Mix Tape of the Day: May 2, 2015 - Sting and the Police

1. Roxanne - The Police (1978) It's the weekend.  I just wanted to relax and listen to some Police.  I'm fond of many of their tracks, but I'll admit, it took me a while to warm up to their first hit.  But just wait until the mix where I feature the Moulin Rouge! version.  I love that interpretation!

2. So Lonely - The Police (1978) I hadn't heard this one before and it's a shame.  It's a lot of fun!  And those 4 chords appear!

3. Message in a Bottle - The Police (1979) For some reason, I enjoy Police songs sparingly.  I feel like their songs are always playing on the radio which makes me enjoy them less and less.  They're good, but not repeatedly in a short amount of time.  It's like a rich dessert.

4. Walking on the Moon - The Police (1979) This is just your basic reggae-inspired Police song, in case you only have 5 minutes to teach someone about The Police.

5. Don't Stand So Close to Me - The Police (1980) First heard this one on Friends when everyone in NYC assumed Joey had VD.  Kind of changes the context a bit.

6. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police (1981) The only non-creepy love song by the Police. Perfect for your rom-com soundtrack!

7. Every Breath You Take - The Police (1983) Everyone's favorite Police song that isn't about what everyone thinks it's about (except, now they do because that's what it's famous for).

8. Synchronicity II - The Police (1983) If it weren't for the next song on this list, I would have past this one by.  But now I understand that Synchronicity is one of those must have albums.

9. Velvet Elvis - "Weird Al" Yankovic (1988) Yeah, you can't escape Weird Al.  He already did "King of Suede" but he wasn't done with the Police just yet.  Here is his ode to kitsch.  For a kid born right this short-lived fad was popular, I had no idea what this song was actually about until I did my research.

10. Fragile - Sting (1987) Sting departed the Police in the '80s to form his own lucrative solo career.  While I feel he didn't have as many classics, there's no denying his talent.

11. Fields of Gold - Sting (1993) Here's that Sting song that you know.

12. Brand New Day - Sting (1999) Since I can't post "Desert Rose" again, "Brand New Day," will have to suffice today.  Hmm, I hope Sting isn't getting too full of himself.

13. King of Pain - Alanis Morissette (1999) I've already featured my favorite Police song on a previous mix, but I had to include it here too.  Fortunately, one of my favorite artists covered it beautifully.

Mix Tape of the Day: April 17, 2015 - The Best of 2000

This is a first.  All of my favorite songs from 2000 were actually from 1999 or before, technically.  Well, there is one that I could have used, but we're going to listen to that one tomorrow.  For now, it's Y2K all over again.

1. Blue (Da Ba Dee) - Eiffel 65 (1999) I used to think this was deep and/or technically impressive, what with it's jumbled and indecipherable lyrics.  Then, thanks to a recent history lesson, I learned that it was just dumb, poorly translated Europop.  It's still amazing.

2. Better Off Alone - Alice Deejay (1998) Speaking of European club tracks, how about this one.  Thanks to my high school techno rave class, I learned about all these great tunes.

3. It Feels So Good - Sonique (1998) Let's keep grooving to this beat.

4. I Try - Macy Gray (1999) This is the song of the year 2000 for me.  Thanks to the constant "Now That's What I Call Music" ads I saw every day after school, I remember seeing the chorus of this song over and over again.

5. The Way You Love Me - Faith Hill (1999) Faith Hill sure loves love.

6. Waiting for Tonight - Jennifer Lopez (1999) Did you know that the actress who played Jack's teacher in Francis Ford Coppola's critically-acclaimed film Jack is the performer behind this song?!

7. All the Small Things - Blink-182 (1999) Where would we be without Enema of the State?  Probably acting our age.

8. Higher - Creed (1999) I lied last week.  Here's more Creed.  Sorry.

9. Back Here - BBMak (1999) I used to think they were saying "Don't turn your back on me, baby," instead of "Until you're back here, baby" until today.

10. Never Let You Go - Third Eye Blind (1999) Why has it taken me so long to feature a Third Eye Blind song?!

11. You Sang to Me - Marc Anthony (1999) I kicked off Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You" for this one.  I hadn't really paid it much attention to it until today, but it's a great love song in a year full of them.

12. Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon (1999) Some songs you just really connect to, you know?

13. Desert Rose - Sting (1999) Maybe it's due to the proximity in which I first heard them, but I always consider this to be a companion piece to Enya's "Only Time."  I love listening to both in the same sitting.  One takes me to a lush, relaxing, wet forest full of life while the other takes me to a dry, mystical, colorful desert filled with emptiness.