Tuesday, February 22, 2005
My Most Ambitious Post Yet
Okay. So I titled my blog "RockOut Mix CD" and registered the name rockoutmixcd.com for it because, quite frankly, RockOut Mix CD is like the coolest thing I've ever been a part of. It really encapsulates my personality so well. It is and will be my fondest memory of college.
As you can probably see from the previous post, RockOut Mix CD is what you listen to while you're rockingout. It all started freshman year of college on good ol' 5 Gomberg, when I decided to make a mix cd to play in Jeff and Kyle's room, a place where we did a good bit of our underground (and by that I mean illegal, not indie) drinking. I honestly didn't think about it too much as I made it. I just put some good songs on there, burned the sucker and gave it the fateful red-sharpie label, "RockOut Mix CD." Despite my lack of forethought, there was something about that CD. Something that made it really awesome to dance to while you were with your best friends and drinking. Like the discovery of penicillin, it seemed something great had been discovered by accident. This cd was good.
So I stuck with it. I immediately started to refine it, adding and subtracting songs, but keeping the core numbers the same and staying true to the RockOut spirit. The phenomenon grew. By sophomore year, there started being times when we just knew it was time to rockout. RockingOut became an event- there were weeks I spent just waiting for the weekend when I knew I would rockout. Everyone would show up, get drunk, and the cd would go on. We rockedout because we were drinking, and drank because we were rockingout.
I kept making new RockOut Mix CDs, refining it with the goal of reaching RockOut Nirvana, trying to find the mix that perfectly fit the specific night on which the rockingout would take place. I don't know how many versions of RockOut Mix CD there have been, but I can say that the current one is probably the best. I've stuck with it for nearly a year now- it hasn't changed since June 2004. I've been getting itchy lately, though, and think some changes might be forthcoming. We'll see.
So it has been requested that I explain the songs on RockOut Mix CD- give a "detailed analysis." While I'm not sure this can be done, as RockOut Mix CD has a very mystical quality to it and the songs, while awesome on their own, become infinitely better on the cd, I will do my best. Please remember that the music is only half of RockOut Mix CD. It is a catalyst to inspire greather things. But then music is often that.
There are others whose opinions would count here. I am never alone in rockingout. Also, keep in mind that this is just the current incarnation- it will change soon. Being the creator and proprietor of RockOut Mix CD, however, I will do my duty and explain the musical side of the phenomenon.
Track 1: The Who- "Baba O'Reily"
This song has always been track 1 on RockOut Mix CD. It is perfect and will never be changed. The synthesizer intro is distinctive yet not too intense- it lets you know it's time to rockout, but gives you time to get ready. By the time the big piano chords come in, everyone is completely focused on rockingout and, baby, it's on. Roger Daltrey's vocals are fantastic and great for singing along with. Windmilling on the air guitar gets the arms loose for a long night of rockingout. The end of this song is just as important as the beginning. The violin part comes in, setting the tempo for a frantic dancing explosion that ends with running in place as fast as you can to keep up. By the time the song ends so abruptly, you are exhausted and don't think you can go on. Until...
Track 2: Dexy's Mindinght Runners- "Come On Eileen"
As Jeff recently pointed out, the violins from "Baba" lead naturally into the violins that begin this song. This song refocuses the energy of rockingout- it isn't always about going all out- sometimes it's about skipping. Dances to this song tend to be flamboyant and involve knees and fists high in the air. During the break-down part (forgive my lack of understanding of pop songcraft theory) where it goes "Come on, Eileen, ta loo rie ay," the Alligator Fuck Waltz is either performed or mentioned. I'm pretty sure "Eileen" will always be track 2.
Track 3: Toby Kieth and Willie Nelson- "Beer For My Horses"
This is a rather recent addition, but I like it. Since we almost always drink whiskey, beer, or both while rockingout, we have ample opportunity to toast and swig during this song as it calls out our favorite beverages. "Whikey for my men and beer for my horses," exclaim Willie and Toby, and we are only too happy to play both parts. This song also adds a little country flavor, which really lets us get loose and rowdy. This song is when everybody gets even more drunk.
Track 4: Van Halen- "Jump"
This is another song with a catchy intro that allows you to build up to the body of the song. This is clearly one of the best and most fun rock songs of the 80s and RockOut Mix CD has a pronounced 80s flavor. Dancing gets a little dangerous here as many people have been known to do their best David Lee Roth impressions, space limitations and inflexible groin muscles be damned. He says "jump," we jump without even bothering to ask how high. We know to jump as high as we can.
Track 5: Queen and David Bowie- "Under Pressure"
RockOut novices often get fooled into thinking track 5 is "Ice Ice Baby," due to Vanilla's shameless thievery of this song's baseline. But it's not. Vanilla will not be appearing tonight. In his place, we have a heartfelt, catchy song from two awesome artists. Most of the time we are too drunk to really know the difficult lyrics, but we sing our hearts out and always get the nonsense syllables- "day da deh" and the like- right. This song always brings out the importance of friends in rockingout. It's hard not to look around and be glad to have the people around you that you do. "Why can't we give love one more chance?" we plead in unison. Then David Bowie comes in and assures us (even if we can't understand the lyrics) that everything will be okay, that these are good people who love each other. "Under Pressure" has been on RockOut Mix CD since the beginning, and I can't imagine it not being there.
Track 6: Fine Young Cannibals- "She Drives Me Crazy"
Another sentimental song- one that gives you a great feeling of 80s nostalgia and allows you to sing in falsetto. This song tends to involve eye contact between everyone, and somehow we seem to feel like we're all in love with the same woman. The call and answer guitar riffs are a great chance to show off your air guitar skills.
Track 7: The Darkness- "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"
The first time I heard The Darkness, I knew they would be on RockOut Mix CD. They are totally over the top, totally awesome, and rock totally hard. This song is just so joyful, cheesy, and wonderful for rockingout. Falsetto singing, jumping around, a tough air guitar solo that requires intense concentration- this one's pretty much got it all. During this song, it is imperative that you give a thumbs up when Justin Hawkins assures you that "everything is A-OK." You also have to clap your hands above your head when the guitar part cuts out briefly. By the end of this song, you should be sweaty and absolutely overjoyed to be rockingout. This song is so great it is tough to follow...
Track 8: Tiffany- "I Think We're Alone Now"
This song is a quick shift in gears from The Darkness. Tiffany's brilliant, shopping-mall-tastic cover takes you back to the 80s again and typically leads to couples dancing. "Running just as fast as we can/ Holdin' on to one another's hand" and "tumble to the ground" just beg to be acted out. If there are no or few girls present (and girls, strangely, are always outnumbered by guys when rockingout is going on), then it is perfectly acceptable for two straights dudes to dance together during this song. No insecurity or homophobia allowed while rockingout.
Track 9: Michael Jackson- "Man in the Mirror"
This is the second MJ track to appear on RockOut Mix CD. For quite a while his fantastic "Black or White" was included. That song was great for a lot of reasons, includig the skit at the beginning, which was hilarious and provided an opportunity for a brief rest. "Man in the Mirror" made its way on the cd when I discovered MJ's copious use use of the word "sh'mon" in it. "Sh'mon" is one of my favorite words and I just had to have it on RockOut Mix CD. The key change in this song is a great opportunity to take your rockingout to the next level.
Track 10: Styx- "Come Sail Away"
Welcome to the epic portion of RockOut Mix CD. The point of this song is to sing along and get involved as you can in the story Styx is telling. We can tell how involved you are by the intensity of your hand gestures. Once the song picks up, the air guitars come out and I tend to pull an abdominal muscle from grimacing too much and singing too loudly. This song goes on for a while and is quite an endurance test. It's okay to sit down occasionally during this song, just as long as you continue making hand gestures. Once the song starts to end, however, you have to be up on your feet. This is another song with a great climax that leaves you thinking you can't possibly go on.
Track 11: Abba- "Dancing Queen"
This song is not for the faint of heart. You gotta just get caught up in the rockingout and not worry about looking like a girlyman. This song also tends to have a lot of intra-gender couples dancing. Fact is, this song is on the cd because everybody's a dancing queen when they're rockingout. You are in charge, you are getting exactly what you want, and you are definitely dancing- what more can you ask for?
Track 12: Andrew WK- "Never Let Down"
Wow. This song is fucking intense. It might surprise some who know me and my love for AWK that this song is a fairly recent addition and is the first AWK song to make it onto RockOut Mix CD. I never felt like any songs from "I Get Wet" really belonged though. The album was great in and of itself and kicked ass for playing at parties, but somehow none of its songs seemed to fit in on the cd. They were just a little to fast, crazy, loud, etc. But with the release of "The Wolf," Andrew WK provided me with a song completely worthy of a place on RockOut Mix CD. The pure intensity of this song, the simplicity and earnestness of the lyrics, the way it just makes you pump your goddamn fist in the air- this song is here to stay. Grimaces so hard you pull a neck muscle are common. You have to try on this song. You have to mean it.
Track 13: The Proclaimers- "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"
This song ended up on the cd by another fortunate accident. I was in Kalamazoo visiting official RockOut Club members Cowell and Dolley, but came to the sad realization that no one had a copy of RockOut Mix CD. So I used the .mp3s on our friend Jesse's computer to make some kind of psuedo-RockOut mix that would have to do for that one night. This song was on her computer and made its way onto that mix. It went over so well that it made it onto the official version. The main attraction of this song is its overall awesomeness and the fact that the chorus is conducive to marching in small circles in time with the beat. The call and answer "da da da da"s also provide a great opportunity for two-part singing.
Track 14: Clarence Carter- "Strokin'"
Sometimes I feel like the cd could live without this song, but it's a difficult one to remove. The lyrics are raunchy and great, especially the "if my stuff ain't tight enough you can stick it up my whoo!" part. Just great. We also have a coreographed dance to the chorus that makes me reluctant to remove this song. For now, I'm sassified with its presence.
Track 15: Chumbawumba- "Tubthumping"
This song is on the cd in large part due to the episode of "Upright Citzens Brigade" where the frat boys greet each other by saying "Chumbawumba!" It also talks about drinking, which is always good. Plus it's catchy as hell and begins the slowdown portion of RockOut Mix CD. Something about this song makes me feel good and that's what RockOut Mix CD is all about.
Track 16: Depeche Mode- "Just Can't Get Enough"
80s synth-pop with serious nostalgia value. This may be the original RockOut song- it's the song we danced around to in front of Jeff's webcam freshman year. This song is honestly associated with some of my favorite memories ever, and I think that goes for other frequent RockOuters as well. All of the synthesizer lines in this song are gorgeous, and the part where the title of the song is repeated never gets boring. The drum break is conducive to clapping and the lyrics are easy to remember. Man, I love this song.
Track 17: Kiss- "God Gave Rock'n'Roll to You"
This song was added at the insistence of Kyle and I like it. It begins the "coming together" portion of RockOut Mix CD. It is cheesily epic, emotional, and touching. Having it at the end of the RockOut Mix CD reminds us all how lucky we are to have booze, music, and each other. If you don't put your arm around someone during this song, you're a cold-hearted bastard indeed.
Track 18: The "Cheers" Theme Song
This is the official end of RockOut Mix CD. It's a goofy yet touching song that reminds us that we will rockout again. There will always be a place we can go to do what we do best. During this song, everyone present gets in a circle, with their arms around one another's shoulders. Everybody sings at the top of their lungs, even though no one knows the lyrics for the verses. But, damn, do we wail on the choruses. This song fades out, signalling the end of RockOut Mix CD for now. But we know it won't be long before that synthesizer intro to "Baba O'Reily" starts right back up again.
So there it is. An explanation, as well as I can provide one, of RockOut Mix CD. I would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation. Any one who has read this and understood, or at least thought that they could understand, rockingout is hereby welcome to come rockout with me anytime. Seriously. Just email me. Even if I don't know you, I will fill you in on how to join us for the best night of your life. Zach Curd, this goes double for you since you inspired me to make this post. Just lemme know when you're available- we'll work something out.
I love RockOut Mix CD.
As you can probably see from the previous post, RockOut Mix CD is what you listen to while you're rockingout. It all started freshman year of college on good ol' 5 Gomberg, when I decided to make a mix cd to play in Jeff and Kyle's room, a place where we did a good bit of our underground (and by that I mean illegal, not indie) drinking. I honestly didn't think about it too much as I made it. I just put some good songs on there, burned the sucker and gave it the fateful red-sharpie label, "RockOut Mix CD." Despite my lack of forethought, there was something about that CD. Something that made it really awesome to dance to while you were with your best friends and drinking. Like the discovery of penicillin, it seemed something great had been discovered by accident. This cd was good.
So I stuck with it. I immediately started to refine it, adding and subtracting songs, but keeping the core numbers the same and staying true to the RockOut spirit. The phenomenon grew. By sophomore year, there started being times when we just knew it was time to rockout. RockingOut became an event- there were weeks I spent just waiting for the weekend when I knew I would rockout. Everyone would show up, get drunk, and the cd would go on. We rockedout because we were drinking, and drank because we were rockingout.
I kept making new RockOut Mix CDs, refining it with the goal of reaching RockOut Nirvana, trying to find the mix that perfectly fit the specific night on which the rockingout would take place. I don't know how many versions of RockOut Mix CD there have been, but I can say that the current one is probably the best. I've stuck with it for nearly a year now- it hasn't changed since June 2004. I've been getting itchy lately, though, and think some changes might be forthcoming. We'll see.
So it has been requested that I explain the songs on RockOut Mix CD- give a "detailed analysis." While I'm not sure this can be done, as RockOut Mix CD has a very mystical quality to it and the songs, while awesome on their own, become infinitely better on the cd, I will do my best. Please remember that the music is only half of RockOut Mix CD. It is a catalyst to inspire greather things. But then music is often that.
There are others whose opinions would count here. I am never alone in rockingout. Also, keep in mind that this is just the current incarnation- it will change soon. Being the creator and proprietor of RockOut Mix CD, however, I will do my duty and explain the musical side of the phenomenon.
Track 1: The Who- "Baba O'Reily"
This song has always been track 1 on RockOut Mix CD. It is perfect and will never be changed. The synthesizer intro is distinctive yet not too intense- it lets you know it's time to rockout, but gives you time to get ready. By the time the big piano chords come in, everyone is completely focused on rockingout and, baby, it's on. Roger Daltrey's vocals are fantastic and great for singing along with. Windmilling on the air guitar gets the arms loose for a long night of rockingout. The end of this song is just as important as the beginning. The violin part comes in, setting the tempo for a frantic dancing explosion that ends with running in place as fast as you can to keep up. By the time the song ends so abruptly, you are exhausted and don't think you can go on. Until...Track 2: Dexy's Mindinght Runners- "Come On Eileen"
As Jeff recently pointed out, the violins from "Baba" lead naturally into the violins that begin this song. This song refocuses the energy of rockingout- it isn't always about going all out- sometimes it's about skipping. Dances to this song tend to be flamboyant and involve knees and fists high in the air. During the break-down part (forgive my lack of understanding of pop songcraft theory) where it goes "Come on, Eileen, ta loo rie ay," the Alligator Fuck Waltz is either performed or mentioned. I'm pretty sure "Eileen" will always be track 2.
Track 3: Toby Kieth and Willie Nelson- "Beer For My Horses"
This is a rather recent addition, but I like it. Since we almost always drink whiskey, beer, or both while rockingout, we have ample opportunity to toast and swig during this song as it calls out our favorite beverages. "Whikey for my men and beer for my horses," exclaim Willie and Toby, and we are only too happy to play both parts. This song also adds a little country flavor, which really lets us get loose and rowdy. This song is when everybody gets even more drunk.Track 4: Van Halen- "Jump"
This is another song with a catchy intro that allows you to build up to the body of the song. This is clearly one of the best and most fun rock songs of the 80s and RockOut Mix CD has a pronounced 80s flavor. Dancing gets a little dangerous here as many people have been known to do their best David Lee Roth impressions, space limitations and inflexible groin muscles be damned. He says "jump," we jump without even bothering to ask how high. We know to jump as high as we can.
Track 5: Queen and David Bowie- "Under Pressure"
RockOut novices often get fooled into thinking track 5 is "Ice Ice Baby," due to Vanilla's shameless thievery of this song's baseline. But it's not. Vanilla will not be appearing tonight. In his place, we have a heartfelt, catchy song from two awesome artists. Most of the time we are too drunk to really know the difficult lyrics, but we sing our hearts out and always get the nonsense syllables- "day da deh" and the like- right. This song always brings out the importance of friends in rockingout. It's hard not to look around and be glad to have the people around you that you do. "Why can't we give love one more chance?" we plead in unison. Then David Bowie comes in and assures us (even if we can't understand the lyrics) that everything will be okay, that these are good people who love each other. "Under Pressure" has been on RockOut Mix CD since the beginning, and I can't imagine it not being there.
Track 6: Fine Young Cannibals- "She Drives Me Crazy"
Another sentimental song- one that gives you a great feeling of 80s nostalgia and allows you to sing in falsetto. This song tends to involve eye contact between everyone, and somehow we seem to feel like we're all in love with the same woman. The call and answer guitar riffs are a great chance to show off your air guitar skills.
Track 7: The Darkness- "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"
The first time I heard The Darkness, I knew they would be on RockOut Mix CD. They are totally over the top, totally awesome, and rock totally hard. This song is just so joyful, cheesy, and wonderful for rockingout. Falsetto singing, jumping around, a tough air guitar solo that requires intense concentration- this one's pretty much got it all. During this song, it is imperative that you give a thumbs up when Justin Hawkins assures you that "everything is A-OK." You also have to clap your hands above your head when the guitar part cuts out briefly. By the end of this song, you should be sweaty and absolutely overjoyed to be rockingout. This song is so great it is tough to follow...Track 8: Tiffany- "I Think We're Alone Now"
This song is a quick shift in gears from The Darkness. Tiffany's brilliant, shopping-mall-tastic cover takes you back to the 80s again and typically leads to couples dancing. "Running just as fast as we can/ Holdin' on to one another's hand" and "tumble to the ground" just beg to be acted out. If there are no or few girls present (and girls, strangely, are always outnumbered by guys when rockingout is going on), then it is perfectly acceptable for two straights dudes to dance together during this song. No insecurity or homophobia allowed while rockingout.
Track 9: Michael Jackson- "Man in the Mirror"
This is the second MJ track to appear on RockOut Mix CD. For quite a while his fantastic "Black or White" was included. That song was great for a lot of reasons, includig the skit at the beginning, which was hilarious and provided an opportunity for a brief rest. "Man in the Mirror" made its way on the cd when I discovered MJ's copious use use of the word "sh'mon" in it. "Sh'mon" is one of my favorite words and I just had to have it on RockOut Mix CD. The key change in this song is a great opportunity to take your rockingout to the next level.
Track 10: Styx- "Come Sail Away"
Welcome to the epic portion of RockOut Mix CD. The point of this song is to sing along and get involved as you can in the story Styx is telling. We can tell how involved you are by the intensity of your hand gestures. Once the song picks up, the air guitars come out and I tend to pull an abdominal muscle from grimacing too much and singing too loudly. This song goes on for a while and is quite an endurance test. It's okay to sit down occasionally during this song, just as long as you continue making hand gestures. Once the song starts to end, however, you have to be up on your feet. This is another song with a great climax that leaves you thinking you can't possibly go on.
Track 11: Abba- "Dancing Queen"
This song is not for the faint of heart. You gotta just get caught up in the rockingout and not worry about looking like a girlyman. This song also tends to have a lot of intra-gender couples dancing. Fact is, this song is on the cd because everybody's a dancing queen when they're rockingout. You are in charge, you are getting exactly what you want, and you are definitely dancing- what more can you ask for?Track 12: Andrew WK- "Never Let Down"
Wow. This song is fucking intense. It might surprise some who know me and my love for AWK that this song is a fairly recent addition and is the first AWK song to make it onto RockOut Mix CD. I never felt like any songs from "I Get Wet" really belonged though. The album was great in and of itself and kicked ass for playing at parties, but somehow none of its songs seemed to fit in on the cd. They were just a little to fast, crazy, loud, etc. But with the release of "The Wolf," Andrew WK provided me with a song completely worthy of a place on RockOut Mix CD. The pure intensity of this song, the simplicity and earnestness of the lyrics, the way it just makes you pump your goddamn fist in the air- this song is here to stay. Grimaces so hard you pull a neck muscle are common. You have to try on this song. You have to mean it.Track 13: The Proclaimers- "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"
This song ended up on the cd by another fortunate accident. I was in Kalamazoo visiting official RockOut Club members Cowell and Dolley, but came to the sad realization that no one had a copy of RockOut Mix CD. So I used the .mp3s on our friend Jesse's computer to make some kind of psuedo-RockOut mix that would have to do for that one night. This song was on her computer and made its way onto that mix. It went over so well that it made it onto the official version. The main attraction of this song is its overall awesomeness and the fact that the chorus is conducive to marching in small circles in time with the beat. The call and answer "da da da da"s also provide a great opportunity for two-part singing.
Track 14: Clarence Carter- "Strokin'"
Sometimes I feel like the cd could live without this song, but it's a difficult one to remove. The lyrics are raunchy and great, especially the "if my stuff ain't tight enough you can stick it up my whoo!" part. Just great. We also have a coreographed dance to the chorus that makes me reluctant to remove this song. For now, I'm sassified with its presence.
Track 15: Chumbawumba- "Tubthumping"
This song is on the cd in large part due to the episode of "Upright Citzens Brigade" where the frat boys greet each other by saying "Chumbawumba!" It also talks about drinking, which is always good. Plus it's catchy as hell and begins the slowdown portion of RockOut Mix CD. Something about this song makes me feel good and that's what RockOut Mix CD is all about.Track 16: Depeche Mode- "Just Can't Get Enough"
80s synth-pop with serious nostalgia value. This may be the original RockOut song- it's the song we danced around to in front of Jeff's webcam freshman year. This song is honestly associated with some of my favorite memories ever, and I think that goes for other frequent RockOuters as well. All of the synthesizer lines in this song are gorgeous, and the part where the title of the song is repeated never gets boring. The drum break is conducive to clapping and the lyrics are easy to remember. Man, I love this song.
Track 17: Kiss- "God Gave Rock'n'Roll to You"
This song was added at the insistence of Kyle and I like it. It begins the "coming together" portion of RockOut Mix CD. It is cheesily epic, emotional, and touching. Having it at the end of the RockOut Mix CD reminds us all how lucky we are to have booze, music, and each other. If you don't put your arm around someone during this song, you're a cold-hearted bastard indeed.
Track 18: The "Cheers" Theme Song
This is the official end of RockOut Mix CD. It's a goofy yet touching song that reminds us that we will rockout again. There will always be a place we can go to do what we do best. During this song, everyone present gets in a circle, with their arms around one another's shoulders. Everybody sings at the top of their lungs, even though no one knows the lyrics for the verses. But, damn, do we wail on the choruses. This song fades out, signalling the end of RockOut Mix CD for now. But we know it won't be long before that synthesizer intro to "Baba O'Reily" starts right back up again.So there it is. An explanation, as well as I can provide one, of RockOut Mix CD. I would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation. Any one who has read this and understood, or at least thought that they could understand, rockingout is hereby welcome to come rockout with me anytime. Seriously. Just email me. Even if I don't know you, I will fill you in on how to join us for the best night of your life. Zach Curd, this goes double for you since you inspired me to make this post. Just lemme know when you're available- we'll work something out.
I love RockOut Mix CD.
