Mix Tape of the Day: March 14, 2015 - Pi Day

How am I going to do a Pi Day mix?  Why, by choosing a bunch of songs with a runtime of 3 minutes and 14 seconds of course!  I'm going by official album track listings, so while the links may be off by a few seconds, there was still good intention behind each choice.  This is going to be a strange one.

1. Stay with You - Lemon Jelly (2004) To get us ready for this eclectic mix of songs, it's only fitting that we start with this electronic house music.  Just endlessly repeating the same phrase over and over, like a circle.

2. My Number One - Luv' (1980) More like "My Number Pi," amirite?

3. Waiting - Green Day (2000) Green Day just keeps popping up!  Can't keep them down.  Just like pi...

4. NYC Beat - Armand Van Helden (2007) How do you like them apple pi?

5. There's No Other Way - Blur (1991) This is to make up for the day that I skipped out on making a Blur mix.

6. Light Up the Night - Boyzone (2013) Can a 20-year-old boy band still call themselves "Boyzone"?

7. Bad Boy - Cascada (2004) This is the first song that comes up when you search Wikipedia for songs with a length of 3:14.  So It must be historically significant.

8. Bigmouth Strikes Again - The Smiths (1986) I'm going to have to wean myself on to the Smiths.  I know that they are supposed to be the band you list as your favorite if you want to call yourself a music critic, but it's daunting to go into their work unfamiliar with their catalog.

9. Let's Work Together - Canned Heat (1970) Hey! A song that I actually knew before starting this endeavor!  Since pop songs are required to be between 3 and 4 minutes for radio airplay, I thought I'd encounter many more familiar songs.

10. Celebrate - Three Dog Night (1969) Oh, right, we are here to celebrate pi!

11. Time is Tight - Booker T. and the MG's (1969) If you're thinking to yourself, "This sounds like the intro for the Blues Brothers," you are not alone.  It was influenced by "I Can't Turn You Loose" and the Blue Brothers would pair the two similar instrumental pieces together to make an extended epic intro.

12. Horny as a Dandy - Mousse T. vs. The Dandy Warhols (2006) Here's a mashup of Mousse T.'s "Horny" and the Dandy Warhols' "Bohemian Like You."  Had it not been 3 minutes and 14 seconds long, I would have never discovered it.  And my life is all the better for that random time code.

13. Invincible - Lemar (2012) Like Lemar, pi is invincible.  It'll always go on forever and ever.  And this song is just an incredible feat, worthy of infinity.

Mix Tape of the Day: February 24, 2015 - Twitterpated

Spring seems to have hit us early here on the east coast, and it seems as if young love is blossoming all around.  And so, to make a dent in all of those love songs out there, I've decided to celebrate that spring feeling of being "twitterpated."

1. A Teenager in Love - Dion and the Belmonts (1959) The '50s and '60s are prime territory for songs of this nature.  I wanted this mix to be mostly upbeat, but I couldn't skip over this ode to young heartache.

2. I Only Have Eyes for You - The Flamingos (1959) Thanks to Buffy, this song scares me, but with like feelings of love.  So, classic Buffy feelings.

3. Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys (1966) Such optimism, such hope, such innocence.

4. Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison (1967) Yeah...this takes me back...to before I was born.

5. Hello, I Love You - The Doors (1968) Sometimes you just fall in love at first sight.  It's rare, but it happens.  That's what twitterpatin' is all about, isn't it?

6. Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer (1997) Now this just makes me want to be a kid again, falling in love for the first time.

7. She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5 (2002) Back when Adam Levine wasn't everywhere, he was singing some lovely first love tunes.  Fun Fact! I listened to this song once while standing on someone's corner in the pouring rain.

8. Hands Down - Dashboard Confessional (2003) Written about a magnificent date, this song captures that wonderful feeling well.

9. Everytime We Touch - Cascada (2005) Wow, it seems like this song has been a part of my life for longer than it has.  It is one of my favorite dance songs, and that is high praise coming from me.

10. Here (In Your Arms) - Hellogoodbye (2006) And when you're through dancing, you just want to be near the other person.

11. That's How You Know - Amy Adams (2007) If you weren't a fan of Enchanted by the time this song rolled around, this was the one that got you.  It's presented as being completely ludicrous, but you can't help but want it to be true.

12. I Choose You - Sara Bareilles (2013) One of the other rare Sara Bareilles songs I actually like.  Like all songs on this mix, it's just happy and pleasant.  No need to be super critical or pessimistic.

13. I Think We're Alone Now - The Birthday Massacre (2008) The original is a classic, as is the Tiffany cover, but my money is on this version.  It's just amps up the adrenaline that one associates with new crushes.