Welcome to Twisted MixTape Tuesday, a wonderful place to share the music you know and love in the form of an itty-bitty mixtape. OK – there are no cassettes in my cassette player. Literally and figuratively.

As Music Director for this lovely site I invite you to join us every week for your musical enjoyment and – if you wish – to create your own mixtape including 5 songs based on the theme of the week. You can share your fantabulous contribution by linking up your own post or get a taste of the action by putting your choices in the comments. There is NO judgement here. (No tomato throwing, and I mean you Lance, you may be tempted by this list) This is a place where you can share whatever you want. Heck, last week we had a post for the 00’s that was entirely kids songs, we loved it! This week we are ending our easy breezy summer series that was the decades.

The theme is: 2000-2013 (you may include any music prior as well)

My MixTape is entitled:

“Bear with me, it starts with pop cr*p but ends with the good stuff. Also – my 24yo male babysitter almost threw-up when I told him there was Glee on here so I guess I won’t be giving him this mix for Christmas”

Important back story: I loved Choir, I love musical theater, I went to theater camp for 10 years, 8 weeks at a time and sang my heart out every single one of those days. I did some singing in the real world, but being an introvert it was harder for me there. So most of my singing is done the privacy of my home, shower, car.

In 2008 I was feeling a void in my television repertoire and frankly was aching for something new. Imagine my Glee when in 2009 my prayers were answered, see what I did there? I’m sorry, but it appealed to the show choir wannabe geek in me. I didn’t really think Glee was appropriate for high school kids, I’m pretty strict when it comes to TV morals, but it was AOK for me. I skimmed over the story lines, sometimes FF’d the DVR, and just couldn’t wait to hear what they would sing next. And yes, I bought the songs on iTunes AS THEY SANG THEM. That show took ordinary pop songs and turned them into spectacular harmonies/duets/mash-ups. I had something to look forward to every week, especially because I had a new set of songs to add to my playlist.

Something else you do not need to know. When there is a void of intellectually stimulating music for me to enjoy, my brain falls to the lowest common denominator. OK not lowest, not common. Ok yes common. If it has a beautiful melody and some amazing harmony. Then it wins. And so. For the last 4 years I have been listening to music I would not normally associate myself with. But that’s not really fair is it? Because there has to be something amazing for it to even cross my radar. For instance, this way more musical version of this song that YES I love to sing my heart out to in my car, at night, windows down…

When I Get You Alone – Darrin Criss (Glee) I’m sorry, way better than the original

Here’s another thing you do not need to know. For the last 5 years, most of the new music that I have been introduced to has come in the form of the new phenomenon of television shows geared towards creating stars by forcing them to compete and exploiting their emotional triumphs or breakdowns. Also, video games (Just Dance 4, duh). So you all have the Whiffenpoofs from Yale, who performed on The Sing-Off to thank for this:

Grace Kelly – Mika / It’s OK that he get’s compared to Freddie Mercury, that’s an awesome compliment. And I am a big fan of songs that sing of the frustrations musicians feel with record labels. So he scores double for that.

 

Bet you thought I was going to completely flake out on you guys. I admit it was looking that way. Remember me? I love Brazilian Music, if you didn’t know that already you can read the whole post I wrote about Beleza Tropical – the first album of Brazilian music I bought myself.
The thing is, the only good Brazilian music is NOT classic Bossa Nova or Samba. And here – two worlds blend so amazingly beautifully melodically:

Boa Sorte – Vanessa Da Mata and Ben Harper

 

Fully knowing that I may be knocking down my own pedestal I will admit a certain discomfort with the level of musicality in popular music of the 2000’s and beyond. However I never stopped searching. Never. So I decided to reach out to my good buddy Ben Folds. Ok, he’s not my good buddy. But he played him on TV for a while (as the boss of The Sing-Off – see the Whiffenpoofs). The thing is, it is an indisputable fact that Ben Folds possesses the gift of music composition paired with unnerving sometimes beautiful lyrics that together creates an almost perfect composition. So, I went to him. I found a list of songs that this guy, the creator of all songs amazing, thought were amazing. And happened upon this jem:

St Simon – The Shins

 

And then there’s this. This is my happy song. I finally had an epiphany that I might need to capitalize on. I love irony. I also love Cake. Not the kind you eat -OK the kind you eat. But for this discussion, the band. Their first album came out in 1991, the year I packed up and made the biggest mistake of my life where I can genuinely say nothing good came out of that decision at all and don’t ask me why I couldn’t foresee that because everyone else in my life knew it would happen and I didn’t listen. So. Since everyone else knew no good would come of it, the irony is – Cake (the band) came from it. I can’t say I never would have discovered them without the armpit of the universe Mesa, Arizona (she says with venom and contempt)but since we will never know, I will thank my sister, who was living in the wondrous and beautiful Flagstaff Arizona (which was only a mere 2 hours from the Armpit of the Universe). She made me listen to Cake on one of our drives up the mountain. Cake can thank her for the 5 albums I have purchased thus far. They’ve recorded 7 albums, I don’t own #7 yet, sorry I’ve been busy. And #6 is a compilation of sorts, so it doesn’t count. But the first 5! DUDE! Just go listen to them. Or don’t, see if I care. Dang, that’s what I get for writing about Arizona. Happy place….happy place….happy place:

Dime – Cake / Only these guys can write a song about a dime and have me listening on repeat. So I can memorize all of the words. Which I did. Quiz me.

 

And because I can’t leave you on that note. BONUS SONG!!! The crowd goes wild! My son and I sing this song together some times. I love him and I love this song. I know, it’s wrong on some level. Also, I could post the original and pretend I care more about the Bruno Mars version. But I don’t.

 

Now for the fun part. The rules of Twisted MixTape are as such: Try and create a 5 song mix based on this week’s theme. As we move through the decades the assumption is you know about the music in the past, but not what is to come – unless you’re a time traveller because there is no music to come yet. Create your own post and link it up, or put your mix in the comments. If you’re going to link-up there must be a song – relating to the theme – in your post. And really, we love songs in the comments! So bring it!
Please visit your fellow mix-makers, and if you can, comeback to see if anyone new has arrived. Share this all over the place, the more the merrier! And go visit my lovely cohort, without whom I would have never had the guts to make this happen – Kristi at Finding Ninee. She’s always got a song, a funny story and some silly Drawrings. Mostly, just have fun, there’ s no pressure here.

http://www.linkytools.com/basic_linky_include.aspx?id=199005

And if you like any of these songs so much you must own them, click here for a direct link to iTunes:
When I Get You Alone (Glee Cast Version) – Glee: The Music – The Complete Season Two
Grace Kelly – Life In Cartoon Motion
Boa Sorte (Good Luck) – Hôtel Costes, Vol. 11 – Mixed By Stéphane Pompougnac
Saint Simon – Chutes Too Narrow
Dime – Pressure Chief
Marry You (Glee Cast Version) – Glee: The Music – The Complete Season Two

Here is The List of all Lists:

Aug 13 – Duets ( this can be duets or duos like Hall & Oats or Loggins & Messina you decide)
Aug 20 – No Strings Attached (I know none of us feel this way – wink wink.  But there are a lot of great songs about having a relationship/one night stand with no strings attached)
August 27 – You know what? I suck/ You suck. Get your venom out here, or maybe that ballad that basically says ‘you suck’”, or play it this way: you’re the one who did wrong and you know it. This is your apology/acknowledgement for being an ass. Or a mix of the two. You decide.
September 3 – “BEST OF” pick a band, any band, and put together a “Best of” playlist. Easy peasy for the holiday weekend.