This is the second installation of the whole "playlist" thing. I figure a month later (give or take) is when I normally rotate my songs on my iPod and such, and although there are always a couple of carryovers that stick with me for elongated periods of time, there are always a couple new entries into the ol' electronic record player.
Without further ado, I give you my "Exams" playlist...
"Ten Million Slaves" by OTIS MILLER
If the song title doesn't ring a bell, then you will probably recognize it as the main track (it's not OFFICIALLY the main track, but it's the one most prominently featured) in Michael Mann's very, very less-than-mediocre Public Enemies. This song is great for two reasons: 1) I love hearing it and being reminded of the movie's trailer which was SO awesome. It makes me forget for a second that the movie itself never lived up to the quality of the stellar preview in which this song was featured. 2) Miller's mix of old-school folk/blue grass and contemporary electric rock is perfect. There is this aura around the song that allows it to almost transcend time. It harkens back to the 1930's but sounds like it was made yesterday. In accomplishing that, it meshes together a gumbo full of southern rock essence. Fantastic.
"Bad Things" by JACE EVERETT
The "True Blood" theme song?? You betcha. Do I watch "True Blood"?? Absolutely not. I just love the opening of it. I wish the show could have lived up to that. Oh well. The song from the opening credits is wicked. In every sense of the term. It's badass country at its best.
"Work in Progress" by SISTER HAZEL
Probably my second favourite band behind Counting Crows, Sister Hazel have always, always, always put out music that I love. "Work in Progress" continues to pop up on my playlists every now and then because it's a massively upbeat tune with a harsh reality behind the lyrics. Besides finding that I relate to being a "work in progress" as they preach, I love the way that they develop the personality of the song. For some reason I relate it to Ben Folds' "Song for the Dumped" in that they are almost making excuses but in an "in-your-face" kind of way, so as to not lose face with anything. Have I read to far into this?? Perhaps. But either way, it's a fantastic song that strays away from their more soft rock-esque music and falls into a category basically by itself. It's fast. It's catchy. And it's great to boost your confidence after writing an exam you think you did pretty well on.
"American Saturday Night" by BRAD PAISLEY
The inclusion of Brad Paisley's newest one is on here really just due to the fact that it's Brad Paisley's newest. Simple as that. The man is probably the best male country artist working today and everything that he produces is usually fucking gold. This song is no exception. I haven't loved it as much as "Celebrity" or "Online" quite yet, but it's at least on the same level as "The World" or "Alcohol". Especially considering I haven't been up to date on my country ever since a lot of the new artists started sounding the same, it is good to know that Paisley is still around producing some great, new classics. Very reassuring.
"Private Conversations" by LYLE LOVETT
When I was younger, I hated Lyle Lovett for no other reason than I thought he was too weird looking to have married Julia Roberts. And I've never had any excessive feelings for Julia Roberts either, I was just against someone that odd marrying outside of his own league. Apparently when I was younger, I had celebrity marriage issues. Anywho, now that I've grown, and luckily happened upon some of my dad's music, I have heard some of Lovett's music. And by golly is it awesome. With "Private Conversations", I have yet to have mastered the actual lyrics themselves, but it has such an awesome, gentle tone that I haven't needed to learn the words quite yet. I enjoy just listening to the smoothness of it while walking to campus in the morning. It really helps to relax me, which I definitely need sometimes.
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