iron & wine

The Dunce Cap: Week of Jan. 16, 2012

in: heavy rotation

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 41: You’ve been chosen as an extra in the movie adaptation of the sequel to your life. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks or play above)

1. “Shady Lane” – Pavement
2. “Modern Love” – The Last Town Chorus
3. “Dance Music” – The Mountain Goats
4. “I Still Remember” – Bloc Party
5. “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” – Iron & Wine
6. “Poison Oak” – Bright Eyes
7. “Round Here” – Counting Crows
8. “Honolulu Blues” – Craig Finn
9. “Heartbeats” – Jose Gonzalez
10. “Specks” – Matt Pond PA

Welcome back to the Interwebs, guys. It’s been a strange and winding road up ’til now, but I’m really starting to dig this reinvention thing. I know it’s become a bit of a cliche (though I prefer to term it a “mantra”), but I truly believe that, this time around, I woke up new. And what is Barney Stinson’s one rule? “New is always better.”

The site is looking more streamlined and – dare I say it? – professional, and I’m looking svelter, more confident and altogether happier. I’m getting back into the swing of this writing business, and I’m edging into that dangerously peppy territory wherein I just want to high-five everyone always. This mix isn’t really a reflection of that. It sort of is. Kind of. Okay, not all.

These ten really excellent tracks are a mish-mash of things I’ve loved recently. A handful of them (notably “Poison Oak,” “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” and “Heartbeats”) are rediscoveries, while some have been round n’ round my repertoire for years. There’s a more somber note to a number of these songs, but there remains a definite beauty to each one. The Last Town Chorus‘s take on David Bowie’s “Modern Love” is a sweetly feminine, muted departure from the original, but it retains the earnest sting of heartache. And, I’m starting to see a pattern, in that a fair number of the songs I listen to discuss finding god and losing ‘im, but that’s a topic for another time. For now, there’s also the excellent danceabilly-esque lead track from Craig Finn’s upcoming solo album; the lead singer from The Hold Steady named his album, out Jan. 24, “Clear Heart Full Eyes” after the television show “Friday Night Lights.” Such win. There’s also a great single from Pavement‘s 1997 album, Brighten the Corners, as well as truly exceptional Mountain Goats tune that I still can’t quite understand (though I suspect it involves alcoholism, domestic violence and euthanasia, with that last one a bit fuzzier and more ambitious).

As always, happy listening. And don’t you dare judge me for that Iron & Wine jam. It’s on a “Twilight” soundtrack, yes, but it’s also just really damn good.

Oh, and, Luke Perry, ♥, forever n’ always.

The Dunce Cap: Week of Dec. 19, 2011

in: heavy rotation

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 40: You were right about the stars. Each one is a setting sun. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks or play above)

1. “Young Pilgrims” – The Shins
2. “Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam” – The Vaselines
3. “Sketchy Metal” – The Hold Steady
4. “Jesus Christ” – Brand New
5. “Jesus Christ” – Big Star
6. “Jesus, Etc.” – Wilco
7. “Shine On, Sweet Jesus” – The Flaming Lips
8. “Superbowl Jesus” – The Hood Internet
9. “God Only Knows” – The Beach Boys
10. “Me and Jesus Don’t Talk Anymore” – beulah
11. “Jesus the Mexican Boy” – Iron & Wine
12. “Doubting Thomas” – Nickel Creek
13. “I’m Not Jesus” – The Ramones
14. “Above the Waves” – The Jealous Sound
15. “Chocolate Jesus” – Tom Waits
16. “God’s Comic” – Elvis Costello
17. “I Have Forgiven Jesus – Morrissey
18. “Jesusland” – Ben Folds
19. “Let It Be” – The Beatles
20. “Spirit in the Sky” – Norman Greenbaum

Tebow-kily dokily, folks! I’ve spent the day in the throes of full Tebow fandom, a fact I am not embarrassed to share with the whole of the Interwebs, or, y’know, Jen and Bryan, but this slow-movin’ dino-computer has kept me from sharing my thoughts with the world. I’ve been wrestling with a new 8tracks uploading interface for the last four hours, and I’m a bit ornery with technology, so instead of continuing to attempt to post something, I’ll leave you guys with this. This playlist should whet your appetite for what is to come, namely a discussion of Tim Tebow, faith, religion and history’s favorite son.

For this playlist, I’ve chosen twenty superb songs about god, religion and/or lackthereof, none of which are considered “gospel” – unless you count Norman Greenbaum’s fantastically catchy, “Spirit in the Sky,” which I always remember from that one John Travolta movie, “Michael,” where he plays an angel. There were so, so many songs to choose from, and this smattering represents some of my favorites. The Hold Steady, in particular, employs a great bit of biblical imagery (see: “Citrus,” “How a Resurrection Really Feels“), so if you’re looking for more, I suggest you check there first. There were a few honorable mentions (Bright Eyes, “When the President Talks to God,” Butch Walker, “Closer to the Truth and Further From the Sky,” R.E.M., “Losing My Religion“) I would also recommend, but this is a decent place to start.

I’m still having some trouble with the 8tracks interface, and I’m about to crush the computer screen in frustration, so I will attempt to make the edits in the morning, with the promised post forthcoming.

For now, and as always, happy listening.

The Sunshine House, Or Musical Retirement

in: the grave

I like a lot of songs. And I just so happen to really, truly like a lot of bad songs. Glimpse my iPod on BART, or use the elliptical next to mine at the gym, and you’re sure to catch some fairly embarrassing things. I admit to still occasionally partaking in a little pop-punk (ask me about that rediscovery sometime) and even some pure ’60s sugar, and I find that, sometimes, the unsubstantial can be comforting. But not every song has redeeming qualities. Some are fraught with disquieting memories, and others are so bad they hit bad-good and simply wrapped back around. And those are the ones I’ve finally begun saying my good-byes to. That’s where my newest feature, The Sunshine House, comes into play.

The Sunshine House, which is a nod to the daycare center of the same overly cheery name, is my way of bidding songs a proper adieu. There are more than enough tracks to serve as proper fodder for this sort of feature, and I think it can make for fun, short entries.

To kick things off, I created a mix on 8tracks of twenty-five love songs that are ripe for retirement.

The Sunshine House Collective: track listing below (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks)

I’ve spent about ten years composing calculated mix CDs for the boys for whom I harbor intense crushes, and I’ve learned there are only so many times Ben Gibbard can coo that he’ll follow me into the dark without it becoming insincere. Certain songs get old fast. Don’t get me wrong – I have intense relationships with a number of love songs, include these tracks I’ve included on The Sunshine House Collective, from “This is the Sweetest Little Song” by Butch Walker and the Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites to Wilco’s “I’m the Man Who Loves You.” And not all of these songs are bad or overwrought or overplayed, but love songs are a complicated sort. Like every girl shaped by cinema, I form unbreakable associations between people and songs, and so many of these tracks are forever tainted by these associations. “Treehouse” was Duck’s song, while “Thirteen,” “Sixteen, Maybe Less” and “First Day of My Life” were all about being sixteen and positively infatuated with the first boy I ever thought I loved. Some love songs are timeless; “Everlong” will never lose its luster, while the early Beatles pop songs will always perfectly describe the careful build-up of a love story. But some of these tracks can never be applied to another chapter in my romantic life. I’ve liked a lot of boys, and a lot of songs are headed to this musical graveyard, but, for now, we can get started with these twenty-five. Suffice to say, these tracks won’t be making any mixes for the foreseeable future.

The the line-up’s below. I can’t promise I’ll be back in full force just yet; I know I’ve been away a long time, but I’m sans computer currently, and it’s hard to promise regular blog posts without one. I am living in San Francisco currently, and that’s looking like a more permanent thing, so hopefully I’ll be able to carve out a more regular post schedule soon. But, for now:

The Sunshine House Collective:

  1. “Every Thug Needs A Lady” – Alkaline Trio
  2. “This Is The Sweetest Little Song” – Butch Walker & The Let’s-Go-Out-Tonites
  3. “The Tension and the Terror” – Straylight Run
  4. “The Scientist” – Coldplay
  5. “Mixtape” – Butch Walker
  6. “Intoxicating” – David Crowder Band
  7. “I’m A Fool” – American Hi-Fi
  8. “Thirteen” – Ben Kweller
  9. “16, Maybe Less” – Iron & Wine/ Calexico
  10. “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” – Death Cab For Cutie
  11. “Treehouse” – I’m From Barcelona
  12. “First Day of My Life” – Bright Eyes
  13. “This Year’s Love” – David Gray
  14. “The Luckiest” – Ben Folds
  15. “Calling You” – Blue October
  16. “Happy Together” – The Turtles
  17. “The Promise” – When In Rome
  18. “More Than a Feeling” – Boston
  19. “I Want You to Want Me” – Cheap Trick
  20. “Everytime We Touch” – Cascada
  21. “So Contagious” – Acceptance
  22. “Crash Into Me” – Dave Matthews Band
  23. “Oh, It’s Love” – hellogoodbye
  24. “I’m the Man Who Loves You” – Wilco
  25. “Beating Heart Baby” – Head Automatica