A CD-mixing challenge for Murlough

[Josh]

So Murlough... your Top 50 Albums thread gave me an idea for a fun little CD mixing challenge, for you, me, and anyone else who might want to participate.

The rules: Create a 2-disc mix, with 15 songs on each disc. The catch is that the material must be culled entirely from your Top 30 favorites CDS, with exactly one song coming from each CD-- no more, no less. As for which song you pick from each CD, that's up to you. You're also free to put them in any order you want. (That is, Track 1 doesn't have to be from Much Afraid; you can put the Much Afraid track wherever you want it).

The challenge is to make this compilation more than just a Wow-like sampler; make it something cohesive, somethings that flows well and stands on its own as a good album, not just a random collection of songs.

If you're game, tinker with it a while and post your final tracklisting here. I'll do the same-- using MY Top 30 CDs of all time (which means I'll have to come up with a list, I guess), and anyone else who wants to participate is more than welcome to.

[Brenden]

I'm totally up for it.

[Wildcatblue7]

I'm up for it, I just don't know when I'll have time for it.    

[bloop]

and stands on its own as a good album

Every mix I've heard fails on these grounds, but I've heard a few that flow as well as I could imagine.

[eatahouse]

To Know You - Nichole Nordeman
A Maze of Grace - Avalon
I Am Understood? - Relient K
Katie-Lynn - Jill Paquette
Beautiful - Bethany Dillon
Faith Enough - Jars of Clay
I Want to Know You - Sonicflood
Telescope Eyes - Eisley
The Beautiful Letdown - Switchfoot
The Symphony of Blase - Anberlin
Lost the Plot - Newsboys
Life and Love and Why - Switchfoot
The Change - Steven Curtis Chapman
Maintain Consequences - Relient K
Bittersweet - Falling Up


Glo In The Dark Pt. I - Delirious
Undeniable - Mat Kearney
My Immortal - Evanescence
I Won't Give Up - Everyday Sunday
It Is You - Newsboys
Hero [Red Pill Mix] - Superchick
Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
Unforgetful You - Jars of Clay
Jesus Freak - dc Talk
All Over Me - The Benjamin Gate
Don't Dream It's Over - Sixpence None The Richer
We Delight - Caedmon's Call
For The Moments I Feel Faint - Relient K
I Am - Nichole Nordeman
Epilogue - Mae (yup, I'm a cheater)


In reality, there aren't any genre boundaries. What I tried to do is put songs that ask questions and long for change on that first CD, but put P & W songs on the 2nd CD, along with songs that bring about hope and delight, but still with a longing. Of course, there were a few songs (Jesus Freak, All Over Me, Hero [Red Pill Mix]) that didn't fit on either CD. Maybe the last one could've fit on the first CD, I'm not too sure. I might switch the order around later, but pretty much those track listings are set in stone.

[Tom]

i may give this a try. but i haven't actually affixed a # rank to my list of essential albums yet.
 it is pretty fluid, but close to ice at the VERY top.

[murlough23]

So what should I call this... WoW Murlough? (Or, how about, WoW These Are Actually Good Songs for a Change?)

Give me some time to think about it. I have to go be a nerd and watch Enterprise right now.

[phaith]

I won't do this because it would take way too much time that I don't have! LOL....but I will love reading everyone's mix!

And this thread will particularly intrigue Mr. Phil I think!
 

[murlough23]

[Dan]

Disc 1: the softer side

1 Jars of Clay (Jars of Clay) - Liquid
2 Patience (Over the Rhine) - Circle of Quiet
3 Who We Are Instead (Jars of Clay) - Trouble Is
4 Me Died Blue (Steven Delopoulos) - Me Died Blue
5 Good Dog Bad Dog (Over the Rhine) - All I Need is Everything
6 The Fires of Life (Cool Hand Luke) - The Fires of Life
7 The Fatherless and the Widow (Sixpence None the Richer) - Musings
8 Ohio (Over the Rhine) - Nobody Number One
9 A Boot and A Shoe (Sam Phillips) - Love Changes Everything
10 Much Afraid (Jars of Clay) - Overjoyed
11 The Joshua Tree (U2) - A Trip Through Your Wires
12 No Name Face (Lifehouse) - Trying
13 Revolution (Jon Foreman/Switchfoot) - If You're A Fire I'll Risk the Burn
14 The Way I Am   (Jennifer Knapp) - Breathe On Me
15 The Legend Of Chin (Switchfoot) - Don't Be There

Disc 2: the not quite so soft side

1 The Violet Burning (The Violet Burning) - Underwater
2 Achtung Baby (U2) - Mysterious Ways
3 This Beautiful Mess (Sixpence None the Richer) - Within A Room Somewhere
4 Delusions of Grandeur (Fleming and John) - I'm Not Afraid
5 The Great Destroyer (Low) - Silver Rider
6 OK Computer (Radiohead) - Paranoid Android
7 Professional Rapper (John Reuben) - Freedom to Feel
8 All The Hype That Money Cay Buy (Five Iron Frenzy) - Giants
9 Fathom (Mortal) - Bright Wings
10 Ultraforever   (Fold Zandura) - Revenger
11 Lusis (Mortal) - Rescinding
12 Divine Discontent (Sixpence None the Richer) - Paralyzed
13 If I Left the Zoo (Jars of Clay) - Can't Erase It
14 Funeral (Arcade Fire) - Rebellion (Lies)
15 Sixpence None the Richer - Love


I'll probably look at this tomorrow and think it's completely whacked, but it seems alright for now. Man, this is tough when so many bands have a few albums in the top 30. I hope it's not considered cheating to include 3 songs by the same band in a row. There's a lot of crap here that I pulled out for continuity that I'd really not consider album highlights. Oh, is it considered cheating that a few of these are technically "demoes" and not real albums?

I might do this again tomorrow, but who knows if I'll even consider the same albums to be my favorite 30 then?

Anyway, this was a fun way to kill time while trying to fall asleep. Ah, the crazy things we do when we're lurking....

[plvarona]

And this thread will particularly intrigue Mr. Phil I think!

Phaith, you know me too well!

Yes, I am planning on participating in this challenge.  However, I do tend to agonize over track orders on compilation CDs, so it may take me a few days to come up with this.  (Furthermore, I'll probably actually burn this compilation too!)

I have already posted my top 50 list:

http://www.thephorum.net/index.php?act=ST&...=15&#entry32282

I will be using the top 30 albums for my compilation.  Additionally, if I want to make this like a WoW compilation (except arranged well this time), then I may think about adding two bonus tracks per CD, taken from the #31-34 albums.  Now that truly would be a challenge, given all these extra constraints.   I'm not guaranteeing anythingon the bonus tracks, though.

[dgp11776]

Well, here's my best shot at this project.  There is no way these would fit on two discs, but I'm too lazy to revise it into three.  I'm not too sure how well it would flow...it's hard to fit Bill Gaither, Mars ILL, Pavarotti, Radiohead, Harry Connick Jr., and Relient K together.

Disc One
Mars ILL - Breathe Slow
Steven Curtis Chapman - See the Glory
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Tony Bennett - Mood Indigo
Starflyer 59 - Easy Street
Switchfoot - This Is Your Life
Jars of Clay - Collide
Coldplay - Clocks
Miles Davis - Boplicity
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Sleeping At Last - Trees (Hallway of Leaves)
Steven Curtis Chapman - The Change
dc Talk - Jesus Freak
Audio Adrenaline - Underdog
Relient K - Pressing On
Earthsuit - One Time
Luna Halo - Complacent
Steven Delopoulos - Another Day
Jars of Clay - Jealous Kind
DeepSpace 5 - Stick This In Your Ear
Salvador - For More Than Ourselves
Something Like Silas - In the Burning
Harry Connick, Jr. - Just Kiss Me
The Three Tenors - Nessun Dorma!
Delirious? - Investigate (Live)

Disc Two
U2 - Elevation
Audio Adrenaline - I'm Not the King
The Listener - F.Y.I.
Joe Henry - Sold
Brian Wilson - Heroes and Villains
Steven Curtis Chapman - The Walk (Live)
downhere - In America
Sonicflood - My Refuge
Frank Sinatra - My Way
Burlap To Cashmere - Basic Instructions
Delirious? - Hang On To You
Sufjan Stevens - All You Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace
The Shins - Fighting In a Sack
Harry Connick, Jr. - Charade
TobyMac - What's Going Down
Cool Hand Luke - Rats In the Cellar
Mae - Ready and Waiting To Fall
Relient K - I So Hate Consequences
Michael W. Smith - Missing Person
Ron Sexsmith - Hard Bargain
Mars ILL - Dog Ear Page
Jars of Clay - Fade To Grey
dc Talk - Red Letters
The Gaither Vocal Band - Sinner Saved By Grace
Third Day - Give

[Brenden]

I'm not gonna be able to get to mine until after the semester ends, but I will do it.

[plvarona]

I finally came up with an arrangement that somewhat satisfies me.  As I said in my earlier post, I took my top 30 albums, and I also put two bonus tracks on each CD, so in reality I used my top 34 albums.

Here goes...

Disc 1
1. "Fade to Grey" Jars of Clay
2. "Painless" Mae
3. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" U2
4. "Rats in the Cellar" Cool Hand Luke
5. "Missing Person" Michael W. Smith
6. "Blind Man, Deaf Boy" PFR
7. "Should I Tell Them?" Shaun Groves
8. "Holy Sunlight" Steven Delopoulos
9. "Wings of the Morning" Caedmon's Call
10. "All Around Me" Rebecca St. James
11. "Learning to Breathe" Switchfoot
12. "Right Here" Jeremy Camp
13. "Worldwide Socialites Unite" All Star United
14. "Can't Erase It" Jars of Clay
15. "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream" Dream Theater
16. (Bonus Track) "Can't Lose You" Caedmon's Call
17. (Bonus Track) "Whole Again" Jennifer Knapp

Disc 2
1. "Trouble Is" Jars of Clay
2. "Fall From Grace" Amanda Marshall
3. "Eileen's Song" Burlap to Cashmere
4. "Prayer to St. Peter" Edwin McCain
5. "Table For Two" Caedmon's Call
6. "Mercies New" Nichole Nordeman w/ Bebo Norman
7. "Dreaming in Metaphors" Seal
8. "Twenty-Four" Switchfoot
9. "Katie-Lynn" Jill Paquette
10. "I Repent" Derek Webb
11. "To Be Honest" Shaun Groves
12. "The Eleventh Hour" Jars of Clay
13. "Free" Clear
14. "What I Really Want to Say" Steven Curtis Chapman
15. "River God" Nichole Nordeman
16. (Bonus Track) "Guilty" The Pool Boys
17. (Bonus Track) "Nothing to Say" Andrew Peterson

In case you're wondering, I did not intentionally set out to start both CDs with Jars of Clay.  That's just what made the most sense to me as I was arrangint them.  Also, I used my favorite song on the CD most of the time, although in some instances I picked some else to make the CD flow better.

This may or may not be the final track order once I decide to burn these CDs.

[NinjaRob17]

When I get time, I'll definitely do this...