Double Mix Six

“It’s So You” Mix Six Download HERE

Another Friday…another Mix Six. But, as they say in the sitcom business, this is “a very special Mix Six.” And no, no one I know died (as they do when the “very special” sitcom episodes air), but the reason why I decided to do two mixes this Friday was to spotlight both your songs that remind you of (insert name here), but also to mark the closing of that New York dive/icon of punk and post-punk music: CBGB’s. They are planning on reopening the club in Las Vegas, but it won’t be the same. How could it? You can grab all the original crap from the old place and put it in Vegas, but ripped from it’s original environment, it becomes a bit like a museum. Sure, people are going to flock to it, bands will still consider it a high point of street cred to have played there, but c’mon! It’s in Las Vegas! You know, the city that has re-created almost every other cultural icon in miniature form and stuck it in their postmodern landscape. Bitter? Yeah, a little bit…a little bit.

However…

I’m not bitter about the mixes! So, here we go…

“The Way You Look Tonight” Tony Bennett C-Lo told me that this song is her fav because (and I’m guessing here) it reminds her of her hubby? I must admit that there’s an “awwww” factor to Tony Bennett for me as well. When J and I had our second date (but we consider it our first) we slow danced to “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.”

“Something About You” Level 42 Gina and her hubba-hubba both liked this song. Or as she wrote in the comments section when I was fishing for songs: “Something About You” is actually mine and Hubba-hubba’s song. It describes us perfectly, and even though it came out long before we began dating, we were both pleased to discover at an early point that we both loved Level 42 and even more pleased that we loved this song especially.

“Love Machine” The Miracles This one had me curious about the “dance” Dot’s hubby does to this song. Not sure what I’m talking about? Here’s what she said about it:

The only thing that comes to mind is the song Love Machine by The Miracles? OOOOOOOH yea for my husband. Sometimes he’d do a little dance to it which is so uncharacteristic of him. If he saw me writing this he’d slap me upside my head.

“The Reflex” Duran Duran My cuz, Ml, loves her Duran Duran! Why? Here’s why: The Reflex by Duran Duran reminds me of Bean. We were Duran Duran fanatics and loved that song. That really was a fun time in my life because I was old enough to have fun and young enough to have fun!

“Mirror in the Bathroom” The English Beat This one is all mine kids! Yep, this song that reminds me of J when we first started going out. She made me a mix tape early on in our relationship and this song was on there. I always turn it up a little louder when it comes on! 🙂

“Trip through Your Wires” U2 My other cuz’s fav because reminds her of her hubby (are you seeing a pattern here?). Here Beeez’s telling of the tale: Songs that remind me of dating and falling in love with D:
Any U2 song from Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, or Zooropa.

If you don’t feel all mushy by now, you’ve got a heart made of stone! 😉

Now to the “very special mix…” which was suggested by my co-worker, Jeff.

CBGB’s Mix Six Download HERE
“Hanging on the Telephone” Blondie Before they were pop/punk chart toppers, they were pop/punk unknowns who did what tons of other bands did (and do): play crap clubs for no money so they could build a fan base. But hey, any band that has Debbie Harry as a lead singer know that it won’t take long for their fan base to grow.
“Lust for Life” Iggy Pop Where you as surprised as I was when this song was featured in some cruise ship ad. I think I said something like: “WTF?” And I was doubly surprised when Jet basically copied the guitar part of “Lust for Life” for their song, “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.” Why Iggy didn’t haul those hacks into court for ripping him off is anybody’s guess.

“Looking for a Kiss” New York Dolls People forget (or don’t even know) that David Johansen was a glam rocker before he became that 80s icon of lounge lizards: Buster Poindexter. Well, he finally shed that persona and is now back with the Dolls looking rather haggish these days. This one is a classic from their first recording and it’s pretty clear that all those hair bands from the 80s were looking at old NY Dolls album covers and saying “Hmm…Maybe we should do something like that!”

“Strobe Light” B-52’s I don’t think any hair bands were looking at the B-52’s album covers and saying “Hmm…maybe we should do something like that!” Such a great party band, and one that was making music that could have been featured in a David Lynch film (if Lynch was making features in late 70s Wait! Wasn’t he making Eraserhead then? Ah well, he probably couldn’t afford their fee).

“Life During Wartime” Talking Heads I think there’s one thing that gets overlooked about this band: they were a great live band! Despite all the quirky stuff David Byrne is known for, the fact is they are solid players whose songs take on a wholly different quality when done live. And the fact that they mention CBGB’s in the lyrics meant this one had to be in the mix.

“Gloria” Patti Smith The last artist (and song) who performed at CBGB’s.

–PK