Love IX

I've described my method of making mixtapes in the last post. Today, I'd like to give an example of what I consider to be an okay mixtape. This is the 9th mix I compiled (circa January 2010).

Like I said before, when you give out a mix it's a gift from one admirer to one apple-of-their-eye. Therefore, reusing the same mix is bad protocol on the mixer's end. As such, you can consider this mixtape as a gift from me to the Internet and the members therein (especially my loyal readers... all 5 of you...). =]

Love IX Tracklist

1. "Plug In Baby" by Muse
2. "About a Girl" by Nirvana [guitar smashing not originally included]
3. "Carpathia" by Taking Back Sunday [specifically the album version]
4. "Believe" by The Bravery
5. "Go with the Flow" by Queens of the Stone Age
6. "Crystal" by New Order
7. "Still Take You Home" by Arctic Monkeys
8. "Any Way You Want It" by Journey
9. "Buena" by Bacilos
10. "Here Comes Your Man" by Pixies
11. "NARC" by Interpol
12. "Light My Fire" by The Doors
13. "Up and Up" by Relient K
14. "Dime Ven" by Motel
15. "Work" by Jimmy Eat World
16. "Girl's Not Grey (Acoustic)" by AFI
17. "Tonight, Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins [specifically the album version]
18. "A Letter to Elise" by The Cure
19. "Everything" by Lifehouse

I hope you enjoyed it! And that you're inspired to create some mixes of your own!

(Edit: Per somebody's smart suggestion, I've compiled these songs into a YouTube playlist so as to better get the feel of listening to an actual mix CD. You can listen to it here and it is also embedded below.)

It's just not me to wear it on my sleeve,
Kelvin

So there's this girl...

... and you like her, right? Like, a lot. A lot a lot. I mean, you two hang out a lot (sometimes with a number of friends, sometimes with not so many), you make each other laugh, you think the other person's soooooo cool... and you both have the same taste in music!!!

At least... you think you do. But it's a pretty good hunch. You're 98.3% sure of it. You can just sense it. In any case, you're really into music. You don't consider yourself the cut-from-the-same-cloth radio listener. And you want to share that part of your life with her... as a first step to sharing more of your life with her.

Band Name #2

OK, so for a change of pace, I'd like to share one of my favorite original band names: Last One Out.

The story behind the name is muti-faceted. One of those facets is the fact that whenever I'm volunteering at an academic or social event, more often than not I find myself expending way more energy and logging in way more time than I had expected. In most cases, I have no problem with it and I'm glad to help, but it's just interesting to note that I'm usually the "last one out."

Covers Set #3: Punk Goes...

When I started this blog, I didn't expect that so many posts would be about covers. But given that the first featured song was itself a cover, I guess it was only a matter of time...

In any case, this entry is about the Punk Goes... series. In 2000, Fearless Records started this series of compilation albums wherein present-day punk (or punk-derivative) rock bands cover artists of a certain featured genre (like metal, 90's, etc.). Now almost 11 years old, Fearless has racked up an exceptional discography through Punk Goes....

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#1 - Punk Goes Metal (2000)

In my opinion, Punk Goes Metal is the most "punk" album of the set. Composed by the lesser-known names of punk rock (like Bigwig, Guttermouth and Ten Foot Pole), the CD delivers a heavy sound. True, there's one or two pop-punk renditions ("I Remember You"), but the majority of the album is punk metal showing their metal side ("Bark at the Moon"). And it also shows that metal sometimes has a punk side, too; Swindle does this for Skid Row.

"Youth Gone Wild (Skid Row Cover)" by Swindle

Listen to the original here.

Putting a face to the name

Like I said before, school and just life in general has made me (relatively) VERY busy! But I didn't want to go all of April without a post.

Last Monday (April 18), I played a small set at the annual Catholic Student Fellowship talent show. Just a year (well, 364 days) prior was the first time I performed in public, playing "Birthday Gal" and another song (which I won't delve into).