soothe the savage commuter Alright, friends, this is the "expressway" I take to work every day. Honestly, the colors aren't quite so bright. Traffic gets up to the express speed of about 20 miles an hour, at best, for which we pay a 40 cent toll each way. Since I have about 20 miles to go, it's clear that fine tunes are necessary to stay in a peaceful, pleasant, productive, and wakeful frame of mind.

3/20/99 Okay, did I call it or what, Lauren Hill took in a record five grammies. And she deserved those babies. But what's she gonna do with her life now? Okay, so I have been out of the loop here, but if you like pop hiphop, try R. Kelly's album. He can't decide if he's in love or ready to play, but at least he's paying attention, and his music is there. My favorite tune: Home alone. It's gonna be a party y'all. Well, and if you haven't already checked out the French band Air, their Moon Safari is a lighthearted, sproingy, space-capade. Lots of fun. Rounding it out, the Brand New Heavies and Echo Send. Coming soon to a web site near you: soundbite from Mat Dickson's Lighthouse Keeper.

1/29/99 Wow, you'd think I haven't been listening to the stereo! Well, it's not true! Right now, Crystal Gayle, Suzanne Vega, Tori Amos, Orchestra Was, Lorena McKinnit. It's nice and gentle, my very own muzak.

11/22/98 It's a chick mix: Suzanne Vega's 99.9 degrees, Donna Summers greatest hits, a Patsy Cline compilation, Tori Amos, Morcheeba for a little balance, some grounding. It works too. A look at the dark side, some self-pity, a little torch, and some disco celebration. What chick-shtick isn't represented here?

10/24/98 Lauren Hill - she rules! "More powerful than two Cleopatras." Mat Dickson - my tetris score really improves when his tunes are on. Really, I'm not kidding. I think this stuff affects the alpha waves or something. Love'N'Rockets, Sweet FA -- its so gentle and harsh at the same time... "f*ck all else." Suzanne Vega "I've seen the rest, yes, and that is the one for me." Morcheeba. Oh, and Chip has a guitar now, so watch out world, the tunes are going to get fluid...

10/11/98 Leonard Cohen, Various Positions; Sugar Hill soundtrack (why, you ask); Lauren Hill, the Miseducation of Lauren Hill (powerhouse discourses on love, she's got the spirit and the heart and the beat); Hank Williams, best of collection (what?); Red Hot Chili Peps, What Hits? Even though a lot of this is good stuff, this is a really bad mix. But that's what's in there.

9/28/98 Okay, so it has been awhile. First of all, I saw a couple of great shows: Morcheeba, yes, they are very smooth live. And Angelique Kidjo and her international group. What energy and spirit and attitude and strength! A very interactive performer. So today the mix is: Love'N'Rockets' Sweet FA, mostly not bad, some very peaceful. Red Hot Chili Peppers, What Hits? This stuff just makes you feel good and peppy. Suzanne Vega, amazing vocals, clever lyrics, deep emotion, an East Village attitude. Very original. Waco Brothers, a "cowpunk" band I saw in Chicago. They take the old country classics like Hank Williams and give it some serious attitude. I never thought I'd hear punk I could two-step to. But here's the real news, Mat Dickson of the UK sent me his cd, The Lighthouse Keeper, hot off the presses. It's the most amazing, relaxing, pretty music I've heard in a long time. Put this on and feel the tension float out to sea. He's still looking for a distributer or I'd say "GO BUY IT NOW".

8/9/98 I really can't take Morcheeba out of the mix yet, its just too pleasant. Smooth, dreamy vocals over some techno-based easy-on-the-ears music, and out of nowhere some sad, slide guitar. But I needed a Los Lobos fix so The Neighborhood and Colossal Head are in there now. They comment on social issues without getting cynical, still thankful for the good things and connected to family, community, and the spiritual life. And they rock. Leonard Cohen closes out this week's mix for that lavish, seductive, opulent, cynical touch. Maybe he should listen to a little Morcheeba and Los Lobos! They do it all without the cycnicism...

8/1/98 Something old: Love and Rocket's Hot Trip to Heaven - this just gets better the more I play it. Yello (or is that Yellow?) techno lust, lies, and ties. The beat keeps me going. Something new: Morcheeba - I just discovered them, like Columbus discovered America, at the Lilleth Fair, tucked off on a side stage they were the best show there! More Morcheeba - that first album is really sweet. Great chill music. Last, Country Joe singing with Jerry Garcia on guitar -- this album snuck up on me at the used cd store, its about two years old and a peaceful simple pleasure, kinda takes you back.