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01. Give Us a Beat (intro speaking)

Thank you all so much for putting together this awesome surprise!
It feels really cool to have your own tribute album. I knew some of
you only half as well as I should have before this happened, but I feel
like I've gotten to know a lot of very cool and talented people as a
result of this. Thanks, D!

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02. Brakelights (Electrospazz) - Beastmaster Romance

It took me a very long time to recognize this song. The Beastmaster Romance techno sounded familiar, but did I write this song? That's impossible. Now that I hear the vocals it all makes sense. Smoov.

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03. Hypnotize Me - Peter Herman

Hearing this was probably the biggest suprise of all! How did Daniella manage to get Pete from downstairs to play on this? Very very cool.

This is the first of the "non-MiG" songs on the list.

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04. Self Destruct - The Mayan Empire feat. HULA COUGAR!

The Mayan Empire in full-blown spastic rock mode...or is it Hula Cougar?

This is a nice rocking romping version, complete with fake ending and all.

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05. Tearing Apart the Magician - The Earl of Bandwidth

It's a hint of more things to come... How did this guy get an acoustic version of "Magician's Son" to cut and paste into a cool sound-collage? Thanks, Earl.

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06. Drafty - G Love & Special K

Kristie's breathy vocals sound great on this one. I was listening to this on the subway and I couldn't stop cracking up when I hear George chime in with the "peanut-butter jelly sandwich" bit. Very nice. :)

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07. You Can Die - Spy Alarms

Holy shit! This is so evil sounding, I love it. The baritone guitar, and the Bill Bruford drum fills. Did they know I was a King Crimson fanatic, or is this just an amazing coincidence? Hats off to you 2 talented guys for taking a bit of a throw-away MiG-song and making it sound amazing.

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08. The Hardest Part - Carol Ann and the Fantastic Stand

When the drum machine starts, I'm expecting Sir Mix-a-Lot to bust in, but I'm pleasantly surprised to hear Jess and George. I swear this sounds so slick that I could hear it on the OC along side their version of "Tuesday Night" they did for Bryan's birthday. And they even busted out the accordion, how cool is that?

The guy speaking at the end is pretty funny too... although there's one thing I've never understood, what's the significance of the name "Carol Ann and the Fantastic Stand"?

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09. Guilty - Faint Praise

More talented than a barrel of Renaissance artists, it's Phil & Tina aka "Faint Praise"! I recognize the lyrics but they put their own rocking cool spin on the music with a nice little guitar hook. The Yo La Tengo harmonies are really nice too.

It sounds like a lot of work went into this one, I'm really flattered to hear it.

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10. Call Me Down - The Mood Swing

I've seen Chris aka "The Mood Swing" play with his band Mo Matching Drapes before, but I didn't know he could be a one man dance-rock band. This is great, the verses have a sort of ominous vibe I like. I'm really glad someone picked this song, it's the first thing I wrote after moving to New York, I recorded a demo hoping it would lead to finding a band, and this my first song contribution to MiG (though now it's mainly just a memory from 2001).

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11. Aimless - Urine Love

This one I had trouble recognizing at first... It's so sad and beatiful (and with cello!) but nothing like the cock-rock original. I think this version actually suits Tina's lyrics much better. It makes me all choked up listening to it.

Clocking in at 7:51, it's the longest track here, but I still want to listen to it on repeat. I'm a sucker for lavishly recorded guitars.

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12. Apathy - The +1's

This fucking rocks! I love it! The guitar tone is perfect, and you got Joe Willie to write the spoken word sections that Jenny does? I never imagined the song being this cool when I wrote the riff way back when. The +1's take it to the next level. Just listen to the smooth breakdown half-way through... and the jazz-hands ending.

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13. Cremate This Band - Exploding Motives Symphony Orchestra

This is a song I recognized right off the bat, but I wasn't quite sure who it was until I looked around and noticed Bryan couldn't contain himself. I never knew he could be such a great Gary Numan imitator. This is what would happen if Bryan could multiply himself millions of times... dangerous! Hehe...

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14. Magician's Son - Smilax

Ahhh...like a breath of fresh air, it's the amazing harmony duo of Phil & Daniella.

They specialize in turning noisy rock songs into beautiful lullabies. You can sing me to sleep anytime. I like how Phil cleverly strips down the music to the root notes... I tend to play this version on guitar now instead of the original. :)

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15. If You Ride It... - Secret Dakota Ring

Another surprise! How did they manage to get Andy to do this while he's out touring with OK GO? I'm very flattered, this is great. Completely different from the original, yet awesome. I didn't even recognize it until the chorus hits. And then there's the great woozy slide ending. This is the kind of versatile talent that almost makes me want to just give up now and declare myself unworthy...

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16. Red (Todos Se Visten De Rojo) - the JLM feat. Jenny Misdemeanor Piston

Jeremiah's alter-ego is in full effect again. This is funny, I can't believe he got the Spanish translation as well. I've always been talking about how I want to redo this song in flamenco style, and this is like the flamenco death disco world cup version.

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17. The Hardest Part (Demo) - Dan Wholey

This was a real treat to hear. What can I say? I love the way Dan sings my songs. I'm flattered and stuff that he sang it, and I want to hear more Dan songs.

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18. Mr. Invisible - Carlsbad

Daniella and I were already working on this one a little, so I'm not completely surprised she chose to sing this one herself. The 2nd of the two non-MIG songs on the compilation. And another one that really makes me misty eyed hearing it... it must be the cello (thanks Marta!), I really really love this version. I couldn't have done it any better. Dave can play anything on guitar.

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19. Recurring Theme - King Soma

How did Daniella manage to get in contact with Jesse aka "King Soma" who lives in Tennessee, without me knowing it? When we were planning to go to his wedding in July I knew she was e-mailing about hotel arrangements, but little did I know they were already planning this surprise. This was the biggest surprise of the album to me, and I'm glad she got him to do the song that I named this website after. Not an easy one to figure out, without all the random chord changes in it, but if anyone can do it, Jesse can. I love the harp flourishes and trumpets he added, and the repeated choruses...and he even wrote a new verse. Damn... Thank you!

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20. Waste Your Time - Baby Be-Gone

Anyone who's heard the Plus Ones, or Baby Be Gone's track on the "Guitarded" album knows that Stephanie has an amazing set of vocal chords. Very strong, yet smooth.

This is a nice stripped down version of the MiG-rocker, and I love Jared's patented "bear-claw" guitar playing. Jared might not even remember this, but I played this song to him before anyone else while we were working on some songs at his house a couple years ago. Check out Baby Be Gone's debut EP for more...

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21. Brakelights - The Unsacred Hearts
Of course, D saves this one until nearly the end... The Unsacred Hearts covering Brakelights with Daniella on backup vocals! I can die happy now. :)

I especially like the addition of piano; it gives it a nice Unsacred meets Rolling Stones vibe.... and the ending sounds sort of like a subtle nod to "Are you Experienced?" by Hendrix, or is that just a coincidence?

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20. The Hidden Track - El Jezel

El Jezel never ceases to amaze me... not only did George & Jess contribute a song, but they also wrote an original just for the occasion. This one even includes Dan on congas(?). This is a hilarious, touching story about the first time Man In Gray met El Jezel at Sin-E on 4th of July a couple years ago.

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23. (BONUS TRACK) Self-Destruct (demo) - Alex & Gabe




This is beautiful & a great contrast to the other version of this song. It's a shame they didn't finish it in time to make it on the official CD... Alex's voice sounds great, and we all know how talented Gabe is already.