Mixtape Monday: Freeballin' All The Way To Baghdad

For the past few years, I've had a tradition of re-visiting Generation Kill in the late-spring/early-summer. This past week was my re-visit week. I can't recommend the series highly enough. I've never seen anything like it, before or since. I've never seen another show, not even the other "HBO War" series (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) deliver such an uncompromising critique of war, the military, and toxic masculinity while still being so compassionate to its characters as individuals.

One of the most impressive things in Gen Kill is the way these men remain human for us in inhuman circumstances. Evan Wright, the journalist who wrote the book as well as many of the teleplays, lived with these men and knew them; it's clear he wants the audience to know them as well. One of the ways the show keeps the characters human, as well as keeps the audience firmly in the early 2000s, is the soundtrack.

It was a conscious decision on the part of the creators to have no score for the show. The only music we hear is scenery, or else is created by the marines themselves. In his book, Wright documents the songs the men sang as they rolled through Iraq. It's eerie, the ways in which this invasion is like a family road trip. It's endearing, watching these men joke with each other and entertain each other. It's terrifying and hilarious and human and everything that makes Generation Kill so good. This week's mixtape is a celebration of the music of Generation Kill.

FREEBALLIN' ALL THE WAY TO BAGHDAD

soundtrack to an invasion

1. Sk8r Boi by Avril Lavigne
2. Lovin You by Minnie Riperton
3. Complicated by Avril Lavigne
4. Bodies by Drowning Pool
5. Boyz in the Hood by Dynamite Hack
6. Hot In Herre by Nelly
7. Tainted Love by Soft Cell
8. Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag by Country Joe and the Fish
9. Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus
10. On the Road Again by Willie Nelson
11. My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder
12. Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys by Waylon and Willie
13. Can I Kick It by A Tribe Called Quest
14. King of the Road by Roger Miller
15. Come Sail Away by Styx
16. Singalongs by The Cast of Generation Kill
17. When the Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash