My mix has been sent to buffistarawk in convenient zip form and smaller bites. I also sent DX the updated list. Which is to say his mix plus notes for half of mine. I'll be in Boston working on a trial for the next couple weeks. If I have time to finish my notes there I will. If not I'll do it when I get back. See y'all on the flip side, as they said back in the day. Which day? THE day, punk!

Sorry about the job, David. Glad you're handling it well. I used to get fired a lot 'cause I'd let frustrations build up & then tell off the boss. I learned -- by which I mean I learned not to work for jerks. I'd probably still get canned if I worked for someone unreasonable. Here's something you & Spidra may or may not be interested in. Don't know anything about it except where it is & that it looks like good work. Came across it on alumni website. Sorry, I have no beneficial contact. Someone just saw it & passed it on.

Thanks, jb.

My mix is in the process of loading!

Joe, will you have any time to get together when you pass through Boston?

Joe, will you have any time to get together when you pass through Boston?

What Theo said.

Don't know yet, but if I do I'll let you know. I'm not the main paralegal, but I am the designated late shift. This week is set up. Trial starts a week from tomorrow if no settlement so this week will probably be hectic. This is my first one, though, so I don't know. (Not my first prep, first time on site.) Then again, all the others settled at the last minute -- in a couple cases first and last minutes overlapped: "Your honor, we can all go home; we've come to terms." -- so maybe I'll have next weekend. But as I said, I just don't know & will keep you updated.

My mix is all posted, no thanks to a slow internet, so yay!

Here is the track list:

1. The first song you'd put on a mix tape for somebody you were attracted to

"I Got Stung" by Elvis Presley and the Jordanaires. First, because it rocks like crazy, that if you only remembered the Elvis as a bloated, kind of sad guy that you'd never suspect he was this good -- but also because it's kind of a test, to see if the recipient of the mix got me and my headspace. And also, because it's such a great metaphor for infatuation and letting someone know that you're infatuated with them.

2. A song that makes you think of BTVS that was never used on the show

"Bad Girl" by the Zakary Thaks. If I had mad vidding skillz, I'd so make a Faith vid to this proto-punk classic by a band way way ahead of its mid-60s South Texas heyday: headlong, smooth and yet oddly thrashing, barely contained fury that colors not only outside the lines but all over the paper. It reminded me of "Louie, Louie" for a long time until I realized that it =was= that song, just sort of sideways.

3. Cross-genre cover song (such as a soul musician covering a country song)

"More, More, More Pt.1" by Babes in Toyland. Technically, I could claim this as at least a three-fer, since it's a) crossgen b) from a charity album (Spirit of '73, which supported access to legal abortion) and c) features cowbell. (I could probably shoehorn a couple other categories in if I really wanted to be creative. But why be greedy?)

But the song itself, one of the most stereotypical songs of the faults of the disco era -- yes, it was a vanity project for the girlfriend of a pornographer, who couldn't sing more than about five notes on key -- well, it was actually well-produced and fun, and in this cover, I find it reclaims the song for feminism. Plus, Babes in Toyland make fun music and feminism/humanism in general could use more fun, and dancing.

4. Quotes another song, either in the music or words – bonus points if by the same artist

"It Don't Come Easy" by Ringo Starr. You know "least talented Beatle" leaves an awful lot of room for a boatload of talent, and I often think that Starr is underappreciated for how well he sings, full of character and humor. I was originally going to use the original of this song, but through a misclick I downloaded this live performance from a VH1 special, and was charmed all over again.

Categorywise, this quotes from so many previous songs that I've lost count, so I should get some good 'bonus points' (much like No-Prizes) because how many of those songs was Mr. Starkey a part of?

5. Makes you want to get high, drunk, or, if it's your druthers, dizzy & giddy from spinning around in circles

"Little Green Bag", George Baker Selection. You know, I didn't know that this selection was featured on the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack until I went and looked up artwork for this song, which displeases me somewhat, because I discovered this song probably years before Quentin Tarantino did, and I'd like to get some cred for that.

But besides that, I really do occasionally spin around in circles to songs, and this is a prime example of what I'd spin to. Not to mention the getting high part, which I guess comes with the subject matter of the lyrics, and the generally trippiness of the rapid playing.

Note that I almost picked it for #6 as well, and as for #26, too. Especially because the band was Dutch, so whence comes the 'George' and the 'Baker', anyway?

6. Features a great bridge

"I'm Henry The VIII I Am" by Herman's Hermits. This isn't the version you might be familiar with, since I got it off a German 60s compilation. I'll assume therefore that it's what was the hit version there -- don't know much else about the provenance, if they had alternate members or what, but to tell you the truth I like this version plenty, especially the playing on the bridge which seems more assured than the familiar. Do miss the little off-key yelp, as though a musician was suddenly (continued...)

( continues...) surprised, in the original, but you can't have everything.

7. A song released the year you turned 21 (you didn't have to know about it then)

"Damaged Goods" by Gang of Four. I went by the years listed in my iTunes library, and unfortunately there's been a lot of slacking in the year listings in the database, I must say. So while I probably have plenty of songs that qualify, damnify can figure out which ones they are.

But really, looking among the small set of them all, I didn't grab a too obvious choice because a number of bands and songs are much better remembered, IMHO. And I just had to force myself to make a choice -- could have gone with ELO, whom I hated with the force of a thousand burning nuns at the time, or a disco song (ditto), or the English Beat whom I loved almost oppositely, but I've put them on my few previous mixes.

So, this one, which is both danceable and forlorn. Bono once said that this band was "a pimple on the arse of pop," which strikes me as the smartest thing he's ever said, possibly.

8. A song dedicated to your nemesis (or who you imagine your nemesis to be)

"Fuck You", The Headstones. I don't have anything like a formal nemesis, though there are a couple people that I'll go so far as to say they did me wrong, like the roommate who sneakily moved out in the middle of a weekend when I was away, to let me come back to find out she hadn't paid her share of the rent for three months as well as having taken money from me for the utilities ditto. Bad supervisors, people who stole things from me, who were unfairly nasty, who did deliberately nasty-verging-on-evil things to friends of mine. This is the song that I'd like to play for them all, I think, in lieu of being able to see them staked out on an anthill or whatever.

(This isn't really the song that I'd pick to introduce you to the Headstones, Hugh Dillon's long time band, but it's one that so well fitted this category, and I'd pretty much have to turn in my Hugh Loves Carrots badge if I didn't work his music into this mix a couple times. Just sing along with the chorus here, and reflect that you'll think every other song they do is much better, K?)

9. A song about committing a crime

"Lotion" by the Greenskeepers. I wibbled about various crimes, serious and not-so-serious, then finally this one came by on my regular rotation, and I was like, OH YEAH! Because, creeeeepy! And reusing dialogue from the book/movie, a great vocal performance, and oh yeah... creepy!

(This would also qualify for #24.)

10. A song from a tribute or charity album

"I Wanna Be With You" by The Sneetches with Shoes. I originally picked up Super Fantastic Mega Smash Hits! because it had a cut by Shadowy Men From a Shadowy Planet (see #11) and the thought of someone updating one of those old K-Tel albums sounded cool -- little did I know that it would have some of my favorite covers of all time.

(For a long time, I thought that The Sneetches were an instrumental band, with the Shoes as guest singers, but then I ran across the Dr. Suess book and dawn broke on Marblehead.)

Anyway, this song as reimagined as a singalong, is so sweet and heartfelt -- Eric Carmen, eat your heart out, seriously. Maybe I should have started my Frankenmix with this one!

11. A song with a year in the title

"You Spin Me Round 86" by Shadowy Men From a Shadowy Planet. One bad thing about coming to bat late in the mix challenge is that two other of the "year" songs I know and like have already been used, and for the longest time I couldn't come up with one -- so I literally had the CD for this in my hand as I was moving stuff when my eye fell on the song title, which I'd forgotten had a year legitimately appended to it, even though it was a 1990 CD.

I still can't tell if they put dance mats or dance wax on the floor before the crowd showed up, but whatever -- I'd dance too!

12. A song about traveling

"The Woo Woo Train" by The Valentines. I started out loving doo wop music early in my life, (continued...)

( continues...) when WCBS-FM in NYC started with their Oldies format in the early 70s, so like a hip baby duck I imprinted on pre-British Invasion rock and roll, at least the ones that were really cool, but alas for every cool one there were ten boring ones, and it seems like the boring ones (unless they were "In the Still of the Nite" and a handful of others that seemed to be popular with the DJs despite their brilliance) got more air.

However? This song was not among the ones that I listened to in those faraway days, it took until I ran across the Rhino Records box sets for me to discover that there was more than I'd ever got to hear, or in fact much of anyone, since there were all sorts of regional hits that never broke nationally, or played in NY for that matter.

So... well, I don't know anything more about the Valentines than you can read in the wonderful liner notes in the box set, but I do know this: they must have been terrific in performance. The word that comes to mind to describe this song is muscular -- don't be put off by the falsettos. I'm also seriously in love with the horn player who blats away like a house on fire.

(Note that #12 also fits #13 nicely, as well as a good break for #6.)

13. A song that does not feature a guitar or a piano as the main instrument

"Doctor Who: Main Title" by the Ray Winstone Orchestra. You'd be surprised how many candidates I have that fit the bill here... and I'm not talking all the jazz recordings I have on hand, either. I had some really nice hurdy-gurdy music lined up, but a recent discussion in the Box Set led me to a website about the Doctor Who theme and the changes it had gone through over the years, which reminded me of my Brain in a Box set, and presto, changeo I was listening to this song, when it hit me that it would be timely and fun for this mix.

14. A song by a band that you could have, but didn't, write about for Lost in The Grooves.

"Miniskirt" by Combustible Edison and Esquivel!. You know, once I started thinking about it, and all the really cool bands had been taken, I found myself debating between the Headstones and the Edisons, but then I decided that at least the Headstones have Canadian Gold Records, whereas the Edisons pretty much labored in unrightful obscurity. It wasn't until I'd listened to a whole lot more lounge music that I realized that they improved upon the original, as though they'd refined the vein of pure cool.

15. An upbeat song about a sad thing.

"Pink Victim" by Combustible Edison. Exquisite little gem about not being able to overcome your own faults here -- a life of sad desperation, you might say, all to a sophisticated beat you can dance to. It's like dysfunctional champagne!

16. Midnight driving in the rain music.

"Canceling Stamps At The University Of Ghana Post Office" by Postal Works - Univ. of Ghana Post Office. At midnight, I don't need any more hypnotic noise than the sound of the wipers, I'm already halfway to sleep. But I don't want some guy screaming in my ear about how much he's getting laid or not, I don't want despair or dysfunction or pretty much anything to do with D's. Hence, I turn to this ethnomusicology-collected cut, which is exactly what the title suggests it is, recorded live while people worked away very cheerily. This will get me sitting up straighter in my driver's seat, tapping my hands on the wheel and feeling very much more awake and alive, thank you.

17. More cowbell: A song containing that essential instrument

"Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go" by Soft Cell. I confess to having to go to the internet list of what songs contain cowbell, since I can barely hear it on most records. I was surprised by a) how many songs have it and b) how many of point (a) that I have access to that I actually like. Maybe cowbell is really that essence rare, or something.

As for why I chose this one... well, it's been a favorite ever since I was on a dance floor in 1983 when I heard it for the first time. Yeah, I danced my way through it, (continued...)

( continues...) enchanted, not knowing where it was goign when it segued into the reprise of the Supremes song. It was one of the best musical surprises of my life, I think in retrospect, which has rarely been topped.

(Note that it would amply fill the requirements for #27 as well.)

18. A song that reminds you of your first love

"Astro Boy: Main Theme" credited to "Orchestra". I flailed a little for this one, meaning to get a Monkees or Iggy cut, since I wanted to Go Cute, but due to technical difficulties (like not having them at home, just on my Work Computer) I needed something else, and when I looked up #13, there it was just a few cuts below, and I remembered how much my childish heart twingled for Astro Boy and Space Ghost and Kimba the White Lion. Falling in love all over again with anime seems like a natural progression for me, really.

19. A song that references some kind of technology

"Radio Rhythm" by Fletcher Henderson. I'd shoot myself if I couldn't find at least one out and out jazz cut to include here, so going with this 1931 song -- back when radio was still new, and imagining it coming out of somebody's parlor radio just as the Depression was really hitting it's stride -- oh yeah. This band was so tight you could bounce quarters off it... and that was back when quarters were worth something.

It also counts for a lot of other categories. For all I know, there might be cowbell in it too, as well as a kitchen sink.

20. A song with a chorus that compels you to sing along or that you cannot not dance to

"Saved" by LaVern Baker. In another decade, Baker would have been lionessed like Ethel Merman or Billie Holiday, but she had the bad luck of coming along after the era of big shouters had passed. She made some glorious and fun music, and I ran across this cut fairly recently, and had the audio equivalent of my ears streaming back in the breeze. "I used to lie/And cheat/And step on people's feet...." -- salvation has never sounded more fun, you know? I sometimes really do get up and dance around to this -- love the bass drum beating away in the background. 21. A song that starts with a bassline

"Twine Time" by Alvin Cash and the Crawlers. Oh, so many to pick from here, but I ended up with a cut that is basically all bass with intermittent bursts of shouting and drumming and horns -- horns like the tromp of doom, and a rinky-tink organ going all-out spooky. And did I mention the falsetto screams? There's something so hypnotically primitive about this, like you boiled down the essence of rhythm and blues, and bottled it up to apply as you need. Take two before you go to bed.

22. A song that relates to science

"Lovin' Machine" by Wynonie Harris. Long before Alan Parsons thought up the first note of "I, Robot", long before Thomas Dolby was even conceived, Wynonie Harris was taking technology where it had never gone before, and would still probably be illegal in many states, in fact. Plus, this song was recorded in 1951, well before the formal definition of "rock and roll" was established....

23. A song you sing (or would sing) to your pet and/or child

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" by Alvin and the Chipmunks. Don't ask me how we ended up with this and #21 as they both have leads named Alvin, which strikes me as weird indeed. But I loved this song as a kid, and now that I'm this old, I still love in all its considerable weirdness, and repeat phrases from it to myself on occasion, like "Reach for the sky, you sidewinder!" Plus, those Grammies that Ross Bagdasarian got for engineering these songs weren't for nothing. (I didn't know that he did all the Chipmunk voices until I was reading up in preparation for this -- I thought it was three random singers, speeded up, of course.)

24. A song that haunts you

"Goodnight Moon" by Shivaree. My friend Lynnmonster had an awesomely good Halloween mix last fall, and from it I got this exquisite song, which sounds all soft and nonthreatening until you really listen to the lyrics. Best listened (continued...)

( continues...) to when you're all alone in the house and it's late at night and you hear something creaking. Sort of the opposite of a comfort song.

(Lynn also came up with #9, BTW. She is teh awesome.)

25. A song that you would sing to yourself if you were ever in a dire situation and needed it to keep going

Well... quite a few of them, actually -- see #23, #4, #6, #9, et and cetera. Had to cut a corner somewhere to keep this under 80 minutes!

26. A song by a band with an awful name

"Mannequins" by the Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir. Yeah, I really do adore Dillon a whole lot, his writing, singing, acting, he really is that good. And I think the Headstones is a great band name, actually. But the HDRC... not so much a good band name, even if it's a damn good outfit. Dillon has some name recognition in Canada, so it's not entirely awful, and his struggles with substance abuse are also quite well known... and this new band marks the era of the best recovery he's had yet, the one that looks like it may well take.

As for the song, it's a terrificly fierce apocalyptic vision that puts me in mind of 28 Days Later.

27. A song that even when you know it's time to LEAVE the BAR someone can put on the jukebox to make you stay

"Le Freak" by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. If I was leaving with a group and this started to play, I would not only try to talk my friends into sitting down and listening, I might forcibly nail them into their chairs and gag them, so fierce would be my desire to make them listen all the way through. I love so many things about this -- not only the instruments (all ukuleles, which one of the members calls 'bonsai guitars') but the cool and ironic performance of the singer, who manages to put quotes around every line, and the infective enthusiasm of the players. There's also the lovely accent.

Another quote from another performance by this band: "All you need is four strings and the truth." Amen.