Happy Holidays from Mike W

Happy Holidays everyone, Mike W here and it’s time to add a few songs to my Spotify playlist. I was waiting for the 7 train this morning in midtown Manhattan and my daily shuffle had me feeling sentimental. I was drinking some Mourning Blend from my Dead Sled tumbler and realized good coffee and good music were as equally a strong pairing as chocolate and peanut butter and just as satisfying. Suddenly I was in a great mood and singing along regardless of I was scaring the others on the platform. Come on people, it’s NYC, you’ve seen way stranger stuff happen so smile and sing along!

Anyway here are the three songs I belted out on the platform and on the subway. I’m guessing I need to go back to my vocal coach as not one person gave me any change. 

1. Janine by Soul Coughing. I adore this song and when I had Mike Doughty on a podcast years ago I told him I thought this was one of, if not the best song he has written and he agreed. I love the line “Jesus to my left, Holland Tunnel on my right. Angels shine down from the traffic light.” So good. 

2. Why Do I Lie? By Luscious Jackson – first off,Fever In Fever out is amazing start to finish. In 1997 I was lost and in a terrible relationship. I saw these ladies in Philly and had a brief run in with Jill Cuniff where too many vodka/chambords gave me the fantastic idea of asking her if she wrote this song for me. I babbled about how lost and sad I was and how I felt she was singing to me – “I would love to be better, I would love to be free, would love to be perfect when you look at me”. Such an amazing interaction – we hugged, I may have cried but right after I broke up with the anchor of sadness and the rest is history. 

3. Crumble by Dinosaur Jr. – I’ve loved this band (and Lou Barlow’s Sebadoh) for over 20 years. A few years ago I went through some personal problems, did some self discovery and wrote a few chapters we can discuss at another time. Songs like this bring me right back there. September of 2017 in NYC listening to music with new people. Some people come in and out of your life faster than a shooting star. Sometimes these shooting stars awaken emotions and thoughts you had no idea existed but once you do it changes you. This song always brings me back there. “I got lost inside a lie. Every smile, you made it die. I’m not real and you know why. Can I run again some more?” Personally so powerful and the first steps in getting to know myself better. 

Thanks for reading this and hopefully listening to these amazing tunes. Also, thank you for supporting Dead Sled Coffee and being part of our caffeinated community. Have a great holiday season and I’ll be back in the New Year.