1. "Run Devil Run" Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins. This one sounds like it should have been on the soundtrack to "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" a few years ago. I found Jenny's solo record underwhelming on the whole.

2. "Teen Age Riot" Sonic Youth. One of the few SY songs I really dig. I need to pick up the records I care about (Goo, Dirty) in their remastered versions. Are they ever gonna do Daydream Nation as an expanded set???

3. "If I Had More Time" Tarkio. Lazy, mellow college rock. I can easily see why these guys fit in on the college campus at the University of Montana. This is early stuff by Colin Meloy, late of the Decemberists. Nice, but not revelatory.

4. "Lost in Space" Fountains of Wayne. A lovely ode to a gorgeous dumb girl. Man, have I been there before. Anything by FOW is a pleasure to catch on shuffle.

5. "Overjoyed" Waking Ashland. I'm pretty sure I like these guys because they're a piano based pop band with some punk-pop overtones. They're kind of emo, I guess, but I hear more Ben Folds than anything. They are heavily Christian, and if I read too much into the lyrics, the proselytyzing bugs me, so I try not to pay to much attention. WHen the singer says "I wanna know/it's all for you", I pretend he's singing to a chick.

6. "Cream and Bastards Rise" Havery Danger. Great pop song off of an underappreciated 2005 record.

7. "These Things" Tim O'Reagan. Drummer for the Jayhawks, former member of the Leatherwoods, has a solo record out. I've always liked his voice (he would sing a few songs at Jayhawks show). This is a Tin Pan Alley-styled head-bobber. Quality.

8. "Warrior" PiL. I like a fair bit of PiL's stuff, although I think John Lydon's a real ass. This is a good song from one of the later PiL discs.

9. "Man o' Sand to Girl O' Sea" The Go-Betweens. One of my favorite Robert Forster Go-B's tracks.

10. "Kiss Me on the Bus" The Replacements. Classic 'Mats, from Tim. Extra meaning, personally, dating back to long co-ed bus trips on Friday nights after ski competitions. Cold nights, smelly buses, and "Kiss Me on the Bus" was a recipe for romance.

1. "Somebody's Baby" - Phantom Planet. A pretty decent cover of the Jackson Browne song. I can't help but think of the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High whenever I hear this tune.

2. "Major Tom (Coming Home)" - Peter Shilling. A musical sequel to Bowie's "Space Oddity". A pretty decent new wave one-hit wonder.

3. "Abel" - The National. One of my favorite tracks of 2005. Great drumbeat.

4. "Moonage Daydream" - David Bowie. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars ranks very highly on my list of all time great albums. This isn't even one of the best songs on the album, but it's still an incredibly awesome track.

5. "I Want You So Hard (Boys Bad News)" - Eagles of Death Metal. I've been talking these guys up for months now. Great opening track off an extremely solid album.

6. "Alcoholiday" - Teenage Fanclub. One of the best tracks off one of the most underrated albums ever.

7. "You Spin Me 'Round (Like A Record)" - Dead or Alive. The 80s synth-heavy production does sound a little dated, but this song is still very, very cool.

8. "Dancing With Myself" - Billy Idol. Another 80s classic. This doesn't sound so dated. Perfect pop-punk song. This is another song I could never get sick of.

9. "I Will Dare" - The Replacements. Let it Be was the first Mats album I bought, and still my favorite. Features some guest mandolin by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck.

10. "Hey Ya!" - Outkast. Take note all you Beyonces and Lucy Lius: This is a good example of how overexposure can kill a good song. I no longer have any desire to see anyone shake it like a polaroid picture.

1. "Post-Paint Boy"- Stephen Malkmus
I enjoy Malkmus' solo work quite a bit, but I tend to forget about it until it comes up randomly.

2. "Rendezvous: Potrero Hill"- Architecture in Helsinki
I haven't really gotten into this album too much yet. There are a few songs that I definitely like, but it's a little "cutesy".

3. "Polar Opposites"- Modest Mouse
Great song from a great album by a great band.

4. "Gonna Send You Back to Walker"- The Animals
Gotta dig the Animals. Not the most inventive band of the British Invasion, but one of the more rocking.

5. "Shangri-La"- The Kinks
As I was typing the above statement about the Animals, I was thinking that the Kinks were a great mix of innovation and rocking out. Look who came on next! If you like 60's rock, "Arthur" is a must-have record. The break in the middle about "all the houses in the street have got a name, cause all the houses in the street they look the same" is a definite favorite musical moment. I think I'll listen to this album later...

6. "Childhood Memories"- British Sea Power
I guess it's pretty okay, but after the Kinks... These guys have some pretty cool songs, but this isn't a favorite. I think it's a bonus track.

7. "Subbacultcha"- Pixies
Hell yes. My adoration of all things Frank Black Francis is well documented in these forums. I think their sense of humor is what ultimately set this band so far ahead of their peers. This is a good example of it.

8. "Clap Your Hands"- They Might be Giants
This is from their kids album, which I bought for my son when he was a few months old. He loves it. I actually saw them live a few months later, and they played a lot of stuff from this album. I was a little disappointed unitl they played "Fingertips" in its entirety. Freakin' rad.

9. "The Lover's Farewell"- The Carter Family
Every time I go to shoot pool at my brother's house I take my iPod over, and every time it picks stuff from this box set, tracks from the Harry Smith anthology, and/or a lot of Woody Guthrie. I think my brothers think I'm some kind of freak for listening to old folk music.

10. "Man on the Street"- Bob Dylan
From the absolutely awesome Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3 set. No better way to end this set than with the master himself. It's hard, and expensive, being a Dylan completist, but dammit I'm trying.

"Forget The Flowers" - Wilco
Being There is, in my opinion, as good as anything that Uncle Tupelo ever recorded.

"Demon Days" - Gorillaz
Fun stuff, Gorillaz. I think that Demon Days is far and away superior to their first effort.

"Whatever Happened To Soy Bomb" - Eels
I think that the album is a little overdone, but there are some really good songs on it. Also, what the hell is E writing about in this song?

"Everything Is" - Neutral Milk Hotel
I like Aeroplane more, but the thick fuzz in their earlier stuff is pretty cool.

"Wonderful" - Brian Wilson
SMiLE is one of the best records ever recorded, and Brian Wilson is probably the biggest influence on the music I like.

"My Flying Saucer" - Billy Bragg & Wilco
I have pretty much everything Wilco has ever recorded.

"Child Star" - Unicorns
These guys are just a lot of fun to listen to.

"Happy Woman" - Simon Joyner
Someone recommended him to me, and he is pretty good.

"Cattle And Cane" - Go-Betweens
Heard of this band on these forums. Good choice.

"Mona Lisa" - Guster
Good regional band from Boston area. Catchy, but a little too poppy for my tastes.

quote:

Originally posted by L. R. William Spencer:

"Whatever Happened To Soy Bomb" - Eels
I think that the album is a little overdone, but there are some really good songs on it. Also, what the hell is E writing about in this song?

"Soy Bomb" were the the words scrawled across the chest of a guy (Michael Portnoy) who jumped to the front of the stage at the Grammys during a Bob Dylan performance and danced around. He was hired as a background dancer, but decided to make some sort of statement by doing his shirtless dance front and center. He was an artist and I think he called it some form of performance art.

http://www.sidcolton.com/directoryOfSidShows/grammyDylanSoyBomb.jpg

1) "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" by Mohammed Rafi- Really interesting. I stumbled onto this on Music Store, its a famous Bollywood song from the 60s. Strong influence of early American jazz and rock. Really cool.

2) "Dogs" by Pink Floyd- Awesome song from Animals. 17 minutes long, all of them great.

* Clip from The Office (UK)

3) "Free Love" by David Brent?- This doesn't really count but also in the UK version of the Office, main boss character David Brent, played by Ricky Gervais, performs a song on guitar that he in real life wrote. Its absolutely hilarious and really good. In fact after the season he recorded a version of it with the help of Noel Gallagher from Oasis! I recommend hearing it or seeing the video.

4) "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M.- Fantastic song, very moving with relatable lyrics.

5) "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle" by Nirvana- Maybe one of their most underrated songs, I love this one. I think iTunes Music Store aptly described this song as having a "slash and burn" attitude.

6) "Creep" by Stone Temple Pilots- Great, deep song, and definitely STP's best.

7) "Name" by Goo Goo Dolls- Pretty good older Goo Goo Dolls song with a great chorus. But "Long Way Down" from the same album A Boy Named Goo is probably my favorite of theirs.

8) "Unemployable" by Pearl Jam- Brand new Pearl Jam. This was released as a single alongside the "A-Side" "Worldwide Suicide", but I think it is a better song.

9) "Bury Me Beneath the Weeping Willow" By Alison Krauss and Lyle Lovett- I don't know what album this live performance is off of, but it is awesome. Krauss has an amazing voice.

10) "We Danced Anyway" by Deana Carter- Great 90s country song. Did I Shave My Legs For This is essential listening for the best 90s country.

quote:

Originally posted by philosopherEric:

quote:

Originally posted by L. R. William Spencer:

"Whatever Happened To Soy Bomb" - Eels
I think that the album is a little overdone, but there are some really good songs on it. Also, what the hell is E writing about in this song?

"Soy Bomb" were the the words scrawled across the chest of a guy (Michael Portnoy) who jumped to the front of the stage at the Grammys during a Bob Dylan performance and danced around. He was hired as a background dancer, but decided to make some sort of statement by doing his shirtless dance front and center. He was an artist and I think he called it some form of performance art.

http://www.sidcolton.com/directoryOfSidShows/grammyDylanSoyBomb.jpg

that is bizarre.

1. "What Do I Get" - The Buzzcocks. One of the quintessential punk songs. I think it captures the spirit of punk better than anything else in the genre.

2. "Like Eating Glass" - Bloc Party. Terrific opener from last year's Silent Alarm. The drums and bass on this track are wicked.

3. "Jane Says" - Jane's Addiction. This song reminds me of high school. I thought it was the best f*ing song at the time. It's still pretty good, but I think I've heard it too many times.

4. "Sunshowers(Diplo Mix)" - M.I.A. I dig this version, from Piracy Funds Terrorism, a lot more than the version that ended up on Arular. I'm not sure how well this stuff is going to age, but it sure sounded cool last summer.

5. "Allison Road" - Gin Blossoms. My fresman year in college, this album was so huge. It still holds up pretty good. Nice poppy stuff.

6. "Standing Outside a Boken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" - Primitive Radio Gods. Here's a one hit wonder from the 90s. I always liked this one. It has sort of a Modern English meets Depeche Mode vibe to it. The B.B. King sample is, of course, a nice touch.

7. "Joey" - Concrete Blonde. This is off one of my favorite albums in high school, Bloodletting. Johnette Napolitano has one of the greatest female voices in rock, and Jim Mankey's guitar playing is nothing short of incredible. This was a minor radio hit for them.

8. "Acrobat" - U2. To all the U2 naysayers out there, listen to this track. So frigging awesome. Don't let the bastards grind you down.

9. "Chinese Children" - Devendra Banhart. This song kills me. Like Dylan before him, Devendra managed to write a song that was both immensely cool, and hysterically funny. Not an easy feat.

10. "No Surrender" - Bruce Springsteen. Honestly, I don't like a lot of Springsteen's post-Nebraska stuff. So much of it seems way overproduced. But, I do like this gem from Born in the USA. As usual, great lyrics from the Boss.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: EricG75,

"State Trooper" - Bruuuuce Springsteen
Great tune off a great record, Nebraska. This is the record people who don't like Springsteen, like.

"The Sulphur Man" - Doves
I love this song and this album. Have no idea what this song's about, but somehow, it doesn't matter much. I especially like the coda at the end.

"One In Seven" - Engineers
Very dreamy song on their self-titled album. A couple of great songs mixed with some not-so-great ones.

"A History Of Lovers" - Calexico/Iron Wine
Okay song off an above average EP.

"Stay Don't Go" - Spoon
Love this one - especially good for working out.

"Kim's Watermelon Gun" - Flaming Lips
This is old-school Lips. This song seems more pornagraphic the more I listen to it. It could just be my perverted mind, though

1. "Graditude" - Beastie Boys. I love the fuzzed out bassline and all the percussion. They kind of ripped themselves off when they did "Sabotage". This is the original.

2. "Sister" - Sufjan Stevens. I try to love Sufjan Stevens, as everyone else seems to, but so much of his stuff just comes off as boring. Like this. Incidentally, that's the cheesiest guitar sound ever.

3. "Terrible Angels" - CocoRosie. Not a bad song, but I'm not sold on the Fisher-Price barnyard noises or the crappy production.

4. "The Sweat Descends" - Les Savy Fav. I loves me some Les Savy Fav. Most underrated rock band making music right now.

5. "One More Hour" - Sleater Kinney. A pretty badass lesbian breakup song.

6. "Mysify" - INXS. Kick was my favorite album in middle school. Some of it sounds really dated now, but this song holds up really well.

7. "I Luv The Valley Oh!" - Xiu Xiu. I don't really like any of Xiu Xiu's stuff, with the exception of this track, which I think is flat out awesome. It sounds like some long lost Joy Division song.

8. "The Man in Me" - Bob Dylan. I wasn't really familar with this song until I saw The Big Lebowski. It's a really sweet Dylan song, and his voice sounds really good. Not as nasally as a lot of his 60s stuff.

9. "Ball and Chain" - Social Distorion. One of my favorite songs. Period. I like how Mike Ness and Social Distorion fused punk with a rockabilly sensibility. The result is sort of a punk rock Johnny Cash. This is one of those songs that's timeless, regardless of genre.

10. "Who Loves the Sun" - The Velvet Underground. The VU at their funniest.

1. "A Poor Man's Memory" - Explosions in the Sky. This song is all buildup for the most part. Very pretty with a nice payoff at the end, but I'm not crazy about this band like some people. Personally most of the time I'd rather hear MONO, Mogwai, or Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

2. "Electioneering" - Radiohead. For the longest time this was my least favorite track on OK Computer, now I look forward to it's funny little cowbell and swaggering rhythm.

3. "Teen Angst" - M83. One of the best songs off of Before the Dawn Heals Us. It's got this swooning synth line during the chorus that sounds like an electronic version of Slowdive. Although I didn't like this record as much as Dead Cities, this song is outstanding.

4. "For Want Of" - Rites of Spring. One of the best songs from one of the best post-hardcore records ever made. As far as DC/Dischord bands go, it doesn't get any better. I'll take Rites of Spring over Minor Threat, Fugazi, and Nation of Ulysses even though I love them all too.

5. "Blues For Helen Burns" - Thurston Moore & Nels Cline. This is from the Pillow Wand record. I didn't even know it existed until a friend of mine at work made me a copy of this. If you're into the SYR stuff then this should be right up your alley. Super clangy no-wave drone. Good luck finding a copy of the record though. I still don't actually own it.

6. "Yeah" - Malady. One of the post-City of Caterpillar bands. This one has Jeff Kane on bass. Most of the record comes off sounding like Party of Helicopters meets Unwound. Pretty cool but I still miss City of Caterpillar.

7. "Spirits Drifting" - Brian Eno. One of the shorter ambient pieces from Another Green World. Superb.

8. "Your Church is Red" - The Black Heart Procession. One of my all time favorite Black Heart songs. It's doomy but in a weird sort of mid-western open skies sort of way.

9. "Twist of Cain" - Danzig. One of the best guitar riffs ever.

10. "Dizzy, Dizzy" - CAN. From the record Soon Over Babaluma. It doesn't get nearly enough love out of all of CAN's catalog.

1. "Get Myself Arrested" by Gomez - From Bring It On, this is a pretty good blues-rock song, but it's not one of my favorite Gomez tunes.

2. "Do It Again" by Fat - From their self-titled album (their only album, so far as I know), this is basically a modern punk song from a band that had a pretty diverse sound, incorporating rap, punk, funk...kind of RHCP but different.

3. "Down" by Socialburn - This is the only track I have from Where You Are, because I heard it on the radio a few years ago and liked it. I don't like it now, though, because it's lame post-grunge (not all post-grunge is lame) and I'm deleting it.

4. "Longstockings" by Lightning Bolt - This is one of the only songs on Wonderful Rainbow where you can hear the vocals semi-clearly, but it's still Lightning Bolt, so there's crazy noise passages too.

5. "The Zookeeper's Boy" by Mew - I got this from Mew's first US release, The Zookeeper's Boy EP, but it's also on their album And The Glass Handed Kites, which is coming out this summer, I think. The best description for Mew is progressive pop, and I love what I've heard from them. Freaking great.

6. "For Always" by MXPX - This is from Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo, the only MXPX album I actually own, although it's not the only one I've heard. I generally like what the band does, because there's still some punk in their pop-punk. This was pretty much my themesong at the end of high school, because of the lyrics.

7. "Me Gustas Tú" by Mano Chao - This is the only Mano Chao song I have, but it's really good. I don't know what to call the genre, but it's really laid back stuff, from Proxima Estación: Esperanza.

8. "In The City" by Hanson - Yes, that Hanson. But this is from their second or third album, This Time Around, and it's a damn fine pop/rock song.

9. "Dead Music" by P.O.S. (feat. Crescent Moon) - The new P.O.S. album, Audition, has gotten good reviews this year, but this is from Ipecac Neat, his 2004 record. It's also on Rhymesayers/Doomtree, and it's also really dark, masochistic hip-hop. It's not really great, but it's satisfactory.

10. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics - Oh man, this is one of the best synth-pop songs ever. Holy crap, great end to this list.

1. "Game of Pricks" - Jimmy Eat World. I'm not a huge Jimmy Eat World fan, although they do have a few songs I enjoy. Here's an extremely faithful cover of a great Guided by Voices song. They really didn't add anything to it, but they didn't kill it either, so I'm happy with it.

2. "Dark Wave" - Stephen Malkmus. I find SM's solo work really spotty, and this is a song I'm not really impressed with. I'd normally skip this.

3. "Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones" - The Hives. The Hives are alright. Not breaking any new ground, but pretty enjoyable garage punk. And they have some pretty creative song titles.

4. "This Heart's on Fire(Live)" - Wolf Parade. An early live version that I like better than the version that ended up on Apologies to the Queen Mary. Either way, it's still a great track and among my faves from them.

5. "Electric Avenue" - Eddy Grant. A half electronica - half reggae hit from the 80s. In retrospect, it's pretty groundbreaking, although most of my love for it is for it's pure camp value. A girl I dated many years ago used to sing, "We gonna walk down to K-Mart and buy some shoes, and then we'll go to Meijer." I thought that was pretty funny.

1. "In Between Days (Live 1/28/05)" Ben Folds. Faithful cover of the Cure classic recorded live for his Songs for Goldfish disc which came paired with some versions of his last record. Very good.

2. "You Used To Drive Me Around" Jon Auer. This record, Songs from the Year of Our Demise, is one of the most personal and emotionally draining pop records I've heard. It's not personal in the same sense as the new Scott Walker (which makes sense, I think, only to Scott) but it's personal nonetheless. It details the collapse of one marriage and the beginning of another, all mixed with Jon's amanzing pop songwriting and one of the prettiest voices in indie music today.

3. "Postcard of a Painting" Maximo Park. These guys don't get as much press as a lot of the other bands in the "new wave of post-punk" (Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, Futureheads, etc) but they've got a nice mix of pop smarts and angular post punk attitude.

4. "Dramamine" Sun Kil Moon. I can't stand Modest Mouse, but I like Sun Kil Moon's record of MM covers. Puzzling, huh? I don't care for Isaac's voice and the music doesn't really do it for me, but strip down the sound and replace the voice, and I dig!

5. "No Apology" The Unclaimed. Rip-snorting garage rock. Can't say much more...this is on the Children of Nuggets box.

6. "As You Sleep" Something Corporate. This subgenre (earnest, piano-driven, quasi-emo pop) is the one corner that touches 'emo' that I really like. The Fray, Waking Ashland, Jack's Mannequin, and these guys (whose singer is the main dude in Jack's Mannequin) all do it up right. Nice, melodic, and piano-centric. Ben FOlds with more teen angst and less smart-assedness. (Is that a word?)

7. "She's Got a Reason" Dogs. A fairly recent British buzzband, but instead of doing the dance-y post punk, they focus on the punky postpunk. Sounds like Art Brut, but not as fun. Or funny.

8. "Dodgy" Ice Cream Hands. A wonderful but criminally unknown Australian power pop band, descended from the seminal Aussie combo The Mad Turks (from Istanbul). An amazing combination of jangle, rhythm, and lyrics that is unstoppably catchy.

9. "El Paso" The Old 97's. A cover of the classic tune, recorded for the soundtrack to the TV show King of the Hill. Unessential, but cute.

10. "Sometimes Always" The Brakes. A cover of a Jesus and Mary Chain song, originally a duet with Hope Sandoval. The Brakes are an ad hoc Britpop supergroup, with members of British Sea Power and Electric Soft Parade. This isn't anywhere near as good as the original.

11. "Fear of Drowning" British Sea Power. Speaking of BSP, here they are, from the first record. I have really come to think these guys are at the top of the heap of the new-wave revivalists. They take the oddly eccentric sounds of Echo and Bunnymen, Julian Cope, etc. where other bands are taking Gang of Four, the Pop Group, etc. The second BSP record was outstanding.

12. "The GOld Finch and the Red Oak Tree" Ted Leo/Pharmacists. While at times pretentious (both musically and lyrically) and, in this song particularly, a little precious, Ted's great.

13. "Always the Last To KNow" Del Amitri. Most people know at least one Del Amitri song ("Roll To Me," a pop radio and soundtrack staple) but these Scots are an excellent college rock/alternative staple. Great song.

1) "Longview" by Green Day- Pretty good Green Day song with relatable lyrics. But the chorus is the real sticking point.

2) "Pigs on the Wing (Pt. 1)- Wonderful, beautiful little song that is as simple as simple can be. Can't help but let my mind drift off whenever I hear it.

3) "Gotta Get Away" by the Offspring- Very good song, I was surprised when I had a deja vu moment when I heard it for the first time: When he sings "getting edgy all the time," there is a clear similarity from influencers Nirvana and their song "About a Girl." Check it out.

4) "She's Only 18" by Red Hot Chili Peppers- Okay song, brand new from Stadium Arcadium. There are better on the album though.

5) "New Slang" by the Shins- The first song that brought me (and perhaps most other people) into discovering the Shins. I'm really glad that I did, they are now one of my favorite bands. Fantastic song.

6) "December" by Collective Soul- Kind of got this on a whim. The chorus is okay and upbeat, but overall this isn't that great. Anyways...

* "Remedy" by Seether- Awesome song, but I covered it in a previous post.

* Dane Cook

7) "Minority" by Green Day- Awesome song, one of Green Day's best in my opinion. Great loud pace with this one.

8) "Strawberry Fields Forever" by the Beatles- Great song, important as one of the first psychedelic songs. Far out. And it really sounds like "I buried Paul" at the end, not "cranberry sauce."

9) "Breaking the Girl" by RHCP- Pretty good Chili Peppers song with some awesome drumming.

10) "Give It Away" by RHCP- Because it embodies the funk attitude that is at RHCP's core.

11) "Don't Panic" by Coldplay- Note: I'm doing an 11th song because 3 RHCP songs in one list is just absurd. "Don't Panic" is a great song by Coldplay, a band I'm not too crazy about. Too many of their songs feel like serious downers, but this is cool and psychedelic.

1. "The Seeker" - The Who. This is one of those songs that just reeks of cool. You can't help but make your best rock face and bang your head a little. It also reminds me of one of my favorite Steven Soderberg films, The Limey, which used it for the opening credits.

2. "Never as Tired as When I'm Waking Up" - LCD Soundsystem. Pretty cool track from their self-titled album last year. I like how they crib the guitar line from "Dear Prudence" at the end.

3. "Shattered" - The Rolling Stones. One of the last pretty good Rolling Stones songs.

4. "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" - The Darkness. Apparently, some people take these guys seriously. I enjoy the song, but only for it's pure camp value. It makes me laugh like Spinal Tap or The Dead Milkmen. Darkness, your 15 minutes are up, but it was fun while it lasted.

5. "Romantic Rights" - Death From Above 1979. Pretty good single, although the DFA79 sound is very limiting. I found a whole album of this a little grating.

6. "Time For Livin'" - The Beastie Boys. One of my favorite covers of all time. Well, it's not exactly a cover. Apparently the guys were screwing around in the studio with this punk jam. Mike D picked up the liner notes to an old Sly & The Family Stone album and shouted the lyrics to "Time for Livin'" over the whole thing. Turned out pretty sweet.

7. "Landlocked Blues" - Bright Eyes. I love the lyrics on this song. Pure poetry. And of course, any great song can transformed into absolute perfection by getting Emmylou Harris to sing backup on it. By the time the horns kick in, it's sublime.

8. "Friendship Update" - The Go Team. Sucks. I'm so over the Go Team.

9. "Church on White" - Stephen Malkmus. For my money, Malkmus' best post-Pavement track. The guitar solo is way cool.

10. "Hella Good" - No Doubt. I think No Doubt and Gwen Stefani improved by going straight up pop. I always felt their "Ska" sound was a little insincere, but as an electropop artist Gwen's pretty cool. Great production from the Neptunes on this one.

1. "Police Sweater Blood Wow" - The Fiery Furnaces. From their latest, very good, album. This one perhaps not my favourite.
2. "To Katerinio" - The Chainides. Cretan pseudo folk group. Best song from their best early album. They have a new one out I must get.
3. "Black-Hearted Boy" - The Fiery Furnaces. From the same album as above. Funny.
4. "Leave" - R.E.M. One of my favourites from the "New Adventures..." album. I think it is funny how the beat of the siren and the beat of the song goes in and out of phase.
5. "Waitress" - Live. From R.E.M. to R.E.M.-wannabes. And I really hate this song.
6. "Good Day For Dying" - Escobar. Not really my thing. I don't like the singer at all. It's on my playlist because of my girlfriend (no, really , it is ).
7. "Fitter Happier" - Radiohead. Non-music.
8. "Cocain Blues" - Johnny Cash. Pretty hilarious.
9. "Numb" - Portishead. Cool. It's been a while since I listened to Portishead. I cannot manage a whole album, but taken one song at a time, they are great.
10. "La Estan Bailando" - Las Corraleras De Lebrija. Also pretty funny.

1. "Daylight Fading" by Counting Crows - This is one of the pretty-good-but-not-great singles from Recovering the Satellites. I like the song, and it's pleasant to hear it on random.

2. "Gallows Pole" by Demons & Wizards - European power metal from a European power metal supergroup, although I don't remember who's in the band. I'm not actually that into the scene or the music, but every once in a while it's nice to hear this crazy bombast. It's not that impressive right now, though.

3. "Fluff" by RF - Ryan Francessconi, or something like that, makes mellow, pastoral electronic music that is quite lovely. This is from 2003's Interno, which isn't his best album (that'd be Falls), but is still good.

4. "I Was in the Neighborhood" by Clarence Carter - CC is an old, blind, DIRTY man who sings cheesey soul music. I don't know what this is originally from, but I got it from a best of. If you check out one Clarence Carter song, make it "Strokin'."

5. "Cut Me Out" by Toadies - This is punked up post-grunge from the Escape From L.A. soundtrack. You may remember Toadies from their hit, "Possum Kingdom."

6. "Eye on the Finish Line" by Pedro the Lion - This is from Winners Never Quit, and album I haven't listened to very much. This is typical PTL, slow and depressing, but pretty good anyway.

7. "The End" by The Doors - The Doors are one of those bands that everyone is supposed to love, but I just can't quite do it. I think they're okay, and I'm sure they are important historically, but the music isn't awesome.

8. "Bittersweet" by Fuel - I have to admit, I like Fuel's first album, Sunburn. It's a remnant from high school.

9. "Mr. Golden Deal" by Tonic - This must be the day for post-grunge. I really like this song, and all of Tonic's debut album, Lemon Parade. Their second album was a step in the wrong direction, although I still liked it, and then I lost interest in the band.

10. "Stripped" by Jeff Klein - I don't actually know much about Jeff Klein, or his 2005 album, The Hustler. I just got this from my brother a week ago and haven't listened to it much since then. It's rock...a little more polished than most indie rock...not bad, but I need to listen to more of it to figure out what I really think.

Okay, it's been a while, but here goes...

1. "Rainy Days and Mondays" - The Carpenters. Hmm...I wonder what kind of session this is going to become. With the Carpenters right off the bat, it could get weird. Anyway, I like this song.

2. "Why Can't This Be Love?" - Van Halen. This is probably my favorite VH song...and probably one of only a few I have in this library.

3. "Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't" - Brand New. This is about as emo as I get.

4. "What You Need" - INXS. This is a great, quintessential 80's track. I haven't heard their new singer perform it.

5. "Diamonds and Rust" - Joan Baez. What can I say? I'm a Joan Baez fan and I LOVE this song. Could be my favorite of hers. It was just in a movie I watched too, The Eulogy. Judas Priest also does a kick-ass cover of it!

I'll keep this set at five. A random set with The Carpenters at the beginning, Joan Baez at the end, and Van Halen in the middle is too classic!

1. "Drum Gets A Glimpse" - The Liars. One of the few songs on Drums Not Dead that I like. It's an interesting album, I just wish it was a little more tuneful. This is pretty cool though, pretty Eno-esque.

2. "Prettiest Whore" - East River Pipe. Probably one of the greatest pop songs nobody's ever heard. Infinitely catchy.

3. "Lucky Man" - The Verve. I was so into this album when it first came out. I kind of got burned out on it, but it's still pretty damn good.

4. "A Little Less Conversation" - Elvis Presley. Probably one of my favorite Elvis songs. It's so funky, and really funny.

5. "7 and 7 is" - Love. Terrific Nuggets-era rock tune.