Cease Fire (Day 85)

The Velvet Underground - "Here She Comes Now" (demo)
A couple of days ago, a few of my commenter friends noted that the day's playlist was exceptional. On that day, it hadn't really dawned on me that I was listening to a particularly good mix of tunes, but - - holy cow! - - today's set truly was great. It may just be that the seed of evaluating what the iPod plays on shuffle as a whole was planted by those off-hand comments, but I don't think so. Today I was really enjoying this great mix of tunes - - which included some artists I feel like I haven't heard in a while (The Smiths, Townes Van Zandt), and a few of my all-time favorites (Pavement, Yo La Tengo, Mr. Young). It was a plain old shuffle per usual, but there was one difference today that clearly helped. It was a long set (18 songs, 63 minutes) thanks to subway delays and the 5 or so extra tunes obviously make the set more varied. Regardless, it's inspired me to add a new feature to that little bit of accounting I do at the bottom of the post each day: How I Rate Today's Playlist. On a scale of 1-10, I'm going to have to say today was solid 9. Some detailed reasons to follow... (Also, new format, now with bold song titles! I think it makes things more readable.)
The American Analog Set - "Sharp Briar"
I've said it before, but I'll say it again. A cut from this band has to fit in somewhere on the soundtrack to my life. Their moody grooves are delectable, this song is no exception.
Pavement - "Drunks With Guns"
Basically every single Pavement nugget is worthwhile. This instrumental weirdness showed up on the Slanted & Enchanted deluxe edition, but was originally from a 1992 John Peel session.
Son Volt - "Driving The View"
Wilco gets all the love, but Jay Farrar's post-Uncle Tupelo band is no slouch. Great song and the title says it all: a perfect song for the open road.
The Shins - "New Slang"
It didn't change my life, Zach Braff. Not even the best song on that album. But I wouldn't kick it out of bed.
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - "Cease Fire"
Of all these great songs, this is the one with the most previous plays. Interesting. But Arlo's daughter (Woody's granddaughter) certainly knows her way around a folk song. Teaming with husband collaborator Johnny Irion, she's created a great rootsy duet about married life. (Gary Louris of the Jayhawks produced, and you can really tell.)
Devendra Banhart - "When The Sun Shone On Vetiver"
This song may be the reason I rated the playlist a 9 and not a 10.
Neil Young - "Powderfinger" (acoustic demo)
Classic tune, obvs, but where did the acoustic demo come from? I'll tell you: Basically the song was intended for release on the famously unreleased 1977 album Chrome Dreams. Although it never saw the light of day, there are bootlegs circulating and that is where this version came from. Although it's not clear (to me), if Neil intended to release this particular version in '77, or if he still planned on re-recording it. The album that came out last year called Chrome Dreams II, was supposed to be some kind of sequel, but it's really not fit to carry the original's jock. Just feast your eyes on what was supposed to be the original Chrome Dreams track listing:

• "Pocahontas" – 3:24
• "Will to Love" – 7:11
• "Star of Bethlehem" – 2:42
• "Like a Hurricane" – 8:14
• "Too Far Gone" – 2:41
• "Hold Back the Tears" – 5:16
• "Homegrown" – 2:20
• "Captain Kennedy" – 2:55
• "Stringman" – 3:32
• "Sedan Delivery" – 5:22
• "Powderfinger" – 3:23
• "Look Out for My Love" – 4:06

Now that's a record.
The Wedding Present - "Jet Girl"
This vastly underrated band is evidently touring again. Guess who'll miss them?
Stars - "Bitches In Tokyo"
I kinda missed the boat on this band, but I'm just starting to get on board.
The Twilight Singers - "I'm Ready"
As much as I like Greg Dulli he makes everything so freaking dense and morose I always feel like I need a vacation after listening to his music.
The Smiths - "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before"
I think I may be the only person I know who likes The Smiths, but is not a psycho super-fan.
Will Oldham - "New Gypsy"
Will used his real name for this record (Joya), but it's the same Bonnie "Prince" Billy/Palace brilliance.
Death Cab For Cutie - "Little Fury Bugs"
They were still an actual indie rock band on their second album, We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes, but they should have already been a sensation.
The Beatles - "Get Back" (single mix)
This is one of those cool alternate versions from the bootlegged Let It Be: Alternative Mono Mixes.
Art Pepper - "Tin Tin Deo"
This is a great Latin jazz staple and if it was any other day, I think the co-songwriter, Chano Pozo, would be the subject of this post. Why? One hint (via Wikipedia): "Once Pozo became famous he also became renowned by his sense of fashion: his all-white top hat and tuxedo look predated that of Flavor Flav by at least 45 years." Awesome.
Townes Van Zandt - "To Live Is To Fly"
Again, Townes is such an amazing songwriter, I'll have to save writing about him at length for another day. (By the way, this point is not arguable, Anonymous, or whoever else dares to protest.)
Yo La Tengo - "I Heard You Looking"
Someday I'm going to have to list my 10 Favorite Yo La Tengo songs. But I'm not looking forward to the task because there are so many great ones to choose from it's going to be next-to-impossible. I have a very good feeling, however, this one (from Painful) would make the list.

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 18
Total minutes of music (approx.): 63
Song with the most previous plays: "Cease Fire" - 9
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 9
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: There were signal delays, so I abandoned the subway a stop early and walked. But I didn't mind! (See above.)