One of the Flickr groups I participate in is doing a mix CD swap and I had to participate. Not because I’m any sort of musical genius who can expertly put a CD together or anything but, in my opinion, I’ve got interesting taste. Note that I didn’t say good, but interesting.
I blame my parents.
No, really, I do. See, my dad is a classically trained percussionist and my mom, sheesh, never play against her in musical trivia. My dad loves to sing and my mom jokes that she plays a mean CD player. I grew up listening to Afro-Cuban jazz and Celine Dion and Phil Collins and Carol King and who knows what else. In high school, I got into techno and acid jazz. Now, I listen to lots of pop and country with some classical and jazz thrown in, depending on my mood. I own over 200 CDs, though less than a dozen are from the last decade.
So, I put together quite the list. Here’s the tracks and why I picked them.
(1) Two Night Stand – Agent 99
No, you’ve never heard of them. My friend, Erin, knew the band because, well, they rehearsed in her garage for a few years. I’m pretty sure they’re not together anymore. This was the title song from their first CD (and maybe only CD) and it’s still a favorite of mine 8 years later.
(2) Besame Mama – Arturo Sandoval / Chico Corea, et al (Special “Jam Miami” concert recording)
Excellent, excellent CD. Some of the greats of Cuban jazz got together for a concern one night in Miami and produced this CD afterward. I was tempted to pick a song like Oye Como Va that everyone who has ever heard of Cuban music or Tito Puente but that would be too easy.
(3) Godspeed (Hybrid Mix ) – BT
BT was one of the techno/trance groups I came to love in high school. And I still remember every moment of this song.
(4) Bernstein Portrait – Canadian Brass
Sorry, Dad. I stole this CD from you years ago. The Canadian Brass are a quartet of, well, brass-playing Canadians. This song has bits and pieces of several different Leonard Bernstein classics, from West Sing Story to Candide.
(5) No Tell Lover – Chicago
Chicago is one of my all-time favorite bands. It’s something about the brass, I think. The guys (well, some of them) have been together for over 40 years and it’s obvious that they love playing together.
(6) Go Outside – Cults
This was a free iTunes song of the day awhile ago but I truly enjoyed the track. It just reminds me of cabin fever in winter, where all you want to do is go outside and frolic in the sun.
(7) So Right – Dave Matthews Band
My brother and I discovered Dave Matthews when I was in ninth grade. OK, he had hits before that but we got really into him them. The driving horns behind his vocals make this a favorite.
(8) Maybe I – Five for Fighting
Randomly selected track from a mostly overlooked CD (most people bought it to hear “100 Years”)
(9) That’s Life – Frank Sinatra
Does anyone not love Frank Sinatra? This is the song I listen to after a hard day.
(10) Congo – Genesis
My dad had this one CD he played on repeat called Rhythm of the Saints from when Phil Collins traveled to Africa to learn traditional percussion. This song is a sampling of what that CD was like though far more, well, Westernized (I, quite sadly, do not own a copy – yet).
(11) Up Up Up – Givers
Don’t even know where I got this song from. But you can’t help but have a smile on your face when you hear it.
(12) Are We the Waiting – Green Day
Green Day was just this band that was OK and popular with middle through college kids until the American Idiot CD came out. This song shows their maturity and depth.
(13) Hear Me in the Harmony – Harry Connick, Jr
In the ilk of Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr could sing me the phone book and I’d love every minute of it.
(14) One Fine Day – Hiroshima
Another band that’s probably new to everyone but not to those who love acid jazz. Combine American jazz with Japanese instruments and melodies and here’s what you get.
(15) Summer Song – Joe Satriani
It’s summer and Joe Sat is an amazing guitar player – do I need another excuse?
(16) Do You Hear the People Sing? – Les Miserables Original Broadway Cast
I’ve always been a fan of Les Mis since it was our marching band theme my Freshman year of HS. I chose the most rousing number, a call to start a revolution (the French one, specifically).
(17) Gershwin: Sleepless Night – LA Philharmonic
Having been a clarinet player in a former life (ok, 6th to 11th grade), I’ve always enjoyed Gershwin. Here’s a non-Rhapsody in Blue or Porgy and Bess piece. Good tune for walking through a city you don’t know at night.
(18) You Don’t Bring Me Flowers – Neil Niamond
Another song which makes me feel like I’m really a 60 year-old woman, disguised as a 27 year-old. Here he is with Nancy Sinatra (I think).
(19) I Have Confidence – Julie Andrews (from the Sound of Music)
Any musical buff like me knows the Sound of Music by heart, but how many know this track? It’s in the movie but often forgotten about, played as Maria heads off to the von Trapp house.
(20) Caribbean Breeze – The Rippingtons
Just what the title says – a little piece of the Caribbean from a well-known smooth jazz group.
(21) Trust – The Generationals
From a compilation from the South by South West (SXSW, for short) music festival last summer, a rock-y trio sings about, well, Trust.
(22) The House That Built Me – Miranda Lambert
This was a big country hit last summer. I cry every time I hear it, without fail.
(23) The Edge of Glory – Lady Gaga
A track to lift all of our spirits and make us wish to be and do more than we imagined
(24) Don’t Panic – Coldplay
From another oft-played CD, this song represents my two years spent at the University of Florida, though more in a looking-back-on-it-now way than a “this is where I was then” way
(25) Saturday in the Park – Chicago
Fave song, ever. Truly.
