Christmas CD Mix and Memories

BEHIND THE MUSIC: THE STORY OF THE 20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY MIX

John Youngren’s Christmas CD

2012 Edition – 20^th Anniversary Mix

First Released Dec. 20, 2012

[Editor’s Note: This blog entry may not make sense to some people. It’s the story behind my 20-year anniversary Christmas mix CD. If you don’t know what I’m talking about and would like a copy, email me at johnyoungren@mac.com]

By JOHN YOUNGREN

Two decades ago, when I was more or less 11 years old (bah dah dum), I started doing this thing for my friends. It was inspired – as I detail on this year’s CD liner notes – when my close friend Greg Simos moved away, for a job in North Carolina. 

Greg (we called him “Filo”) was at the center of a group I ran with at the time – and we spent a lot of time together, closing down bars and partying too much and doing crazy things like singing karaoke on the deck at Green Street on hot summer nights.

It was a great, great time in my life. We were all a lot younger (we had to be). And we had a lot of fun.

A few other things played into the evolution of the original Christmas mix concept: In college, when I had friends spread out all over the world serving LDS Missions (yes, really), I put together these kind of group mix tapes that I would send to a handful with jokes and news and music about life back home. Those tapes had my voice on them, though, and I didn’t think they’d stand the test of time. So I took one part of the idea and tweaked it.

Also, a former boss of mine (many will remember the late Don Ware from Harris & Love days) had a Christmas tradition I always thought was great. He’d assemble a Christmas cookbook (with personal recipes) each year to share with friends and family and send them out accordingly.

What could I do in to capture that spirit? That's how it started, basically, as a glorified mix tape, designed to capture the year that was in music. In the original days of the tapes, there were a lot of rules: Each song had to “mean” something, meaning either we had to have referenced it or sung it or been somewhere where it had been played during some kind of group gathering over the previous 12 months. For many years, I would document whatever concerts or other similar events had taken place during the year by including a song or two from that artist on the mix tape.

It was all on cassette tapes in those early years (the first eight or so), and my distribution list was really pretty small. There were no fancy covers and pretty limited duplication resources. I would copy the tapes (cassette to cassette) in “real” time; meaning 45 minutes for Side 1 and 45 minutes for Side 2. I was lucky if I could make 20 duplicates in any given year, so they went to just a handful of people, the early list of friends and family.

Over time, it grew. Phase II of the history probably started around the time I moved from cassette to CD, in the year 2000. That was a big deal because I jumped ahead in terms of technology (laughable now) and distribution possibilities. Because of price breaks and so forth, I could suddenly make multiple copies of the CD relatively cheaply and certainly easily.  My art direction skills were another issue, however. With the move to CD came the opportunity for CD covers. The first couple I struggled through. Then I started working at Love Communications in 2001 and befriended a certain art director named Craig Lee. Craig was generous enough with his time and talent that he was able to take a simple picture of me and turn it into something fun – the 2001 Christmas CD (the first of the modern era) features me wearing a Santa hat on the cover.

And that led to a kind of Phase III. Because each year, it became a challenge to “top” the previous year in terms of design, photographs and other conceptual matters. Sometimes, the music I chose was directly reflected in the cover concept, or vice-versa. Sometimes, the cover overshadowed the mix; people would react to whatever concept or photograph we had and not even listen to the songs. A few years, it hit on all cylinders.

I was also duplicating a lot more CDs – as I started giving one to everyone I worked with, as well as the now familiar “friends, family, former and would-be lovers, past and present colleagues, drinking buddies and football league foes.” Some loved it and took to the new tradition. Some looked at me like I was crazy. All this attention for a mix CD?

Around this time (and really because the audience had well broadened beyond its original scope) was also the period when I dumped the whole idea of these songs all “meaning” something, or necessarily being tied to any specific year or group connection. The group had grown too diverse. So, I just started picking music I like or had been attracted to over the course of the year, and began building The Mix principally for entertainment value above all else. Leading off the Christmas mix with an actual Christmas song didn’t become a standard until the 10^th annual mix, believe it or not, and I ran out of Frank Sinatra songs (which always used to close the mix) somewhere around the end of the first decade, too.

It was probably also around 10 years ago that my interest in country music started to evolve; country songs (much to the chagrin of Rich Love) have appeared ever since. But I’ve always tried to keep a balance – lead off with a hard rocker or two; respect the classic bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and not be afraid to go to the songs I like by artists who are consistent “mix favorites,” like Matthew Sweet, the Gin Blossoms, John Mellencamp and a handful of others.

Prior to this year’s special 20^th anniversary edition, I had used 453 different tracks (repeating a song only three times, and once was on purpose). 

(I still have great respect and appreciation for those early souls – like my sister, Michelle Watson, or my friend Tom Carlson – who still follow all the early rules; who actually listen to every song before they look at the list of songs and give the music the time to speak. But those people are rare in today's hustle hustle world, and I understand everyone else's need to move through it all in a hurry. Where's the songlist? What's next?)

I had a few people suggest that I put together some kind of compilation over the years, first at the 10-year anniversary and later at the 15-year mark. While I didn’t necessarily think I’d make it to 20 years, I always thought that would be the ideal time to do it, basically because for every year of the CD era, I could generally fit between 20-22 songs in the 80-minute play limit. That’s where the idea of doing one song from each year along with the Christmas song and a “surprise” song came from.

With all that as background (I’m just assuming you want it all if you’re here at all), I offer the behind-the-scenes on the 20^th anniversary mix, as outlined below. Funny thing is, this “Greatest Hits” collection features many of my favorite songs of the past 20 years, sure-thing party starters (at least in my mind) I’ve likely pulled out in one of those games of iPod roulette at the Carlsons' house. And if you listen to it in sequence, that’s how it plays, too – like I’m controlling your iPod, and I get to select each song.

So imagine me sitting right there next to you as I work my way through your play lists. (But don’t get scared. I’m not really there.)

1)   “Happy Christmas (War Is Over)." John Lennon and Yoko Ono. From the 2002 mix (it mistakenly says 2003 mix on the CD cover. A typo got through in the pre-holiday rush). One of my favorite modern Christmas songs of all time, this seemed appropriate because of its place in the history of the Christmas CD and the fact that it’s the one modern Christmas song I sometimes find myself singing.

2)   “Day Tripper.” The Beatles. From the 2001 mix. Nothing too mysterious. It took me several years to use this the first time around, which still amazes me, because I think it’s one of the Beatles’ great riffs and songs of the period. I opened with it this year because I think it’s a strong rocker.

3)   “Tumbling Dice.” Rolling Stones.  From the 1994 mix. Though it’s one of my favorite Stones songs of all time, the main reason it made the 1994 mix – following my logic of the early era mixes – is because that was the year the Stones performed at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake, a landmark concert of the era, and “Tumbling Dice” was one of the songs they sang.

4)   “Beautiful Girls.” Van Halen. From the 2006 mix. Another of those, “I can’t believe it took me that long to get that song on a mix” songs. Great riff and just a whole lot of fun. Good leadoff song, which it did back in 2006.

Past the leadoff hitters, we enter kind of a “second phase” of the 20^th anniversary mix – period pieces that are sure to take you back….

5)   “Hannah Jane.” Hootie & The Blowfish. From the 1995 mix. No song or band better defined the mid-90s for me, and Hootie was a band I saw live several times in 1995 and other years of the period. “Hannah Jane” stands the test of time as one of my particular favorites, a party starter still. I can still see it all in my mind. “Friends” was on the air; I had my Doc Martens on, Zima in hand. Hootie was in the house.

6)   “Girlfriend.” Matthew Sweet. From the 1999 mix. Though I didn’t get around to using it until a few years later (it seemed too obvious, because it was his first big hit, so I went with other more obscure Matthew Sweet tracks first), “Girlfriend” is another defining era song for me. I was introduced to the album by my friends Dean and Robin in Seattle in what had to be 1993 or 1994ish; I became an addicted fan shortly thereafter and have seen Matthew Sweet a number of times over the years, particularly in the mid-late ‘90s. He’s been a mix staple for two decades.

7)   “Something So Strong.” Crowded House. The title of the song is “Something So Strong,” not “Something’s So Strong,” which it mistakenly says on the label. Again, a typo in the pre-holiday, post-Fox haste (see below). It’s a song from the 1993 mix. If we follow the original philosophy of the mix, this is a quintessential song. The strum-strum-strum-strum opening guitar bit was some I always did on the old Bud Light guitar, and it’s one of those we’d do in the old corner table on a “Talk Show” Friday night at D.B. Cooper’s. The original mix tapes were practically invented so I could put this song on them. It’s still a favorite song to sing in the shower, even today.

8)   “These Are Days.” 10,000 Maniacs. From the 1996 mix. The song sums up a particular period of my life – On The Run with Hendy, On The Town with The Crowd, closing down Baci and Oyster Bar and whatever other hot spots we could find. Too many fuzzy Friday nights, too many cloudy Saturday mornings, credit card receipts for drinks I didn’t remember buying. A great time in my life, from what I can – or can’t – remember.

The third phase … much to Rich’s chagrin … is my little country outing for the disc, batching three heavy hitters (all mix standard artists in the country era) with three classic songs, then segueing my way back into the mainstream with a couple of favorites for the teenage girls in the audience. (Just kidding. But they’re all good songs.)

9)   “The Good Stuff.”  Kenny Chesney. From the 2002 mix. While a bit downbeat, this song launched me into being a Kenny Chesney fan – I’ve seen him four or five times over the years live – and pretty much solidified the country music muse going forward. This is one that’s fun to sing by yourself while driving. At least it’s fun for me to do that.

10)                 “Red Dirt Road”.” Brooks & Dunn. From the 2003 mix. This is one of those “damn country music” songs I wish I could get the non-country music fans to just shut up and listen to. It’s a Brooks & Dunn classic and a mix favorite because it hits upon – as many of my favorite mix songs have over the years – the big themes of life and friends and memories and love. People who get caught up in the twang and the fiddle are missing the point. For, when you think about it, those are some of the big themes of the mix, no matter the year.

11)                 “Whiskey Girl.” Toby Keith. From the 2004 mix. Nothing too earthshattering here – I believe I saw Mr. Keith in 2004. Why does it make the greatest hits collection? Part of my criteria in choosing songs for the 20^th anniversary was to try something that defined the particular era of mixes for me. And in the early 2000s, I was seeing all the mainstream country acts, including Chesney, Brooks & Dunn, Big & Rich, Toby Keith, etc., etc.

12)                 “Sparks Fly.” Taylor Swift. From the 2008 mix, more or less. This is the one sneaky thing I did as part of the "Greatest Hits" 20-year mix. It was supposed to be Taylor’s Swift “Love Story,” which did appear that year. But I just didn’t like the way “Love Story” sounded in this particular retrospective mix. I did use “Sparks Fly” in 2011, but that year was represented by “The Lazy Song,” which also had to stay. I wrestled with this for a few weeks. How could I have both? Simple. Knowing that to many of my followers any and all Taylor Swift songs pretty much sound alike and knowing that pretty much no one else would notice this unless I pointed it out, I went with “Sparks Fly” as a sort of generic Taylor Swift song that had to be in the lineup. In my defense, this is the only song on the 20^th anniversary mix that got this pass. Also in my defense, it sounded better and it’s my mix. So I can break my rules.

13)                 “Party in the USA.” Miley Cyrus. From the 2010 mix. This is total guilty pleasure, a song that no one my age should like. But I do. I like Miley and this song was used as play-up music everytime shortstop Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies was introduced in the summer of 2010. I like the Rockies, and I like Tulo. The song defined the year. It made the 20^th anniversary mix.

The final batch of songs is sequenced very intentionally for the 20-year mix, as we hit the last third of the song list. With the exception of the first song, “The Lazy Song,” (which came from last year, when it summed up my weekends almost perfectly), all of the songs are meant to be thematic in terms of tone and message.

While they don’t necessarily mean anything specifically, at least on a song-by-song basis, they are meant to generate an overall feeling of contemplation and resolve when thinking about one’s life. (And trust me – I did this same kind of thing 20 years ago. It’s not a matter of age, though that doesn’t help.)

14)                 “The Lazy Song.” Bruno Mars. From the 2011 mix. See above. This song is just fun, and doesn’t really fit into the whole contemplation zone.

15)                 “Daylight Fading.” Counting Crows. From the 1997 mix. Another defining song of the mid-late ‘90s era, and an easy pick for this retrospective. A lot of different Counting Crows songs could have made this list; this just always seemed like a favorite.

16)                 “I’m A Loser.” The Beatles. From the 2009 mix. This song has actually appeared a couple of different ways on Christmas mixes over the years. It’s here again because of its larger themes – a Lennon/Beatles song of raw emotion. It’s also here, moreover, because it was a favorite of the Salt Lake City band Mocha Joe, which performed throughout Salt Lake in the early ‘90s. They would often do their cover of “I’m A Loser” while performing at D.B. Cooper’s … around the same time a certain group of friends was sitting in a certain corner booth, leaning into their beers and singing along.

17)                 “Human Wheels.” John Mellencamp. From the 2005 mix. See everything above about contemplation. It’s a hidden gem from Mellencamp, not one of his classic hits but one of my favorites.

18)                  “Cajun Song.” Gin Blossoms. From the 2000 mix. When I discovered the Gin Blossoms in the late ‘90s, they began to inform nearly every year’s mix; they’re right up there among the all-time leaders in terms of overall appearances (I believe it's 13 times). This is just a Gin Blossoms classic, and it sounds good in the final set of songs on the 20^th anniversary mix. Sometimes, as with Taylor Swift, above, that’s I’ll I’m doing is picking a song that “sounds” like it meshes with what’s before or after. People looking for the hidden meaning in those instances should realize that sometimes it’s just that.

19)                 “Drunk On You.” Luke Bryant. New for the 2012 mix. Like I said, I got one “official” new song for the new mix; something from this year that would have been on the CD for the first time. I chose, for various reasons, “Drunk On You.” Luke Bryant has emerged as a country star over the past 18 months, though he’s appeared on Christmas CD mixes before. The video for this song is clever. The guitar riff is memorable. It “fits” the final sequence. And the song contains the lyrics, “girl, you make my speakers go boom boom,” which is so silly it’s great. Plus, it’s kind of the male version of “Sparks Fly,” reflecting the Taylor Swift choice above.

20)                 “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” Green Day. From the 1998 mix. Anyone who can’t see how this song would fit in on the 20^th anniversary mix and can’t appreciate the pace and where it fits in this retrospective collection is probably just not a fan of John Youngren Christmas CDs.

21)                 “Bitter End.” Dixie Chicks. From the 2007 mix. Same goes for this one as for No. 20, above. Just a great song – more than what it says lyrically than anything else. Typically, I like to end on a wistful note; it being the New Year and a time for reflection and all that. Dixie Chicks hit it with me on that note with this song five years ago. I thought I’d reuse it for almost the same purpose on the 20-year mix.

22)                 “Zou Bisou, Bisou.” Jessica Pare. New to this year as a surprise song. And, at the same time as the ending wistful note, I like to puncture the “big finish” feeling with a hidden gem or amusing throwaway, so that everyone knows I’m not taking myself too seriously. Last year, it was the “Mahna Mahna” punchline to the “Rainbow Connection” finish; a perfect example of what I’m talking about. (It’s the same philosophy that kept me from using a Sinatra finale, which always used to close the show. Just feels a bit too spot on.)

This song, as fans of “Mad Men” will recognize, was used in a particularly sultry scene in an early episode of “Mad Men” from its fifth season. Don Draper’s younger trophy wife serenades him at his birthday party as his colleagues watch and drool.

The song’s lyrics as loosely translated from their original French:

Kiss kiss kiss
My God, how soft they are!
Kiss kiss kiss
The sound of kisses!
In the bushes, under the August sky
Lovers glide stealthily
Like birds, they have dates
Everywhere you hear:
Kiss kiss kiss etc.
My God, how soft they are!
But tell me, do you know
What that means, between us,
What does “zou bisou” mean?
It means, I confess to you,
But yes, I love only you!
Kiss kiss kiss etc.
My God, how soft it is!

So what’s all that supposed to mean? Nothing, really. I’m stealing from a memorable scene of “Mad Men.” If you get it, you get it. If you don’t, you haven’t missed much.

And that’s the 20-year anniversary story. I hope you enjoyed the CD, and I’m glad you’re interested enough to want to find out a little more. Like I said, there’s not much to most of it, other than – it’s my mix, so I’ll do what I want. And always leave them wanting more.

Two other notes: My friend Adam Fox fit this annual project in – he’s a talented art director who just left the staff at Love Communications for a new job in St. Louis. He’s been the one who’s done the photographs and concepts for my CDs for the past several years. I owe him a great deal, especially this year, because he promised to do the layout and design of the CD cover and label before he left – meaning we had to accelerate the process. It’s also the reason we didn’t do any high concept photograph or anything like that this year – no me as Abe Lincoln, or whatever – meaning a journey through the Youngren Archives for photographs. Thanks, Adam. And thanks to whoever took the handful of photos we used but I couldn't remember...

And a quick shout out to Bret Ivory, also on the staff here at Love, for tweaking the design before we printed them, just the other night. And Joe Evans, as always, for the trimming and stuffing of the CDs at the wire.

Thanks be to all.

ON THE DOT: Now sometimes back in business (with a modified rating system) the “John Youngren Dot Com” blog (once known as “Pop Stew”) hasn’t been updated in a while. That’s on me; I’ll try to do better going forward. To contact me, e-mail johnyoungren@mac.com