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

Covers Project Vol. II

I wasn't going to post this one, but what the hell.

 Six Feet Under and Ten Feet Tall  

1. Flaming Stars Brickfield Nights (The Boys) 

2. The Ramones Time Has Come Today (Chambers Bros.) 

3. The Muffs Kids in America (Kim Wylde) 

4. Maria McKee Opelousas (Victoria Williams) 

5. Supersuckers w/ Steve Earle Before They Make Me Run (The Rolling Stones) 

6. Cracker Shake Some Action (Flamin' Groovies) 

7. The Saints Security (Otis Redding) 

8. The Clash I Fought The Law (Bobby Fuller Four) 

9. You Am I White and Lazy (The Replacements) 

10. The Joneses Crocodile Rock (Elton John) 

11. Mike Ness Don't Think Twice (Bob Dylan) 

12. Star Star You Drive Me Nervous (Alice Cooper) 

13. Bill Lloyd & Tommy Womack Picture Book (The Kinks) 

14. The Swingin' Neckbreakers Good Good Lovin' (James Brown) 

15. Tsar Rebel Rouser (The Sweet) 

16. Steve Earle Breed (Nirvana) 

17. Freddy Lynxx & the Corner Gang Respectable (Rolling Stones) 

18. The Detroit Cobras Shout Bama Lama (Otis Redding) 

19. The Nomads She Pays The Rent (The Lyres) 

20. Filthy Lucre Can't Kick (Johnny Thunders) 

21. Backyard Babies Babylon (Faster Pussycat) 

22. Country Dick Montana Party Dolls and Wine (Dean Martin)

Covers Project Vol. III

Another volume in the monger covers series. Two of the tunes here have appeared on previously posted mixes (Nikki Corvette's "Under My Wheels" and Brett Anderson's "California Sun"). A couple of notes: 1) the Heavy Metal Kids "Girl of My Dreams" isn't technically a cover, as Bram Tchaikovsky's version was a cover of an unreleased song by, yes, the Heavy Metal Kids 2) if you're familiar with the Troggs original version of "Wild Thing" then you'll understand why I threw their weirdo '75 reggae version of the song on this collection. 

Here Comes Success 

 1. Jeff Dahl One of the Boys (Mott The Hoople) 

2. Diamond Dogs Connection (The Rolling Stones) 

3. Matthew Sweet American Girl (Tom Petty) 

4. John P. Strohm Somebody's Baby (Jackson Browne) 

5. Sarah Borges Stop & Think It Over (Compulsive Gamblers) 

6. Nikki Corvette Under My Wheels (Alice Cooper) 

7. Heavy Metal Kids Girl of My Dreams (Bram Tchaikovsky) 

8. Amanda Jones The First Time (The Boys) 

9. Bleu You Might Think (The Cars) 

10. Per Gessle I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (The Ramones) 

11. Crash Kelly Lonely Planet Boy (New York Dolls) 

12. Patti Smith Gimme Shelter (The Rolling Stones) 

13. Tim Krekel Version City (The Clash) 

14. Kelly Willis Success (Iggy Pop) 

15. Garland Jeffreys 96 Tears (? and the Mysterians) 

16. Beagle Love Grows (Edison Lighthouse) 

17. Hutch Maybe Baby (Buddy Holly)

18. The Yo-Yos Hey Tonight (Credence Clearwater Revival) 

19. Myracle Brah Too Many People (Paul McCartney)

20. Dramarama Hitchhiking (Willie Alexander)

21. Michael Monroe High School (MC5) 

22. Brett Anderson California Sun (Joe Jones... later the Rivieras)

23. The Troggs Wild Thing (The Troggs)

The Covers Project Vol. I

Pretty self-explanatory. Great versions of (mostly) great songs. This is an older mix that I recently re-listened to on a long car drive - totally hit the spot. Volume II wasn't quite so much a bullseye.

 Covers I  

1. Frank Black & the Stax Pistols Breathless (Jerry Lee Lewis) 

2. Joan Jett ACDC (The Sweet) 

3. The Sights Stay With Me (The Faces) 

4. The Smithereens The Slider (T.Rex) 

5. DMZ Cinderella (The Sonics) 

6. The Dirtbombs Ode to a Black Man (Phil Lynott)

7. Jason & the Scorchers Country Roads (John Denver) 

8. The Jam In The Midnight Hour (Wilson Picket) 

9. Phantom Helmsmen Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves (Cher) 

10. Bram Tchaikovsky I'm A Believer (The Monkees) 

11. Generation X Gimme Some Truth (John Lennon) 

12. The Pogues Honky Tonk Women (Rolling Stones) 

13. Jon Spencer All Shook Up (Elvis Presley) 

14. The Inmates Some Kind of Wonderful (Soul Brothers Six) 

15. Waco Brothers The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff) 

16. Supersuckers Eastbound & Down (Jerry Reed) 

17. Georgia Satellites Games People Play (Joe South) 

18. The Yayhoos Love Train (The O'Jays) 

19, J. Geils Band Where Did Our Love Go (The Supremes) 

20. Webb Wilder Slow Death (Flamin' Groovies) 

21. Mojo Nixon Girlfriend in a Coma (The Smiths) 

22. The Coolies Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon & Garfunkel)

Dom Mariani mix

Dom Mariani must be one of the most unjustly ignored rockers of the past two decades. He's been the main songwriter/singer/guitarist for (by my count) six different bands in that time, three of which are responsible for absolute classic albums (the Stems' debut "At First Light... Violets Are Blue", the Someloves' only full-length "Something Or Other", and the DM3's "Road To Rome"). Of course, none of those albums have made the tiniest ripple in North American charts, so I can only hope Mariani sells truckloads in his native Australia. After all, there's gotta be some kind of justice in this world, doesn't there?

This is a self-made mix from a number of Mariani's bands and albums. One thing that's immediately impressive throughout is Mariani's consistency. Whether in the context of the garage/psyche revivalism of the Stems, or the sweet pop of the Someloves, or the more muscular power pop of the DM3, his emphasis is always on indelible hooks. It's almost hard to believe that someone so good can be ignored for so long. If you're a fan of Big Star, Badfinger, the Hoodoo Gurus - or any ultra-melodic power pop/punk band of the last twenty years - then this collection is guaranteed to amaze you.

Dom Mariani

1. 1 Time 2 Times Devastated
2. Dead Star
3. Second Floor
4. Just Like Nancy
5. I Thought That You Were Foolin'
6. Soultop
7. Something Heavy
8. Show You
9. Far From Here
10. Homespun Blues
11. Quicksand
12. Rock 'n' Roll Boys (Rock 'n' Roll Girls)
13. At First Sight
14. Sunshine's Glove
15. Don't Talk About Us
16 TV Sound
17. Snapshot
18. When It Ends (acoustic version)
19. Cold Cup
20. The Golden Ones (DJ Moogy remix)

#1, 9 from DM3 1 Time 2 Times 3 Red Light (1994)
#2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16 from DM3 Road to Rome (1996)
#4 from DM3 Garage Sale Vol. 2 (Italian Style) (2003)
#10, 19 from Dom Mariani Homespun Blues and Greens (2004)
#11 from DM3 Rippled Soul (1998)
#12 from the Stoneage Hearts Guilty As Sin (2004)
#13 from the Stems At First Sight, Violets Are Blue (1987)
#14 from the Someloves Something Or Other (1990)
#15 from the Someloves It's My Time (1986)
#17, 18, 20 from Dom Mariani Shell Collection (2006)

10 songs by Silver Sun

It's possible Silver Sun may have been popular in their UK homeland, but they never made so much as a squeak in North America. They deserved better. Although their timing was a little off for this kind of music... aw shit, scratch that - I'm being an idealist again. This kind of music hasn't been trendy since the early days of the British Invasion. Cool, yes. Trendy, no. Silver Sun are what I always hoped Jellyfish would sound like back when I hadn't heard them yet - ultra melodic, kinda Queen/Beach Boys harmonies-upon-harmonies, and the fuzz, buzz, and momentum of punk. Oh yeah, this is power pop, but the type that doesn't shirk from the word "power" and just puts the pedal to the metal and rocks. Plain awesome, in other words.

Silver Sun

1. Golden Skin
2. Dumb
3. Last Day
4. This 'n' That
5. I'll See You Around
6. Scared
7. Hey Girlfriend
8. Only A Girl
9. Jody
10. She Wants A Puppy, She'll Have A Puppy

#1, 2, 3, 4 from Silver Sun (1997)
# 5, 6, 7, 8 from Neo Wave (1998)
#9, 10 from Disappear Here (2005)