I put together a holiday mix with Daniel, and I’m giving it to friends. We made it on Christmas Day from vinyl records my brother has lying around. The idea was that vinyl would give it the nostalgic vibe, and most of the songs are quiet and warm. It’s like someone got ahold of Starbucks’ holiday christmas CD and removed all the evidence of 2003, replacing it with evidence of the mid-20th century. All that Nora Jones, Alicia Keys, and whoever else is replaced by Nat “King” Cole, Stan Getz, et al., then augmented by Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and the like, just to spice it up.
Here’s the track listing:
1. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
Nat “King” Cole
2. Baby Lets Swing
Todd Rundgren
3. Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
Bob Dylan
4. Les Paumes du Petit Matin
Jacques Brel
5. Corcovado
Stan Getz w/Astrud Gilberto
6. Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat
Bob Dylan
7. Dreamsville
Henry Mancini
8. Gone with “what” wind
Charlie Christian
9. Woman in Love
Streisand
10. Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
The Rolling Stones
11. Boots of Spanish Leather
Bob Dylan
12. Mama Miss America
Paul McCartney
13. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
The Rolling Stones
14. January in Bombay
Chet Atkins
Comments
Dec 31 02003 1.58p
phredx #
Generally, I think this mix is successful. Especially because it’s vinyl, though, I think the number of Dylan tracks and even the doubling of the Stones on a single CD make it seem like the library was too small. I guess I’m the sort of person who likes variety so much that I’m more enthusiastically receptive to the stuff on here that I hadn’t heard before. Best in show: Jacques Brel.
Dec 31 02003 10.34p
Daniel Tashian #
Just out of curiosity, does a larger library always equal a better mix? Look at our local station WRLT (nashville), they boast the largest “on air” library, and their playlist is horrific! I don’t think it’s the size of library, but what’s in it. Besides, both the Stones songs and the Dylan songs come from different albums, at different times of their careers, so they had to be drawn from different LPs. Many records were played, then veto-ed by Carl because they didn’t fit the mood of the mix. We were going for more of a consistent vibe throughout, than a demonstration of variety. So, in my opinion, this is not just a generally succesful mix, but even specifically succesful. Of course, i’m somewhat biased because I was involved in making it.
Jan 6 02004 11.44a
phredx #
I wasn’t, I think, trying to generalize to say that only variety is the spice of life. It’s one of them, but I mean, so is curry, and I’ve ordered that more than once. I think, for me, I wanted it to lean more in one direction or the other. Like a Stones/Dylan holiday disc or a true mix. Or even a few holiday mood songs from a select few artists. I guess the balance just didn’t hit it right for me. Not that I haven’t listened to the disc repeatedly. And enjoyed it.
Jan 16 02004 10.43a
phredx #
One other extremely successful think about this mix is the title: This Is Vinyl.