“Dreams from a Stolen Car”: A Playlist

“Dreams from a Stolen Car” was a song that I composed in my head while touring in December 2012 and recorded upon my return, thus making it a bit too late to include on the MEMOIRS OF A MANWHORE album: It first appeared on the “Anchors Aweigh” EP, although if I ever do a deluxe vinyl reissue of MANWHORE (which would require a double album once the three bonus tracks are included) “Stolen Car” would take its rightful place among that collection. “Stolen Car” would still be unique amongst that collection, though, for being the only song for which all vocals and instruments are mine and mine alone: everything else on the collection has Adam Silverstein, my collaborator, performing the bulk of instrument duties, with Tom Briant appearing on a few of the originals for guitar work, Ariel Silverstein doing acoustic guitar work on “Anchors Aweigh,” and then Tom Briant, Paul Galiszewski, and Julian Michalski performing guitars, drums, and bass (respectively) on any remade versions.

The harmonics of the backing vocal arrangement were inspired by Nilsson’s early work, when he would often overdub entire choirs of backing vocals, all his own. When I recorded the original version, my vocal cords were still badly injured and my voice was not as pristine as I’d have liked. This year, I remedied that with a new vocal take. Additionally, I separated the strings (which were originally one orchestra patch) into individual string instruments that could be panned independently to create a more authentic string section.

The subject matter, though, is something quite dark: drug addiction. I’ve crafted a playlist here that reflects that dark subject matter (or, at the very least, the car theft in the case of the inclusion of Sting’s song).

Listen to the Spotify Playlist HERE, and check out the selections below.

The Random Hubiak: Dreams from a Stolen Car

Joni Mitchell: Edith and the Kingpin

Sting: Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)

Kelly Clarkson: Sober

P!nk: Sober

Third Eye Blind: God of Wine

Jane’s Addiction: Jane Says

Amy Winehouse: Rehab

Joni Mitchell: The Jungle Line

Sarah McLachlan: Angel

The Verve: The Drugs Don’t Work

Aimee Mann: Wise Up

Brad Paisley & Alison Kraus: Whiskey Lullaby

Richard and Linda Thompson: Down Where the Drunkards Roll

Johnny Cash: Hurt

Neil Young: Needle and the Damage Done

Nirvana: Lithium

Third Eye Blind: Losing a Whole Year

Ed Sheeran: The A Team

Sarah McLachlan: Fallen

Harry Nilsson: Camp de Encino