RE-UP: Power Lounging Vol. II

Not sure why this one disappeared.

A second volume in the power lounger series. Power lounging means hanging around in the sun with a serious commitment to wasting time, preferably while on the drink. This mix is fringely mongerous with a slightly time-warped 50s sock hop mentality (and one old 60s chestnut for good measure).

A Sack of Monkeys - Power Lounging Vol. 2

1. Roman Candle Why Modern Radio Is A-OK
2. Wilco Sunny Feeling
3. Noisettes Never Forget You
4. Vetiver More Than This
5. Tim Armstrong Take This City
6. John Fred Judy In Disguise
7. Genya Ravan Stubborn Kind Of Girl
8. Herman Brood & His Wild Romance Hit
9. The Hellcats Don't Fight It
10. Albert Hammond Jr. Miss Myrtle
11. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs Soft Shock
12. Baby Shakes Come On Babe
13. Brownsville Station Let Your Yeah Be Yeah
14. The Fondas Might As Well Go
15. Cracker Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out With Me
16. The Kilians Said & Done
17. The Damwell Betters Subway
18. The Weight Closer Than A Friend
19. Robbers On High Street You Don't Stand A Chance
20. The Iguanas If You Should Ever Fall On Hard Times
21. Four Hours Sleep w/ Paul Kelly If I Had My Way

20 Songs by Rancid

Put away all of the preconceptions that band name might suggest (well, maybe not all of them) and give a listen with unprejudiced ears. This mix isn't meant to reaffirm the band's punk cred, it's aimed at demonstrating their amazing range - Rancid incorporate elements from punk, reggae, dub, ska, Stax R&B, rockabilly, good ol' 50s rock and roll, stolid Americana, and hardcore, and mix it all into breathtakingly perfect 3 minute (and under) pop drama. They can beat the clock with a full throttle blast like "Maxwell Murder" (which comes and goes in a mere 1:26 and still somehow manages to work in an incredible Matt Freeman bass solo), they can slow it down to the lazy summer skank of "Things to Come" and the drunken roots ballad "Civilian Ways", or they can simply pile hooks on top of hooks while they rock the rafters in honest-to-god anthems like "Roots Radicals" and "Start Now". I didn't want to be a fan at first - I'm just old enough that the punk/reggae moves and Tim Armstrong's slurred rasp made me want to jump automatically to comparisons to the Clash - but these guys forced my fandom by just being plain awesome and gave my punk snobbery the swirly it deserved. And those Clash comparisons? Man, turns out they totally work in Rancid's favor. Don't believe me? Give a listen.

RANCID

1. Maxwell Murder
2. Roots Radicals
3. Time Bomb
4. Olympia, WA
5. Bloodclot
6. Hooligans
7. Backslide
8. Radio Havana
9. Rwanda
10. Antennas
11. Axiom
12. Red Hot Moon
13. Start Now
14. Fall Back Down
15. Tropical London
16. Things To Come
17. Last One To Die
18. Dominoes Fall
19. Liberty and Freedom
20. Civilian Ways

#1 - 4 from "And Out Come The Wolves" (1995)
#5 - 7 from "Life Won't Wait" (1998)
#8 - 11 from "Rancid" (2000)
#12 - 15 from "Indestructible" (2003)
#16 from "B-sides and C-sides" (2008)
#17 - 20 from "Let The Dominoes Fall (2009)

Nothing on the mix from their first two albums ("Rancid", 1993 and "Let's Go", 1994) because the volume levels are so much lower than the later albums. So apologies to anyone who wanted "Salvation" on here.

Best of '09 (vol. I)

Not exactly the usual mix for my tastes. Nothing mongerous, nothing too punk, nothing that throbs, pulses, pounds, nor beats. Just a bunch of songs from the first half of 2009 that brighten up the random play. Ranges from the neo-soul/doo wop/whatchamacallit of V.V. Brown, to the faux britpop of Takeover UK (who are from Philly, btw), to the folky-R&B vibe of Vetiver, to the horn-driven indie of Generationals, to trad rock of Jersey Budd, to the torchy My Brightest Diamond, to the funky Sharon Jones, to the elder statesman cool of Ian Hunter, to the retro slink of Those Darlins, to the latin R&B of the Krayolas, to the full-on power pop of the Tomorrows, and touches down on a few other points during the journey. Volume II will bring more of the rawk, but this one you can play at dinner parties.

Running With The Wasters
Best of '09 (so far, vol. I)

1. V.V. Brown Quick Fix
2. The Takeover UK Running With The Wasters
3. The Smoke Defeat Retreat
4. 1990s Local Science
5. The Wooden Birds False Alarm
6. Vetiver Another Reason To Go
7. Loxsly Lamprey Eels
8. Generationals Nobody Could Change Your Mind
9. Jersey Budd Bright Soul
10. Sean Riley & the Slowriders This Woman
11. Tim Easton 7th Wheel
12. My Brightest Diamond Feeling Good
13. Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings Inspiration Information
14. Ian Hunter Arms and Legs
15. Roman Candle I Was a Fool
16. The Backsliders Twisted
17. Those Darlins Snaggle Tooth Mama
18. The Krayolas A Frame
19. The Damwell Betters Just Another Girl
20. The Tomorrows Goodbye