This has been germinating for a while, and I had to drive to North Carolina and back to finish it. This was the mix of no rules, as you can tell by the length.
- Baby, I’m In the Mood for You – Bob Dylan (The Bootleg Series, Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964) A demo of Dylan’s raunchiest, most rural love song? Sure, why not.
- Bring it On Down to My House – Warner Williams with Jay Summerour (Classic African American Songsters from Smithsonian Folkways) A raunchy blues song? Sure, why not.
- Jake Leg Rag – Narmour & Smith (Lead Kindly Light) A fiddle tune? Sure, why not.
- Where Shall I Go? – Sister Marie Knight (When the Moon Goes Down in the Valley of Time: African-American Gospel, 1939-51) A gospel tune that lifts off into the stratosphere? Sure, why not.
- Little Island Walking (Peel Session) – Jim O’Rourke (Peel Session) Jim O’Rourke doing a straight-on John Fahey pastiche? Sure, why not.
- We Would Be Building – Daniel Bachman (Orange Co. Serenade) Primitive guitar cover of a Methodist hymn? Sure, why not.
- On The Banks Of The Owichita – John Fahey (The Dance Of Death & Other Plantation Favorites) A primitive guitar evocation of the slow river? Sure, why not.
- I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free – Nina Simone (Nina Revisited… A Tribute to Nina Simone) A landmark Nina Simone tune? Sure, why not.
- Peace And Love – Gary Bartz And NTU Troop (I’ve Known Rivers And Other Bodies). “We got a hand for the Bronx”? Sure, why not.
- The Raven Speaks – Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett (Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett) A funk number with Keith Jarrett on the Fender and Burton on vibes? Sure, why not.
- Brown-Baggin’ – 24-Carat Black (Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth) Straight ahead funk from a very strange concept album? Sure, why not.
- Disrobe – Medeski, Martin & Wood (The End of Violence) A groove I’ve been sitting on for a very long time? Sure, why not.
- Doing It to Death, Pt. 1 (Single) – The J.B.’s & Fred Wesley (Pass the Peas: The Best of the J.B.’s). “In order to get down, I got to get in D”? Sure, why not.
- You Can’t Blame Me – Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum, & Durr (Eccentric Soul: The Capsoul Label) The world’s weirdest soul hook? Sure, why not.
- Everybody Loves the Sunshine – Roy Ayers Ubiquity (The Best of Roy Ayers (The Best of Roy Ayers: Love Fantasy)) A blissed out fusion number? Sure, why not.
- Blue Lines – Massive Attack (Blue Lines) A genre-creating Tricky rap? Sure, why not.
- The Sad Punk – Pixies (Trompe Le Monde) Changing gears abruptly? Sure, why not.
- Marrow (Live) – David Byrne & St. Vincent (Brass Tactics EP) St. Vincent backed by a freaking great horn section? Sure, why not.
- What We Loved Was Not Enough – Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (F*ck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything) Heartrending Canadians? Sure, why not.
- Roked – Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express (Junun) Israeli composer, Indian musicians, Radiohead guitarist? Sure, why not.
- %%%%%%%%%% $$$$$$$$$ >>>>>>>> >> >> >> @@@@@@@ – The User (Symphony #2 For Dot Matrix Printers) Dot matrix printer music? Sure, why not.
- Do the Dog – The Specials (The Specials) Do the dog, not the donkey? Sure, why not.
- You Satellite – Wilco (Star Wars) Wilco does late period Sonic Youth? Sure, why not.
- Nothing Clings Like Ivy – Elvis Costello & The Imposters (The Delivery Man) Plaintive country rock from a London kid? Sure, why not.
- Just One Thing – My Morning Jacket (It Still Moves) Unabashed Southern rock? Sure, why not.
- Are You Okay? – Dum Dum Girls (Too True) Can’t be flip about this track. The bridge kills me: “I’m reckless at night/I’m sorry for days.”
- Shake It Off – Ryan Adams (1989) A dark rewrite of an infectious Taylor Swift original? Sure, why not.
- One Sunday Morning (Song For Jane Smiley’s Boyfriend) – Wilco (The Whole Love) Eleven minutes of a murder mystery wrapped up in an NPR-friendly arrangement? Sure, why not.
- Moonshine Blues [live 1962 10 at Gaslight Café, New York City] – Bob Dylan (The Gaslight Tapes [live 1962 10 at Gaslight Café, New York City]) A stark folk original and probably the most harrowing version ever recorded? Sure, why not.
- Bladesteel – Daniel Lanois (Here Is What Is) Four minutes of slide guitar with New Orleans drums by Lanois? Sure why not.
- Amy – Ryan Adams (Heartbreaker) A track that opens with Adams’ most annoying verse melody, but transitions into his most heartbreaking chorus melody? Sure why not.
- Stanwell Perpetual – David Grubbs (The Spectrum Between) Three minutes of unresolved tension building with the horn section from Camoufleur? Sure, why not.
- The Things I Say – Joanna Newsom (Divers) A straight folk track that resolves to an ascending backtracked vocal cliffhanger conclusion? Sure, why not.
- Untitled – R.E.M. (Green) Michael Stipe’s paean to his parents? Sure, why not.
- Sun Is Shining – The Fireman (Electric Arguments) Electronica by Paul McCartney and Youth? Sure, why not.