Good Luck, Goodbye - Bobby Jean by Bruce Springsteen

Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the Mix CD Axiom states that it is not advisable to use a cornerstone song in multiple Mix CDs. However, I have broken my own rule only once for Bruce Springsteen's "Bobby Jean". In my defense, the sentiment held true both times, and the fact that it was recycled didn't diminish the feeling behind it.

The common misconception about the song is that it's written for ex-girlfriend. It makes sense if you read the lyric sheet. In the novel High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, Rob Gordon refers to the song by name as a send off to an ex-girlfriend. However, in the movie version, Rob mentions his quest to see all of his former lovers was like a generic Springsteen song. The Boss even has a cameo for the film. I have a hunch that the name of the song was removed from the script because Springsteen told director Stephen Frears "you know Bobby Jean's a guy, right?"



The song was actually inspired by the departure of Steve Van Zandt from the E Street band in 1984. Van Zandt had not only been an original E Streeter, but had played in some of Springsteen's earlier bands. Now that E Street has reunited, they frequently play this song, with the jumbotron camera squarely trained on "Little Stevie".

In the song, Bobby Jean is leaving town without telling anyone. Springsteen tells the tale of the history of the friendship with great sentiment. The best part of the song is the conclusion of the tune. The Boss notes that his thoughts are always with Bobby Jean.

Maybe you'll be out there on that road somewhere
In some bus or train traveling along
In some motel room there'll be a radio playing
And you'll hear me sing this song
Well if you do you'll know I'm thinking of you and all the miles in between
And I'm just calling one last time not to change your mind
But just to say I miss you baby, good luck goodbye, Bobby Jean

When you live in a college town and you're not a student, the cast of characters change frequently enough, you start to think that you're on Law and Order. Bloomington, Indiana is nothing more than a way station for women of great potential, and the sooner you realize it, the better off you are.

I met the first Bobby Jean in the winter of 1997 during a remote broadcast from IU. I was working at the top 40 station, and she was in charge of the event we were promoting that day. My first impression was that she was very charming and very cute, and it stopped there. I was in a relationship, and I figured that even if I wasn't, I would probably only see her again for the final remote, and that would be the end of it. However, we started talked more and more, and before you knew it, we were starting something. I don't know what, but it was something.

On paper, we didn't really have anything in common. She came from a well established family in the south, and I was the son of a middle class family in Evansville. She was a little country, I was a little Rock N' Roll. But when you're 23, all you really need is a certain level of what my friend Trace called "serious heat and electricity". There was no indication that our tryst would have nothing more than a very short shelf life, but I dove into that pool head first. By the time we did get together, we only had a couple of months before she uprooted and moved back home.

The first Bobby Jean will hold the distinction as the first girl (and one of only two) who ever made me a mix. On the mix I made for her, Bobby Jean was the closing track. Although I wished more than anything that we could have had a real shot, I knew that she wouldn't come back to me. All I could do was say I miss you, baby. Good luck, goodbye.

Several years later, I was hitting an all time low. Within a month, I was temporarily moved off of nights at WTTS, had my job threatened every day, my parents had just split up, and I had just been dumped. But the good thing about a losing streak is that it allows one to have a personal renaissance. This is when I started to hang out with the second Bobby Jean.

It only takes an average of eight seconds for any heterosexual man to fall in love with this girl. She is very smart, very funny, very charming, oh yeah—and rather attractive. She has this gift of making people feel like that they are the most important person in the world. It's not flirting or teasing, it's genuine interest and a love of life. I swear to God, she should be in politics. This is the kind of person you need in your life when you hit rock bottom.

The second Bobby Jean and I never dated, and there is a large part of me that thinks that it was the best thing that could have happened. For as intoxicating as it is to be in her presence, I would have been crushed when she left (a lesson I learned from the first Bobby Jean). I once told her that if the situation were different, I'd be chasing after her at full speed.

"If the situation were different, you wouldn't have to," she responded.

It didn't matter if she told the truth or not. I felt like such a man.

She was also the driving force behind Radio Radio. I honestly believe that if I didn't know her, I never would have finished the first draft of the book. On the first Mix CD I made for her, I decided to use the Springsteen song again. More than any other, this song conveyed what I was feeling (with the possible exception of the first track, "Crimson and Clover"). I wouldn't try to change her mind, but just miss her terribly.

I never lost contact with the second Bobby Jean. She was living in Chicago, then moved to LA, and then back to Chi-town. On a trip to the region to do some last minute planning for the wedding, D and I met up with her for dinner on the north side. A few months later, she attended my wedding. She sat at the table with my friends from Minnesota, charming the socks off of everyone with whom she broke bread.

The first Bobby Jean disappeared for many years. I had tried on several occasions to find her online, to no avail. About a year ago, I spotted her on Facebook. She's married now, and has two beautiful daughters. I'm really happy that she found what she was looking for, and wish her the best.

I still think fondly of both of them when I hear that song. It's interesting that I only knew these women for short amount of time. They both had a tremendous impact on my life, and I thank them for that, and note that they both have a very special place in my heart. And now with the magic of the internet, I can leave out the "goodbye" part. Just the good luck part only applies, and I get the added bonus of catching up with my old friends online.

Although in the past, I've played the game of what if, I'm happy that things turned out the way they did. I have a wonderful wife who is very supportive, and very understanding. She's the one, but that's another Springsteen song for a future post.

The Mix CD Axiom

There have been many guidelines posted on the internet on the dos and don'ts for making a Mix Tape/CD. Some of these are good tips, but most of these lack a certain touch. This humble post is not exactly the Marquees of Queensbury Rules of making mix CDs, but it can make the difference between a good mix, and a classic playlist (not to brag, but I have put together some awesome CDs in the past). Here is a list of rules that I have come up with over the years.

Article One: The Purpose of the Mix
You need to figure out why you are putting together the mix. Is this something you're putting together to impress a girl? Are you trying to expand somebody's musical horizons? What feeling are you trying to convey? Once you have figured this part out, you need to come up with some appropriate songs.

Article Two: Know Thy Listener
You have to remember, if the mix is for someone else, they must like the music. Period. If not, your intended purpose will not be realized. This is where a lot of people go off the rails. The tendency is to load it up with songs that you like. While it's true that you need to have at least an appreciation for what's included, you have to ask the question, "will the person listening like this". This requires a lot of recon. When talking about music, listen for what that person likes, and go from there. If you're listening to a radio station or another CD, judge the other person's response to a certain song. You don't have to make this a compilation of someone's favorite songs, but use noted favorites to sketch the playlist. If your target likes Talking Heads, then they may like Bell X1.

An 80 minute CD holds anywhere between 17-22 songs, so you are going to have to come up with 25-30 songs as a candidate list. Once you have the list, you must rank the songs for impact. There should be 5 or 6 cornerstone songs that have the highest ranking. These are the best songs in the list, and they should contain the heart of your motive. The others are filler songs (not to say that these are throw away songs, but ones that establish the ebb and flow of the mix). Once you have the nominees…

Article Three: Playlist Structure
To make a great mix, one must apply the Hornby Law of Playlist Structure. In the Nick Hornby novel High Fidelity, the story's protagonist, Rob Gordon states that you have to start of the Mix Tape (it was written in the 90s after all), you must start off with a great song, and then kick it up a notch. After the second or third song, you have to cool it off to prevent burnout. This is the same strategy that a distance runner would employ during the race. You need to get off to a good start, but you need to slow down at some point, or else you'll find the finish line. It sounds silly, but it's true. So your skeleton for an 18 song playlist should look like this…

Opening Track: A Corner Stone Song. This one should be a familiar song for the listener. For example, if one of your goals is to turn somebody on to the Neko Case song "People Got a Lot of Nerve", don't lead off with Neko Case. Put something that the person will know, and most likely enjoy. The purpose of this song is get your listener's attention. If you lead off with a song that your audience won't like, then your weeks of work may end in 7 seconds. Make sure that the song or artist is well known, but not overly popular. You run the risk of boring your listener if your opener isn't unique enough. If you must insist on opening with a U2 song (which I would NEVER recommend), don't make it "Vertigo" or "Even Better than the Real Thing". Use something like "When Love Comes to Town" or their version of "All Along the Watchtower"

Song 2: Another Corner Stone Song. I usually like to reserve the strongest song of the CD for this position. In many cases, it's the song I've designed the mix around, although that song may be moved to another place because of the ebb and flow. This song need not be upbeat, but have some sort of power behind it. Song 2 should not be a ballad, unless it's for someone you're already dating.

Song 3: A Cornerstone. This song should serve as the transition into the Filler Songs.

Song 4-15: Filler Songs (see Article Four for expanded coverage)

Song 16: The Transition Cornerstone Song. This is the lead in to the grand finale.

Song 17: This should be a song much like the opening track. One of the stronger songs, but specifically
geared to set up the last song.

The Closer: The Signature Song. This is the last chance to impress your listener. This is the no holds barred song. Whatever you want to say in a mix CD, this is where you do it. Every track leads up to this song. Example: Years ago, I closed a mix for a girl with the song "Better Be Home Soon" by Crowded House. Not only does this song beg to be at the end of any CD, the underlining theme was "please figure out what you want, because I'm planning to move on soon" (which eventually I did).

Article Four: The Fillers
Remember that the term Filler is used because of a lack of a better term. Think of these as the middle relievers of your playlist. It still needs to be solid in order to make it a great CD. The last thing that you want to do is to lose the listener's attention. Filler songs should maintain the same feeling that the cornerstone songs have.

Article Five: Transitions and Sequence
While it's true that you want your cornerstone songs to flow together, it is especially critical that your fillers transition well. If you are going to put a song that is unfamiliar to the listener, place it next to a song that has a similar sound. For example, D really likes Landon Pigg's "Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop". Knowing this, I decided to add Nick Drake's "Place to Be" right after Landon for the mix CD Chevelure. They both are slower acoustic guitar centric songs, and just flow together. Resist the urge to go directly from a slow song to a hard upbeat song. Bridge that gap.

Do not jolt the listener by abutting two vastly different songs back to back. Never play "Black Friday Rule" by Flogging Molly back to back with "Caravan" by Van Morrison. I don't care if they are both Irish, those two songs don't belong together.

Another transition strategy is to group songs written by the same artist. It's no secret that I am a huge Tom Waits fan, and I have on more than one occasion put several songs written by Waits together.

It is also fun to have common bonds link songs together. Again, on several occasions, I have put Diana Krall back to back with Elvis Costello (or as she calls him, her husband).

Article Six: Other Rules and Guidelines
Never use the same artist twice in the same CD. You may also not use a variation of the same artist on the same disc. For example, you may not use "Who Are You" by the Who and "Slit Skirts" by Pete Townshend in the same playlist.

Although it is not a concrete rule, you should not use the same cornerstone song for different mixes.

Titles should be clever, and should have something to do with the theme of the mix. If not, it should at least be an inside joke with the person for whom you have made the disc.

Never repeat the name of a mix.

Never reveal the contents of the playlist to the target person until that have listened to the entire CD. If the intended listener recognizes a song before listening to the whole thing, the temptation will be for that person to skip ahead to that song.

Always write liner notes to the CD. Mark the significance of certain songs, or write why you chose to make the mix.

Never make a mix shorter than 72 minutes. It's just a waste of space.

And The Nominees Are – Anthology X1: The Demon Barber of Seville

It started in early 2000. I was helping my friend Todd move when he threw down the proverbial gauntlet as he tossed me a six CD wallet filled with store sampler discs.

"I bet that you can't fill this wallet with the music of your life," he challenged.

Todd and I had recently discussed the Robert Fulgham book Words I Wish I Wrote. The passage in question revolves around Fulgham's thoughts on a soundtrack of a person's life (incidentally, Todd has written on this topic as well).

If your life were made into a movie, and that movie had an appropriate soundtrack, and I went to a record store to buy a CD of the music, what would be on it? What mood would it leave me in when I played it? The questions necessarily impose limitations. The music must fit on a single CD; choices must be made. No defense of choice is necessary. It's assumed the selections will be idiosyncratic, combining some music in the common realm with bits and pieces of melody patched together from who knows where. The music of the soundtrack of a life will not be original, but it has passed into us, left its sound in the jukebox of the mind, become part of us, and we will likely pass it on.

"Six CDs", I scoffed. "No problem."

"There are rules," Todd said.

"Sure."

"It must be chronological as an autobiographical work."

"OK. Easy enough."

"And you can't use the same artist twice in one CD, or variations of the same artist. For example, you can't have the Beatles and solo Lennon or Wings on the same disc."

"You bastard!"

To make things more difficult, the challenge was to make six CDs, not tapes. In 2000, that capability was very new to me, and I had yet to put together a successful mix CD. Keep in mind, this was in an era before iTunes for Windows, so it's not like I could rip a CD and just keep a playlist. I had to approach this as I did with a mix tape. I had to write down all of the nominated songs on a legal pad, and mark the significance (not part of the wager, however it was good for a defense, just in case Todd demanded me to show my work upon completion).

Another obstacle was that most of the songs that I wanted to include were archived on cassette or vinyl, so I would have to make more than 50 digital copies of songs…in real time.

From conception to end, the project took three months, 96 songs, and ten 74 minute CDs (I had several false starts and disc errors). This was the beginning of what I called the Anthology Project. The first six volumes were titled From DNA to 26. The first three were completed in April 2000, and the last three were finished in June 2000. Since then, I have added four new volumes (which have all been a two disc set), one every two years. I have also reissued the first nine volumes two years ago, adding a bonus track per CD to take advantage of the 80 minute CD capability.

Yes, I am a music geek.

As tradition would dictate, the list of nominations concludes the day after Christmas every odd year. I'd then spend the next week reviewing every song, and making cuts from the list. Then I would burn the CD and release the track list on the day after New Year's Day of an even year.

As this is not a mix CD, but rather a chronicle, this collection falls out of the rules of the Mix CD Axiom (rules that Todd and I came up with a long time ago, which I have modified over the years…it will be the feature of a future post in 2010).

I'm debating whether or not to post the previous 10 playlists. Until I figure that out, here are some fun facts about the project thus far.

• Each volume opens with the Fox Fanfare performed by Helm and Heik (available on iTunes), followed by Robert Fulgham reading the excerpt about the soundtrack (From the audio book of Words I Wish I Wrote). However, the line about the soundtrack fitting on one disc has been edited out (for obvious reasons).
  
• There are 243 actual songs on 14 CDs.
  
• Van Morrison and Elvis Costello are tied for the most songs (5). Tom Waits, Tori Amos, and Bruce Springsteen are second (4).
  
• William Shatner appears twice, which is once more than The Rolling Stones, ELO, The Smiths, Louis Armstrong, and John Lennon.
  
• Fittingly, more songs reference Todd (16) than anyone else, and he is referenced on the most volumes (5). D has the record for most songs per volume (8 songs on Anthology X).
  
• Only one other person has all ten volumes (besides me). I gave D a copy when we got engaged. I figured that if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me, she was entitled to the backstory.
  
• No song is repeated, or ever will be. An alternate version or a cover may appear.
  

There are 47 songs that have been nominated in the past two years. It runs at 3:04:17, and needs to be edited to 2:38:30. Some songs deal with loss and death, while others signify pure joy. Three weddings are referenced and new friends and old ones are honored in this list. And The Nominees for Anthology X1 – The Demon Barber of Seville are…

z - One Week – Barenaked Ladies
Zip Gun Bop – Royal Crown Review
z - Remember The Rain – Brad Terry & Lenny Breau
z - All The Time – Johnny Mathis
z - Fever – Buddy Guy
Falling Slowly – The Swell Season
Blitzed – The Raveonettes
z - Mother Mary – Foxboro Hot Tubs
Mercy – Duffy
z - Skinny Love – Bon Iver
z - Don't Stand So Close To Me – The Police
Where Is My Mind? – The Pixies
St. James Infirmary – Cab Calloway
z - The Way It Is – Nicole Atkins
She's My Best Friend – The Velvet Underground
My Way – Gary Oldman (From Sid and Nancy)
Janine – Soul Coughing
z - Never Going Back Again (Live) – Lindsey Buckingham
z - Ring The Bells – James
I Found a Reason – Cat Power
Trash – New York Dolls
Breath Me – Sia
You're Going To Make Me Lonesome When You Go – Madeleine Peyroux
Sad Professor – REM
z - The Great Defector – Bell X1
z - A Thousand Eyes – Crystal Antlers
z - Canon In D – Sharp Jimmy and the Damn It Five
American Wedding – Gogol Bordello
Percussion Gun – White Rabbits
Matter of Time – Los Lobos and Elvis Costello
z - Jump Into The Fire – Harry Nilsson
I Put a Spell On You – Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop – Landon Pigg
House of the Rising Sun – Nina Simone
z - Straight To The Top (Vegas) – Tom Waits
z - Happy As Can Be – Cut Off Your Hands
z - 40 Day Dream – Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros
F.N.T. – Semisonic
The Rainbow Connection – Willie Nelson
z - Never Forget – Dropkick Murphies
I'll Follow The Sun – Glen Phillips
z - I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
Take Me Home – Holly Cole
Sloop John B. – Joseph Spence
Thanksgiving – Poi Dog Pondering
z - Grass – XTC
Norwegian Wood – Jeremy Messersmith and Zach Coulter
z – Already Guaranteed a Spot