Playlist: Jawbreaker

[In an effort to generate mo' content, I figured I'd share some playlists on my iPod. Whenever I try to make a mix, I opt to keep it short enough to either burn to a CD (> 80 minutes) or commit to a tape (> two hours). The 80 minute rule is good because it A) forces me to stick to the best of the best, B) makes it easier to get multiple plays, and C) can be burned to a disc for friends if they ever ask for a sampling of a given artist.]

Being one of the best punk, emo, and alternative bands of all ding dang time, Jawbreaker has had a profound influence this here life of mine. If you've been keeping up with my top 10 project, you already know I've loved Jawbreaker since I was younger and about 50 pounds lighter. Blake Schwarzenbach remains one of my favorite lyricists of all time, so much so that I bothered to learn how to spell his name. There's plenty of sadness, yes, but his songs with Jawbreaker describe punky youth to me perfectly. The awkward moments between flirting and kissing ("Chesterfield King"), the shitty shows you play with your shitty band ("Tour Song"), medical problems ("Outpatient," "Accident Prone"), the weird posturing we go through to seem cool ("Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault," "Boxcar"), the drinking - my word the drinking - are all covered. Many of the songs are unquestionably about Schwarzenbach and him alone, but his struggle for normalcy is universal. It would get a lot vaguer once he started Jets to Brazil, as well as factor fame into the writing, but that's another playlist altogether now, ain't it?

Each of Jawbreaker's albums exists as its own entity, so I didn't even bother trying to blend eras. This playlist more or less goes chronoligically, with a few exceptions. I go pretty overboard on Dear You material at the end, but that's my favorite album so ya'll can eat me. I know the stated purpose of these playlists is to make a running time that would fit on a CD-R to give to someone, and I actually did make this playlist with the intention of giving it to my girlfriend so she could learn about Jawbreaker. I didn't. But, ya know, I'll get around to it.

1. "Intro," Live 4/30/96 [Well, it had to start somehow...]
2. "Want," Unfun
3. "Caroline," Etc.
4. "Big," Bivouac
5. "Chesterfield King," Bivouac
6. "Face Down," Bivouac
7. "Tour Song," Bivouac
8. "Kiss the Bottle," Etc. [The most overrated underrated Jawbreaker song, and with good reason.]
9. "I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both" For Callum [This alternate mix is killer.]
10. "Indictment," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
11. "Outpatient," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
12. "Ashtray Monument," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
13. "Do You Still Hate Me?", 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
14. "Ache," 24 Hour Revenge Therapy
15. "Save Your Generation," Dear You
16. "Accident Prone," Dear You
17. "Jet Black," Dear You
18. "Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault," Dear You
19. "Into You Like a Train," Dear You re-release
20. "Basilica," Dear You
21. "Untitled," Dear You
22. "Boxcar," Dear You re-release [Sweet kiss-off. I've always preferred this cleaner version.]