by Nate Welker | Saddle Creek Records
1. "Sick of Myself" by Matthew Sweet
I was 11 and living in Georgia when this came out. The first Nebraska artist I remember hearing without actually knowing he was from Nebraska. I don't listen to this song much, but when I do, I think of pre-pubescence.
2. "Padraic My Prince" by Bright Eyes
The first mixtape I received was in 2000, when I was 17 and had just moved to South Carolina. It was from a girl who had a crush on me. She included this song which became my first introduction to Saddle Creek.
It was a great tape that was beautifully decorated with glitter and a "don't take while pregnant" punch-out from some sort of medication. Noted. I still take this tape out every once in a while when I go home.
3. "Worked Up So Sexual" by The Faint
A few months later, I was invited to this girl's house for a party. I remember hearing a lot of songs by The Faint then, but this is one that sticks out to me. After finding out the relationship to Bright Eyes, I quickly devoured everything I could find by these two bands. I guess I owe me being in Omaha to her — thanks, Nikki, wherever you are!
During my first stint in Omaha as an intern at Saddle Creek, I became friends with another intern, Bryan Vaughan, who started Paper Garden Records to release this album. Paper Garden is still running but now based out of New York. They'll be releasing Eli Mardock's (lead singer of Eagle*Seagull) debut album on August 6.
5. "Right Place" by Mynabirds
One of my favorites. A reminder that things change, time passes, relationships fizzle, phone numbers are forgotten and people move (on). At the end of the day, however, whether it's how you expected things to go or not, everything works out the way it is supposed to — "every little thing when it falls, it falls in its right place."
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