Music Friday: Imaginary Set List

It's not imminent or anything, but I've been thinking about learning to play the guitar or some other stringed instrument.

Actually, let me back up -- I haven't been thinking about learning to play as much as I've been thinking about playing. The difference between the two is subtle but large. In the former case, I put in a bunch of time learning chords and fingering techniques, spend weeks learning how to pick out "Camptown Races," and eventually work my way up to "This Land Is Your Land" or something; in the latter, I pick up a guitar, tune it to Open C, and rock out severely. You can guess which is more appealing to me.

Every so often I come across a song that I love, and I think, "geez, I wish I could play that." The second thing I think is, "geez, I wish I had a place where I could write down all these songs, since my brain leaks like a sieve and I can't remember any of them 5 minutes after I thought of them."

It only took me a year to realize that there really is no better use for one's own blog than as a repository of lists of importance only to oneself. As an example let me point you to the list of every movie I've seen in the last four years.

So, herewith, the set list for the concert I'm totally going to give once I learn how to play the guitar:

Billy Bragg, "Greetings to the New Brunette"
Mike Doughty, "Madeline and Nine"
Everclear, "Santa Monica"
The Knitters, "Cryin' But My Tears Are Far Away"
Bob Dylan, "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry"
Bottle Rockets, "Welfare Music"
The Shins, "Young Pilgrims"
Old 97's, "Big Brown Eyes"
Steve Earle, "Guitar Town"
Bruce Springsteen, "Open All Night"
Whiskeytown, "Dancing With the Women at the Bar"
Warren Zevon, "Carmelita"
Flying Burrito Brothers, "Hot Burrito #1" ("I'm Your Toy")
Gear Daddies, "Color of Her Eyes"
Kleenex Girl Wonder, "Tendency Right Foot Forward"
The Beatles, "I've Just Seen A Face"
White Stripes, "Fell in Love With a Girl"

And for my encore:

Bon Jovi, "Wanted Dead or Alive"
The Fountains of Wayne arrangement of "...Baby One More Time"
The Replacements, "Here Comes a Regular"
Wilco, "Passenger Side"/"California Stars"

I figure I'll have these songs ready in about 2015 or so, so check back then!