Artist	Song
Van Morrison (Poetic Champions Compose, Warner Bros., 1987)	THE MYSTERY (Morrison)
Boz Scaggs (Dig, Virgin, 2001)	THE KING OF EL PASO (Scaggs/Walroth)
The Mother Hips (Don't Let the Bastards Get You Down: A Tribute to Kris Kristofferson, Jackpine Social Club, 2002)	SUNDAY MORNIN' COMIN' DOWN (Kristofferson)
Dave Van Ronk (Bread and Roses Festival, 1977, Vol. 1, Fantasy, 1979)	SWINGING ON A STAR (Burke/Van Heusen)
Maryann Price (Etched in Swing, Watermelon, 1994)	LOVE IS A WORD FOR THE BLUES (Feather/Hyman/Raskin)
Keely Smith (Swingin' Pretty, Capitol, 1959)	THE MAN I LOVE (Gershwin/Gershwin/Heyward)
Teri Thornton (I'l Be Easy to Find, Verve, 1999)	I BELIEVE IN YOU (Loesser)
Judy Collins (Wildflowers, Elektra, 1967)	ALBATROSS (Collins)
Uncle Walt's Band (The Girl on the Sunny Shore, Sugar Hill, 1988/1991)	HIGH HILL (Hood)
Anne Hills (Follow that Road, Philo, 1994)	FOLLOW THAT ROAD (Hills)
Phillips and Driver (Togetherness, Bar None, 2003)	GRUDGE (Pernice)
Angela McCluskey (THE THINGS WE DO, Manhattan, 2004)	KNOW IT ALL (McCluskey/Ward)
Edith Frost (Wonder, Wonder, Drag City, 2001)	EASY TO LOVE (Frost)
Nina Nastasia (The Blackened Air, Touch and Go, 2002)	ALL FOR YOU (Nastasia)
Tara Jane O'Neil (You Sound, Reflect, Quarterstick, 2004)	WHITE PUSH (O'Neil)
Kelly Hogan & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts (Beneath the Country Underdog, Bloodshot, 2000)	PAPA WAS A RODEO (Merritt)
Terry Allen (Lubbock (On Everything), Sugar Hill, 1979)	LUBBOCK WOMAN (Allen)
The Chicken Chokers (Rounder Folk, Rounder, 1977)	LOOKING FOR MONEY (Urban)
Tom Russell (The Rose of the San Joaquin, Hightone, 1994)	OUT IN CALIFORNIA (Alvin/Russell)
Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings (Naturally, Daptone, 2005)	NATURAL BORN LOVER (Mann)

Comment:

Ahem. I made this mix as a sentimental pick-me-up for my ex/dear "friend with benefits(?)" who is having a hard time right now. He's in deep with himself and his demons and depression, at that point when there is no escape - only further and deeper into the pain. He is flawed and fucked-up, but trying so so hard to get a handle on life and himself. Bon voyage, mon cher! Watching from the other shore. So, here's what and some why

(1) Van ... my favorite fucked-up mystic! Van's been a touchstone a various times in our relationship and I think a great companion for those long dark nights of the soul and those long days and nights of making love, too. "Let go into the mystery/And open up your heart"


(2) Boz is a Texan as is my struggling friend. Plus, this is kind of a song about death, which is one of S's favorite themes. Great mix on this song, funky, yet country blues. "Leave little to chance/And
nothin' to hope"

(3) Kris K was a favorite in the earlier courtship days ... "I woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head/that didn't hurt/The beer I had for breakfast wasn't bad/ so I had one for dessert."

(4) He loves Dave Van Ronk, and this a chipper kind of song about taking responsibility and getting on with it ... oh would you like to swing on a star/carry moonbeams home in a jar?"

(5) Maryann was a charter member of Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks as well as being a Texan herself. I think the title says plenty.

(6) Keely is so perfumed with the 50's and the aura of slinky black dresses, cocktails, cigarettes, and existentialism. Is this song for me or S, hoping and waiting for that someone to change one's life?

(7) Teri injects some slinky kind of ego-boosting. |You have the cool clear eyes of a seeker of wisdom and truth"

(8) This Judy Collins song just has the urgency and poignancy of a search, with a lovely mythic lilt.
The embroid'ry of your life holds you in
And keeps you out but you survive
Imprisoned in your bones
Behind the isinglass windows of your eyes

(9) S turned me on to Uncle Walt's Band who he used to see in Austin. A lovely lovely band if you don't know them, but you must check your cynicism at the door. It isn't the lyrics here, but the tune and the harmonies which are heartbreaking. "Do you really want to know how I'm spending my time?/ I'm just trying to make the best of your love."

(10) Driving directions to a loved one. One of S's favorite songs.

(11) Just an all-around great song, from whence the mix title. Love Phillips and Driver's understated sound ... kind of like the Carpenters on quaaludes. "Still fixated on all those nights/we would drink ourselves familiar/ count the blurry lights"

(12) I like McCluskey's voice a lot ... this is a funny song with a chorus along the the lines "Oh God you're reading Albert Camus/

(13) Edith's contribution is sweet, lo-fi.

(14) Nina's song is fun and romantic.

(15) I still haven't figured out the lyrics to this, but the more I listen to Tara Jane the more I like her.

(16) Thanks to Adam Bristor for this one and the next. One of S's favorite songs is "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" so this is in that vein.

(17) Lubbock is just a funny word in my book. All great lyrics here. "And she has a good heart."

(18) A constant theme for us "Looking for Money" ... I seem to have found a source of income ... a legitimate one ...

(19) Well, S is from Texas by way of California. And he's a big Tom Russell fan.

(20) Sharon speaks for me!

Enough!

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