If I Only Had An iPod...

Welcome to "if I only had an iPod…" an occasional series where visiting authors drop by the blog to test drive my iPod. Sure Apple promotes well-known musicians sharing their playlists, but we’ve got authors—and that’s really why you stopped by, isn’t it?

Here authors get a chance to show off their musical know-how, while the Happy Booker gets a few new tunes to add to her download list. It’s a win-win—well, mostly a win for me, but you can listen in… (and when all your friends are raving about some great new book, you’ve got the inside scoop on the author’s favorite playlist—remember, you read it here first!)

Today’s guest DJ is Chris Coake, author of the new collection We’re in Trouble . "Expertly crafted and edited to the bone," says fellow litblogger, Lizzie Skurnick, in her recent review of Coake in The Baltimore Sun, letting us know his stories "fill us with fear of a very human kind."

There’s nothing to fear in his song selections, thankfully.

Here’s Christopher Coake:

Greetings from Reno, Nevada, where I've just taken up residence after twenty years in the Midwest. I love the Midwest—don't get me wrong—but ever since a brief stint in Colorado as a kid, I've been wanting to get back to the mountains. Now my wife and I can see 'em out the living room window.

If any of you are inclined to check out We’re in Trouble, you'll see that, mentally, I've been somewhere between Ohio and Colorado for a while. (And of course I do encourage you to check it out for many more reasons than that...)

I'm not sure how to introduce the songs below. Some of them I listened to while writing the book, and some I just listen to a lot. Let's say I can't make a mix for anyone without including at least two of the following:

1. "A Testament to Youth in Verse," by The New Pornographers , it's a good, clever pop song until halfway through, when the NP's (featuring superwoman/celestial being Neko Case) drop an amazing vocal round.

2. "Glad and Sorry," by Golden Smog (the site is weird and arty. You can just as easily check 'em out at
All Music Guide : which is an easy one to navigate...). . . though if anyone wanted to sub in Faces' original, I'd be just as happy; I chose this version only because it's Jeff Tweedy, and I have a Wilco obsession. I almost used the lines that start "Can you show me a dream...?" as the epigraph for my book.

3. "I Walk the Earth," by King Biscuit Time . . I stumbled across the video for this and was hooked. It's an obscure tune by a side project of the Beta Band's Stephen Mason, but this song— I think—is better than anything the BBers have done. The great lost pop song of the last few years.

4. "Ellis Unit One," by Steve Earle . . . a perfect (and perfectly sad) short story, in about forty lines.

5. "Calling it Quits," by Aimee Mann . . . for my wife, though absolutely not in a literal way. She's made sure I listen to everything AM does. This one's quirky and hooky, with lyrics that stay with you, and a surprisingly soaring chorus.

6. (Can I do six? I have to do six.) "Blue," by the Jayhawks. Because they're my favorite band . . . EVER, and this is their best song, EVER, which means I'd get really irrational about it, if it wasn't perfect. But it is.

Happy Listening!

Comments

[David]

Very strange...Just last weekend my girlfriend and I were driving back to DC from NC. We had a caselogic full of my cds (if I only had an iPod), and she was performing admirably as the DJ. At one point, she says, "The New Pornographers? That sounds interesting," and pops in the cd. I smile, because I haven't heard it in awhile. When ATTYIV comes on, I pull over to the side of the road, and say almost word-for-word the same thing that Chris Coake says - "This song is great, but wait until you get to the vocal harmonies of the bells. The song goes to another level."

She smiles. At the end of the song, she removes the cd and puts on some Biz Markie.

[Scott]

I heard Aimee Mann is married to Michael Penn. If true, that kid could be to indie rock what the Agassi-Graf spawn will be to tennis.

[Jimmy Beck]

God bless the Jayhawks. I saw the Gary Louris-Mark Olson reunion tour recently and was disappointed--I think Olson has kind of gone off the deep end, writing satirical odes to Donald Rumsfeld etc.

[david]

Christopher Coake has wonderful taste in music (that means I love everything he has chosen).

I am longing to hear the next New Pornographers record, and still think that "Letter from an Occupant" is one of the best powerpop singles ever.

[Dan Wickett]

The Coake book is incredible so far as I've worked my way through at least. And Kyle Minor of Frostproof Review highly recommends it - need you hear more?

Scott, you hear correctly - a marriage in indie pop heaven.

Enjoy,

[booksquare]

And three cheers for the Golden Smog. What the worlds needs now is more Jeff Tweedy. Also, love.

[elliptical reviews]

No offense, but i suggest admin adding a google+ button for easy share!