Anthology X1 - The Demon Barber of Seville

This is the 11th edition of the “Anthology Series” (as described in the December 26th blog entry). The original series (Anthologies 1-6, “From DNA to 26”) was completed in May 2000. Since then, a new chapter has been added every two years.

“Anthology X1 – The Demon Barber of Seville” is the music that has been the backdrop and inspiration to my life from 2008-2009.

Here are some of the songs that are missing…

Canon in D – Sharp Jimmy and the Dammit Five
Matter of Time – Los Lobos and Elvis Costello
Jump Into the Fire – Harry Nilsson
The Rainbow Connection – Willie Nelson
Thanksgiving – Poi Dog Pondering
Norwegian Wood – Jeremy Messersmith & Zach Coulter

The Andy Dufresne List of the 00s Part 2: The Top 10 of the First 10

Happy New Year! We continue the Andy Dufresne List, already in progress.

10. Super Theory of Super Every Thing – Gogol Bordello (2007)
The first time I heard this song was in July 2007. D was in town as she was prepping to move to Minnesota (because in the summer, it seems like a good idea). We were on Lake Street on the way back to my apartment when we heard this Ukrainian goofball talking about the first time he had read The Bible. This was not our first exposure to lead singer Eugene Hutz.

If you have ever seen the movie Everything Is Illuminated, he plays the role of Alex, the not so premium translator for Jonfen in Odessa. In fact, when we heard this (not knowing that Hutz was "singing"), D said "Wow, that sounds like 'Alex'!"

9. Paranoid Android (Live) – Brad Mehldau (2000)


In the interest of full disclosure, I never really bought into the whole "Thom York is a genius" philosophy. I liked Pablo Honey and The Bends, and then Radiohead went down the rabbit hole. I always felt that the first release from their third album was a little disjointed. I was never convinced that "Paranoid Android" was actually a good song that was just poorly recorded. Fast forward to 2000 when a jazz pianist named Brad Mehldau grabbed a hold of it, shook it up, and laid it out in a stunning 9:23 make good for everyone who wanted this to be a great song, and were let down by the author.

8. If I Ever Leave This World Alive – Flogging Molly (2002)
Any song from the album Drunken Lullabies could have made this list, but If "I Ever Leave This World Alive" has the edge over the title track, "What's Left of the Flag" and "Rebels of the Sacred Heart". The song speaks of a very close friendship that starts as an acoustic number. After the second bridge, the song picks up to a rockin' tribute that out Pogues the Pogues.

7. Skinny Love – Bon Iver (2008)
When I first heard this song, I was really getting into Beck's Sea Change CD. I was re-introduced to "Lost Cause" and exclaimed that it was his best work. A week later, I heard "Lost Cause" again on the Current, and they played it back to back with this new song called "Skinny Love" by some guy from Wisconsin. Not only was I floored at the pure genius of the playlist, but I was also taken by the structure of the song. I immediately went home and bought it on Amazon. Since then, it's been one of the songs that I play whilst I am working on the second novel.

6. Up From The South – The Budos Band (2006)
I first heard about this band was after I read an article in the Star Tribune about the 2007 SXSW music fest in Austin. The writer of the piece said that one of the highlights for him was this funk/soul band from Staten Island called the Budos Band. Starving for some new music, I looked them up on iTunes, and previewed the first song on their self entitled CD. In 30 seconds, I was sold on the bass, rhythm, and brass. I promptly bought the songs and listened to it over and over again. The song was fast tracked on the VBC, and became a staple of the playlist. You may have heard it, as it was featured on a commercial for the NFL Network.

5. In The Sun – Joseph Arthur (2000)


This is probably not the only list in which this song has appeared. This beloved song (as my friend, Andie, likes to call it—"the God Song") has appeared in such films as The Bourne Identity and Saved and television shows including The L Word and Scrubs (it has also appeared in Grey's Anatomy, but since I mentioned it was in Scrubs, it's assumed that "GA" grabbed a hold of it too, as it has ripped off the half hour comedy show countless times). It's been covered by Peter Gabriel, Michael Stipe and Howie Day. The song is usually noted for the line "May God's love be with you", however, it certainly not a spiritual song. In fact, it takes the position of the agnostic ("I'm not even sure if there is anyone who is in the sun will you help me to understand").

4. Time – Tori Amos (2001)


Strange Little Girls wasn't what I would call a solid effort for Tori Amos. Again, it's not an original concept; an entire album of covers. Annie Lennox and Shawn Colvin had already done this, and Tori had made a career of doing awesome covers. I don't think I had a great appreciation of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" until I heard her take on it. So why do this album? Why risk the reputation with an unconventional line up (I'm still trying to figure out why she did Eminem's "97 Bonnie and Clyde"). She was already the queen of the covers, she had nothing to prove. On first listen, I was about to give up in this album until track 7 played. At the time, I was still immersing myself in the Tom Waits catalogue; digesting songs slowly, but I was not well versed yet. Although I didn't recognize the song at first, I recognized that it had to be Tom's work. I sat back, smiled, and played the song again and again. To date, it is the only cover of a Waits song that I like better than the original.

3. Your Ex-Lover is Dead - Stars (2005)
I usually don't buy a CD just by hearing it at a record store, but it has happened a few times (this is how I came to own a Me First and the Gimme Gimmes CD). I was rifling through the Elvis Costello stack at Cheapo Records when I heard this song that started off imitating a small chamber orchestra. It then shifted gears with a rhythm guitar riff that crawled out of a Lou Reed song book. As I had received some news about an ex-lover (that she was moving out of town), I was struck by a particular passage (which I quoted in a Episode 2 of the Neil Casey series).

There's one thing I want to say, so I'll be brave
You were what I wanted
I gave what I gave
I'm not sorry I met you
I'm not sorry it's over
I'm not sorry there's nothing to save

After I caught my breath, I asked the guy behind the counter what this was. He preceded to hand me a copy of Set Yourself On Fire by Stars, a band out of Montreal. As soon as I got home, I listened to the entire album twice in a row. Without a doubt, it's one of my top CDs of the 2000s. Hands down.

2. The Way it Is – Nicole Atkins (2007)


What the hell is it about New Jersey and its talent pool. You have Sinatra, Springsteen, and this young lady from Neptune City (which is the title of her 2007 CD). If you have ever asked yourselves the question "If Chrissy Hynde and Roy Orbison ever has a love child, what would she sound like?" you would have your answer. My first introduction to "The Way it Is" was when I was auditioning songs at the VBC. Nicole is agonizing over a guy who clearly isn't into her as she is into him. Simply beautiful.

1. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) – Arcade Fire (2004)


As with many songs that I have obsessed over, this story starts off with Todd saying "you've got to hear this song." Thus was the case for another band from Montreal when I was on a return trip to WTTS. There really isn't much I can say about this song. At this point words fail me to explain why this song hit me so hard. It just—fits.

Honorable Mention: It Keeps Rainin' – Robert Plant and the Lil' Band O' Gold (2007), Don't Know Why – Norah Jones (2002), List of Demands – Saul Williams (2004), Baby Please Don't Leave – Buddy Guy (2000), Happy As Can Be – Cut Off Your Hands (2009), Blitzed – The Raveonettes (2007), Fresh Feeling – Eels (2002)

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

Chevelure (am I right?)

So, it's been almost two years since I have put together an actual mix CD. Since then, I have added to the Anthology Collection (which doesn't count as a mix CD), a couple of iTunes playlists, and a Facebook playlist. Still, nothing compares to sitting down and making the list, listening to it, make a rough draft disc, and figuring out what works and what doesn't. There were some songs that didn't make the cut to this on (Ray Charles's version of Eleanor Rigby, for one).

There is a bit of a pattern here, as there has been in some of my more recent mixes. There is a Tori Amos cover, an Elvis Costello song (also a cover), and Tom Waits. Sounds oh so much like every mix I've put together since 2002. However, since D likes all three, they are in (she is the one I'm making this for—and that she likes all three is more proof that I am marrying the right woman). There are eight covers on this CD (unintentional at first, but then it became a game of how many I could fit in), vocals by an Evansville native, and a couple of songs that I have rediscovered because of the huge CD backup project (which is still in progress).

Track List

House of the Rising Sun – Nina Simone
Sweet Home Chicago – Robert Johnson
I Put a Spell on You – Screaming Jay Hawkins
Baby, Please Don't Go – Them
Lady Godiva's Operation – The Velvet Underground
Angel – Jimi Hendrix
Behind Blue Eyes – Sheryl Crow
Oh Darling – Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (with John Cowan)
Let's Get it On – Jack Black
You Are The Best Thing – Ray LaMontagne
Falling in Love in a Coffee Shop – Landon Pigg
Place To Be – Nick Drake
The Drugs Don't Work – Ben Harper
For You – Format
War Torn – Nicole Atkins
Thoroughfare – Rebecca Martin
All Through the Night – Tori Amos
Mama Told Me Not To Come – Randy Newman
Innocent When You Dream – Elvis Costello
Straight to the Top (Vegas) – Tom Waits

Chevelure (am I right?) Playlist created 7 June, 2009 for his beautiful fiancée. An Ian Shane Joint.

My New Atkins Diet

I have a ritual that I run good songs through to see if they can be great songs. I play it three times in a row. If I want to hear it a fourth time, I take the CD out of the player, and I wait for at least three hours. If after a fourth play I am more excited than I was about the song than I was after its first play, it’s a great song. If I play it two more times in that day, and I still like it, it becomes an obsession.

Enter Nicole Atkins.

I got the latest TM Century disc at work, and listened for new prospects for the VBC. When I heard “The Way It Is”, I immediately stopped what I was doing. For the first time since “Blitzed” by the Raveonettes I found a song that was worthy of my music endurance test. It has since moved to the type of obsessive listening that I haven’t had since “Diablo Rojo” came out last summer.

The best way to describe Nicole Atkins is to think of Justine Bateman if she was cast to play Stevie Nicks in a Fleetwood Mac movie and Chrissy Hynde did the vocals.

On first listen, I thought that her new CD Neptune City (a reference to her home town, Neptune, NJ) was a few good songs with a respectable secondary line-up. This was after listening to the CD in the order that it was downloaded (thank you iTunes). But, after listening to it in the proper order, the album as a whole makes sense.