In the Mood for a Melody

One thing I’m enjoying about Columbus is a surprise to me but I suppose it really shouldn’t be, considering that this is very much a college city. The local “alternative” radio station is really quite good. It’s also not a Clear Channel station, which gives it a unique and independent feel that most of the other channels on this dial lack.

I outgrew most of my music snobbery a long time ago but like my father before me, I take music pretty seriously and I try to do my best to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to new artists and styles.

That’s not always easy and there are tons of folks who do a better job of this than I do but it’s not for lack of desire to hear new material as much as it is lack of time, money and the energy to scour record shops and Web sites for all the diamonds in the rough.

I always want to know what other people are listening to and constantly get turned on to great stuff by friends and strangers alike. This morning I made an iMix. Giving discovery credit where it’s due, a good deal of this mix was inspired by the incredible soundtrack to the movie Garden State, which I haven’t even seen yet. Similarly, some tracks are numbers I’ve only heard playing over the speakers of the retail box I’m working in.

I’m apparently in a hard-core melodic period right now, having recently slipped out of a very lengthy dance/hip-hop phase. Everything I’m turned on by at the moment is intensely lyrical and more often than not, performed by a guy with a great falsetto. I have no idea what that’s about but there it is.

The Mix:

Love Will Come Through: Travis
Somewhere Only We Know: Keane
Gonna Be Some Changes Made: Bruce Hornsby
Float On: Modest Mouse
A Favor House Atlantic: Coheed and Cambria
Bend & Break: Keane
Gravity Rides Everything: Modest Mouse
All Night: Sam Phillips
Turn: Travis
American Idiot: Green Day
The Only Living Boy In New York: Everything But The Girl
Simple: k.d. lang
Figured You Out: Nickelback
Don’t Panic: Coldplay
New Slang: The Shins
Why Does It Always Rain On Me?: Travis

Now, there are exceptions to every rule and clearly the stand-out weird number on this mix is Nickelback’s Figured You Out. I’m not sure I can even explain that other than to say I consider it a guilty pleasure. I seem to respond to this song on whatever visceral level I respond to Nine Inch Nails–not that I’m suggesting Nickelback is on the same playing field as NIN but this song drives in a similar vein for me and I’ll make no apologies for my baser instincts.

So, what else should I be listening to?