Saturday, June 6, 2009

Look at my awesome taste in music!

Let's make one thing clear. I would NEVER want to be a celebrity. But besides the obvious benefits of free clothing, complementary restaurant meals, and public adoration, the perk I would most enjoy is the Itunes celebrity playlist.

I really think that Itunes should develop some feature on their site where you can share your personal playlist either through Itunes or through some social networking site. I'm sure an extension of this idea is already out there in cyberspace but considering that people are willing to broadcast their every move through Facebook status' and twitters or tweets or twats or whatever the hell you call it, I'm sure this idea would catch on.

Anyways here's my playlist complete with personal comments, should I ever become famous enough that Apple would desire me to share my taste with others.

Keep in mind I tailored this list from 36 to 2 so some notable omissions had to be made.

1. Yasmin the Light- Explosions In The Sky- I don't believe that the Shins can change your life, but Explosions In The Sky can. Sometimes you don't need words to express the emotion or meaning of a song.
2. Hardcore Days & Softcore Nights-Aqueduct- Good driving song. That's about it. Sometimes that's all you need from a song.
3. Lay Lady Lay- Bob Dylan-Anyone who can make cowbells sound sexy belongs on my playlist. There are much more meaningful, symbolic, mobilizing songs by Dylan but I'm a sucker for the regurgitation of the same old themes of love and sex done in a simple but seductive way.
4. Am I Wrong- Brand New- Jesse Lacey is one of the best lyricists of our generation though he remains in the shadow of emo pioneers such as Bright Eyes. He didn't actually write this song because it's a cover of Love Spit Love, but he would have.
5. One for the Road- Cee-Lo-Sample lyrics:
I have millenniums of material and rivers of rhythm
An entire ocean of emotion that's enlightening to swim in
Also a forest of feeling, beaten paths of peace
Trapped inside my silhouette I have to speak to release
Demanding more from the pen than I horde from the pen
The line between playing to win and sin is thin
But I walk it with grace and I talk it with taste
I am that raw, simply put, and I rest my case
6. Bassment Party-The Cool Kids- Cause this song makes me dance like a hoooooo
7. Happiness is a Warm Gun- The Beatles- To have a playlist without the Beatles is a travesty to the history and influence of music.
8. Queen Bitch- David Bowie- Have to have Bowie on there. He always makes me want to groove and get down.
9. A Movie Script Ending- Death Cab for Cutie- I grew up through the most transitional periods of my life listening to Death Cab. I don't care if they are considered "emo" or "depressing". Their lyrics and melodies defined and described the emotional rollercoaster of my teenage years.
10. This Town- Frank Sinatra- Frank is the original bad ass. If I ever were to pursue music seriously, I would hope that I could somehow possess the transcendence of Frank.
11. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight- Jenna Mammina- I sing this in my car constantly. Jenna turned a weepy James Taylor penned tune into a bluesy, jazzy, sassy cover. If I ever recorded again, this would be one of them.
12. Night Drive- Jimmy Eat World- Both JEW and Death Cab captured adolescence for me. Although I primarily listen to JEW's first albums, this particular selection reminds me of the constant spontaneous drives my friends and I would take to Grizzly Peak, San Francisco, just driving anywhere to be constantly in motion.
13. U.R.A. Fever- The Kills- Moody, dark, and sexy.
14. Dazed and Confused- Led Zeppelin- It is my firm belief that most people have a brief, intense affair with Led Zeppelin where they discover the band, listen to nothing but their music for a week, convinced that they are the best band to ever come into existence. I wrestled and struggled between a number of songs but I have such a soft spot for this one.
15. Walk on the Wildside- Lou Reed- His voice is like melted butter.
16. I'm Feeling Good- Nina Simone- Jazz and blues is the most fun to sing. Screw Mariah Carey-esque melismas and vibrato. All you need is feeling and presence.
17. The Nurse Who Loved Me- A Perfect Circle- I read somewhere that if a person can draw "a perfect circle" that means they are legally insane. Well this song is about an institutionalized person in love with the nurse who provides the medication that numbs him so I guess it's an appropriate band moniker. I just think it's trippy and amazing.
18. Can't You Hear Me Knocking- The Rolling Stones- I found it before the Blow soundtrack.
19. Echoes- Digitalism- I feel like my generation, probably due to the prevalence of the ecstasy and rave culture, is turning more and more to electronically produced music. I plead guilty to this as well.
20. Bittersweet Symphony- Vitamin String Quartet- One of my favorite songs reduced and redone simply but beautifully.
21. Say It Ain't So- Weezer- What can you say about Weezer that hasn't already been said? This song makes me want to speed in the 405.

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