The Katrina Mix

Well, I held off putting a Katrina mix together for a while, but clearly the acceptably discreet waiting period is over. Nick Spitzer put some ideas in the NYT the other day, and of course the musical benefits have been mixes of their own. Not sure if I’ll burn it, though I probably will – I put together a 9/11 mix a few weeks after the towers fell, but I haven’t had the heart to play it since then (it ends with a mix of radio news from 9/11 cross-cut with Don Henley’s “In A New York Minute”) ; naturally, that was a far more personal event (and I it's ironic that I'm blogging this so close to its anniversary).

I invite the participation of any blog readers who wish to make suggestions - but there are some ground rules. First, no songs where the connection is only in the performers’ names (e.g., no Katrina and the Waves or Johnny and the Hurricanes). Second, no songs where the connection is only in the title (e.g., no Dylan’s “Hurricane” which is about a boxer or Steve Goodman’s railroad song, “City of New Orleans”). Third, no songs just because the performer is New Orleans-based. You could put together a hefty stack of CDs doing just that. That includes songs selected just because they’re Zydeco or second line or Dixieland etc.

Fourth – and this is a little tricky – songs that use floods or heavy rains as metaphor can be used; without trivializing the devastating actual effects of Katrina, great storms and floods make a strong symbolic impact that artists can use evocatively. Here I’m thinking of songs like Springsteen’s “Lost in the Flood” and Jackson Browne’s “Before The Deluge”. Maybe even Dylan’s “Mississippi” for its newly resonant lines,

Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay
You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long.

My starter list also includes songs which others (such as Spitzer) have mentioned - including my own previous note on Randy Newman’s “Louisiana, 1927” - like Memphis Minnie’s “When the Levee Breaks” (not Zep’s; I prefer her performance in this context) and Fats Domino’s “Walkin’ to New Orleans”. I’d also add Tom Waits’ “I Wish I Was In New Orleans” which has a dreamy tone underneath its sweet sentimentality. There are plenty of songs about New Orleans; that’s my favorite. Oh, and I’ll definitely add some classic New Orleans jazz – maybe Louis Armstrong’s “Basin Street Blues” and King Oliver’s “Canal Street Blues”, both named for addresses in New Orleans.

For storm and flood songs, there’s Johnny Cash with “Five Feet High and Rising” and the Chad Mitchell Trio’s song about the Galveston flood, “Mighty Day” (and forget about “A Mighty Wind” – not the right tone). Maybe Dr. John’s cover of Fats Domino’s “Let The Four Winds Blow”? Then there’s Tina Turner’s “I Can’t Stand The Rain” or maybe the Bill Black Combo’s instrumental version of “Stormy Weather.

Thinking about the horrendous impact, I may also include the Paul Simon/Ladysmith “Homeless” or the Neville Brothers’ cover of “A Change Is Gonna’ Come”; there have also been several relatively recent takes on Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times” – I like Dylan’s best. Then there’s Ray Charles’ doubly meaningful, “Drown In My Own Tears”.

An uplifting closer would also be nice – maybe the Blind Boys of Alabama's version of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" or Ben Harper's "I'll Rise"?

There are plenty more, for sure. A friend at work suggested The Pretenders’ “My City Was Gone” and Creedence’s “Who’ll Stop The Rain?” ; someone else suggested Judy Henske's "Wade In The Water"...as I said before, suggestions are welcome; I’ll post a burn list when I put it all together.