Pitchfork Music festival 2007 - The Drive to Chicago

Here's a stumper for you: what's the best part about road trips? No, it's not the snacks. You don't need snacks if the trip is short, and unless you stop by a really good gas station, the snacks are probably pretty pedestrian (no, not attractive people who walk...). It's not the road rage either (though that is pretty good). In Wisconsin, road trips and road rage go hand-in-hand because drivers here are, well, pretty lame. Let's all drive 60 mph in both the right and left lanes when there aren't that many cars out and the speed limit is 65, why don't we? Yeah, let's do that. It's also pretty cool to make fun of other drivers, especially if they are a middle-aged man in a nice car talking to someone on a pink Razr. Anyway, yeah I should try to remember that the road rage was not what I wanted to talk about. The answer? Mix cds!

Yep, a road trip is a pretty sweet way to throw together some cool tunes and hear some new stuff if you're riding with others. We had decided to each make a mix that referenced Chicago in some way, though there was no requirement of any unified theme. I tend to just go for songs that I anticipate fitting the mood, though I'll eventually try some super sweet thematic mixes that will blow some people's minds. One member of the posse outdid us all by obliquely referencing Chicago by creating a mix consisting exclusively of songs on Touch and Go, an extremely hip Chicago label that Slint, who were playing the festival, recorded their landmark album Spiderland with. However, it should be noted that if you're going to make an ambitious compilation, you should probably not burn the cd in mp3 format if you don't know if the car's cd player can handle it (which is likely the case if it's not your car, and it wasn't his car). Another mix had some great ties to the festival itself, with Chicago references and Pitchfork Music Festival artists coming together in sweet harmony. Fujiya and Miyagi's fate as a must-see band was re-solidified because of the inclusion of "Ankle Injuries" and the pummeling repetitive chant of "fujiya...miyagi...fujiya...miyagi...fujiya...miyagi".

However, the best mix, was mine. This point is not open for debate. I had two songs that reference Chicago, and one that referenced it in a way so obscure that I probably don't really get it. I really do get it though, but just because I'm a nerd and a huge fan of a band that most people know for their MTV Buzz Bin hit in the mid-90s. I know you're thinking it's the Gin Blossoms, and while they were pretty awesome, it ain't quite them. You also need a hilarious rap song on your mix. A good rap song is ok, too, but only if it's one of only two rap songs. If your mix consists of multiple tracks by the New Pornographers, the Strokes, and some other artist I can't remember, and lots of rap songs that were cool in middle school, you need not apply. Here's my mix:

*Lucky Soul - Get Outta Town! (A great opener for a road trip...get it? It's also a sweet upbeat song with great sing-along vocals and such a great vibe that you can't help but be happy)
*The Aislers Set - Chicago New York (2 songs in, and I've already taken care of the one requirement of the mix)
*Black Lips - Gung Ho (Black Lips were all over SXSW, so this was included in the spirit of festivals in general. It's also a good shift to some loud songs)
*Exploding Hearts - Modern Kicks (more loud...don't want anyone sleeping on this trip!)
*Saturday Looks Good to Me - All Over Town (SLGtM are a great summer band)
*Art Brut - People In Love (I wanted to hear some Art Brut, but I didn't want anything too abrasive)
*Blur - Globe Alone (it's time to par-tay!)
*Magazine - My Tulpa (A previous post mentions how much I am obsessed with this song right now)
*The Jessica Fletchers - Let's Get Together
*The 6ths (with Georgia Hubley) - Movies in My Head (Yo La Tengo played the festival last year)
*Super Furry Animals - Receptacle for the Respectable (Yoko Ono played the festival and was billed as "with special guests", so a song with guest vocals by Paul McCartney is appropriate, right? ;) )
*Superdrag - True Believer (this is my supernerdy inclusion: Superdrag went on indefinite hiatus in 2003, but now the original line-up has regrouped to play six shows, including the one I'll be attending at the Metro on October 13)
*Jana Hunter - Regardless (Jana Hunter is awesome because she's from Houston and this song is delightfully haunting and low-key)
*Gnarls Barkley - Who Cares? (Can't have a mix without Gnarls, right?)
*Big Moe - Purple Stuff (I didn't realize that I might have turned the mix into one with an H-town theme, but that's ok because it's a hilarious rap song)
*The Blow - Pardon Me (see above comment, only about Portland and not about a hilarious rap song)
*Architecture in Helsinki - Need to Shout (another SXSW ref, perhaps, and also cool because Jona from the Blow was at their day show at Flamingo Cantina)
*The Minders - Hooray for Tuesday (I didn't have a song called "Hooray for Friday")
*Spoon - Chicago at Night (Oh, wow! I didn't even think about the implications of this one. Chicago reference #2, but also a jab at the Eggo Johanson show that I got so many people's hopes up for when I told them I had bought tickets for $2 that were subsequently revoked to be distributed by WXRT and Bud Light to hipsters)

That's my mix and I'm sticking to it. Show reviews to follow shortly.