Geoff's MGoMix 2010

1. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

"Dig me out, dig me in / Outta this mess, baby, outta my head" is an apt description of how much of the summer, and the past three years, has gone. We're hoping and pleading for better things, but it's not in our hands.

2. Tegan and Sara - The Con
Yes I'm guilty of this
You should know this
I broke down and wrote you back
Before you had a chance to
Forget forgotten
I am moving past this giving notice

The allegations leveled against the Michigan football program were true - practices ran long by an average of 15 minutes, which rises to the level of a major violation. More embarrassing was the record-keeping fiasco and the grad assistant who lied to NCAA investigators, not to mention the miserable battle with the Freep. Now is the time to start putting the past in the past.

3. The Thermals - I Let It Go
I looked my fear in the eyes!
Looked at the water below!
I knew I could love or live!
I let it go!

There's been a point in 3, maybe 4 of the last 5 seasons where I've had to pull back from how much I put into the Michigan football team, how much I live and die with wins and losses. Losses have traditionally been such a painful thing for this team, and learning how to want them to win so badly without getting too crushed by a defeat has been a difficult process. But that's just it: Wins are so precious and so sweet, and we need to celebrate them that way. Let go of unrealistic expectations and media hype and watch Denard find his passing game or an unheralded Carvin Johnson grab a starting spot as a true freshman. There's joy to be found in that.

4. The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait

Such a great song. And I can never wait for the season to start. We're just a few days away.

5. Rilo Kiley - With Arms Outstretched
It's sixteen miles
To the promised land
And I promise you, I'm doing the best I can

Everyone involved in this team is doing their damnedest to get to that promised land. The coaching staff's jobs probably depend on making a bowl game, and any kid that's stuck it out is playing for more than just his own pride.

6. Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town
Guess who just got back today?
Them wild-eyed boys that had been away

Mike Martin wrecking fools. Tay Odoms blocking some dude who's got 50 pounds on him. Tate Forcier juking a Notre Dame safety out of his jock and taking it to the house. Denard dropping the snap, picking it up, and scoring a ridiculous 40+ yard TD on his first touch as a college player. Goosebumps.

7. Stars - Take Me To The Riot

I've only watched one Michigan home game on TV since I became a student -- I had enough time to watch the first half of EMU last year before my cousin's wedding, and I just wanted to be there, to here the crash of the helmets and the thud of a good hit.

8. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
One foot in and one foot back
But it don't pay to live like that
So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks
For never to return

It feels like this team can never get moving in the right direction, whether it's a great non-conference followed by a disastrous Big Ten season, or an offseason of progress derailed by a key injury, or any of the countless PR contrivoversies. But we're doing our best to make a clean break with all of that, to do the difficult thing and to trust in the future.

9. The Gaslight Anthem - Meet Me By The River's Edge
See I've been here for 28 years.
Pounding sweat beneath these wheels.
We tattooed lines beneath our skin.
No surrender, my Bobby Jean.

NO RETREAT, NO REGRETS.

10. Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns and Money
Send lawyers, guns and money
The shit has hit the fan

Barwis will handle THE GUN SHOW, Bill Martin already sent the lawyers in, and David Brandon can take care of the money. But man, it's a deep pile we're standing in.

11. The Pixies - UMass
It's educational!

Such an obvious choice. So unlikely that the MMB does a Pixies tribute. What a waste. (NSWF language)

12. PJ Harvey - Victory

I love the bass line in this song

13. Gnarls Barkley - Going On
And you can stand right there if you want
But I’m going on
And I’m prepared to go it alone
I’m going on

The Puma campaign that used this song as the soundtrack for their World Cup spot was pretty good, but I like the original video better. And my fundamental belief is that Rodriguez didn't forget how to coach and will eventually successful again. I hope it's at Michigan.

14. The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees

I would like that "swarm of bees" to be half a dozen Michigan helmets and the "I" to be "Terrell Pryor's spleen"

15. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Bad Reputation
An' everyone can say
What they want to say
It never gets better anyway
So why should I care
'Bout a bad reputation anyway

The media story on Rich Rodriguez hasn't varied from the same basic template ever since he decided to leave West Virginia - He turned his back on his home, he's engaged in various shady activities, he's no MICHIGAN MAN. Rodriguez can't do a lot to change opinions on this. He can only coach football. So suit up and get to work.

16. Drive-By Truckers - Never Gonna Change
Mean and strong like liquor.
Mean and strong like fear.
Strong like the people from South Alabama and mean like the people from here.

The DBT's are Alabaman to the core, so no use transplanting this to Michigan, but you want your football team to hit like a truck and run twice as fast, and there's a lot of that toughness in this song.

17. Silversun Pickups - Future Foe Scenarios

The Big Ten has now released their 2011 and 2012 schedules. Now you just have to find a way to beat them.

18. Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI
Someone tell me why I do the things
That I don't wanna do
When you're around me I'm somebody else

Sometimes it really does feel like "Michigan Football" died when Bo did. I know this is ridiculous, and there have been some bright spots, but sometimes you feel like you're watching a different school, one that just can't get it right, but one that has the potential to put it all together.

19. Barenaked Ladies - The Old Apartment

Sometimes the urge to compare the way things are versus the way they were is overwhelming.

20. Josh Ritter - Empty Hearts
Singing don't let me into this year with an empty heart
With an empty heart
Don't let me into this year with an empty heart

Don't let this team go out without a bowl game to reward them for the last few years of disappointment. Get them over the hump and back in the postseason. A win over OSU is probably too much to ask for, but a man can dream...

Craig's MGoMix 2010

[Author's note: Today, I'll be breaking down the songs that I put on this year’s MGoMix, the "mix tape" that I make for driving to Michigan football games. It should be noted that this is not a hype mix, it’s more in line with Will Ferrell's character in The Other Guys having Little River Band on as they drive to the call, these are songs which reflect where I am right now as a Michigan football fan. As is the rule, until Michigan wins a Big Ten title, no repeat non-Michigan songs from the previous year’s MGoMix. Also, this entire endeavor owes a debt of gratitude to Geoff for giving me the idea to do it in the first place.]

1). "L'estasi dell'oro (The Ecstasy of Gold)" by Ennio Morricone (from the soundtrack to the 1966 film The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.)

Metallica has used this as their introductory music for every concert since 1983, and it is a perfect mood setter for wanting to get something done.  The Red Wings also used it as part of their pre-game video this past season.
In the film, this track plays while Tuco is frantically searching a graveyard for the grave that holds $200,000 in gold coins.  Which is sort of an apt parallel for Michigan fans the last two seasons when you think about it.  Searching through a graveyard, looking for something shiny and beautiful.

2). "Duck and Cover" by Glen Phillips (from his 2005 album Winter Pays for Summer)

I've always been a huge Toad the Wet Sprocket fan since I was in high school, and so when this track from Glen's solo album came up on Pandora, I was immediately drawn to it.  The lyrics are simply amazing and speak deeply to the Michigan fan experience of the last couple of seasons.  To wit:

Everybody here's got a story to tell
Everybody's been through their own hell
There's nothing too special about getting hurt
Getting over it, that takes the work

Or...

Cause one way or another
One way or another
You won't get what you wanted
You'll get enough, for sure
One way or another
Winter pays for the summer
Won't get what you wanted
What you got'll be good

It is my hope that this is pretty much what will happen this season.  You won't get what you wanted, but what you got will be good.

3). "19th Nervous Breakdown" by the Rolling Stones (from the 1966 single "As Tears Go By/19th Nervous Breakdown")

When I was making the mix this year, I had it down to this track or "The Last Time" and I took it to Dave, my college roommate and longtime Michigan football partner in crime to make the decision.  He chose "19th Nervous Breakdown", not simply because it represented how we both feel about the Michigan secondary this season, but also because of the line "Well, nothing I do don't seem to work / It only seems to make the matters worse."  That's the last two seasons in a nutshell.

4). "Don't Let Me Down" by the Beatles (from the 1969 single "Get Back/Don't Let Me Down")

What is an anguished love song/plea from John Lennon to Yoko doing on a college football mix?  Because as a Michigan football fan, you're not rooting for victories, you're rooting not to be disappointed, or to have your heart ripped out in memorable fashion.  "Don't let me down" is the perfect sentiment for this.  It's trust, but verify, at its finest.

5). "Don't Let Go" by Weezer (from the band's 2001 album Weezer (Green Album)

This is the flip side of the "Don't Let Me Down" coin, not letting go.  It would be so easy to give up right now, wait for another losing season, and a new head coach and say "I never liked him, he didn't feel right."  It would be easy, but it doesn't make you a good fan.  Anyone can do that.  You picked the team for a reason, you don't just get up and leave in the middle of it because it's not going the way it had for so long.  Loyalty is a two-way street.  "Confrontations in my mind / Got me running out of time."

6). "Crossfire" by Brandon Flowers (from his forthcoming 2010 debut solo album Flamingo)
As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the Killers.  So when this rotated in on my Pandora in May 2010, I knew this was going to end up being in this year's MGoMix.  Why?
"And we're caught up in the crossfire / of heaven and hell / And were searching for shelter."  Yep, Michigan football for the last two years.

7). "Radiation Vibe" by Fountains of Wayne (from the band's 1996 self-titled album)

I was going to try and connect this to the "I went to Pittsburgh / and joined a pro team / What a bad dream / I broke a knee." but the reality is, I just really like this song and wanted to include it in the mix.  It's that simple.

8). "Reptilia" by The Strokes (from the band's 2003 album Room on Fire.)

This is where we enter the "need to get pumped" section of the MGoMix.  It's upbeat, it's guitar driven, and "I said please don't slow me down / If I'm going too fast / You're in a strange part of our town...", well, that's the Rodriguez offense for you...

9). "Let's Go Blue" by the Michigan Marching Band (from the 1993 album A Saturday Tradition)

Think of it as an interlude, a little intermission before moving on to other things.  Worth noting, "Joe Carl, a tuba player from 1973 to 1976, and Albert Ahronheim, a drum major from 1972 to 1974. It originated as a cheer at Michigan hockey games before moving to the Big House."  I can't verify this with a second source, but it sounds reasonable to me.

10). "Not Afraid" by Eminem (from his 2010 album Recovery)

I am fully and wholly expecting this will show up in a Michigan hype video for 2010, official or otherwise.  Let's run down why:

Chorus that is essentially defiant and calls for a return to previous glory?  Check.
Michigan born and raised product?  Check.
#1 song at some point during 2010? Check.

So yeah, I'm totally going cliche here and I know it.

We'll walk this road together, through the storm
Whatever weather, cold or warm
Just lettin you know that, you're not alone
Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road (same road)

11). “Time Won't Let Me Go" by The Bravery (from their 2007 album The Sun and the Moon)

"Whenever I look back / On the best days of my life / I think I saw them all on T.V."
If I had to figure out a way to describe so much of my early Michigan fandom, this would be it.  Desmond's catch against Notre Dame in 1991, "Hello Heisman", Biakabutuka's 313 yards against Ohio State, Woodson's interception against Michigan State, Navarre's rumble against Minnesota, the Trick Play in Champaign...all of them on TV.  (Yes, I realize that I have also been there for many great moments, Braylonfest, The comeback against Wisconsin, Forcier to Matthews, but it's just still what stuck with me.)

"I am so homesick now for / Someone that I never knew / I am so homesick now for / Someplace I will never be."
(aka The Carr Years)

12). “Show Me What I'm Looking For” by Carolina Liar (from the band’s 2008 album Coming to Terms)

Of any song on here, I think the lyrics for this track best represent Michigan football 2008-09:

Don't let go / I've wanted this far too long / Mistakes become regrets / I've learned to love abuse / Please show me what I'm looking for

Save me, I'm lost / Oh lord, I've been waiting for you / I'll pay any cost / Save me from being confused / Show me what I'm looking for / Show me what I'm looking for…oh lord.

13). “Twilight Zone” by CSS (from the 2009 Lincoln ad campaign.)

Somewhere in a lonely hotel room there's a guy starting to realize that eternal fate has turned its back on him. It's 2 AM.
And then discussing the Michigan fan civil war:

Help, I'm stepping into the Twilight Zone
The place is a mad-house, feels like being cloned
My beacon's been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far


Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

14). “Singular Girl” by Old 97s (a bonus track from the band's 2001 album Satellite Rides)

You've got the teeth of the hyrda upon you.  I love the T.Rex reference.  Plus, Old 97s is one off from Old 98 and Old 97 is a pretty good year in Michigan football history.  Plus, I frequently used "Murder or a H(e)art Attack" to reference Mike Hart runs during his Michigan tenure.  Oh, also:

"I've been trying to find you / May I remind you, I'm under oath now / I've been trying to see you / 'cause I can see you, want the truth now."

15). “In Hiding” by Pearl Jam (from the band's 1998 album Yield)

It's been about three days now
Since I've been aground
No longer overwhelmed and it seems so simple now
It's funny when things change so much
It's all state of mind

It's all State of Mind.  If you believe that there's something good to be seen, we can find it.  Otherwise, we're just doing to keep seeing the bad things, finding fault, and hating life.

16). "A Better Son/Daughter" by Rilo Kiley (from the band's 2002 album The Execution of All Things)

It's highlights set to a waltz!  It makes sense.  Because sometimes when you're on, you're really fucking on and your friends they sing along, and they love you!   But the lows are so extreme, that the good seems fucking cheap! And it teases you for weeks in its absence!
I know it didn't work out last year, but I still believe this to be true.

17). "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" by Mike and the Mechanics (from the band's 1985 self-titled album.)

OK, so it's a song about a country being over run by a war, civil or otherwise.  Instructions are being giving to someone who is caught in the middle of it.  It's not hopeful, it's practical, and honest.  If I were making a Michigan hype video for this season, it would be to this song (save the fact that you would need to find six minutes of highlights from last season.  Perhaps it's best not to think about it too much...)

Swear allegiance to the flag
Whatever flag they offer
Never hint at what you really feel
Teach the children quietly
For some day sons and daughters
Will rise up and fight while we stood still

The mix then finishes with the Michigan songs run:

18). "Across 110th Street" by J.J. Johnson & His Orchestra
(aka the Michigan Replay theme.  Plus, a bonus Yaphet Kotto reset!)

19). "I Can't Turn You Loose" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(aka the Blues Brothers theme, but more importantly, sometimes there is cake.  You need to get a chance to hear master bluesmen practicing their craft.)

20). "The Hoover Street Rag" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(yeah, like I couldn't have the HSR on this.  The ragtime arraignment of "The Victors." Worth noting, the 1993 album A Saturday Tradition was picked this year in part because it is the album that my brother-in-law was a member of the band for.)

21). "Temptation" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(I have no idea how a standard, made popular by Perry Como, became one of the most beloved songs in the MMB arsenal, but there it is.)

22). "Hawaiian War Chant" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(because you can't have one without the other.)

23). "M Fanfare" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)

24). "The Victors" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
(the standard full version of the Victors.)

25). "The Yellow and Blue" by the Michigan Marching Band (1993 edition)
Closing with the alma mater.  Hoorah for the yellow and blue.  Hail! [small fist raise])

So that's it, that's the list, 78 1/2 minutes of mix.  Probably a bit too depressed for it's own good, but who knows?  Comments, concerns, questions, you know where to find me.  Go Blue!