For the first eight years of life, I listened to classical music to fall asleep. Handle, Beethoven, Strauss – this kind of stuff. It was Tchaikovsky, though, that would really get me worked up and tired out before bedtime. During the finale of the “1812 Overture” I would run full-force at the couch, make a flying leap, and fire off an “air cannon” in mid-flight. It was my dream to play the cannon. Someone had to be the cannon player, right? I expressed interest, dropped all the right hints, but alas, my parents bought me a saxophone instead.

The saxophone treated me well. It didn’t quite produce the rapture I might have been able to get from a cannon, but at least I could squawk out some pretty mean sounds.

Thus enters “Heaven Bound,” a collection of songs that I’ve been listening to on repeat lately. When I’m listening to this mix, I imagine either firing off a cannon – the peak of bliss – or settling in and waiting for life to teach me the limits of rapture. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. It’s short, clocking in under 30 minutes, but I hope you enjoy the trip. Many thanks to Root Blog, Mississippi Records, and WFMU for sharing these awesome tracks so I could share them with you.

Here’s hoping to a snow-free April!

image by Michael Chase

Eddie Callahan – Santa Cruz Mountains
Onra – Hope
Sahel Sounds – Polisario
Moussia Doumbia – Femme D’Aujourd’Hui
Fats Waller – Jitterbug Waltz
Sir Mack Rice – Baby I’m Coming Home
Chuck Person – excerpt from “Chuck Person’s Eccojams Vol. 1 – Side B”
Sven Libaek – Misty Canyon
Unknown – Dance Music (from Hare Rama Hare Krishna)

GET IT HERE!