Mix Tape of the Day: February 27, 2015 - The Best of 2007

I had a lot of contenders for my 2007 list, but there weren't really many stand out choices for me.  It was strange, but I feel like since I had listened to these songs so many times in 2007 that they all just started fading into the background.  Some of my true favorites have already been featured on other lists, so these all kind of feel like "runners up."  When making the tough choices about losing "Crank That (Soulja Boy)," I decided that if I listened to it on my iPod repeatedly back in 2007, then it must have been worthy of this list.

1. Stronger - Kanye West (2007) This is the song that would eventually inspired Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger." Kanye West took a classic Daft Punk track to create the hook for this song, making it instantly memorable.

2. The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani ft. Akon (2006) I'd probably listen to this song everyday throughout my freshman year of college.  Boy, was that a bad decision.  But I must remember what drew me to it in the first place.  It was the line about the refrigerator.

3. Thnks fr th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy (2007) Remember when Fall Out Boy was the cool thing to listen to?  Good times(?).

4. Who Knew - Pink (2006) Apparently Pink disappeared for a bit, then came back with this and "U + UR Hand."  Both are great, but I gave the slight edge to this one.  I tend to like like "hardcore sad" Pink music.

5. Snow (Hey Oh) - The Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006) Oh yeah, I still have to do my Red Hot Chili Peppers mix.  Thanks for reminding me!

6. Beautiful Girls - Sean Kingston (2007) I thought this was the stupidest song for the longest time. I felt the "Stand by Me" sample clashed with the lyrics.  He just seemed like an overdramatic moody teenager...I guess my opinion has changed.

7. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood (2005) Since this song is technically based on speculation (the narrator never specifically witnesses cheating occurring and assumes a lot of the more incriminating moments), I'd like to imagine a scenario in which it's all a big misunderstanding and the guy was innocent the whole time.

8. If Everyone Cared - Nickelback (2005) I'm hoping that by putting this song here at #8, you'll overlook the fact that I included a Nickelback song, especially one as pandering as this one.

9. Teardrops on My Guitar - Taylor Swift (2006) Ah, we finally made it to the beginning of Taylor Swift's career.  Singing about unrequited love and heartache.  That's our Taylor.

10. Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance (2006) Back when lipdubs were all the rage, I really wanted to make one set to this song.  Um, it's probably for the better that I didn't move past the brainstorming stage on that one.

11. Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne (2007) I don't care if she ripped off the song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" by the Rubinoos.  It's still fun and great and both songs complement each other well.  Let her have this one.

12. Face Down - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (2006) No comment.

13. Apologize - One Republic (2005) I'm cheating here and not using the Timbaland remix that actually charted.  The two songs are virtually identical, but the original is just purer and feels more heartfelt.  And it's my favorite OneRepublic song, so there.

Mix Tape of the Day: January 30, 2015 - The Best of 2011

Oof, I had trouble coming up with a complete mix for 2011 without resorting to multiple tracks from the same artist.  I even had to include a song that wasn't on the Hot 100.  But I think you'll forgive me because it's Friday! Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!

1. Friday - Rebecca Black (2011) Haha! No regrets! I love this song! Not a Friday goes by that this song doesn't go through my head.  And without it, Bad Lip Reading might not even continue to exist today!

2. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) - Katy Perry (2010) Katy Perry was certainly lucky that Rebecca Black got as big as she did or else no one would have noticed her Friday song.  My enjoyment of Kate Perry comes in waves and this seems to be the latest song of hers that I regularly enjoy.

3. F**k You - Cee Lo Green (2010) This song started gaining traction in 2010, but since it's not on 2010's chart, we get to feature it here.  Sorry if you have sensitive ears, but "Forget You" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

4. F**kin' Perfect - Pink (2010) Two pop songs with the F-word in the title in the same year?  What would our forefathers think?!  Actually, I was so used to the radio edit, that I never realized there was a more...mature version of the song.

5. Price Tag - Jessie J (2011) Um, the only reason I included this one is because it sounds exactly like "F**king Perfect."  Thank Goodness It's Four Chord Progression.

6. What the Hell - Avril Lavigne (2011) I know I've included an Avril Lavigne song on one of my previous mixes, but I don't think you quite grasp how deep my Lavigne devotion goes...

7. Born This Way - Lady Gaga (2011) I debated between this and "The Edge of Glory."  I picked this one because it goes with that whole self-empowerment theme that all great songs should employ.

8. More - Usher (2010) I'm not one for these type of songs.  But if they were all like this, then I'd probably conquer my fear of dance clubs.

9. Lighters - Bad Meets Evil ft. Bruno Mars (2011) I really like the Eminem part and I really like the Bruno Mars part.  Fortunately, they were strong enough for me to include the song here.

10. Good Life - OneRepublic (2009) Thanks to it's use in Disney Parks promotions, I just want to go to Disney World whenever I hear this one.  That is where the good life is, after all.

11. Back to December - Taylor Swift (2010) It's time for my annual Taylor Swift song.  She was feeling a bit somber this year.  Aww, Tay! You'll learn to shake it off soon!

12. Someone Like You - Adele (2011) Yeah, I'm really ending this mix on a devastating note.  Adele really took hold of our emotions in 2011.

13. Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri (2010) "Someone Like You" might be technically better than "Jar of Hearts," but to me, this is like 15 "Someone Like You"s.  It's so heart-wrenching.

Mix Tape of the Day: January 18, 2015 - Midnight Confessions

When I saw that today marked the "Confession of Peter," I took the idea of confessions and ran with it.  Unfortunately, song confessions tend to fall into two main categories: confessing love or confessing infidelity.  The more sinister confessions are admitted in cartoon villain songs, but we'll save that for another day.

These are my confessions...

1. Secrets - One Republic (2009) It's time to give all our secrets away.  Sometimes it's fun to share your secrets.  Sometimes, it hurts.  Secrets can bring people closer together, or it can drive them apart.  Secrets secrets are no fun, unless they're shared with everyone.

2. Confessions Part II - Usher (2004) When it comes to infidelity, there is only one confession song that hits you in the gut, feeling bad for everyone involved.  Technically, this follows Part I, even though that is more of a set up for Part II and didn't become a full song until after Part II became famous.

3. Confessions Part III - "Weird Al" Yankovic (2006) Fortunately, Usher's two-part confession allowed for more confessions to follow.  And Weird Al picked up the story and took it to its logical conclusion.

4. Scotty Doesn't Know - Lustra (2004) On the flip side, here is a confession to adultery that just embraces the sinful indulgence.

5. The Reason - Hoobastank (2003) But when your confessions hurt the ones you love, you have to confess something new.  You have to confess how much someone truly means to you.  Someone who...bastank.

6. Crush - Mandy Moore (2001) Alright, the rest of this mix will be about owning up to your crushes.  You have been warned.  We start with a fluffy, harmless, Mandy Moore song.

7. Tell Him - The Exciters (1962) Sometimes, you just gotta straight up tell him.  Ah, what a simpler time.

8. Why Don't You Kiss Her? - Jesse McCartney (2004) So, I was introduced to this song at the dawn of Youtube, when someone made a Jim & Pam Office fan video.  And I took this song to heart, as I greatly identified with Jim at the time.

9. Why Can't I? - Liz Phair (2003) Sometimes the difficulty of admitting you're in love is realizing it yourself.

10. Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon (1984) But then, it all comes out.  You can hold it in for so long and then you know, you have to tell the truth...

11. Shiver - Coldplay (2000) ...and you just have to hope that they feel the same way.

12. Midnight Confessions - The Grass Roots (1968) The fact that sleep deprivation is life's truth serum means that I should probably not be blogging at midnight...

13. Creep - Radiohead (1992) So, I was totally going to end with a song that was basically a sign to a certain person (if they even follow these posts).  But I ultimately decided it would be too obvious for them.  So, instead, let's end with a confession song about how miserable unrequited love can make you feel.

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!