Label the unlabelled CD

I obsessively make mix CD’s..more than I could ever listen to in one lifetime. I have a bad habit of not labeling the contents of most of my mix CD’s, at best, I usually mark the month and year that I burned the disc. Then the CD eventually lands in my closet with a thousand or more friends.

One of my favorite musical thrills is to grab a random unlabelled CD and try to label it..months or years after I first burned the disc. It is a journey that is sometimes filled with confusion  (WT* is this?), but mostly it is a magical journey of rediscovery. As part of my daily routine, I  attempt to identify a few songs on a random, unlabelled mix CD as I get ready for work. Some mornings, things work out and just the right song can put a smile on my face as I head out to face the evils of the workplace.

This morning, Mr. Zevon came up big for me. I love the joyous sing-along chorus at the end:

And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Obviously, not a good tune for the kids, or the grandparents…ahh…actually you better listen to this alone…in the dark….You should be ashamed of yourself!

1976 Warren Zevon- Carmelita

I hear Mariachi static on my radio
And the tubes they glow in the dark
And I'm there with her in Ensenada
And I'm here in Echo Park

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, I'm sittin' here playing solitaire
With my pearl-handled deck
The county won't give me no more methadone
And they cut off your welfare check

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, I pawned my Smith Corona
And I went to meet my man
He hangs out down on Alvarado Street
By the Pioneer chicken stand

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin