Track Listings
This is the first year that people had seen the lineup of my year-end soundtrack and said, "Hey, why don't you include this?" This track was one of those. Jane told me she would be "deeply disappointed" if I didn't include it. Fine. Ironically, this was one of the songs used in the iTunes Music Store ad campaign. Straight-ahead rock-and-roll, and the perfect way to start the CD.
"Hey Ya!" OutKast
Easily the most infectious track of the year, from the best album of the year. I haven't seen OutKast live yet, but Marty saw them at Area:One a couple of years ago and said they're phenomenal.
"Blow It Out" Ludacris
The day after I got this song, I was driving around, listening to my iPod, track blaring. I'm at a stoplight, screaming "I'm the new phenomenon like white women with ass!" A black guy pulls up to me, driving an Escalade with Iverson spinners, sees me jamming to Ludacris. I see he's looking, and nod to him. He just shakes his head and drives off. Such an 'Office Space' moment.
"Disorder in the House," Warren Zevon
Unhinged. For someone as ill as Warren was when he recorded this track to sound this wild speaks volumes of his dedication to the art of making music.
"Bigger Than My Body," John Mayer
I was a late comer to the John Mayer party, but I heard a lot of his stuff at Front Row this year. He's an awesome songwriter, and his voice, while it put me off at first, grew on me wholly. This is a fantastic song, and it spoke to me this year.
"Clocks," Coldplay
I think of two people when I hear this song: Efrain, who came up to me repeatedly and threatened me every time I played it -- he couldn't go anywhere without hearing it this year, and he was getting tired of it; and Maggi. She knows why.
"The Other Side," David Gray
LL showed me that Gray was more than "Babylon." This song would reach up and tickle the back of my neck from time to time, and I couldn't leave it off the CD.
"Another Gone (For Elliot Smith)," Duncan Sheik
Elliot Smith, like Jeff Buckley and so many other musicians who came before him, will be known better because he died too damned young and not because his music was so amazing, which it was. Duncan's lyrics address the loss, and the senselessness of it. (Thanks to Kelly for pointing me to the song.)
"Halley's Waitress," Fountains of Wayne
A great year for Fountains of Wayne, who had the best song the Cars never recorded hit big for them in "Stacy's Mom." Working at Friday's made me appreciate this song more, and there are several waitrons I worked with who this song could have been describing.
"Breathe Your Name," Sixpence None the Richer
I heard this repeatedly at Front Row this year, before I went over to my own pre-game programming. The vocals just haunt me. I wish to Bog these guys would stick to their own stuff, which I'm sure is as powerful as this, and stay away from getting forced into doing needless '80s cover songs. Dammit!
"Mexico," James Taylor
Not so much for the Cancun trip (even though my iPod decided to play this a lot while I was waiting in various Mexican airports), but for the groove it provided at various times.
"A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request," Steve Goodman
If I have to explain why this song is included, you simply haven't been paying attention. If Steve Goodman were alive today, he would write a special verse for Steve Bartman. It's not available on iTunes, but if you're any degree of baseball fan and don't own the CD, click the link and buy it today.
"You Can't Buy Soul," The Banana Splits
2003 was the year Marty and I rediscovered the wonder that is the Banana Splits. Boomerang (DirecTV channel 298) runs it every now and then. You've got Danger Island, the Dilly Sisters, and every now and the, a great pop song from up and coming musicians that the Splits would perform. "Soul" was a Barry White song. Really.
"Waiting For You," Seal
Trevor Horn takes Seal to Motown.
"Battle Without Honor Or Humanity," Tomoyasu Hotei
I used this song for pre-game atmosphere at Front Row, when the Rangers were getting ready to take the field. By the time 'Kill Bill: Volume One' came out, you heard the song everywhere, but I had been using it since April.
"Set Me Free," Velvet Revolver
The best thing about 'Hulk.' Seriously. It's Scott Weiland singing with Guns N' Roses, and with any luck, Scott will stay out of jail long enough to finish up a whole album with Slash and the boys. "If I pick up this trash in the control room, does it count towards my community service?"
"Rock Is Dead," Marilyn Manson
Truth be told, I'm not a huge Marilyn Manson fan. In fact, this is the only song by Marilyn that I won. It was featured in the BMW 'The Hire' short "Beat The Devil," which starred James Brown and Gary Oldman as Satan. Brilliant. So, the song might lead me down the dark path of likeing Manson's schtuff. hrmph.
"The Internet Is For Porn," Kate Monster & Trekkie, Avenue Q
"Normal people don't sit at home and watch porn on the Internet." Oh, Kate... you really have no idea. I have to go see this musical the next time I go to New York. And so do you.
"Dog," Ben Folds
Ben didn't release a new album this year, but did release a couple of digital-only EPs. This comes from the first, 'Speed Graphic.' Vintage Ben Folds, harkening back to the early days when the Five roamed the earth.
"Keep Me In Your Heart," Warren Zevon
Fin.