Hold Fast to Dreams

Christina and I were waiting at the bus station, talking about the best songs about dreams. She noted that it would be fun to have a mix tape entirely composed of dream songs. I promised to send her one.


Hold Fast to Dreams

1. Depeche Mode, "Dreaming of Me"
2. Fleetwood Mac, "Dreams"
3. New Order, "Dreams Never End"
4. The Everly Brothers, "All I Have to Do is Dream"
5. Blondie, "Dreaming"
6. Otis Redding, "I've Got Dreams to Remember"
7. Tom Waits, "Innocent When You Dream (78)"
8. TV on the Radio, "Dreams"
9. Caetano Veloso, "Dreamland"
10. Miles Davis, "Moon Dreams"
11. Nico, "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"
12. Tom Petty, "Runnin' Down a Dream"
13. Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
14. The Jam, "Dreams of Children"
15. Patsy Cline, "Sweet Dreams"
16. Roy Orbison, "In Dreams"
17. Van Morrison, "These Dreams of You"
18. The Human League, "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of"
19. Fiona Apple, "Sleep to Dream"
20. Bob Dylan, "Series of Dreams"

The one rule we decided on for this mix is that it had to be straight from my music library--no internet help. Even then, I had over 200 songs to choose from, not including Aerosmith's "Dream On", which I could have sworn was on my computer but apparently was wiped out somewhere in the Hard Drive Crash of '07. It might not have even made the final cut (putting it on a mix is a little like putting "American Pie" on a mix these days), and there were plenty of others cut for being too nightmarish, which may warrant its own mix tape. But what I've got here more than suffices.

Dreams are big in sythpop and new wave, inspiring some of the best songs by Depeche Mode, New Order, Blondie, Human League and Eurythmics, but the dream MVP is obviously Bob Dylan, who's been recording great songs about dreams from his 20s through his 60s. I settled on "Series of Dreams," the gorgeous closing track to his first Bootleg Series album, which sweetly ties the '80s new wavers to the rock pioneers (Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers) who grace this mix. Hold fast, Christina.

Do Not Go Jenny Into That Good Night

Do Not Go Jenny Into That Good Night

1. Pavement, "Gold Soundz"
2. My Bloody Valentine, "Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)"
3. The Church, "Under the Milky Way"
4. The B-52's, "Roam"
5. Morrissey, "Suedehead"
6. New Order, "Age of Consent"
7. David Bowie, "Life on Mars?"
8. Nico, "These Days"
9. The Wrens, "This Boy is Exhausted"
10. Nick Drake, "Pink Moon"
11. Queen, "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"
12. Nina Simone, "Pirate Jenny"
13. Patti Smith, "Dancing Barefoot"
14. The Velvet Underground, "Rock and Roll"
15. Têtes Noires, "True Love"
16. The Pretenders, "Back on the Chain Gang"
17. The Grateful Dead, "Ripple"
18. Soul Asylum, "Just Like Anyone"
19. Local H, "For Lovers"
20. The Replacements, "Nowhere is My Home"

Happy birthday, JA.