Thanksgiving mix....

Tomorrow Lisa and I are heading to Nashville to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends. I felt as though a quick Thanksgiving mix was appropriate:

1. Ben Gibbard: "You Remind Me of Home"

2. Iron and Wine/Calexico: "History of Lovers"

3. Elliott Smith: "Baby Britain"

4. Beach Boys: "Vegetables" (bonus Brian Wilson version from the original Smile sessions here)

5. Sufjan Stevens: "The Lord God Bird" (link to download here)

6. Owen: "A Bird in Hand"

7. Andrew Bird: "Plasticities"

8. Mynabirds: "Numbers Don't Lie" (third track)

9. Cake: "Frank Sinatra"

10. The Clash: "I Fought the Law"

11. The Beatles: "All You Need is Love"

Ok, so here's the chronological theme of the mix.

1. Most people travel for home Thanksgiving (The sunday after Thanksgiving is the most heavily traveled day of the year).

2. When one arrives at home, most right thinking (right as in correct, not politically right) people immediately wish to have a few glasses of wine to lessen the awkwardness of seeing family.

3. I felt that the amount of alcohol some of us consume at family gatherings warranted another booze-themed track.

4. The meal begins and there will be vegetables. Oh yes, there will. Listen to Mr. Wilson's psychotropic ballad to leafy greens and get ready for yams!

5. Yeah, I know the song is about the pileated woodpecker, but how many good turkey-themed songs are there out there? Anyway, as a non-carnivore, I won't be loopy on the tryptophan as many of you will, but turkey is the quintessential Thanksgiving entree. So, since you will be partaking anyway, may I recommend free-range?

6. More bird-related music. And what would Thanksgiving be without football, and while this may be a stretch, I'm not a huge American Football fan, so I decided to go with Kinsella's current project, Owen.

7. Even more bird-related music. While I couldn't tell you exactly what "Plasticities" is about, it's definitely anti-cubicle. And so am I. And on Thanksgiving, you cubicle dwellers will have at least eight paid hours of cubicle-free eating and drinking. So, enjoy it, because Monday is only four days away.

8. Yes, that's right....one final bird-related song. But this one is a bonus because it also relates to family, as Laura from Mynabirds is my cousin and while I won't be seeing her for Thanksgiving, we will be getting together for the next big holiday. Oh and while you're at her site, please listen to all of the songs as they are all excellent....I am quite impressed. (Another personal favorite is "Let the Record Go")

9. Ideally, your meal will end with some sort of delicious baked good. Personally, I'm a pumpkin pie fan myself, but this song is for all you cake lovers.

10. If your family is anything like mine, sooner or later, the discussions will turn to either of the two dreaded family conversations: Politics and Religion. And, if your family is anything like mine, it will nearly come to fisticuffs. And if your family is anything like mine, at least one of them will have purchased Palin's "Going Rogue" and will be touting the wise gems gleaned from the most polarizing political figure since Dan Quayle......yikes. At this point, the fighting will commence. (Extra points if your family's fights are so hardcore that "the law" actually shows up to break it up.)

11. Hopefully by now you've got the fighting out of your system and moved into the next stage of drunkenness and you just want to hug it out and get along. All we need is love, indeed.

Enjoy, my friends....and have a Happy Thanksgiving with safe travels.