Summer Upbeat Mix 2004

Over the weekend, I managed to put the finishing touches on what I call Dan's Summer Upbeat Mix 2004. It's a CD that I make every summer which basically sums up what I've been listening to during the summer. I try to get some actual current songs so that it's not all oldies and Madonna and things like that. Last year was the first time that I've ever had so many songs that I made two CDs, and wouldn't you know it, this year is the same thing. Just thought I'd share the songs with a few comments here and there.

Volume 1:
1) Nick Lachey -- "Shut Up" (I know, I should be shot for listening to Nick, but this song is so damn infectious!)
2) Kylie Minogue -- "Your Disco Needs You" (put on there for my friend Jeff who really liked this song and went out and bought Kylie's new CD Body Language and was thoroughly disappointed. He ended up giving that CD to me.)
3) Madness -- "Our House" (one of my favorite little 80s ditties. But it always makes Heidi ask, "what is this song about other than a house?")
4) Janet Jackson -- "You Can Be Mine" (from her 1986 Control CD back before she felt like she had to have everything dripping in sex before she could record it.)
5) Eurythmics -- "Here Comes That Sinking Feeling" (this was always my theme song for going to work when I worked at Drug Town. For some reason, it's crept back into my life, although I don't usually have a sinking feeling when I go to work now. *shrug*)
6) Stevie Nicks -- "Stand Back" (probably my favorite Stevie Nicks song ever. As Stevie says, it just has this energy that comes from out of nowhere and just takes you away. Plus it's the only song you can sing "Little Red Corvette" over the top of.)
7) Clay Aiken -- "Invisible" (gotta love Clay. My folks are going to his concert at that Clay County Fair. Clay county. Heh.)
8) Madonna -- "Nobody Knows Me (Mount Sims Italo Kiss Mix)" (a great remix of a fantastic song from the Re-Invention Tour. As near as I can figure, this mix closely approximates the performance at the show. A little heavy on the vocoder, but we'll forgive her just this once.)
9) Bonnie Tyler -- "Holding Out For A Hero" (since it was so prominently--and successfully--featured in Shrek 2 this summer, it just had to make the cut.)
10) Sonny & Cher -- "Baby Don't Go" (a clip of this song is in one of the montages of Cher's Farewell Tour, and Anna just loves Cher so much I put it on there just for her.)
11) Counting Crows -- "Accidentally In Love" (another Shrek 2 song, but more importantly, it was a free iTunes download. It's a cute little song, I can almost forget "Mr. Jones" and "The Long December.")
12) R.E.M. -- "All The Right Friends" (a last minute add when I saw that I had room for one more on the first CD. I heard this song on my iPod one day walking home from work and more importantly, it's one of my favorite types of upbeat songs--a kiss off.
13) Basia -- "Drunk On Love (Downtown Radio Edit)" (Basia is a Polish born singer that started out singing with the group Matt Bianco but has had a fairly successful solo career. She's probably best known for the songs "Time & Tide" and "Cruising For Bruising" but "Drunk On Love" comes from my favorite of her CDs--The Sweetest Illusion.)
14) The Corrs -- "Summer Sunshine" (I really like the Corrs first CD Forgiven Not Forgotten, but after that, they pretty much trashed all the Celtic influences in their music for a go at mainstream success which made me less excited about them. While I did like that song of theirs from a couple summers ago--"Breathless"--I tend to agree with Entertainment Weekly when they said that they kind of went all Wilson O'Phillips.)
15) George Michael -- "Amazing" (A should have been hit for George Michael. Although I kinda think George Michael's a little bit pretentious, this was a fun song.)
16) Blossom Dearie -- "Rhode Island Is Famous For You" (Probably the only song that will ever make a CD of mine that I heard while on hold at work. I've already blogged about this song, so I'll let that entry speak for itself.)
17) Nsync (and others) -- "On The Line" (Yes! Yes! I admit it. It's cheeseball and it's silly, but it's damn fun. And no, I didn't see the movie.)
18) Eminem vs. Michael Jackson -- "The Real Slim Shady (Billie Jean Remix)" (I love mashups, but Eminem mashups are the best. This one is basically what you would expect--"The Real Slim Shady" over the beat from "Billie Jean.")
19) Blondie -- "End To End" (from Blonide's woefully underrated new CD The Curse of Blondie.)

Volume 2 later--I have to start getting ready for work!!