McConaughey Spins Tunes, Yarns for NPR's KCRW

Actor chooses Mellencamp, Nugent and more for guest DJ stint with L.A.'s KCRW-FM

It isn't exactly a stretch to picture Matthew McConaughey kickin' back, just chillin', his favorite tunes spinning in the background. Or tromping through African villages in search of a guitar-strumming buddy, for that matter.

The actor helped share the vibe today, showing up at National Public Radio outpost KCRW-FM's Los Angeles studio as part of its Guest DJ Project, where he selected five songs close to his heart to share with the station's indie-appreciating listeners.

On McConaughey's playlist:

• "Between a Laugh and a Tear," John Mellencamp: "This was a very Texas song for me. I'd go out on Saturdays and wash and wax my truck, and he kind of shaped what I thought it was to be an American, what I thought it was to be a patriot, the man I wanted to become. It was the first artist I heard that I thought, He's reading my mail, he's singing that to me."
• "Stranglehold," Ted Nugent: "If I was going to be a boxer or a UFC fighter, this is the song I would come out to right here."
• "Ai Du," Ali Farka Touré with Ry Cooder: "I flew to Bamako [in the African nation of Mali]. Hitchhiked to Mopti, hooked up with a guy there, got on a boat and about nine days into it, in the town of Niafunké, found Ali Farka. We went to his house, sat there. He had an Orange Crush, I got water. And he played this song for me. And we hung out for an afternoon at both of his wives' house, and he played this song."
• "Every Little Bit Counts," James McMurtry: "A great storyteller. The way he spins a phrase. In this one, 'Every Little Bit Counts,' he talks about the high—when you're trying to work something out—the highs might be slightly higher, the lows are just as low, but hey, every little bit counts. He throws the picture of the woman off the mantle. He slams the bottle of whiskey in the sink. He's not happier. He's not better. But hey, everything little bit counts. And I dig that."

• "Above the Bones," Mishka: "It is a bless-up song and album. And it's talking about above the bones, let's live above the bones. Let's get past the ashes of the past, the lies, the regrets, the who-you-did-wrongs. Let's live in the high life. Let's live in the positive."

KCRW's past guest DJs this year have included Conan O'Brien, John Cusack, Danny DeVito, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi, Jason Schwartzman and Janeane Garofalo, while still to come are, among others, Jon Favreau, Carson Daly and volleyball star Gabrielle Reece.