Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn.
This week, to celebrate the 100th episode of
My Weekly Mixtape, I'm creating the Ultimate
Mixtape. And now you might be thinking to yourself,
we're on episode 102 now, so what the hell is
Brian talking about? Well, this is volume three
of the Ultimate Mixtape. which started all the
way back on episode 100. So this is a three episode
celebration, a trifecta, if you will. So if you
haven't heard episodes 100. or 101 yet, you might
want to hit pause and check those out first,
or just throw caution to the wind and continue
listening. I appreciate the support no matter
how you decide to listen to the show. But that
said, this finale is going to be an absolute
doozy, as I had mentioned that there were 65
song choices for the Ultimate Mixtape, and yet
we've only gotten to 40 so far. So what better
way to close out this trilogy than with 25 songs,
that will finish this edition of The Ultimate
Mixtape. And now the way we're going to do this,
since 25 isn't an even number, is have side A
consist of the usual 10 songs, but side B will
be the grand finale of this three episodes in
one week run, which remind me down the road,
this was absolutely insane. And that side will
consist of 15 songs. So buckle up, mixtapers.
We've got a massive conclusion to this years
-long experiment that comes to a finish today.
But before we start diving into the songs, if
you like what you're hearing on the show, you
can help me out by either telling a friend, leaving
the show a five -star review wherever you're
tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper at
patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. There
you can find ad -free episodes of the show, gain
early access to future My Weekly Mixtape episodes,
chime in on upcoming topics, become a future
guest, and so much more. Once again, that's patreon
.com forward slash My Weekly Mixtape. Now, before
we get started, I'm going to spoil one song,
the song that was the cliffhanger ending to volume
two in this trilogy of episodes. So at least
you know where I'm coming from with my first
song choice today. But first, I'll remind everyone
the question that fuels all of the answers tonight.
And that is, if you had to choose one song for
the ultimate mixtape, any song, any genre, that
would be locked away in a time capsule for others
to discover years or decades from now, which
song would you choose and why? Now, as you remember,
closing out Side B of Volume 2 was Linkin Park's
In The End provided by Alex Gomez of The Sleavy
G Show. So the first song of Volume 3 should...
in theory, come out of that song and at least
make some sort of musical sense. So with that,
we're going to start with Carrie Cunningham's
choice for the ultimate mixtape. Ah, good question.
I would have to say at first my brain automatically
went to like Stop in the Name of Love by Diana
Ross and the Supremes. But I'm thinking Fallen
by Alicia Keys. Yeah, I mean, I was trying to
think. I was like, it's got to be Diana Ross
and the Supremes. And then I'm like, no, it's
going to be like MacArthur Park by Donna Summers.
And then I'm like, no, it's going to be Alicia
Keys. She's also very influential in the pop
world. And I believe probably even in the country
market. If you don't know who Alicia Keys is,
I think you was just born yesterday. It's such
a great song. It just resonates with me and I
find myself singing it randomly every once in
a while, you know, and then my mind goes down
a rabbit hole and I start thinking about Toni
Braxton and there's this little sliver of women
that just shine and they'll just forever shine.
And Alicia Keys is one of them. Fallen's the
one. From her 2001 album Songs in A Minor, the
track reached number one on the Billboard US
Hot 100 and was also a number one hit in Canada,
Belgium, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the
UK, and was a top 10 hit all over the world.
It won three Grammy Awards, Song of the Year,
Best Female R &B Vocal Performance, and Best
R &B Song. and the song reached number 22 on
VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000s,
and Rolling Stone ranked it number 7 on their
list of the 100 Greatest R &B Songs of the 21st
Century. Now, Carrie was my guest on Episode
61, the Ultimate Modern Female Country Artist's
Playlist, so be sure to check that one out, as
well as Carrie's music, which you can find on
all of the streaming sites. But coming out of
Fallen, we've kind of gone from the new metal
and hip hop at the end of Volume 2 into this
kind of R &B vibe. So I can't think of a better
way to follow up Fallen than with Joe Bonamassa's
choice for the ultimate mixtape. My Desert Island
Blues song is The Thrill Is Gone, B .B. King,
the Bill Simzik production with the strings.
Three things. One, it's a wonderfully written
song, great sentiment, wonderfully sung and played,
wonderfully produced by Bill Thimsick, and like
an aurora borealis lighting during the day in
a rare, crazy cycle of events, became a big hit.
A blues song, that's a hit. That's my desert
island song. Another song you might not have
known was even a cover. It was originally written
by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnall in 1951. Hawkins'
recording reaching No. 6 on the Billboard R &B
chart in 1951. But Bebe's version came from his
1969 album Completely Well and reached No. 15
on the Billboard Hot 100. I want to say it was
the second time I saw Joe Bonamassa live. It
was the House of Blues in Atlantic City, New
Jersey. And the bill was Joe Bonamassa, Kenny
Wayne Shepard, and wait for it, B .B. King. I
am so grateful I got to see B .B. King lay down
The Thrill Has Gone Live as it was truly a memorable
sight to see. And then my big story when we're
talking about B .B. King, when I was working
in radio in New York City, I was carrying a stack
of reel -to -reel tapes where I was basically
holding the stack and it was kind of covering
up my nose, bottom of my eyes, but I could see
over it. And I'm talking to my boss as I'm walking
backwards, going to put the tapes away in the
closet. And as I'm walking, I feel a whoa, whoa,
whoa, and a hand on my shoulder. And I turn around
and standing next to me is BB King holding Lucille.
And BB looked at me dead in the eyes and said,
So sorry, young man, you can knock me down and
I'll get right back up. But Lucille does not
know how to brace her falls very well. I apologize
for bumping into you. And I said, Mr. King, after
you, sir, I backed out of the way. And that was
my, I don't know, five to seven second brush
with absolute greatness. And speaking of greatness,
Joe Bonamassa. was a guest on episode 87, the
ultimate Joe Bonamassa playlist, which he was
kind enough to send out a full email newsletter
surrounding. That was one of the absolute coolest
forms of promotion I've ever seen an artist give
to a My Weekly Mixtape interview. So I want to
take this moment to humbly thank Joe Bonamassa
and his team for that. If you didn't see that
newsletter, it's posted up on the news press
page over at myweeklymixtape .com if you want
to see it for yourself. But now coming out of
The Thrill Is Gone, I have another song that
keeps us going down this bluesy R &B road. So
I'm going to stay that course for another song.
With Todd Parkmore of Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Choice for the ultimate mixtape. Wow. Hmm. You
know, I don't typically like these kinds of questions
because I love all music. You know, when you
say that, though, Jeff Buckley comes to my mind.
I adore Jeff Buckley. He has a song, Lover You
Should Have Come Over. His album, Grace, he had
a very, very short career. He's got, that album
is just pure gold. Every song on it, I adore.
It's probably my... in my top of desert island
albums. And yeah, that might be my mixtape choice.
From Jeff Buckley's only studio album, 1994's
Grace. I'm sure a lot of folks were probably
expecting Hallelujah, but I love where Todd went
with this choice. This song was covered by Jamie
Cullum on his 2003 album, 20 -something, if you
want to look that up. And in 2019, Paste's Stephen
Edelstone ranked Lover You Should Have Come Over.
as number one on his list of the 10 best Jeff
Buckley songs. Todd was an amazing guest on episode
72, the ultimate big head Todd and the monsters
playlist, where we curated the ultimate 20 song
big head Todd playlist. It's so much fun, but
we also dive into songs from their latest album,
her way out. The band is currently on the road
for their huge 40th anniversary tour that runs
all the way through April. At least that's what's.
Posted up on their website as of me recording
this. So be sure to check them out if they roll
through your town. Now rolling through my list,
this is actually starting to get tougher and
tougher to make this thing work here. But we
have this bluesy R &B thing going. And I'm going
to continue this, but I'm going to start to work
some pop elements into my song choices. And bring
us in maybe kind of sort of a new direction,
but not really. But anyway, I'm going to do that
by sharing Jessica Katina from music notes from
Jess's pick for the ultimate mixtape. Well, Brian,
if I had to choose a song for the ultimate mixtape,
it would be her favorite song by Mayor Hawthorne.
It's been my personal favorite since iTunes recommended
it to me in 2013, reminding how healing music
can be for everybody. I love the song's rhythmic
groove, how Jessie Ware's vocals become the favorite
song's melody for the female character, and the
breakdown of the ending is so fun. I was lucky
to see Mayor Hawthorne at Darrell Hall's Pauling,
New York venue in 2016. A friend helped me get
the band's autographs and his. Then I went to
a meet and greet next year to see his funk duo,
Tuxedo, at New York City's Webster Hall. Mayor
Hawthorne and Jake Uno were really nice during
the meet and greet, and sometimes Mayor was pointing
to me singing along with the lyrics at the show.
The storyline of counting on a song to cheer
up your day is exactly what you've worked so
hard for My Weekly Mixtape, Brian. Thank you
for the preparation you do for your guests, your
listeners, and happy 100th episode! The lead
single from his 2013 album, Where Does This Door
Go? The album as a whole reached number 30 on
the U .S. Billboard Hot 100. And as you could
definitely hear the blues and R &B elements in
Mayer's work. And I think that'll pivot us nicely
into the next song choice. But before I do that,
thank you to Jess for the incredibly kind words,
for her song choice, and for being such a huge
supporter of my weekly mixtape. And be sure to
check out Music Notes with Jess. a fun podcast
she puts out weekly as well. But now coming out
of her favorite song, I'm going to keep this
vibe going by sharing Desmond Child's choice
for the ultimate mixtape. Written by whom? Anybody
you want. This could be your personal favorite
song, if you would like. Oh my gosh. There's
just a few songs that never grow old for me.
One of them is Ordinary Love. by Sade. This is
no ordinary love. I mean, it's magical. It's
just timeless. It never grows old. And we play
it at least once or twice a week here at our
house just for dinner music or whatever. And
this has been going on since Curtis and I met
each other. So that's 34 years. It's like our
love song. Wow. So he and I love that song. And
gosh, there's just so many. But that one is the
one that totally gets me. From 1992's Love Deluxe,
Sade's No Ordinary Love reached number 28 on
the Billboard US Hot 100, number 15 in Canada,
number 21 in Australia, number 14 in the UK,
and number four in Italy, among many other worldwide
chart positions. Pitchfork ranked the song number
42 on their list of the 250 best songs of the
1990s, and Rolling Stone ranked the song number
459 on their list of the 500 best songs of all
time. It was an absolute honor having Desmond
on the show not once, but twice, as he was a
guest on both episodes 54 and 90. And in each
of the episodes, we dive into... All of the chart
-topping smash hits he's written for Bon Jovi,
Aerosmith, Kiss, Katy Perry, Joan Jett, Meatloaf,
Alice Cooper, and yes, even Kermit the Frog.
One of the best storytellers I've ever had on
the show. If you haven't heard either of these
episodes, do yourself a favor and check them
both out. He also has his hit memoir, Living
on a Prayer, Big Songs, Big Life, available in
audiobook form as well as print. Okay, we're
still in this R &B phase here, and I think there's
no better way to put a stamp on that other than
this pick from Nick Nespagiani of Yacht Rock
Review. Wow. Great question. So I'm going to
go with my karaoke song. I will only sing one
song. at karaoke. And that song is Whitney Houston,
I Will Always Love You, originally written by
Dolly Parton. I'm a huge Whitney Houston fan.
And that song, when that came out, the time in
my life, the impression that it made on me, it
was the most emotionally impactful song that
I had ever heard. I really felt... what Whitney
was singing about. And I try to create that every
time I sing it in karaoke. And I don't sing karaoke
often. But that's my track. I love Whitney Houston.
From 1992's The Bodyguard, the cover of Dolly
Parton's classic, the song has sold over 24 million
copies, making it the best -selling female artist
single of all time, along with being one of the
best -selling singles of all time, male or female.
And if I counted this correctly, the song reached
number one in two dozen countries, including
the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, Spain, France,
and New Zealand. Obviously cover songs Don't
Sleep on Me First and the Gimme Gimme's punk
version from their 2014 album Are We Not Men,
We Are Diva, as well as Hailstorm's version from
their 2020 EP Reimagined. Now, this song does
kind of leave me with a challenge here, as it
is a massive song to try to follow up. But I
think I can make this work, and this song just
so happens to come from Nick's bandmate. So let's
take a listen to what Peter Olson of Yacht Rock
Review chose as his pick for the ultimate mixtape.
I think that the answer to this question changes
probably on a daily basis, at least maybe not
that often. The song that just jumped into my
head when you asked the question was a song that
I recently listened to. This was maybe a couple
years ago. A song that I was familiar with when
I was younger, but popped up on a playlist or
something. And for some reason, it just hit me
a different way, whatever the age I am now or
the time it is in my life. And I listened to
it probably like 10 times in a row. For some
reason, I just got really obsessed with it. And
now it's still in a consistent playlist with
me. And that is the Beach Boys' Don't Worry Baby.
From their 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2, the
song reached number 17 on the Billboard US Hot
100 and number 12 on the Canada RPM Top Singles
Chart. Brian Wilson himself has stated that this
song is, and I quote, probably the best record
we've done. It has the best proportion of our
voices and ranges. The song ranked number 11
on Spin's list of the greatest singles in history
and number 178 on Rolling Stone's list of the
greatest songs in history. Now, Nick and Peter
of Yacht Rock Review were both awesome guests
on episode 79. Wait for it. The ultimate Yacht
Rock playlist. So if you want to... Well, set
sail with some yacht rock experts. That's the
episode to do so. And be sure to catch them when
they, I can't help it, sail through your town,
which would be really odd if you don't live near
a body of water. But I digress. I love how things
are panning out right now because I actually
think I have an easy choice in terms of following
up Don't Worry Baby. So with that, let's hear
the song that Guy Fletcher of Dire Straits chose
as his pick. for the ultimate mixtape um i love
the righteous brothers you've lost that loving
feeling but probably only because it was a piece
of music that inspired me kind of kick -started
my musical interest probably because of the vocals
and because of the production it's a it's an
incredible record and I must listen to it actually
to remind myself what's good about it. But all
I know is it completely, I was entranced by it.
So probably if there was one, it would be that.
I thought you were going to ask me if there was
one of Mark's. I'll assume you did ask me that.
And I would say Telegraph Road because it's a
journey. And it was always a journey to perform
live. And it was always a journey to mix. And
it was always a journey to anything to do with
that song was just a lovely, unique. I can't
believe it was a single as well. It came out
as a single, the longest single in history. I'm
still going home. Produced by Phil Spector with
his unmistakable wall of sound approach shining
through on this track, the song reached number
one on the US Billboard Hot 100, Canada Top Singles,
and UK Singles Chart. The song's been covered
by everyone from the Beach Boys to Diane Warwick
to Hall & Oates and then some. Guy was such an
incredible guest. He joined me for a song dive
into Mark Knopfler's Guitar Heroes Going Home,
a song that guy recorded in aid of Teenage Cancer
Trust and Teen Cancer America. And the track
features over 60 musical legends, including David
Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, who was just
on earlier, Brian May, Sting. buddy guy. I mean,
this list is insane. We also dive into some fun
Dire Straits stories as well and his work with
Weird Al Yankovic on Al's parody of Money for
Nothing, which you might recall from UHF as Beverly
Hillbillies. And if you didn't know this, both
Guy and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits performed
on that parody version. It was part of the reason
why they allowed it to happen. But Coming out
of You've Lost That Love and Feeling, I'm going
to keep this mellower side moving along as blues
legend Walter Trout picks his choice for the
ultimate mixtape. Well, this is probably going
to shock you, but I would probably choose Alfie
by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Wow. Because
not only is the melody spectacular, but the lyrics
of that song, if I could sum up what I would
like to say. about life it's summed up in that
lyrics something even non -believers can believe
in that lyrically that song is um is just perfect
that song i i can't even think about it without
i'm tearing up Written by Burt Bacharach and
Hal David for the 1966 film Alfie, the song was
both a hit for Celia Black in the UK and Diane
Warwick here in the US. The song reached number
15 on the Billboard US Hot 100, number 5 on the
Billboard R &B Singles Chart, and number 10 on
the Canadian Singles Chart, and has also been
covered by Cher, whose version hit number 32
on the Billboard US Hot 100 and number 36 in
Canada. Walter was an amazing guest on episode
60, the Ultimate Walter Trout playlist, where
we talked about songs from throughout his career
and did an album dive into his latest release,
as of this recording at least, that being 2024's
Broken. But now I have to close out side A of
the Ultimate Mixtape Volume 3. And I think it'd
be safe to say that we're closing out a side
that's jam -packed full of emotion. So I couldn't
think of a better way to close outside A than
with this pick from Bobby Schultz of FN Cultured.
Hey, Brian, if I had to pick one song for the
ultimate playlist, I would choose the impossible
dream performed by Brian Stokes Mitchell on the
Broadway cast recording of the 2002 revival of
Man of La Mancha. This was a difficult question
for me, man. I love so much music from crooners
to new metal to country rap and beyond. but I
had to make sure a song from a truly American
art form made it into this playlist. One of the
greatest ballads to ever be written for the stage,
it's been performed by Jack Jones, Frank Sinatra,
Jim Neighbors as Gomer Pyle, The Temptations,
Robert Cooley, Andy Williams, Cher, Roberta Flack,
Placido Domingo, hell, even John Cleese sang
it on The Muppet Show. No one has sung it like
Brian Stokes Mitchell. When he was on stage and
sang this song, the show would come to a screeching
halt because of the five -minute standing ovation
he would get when he was done. Every day during
the darkest times of the COVID pandemic, Mitchell
would stand out on his balcony in New York City
and sing this song during the shift changes at
the hospitals for the nurses and medical workers
in the city. This song was a gift sung out to
the heroes of the early days of the pandemic,
and I have to believe its lyrics struck a chord
to the hopeless. To dream the impossible dream,
to fight the unbeatable foe, to bear with unbearable
sorrow, to run where the brave dare not go, to
right the unrightable wrong, to love pure and
chaste from afar, to try when your arms are too
weary, to reach the unreachable star. It's a
gorgeous song, one of the best Broadway songs
ever written, and should definitely be included
in this list. From the 2002 cast recording of
Man of La Mancha, I was actually waiting to see
if we got a Broadway song in the mix tonight
because I feel like even through 50 songs now,
there are some genres we haven't touched on yet.
So I'm glad to see this finally get represented
because Bobby couldn't have picked a more powerful,
emotional song to do that. Bobby was a guest
on episode 24, the ultimate summer cookout and
barbecue playlist with a twist. And he is keeping
the laughs going over on FN Cultured. So be sure
to check out what he and the boys have going
on over there. Just keep in mind when you tune
in, that show is absolutely positively not safe
for work. So don't say I didn't warn you. But
there you have it, folks. Side A of the ultimate
mixtape volume three. which consists of Alicia
Keys' Fallen, provided by Carrie Cunningham,
B .B. King's The Thrill Is Gone, provided by
Joe Bonamassa, Jeff Buckley's Lover You Shoulda
Come Over, provided by Todd Parkmore of Big Head
Todd and the Monsters, Mayor Horthon's Her Favorite
Song, provided by Jessica Katina of Music Notes
with Jess, Sade's Ordinary Love, provided by
Desmond Child, Whitney Houston's I Will Always
Love You, provided by Nick Nespagiani of Yacht
Rock Review, The Beach Boys' Don't Worry Baby,
provided by Peter Olsen of Yacht Rock Review.
The Righteous Brothers' You've Lost That Love
and Feeling, provided by Guy Fletcher of Dire
Straits. Burt Bacharach with Hal David and Diane
Warwick's Alfie, provided by Walter Trout. And
Brian Stokes' Mitchell, The Impossible Dream,
provided by Bobby Schultz of FN Cultured. Head
over to myweeklymixtape .com to hear all the
songs we've discussed in this mix. through the
playlist embedded on the episode page. And now,
Mixtapers, we're finally here. Three episodes
in one week, three volumes of the Ultimate Mixtape,
65 songs, and we're finally down to the last
supersized side, as Side B will be the grand
finale, as it has 15 songs. So let's not waste
any more time here, and let's hear from Ed Toth
of the Doobie Brothers, as he provides his choice.
How do you even answer that question? I mean,
I'm the type of guy that's probably like a lot
of people in that it depends on the day. It depends
on the day. And I listen to such a varied amount
of music, a lot of which is instrumental. So
there wouldn't particularly be a vocal message
in any of it. But can I do this to you? Can I
just throw out a bunch? Let's say if you had
to pick one just for today, the day we're recording,
what would today's time capsule song be? Well,
you're asking me that question right now. And
my answer to that question would have to be First
Circle by the Paschini Group. Instrumental, hints
of jazz. I think it is such a beautiful song
and a beautiful composition that it's undeniable
in terms of representing all. That is positive
about humanity on this planet. From 1984's First
Circle, an album which won a Grammy Award for
Best Jazz Fusion Performance, we're checking
off another genre in this mix coming out of the
Broadway choice that closed out Side A. So I'm
glad to see that jazz box finally checked off.
And Pat Metheny is a great way to do it because
you get a little bit of that fusion and maybe
prog rock side of some of the songs that I discussed
over these last three episodes. Now, you might
be thinking to yourself, Ed Toth, the Doobie
Brothers. Brian, he hasn't been a guest on the
show. And you're right. At least until Monday,
because, spoiler alert, this Monday, episode
103, the ultimate Doobie Brothers playlist drops,
and it features an interview with... Ed Toth,
who went on from playing with Vertical Horizon
during their Everything You Want and Go album
cycles to becoming the drummer for the Doobie
Brothers for the last two decades. This is an
extremely in -depth and fun conversation. And
if you're a fan of the Doobies, you don't want
to miss this one. So stay tuned Monday for that.
I don't do teases on this show very often, but
this week, apparently, it's just a week full
of teasing. So coming Monday, the ultimate Doobie
Brothers playlist. Now we've had Broadway and
jazz fusion, let's keep stirring the pot with
some one -off genres now and go with this international
choice from the incredible Wolfgang Valbrun.
That's a good question. What is the song that
I would choose? So I think the artist is Jacques
Brel, so it's a French singer. And the song is
Ne Me Quitte Pas. So in English, that's Don't
Leave Me. And I think it's one of the most beautiful
songs because it's not sang, it's lived. His
investment in the delivery, the words in themselves
are timeless. And they touch me every time that
I hear it. So that would be my song. Now I'll
be honest. I had not heard this song before sitting
down with Wolfgang for his interview where we
dove into his Flawed by Design album. And I'm
so glad we did because this song is everything
Wolfgang says about it. It's power, it's emotion,
and it's beauty. I can't speak a single word
in French, but I felt that performance. So thank
you, Wolfgang. And Broadway, check. Jazz Fusion,
check. International, check. Classical? No check,
at least not until now with this pick from Jax
Hollow. I have to say there is the song called,
and I'm going to butcher it, Gnosian. Number
one, it's French, but it is gorgeous and haunting
and it should be played forever and always. Two
songs in a row, I had not heard this song before
hearing Jax answer and... Once again, I'm extremely
glad I did because this opened up a whole new
rabbit hole for me musically. What an amazing,
haunting, and even storytelling song, even though
there are no lyrics. Just paints a musical picture.
Jax was an incredible guest on episode 55, the
ultimate modern blues rock playlist, where we
also did a dive into her Only the Wild Ones album.
So be sure to check that out. And now before
we head back towards the rock side of the spectrum,
we have one more of these musical outliers, the
one offs, if you will. And I couldn't think of
a better way to close out this section of the
mixtape than with this choice by Patreon mixtaper
Philip Bergman. Well, Brian, a lot of people
have been submitting their favorite tunes for
the ultimate mixtape, but I'm not going to do
that. Oh, no, I'm going to go a little bit different
here. This is a song I do love. Don't get me
wrong. I wouldn't give you a song I don't. but
it's not my all -time favorite. I am going to
give you, as a submission for the Ultimate Mixtape,
In the Evening by the Moonlight by the Hayden
Quartet from 1908. Theodore Roosevelt was president,
but was endorsing William Howard Taft to succeed
him. This is before World War I. This is before
network radio. I think this might even predate.
vinyl records. It's a very old song, but I have
a few good reasons for this. First of all, someone
needs to be the troll that recommends pre -World
War I barbershop quartet music. It might as well
be me, right? But on top of that, I really would
like to have a great variety in this mixtape.
Ideally, this ultimate mixtape should include
Music from all over the world, all over the eras.
So Gregorian chants, Japanese opera, Afrobeat,
country, salsa. Just everything you can think
of. And I'm choosing to include a little barbershop
with it. So there's that. But most importantly,
if you listen to the lyrics, from what you can
make out, there is really a great theme in this
song, a great message. When you listen to the
lyrics and the story in the song, this is about
the value that music holds for people. It's a
story about a poor family, maybe not dirt poor,
but relatively low income family that is living
a hardscrabble life, doesn't have a whole lot
of time for fun. And when they do have recreational
time, they choose to make music. And music has
such a high value in their lives that the fiddle
hangs upon the wall because, again, as a lower
income family, they couldn't afford an instrument
case. Back then, instrument cases were for the
rich only. So they didn't have an instrument
case, but they treated that fiddle with such
care and they chose to spend their little recreational
time making music, listening to music. and just
enjoying music, letting it unite them as a family
and as a community, really. And I think that's
pretty much what my weekly mixtape is all about.
Good Lord, Philip. I honestly thought you were
going to go with like a Weird Al song or something,
as Philip was my guest for episode 56, the Ultimate
Weird Al Yankovic playlist. But alas, he didn't.
However, I'm pretty damn proud of myself because...
I think this smorgasbord of genre section is
the perfect way to include a song choice like
this in an unironic fashion. I love the story
behind the track and the fact that it's streaming.
So bravo on the details there. Philip has been
such a huge supporter of all the podcasts I've
been a part of, dating all the way back to the
Toon Styles days. I mean, the board shorts joke
that runs through my weekly mixtape is actually
a throwback. to Jay Sweet talking about his 90s
board shorts obsession on several episodes of
the show. And it's somehow transcended over to
My Weekly Mixtape. But if you're on the My Weekly
Mixtape Patreon with Philip and the rest of the
mixtapers over at patreon .com forward slash
My Weekly Mixtape, I started uploading some of
ToonStyle's back catalog as it's not available
anywhere else. So I'm starting to post episodes
over there as some extra bonus content for those
of you that haven't heard it before. Now, while
I'm really proud of myself for working Philip's
pick in with kind of relative ease, maybe, maybe
not, depending on how you're listening to this,
it's a lot frigging harder to come out of. So
thanks for this curveball, Philip. This is tough.
But instead of jumping back into modern rock,
I think I'm going to take this little musical
time machine from classical. to pre -World War
I barbershop quartet music, to maybe the halfway
point. And let's go back to 1963 as Friends of
the Show Jimmy Mitchell provides his choice for
the ultimate mixtape. I'm just thinking Remember
Then by The Earls. Remember, remember. And it's
just the harmony. I saw it first on the Sha Na
Na TV show. And then I heard it by the Earls
on WCBS FM 101. And I was working in the Denny's
restaurants change. I was bouncing between Newberg,
Poughkeepsie, and Nanuet. And the Earls were
playing. And a friend of mine at one of the other
restaurants in the area, he was into this music
as I was. And the Earls would play on Sunday
nights in Nanuet, where I was from. And then
on Thursday nights in Poughkeepsie. And the night
that I thought I had the night off and I was
going to get to join them to go see the Earls.
And I was told I got to go down to Spring Valley,
Nanuet and work that restaurant. And I never
got to see these guys play. And they played all
around me for months. And he passed away recently.
But that would be my song. Remember Then by the
Earls. The single reached number 24 on the Billboard
U .S. Hot 100, and for you movie buffs out there,
you might recognize the song as it was featured
in A Bronx Tale. Jimmy was an incredible guest,
along with Jay Sweet. He was good, too. I mean,
obviously. On episode 93, the ultimate golden
oldies and doo -wop of the 50s and 60s playlist,
Volume 2. So if you want to get a really in -depth
discussion about the oldies, with me being quote
-unquote Mr. Movie Man for once in my podcasting
history, be sure to check that one out. I'm sure
there's a volume three coming down the pike,
so stay tuned for that one. And coming out of
Remember Then, we've got this choice from Sonny
Gulledge. Ooh, that hard one. Oh, gosh. Any one
of these three, I'm sorry. I can't do it. I can't
do it because there are sides of me that are
all just as important. The biggest and most important
side, though, to me, I'll always say I'm a Christian
first. And I'll say one of the songs that got
me through a lot was I Can Only Imagine by Mercy
Me. That would probably be one of the big ones.
Then Louisiana 1927 by Randy Newman. Great song.
You know, especially being a Katrina kid, that
really hits home. And last but definitely not
least, Freedom for the Stallion by Alan Toussaint.
That is a song that can, in writing Word About
the Young, that's part of what I was trying to
accomplish. It's having that same energy that
I had for freedom, that I had hearing Freedom
for the Stallion, where it's saying, hey, this
is what life is like. Let's look at it and let's
just say we need help. Say that we need something.
One of the key lines for that one is, and it
was written so long ago, but before any of the
stuff that happened in modern times. But the
third verse said, they got men building walls,
keeping other men out. Ignore him when he whispers,
but kill him when he shouts. Oh, Lord, you got
to help us to find a way. And that right there,
think about that being written so long ago. I
think possibly 2007 or earlier. I think that
song hit home in a way that was so ridiculous
because the first time I heard it was in 2019.
And, you know, there was a big temperament difference
in our political world, our actual between. 2007
and 2019. So to have that much time in between
and have a song that was still relevant. Honestly,
that might be if I had to pick one of the three,
I'd say I can only imagine. But if I had to say
what would other people because I'm not going
to be the one. Freedom for the Stallion is definitely
probably going to be the one. Written by Alan
Toussaint and originally recorded by Lee Dorsey,
Sonny is going with Alan's songbook version for
the mixtape. And the song that Sonny references,
Worried About the Young, is actually one of his
songs from his album, Go Be Free, which you can
find the full album dive over at myweeklymixtape
.com or check out his album on all the streaming
platforms. Sonny was such a fun musical discussion.
And if you aren't familiar with his music, you
gotta remedy that because he has this gospel
meets soul meets swamp rock sound, and it's absolutely
infectious. But now here we are, starting to
see the light at the end of this three -episode
mixtape tunnel, but there's still some massive
tunes I've yet to get to, so let's remedy that,
shall we? Starting with this pick from fellow
Pantheon Podcast Network mate Jesse Jackson of
Setlusting Bruce. That is a darn fine question,
Brian. I have a lot of musical artists that I
admire. If I had to go, top four would be Bruce
Springsteen, John Hyatt, The Beach Boys, specifically
Brian Wilson, and Jason Isbell. So the question
would be, if I was going to do a... Bruce Springsteen
song, what would it be? You could pick Thunder
Road, Born to Run, Better Days, but push comes
to shove the Bruce Springsteen live on Broadway
where he does Dancing in the Dark, turning into
Land of Hope and Dream. That's one recording
if I was going to do Bruce, but I'm not. John
Hyatt, you've got to have a little faith in me.
Even though that's not my favorite John Hyatt
song, it is iconic, and what a great song to
share with your generations. But I'm not going
to pick John Hyatt. If it was going to be Jason
Isbell, once again, a lot of great songs. You
could pick Cover Me Up. But I'd probably pick
Elephant, because it's such a powerful song that...
Catches you by surprise. But I'm not going to
pick Jason Isbell. So that leaves the Beach Boys
or Brian Wilson. Everything from Fun Fun Fun
to California Girls to Love and Mercy. But if
I had to pick a Brian Wilson song, I would pick
God Only Knows. Paul McCartney once said that
God Only Knows was the most beautiful song. he
had ever heard. The magic of the chorus, the
complexity of the lyrics. I may not always love
you, but as long as there are stars above you,
you never need to doubt it. I'll make you so
sure about it. God only knows what I'd be without
you. It is just a absolutely beautiful pop song.
that is so complex in its simplicity. So thank
you, Brian, for being patient while I went through
all my thought processes. And I wanted to give
at least a little shout out to some of the songs
I won't get back. But God only knows the Beach
Boys' final answer. From 1966's Pet Sounds, the
song reached number 39 on the Billboard US Hot
100, number six in Canada, Ireland, and Norway,
and number two in the UK. Jesse, like I had mentioned
earlier, is another member of the Pantheon Podcast
Network and a good friend of the show. You could
check out episode 53, the ultimate Bruce Springsteen
playlist, to hear us wax poetic on the boss,
or you could check out set -lusting Bruce for
all things. Bruce and Bruce fandom related. I've
guessed it over there talking about Tom Petty
of all things, but trust me, Jesse makes it all
make sense. Thank you for that opportunity, Jesse.
And before I move on to the next song, I got
to play this clip from Eric Senich of the Van
Halen News Desk and the Booked on Rock podcast.
Well, Brian, my choice for the ultimate mixtape
would be God Only Knows by the Beach Boys. with
the mastermind behind it being Brian Wilson,
who wrote the song with Tony Asher. But make
no mistake, this song is not what it is without
the contributions of the musicians who execute
Brian's vision, and he's even said that. The
beautiful voice of his brother Carl Wilson, the
instrumentation from the Wrecking Crew, from
the intricate orchestrations right down to drummer
Jim Gordon tapping away on plastic orange juice
cups. It is absolutely brilliant. If there were
ever a time capsule song, it's this one. So ahead
of its time, it went unheralded when it was released
in July of 1966. Brian isn't going with the standard
pop song format. It's avant -garde. It repeats
the progression of the verse and refrain, but
transposed up by a fourth only with new vocals
added, multiple vocal parts sung in counterpoint.
He decides to use clip -clop percussion with
sleigh bells on every beat, something you only
hear. in holiday songs. Who thinks of that? And
how does a man who had musicians do take after
take after take for hours on end create a song
that sounds so profoundly emotional as if it
was all recorded on the first take? I didn't
comprehend its brilliance, nor did I feel much
when I first heard it years ago. But within the
last handful of years, the song is one that makes
me smile some days, makes me want to cry others.
100 years from now, this song will be introduced
to somebody's ears. and it will bypass the brain
and head straight for the soul, where it will
remain. If you're hearing this in the year 3024,
play this song, and then make sure you pass it
on to a loved one, because after all, what would
you be without them? The first time a song has
been repeated in 65 songs, it's the Beach Boys'
God Only Knows, and the third song from the Beach
Boys overall, as Peter Olsen of Yacht Rock Review
chimed in earlier with Don't Worry Baby. I simply
can't say enough good things about Eric. He was
my guest on a jam -packed episode 46, The Ultimate
Van Halen Playlist, that also featured Patreon
mixtaper Cactus Pete. And I've been fortunate
enough to be a guest over on the Booked on Rock
podcast, which is an amazing show if you are
looking for some great music -centric books and
great music discussion. Be sure to check it out.
You won't be disappointed. And now that we've
had our first double song pick and triple band
pick of the night, which was the Beach Boys,
plus Rush and Tom Petty have been twofers on
the Ultimate Mixtape, maybe it's time we made
a trifecta of twofers, if any of that makes sense,
as this group was already chosen all the way
back in episode 100 or volume one of this Ultimate
Mixtape. But here's Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big,
Sons of Apollo. Tallis and David Lee Roth to
chime in with his pick for the ultimate mixtape.
I'll go with what I think is one of the greatest
songs ever written by the Beatles. It's called
If I Fell. Wow. To me, the genius of songwriting
and the way those lyrics fall rhythmically, that's
just a technical thing, but what the lyrics mean
on top of the fact that they're placed in perfection,
rhyme, and cadence of these words and what they
mean. If I fell in love with you, would you promise
to be true and help me understand? Because I've
been in love before and I found that love is
more than just holding hands. Wow. Amazing. I
think that's, to me, that's one of my favorite
songs of all time. And it's still emotionally
touching to me. And if we go in the time capsule
and be not heard of for a couple hundred years
and heard again then by that, whoever is populating
the world at that time, I think it would have,
if they spoke English, I think it would have
the same impact again. From 1964's A Hard Day's
Night, the song reached number 53 on the Billboard
US Hot 100, number 38 in Italy, number 25 in
West Germany, number three in the Netherlands,
and number one in Norway. Billy is one of my
absolute favorite bass players of all time, and
I've been fortunate enough to talk music with
him twice. During my weekly mixtapes run first,
all the way back on episode 13, where we talked
about music from throughout his entire career.
And then episode 88, where we focused solely
on the songs of Mr. Big. Two very highly recommended
episodes, as Billy is another fantastic storyteller.
And you'll find a lot of cool stories in both
episodes. But in episode 88, he tells the stories
with bass in hand. All right. So we just had
Billy talk about one of his favorite songs of
all time. So I think we're going to follow up
with a song. That's one of my personal favorite
songs of all time. As Emily Wolf chimes in with
her song choice for the ultimate mixtape. Like
out of the mixtape that we made? No, just any
song. Any song in the history of recorded music.
Widen the boundaries a little bit. Oh my God.
Oh my God. Does it have to be 90s or no? Any
decade. It could be any song, any artist, any
genre. You could do a Weird Al Polka if you want.
Man, the thing that like just I just is really
on the tip of my tongue is Ramble On by Led Zeppelin.
Oh, yes. That's like one of my favorites. Every
time I hear that song, I feel great. And it's
like everything feels awesome. I am on the right
track and I'm just going to keep. moving on and
nothing matters. It's just me and whatever's
in front of me. And it's cool that a song can
do that. My favorite Led Zeppelin song of all
time. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for picking
that one. Yeah. From 1969's Led Zeppelin II,
or just Zeppelin II, as most of us refer to it,
the song reached number 66 on the Billboard Canadian
digital songs sales in 2007. And it was never
released as a single. Try to wrap your mind around
that one. The song was also ranked by Rolling
Stone at number five on their list of the 50
greatest Led Zeppelin songs and number 440 on
their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Emily was my guest on episode 89, the ultimate
female rock playlist, where we had an incredible
conversation that included some obvious choices
as well as some deeper picks as well. So we covered
the full spectrum of 90s female rock in that
one, as well as diving into her most recent release,
The Blowback. But now we've got this classic
rock thing revving up again, coming full circle
from how the ultimate mixtape started all the
way back on episode 100. So let's keep that vibe
going with Patreon mixtaper, David Lee Smith.
Oh my God. That's like the hardest music question
ever. I mean, there are so many fantastic songs
out there and all of history, but now this may
be completely sentimental on my part. I know
we talked about this during the Stevie Ray Vaughan
episode, but this is my favorite song of all
time. Stevie Ray Vaughan, a double troubles version
of voodoo child slave return. Now, nice. Obviously
I could have said the Jimi Hendrix experience
original, because obviously it's his song. Hendrix
is, has his own pedestal in terms of music history
with his entire discography. And the original
is up there with one of the greatest songs of
all time. But. like i said it's sacrilege for
me to prefer that over hendrix but it's the steve
ray vaughan version is my favorite song of all
time and in terms of guitar music as a whole
you can't do any better than that i mean because
the work on there is top -notch in terms of any
guitarists and you know guitar lovers paradise
right there just that whole eight minutes of
it you could say the same thing for the jimmy
hendrix original too but in terms of my guitar
loving paradise. You can't do better than that
right there. There you have it. Stevie Ray Vaughan's
cover of the Jimi Hendrix classic. Anyone who
listened to episode 27, the ultimate Stevie Ray
Vaughan playlist will not be surprised by this
pick as David is a huge, a massive SRV fan. And
we had such a great conversation for that episode,
as well as this other band from Texas. You know
that. Little old band from Texas. Episode 91,
The Ultimate ZZ Top Playlist. David has been
a huge supporter since way back in the Playlist
Wars days, and I always look forward to talking
music with him. And I have a feeling he'll be
back based on feedback, because... We've already
gotten a lot of requests for Azizi Top Volume
2, so I think it's safe to say that's going to
be happening at some point. And David, with that,
also thank you so much for being a part of the
Patreon mixtaper community. And if anybody listening
wants to join, once again, it's patreon .com
forward slash myweeklymixtape. Now from here,
we're going to keep this crescendo building as
friend of the show, Bob Spear gives his choice
for the ultimate mixtape. Hey, Brian. So time
capsule songs, boy, you go through all of history.
What do you pick? You got to pick one to put
into a time capsule for future generations to
enjoy. It's got to be something great, just epic.
And so where have I settled on this? It has to
be a great artist. It has to be a great song
from that artist. And it has to be guaranteed
enjoyed by all future generations. Who better
than Prince and what better song than Purple
Rain? It's heartbreaking. It's epic. Great guitar.
Just great singing. There are no bad things I
can say about Purple Rain as a song. It's on
a banger of an album. It should be up there with
the best of Johann Sebastian Bach. So go ahead,
put Purple Rain on there and apologies to all
the other songs that have to compete with it.
Thank you. From the 1984 soundtrack to Purple
Rain, the song reached number two on the Billboard
US Hot 100, number three in Canada and Australia,
number six on the UK singles chart, and topped
the charts in Belgium, France, the Netherlands,
Finland, and Scotland. I can't talk about this
song and not think about Prince's Super Bowl
halftime performance, as that was arguably the
best halftime performance of all time. Although
for me, it's going to be Tom Petty because I
was... there in person, but I understand why
pretty much everyone else will say Prince, and
there's a part of me that completely agrees with
that as well. But Prince now joins Rush, the
Beatles, Tom Petty, and the Beach Boys for multiple
Ultimate Mixtape Time Capsule submissions, and
I'd say that's rightfully so. Bob, I appreciate
all you've done for the show as well as for me
and the family. And I am grateful, so grateful
to have you in my life. So thank you for your
chime in on that. But dude, Purple Rain, it's
a big song to follow up, man. And I guess I'm
going to have to keep this going at this pace
because we're getting towards the end of the
road here. So what better way to do that than
with this pick from fellow Pantheon Podcast Network
mate Jason Whistle of It's Not That Bad and There
Can Only Be One. You would not believe how much
I've agonized over this, like going through so
many different genres and milieus and feels and
songs that you'd want to hear live, songs that
you want to just chill out to, like whatever
the case. But I finally settled on one that is
not only representative of one of the best voices
in music of our generation and of pretty much
many generations, but also one that's going to
raise the hair. on your arms and on the back
of your neck. And maybe one of those ones that's,
you know, maybe stuck in the middle of the mixtape
or maybe you close out your mixtape. But we're
going to go with Queens. The show must go on
because first of all, you cannot have the mother
of all mixtapes without Queen represented. That
is a crime against humanity if you don't put
a Queen song on this mixtape. Now, most people
would sit there and say, well, of course, you'd
put We Will Rock You on there or put We Are The
Champions or put the two because they kind of
get mashed together no matter what. But to me,
The Show Must Go On is the perfect curtain call
for this band. And yes, I recognize that they
released a posthumous album, Made in Heaven,
after Innuendo was released. But The Show Must
Go On feels like the way. Freddie Mercury almost
needed to say goodbye. And there's something
about this song. It's a great mid -tempo song.
So it's not going to cause you to get a speeding
ticket. It's not going to cause you to crash
the car because you're just going so crazy. But
it is one you're going to sing along with in
the car. You won't be able to hit those notes
because Freddie Mercury was just an insanely
human talent. Otherworldly. Otherworldly, his
voice was. But Queen needs to be on this and
the show must go on. If you think about the Freddie
Mercury tribute concert, Elton John on stage,
Tony Iommi joining the band on guitar, like this
was such a moment, such a moment. And if you
ever want to just bask in all that was Freddie
Mercury's voice, even in the end, this song still
showed just how much power he had. The show must
go on, needs to be. on this mixtape from 1991's
innuendo the song reached number 40 on the u
.s mainstream rock charts number 16 in the uk
number 75 in australia number seven in germany
and number two in france what else needs to be
said about this masterpiece and jason what else
can i say about you from the moment i brought
this show idea up to you you chimed in with hey
man let's hop online and record a pilot so that
way you could see how it sounds and that pilot
became episode one, the ultimate opening guitar
riffs playlist. And since then, you've been on
the show a staggering nine times. Well, 10, if
you count this clip I just played to you. And
I am grateful for every single one of them. Always
a pleasure talking music with you, whether it's
over here on my weekly mixtape or over on your
shows, it's not that bad. And there can only
be one. But here we go. Prince, Purple Rain,
Queen, the show must go on. I need to find the
musical trifecta to close off these two. And
the way I think I can do that is via another
Pantheon podcast network, mate, that being Mac
of the Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock
Podcast's choice for the ultimate mixtape. So
for my buddy Brian at My Weekly Mixtape, I appreciate
you putting together this ultimate mixtape. And
when you ask me to come up with one song that
I like to include, that's a monumental task.
There's so many songs that I love that as soon
as they come on, the music goes straight up and
I'm instantly in a better mood or transported
to another place. And it could be a lot of things.
What if you're down and everything she does is
magic comes on by the police? I guarantee you're
hopping around and happy after that. What if
you're feeling mellow driving down the road on
a rainy day? And have you ever... Seen the Rain
by Creedence Clearwater comes on. That's amazing,
right? I have probably a dozen songs that I could
choose from, and narrowing it down to one is
hard. And at the end of the day, I came up with
two epics, which may be the two best songs of
two amazing bands. One is Sultans of Swing by
Dire Straits. One is Comfortably Numb by Pink
Floyd. Little bit different vibe on each of them,
certainly different bands, but both have incredible
guitarists in Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and
David Gilmour of Pink Floyd. And they're both
lead singers to boot. Now, Sultan's A Swing is
fantastic. And I think the best version that
they ever did was the live version on Alchemy,
which stretches out more than 10 minutes long,
where they jam away and they bring it down for
a little while and then they build it back up.
And I thought that would be a great one to add
to the mixtape. Because you need that song in
there somewhere that's like, it's fun, it's rocking,
and then we kind of bring it down. Bring it down
a little bit, and then it builds back up to this
big jam at the end. But I think at the end of
the day, I have to go with Comfortably Numb.
The emotion that David Gilmour can pull out of
every note, especially with that end solo, is
extraordinary. It's extraordinary. I've seen
him do it live, and it can bring a tear to your
eye. It can bring all the emotion out of you,
no matter where you are. Even if you don't speak
English, you can feel it through Comfortably
Numb. So it's a tough task that you're asking
for here, Brian. But if you ask me straight up,
gun to my head, give me one song for a mixtape
that epitomizes what you love about rock and
roll or your favorite song, I'm going to go with
Comfortably Numb. And if you ask me again next
week, it'll change. But that's what I'm going
with, and I appreciate you letting me be a part
of this. And as we always say to close our show,
Brian, you keep doing what you do to keep rock
alive. From 1979's The Wall, deemed one of the
greatest guitar solos of all time by, well...
A lot of people. In 2017, Billboard and Pace
both ranked the song number four on their lists
of the greatest Pink Floyd songs ever, and Rolling
Stone ranked it number 179 on their list of the
500 greatest songs of all time. The song was
covered by the Scissor Sisters in 2004, where
it became a number one hit on the UK dance charts.
And in 2024, Body Count, the metal band featuring
Ice -T, covered the track with David Gilmour
on guitar, who lamented after the release that
Body Count made the song relevant again. I'd
kind of argue with that one because I don't think
the song's ever not been relevant, but I'll always
default to Mr. Gilmour on that one. I personally
was lucky to guest on The Ugly American Werewolf
in London to talk about one of my favorite concert
experiences, which was seeing Blues Traveler
at the Roseland Ballroom in December of 2001,
a few months post -9 -11. It was a great discussion,
some fun moments, some powerful moments, and
I look forward to repaying Mac by bringing him
on to my weekly mixtape for a future episode
later this year. But now that we've had a trifecta
of Purple Rain, The Show Must Go On, and Comfortably
Numb, I don't think we could really get any bigger
than that. But there's still two songs left to
go on the Ultimate Mixtape. And that first pick
comes from me, because dammit, we've gotten this
far, and I can't close this time capsule up without
including at least one song in the mix. The hell
would I be doing this whole show for? But anyway,
for my pick, I am going to go with... I think
you guys know, but you're wrong. I am going to
go with Van Morrison's Into the Mystic. Now I'm
going to pause for a second as some of you pick
your jaws up off the ground, but stay tuned for
that. Stay tuned. From 1970s Moondance, the song
was not released as a single, which I consider
shocking, but Rolling Stone ranks it number 474
on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all
time, and Ultimate Classic Rock ranks it as Van
Morrison's greatest song, saying that its style
and grace turned it into an instant classic.
There's been covers by everyone from The Wallflowers,
which was in American Wedding, to Joe Cocker,
to Zac Brown Band, but as much as I love all
three of those, None of them hold the power and
spellbinding nature that Van's original brings.
And yes, there was an episode, the ultimate spellbinding
songs playlist. So maybe that song made that
episode. Maybe it didn't. You'll have to go back
and find out. But let's be honest. There simply
was no way for me to up the ante from that last
trio of songs. But you have to land this plane
somehow. And after that explosion of epic proportions,
we needed something that was just as powerful,
but... Kind of taking us home, so to speak. And
that song does just that. The encore, if you
will. So that will be my pick for the ultimate
mixtape. But now some of you out there listening
are saying, Brian, come on, man. We know quite
well that Rainbow Connection is your favorite
song of all time. How the hell did you not include
that as your pick for the ultimate mixtape? Well,
to answer that, here's the final song choice
of the evening from musician and good friends
of the show. Sean Faust. Well, there's no fire
in the fireplace. There's no carpet on the floor.
Don't try to order dinner. There's no kitchen
anymore. So if you don't like friendly animals
and can learn to stand the smell, well, welcome
home to Happiness Hotel. Sean, if you had to
contribute one song to the ultimate mixtape,
which song would you choose and why? Ooh, one
song. And this is my one song from the ultimate
mixtape. Dude, and I'm pretty sure you're going
to agree with me. It's the greatest song ever
written by Mr. Paul Williams, performed by Mr.
Kermit T. Frog. It is The Rainbow Connection.
Is this the 80s slow clap? Life is a movie, write
your own ending. Dude, of course. And I'll get
into my reason, but why did you pick it? Because
it's my favorite song ever written. It's as simple
as that. There is no deeper meaning besides the
fact that every time I hear this song, I am just
filled with the spirit of this song. Thank you.
What else needs to be said about this incredible
song? It is the most beautiful song ever written.
This song means so much to me. The lyrics are
poignant and beautiful and wonderful. So yeah,
bravo on the pick. And you're right, dude. It
is one of the greatest. It is. For me, at least,
the greatest song ever written. Amen. I think
people already know where I stand with this song.
So I'll just say thank you, Sean, for scooping
me on this one. So I was able to. Throw people
for a loop and slide in that Van Morrison pic
just before. Sean has been a guest on episodes
16 and 38, the ultimate 80s and some 90s power
ballads playlist volumes one and two, as well
as episode 77, the ultimate musical trios playlist
with Jason Whistle, who we just talked about
earlier. But be sure to keep up with all that
Sean has going on in his music and his live shows.
I try to share a lot of his stuff on social media.
But if you're in the tri -state area, be sure
to catch one of his shows and fret not because
I am working with Sean on his next appearance
on the show. So he'll be back very, very soon.
But I can't just leave. The Rainbow Connection
to just what Sean and I said there. Because there's
much more to this song for me. It is my favorite
song of all time, like I was talking with Sean
about. But just a few episodes ago, I had the
chance to have the Rainbow Connection songwriter,
Paul Williams, on the show to discuss this, the
entire Muppet movie soundtrack, and Emmett Otter's
Jug Band Christmas. And I feel like we need to
go just a little bit deeper into this song because
this is the exclamation point at the end of the
ultimate mixtape. So here is part of my conversation
with Paul Williams, the writer of The Rainbow
Connection. When you sit down to work with the
market performers and under the leadership of
Jim, you're stepping into a world that it's impossible
not to just. Take big breaths and go, how did
I get here? Oh, my God, how did I get here? And
in my case, I was awash with gratitude. And to
be working with Kenny, and it's interesting,
you know, the classic case of two guys that are
really right for something. Writing something
is easy to sell. What a lot of people don't know
about is those two guys sitting down and writing,
for example, the first verse of a song like Rainbow
Connection, where you just write something where
at the end of those first couple lines, you look
at each other and you go, eek, what have we done?
Think about it. Why are there so many songs about
rainbows? And what's on the other side? Rainbows
are visions, but only illusions. Rainbows have
nothing to hide. And we looked at each other
and went, oh, crap, wait a minute. Oh, now we've
done it. Look what we did. We just denied the
existence of any magic, any mystical anything
other than just an illusion, you know, to rainbows.
But what happened then is a pure gift from...
the muse or the big amigo or the universe or
what, but what happens next is Kermit sits in
the next line, walks away from the podium in
a sense, stops being the teacher or the mentor,
and he sings, so we've been told and some choose
to believe it. I know the wrong way to see. Someday
we'll find it. The rainbow connection, the lovers,
the dreamers, and me. What happens in that moment?
is he truly becomes a member of the audience
and we're sitting there and now they're telling
us it's just illusions but we will you know and
later on in the song you know who said that every
wish would be heard and answered when wished
on the morning star somebody thought of that
and someone believed it look what it's done so
far there is uh elements of a faith in there
that is very personal to me i believe that what
we dwell on We create. If I keep thinking, I'm
not going to get that job, I'm not going to get
that job, why should I bother? I'm not going
to get that job. It's like I'm absolutely giving
the universe my plans for this immediate future
as opposed to, wow, what's coming next? Oh, that
would be a great job. But if I don't get that,
whatever I do get is probably going to be better.
That mindset, I think, has a solid influence
on maybe in a co -creator. In my future, it's
almost like delivering your list. You pull up
to the window at a fast food place and let them
know what you want, and they give it to you.
I'm not suggesting that I am turning the universe
into a fast food window. What I'm saying is that
our intention speaks louder than we do sometimes.
And so that amazing moment in writing, Rainbow
Connection with Kenny is something that I look
back on and I go, you know what? I don't know
who else's names to put on the sheet music, but
it feels like there's a lot of energy and a lot
of brilliance hovering overhead sometimes when
you're sitting there and you're like, what am
I going to write? So you postpone it, but you
don't get to it right away. And then... When
you finally, it's like trying to remember a name.
It pops into your head. It pours out of you.
It's a really long answer. I hope that it was
somewhere close to the question you asked. Are
you kidding me? I mean, look, I have to kind
of do an aside here because I started podcasting
in 2017. And my co -host, Jay Sweet, and I had
a show for several years called Tune Styles.
And the whole time when we were building that
show and getting our feet under us and getting
this podcast thing going. I kept saying, I want
to talk to the people whose music meant something
to me. And I created a list of people that I
wanted to talk to at some point in life. And
at the top of that list was Paul Williams because
of Rainbow Connection. This is the song that
I danced with my mom to when I was still in preschool.
She would put the record on because it was my
album. The Muppet movie was one of the first
albums my parents bought me. And I remember vividly
walking over and dancing with her to that song,
to the whole soundtrack. But Rainbow Connection
was the one that always resonated most with us.
So fast forward many years down the road. And
in 2005, my wife and I got married. And my mom
said, whatever you do, if you play Kermit the
Frog for our mother -son dance, I'll never be
able to make it through. And I said, don't worry,
Ma. I promise you Kermit the Frog will not start.
our mother -son dance. And I was very honest
about that because what I did was being an audio
engineer is I took Kenny Loggins' version of
the Rainbow Connection and I played the first
few lines of the song. And she whispered in my
ear and she says, okay, very good, Brian. She
goes, because if I heard Kermit, I would have
lost it. Right at the end of the half of the
verse that you talked about where it went into
Kermit walking away from the podium. I actually
crossfaded the two songs and had Kermit finish
the song. And I'm literally, I'm welling up right
now talking about it because this song just means
so much to me and so much to my mom. And she's
still here. She's going to listen to this episode.
And I really don't have an end to that. But this
interview means so much to me. Let me tell you,
that's what I call a heart payment. You know,
because it's like when I hear a story like that
about you and your mom and then the fact that
it was a part of your wedding and all that means
I was there in some way. I mean, what a gift
to return to me to share that. So on behalf of
Kenny Asher and I and on behalf of Kermit, thanks
for the invitation. Thanks for taking us to the
party. And thanks for letting me see your heart,
you know, because. That's all about heart. My
minister gets very, very passionate and touched
by things when he's speaking. His name is Jim
Terrell. And every now and then he gets that
thing in his throat where he just can't make
a sound. It's like, and he'll wait until he can
actually get it out. And he always says, God's
punctuation. So that little thing in your throat,
when you're touched and all of a sudden your
throat tightens up and you can't speak, that's
evidence of a big, big open heart. And maybe
it's God's punctuation. I refer to the big amigo
as the big amigo because it's a very friendly
presence. I'm 34 years sober, so part of us getting
sober is finding a higher power. of our own understanding.
And I always said, I don't understand my higher
power, but I don't understand electricity either,
but I use it. It lights up my life and the same
thing with my faith. So thanks for sharing that.
That's a big deal to me. And with that, the exclamation
point of The Ultimate Mixtape, Volume 3. which
consists of the Pat Metheny Group, The First
Circle, provided by Ed Toth of the Doobie Brothers,
Jacques Brel, Ne Me Quitte Pas, provided by Wolfgang
Valbrun, apologies if I butchered that pronunciation,
did my best, Eric Satie's Gnosien No. 1, provided
by Jack's Hollow, Hayden Quartet, In the Evening
by The Moonlight, provided by Patreon mixtaper
Philip Bergman, The Earls Remember Then, provided
by friends of the show Jimmy Mitchell, Alan Toussaint,
Freedom for the Stallion, provided by Kevin Sonny
Gulledge. Beach Boys, God Only Knows, provided
by Jesse Jackson of Setlusting Bruce and Eric
Senech of the Van Halen News Desk and Booked
on Rock podcast. The Beatles, If I Fell, provided
by Billy Sheehan of Mr. Big. Led Zeppelin's Ramble
On, provided by Emily Wolfe. Stevie Ray Vaughan's
Voodoo Child, provided by Patreon mixtaper David
Lee Smith. Princess Purple Rain, provided by
Friends of the Show, Bob Spear. Queen's The Show
Must Go On, provided by Jason Whistle of It's
Not That Bad and There Can Only Be One. Pink
Floyd's Comfortably Numb, provided by Mac of
the Ugly American Werewolf in London Rock Podcast.
Van Morrison's Into the Mystic, provided by Yours
Truly. and Paul Williams' Rainbow Connection
provided by Sean Faust. Head over to myweeklymixtape
.com to hear all the songs we've discussed in
this mix through the playlist embedded on the
episode page. And if you have a song that you
would like to add to the Ultimate Mixtape, I'd
love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out
to me at myweeklymixtape at gmail .com or via
social media, where you can find me on almost
all the social media haunts at myweeklymixtape.
Now, I hope you've enjoyed this ridiculously
fun experiment that I've unrolled over the last
three episodes this week. And believe it or not,
I already have the next edition of The Ultimate
Mixtape underway over at patreon .com forward
slash my weekly mixtape, because believe it or
not. Episode 150 will be here before you know
it. Hell, Monday is episode 103. And like I said
before, what an episode it is. Ed Toth of the
Doobie Brothers joins us for an in -depth one
-on -one that takes us through his years with
Vertical Horizon into his two -decade run behind
the drums for the legendary Doobie Brothers.
You don't want to miss that one. And also remember,
you can head to myweeklymixtape .com to check
out the full catalog. all 100 plus episodes of
My Weekly Mixtape. And if you like what you're
hearing on the show, you can help me out by either
telling a friend, leaving the show a five -star
review wherever you're tuning in, or becoming
a Patreon mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash
My Weekly Mixtape. And for the last 100 episodes,
I want to send a sincere, heartfelt thank you
to anyone and everyone who's listened, whether
it was for one episode or all 100. I appreciate
you being the voice that keeps this conversation
going with me on social media and via email and
to the Patreon mixtapers and anyone and everyone
who has supported my weekly mixtape thus far.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And this time,
it's actually true. That's all for this week.
Thank you, as always, for listening. And until
next time, enjoy the tunes.