I'm a Good Student, After All

YES! I am actually caught up through tomorrow in both Evidence and Professional Responsibilities. Astounding! I'm back on track. I'm not going to fail out! I fucking RULE!

What's that? What about Insurance Law, you say? FUCK YOU! The point is i'm caught up in Evidence and PR, you naysaying twit. More importantly, i'm fucking going to be ready to be on call in Evidence this week. Excellent. Yes, i had to cancel working out with Laurence and Cristina, but you gotta break some eggs to make an omlette. Still, i feel bad and guilty for flaking out and not working out. I'll make it up tomorrow and Wednesday. At least the working out part. Other than that, sorry, guys.

What else?

Ah, yes, i've taken a few minutes to start working on a mix for the Spring Break Road Trip. I'm not sure if the mix will actually go on to a CD given the existence of my iPod, but, still. Anyway, I'm taking the advice of Rob Gordon seriously here:

The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.

I'm leaning towards up-beat songs with a beach/fun/party/vacation feeling. Here's what i've got so far, in order, and with an accompanying justification.

1. Cherub Rock by The Smashing Pumpkins
The Pumpkins are my favorite band, after all. More importantly, this song is up-beat, and it really gets me going. It's got a great guitar solo and shit loads of energy. For those reasons, this is my default mix cd first track. I think i'm going to keep the amount of SP low on the trip, but i've still got to start off on the right foot, and i think this track does that. It's definitely a "killer," and i think really grabs attention.

2. B.O.B. by Outkast
As much energy as Cherub Rock might have, Bombs Over Baghdad definitely takes it up a notch. The hip-hop aspect will keep Cole happy, and this song will definitely get the members of Martinez, Zachar, Ruby & McNamara ready to hit the Miami clubs.

3. Surf Wax America by Weezer
The song has "surf" in the title, it talks about undertow and talks about beer-like foam on the sea. This is a definite beach song, and it takes it down a notch from B.O.B., which is important, since i'm always mindful of prematurely blowing my wad.

4. The Future Freaks Me Out by Motion City Soundtrack
Included mostly for personal reasons related to my last awesome roadtrip, the one from Flagstaff, Arizona to Madison, Wisconsin. I think it takes it up slightly from Surf Wax America, but maintains a slightly more mellow feel.

5. Where is My Mind? by The Pixies
Definitely merits inclusion because of the references to swimming in the Caribbean. While more mellow than the kick-off songs, i think it still maintains the feel i'm going for. Putting it here closes out the first half of the disc nicely, i think.

6. Let's Get it Started by the Black Eyed Peas
This song's all about partying, and i think it picks up the pace after a few slower songs. It kicks off the second half by reminding the listener that he's about to be knee-deep in topless babes on a beach in Miami. I actually prefer this version to the original "Let's Get Retarded," which sorta sucks, even though this song is good. Strange.

7. Holiday by Weezer
This song is a no-brainer. It's all about going on vacation.

8. Party Hard by Andrew W.K.
A song can be a great pump-up/get excited for Florida song even if it's not very good. This song epitomizes that. It's all about partying and having a good time. Definitely deserves to be on the mix. It pumps things up again right towards the end and sets up a slow burn, which is one of the best ways to end a CD, i think.

9. Holiday by Green Day
Down a notch from Party Hard. Still in keeping with the theme: another song about going on holiday, although in a different context than the Weezer song. Ignore the fact that it's apocalyptic. Just get into the groove. The most marginal song on the mix, but i think it's sufficiently up-beat, etc.

10. Island in the Sun by Weezer
This seems to be required to be the last song on the mix. I can just imagine sitting on a warm Florida beach at sunset listening to this song. Excellent memory associations. Mellow but not depressing. And still on theme. Definitely in.

Ok, so what do you think? What songs should i add? What songs should i take off? (I fear there may be one too many songs called "Holiday".) What order?

Man, i can't wait for spring break.