Here is a mix that I made for Jeb for his birthday extravaganza at the new house in Athens. I put Aimee Mann’s two songs from the movie Magnolia because they are so pretty but largely overlooked and Rusted Root’s two songs because Jeb likes some of their other songs, and those two stand alone well (most Rusted Root tracks are long jams). But neither of those two artists mixed well with the mostly country and acoustic music on the rest of the CD, so they are by themselves at the beginning. The country part centers around Gillian Welch and Alison Krauss who both appeared on the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. Gillian Welch also sings on the song by the Chieftains (I admit that I got “Katie, Dear” from iTunes largely based on the title which seemed to be an ode to my dog, but is in fact a really depressing song about suicide). M. Ward’s “You Still Believe in Me” is an acoustic instrumental version of a Beach Boys song that was on Pet Sounds, but on the two songs where he sings, his raspy voice sounds kind of like Tom Waits.
- Rusted Root – Magenta Radio (4:27)
- Rusted Root – Heaven (4:02)
- Aimee Mann – One (2:51)
- Aimee Mann – Save Me (4:36)
- Johnny and Ruth Carter Cash – Jackson (2:47)
- Lucinda Williams – Can’t Let Go (3:29)
- M. Ward – Vincent O’Brien (2:39)
- Alison Krauss & Union Station – When You Say Nothing at All (4:22)
- Gillian Welch – One More Dollar (4:35)
- M. Ward – Color of Water (3:24)
- Alison Krauss & Union Station – Restless (2:52)
- Gillian Welch – Red Clay Halo (3:15)
- The Chieftains – Katie Dear (4:28)
- M. Ward – You Still Believe In Me (2:25)
- Gillian Welch – Revelator (6:22)