Mix Tape of the Day: March 17, 2015 - St. Patrick's Day

You knew this was coming.  Let's honor our favorite Irish saint with a collection of the best Irish music out there.  We've got your Celtic punk, your Irish New Age, and yes, even your Riverdance, all right here in one place.

1. Requiem for a Dying Song - Flogging Molly (2008) I'm going to be doing things a differently.  Usually, I do these mixes in chronological order, but today, it'll be in reverse!  Because I wanted to start with this Flogging Molly track that shows just how much the traditional Celtic sounds can still remain relevant and enjoyable in our modern age.

2. I'm Shipping Up to Boston - The Dropkick Murphys (2005) And I couldn't forget this tune, which brought the Celtic punk genre to a mainstream audience thanks to The Departed.  For a while, this song was everywhere.

3. Danny Boy - Celtic Woman (2005) Well, I had to have a Celtic Woman song on this mix.  And since they are best known for their beautiful covers of Irish songs, I went with the big one.  And only now do I realize that it's the exact same tune as "You Raise Me Up," (which Celtic Woman also covered).

4. The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice (2001) Let's break from the mold a bit and feature on some Irish artists.  Take Damien Rice, for example.  His chief purpose in life is to make you cry.  I've been waiting to use this song for a while, so I'm glad I finally get to feature it.

5. Breathless - The Corrs (2000) I almost used this on my American Women of Country of the 1990s mix.  It seems I was very mistaken about the genre, time period, and nationality.  Love this song though!  I went with the live version since it's just a bit stronger in my ears.

6. Please - U2 (1997) I had to feature the biggest Irish band of all time of course.  Since I already used "Sunday Bloody Sunday" previously, we'll look at their "sequel" to that song, "Please."

7. Riverdance - Bill Whelan (1995) Here's all the Riverdance I'll ever feature on this blog.

8. Ode to My Family - The Cranberries (1994) Damien Rice and now the Cranberries?  We are getting so close to the reveal of some of my favorite songs of all time.  For now, we begin with "Ode to My Family" which just feels nostalgically Irish to me.

9. Tuesday Morning - The Pogues (1993) Need some gravelly-voiced Irish anguish?  Here's your Pogues.  Stop asking me.  Happy Tuesday.

10. Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor (1990) Fun fact! The first Irish person I ever met was named Sinead.  I thought that was the coolest.  Now...time to cry again.  Sorry for the emotional roller coaster that is this mix.

11. Music for a Found Harmonium - Patrick Street (1989) Hey! Here's one of my favorite instrumental pieces.  I was introduced to it though Napoleon Dynamite, of all places.  Great music to end your charming life's story with.

12. Orinoco Flow - Enya (1988) Yay, Enya's Irish too!  This is the greatest day!

13. The Boys Are Back in Town - Thin Lizzy (1976) And...what?  "The Boys Are Back in Town" is an Irish song?  Huh, if you say so.  It's kind of a weird one to go out on for St. Patrick's Day, but I guess it's as good a song as any to set your pub crawl to.

Mix Tape of the Day: January 5, 2015 - The Twelfth Day of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas are at an end.  Let's take a look at all the gifts we got over the past twelve days.

12 Days of Christmas - Relient K (2007) Well, of course we first have to start with the best cover of this song.  I typically can't stand this song as a song, so as long as I can have fun listening to it, I'm good.

12. Drumming Song - Florence and the Machine (2009) So, originally, I was going to do a "12 Drummers Drumming" list, but I'm not big into drum solos and I felt I'd do a disservice to a lot of great drummers out there.  But this song is exactly what I wanted out of a song called "Drumming Song."

11. Cadence to Arms - Dropkick Murphys (1998) And this is exactly what I wanted for "11 Pipers Piping."  A traditional bagpipe tune that delves into a rocking good time.

10. Jump Around - House of Pain (1992) Is it bad that this was the first song I thought of for "10 Lords A-Leaping"?

9. Just Dance - Lady Gaga (2008) "9 Ladies Dancing."

8. Milkmaid - Kid Harpoon (2007) The fun part about trying to stick with the theme was discovering things like this, the only song anyone ever made about a milkmaid that wasn't an old English ballad.

7. Swans and the Swimming - Iron & Wine (2004) This song was written just so I could include it on this mix.

6. I Want It Now - Primus (2014) Okay, it's weird how this song came to be on the mix.  No one has written a song that can be in anyway tied to "Geese A-Laying" so I went for the song that Veruca Salt sings while she's demanding a goose that lays golden eggs in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  Besides the whole theme of demanding gifts kind of fits with the original "12 Days" song, right?  Plus she mentions the traditional Twelfth Night bean-feast!

5. The Lord of the Rings Main Theme (The Road Goes Ever On...Part 1) - Howard Shore (2001) All other songs about golden rings are about love falling apart.  I didn't want to take away from this festive day.

4. Songbird - Eva Cassidy (1998) "Calling Birds" are songbirds.  And this cover of the Fleetwood Mac tune was my favorite.  It seemed the most beautiful.

3. À cause des garçons - Yelle (2007) You may remember this song as the one Emma Stone danced to in that French SNL sketch.  French.  French.  French.

2. Caught by the River - The Doves (2002) I was so glad I didn't have to resort to "When Doves Cry" for this entry.  I've always loved this song ever since I first heard it on my Music from The O.C. Mix 1 and I was so happy to learn that it was by a band called the Doves.  It may not be the most apt for the symbol of two turtle doves, but it is so very passionate.

1. I Think I Love You - The Partridge Family (1970) You should have expected this one by now.