Georgia

As many (many probably isn’t a word I should use to describe my readership) of you know (hopefully all of you… I mean, watch baseball assholes) my beloved Atlanta Braves were dismissed from the MLB playoffs in one of the more painfully terrible performances in recent sports memory. Between a complete inability to hit and several late game collapses, Braves fans once again received a figurative savage beating from our favorite team on earth. That having been said, this mix proved to be downright cathartic for a couple reasons:

1. It gave me an excuse to recount some of my favorite Braves moments which you’ll see posted here

2. Georgia has really really great music. I think that if my iPod was matched to a state’s musical scene in terms of its content it would definitely be Georgia. There really are THREE distinct musical scenes in the state (Rap, Indie, Country/Traditional) that I tried to capture while generally listening to some really really great tunes.

1) Skip Caray – 1992 NLCS, Game 7, Bottom 9
My favorite sports moment of all time. This game was played in the fall of my fourth grade year and when it came time for me to go to bed it was 2-0 Pirates in the 7th. One thing to keep in mind about this Pirates team, is that they had some of the all-time GREAT baseball villains. At this point, the world was beginning to see that Bonds was a complete and utter douche bag while Bobby Bonilla was still being Bobby Bonilla. Plus Doug Drabek’s mustache made him look like the bad guy in a Western. So here’s the background… as the game entered the bottom of the 9th with the Pirates still leading 2-0, my mom came into my room and woke me up so that I could see the end of the game (per my request to make sure I saw the last out of our season). Our 3B and 1991 NL MVP Terry Pendleton led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on a BRUTAL Jose Lind error off of a David Justice grounder and after a Sid Bream walk was driven in on a Ron Gant sacrifice fly. 2-1. Stan Belinda, the Pirates closer then entered the game, walking catcher Damon Berryhill to load the bases with Justice at 3rd and the slow as molasses Bream at 2nd . The next Brave batter, pinch hitter Brian Hunter flew out to shortstop leaving one bench player left for the Braves… little used 3rd catcher Francisco Cabrera. Keep in mind that as this is happening I am realizing that I love this team more than anything in the world… and am bargaining with God for a win. I specifically remember a prayer offering up my Nintendo as a sacrifice if God would be so gracious as to allow us to win the game. So what happened next? Fast forward to the 2:20 mark and just watch…



2) Gladys Knight and the Pips – Midnight Train to Georgia
So how are we getting from New Jersey to Georgia? On a midnight train of course! HEYYYY-OHHHHH! In the canon of songs about not feeling at home (“New York’s Not my Home” by Jim Croce, “Edmonton” by the Rural Alberta Advantage are two more favorites) this one has to be the most empowering because the protagonist not only makes it home but gets the girl too. Thinking about these songs does make me wonder though if these songs are ever written about big cities. Does anyone ever talk about how they HAVE to get back to NYC or L.A. from the country? I don’t think so. Maybe people just don’t fall in love with cities in the same way that they fall in love with the country. Does growing up somewhere rural create some special imprint on your DNA that makes your hometown something MORE than just a hometown?



3)Big Boi ft. Gucci Mane – Shine Blockas
Georgia has given us not only the likes of Francisco Cabrera and Sid Bream but also the rapper who is easily the most underrated in the WHOLE game. Big Boi isn’t even the most respected member of his own duo but is, in my estimation, the REAL best rapper alive. This track off his new and perfect and absurdly named “Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty” is absolute, indisputable, MAGMA and is on my shortlist for song of the year. This track, as do many of his efforts, gives shoutouts not only to his homebase in Atlanta but also to Savannah where I our mix is beginning.



4) Allman Brothers Band – Whipping Post
Ever been to Savannah? If so then you’ve experienced the kind of sweat that makes a liberal dosage of Gold Bond powder an absolute necessity. Regardless of its LEVEL ORANGE chaffing threat potential, Savannah is SUCH a cool city. It’s quirky and traditional at the same time and it’s heat and humidity give it almost a haunted aura that follows you throughout the city. “Whipping Post” with the guitar work of Dicky Betts and Duane Allman has that sticky, slick feel that you get no matter where you go in Savannah and combines it with the best blues vocals by a white guy in the history of white guys singing the blues.



5) Alan Jackson – Chatahoochee
Georgia native Alan Jackson is probably one of my favorite solo vocalists and I’m saying this in a totally non-ironic way. On a recent trip from Pulaski to Northern VA, a friend and I listened to Jackson’s greatest hits and were blown away at the sheer number of great songs he has recorded. The guy has been the second coming of George Jones and continues to churn out great country songs. This song is probably the ONLY thing that could make me want to visit the Chatahoochee River region of Georgia. Also according to the video the river apparently allows you to waterski while wearing a Cowboys jersey and cowboy boots… an outfit… which if you ever see me recreating ought to be your cue to cut me off and NOT allow me to get that fresh beer that I will inevitably claim to be totally necessary.



6) Vicki Lawrence – The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
A poll question: which of the following country story songs from this era do you prefer?
1. This one
2. Bobby Gentry – Ode to Billy Joe
3. Jeannie C. Riley – Harper Valley PTA
They’re very similar in terms of format but I gotta think that the twists and turns of Vickie Lawrence’s opus are enough to COMPETELY blow the others out of the water. I seriously want to adapt this song into a movie featuring Burt Reynolds playing each of the roles like Tyler Perry in Big Momma’s House. Tell me you wouldn’t pay to see it.



7) Bob Dylan – With God on Our Side
So guess what? Bob Dylan’s on this mix, this time ranting about American arrogance and our assumption that every action we take as a nation gets a rubber stamp from the morality department simply because it’s what we’ve decided to do. On here, we get all historical with a reminder of what Andrew Jackson did to the Cherokee nation. If you read about some of the impassioned pleas by members of the Cherokee nation to remain in their homes in the mountains of Georgia in the face of Jackson’s assault is absolutely heartbreaking. It’s easy to look back on this and think to yourself about how glad you are that we don’t live in a nation where such treatment still happens but to do so would not only be shortsighted but also fallacious. Unfortunately, now the oppression is different, more subtle, and all too often accepted as patriotism.



8) Burial – Archangel
This is really the first mix so far where I’ve given thought to the idea of driving at night. I would argue that musically, night driving music and day driving music could not be more dissimilar. At night, we’re not necessarily driving happy… you’re either leaving somewhere fun for the long trip home, coming home after a long day of work, or locked into the doldrums of an extended road trip where, even if you have travelling companions, no one is in the mood to pump their fist and sing along. When I chose this instrumental dub step CLASSIC by Burial I tried to think of what I’d want to hear driving through the sticky night time heat that is Georgia. This is it.



9) R.E.M – Catapult
10) B-52s – Dance this Mess Around
It’s remarkable how much incredible music has come out of Athens, GA. Not only is it almost universally really good, but typically it’s music that is innovative and in the case of R.E.M and the B-52s pretty groundbreaking.
R.E.M is sort of forgotten about now but it needs to be mentioned that at one point, not only was this band on par with U2 in terms of its level of acclaim but prior to that they pretty much invented the entire idea of “college rock” with the indie success of songs like the jangly, “Catapult” which, if I ever heard at a place where it was even mildly socially acceptable would cause me to dance like the twin girls in the purple:



The B-52s should get much more credit than the novelty points they get for "Love Shack" as their southern fried new wave sound was not only totally unique but very influential. The deeper you dig into their catalog (check out "Hot Pants Explosion"), the more you come to appreciate just how cool they really were.





11) Of Montreal - Gronlandic Edit
12) Apples in Stereo - King of Carrot Flowers pt. 3 (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)

As if the last two songs weren't convincing enough, here are two more Athens bands throwing 98 on the black. The bands share little in terms of their sound with R.E.M. and the B-52s, but that slightly off-kilter spirit is still unabashedly there. Both bands featured make up part of the so-called "Elephant 6" musical collective that included Neutral Milk Hotel and Elf Power. First off, in "Gronlandic Edit," Of Montreal lead singer Kevin Barnes plays vocal aerobics in the funkiest indictment of organized religion in the history of music. Also, this video is both funny and mildly terrifying, I just can't decide which.



Why choose a cover here? Well first of all, I love the original Neutral Milk Hotel version so much that I'm incapable of writing about it... really (yes, I understand that that's not a particularly healthy relationship to have with your music collection) Second of all, on the Apples in Stereo version, you get to hear one Athens band from one style covering another from a totally different and unique genre. The results really capture the talents of both. Here's the Neutral Milk Hotel version at a hometown show in Athens.



13) Jermaine Dupri ft. Ludacris - Welcome to Atlanta
Where the players play apparently? This song is some really.... really dumb fun. It does however include one of the most absurd lines in hip hop history (an enormous achievement) as Dupri claims "I'm the MBP, most ballingest player." This opens up - for me - a lot of questions that need to be answered. First of all, how do I win this award? Can I be Richmond's Most Ballingest Player if I accumulate points through:
1. Horrible dancing on the stage at Cha Chas
2. Wearing a t-shirt to Deluxe that is so tight as to provide strong hints as to the construction of my nipples
3. Crack the tough outer core of local private school douches at Weezie's and Phil's
4. Let a girl waiting in line for the bathroom at Curbside to cut in front of me and go to the guys' bathroom (oh WAIT, THERE'S NEVER A LINE FOR THE GIRLS BATHROOM AT CURBSIDE!!! JUUUUUST the guys')



14) Outkast - Elevators
Couldn't leave here without an Outkast song and for my money, this one is the absolute best. The song was released in 1996 and still sounds far more original than any rap being released today. The beat is thick like molasses. The echo effect on the wood block makes this song sound more like my idea of Georgia than anything else.



15) Beck - Loser
16) Georgia Satellite - Keep Your Hands to Yourself
These two songs are dedicated to Brooks Conrad... and his hands. ugh.



For those of you that don't follow baseball, skip this entry. For those that do, I don't need to dig up some video to describe exactly what happened. Brooks cost us the NLDS against the Giants, a team that is now only 4 wins away from the thing I want the Braves to have more than anything in the world, a World Series victory. Seeing him commit those errors was agonizing and is one of those things that makes me question why I follow sports in the first place if it's just going to make me miserable almost all the time...

17) Here's why:



Okay, so Connecticut is up next... I will promise you that some very, very odd selections will be made for this one as I don't think anyone has ever attempted to capture the "Connecticut Aesthetic" in song.

New Jersey... Volume 1, Volume 2

So for New Jersey, a state that Ben Franklin called "a keg tapped at both ends," one mix simply wasn't good enough. This is not to mention of course the fact that every one I've ever known from south Jersey has amended their first mention of being from New Jersey with the fact south Jersey is VERY different. Those people would be very very mad at me if I didn't honor that caveat here. Let's cruise through the Jerz (promise this will be 100% free of Jersey Shore references... the car battery connected to my nipples will send hundreds of volts into my torso if I do make one). The lists are presented track by track for each mix... The south Jersey track comes first, the north Jersey track comes second. To add to the level of difficulty here, each corresponding track comes from the canon of the same artist... yeah I know, it is awesome.

1 South Jersey)Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes
1 North Jersey)Animal Collective - We Tigers

For our trip through south Jersey, we're starting in what I'm sure is LOVELY Cape May and driving up the shore. Summertime Clothes, if it's possible to do so, just SOUNDS humid. The lyrics about the squeaky AC evokes strong images of a shabby beach house used only for sleeping, showering, pre-gaming, and listening to awesome music (NO JACK JOHNSON... FUCK THAT GUY).

We Tigers is maybe the weirdest song from an already weird band. Starting at the NY/NJ border, We Tigers provides the perfect compliment to the traffic, horns, and bustle of the freeway. The song is jarring and borderline unpleasant but still satisfying and ingratiating in its weirdness.



2 South Jersey) Arcade Fire - Haiti
2 North Jersey) Arcade Fire - Neighborhoods #2



Each generation of music listeners has a band that speaks to the zeitgeist of that generation while at the same time maintaining enough artistic integrity and sophistication to criticize when necessary but also praise when necessary. While some would argue that U2 or.. God forbid, Lady GaGa occupy this role for our generation, these people are out of touch. Ours isn't the generation looking for enlightenment and freedom as Bono suggests in his increasingly unlistenable output, nor is it the celebrity and sex obsessed generation to which Lady Gaga's success seems to hint.

The Arcade Fire is that band for us because they acknowledge that our society today is all about fear and the way it manifests itself in our lives. Be it in the relative monotony of our day-to-day lives, in religion, or in the suburban safety zones we create for ourselves, the things we do and say are done and said with an air of hesitancy created by our fears. We are a generation that has been taught to fear... rationally and irrationally. Winn Butler and Co. not only recognize that but are along for the ride.

Haiti is perfect for South Jersey because of the light keyboard melodies that lend a lightness to the song that stands out on an otherwise dreary album. While Neighborhood #2's slow build and mourning for love hints at the kind of isolation that can only come in the suburbs.

3 South Jersey)Beirut - Postcards from Italy
3 North Jersey)Beirut - Brandenburg

I grew up in a place, where for the most part, ethnic diversity meant the white kids that had spurned their fandom of ICP... MAGIC EVERYWHERE IN THIS BITCH!!!



for Eminem. These two Beirut songs speak to the southern and eastern European immigrants that make the mid-Atlantic so cool. The Italian American community in south Jersey goes far beyond film fueled mafia references and also, did you know that 45.5% of the northern New Jersey town of Wallington is of Polish ancestry? Now you do. And yesss, I KNOW that Brandenburg is a state in Germany but it borders Poland and this is hard.... BACK OFF.

4 South Jersey) Beulah - What Will You do When Your Suntan Fades
4 North Jersey) Beulah - Popular Mechanics for Lovers

The bounce and frolic of Beulah works oh so well for south Jersey. This song reminds me not necessarily of the beach, but those days where you've just returned from the beach and the sunBURN you bemoaned while on vacation has become a sweet sunTAN. All of the three greatest trips of my life led to this effect. The past three summers I've gone with some of my best friends on earth to Key West, Belize, and VA Beach respectively and as I tried to shake off the malaise that comes with returning from a great trip, I could look in the mirror and be reminded, at least in small part, of the days I had spent slowly pickling myself through sun and alcohol. Your suntan becomes a literal tan and a figurative glow. That feeling is great. I've been told a time or two that growing up in the kind of place where that suntan (both literal and figurative) never really fades is pretty perfect.



5 South Jersey) Bob Dylan - Desolation Row
5 North Jersey) Bob Dylan - Hurricane

I can't resist adding Bob Dylan to a mix under normal circumstances but when he's actually singing about a town in New Jersey I become a truly shameless Dylan homer. Hurricane fits for obvious reasons, although according to a public service minded street vendor I met at 3 a.m. in Atlantic City who grew up in Patterson, NJ and SWORE UP AND DOWN that he was on the scene the night the crime portrayed in the song happened, Rubin Patterson absolutely did it.

Desolation Row however refers to Camden, NJ. One of the moments when I began to become certain that I wanted to teach was while reading about the Camden, NJ public schools in Jonathan Kozol's book Savage Inequalities. The level of desperation (and desolation) that it seemed the students there were facing was shocking and the portrait it helped to paint of Camden was off an almost post-apocalyptically bleak city. "Desolation Row," because it's a Dylan song, captures that in a subtle and perfect way.



6 South Jersey) Brian Eno - On Some Far Away Beach
6 North Jersey) Brian Eno - Dead Finks Don't Talk

I'm going to use these two Eno songs that provide perfect atmospheric accompaniment to any drive (especially while alone... this album, Here Come the Warm Jets, is one of those that allows you to create your own musical fugue state and become either totally in tune with the world or completely dead to the world) because they need to be here. The best I can do is just say LISTEN (really listen) to these songs and you'll know why they fit so well.



7 South Jersey) Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City
7 North Jersey) Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

So... three things that I think would be exceedingly cool: 1. Having a song written about you. Not just by that douche you met in the drum circle in the quad but by a legit musician. 2. Being mentioned in the liner notes of an album. This is something that is becoming increasingly irrelevant as liner notes have almost ceased to be of value or import. 3. Having a song written about your hometown.

I know that NONE of these things will be happening to me which makes the song Atlantic City even more awe-inspiring. I don't really have the words to describe why this song is so amazing and I know everyone reading this knew that it would appear the moment they thought about New Jersey songs, so I'll only share this anecdote: I went to Atlantic City this summer and while I was able to show a degree of restraint and avoid singing this song constantly (those who were there with me MIGHT disagree... I don't think so though) it was in my head the ENTIRE time. I couldn't stop thinking about the D.A., the Chicken Man, and whoever that guy was for whome Bruce's protagonist was doing a favor. Because the story in the song is so incredibly well stated, it provided this totally different perspective for visiting the city... it was almost as if I was visiting a place that I'd read about for years in a work of fiction. Not to over-do it and nerd it up even more than I already have but it was like visiting Middle Earth or Shermer, Illinois. Damn!! What a great song.

And Born to Run? There's really nothing that I can say other than just to mention that the sound Bruce makes after saying "together Wendy we can live with the sadness, I'll love you with all the madness in my soul" is my favorite non-verbal noise in music history (others: Zach De La Rocha's "huhhhhh" in Freedom, that noise that Alan Jackson makes that sounds like, "Heeeeyyyy-eeeeee").



8 South Jersey)Red House Painters - New Jersey (acoustic)
8 North Jersey)Red House Painters - New Jersey (electric)

Two different albums, two different versions, identical lyrics. Maybe Mark Kozelek (aka Sun Kil Moon) had also heard a thousand times how different the two "Jerseys" were and decided to do a version for each.



9 South Jersey) Bruce Springsteen - Jersey Girl
9 North Jersey) Tom Waits - Jersey Girl

First off, I've officially exceeded my Springsteen word limit here... restraining order papers are being filed against me as you read this. Bruce... we will be together eventually... it's inevitable... I know you love me. In all seriousness, the sincerity of Bruce's voice has the listener really hoping to fall in love with this fictional Jersey girl. This version makes the "Jersey Girl" in question feel like one of those summer rental romances that you see in movies but never actually come close to experiencing yourself.

Sooooooo.... Tom Waits. There aren't any original ways to describe Waits' voice left, but listening to this song makes you feel like you've encountered something mechanical, something inhuman. Like North Jersey, you can ALMOST hear New York in his voice. This "Jersey Girl" is not the perfect specimen that Springsteen hypes her up to be. Waits' "Sha la la las" seem the product of pain not jubilance.



10 South Jersey) Titus Andronicus - Titus Andronicus
10 North Jersey) Titus Andronicus - A More Perfect Union

I think one of the traits in a song that can elevate it to perfection for me is whether or not it could be classified as anthemic. Both of these songs, along with countless other Titus Andronicus songs fit that bill perfectly. To me, because of its musical history, Jersey is a state that just works for anthems, Moreover, the final 0:45 of Titus Andronicus is the kind of dumb fun that's just MADE to scream out the window of your car on a summer day.

"A More Perfect Union" achieves higher heights though by, in my estimation, making a song that is quintessentially and perfectly North Jersey, from shouting out the Garden State Parkway and the Newark Bears to throwing out Jersey zip codes, this is a must play any time you're there. Not to mention the video is fan-freaking-tastic.



11 South Jersey)Frank Sinatra - Cheek to Cheek
11 North Jersey)Frank Sinatra - Witchcraft

Obviously any New Jersey mix without Sinatra has some serious problems and when he ends up on one, little explanation is needed for his presence. The man originates from Hoboken, NJ and spent a good bit of his time tooling around Atlantic City having what I can only imagine must have been an absolutely incredible time. Cheek to Cheek sounds a little more fun than Witchcraft and frankly for some reason or another just sounds a little more like Atlantic City to me.

By the way... remember THIS FREAK??? My favorite moment of this video is about 10 seconds in when he states his goal for the week as "letting America know that I really can sing"



12 South Jersey) Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Southern Cross
12 North Jersey) Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Teach Your Children

Speaking of teaching your children, did you know that New Jersey spends over $13,000 per pupil per year on education? Not sure how much that is? My employer, the great state of VA spends $8,725... Clearly NJ is all about teaching their children well.



13 South Jersey) Coheed and Cambria - The Running Free
13 North Jersey) Coheed and Cambria - Devil in Jersey City

I defy anyone to hear Devil in Jersey City and not play at least a little bit of air guitar. If you've never heard me drunkenly scream-sing this song at the top of my lungs then you didn't know me in college.



As for the Running Free, it's dedicated to Willingboro, NJ resident Carl Lewis. Ya see he's a runner... and the song has running in the title.

14 South Jersey)Patti Smith - Because the Night
14 North Jersey)Patti Smith - Gloria

She's the female Springsteen and Because the Night is one of those anthems that I mentioned when writing about Titus Andronicus. It's one of those songs that makes the night feel like it has about 1000 different possibilities and should be played loudly as you get ready for a summer night out.

Gloria on the other hand has that classic Smith rawness that makes her music shocking to this day. A woman... a hot woman... sneering and snarling her way through a song like Gloria has to be empowering and unbelievably cool to hear if you're a female listener and is mind bogglingly alluring to a male listener. Patti Smith (grew up in New Jersey) sounds almost like New York and that's totally appropriate in this context.



15 South Jersey)Girl Talk - Play your Part pt. 1
15 North Jersey)Girl Talk - Play your Part pt. 2

Because no matter which direction you're headed.... you just can't leave Jersey without some fist pumping club bangers.




Annnd just like clockwork, next up is the great state of Georgia. Keep in mind that it's likely that I could be writing this post within HOURS of the Braves either winning their NLDS series against the Giants or losing and breaking my heart..... the results could have an ENORMOUS effect on the content of the mix. Stay tuned.