Augustus Gloop

1) The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back (Z-Trip Remix)
2) Golden Smog - Radio King ::: Jeff Tweedy, Live in a living room
3) Iron and Wine - The Trapeze Swinger
4) Josh Ritter - Wait for Love
5) Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane ::: (Live 5/13/07)
6) Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness (Live at Monterey, 1967)
7) Donny Hathaway - You've Got a Friend (Live)
8) Marvin Gaye - Piece of Clay
9) Citizen Cope - Holdin' On
10) Damien Rice - Rootless Tree
11) Grateful Dead - Brokedown Palace
12) Josh Ritter - Wait for Love (You Know You Will)
13) Taj Mahal - Queen Bee
14) Freedy Johnston - Bad Reputation
15) Cat Power - Lived in Bars::: (Live 11/11/05)
16) Fionn Regan - Be Good or Be Gone
17) George Fenton & Ravi Shankar - Partition / End of the Fast
18) Bruce Hornsby - Wondering Where the Lions Are
19) Bob Dylan - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
20) Mike & The Mechanics - Looking Back Over My Shoulder
21) Elvis Costello - Alison
22) The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
23) Jose Gonzalez - Teardrop::: (Live)
24) Billie Holiday - Let's Do It
25) Judy Garland - What'll I Do (Live on The Judy Garland Show)
26) Brenda Lee - Break It To Me Gently
27) Joan Armatrading - Down to Zero
28) Van Morrison - Virgo Clowns
29) Ray Charles - I Can See Clearly Now
30) The Beach Boys - I Was Made to Love Her
31) Patty Griffin - Heavenly Day
32) Lucinda Williams - Are You Alright?
.zip AUGUSTUS GLOOP HERE.

"This is a pretty good mix," I caught myself saying just minutes ago. I make these mixes just about every week, fully intending to post them sooner than ever I do, and then a month passes and you fine folks get sort of a month's worth of greatest hits from those weekly trial mixes.

And so I give you Augustus Gloop, named thusly because I found myself scarfing hoards of chocolate whilst watching the husky little Augustus fall in a river of the stuff late one night in the first week of this month, August. I may be failing at this whole giving up chocolate thing, but at least I am trying.

1) I think this was on the Motown 1s remixed CD. I love the control room, I love little Michael's "Yeah, yeah!" in the beginning, and I love how smooth it sounds.
6) The "got-ta, got-ta, got-ta" part hits my heart like the bullets of a machine gun's ray. This summer marks the fortieth anniversary of the Monterey Pop Festival. God save us.
7) A recording will occasionally come along and make me say, "Damn, I wish I was there for this!" This is one of those recordings. Play it in the morning on your way to work, or to work out, you'll sing along. You may even attempt to sing in harmony.
8) One of my favorite poems is William Blake's "The Clod and The Pebble" from The Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Add "Piece of Clay" to that list.
9)I've been watching Prime incessantly. The scene in which this plays is one of the more beautifully shot. This film speaks to me in so many ways. It tells of a lot which I've been dealing with lately, and it does so around some of the very (apparently picturesque) streets where I deal with those things - namely mother/son relationships, art vs. work, New York, breaking up, and ... breaking up... in and around SoHo and the West Village.
10) Speaking of, "Suddenly I'm down in [Union] Square. Look around. Your face is everywhere." I was prompted to pull this oldy but goody out when a tiny tot with a Freedy t-shirt sold me cookies at the Greenmarket by my house. Check out Noah Baumbach's brilliant Kicking and Screaming.
17) Can't stop watching this movie! This photo has haunted me.
20) We all know I'm a humongous fan of Paul Carrack. He's the definition of "male pop vocals" - at least in my dictionary. Well, I'd forgotten about this one until loading up on my favorite cheesy pop for the dance parties in my hotel room during my recent trip to Allentown, PA. Another song for the morning. Let it replace your coffee, if only for a day.
22) The first of TV commercial head-turners. Amstel Light:

25) The second: Diet Coke.
29, 30) Along with the earlier Hathaway track, it was a month for covers. I love both of these very much. Ray can do no wrong, and The Beach Boys do alright by this one. I think I love the roughness of it, the under-polished quality, however deliberately so it may have been done.
32) Caught this on Allentown's NPR station and was reminded of how much I loved this album. When she's on... she's on! This song couldn't have hit me at a better moment either. By the end of it, I found myself lying on my bed, face down, having a cry while my Shakespeare in the Park roommate was in the shower. Thanks Lucinda. Catharsis never felt so good.

I know I already posted this video earlier this summer, but seriously, dude's the coolest! That Kanye has a great sense of humor. Will Oldham's giggling at the antics of my hero ZG cracks me up.

Kanye West - Can't Tell Me Nothing

Tell me you saw this:

Ok, ok, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t break this one down any more. I try to keep my mixes to 80 minutes for those poor souls who still listen to CDs. Granted, this mix finds me questioning the virtues of the little plastic disc; it finds me cross-pollinating the record store, stealing from jazz, blues, contemporary classical, rap, rock, even some country. I don’t know why I love the music I do. Nor do I understand why it’s all over the map, but I hope you enjoy this selection of songs as much as I do. Please let me know if you’re unable to download, and I will be certain to somehow, some way physically present you with a copy.

1) Feist – My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Remix)
2) Kanye West – Young Folks
3) Kanye West – Interviews
4) M.I.A. – Hit That
5) Girl Talk – Summer Smoke
6) Dan Deacon – Okie Dokie
7) Bishop Allen – Rain
8) Ben Harper – Into the Colors
9) Iron & Wine – Boy With a Coin
10) Do Make Say Think – A Tender History in Rust
11) Dntel – The Distance (Featuring Arthur & Yu)
12) Spoon – You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb (alternate version)
13) Marla Hansen – Wedding Day
14) Great Lake Swimmers – Where in the World Are You
15) Suzanne Vega – New York is a Woman
16) LCD Soundsystem – New York I Love You
17) Duane Allman with Boz Scaggs – Loan Me a Dime
18) Band of Horses – Our Swords
19) Ron Wood – Act Together
20) The Rolling Stones – Sweet Black Angel
21) Ian Thomas – A Young Man’s Blues
22) Ben Nichols – Dog Day Night
23) Mose Allison – Young Man’s Blues
24) KT Tunstall – I Want You Back (J5)
25) Leonard Cohen – Lover Lover Lover (Live ’79)
26) The Kinks – Strangers
27) The Kinks – This Time Tomorrow
28) The Rolling Stones – Sweet Black Angel (instrumental)
29) Yann Tiersen – La Valse D’amelie (Version Piano)
.zip

2), 3) – FAM! I find myself constantly laughing out loud to this song.
5) Anyone who can mash James Taylor with Biggee Smalls is alright in my book.
6) This is Dan Deacon.












This is why I love Dan Deacon (notice the iPod Shuffle taped to a banana as it rests on a purple shag).












7) Hands Down, my new favorite band. If you have the chance, listen to all 12 of their EPs from last year. Yes, twelve - one for each month.
10) When I first heard this excellent song from Canadians Do Make Say Think, I thought it was Iron & Wine, an American, and I thought it was Awesome! Then, I found out they are Canadian, and I found a foot in my mouth. Ok? Ok, Canada, you can stay. You’re alright in my book. Usually.
15), 16) Personification, I Love You
17) Not that it could’ve been possible, but I wish I was there for this, man.
18) On their demo, this song was simply entitled “Two Basses.” I wonder why?
19) Band Of Horses closed McCarren Pool with this. I freakin’ love it. I especially love the backing vocals and the organ.
22) A girl I know made out with this dude. Lucero rocks my black t-shirt off!
24) If it were possible to craft one, this is a guilty pleasure ganache covered in guilty pleasure dark chocolate (71%), and wrapped in guilty pleasure turkey bacon (no nitrites). Mmm sprinkles!
26), 27) To fully appreciate these songs, one must listen with headphones. The usage of stereo recording is unparalleled here. I love The Kinks! So does Wes Anderson, apparently.

... pretty much.

Zach Galifianakis is the man. I saw this at the New York Magazine Bad Art Auction he hosted a little over a week ago. Watch Bonnie "Prince" Billy try to keep a straight face.

Mine's in the mail.

If you have 12 minutes, watch this video. It's been inspiring me lately.

July, You Lied* – My Brown Eyes Are Dried**

With this completely unintentionally God-centric mix, things are turning around. So there, liar.

1) Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out
2) Paul Simon – I Know What I Know
3) Tom Petty – Wildflowers
4) Joni Mitchell – All I Want
5) The Rolling Stones – Dancing with Mr. D.
6) Ray Lamontagne – Jolene
7) Ryan Adams – These Girls
8) Uncle Tupulo – New Madrid
9) Billy Bragg & Wilco – Airline to Heaven
10) Greg Trooper – Dream Away the Blues
11) Amos Lee – Sweet Pea
12) Rocky Votolato – Postcard From Kentucky
13) Jill Barber – Two Brown Eyes
14) Charlotte Gainsbourg – The Songs That We Sing
15) Link Wray – Fire & Brimstone
16) Bongos Ikwue – Woman Made the Devil
17) Trio Palmar - Tres Besos
18) Kool & The Gang – Caribbean Festival
19) Sam & Dave – You Left The Water Running
20) Laura Lee – What a Man
21) Elton John – Burn Down the Mission
22) Edith Piaf – Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
** Bonus Track
.zip

* Before I begin, do you guys like it when I write about the tracks, or would you rather the music spoke for itself?

1) Heard this at McCarren Park’s Pool, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. It’s such a hopeful song. It’s right at that period when Wonder dropped the Little from his name and picked up his synth and joined the funk movement.
2, 3, 4, 5) These songs are from some of my desert island albums. I dusted off these bad boys and revisited them during those sadsack stages of break-up. Blue, Graceland, Wildflowers, and Goats Head Soup are albums that have been with me my whole life. I love them all. You should, too.
6) I am most attracted to this song’s chorus.
8) I think I told you about my love of Anodyne. Well, this is one more that whilst listening to recently took on new meaning with the whole New York City line.
16) Amen to that.
19) “I’m not cryin’. It’s just been rainin’ ...on my face.”
See the film la Vie en Rose. I leave you with this:

No, nothing.
No, I regret nothing.
Neither the good done to me, nor the bad;
to me, they're all the same.

No, nothing at all.
No, I regret nothing.
It's all paid for, swept away, forgotten;
I don't care about the past.

With my memories,
I've lit a fire.
My sorrows, my pleasures,
I need them no more.

Swept away are my loves
and all their tremors.
Swept away forever.
I start from scratch.

No, nothing really.
No, I have no regrets.
Neither the good done to me, nor the bad;
to me, they're all the same.

No, nothing.
No, I regret nothing.
Because my life, because my joys,
today, begin with you.

For those still downloading these mixes, behold one heavy on Tweedy, some new discoveries, and some long forgotten favorites. Happy Fourth.

A June Moon
1) Drew Emmitt - Meet Me in the Morning
2) Wilco - The Thanks I Get
3) Ryan Adams - Two
4) Citizen Cope - All Dressed Up
5) Jeff Tweedy - Shot in the Arm
6) Ojos de Brujo - Memorias Perdias
7) Bob Dylan - Masters of War
8) Estelle - Free
9) Wilco - Either Way
10) Sting - I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying
11) India.Arie - Summer
12) Darrell Scott & Tim O'Brien - More Love
13) The Be Good Tanyas - In Spite of All the Damage I've Done
14) Chuck Berry - Things I Used to Do
15) The Band - Up On Cripple Creek
16) Uncle Tupelo - Acuff-Rose
17) Allman Brothers Band - Soulshine
18) Willie Nelson - American Tune
19) Coldplay - Til Kingdom Come
20) Frank Sinatra - They Can't Take That Away From Me
.zip

1) Here’s the story. I scribbled “Drew Emmett” down on some scrap and stuffed it away pocket after hearing this on a local radio station in Breckenridge. Two nights later, leaving Mi Casa, my favorite spot in Breck, we stumbled into an outdoor concert featuring this guy and his bluegrass band. I never loved Leftover Salmon, but I had such a blast at this show. Old locals and young all dancing trippy, drinking locally, and just having a ball.
2) Break-up song of the summer. Hands down.
3) Ryan Adams’ new album was called typical by Rolling Stone. If so, typical’s just fine by me.
4) Is this song appropriate for a yoga class?
5) I bought Sunken Treasure, and this part is my favorite. I keep watching it over and over again.
6) Besos.
7) I’d never seen The Sopranos until their final episode. This song got me listening Freewheelin’ again. Dylan is a living prophet.
8) Jools Holland’s show on BBC America is awesome.
9) First track on the new album. Couldn’t get past it for the longest time. Thanks Wilco for hitting me where it hurts.
10) Cheesy song, but it caught me on the lip, and lo' there was I, crumbled to tears in some store: a pharmacy, or a grocery store, or a health food store, or somewhere, somewhere I just don’t know. I started bawling, and to hide the tears, I did as the song says, I started laughing, and I don’t know… it helped.
11) I wasn’t going to include this for sheer cheese quotient had already been met (see prior track), but when first I heard this, I thought, “Man, my summer ended in June." Then I remembered what a wise old friend reminded me, “Hey, plans change.” My plans for the summer have simply... changed. It’s something I’ve kept reminding myself of late, and it’s certainly helping. Thank you, friend.
12) Found this on iTunes. For my money, it’s way better to hear songwriters play their song than to hear the Dixie Chicks’ hack at it.
13) Thanks L.
14) … and then there’s this B-side from Mr. Berry, my hometown hero, who’s always able to console me, plucking away at those heart strings, or just perhaps a guitar string or two.
15) Heard this on the brilliant KBCO radio station. Have loved this song for years, but it never pumped me up the way it did out there on Hwy 70. Maybe it was the altitude, or maybe it was just Levon Helm’s genius croon.
16) One of the coolest girls I ever dated bought Anodyne for my birthday, my 21st. I remember her saying how much she loved this song. I couldn’t agree more, A. Tupelo ruled.
17) Leave it to a charcoal commercial to bring out a great summer tune. But hey, they’re right. This song sounded great on my roof deck while grillin’ out. Give it a whirl at your next picnic.
18) I caught the tail end of the Library of Congress’ presentation of the Gershwin Prize to Paul Simon, and I kept hearing this version of “American Tune” in my head. Paul Simon is as American as apple pie, baseball, and well, the Redheaded Stranger.
19 & 20) These songs play with some regularity at work. They’ve been helpful.

1) Down Along the Cove
2) To Be Alone with You
3) Queen Jane Approximately
4) On a Night Like This
5) Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
6) Love Minus Zero / No Limit
7) I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
8) If Not For You
9) Golden Loom
10) You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
11) Heart of Mine
12) Where Are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat)
13) Buckets of Rain
14) Make You Feel My Love
15) Moonlight
16) Shooting Star
17) Wedding Song
18) Sara
.zip this using your Mac.

Counting Crowes - Ooh La La (The Faces Cover)

Heather put this puppy up. I can't listen to it at work. My laptop speakers for some reason have been muted, and I can't turn them back on, but I trust Adam Duritz enough not to blow one of my favorite songs to smithereens. Speaking of The Smithereens, does anyone like them still?

The Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago - November, 1981


This used to happen all the time. It's such a shame I was 11 months old. If I could've, I would've been there with a bottle of Maker's, a pack of Strikes, and a back-up pair of Pampers.

I May Lose My Testosterone Card

I don't know how I feel about this mix, but these are songs I have encountered repeatedly these days.

1) Van Morrison - I Love You (The Smile You Smile)
2) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Angel Dream (No. 2)
3) Donovan - Catch the Wind
4) Wilco - What Light
5) Be Good Tanyas - Up Against the Wall
6) Umphrey's McGee - Memories of Home
7) Bonnie Raitt - Come to Me
8) Lucinda Williams - Can't Let Go
9) Phoenix - Long Distance Call
10) Fatboy Slim - That Old Pair of Jeans
11) Althea & Donna - Uptown Top Ranking
12) Aretha Franklin with George Michael - I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
13) Brett Dennen - She's Mine
14) Jose Gonzalez - Storm
15) Dana Falconberry - Paper Sailboat
16) Dar Williams with Chris Botti - The Beauty of the Rain
17) Gillian Welch - Black Star
18) The Broken West - So It Goes (live on Sirius Radio)
19) Eric Clapton - Lay Down Sally
20) Elton John - My Father's Gun
21) Van Morrison - Madame George
Bonus Track: Van Morrison - TB Sheets

.zip the whole thing!

1) Shooting movies is fun especially when the creative people who herd my talents are perhaps cooler than I. Such was the case when Mitch, the director of my latest adventure in filmmaking, River Pirates, allowed his gems of Van tracks to pour from the jukebox speakers onset. Enjoy these tracks from his New York Sessions '67.
2) First encountered during The Nei-Play's final plays performed in 2005, this track from the She's The One soundtrack was brought to my attention by the acting teacher who taught me everything I know - well, mainly that costuming is half the battle.
3) A favorite of mine long before it appeared in GE's current wind energy commercial, "Jar," I have been playing this song quite a bit more lately. Thank you, eco-advertisers.
4) The latest from Tweedy and Co. I didn't love it at first, but it's been a month of relatively heavy rotation, and I'm coming around to it.
6, 7, 8) A friend of mine needs to listen to these three tracks many, many times.
9) A Mexican restaurant is a funny place to be reminded of this French group. Then again, I was in Brooklyn.
11) I miss London sometimes. This song helps. Wouldn't you agree, Kristen?
12) The reason for this mix's title, I actually heard this muzak twice - once in Duane Reade and the other time at Whole Foods, this morning. Often, I hanker strongly, strangely for late eighties and early nineties uber-produced, Steve Guttenbergy, soundtracky, hyper-tacky songs. This is one of those songs, and yes, this is one of those times. To further justify my love, it was a number one billboard smash, and it won a Grammy.
13) Listening to Dennen since last September with little impact, I heard this on WFUV, and I couldn't stop singing it for the rest of the day. Now, I love the guy.
14) This song was used with great success at the end of Friday Night Lights' (NBC) 21st episode. It was the first I'd seen - caught its tail on Bravo - that show's camera work: gorgeous. Austin, Texas, the new (land-locked) home of filmmaking - mark my words.
17) I remember listening to this repeatedly back to back with its Radiohead counterpart after its release. It's an example of a song performed equally well from two very different approaches. If you're going to Coachella, see Gill and Dave, squeeze the sheer coolness out of them, bottle it, and bring whatever you can back for me.
19) Another song that keeps coming up - in conversation, in shopping, in eating, in drinking... in laying down... Sally.
20) Cannot remove this from my muscle memory. Sing it in the shower, on the sidewalk, in the subway, and... on Sundays?

A Fantastic February, or February Couldn't Have Come Quicker

It's commonly known amongst my actor friends, at least my friends at the playhouse, that February is commonly regarded as the worst month - more bickering, arguing, and downright poor decision-making happened in February '05 and '06 than in any other month, any stretch of months in my entire life. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I looked at my calendar today to discover that the first half of this February is shaping up to be close to one of the best months I've had in a while. Things really are turning around for me, and I anticipate more of the same. Push any of your leftover happy thoughts my way whilst enjoying this month's compilation.

1) Marc Cohn - Silver Thunderbird
If Walgreens is good for something, it's good for reminding me of what a mastery Marc Cohn made of his self-titled debut, Marc Cohn.

2) Kelly Joe Phelps - Wandering Away
3) Jefferson Starship - Count on Me
4) Eddy Arnold - I Wanna Play House with You
5) Joe Cocker - When the Night Comes
6) Junior Wells & Buddy Guy - Snatch It Back and Hold It
7) Cassandra Wilson - Love is Blindness
8) Crowded House - Something So Strong
I got caught singing this song during a rather tense moment at my last job. Hmm....

9) Wilco - Someone Else's Song
10) Matt the Electrician - Hammer on the Ladder
11) Blonde Redhead - In Particular
12) Thin Lizzy - Rosalie
Heard this first on VH1 Classic. Their BBC Jewels are some of the coolest recordings.

13) B.W. Stevenson - My Maria
Brooks & Dunn had a huge country hit with this years after Mr. Stevenson's original release, but I definitely prefer this one, less boot scoot, more boogie.

14) Kelley Stoltz - Memory Collector
15) Andrew Bird - Heretics
16) The Marmalades - Reflections of My Life
I don't recall where or how I came upon this band, but how I hadn't heard of them sooner blows my mind. They're the kind of band I would've been in had I been in a band in the 60s and 70s.

17) Van Morrison - Come Here My Love
Of the few albums I refer to as favorites, three were helmed by Monsieur Van the Man: Astral Weeks, Moondance, and Tupelo Honey. Until recently, I hadn't completed my delving into his most prolific period. The two albums that round out this impressive body of work, His Band and The Street Choir and Veedon Fleece, are as equally exquisite albeit slightly more experimental as his other - dare I say - masterpieces. Check them out if given the time.

18) Elton John - Sad Songs (Say So Much)
19) Bruce Hornsby - That's Just the Way It Is
20) Bruce Hornsby & Chaka Khan - Love Me Still (Instrumental)
I found completely by happenstance that I'd downloaded an instrumental version of one of the best love songs ever composed, and then much to my wondering eyes, I saw that Hornsby had written and performed the track. Out loud, I said, "Well, no wonder." Yeah, I'm dramatic.

** Please note, I'll have a zip of this up after Valentine's Day. Also, please note, I will add rich text and probably change the order as this has been posted in haste prior to giving the mix a good, solid listen. Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, Happy Valentine's Day.

Bathtubs, Ballads, and Blues

The Ballads
1) Sasha Dobson - Without You
2) Bill Withers - Can We Pretend
3) Lyle Lovett - If I Needed You
4) The Little Willies - No Place to Fall
5) The Weepies - Gotta Have You
6) Edith Piaff - C'Etait une Histoire D'Amour
7) Loudon Wainwright III - New Paint
8) Richard Julian - Love of Mine
9) Hem - Half Acre
10) The Greencards - Time
11) Over the Rhine - I Want You to Be My Love
12) Mazzy Star - Fade into You
13) Trespassers William - Lie in the Sound
14) Jackie Greene - Love Song 2:00am
15) Van Morrison - I'll Be Your Lover, Too
16) Citizen Cope - Sideways
17) Bob Dylan - Shooting Star
18) Eva Cassidy - Time After Time
19) Josh Ritter - Here at the Right Time
20) Nellie McKay - Face of a Faith
Ballads.zip

The Blues
1) Al Green - I'm Glad You're Mine
2) Percy Sledge - Out of Left Field
3) William Bell - Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye
4) Little Willie John - Need Your Love So Bad
5) Betty Harris - I'm Gonna Git Ya
6) Nina Simone - Turn Me On
7) Muddy Waters - I Just Wanna Make Love to You
8) Otis Redding - That's How Strong My Love Is
9) Bob Marley - Turn Your Lights Down Low
10) Big Bill Broonzy - Glory of Love
11) Donny Hathaway - A Song for You
12) Taj Mahal - Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes
13) Bonnie Raitt - Women Be Wise
14) Sam Cooke - Nothing Can Change This Love
15) Barbara Lewis - Baby, I'm Yours
16) Charlie Rich - Behind Closed Doors
17) Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Tell Me What You Want Me to Do
18) Joan Armatrading - Dry Land
19) WILCO - Jesus, etc.
20) Tim Hardin - If I Were a Carpenter
21) Ryan Adams - When the Stars Go Blue
22) JJ Cale - Crazy Mama
23) Juliet Turner & Brian Kennedy - I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You
24) Bonnie Raitt - Feels Like Home to Me
Blues.zip