CD-R #3: Justin Conway Track-By-Track Breakdown

It starts with a Lee Moses song my friend Anita posted to Facebook once and I couldn't understand how music like that was ever made.

After that is a song by my friend David J and when I heard it I couldn't believe you could write songs like this, I still can't.

Next is an Arthur Russell song, I think there was a collective consciousness thing in the late 2000's to start listening to him, but Stephen Steinbrink really made me fall in love with his lyrics.

The next one is the deepest GBV song to me. In "Watch Me Jumpstart" theres a single shot of a car with an american flag driving through Dayton, OH to this song.

After is my close friend Dan's song "Carbar" which made me feel really emotional the first time I heard it because I was really drunk and I also love the line "I hate my new friends that live in the city", it still resonates.

The next one is a demo of my one of my favorite Big Star songs, I remember the first time I heard Big Star I thought it was too rock and roll for me, wow was I wrong.

Next is a Jason Anderson song that the first time I heard it I was upset I couldn't write music like this, particularly that line "Put your ear to the sky and listen my darling, everything whispers 'I Love You'", very sweet lyrics and really groovy guitar parts.

The next one is another one by my friend David J, I normally don't care about music production but this is so damn beautiful.

After that is the first Aislers Set song I've ever heard, and to this day my favorite.

The next one is a Belle and Sebastian song off my favorite record of theirs, when I was a teenager I used to say I had read "The Trial" because its on the cover of this record, I totally never read it.

The next is the Joyce Manor boys and what I think should be their biggest hit ever. This is my favorite band.

The next song is by a band called Mo Troper that this dude Drew Johnson sent me on Facebook and said "Yo its like a better version of your band" lol he's right.

After that is my favorite Mats song because its ultimate drunk sad guy song.

Next song is a Tony song, and all I'm gonna say is that I was such a big Tony Molina fan before I met him. This song is so insanely beautiful, I can't stand how perfect the guitar licks are.

Had to put a Townes song on here, but going to say that without a doubt my favorite version of Townes is Tony drunk as hell in my guest room at 4 am playing "Rex's Blues".

Dear Nora changed my life when I first heard them, and continues to well after the fact. Its the reason I know Tony, it brought my friend Jeff and I closer, and it shaped the way I think about songwriting. This song is the heaviest song in the world to me.

The next three songs are different bright eyes songs that affected a certain part of my being a teenager. I am 100% certain my life would have turned out differently if I hadn't heard these songs, honestly probably for the better. Listening as an adult should be super embarrassing but it isn't, I loved these songs. I loved being 15 and drinking a beer or taking a swig from a bottle of southern comfort then riding my bicycle from Brian Wondra's house to my moms house across town listening to these songs over and over again. Every song that I'll ever try to write will always come from these or the hundreds of other songs that Conor Oberst wrote that I spent so many years listening to, and still will listen to when I'm nostalgic drunk (which is the actual worst kind).

The last song is my favorite song my friend Jeff ever wrote. Jeff is easily one of the best songwriters I know, and this certainly isn't the best song he's ever written, but I love everything about it, the production, Jeffs sort of out of tune singing, it all makes it a lot more powerful in my opinion.