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Weezer: SZNZ Abbreviated

One of the most oldest and most enticing thought exercises in pop music is: What if (artist) had released the best songs from (double album) as a single disc instead?  Pre-Internet, folks used their cassette decks to create their own truncated versions of likes of The Beatles'  White Album ("Revolution 9" has to go, for sure) and Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (sorry, "Jamaica Jerk-Off"), some out of artistic vision, others because the tape just wasn't long enough to hold all the songs. Now, with mp3s and streaming, we have the ability to curate everything for ourselves, which means even a single album could be reduced to an EP of your faves, with the shuffle feature making it so the order doesn't even have to be the same every time. Here's where I could detour into a healthy digression about the negative consequences of that total freedom, but I'll resist the temptation. Our good friends Weezer - who are not typically known for rest
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12 by Pete Droge

Here's the drill: Twelve songs to summarize an artist's career, in chronological order. This one features... Pete Droge was an unlikely discovery in the early 1990s Seattle music scene: a folk singer with a twang. He released three albums on major labels between 1994 and 1998, got a couple of songs on film soundtracks, made a cameo in Almost Famous, joined supergroup The Thorns, and released two albums and two EPs independently.  Here's a primer, though I'd recommend seeing out 1996's Find a Door in its entirety. It's one of my favorite albums of all time. (If you've got Amazon Prime, listen along here .) 1. "If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself)" ( Necktie Second , 1994) Works as both a parody of a certain type of song as well as a good example of that same type of song, namely the romantic lament. 2. "Beautiful Girl" ( Songs from the Miramax Motion Picture Beautiful Girls , 1996) This played over the credits of a movie that&#

12 by Matthew Sweet (2002 - 2021)

Sometimes a huge part of an artist's career has not been summarized. Case in point... Matthew Sweet has a couple of compliations out there, but neither of them cover the past couple of decades, a span that has seen him release 8 albums of original material and 3 albums of covers.  I followed Sweet's career religiously early on, with my ardor gradually diminishing after the magnificant one-two punch of In Reverse (1999) and The Thorns (2003) That's not to say he hasn't produced some great work since then, it's just that it requires bit of effort to pick out the gems. Here's my college try: (Two of these albums are not available on streaming servies, so here's a slightly modified version of the playlist on YouTube .) 1. "I Can't Remember" ( The Thorns , 2003) The Thorns was a rootsy, close-harmony early-aughts version of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, featuring Shawn Mullins (of "Lullaby" fame) and Pete Droge (of "If You Don't Lov

2022: The Album

Since 2003 I've made a mix of some of my favorite songs of the calendar year. Here's the cover art and track listing for the 2022 edition. 1. BODEGA - "Pillar on the Bridge of You" 2. Harry Styles - "Late Night Talking" 3. Vicious Vicious - "Evolution" 4. Hot Freaks - "Lovely" 5. Carly Rae Jepsen - "The Loneliest Time" 6. Tears for Fears - "End of Night" 7. Spoon - "Wild" 8. Death Cab for Cutie - "Here to Forever" 9. Citrine and GUKKO - "Feel Better" 10. Rhett Miller - "Fascination" 11. Broken Bells - "Fade Away" 12. Leah Marlene - "Flowers" 13. Robbie Williams - "The World and Her Mother" 14. Jimmy Eat World - "Something Loud" (acoustic version) 15. Sloan - "Dream It All Over Again" If you have Amazon Unlimited, you can listen at this link . 

R.I.P. Christine McVie

In honor the passing of my favorite member of Fleetwood Mac, I made a playlist encompassing Christine McVie's songwriting career.  If you have Amazon Music Unlimited, you can listen  here . 1. "No Road is the Right Road" ( Christine Perfect , 1970) 2. "Spare Me a Little of Your Love" (Fleetwood Mac, Bare Trees , 1972) 3. "Remember Me" (Fleetwood Mac, Penguin , 1973) 4. "Just Crazy Love" (Fleetwood Mac, Mystery To Me , 1973) 5. "Say You Love Me" (Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood Mac , 1975) 6. "Over My Head" (Fleetwood Mac,  Fleetwood Mac , 1975) 7. "Warm Ways" (Fleetwood Mac,  Fleetwood Mac , 1975) 8. "You Make Loving Fun" (Fleetwood Mac, Rumours , 1977) 9. "Songbird" (Fleetwood Mac, Rumours , 1977) 10. "Think About Me" (Fleetwood Mac, Tusk , 1979) 11. "Never Make Me Cry" (Fleetwood Mac, Tusk , 1979) 12. "Love In Store" (Fleetwood Mac, Mirage , 1982) 13. "Hold Me&quo

12 More by John Mayer

Sometimes an artist just needs 12  more  songs to summarize their career. Case in point... Having settled into the "elder statesmen" phase of his career, John Mayer has allowed his muse to lead the way. The result thus far as been country rock John Mayer, Laurel Canyon John Mayer, r & b John Mayer, and adult contemporary John Mayer.   This list covers his career from 2012 to 2021. Check out  12 by John Mayer for the first half of the story! If you have Amazon Music Unlimited, you can listen along  here .  1. "Born and Raised" (from Born and Raised , 2012) When Mayer commits, he commits. For his Laurel Canyon album, he actually got David Crosby and Graham Nash to sing backup on the easy-going title tune. 2. "Queen of California" (from Born and Raised , 2012) A lost AM hit circa 1973. 3. "Paper Doll" (from Paradise Valley , 2013) I love dis tracks, especially when the dis-ee responds with their own dis track (great examples: Paul McCartney'

12 by John Mayer

Here's the drill: 12 songs to summarize an artist's career, in chronological order (of course). This one features... With all of his failed celebrity romances and foot-in-his-mouth interviews, John Mayer the person isn't always easy to love. But John Mayer the musician is a different story . His virtuosity never supersedes his pop songcraft, and his lyrics are searching, wise, vulnerable, and relatable. In my mind, he's the closest thing we'll get to a Gen X James Taylor. This list covers the first 8 years of his career. K eep an eye out for 12 More by John Mayer, coming soon! If you have Amazon Music Unlimited, you can listen along here .  1. "No Such Thing" (from Room for Squares , 2001) I'm on record with the opinion that Weezer are the ultimate Gen X musicians, but John Mayer is a very close second. This song captures that feeling of disillusionment and freedom that comes with going out into the "real world" and discovering it's not a