Common Thread

Today is my parents' 41st wedding anniversary. It makes me so happy to tell people that my parents are still married. I can't even imagine the two of them not together. They're so comfortable around each other, and they compliment each other perfectly.
So this year, I'm trying a little experiment. I wasn't sure what to get them, so I decided to do make them mix CDs. It may sound a little high-schoolish, but it's kinda my way of trying to bridge the generation gap. I enjoy making mix CDs for people, and I put a lot of thought into each one. But this time, it was even harder. I have an extensive music collection, and I wanted to find particular songs that are not only special to me, but that they might appreciate, as well.
I ended up making three albums--one for Dad, one for Mom, and one for both. Here's the track listing:

Dad's Mix:
1. Grandaddy - Now It's On
2. Blur - Coffee & TV
3. Eagles Of Death Metal - Heart On
4. Spoon - You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
5. The White Stripes - I Want To Be The Boy
6. My Morning Jacket - Off The Record
7. Telekinesis - Coast of Carolina
8. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
9. Interpol - Evil
10. The Hold Steady - The Weekenders
11. The LIbertines - What Katie Did
12. Modest Mouse - Missed the Boat
13. Arcade Fire - Wake Up
14. Elliott Smith - Junk Bond Trader
15. The Shins - Saint Simon
16. Pixies - Here Comes Your Man
17. David Gray - Babylon
18. The Strokes - Someday
19. We Were Promised Jetpacks - Moving Clocks Run Slow

Mom's Mix:
1. The Ditty Bops - Walk Or Ride
2. Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama
3. Dirty Projectors - Two Doves
4. Tegan and Sara - Take Me Anywhere
5. Feist - I Feel It All
6. Beth Orton - Love Like Laughter
7. Tilly and the Wall - Falling Without Knowing
8. A Camp - The Bluest Eyes In Texas
9. Florence + The Machine - My Boy Builds Coffins
10. Mates of State - Like U Crazy
11. Lucinda Williams - Right In Time
12. Morcheeba - Let Me See
13. Neko Case - This Tornado Loves You
14. PJ Harvey - Good Fortune
15. Saint Etienne - Lose That Girl
16. Santogold - Lights Out
17. She & Him - This Is Not a Test
18. Elliott Smith - Waltz #2 (Xo)
19. Jenny Lewis - Rise Up With Fists!!
20. Sleater-Kinney - Lions And Tigers

Parental Mix:
1. Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly
2. Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
3. St. Vincent - Laughing With a Mouth of Blood
4. Josh Rouse - Winter In the Hamptons
5. Stars - Ageless Beauty
6. Visqueen - Hand Me Down
7. Belle & Sebastian - She's Losing It
8. Radiohead - High And Dry
9. Broken Social Scene - Stars and Sons
10. Ida Maria - Morning Light
11. Vampire Weekend - M79
12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Way Out
13. Beck - Lost Cause
14. Bjork - It's Oh So Quiet
15. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
16. Coldplay - God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
17. Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own
18. The Dandy Warhols - You Were The Last High
19. Fountains of Wayne - Valley Winter Song
20. The xx - Islands

I don't expect them to like every song on their respective albums. Maybe they'll switch up and prefer each other's more than their own. I just hope it will be something we can bond over when I go home for Christmas.