When in Doubt... iTune Shuffle!

I am not sure what I want to blog about but I know that I want to blog about something. So when in doubt, I now turn to my iPod for some shuffle action.

I always worry that the songs that come on are ones that I rarely listen too and so I have nothing to say about it. And then there is always the chance that my iPod will pick something that I may not want everyone to know that I own. But I will take the chance.

A few years ago on some of the message boards that I frequent a group of us made a CD club. Once a month we would burn a CD of some of our favorite songs and then send them out in the mail and then we would all review them and we would do this once a month. In that way everyone would have time to receive and review a CD. I loved this and participated in about 4 clubs and I got a TON of music. Some of the music I already had but most of it was completely new. It exposed me to a lot of different groups and genres and music. In some cases I would get all rap, in some cases I got all British music from one of my friends in England. But in almost every case, I found at least one song that I absolutely loved.

In sending these CDs out, you really have to put yourself on the line. The first time I did this I sent out an all Queen mix which met to some interesting reviews. I'll have to share one for a later blog. The last CD group I was in was with a small set of really good friends. I have known these guys on the net for about 10 years and some of them I have had the pleasure of meeting in person. Hopefully I will meet more in the next year or so. What was fun with sharing with friends is that I got to know them better because of the music they shared. I found that the songs I shared meant a lot to me and therefore my friends could see why and appreciate me for who I am. I wish we still did these.

One of my friends (nicknamed Spindle) sent out a CD and put a note in it saying that we should not be ashamed of our music. Because if we are ashamed of our music, we are somewhat ashamed of ourselves. I totally agree even though a few songs on my iPod might make others cringe. :)

I will have to share the CDs that I made and the songs that were on it here on the blog. That little club was a lot of fun and would be very eager to do something like that again.

Now onto some tunes!

Parlay- Hans Zimmer

My dad and I are huge fans of original soundtracks. All we listen to at work is classical music/soundtracks. When we get board we listen to online radio stations and we found a station that plays just music from movies. Every time this song came on we thought it was something from the Man With No Name trilogy but it wasn't. This song comes from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. We looked it up and found that Hans Zimmer used music from the Man with No Name trilogy as a homage for this song. We quickly scooped up the song through iTunes.

Time Out For Fun - Devo

Funny that this song would come up. This was my opening song on one of my CDs that I sent out. This song totally takes me back to the 80's and listening to records with my sister. For some unknown reason she bought this album and we used to listen to it endlessly. I remember how excited I was when I found this album on CD many many years ago. This is still one of my favorite tracks on the album and this was the first time I have seen the video. I just love this song and its great message. Make sure you take some Time Out For Fun!

Cinnamon Girl - Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet

Oh man how I love this song! Of course it does help that my favorite Bangle, Susanna Hoffs, is singing this fantastic remake of an old Neil Young song. I just love the driving drums and beautiful harmony of the two. They have put out two albums with a bunch of remakes and they are awesome. If you like older music you definitely should check these out. I couldn't find the original on iTunes but this live version is pretty kick butt.

Scare Easy - Mudcrutch

Mudcrutch was the name of the band that Tom Petty used to be in before he formed the Heartbreakers. A few years ago he reunited them all and they put out an album. Unfortunately youtube will not let me embed the video so you will have to trust me and click on the link and listen to a fantastic song. If you like Tom Petty and his type of music, you will LOVE this.

The next time I do a blog about music, I will blog about my CDs.

List-Mania: Tom Petty Songs

Day 237

I was not sure what to blog about until I turned on my iTunes. I just recently got Tom Petty's new album Mojo (which is fantastic!) and thought I should continue my List-Mania tradition of posting my favorite bands and what my favorite songs of theirs are. A few months ago I put together a couple of List-Mania columns listing my favorite Queen and U2 songs and today in honor of the new album, I am listing my favorite Tom Petty songs.

I have always known Tom Petty and have been familiar with most of his music throughout my life but it wasn't until the release of Full Moon Fever that I really became a fan of his. The first song I heard of his was his duet with Stevie Nicks and I kinda dug that song. I next saw his freaky video for Don’t Come Around Here No More, (which was a play on Alice in Wonderland and the memorable ending with them all eating cake which was Alice). I liked the song but never totally got into Petty until I heard the song I Won’t Back Down. I bought that album (Full Moon Fever) and picked up his next album and also his collaborations with the Traveling Wilburys.

Since then I have picked up every single album that he has come out with faithfully. I was quite excited to hear that he was coming on tour and he made a stop in Salt Lake City to support his The Last DJ album.
 
I prefer his solo stuff but his collaborations with the Heartbreakers, The Traveling Wilbury's and Mudcrutch cannot be ignored. He proves you do not have to have a great voice to be a great musician.
 
5) Walls

There are two versions of this song and I really like this one because it is more upbeat. Originally, Lindsay Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac) offered his voice to this song but I could not find it anywhere. This live version works just as well. The lyrics of this song really strikes me especially the part even walls fall down. Good words to live by.
 
4) Don't Come Around Here No More

Tom Petty sure can do some creepy videos. This was the first song that Tom made that got my attention. I love the lyrics, there are times that I wish I could say this to people. I also love to play this song on my bass. When I think of the Mad Hatter, I think of Tom Petty and I just love how sinister he gets the longer this video goes. I just got an autobiography on Tom Petty and I hope he explains this video and song.
 
3) Wildflowers

This is not the official video, this song was not released as a single. Everything about this song is just gorgeous. The melody, the lyrics and the fine guitar work.
 
2) I Won't Back Down

The song that started it all. My mom introduced me to the Traveling Wilbury's and I loved them. C'mon, who wouldn't love a supergroup with George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and Roy Orbison? They guested (along with Ringo Starr) on this song. I love the message and I love the guitars on this.
 
1) Last Dance With Mary Jane

I still love this song even though the video is so creepy. The guitar riff and the harmonica blend so perfectly and gives this song a hardened edge even though the song is kinda tender.
 
I am never disappointed in Tom Petty and his music. It is uplifting and at times just plain out rocks.