Cars are my passion. As soon as Matt issued this challenge I was excited to compose, and excited to hear the other collections. This is my third cruise mix (the first was for my M Roadster, the second for my Vette). A midnight cruise for me is all about heat, top down air, a lonely interstate and driving fast. Cruising down the road as time slows, thoughts drift. If only I lived in Montana.....
1. November Was White, December Was Grey ~ Say Hi
2. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked ~ Cage the Elephant
3. Baby Doll ~ The Fratellis
4. Mer Du Japon ~ AIR
5. Dry Lips ~ Lightspeed Champion
6. Houses ~ Great Northern
7. Lazy Eye (Jason Bentley Remix) ~ Silversun Pickups
8. Face Down In the Right Town ~ Earlimart
9. Atlantic ~ Keane
10. The Reason ~ Hoobastank
11. Not As Goth As They Say We Are ~ Say Hi to Your Mom
12. Stay Don't Go ~ Spoon
13. Under the Milky Way ~ The Church
14. A Message ~ Coldplay
15. Your Rocky Spine ~ Great Lake Swimmers
Drive safely, but passionately.
First, I was so close to adding The Church's "Under the Milky Way" to my mix. But I am glad it found a place here. For me this beautifully expresses driving fast on the empty highway... and loving every minute of it. A good, very upbeat driving mix. It's funny, for my own mix, I never thought to go terribly upbeat. I am glad you did. A few new to me bands here too: Great Lake Swimmers, Silversun Pickups and Say Hi. LOVE 'EM!
ReplyDeleteThis mix was song perfect, in so many ways. The mix blends / meshes so well from track to track. I was expecting (given your write up) a more rockin', thumpin' mix. I am not at all disappointed in this one though - it is by far one of my favorite mixes that you have have made. Most of the songs were new to me and that is one of my main joys is discovering a new song/band/genre.
ReplyDeleteNovember was white... The song is great and really fantastic when listened to with headphones. Perhaps the highest compliment I can say about it is that I got the full album on emusic last week, I liked it that much.
Ain't No Rest... Good song, and sets a nice tone for the disc...
Baby Doll... To me this is one of the best "driving" songs. It has that "cantering" beat to it -- I can easily imagine myself loping around the countryside with this song as my soundtrack.
Mer du Japon - steady beat, still driving you forward.
Dry Lips... Similar beat to Baby Doll... a little more acoustic than expected.
Houses... There is a great power in this song and picks back up that driving beat.
Lazy Eye.. I have this song (the only one besides the Coldplay song) and I really liked it in this context..
Face Down... The slow down in beat surprised me a little, but signaled a nice transition to the more epic stuff as signalled by..
Atlantic. I have this album but completely let this song pass me by. One of the few songs where I really felt the lyrics in it "I don't wanna be old and sleep alone...I need a place where I can make my bed, A lover's lap where I can lay my head."
The Reason... Ok, I like it. Not really whatever the indie version of "politically correct" but still a pretty solid song. And catchy.
Not as Goth.. I give you minus one point for using the same artist twice on a disc, but it is a pretty good song.
Stay Don't Go... Nice to see one of Josh's "uncrap" songs made it on your playlist. It is a good song and picks up the tempo a bit.
Under the Milky Way... This is the only song which kinda hit me flat. I understand the sentiment completely, but I have never been a Church kinda guy.
Your Rocky Spine. Fan-fucking-tastic. I love this song and it is a completely unexpected song on a disc like this. The lyrics are so wonderfully evocative. And sexy.
While we both put versions of Under the Milky Way on our comp, our couldn't have been more different. While I went too literal I admit, you really really got the feel right. Its the comp I wish I'd had have the time to do. Reminds me very much of a TBone Burnett soundtrack. Rootsy. Heartfelt.
ReplyDeleteAnd I felt the same way Colin did about not knowing too many of the tracks. Which is good. The biggest thrill for me it to discover new artists, tracks I'd not heard, or to rediscover bands I'd ignored before (Fratellis) and discover I like them.
A few major highlights>
-Say Hi/November. Great way to kick it off easy. Low speed. Neighborhoods.
-Cage the Elephant. This tapped into a very White Stripes bare knuckle approach. I envisioned drumming on the steering wheel on this one. Primal.
-Lazy Eye by SSP. I'm just discovering them. Really loving this one. Best part is the unexpected raising of the voice 2/3rds in. Very sexy. This sounds like a Colin song.
-Earlimart. Almost Bacharachish which I love. So smooth.
-Hoobastank. This song is such a guilty pleasure for me. I think their name destined them for one-hit-wonderdom.
-Spoon. One of those bands I've always thought I should like. Now I'm intrigued. Great track.
Overall you have such a gorgeously consistent driving collection. Which is how it should be when on the open road -- interesting, challenging, yet smooth.
#1- November was white, December was grey - Say Hi
ReplyDeleteReally love the sound of this song... and like Colin, curious about who this band is. I may need to go and add their entire album(s) to my song library.
#2- Ain’t No Rest for the wicked - Cage the Elephant
You’re write-up was spot-on in the sense that this is a perfect, windows down (top down, if you’re lucky) driving song.
#3- Baby Doll - Fratellis
A nice follow-up from the previous track and still very much a great song for driving. For me, this falls into one of those songs that i don’t listen to find my own personal meaning, but just enjoy it for its sound and its own story.
#4- Mer du Japon - AIR
Ahhh yes. We just shifted the car’s gears or put it into cruise control, as its distinctly different in its genre from the previous tracks... but fits nicely to me. Wistful, soft and cruising at a nice speed. The camera pans and backs off away from me at the steering wheel and I see the beautiful winding road ahead along the ocean. (Once again an interesting common symbol that appeared in everyone’s mixes: the ocean!)
#5- Dry Lips - Lightspeed Champion
Back from that interstitial about the location we were driving (Mer du Japon), and we’re back where we left off with track #3, Baby Doll. This fits well and adds a little complexity to the journey we’ve been on. There’s more going on here than just great songs to drive to.
#6- Houses - Great Northern
Whether conscious or not, you’ve selected such great songs that pair nicely with the hum of a car’s engine. Houses is no exception. I am not familiar with this song, but really like it. And once again, I feel like as this drive continues, it’s getting more complex, perhaps more self-reflective and exactly what a lengthy (midnight) drive would do to one’s mind.
#7- Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups
I didn’t recognize this song at first. And I actually later realized I own one other track by them. I really really like this song. And appreciate that you’ve kept the same consistent sound of “movement” from track to track. Nice work!
#8- Face Down in the Right Town - Earlimart
The clip is still there underneath this song, but we shifted to a slower introspective speed here. At this point, I am re-reading the description of your mix. I was expecting such a louder, stay-awake sort of a sound, but am completely caught-up in the sadness of this song.
#9- Atlantic - Keane
Ahh, a song I know... and a fine choice. I am once again amazed at the building, engine-like pace of the songs you’ve chosen. They all seem to fit so well... including this sad, touching, longing song. In my mind, a perfect midnight drive song. (I wish I would have considered it for my own mix).
(continued...)
#10- The Reason - Hoobastank
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I have listened to this song a couple times now, because in all honesty, I am not a fan of Hoobastank. Apologies, but for whatever reason, my brain can’t seem to embrace this band. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t hate the song, I just need to give it more time... but what i do love about it, is you’ve kept the rhythm right for the mix. ;-) (Apologies if you’re a big Hoobatank fan and feel free to rip me to shreds on my lame entry for Challenge #3.)
#11- Not As Goth As They Say We Are - Say hi
This song amuses me and yes, seems right for a midnight drive mix. And once kept that rhythm of the car’s wheels turning and the hum of the engine in sync with everything on this mix.
#12- Stay Don’t Go - Spoon
The song you chose is exactly why I feel conflicted about them as an artist. I really like this song, and then often wonder, why I don’t like more of their stuff... But I can’t ever seem to really fall in love. A nice choice for the mix, indeed!
#13- Under The Milky Way - The Church
Yep, as I said earlier... this came so close to being on my mix. It seems perfect for this theme and am glad it appeared here.
#14- A Message - Coldplay
Having waiting to review everyone’s mixes after several listens, I find it kinda interesting that everyone winded down their “drive”... we’re almost home with this Coldplay song.
#15- Your Rocky Spine - Great Lake Swimmers
This was new to me... and I have since gone down the path of finding all I can about this artist. For me, you could not have ended with a better song. I am completely in love with it.
Beautiful.
Overall- Like others, your write-up made me think I was headed toward a more rockin’ (mid-day) mix, maybe even something that I would need an open mind for. That wasn’t the case at all, I completely fell in love with this mix right off the bat, and so impressed by the interwoven consistency between all of the tracks. I can’t wait for this playlist to randomly pop into my car’s stereo while driving in the future...
Artwork:
Ahhh! The ocean (water) showed up here. After pondering everyone’s mixes... I am convinced the dark sea and midnight are interchangeable concepts in our mind. Probably nothing new, poetically... but something I’ve never spent much time thinking about, but like the metaphor.