dawson’s creek

The Dunce Cap: Week of July 2, 2012

in: heavy rotation

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 47: Oh, it’s tough when love’s a weed – it grows inside of me. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks or play above)

1. “Ho Hey” – The Lumineers
2. “Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway (again)” – Wilco
3. “The First Single” – The Format
4. “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)” – Nine Days
5. “For Nancy (‘Cos It Already Is)” – Pete Yorn
6. “If It Makes You Happy” – Sheryl Crow
7. “Do You Love Me?” – Guster
8. “New Shoes” – Paolo Nutini
9. “Here Comes The…” – Butch Walker
10. “In the Sun” – Joseph Arthur
11.  “How’s It Gonna Be” – Third Eye Blind

Welp. It’s been one of those weekends, the kind that throws your entire conceptual existence for a loop and forces you to rethink the very construction of your day-to-day life. Not to be, y’know, melodramatic and whatnot. To be fair, and to be concise, I put myself in an incredible pickle, one that’ll take a lot of finagling and change (true, serious, real, long-lasting change) to get out of. I will get into that later, surely, in vague and agreeable terms, but I think knowing even that informs the composition of this Dunce Cap. This one’s a happy one.

I realize I’m recycling a lot of tracks from previous mixes, but I’m certain this particular combination of songs is fairly perfect for this moment. It’s a little longer than a traditional Dunce Cap (10 plus one, woohoo!), but it’s a mix replete with handclaps, soaring choruses, killer harmonies and unbridled optimism. From the most excellent opening by the Lumineers that spells out its lightheartedness in its title to the Sheryl Crow girl road trip anthem (see “Crossroads” if you don’t believe me) to the incredible Butch Walker/P!nk collaboration, this mix is a relatively uplifting reminder that good things don’t have to end. I’m going to lay some real claim to my very favorite Wilco track, “Nothing’severgonnastandinmyway (again)” from the exceptional album Summerteeth, which seems, at current, fairly apt. It’s a real winner, but it’s certainly not the lone standout on this Dunce Cap. There’s that Nine Days single from the late ’90s about “a girl who cried a river and drowned the whole world,” and I’m pretty sure that’s who I’ve become as of late. Pete Yorn’s “For Nancy (‘Cos It Already Is)” was my sister’s favorite track from his debut album, musicforthemorningafter, and it’s one I like to keep on standby as a call to arms of sorts. In my mind, I like to think I can hear it and keep it as a reminder to keep moving forward, to keep the faith because things are already okay, or they will be, or whatever, though in rereading the lyrics, there seems to be a lot more to it than just that – they’re lyrics, and a point of view, I can really get behind these days. Maybe give the lyrics a gander and see for yourself. I think you’ll get it.

I don’t know, y’all. I’m trying to listen exclusively to happy tunes. I’m trying to move forward. I’m trying to try and to be better, you better, you bet.

So, for now, and for future iterations of the Dunce Cap, truly happy listening.

Oh, yeah, I should say too –
This week’s been kind of fun and good and stuff, too, not just a lesson in life. Three quick things: I liked this week because

1. It made liking Katie Holmes cool again!
2. I properly ID’ed a Creed song at trivia. I’ve still got it. So proud.
3. Dawson’s Creek season five seems to open nearly every episode with establishing shots of Boston. I couldn’t be more excited*.

*I keep forgetting – more on that later.

Dunce Flash: Short Cuts

in: the press

Pacey-Con photo from Just Jared

  • Pacey Witter is back, looking rogue, scruffy and decidedly more handsome than Dawson Leery. That’s right, folks – Dawson’s Creek‘s Joshua Jackson staged his very own convention mere feet away from the throngs at San Diego’s Comic-Con. The aptly named Pacey-Con celebrated Jackson’s seminal character in all his bumbling glory.

    “Well, it came about because I just thought it was time to remind the world of the greatest character in TV history,” Jackson joked with MTV News Tuesday. “The original concept was, you know, actors are always trying to run away from characters they’ve had in their past. Well, I wanted to do the video that was the exact opposite.”

    Jackson staged Pacey-Con outside of the convention hall, and the whole thing was taped for a hilarious Funny or Die segment (video embedded below) the website released today. Jackson handed out Dawson’s Creek fan fiction while decked in Pacey’s signature bowling shirt, a bit soundtracked by the show’s theme song, Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want to Wait.” Capeside to San Diego, indeed. [MTV]

Vodpod videos no longer available.

  • Dunce Cap favorite Guster released a new single, “Bad, Bad World,” from their forthcoming album, Easy Wonderful, set to drop October 5 on Aware/Universal Republic. Easy Wonderful will be Guster’s first album in four years. You can grab “Bad, Bad World” for free via the band’s website, or you can stream it below. [HitFix]


Guster, “Bad, Bad World”

"A Space Odyssey 2010" from Mila's Daydreams

  • Holy cuteness, Batman! Frisky writer Adele is on maternity leave after giving birth to her daughter Mila, and she’s maintaining a baby blog at Mila’s Daydreams. During Mila’s naps, Adele likes to imagine what her infant might be dreaming about; she then captures these epic tales in staged photographs like the one above. Gotta love the itty bitty unwitt-y bloggers. [The Frisky]

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!