Best of '09 (Vol. II)

Another mix of some faves from '09. A bit louder and more energetic than the previous volume, but still nothing that'll peel the paint off walls.

Let's Jump Around Some

1. The XX VCR
2. Cornershop Who Fingered Rock 'n' Roll?
3. Lucero The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo
4. Cheap Trick Sick Man Of Europe
5. The Films Holiday
6. Rancid Last One To Die
7. The Aggrolites It's Time To Go
8. Robyn Hitchcock Saturday Groovers
9. The Dead Trees Shelter
10. The Fate Lions Ride The Artifact
11. The Weight Had It Made
12. Deadstring Brothers The River Song
13. Reigning Sound Call Me
14. The Greatest Hits Electric Blanket Boogie
15. The Shazam Hey Mom, I Got The Bomb
16. Radio Faces Coffee Cup
17. Bazooka Jones You Suck
18. The Beat Strings My Medicine
19. Rich Hope Let's Jump Around Some
20. Cracker Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey
21. Brendan Benson Don't Wanna Talk
22. Bad Veins Gold And Warm

Spoon - B-Sides and Rarities

For my money, one of the best bands of the past decade. Deceptively simple, incredibly melodic, hook-filled, groove-based, and cool as fuck. Their detractors sniff that they're just straightforward rock. They're wrong. And they're right. And they're missing the point entirely. There's something much deeper going on than just catchy songs - and, anyway, when did catchy songs become a point of embarrassment?

This compilation collects 22 non-album cuts. It's not comprehensive; there's plenty of odds 'n' ends left off. But all of it is high sound quality and, at the very least, filled with interesting additions to the Spoon catalogue.

Spoon - B-Sides & Rarities

1. Got Nuffin
2. Revenge!
3. Stroke Their Brains
4. My First Time, Vol. 3 (Light Version)
5. Carryout Kids
6. Well-Alright
7. Monkey Feelings
8. It Took A Rumor To Make Me Wonder, Now I'm Convinced I'm Going Under
9. I Turn My Camera On (John McEntire remix)
10. Sunday Morning, Wednesday Night
11. I Could Be Underground
12. The Underdog (demo)
13. Deep Clean
14. Bring It On Home To Me
15. The Book I Write
16. Shake It Off
17. Irrigation Man
18. If You Say So
19. You Get Yours
20. Let The Distance Keep Us Together
21. Is This The Last Time
22. In The Right Place, The Right Time

#1,3 - from Got Nuffin single
#2, 11 - from 30 Gallon Tank +3 ep
#4 - from My First Time, Vol. 3 ep
#5 - from Gimme Fiction bonus disc
#6 - from Dark Was The Night compilation
#7, 8 - from Sister Jack UK single
#9,10 - from Sister Jack US single
#12 - from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga bonus 7"
#13 - I-Tunes exclusive
#14 - Sam Cooke cover, from B-Sides And Demos
#15 - from Stranger Than Fiction OST
#16 - from Anything You Want single
#17, 18 - from If You Say So Motherfucker compilation
#19, 20 - from Home, Vol. 4 ep
#21,22 - from Stay Don't Go single

Don't Call Me Honey

Not exactly a collection of 60s girl groups, but more a comp of female-led songs that mine the sound of that particular era. There's something from every decade since the 50s here, including the relatively well-known rockabilly vixen Wanda Jackson as well as forgotten treasures like Billie Davis and the totally untamed Tammy St. John. Genya Ravan appears twice, once on the lead-off track from her gritty '78 masterwork Urban Desire and before that as leader of Goldie & The Gingerbreads (one of the first ever all-girl hard R&B bands). The Prissteens show up twice as well (sort of), once as themselves and once as Purple Wizard. Also lots of stuff from the punk/new wave era (Pearl Harbor, Holly & the Italians, Ellen Foley, Pretenders, Josie Cotton, Catholic Girls, Rachel Sweet, and Lost Durangos). The more modern era is represented by the likes of Ruby Ann, Raveonettes, the Pipettes, Amy Faris, and the Detroit Cobras. And even if you're sick of Amy Winehouse give her a fresh listen in this context - the woman definitely delivers.

DON'T CALL ME HONEY

1. Pretenders Stop Your Sobbing
2. Catholic Girls Boys Can Cry
3. The Angels Get Away From Me
4. Goldie & The Gingerbreads V.I.P.
5. Ruby Ann Don't Call Me Honey
6. Purple Wizard I'm Gonna Get You Yet
7. Ellen Foley What'sa Matter Baby?
8. Holly & The Italians Tell That Girl To Shut Up
9. Genya Ravan Jerry's Pigeons
10. Tammy St. John Boys
11. Pearl Harbor & The Explosions Everybody's Boring But My Baby
12. Maria McKee I'm Gonna Soothe You
13. Patti Scialfa Baby Don't
14. The Prissteens Scandal, Controversy, and Romance
15. Rachel Sweet B-A-B-Y
16. Lost Durangos Evil Town
17. Billie Davis & The Leroys Whatcha Gonna Do?
18. Amy Farris Anyway
19. The Raveonettes Ode To L.A.
20. Ronnie Spector All I Want
21. Amy Winehouse Me And Mr. Jones
22. The Pipettes Pull Shapes
23. Shelby Lynne Your Lies
24. Josie Cotton Jimmy Loves Maryanne
25. Wanda Jackson Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad
26. Detroit Cobras Bye Bye Baby

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

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)