Songs I love

I've been getting a lot of questions about the playlist for my upcoming 31st birthday party. I wasn't going to release any of the details, but what the hell . . . if you're in my backyard on the morning of Satruday 8 December, you could probably expect to hear a few of these songs . . .

The Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping up to Boston
I first heard these guys when this song was featured in "The Departed". I haven't taken the time to listen to much of their back catalogue since, but this song is a winner. It's got it all - heavy guitars, banjo, some accordion. Basically it sounds like a bunch of pirates getting together to form a punk rock band. From what I can understand, the lyrics are about climbing the top mast. A great song.



The Gallows - Abandon Ship
Because really, you can't have too many punk rock songs about sailing.



The Killers with Lou Reed - Tranquilize
This is the first song off the new Killers B-sides album. I'm not sure about the rest of the CD yet but I love this song, it might be my pick for song of the year. I love the western sounding intro, it kind of reminds me of the Dandy Warhols during their "13 Tales from Urban Bohemia" era. My colleague reckons it reminds her of Jon Bon Jovi during his "Young Guns" era, but I think she's just trying to piss me off. Bonus marks as well for the backing vocals from the little kids, a la "The Wall". I love that The Killers seem to be mixing in these classic rock influences into their sound, hints of Pink Floyd and Queen as well as the eighties stuff. Partygoers will definitely be hearing this one.



Radiohead - All I Need
I kind of gave up on Radiohead after OK Computer, but this song is fantastic. Really chilled out but still with a driving beat. And like, an actual melody, which they don't seem to care too much about these days.



Ryan Adams - Down In A Hole
I heard he was playing this Alice in Chains cover on his latest tour, and was hoping we'd get it in Adelaide. No such luck, as he played the bare minimum before ending the show rather early. Anyway, he's recorded a studio version of this song and released it on a new ep and it's pretty cool. Quite a bit of Alice In Chains' acoustic stuff has a country-ish feel to it anyway, but the slide guitar is definitely a welcome addition.