Can't Calm Down, It's Been Years

One thing that's going to make the job market easier this year is already having my night time routine worked out. I ended up figuring out a two-prong strategy for falling asleep before 2:00. It seemed to work even when I got back from the office at midnight with a bone-freezing case of the howling fantods. The first prong is three fingers of Ballantine's, the traditional home remedy of my people. The second prong is this playlist, "Calm Blue Ocean."

1. "The Longer You Wait," Richmond Fontaine
2. "Service and Repair" (Live in Roskilde), Calexico
3. "How Do You Slow This Thing Down," The Gothic Archies
4. "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!," Sufjan Stevens
5. "Teardrop," Massive Attack
6. "Datura," Tori Amos
7. "Alright," Kinne Starr
8. "Mirrorball," Everything but the Girl
9. "You're Not Alone," Olive
10. "Dwr Budr," Orbital
11. "It's a Fire," Portishead
12. "An Ending (Ascent)," Brian Eno.

Yeah, yeah, it tilts a little towards smooth adult contemporary. Bite me. After 10 hours of gritting my teeth with the effort of not beating Evil Columbo's face into a bloody paste, I wasn't exactly in the mood to unwind with a midnight Rage Aginst the Machine anti-globalization dance party.

Understanding why the playlist drifts from alt-country to 90s electronica is left as an exercise to the reader.