Led Zeppelin - Since I’ve Been Loving You @ Madison Square Garden July 1973

I understand, that these days, we leave it to Marshawn Lynch to school us on what it means to be in “Beast Mode” but Jimmy Page INVENTED “Beast Mode.” Fact.

Van Morrison - Sweet Thing

A couple weeks ago, Lissette gave me some homework. I had just finished showing her this Hip Hop/Rap mix CD I made for Ian and she was quick to shoot over an idea for a future mix CD/playlist: a mix for our baby. I gladly accepted.

Now, while I haven’t really had a chance to tackle this yet since the baby isn’t due till March, I have come across some tunes I know I’d like to include in there. Immediately I knew a Beatles track would make the cut and of course a Rolling Stones tune will surely be included. Would the baby appreciate a Dylan track? Not sure about that one. A song by The Smashing Pumpkins is a must (probably not X.Y.U. though) and a bunch of other ones.

This song in particular I felt was necessary.

I remember back when I was young, in my teens, my cousin Irma and I loved trying to come up with ideas for music videos. We had begun to really get into music, Alternative Rock specifically (we were KROQers, foo), and we loved watching MTV when they actually had music videos on instead of Jersey Bore. We each had our favorites. One of her favorites that I remember was Stone Temple Pilots’ “Interstate Love Song.” I can remember her telling me over and over again how she just loooooved that video. I thought it was kind of an odd video but it was her mamma jamma so who was I to judge her? One of my favorite videos was Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain.” How could you NOT like that video? The Slash/Outside The Church/Solo scene? C’mon, now. That’s music video GOLD right there. If I lived in that Church, I’d come out to grab the mail just like Slash EVERY SINGLE DAY. The last time you probably saw someone make an awesome video out in the desert was when Kanye got all Evil Knievel/Curtis Mayfield on us in the “Touch the Sky” video.

So Irma and I would be chilling, playing, eating elotes locos, fighting over who had next on Sonic The Hedgehog, doing who knows what and if we were listening to music we’d think to ourselves, “You know what would be cool? If during such n such song there’d be like these things that would be like that and then when it says ‘blah blah blah’ they’ve be in this huge thing where you can see all these…” and it would go on. And we’d trade off and try to outdo each other’s idea. I think our lives were just starting to become highly consumed with music that we’d be thinking about applying it to a lot of things around us. We started building on an idea that even as adults we all think about: the life soundtrack. No, not the ‘LIFE’ soundtrack but more so the soundtrack to our lives. How at random times in our life we can easily find a song that would fit that particular moment. Irma and I came up with so many good ones and throughout my life I’ve come up with a lot of good ones on my own that I’ve kept to myself. Ain’t nobody gonna make money off of my music video ideas, dammit. And I got some good ones too.

So then this Van Morrison song, how does it relate? I can’t say that I’ve found it fitting in my life YET. I like the song. I think it’s great. It’s a beautiful song actually. Instantly one would imagine that because of Van’s sense of ardor in this song that he’d be singing this song about a lady. While that may be true I kind of take the feeling of this song to be just about a good feeling towards someone. It illustrates to me a beautiful deep relationship. Something unbreakable. Something that says, “we’re in this together, forever.”

In thinking of songs that would fit into my life and on this new mix, I think this song would perfectly fit somewhere in the future. Specifically, when I’m looking into the eyes of my newborn son or daughter and looking back at Lissette and what we’ve created, I’ll think that what we got there is one Sweet Little Thing.

Oh-woh, sweet thing. Woh-woh-woh, sugar baby.
Oh-woh, sweet thing. Sugar baby, sugar baby, sugar baby.
With your champagne eyes,
An’ your saint-like smile.

Paul McCartney & Wings - Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five

Pssst…you don’t own “Band on The Run” by Paul McCartney and Wings? No? Ok. Take care of that today. I won’t judge you. I promise. Just change that TO-DAY.

Ah, my mama said the time would come
When I would find myself in love with you
I didn’t think, I never dreamed
That I would be around to see it all come true
Whoa-oh-oh I…
Oh-oh-oh I…
Well, I just can’t get enough of that sweet stuff
My little lady gets behind

Twilight Singers

“Hey, Alex. What are you doing today? I was thinking maybe we coul…”

“HELL NO! I already got plans.”

Tonight.

I’m about to give this shirt away on our SideOneDummy Twitter account - @side_one_dummy .

Too bad it’s an XL, I would have kept it for myself.

Explosions In The Sky - Let Me Back In

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Love Hungry Man / AC/DC / Highway To Hell

AC/DC - Love Hungry Man

I’ve needed a pick me up all week so I’m starting off this Friday with some jams to get me grooving. I suggest you turn this one up really loud (or quietly tapping your feet works fine too).

Animal appetite
‘Cause I’m a love hungry man
Yeah I’m a love hungry man
Don’t want no conversation
I need sweet sensation
And all I want to do
Is make a beast out of you

The Promise Ring - Size Of Your Life

When this album came out, I didn’t know what to think having loved Very Emergency so much. All I knew was that Wood/Water was going to be tough to swallow but that this song was gonna get many many plays. It did.

Let off the gas let the whole day pass
The back of your hand
The stereo hums cuz it’s up too loud
Ran through the night

I’ve been around before
But this time I don’t
Know what’s in store
Baby I don’t know what’s in store

A while back, I requested that Lissette make me a mix CD of tunes. I don’t remember if I specified a certain theme or not. I actually think I wasn’t that serious about it but kind of said it in a joking manner. But then again I really don’t remember much, I’m old and forget easily nowadays. Ok, so where was I? Oh yes, caterpillars… so caterpi…wait…mix CD. That’s it.  I didn’t think she’d take it serious but she did. One day she handed me this envelope with a CD and a letter. The CD was entitled “Sleepyhead Songs” and the letter was a brief description about why she chose all 28 songs on this mix. I decided to pop this CD in my car stereo on my way to work the next day so I can play as many songs as possible. I remember reading the letter (not while driving of course) and smiling and remembering happy & sad chapters in our life/relationship but I was mostly smiling because it was clear that she took the time to not only go through her 25,000+ songs on her iTunes but then to write why and how each song meant something to her in regards to me.

I’m not good at uploading media/rar/mp3 files online to download so here is the tracklist in it’s entirety and links to where to listen (thanx, all sources). I hope you enjoy as much as I do my own personalized mix courtesy of my Nappy Head.

Sleepyhead Songs Volume 1

1. Attack in Black - Slender Loris

2. Beach House - Heart of Chambers

3. The Beatles - Sun King

4. Ben Harper - The Woman in You

5. Bon Iver - Lump Sum *

6. Coldplay - Sparks

7. Devendra Banhart - Bad Girl

8. Elliott Smith - High Times

9. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain ^

10. Grizzly Bear - I Live With You

11. Gustavo Cerati - Crimen

12. Janis Joplin - Maybe

13. Jeff Buckley - Mojo Pin

14. John Frusciante - Control

15. John Frusciante - Wednesday’s Song

16. John Frusciante - A Doubt

17. Joy Division - She’s Lost Control

18. Lhasa De Sela - Decara A La Pared %

19. Morrissey - Jack The Ripper

20. My Morning Jacket - I’m Amazed

21. PJ Harvey - White Chalk

22. Radiohead - Pyramid Song

23. Radiohead - Nude #

24.The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses

25. The Smashing Pumpkins - Mayonaise

26. Tom Waits - Chocolate Jesus

27. The Velvet Underground - Heroin

28. Wilco - Impossible Germany

* After Lissette and I had broken up, we still remained friends. We loved going to shows and having our eyes set on going to see Bon Iver we decided to still attend this show together. It was one of the best shows ever but I could have easily attended that show by myself. We didn’t fight or argue but as I stood there watching Bon Iver play an intense great show, I felt so distant from Lissette and she was inches away from me. I remember texting/emailing her later on that I’ve never felt so distant from her and that I knew it was over. A sad memory but a memory nonetheless.

^ This song will always bring a smile to both of our faces. I’m not sure where we were coming from but we got high. We got high and we were hungry. Now, being a guy, I’ll never admit that I’m too high or too drunk to drive. Usually a guy will convince his company that “I’m ok to drive…it’s just down the street.” On this particular night, I was buggin and I needed a break so I asked her “Do you mind if I pull over and we just chill for a bit?” She was ok with it. We sat there in the Wendy’s parking lot and I don’t know how this song came on if I chose it specifically or if by shuffle but it came on and DAMN…trip-o-rama. It was silence for the next 10 minutes followed by “Whoa!”s after.

% When Lissette and I found each other after high school, I would invite her to many shows for SideOneDummy. Usually, I invited Oscar and Deandre to go with me. Honestly, the reason I needed them there when she went was because I was insanely nervous around her. I mean this girl has been my crush since elementary. Yes, I said it ELEMENTARY! So, this one time I decided it’d be cool to have her pick out 5 CDs of her choice for me to listen to and 5 CDs of my choice for her to listen to. She didn’t know it, but in my head this was a total date. I remember even calling my friend Deandre beforehand and trying to get an old pep talk from him, “Dude, I’m doing this on my own. I’m nervous. What should I talk about? What if… And then…But what happens when…” It went well and I came up with this gem of a CD thanks to her.

# I was actually thinking about this thought on the way home today. The feeling of being nude with your partner after sex. Or just the feeling of being nude with your partner, lying in bed and both your handsexploring each others body. It’s probably the softest thing you’ll ever experience, the nude body of someone else. Yes, there are soft materials and maybe soft delicate flowers, but a nude soft body touches back, it caresses back. To me, there’s nothing softer than the feeling of lying nude with someone and indulging in the soothing sounds of silence.

…fade out.

Blur - Sweet Song

Everyone is dying
Stop crying now here comes the sun
I didn’t mean to hurt you no no no
It takes time to see what you have done
So I wean myself off slowly

I believe I believe I believe
Love is the only one
I deceive I deceive I deceive I deceive
Cos’ I’m not that strong
I hope you feel the same

And now it seems everyone is falling apart
But I hope I see the good in you come back again
I just believed in you

Feist - Limit To Your Love

Girls rock!

Love love love
This dream of going upstream
Love love love
All the trouble that you give me
I know I know I know
That only I can save me
I go I go I go
Out on the road

Because there is no limit
There’s no limit
No limit no limit no limit
Limit to my love

Alice In Chains - Nutshell (Unplugged)

My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find
And yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can’t be my own
I’d feel better dead

Faces - Around The Plynth

Got a fear of death that creeps on every night.
I know I won’t die soon, but then again I might

Kiss - Hard Luck Woman

I’m not a big Kiss fan but I raided my friend’s iTunes one day and so now I have 123 Kiss songs. I probably like 4 of them. This one in particular is my favorite cause it has a couple elements that I’m a sucker for:

1) Kiss NOT sounding too much like Kiss

2) it’s not their disco type stuff

3) an acoustic ballad on a 12 string, I mean that’s just a given that I’ll like this

4) and unlike many of their songs, I can actually enjoy this one and not picture them in their clown suits

If never I’d met you
I’d never have seen you cry 
If not for our first “Hello” 
We’d never have to say goodbye 
If never I held you 
My feelin’s would never show 
It’s time I start walkin’ 
But there’s so much you’ll never know 

I keep telling you hard luck woman 
You ain’t a hard luck woman