Late Train - CDs for Sarah

A couple of months ago, I made a 2 volume set of CD mixes for my sister, Sarah ("CD mix" just does not have the same ring as "Mixtape"), and because I was fairly busy at work (where I do anything having to do with the computer) I did not manage to come up with an annotated song list. Also, I will admit that I was rather lazy about getting them to the post office, so she didn't actually get the mixes until Thanksgiving, with a song list, but no annotation. That just won't do. So, I have decided to present the list here, over the course of several days. It is 40 songs, after all.

Late Train, vol. 1

1. "Shake Ya Boogie" -- Mocean Worker (Cinco de Mowo!)
On the one hand, I don't tend to find music NPR presents all that interesting; on the other hand, three of the albums represented on this set came to me via NPR. Go figure. This one is even odder in that it is "Electronica", a genre which has never appealed to me. Mocean Worker takes classic jazz lines (played by the likes of Herbie Hancock), cuts them apart and remixes them into a Latin beat. The result is an interesting, infectious collage. I don't necessarily want to listen to the whole album in one sitting, but the individual cuts work well in a mix.


2. "Look Me Up" -- Georgie James (Places)
NPR find number 2. They are pretty rockin' power pop, but also like Mocean Worker, the songs work better in mixes than all together. As Heidi Klum might say, the album very matchy-matchy. Very fun, but a bit much all at once.


3. "Sentimental Heart" -- She & Him (Volume One)
I love this song. I love this album. And I have a massive girl crush on Zooey Deschanel. There is a vintage early-60's feel to this. Her singing chops may not blow you out of the water, but her voice is sweet and heartfelt, as are her songs.


4. "Johnny Appleseed" -- Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros (Global A Go Go)
A couple of years ago, HBO chose to cancel "Deadwood", some of the best television ever to air (once you got past the cussing, which was...plentiful and operatic) in favor of a show called "John from Cinncinati". One of the only good things about that show was it's theme song, "Johnny Appleseed". He has a voice that just makes me melt.


5. "Hesitating Beauty" -- Billy Bragg & Wilco (Mermaid Avenue)
If you have any love for folk music, the two "Mermaid Avenue" albums need to be in your collection. This is such a sweet, romantic song and is one of my favorites from the project: "We can ramble hand in hand/across the grasses of our land/I'll kiss you for each leaf on every tree".

That is all for now..