flip the record, a nerdy fanblog

Music for the week

Current favorites:

I Cried Like A Silly Boy / DeVotchKa. Heard this song in I Love You, Phillip Morris (good movie, as long as you don't mind Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor getting it on) and immediately had to download it. DeVotchKa also did music for Little Miss Sunshine, which is an all-time fave.

Never Going Back Again / Fleetwood Mac. Just can't stop listening! This is one of those songs that makes me want to pick up the guitar and pretend to be a musician. :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxfxcEH8_Co

Country Roads / John Denver. This was stuck in my head all last weekend, and I wouldn't stop singing it as Alex and I drove around Tuolumne County to and from the cabin. Except I could only remember half of the chorus, so I'd always stop at "West Virginiaaaaaaa..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL9ulbJY-q8

Leaving on a Jet Plane / Peter, Paul, & Mary. Another John Denver song. I was listening to this on YouTube, and happened to read one of the comments from a Vietnam vet: he said this was the song that was playing as he walked away from his parents at the airport to catch the plane that would take him to Vietnam. After reading that and listening to the song again, I honestly felt like I was going to cry right there in the Google shuttle. So then I made a mix inspired by songs like this, that way I could listen to it all the time and get all emotional that I didn't get to live through the 60s (story of my life).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa3h3pnhg8s


While we're kind of on the topic, did I mention how much I love 8tracks? I love being able to search for a playlist by theme or mood, and that the playlists are put together by actual people, not generated by algorithms.

I think this is somehow related to my obsession with autobiographies: to me it's less about the actual story/songs; instead, it's the personal touch that makes an autobiography better than a biography that just spews facts, and a handcrafted mix better than Pandora. I guess I just like hearing first-hand what events and music can shape a person's life. It's all story-telling, but through different mediums. :)

A while ago, I made a high school playlist for fun, and realized I could pinpoint exact memories associated with each song (pep band on Friday nights, driving to the movies with drumline friends, getting ready in the morning and watching music videos on VH1). Listeners won't necessarily know that, but somehow it just makes the experience a little more rewarding when you create a mix like that to share with others. Maybe it'll bring back memories for them too.

Anyway, long story short - check out 8tracks and let me know if you make an account so I can listen to your mixes. :)