I’m sort of a latecomer to the whole mix-tape concept (this is probably why I hated High Fidelity, its misogyny aside). We can blame this on two factors. First, I didn’t listen to much popular music in high school. Second, I don’t have a very good memory for music. Some people can hear four bars of music and identify the piece, the composer, and the performers. I’m lucky, after listening for ten or fifteen minutes, to guess the century it was written in. There’s a third factor, which may be related to the other two, which is that I’ve tended, up until fairly recently, to connect with music on a technical or purely aesthetic level rather than on the metaphorical, emotional level. When I’ve put together mixes they’re usually samples of a particular style, or a mishmash of pieces I enjoy. It never occurred to me that I could communicate something by my selections.

Well, better late than never. After a few months of thought and research (not full-time, sillies), I unveil the first fruits of my new understanding. Je l’appelle “Your Sun Still Shines At Midnight”, and yes, there are a lot of torch songs in it.

  1. “I Put a Spell on You”, Nina Simone
  2. “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea”, Ella Fitzgerald
  3. “Sous le ciel de Paris”, Edith Piaf
  4. “Mockingbird Song”, Katie Melua
  5. “Manha de Carnaval”, Astrud Gilberto (+Stan Getz)
  6. “Rosa”, Marisa Monte (orig. Pixinguinha)
  7. “I’m a Fool To Want You”, Ella Fitzgerald
  8. “All the World Is Green”, Tom Waits
  9. “Who Makes You Feel”, Dido
  10. “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, Frank Sinatra
  11. “The Long Way Home”, Norah Jones
  12. “Ne Me Quitte Pas”, Nina Simone
  13. “Midnight Sun”, Ella Fitzgerald
  14. “Desafinado”, Getz and Gilberto
  15. “This Year’s Kisses”, Nina Simone
  16. “La vie en rose”, Edith Piaf
  17. “Manha de Carnaval”, Stan Getz

Although I’m not prepared to reveal the narrative behind this mix, I will say that the song by Norah Jones is the source of the title of my previous entry, GotAHeadFullOfLightning.

Some of these tracks are a little hard-to-find, so if you would like any help actually putting together the mix, let me know.

Unrelated note: I have a pile of gmail invitations, so let me know if you want one.