiser Chiefs
- Mr. Ambulance Driver – The Flaming Lips
- Starlight – Muse
- Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Come to the River – The Jayhawks
- Shop Vac – Jonathan Coulton
- Young Ned of the Hill – The Pogues
- Shiny – The Decemberists
- V – Golden Smog
- Freeway – Aimee Mann
- Lola – The Kinks
- The Holiday Song – The Pixies
- The Righteous Path – Drive-By Truckers
- Spirit Dreams Inside – L’Arc-en-Ciel
- 100 Years Ago – The Rolling Stones
- Electioneering – Radiohead
- Drain You – Nirvana
- Rosalie Come and Go – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
- Subterranean Homesick Blues – Bob Dylan
- Walken – Wilco
- Deep Down – Calexico
- Ghosts – Sleeping at Last
- Oil Man’s War – Kathleen Edwards
- Bird On A Wire – Rogue Wave
- Paperback Writer – The Beatles
- Bastards of the Young – The Replacements
- Night Bird Flying – Jimi Hendrix
- Simple Pages – Weezer
- Misty Mountain Hop – Led Zeppelin
- Modern Way – Kaiser Chiefs
- Take a Bow – Muse
- Still Alive – Jonathan Coulton
- My Sweet Annette – Drive-By Truckers
- Baby, Baby, Baby – The Jayhawks
- Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground – The White Stripes
- These Dreams Could Be a Memory – Knock Knock
- Acquiesce – Oasis
- Do You Realize? – The Flaming Lips
- In Bloom – Nirvana
- Sulk – Radiohead
- New World – L’Arc-en-Ciel
- Motorway to Roswell – The Pixies
- Smile – Weezer
- If I Should Fall From Grace With God – The Pogues
- One Wing – Wilco
- Let it Bleed – The Rolling Stones
- 16 Military Wives – The Decemberists
- If I Am a Stranger – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
- Video – Aimee Mann
- Hey Joe – Jimi Hendrix
- Starman – Golden Smog
- Jagged – Old 97’s
- The Contenders – The Kinks
- Maggie’s Farm – Bob Dylan
- Don’t Look Now – Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Revolution 1 – The Beatles
- Letter To Bowie Knife – Calexico
- Six o’clock News – Kathleen Edwards
- Bent Out of Shape – The Replacements
- Everyday – Rogue Wave
- Umbrellas – Sleeping at Last
- Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin
- Retirement – Kaiser Chiefs
Seriously, it’s a very good CD and clocks in at around 6 and a half hours, so, it takes a few weeks to start to get on your nerves (unless your nerves are made out of musical appreciation, then add a few more weeks to that estimate).
If any one has any questions or wants to make some awesome album art for the collection then let me know!
I kinda wanted to talk a little bit about an assortment of topics, but it’s kind of hard to focus on arguments and support with a 100 degree fever, so I will resort to the patented Roger Ebert grading system of PASS/FAIL.
Younger generations know this as the "Win/Fail/Epic Fail" grading system.
Final Fantasy XIII (for PS3): Thumbs Up!
The Microsoft Courier: Thumbs Up!
Season 6 of LOST: Thumbs Up!
The iPad: Thumbs Down!
Shutter Island: Thumbs Up!
Movies in General: Thumbs Down!
My New Car: Thumbs Up!
Everything Even Vaguely Political – Thumbs Down/Indeterminate
All right, back to work on getting better. Maybe I’ll start work on my new playlist album; it’s entitled “The Alternate Country”. And not one Star Trek track. Go figure.
The Glass City 