Scooter McGavin's 2013 Summer Jam Playlist

Last week Grantland posted their 2013 Summer Playlist and I really did not think much of as it ranged from pretentious crap to not even semi-ironic crap. My view of a summer jam playlist is something you throw on at your backyard barbecue with songs everyone will enjoy, sing, and groove along to. Realistically, I would just summer jams of the past like Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, The Sundays, and Sam Cooke and basically the entire The Beach Boys library with a couple new songs sprinkled in. Here are a few new songs that made it in this year that would add an extra hour to your playlist which you can listen to on Spotify.

Get Lucky [Daft Punk Remix] – Daft Punk featuring Pharrell: The most egregious omission from the Grantland playlist, maybe because it is just too obvious. Not only is it wise to have this in your summer playlist, but go ahead and also add the radio edit and the ten minute remix too. And if you want to mess with your guests, play the Daughter version and wait and see how long it takes people to realize what they are listening too.

Blurred lines – Robin Thicke, Pharrell, and T.I.: It is the summer of Pharrell, just give in. Well, you can skip the 2 Chainz song but as the great philosopher Meat Loaf once said, two out of three ain’t bad.

Royals – Lorde: The only song that also appears on the Grantland, and since I have already sprayed the some hyperbolic superlatives, I may suggest you just go ahead and add her whole EP if you are going with an all 2013 playlist.

Falling – Haim: Ever wonder what Stevie Nicks would sound like if she instead of joined Fleetwood Mac, recruited two sisters and tried to be a nineties RnB girl group? Haim may just be that. It should not work, but it does. Hopefully the group has a full album out by the end of the year. No matter who is at your party, fans of RnB, Rock, Pop; they should all enjoy this song.

Little Numbers – Boy: You will be hard pressed to find a catchier song this summer. Even if they have not heard it before, they will be tapping along in no time.

The War Within – Churchill: I could have gone with this song or Change, but this is newer, more upbeat and a much more fun song.

Diane Young – Vampire Weekend: Any good summer song has a great hook and you cannot help yourself from singing along to the Baby chorus which takes you back to the summer jams of the fifties and sixties.

San Francisco – The Mowgli’s: Sure the songs veer too far in the direction of hippies; “I’m been in love with love” which I guess should be expected from a song called San Francisco but the choir sing-along is infectious.

I'm Alive (Life Sounds Like) - Michael Franti and Spearhead: I all for any song with a whistle solo as a summer song.

Pompeii – Bastille: This may be the weirdest chanting in a song that works since Hooked On a Feeling.

Bleeding Out – The Lone Bellow: For those not yet tired of the passion folk the Mumford & Sons ushered in, you definitely will want to check out this Brooklyn band.

Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker: Darius Rucker and been making catchy songs that will never make it on pretentious music critics lists for two decades now but sing-along’s are key for summer playlist and everyone will be singing along whenever the chorus hits.

Follow Your Arrow – Kasey Musgraves: I have to roll my eyes when liberal communists try to talk themselves into that horrible Same Love song from Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. A good message does not make a good song. I would much rather listen to the anti-gay Check Yo Self (and before you call me anti-gay, I would totally push my way through a group of women to make out with Shamar Moore). For those that want a pro-gay anthem that is actually good, you should check this song. It also gets bonus points for bea pro-gay country song which should trick the conservative wackjobs at your party into liking it and also gives time to the much more important cultural issue: the ability to roll a joint if you want to

Cruise – Florida Georgia Line: Yes this song is horrible, especially the Nelly version, aand it will probably be very high on my Worst Songs of 2013 list, but the thing is, if you put this song on at your party, everyone will spend the first verse talking about how horrible the song is, but will be signing along, possibly loudly depending on how much alcohol you provided to them, by the time the chorus hits. And if you want a more palatable version of this song, you should check out the Dia Frampton, Kina Grannis more mellow, backporch version.

Come & Get It – Selena Gomez: Yeah, we have hit the guilty pleasure portion of the summer playlist, might as well just stop here.

The Best of Soul

Last year Rolling Stone released a “Playlist Issue” that saw a bunch of artists list their ten favorite songs from a genre, niche, or other artists which let me to suggest that this become a yearly issue. Apparently Jann Wenner was listening because they just released the second annual issue (with Steve Jobs on the cover). What I like about these issues it gives me new suggestion from some of my favorite artists and deep cuts playlist from other artists I enjoy but never fully dug deep into. And who would have guessed Ke$ha’s Party Starting playlist wouldn’t suck? In honor of the issue I thought I would dig out one of my most requested mixtapes I made in college that was so loved, I was asked to make multiple volumes of, The Best of Soul. I this first one is a quick primer so those that have yet to dig deep into the classics yet like so many my age at the time to sample. And for more great musical suggestion I highly recommend to pick up the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

1. Lovely Day - Bill Withers
2. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
3. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye
4. Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye
5. Just the Two of Us - Grover Washington, Jr. & Bill Withers
6. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) - Marvin Gaye
7. Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
8. Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
9. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
10. Use Me - Bill Withers
11. Stand By Me - Ben E. King
12. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
13. Lean On Me - Bill Withers
14. Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
15. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye
16. Living for the City - Stevie Wonder
17. I Heard It Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
18. Lately - Stevie Wonder
19. Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers
20. As - Stevie Wonder

The Best of Neo-Folk

Someone recently asked me what kind of music I listen to and I responded, “Hardcore gangsta rap, Taylor Swift, and bands no one has ever heard of.” After realizing I was not kidding, she asked me of those bands no one has ever heard of; sadly I was proven right at least in this case. Later I realized that most of those bands were based in the folksier type of music which has been gaining momentum in recent years and seems to be an evolution of the alt-country of the late nineties and / or Johnny Cash’s Rick Rubin era. So I thought I would make a CD sampler of these bands which I have dubbed Neo-Folk. Hopefully long time readers are familiar with most of these artists because I have been hyping most of them here on the 9th Green, but if not, give them a try.

1. Barton Hollow – The Civil Wars

2. Feeling the Pull – The Swell Season

3. Belated Promise Ring – Iron and Wine

4. Magpie to the Morning – Neko Case

5. White Blank Page – Mumford and Sons

6. Skinny Love – Bon Iver

7. Furr – Blitzen Trapper

8. Lost In My Mind – The Head and the Heart

9. Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

10. Mykonos – Fleet Foxes

11. If It's the Beaches – The Avett Brothers

12. You Still Hurt Me – William Fitzsimmons

13. Little Lovin' – Lissie

14. No One's Gonna Love You – Band of Horses

15. A Little Bit of Everything – Dawes

16. Art Isn't Real (City of Sin) – Deer Tick

17. Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe – Okkervil River

18. Shadow People – Dr. Dog

19. Coney Island – Good Old War

20. The Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone) – The Decemberists

Best of 2009 Redux

Every year I like to end my year in review with a quick wrap of some minor lists and some stuff for stat geeks like me of yearly states of most viewed 9th Green pages et al. Below you can find those as well as my top artists of the year with where they landed on my various lists of the year (check the Best of 2009 label at the bottom of the post for those), and for those of you that like making CD, there are the top 20 songs from my 100 Best Songs of 2009 list that fit nicely onto one CD.

Top Artists
1. Taylor Swift (Songs: 15, 70; Readers: 11, 22; Performances: 7; Videos: 30)/Kanye West (Songs: 2, 4, 69; Readers: 4, 17; Mash Ups 10; Videos: 6, 21, 50): Ironically last year, this duo went two and three respectively for Top Artists of 2008 and this year they became forever intertwined for which Swift will be indebted to West because she became America’s Sweetheart overnight simply because a black dude stole her spotlight. As for West, after taking Jay-Z’s advise to get back to rap, your T-Paining too much, his verses landed in two of the top four songs of the year.

2. Dave Matthews Band (Songs: 5, 8, 83; Videos: 41; Albums: 4): After the death of a bandmate, Dave and the boys put out their best work of the decade in tribute to LeRoi Moore.

3. Jay-Z (Songs: 4, 47, 96; Readers: 4, 8; Performances: 3, 15; Videos: 6; Albums: 19): Speaking of J Hova, with Run This Town finally made a post retirement song that stood up to the rest of his catalogue.

4. K’Naan (Songs: 65, 68, 79; Albums: 6): Ever since the Snow debacle of 1992, us American have refused to listen to any Canadian rapper until Drake came out this year. But the real rapping export from the Great White North us Yankees should have been paying more attention to was K’Naan who dropped the best rap album of the year.

5. The Roots (Songs: 93; Performances: 1, 4, 8, 14, 23, 25): Thanks to being the Jimmy Fallon house band, The Roots dominated the Best Live Performance of 2009 list. Here’s hoping there are more inspired collaborations in store for 2010.


Most Popular Posts
1. Do You Know What’s Worth Fighting For, When it’s Not Worth Dying For (Green Day review)

2. The Hottest Hot Chick Pictures of the Week

3. The Best Television Shows of 2008/2009

4. Chatting with Stana Katic

5. The 100 Greatest Television Shows of the 00’s

6. Best of the Week vol. X

7. You Hold Your Head up to the Sky You Say What Kind of Blue Are You (Erin McCarley review)

8. Keep Your Hand on My Head, Your Heart on Your Sleeve (Kelly Clarkson review)

9. ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas 2009 Schedule

10. Scooter’s Fall 2009 Television Schedule

11. First Impressions: Tool Academy 2

12. First Impressions: I Love Money 2

13. 57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. LXXI

14. Lyrics Quiz: As Seen on TV 2009

15. Somebody’s Broken Heart Become Your Favorite Song (Dave Matthews review)

16. First Impressions: Survivor Tocantins

17. Let Me Just Ask You One Question: Can You Play Like Champions (Friday Night Lights review)

18. One, Two, Freddy’s Coming for You

19. Time Keeps Ticking Away, Always Running Away (Company of Thieves review)

20. Oh, Chuck Me

21. Lyrics Quiz: One Song Wonders of the 80’s

22. The 100 Hottest Hot Chicks of the 00’s

23. 40 Worst Songs of 2009

24. What’s Done Is Done or if it’s Meant to Be it’s Meant to Be (Lost review)

25. First Impressions: Charm School with Ricki Lake

Most Viewed Labels
1. Chuck

2. Veronica Mars

3. Best of 2008

4. Best of the Week

5. Album Review

6. How I Met Your Mother

7. Kelly Clarkson

8. Lost

9. Friday Night Lights

10. Lyrics Quiz


Most Searched
1. Worst Songs of 2008

2. Do you know what’s worth fighting for when it’s not worth dying for

3. Sexiest video ever made

4. I love money 2

5. Top TV shows 2009

6. Best mashups of all time

7. Scooter mcgavin

8. Best TV shows of 2009

9. Do you know what’s worth fighting for

10. Hot chick pics


Best of 2009 CD (note: the track list is in reverse as if you are counting down to number one)
1. Even If It Breaks Your Heart - Will Hoge

2. Mykonos - Fleet Foxes

3. A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers

4. Geraldine - Glasvegas

5. Staying in Love - Raphael Saadiq

6. You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

7. Who Says - John Mayer

8. Too Many Rappers - Beastie Boys featuring Nas

9. Pony (It's OK) - Erin McCarley

10. Nothing but a Miracle - Diane Birch

11. Magick - Ryan Adams & the Cardinals

12. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

13. Funny The Way It Is - Dave Matthews Band

14. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab for Cutie

15. Sugarfoot - Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears

16. You And Me - Dave Matthews Band

17. Run This Town - Jay-Z featuring Rihanna & Kanye West

18. I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers

19. Make Her Say - Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common

20. Use Somebody - Kings of Leon

Feed Your iPod the CD vol. I

Feed Your iPod was created to highlight songs that may not have been hits, or even released as singles, but deserve a much bigger audience. Hopefully of the first nineteen I have posted you have a least found a couple that you may not have heard before but have made it into your regular rotation. Of course Feed Your iPod is just a catchy title and any of these can be for any mp3 devise, just your computer and now you can make a CD out of them as the first set comes in at 78:24. You can even help create volume two by emailing me (or use the comment section) song suggestions and a short description on way everyone should have it on their iPod for me to post. Click the links below to be taken to iTunes where you can download the songs or use the widget below to go to Amazon MP3 to get them DRM-free (and sometimes a dime cheaper) or use the label function to scroll threw what I had to say about these songs and full song previews.


1. The Seed (2.0) - The Roots and Cody ChestnuTT
2. Bad Reputation - Freedy Johnston
3. Passing Me By - The Pharcyde
4. School Spirit - Kanye West
5. Paper Bag - Fiona Apple
6. You Never Know - Dave Matthews Band
7. Nightswimming - R.E.M.
8. Award Tour - A Tribe Called Quest
9. Nothing at All - Santana and Musiq
10. Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing to F’ Wit - Wu-Tang Clan
11. Tell Him - Lauryn Hill
12. Summertime - The Sundays
13. Catalyst - Anna Nalick
14. Devil Town - Tony Lucca
15. Have a Little Faith in Me - John Hiatt
16. I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love with You - Tom Waits
17. Someday We’ll All Be Free - Donny Hathaway
18. Sunny Hours - Long Beach Dub All-Stars
19. Adelaide - Old 97’s

Best of 2007 Redux

Here we are a week into the New Year, but I want to take one last look at 2007 (for full Best and Worst of the year, be sure to click on the Best of 2007 label at the bottom of the post). First my annual list of artists that had the most impact on be over the past twelve months:

Top Artists of the Year

1. Lily Allen (Best Song: 1, 8, 12, 18, 66; Best Album: 3; Best Video: 5, 11, 15, 23; Best Performance: 25): Just to show how much impact Lily Allen had on me this year, in twelve years of making Best Songs of the Year list, no artist has had more than two songs in the top twenty let alone four. And it looks like many of you liked her too because as you can see below, her album review was the third most viewed post of the year.

2. Kanye West (Best Song: 3, 6, 53, 72, 87; Best Album: 5; Best Mash Up: 21; Best Video: 1, 4, 18; Reader’s Poll: 2; Best Performance: 15): Even though not nearly as good as his first two albums, Graduation still ranks in the top ten best rap albums this decade. And no other artist had a better viral year thanks to his internet only videos for Can’t Tell Me Nothin’ and his remix for Throw Some D’s.

3. Amy Winehouse (Best Song: 4, 29, 50, 92; Best Album: 6; Best Mash Up: 9; Reader’s Poll: 3; Best Performance: 23): Yeah she went neck and neck with Britney Spears for most clinically insane celebrity of the year, but unlike Spears, Winhouse managed to put out a great album this year.

4. Alicia Keys (Best Song: 10, 24; Best Album: 1; Best Mash Up: 15; Best Live Performance: 1, 9, 14, 20): As I Am may not lived up to expectations, but it was good enough to land her the best album of the year. Also she ripped off some great performances to promote it.

5. Ryan Adams (Best Song: 5, 21, 42, 90; Best Album: 4; Best Video: 10): A year and a half was the longest hiatus of his career and the extra time paid off with East Tiger being his best album in a while. Of course then Adams promptly released an EP not that long after. We will have to wait to see if he goes back to three albums in 2008.


Next some self congratulatory some with the most read posts and such here on the 9th Green. I was going to have the most popular searches, but nine of the top ten were some sore of play on “Best Songs of 2006” with the only other being Megan Hauserman in the nine spot, so that seemed silly to post. But here are the other best of the best. First a note between Most Read Feeds and Most Viewed Posts, the Feeds are based on who is accessing my feed, most likely through a feed reader (but some pirated) where Posts are people who actually came to the 9th Green, and if there are on the top, it is most likely because of Google.


Most Viewed Posts

1. You Make Me Smile, Please Stay Awhile
2. First Impressions: Beauty and the Geek 3
3. Sun Is in the Sky, oh Why, oh Why, Would I Wanna Be Anywhere Else
4. Best Television Shows of 2006-2007
5. First Impressions: Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School
6. First Impressions: The Big Bang Theory
7. 25 Days of Christmas Schedule
8. We On Award Tour: 2007 Espy Awards
9. First Impressions: The (White) Rapper Show
10. Toss Up: Christina Aguilera vs. Avril Lavigne


Most Read Feeds

1. 57 Channels and Only this Is On vol. II
2. Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night
3. Don’t Download These Videos XXIV
4. You’re Part of my Entity
5. We On Award Tour: 2007 MTV Video Music Awards
6. Record People Are Shady IX
7. Jesus Was Too Smart to Ever Run for Public Office
8. Lyrics Quiz: 80’s Dance Party vol. 3
9. Scooter McGavin’s Solution to the Writers Strike
10. The Best New Shows of 2007


Most Popular Labels

1. Kelly Clarkson
2. MTV
3. First Impressions
4. Beauty and the Geek
5. Shakira
6. Best of 2006
7. Scooter Hall of Fame
8. Lyrics Quiz
9. Survivor
10. Friday Night Lights


Lastly, for those interested in the Best Songs of 2007 (click here to download the songs) to fit on a single CD, here would be the tracklist which would come in at 78:18 (note: the songs are in reverse order as if counting down the tracks).

1. Everybody Knows - Ryan Adams
2. Dumb it Down - Lupe Fiasco
3. Love Song - Sara Bareilles
4. LDN - Lily Allen
5. Look After You - The Fray
6. Brianstorm - Arctic Monkeys
7. The Game - Common
8. The Underdog - Spoon
9. Our Song - Taylor Swift
10. Alfie - Lily Allen
11. Radio Nowhere - Bruce Springsteen
12. No One - Alicia Keys
13. Read My Mind - The Killers
14. Oh My God - Mark Ronson featuring Lily Allen
15. Tennessee - The Wreckers
16. Stronger - Kanye West
17. Two - Ryan Adams
18. Rehab - Amy Winehouse
19. Can’t Tell Me Nothing - Kanye West
20. Dreaming with a Broken Heart - John Mayer
21. Drivin’ Me Wild - Common featuring Lily Allen

The Best of A Tribe Called Quest

In a story I broke yesterday, A Tribe Called Quest is being honored tonight at VH1’s Hip Hop Honors after calling for them to be done so since the inception of the show. There are very few artists that have put out five or more albums of which I own all of them and A Tribe Called Quest is one of them. So in honor of them getting their just due, here is a list of the group’s best songs that can fit on a single CD (running time 78:02). All songs are credited to A Tribe Called Quest unless noted otherwise:


1. I Left My Wallet In El Segundo - Peoples’ Instinctive Travels & the Paths of Rhythm (1990)
2. Can I Kick It? - Peoples’ Instinctive Travels & the Paths of Rhythm (1990)
3. Bonita Applebum - Peoples’ Instinctive Travels & the Paths of Rhythm (1990)
4. Check the Rhime - Low End Theory (1991)
5. Jazz (We've Got) - Low End Theory (1991)
6. Scenario (featuring Leaders of a New School) - Low End Theory (1991)
7. Award Tour (featuring Trugoy The Dove) - Midnight Marauders (1993)
8. The Chase, Part II - Midnight Marauders (1993)
9. Steve Biko (Stir It Up) - Midnight Marauders (1993)
10. Electric Relaxation - Midnight Marauders (1993)
11. 8 Million Stories - Midnight Marauders (1993)
12. Get It Together - Beastie Boys featuring Q-Tip - Ill Communication (1994)
13. 1nce Again - Beats, Rhymes and Life (1996)
14. Rumble in the Jungle - The Fugees, Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest - Rumble in the Jungle Soundtrack (1997)
15. Steppin' It Up (featuring Busta Rhymes and Redman) - The Love Movement (1998)
16. Find a Way - The ove Movement (1998)
17. Money Maker - The Love Movement (1998)
18. Start It Up - The Love Movement (1998)
19. Vivrant Thing - Q-Tip - Violator: The Album (1999)
20. Breathe and Stop - Q-Tip - Amplified (2000)

If you think I left something out feel free to tell me what you would have put on and what song it would replace in the comment section.

The Best of Public Enemy

As I mentioned when I inducted Fear of a Black Planet (see My Home Is Your Home So Welcome to the Terrordome) into the Scooter Hall of Fame, it is a shame that anyone born after 1985 probably thinks of Flavor Flav as some reality television lifer instead of the greatest hypeman ever for the seminal rap group Public Enemy. That most likely won’t change anytime soon with the announcement that Flav is currently casting even more hood rats for the third season of Flavor of Love as well as being the guest of honor at the latest Comedy Central Roast (which hasn’t been all that entertaining in recent years) airing this Sunday at 10:00. So to show those youngsters just how great his group was and to remind those who where born before 1985, here is a list of the greatest Public Enemy songs ever that fit nicely on a Mix CD clocking in at 78:45. If you think I left something out feel free to tell me what you would have put on and what song it would replace.


1. Bring the Noise - Less Than Zero Soundtrack (1987)
2. Don’t Believe the Hype - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
3. Rebel Without a Pause - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
4. Night of the Living Baseheads - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
5. Fight the Power - Do the Right Thing Soundtrack (1989)
6. Welcome to the Terrordome - Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
7. Brothers Gonna Work it Out - Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
8. Burn Hollywood Burn (featuring Ice Cube and Big Daddy Kane) - Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
9. 911 Is a Joke - Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
10. Can’t Do Nuttin’ for Ya, Man! - Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
11. Can’t Truss It - Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black (1991)
12. Shut ‘em Down - Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black (1991)
13. By the Time I Get to Arazona - Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black (1991)
14. Bring tha Noise (featuring Anthrax) - Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black (1991)
15. Give it Up - Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age (1994)
16. He Got Game (featuring Stephen Stills) - He Got Game Soundtrack (1998)
17. Son of a Bush - Revolverlution (2002)
18. MKLVFKWR - Bring That Beat Back (featuring Moby) - Unity: the Official Athens 2004 Olympics Games Album (2004)

The Best of R.E.M.

For long time readers to the 9th Green know I love making mix tapes. A subset to this is my Best Of series. I routinely make my own because inevitably they leave off some of my favorite songs on Greatest Hits packages (the worst offender being I’m on Fire being left off of Bruce Springsteen’s). A couple years back I made one for recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee R.E.M. and here is the track list to the CD. This CD comes in at 76:56.


1. Fall on Me - Life’s Rich Pageant (1986)
2. The One I Love - Document (1987)
3. It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - Document (1987)
4. Stand - Green (1988)
5. Pop Song 89 - Green (1988)
6. Orange Crush - Green (1988)
7. Losing My Religion - Out of Time (1991)
8. Radio Song (with KRS-One) - Out of Time (1991)
9. Man on the Moon - Automatic for the People (1992)
10. Drive - Automatic for the People (1992)
11. Find the River - Automatic for the People (1992)
12. Everybody Hurts - Automatic for the People (1992)
13. Nightswimming - Automatic for the People (1992)
14. Strange Currencies - Monster (1994)
15. You - Monster (1994)
16. What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? - Monster (1994)
17. At My Most Beautiful - Up (1998)
18. Bad Day - In Time: The Best of R.E.M. (2003)
19. The Outsiders (with Q-Tip) - Around the Sun (2004)


If one of your favorite songs of the band is missing feel free to comment on what you would add and or subtract. But be warned, if you suggest Shiny Happy People, you run the risk of being publicly mocked.

Car Mix: November 2006

Every once in a while I like to compile a list of songs that I’m currently listening to onto a CD to make drive time a little more bearable so I can avoid hearing that chain hang low song one more time on the radio. So here are some suggestions of songs that you should be listening to these days. This CD comes in at 76:09.


1. When You Were Young (2006 MTV Video Music Awards) - The Killers (Okay so I may have been harsh on the Vegas boys, see Nobody Ever Had a Dream Round Here, but this is one of the best rock songs of the year and one of the few good performances at the VMA’s this year)
2. God’s Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash (See the great video: Go Tell That Long Tongue Liar, Go and Tell that Midnight Rider; also check out my album review: He Said “John Go Do My Will”)
3. Goodbye Earl - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (See my album review: Yippee-I-Yah Yippee-I-Yo)
4. Call Me When You’re Sober - Evanescence (See my album review: I Want to Stay in Love with My Sorrow)
5. Wine Red - The Hush Sound (A wrongfully overlooked ditty from the summer. If you have .99 burning a hole in your pocket, it’s worth the download)
6. Smile - Lily Allen (I know I’ve been waxing poetic about Ms. Allen for a while and hopefully you picked up this song when it was free over at iTunes; and just remember where you first heard of her when she hits it big here in the States)
7. Promiscuous - Nelly Furtado (See my album review: I've Been Hurt by My Past but I Feel the Future)
8. I Wish I Was a Punk Rock Girl (With Flowers in My Hair) - Sandi Thom (See the video: When They Own the Information They Can Bend it All They Want)
9. Under the Weather - KT Tunstall (See my album review: Her Face Is the Map of the World)
10. Work it Out - Jurrasic 5 & Dave Matthews (See my abum review: We Would Say Our Rhymes to the Beat Right)
11. Dynamite (Going Postal) - Rhymefest (I can’t believe no one had sampled Jimmy Walker before; see my album review: Who Rapper You Know Before His Album Drop Is a Grammy Winner)
12. Don’t Feel Right - The Roots (See my album review: I'll Make it Hotter than Shaft in Africa)
13. Waiting on the World to Change - John Mayer (See my album review: It’s Not a Silly Little Moment, it’s Not the Calm Before the Storm)
14. The Saints Are Coming (Live from New Orleans) - U2 and Green Day (Finally this song hit iTunes this week and even though it doesn't say so on the page, I believe all proceeds go to Music Rising charity)
15. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol (check out my album review which I published long before any crappy televisions shows co-opted the song: The Final Word in the Final Sentance)
16. Don’t Download This Song - “Weird Al” Yankovic (Of course if you are feeling lucky you can always download the song at dontdownloadthissong.com)
17. Easy - Barenaked Ladies (see my review: Musings From the Back 9: Music Edition II)
18. Juicy - Better Than Ezra (see my album review 3 ½ Minutes, Felt Like a Lifetime)
19. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley (The best song of the summer, and the fall for that matter. Be sure to see how high the song land on the Best Songs of 2006 coming next month)
20. Here I Come (Late Show with David Letterman) - The Roots
21. Tribute to Rakin - 2006 Hip-Hop Honors (The best tribute at this year's event.

The Best of Dave Matthews Band

Along with all the thumpin’ the Democrats laid yesterday (President Bush’s word not mine) yesterday also saw the release of the first retrospective for the Dave Matthews Band, The Best of What’s Around. The set democratically takes two songs off each of the band’s major label studio album, but much like most greatest hits packages there is plenty of my favorite songs from their catalog missing. So since I have all of the band’s studio albums (and most of their live ones too), I made my own Best Of album that clocks in at 78:40 and feel free to let me know what I left out and what you would replace in the comment section (I’m sure whatever you say I missed will show up on vol. 2 whenever I get around to posting that):

1. Recently (Edit 2) - Recently - EP (1994)
2. The Best of What's Around - Under the Table and Dreaming (1994)
3. Jimi Thing - Under the Table and Dreaming (1994)
4. Warehouse - Under the Table and Dreaming (1994)
5. Say Goodbye - Crash (1996)
6. Crash Into Me - Crash (1996)
7. The Stone - Before These Crowded Streets (1998)
8. Don't Drink the Water - Before These Crowded Streets (1998)
9. When the World Ends - Everyday (2001)
10. The Space Between - Everyday (2001)
11. You Never Know - Busted Stuff (2002)
12. Grace Is Gone - Busted Stuff (2002)
13. Bartender - Busted Stuff (2002)
14. Old Dirt Hill (Bring That Beat Back) - Stand Up (2005)


But if there were a reason to pick up The Best of What’s Around vol. 1 would be the companion second disk with over an hour’s worth of live performances chosen by the fans that includes a rousing version of Don’t Drink the Water, Louie, Louie finding its way into Warehouse. Also Robert Randolph pops up on Louisiana Bayou. And if you check out the iTunes release of the album, you will find two bonus tracks not on the CD release. Unfortunately you have to buy the whole album to get some of the live tracks from the iTunes store.