"A" is for Anthem

What’s in a label?  There are lots of reasons to label things that might make the item more selectable or perhaps identifiable. Our consumer-centric society demands this and has created it for good or bad.   Music very definitely leads the way in classification (see John Hughes in High Fidelity) and is routinely labeled by music critics, radio stations, music labels, commercial outlets, consumers and fans alike. I’m ok with that.  I understand that.  Classic, independent, alternative, adult contemporary are all labels that strive to neaten up an inherently messy and diverse art form. 

Does the college radio mean anything now as it may have in its heyday in the 80s?  My new favorite music station on satellite radio is Classic College Radio and they have a promo that states, “Vintage, never having to say you’re sorry.” Pretty cool way of stating that there’s power to creating great art.  It lasts long, wears well and makes you damn proud to be part of it.

Songs on my new mix, “A is for Anthem” are classic in the sense that they will at some point be vintage and make the listener react when played.  They also lend themselves as anthems.  Anthems make me feel a certain way. 1) They make me want to sing along; 2) they build; 3) they remind me of a connection to a more important theme (e.g. destiny or love or desperation or boredom) and;  4) they physically excite me.

Today’s great songs become tomorrow’s anthems.  A buddy of mine once noted that Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive” was destined to be an identifiable classic song or anthem.  I think it’s a bit too clichéd to gain anthem status but I’ll give him that it meets about 75% of the criteria.  You probably recognize many of the anthems in my new mix and like all my recent mixes, it looks ahead and also back and strives to work long after the medium on which it was created becomes an anachronism. 

Anthem is one of the 4 mix set including Seminal, Classic and Vintage.  Reminds me a bit of my old school "Best of Best" mixes from college that are still in existence and sitting in low quality plastic TDK boxes at the bottom of an old foot locker in the garage covered by WFNX and WLIR stickers.  Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Anthem
Blood Bank - Bon Iver
Jesusland - Ben Folds
Say It Ain't So - Weezer
True North - Pinback
The Heinrich Maneuver - Interpol
Welcome to the Terrordome - Public Enemy
Freedom - Rage Against the Machine
Ruby Soho - Rancid
Kinder Words - Mighty Mighty Bosstones
I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys
Alcoholics Unanimous - Art Brut
I'm the Man - Joe Jackson
Peace, Love, and Understanding - Elvis Costello
U-Mass - Pixies
Nearly Lost You - The Screaming Trees
Sorry Somehow - Husker Du
Drain You - Nirvana
Daughter - Pearl Jam
Waltz No 2 - Elliott Smith
See How We Are - X

Seminal
Fool's Gold - The Stone Roses
Fitzpleasure - Alt-J
Breakers - Local Natives
Next Girl - The Black Keys
Do I Wanna Know - Arctic Monkeys
We Used to Wait - Arcade Fire
Bloodbuzz Ohio - The National
Stay Useless - Cloud Nothings
Young Hearts Spark Fire - Japandroids
Teenage Lobotomy - The Ramones
Welcome To Paradise - Green Day
London Calling - The Clash
Holiday in the Sun - The Sex Pistols
That's When I Reached for My Revolver - Mission of Burma
The First Part - Superchunk
Your Love Is the Place Where I Come From - Teenage Fanclub
Unsatisfied - The Replacements
The Funeral  - Band of Horses