Setlist Society

1. Gobbledigook - Sigur Ros
2. Born to Hum - Erin McKeown
3. Fantasie Impromptu, Opus 66 - Frederic Chopin
4. Heartbeats - Jose Gonzalez
5. 3 x 5 - John Mayer
6. Dream a Little Dream of Me - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
7. Be Gentle With Me - The Boy Least Likely To
8. Libertango - Astor Piazzolla (Yo Yo Ma version)
9. The Scientist - Coldplay (acoustic version)
10. Wishful Thinking - The Ditty Bops
11. Calico Skies - Paul McCartney
12. I Wanna Dance With Somebody - Whitney Houston
13. Whether You Fall - Tracy Bonham
14. Sonnet - Will Stratton
15. Volare - Dean Martin
16. A Sunday Kind of Love - Etta James
17. Gold - Interference
18. Around and Around - Mark Kozelek
19. O Divine Redeemer - Mark Gounod (MOTAB version)
20. You and I - Ingrid Michaelson
21. Dies Nox Et Omnia - Carl Orff (from Carmina Burana)
22. Two Step - Dave Matthews
23. I'll See You Soon - Coldplay



And I guess you could say that's my musical (and, to an extent, my personal) self in a nutshell.

So that was a lame attempt at a clever post title. What you should take from it is: we're looking for songs/pieces featuring great solos this week. Guitar solos, drum solos, bass solos, trumpet solos--whatever. Let's pay tribute to the virtuoso.

1. "If I Were a Bell" from Guys and Dolls by Josie De Guzman & Peter Gallagher
2. "I Want To Hold Your Hand" from Mono Masters, vol. 1 by The Beatles
3. "Stickshifts and Safetybelts" from Fashion Nugget by Cake
4. "The Promise" from When in Rome by When in Rome
   
5. "Shake the Disease" from The Singles 81-85 by Depeche Mode
6. "47" from Not Without a Fight by New Found Glory
7. "Is This Love"? from Motorcade of Generosity by Cake
8. "Walk Like a Man" from Anthology by Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
9. "I Fought the Law" from I Fought the Law - Single by Green Day
10. "I Should Be Allowed to Think" from John Henry by They Might Be Giants
    
11. "Pork and Beans" from Weezer (Red Album) by Weezer
12. "If It Was Up to Me" from Fire the Cannons by Jet Lag Gemini
13. "California Dreamin'" from The Mamas & The Papas Greatest Hits by The Mamas and the Papas
14. "We're All Dudes" from Good Burger: Music From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Less Than Jake
15. "Play It Loud" from Before Everything and After by MXPX
16. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" from The Beatles (White Album) by The Beatles
17. "Me and My Shadow" from The Summit: In Concert by Frank Sinatra & Sammy Davis, Jr.
18. "Forever in Blue Jeans" from 12 Greatest Hits, vol. 2 by Neil Diamond
19. "Yo No Soy Esa Mujer" from Paulina by Paulina Rubio
20. "American Anthem" from The War Soundtrack by Norah Jones
21. "Superman" from Lifes Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
22. "The Flash (Theme)" by Danny Elfman
23. "Alternative is Dead" from Suburban Legends by Suburban Legends
24. "Thank You for Not Moshing" (clean version) from Greatest Hit and More by Reel Big Fish
    
25. "In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle" from No! by They Might Be Giants
26. "Good Enough" from Transitions by Westbound Train

My list is more like Jared's, where I tried to pick songs that mostly describe who I am as a person, how I look at life and certain situations, and my tastes/background. It starts out pretty organized, going from the excitement of romance to the awkwardness of it to the reactions of being spurned. Next I go into the ideologies of "sticking it to the man," escapism, embracing rock, and then it sort of falls into an eclectic look at Shark attributes and history. Specifically:

#16 reflects my philosophy on life in general; #17 not only embodies my love for the Sinatra era, but was a number my friend and I sang in high school that won us first place in the school talent show; #18 was my theme song from ages 3 through 8, basically; #19 encapsulates all the Latin music I heard while walking the streets of Dallas on my mission; #20 is the patriot in me; #21 and #22 are my hobby; #23 and #24 are my attitude toward the recent generation of punk/ska enthusiasts; #25 is me resisting the urge to run over pedestrians who think they own the road; #26 is the never-ending search for employment.

As for the embedded player above, a couple notes:
Of course, neither of the two Beatles songs were available. Oddly enough, neither was TMBG's "I Should Be Allowed to Think," which you should look up if you haven't heard. Westbound Train's "Good Enough" is an EXCELLENT, soulful number which deserves everyone's discovery, but alas, also was unavailable. I didn't include Reel Big Fish's "Thank You For Not Moshing" because the only version the widget builder could find was the unedited one. If you can find a cleaned up version, and you enjoy rock concerts, you should listen to this.

Finally, the version of "The Flash" that I have is from the actual T.V. show, not the cover that was recorded sometime later and included in the player.

1. "Read My Mind" from Sam's Town by The Killers

1. "The Littlest Birds" from Catalpa by Jolie Holland
2. "Get Rhythm" from The Complete Sun Singles by Johnny Cash
3. "Blackbird" from The Beatles [The White Album] by The Beatles
4. "I'm Old Fashioned" from Blue Train by John Coltrane
5. "Watch the Girl Destroy Me" from Possum Dixon by Possum Dixon
6. "America" from Bookends by Simon & Garfunkel
7. "Exquisite Dead Guy" from Factory Showroom by They Might Be Giants
8. "Great Pumpkin Waltz" from Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits by Vince Guaraldi Trio
9. "Alleluia" from Choose Something Like a Star composed by Randall Thompson, performed by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
10. "Both Sides, Now" from Clouds by Joni Mitchell
11. "Concorde" from Concorde by The Modern Jazz Quartet
12. "For the Good of Your Country" from Ride On by Count Basie & His Orchestra
13. "Belles of Blackville" from The Essential Chieftains by The Chieftains with Bela Fleck
14. "Dig Me a Hole" from FIREPROOF by Dawn Landes
15. "The Twist" from The Midnight Organ Fight by Frightened Rabbit
16. "Better Git It in Your Soul" from Mingus Ah Um by Charles Mingus
17. "Yeh Yeh" from Mink Car by They Might Be Giants
18. "I'm Only Sleeping" from Revolver by The Beatles
19. "Coffee in the Pot" from Road to Rouen by Supergrass
20. "Bright Spring Morning" from Rump Shaker by Suburban Legends
21. "Getting Better" from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles
22. "Fingertips" from Apollo 18 by They Might Be Giants

David and I were chatting and we determined that we took different takes on this assignment. He composed a setlist to describe his musical self; I tried to make a setlist that described me in general. Kind of fun--I'm hoping to see even more takes.

Hopefully the widget embedded above works for you. Like David, I wasn't able to get any of the Beatles tracks on mine, plus I couldn't find the Randall Thompson "Alleluia," the Count Basie number, or the Chieftains/Bela Fleck collaboration. If you can, find yourself a copy of these tracks and take a listen. Great stuff.

Oh, and a note--the last 20 tracks on the embedded widget are all part of the last song listed on my setlist: "Fingertips." It's a montage piece.

19. "You Can't Hurry Love" from The Supremes A' Go-Go by The Supremes
20. "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" from Higher and Higher by Jackie Wilson
21. "Crossroads" from Wheels of Fire by Cream
22. "Here Comes the Sun" from Abbey Road by The Beatles
23. "Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight" from Abbey Road by The Beatles
24. "Heroes" from Heroes by David Bowie
25. "A Heart in New York" from The Concert in Central Park by Simon and Garfunkel
    

There are some brutally obvious holes in this list. It's no easy task reducing myself musically to one CD. My life could easily be a double album. But I do feel that it gives an accurate view of who I am musically. I hope you enjoy it. If you're not familiar with a song, you can play it in the widget (except for the Beatles tracks, which I'm guessing you all know).

Since some of us might not know each other, this week's theme is, "Me as a setlist."

Go.