The Earth is my grave: Songs for a soldier

Artist Song
DJ Shadow  War is Hell 
historic sound clip -- LBJ  Tonkin Gulf, Vietnam Incident and Resoluton 
The Byrds  Draft Morning (alternate end) 
Creedence Clearwater Revival  Run Through the Jungle  
Eric Burdon & the Animals  Sky Pilot  
Jimi Hendrix  Machine Gun  
sound effect  Flies 
Don McLean  The Grave  
Billy Bang  Tet Offensive  
Little Junior Crudup  Helicopter  
Jonathan Geer  Rescue  
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young  Almost Cut My Hair  
Tricky  Strugglin'  
John Kusiak  Evil Grade 
Eels  Electro-shock Blues  
historic sound clip -- Nixon  End of the Vietnam War 
Brian Eno  An Ending (Ascent)  
Max Avery Lichtenstein  Recovery  
Douglas Jimerson  Taps  
Pigeonhed  Honor  
John Black  The Walls Came Down (Requiem)  
The Hollies  He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother  

Comment:

With this mix, I worked within the imaginary soundtrack realm and tried to map crucial moments in a soldier's life.

Basically, he gets drafted and sent to Vietnam, he runs through the jungle, he fights, and he describes what he sees and how he feels. He's seriously wounded during the Tet Offensive and taken away in a rescue helicopter. He gets a medical deferment and is shipped back to the U.S., but he can't shake the horror he witnessed. He suffers from paranoia and tries to take his own life. He fails, and a neighbor's phone call results in him being taken to a hospital, where he recovers. After the war ends, he attends military funerals, trying to understand the carnage and how it has changed him and his fellow soldiers. And through that process, with the help of his comrades, he heals.

Some notes about the selections:

Anyone who thinks Don McLean wrote only one great song ("American Pie") needs to hear "The Grave." It'll make your spine tingle.

This version of "Machine Gun" is from the Band Of Gypsys album.

"Sky Pilot" is the 7:33 recording.

Since it offers more space, I plan to add a few tracks to the cassette version, but I haven't found the right songs yet. I also will edit the speeches and trim the audience chatter at the beginning of "Machine Gun" so it won't seem like a live recording.
image for mix

Feedback:

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Round Pin
Date: 11/7/2005
Good stuff.
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alma cogan
Date: 11/7/2005
Tremendous. I salute you.
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joey de vivre
Date: 11/7/2005
This is brilliant just as it is, but could I send you an mp3 of the Joel Mabus song "Touch a Name on the Wall"? I think it might work well on the cassette version.
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The Nightcrawler
Date: 11/7/2005
Go for it, joey de vivre. I should 10 to 15 minutes of space to fill, and I welcome all suggestions for songs to incorporate.
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Salman1
Date: 11/8/2005
Lots of great stuff here.