Interminably pleased by the arrival of my brand-new
CD Burner a month after I sent my old, broken one back under
warranty, I have found myself consumed with an obsession to make
mix CDs. Tuesday, I decided to make that most
sadistic of mixes, one of songs to get stuck in your head, to be repeated over and over and over . . .
Track listing:
- The Green Acres theme song. Green Acres is the place to be! Farm living is the life for me . . . Memorable "lyrics", inane and infectious melody. 01:09
- Paranoimia, by the Art of Noise. Come, sweet slumber, enshroud me in thy purple cloak. . . The Art of Noise have been a fixture of my musical life since childhood. Max Headroom's stuttering ramblings burrow into the crevices of my mind. Doesn't even rhyme . . . 03:16
- Heart-Shaped Box, by Nirvana. I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn back . . . When I attended horse camp in south-central Washington state, Nirvana played constantly in the main building where we would sit around and play spit during the heat of midday. 04:40
- Boat of Car, by They Might be Giants. I took my boat for a car/I took that car for a ride . . . Whether it be discussing The Grapes of Wrath or the Chappaquiddick incident, this song has the added bonus of absolutely terrifying my friend Sean. 01:15
- Sweet Dreams (are made of this), by The Eurythmics. Sweet dreams are made of this/who am I to disagree . . . Joyce's art class. 04:52
- Si Te Vas, by Shakira. Si te vas, si te vas, si te marchas/mi cielo se hará gris . . . My girlfriend brought Shakira home with her from Guatemala and addicted me. 03:31
- West Virginia, by John Linnell. West Virginia, you are concentric in your form . . . Linnell's nasal voice and the hypnotically poetic lyrics combine into a maelstrom of lyrical doom. Sugar maple's winged seed/Propellors spinning from the tree . . . 03:32
- The Bad Touch, by The Bloodhound Gang, remixed by Eiffel 65. You and me baby ain't nothing but mammals/so let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel. This evil, evil song played constantly on the radio during my photography class senior year, and lodged itself firmly in my head to fester and annoy. Put your hands down my pants and I bet you'll feel nuts . . . 04:23
- I'm a Little Airplane, by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. I'm a little airplane, nyow nyow/Well I'm a little airplane now . . . A lovely song to redeem the sins of songs past. 03:37
- Celebrity Skin, by Hole. Oh make me over/I'm all I wanna be . . . Courtney Love went to my high school many years ago. The legend is that she did nothing in class but sit in the back and growl. 02:59
- Oh, no!, from Veggie Tales. Oh no, what we gonna do? / The king likes Daniel more than me and you . . . Last summer I encountered Veggie Tales: Computer-generated cartoon vegetables singing about God. I love it. 02:03
- Flower, by Moby. I bring Sally up / I bring Sally down . . . Over, and over, and over again. 03:26
- Autumn Acid by μ-ziq. Beautiful techno. Upbeat, sharp sounds and a burrowing melody. Found during a search for music for my radio show at WMCN.03:41
- Dur Dur d'Être un Bébé, by Jordy. C'est dur dur être bébé The great insane baby techno master Jordy infests my cranium. 03:22
- Catwoman, by the Reptile Palace Orchestra. Y qué le vamos a hacer con todos los proyectos abandonados de la vida . . . Another song found for WMCN, this one in the record room. Fragments, but not the whole thing, oscillate furiously in me. 05:28
- Marmorstein und Eisen bricht, by Drafi Deutscher. Marmorstein und Eisen bricht / aber unsere Liebe nicht . . . German class. "Marble stone, and iron break, but our love does not." 02:36
- Sci-Fi Wasabi, by Cibo Matto. There is a hole on Broadway / No control, it's in my way . . . Any song that talks about wasabi, Obi-wan Kenobi, economic duality, and a bike lane is good in my book. Another WMCN finding. 03:41
- Chi é e non é, by Blonde Redhead. La furia l'indifferenza / Di chi é e non é . . . Cryptic song in Italian about who is and is not. I became obsessed with it over winter break.03:38
- Half Day Closing, by Portishead. In the days, the golden days / when everybody knew what they wanted . . . Flanged voice, incomprehensible lyrics. Listened to it over and over again on the train between Portland and Seattle. 03:48
- Salamandrina, by Einstürzende Neubauten. Wir irren des Nachts im Kreis umher / und werden vom Feuer verzehrt . . . Somnambulant song about being consumed by fire. 03:10
- Mørkertia, by Hoven Droven. "The dark part of the year". Haunting instrumental with fiddle and drums. If you want to understand winter in Minnesota, listen to this song. 03:48