This is not an attempt to start a music blog. Rather, I’d like to share some of my favorite songs with the world. Music plays a huge role in my life and sometimes hearing a particular song will give me a very strong memory reaction to something in the past. It’s usually not a large event, but an everyday occurance that I remember strictly based on the song that was playing. Therefore, once a week I will post a song file that has affected me thusly. Or one that has just affected me.

I know this is technically illegal, but I will only post single songs in the hope that I can interest someone in the music I love. I will always post a link where any downloader can purchase the entire album. If you still disagree with what I’m doing and have any official say about the distribution of these songs, please email me (suse (a) persimmonsmith.com) and I will take them down if you (a) ask politely or (b) threaten legal action.

I’ll leave these up as long as I can based on bandwidth/storage space.

Enjoy! It’s all I ask.

Week 46: November 12, 2007
Australia - The Shins
from Wincing the Night Away

No time to explain; there’s somewhere I have to be and I’m having computer problems.

Week 45: November 5, 2007
On the Table - A. C. Newman
from The Slow Wonder, oh hell, who am I kidding? I own the O.C. Mix 4

I shamefully own nothing by the New Pornographers, and I wasn’t knocked out by either of the two (!) Neko Case songs I’ve managed to accumulate, so you get Carl Newman. Still most excellent.

Week 44: October 29, 2007
Loser - Beck
from Mellow Gold

Another running highlight from this week (25 minutes!). I think the fact that I run to this song is a good indication of exactly how not-fast I run.

Week 43: October 22, 2007
Me and Mia - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
from Shake the Sheets, but for me, it was from PopFest 9, courtesy of Mr. Yarges

I have a playlist for my iPod Shuffle called “Run, Run, Run” that consists of either really ass-kicking music (”Let’s Go” by Trick Daddy et al) or really happy poppy music. I use it when I run, run, run. This song is notable because I just finished week 5 of Couch to 5K, the last day of which was to run for 20 minutes straight. Which I miraculously did. And this song was playing when I finished.

Week 42: October 15, 2007
That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore - The Smiths
from Singles, in this case

At some point this weekend a line from this song got lodged in my head, and that was pretty much it.

Week 41: October 8, 2007
Red Morning Light - Kings of Leon
from Youth and Young Manhood

Yeah, the breadcrumb thing didn’t work. Although maybe next week I’ll remember to come back to that, since each subequent week of posting gets more and more difficult to accomplish.

Week 40: October 1, 2007

Humpty Dumpty - Aimee Mann
from Lost in Space

This might turn into a breadcrumb month because as I was listening to this song, I was reminded of another song I was singing in my head this weekend. We’ll see how that goes.

Week 39: September 24, 2007
In Between Days - The Cure
in my case, from Staring at the Sea

I’ve been hearing a lot of The Cure lately, I guess because they announced last week that they are coming to town next summer. I wonder what that crowd will be like? People my age, or people with pale makeup and spiky black hair? Or people my age with pale makeup and spiky black hair? The mind boggles.

Week 38: September 17, 2007
James River - Cracker
from Gentleman’s Blues

I so often tie my songs to where I’ve been geographically during the previous week. In this week’s case, I was frustrated because there was a more upbeat song I really wanted to post (with no geographic connection), but I forgot what it was. I ended up falling back on this, which somehow always ends up in my head at some point every time I go to Virginia.

Week 37: September 10, 2007
Tear-Stained Eye - Son Volt
from Trace

I had several songs to choose from this week based on places I passed through on my road trip to Mississippi, in this case, Ste. Genevieve, Mo. I picked this one purely because it seems to match the mood today: overcast, a hint of rain. And also because it is gorgeous beyond belief.

Week 36: September 3, 2007
New Moon on Monday - Duran Duran
from Seven and the Ragged Tiger

They used this as bumper music on the weather this morning, and it made me remember a lot about this song. This was the first Duran Duran album that came out while I liked them - the others had already been released. And this was the first single. My parents, who were not generally very indulgent when it came to things like this - actually let me turn it on MTV for the big video premier when this song was released. I realized even then that lyrically their songs made very little sense, but I still enjoy the music even now.

Week 35: August 27, 2007
She Don’t Care - Will Hoge
from Carousel

I saw Will Hoge for the second time Friday night. He’s not completely my style, but I like him well enough. I am completely amazed, as I wrote after the first time I saw him, that he hasn’t become really popular. He just seems made for radio and media: bluesy rock, good voice, handsome, talented, good between-song banter. But Friday night, he ended up headlining because the main band had to leave early and, true to form, the place was nearly deserted when he finished. There must be something I’m missing.

Week 34: August 20, 2007
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights - Freddy Fender
from, well, this seems like a good collection. I illegally downloaded mine

Not really inspired. I didn’t have anything in mind to use this week, so I just browsed through my collection and found this. It kind of goes along with the hot days that just suck the energy out of you and make you feel like you’re treading through maple syrup.

Week 33: August 13, 2007
Some Velvet Morning - Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra
from Nancy and Lee originally, but I got it from Pimps of Gore, where you can head to find great music, and more by Lee Hazlewood

Lee Hazlewood died on August 4. It’s pretty indicative of our world that his passing would go without notation in most places. I know only because I saw the R.I.P. post on Pimps of Gore. Nancy and Lee was my favorite album when I was growing up, and is one of the few pieces of vinyl to survive my mother’s numerous purges and make it through to this day. And this was my absolute favorite song on the album.

Week 32: August 6, 2007
Your Love is Like Las Vegas - The Thrills
from So Much for the City

I’m a little scattered tonight. I almost forgot to post this. I was inspired by my upcoming trip and little else… but it’s still a good song.

Week 31: July 30, 2007
Trouble - Oasis
from… hell if I know. I couldn’t find it anywhere. My bestest pal 3 put it on a comp for me.

I really didn’t have a song in mind for this week. I was looking through what I had put up here the last few weeks, and I saw the Old ’97s song where I said that I should have put another song from that album on here. So I went to find that song, whatever it was, and … nothing. A couple of folders above I saw Oasis, and so here we are.
Week 30: July 23, 2007
Looking Out The Window with a Blue Hat On - Eels
from Callero’s Eels Collection (Disc 2)

I picked this song because last week I wanted nothing more than to sit in front of my back door with a glass of wine and watch it rain. The weather didn’t cooperate, so I listened to this song instead. It’s one of those songs that my friend Mike has sent me countless numbers of times on mix tapes first, and now on CDs. I like to believe that he thinks of me when he listens to it, but he probably sent it to everyone.

Week 29: July 16, 2007
A Change is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke
for me, from Portrait of a Legend

The rather convoluted story of this is that my bestest pal 3 and I talked this weekend, and she told me about a podcast of “This American Life” that she had listened to. It was one I had, and so I listened to it, and then I started listening to the one that fell immediately after, called “Kid Logic.” It was, for the most part, amusing stories of how children’s minds work, and how what seems ridiculous to us as adults makes sense to them. And in one, a father told the story of his daughter, and how she asked him why they celebrated Christmas. He explained that it was the birth of Jesus, and they had talked about who Jesus was and his message. Then, at Easter, she saw a crucifix, asked about that, and her father had to explain to her that Jesus had been executed because of what he taught. Nine or so months later, she got the day off school for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, and she saw a picture of him in the paper and asked who he was. Her father explained that he was a preacher who had preached that everyone was the same, regardless of what they looked like. She said, “Like Jesus?” and he answered that, yes, he supposed it was like Jesus. And his daughter asked, “Did they kill him, too?” And this was the song I wanted to post.

Week 28: July 9, 2007
Forget the Flowers - Wilco
from Being There

I like to have music in my room when I teach at our sales meetings, so I was putting together a heavy-on-the-’80s playlist on Sunday with some more updated items filled in. I was previewing some songs and started listening to a couple on this album, and holy shit. It’s weird when you don’t listen to something for so long and you completely forget how brilliant it is. I can’t say this is the best song on here or anything, but it’s one I always liked.

Week 27: July 2, 2007
Romanticide - Combo Audio
in my case, from Living in Oblivion Vol. 1

This is a song I never would have remembered even existed, had it not been for the Living in Oblivion series of ’80s music CDs. However, in 1982, this was one of those songs that I listened for on the radio for hours, hoping I could tape it on my cassette recorder. Such a kick ass song, and worth that whole CD on its own.

Week 26: June 25, 2007
Played Out - Peter Bruntnell
from Normal for Bridgwater

Not that you would know, but I made a deal with myself that I would try to post something more high-energy than usual this week, but once again I get sucked in by the sad bastard music I love so much. I heard this song this week as part of a playlist I had made a while back, and that was it. But who could resist, with lines like, “I always say that you’re better for things that you go through. But still I got nothing to show for you.”?

Week 25: June 18, 2007
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long - Otis Redding
from The Very Best of Otis Redding

I woke up in the middle of the night Saturday and was flipping through channels when I saw an infomercial for some music collection or other. This song was on it. And sometimes it’s as easy as that.

Week 24: June 11, 2007
Promenade - U2
from The Unforgettable Fire

I can’t really tell you why I chose this song this week, because it would ruin it if I ever get to post the song I really wanted to post. Let’s just say that it evokes similar feelings and leave it at that. For now.

Week 23: June 4, 2007
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - The Ramones
in my case, from Mania; originally from Ramones

Now that summer is unofficially here, I busted out some Ramones because they have always been summer music to me. Listening to this yesterday, I also started thinking about how punk was sometimes more an ethos than anything else. Sure there was punk that was the hardcore driving beats that you think of, but there was also a lot that was other things as well, like the sweet sweet pop contained herein.

Week 22: May 28, 2007
I Took Your Name - R.E.M.
from Monster

I decided to post an R.E.M. song after finding this site through a link on Deadspin. My original plan was to post Crush With Eyeliner after reading that post, but I fortunately decided to listen to the album first. I remember the reason I liked this album so much was because it had this angry, obsessive quality about it, and I found myself in that mood fairly frequently at that time. I had transferred that feeling onto Crush, but when I listened to it, I was disappointed to find that it wasn’t there. It wasn’t until I got to this song that I got that memory surge I was looking for, of who I loved and who I hated and how it was possible that it was the same person at the same time.

Week 21: May 21, 2007
W-I-F-E - Old ’97s
from Wreck Your Life

After I uploaded this, I realized there was another song from this album that I should have chosen. I was too lazy to go back and correct things, however, which should pretty much tell you everything you need to know about how inspired I am this week.

Week 20: May 14, 2007
Margo and Harold - The Drive-by Truckers
from Pizza Deliverance

I think this song was towards the front of my head because I recently put it on a mix CD for a friend. What brought it totally out, however, was that yesterday as I was driving the ATV around my parents’ yard, sweeping up grass clippings, I saw their neighbor out mowing the yard. She’s a 50-something real estate agent, they have a pool, and she push-mows her rather sizeable yard in her bathing suit. Leathery skin and all. This song popped into my head apropos of nothing (I know less than nothing about their lives), but I was singing it the rest of the afternoon.

Week 19: May 7, 2007
California Waiting - Kings of Leon
from Youth & Young Manhood

3 will surely make fun of this choice because it’s the song the girl to our left was yelling for last night, but it truly has been my favorite by them. Awesome show. Amazing. See them if you can.

Week 18: April 30, 2007
Santa Monica - Everclear
from Sparkle and Fade

No shame here, my friends. Just one of my favorite songs from the ’90s that might be one of my favorite songs ever. I’ve loved this ever since the first time I heard it. And the album isn’t too bad as a whole. A great way to end my theme month, if I do say so myself.

Week 17: April 23, 2007
Dammit - Blink 182
from Dude Ranch

Yep, another Cargo Largo special. I liked a couple of their songs, but I could never quite get past the feeling that I was a little too old to be listening to their music.

Week 16: April 16, 2007
Spiderwebs - No Doubt
from Tragic Kingdom, which I bought on cassette at Cargo Largo, but I ripped it off The Singles 1992-2003

Ah, Cargo Largo. You make almost any musical purchase seem justified. I do, however, get some joy out of No Doubt at some times, despite myself. I remember the reason I bought Tragic Kingdom in the first place was specifically because of this song. I can’t remember why, though. It stirred something in me 12 years ago, but I’ve lost that time, which is probably for the best in the grand scheme of things.

Week 15: April 9, 2007
Clumsy - Our Lady Peace
from Clumsy

Second in a series. I bought this album at Cargo Largo for $6.99, which I somehow use to justify a lot of ridiculous purchases (as you will see in coming weeks). Unlike the Third Eye Blind, this album has few redeeming qualities, and even this song isn’t as good as I want it to be. The truth is, I was simply always impressed with the imagery of waving from the beach as someone drowns.

Week 14: April 2, 2007
Losing a Whole Year - Third Eye Blind
from Third Eye Blind

This is a theme month, and the theme is all those albums of the ’90s that I bought that are guilty pleasures for me. Actually, it’s the songs that are guilty pleasures, because I don’t always like the album. This is an example of an album I still listen to with some degree of shame and happiness.

Week 13: March 26, 2007
Perfect Disguise - Modest Mouse
from The Moon and Antarctica

Apparently Modest Mouse released a new album recently. I don’t have it, don’t know if I’ll buy it, but reading about it did remind me how much I loved this one. Several summers ago I listened to this disk over and over and over and never got tired of it. I was going through the songs, trying to decide which one to upload, but of course it really wasn’t a choice. I was very bitter that summer, over something stupid that I had no right to be bitter about, and this song always seemed a good soundtrack for it.

Week 12: March 19, 2007
Slim Slow Slider - Tim Easton (live)
from a CD my bestest pal 3 made for me, after she got it off teh interwebs somewhere

I’ve been inundating you with Tim Easton this year, but what’s wrong with that? I had no musical inspiration last week, but somewhere along the line this song popped into my consciousness and there you go. I know 3 loves this song because it’s originally Van Morrison, and it is a rather beautiful rendition of one of the sadder songs there is.

Week 11: March 12, 2007
Running to Stand Still - U2
from The Joshua Tree

I chose this song simply because for the first time in recent memory, I voluntarily ran some today. (I don’t count my unsuccessful dash through the Charlotte airport in heels a couple of weeks ago.) I have this idea that I’ll do this eight-week program from Runner’s World as a challenge to myself, and this was the first song that incorporated the word ‘running’ to pop into my head.

Week 10: March 5, 2007
Dash 7 - Wilco
from A.M.

Selected because of my flights on tiny planes week: OK, so they were Dash 8s in reality, but at that point, it doesn’t really matter, does it?

Week 9: February 26, 2007
Watching the Lightning - Tim Easton
from Break Your Mother’s Heart

Beginning and ending the month with Tim Easton. Two reasons for this song. First, it popped into my head Tuesday night flying back from Atlanta as I was, literally, watching lightning in a storm out the plane window. We weren’t flying through the storm; it was far away, but so cool to be flying at night and seeing the darkened clouds illuminated like that. The second is that a couple of years ago, I listened to this CD a lot at this time of year, when it’s warming and damp and finally giving you hope that spring might come after all. I heard another song from this CD while driving the other day, and it reminded me very strongly of that time of my life.

Week 8: February 19, 2007
If You Were Here - The Thompson Twins
from, well, it would have been on a Sixteen Candles soundtrack if such a thing existed…

This is the song I meant to post a few weeks ago that was on my work computer. I was reading something online that referenced it and thought, hey, haven’t heard that in a while. Which makes me think that you probably haven’t either.

Week 7: February 12, 2007
I Want You Back - Hoodoo Gurus
from Stoneage Romeos, although mine came from disk 4 of Left of the Dial

I was reading something yesterday and this song popped into my head. Well, not this song exactly, but a version of this song which, a quick trip to allmusic.com revealed was performed by Simon F on some criminally underrated (at least in the head of someone who hasn’t heard the tape, yes, tape, in twenty years) album or something. So enjoy this, but imagine how much better it would be with a dash of mid-’80s British Invasion flavor.

LATER: No need to imagine. This guy put the whole album on his site. Yeah, I still like the one I remembered better. Wow. Wow.

Week 6: February 5, 2007
Rewind - Tim Easton
from Special 20

I’ve been thinking about this song for a couple of weeks, but decided to save it for the first of the month because, based on the first song I posted this year, the first song of the month should be something special. (OK, that, and the song I really wanted to post is on my computer at work and I forgot to upload it before I left.) This is about my favorite Tim Easton song, and is lyrically one of the strongest songs I know. He often has a way with words that I love (in one song, he refers to “two-dozen hours,” which is a great way to describe a day), and this whole song, with the idea of trying to maintain a relationship by keeping your memory on rewind is just lovely.

Week 5: January 29, 2007
Wedding Day - Cracker
from Gentleman’s Blues

I choose this song because one of my best friends got engaged last week. I suppose it’s not the most positive song in the world to dedicate to someone getting married, but I know she would understand that I picked it just because it makes me smile every time I hear it, and that’s reason enough.

Week 4: January 22, 2007
She Heightened Everything - The Pernice Brothers
from The World Won’t End

I was thinking that this week was going to be really uninspired, and it was if you were looking for a particular event that led me to choose a song. However, it hit me tonight that I really owe the world more Pernice. The most beautiful thing about this band is that their songs give you the best of both worlds. If you’re listening just to the music, you’re getting awesome pop greatness. If you’re listening to the words, you’re getting solid lyrics that are a bit more down-hearted than the music would lead you to believe. Really lovely.

Week 3: January 15, 2007
Deathly - Aimee Mann
from the Magnolia soundtrack

I am not, as any of my friends would be happy to tell you, a fan of the female singer/songwriter type. A genre also known ’round these parts as gynorock. (Thanks, Rich!) To speak in the broadest terms possible, I find a lot of it to be just bitching about men: the whole “all men are pigs and liars and I hate them, but why oh why can I not find one?” thing. (Or, “all men are pigs and liars and I hate them, and that’s why I’m a lesbian.”) But Aimee Mann is a pleasant exception to that rule; even in her songs about relationships, she seems to keep her sense of humor and perspective about things. I really enjoy all of her work, and this song is one of my favorites.

Week 2: January 8, 2007
Gold Digger - Kanye West
from Late Registration

Life is full of little things that just inexplicably make you happy. One of mine is watching our national sales manager dance. He’s a former college football player, and the only way I can think to describe his dancing is that he dances exactly the way you would expect a former college football player to dance. I laugh at him because it’s funny, but also because he doesn’t care how he looks, he just likes to dance. I only get to see him dance once a year, at our sales meeting, and this time I actually danced with him. I was dancing with another co-worker to “Oh What A Night” and they segued into this song, which I love. He was sitting beside the dance floor and I did one of those ‘walk towards him beckoning with my finger and winking’ moves. He immediately got up, and dancing with him was just as fun - and funny - as I had imagined.

Week 1: January 1, 2007
King of Carrot Flowers pt. 1 - Neutral Milk Hotel
from In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

A song that would be in the running for me as the best song in the world. This album is as close as you’re going to get to a consensus number one choice among everyone who follows indie music, and I can’t really argue. It has a really beautiful strangeness to it that seems to attract that sort of attention. I first heard this album through my friend Mike, when I visited him in San Francisco once. He made a tape of it for me (a tape! how quaint!), and kept writing the name as “Neutral Mike Hotel.”