Sunday, August 19, 2007

The Ultimate Summer Boating Mix (Lake Minnetonka Edition)


I've recently been getting the impression that my parents don't love me. Or they love my younger brothers more - one of the two.

I first came to this realization when I moved away for college. Not more than 2 months later, they decide that they're going to buy a hot tub. Sweet. It's not like I had been begging for something like that in high school when all I wanted to do after football was to soak in a hot tub of jets. Not too useful to me now, is it?

Ok, so they bought a hot tub. Big whoop. But the next year, my dad goes and buys a boat. Now being from the glorious state of Minnesota, life revolves around the lakes - summer and winter. However, access to Lake Minnetonka on a beautiful summer day is about the greatest thing there is. Good thing they waited until after I left to get this.

Now it's fantastic to be able to go home on breaks to see the fam and use the new toys, but where the heck were these when I could've used them regularly?! So now, like this year, I'm relegated to one afternoon a summer spent lounging in heaven while my favorite tracks play on through my iTrip.

Yet with each trip out onto the boat, I've come to the truth that I listen to the same songs over and over again when I'm on the lake. When I'm not home, a few songs will always remind me of the incredible time spent out on Lake Minnetonka on the most perfect days of the year.

Most songs are featured in certain orders, because that's what tended to play when starting the boat (with the cd changer starting before my ipod) to cruising the lake to anchoring off Big Island or Robinson's Bay to pulling back into Wayzata Bay.

The easiest track on this mix for me is the opener: "Diane" by Guster. I had bought Guster's Keep It Together just before the summer started that we got the boat and this was the first track on the CD. It would start up as the engines started, the opening bass lines humming along with the low rumble of growling motors. Its chill lyrics, soft harmonies, and guitar strumming keep this one at the forefront of my mix. The entire Keep It Together CD is a good one to listen to on the boat, but the opening track is the winner for this particular post.

As we pulled out of the docks and the no-wake area, it's time to throttle up with G. Love & Special Sauce's "Dreamin.'" Driving along at a higher speed and cranking this song up brings a smile across my face every time. A master of my personal summer anthems, G. Love features prominently on any trip out on the boat and for good reason.

By the time we hit our destination, it's time for some relaxing, tanning, beer, chips, and sandwiches if we thought ahead.

"Come With Me Tonight" by Bob Schneider tends to start about now followed by Blue Merle's "Burning in the Sun." This Coldplay-esque tune chimes in with a little gusto but a lot of the summer feel necessary to crack this mix.

Now's the time to put on the suntan lotion, find an empty spot on the boat and half-sleep to the rest of the tracks with a cold Summit in your hand. I've realized that this post would be enormous if I continue to write about each song as I've already written too much for the number of songs on here...just try to imagine the greatest day of your life as you lie out under the sun with a bathtub-warm lake at your disposal, a cooler of ice cold Minnesota beer, and these songs serenading you along the way.

I will, however, speak for two seconds about the last three songs on the mix. They are the ones that remind me of pulling back into the dock at night after a wonderful day of boating. I tend to leave the boat's battery on while I clean it out and put up the cover which takes a little while after a full day.

The Format's "Snails" (the acoustic version) is my happiest song of all time. For some reason, I'm always happiest when I hear it no matter where I am. It brings a huge smile to my face and I tend to listen to it as I pull up to Wayzata Bay with its downtown lights glowing so softly. As I make it into the docks, Semisonic's "Gone to the Movies" is my favorite choice to transition into finishing off the night. Dan Wilson's Minnesotan voice as well as the perfect acoustic guitar fit nicely as the I pull the boat into its slot.

And finally, another Minnesota legend, Mason Jennings finishes off the night with his song "The Light, Pt. 2" as the cover goes up and the coolers are passed up onto the dock. You can't help but drive home happy after a day like this. I'm definitely missing home right about now, but this mix helps ease those thoughts...

I've split this mix up into 2 convenient 'cds' as my mix was meant for iPod use originally. I recommend that this mix be played exclusively on Lake Minnetonka, but if you can't make it there, play through it when you can at least appreciate the atmosphere (aka - a great bbq on the deck, a long distance road trip, or another lake outing of your choice).

*Available for a limited time only*

Little Dynamite's Ultimate Summer Boating Mix (Lake Minnetonka Edition)

DISC 1:
  1. Guster - Diane
  2. G. Love & Special Sauce - Dreamin'
  3. Bob Schneider - Come With Me Tonight
  4. Blue Merle - Burning in the Sun
  5. Dave Matthews - So Damn Lucky
  6. James Taylor - October Road
  7. Jason Mraz - Sleep All Day
  8. Teddy Thompson - I Should Get Up
  9. John Mayer - Back to You
  10. Kalai - One Life
  11. Kinetix - What the Day's For
  12. Jack Johnson - Belle
  13. Led Zeppelin - Since I've Been Loving You
  14. Mason Jennings - Living in the Moment
  15. Citizen Cope - Bullet and a Target
  16. Jimmy Eat World - Your House
  17. Counting Crows - Mrs. Potter's Lullaby
  18. DeVotchKa - How It Ends
  19. Donavon Frankenreiter - Free
  20. Modest Mouse - Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset
  21. G. Love & Special Sauce - Lay Down the Law
DISC 2:
  1. Eric Clapton - Circus
  2. Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine
  3. The Big Wu - Precious Hands
  4. Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body
  5. The Lemonheads - The Outdoor Type
  6. Ryan Adams - New York, New York
  7. Bedouin Soundclash - When the Night Feels My Song
  8. Ben Kweller - Wasted and Ready
  9. Van Morrison - Into the Mystic
  10. Ray LaMontagne - Trouble
  11. Sublime - Doin' Time
  12. Chingon - Malaguena Salerosa
  13. Bob Schneider - Gold in the Sunset
  14. The Ike Reilly Assasination - The Boat Song (We're Getting Loaded)
  15. Jack Johnson - Upside Down
  16. The Postal Service - Clark Gable
  17. Frank Sinatra - Summer Wind
  18. The Format - Snails (acoustic)
  19. Semisonic - Gone to the Movies
  20. Mason Jennings - The Light, Pt. 2

5 comments:

Pat said...

wait, your name is jake?

Jack the Rabbit said...

nah jake must be some other dude on the boat.

frankly i'd be surprised if the boat existed at all.

Little Dynamite said...

i don't know who jake is...but the boat lives inside each and every one of us...

Unknown said...

i love your brothers more too.

Little Dynamite said...

let's keep it clean here...