Peppermint People

Minty made a terrific mix about people. Though I have to say, the lyrics about Mary-Anne are WAY off the mark. And I am very happy that my link for '88 Lines for 44 Women' came from polyamory.org. Though I couldn't find a link for The Gay. Probably because those damn homosexuals have taken over the Internet. I didn't know that Jim Carroll wrote The Basketball Diaries.

I love the Kimya Dawson song, and my son loves the Tenacious D song, but let's face it - this whole mix is awesome. Except maybe for 'Watching Scotty Grow', which is worth it just for the snicker potential of the title.

I do love that Minty has brought back the art of the comment, which I had dropped because my laziness in constructing comments was becoming an obstacle to creating new mix CDs. But luckily there are still those amongst us with industry and wit.

Oh - and by the way - Happy New Year!

Minty's People CD

Track	Artist	Comments
People Who Died	The Jim Carroll Band	Isn’t it just like me to start out a mix on an upbeat note? But really, I LOVE this fucking song, and it’s CATHARTIC. Turn it up!!
Joey	Nick Drake	Uh, speaking of people who died . . . Nick Drake died too. This is a pretty pretty song he wrote about a girl named Joey.
Cecilia	Simon & Garfunkel	Wait—he’s shagging this girl in his room, and he gets up to go to the can, and when he comes back she’s in his bed with someone else? Dude, that’s pretty fucked up right there.
Donna	Hair, Original Broadway Cast	I learned more about drugs and sex by listening to the Hair soundtrack album than I learned from my parents.
Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine	The Killers	My daughter, Teen Girl 2, suggested I add this one, since she knows several Jennys who are friends of mine. Note to the Jennys: aren’t you glad I didn’t put that Tommy Tutone song on here instead?
Alison	Elvis Costello	If I were on a desert island and this was the only song I had, I think that would be OK. If I were on a desert island with Elvis Costello, that would be even better.
I Want Candy	Bow Wow Wow	My brother is responsible in large part for the development of my musical tastes. He introduced me to Bow Wow Wow in 1981. Thanks, brother, for that—and thanks, Malcolm McLaren, for Bow Wow Wow!
Frank Mills	The Lemonheads	Why yes, it IS another song from the musical Hair. You got a problem with that? I have a thing for junkies like Evan Dando. Remember when he used to wear pajamas all the time? Was that cute, or just pathetic?
Marie Provost	Nick Lowe	Of all the songs in the world about people getting eaten by their pet dogs, this one is my FAVORITE.
Song For Myla Goldberg	The Decemberists	“I know New York, I need New York, I know I need unique New York.” Say that five times fast, Eliza!
Christine Sixteen	KISS	Summer of 1977, before my senior year of high school, my boyfriend and I went ice skating 2 or 3 times a week. They always played this song, and I always skated fast when it came on. Maybe to impress the boyfriend, or maybe to try and get away from the image of Gene Simmons putting that tongue in the mouth of a 16-year-old girl.
Michael	Franz Ferdinand	"Michael, you’re dancing like a beautiful dance whore." ’Nuff said.
Tire Swing	Kimya Dawson	It was this song that gave me the idea for this mix, because it reminded me of the two songs that bookend this collection. I would like to give Kimya Dawson a hug, and some cookies.
Kate	Ben Folds Five	Nearly every Ben Folds song contains the name of a person, so it was hard to pick just one. I like this one a lot, and I like that it talks about Chapel Hill, even if it is impossible to stand at the corner of Rosemary and Cameron, since they are parallel to each other.
Dave’s Holiday	Patty Larkin	Patty Larkin is a folk singer from Boston. I saw her at a club with my brother in 1981, and on her strumming hand she wore a Mickey Mouse puppet. That was funny.
Marlene	Todd Rundgren	Y’all know that I love me some Todd. This is a pretty one from the album Something/ Anything.
Robert Smith	The Gay	The Gay is another Canadian supergroup, but they’re no New Pornographers, IMO. I just like how they say “Robert” over and over in the middle of this song.
Walk Away Renee	The Left Banke	Yeah, Renee, just walk away. See if I care. And Renee? Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.
Gretzky Rocks	The Pursuit of Happiness	It was between this track and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ "Magic Johnson."I think this one’s catchier and more fun. Plus, I hate the Lakers.
Natasha	Rufus Wainwright	One of the first concerts I ever went to was Rufus’s dad, Loudon Wainwright III, opening for Janis Ian. That’s a pretty strange pairing, don’t you think? I still like Loudon, but I ADORE Rufus.
Ana Ng	They Might Be Giants	Love those geeky Johns.
Lee	Tenacious D	If you hate Jack Black and/or Tenacious D, fear not—this is only about a minute long.
Mary-Ann	Adam Richman	I don’t know much about this guy, but this song’s got a catchy chorus.
Watching Scotty Grow	Bobby Goldsboro	This may be the most cloying, smarmy, mawkish, hackneyed song ever committed to vinyl. It makes my teeth hurt every time I hear it. Now I share the joy with you! Hey! Get your finger off the “next track” button!!!
88 Lines About 44 Women	The Nails	80s new wave! Remember this song? Sure you do—from Mazda commercials, if you’re too young to have heard it on the radio.

Mixmas

Minty has made a great mix about people. People who need people. Are the yuckiest people in the world. And I promise I will give her CD due process in my next post, but I also made a CD, and I am a selfish cow. So here it is:

Marianne's Solstice Mix

Track	Artist
You Can Never Hold Back Spring	Tom Waits
Island's Gone Bad	Shapes And Sizes
Supernatural Car Lover	Robert Pollard
Solstice	Pit Er Pat
Bird Of Cuzco	Nina Nastasia
Something of an End	My Brightest Diamond
You Never Got Me Right	Frida Hyvönen
Let's Go Driving	Barzin
Oh Mandy	Spinto band
For Real	Okkervil River
Pétales Aiment la Saleté	The Age Of Rockets
Open Your Arms	Editors
The Ukranians	Vitaminsforyou
Para lá do Pará	Tom Zé
The Best Days	The Softies
Pushover	The Long Winters
Gloomy Sunday	The Associates
Ghost Of York	As Tall As Lions
78% H20	Ani DiFranco
Song No. 6	Ane Brun

What's Your Christmas Menu?

Roast turkey breast, pommes au gratin, roast parsnips, brussels sprouts, bread sauce, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce

Christmas pudding and rum butter

Chocolate and alcohol as breakfast, appetizer, snacks, palate cleanser etc.

Bottoms Up!

I love these retro towels 'n stuff, especially the 'Bottoms Up' one. So very cute, and a good motto for a girl to have, I think.

Did you have any idea that pot was the biggest cash crop in the US, and that production has increased ten-fold in the last 25 years? That's pretty astonishing. I only know a couple of people who admit to smoking pot; so where are all these potheads?

The arguments my family has are nothing like as rational as the ones described here. Where's the Unconnected Historical Grudge argument? Or the If You Don't Know I'm Not Going To Tell You argument? Or the Tight-Lipped Shoulder Chip argument? Or the You're Just Like Your Grandmother argument (frequently levelled at me)?

I'm going to copy off of Lastewie and steal her meme.

1. Yourself: contented
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): non-existent
3. Your hair: red
4. Your mother: inscrutable
5. Your father: loveable
6. Your favorite item: son
7. Your dream last night: bizarre
8. Your favorite drink: chai
9. Your dream car: new
10. The room you are in: sitting-room
11. Your ex: sick
12. Your fear: loneliness
13. What you want to be in 10 years? busy
14. Who you hung out with last night? crowd
15. What you're not? republican
16. Muffins: homemade
17. One of your wish list items: travel
18. Time: accelerates
19. The last thing you did: pee
20. What you are wearing: skirt
21. Your favorite weather: 75
22. Your favorite book: lots
23. The last thing you ate: clementine
24. Your life: full
25. Your mood: relaxed
26. Your best friend: son
27. What are you thinking about right now? music
28. Your car: dying
29. What are you doing at the moment? listening
30. Your summer: mild
31. Your relationship status: open
32. What is on your TV? crap
33. What is the weather like? beautiful
34. When is the last time you laughed? afternoon

The Book Of Oh Fuck It

I think I need The Book Of No. It has little roleplaying scripts for different situations. I totally love that idea, because I have a small imagination and a weak spine.

James Bond is Lord Asriel in His Dark Materials. I think Daniel Craig is absolutely perfect, but not sure about Nicole Kidman as Lady Wotsit. Actually, I just wanted an excuse to post a picture of Daniel Craig in swim trunks.

I bet he doesn't eat any of that devil food. Which I always thought was chocolate cake. So - something that's feminizing is evil? Apparently, tofu creates homosexuals and fat people and people with breast cancer and leukemia and men with tiny genitals and women with huge wombs. You think we might have noticed this amongst the immense number of people who have eaten tofu for centuries and centuries.

Mykull has made an incredibly awesome mix CD. I defy anyone who has heard it not to like it. I love the Gene track, and sing Fucking Boyfriend under my breath all the time. Which gets a few stares. And Silent Shout is just fabulous. And I love that he always includes at least one Scottish artist. Yay Mykull!

Mykulls Fall Mix

Track	Artist
Silent Shout	The Knife
Sunshine	Keane
Dog	El Perro del Mar
Empty Shell	Cat Power
Goodnight Jack	Saint Etienne
Fucking Boyfriend (Peaches Remix)	The Bird and the Bee
Jamais	Charlotte Gainsbourg
Save Me, I'm Yours	Gene
Bird Girl	Antony and the Johnsons
Mad Drums	The Delgados
Beauty	Ladytron
Right Now and Right Here	Keren Ann
Lost in Space	Luna
You Can't Break a Broken Heart	The 6ths

OK Not So Lazy

Why is Nintendo's new game system called wee? As in 'I really, really want a wee'. Or 'I really like the look of that wee.' Or 'Just look at all the things you can do with a wee.' They could have called it a 'Y' or an 'wai-ee' (like the correct pronunciation of Hawaii), or even a 'whee'.

I suspect I may be welcoming one into my home soon, given the exorbitant amount of Christmas moolah my son seems to have accumulated. He is obsessed with Naruto right now, and wants to maximize the number of delivery devices he has.

Does anyone else think The Crane Wife sounds like Yes in parts? And Pink Floyd in others? Or is it just because I am an old fart? However, that said, I think it is awesome.

I'm making one of my favorite Christmas recipes today for dessert:

Caramelized Oranges

One orange per person
1/4 cup sugar per orange
cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger, orangeflower water, Grand Marnier

Cut the peel from the oranges and thinly slice. Place in a pretty bowl. Put the sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and heat on a high heat until it melts and caramelizes (you might have to shake the pan to get it all caramelized). Add about 1/2 cup water for each cup of sugar. The caramel will immediately sizzle and harden into a sugar man o' war, so melt it again over medium heat. Add your flavorings from the list above (any or all, easy on the cloves, they are pretty pungent) and pour over the oranges and let them macerate (snigger) for a good long time. Serve, in an ideal world, with whole milk Greek yoghurt and some home-made cookies.

Lazy

I'm finally catching up on all the media I've acquired through purchase, gift or loan that I've ignored during my parental visit. Love this CD - Jacques Dutronc is hot. I also really love the revolved06 track. And The Sleepy Jackson. And Totom. And while looking for links for this, I found one for a Yoshimi battles Snoop Dogg mashup that particularly intrigues me. These ought to be played on the Minty MP3 Player,easily made from an Altoids tin and some odds and ends that I'm sure you have laying around.

Here's a little intro from Minty, so I don't even have to write most of this post:

"I recently spent a weekend in my old hometown of Sprawling Western Metropolis, where I spent the better part of a day with my old friend S., who had declared it "Minty Von Minterson Day." He made me this mix CD, both to commemorate the occasion and because I always get on his case about him saying he's going to make me mix CDs and never following through. I think he came through in a big way with this one--I love it. There are some great mashups on here, some stuff you haven't heard in decades, and some cool new stuff too. Thanks, friend S.! "

Minty Von Minterson Day Mix

Track	Artist
Ain't Got No - I Got Life	Nina Simone
Quand c'est use on le jette	Jacques Dutronc
You're The One That I Want In the Next Episode / Grease vs. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg	John, Olivia, Snoop and the good Dr.
Secret Meeting	The National
Revolved06	Beatles/Genesis
The Ave	Blue Scholars
Money Is King	Bob Gibson
I See Spiders When I Close My Eyes	Boy Least Likely To
On The Way Home	Buffalo Springfield
Good Dancers	The Sleepy Jackson
Girlfriend	Harry Nilsson
Bang Bang To The Rock 'n' Roll	Gabin
The Party's Crashing Us	Of Montreal
You Were The Last Here Today	Totom
Will It Go Round In Circles	Billy Preston
Mercy	Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Que Sera	Wax Tailor
Don't Sleep	The Sugarplastic
She Goes Out With Everyone	The Spongetones
Why Do I Cry	The Remains
Way To Your Heart	Persephone's Bees
Day Tripper	Nancy Sinatra
Kicks	The Flamin' Groovies