Sunday, July 8, 2012

The Beautiful Mix

Years ago, I had a roommate who had a mix she called "The Beautiful Mix." It was a simple concept; songs she thought were beautiful. It had some Crosby Stills Nash and Young, some Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Propellerheads, Dylan, Santana... We listened to it a lot. And several of the songs became some of my favorites.

So - when I was working on the instrumental movie list, and listening to the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack again, I thought I should put together my own list. I won't include it all here (it now runs to 300 tracks), but here is a sampling (trying to mostly avoid songs I've mentioned elsewhere).  Are some overused? Yes. Oh well.

57821 - Janelle Monae (ft. Deep Cotton)

Foolish Games - Jewel
Save Me - Joan Armatrading
Winter (Allegro Non Molto) - Vivaldi
Video Games - Lana Del Rey

Wicked Games - Chris Isaak
Midnight - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Siuil a Run - The Chieftains ft. Sissel

Dreaming My Dreams - The Cranberries
The Promise - Tracy Chapman
The Kiss - Trevor Jones
Because - Elliott Smith

The Highwayman - Loreena McKennit
Bird Gerhl - Antony and the Johnsons
Veni, Veni Emmanuel - Trad.
Happy Home - Garbage
Kissing You - Des'ree
The Snow Leopard - Shearwater


Romeo and Juliet - Dire Straits
Toccata and Fugue in D minor - Bach
Sleep - The Dandy Warhols 
You Know What I Mean - Cults
Another Year - Amanda Palmer

The Rip - Portishead
Letting the Cables Sleep - Bush
Boulevard of Broken Dreams - American Idiot Cast
Mad World - Gary Jules
Tanglewood Tree - Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer
My Lagan Love - Trad. arr. Michael Meaum
C.S. Lewis Song - Brooke Fraser 
If I Fell - Evan Rachel Wood
La Carita - Gioacchino Rossini
El Tango de Roxanne - Moulin Rouge
[Video break!]

Hurt - Christina Aguilera
In the Bleak Midwinter - Gustav Holst (or Darke's arrangement)
Nigra Sum - Pablo Casals
Helplessly Hoping - Crosby Stills & Nash
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Doomsday - Doctor Who
Momma Look Sharp - 1776
Ave Maria - trad. arr. David McIntyre
Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man - Ella Fitzgerald
At Last - Etta James
Eleanor Rigby - The Beatles

Never Give All the Heart - The Chieftains ft. Brenda Fricker & Aruna
I'd Like - Freshlyground
So Like a Rose - Garbage
I Will Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
The Babysitter's Here - Dar Williams
Wayfaring Stranger - Trad. (I like the one arr. Robert DeCormier)
I Dreamed a Dream - Indina Menzel & Lea Michele
Jolene - Dot Marie Jones
Halte! Quelqu'un est la qui cherche... (Carmen, Act 3) - Bizet
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
May it Be - Enya
Annie's Song - John Denver
Shenandoah - Trad.
Cry Me a River - Julie London

Serenade for strings - Tchaikovsky
Dream On - Kelly Sweet
The Foggy Dew - The Chieftains ft. Sinead O'Connor
Bring Him Home - Les Mis
Whatsername - Green Day
Rulers, Ruling All Things - Midlake
Don't Let It Bring You Down - Annie Lennox
1,000 Oceans - Tori Amos
Sally's Song - Evanescence 
You Look So Fine - Garbage

Summertime - Porgy & Bess (I like Lisa Vroman's version, although that isn't on youtube)
Cantique de Noel - Trad. (Luciano Pavarotti)
Have to Drive - Amanda Palmer
Dance Me to the End of Love - Madeleine Peyroux
Let it Be - The Beatles
Old Man River - Showboat
Knights in White Satin - Moody Blues
Lovesong - The Cure (Adele's cover is lovely, too)
On the Arrow - AFI
Foxglove - Murder by Death
Finale B - RENT
Noxontown Adagio - Michael Whalen (ha! The only snippet on youtube is from me)
Crazy - Patsy Cline
Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
Spanish Doll - Poe

21 Guns - American Idiot Cast
Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkle
It's a Fire - Portishead
A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harum
Nessun Dorma - Puccini (really, there are a lot of arias that could go in here.)
Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers
Ave Maria - Trad. arr. Gustav Holst
The Beginning of the Partnership - Stephen Warbeck
No - Shakira

Fly Away - Poe
Without You - RENT
Scarborough Fair - Trad.
Spark - Tori Amos

Violin Concerto No. 8 - Allegro - Vivaldi
Pancho & Lefty - Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard
O Ecclesia - Hildegard von Bingen
And, because I laugh every year on the Fourth of July when this is introduced as 'an American tradition', The 1812 Overture - Tchaikovsky (this one is Bernstein & the NY Philharmonic)

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