better than ezra

The Dunce Cap: Nov. 1, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Venn: Your Grandfather (FlowingData)

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 25: I don’t think that it’s the end, but I know we can’t keep going. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks)

1. “Elevator Love Letter” – Stars
2. “Lady Stardust” – David Bowie
3. “Right Moves” – Josh Ritter
4. “Lover in the Snow” – Rivers Cuomo
5. “Blue Skies” – Noah and the Whale
6. “Trouble” – Butch Walker
7. “Dreamworld” – Rilo Kiley
8. “Wake Up New” – The Mountain Goats
9. “Against All Odds” – The Postal Service
10. “At the Stars” – Better Than Ezra

I know, I know, it’s not Thursday. It’s actually Monday (barely), but I have a mix to get your week going. It’s a break up mix, sure, full of heartache and sadness, but nearly absent of regret. These are ten tracks I love – really love – about falling out of love (and sometimes falling back in it).

That Josh Ritter track, “Right Moves,” is one of my favorite tracks ever. It’s so so stellar. Give the whole thing a listen. There’s so much to be learned from love songs, especially these.

It’s my simple way of saying – I’ll love you always, but I understand too.

Happy listening.

The Dunce Cap: April 26, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Image courtesy of Buzz Sugar

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 5: And when the flowers grow, just know you’re still in my heart.
(mix via 8tracks)

  1. “Losing My Religion” – R.E.M.
  2. “Mr. Jones” – Counting Crows
  3. “Big Me” – Foo Fighters
  4. “Faded” – soulDecision
  5. “Why Don’t We Do it in the Road” – The Beatles
  6. “Closet” – Pete Yorn
  7. “Desperately Wanting” – Better Than Ezra
  8. “Far Away From Close” – Butch Walker
  9. “I Want to be Buried in Your Backyard” – Nightmare of You
  10. “Everyday I Write the Book” – Elvis Costello + The Attractions
    *Special bonus track for Foom!*
  11. “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” – Paula Cole

Hi kids, sorry this is so late. The Foom (a.k.a. Mother Keevan) was in Chicago for ΑΦ’s Mom’s Weekend, and I was a bit sidetracked from the usual posting. In lieu of a normal “what I’m listening to”-themed mix, I’ve opted for a trip down memory lane. My efficacy for musical knowledge comes from my mother, and, to celebrate both her visit and Mother’s Day, I’ve compiled this list of tracks – in chronological order! – of sing-a-longs from my youth, brought to you by the lady Foom.

The playlist begins with the heavy sounds of post-grunge R.E.M. and the lighter Counting Crows, followed by long hair, short ditty, late Nirvana/early Foo Fighters Dave Grohl and even the dirty, raucous pairing of soulDecision and The Beatles‘ “Why Don’t We Do it in the Road?” (the latter of which was a requisite Friday pick-me-up on local alternative station Z93/Dave-FM and thus the regular tune to my middle school mother-daughter carpools). There’s tracks I introduced to her, including the morosely sweet Nightmare of You single, and songs that tiptoe the line of exchange (anything Butch Walker, really). And, finally, I rounded off the smattering of songs with Paula Cole‘s “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?,” a track clearly better than her saccharine “Dawson’s Creek” theme song and one I’d all but forgotten until this morning.

For the album art, I chose a picture of Sophia and Dorothy from “The Golden Girls” to depict the quirky mother-daughter relationship I share with my own mom. She’s a special lady, that one, not too different from Estelle Getty‘s kooky Sophia, casually-unfurled acerbic tongue.

So, to the Foom, an ode to the woman who gave birth to me and to a wonderful weekend with that crazy ol’ woman.

Don’t forget to wish your mother(s) a happy day, and happy listening!