(Full disclosure right off the bat: I’ve met Lone Star Park Vice President G.W. Hail a few times and he’s a nice guy. Nice enough that if he asks me to do him a favor, I’m inclined to oblige. I’m especially inclined when the favor involves promoting me as an almost pseudo-celebrity. And yes, I realize I’m falling in to his publicity trap by mentioning this stunt on FrontBurner … just as he planned it. Well played, G.W.)
What am I talking about? A week or so ago, G.W. asked me to create a Lone Star Park music mix to be broadcast during live racing days — songs to be played during downtime. G.W. said he was going to ask other media types to contribute (people like Norm, Newy, and Clarice). Apparently I was the first to turn mine in and so mine will be the first to enter the rotation — starting tomorrow, G.W. tells me. I obsessed over the mix like I am wont to do. I had to account for varying age groups, differences in preferences, sensitivity to mood (upbeat, but not too cheery for the frowny-faced bettors), yet still staying true to songs I truly like/love. For those who are curious, the final line-up is after the jump.
“Ring of Fire,” Johnny Cash
“And She Was,” Talking Heads
“Float On,” Modest Mouse
“Passin Me By,” Pharcyde
“King of All of the World,” Old 97’s
“Tuesday Morning,” The Pogues
“Birthday,” Sugarcubes
“If I Could Talk I’d Tell You,” The Lemonheads
“Feel Good Inc.,” Gorillaz
“Hello It’s Me,” Todd Rundgren
“Starfish and Coffee,” Prince
“Happy Together,” The Turtles
“Waterfall,” Stone Roses
“Brimful of Asha,” Cornershop
“Ego Tripping At the Gates of Hell,” Flaming Lips
Update (kinda): I’m glad to see the playlist sparked some virtual conversation. I was going to go into a bit more detail about my thought process in the original post, but I felt like I was droning on too much already. But I should have mentioned a couple of things. One, I did consider an all-horsey-related mix: “I Chose Horses,” by Mogwai; “Wild Horses,” by Sundays not Rolling Stones; anything by Sparklehorse and, yes, Band of Horses. But I didn’t. Two, I wanted to include songs people had heard before. Not songs everyone knew, not even necessarily most people knew, but songs that someone out there would recognize. And, Three, yes, I wanted the songs to be upbeat. Seemed better suited for a public venue. Such a self-imposed stipulation was a stark contrast to every mixtape I’ve ever made (cf. my high school “Depression Mix”). But don’t let that stop the flow of your excellent song suggestions. Good stuff.
