Mix Tape of the Day: June 30, 2015 - Alice in Wonderland

While my thoughts on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland are mixed to put it mildly,  loved the promotional soundtrack that accompanied the film.  Filled with covers, remixes, and new songs based on Alice in Wonderland, the Almost Alice album got me hyped for the film and it's still a part of my regular listening collection.

1. Alice - Avril Lavigne (2010)

2. The Technicolor Phase - Owl City (2008)

3. Her Name Is Alice - Shinedown (2010)

4. Where's My Angel - Metro Station (2010)

5. Strange - Tokio Hotel and Kerli (2010)

6. Follow Me Down - 3OH!3 ft. Neon Hitch (2010)

7. Very Good Advice - Robert Smith (2010)

8. Welcome to Mystery - Plain White T's (2010)

9. The Lobster Quadrille - Franz Ferdinand (2010)

10. White Rabbit - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (2010)

11. You Are Old, Father William - They Might Be Giants (2010)

12. Topsy Turvy - Family Force 5 (2010)

13. Alice's Theme - Danny Elfman (2010)

Mix Tape of the Day: April 6, 2015 - Power Pop!

The fun part of this blog is when I learn something new.  For example, I now know that there is a genre that consists of my favorite type of music that I have been unable to classify up until this point.  See, I wanted to do a list featuring certain songs that were only tangentially related content-wise and I was wondering why I picked this collection of songs to feature together.  I looked them up and learned that they all belonged to the genre known as "power pop," which is like a harder rock version of "pop rock."  Whatever the distinction is, I'm glad I can finally have a go-to answer when people ask what kind of music I like.

(This list is far from complete, as many will be appearing on later mixes.)

1. Surrender - Cheap Trick (1978) I love this song!  And I never realized it was one of the earliest examples of this genre (I mean technically, the earliest exaples would be from the '60s, but this is the song that made the genre popular).

2. Just What I Needed - The Cars (1978) "I needed someone to bleed...at Circuit City." - Circuit City ad circa 2005

3. My Sharona - The Knack (1979) In Eerie, Indiana, a man switched his mind with an 8-track tape of this song.  That's fantastic.

4. Turning Japanese - The Vapors (1980) Haha, yeah, this one counts too.

5. What I Like About You - The Romantics (1980) The '60s influence really shows in this one.  Doesn't get better than this.

6. 867-5309/Jenny - Tommy Tutone (1981) Yep, the signature sound of the early '80s is all thanks to the power pop genre.

7. Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield (1981) Be honest, you get this one confused with "My Best Friend's Girl" by the Cars  and "Jenny" all the time just like I do.  Well, now you know the reason!

8. Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols (2000) After a couple decades of a power pop dry spell, it's second heyday came back.  Probably due to that whole "20 year nostalgia law" where kids of the past grow up to become artists who repeat what they experienced in their youth. Let's start with a song that caught me off guard the first time I heard it and stuck with me ever since.

9. Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne (2002) This is the original song that sparked my quest to uncover today's genre.  I originally just knew I wanted to do a mix with this song and I immediately thought of "Bohemian Like You," and then I wondered, "What other songs work with these two?"  And I ended up featuring nearly every song I've wanted to use on a mix thus far with no qualms because they all go together!  I am no longer ashamed of loving this song so much.

10. Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne (2003) I also discovered that there is a theory that links all the major power pop songs together.  "What if Stacy's mom was Jessie's girl and her number was 867-5309?" Pure genius.

11. I Predict a Riot - Kaiser Chiefs (2004) Hey, this one counts too!  All my faves!

12. 1985 - Bowling for Soup (2004) I nearly overlooked this gem! It was even telling me to put it on the list with it's ode to the '80s when power pop was still going strong.  Fun Fact! In high school, I had this on a mix CD right after "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys.  It was a purely random placement, but after digging up my old CDs, I discovered that the two are the exact same melody, only "1985" has a faster tempo.  Somebody even mashed them up with ease!

13. (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer (2009) Thanks Weezer, for keeping this genre alive today.

Mix Tape of the Day: April 3, 2015 - The Best of 2002

I love the music of 2002.  Maybe because it was the first year that I really started paying attention to the music around me.  Whatever the reason, I found it unbearably hard to make today's mix of 13 songs.  That means, in order to get every song I actually wanted on this list, over the next few days, we'll have some mixes inspired by the songs I left off.

1. Complicated - Avril Lavigne (2002) 2002 was the year we met Avril Lavigne, a common face on my mixes.  It was incredibly hard to choose between this one and "Sk8er Boi," because, while I acknowledge that the latter is sillier, it holds a special place in my heart.  But I ultimately went her first hit, the one that made us all (well, 14-year-old me) fall in love with her.

2. All You Wanted - Michelle Branch (2001) I guess I never realized how important Michelle Branch was to my early teenage years until now.

3. Just Like a Pill - Pink (2001) Although I was more familiar with Pink's "Don't Let Me Get Me," I found myself enjoying this one a bit more.  I think that's because it sounds similar to "Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing.

4. Underneath It All - No Doubt ft. Lady Saw (2001) No Doubt was all over the chart this year!  But none of them can beat "Underneath It All."  No Doubt was a pretty good band, it seems.

5. Soak Up the Sun - Sheryl Crow (2002) Summer isn't here yet but that doesn't mean we can't look forward to the essential summer song of 2002.

6. Hot in Herre - Nelly (2002) Haha, I had to include this one.  It's just so wrong and right at the same time.

7. One Last Breath - Creed (2001) ....Here is the only Creed song we'll ever need.

8. Cleanin' Out My Closet - Eminem (2002) In 2002, I would probably say that I wasn't a fan of Eminem.  Yet I was just inexplicably drawn to this song.  It made me a fan.

9. Wherever You Will Go - The Calling (2001) Yeah, 4 chords!  Give us another jam!

10. No Such Thing - John Mayer (2001) Starting high school with a song about running through the halls of your high school was a perfect correlation.

11. Standing Still - Jewel (2001) These next three songs were probably the whole reason I turned out the way I am today.  When you're 14 years old, these pop rock ladies really speak to your sense of hopeless romance.

12. A Thousand Miles - Vanessa Carlton (2002) Thanks to that magnificent piano and string section, this song is elevated to a grand status.  And while White Chicks was a critically-panned film, I once caught a brief scene on television that featured Terry Crews singing along to this song and I knew it was one of the best scenes ever recorded on film in history.

13. A Moment Like This - Kelly Clarkson (2002) It was all leading up to this moment.  When I started my freshman year of high school, Kelly Clarkson had just become our first American Idol.  And this song spoke to me.  It gave me the impetus to have the best four years of high school possible so that, come senior year, I could experience this very moment.

Mix Tape of the Day: March 27, 2015 - The Best of 2003

It's time to take a look at 2003, a year with a lot of great songs to choose from, many of them staples of school dances and bus rides. But once again, I had to settle on the songs I listened to most frequently at the time.

1. Ignition (Remix) - R. Kelly (2003) This song just screams summer vacation for me.  I don't even know what have these lyrics mean, but I love them.  ("It's like Murder, She Wrote once I get you out them clothes"?)

2. Where Is the Love? - The Black Eyed Peas (2003) And in 2003, the question on everyone's mind was "Where is the love?" Another 4 chord song to get us through some difficult times.

3. Like a Stone - Audioslave (2002) Remember Audioslave?  They were pretty cool.

4. Headstrong - Trapt (2002) Thanks to my high school's dance team and their constant performances, I'll always remember this song and the choreography that went along with it.  Especially the sharp movements during that really cool part of the song.

5. She Hates Me - Puddle of Mudd (2001) Maybe you find this song a bit too whiny, but sometimes, when you're upset, you need a song like this to get you through.

6. When I'm Gone - 3 Doors Down (2002) Ladies and gentlemen, 3 Doors Down!  Love them when they're gone!

7. Your Body Is a Wonderland - John Mayer (2001) Good ol' John Mayer, giving us the sweet love songs that were missing from the radio in 2003.

8. Bring Me to Life - Evanescence (2003) Finally, the big Evanescence song that we all know and love and sing to our children.

9. Fighter - Christina Aguilera (2002) 2003 was just filled with Christina Aguilera's female empowerment songs.  Since we already listened to "Beautiful," let's listen to "Fighter."

10. Are You Happy Now? - Michelle Branch (2003) Oh yeah, Michelle Branch was a person!  She was everywhere to me at one point.  Sorry that I forgot about you for a moment there!

11. I'm with You - Avril Lavigne (2002) After the success of "Sk8r Boi," many worried that Avril Lavigne would be a one trick pony, lost in the crowded genre among the Spearses and the Aguileras.  But "I'm with You" should she had some depth and that she'd be here to stay.

12. Don't Know Why - Norah Jones (2002) It was either this or the biggest hit of 2003, 50 Cent's "In da Club."  I was in more of a Norah Jones mood today.

13. Intuition - Jewel (2001) I did not realize that this was a Jewel song.  It doesn't sound like what I soundpicture a Jewel song to...sound like.  But it's pretty cool and one of my favorites of the year.