MUXTAPE #24: up late working

MUXTAPE

So here we are again, in the office way too late, working away. Not able to sleep and not even wanting to yet. The night isn't over, but I need something to get me past what my day had been: soul crushing nothingness. Really? No. But come on. It's almost 2AM, what do you expect. I haven't really had a night's sleep in a few months. Thank god I had a nap today so I was coherent enough to write this entry.

This tape is for everyone up late for no apparent reason or the insomniac, working away. This is for all of you, even if it isn't the middle of the night. If you need something to get you going, here it is.

1. Ryan Adams - "Chin Up, Cheer Up (48 Hours)"
If 48 Hours had been released as an album, it would have easily been Ryan Adams' most successful solo album. It was optimistic, succinct and had this gem holding down the middle section. The album was recorded in two days (thus the name) and is one of the most stunning statements Adams ever made. Don't get discouraged! Ryan Adams is singing you a song about being happy! When does that ever happen?

2. Limbeck - "To Hell With Having Fun (Let Me Go Home)"
If you ever feel like you're being left out, you're not. You should do whatever you want to! Have fun doing your business, not what someone else tells you to do. I don't get as much sleep as I should, but let's get wild anyways! The Limbeck boys have always been one of the most important bands when it came to "live life, have fun, get wild" music and this song proves it.

3. The Format - "Inches and Falling (Dog Problems)"
This was such a perfect note to go out on. The Format knew they'd never make an album this perfect, even if Van Dyke Parks wrote all their songs from there on. This is one of the most perfect pop songs of the year 2007.

4. Old 97s - "Timebomb (Too Far to Care)"
Seeing Rhett Miller sing this song completely made my night this past weekend. I knew that I liked the song, but hearing just how rebellious and youthful it was up close made it that much more real. Jennifer can attest to the fact that I was impressed just by seeing how big my grin was while Rhett was playing this.

5. Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out of This Country (Let's Get Out of This Country)"
Strange change of pace? Not quite. This muxtape is all about fun loving pop in any form that speaks to our sense of adventure, wonder and excitement. Just think about these lines when you listen to it: "We'll pick berries and recline/let's hit the road, dear friend of mine/wave goodbye to our thankless jobs/we'll drive for miles, maybe never turn off/we'll find a cathedral city/you can be handsome, I'll be pretty."

6. Wilco - "Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Summerteeth)"
Over the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that Summerteeth was Wilco's real masterpiece. No, it wasn't as experimental as YHF or any later output, but it was headed in that direction with a perfect sunny pop disposition. The keyboard sounds on the album were perfection and songs like this prove just how much of a genius Tweedy is. Yeah, he can write poetry to music, but damn if he didn't just write a great pop song too.

7. Jason Anderson - "We Will Bend, We Will Break, Etc. (On The Street)"
This song is probably my favorite Jason Anderson song right now, if only for the lines "Every different town I'm in/I wanna get an apartment/start six bands/fly awesome kites/ride awesome bikes/I just feel so at home." The song is really about wanting to be everywhere at once; loving the road, but missing everything important at home. Sometimes, we make choices, but every single time, we get better and we will grow.

8. Oasis - "Rock 'n' Roll Star (Definitely Maybe)"
This could possibly be the most perfect song of all time. This was the world's introduction to Oasis, in that it was the first song on their first album. How perfect a statement is that? Proclaiming their genius right off the bat, taking hold of everything that's theirs without asking. Sometimes, we need that feeling too, so here it is. Once you air guitar the solo, you'll feel like a fucking champ too.

9. Third Eye Blind - "Graduate (s/t)"
Yeah, you can!