Comments on: Making the mix (NJ-NY-TX style)

Question: Making the mix (NJ-NY-TX style)

MsVader — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:44:07 -0800

Help me make a mix CD about New Jersey, New York and Texas...

My brother's getting married in two weeks, and we're putting together "welcome boxes" for all of the guests coming in from out of town who'll be staying in hotels. I thought it might be fun to include a mix CD of songs about NJ (where we're from), NY (where he and his fiancee met), and TX (where she's from), and/or definitive songs by artists from those locations. I've got a short list already developing in my head, but I know that the experts of AskMe can come up with a better selection than I could hope to assemble on my own.

Help me, AskMetaFilter, you're my only hope...

By: artifarce

artifarce — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:47:44 -0800

New York City by They Might be Giants (originally by Cub, but I don't know what that recording sounds like). It'd be great for this purpose; lists all the sights.

By: monju_bosatsu

monju_bosatsu — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:50:31 -0800

Here are some songs about Texas.

By: thejoshu

thejoshu — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:50:45 -0800

TMBG - New York City.
Springsteen - 4th of July, Asbury Park.

Hm, Texas. String Cheese Incident? Haha.

By: MsVader

MsVader — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:52:55 -0800

I know that TMBG has a song about the Thomas Edison Museum, which is located in our hometown, so I'll definitely be including that as well.

By: grateful

grateful — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:53:59 -0800

May not be right for the occasion, but no Texas list would be complete without "All my exes live in Texas"

By: MsMolly

MsMolly — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:54:36 -0800

Definitely Lyle Lovett's That's Right (You're Not From Texas).

By: gfrobe

gfrobe — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 10:55:49 -0800

"Only New York Going On" by Francis Dunnery from the Tall Blonde Helicopter album.

By: scratch

scratch — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:02:27 -0800

"New York" by some group called the Sex Pistols.

By: scody

scody — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:02:50 -0800

"Like Wow, Wipeout!" by the Hoodoo Gurus contains the line "I kiss the city of New York, where I first met you."

By: jacobjacobs

jacobjacobs — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:04:19 -0800

'I Love NYC' by Andrew WK
'Lone Star Queen' by The New York Dolls (ironically)
'Hoboken' by Operation Ivy

By: jozxyqk

jozxyqk — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:06:56 -0800

Is Sinatra too obvious?

By: saladin

saladin — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:10:15 -0800

"Bullet" by the Misfits, for the chorus:

Texas isn't average when your husband is dead,
Texas isn't average when they pick off his head,
Texas is the reason, that the President's dead...

Then, the song devolves into Glenn Danzig talking dirty to Jackie Kennedy.

By: fvw

fvw — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:11:19 -0800

U2's New York would be wildly inappropriate here, but keep it in the back of you're mind should you make a mix CD when they're getting divorced. :-)

By: jacobjacobs

jacobjacobs — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:12:18 -0800

The Sex Pistol's 'New York' is just a slam of The New York Dolls! You can't include that!!

By: MsVader

MsVader — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:19:17 -0800

We know that we'll have some Sinatra and some Bruce and some TMBG. Trying not to resort to Bon Jovi. And I'd prefer nothing too derogatory. Also nothing too... offensive... as some of these folks are on the (much) older side.

The suggestions are great so far - keep them coming! Though - a little less on the NY and more on the NJ and TX. (Yeah, yeah, I know, beggars can't be choosers.)

By: Robot Johnny

Robot Johnny — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:22:29 -0800

My immediate thought was "T for Texas" as sung by Johnny Cash, but it's not very optimistic for relationships...

By: edgeways

edgeways — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:24:42 -0800

as always with these types of questions, look at allmusicguide, great resource

By: jacobjacobs

jacobjacobs — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:27:28 -0800

'Jersey Girl' by Tom Waits... ah, but he is from Jersey not she.

By: rocket88

rocket88 — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:28:19 -0800

Stupid Texas Song - Austin Lounge Lizards
Atlantic City - Springsteen

By: rocket88

rocket88 — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:29:27 -0800

Oh, and New York State of Mind by Billy Joel

By: spicynuts

spicynuts — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:37:10 -0800

Back in the New York Groove by Ace Frehley off of his Kiss solo album. It's kinda funky, a bit jazzy, definitely not too out there for old folks.

By: azlondon

azlondon — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:38:33 -0800

Hackensack - Fountains of Wayne

By: Capn

Capn — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:44:00 -0800

Fairy Tale of New York, The Pogues
"yer a bum, yer a punk" "yer an old slut on junk, lying there almost dead with a drip in your arm"

By: mds35

mds35 — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:50:00 -0800

New San Antonio Rose - Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys

By: Atom12

Atom12 — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:50:48 -0800

"New York's Alright If You Like Saxaphones" by Fear and then there's "New York City" by the Cult.

I think there's a song on Lloyd Cole's self-titled album with a line about "it's raining on Bleeker street." Is it "Downtown?" Maybe another MeFi-er can help close the loop on that one.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:53:29 -0800

Big Black - Texas
Revolting Cocks - Beers, Steers and Queers

You're having a punk rock wedding, right? Right?

By: mds35

mds35 — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:55:03 -0800

El Paso - Marty Robbins (or Grateful Dead)
When I Die, Just Let Me Go to Texas - Ed Bruce

By: mds35

mds35 — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:57:20 -0800

saladin: You gotta suck! Suck, Jackie, suck!

By: smackfu

smackfu — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:58:20 -0800

Bowling for Soup - Ohio (Come Back To Texas)

By: therealadam

therealadam — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:58:29 -0800

I must second Exes and That's Right (You're Not From Texas) for Texas songs.

By: safetyfork

safetyfork — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 12:09:30 -0800

Personally, I love "the best ever death metal band in Denton" off of The Mountain Goats' fantastic album "All Hail West Texas" which, as you might've guessed, has other texas and texan related songs on it.

I can't think of them off the top of my head right now, and a quick check of the song db shows none with obvious titles, but I know he's also got some songs about New York (and I wouldn't be surprised if there was one about Jersey too since geography and character play such a vital role in his music).

Good luck with the mix!

By: shortfuse

shortfuse — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 12:20:34 -0800

Red House Painters - New Jersey

Amazon sample

By: grateful

grateful — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 12:41:14 -0800

Joe Jackson's Night and Day is purportedly all about NYC from different points of view. Plus its a great album.

By: scody

scody — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 12:48:12 -0800

Grant Lee Buffalo - "Lone Star Song"

By: saladin

saladin — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:24:13 -0800

Oh, and how about "Luchenbach, Texas" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Excellent freakin' song.

Yeah, mds35, I guess that choice little line disqualifies it from this particular mix. Too bad.

By: mds35

mds35 — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:31:55 -0800

saladin: still a great song, though, eh?

By: octothorpe

octothorpe — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 13:37:03 -0800

John Gorka - I'm From New Jersey

I'm from New Jersey
No I don't talk that way
I watched too much TV
When I was young

By: skyboy

skyboy — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 14:10:54 -0800

A few more from TX:

Little Feat - "Texas Twister"
Chris Rea - "Texas"
Stevie Ray Vaughan - "Pride and Joy", "Texas Flood"
Joe Ely - "Dallas"
Lyle Lovett - "She's No Lady (She's My Wife)"
Timbuk3 - "A Hundred Lovers"

New Jersey songs? Egads, that's gotta be a toughie. Something by Fountains of Wayne, maybe? (wink)

By: skyboy

skyboy — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 14:13:18 -0800

... which azlondon already covered above, I now see.

By: jetskiaccidents

jetskiaccidents — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 15:13:55 -0800

The Promise Ring - Jersey Shore
I don't know why, but I think Yo La Tengo has a song about Hoboken. Or maybe I am just thinking that.

Old 97s - El Paso

I might come up with more later.

or right now...PJ Harvey - You Said Something - it's a very romantic song that references many NY locales.

By: Clay201

Clay201 — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 15:29:33 -0800

You've absolutely got to include a few songs by Texan James McMurtry (the son of Larry McMurtry, author of such ultra-Texan classics as Lonesome Dove). He's written and recorded several songs that don't just describe Texas, they make you feel like you're there; My favorites of the bunch are "Levelland" and "Twelve O'Clock Whistle," but if you want something a little more upbeat, try "I'm Not From Here" which has been described as the National Anthem of Austin or maybe "Poor Lost Soul" which is actually more about leaving Texas. And as an added bonus, he's also got one about a Texan trying to survive in New Jersey; it's called "Down Across The Delaware".

There a couple from Lyle Lovett that spring to mind: "That's
Right, You're Not From Texas" and "This Old Porch".

There's "The Vines" by Hammel on Trial, which is an autobiographical thing about Hammel's move from New York to Austin. He's even got that tough guy New York accent.

Steve James has one about a woman returning to her small Texas hometown; "Talco Girl". Toni Price sings about leaving a small Texas town after the oil bust; "Tumbleweed".

Seems like you really ought to include Robert Earl Keen here - the man is Texas just walking around - but I'm not sure which of his songs would be the best. So I'll just go with "The Road Goes on Forever"; it's just a classic all the way around.

Charlie Sexton's "Sunday Clothes" and Michelle Shocked's "Memories of East Texas" are both about growing up in the lone star state. In the same vein, Stephen Doster has a song about moving to Abilene as a child; "Sleepwalking".

By: Sonny Jim

Sonny Jim — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 18:20:11 -0800

And perhaps the most annoying jazz vocal of all time, John Pizzarelli's 'I Like Jersey Best'...

By: Toolshed

Toolshed — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 21:29:49 -0800

Forgive me if I missed this above, but the ultimate New Jersey songs have to be on Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run (1975). New Jersey's most famous rock song, the title track is, of course, about the getting out of the Garden State as fast as you can. This kept it from being made the state song, a short-lived project of WPLJ DJ Carole Miller in the late '70s. "Backstreets" is a great evocation of "the shore" More low-rent is Bon Jovi entire album New Jersey (1987). Patti Smith and Lou Reed are both from NJ. How about the Theme from The Sopranos?