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I guess I just like liking things

I tend to fragment my music collection based on location and use. I have all my CDs in one central location, of course, barring the occasional use in my car. I also have one central digital location where all of those albums are ripped, alongside the few digital-only songs I have purchased. Certain devices get certain collections or mixes from that main repository, depending on my usual tasks associated with that device. I’m sure there’s a more efficient way to do things, but from an organizational point of view this is the best way for me. I can think of few things more stressful than the idea of taking my whole music collection, putting it on random, and listening to that for a whole day.

Here’s a sampling of what’s on this particular computer:

  • Alternative, 5 hours
  • Children’s Rock, 4 minutes (this is a song from the Ninja Turtles live tour, and I had no idea this classification existed)
  • Comedy, 8.7 hours (pretty much just Weird Al)
  • Folk, 4.8 hours (Mumford & Sons and Brandy Carlile, mostly)
  • Gothic, 2 minutes (???)
  • Rock, 53 hours (And this is about the point where I suspect songs show up in more than one category)
  • Soundtrack, 9.4 hours
  • Unknown, 3.3 hours (Turns out this is untagged stuff (which I’m surprised I have) and random WAVs of things like Q*bert sounds and the Ghostbusters theme in MIDI)

What got me looking at this was wanting to fire up the Garden State soundtrack. Those of us who supported his Kickstarter for his new movie got a couple of emails from Zach Braff this weekend about the film’s reception at Sundance, and he mentioned that it’s been ten years since he was there with Garden State. From there it was a pretty short jump to wanting to listen to the Garden State soundtrack.

It’s been a while since I saw the movie (with a little digging I could tell you the exact date, but I don’t know that it matters), but for a decent stretch it was a movie that really resonated with me. I think part of the reason I haven’t watched it in a while is that I’m worried I won’t like it as well as I did, and sometimes I like to remember things well. But the soundtrack is so tied to the movie, more so than most movies I’ve seen. It captures the feel of the movie while also giving the movie a feel, and it’s kind of like that Mitch Hedberg thing: “My belt holds my pants up, but the belt loops hold my belt up. I don’t really know what’s happening down there. Who is the real hero?”

I don’t know if I’d like the collection of songs as well without the movie behind it, and I’m not sure I’d like the movie as well with different songs. That’s in spite of the “It’ll change your life, man” scene, by the way, which felt a little too crammed down my throat, which is one of like, three scenes that aren’t my favorite in that movie.

ANYWAY.

gardenstateHere’s the list of songs on the soundtrack:

  1. “Don’t Panic” – Coldplay
  2. “Caring Is Creepy” – The Shins
  3. “In the Waiting Line” – Zero 7
  4. “New Slang” – The Shins
  5. “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” – Colin Hay
  6. “Blue Eyes” – Cary Brothers
  7. “Fair” – Remy Zero
  8. “One of These Things First” – Nick Drake
  9. “Lebanese Blonde” – Thievery Corporation
  10. “The Only Living Boy in New York” – Simon & Garfunkel
  11. “Such Great Heights” (The Postal Service cover) – Iron & Wine
  12. “Let Go” – Frou Frou
  13. “Winding Road” – Bonnie Somerville

I went to see Zach’s next movie The Last Kiss and went away from it liking the soundtrack way more than I liked the movie, but Garden State’s soundtrack is my favorite of the two, and maybe my favorite of all time. Wikipedia tells me that Zach Braff received a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media for this, and I didn’t even know you could get a Grammy for that kind of thing. It’s sold 1.3 million copies, and at least three of those are from me because I bought a couple as gifts. Listening to the album as I write this makes me want to watch the movie again.

Oh, and because I couldn’t not look it up, the last time I watched Garden State was April 24, 2009.

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