Up for Anything, Down on Everything
When I decide to put together a new mix/playlist of songs, it's usually after a longer period of time during which I'm absorbing copious amounts of new music. Eventually, I'll hit a breaking point, and have to lump the best of the best into a list. It always works out the best when it coincides with something in my life.

This time, it's the fact that I rarely go out to bars anymore. And the few times that I have, it's completely different from what it once was. But one thing that hasn't changed is the fact that before going out, I'll take some time at home, shower, get ready, maybe have a couple beers, and, of course, listen to music that gets me pumped up for a night on the town.

This weekend, I'm going out much more than usual, and I decided to finally work on a mix that'd capture this. I wanted to have a general mix of classic favorites with contemporary hits. I tried not to use too many of the latter so it wouldn't date the mix, but I'm not sure that happened. You can be the judge of that. There were a couple things I had to leave off however:

1) "With Love and Squalor" by We Are Scientists. Probably my favorite pre-party album. Puts me in just the right mood for a night out. Problem is that every track is great for it, so I just decided to leave them all off and keep on using the album as it is.

2) Girl Talk. I've recently gotten into Girl Talk (DJ Gregg Gillis) who, if you're unfamiliar, specializes in mash-ups with parts of various songs used to make new music. His latest, "Feed the Animals," is amazing; it's literally a party on a disc. It has something for everyone. But again, because each track is so good, I just chose to keep enjoying it as it is.

That being said, here's the tracklist for "Up for Anything/Down on Everything."

Up for Anything

01 - "No You Girls," Franz Ferdinand
02 - "Roth BOYS," Asher Roth
03 - "Fancy Footwork," Chromeo
04 - "Heart Throb," Be Your Own Pet
05 - "Shakedown On 9th Street," Ryan Adams
06 - "Rock The House," Gorillaz
07 - "Ruby Room," Foxboro Hottubs
08 - "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," AC/DC
09 - "Nuthin' But A G' Thang (Feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg)," Dr. Dre
10 - "Try It Again," The Hives
11 - "Shake a Fist," Hot Chip
12 - "Heads Will Roll," Yeah Yeah Yeahs
13 - "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," George Thorogood & The Destroyers
14 - "Hypnotize," The Notorious B.I.G.
15 - "Dawn Of The Dead," Does It Offend You, Yeah?
16 - "Crawl," Alkaline Trio
17 - "Shake That (Feat. Nate Dogg)," Eminem
18 - "From The Ritz To The Rubble," Arctic Monkeys
19 - "Headfirst Slide Into Cooperstown On A Bad Bet," Fall Out Boy
20 - "After Hours," We Are Scientists


Down on Everything

01 - "Manhattan," Kings of Leon
02 - "Hella Good," No Doubt
03 - "I Can't Stay," The Killers
04 - "Get Fucked Up," Saves The Day
05 - "The Air Near My Fingers," The White Stripes
06 - "Let's Get Fucked Up And Die," Motion City Soundtrack
07 - "Be By Myself (Feat. Cee-Lo)," Asher Roth
08 - "Mind Reader," Silverchair
09 - "Live Young, Die Fast (Acoustic Version)," Alkaline Trio
10 - "Dashboard," Modest Mouse
11 - "Punch Drunk Love (Feat. Kanye West)," Common
12 - "Note To Self: Don't Die," Ryan Adams
13 - "Something Is Squeezing My Skull," Morrissey
14 - "Many Shades Of Black," The Raconteurs
15 - "Murder," The Virgins
16 - "Thirty One Today," Aimee Mann