In honor of the record high temps in NYC, I’ve decided to make today the official drop date of Mix of the Summer 2010. If you’ve received it before now, consider yourself lucky.
If you don’t have it in your hot little hands yet, let me know and I’ll do my best to get you a copy.
Click on the super fancy album design at right to see the full track listing. (And try not to judge me for my shameless affinity for pop music.)
Me gusto mucho el verano.
What makes me smile on a Wednesday? I would have to say that today it is a combination of (a.) hopelessly cheesy 80s pop music and (b.) heading to my big-boy job amidst the hustle and bustle of the big city knowing that somewhere back in Nashville kids are pretending to be interested in their syllabi and hoping they have at least a few friends in their classes this semester. I offer to them a haughty chortle… and this playlist that I will be listening to while making my way to the R train.
1. 9 to 5 | Dolly Parton | 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs | If Dolly lived on the East Coast, I suppose she would have named this song “10 to 6.” But, then again, an East Coast Dolly is as close to an oxymoron as you’re gonna get. This bouncing confection was almost enough to keep the musical of the same name open through the end of the summer. Wah Wah. You’ve got one week left if you still want to catch it in the lamest house ever erected on Broadway.
2. You Make My Dreams | Hall & Oates | Voices | Never mind the molestache in their creepy cover art, this 1980 Hall & Oates classic was recently brought back to the limelight with its key placement in the I’m-trying-so-hard-not-to-be-indie film 500 Days of Summer. For me, the most lasting image from that movie is Joseph Gordon-Levitt traipsing through L.A. to this song, full-on Disney musical style. I should have his choreography down pat by the end of the week.
3. Uptown Girl | Billy Joel | An Innocent Man | I’m admittedly late to the game on this one, but my obsession du jour over the past few weeks has been none other than Mr. Billy Joel. I mean, have you listened to this CD? It’s flawless! Mix 50s rockabilly goodness with 60s doo-wopping genius and you get a record that just barely missed the Best Album Grammy (it lost to some set named Thriller…). This song in particular makes me excited for the return of the modern-day uptown girls.
4. Escapade | Janet Jackson | Rhythm Nation 1814 | I think Janet was at her peak when she was wearing oddly apocalyptic military gear and strutting around with her snazzy Paula Abdul dance moves. Don’t you? This track is as fun and effervescent as they get. Funky and sweet in all the right places. Like me. (Ha!)
5. Get Out of My Dreams (Get Into My Car) | Billy Ocean | Tear Down These Walls | Admit it. You are a fan of songs with titles that feature self-important parenthetical information. Well, I am too. And this Billy Ocean gem is no exception. It’s a tricky one to find, though. I scoured iTunes for days (months, years?) before finally finding it on Amazon (the website… not the rainforest). This song would make me miss my beloved Honda Civic if it weren’t so dern catchy.
You’re probably one of the millions of people who roll their eyes whenever you see a new “NOW That’s What I Call Music!” commercial on TV. You think to yourself, “How in the world can they really be up to that many installments?!” That number of installments reaches 31 today, to be exact. (It’s up to well above twice that much over in Europe…) Well, I answer you, I am precisely the reason there are that many installments of the ubiquitous compilation series. With my undying love for trashy pop music, I have made somewhat of a ritual out of going to Best Buy the day a new addition to the lineup drops and padding my own iTunes collection with 20 unabashedly frothy musical confections for the low price of $9.99. You are not obligated to adopt my practice, but you are welcome to be jealous that I have amassed a veritable time capsule of Top 40 music over the past 10 years. In honor of NOW 31’s release today, I have concocted an extra special mix, highlighting my favorite track from each of the previous editions…
What better way to celebrate the relaunch of my blog than with the release of Mix of the Summer 2009?
For those of you who do not know, I put an unhealthy amount of time into crafting and perfecting a seemingly endless series of mix CDs. The tradition started in high school when I distributed my trademark 90s mixes to about half of my senior class. (I may or may not be stretching that figure…) They always dropped on a Tuesday, of course, so today is no different. To see the full tracklisitng and to view my ghetto label design, click >here<. Let me know if you want a copy!
The design is inspired by Twitter, but that does not change the fact that I am still very suspicious of this newest social networking trend, appropriately dubbed “the digital macarena” by “The Soup.” A few of my friends are really into it though…What’s the concensus? Should I jump on the Twitter bandwagon?
I feel the need to make this EP thing a monthly segment. Any objections?
So what could possibly be better than incessantly peppy ’60s pop tunes? That’s right! Incessantly peppy covers of ’60s pop tunes. What a neglected niche in our great musical universe.
1. It’s in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song) | Vonda Shepard | Songs from Ally McBeal | This title may not look familiar, but if you look it up on iTunes you’re certain to recognize its infectiousness. Too bad Vonda couldn’t have released this album as a standalone piece rather than a TV soundtrack (not that there’s anything wrong with Ally McBeal… does anybody else miss that show?). This one’s good anytime.
2. You Can’t Hurry Love | Phil Collins | Hello, I Must Be Going! | Why listen to The Supremes’ version when you can have the former frontman of Genesis do it ten times better? I would say this one is best listened to while waiting in line for soup at >Hale & Hearty<. It’s so delicious… but you’re not gonna get it anytime soon.
3. Downtown | Jann Arden | Uncover Me | If have not yet heard the sublime sounds of this Canadian treasure (thanks a lot for overshadowing her, Chantal Kreviazuk!), do yourself a favor and check out this album. It also features a pretty spot-on rendition of Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain.” The best place to enjoy “Downtown”? Duh. Greenwich Village… or anywhere south of 23rd Street, for that matter.
4. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | Michael McDonald | Motown | You just try listening to this guy without looking at the liner notes and tell me he sounds white. It’s impossbile. Put this one on while making your way through the throngs of people in Times Square. It gives you some semblance of hope that you’ll make it out the other side alive.
5. This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) | Natalie Cole | Greatest Hits | Does anyone remember if this was the song that rolled during the closing credits of that modern Lindsay Lohan classic, The Parent Trap? If not, it should have been because it is the perfect exit music. Stick it in your ears when heading home for the evening after leaving a movie or Broadway show. (P.S. This girl is my sister…)
So I like theater, film and pretty much just writing in general. I also like lame jokes. If none of these things interest you, you are probably much cooler than me.
