This afternoon with Taryn out running errands for a few hours it was James and daddy time. I decided to make a mix of tunes that really rock heavy. I wanted music we could bang our heads and jump around to for 80 minutes.
I didn't want more than one tune from the same artist and I wanted it to be fast enough to promote an acceptable level of mania. I examined my collection and widdled down my initial 180 minutes of music to the following tracks.
1. Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod : I've always loved this tune. I needed something off Psalm 69, and this track won out in the end thanks to its relentless assault. It's also a great opening track with the wisdom "there was only one thing that I could do was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long".
2. System of a Down - Chop Suey! : Another full throttle attack in musical form. This mix had to be killer fast and Chop Suey! accomplishes this mission each and every time. "Why have you forsaken me, In your eyes forsaken me".
3. Disturbed - Down With the Sickness : I knew I was going to have to stick a Disturbed track on this one, but which one? I thought about Liberate and Prayer but returned to this doozy because it's loud and fast and still my favourite Disturbed tune. "Open up your hate, and let it flow into me".
4. Drowning Pool - Bodies : This has become a tune I reach for when I just need to bang my head for a few minutes. The lead singer is dead now, and that's a shame. This is a heavy track. "Driven by hate consumed by fear, Let the bodies hit the floor".
5. Slipknot - Wait and Bleed : I wouldn't call myself a Slipknot fan but I'm definitely a "Wait and Bleed" fan. This is the one Slipknot song with a melody but it still thrashes. "I wander over where you can't see... Inside my shell, I wait and bleed".
6. Beastie Boys - Time For Livin' : This song is short but sweet. It's a great Beastie Boys track for increasing the heart rate. It fit well on this mix. "I said ain't nobody got the pain I can hear, But if I have to I will yell in your ear".
7. Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name : You knew RATM was going to be represented on this mix, and is there a better RATM song than this? Awesome energy, just awesome. "Some of those that work forces, are the saints that burn crosses".
8. Outkast - Bombs Over Baghdad : Few song rock as hard as this one from Hip Hop giants Outkast. It's bloody fast and damn good. Play it loud, play it proud, BOB never gets old. "Don't even bang unless you plan to hit something".
9. Soundgarden - Jesus Christ Pose : I was trying to stay away from the big four, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, but I slipped because this mix had to have "Jesus Christ Pose" on it. I remember when I first heard this song over a decade ago. It blew my mind then and it blows my mind today. "And you stare at me in your Jesus Christ pose. Arms held out like it's the coming of the Lord".
10. Public Enemy - Welcome to the Terrordome (X-Games Remix) : This track makes it because of the guitar added for the X Games Soundtrack. The original is a great tune, but the extra guitar makes it that much heavier and a worthy addition to this 80 minutes of mania. "I got so much trouble on my mind I refuse to lose, Here's your ticket - Hear the drummer get wicked".
11. Incubus - Megalomaniac : Admittedly, this song was promoted because it's a tune I'm really into this week. It's got some fast and heavy parts, but other parts that are much, much slower than the preceeding tunes. Still, I'm diggin' it and I'm not sick of it yet. "Hey megalomaniac, You're no Jesus. Yeah, you're no f*cking Elvis".
12. Papa Roach - Last Resort : Still heavy after all these years. Whenever assembling a mix of this nature, "Last Resort" must be taken into consideration. "Losing my sight, losing my mind. Wish somebody would tell me I'm fine".
13. Limp Bizkit - Faith : Fred Durst screams his way through a cover of George Michael's "Faith" and it works. Ya gotta turn the volume to 11 to fully appreciate this one. Strangely addictive. "Well it takes a stong man baby but I'm, uh, showing you that door".
14. Cypress Hill - Rock Superstar : Cypress Hill recorded two versions of this song. "Rap Superstar" was the hip hop version while this "Rock Superstar" was the rock version. What can I say? It rocks. "Comin' up in the world, don't trust no body. Gotta look over your shoulder constantly".
15. Toadies - Possum Kingdom : I think this is one of the most underrated songs in the history of music. You hear so little about it and it never gets airplay. I think it's a classic. Although, like "Megalomaniac", it's a little softer than the other tunes it has a killer chorus that had James and I hoppin'. "I'll treat you well, my sweet angel, so help me Jesus".
16. Audioslave - Cochise : I considered disqualifying this tune from the mix because both Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine had already been represented, but I dig it so much I had to keep it. It's just a heavy tune and I love it. "Go and save yourself. Take it out on me".
17. Tracy Bonham - Mother Mother : What the hell happened to Tracy Bonham? This track was killer and then she was gone. I think it's one of the finest rock songs ever performed by a female. "I'm hungry, I'm dirty, I'm losing my mind, Everything's fine".
18. Offspring - Bad Habit : Pure adenaline. James and I were moshing big time to this sucker. Just thinking about this tune sends my heart rate through the roof. If you ever need to get psyched up for something, give "Bad Habit" a spin. "Drivers are rude, Such attitudes, But when I show my piece, Complaints cease".
19. Danzig - Mother : If you're going to close 80 minutes of head banging tunage, this is the ideal closer. It's a live version from the MTV Buzz Bins compilation. Just check out the lyrical content. "Father, Do you wanna bang heads with me? Do you wanna feel everything? Oh father".
I'll tell you this. James and I blasted this mix and jumped around and banged our heads like fools. It was awesome. The next time Taryn goes out, we're doing it again.
