Situational Music and the Hold Steady

I am currently watching "G to a Gent" on MTV, wow it is amazing! It is truly crap. I don't understand how human nature can allow someone to do this sh*t. Wow, I am spellbound by the crap that this is.

Sorry, a little sidebar there. Onto the music. Let's begin with The Hold Steady and their newest album Stay Positive, well it is clear that the title will be misleading. Have they every been a positive band? (The answer is no for those of you who don't know). This album is very very good in a despair filled feel. The album has that great rock/punk guitar and wonderfully sorrowful, depressing lyrics. "Lord, I'm Discouraged" is my favorite track on the album, with "Constructive Summer" a close second. This is a potential for a top 5 album of the year, but it will take some more listening for me to see it. Buy it, it's worth it.

I was thinking about situational music. If you could create a mix disc for everyday of your life what songs would you have on it? Would you have something like "Another Day" by Jamie Lidell as your wake up music and "Von" by Sigur Ros as your falling asleep music? Sidebar: those are my wake up and go to sleep tunes. If you could create a soundtrack to your day what would it be? Here is my good day soundtrack and my bad day soundtrack.

Good Day Tunes:
Wake Up - "Another Day" - Jamie Lidell
Eat Breakfast - "Banana Slugs" - High Places
Brush my Teeth - "I Got Mine" - The Black Keys
Drive to Work - "Shake Shake" - The Subways
Working through the Day - The Black Keys, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Ben Harper
Drive Home - Perishing - SSLYBY
Out for a Run - The Bake Sale - The Cool Kids
Chilling out at night - Frightened Rabbit, Deerhunter
Reading and falling asleep - Takk - Sigur Ros

Bad Day Tunes:
Wake Up - Fleet Foxes (it takes a whole album for me to get up on a bad day)
Eat Breakfast - "Brick" - Ben Folds Five
Brush my teeth - "Knife" - Grizzly Bear
Drive to Work - "The Queen of Seville" - The Clientele
Working through the Day - Miles Davis, Zero 7, Xavier Rudd
Drive Home - Modest Mouse, Radiohead
Out for a Run - The Bake Sale - The Cool Kids (I just seriously love this album)
Chilling out at night - Twilight Sad, Boris
Reading and falling asleep - Kurr - Amiina (Like Sigur Ros, more string and despair sounding)

There is a character in Chuck Palahnuik's book Rant, he made mix tapes for every situation because he believed you should be listening to the perfect song for the situation at the moment you die. A little morbid I know, but most of his books are. It is a good point, I mean if your walking across the street listening to Miley Cyrus and get hit by a bus, when you get up to the pearly gates you might regret your musical choices...and the fact that you didn't look both ways....and the fact that you were listening to your music too loudly to not hear a bus coming at you.

Let me know your good day and bad day tunes, maybe it is something I can try and fit in my day.

Let me know if you have heard any good new tunes.

Cheers,
Dave