Welcome to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that
takes the classic mixtape approach to building
a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn,
and here we are, episode 150. Now, for those
of you keeping count, I know back in January
was just episode 100, and no, here we are in
September. I did not put out 50 episodes between
January and September. But when you add in all
of the bonus episodes that I've done over the
course of this show's run, this technically is
the 150th episode of my weekly mixtape. So I'm
really, really stoked about that milestone and
also think it's a perfect opportunity to press
pause on my weekly mixtape for a couple months.
Call it a season break, if you will. The longest
season. probably in podcasting history. If not,
it's got to be up there. I'm sure. And I'm sure
this podcast set have gone on for thousands of
episodes and never taken a break. But as a one
man solo show, realistically going nearly three
years without taking a week off until the weeks
that my father passed away and I took off in
his honor, not missing a week has been. an incredibly
fun streak to keep up but also at the same time
an incredibly stressful one it's one that i put
a ton of work into this show and i hope that
it's something that you the listeners out there
enjoy checking out each and every week i do want
to stress though a lot of times when people say
they're pressing pause on a podcast They say
that's the last you'll ever hear from them. And
if anybody knows me at all since tune styles,
I have not taken much more than a couple of month
break. Without getting my itch to continue podcasting
again, I genuinely just love it so, so much.
However, in the last year with my heart surgery
being just passing the one year anniversary,
as well as losing my father back in May, I think
a little family time is warranted and needed
right now. Kind of let the dust settle a little
bit, get through a couple of those first tough
holidays and then get back to doing what I love
because I know for a fact my father would not
want me to stop what I'm doing here. We've built
weights. I am going to build the ultimate mixtape,
meaning I threw out a question to every guest
that's been on the show. every Patreon mixtaper,
as well as friends of the show and fellow podcasters,
and I asked them a very simple question. What
is the song that either A, made you fall in love
with music for the first time, or B, makes you
fall in love with music over and over again every
single time you hear the song? That opens this
up to a conversation that can go in so many different
directions because when you say the song that
made you fall in love with music, depending on
your age, that song's going to probably be dated
to your childhood. So I wanted to add a little
bit of a nuance in this that maybe there's a
song that you just heard this past week. And
every time you hear it, you're like, oh, my God,
I got to play that thing over and over and over
again because I just can't get enough of it.
This is what I love about music. Those are the
answers we're going for. And like the first time
that I did this exercise, the answers did not
disappoint. Now, what I did once again, because
apparently I'm a sucker for punishment, is I've
tried to order these songs in what would be.
a serviceable, listenable playlist. So that's
where the conversation comes in. You might be
like, why are you putting X after B? Why are
you putting Q next to Z? Let's go and find out,
shall we? But before we do that, if you like
what you're hearing on my weekly mixtape, you
can help me out by either telling a friend about
the show, leaving the show a five -star review
wherever you're tuning in. or by becoming a Patreon
mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape.
There you can find when we're in season, ad -free
episodes of the show, and you can gain early
access to future My Weekly Mixtape episodes,
and you can become a guest curator, drop answers
as you're going to hear from several of the Patreon
mixtapers tonight, so much more. Once again,
patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. So
with that, let's dive into the ultimate mixtape,
the songs that made you fall in love with music.
And first off, we have Jim Laughlin of Moe with
his choice for the ultimate mixtape. Oh, man.
I just had like four songs ripped through my
head. ACDC's Back in Black. Oh. It's a weird
pick, but there's not a day. that I can remember
in my life where I didn't just love music, where
I didn't listen to music, where I didn't, you
know, ever since I was a really, really little
kid. But when a buddy of mine let me borrow his
Back in Black cassette, and then I finally went
out and bought it, that, first of all, that song,
you know, the first time I heard it, I was like,
wow. Like, that just, I don't know, it just hit
me for some reason. and then i use that so i
woke up to that song every day in seventh and
eighth grade like my old alarm clock was a cassette
player and you'd push pause and play at night
and set the alarm and the pause would pop off
when the alarm would go off so every morning
i woke up to you know the and it was the first
song that i when i i was like i want to do this
like I don't want this to just be something I
enjoy and, you know, as part of my life. I want
to actually do this and make music. And that's,
you know, that's what got me started playing
the bass. And it just all kind of trickled out
from there. And it brings me back every time
I hear it. I can't hear that or just that whole
record. Like, I know that record back and forth.
It's just imprinted on my brain. So every time
I hear it, I'm like, yeah, man. One of the greatest
count -ins of a song of all time. Like the count
-in on the hi -hat. As soon as you hear what
Phil Rudd is doing in that song, you immediately
know what's about to happen. Yeah. And it's iconic.
Yeah, it's the only iconic hi -hat part in music.
I mean, if you know it, you know it. You don't
need to hear the second part of it before. You
know when the guitar is going to kick in. You
know when the bass is going to kick in. Just
everything about that song, it just gets to you
every time. A fun fact about Back in Black, when
I was a kid growing up, and I'm going to admit
something here, I'm not ashamed of it. When I
was really, really young, I actually thought
Back in Black started side A of my vinyl album
and thought Hell's Bells was side B. I understand
that the song listing was. hell's bells on side
a and back in black and side b but because i
loved back in black so much i always started
with side b and then played through to side a
kind of in a reverse side order kind of thing
which i love doing as a kid i don't do that anymore
but man maybe i have to because i do remember
loving back in black in that weird sequence of
side b followed by side a now i almost want to
think of what the car self -titled album would
sound like if i did it with that but i digress
ACDC, Back in Black. What a killer way to kick
off this ultimate mixtape. Jim has been a three
-peat guest here on my weekly mixtape. So thankful
for the conversations we've had together. We
did a complete catalog dive talking about all
of Moe's catalog. We did an album dive on Moe's
latest studio release, Circle of Giants. And
he joined me this summer for the ultimate concert
set list, which is his personal. ultimate concert
set list. And I'll tell you, Mo is a jam band,
but his ultimate concert set list does not jam.
It rocks. So if you want to be surprised, check
it out. There's a lot of curveballs in that one.
It's such a fun conversation. Obviously, Mo,
one of my favorite jam bands on the planet. So
thankful for his friendship and coming on the
show so many times to talk all things Mo. And
when season two rolls around, I look forward
to talking with him again. But with that, we
are going to move on to the next track for the
ultimate mixtape. And this is from D .T. Carell
of Space Castle. Gut reaction, Whole Lotta Rosie
by ACDC. Wow. So I grew up with parents who were
teenagers in the 70s and 80s and they were really
big into hard rock and whatnot. So I was essentially
raised on it. But Whole Lotta Rosie is a song
that's always stuck with me and it's one of my
favorites of all time because every time we get
to that solo by Angus Young, I get goosebumps
still to this day. It's one of the reasons why
I love hard rock. It's one of the reasons why
ACDC is one of my favorite bands of all time.
And that song is quintessential to why I just
love music and guitar and rock and roll in general.
Yes, you heard that correct. We are going back
to back ACDC to kick things off tonight. Back
in Black, followed by Whole Lotta Rosie. Whole
Lotta Rosie is such a killer song. I love when
Guns N' Roses redid it. There's just something,
it's so down and dirty and it's everything you
love about the ACDC sound. So I love the pick.
DT is killing it over on YouTube at Space Castle.
If you are into nerd and geek culture, video
games, toys, movies, cartoons, TV shows, DT is
your guy. A lot of fun stuff going on over there.
He produces such great content. You'll be thankful
you watched it. So be sure to check out Space
Castle over on YouTube and let them know that
Brian Colburn from My Weekly Mixtape sent you.
All right, a double dose of ACDC to kick things
off. Where do we go from here? Now, in this list
of the songs that made you fall in love with
music, some people gave more than one answer.
They answered both sides of it. So with that
said, that adds another complex challenge to
this, and that is trying to put in songs that
might not go together, such as this first of
two picks. From C .J. Pierce of Drowning Pool.
Well, I'm going to be honest. It's funny because
Eurovision movie is playing right now. But I
can't lie. My first time just comprehending music
as a very young child, my dad had this big stereo
and an 8 -track recorder. And he put in the Ava
8 -track and Dancing Queen came on. And that's
my first thing I ever remember hearing music
while I was like, what is this? That's why I
crack up. with that movie because he's up there
just like, what is this I'm dancing? It's ABBA.
But it's ABBA. I mean, you can't deny it. ABBA's
freaking amazing. But yeah, that's one thing.
And then, dude, just over, I mean, like Led Zeppelin,
man, like never gets old. That was a big impression
for me as well because my dad played bass and
sang and, you know, he was all about the Led
Zeppelin. So it was ABBA and Led Zeppelin. But
it, dude, anything from Led Zeppelin, man, you
know, rock and roll was just such a big influence.
You know, that song still gets me going. It's
forever just, Something about it, man. Maybe
it just amps me up. It's timeless, man. So there
you have it. In this world, ACDC, Twofer, followed
by ABBA's Dancing Queen, followed by Led Zeppelin's
Rock and Roll. And you know what? I dig it. And
I bet some of you out there are going, wait,
what? But yeah, that's the beauty of a mixtape.
It could be whatever you want. These are songs
that made you fall in love with music. There
are no right or wrong answers here. I love it.
Two shots of ACDC followed by ABBA and Led Zeppelin.
Let's do this. And you know what? Let's make
that a double shot of ACDC followed by ABBA and
a double shot of Led Zeppelin. As next up is
Kevin Brown of the Tom Petty Project with his
pick for the ultimate mixtape. I'm going to go.
This one's easy for me. Okay. Black Dog by Led
Zeppelin. Because when I heard that riff kick
in. That was when I knew, oh, this is the music
that I want to listen to for the rest of my life.
I want to listen to rock and roll. It was that
visceral, immediate, my blood started pumping,
my adrenaline was up, and at five, six, seven
years old, however old I was, wearing huge headphones,
sitting in front of my mom and dad's vinyl player
with a dirty, ratty box full of vinyl records,
put that on, and it changed my life. Absolutely,
it was when I knew what kind of music I wanted
to listen to for the rest of my life. So Black
Dobby Led Zeppelin, easy. Easy one. If you're
a Tom Petty fan, be sure to check out all the
things Kevin has going on over at the Tom Petty
Project. You'll be thankful you did. A lot of
great stories, a lot of great interviews and
discussions over there. Kevin joined me on the
Ultimate Tom Petty playlist, so be sure to check
that out in the archives if you want to hear
a conversation about all things Tom Petty, Mud
Crutch, Traveling Wilburys, and obviously the
Heartbreakers. We cover it all. Be sure to check
that one out. But next up on the Ultimate Mixtape.
We have comedian Don Jameson and host of the
Rockstrap podcast with his pick to follow up
a double shot of ACDC, ABBA, and a double shot
of Led Zeppelin. Where do we go from here? Oh,
boy. Well, again, I have to go back to the first
heavy rock song that I ever heard in my life,
and it's Detroit Rock City. It can't be stated
the impact that it had on me and has had on me
over the years because without putting the needle
into those grooves and hearing that song, I would
probably be listening to the music that my parents
used to have in their album collection, which
was, I think, the heaviest album they had in
their collection was Roberta Flack. It's funny
because I can never remember exactly how I saw
Kiss, but I did. And I'm so glad that I convinced
my mom to go get me Destroyer. And like I said,
when I put it on, it instantly changed my life.
So it's that song. Don is an incredibly funny
comedian. Make sure to check out his latest comedy
album, No Sleep Till McSorley's, which you can
find on all of the streaming sites, as well as
on both of the episode pages that Don joined
me for in the archives. I've got it there. Plus,
if you want to buy physical copies as well, they're
available at Experience Vinyl. All right, so
we got Kiss in the mix. Where do we go from here?
There's still a lot of rock to cover. There's
a lot, a lot of people chimed in with rock this
time around. So we're going to stay in that tone
and go with this pick from Coco Kinnan of Winona
Fighter. Makes me fall in love with music over
and over again. And I think it has to be, oh
man, I mean, I got to go with my favorite band.
Every time I hear Best of You by the Foo Fighters,
I'm just blown away. Which, you know, Dave's
in a little bit of trouble right now, so I don't
condone that. Let me just say that right now.
I don't condone his actions, but that's a beautiful
song. So that made both the ultimate mixtape
that you put into a time capsule and the song
that made you fall in love with music. I mean,
just goosebumps every time. What can I say about
Winona fighter? One of my favorite albums of
2025 thus far, my apologies to the chef. If you
have not heard this album, this is female fronted
pop punk. This is everything I love about nineties
pop punk and two thousands pop punk and 2010s
pop punk and modern pop punk all rolled into
one. They are so much fun. They are so incredible
live and they are blowing up this year. They've
already announced a deluxe edition of the album
that's coming out later this year. So this is
the, year that Winona fighter hit the scene and
hit the scene hard. And there's a reason for
it. Be sure to check out their music. And Coco
was a guest twice on my weekly mixtape one to
create the ultimate nineties punk rock playlist
with me and two to do an album dive on my apologies
to the chef. So if you want to hear an episode
where you can hear the songs and the stories
behind them, be sure to check that one out in
the archives and man, you know what? We had a
twofer followed by a single band followed by
a twofer followed by a single band. We're going
to follow it with another twofer as Patreon mixtaper
Tom Hutchinson also chose the Foo Fighters for
his pick for the ultimate mixtape. Hi, Brian.
I'm my weekly mixtape gang. Hey, I'm Tom Hutchinson,
and I am here to talk about the song that made
me fall in love with music. And that song. would
be Everlong by the Foo Fighters. This is one
of the first songs I ever remember hearing in
my childhood. I was probably about three, four
years old, and I remember hearing this song on
the riff here in Detroit, very famous rock musician
with my dad, and I remember just having that
guitar riff burn into my head as a little kid
for many years, and I didn't know what the song
was until I got a little bit older. and I came
across this song when I was doing a report on
Nirvana, and I figured out that Dave Grohl was
in Nirvana, and in the Foo Fighters, this had
to be about sixth grade, when I was figuring
this out, and I fell in love with this song,
fell in love with the Color and the Shape album,
and I ended up listening to that song non -stop
after that. It's become one of my favorite songs,
and it has opened me up to so many different
musical artists, from the Butthole Surfers, to
Modest Mouse, to anything that was played on
alternative radio, you know, at that time in
the 90s and early 2000s. It's a fantastic song,
and it means so much to me. And the music video
version of it... is way better than the radio
version. It has the extended loop of the guitar
breakdown at the end, and it always makes me
so happy to hear that version. But if it wasn't
forever long by the Foo Fighters, who knows what
my musical taste would be. I also want to say
cheers to you, Brian, and congratulations on
a wonderful show. It's been nothing but an honor
to be a guest on it, and I wish you nothing but
the best, my friend. Cheers. Ever long. I know
that could be seen as a side closer or a cassette
closer. So, yeah, we're not even anywhere near
the ending of this thing yet. And I love the
pick and I love it fitting in right here after
best of you from Coco Kinnon. So Tom, I want
to thank you sincerely for all the support you've
shown my weekly mixtape over the years, all the
great conversations we've had in the Patreon
forums, as well as on social media. Thank you
for listening and thank you for being a part
of this community. It truly means the world to
me. And now we've had two bands followed by a
band, followed by two bands, followed by a band,
followed by two bands. Followed by a band. And
this pick comes from John Laurie, drummer for
Tantric and Smile Empty Soul. Let's hear what
he's got to say with his choice for the ultimate
mixtape. Putting me on the spot again. Hold on.
Let me think of it. Let me think of it. Jeez.
OK, I'll just go with it because it was the thing
that. introduced me to music in general, and
I think it's one of the best drum parts ever.
I'm going to go with Follow You Home by Nickelback.
That was the song that drum -wise, I was like,
oh, this is cool. This is something that I want
to try to be able to do. And Daniel Adair, being
just one of the most phenomenal drummers ever,
does such a great job on this opening track of
the newest record that he got to be a part of,
All The Right Reasons record. So yeah, I'm going
with Follow You Home. All right, we're getting
into modern hard rock with some nickel back there.
Obviously, if you do not follow John's Drum Studio,
which is J -O -N -S, Drum Studio on social media,
make sure to do it on Instagram, on TikTok. He
posts some incredibly fun content. If you're
a musician or a fan of music, you don't want
to miss that follow. You'll be thankful you did.
John was a guest so many times on my weekly mixtape,
Through the Run. Go back into the archives and
check out any of the episodes he's been on. It's
been truly a pleasure talking music with him,
and I look forward to talking more music with
him when we start rolling around season two here
down the road. But up next, we have a chance
at another twofer, and you're getting another
twofer, except it's not another Nickelback song.
It's two different submissions for the Ultimate
Mixtape filed by one Mr. Barry Kirch of Shinedown.
Let's hear what he has to say. That's not a fair
question at all. Oh, shit. We didn't grow up
with a lot of music in the house because my mom
doesn't like loud noises. So it was always listening
to it in the headphones. My dad being his headphones.
And so my brother, but I have an older brother
who pretty much turned me on to music. I'm going
to have to give a two part answer. I have to.
Initially, I would say it would have been. Def
Leppard's pyromania, the opening track on that
record. And I'm blanking on the name right now
because my brother gave me the tape and talking
rock rock till you drop. Yes. That's the one.
Thank you. Cause I kept stealing all of his tapes
and stuff. And he gave me that one, one summer
and I listened to it and I was in the little
tree house. I was very young. It's probably eight,
nine years old when that record came out. And
I was like, this is it. This is it for me. It
was, you know, Def Leppard was the first concert
I ever went to on the hysteria run. Nice. It
changed my mind. And then this band out of England
called The Police. We had a friend of ours, a
family friend. Her daughter was in Panama City,
Florida. The daughter was a college girl at the
time. Came to spring break in Panama City with
her college friends. And they stayed at our house.
And I was a young kid. And they turned the stereo
on. My mother begrudgingly let them play loud
music, which is not typically loud. And they
started playing The Police. And I went, what's
this? That one changed me. Because that wouldn't
have been played by my brother. It wouldn't have
been played by anyone else. I might have heard
it on the radio, but I was such a metalhead at
that time. When I heard the police and I heard
the drumming of Stuart Copeland, I went, this
is different. And at that time, I was already
playing drums. So I was hook, line, and sinker.
Was there a specific song from the police that
you really... What was the song at that time?
I think... I want to say it was wrapped around
your finger in that snare. It just like... Took
my head off. I was like, what is this? It was
that and then Spirits in the Material World.
One of those two songs. And then as a drummer
yourself, I would love to know your thoughts
on Stuart. Because I've always, we're pretty
similar in age. My first concert was David Lee
Roth and Poison on the Skyscraper tour. So I
wasn't too far. I was a little bit behind you.
But Diamond Dave was still out there playing
mostly Van Halen and a couple of solo things
at the time. Right, right. But there was always
something about Stuart Copeland's drumming that
was hypnotic. It was heavy, but it was also nuanced.
And he's a very unexplainable drummer. When I
try to explain the mastery of Stuart Copeland,
I have a hard time doing it. As a drummer yourself
who has found a lot of success in music, how
would you describe him? He didn't give two shits.
And I think that's what made him great. He still
is great. He... He was a lead drummer. He's the
polar opposite of me. He played on top of the
music, but it felt so good because he's a punk
rock guy and listened to a lot of reggae. And
those two things came together and it was like
his style. He plays like Stuart Copeland, much
in the vein of somebody like Mitch Mitchell from
Jimi Hendrix or Keith Moon, who who unabashedly
played whatever the hell they wanted. And the
band better just hold on for dear life. And that's
why he and Sting never got along. The reason
Sting and Stewart just hated each other is because
Sting is a perfect song craftsman, but he expects
perfection. And Stewart was like, that's not
me, buddy. I'm going to play it the way I feel
tonight, and it's going to be my tempo, and you
better hold on, Sting. You better find me. Fight
like cats and dogs. And Stewart would be the
first one to admit that to this day. The reason
they didn't get along is because Stewart doesn't
give a fuck. Well, I guess it's safe then to
say it's good that you and Eric are able to work
so well together as the backdrop for Shinedown.
Absolutely. We are a different animal by far.
Deaf leopards rock rock till you drop and the
police is wrapped around your finger. Now, believe
it or not, coming out of Nickelback, it actually
works in playlist form because you've got the
modern hard rock of Nickelback's Follow You Home.
easing back into the 80s hard rock of Def Leppard,
and then taking you out of the hard rock side
of things into the polices wrapped around your
finger, which leaves the door open to go into
some different directions. So I do want to say
I got a chance this summer to meet up with both
Barry and Eric Bass of Shinedown, as well as
Brent and Zach at their first ever headlining
show at Madison Square Garden this summer. Truly
an honor to be a part of that evening. It was
a chance to shake their hands and thank them
for all the incredible music they do. Eric's
got his solo album out, I Had a Name. Be sure
to check that out. It is an incredibly fun concept
album. Shinedown is working on Shinedown 8, but
has three songs out right now. Killing Fields,
365, and Dance Kid Dance, which is also the name
of the tour that they're currently out on, in
support of... 20 plus years of Shinedown and
some incredible music. They put on one hell of
a performance. And I'll throw up some pics from
that meet and greet over on the episode page.
Barry and Eric, thank you both so much for being
a part of the My Weekly Mixtape catalog. And
thank you even more so for the music. But I should
add, don't worry. Eric Bass's pic is coming up
later in the evening tonight. But. Coming out
of the police is wrapped around your finger.
We could go a little deeper now into this classic
rock territory. So I think we're going to do
that with this pick for the ultimate mixtape
from Chris Ballew of the Presidents of the United
States of America. I mean, the song that pops
into my mind is More Than a Feeling by Boston.
I just, I feel like that song, and it's not like
I want to make music like that. But I just feel
like it has some leveling effect on me, where
when I listen to it, I just feel... You know
what it is? I feel completely taken care of.
There's no bum notes. There's no sonic friction
that isn't pleasant. There's no distortion that
isn't harmonically rich. I want to make music,
and I want to listen to music that... cuddles
me with harmony like i'm not into difficult music
or somebody who's willfully out of tune or the
music is abrasive in a way that's supposed to
make you think well it's difficult to listen
to so it must be important or whatever you know
what i mean like that dynamic is totally not
what i want to do i want i want a bath of harmony
and that's what more than a feeling does every
time i listen to it i'm like take me away The
presidents of the United States of America celebrates
its 30th anniversary this year. And there is
a full 30th anniversary album dive episode with
Chris over in the episode archives. Be sure to
check that one out. Going down memory lane, talking
about everything you would love to know about
the presidents of the United States of America.
And yes, folks, we talk about Weird Al's gump
as well. So be sure to check that one out. And
while we're on the subject of Boston's More Than
a Feeling, one of the first guitar parts I ever
learned on acoustic guitar, by the way, I should
add, we're going to stay in that classic rock
vein and go with my friend Dave Zalatouris, who
is host of the Beer in Front podcast with his
pick for the ultimate mixtape. Thanks, Brian,
for having me on. The question, what song has
made me fall in love with music over and over
again every time I hear it? is a song that we
both have actually discussed before back when
you were on my show a couple years back when
we were talking about the year 1971 in music.
The song I'm choosing is L .A. Woman from the
Doors. I've loved that song from the first time
I've heard it. Had to be on classic rock radio
in Chicago, you know, back around 1980, 1981.
when the Doors made this like resurgence after
Jim was on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
And it just blew me away. And every time I hear
it, you pick up little things about the song.
And it's just like, even though you've heard
it a thousand times before, it still always sounds
fresh to me. And, you know, doing some research
on the song, like when we spoke earlier. to now
that you know the addition of a bass player on
that song was really important jerry chef who
was in elvis's band and going over his bio all
the people that jerry chef played with is just
amazing in itself but he really added another
layer to the l .a woman's song everything about
that song is great from ray's keyboards to John's
drumming, Robbie's guitar work. It's just a phenomenal
song. I think I read somewhere where Robbie Krieger
said that LA woman is the essential doors song.
And I completely agree. I just listened to it
now before I'm recording this. And it's even
now just completely like blows me away. So I
appreciate you having me on to talk about. You
know, music. I appreciate everything you've done.
Our friendship over the years with various podcast
projects. I wish you all the best. I love you,
my brother. Take care of yourself. That's the
most important thing. And I'm sure we will see
each other down the road. Take care, Brian. Love
you, my man. If you are a beer fan, be sure to
check out Beer in Front on all of your favorite
podcast providers. I have had some fun conversations
with Dave over the years, dating all the way
back to my days with Playlist Wars, as well as
during my weekly mixtapes run. I appreciate his
friendship. He has an incredible podcast over
there, especially if you're a beer fanatic. He's
got his finger on the pulse of all things. beer
and it's right in front of them just like the
name says so be sure to check it out and i thank
you dave for your friendship and for the incredible
conversations we've had and for being such a
huge supporter of my weekly mixtape over the
years it really means the world to me now with
that we're going to stay in this classic rock
vibe and we're going to go with this pick from
jim butler of children of the 80s um so i'm going
to go back to the very first song that i remember
hearing I'm going to go with Dream On by Aerosmith.
It was released the year of my birth, but then
it was re -released again in 1976. So I would
have been about two, two and a half. And my parents
said that they will both claim now, even though
they're divorced. They claim that I would be
standing up in between them in the car when that
music playing, just rocking back and forth, saying
dream on over and over again as I'm crying. I
guess because it just touched me so much. The
song just touched me so much that I would be
crying and singing at the same time. And so that
is the song I think that made me at least fall
in love with music. I probably don't love it
as much as I used to, but I still do love it.
And to hear them do it in concert. The first
time I saw him in concert was amazing. And then
the second time I saw him in concert, they're
a little bit older. It wasn't quite as good,
but it was still still pretty good. Another absolute
anthem, Aerosmith's Dream On. This would definitely
make my list for one of the songs that made me
fall in love with music. I remember very vividly
getting Aerosmith's greatest hits on cassette
from a Kmart in North Jersey as a kid. And I
played that thing on an endless loop and Dream
On became just. an absolute favorite of mine.
I love the pick and I can't say enough great
things about Children of the 80s. And I'm going
to put a pin in that because Lindsay Butler's
up a little later on in the episode with her
pick for the ultimate mixtape. So be sure to
check out Children of the 80s and I'll plug them
again a little later on. But with that, moving
on from Dream On, we're going to go with Cody
Hanson of Hinder's pick for the ultimate mixtape.
That's a really tough one. I would say. a song
called shooting star by bad company that song
is i would say that's the song that got me into
back into rock music whenever i was younger like
i said i had older siblings and um they were
really into like rap gangster rap you know so
whenever i was i was a little kid i was running
around listening to things i shouldn't have been
listening to two live nwa you know so i was really
into that And whenever I heard Shooting Star
for the first time, everything changed. You know,
that's the first time I'd really heard a rock
song that told a story almost like a movie. You
know, when you're listening to the song, you
can see the entire thing playing out in front
of you. And I just I thought that was really
cool. It was the first time I like I said, first
time I'd heard anything like that. So that's
one song that does that for me. Hinder's new
album, Back to Life, is really, really incredible.
Bring Me Back to Life has been at the top of
my 2025 playlist the entire year. Be sure to
check out this album. There's so many great things
going on in the Hinder camp. This is also the
20th anniversary of Extreme Behavior, and we
talk about both the anniversary of that album
as well as Back to Life in the album dive episode
that you can find in the My Weekly Mixtape archives.
Cody, thank you so much for being a part of this
show. Now, you went with Shooting Star from Bad
Company. That's a song that I used to listen
to a lot with my folks growing up, Big Bad Company
and Free Fans, a lot of that classic rock stuff.
So for the next choice for the ultimate mixtape,
I'm actually going to chime in now with my pick
because I feel like coming out of Shooting Star
by Bad Company, my pick fits quite well. And
that pick... is Peter Frampton's Do You Feel
Like I Do from Frampton Comes Alive. Now, why
did this song make me fall in love with music?
When I was a kid, I listened to anything my parents
put on, and they would let me put on my albums,
my Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Muppets, but
I was always intent on hearing whatever they
wanted to put on too. And all the songs that
they played eventually ended up in some way,
shape, or form becoming some of my favorite songs
of all time. And do you feel like I do? was truly
the first long song that I ever fell in love
with. A song that stretched well beyond 10 minutes.
I think that version was over 13 on the original
album. And it kept my attention the entire time.
I would sit in front of the stereo, just staring
at the record, spinning round and round and round.
With that, I'm also going to make a confession
that you could laugh at me if you want. I understand.
But I was a kid at the time. So are you going
to laugh at a child for having an imagination?
Shame on you. But when I was a kid growing up
listening to Peter Frampton's Do You Feel Like
I Do, I legitimately thought when I closed my
eyes that a guitar walked out on stage and started
talking to Peter Frampton. And it wasn't until
I got older and saw how he pulled it off that
that magic was ruined. But as a child, this song
just... Captured my attention. And I would always
ask my father if he could put on the talking
guitar song next. So for him and for this ultimate
mixtape, one of the songs that truly made me
fall in love with music is Peter Frampton's.
Do you feel like I do? So with that, we are going
to round out side a of. This ultimate mixtape,
the songs that make you fall in love with music.
Yeah, it's an 120 minute or here because we got
to fit a lot of songs. There's actually more
than 15 songs for side B, but because of the
length for do you feel like I do being the penultimate
song on side A, I feel like I'm okay having a
couple of extra tracks on side B. But with that
said, here is Patreon mixtaper Brandon from Virginia's
pick for the ultimate mixtape. Oh, that is a
hard question, my friend. I've got to, you know,
I think I might have to look at my Spotify list
and find what's my most played song ever. Does
that show that here? I would have to say the
song that brings it back all the time. If I'm
going to have to listen to a song over and over
again, I might actually have to say The Wait.
The band song, The Weight. Ooh, good pick. There's
so many covers of it. Country, rock, reggae.
It's just known throughout the world. And again,
that feeling of take a load off and put the load
on me, being there for someone. I have spent
my entire adult life working with and for nonprofit
organizations. And that's the feeling I get.
We are the reason why. I'm doing this is to help.
Help someone take the load off. Let me help you.
I mean, I am civic association president for
my neighborhood. Why? Because I want to help
people. I work for a public television station
because public television helps people. You know,
I used to work for the National Multiple Sclerosis
Society because what does it do? It helps people
who have a chronic illness. So that song, The
Wait, the band. Robbie Robertson wrote that and
it just blew up from that moment on that it was
released. I mean, what better way to close outside
A than with the band? When I got to see the Love
for LeVon concert with my father back in 2012,
this closed out the whole show with all the musicians
on stage. And it was such a powerful, beautiful
moment seeing all that talent come together on
this incredibly amazing song that just. encapsulates
everything that's so amazing about music. It's
just something you want to sing along with. The
harmonies are beautiful. The music is lush. The
guitars, everything about it just comes together
in, sorry, perfect harmony, if you will. And
there's something about this that feels like
the perfect exclamation point for side A of the
ultimate mixtape, the songs that made you fall
in love with music, which kicked off. With ACDC's
Back in Black, submitted by Jim Laughlin of Moe.
ACDC's Whole Lotta Rosie, submitted by D .T.
Carroll of Space Castle. ABBA's Dancing Queen
and Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll, submitted by
C .J. Pierce of Drowning Pool. Led Zeppelin's
Black Dog, submitted by Kevin Brown of the Tom
Petty Project. Kiss's Detroit Rock City, submitted
by Don Jameson of Rockstrap. Foo Fighters' Best
of You, submitted by Coco Kinnan of Winona Fighter.
Foo Fighters Everlong, submitted by Patreon mixtaper
Tom Hutchinson. Nickelbacks Follow You Home,
submitted by John Laurie of Tantric and Smile
Empty Soul. Def Leppard's Rock Rock Till You
Drop and The Police Is Wrapped Around Your Finger,
submitted by Barry Kirch of Shinedown. Boston's
More Than a Feeling, submitted by Chris Ballew
of the Presidents of the United States of America.
The Doors L .A. Woman, submitted by Dave Zalatouris
of Beer in Front. Aerosmith's Dream On, submitted
by Jim Butler of Children of the 80s. Bad Company's
Shooting Star, submitted by Cody Hanson of Hinder.
Peter Frampton's Do You Feel Like I Do, submitted
by yours truly. And the band's The Wait, submitted
by Patreon mixtaper Brandon from Virginia. Head
over to myweeklymixtape .com to hear all the
songs we've discussed in this mix through the
playlist embedded on the episode page. All right.
And here we go. A supersized side B for this
ultimate mixtape, the songs that made you fall
in love with music. And we're going to kick off
side B with Doug Aldrich of the dead daisies
pick for the ultimate mixtape. I would probably
choose a random track that doesn't have any words
in it. It doesn't need any words. It's just back
on blow by blow. Cause we ended as lovers. Oh
my God. And it just, the guitar playing on that.
is just incredible and i for the first time i
heard it i was blown away and every time i hear
it i'm blown away i love it i love the clarity
on that song you can hear every little thing
that his fingers are doing and and the melody
is amazing it's just the perfect rock guitar
song the rock guitar ballad you know and like
i say there's a lot of songs we've heard a million
times you know songs that are great songs hotel
california or or comfortably numb or whatever
and they got great guitar parts and everything
but sometimes it's like okay i've heard this
song enough but i know that lyric i know it it's
like on the dark desert highway you know but
with cuz we ended as lovers it never gets old
what a way to kick off side b jeff beck cuz we
ended as lovers i absolutely adore this song
the version he does from ronnie scotts with tal
wilkenfeld on bass is one of those make the hair
on your arm stand up instrumental songs. Just
tells you a story and grabs your attention. And
it demands your attention. It doesn't grab it.
It demands it for the entire way through. Unbelievable
pick. Absolutely love the song. And Dead Daisy's
looking for trouble. If you're a fan of blues
rock and cover songs, as you know, I'm a huge
cover songs nut. Go back in the album archives
as there is an album dive into Looking for Trouble
with Doug. We dive into a ton of great blues
rock stories and some of the things he's got
going on in the Dead Daisies camp, as well as
his time with Whitesnake, Dio. And yes, we talk
about Lions, Transformers, the movie theme song,
because. Come on, it's Soundwave. Why wouldn't
I talk about that? Anyway, Doug Aldrich of the
Dead Daisies back in the episode archive. Be
sure to check that out. Up next for the ultimate
mixtape, the songs that made you fall in love
with music is Chris Voss of The Record Company.
Oh, what a great, great, great question. Made
me fall in love with music over and over again.
Drowning My Own Tears by Ray Charles. Wow. It's
so profoundly emotional that it carries inside
of it the depth of whether you're playing, you're
covering the Stooges, or you're in a punk band,
or you're in a metal band, or you're in a gospel
choir. It's one of those songs that's at the
hinge point of the beginning. And if you play
that song for anybody, they're going to get it
to some level. Everything blossoms from that,
those eras, the late 40s, early 50s. But for
me, it's just because it knocks me on my knees
every single time I hear it. It just completely
destroys me. Ray Charles's voice and his ability
to curate emotion. You know, when you think about
what a traditional good voice is, his voice is
obviously not just good. It's great. It's just,
it's so him. You can just hear, yeah, and you'd
be like, that's Ray Charles. You know what I
mean? a uniqueness so and the brevity of him
to come over what he did but if even if i had
never heard any of his story that song would
still just drop me and and that i've i loved
loved that album or the that era of him his atlantic
years um which was documented in the movie but
i got into it when i was about 17 because my
mom who loves music I would say, she'd say like,
what do you want for your birthday? I'm like
anything by, you know, I'd find an artist and
be like, Oh, maybe Ray Charles. And she bought
me the box set of the Atlantic years. Nice. I
listened to that in that first six months, my
friends were all listening to rock and roll.
And I was just listening to Ray Charles over
and over and over and over and Muddy Waters box
set over and over and over and Patsy Cline over
and over. Cause I love singers, man. I'm a guitar
player, but. Singing is why I'm in this business.
I sit here and I practice my guitar probably
three times more than I sing. Singing came kind
of naturally to me, but the guitar playing is
like something I really work at. But I've never
been one to be like, oh, I'm going to sit down
and learn these solos. But I have been one to
sit down and go like, how do you find what they're
doing? Like what makes the hair on people's arms
stand up? So there you go. That was a great question.
another amazingly fun episode in the archives
chris came and did a full catalog dive interview
with me if you want to hear all the great things
that are going on in the record company camp
that is the episode to check out if you haven't
heard the record company before remedy that These
guys are so good and so much fun, and they are
carrying the torch for what modern blues rock
is going to sound like moving forward. I absolutely
love what these guys are doing, and I hope you
get a chance to check it out. Ray Charles, Drown
In My Own Tears, coming out of that heart -stringing
tug of Cuz We Ended As Lovers from Jeff Beck.
I mean, we're going a little emotional here to
start Side B. So where do we go from here? Let's
try with Greg Vorab's pick. I am going to answer
the question, what song can I hear that makes
me fall in love with music again over and over?
And the one that comes at the top of my head
is R .E .M.'s At My Most Beautiful. And the reason
that I choose that one is because the first time
I heard that song, it's the song that made me
realize. that I was in love for the very first
time. So my choice is REM at my most beautiful.
REM. I was wondering when we would get something
from them in this episode. I had a feeling that
this is a band that a lot of people have a favorite
song from, and I'm so glad. that they are included
in this mix because we haven't talked about them
as much on my weekly mixtape as I would like
to. Hopefully when season two rolls around, I
will make that happen. REM at my most beautiful.
Thank you so much for chiming in, Greg. I appreciate
your friendship and the support that you've given
the show over the years. Be sure to check out
Real Reactions. That's R -E -E -L Reactions at
your favorite podcast providers to hear what
Greg's got going on over there. Really fun show.
Be sure to check it out. And with that, I actually
have another pick that I think is going to fit
perfectly coming out of REM's At My Most Beautiful.
And that pick comes courtesy of Paul Jackson
of Blackberry Smoke. Oh, my God. That's OK. OK.
All right. Well, we're going to go with my favorite
band on planet Earth. I'm going to go with Journey.
And that's a hard one because I like every single
thing they've done. I mean, Don't Stop Believin'
is overplayed, you know, in several ways. But,
God, I mean, even from Cookie Duster, before
Steve Perry was in the band, some good stuff.
What song do I think? I think, oh, this is so
hard. Still They Ride. Nice. I don't know if
any of you listeners heard it. You'll listen
to it. Listen to the piano. Listen to the bass.
Listen to the guitar. Listen to the drums. I
mean, listen to it that many times. There's five
people in the band. Listen to it and focus on
each one of those individuals. And come on, Steve
Perry. Come on. He's just one of the greatest
singers literally of all time. Because he learned
from, you know, he learned from. By listening
to some of the best, Sam Cooke, there's a lot
of Sam Cooke in his voice. Oh, yeah, definitely.
He loves R &B, and they're just such a great
band, man. I mean, I challenge anybody who thinks
differently. It's just they're so good, you know?
But there's also other bands that are stomp -ass
good, too. But that's just personally for me
growing up. When I heard Still They Ride, I was
like, what? Whoa. And then I delved back in their
catalog, and this is like. Every single thing
is killer. You know, they all have good voices.
You know, it's just, you know, shame that what's
going on right now. But I mean, not shame, but
I don't know. I want to see him again. Loud.
That's all. Still, they ride from journey going
with something off of escape. That's not don't
stop believing is a bold move. And I applaud
it. Stone and love got spoken about on the first
ultimate mixtape. Courtesy of Drew from Sister
Hazel. And now they're represented today via
Paul Jackson of Blackberry Smoke. And Blackberry
Smoke and Sister Hazel are pretty good friends
there on the music scene. So quite serendipitous,
if I do say so myself. Blackberry Smoke, obviously
one of the best live Southern rock bands on the
planet. And I say obviously because to me it
is obvious they are un -friggin -believable live.
Be sure to check out Paul's episode, The Ultimate
Blackberry Smoke Playlist. It's back in the archives.
We build a 20 song Blackberry Smoke Playlist.
And I'd like to hope that I was able to keep
up with him because, you know, he actually plays
on the songs and I'm just here talking about
them. So hopefully I was able to keep up. Go
back and check that out in the archives and let
me know for yourself. My weekly mixtape at gmail
.com. But with that, I had mentioned them earlier
with Jim Butler. Now it's time for Lindsay Butler
of Children of the 80s to chime in with her pick
for the ultimate mixtape. OK, so I know Jim's
going to roll his eyes and I hope I hope Brian,
you don't make fun of me. I would never. The
song that made me fall in love with music, Look
Away by Chicago. Oh, I don't know. There was
something about it. I was in the fourth grade
when it came out. It was played all the time
on the radio. I can't explain my love for this
song, but it is strong and it's held up for 40
years? I don't know. No, not 40 years. 30 years?
A really long time. Lindsay, I think you'll be
happy to know that I'm trying to think of the
year that this came out. That was 1988. So 11
-year -old Brian had Look Away on 45. Really?
Hand to God. We could have been friends. Once
again, you can find Children of the 80s on all
of your favorite podcast providers. They have
such a fun show over there. I was fortunate to
be a guest on their Weird Al episode, and both
Jim and Lindsay joined me for the Ultimate 80s
Music Videos playlist, which is such a fun episode.
Be sure to check that out if you want to hear
my weekly mixtape go visual in an audio sense.
Really fun episode. Be sure to keep up with what
they've got going on over there. You'll be happy
you did. And up next, we are going to stay with
this 80s vibe as country artist Carrie Cunningham
shines in with her choice for the ultimate mixtape.
Hmm. Well, the first song that ever made me really
fall in love with music was Maneater by Hall
& Oates. Really? It's not country, but yeah.
Yep. I got a clock radio when I was eight years
old and we were in Nebraska and the channel played
all different kinds of music. So it didn't matter
what genre it was. And I just remember laying
in bed one night and hearing that song come on
and the lyrics and the music, the way that the
bass played and the sax came in. And then when
the lyrics hit, all I could see was like this
woman. And to my little eight -year -old brain
was like in a dark alley and she was turning
into a tiger and she was attacking men. And that
is like, whoa, that's really cool. And so that's
what kind of got me started on my whole music
journey. And I still love that song to this day.
It was such a delight having carry on two of
my country themed episodes, the ultimate modern
female country artists playlist episode, as well
as the ultimate nineties country music episode.
If you are a country fan, be sure to go check
out both of those episodes in the archive. You'll
be happy you did and be sure to keep in touch
with what Carrie's got going on in her musical
career over at Carrie live .com. She's got an
incredible voice and you'll be happy you did.
But with that, we are moving on to, and again,
I pinch myself that I get to say this, but this
choice for the ultimate mixtape from Paul Williams,
who is the writer of my favorite song of all
time, The Rainbow Connection. And I got to ask
him his choice for the song that made him fall
in love with music. And I've been holding on
to this one since we recorded the episode, which
was over nine months ago. So it's like the birth
of this amazing clip that you're about to hear.
Here is legendary songwriter Paul Williams' choice
for the ultimate mixtape. Well, there's a lot
of songs that have been meaningful in my life.
Leonard Cohen is a remarkable writer. And Jennifer
Warren's released an album called My Famous Blue
Raincoat. And this is a song you may not know,
but I would say listen to it. It's an album that
has amazing songs by Leonard Cohen, including
Bird on a Wire, Like a Bird on a Wire, Like a
Drunk in Midnight Choir. I have tried in my ways
to be free. I've been the bird and I've been
the drunk. So that's a song that is just, for
some reason it's like time travel. It has the
loneliness of an early goodbye and it has the
promise of the freedom. On the other side of
grieving. What an incredible addition to this
ultimate mixtape. And when it comes from, again,
a songwriter that I have so much respect for,
it just adds another exclamation point to it.
Paul Williams was my guest at the end of last
year for a double album dive that featured discussions
on both Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas and
the Muppet Movie soundtrack, two of my favorite
soundtracks of my youth. If you are a fan of
Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas or of the Muppets
in general, you do not want to miss this episode.
It is one of the highlights of this 150 episode
season, if you want to call it. And I am so eternally
grateful to Paul for being on the show, as well
as to Desmond Child, who was kind enough to connect
me with Paul for this opportunity. So thank you
to Desmond and for Paul for being on. Following
up Burden of Wire. I actually am going to do
a little bit of a pivot here, but I don't know
by how much. And I'll be curious what you all
think. But I think this is going to work because
Patreon mixtaper Chad LaMassa chimed in with
this pick for the ultimate mixtape. So this may
seem like a cop out, but I don't really have
a song that made me fall in love with music.
And any song that kind of grabs me in a certain
way, it's really hard to explain. Those are the
songs that make me fall in love with music again.
And the two most recent songs that have done
that for me were Bully's Atom Bomb and Shovel
and Rope's Love Song from a Dog. With Bully being
one of my favorite artists currently, I'm going
to pick her song, Atom Bomb. There you have Bully's
Atom Bomb. We're getting something new in the
mix. And I love that because this is not just
the songs that made you fall in love with music.
It's also... The songs that make you fall in
love with music over and over again every time
you hear it. And Bully's Atom Bomb is a perfect
example of that. And I'm so glad that Chad brought
something new to this mix because it does. Give
the mix a little bit of balance. We got a lot
of older stuff in here, but now we're getting
some newer stuff, kind of making those musical
scales of justice kind of even out a little bit.
So bravo. Chad has been a huge supporter of my
weekly mixtape and is a huge voice in the Patreon
community. I thank you for all of your incredible
chimings, the incredible conversations we've
had. on both the Patreon and then the Discord
channel, which is going to be remaining open
during the pause. So if you are on Discord, come
find the My Weekly Mixtape channel. Come join
us in the conversation there. And then once the
show picks up again, obviously there's all things
going on in the Discord over there as well. But
again, Chad, thank you so much for everything
that you have done to support the show. I appreciate
it and I appreciate your friendship. Now, working
our way to something that modern like Bully is
tough, but I do have a pick that is more modern
from Leah Jones, host of the Struts Life podcast,
and we're going to go with her choice for the
ultimate mixtape. Okay. I would have to pick
Long Live by Taylor Swift. It will make me cry.
Every single time, because it's about the relationship
that fans have with their favorite artists and
the memories that you make watching them with
your friends, not even necessarily with the artists.
It's the community that you make around music.
Like if I think about it too much, it makes me
really emotional because I've met some amazing
people through music and shows and just talking
music. And that would be the song that I choose.
So we've got Bully. And we've got Taylor Swift
and Taylor Swift, considering side a consisted
of a lot of classic rock and a lot of hard rock.
I think the closest thing to pop in the modern
sense on side a maybe ABBA. And that was what
back in the seventies. So we're getting the pop
side of Taylor Swift coming out with long live.
And even though Taylor Swift is now known as
more of a pop artist, she did start as country
and Speak Now was one of her country albums.
And that gives me the perfect opportunity to
pivot into some country music for tonight. So
bravo on the pick. And now the pivot happens.
So with that, I give you Jesse Jackson, host
of Set Lusting Bruce and Perfectly Good Podcast
with his choice for the ultimate mixtape. What
song made me fall in love with music? This is
a great question, and I think I could give multiple
answers. There's certainly what song made me
fall in love with the Beach Boys, which is probably
I Get Around, because I'd never heard anything
that complex. What song made me fall in love
with Bruce Springsteen? Probably Born to Run.
But what song first made me fall in love with
music? And I thought a lot about it. And I think
it goes back to the AM radio on my parents' car,
which was always turned to a country station.
And I think one of the first songs that I knew
was something different. and something I kept
wanting to hear was Glen Campbell's Wichita Lineman.
I didn't understand what a lineman was, but I
did understand the loneliness and the sadness
of that song, and I loved listening to it. Glenn
Campbell's Wichita lineman, Jesse Jackson, set
lusting Bruce and perfectly good podcast. One
of the friendliest podcasters you can meet. He
is such a great guy. So knowledgeable about music.
So much fun to talk with such a positive presence
in the music podcasting space. So if you're a
fan of Bruce Springsteen or John Hyatt, be sure
to check out both of his projects. You'll be
really thankful. You did. I guessed it on both.
set lusting Bruce and perfectly good podcast.
And both were really fun conversations. Jesse
has guested twice on my weekly mixtape doing,
well, here's a shocker, the ultimate Bruce Springsteen
playlist. And along with Sylvan Groth, the ultimate
John Hyatt playlist, both of which were a lot
of fun and some incredibly in -depth commentary
and discussions on both of those incredible songwriters.
So Jesse, thank you again. And up next, we've
got Patreon mixtape or Philip Bergman's pick
for the ultimate mixtape. And I kind of want
to lead this with a little bit of a preamble
here. Philip likes to try to throw me for a loop
with these. And I have a lot of fun with these
picks. He threw me a challenging one on episode
100 for the ultimate mixtape. So be sure to go
back and check that out. He has also been a guest
on our Weird Al episode of my weekly mixtape.
as well as the ultimate golden oldies and doo
-wops summer playlist, both of which are really
fun episodes. Philip is such a great guy to talk
with music. One of the biggest supporters since
the days of tune styles. And he, like I said,
he likes to challenge me. So I hear your challenge
and coming out of Wichita lineman, here is Philip
Bergman's pick for the ultimate mixtape. Hmm.
I think I'm going to take door number one on
this. question because i think with the other
option the joy is constantly finding new songs
that just keep making you fall in love with music
over and over uh it's kind of like the if you'll
forgive the star trek reference it's like the
vulcan idea of itic in infinite diversity and
infinite combinations and i think that's one
of the joys about music that keeps us falling
in love is just the diversity that you can find
in it. Amen. And so that's a continual process,
but I think I'm going to go with one of the earliest
musical memories going back to, I may have been
in kindergarten at this point, or maybe even
younger than that, but I remember learning how
to use my mom's record player. And she did have
some records that were just for kids. I do remember
some of those, but I also remember the one record
of hers that I loved to play over and over and
over again was her anthology, if you will. It's
Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits. And there were
two songs especially that I really, really loved.
For the purposes of this question, I'm going
to go... with the closing track on side B of
that 33 and a third album. And that was Johnny
Freedom. For those who don't know who Johnny
Horton is, he was a 50s country singer. He was
nicknamed the singing fisherman. Died tragically
in 1960 in a car accident. He's best known for
his song, The Battle of New Orleans. But Johnny
Freedom was just such an amazing song for me
as a kid. Nowadays, it might... be considered
a little problematic because the lyrics are kind
of, shall we say, a whitewashing of American
history. So, I mean, this was the 80s when I
discovered the song that was recorded in the
50s. So hopefully you'll give me some grace there.
But I loved the martial beat of the record, the
way the background singers were enthusiastically
singing about this symbol of America. And I love
singing along with just about every song. of
Johnny's of his later career that I can. I mean,
whether it's Think the Bismarck or The Mansion
You Stole or Jim Bridger. Johnny Horton is just
one of the earliest musical memories that I really,
really cherish. And Johnny Freedom, that kind
of march feel to it in a country song was just
a great closer to that anthology. And I still
love that song. You never forget your first love.
Philip, you'll have to let me know how I did
with that one. If you think it lines up well
with Wichita lineman, appreciate your friendship
and all the great conversations we've had all
the way back since the tune styles days. I think
you're one of the few listeners that knows that
when I say I'm taking a break, it's not forever.
It's going to be a few months because right after
tune styles, a few months later came playlist
wars. And after playlist wars, a few months later
came my weekly mixtape. So hope to see you around
when we. Pick this thing back up down the road
and look forward to some more fun musical conversations
with you. Thank you again. But with that, Philip,
I think we'll throw another joke in here from
the Toon Styles days and bring in Mr. Board Shorts
himself, Jay Sweet, as I think his pick for the
ultimate mixtape follows up Johnny Freedom pretty
well. Let me know what you think. Here's Jay
Sweet with his pick for the ultimate mixtape.
That's a good one, Bri. Let me... My heart is
pulling me toward Music Box Dancer by Frank Mills.
I think when we were in our tune styles days,
I might have explained the significance of that
song and how that was my mom's... I associate
that song deeply connected to my mom. But hearing
that bouncy piano riff, that's a good one, but
also... Feel So Good by Chuck Mangione. And that's
another one that I associate to my early childhood.
My parents were still together. Both my dad and
my mom agreed on Chuck Mangione. So that was
really neat. So as I'm stalling here, I'm just
trying to... Do I throw in some air supply? I
don't know. I think Frank Mills' Music Box Dancer
wins out. I really do. It's just that snappy,
poppy... piano bounce you get all the good feels
when you hear that song jay sweet my tune styles
partner in crime friend for life appreciate everything
you have done to help this show out you've earned
your board shorts my friend looking forward to
many more fun discussions with you down the road
And obviously, if you've heard the name Jay Sweet
before, he has been on the show a lot of times.
So go back into the catalog and visit all sorts
of fun episodes that we've done together, including
our most recent ones, The Ultimate Fictional
Bands, Volume 1 and 2, the first and only time
in My Weekly Mixtape history we were going so
hard at Song 20 on Episode 1 that we literally
took a five -minute break and recorded a second
episode right after with 20 more fictional bands.
Such a fun double episode there. So I hope everyone
enjoys that. And with that, another guest of
my weekly mixtape who certainly earned his board
shorts. That is Jason Whistle, host of It's Not
That Bad. And there can only be one with his
choice for the ultimate mixtape. The question
being song that made me fall in love with music.
And I think. my pick is going to maybe throw
some of you for a bit of a loop. Anyone who knows
me and my music tastes, you know, you're expecting
me to say something very proggy or maybe something
punky or definitely something Canadian. Well,
it's none of that. I'm actually going with Brandenburg's
Concerto No. 3 by Johann Sebastian Bach. And
let me explain why. So in high school, I took
five years of orchestra. I learned to play bass
on an upright bass. This was how I learned how
to play bass and something I still do to this
day. And you can imagine that some of the stuff
that we played in orchestra class, maybe not
the best, maybe not the catchiest, but there
was something about Brandenburg's Concerto No.
3 and it just hooked in my brain. And this was,
I think, was the first time I had ever really...
considered a piece of classical music as catchy
and earwormy. But yet here it was, and I would
be humming along, and it became one of my noodle
tunes, you know, because I have a bass guitar,
I'm in bands, and I have noodle tunes. And Brandon
Burke Concerto No. 3 was one of those ones that
was just, I would start playing, do -do -do,
do -do -do, do -do -do, do -do -do, just noodling
around on the bass while you're waiting for everyone
else to get ready. And it just happens to be
one of those things where... I don't think any
other classical composition has ever really stuck
with me that much. And I know it's a way out
there pick, but when you play music, it's going
to stick with you a little bit more. This was
the first time that a classical piece of music
had done that for me. I mean, I could tell you
the first song I learned to play on guitar. That
was Sound Lucidity from Queensryche. The first
song I tried to teach myself on bass by myself.
That was Forever by Kiss. But no, No, Brandenburg
Concerto No. 3, Johann Sebastian Bach. This is
the song that really made me fall in love, not
just with music, but with all music. I can't
say enough good things about Jason Mann from
episode one. All the way till now. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for all of the fun conversations
we've had. There are so many great episodes in
the My Weekly Mixtape archives for anyone that
wants to hear some fun, irrelevant and kind of
off the beaten path episodes. We did short songs
where we tried to keep the song choices as short
as humanly possible. That's a really fun one.
We did the ultimate 90s Canadian artists playlist.
That was a lot of fun. I mean, any episode that
features Jason Whistle is going to be fun. be
sure to check out It's Not That Bad and there
can only be one at notthatbadcast .com or wherever
you find your favorite podcasts. But with that,
we've gone somehow into classical music and I
don't quite know how to pull us out of there.
However, there is a song that I think if there
was a song in this list that bridged that gap,
this would be the song to do it. So with that,
I give you Tim Foreman of Switchfoot's choice
for the ultimate mixtape. I'd probably say Strawberry
Fields. I'm an absolute Beatles fanatic, but
I think that song just kind of checks every box
for me. Just some of the most adventurous chord
choices. It just makes me feel the things that
no other song is quite. done before. You know,
it's very mysterious. It's mean, but yet it's
also bright. And I mean, just total journey.
Tim was a guest on the Song Dive episode of Switchfoot
and Buddy Guy, Last Man Standing. Be sure to
check that episode out in the archives. Tim also
has Bongo Chico that he's out supporting this
year, as well as new Switchfoot music coming
your way soon. So be sure to be on the lookout
for those. Now, on side B, we haven't had a double
dose of bands yet, and we're not going to have
a double dose of bands per se, but we are going
to have a double dose of Beatles per se, as following
up Tim Foreman of Switchfoot is Steve Bowman
of Counting Crows with his choice for the ultimate
mixtape. Wow, that's so hard because after the
podcast, I'll think of the one I should have
said. I'll just go with an obvious one because
Imagine is a song that I have listened to and
thought about and contemplated, pondered. I think
it's the most beautiful lyric, progression, melody,
sentiment. I just think the song Imagine by John
Lennon keeps getting better the more I hear it.
There's a lot of Beatles songs that do, but if
I have to pick one, I'm going to go with that.
So call that a double dose of the Beatles, if
you will. John Lennon's Imagine, a classic rock
staple, a music staple as far as I'm concerned.
And yeah, we have a double dose of the Beatles.
And I just want to say Steve was such an incredible
guest doing an entire August and everything after
album dive with me, which you can find in the
archives that counting crows album is probably
one of my favorite albums of the nineties. And
to be able to hear the stories behind so many
of the great songs from that with one of the
people responsible was another highlight of my
weekly mixtape. And with that, I mentioned this
band earlier, but we are going back. to Shinedown.
I've been on a Shinedown kick, man, this whole
year, having them twice on the show, getting
to see their first ever performance in Madison
Square Garden headlining was just unbelievable
night. But Eric has a song that when you say
to yourself, how do you follow up a double dose
of the Beatles? There's not many songs that can
do that. But I think Eric's pick does that. So
with that being said, here is Eric Bass's pick
for the ultimate mixtape. The first thing, it
wasn't the thing that made me fall in love with
music, but every time I hear this song, it makes
me fall in love with music over and over again,
is God Only Knows by the Beach Boys. I say by
the Beach Boys, quote unquote, but Brian Wilson,
of course. It's a study in the fact that no one
knows the anatomy of a hit song. No one can tell
you what the anatomy of a hit is. Everyone thinks
they can. Everyone thinks that they can tell
you. what it takes to make a hit this is this
is this poor lost soul on instagram that i see
every once in a while and i don't remember his
instagram handle or i just say it because i don't
i'm not shy about this stuff but he's a quote
unquote a and r guy in nashville and his job
is he finds bands for he finds artists for record
labels and that's what he tells he he every day
he's posting some bullshit post about what your
songs have to be and how many followers you have
to have in order for this to happen and that
to happen and blah, blah, blah. When in reality,
all you have to do is have talent. You have to
have the talent first, but then you just have
to bring into the world things that matter to
you. And if the time is right and the moment
is right and the intention behind the song is
right, you won't be able to keep it quiet. You
won't be able to keep it down. And not that anyone
was trying to keep God Only Knows down. That's
not my point. It's just that these people that
think they can tell you what a song has to be,
has to be this long. And you have to get to the
chorus by this point. And you have to, you know,
people don't like key changes. And God Only Knows
meanders through this beautiful soundscape. And
the last chorus of the song is in a totally different
key than the beginning of the song. And no one
even notices, you know. And the message in the
song is so genuine, so pure. I mean, like, is
that not how I feel about my wife too? You know,
like I'd be a mess without this woman. And so
that song gives me hope for music. It also makes
me realize what that poor lost soul on Instagram
is telling all of these young musicians about
what they have to do and should do and have to
be. And might be the reason why most music is
like that now, you know? And if there's a young
musician sitting in his room or her room right
now, wondering what they should do or wondering,
you know, you should do what you love. Whatever
that voice is in your head, whatever that sound
is in your head, whatever the click track is
in your head, follow that around because that's
never going to lead you wrong. I'm not saying
it's going to lead to success, but it's not going
to lead you wrong. And I think that if the rest
of us did that, myself included sometimes, that
I didn't listen to what things should be or have
to be or supposed to be more like what Brian
Wilson did. uh with all of his music that we
would be in a much better place musically in
the world than we are right now so that song
reminds me of that quite often and honestly led
me to the place that i had a name led me you
know which is i'm not saying i'm not comparing
myself to brian wilson by any stretch of the
imagination that's not my point but it led me
to a place of trying to make something different
and uh it's very satisfying Very satisfying to
make different things. So God Only Knows by the
Beach Boys is the song that anytime somebody
asks me what my favorite song is or what I love
or what song wants me to keep going, that's the
one. The Beach Boys' God Only Knows talked about
twice by two separate people on the original
Ultimate Mixtape episode back at episode 100.
Obviously is going to be in this one as well.
It's a song that made so many people fall in
love with music. I got the chance to see the
Beach Boys, the Mike Love fronted version this
summer with the family. We got to sit second
row. And this song was obviously one of the highlights
of it. And it's also more poignant this year,
given the fact that the world is no longer blessed
with Brian Wilson being on this earth. But he'll
always be with us through these incredible songs
such as God Only Knows. So an absolute masterpiece
of a pick there. And we're down to two. songs
left for the ultimate mixtape. And it's tough,
man, coming out of the Beatles and John Lennon
and the Beach Boys. Where do you go? Let's find
out from Ed Toth of the Doobie Brothers with
his pick for the ultimate mixtape. Not exactly
the lightning round. I'm trying to figure early
back. I didn't really have a lightning bolt moment.
But when I do go back and think about songs that
resonated with me early on, that really made
me think and feel, I keep coming back to What's
Going On by Marvin Gaye. And oddly enough, I
think the first version of that that really resonated
with me is on a Quincy Jones record, which at
the time we're recording this, we just lost recently.
And I actually went back and listened to that
just the other day. after hearing about his passing.
And that song means a lot to me for a lot of
different reasons. Marvin Gaye's What's Going
On, an absolute anthem, an absolute masterpiece
of music history, and a song that is so important
to the world of music. And I can see why it made
Ed fall in love with music, and it's probably
made countless others. And it is just such a...
poignant and powerful song. And the Doobie Brothers
are always out doing their thing. Be sure to
catch Ed on the road with them. The Doobie Brothers
have a new album out this year. Be sure to check
that out. And Ed's also got some other side projects
going on. So be sure to follow him on Instagram
for more on what he's got going on. I appreciate
him coming on the show to join me for a full.
Kind of full circle discussion, talking about
everything from his years with Vertical Horizon
as their drummer on the Everything You Want and
Go album, all the way to his current now 20 year
stint behind the kit for the Doobie Brothers.
And when he started, he was one of two. And now
he's the solo drummer. We talk about all that
on the episode. So be sure to check that out
in the archives. And thank you so much to Ed
for coming on. It was an absolute pleasure talking
music with you. Hope we can do it again. When
season two rolls around. But with that, we're
down to the last song of the night. And I've
already given my pick. So what possibly could
go here to end out 150 episodes of my weekly
mixtape? It just so happens that Sean Faust has
that answer. And it might ring a bell to some
of you. Here's Sean Faust with his pick. For
the ultimate mixtape. Dude, you just scared the
crap out of me. I thought you were going to like
take my list and do it. There can only be one.
Dude. All right. So now that I'm not like skitched
out, can you repeat the question, please? If
you had to choose one song that either a made
you fall in love with music for the first time
or B makes you fall in love with music over and
over again, every time you hear it. Which song
would you choose and why? It does not have to
be a fish song. Well, I mean, what made me fall
in love with music were themes from film scores,
which are not songs, by the way. That annoys
me when they call the Raiders March a song. It's
right there in the title. It's a march. The Star
Wars theme is a theme. So what made me fall in
love with music that still has me in love with
music is when I hear a really great film score.
To bring songs into that, I got to go to where
all of a sudden a song did it for me. Dude, I
mean, every time, and now I cry because as I
get older, I realize how beautiful this song
is. I'm going with The Rainbow Connection by
Paul Williams, sung by Kermit the Frog. Scooping
me a second time in a row on this one? Look at
that. Look at that. I could go with Live to Tell
by Madonna. Which still does it for me, too.
But I'm telling you, man, it's the Rainbow Connection.
Did anybody out there really think I wasn't going
to close out 150 episodes without Rainbow Connection?
Come on. Of course I am. It's my favorite song
of all time. It's Sean's favorite song of all
time. Please be sure to keep up with everything
Sean's got going on on his end. Sean Faust music.
He is on all the streaming sites. He is on Bandcamp.
Support his music. Buy his CDs. Go to his shows
if you're in the East Coast area. He's also out
with Slippery When Wet New Jersey, the premier
Bon Jovi tribute act in this area. If you're
into Bon Jovi, be sure to check it out. And when
you do, go over and say, hey, I heard of you
on my weekly mixtape. As any of these artists
or any of these podcasters or any of these friends
of the show. If you were introduced to them through
my weekly mixtape, let them know because podcasting
is a community and we're all here trying to help
each other out. And it's one of the coolest communities
that I am so grateful to have been a part of
for the last 150 episodes. But before we get
to that part, side B of the ultimate mixtape,
the songs that made you fall in love with music,
kicked off with Jeff Becks because we ended as
lovers, submitted by Doug Aldrich of the Dead
Daisies. Ray Charles, Drown in My Own Tears,
submitted by Chris Voss of The Wrecker Company.
REM's At My Most Beautiful, submitted by Greg
Vorab of Real Reactions. Journey's Still They
Ride, submitted by Paul Jackson of Blackberry
Smoke. Chicago's Look Away, submitted by Lindsay
Butler of Children of the 80s. Hall & Oates'
Maneater, submitted by Carrie Cunningham. Jennifer
Warren's Bird on a Wire, submitted by Paul Williams.
Bully's Atom Bomb, submitted by Patreon mixtaper
Chad LaMassa. Taylor Swift's Long Live, submitted
by Leah Jones of The Struts Life. Glenn Campbell's
Wichita Lineman, submitted by Jesse Jackson of
Set Lusting Bruce and Perfectly Good Podcast.
Johnny Horton's Johnny Freedom, submitted by
Patreon mixtaper Philip Bergman. Frank Mills'
Music Box Dancer, submitted by Jay Sweet. Johann
Sebastian Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, submitted
by Jason Whistle of It's Not That Bad and There
Can Only Be One. The Beatles' Strawberry Fields
Forever, submitted by Tim Foreman of Switchfoot.
John Lennon's Imagine, submitted by Steve Bowman
of The Counting Crows. The Beach Boys' God Only
Knows, submitted by Eric Bass of Shinedown. Marvin
Gaye's What's Going On, submitted by Ed Toth
of the Doobie Brothers. And Paul Williams' Rainbow
Connection, submitted 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 with that,
everyone, 150 episodes of My Weekly Mixtape comes
to a close. Season one, if you will. We're closing
the chapter on season one, and what an incredible
run it has been. I am so eternally grateful to
each and every one of you who've spent even a
minute. Listening to one of these podcasts, supporting
the show, going the extra mile to help spread
the word. And I don't want anyone listening to
think that this show is going away forever. Podcasting
is in my blood. It's in my heart. It's in my
spirit. And it's always going to be there. Right
now, with everything that's gone on the last
year of my life, I need a couple of months to
let the dust settle, to recharge my batteries
and get back to being a husband, a father, a
friend again. So that way I can work podcasting
back into my life under this new normal that
unfortunately does no longer include my father,
who the only regret I have on my weekly mixtape
is not having him on as a guest. And that's something
I didn't think about. Until it was a little too
late. So I'd like to take this moment to dedicate
all 150 episodes to him because I love him so
much and I miss him terribly. And so many of
the stories that came out of my weekly mixtape
came from what he has shared with me in music.
And I think taking a couple of months away to.
kind of just remember him and honor him so I
can come back and talk about music again and
not get choked up like I am in this moment here
on this episode, I think will be a good thing
for all of us because there's always going to
be more music to talk about. And I am excited
to be able to turn this mic on in a couple of
months and get right back at it. But I just want
to also extend my deepest heartfelt thank you
to anyone again who has ever listened and supported
this show. Anybody who has shared it with a friend,
shared it with a fellow podcaster, reached out,
been a guest, offered me to be a guest on their
show. The community of podcasters that I've connected
with is something I'm extremely grateful for
and cherish. I've made some amazing friends that
I hold now outside of the podcasting sphere because
of this. And that is something I am truly grateful
for. And that gratefulness also extends. To every
single one of you who have listened to My Weekly
Mixtape over this run, thank you from the bottom
of my heart. I look forward to hopefully having
more conversations with you all in the future.
But until that time comes, you can find My Weekly
Mixtape on almost all the social media haunts
at My Weekly Mixtape. Be sure to follow me and
say hello. You can also find the entire archive
of My Weekly Mixtape episodes over at myweeklymixtape
.com. If you like what you're hearing on the
show, even though it's going to be on hiatus
for a few months, be sure to tell a friend about
the show. Tell several friends. Tell everybody
you know. Leave a five -star review wherever
you're listening. All this stuff helps get the
show out there, helps get the word out there.
While I'm not spreading the good word, the gospel
of My Weekly Mixtape, if you will. Maybe you
guys can help me out and do that for me. It would
mean the world to me. If you want to keep in
touch with me, myweeklymixtape at gmail .com.
I'd love to hear from you if you're a listener
of the show and you like what you hear. And most
importantly, the Patreon, which is going to be
paused for now. But when the show returns, who
knows? You can join it for free and just kind
of wait and see what happens because hopefully
I will be talking with you all. Again, very soon,
but until that point, like I've said every time
for 150 episodes, from the bottom of my heart,
thank you, and enjoy the tunes.