Taking on Water

One of the best things about having new people in my life is how I'm suddenly exposed to everything that makes up their tastes. New music, new movies, new art, new perspectives unexamined in my own life. I think sometimes people get too comfortable in their own skin and don't take the chance often enough to bring unfamiliarity into their world.

Even though moving back to Seattle was supposed to be a return to the known, there have been so many changes in the last month that it's become a completely new experience for me. I'm also bringing my New York lens to life here, and everything's colored a little differently now.

I find iTunes filled with new music today - and it will take me days to filter the new from the old, to integrate the new sounds into my fabric. A particular favorite is Iron and Wine, a sound sparse, words simple yet rich. There's lots of bossa nova now, much Caetano Veloso, and countless low- and hi-fi bands. Some of note...CocoRosie, everything from Tropicalia Essentials, Deerhoof, and Domenico + 2.

Sometimes I feel like I can't keep up, like there's a fire hose of new things to remember, to understand and to enjoy. I'm constantly challenged and sometimes I feel my absorption rate is inadequate to the task. But at some point I'll catch up or I'll admit my weaknesses and someone will throw me a lifesaver.

Day 4 Playlist – 11/26/05 (Rapid City to Bozeman)

Day 4 Playlist – 11/26/05 (Rapid City to Bozeman)

Charles Lloyd - Georgia
Chuck Prophet - Just to See You Smile
Nina Simone - I Want a Little Sugar in my Bowl
Randy Newman - Jolly Coppers on Parade
Vic Chesnutt - Band Camp
Time - Tom Waits
Express Rising - Neighborhood
Slumber Party - New Trouble
Clem Snide - The Ballad of Unzer Charlie
Electrelane - Enter Laughing
Mulatu Astatqe - My Own Memory
Johnny Hartman - I See Your Face Before Me
Nick Drake - Northern Sky
Ulrich Schnauss - A Letter From Home
Mountain Goats - Old College Try
Evan Lurie - The Orderly Retreat
Greg Brown - Oh You
Pete Krebs & the Gossamer Wings - Patiently
Mojave 3 - Always Right
Radiohead - Subterranean Homesick Alien
Tindersticks - Can Our Love
My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow

Day 3 Playlist (11/25/05) La Crosse to Rapid City

Day 3 Playlist (11/25/05) La Crosse to Rapid City

Pet Shop Boys – What Have I Done to Deserve This
Pet Shop Boys – Shopping
Pere Ubu – 30 Seconds Over Tokyo
Pere Ubu – Final Solution
Peter Murphy – Deep Ocean Vast Sea
Peter Murphy – Shy
Peter Murphy – Cuts You Up
Peter Murphy – The Sweetest Drop
Pearl Jam – Jeremy
Nirvana – Heart Shaped Box
Nirvana – The Man Who Sold the World
Nick Drake – Pink Moon
Nick Drake – Northern Sky
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Into My Arms
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Lime Tree Arbor
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – People Just Ain’t No Good
Nathaniel Merriweather – Ladies Love Chest Rockwell
Nancy Sinatra – Bang Bang
Motorhead – Ace of Spades
Ministry – Stigmata
Lou Reed – Satellite of Love
Leonard Cohen – Joan of Arc
Loretta Lynn – Coal Miner’s Daughter
Led Zepplin – Kashmir
Kinks – Lola
Judas Priest – Breaking the Law
Johnny Cash – I Won’t Back Down
Johnny Cash – Solitary Man
Johnny Cash – That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)
Johnny Cash – One
Johnny Cash – Nobody
Jeff Buckley – Mojo Pin
Jeff Buckley – Grace
Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye
Jeff Buckley – Lilac Wine
Jeff Buckley – So Real
Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah
Jeff Buckley – Lover, You Should Have Come Over
Jacques Brel – Ne Me Quitte Pas
Jack Johnson – Cocoon
Human League – Don’t You Want Me
Herbie Hancock – One Finger Snap
Herbie Hancock – Cantaloupe Island
Guns N’ Roses – Welcome to the Jungle
Guns N’ Roses – Paradise City

Day 2 Playlist – 11/24/05 (Chicago to La Crosse)

Day 2 Playlist – 11/24/05 (Chicago to La Crosse)

Who – Baba O’ Riley
Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again
U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
U2 – With or Without You
T. Rex – Get It On
T. Rex – 20th Century Boy
Stevie Wonder – You Are the Sunshine of My Life
Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun
Soft Cell – Tainted Love
Smiths – Oscillate Wildly
Smiths – Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
Smiths – This Night Has Opened My Eyes
Smashing Pumpkins – Eye
Smashing Pumpkins – Zero
Smashing Pumpkins – 1979
Smashing Pumpkins – Cherub Rock
REO Speedwagon – Take It On the Run
Ramones – I Want You Around
Radiohead – Karma Police
Radiohead – Subterranean Homesick Alien
Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure
Psychedelic Furs – Pretty in Pink
Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes

Day 1 Playlist (11/23/05) Brooklyn to Chicago

Day 1 Playlist (11/23/05) Brooklyn to Chicago

Echo and the Bunnymen – Killing Moon
Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
The Church – Under the Milky Way
INXS – Never Tear Us Apart
Stone Temple Pilots – Plush
Caetano Veloso – Zera A Reza
Sigur Ros – Intro
Sigur Ros – Svefn-g-Englar
New Order – Regret
Foo Fighters – Best of You
Audioslave – Like a Stone
Coldplay – Warning Sign
Duncan Sheik – Barely Breathing
Coldplay – Shiver
MC 900ft Jesus – The City Sleeps
Nine Inch Nails – The Perfect Drug
Marilyn Manson – I Put a Spell On You
Chemical Brothers – Loops of Fury
Foo Fighters – Everlong
Cake – The Distance
Tricky – Christiansands
??? – Battle Without Honor (this is a song from Kill Bill vol. 1)
Tricky – Bad Dreams
U2 – Stay (Faraway So Close)
Zero 7 – In the Waiting Line
Coldplay – High Speed
ABBA – Dancing Queen
ABBA – Take a Chance on Me
ABBA – Mamma Mia
Depeche Mode – Never Let Me Down
Depeche Mode – Strangelove
Elvis – Lawdy, Miss Clawdy
Elvis – Shake, Rattle and Roll
Elvis – I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
Elvis – Hound Dog
Elvis – Don’t Be Cruel
Elvis – Any Way You Want
Elvis – We’re Gonna Move
Elvis – Love Me Tender
Elvis – Poor Boy
INXS – The One Thing
INXS – Original Sin
INXS – What You Need
INXS – Listen like Thieves
INXS – Shine Like It Does
INXS – Need You Tonight
INXS – Devil Inside
INXS – New Sensation
INXS – Suicide Blonde
INXS – Disappear
INXS – The Stairs
INXS – Heaven Sent
INXS – Beautiful Girl
INXS – The Strangest Part
INXS – Deliver Me
Portishead – Mysterions
Portishead – Sour Times
Portishead – Strangers
Portishead – It Could Be Sweet
Portishead – Wandering Star
Portishead – It’s a Fire
Portishead – Numb
Portishead – Roads
Portishead – Pedestal
Portishead - Biscuit
Portishead – Glory Box
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen – Another One Bites the Dust
Police – Synchronicity 1
Police – Walking in Your Footsteps
Police – O My God
Police – Mother
Police – Miss Gredenko
Police – Synchronicity 2
Police – Every Breath You Take
Police – King of Pain
Police – Wrapped Around Your Finger