Genius Playlist: Maybe Tonight

I was messing around with Apple's new Genius feature and to try it out, I asked it to come up with a playlist for Nicole Atkin's song Maybe Tonight.

I just realized this playlist changes as it goes so instead of listing it, I'm going to list the high lights and low lights so far ...

I started with: Maybe Tonight by Nicole Atkins off Neptune City in Country - Alt Country

Highlights:
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists in Rock - Hipster
The Pretenders in 80s/New Wave
Paul Westerberg in Rock - Indie/Alternative
Pixies in Rock - Indie/Alternative - I'm not a big huge Pixies fan but I think it's nifty that it came up here
Old 97's and Rhett Miller in Country - Alt Country - Since I was introduced to Nicole Atkins when she opened for Rhett Miller recently, this is extra fitting.
Sucked Out by Superdrag off Regretfully Yours in Rock - Indie/Alternative - I'd forgotten how awesome this song is! Yay 1996!
The Clash in Punk - See! My love of country AND punk totally makes sense!
Elvis Costello
Into Action by Tim Armstrong off A Poet's Life in Ska - Excellent Song. Well played Genius.
Neko Case - Obvious but enjoyable.
Motion City Soundtrack - Hells Yeah! Teeny Boppin' Pop-Punk meets self-proclaimed 'pop noir'! It's like cheese and wine ... perfect.
Dashboard Confessional - See above.
Billy Bragg
The Muffs - Yes yes yes.

Strange/Unexpected/Unsure:
San Francisco by Vanessa Carlton off Harmonium in Pop - It's true. I like Vanessa Carlton. Go ahead and judge.
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths off Louder Than Bombs in Rock - Indie/Alternative - Those closest to me know my most hidden, shameful musical flaw - I don't really like the Smiths. However, in this context, they were quite nice.
Nellie McKay - A friend gave me this album years ago and, truth be told, I haven't listened to it much. I enjoyed her though and will probably take a few more listens.
Tegan and Sara - Tegan and Sara was a popular association for Genius. I got all my Tegan and Sara songs from a friend and really only ever listen to them on shuffle or now on this. It's not that I don't enjoy; it's just ... I don't know, perhaps on their own, it's too much hipster/indieness for me.

Not so much:
Fountains Of Wayne off Traffic and Weather in Rock - Indie/Alternative - A couple songs off this album came up and I felt the need to skip them everytime. I guess I don't like Fountains of Wayne so much - except "Leave the Biker," that song is freakin' awesome.

Stroke your emo - Dashboard Confessional at the House of Blues, Atlantic City, November 10, 2007

Dashboard Confessional is not one of my favorite bands. I'm not sure Dashboard would even break the top 20. Dashboard Confessional is, however, a band full of memories. From my initial rash, un-informed hatred of their emoness to certain friends to good times and bad. Their music makes me especially nostalgic for my time in St. Louis singing at the top of my lungs to songs from 'A mark, a mission, a brand, a scar' in my nice, big apartment dreaming of a certainly impossible man who would write those dreamy words for me:

I'll be true I'll be useful I'll be cavalier I'll be yours my dear And I'll belong to you ... if you'll just let me through ...

Those same words that I sang into Adam's ear while he stood begrudgingly next to me at the Dashboard Confessional show at the House of Blues in Atlantic City on November 10, 2007. That song, 'As Lovers Go,' is especially poignant for me since I see myself as the antagonist of the song. But enough about me, on to the show.

Chris Carraba is adorable ... and tiny. He came out - to roaring applause - to sing with each of the opening bands (neither of which, in my opinion, are worth mentioning ... or remembering for that matter) which, aside from being a rousing endorsement, gave him a badge of integrity in my book ... and proved that he has quite the voice. When he finally arrived on stage for his own set, he was effectively naked - it was just him and his guitar. For most of the show, the mic effects blurred his vocals, but the onstage banter i made out was amusing. For all I've read about his stage fright, he seemed at comfortable, at home on stage. Despite the obnoxious, collar-popping crowd, I enjoyed the quiet, graceful momentum built up and torn down with each song.

I may not rush to see Dashboard Confessional again but the show, like the songs, will hold a special place in my heart for a long time. Which, I suppose, brings this blog post back to me again. This is what connects me, reluctantly, to those other kids at the show - the deeply personal and private way I think about Dashboard Confessional.

I read an excellent (albeit pray to the glorifying, mythical talk of music fan turned journalist) book, Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo. Dashboard Confessional comprises an entire section. For good reason. Despite the debatable history of emo - from Rites of Spring and Sunny Day Real Estate to Face to Face to the Get Up Kids and Saves the Day, Dashboard Confessional is probably the band most widely associated with emo. I came to terms with my love of poppy punk/rock long ago; yet it was this book, tracing the history of emo and describing the intense - familiar - way the fan's feel about the music, that allowed me to admit that I, too, have an emo place in my heart. It is not a large space - I need more rock than Rites of Spring or Sunny Day or many of the new wave of emo bands can provide - but it is there nonetheless.