Mixed Results

Pitchfork posted a list of the top 50 (or so) most common used CDs. I'm proud to say I've owned many of them, including number 50 and number one. In the latter case, I went to a midnight sale to get "Monster" the night of its debut, only to sell it about a month later after suffering through the album a couple of times. (At least I didn't pay extra for the super-deluxe limted edition version.)

Last night I nearly paid an incredible sum for a mix CD by Andrew Bird, at the Rock for Kids "music mixer," a really cool benefit at the Smartbar. The org asked 40 music industry folk -- musicians, label owners, rock critics and promoters -- to create one-of-a-kind mix CDs complete with personalized packaging, to be sold via silent auction. It's hard to say how good the mixes were because the song lists weren't displayed -- you found out what was on it only once you won -- but judging from the looks of the artwork they ranged from just OK to absolutely fabulous. Wilco, Johnny Marr of The Smiths, Billy Corgan and Liz Phair's went for the most, all topping $150 (I think Johnny Marr's went for well over $200), but I don't think a single CD went for less than $25. The crowd was very music-scenic but positive, a very good vibe.\

As I said, I narrowly lost out Andrew Bird's mix. It was between me and a woman, and we were locked in a bidding war right down to the wire. She got in a bid for $80, and as I was writing in my next bid as the seconds counted down to zero, the monitor dropped a clipboard onto my pen to keep me from finishing. The woman said she'd send me the track listing and possibly even burn a copy for me, so at least I have that.

I bid on a couple other mixes but got beat on those, too, since I wasn't able to guard them. Cinnamon ended up winning one of the three or four she was bidding on, a mix by Jessica Hopper of Punk Planet and Hit It or Quit It! zine. So the night wasn't a complete wash.