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Posted on Fri, Sep. 05, 2008

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Category 5 mix

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'Boy, with a name like Ike, you know that hurricane's going to beat some people up," says a co-worker.

"Yeah," says I, "good thing they didn't send out a Hurricane Tina first."

It's been a busy storm season of late, so it seems like a good time for creating a mix disc of hurricane-related songs. Here's the collection I'd make:

1. "Tide Is High," The Paragons. Choose the 1980 cover by Blondie, if you'd rather. But there's a sweetness to the 1967 original by this Jamaican reggae act that makes it a nice album opener.

2. "Hurricanes and Hand Grenades," Jason Isbell. Former Drive-By Trucker Isbell -- who plays at Auburn's Strutting Duck tonight -- unleased this slow burn bluesy lament on his first solo record. "Now hurricanes and hand grenades are the only things that get you off my mind," he says.

3. "The Hurricane," Bob Dylan. Not about a storm, per se. But this protest song helped stir up a storm of controversy surrounding a boxer wrongfully accused of murder in 1966 -- the same year Hurricane Inez would kill some 1,000 people, mostly in Mexico and Florida.

4. "Let's Go Dancing," Drivin' n' Cryin'. Bandleader Kevn Kinney is cool, not just because he spells his name Kevn, but also because he can sing "I got a hurricane in my pocket" in a love song without making you snicker.

5. "Soul On Fire," Spiritualized. This is off of the band's new (and incredible) album "Songs in A&E." Singer Jason Pierce moans, "I've got a hurricane inside my veins and I want to stay forever."

6. "Eye of the Hurricane," The Alarm. This Welsh act was always described as "lesser U2," and this is from the album where they're at their U2iest. But this song's razor-sharp acoustic guitar thrashing and Mike Peters' faraway lead vocals elevate this track.

7. "O, Katrina!" The Black Lips. This raucous Atlanta band -- part 1960s roots rock, part punk -- are perhaps the only group who could pull off a set of lines like "O, Katrina, why you gotta be mean? You saw a highway down in New Orleans. I can't believe what I saw on the telescreen."

8. "Hurricane Season," Billy Pilgrim. "It's hurricane season, batten down the hatches, boys," bellow this Atlanta acoustic duo. Andrew Hyra and Kristian Bush put out two major-label releases and a handful of indies before the breakup. Now Bush is the guy next to Jennifer Nettles in Sugarland.

9. "New Orleans Is Sinking," The Tragically Hip. "New Orleans is sinking," is only the first half of the chorus from these Canadian alt-rockers. The punch line is "and I don't wanna swim." The song is from 1990.

10. "Like A Hurricane," Neil Young. Just about any sad, slow Neil Young song would fit here, thanks to his banshee of a voice. The fact that this actually has "hurricane" in the title gives it the nod.

11. "Rock You Like a Hurricane," The Scorpions. Just because.