Just finished taking my final exam for my second summer class at DePaul! Finally free!

And in honor of that (and having a little free time tonight) I’m finally posting my playlist that I finished waaaaay back at the end of last month. So here it is:

Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken - Camera Obscura - Let’s Get Out of This Country (2006)
Fit But You Know It - The Streets - A Grand Don’t Come for Free (2004)
Little Violin - What Four - What Four (2006)
Home - Marc Broussard - Carencro (2004)
Blue Skies - Young Republic - Modern Plays (2006)
Samson - Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope (2006)
Disco Bean - Turnbull A.C’s - Part Man, Part Machine (2006)
I Wish I Knew - Derek Trucks Band - Songlines (2006)
Related - The 77s - A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows (2001)
Wade in the Water - Eva Cassidy - Songbird (1998)
Wild Horses (Rolling Stones) - Charlotte Martin - On Your Shore (2004)
Tell the Lie - The BellRays - Have a Little Faith (2006)
When I Come Back Around - Jamie Lidell - Multiply Additions (2006)
Make A Choice - Dylan Donkin - Soft Energy (2004)
Why Does the Sun Shine? - They Might Be Giants - Why Does the Sun Shine (1994)
A Happiness - All Things Bright And Beautiful - Love & Affection (2003)

So what’s so special about these songs? Because anyone can make a playlist. But this is so much more than that. This is a collection of aural and poetic jewels that I have labored for hours to find.

To kick it all off we have Camera Obscura from Glasgow (Scotland). To quote Pitchfork: “Camera Obscura can simultaneously evoke a wedding, a funeral, and a 1970s game show theme; the organ overture of Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken encapsulates this tincture of celebration, sadness, and a dash of winning schmaltz.” This song is actually an answer to British singer Lloyd Cole’s 1984 hit “Are you ready to be heartbroken?” I pretty much heard this song once and loved it immediately.

Next up is British rapper Mike Skinner, a.k.a. The Streets. Ironicly I first heard Skinner like years ago while living in Lansing - long before I was looking for awesome music like this. The Impact (awesome radio station) had his 2002 UK hit “Let’s Push Things Forward” in regular rotation. Well this song - “Fit But Don’t You Know It” - continues the legacy of highly entertaining, quality music. He actually has a new album out now but I liked this song so much I wanted to include it instead of his newer material. Skinner was even in Chicago not too long ago - he headlined at the Intonation Music Festival.

What Four is one of those bands that totally surprised me. This band from Chicago’s north suburbs has a solid mixture of rock, jazz, classical, soul, and funk influences - and I totally dig it. In this song you can hear it in the jazzy piano licks and how they play with the time signature. So I was floored when I realized that these four guys are all still in high school. Keep your eyes on these boys. Marc Broussard is old school for me but I thought I’d throw him in. My sister and brother-in-law bought me his CD like two years ago or so. I do have to admit that this is really the only song in his CD that I’m crazy about. But having said that, this song is downright amazing. Now since I just mentioned a band full of high-schoolers, it’s fitting to go right to The Young Republic. I was first introduced to these guys through their Lounge Act at Cincinnati-based WOXY. Basically they’re all students at Berklee College of Music in Boston who decided to form a self-described “indie-orchestral-folk-rock” band. The band was formed in fall of 2004, and its short history has been eventful: Members have been replaced, three albums have been released and they have gone on a national tour in a homemade trailer. Music is recorded after school wherever they can find space to play. How can you beat that?

Now moving on to the world of amazing female vocalists we have Regina Spektor. She was born in Moscow in 1980 but moved with her family to the Bronx in NYC when she was 9. With a voice that would charm the devil she covers the spectrum from jazz to folk. This song especially entranced me (although there’s another version with only piano and vocals that I like better, but it wasn’t on iTunes).

I found the UK-based Turnbull A.C’s entirely by accident. I was actually looking for Cincinnati-based The Turnbull AC’s because I’m totally in love with their song Ghost Town Land. Unfortunately I couldn’t get that song without buying the whole album (which I can’t afford this summer) but the UK electronic band had some good free tracks on their myspace page. So you get the UK electronic band instead of the Cinci rock band. Don’t worry, they’re both excellent!

Now I am forever indebted to my swing and blues dancing friend Jason Young for introducing me to the Derek Trucks Band. It was about 4am or something after a party at Joachim’s place and he started playing some of his favorite blues music while Tessa, Joachim, and I were all falling asleep on the couch. Then this song came on. And we’re all like… “that’s money.” And I got the song from him so I could put it in the mix. Speaking of bands I found through my friends, The 77s are the same case. I was first introduced to them by my old roommate in Lansing, Josh Arritt. This is another one of those songs I heard once and fell totally in love with. Solid rock sound with strong rhythms underneath it.

Back in the world of amazing female vocalists, Eva Cassidy is another artist I was first exposed to through The Impact in East Lansing. She has actually become rather well-known although it never happened until after she died of cancer. This version of her covering Wade in the Water is a great blues-dancing song! And then we have Charlotte Martin covering the Rolling Stones song Wild Horses. She has an absolutely stunning, incredible voice. And I love the lyrics to this song.

And now… one of my absolute FAVORITE bands on the mix: The BellRays. These guys were featured on KEXP’s “Music That Matters” podcast vol #20. But I don’t just like this song - I love every single song on their CD. You can listen to their music on their website - go check it out. They are the perfect blend of grungy rock and motown-reminiscent soul. And they give each song it’s own unique personality and sound. Amazing. I can’t stop raving about these guys.

I first heard Jamie Lidell on an episode of 75 minutes. This remix of one of his previously released songs is an awesome electro backdrop with convincing soul vocals. And I first heard Maui (Hawaii) based Dylan Donkin on Dave Cusick’s Post-Modern Rock Show (July 14). This song makes me want to kick back on the beach and relax. Makes me wish I was in Hawaii too. And winding things down we’ve got a song from world-famous They Might Be Giants. Seems obligitory that I include one of their songs in a mix at some point, and this song is a great one to put on there. Dave Cusick actually had this on one of his shows and I felt inspired so I stuck it here on my mix too.

Last, but far from least, we have a song that I really like from All Things Bright And Beautiful. I am indebted again to Josh Arritt for pointing this out to me. In fact I first saw this song just as poetry when Josh blogged the lyrics. I was back home a month ago or so and stopped by for Mark’s moving-to-california party. And around 4am or something, Josh played the record for me. This ambient, haunting album released on Northern Records is basically the heart of Lee Bozeman in musical form. Bozeman has spent the past decade as the front-man for rock band Luxury before taking on this solo project. And this project is entrancing. Seemed like the perfect song to wrap up the mix.

Have a great night and enjoy all of the incredible music God has given us!

Seize life! Eat bread with gusto, drink wine with a robust heart. Oh yes - God takes pleasure in your pleasure! Dress festively every morning. Don’t skimp on colors and scarves. Relish life with the spouse you love each and every day of your precarious life. Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one!