My Latest 25 Mix – August 2011

Way back in November I wrote a post about my Latest 25 Mix, and talked about the different pop songs that had caught my ear for one reason or another.  Well, here we are in August and I have finally cycled through all of the songs on the list, removing Glee’s version of Teenage Dream today to make way for Coldplay.  I didn’t set out to do this, but I have decided to keep you all updated on the list as it renews itself.  Pop music is as much a part of my life as opera music, but I never get to talk about it, so bear with me as I explain to you why you should (or should not) listen to what I am currently listening to.

1) Fuck You, by Cee-Lo Green – Yes, I try to keep this a family friendly blog, but I am not a fan of censorship.  I refuse to listen to “Forget You,” because it loses so much of its impact.  The whole point of the song, to me, is how easy going and cheerful the music is, combined with the pure shock of the chorus.  So I don’t listen to a lot of things with explicit lyrics, but when I do, I want to hear what was intended, not what is safe for the radio.  I do skip this one when Ruby is in the car though.

2) Firework, by Katy Perry – So sue me.  I like Katy Perry.  Everything she sings gets stuck in my ear, and she is Ruby’s favorite singer for sure.  From “California Gurls” to “Waking Up in Vegas,” Ruby has loved Katy Perry for years now.  I blame myself.

3) Dog Days Are Over, by Florence and the Machine – What can I say about this song except that it rocks.  The slow build, the crescendo, the assurance that the dog days are over, and yet the warning that you better run.  I can’t hear this song enough.

4) Backin’ Up Song, by Schmoyoho/The Gregory Brothers – Almost everything these guys autotune is pure comedy gold, but the extended iTunes version of this song is funny and catchy, and Ruby requests it all the time.  Walk Off the Earth also does a great cover of this which we listen to a lot as well, but you can’t beat the original.

5) Raise Your Glass, by Pink – Ultimate nerd anthem?  Check.  Loved by and frequently sung by my wife?  Check.  Two sure fire ways to get onto the Latest 25 Mix.

6) Kill The Director, by The Wombats – This, to me, is a clever twist on all the songs moaning about how hard love is.  The constant yelling of “If this is a rom-com, kill the director” is matched only by the later shouting of “This is no Bridget Jones!”

7) What the Hell, by Avril Lavigne – I like Avril when she is angry and chanting about something.  This song reminds me of my other favorite Avril song, “Girlfriend,” (which I play at top volume and sing in an embarrassing manner while speeding down the highway) and even though “What the Hell” is not quite as good, I still enjoy it.  And to prevent Ruby from learning naughty language, I convinced her that Avril is singing “Walk the Cow.”  Thank goodness for poor diction.

8) Rolling in the Deep, by Adele – This is the only song I have ever put onto the mix without listening to it first.  Adele’s new single?  It’s going on the list.  Now, I know that people are complaining that it is overplayed, but luckily for me I never listen to the radio.  Also, this is definitely Ruby’s favorite song at the moment.  She requests it all the time, although she calls it “The Trash Heap Song,” because she is under the impression that the trash heap from Fraggle Rock is singing it.

9) Cooler Than Me, by Mike Posner – I know this song is a little old, but I had never heard it when it was performed flawlessly by Groove For Thought on The Sing-Off.  I downloaded the original and put in in the mix, but I still wish it were the Groove For Thought version every time I hear it.

10) When I Get You Alone, by Robin Thicke – Any song that includes “A Fifth of Beethoven” by Walter Murphy is going on the list.  I’m just saying.  It’s just too bad he didn’t include that kickin’ hammond organ solo.

11) Marry You, by Bruno Mars – So I got that Bruno Mars album, and I kind of liked it, especially this song, maybe because I heard it on Glee first.  But anything is better than that terrible song about the grenades.  You can’t use the colloquial “Ya” for “you” when you are accenting it!  It sounds terrible!  You can say “Let me get that FOR ya,” or you can say “Let me get that for YOU,” but if you said “Let me get that for YA!” it sounds either like you are doing karate, or like you are an idiot.  But Marry You is a good song.

12) The Lazy Song, by Bruno Mars – One of my unwritten rules of the list is that when I get a new album, I can put two or three songs that I like onto the list, but I try not to put more than three on, or else the list starts to get too homogenous.  However, if some song gets put out a few months later as a single, sometimes I will use that as an excuse to add it posthumously.  I can’t do that with Doo-Wops and Hooligans though, because I think I am late to the Bruno Mars party and all of these songs have been released as singles already.  Anyway, I liked The Lazy Song and Marry Me the best at first listen.

13) Animal, by The Glee Cast – This track is actually by The Warblers, which means it is actually by the Tufts Beelzebubs, which means it is actually awesome.  If you are new to this blog, I am a huge a cappella nerd.  You have been warned.

14) Country Girl, by Luke Bryan – This is, perhaps, the worst song ever written.  As someone who hates country music in general, this song contains almost every single thing that I hate about country music.  It references a southern state.  It specifically mentions a tractor.  It has the word “country” in the title.  It is degrading to women.  He sings about his truck.  He sings about his boots.  The word “critters” is included.  He specifically dedicates part of the song to rednecks.  And yet, I feel like perhaps it is so bad of a song that it has circled around again to become a good song.  Honestly, if you change a few of the words and sing it up an octave, I’m pretty sure it could be an Aerosmith song.  When I listen to it, I pretend I have just written a comedy musical and the two stock “redneck” characters have just met, and this is what the guy redneck sings to the girl redneck, to great laughs from the audience at this perfect satire of country music.

15) Can’t Keep Johnny Down, by They Might Be Giants – TMBG is probably my favorite band, and this opening track is exactly what I love about them.  It’s fun, it’s catchy, it’s kind of about some random mundane thought or feeling, and they had a fan video contest for the official music video.  The winning video is kind of awesome, and you can watch it here.

16) Perform This Way, by “Weird Al” Yankovic – As always, Weird Al never fails to deliver on up to date parody and clever satire.  Is he making fun of Lady Gaga, or defending her?  Either way, my favorite part of the song is the “Express Yourself” being sung by the Madonna in the background.  But the video is a little terrifying, so be warned.

17) Deer in the Headlights, by Owl City – I’m not sure if it’s cool or uncool to like Owl City at this point, but I love Owl City.  The lame puns, the silly wordplay, and the fact that it’s just one guy sitting in his parents’ basement – I feel like he’s living my dream!  I didn’t really like his first single off the new album (Alligator Sky), but the rest of the album is on repeat for me constantly.

18) Galaxies, by Owl City – If you listen to this track after its predecessor on the album, it becomes a memorial for the Challenger disaster.  If you listen to it on its own, it becomes an affirmation of God in troubled times.  At least it does for me.  One of the things I love about Owl City is the very clear references to his spirituality in the music, without it becoming a religious album.  His belief in God is just a part of who he is, and the music reflects that.  I wish more of life could be that integrated.

19) Angels, by Owl City – Again, you could either take this in a religious way, or a romantic way.  Depending on my mood, I hear it differently every time.

20) If That Isn’t Love, by “Weird Al” Yankovic – This is by far my favorite track off of his new album.  It sounds like Hanson, but it’s another classic twisted love song, as sung by a man who really doesn’t know what love is.

21) Party in the C.I.A., by “Weird Al” Yankovic – One of things that I love about Weird Al, is that he can take songs I don’t actually like, and make me like them.  I really hated “Party in the USA” when it came out, but switch the words around and make it about assassinations and water boarding?  Perfect!  It even made me like the original song a little more than I did before.

22) Tonight Tonight, by Hot Chelle Rae – I can count the number of chords they use on one hand.  Ah, yes, this is what pop music is truly about.  Taking a couple of simple chords and repeating them over and over while singing about partying.  Pure summer time bliss.

23) Let Your Hair Hang Down, by They Might Be Giants – Finally, the new album came out!  “Can’t Keep Johnny Down” was great, but I needed more!  The whole album is pretty good (it reminds me of their earlier stuff while still sounding new), but this is one of my favorites.

24) When Will You Die, by They Might Be Giants – The best part of this song is when they name each member of the band personally, and announce that each of them are waiting for you to die.  I love peppy music combined with macabre lyrics.  It works every time!

25) Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall, by Coldplay – This should have gone on this list earlier, but I honestly wasn’t that into this song when it first came out a few weeks (months?) ago.  However, the more I hear it, the more I like it, and today I finally added it to the mix.  If you, for some reason, do not like this song, I encourage you to listen to it a few more times.  Unless you listen to the radio a lot and the reason you do not like this song is because they are overplaying it.  In that case, stop listening to it immediately before it is ruined for good.

So that’s it.  That’s what I listen to driving back and forth from home, to the pizza place, to auditions in New York City.  And in another nine or ten months, maybe we can do this again with songs that none of us have heard yet.