CD-R #3 has been provided by friend Justin Conway, who though I have only been around a few times in person, has always been a a favorite person of mine to spend time with. I feel if Justin and I would have met earlier on in our lives, we could have been better friends and probably would played music together in some sort of fashion. He and I did a similar thing of moving to a new place, away from our hometowns and our community of friends and family, and starting a "new life" in a place where you hardly know anyone. I feel some sort of comradery in that way. Though they dropped a show they were supposed to play with Fugue, his band Tiny Lungs was in a similar vein of idealism and emotion. Seeing Merry Christmas at the first year of the Lauren Records' curated Growing Up Is Dumb fest was one of my favorite performances that weekend, mostly because they played one of their longest songs in front of a giant American flag; it was meant to stick I suppose. "America" and "American" aren't the easiest words to give and receive these days, but in my own strange mind, Justin's music (both what he made and what I knew he was a fan of) reminds me of this sort of America that isn't what we see on the surface, but in the pockets of kids from suburban neighborhoods looking for something to keep them busy on a summer weeknight. I don't even know if Justin likes Bruce Springsteen, but when I finally started listing to Bruce Springsteen on my own accord, I thought to myself, "Justin would be proud".
In his own words: "Some of my closest friends in the world are very knowledgable music connoisseurs, I however am not. I barely even like music, but this is a collection of songs that made an impact on my life in some way or another. I honestly doubt anyone will enjoy it, but its definitely best experienced later in the evening after drinking 4 or 5 bourbons by yourself, right as you're about to open the living room window to smoke a cigarette, right before that moment where you start texting your friends how much you miss them, not realizing you've done this the past 3 days in a row."
Justin also included a track-by-track breakdown of what the songs mean to him. You can find that here. As always, here are the individual tracks below if Spotify aint your thing:
1. Lee Moses - Bad Girl
2. Novi Split - New Kids
3. Arthur Russell - I Couldn't Say It To Your Face
4. Guided By Voices - Club Molluska
5. No Win - Carbar
6. Big Star - Jesus Christ (Demo)
7. Jason Anderson - Christmas
8. Novi Split - Hollow Notes
9. Aislers Set - Chicago New York
10. Belle and Sebastian - Like Dylan in the Movies
11. Joyce Manor - Over Before It Began
12. Mo Troper - After The Movies
13. The Replacements - Here Comes A Regular
14. Tony Molina - No One Told He
15. Townes Van Zandt - Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel
16. Dear Nora - You Are 26
17. Bright Eyes - Going For The Gold
18. Bright Eyes - Feb. 15th
19. Bright Eyes - Motion Sickness
20. Merry Christmas - A Round for the Merchant Marines