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City Songs
August 30, 2008
For a trade at Swap-bot, I am working on a mix CD containing songs with the names of US cities or states in the titles. This is an easy mix to compile as compared to others since it focuses on the titles rather than song themes, although I am tending to choose songs that say something to me in addition to just sounding good. Outside of the swap guidelines, I’ve set a few additional restrictions for my mix — not more than one song by any particular artist or group and not more than one song about any specific city or state. My initial playlist was 134 songs, which I’ve weeded down to 33, but this includes 4 California songs, 3 Georgia songs and 2 New York songs, as well as a couple of artist doubles, which will need to be culled down in keeping with the rules I set.
Even though the title does not reference a city or state, I am planning to open the CD with the song, “Traveling Thru America” by Griffin House. There are several cities/states mentioned in the song and it feels like a great intro to the theme of the CD.
The other songs currently on the semi-final list, in no particular order yet, are:
Reno - Alex Woodard (with Sara Watkins)
Boston - Augustana
Angel from Montgomery - Bonnie Raitt
Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen
When Detroit was Burning - Cathie Ryan
Memphis - Catie Curtis
Hollywood - Collective Soul
Miami - Counting Crows
Stephenville, TX - Jewel
Indiana - Jon McLaughlin
North Dakota - Chris Knight
Loop Around Atlanta - Kasey Chambers and the Dead Ringer Band
Crazy in Alabama - Kate Campbell
Long Island Shores - Mindy Smith
Ohio - Neil Young
Poughkeepsie - Over the Rhine
Dear Chicago - Ryan Adams
Mississipppi - Sheryl Crow
Stop In Nevada - Billy Joel
Angel of Harlem - U2
St. Paul - We the Living
Marching Bands Of Manhattan - Death Cab For Cutie
Minneapolis - Lucinda Williams
Bus To Baton Rouge - Lucinda Williams
Georgia Girl - Collective Soul
Georgia Boy - Pete Yorn
Why Georgia - John Mayer
The New York Times - Everclear
Leaving New York - R.E.M.
California Snow - Dave Alvin
Not California - Hem
California - Melissa Etheridge
Incognito in California - Tim Finn
Now the tough part, narrowing it down to just 16-18 songs… Choosing between the 2 New York songs will be one of the most difficult things because I very much like both of these songs. “Leaving New York” is one of my all-time favorite R.E.M. songs. Not only are there times and situations when I have related completely to the lyrics, but it contains one of the greatest lines, “It’s easier to leave than to be left behind…” Meanwhile, Everclear’s “New York Times” is a catchy tune and the lyrics are inspiring…
It makes no sense to me,
This eye for an eye thing,
It has gone too far
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t hurt inside
I would like to believe we could learn from this
And maybe some day we can make things right
I want to believe in this world
I want to believe in this life
I want to believe in a world that does not seem real
When you read between the lines
[snip]
I want to believe we can make things right
I want to believe
I want to believe
I want to believe
I want to believe
Oh, I want to believe in this world
I want to believe in this life
I want to believe in a world that does not seem real
When I read the New York Times
Makes you think, makes you hope, makes you want to believe…
Posted by Deb
Topics: lyrics, mix cd, swaps, music