Tape You Certain Songs

The thing, kids, is mixes. Collections of good songs that flow, bunch or otherwise belong together, brought to you, the downloader, several times a week. Leave comments, tell us why our mixes stink, email in songs or mixes that definitively prove that you are far smarter and more skilled in such matters of taste and judgement than such fools as we could ever hope to be. Or praise our superlative mixing skills. Hell, just download in silence if you must, but know that we're after a conversation, and we'll do our part. Like the song says, "I ain't too good at saying things, but I could tape you certain songs." Each mix will come nicely tagged, with cover art included. You'll find the links in the comments field.

First off, a sure-fire mix more or less about the art and science of mixing

Download here.

1) Marah - Why Independent Record Stores Fail
From this song our site takes its name and our credo of the hour — "Girl, how am I to let you know I'm kind of T-Rex meets the Jam?" A great song from a great band, no matter what Nick Hornby may opine.

2) Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town
The bad news is that your life will never be as cool as a Thin Lizzy song. The good news is that your bullshit memories about back when you were wild can and indeed should be based on Thin Lizzy songs. See:

You know that chick that used to dance a lot/Every night she'd be on the floor shaking what she'd got/Man when I tell you she was cool, she was red hot/I mean she was steaming


And that time over at Johnny's place/Well this chick got up and she slapped Johnny's face/Man we just fell about the place/If that chick don't want to know, forget her.

Yep, we sure remember that Johnny.

3) The Jam - That's Entertainment
Damn straight it is.

4) Nick Lowe - So It Goes
Rock rule 25: Anything that takes 15 spins to make out, and another 10 before its meaning clicks, but only sounds better with each listen is very, very good. See:

In the air there's aftershave lotion/In the wake of a snake bit Persian/On his arm is a skintight vision/Wondering why she ain't mine she is whistling

Hell yeah.

5)Bruce Springsteen - Blinded By the Light. That Manfred Mann's utterly asinine cover of this song (best known for shoddy enunciation leading most listeners to hear the phrase "cut loose like a douche") was a number one hit and remain a AM-rock stape, while the Boss' version goes mostly unheard is, we believe, proof that the terrorists have indeed won.

6) Leonard Cohen - Stories of the Street.
The good news is that your life will never be a Leonard Cohen sex noir. The bad news is that your self-pitying, self-aggrandizing self refuses to believe the good news.

7) Ryan Adams - Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains)
This, and the album it comes from, prove that when it comes to popular music, any jackass can fluke into a great album.

8) The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane (Album Version)
We seriously considered using "All the poets studied rules of verse/And those ladies, they rolled their eyes" as our credo.

9) Tom Waits - Step Right Up
We gave no consideration to using "It makes excuses for unwanted lipstick on your collar" as our credo.

10) Billy Bragg - Ingrid Bergman.
An unrecorded Woody Guthrie lyric. Proof that the right song can make even an uptight, uninteresting British protest folk sissy sound good.

11) Van Morrison - Freaky If You Got This Far
As the title indicates, a self-depricating comment on the mix thus far. Recorded for an album full of totally unreleasable songs he put out as a screw you to his label at the time. The guy was so plugged in back then that even his album that's meant to sound bad actually has some pretty good moments.

12) The Old 97s - Timebomb
Proof of Rock Rule no. 45, which states that all you need for a great song is one killer couplet and riff. See: "I've got a time bomb/ In my mind, mom/It's gonna kill me/But I don't know when." Add whatever, proceed to rock.

13) Pogues - Turkish Song of the Damned
Is it ever.

14) Patti Smith - Gloria
Here begins the "This singer has got to be kidding… Don't they?" portion of our mix. Gloriously stupid, and stupidly glorious.

15) Nick Cave - (I'll Love You 'Till) The End of the World
"The blind pencil seller wavin' his stick,/ Shoutin' for his dog that lay dead on the side of the road." I mean, he is kidding, right? Incredibly, no.

16) Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra - Some Velvet Morning
Equal parts wow! and huh?

17) Laura Nyro - Luckie
While I have no idea what she's signifying, we agree wholeheartedly.

18) The Who - A Quick One While He's Away (Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus recording)
Again, no idea what this could possibly mean. Whatever it is, we emphatically disagree.

19) Marianne Faithful - Lola R. Forever

And I always thought that "Marianne Faithful and Sly and Robbie team up to cover Serge Gainsburg" was nothing more than an excellent example of the meaningless drivel critics specialize in. It turns out there's an actual song of just that.

20) Richard Thompson - Ooops… I Did It Again!
The cream of Britain covers the scum of the states.

21) Stephen Yerkey - Cocksucking Blonde
Staying with the cream and scum theme, here's a discount bin gamble that paid off. "She's not the kind of girl who used to live next door/And she's not the kind you'd want to have rough sex with." Again, we're pretty sure that he's not kidding.