1) Reasons Why (Nickel Creek)
A good introduction. Sara Watkins’ unique voice suits this one perfectly. “Others have excuses; I have my reasons why.”

2) Smoothie Song (This Side)
My favorite of their instrumentals. I remember seeing them in concert for the first time, and sitting a few rows behind a couple of frat boy-looking guys who rose to their feet and pumped the air when the band started this song.

3) This Side (This Side)
My favorite song of theirs, period. Try to hate it, I dare you.

4) Helena (Why Should the Fire Die?)
What’s that, Chris Thile? You’re a little bitter? This style is certainly new for this band. I like the Coldplay-esque drums and piano at the end.

5) Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (Chris Thile, How to Grow a Woman From the Ground)
For this one and #6, I’m straying from the band proper. Thile covers the White Stripes, and it’s a foot-stompin’ good time.

6) Hello…….Goodbye (Sean Watkins, Blinders On)
One minute and eleven seconds of adorable monologue.

7) Tomorrow is a Long Time (Why Should the Fire Die?)
Sara sings Bob Dylan. What could be better?

Green and Grey (This Side)
This song is loaded with memories for me (yes, I went to college in Tennessee), but more than that, it’s just a good song. It’s not easy for me to put it into words.

9) Speak
Quiet. Very quiet. And enticing.

10) Somebody More Like You (Why Should the Fire Die?)
More bitterness, this time from Sean. But we forgive him, because he’s so very earnest.

11) Face of Trouble (live song)
I don’t know if this one ever got recorded, but it’s on a live album I have from when the band played at Covenant. Sara sings it, and it’s quirky and caustic and very enjoyable. I’ll send you a copy if you like.

12) I Should’ve Known Better (This Side)
Another quiet one. Very effective.

13) Spit on a Stranger (This Side)
Nickel Creek covers Pavement! Sarah I. and I used to giggle because the backups sound a bit like “help meow.”

14) Doubting Thomas (Why Should the Fire Die?)
I love this song. It expresses what’s inside of me so often. “Sometimes I pray for a slap in the face,
Then I beg to be spared ’cause I’m a coward…” It ends on a hopeful note, and it reminds me of some of those Psalms where David is being open with God about his fears and weaknesses but ends by praising Him.

15) When You Come Back Down (Nickel Creek)
My first introduction to Nickel Creek, via a mix CD from our very own Steph vW! Great love song.

16) The Fox (live version)
They often end concerts with this one. They always incorporate some other song into it. On the live CD I have, they sing half of “The Fox,” then improv a bit; then Chris plays the Super Mario music on his mandolin (which goes over incredibly well with the college crowd); then they segue into a verse from Barenaked Ladies’ “One Week”; then Chris sings a bit from Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”; then Sara sings something I’m not familiar with; then they finally finish “The Fox.”
When I’ve seen them live, they’ve incorporated many other songs, but the ones I remember are Beck’s “Where It’s At,” Nirvana’s “Lithium,” and the Band’s “The Weight.” They also do a mean cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic.”

Whew! That was a lot! I could pare this down a bit if I had time to think long and hard, but I figure, a little more info and music doesn’t hurt!

1. “Canaan Bound” (Love and Thunder)
“Sarah, take me by my arm / tomorrow we are Canaan bound / Where westward sails the golden sun / And Hebron’s hills are amber crowned.”

2. “Little Boy Heart Alive” (The Far Country)
“Feel the beat of a distant thunder / It’s the sound of an ancient song / This is the Kingdom calling / Come now and tread the dawn.”

3. “Faith To Be Strong” (Carried Along)
“And as hard as we try, Lord, it’s hard to believe…”

4. “Isn’t It Love” (Appendix A: Bootlegs and B-Sides)
“Isn’t it love to look down from the sky / And see your only son on the cross asking why / And somehow let him die that way / And not call the whole thing off.”

5. “Just As I Am” (Love and Thunder)
“All of my life I’ve held on to this fear / Its thistles and vines ensnare and entwine what flowers appeared. / It’s the fear that I’ll fall one too many times / It’s the fear that His love is no better than mine. / (but He says that) Just as I am and just as I was / Just as I will be He loves me, He does.”

6. “Let There Be Light” (Love And Thunder)
“So let the mandolin play like a mother’s embrace / Let the fiddle be warm as a smile / Let the guitar be bright as a friend at your side / When you’re lost on a long lonely mile.”

7. “All Shall Be Well” (The Far Country)
“See the quiet hearts of the children of, the children of this land / They have stayed alive in the day-long night / By the fires that warm their hands.”

8. “Deliver Us” (Behold The Lamb Of God: The True Tall Tale Of The Coming Of Christ)
“Our sins they are more numerous than all the lambs we slay. / These shackles they were made with our own hands.”

9. “Labor Of Love” (Behold The Lamb Of God: The True Tall Tale Of The Coming Of Christ)
“It was not a silent night / There was blood on the ground. / You could hear a woman cry / In the alleyways that night, / On the streets of David’s town.”

10. “Behold The Lamb Of God” (Behold The Lamb Of God: The True Tall Tale Of The Coming Of Christ)
“Son of God – Emmanuel / Son of Man – we need you /Behold the Lamb / The hope of man / Behold the Lamb of God”

11. “More” (The Far Country)
“There is more / More than all this pain / More than all the falling down / And the getting up again.”

12. “High Noon” (Love And Thunder)
“All praise to the fighter of the night / Who rides on the light / Whose gun is the grace of the God of the sky.”

13. “The Silence Of God” (Love And Thunder)
“And if a man has got to listen to the voices of the mob / Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they’ve got. / When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross, ? Then what about the times when even followers get lost? / ‘Cause we all get lost sometimes…”

14. “After The Last Tear Falls” (Love And Thunder)
“Cause after the last plan fails / After the last siren wails / After the last young husband sails off to join the war / After the last “this marriage is over”
/ After the last young girl’s innocence is stolen / After the last years of silence that won’t let a heart open / There is love / Love, love, love / There is love.”

Time: 57 minutes, 24 seconds.

Well, I’ll come up with something.

Eustace: NICE. I wholeheartedly agree with about 90% of that list.

Dave: Sure.

1. City of Blinding Lights (How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb)
“Oh you look so beautiful tonight/In the city of blinding lights”

2. Desire (Rattle and Hum)
“She’s the dollars/She’s my protection/Yeah she’s a promise/In the year of election”

3. Beautiful Day (All That You Can’t Leave Behind)
“You thought you’d found a friend/To take you out of this place/Someone you could lend a hand/In return for grace”

4. Gloria (October)
“Gloria…in te domine/Gloria…exultate/Oh Lord, if I had anything/Anything at all/I’d give it to you”

5. Walk On (All That You Can’t Leave Behind)
“All that you fashion/All that you make/All that you build/All that you break/All that you measure/All that you steal/All this you can leave behind

6. Bad (The Unforgettable Fire)
“If I could throw this/Lifeless lifeline to the wind/Leave this heart of clay/See you walk, walk away”

7. Love And Peace Or Else (How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb)
“As you enter this life/I pray you depart/With a wrinkled face/And a brand new heart”

8. Stay (Faraway, So Close!) [Zooropa]
“Red lights, gray morning/You stumble out of a hole in the ground/A vampire or a victim/It depends on who’s around”

9. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (The Joshua Tree)
“I believe in the kingdom come/Then all the colors will bleed into one”

10. Original of the Species (How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb)
“Some things you shouldn’t get too good at/Like smiling, crying and celebrity/Some people got way too much confidence, baby”

11. The First Time (Zooropa)
“I have a brother /When I’m a brother in need /I spend my whole time running/He spends his running after me”

12. With or Without You (The Joshua Tree)
“Through the storm we reach the shore/You give it all but I want more/And I’m waiting for you
With or without you/With or without you/I can’t live/With or without you”

13. Until the End of the World (Achtung Baby)
“In my dream I was drowning my sorrows/But my sorrows, they learned to swim/Surrounding me, going down on me/Spilling over the brim/Waves of regret and waves of joy/I reached out for the one I tried to destroy/You…you said you’d wait/’til the end of the world”

14. Where The Streets Have No Name (The Joshua Tree)
“We’re still building/Then burning down love/Burning down love/And when I go there/I go there with you/It’s all I can do”

15. Miss Sarajevo (The Best of 1990-2000)
“Is there a time to walk for cover/A time for kiss and tell/Is there a time for different colors/Different names you find it hard to spell”

16. All I Want Is You (Rattle and Hum)
“You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold/Your story to remain untold /Your love not to grow cold
All the promises we break/From the cradle to the grave/When all I want is you”

Run time – 76 minutes

11. “Exit Music (For A Film)” (OK Computer)
“Breathe, keep breathing/Don’t lose your nerve/Breathe, keep breathing/I can’t do this alone”

12. “Nude” (In Rainbows)
“Now that you’ve found it, it’s gone/Now that you feel it, you don’t”

13. “The Tourist” (OK Computer
“Hey man, slow down”

run time: 58:18

(Like how I just kept on as if I hadn’t accidentally hit the submit button?)

1. “Everything In It’s Right Place” (Kid A)
“What was that you tried to say?”

2. “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” (The Bends)
“All these things we’ll one day swallow whole/And fade out again, and fade out again…”

3. “Anyone Can Play Guitar” (Pablo Honey)
“I wanna be in a band when I get to Heaven/Anyone can play guitar”

4. “Airbag” (OK Computer)
“In an interstellar burst/I am back to save the universe”

5. “Bodysnatchers” (In Rainbows)
“I have no idea what I am talking about/I’m trapped in this body and can’t get out”

6. “Where I End And You Begin” (Hail To The Thief)
“There’ll be no more lies/I will eat you alive…”

7. “Knives Out” (Amnesiac)
“Look into my eyes/It’s the only way you’ll know I’m telling the truth”

8. “Karma Police” (OK Computer)
“And for a minute there, I lost myself”

9. “How To Disappear Completely” (Kid A)
“In a little while I’ll be gone/The moment’s already passed”

10. “Fake Plastic Trees” (