2013 Orphans Mix

Here's the deal: I try to stay caught up with new music, and try to pimp it on a timely basis, but there's just so much great stuff that manages to slip by without me noticing (or, more precisely, without me noticing until after I compile my Best of the Year list). That means there's always a batch of truly worthwhile songs and albums from every year that get stranded on their lonesome, ignored on the Faves mixes and unfairly left off the year-end round-up; unheard even by Un-Herd.

So the Orphans mixes do their best to rectify that, even if it's frustratingly too late. There are songs from singles and EPs, songs that didn't fit on other collections, and tunes - from the Mayflowers and the Scruffs - that date back to 2012 (I'm really late to the party on those). As well, this mix contains songs from two albums (The Bad Lovers Wild Times and Wyldlife The Time Has Come To Rock & Roll) that would have easily been in my 2013 Top 20 had I known about them. They're both spectacular and distinct takes on the kind of sleazy, punk and glam-inspired rock & roll this blog lives for, and it's a crime neither got the major attention they deserve.

A big thank-you goes to Sir Rick Laferriere, who has once again hepped me to the existence of a slew of artists and bands. And, as always, the biggest thanks goes to all the bands out there on the front lines, fighting the good fight. You are, eventually, heard.

It's Just Another Case of Here We Go Again

1. Gringo Star The Start
2. The Mayflowers Cat's Boro Blues
3. Wyldlife Trash
4. Mozes & the Firstborn What's Wrong Momma?
5. Miss Chain & the Broken Heels Don't Look Back
6. Dirt Farmer All I Know
7. Sugar Stems Love You To Pieces
8. Bye Bye Blackbirds Shook Down Softly
9. Kim Salmon & Spencer P. Jones It's All The Same
10. The Danks Experimental Fiction
11. Super Wild Horses Heavy Step
12. The Menzingers The Shakes
13. Nato Coles & the Blue Diamond Band See Some Lights
14. Giuda Yellow Dash
15. Lisa Mychols Foolin' the World
16. Imperial State Electric Underwhelmed
17. The Bamboos Your Lovin' Is Easy
18. Tranzplants Something's Different
19. The Woggles Take It To The People
20. Sweet Talk Pickup Lines
21. The Scruffs Take Me Downtown
22. The New Trocaderos The Kids
23. The Bad Lovers Got It Bad
24. Willis Earl Beal (w/ Cat Power) Coming Through

Best of 2013

I don't know how 2013 will be remembered, but, personally speaking, I'm pretty damn happy to get out of it alive. It was most definitely a weird year overall. Our mainstream culture seemed entirely obsessed with a minimally talented flap-assed skanklet who ran around with her tongue lolling out like an overheated dog on the streets of Calcutta. Meanwhile, the outsider underground continued to benefit from a resurgence of rock & roll true believers. I guess it's all just a matter of picking your kicks.


The Un-Herd Music Top 30 of 2013

1. The Bamboo Kids - Safe City Blues

30 songs chockful of everything these guys can think of, which amounts to a glorious sprawl of punk rock, Stones licks, pianos, horns, hooks and gutter wisdom.



 

 2. J. Roddy Walston & the Business - Essential Tremors

An unlikely mix of Southern blooze rock, indie rock, and 70s UK glam rock, somehow pieced together in a way that makes complete sense.

3. The Computers - Love Triangles, Hate Squares

Takes their soul/R&B/rock&roll impulses and polishes it to a sheen that illuminates the hooks, often sounding like what Elvis Costello aimed at on Get Happy!, but incorporating a stronger hardcore edge (as well as nabbing quotes from Little Richard).

 4. Zachary James & the All-Seeing Eyes - Space Case

Zachary James and the All Seeing Eyes have reanimated the corpse of Ziggy Stardust and dragged it into the new millennium,with lyrics of sci-fi romance and more musical nods to T.Rex than Bowie (and more to the Stones than either).

 5. Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders - 14th & Nowhere

Rocks hard enough to frighten away most Americana fans, but Todd's also capable of simmering it all down to a quiet fury, which seems to quest after transcendence with equal parts pessimism and romance like a secular, faithless Van Morrison.

 6. James Younger - Feelin' American

This is expansive guitar pop, pulling a major influence from the Strokes debut even while summoning comparisons to artists like Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, and Paul Simon.

 7. The Connection - Let It Rock!

Although the Connection plow the same field the Ramones already dug (albeit with an even stronger influence from the 50s rock & roll source) they miraculously have that same Joey Ramone gift for melody that prevents them from falling into mere revivalism.

 8. Black Joe Lewis - Electric Slave

Steamrollers out of the gate like some unholy mutant cross between ACDC and James Brown, and then picks up intensity from there. It's a violent maelstrom of sound that might just reclaim 50 years of music to its rightful originators.

 9. Chris Wilson - It's Flamin' Groovy!

Enlists help from fellow ex and future Flamin' Groovies Cyril Jordan and Roy Loney and creates an album that miraculously combines Shake Some Action with Teenage Head.

 10. Various - Rockin' Here Tonight: Songs For Slim

There's enough of a major artist guest list to interest something close to the mainstream, but it's the 2nd tier indie royalty that really pushes this over the top.






 11. The Grapes of Wrath - High Road
12. The Yum Yums - Play Good Music
13. Barrence Whitfield & the Savages - Dig Thy Savage Soul
14. Glitz - It'z Glitz
15. Greg Pope - Pop Motion Animation
16. Attic Lights - Super De Luxe
17. The Cliks - Black Tie Elevator
18. The Suburbs - Si Sauvage
19. Red Jacket Mine - Someone Else's Cake
20. Modern Kicks - Rock 'n' Roll's Anti Hero

21. Missing Monuments - Missing Monuments
22. Bad Sports - Bras
23. Deer Tick - Negativity
24. Beach Day Trip Trap Attack
25. The Charlie Watts Riots A Break In The Weather
26. Wyatt Blair - Banana Cream Dream
27. Neko Case - The Worse Things Get...
28. Dirty Fences - Too High To Kross
29. The Crunch - Busy Making Noise
30. Night Marchers - Allez! Allez!

Honorable Mentions:

Grimm Generation - The Big Fame
Warm Soda - Someone For You
Ulysses - Kill You Again
Rich Hands - Dreamers
Primitive Hearts - High & Tight
Foxygen - We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic
Jungle - Pacific Oblivion
Wild Belle - Isles
The Bamboos - Fever in the Road
Nick Piunti - 13 In My Head
Roman Candle - Debris
Howe Gelb - The Coincidentalist
Oblivians - Desperation
Willis Earl Beal - Nobody Knows
No Tomorrow Boys - Bad Luck Baby Put The Jinx On Me
Vegas With Randolph - Rings Around The Sun
King Khan & the Shrines - Idle No More
Silver Seas - Alaska
The Julie Ruin - Run Fast
The Dirtbombs - Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-blooey!

Don't You Know The World Is Still Unfolding

1. Bamboo Kids Ain't A Man
2. J. Roddy Walston & the Business Black Light
3. The Computers Mr. Saturday Night
4. Zachary James & the All-Seeing Eyes Star People
5. Pat Todd & the Rankoutsiders You & Your Damn Dream
6. James Younger Two of a Kind
7. The Connection Girls in This Town
8. Grapes of Wrath Mexico
9. Chris Wilson Heart in Her Hand
10. Lucero (from Songs for Slim) From the Git Go
11. The Cliks Sleeping Alone
12. Black Joe Lewis Skulldiggin
13. The Yum Yums Too Much of a Good Thing
14. Barrence Whitfield & the Savages Bread
15. Glitz Paranoia
16. Greg Pope The Mattress
17. Attic Lights Don't You
18. The Suburbs Dumb Ass Kids
19. Red Jacket Mine Engineer
20. Modern Kicks So Many Nights
21. Beach Day Stay
22. Missing Monuments Another Girl
23. Bad Sports Let Me In
24. The Crunch A Matter of Time
25. The Sharks Turn On The Radio
26. The Charlie Watts Riots The More That You Change

Faves of 2013 (vol. 3)

I'm posting this Faves compilation mere moments after learning of the passing of Lou Reed. It's difficult to place this kind of event into perspective without delving into exactly the kind of maudlin sentimentality that would probably make Lou himself scoff in derision, but I think it's safe to say that there isn't a band on this mix that would have existed if not for the  direct influence of Mr. Reed. A lot of artists are deemed influential, but precious few of them can lay claim to the profound impact the Velvet Underground unleashed upon the world. "Sweet Jane" alone would place Lou in the pantheon of rock & roll immortality, nevermind the towering achievement of the entire VU catalogue, nevermind the always interesting output of his solo career, and nevermind all the bands and artists that followed in his hallowed wake. So RIP, you beautifully cantankerous contrarian, may your footsteps forever echo.

As for the mix itself, this is the last one of this year. The next task will be compiling the absolute best albums of 2013, and this mix presents a number of contenders. Albums by James Younger (Feelin' American), the Grimm Generation (The Big Fame), Bad Sports (Bras), Glitz (It'z Glitz), Barrence Whitfield (Dig Thy Savage Soul), and J. Roddy Walston (Essential Tremors) are pretty much certainties for the Top 30, but I wouldn't rule out any full-length release by any artist included here. Somewhere, Lou Reed is tapping his foot.

My Life Was Saved By Rock & Roll

1. The Grimm Generation  The Next Indie Boy
2. James Younger  Monday Morning
3. Brand New Hate  Sinners and Preachers
4. Black Joe Lewis  The Hipster
5. The Strypes  Hometown Girls
6. Deer Tick The Dream's In The Ditch
7. The Cheap Thrills  Midnight Sun
8. The Temperance Movement Be Lucky
9. The Suburbs Turn The Radio On
10. Bare Mutants Cunt
11. Propeller Might Never Be The Only One
12. The Dirtbombs Crazy For You
13. Mark Crozer & the Rels Tell Me You Want Me
14. Star Anna Smoke Signals
15. Diarrhea Planet Babyhead
16. The Julie Ruin Just My Kind
17. The Charlie Watts Riots Metal
18. Bad Sports Rockin' The Noose
19. Glitz Don't Think About It
20. Needles//Pins Date Night (You Bring the Napalm)
21. Drivin' n Cryin' Hot Wheels
22. Barrence Whitfield & the Savages The Corner Man
23. J. Roddy Walston & the Business Marigold
24. Timmy Sean & the Celebrities Back to the Middle

Faves of 2013 (vol. 2)

I guess the thing I find most puzzling about this digital age is how it's so incredibly easy to get the word out and yet the word still don't get out. I just don't understand why some indie bands come out of nowhere riding a wave of internet buzz while others are doomed to rage into an echo chamber of disinterest. Why, for example, do artists like Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees become Pitchfork-approved, while scores of other garage/punk/pop rockers - either more vicious, more fun, or more melodic - can't get even a whiff of a hipster's Pabst-stained neckbeard?

This new Faves mix is a case in point. So many of these bands have just released albums or EPs that deserve to get them enshrined in the hallowed halls of rock&roll immortality, and yet I'm not seeing much about them anywhere. Little Steven (godbless that awesome suminabitch) might be playing the hells out of the new Connection, and King Khan & the Shrines continue an upward trajectory, and maybe two or three others have received reviews in major(-ish) web zines, but the rest appear to have been roundly and unfairly ignored. If you haven't yet, search out the albums these songs come from (album titles included in the info) - and maybe we can get some of that buzz started.

These Are The Things I've Come to Love

1. The Bamboo Kids Batshit Crazy
2. The Connection Wrong Side of 25
3. Wyatt Blair Sugar Lips, Cinnamon Hips
4. The Computers Love Triangles, Hate Squares
5. The Cliks Savanna
6. Rooni Ambulance
7. Jesse Dee Sweet Tooth
8. Beech Day Wasting All My Time
9. Primitive Hearts Falling Apart
10. Radio Days Get Some Action
11. Nick Piunti On The Way Out
12. Rev Gusto Click-Click
13. The Mergers Caught Beneath
14. King Louie's Missing Monuments Covered In Ice
15. Pat Todd & the RankOutsiders 14th & Nowhere
16. Jumgle Midnight Limousine
17. The Sharks Blow
18. Modern Kicks Crew'n Up
19. Rich Hands Tease (Pretty Pretty Please)
20. Attic Lights Say You Love Me
21. Indian Rebound Backlash
22. The Solicitors DDT
23. King Khan & the Shrines Bad Boy
24. Crocadiles Marquis De Sade

Faves of 2013 (Vol. 1)

Spring has sprung, which means I'm a little overdue for the first faves mix of the year. But never fear, good things come to those who wait (usually in the form of a 20% gratuity).

The first four months of 2013 have produced some outstanding music. Too much for a single mix, in fack, which means a) there's already a fine chunk of Volume 2 primed for posting, and b) this one is chockful of greatness. Among the new(-ish) finds you may note the reappearance of some of my longtime obsessions (for example, I'll be pushing the Yum Yums, Zachary James, and the Biters until they all become as hugely popular as they deserve), as well as new ones by 80s faves the Del-Lords and the Grapes of Wrath. There's also a bonus track, hidden more out of my paranoia of major label assholeishness than any sense of added value.

Let the sun shine in. And remember: SPF 30 or above is not sunscreen, it's a shirt.

The Bands I Like They Don't Sell A Lot Of Records

1. Slam Dunk Dying Breed
2. Purling Hiss Rat Race
3. The Yum Yums I Like Good Music
4. Biters So Many Nights
5. Night Marchers Big in Germany
6. Warm Soda Jeanie Loves Pop
7. Two Hours Traffic Ready For a Look
8. The Postelles Caught By Surprise
9. Grapes of Wrath Good To See You
10. Polly Put a Little English On It
11. Bed Wettin' Bad Boys Sally
12. Red Jacket Mine Someone Else's Cake
13. The Del-Lords When the Drugs Kick In
14. Sugar Sugaar Stoned
15. Dirty Fences King's Cross
16. Dick Diver Alice
17. Mount Mariah Bright Light
18. Matt Costa Shotgun
19. Har Mar Superstar Lady, You Shot Me
20. The Virgins Prima Materia
21. Zachary James & the All Seeing Eyes Runnin' Outta Tyme