Mix Tape of the Day: March 19, 2015 - The Best of 2004

I'm bringing this weekly retrospective a day early because tomorrow is the first day of spring, so we'll be busy dealing with that.  For now, enjoy your Outkast.

1. Yeah! - Usher ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris (2004) In the mid-00s, you could not avoid a high school dance (or any dance-like setting) without hearing these first three songs.  Usher, Ludacris, and Lil Jon's "yeahs" were the perfect mix for popular hip hop and "crunk" music.

2. Hey Ya! - Outkast (2003) Sorry.  This is the peak.  It doesn't get better than "Hey Ya!"  This is high school for me.  Did anyone ever use the phrase "Shake it like a Polaroid picture" before this song?

3. The Way You Move - Outkast ft. Sleepy Brown (2003) I honestly couldn't bring myself to leave this song out.  I like giving everyone a chance by only allowing one song per artist on these mixes, but these two Outkast songs just belong here.  But maybe this is more a Sleepy Brown song, yeah?  That's what I'll go with.

4. Milkshake - Kelis (2003) 2004 was the best year for music.

5. Lose My Breath - Destiny's Child (2004) 2004 was the year that Beyonce really broke away from Destiny's Child.  She was all over the charts.  But I still found the sole Destiny's Child song on the list to be her best.  Funny.

6. Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson (2004) Finally, we made it to "Breakaway."  We now enter the soul-searching heartbroken woman phase of this year's mix.

7. White Flag - Dido (2003) Hey, it's Dido!  I didn't expect to see her so soon.  Breakups are tough on you too, I see.

8. My Happy Ending - Avril Lavigne (2004) I like how Avril Lavigne is always there for me on these charts when I'm struggling to find good songs to round things out and I don't feel like apologizing for Nickelback again.

9. My Immortal - Evanescence (2003) I actually managed to not hear this Evanescence song until today, at least to my knowledge.  I'm making up for my blind spot in their career.

10. Live Like You We're Dying - Tim McGraw (2004) I heard this song on the radio one day as a teenager.  And although it's a very...obvious song, teenagers like their music to be obvious.  So it became a part of my life.

11. Are You Gonna Be My Girl - Jet (2003) This song sounds like "Lust for Life."  I don't like "Lust for Life."  I like this song.  Thank you, this song.

12. One Thing - Finger Eleven (2003) This was my token "That song was a hit song?! Well isn't that a pleasant surprise!" song for this mix.

13. 100 Years - Five for Fighting (2003) And finally, it's only right for a nostalgic mix such as this to end with a song about how fast life can pass you by.

Mix Tape of the Day: January 17, 2015 - It's Time to Party!

Today was the beginning of the Patras Carnival in Greece.  An overly simplified version of this celebration is that people just party hard for days until Clean Monday.  When Clean Monday rolls around, you straighten up and life by the rules for the rest of the year, until the next Patras Carnival when you can let loose and splurge and drink to excess all over again.

In honor of this festival of Dionysus, the god of wine and parties, here is your party mix for the day! [EXPLICIT LYRICAL CONTENT AHEAD]

1. It's Time to Party - Andrew W.K. (2001) When it comes to partying, no one does it better than Andrew W.K.  He also made a 13-song party mix so today's mix is definitely inspired by his choices and tunes.  And of all the songs to start with, none are better than his own personal intro that quickly gets the point across that it is indeed time to party.

2. Get the Party Started - Pink (2001) Andrew W.K. wasn't the only one telling us to start partying in 2001.  Pink solidified herself as everyone's party starter for the 21st century (Black Eyed Peas, excepted).

3. Cheers (Drink to That) - Rihanna (2010) And here comes Rihanna to get the drinks flowing, reminding us to forget our problems of normal life.  Cheers to the freakin' weekend!

4. Shots - LMFAO ft. Lil Jon (2009) 2009-2010 seemed to be big years for partying.  Maybe I was just more aware of parties during this time, but it seems like the best party songs come out of this mini-era.  LMFAO certainly tried to be the party gods.  They were successful, but I'm one of those folks who can't stand them.  Except for "Shots!"  That's how you make an over-the-top party song.

5. Tequila - The Champs (1958) Party songs aren't just for us youngin's.  While party songs of the past were tamer, they were no less inspiring.  Sometimes a simple ditty and saying "Tequila" three times is all you need to get a party hopping.

6. Whoomp! (There It Is) - Tag Team (1993) Is it weird that this was my favorite song when I was 5-years-old.  I had the cassette single and everything, sharing the shelf with my Sesame Street and Raffi tapes.  Yeah, I knew how to party then.

7. We Like to Party - The Vengaboys (1998) You didn't expect corny Europop in this mix?  Then you obviously need to rethink your attitude towards partying.

8. (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!) - Beastie Boys (1986) Amusingly, this satire on the party atmosphere of youth culture became said culture's anthem.  Whoops!

9. Party in the U.S.A. - Miley Cyrus (2009) I wasn't the biggest fan of this song originally.  But after listening to it three times in its entirety in one short film that I participated in in college...I had to include it.

10. Like a G6 - Far East Movement (2010) This was originally going to be one of my Best of 2010 songs because I have such a vivid 2010 memory associated with it.  But it's also a great "getting drunk" song.  Let's just say, I will never hear this song again without picturing the night when everything went crazy.

11. Tik Tok - Kesha (2009) Here's another song that grew on me.  It was so in your face about the party lifestyle, which was everything that was the opposite of my own life.  But Kesha gets it.

12. Party Hard - Andrew W.K. (2001) Andrew W.K. is back again, reminding us to party hard.  W.K. also included this song on his mix because...it is just the perfect party song and he just happened to write it.

13. The Wine Song - The Cat Empire (2003) I had to have one wine song on here.  I felt that "Red Red Wine" and "Spill the Wine" didn't quite fit the aesthetic I was going for with this mix.  So here's this obscure song from Australia that seems to be every drinking song rolled into one.  I don't know if it's right for every party, but I could see this becoming a jam at the parties I like to attend.

Mix Tape of the Day: January 9, 2015 - The Best of 2014, Part 1: Billboard Hot 100 Edition

Okay, so I wanted to start doing some year specific mixes, and I figured while we are still in the New Year's haze, 2014 would be a great place to start.  Today, I'm picking my 13 favorites from the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Chart (as it's a helpful guide to see what was popular in each year, to capture that year's "sound").  Any favorite songs that didn't chart will appear on tomorrow's Best of 2014 list. (Also, if a song appeared on a previous year's chart, I'll consider it for that year.)

1. Shake It Off - Taylor Swift (2014) Of course, we're starting with "Shake It Off."  2014's theme seemed to be self-empowerment.  As we shook off the liars and the haters and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world, we found ourselves surrounded by optimism and joy at every turn.  Thank you, Taylor Swift, for everything.

2. Happy - Pharrell Williams (2013) You could tell that 2014 was going to be the year of positivity when it's first hit song was called "Happy."  I almost didn't include this song since it's been overplayed.  But then I remembered how happy I was when I first saw that 24-hour music video, and I knew it belonged.

3. Let It Go - Adele Dazeem (2013) Shake it off.  Be happy.  Let it go.  This playlist speaks for itself.  (And no, I never got sick of this song because...well, I hadn't seen the movie yet, so it just seemed like a recurring taste of something grand.)  And hey! When was the last time a Disney song was all the rage on the radio?!

4. Turn Down for What - DJ Snake and Lil Jon (2013) And once you let it go, you just get silly.  It may be the stupidest song that came out last year, but sometimes we need that stupid.

5. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor (2014) So, I was stuck at 12 songs for a long time.  Nothing was really leaping at me for being absolutely necessary.  And then I remembered that despite all its flaws, I thoroughly enjoyed "All About That Bass" the first time I heard it.  It was (mostly) positive and progressive and it reminded me of my favorite musical Hairspray.  All songs should aspire to do that.

6. Come with Me Now - Kongos (2011) It's always great when songs are suddenly pulled out of years of obscurity and shared with the masses.  This was one of the few alternative favorites of mine that managed to chart on the Hot 100.

7. Team - Lorde (2013) This isn't my favorite Lorde track of 2014 (come back tomorrow for that one) but it's refreshing to have someone like Lorde as a pop star.  Hearing her voice and words on the radio always makes me feel content.  Something about her perspective of the world just makes sense.

8. Cool Kids - Echosmith (2013) Okay, we're getting into less positive territory now.  But hey, being a teenager isn't always the most positive experience.  What I like about this song is that everyone can relate to feeling this feeling at some point in their lives, so there is the implied message that it all gets better once we realize that being "cool" is all relative.

9. Pompeii - Bastille (2013) Even if you're two poor citizens of a doomed city, at least you can have a great theme to score the surrounding destruction.  Yes, this one has a more pessimistic vibe, but it also delights in irony and sarcasm, so if that isn't positivity in the face of adversity, I don't know what is.

10. Story of My Life - One Direction (2013) We shall finish off this mix by dealing with heartbreak because all years have heartbreak.  Got to have some bad times in order to stay positive.  One Direction takes a mature, refined look at an ending relationship, resulting in me putting One Direction on my Best of 2014 mix.

11. Say Something - A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera (2013) For a more pained take on a crumbling relationship, A Great Big World presents this masterpiece.  I originally opted to put just their solo version of it on the mix, but I realized that it needs Aguilera's voice to make it that much more powerful.  Both versions are great, but this duet makes the heartache more brutal and universal.

12. Chandelier - Sia (2014) And once again, when you feel so much pain from what the world has dealt you, you just have to break free and let loose.

13. Love Runs Out - One Republic (2013) We've had our heartbreak.  We've run around and shouted and let it go!  And now, we start anew.  New life, new loves, and then we'll do it all over again.  Apparently, this song was held back from being a single because it had no chorus/verse structure.  Instead it just built in intensity repeatedly, over and over again.  Um, that's how you make the best song of 2014!