The Year End CD, part 1

As many of you know, I like to put together mix CDs. I tend to do two big releases each year, one in the summer (where I try to mix current tunes with older stuff to make a breezy concoction) and one at the end of the year that is more focused on music solely that I discovered the year before. As is customary, I have high hopes of getting everything produced, copied and distributed before the calendar turns to the new year. And as is equally customary, events conspire to delay that.

So, we're nearing the end of January (already!), and I'm going to be making a hard push to get these CDs out in the mail in the next week (and in drop-by visits). And I thought I'd take some time on a relatively quiet Sunday morning to provide a track listing of the first CD (there are two, as per usual).

This one's a little different than other year-end collections in the past as it's not just music from the last year or so. Thematically, it's a distillation of a much larger playlist of tunes that I created for Mrs. F's pregnancy, stuff that we could share with Lil' F as he grows in the womb. So the tunes aren't necessarily baby/child-related, but they are songs that seemed to fit. Also, I was also heavily influenced by this Big Chill compilation (no, not for the movie, but for the chill-out concert event that happens in the UK), from which I discovered some new folky material from Vashti Bunyan and The Free Design (which really aren't new, but they were to me).

I found most of the songs at the iTunes store (or close variations) and put them into an iMix, but if you follow the jump, I've got the complete playlist and some accompanying YouTube videos (as well as links to non-iTunes sound samples).

Click the Full Post link below to head to the jump...
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01 Those Were The Days, My Friend - Mary Hopkin [via Amazon]

Opening with a very old-school tune...



02 Let's Have a Baby - Candy Butchers [via Amazon (with samples)]

"You might think that we're not ready yet, you might think that we should get a pet..."

03 Roly Poly - The Little Willies [via Amazon (with samples)]

"...roly poly, Daddy's little fatty/fatty's gonna be a man someday..."



04 Everyone's Rooting for You - Sondre Lerche/Faces Down Quartet [via Amazon (with samples)]

The album that this comes from is meant as a bit of nostalgic trifle, a respite from Lerche's more modern pop albums, but it's become one of my favorites from his discography. And I'm actually a little nervous about his more electric forthcoming album, Phantom Punch.



05 Take Some Time - Rose Melberg [via Amazon]



06 Don't Cry Baby - Madeleine Peyroux [via Amazon (with samples)]

07 Try Telling That to My Baby - The Heavy Blinkers [via Amazon (with samples)]



08 We're Going to Be Friends - Jack Johnson [via Amazon (with samples)]

Johnson's soundtrack to the Curious George movie has become a favorite around here at Cracks Centraal.

09 A Place for You - Breaks Co-Op [via Amazon (with samples)]

10 Wonderful - Josh Rouse [via Amazon (with samples)]

11 Eanie Meany - Jim Noir [via Amazon (with samples)]



12 I Can See a Rainbow - Rainbow Family [MySpace]

13 Want You to Know - Freelance Hellraiser [official site]



14 Diamond Day - Vashti Bunyan [via Amazon (with samples)]



15 Love You - The Free Design [via Amazon (with samples)]

16 The Start of Forever - Paul Weller [via Amazon (with samples)]

This is an acoustic and hornfilled version of the tune found on his most recent album.

17 Feeling Groovy - Patrick and Eugene [sound samples at Tummy Touch records]

18 Mammas Don't Let Your Babies... - Wille Nelson/Waylon Jennings [via Amazon (with samples)]

19 Mahna Mahna - Cake [via Amazon (with samples)]

A great cover of the classic Sesame Street song (below), from the For the Kids collection.



20 Message of Love - The Pretenders [via Amazon (with samples)]



21 Let the Mystery Be - Natalie Merchant/David Byrne

Supplied to me by my pal DGA on his CD mix present to Mrs. F and I at our wedding, it's a bonus track to a 10,000 Maniacs single and a cover of an Iris Dement song from her album Infamous Angel. It's also become a trademark tune of the Cracks homestead.

22 Clouds - The Go-Betweens [via Amazon (with samples)]

I'm still saddened by the loss of Grant McLennan. He was such a wonderful song writer.



23 Happy Good Morning Blues - Bruce Cockburn [via Amazon (with samples)]

24 Baby's Request - Paul McCartney [via Amazon (with samples)]

A little inside joke between myself and Wardo, but it's also a sweet Macca tune.



25 Lullabye - Ben Folds Five [via Amazon (with samples)]

26 Written on the Sky - Max Richter [via Amazon; preview at Last FM]

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