Are Seven

I start my new job today, and while I’m tempted to just post the best movie quote about a new job ever, I did that last time. So this time, I’m combining a salute to my new digs with a promise to my former office mate (who I’ll miss a whole lot) to complete a muxtape.  And it’s been really fun applying some mix theory again.  If any of the rest of you create muxtapes, let me know.  I’m pretty into it.

http://areseven.muxtape.com

Our selection:

Elvis Costello, “Welcome to the Working Week”
From the always-controversial My Aim Is True.

Charming, “Working Man”
I normally only get to hear Nicole singing in loud basements or at shows, so this song is a nice reminder of how fantastic her voice is.

Talking Heads, “Found a Job”
From the greatest live album ever comes a song that’s good with an end that’s scorching.  And it’s from the bit of the film where Jerry Harrison first comes on stage, so the guitar work is impossibly great.  Of course.

The Lucksmiths, “Don’t Bring Your Work To Bed”
From the moment when the Lucksmiths started getting a little more ambitious about their arrangements comes a song where Tali White starts showing that he’s developed a pretty good range.  Normally I feel really comfortable singing along with him, but he’s pretty low on this song.

Field Music, “Working To Work”
The sound of work sounds so amazing in the hands of Field Music.

Archer Prewitt, “Work”
This one takes me back to the dot-com days, when we alternately thought we were going to be millionaires and thought we were going to be laid off at any moment.

R.E.M., “Finest Worksong”
I believe you’ve met this song already.

Tears for Fears, “The Working Hour”
This is actually a really beautiful song, but what was the ’80’s fascination with saxophone?  Trumpet makers in the ’80’s must have experienced a huge recession, while there were sax billionaires being created every day.  Then grunge happened.

Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins, “Work”
My knowledge and love of jazz can pretty much be summed up with a single phrase: I know what I like and I like that. And I like this.  Too bad Sonny Rollins doesn’t appear on this track, because I love just about everything he does.  But…the theme rules on this mix (mux?).

Tom Waits, “I Can’t Wait To Get Off Work”
Waits’ album Small Change has a pretty special place in my heart.  Most of his seventies stuff gets shrugged off in favor of his radical change in the ’80’s and this experimental stuff since, but this album was one that my friend Alex played almost constantly in his car during my second year of college and there’s some awfully good times brought up when I hear just about anything off of it.

This song is really sweet, and I love the line, “Tom do this, Tom do that, Tom…don’t do that.”  And it’s a perfect way to end.

Wish me luck.

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