The 2008 Fav 50

Time for the end of the year list of favorite albums.

1. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
2. Deerhunter - Microcastle
3. Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher
4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
5. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
6. The Donkeys - Living On The Other Side
7. Brian Eno & David Byrne - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
8. Winterpills - Central Chambers
9. TV On The Radio - Dear Science
10. Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees
11. The Wood Brothers - Loaded
12. Human Highway - Moody Motorcycle
13. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
14. Department Of Eagles - In Ear Park
15. Jackie Greene - Giving Up The Ghost
16. Lucinda Williams - Little Honey
17. Delta Spirit - Ode To Sunshine
18. Steve Wynn - Crossing Dragon Bridge
19. Kelley Stoltz - Circular Sounds
20. Beach House - Devotion
21. Joan Of Arc - Boo Human
22. The Fireman - Electric Arguments
23. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig! Lazarus Dig!!
24. The Moondoggies - Don't Be A Stranger
25. The Black Angels - Directions To See A Ghost
26. Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal
27. The Baseball Project - Vol. 1: Frozen Ropes And Dying Quails
28. The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion
29. The Cure - 4:13 Dream
30. Lila Downs - Shake Away
31. Tindersticks - The Hungry Saw
32. Vetiver - Things Of The Past
33. T-Bone Burnett - Tooth Of Crime
34. Barry Adamson - Back To The Cat
35. Robert Forster - The Evangelist
36. The Accidental - There Were Wolves
37. School Of Language - Sea From Shore
37. Santogold - Santogold
38. Blitzen Trapper - Furr
39. Benji Hughes - A Love Extreme
40. Portishead - Third
41. The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age Of Understatement
42. Atlas Sound - Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel
43. The Pillbugs - Everybody Wants A Way Out
44. The Dreadful Yawns - Take Shape
45. The Quarter After - Changes Near
46. Hayes Carll - Trouble In Mind
47. Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
48. No Age - Nouns
49. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
50. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer


Some great reissues, compilations and findings from the vaults this year

The New Order series of Collector's Editions
The Replacements expanded editions
The Jesus And Mary Chain - The Power Of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities
The Lines - Memory Span
The Lines - Flood Bank
Bob Dylan - The Bootleg Series Vol. 8, Tell Tale Signs: Rare & Unreleased 1989-2006
R.E.M. - Murmur (Deluxe Edition) Disc 2: Live In Toronto 1983
Neil Young - Sugar Mountain: Live At Canterbury House 1968
The La's - The La's (Deluxe Edition)
The La's - BBC Sessions
Belle & Sebastian - BBC Sessions
The Clash - Live At Shea Stadium
Ry Cooder - The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed
Dennis Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blue (Legacy Edition)
Outrageous Cherry - Wide Awake In The Spirit World: The Best of Outrageous Cherry
King Khan & The Shrines - The Supreme Genius Of King Khan & The Shines
Wooden Shjips - Volume 1
The Grip Weeds - Infinite Soul: The Best of The Grip Weeds
Paul Weller - At The BBC
Portastatic - Some Small History
Golden Smog - Stay Golden, Smog: The Best of Golden Smog
Pavement - Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed.


There was lots of other great music that rocked my world this year so why stop now...

The Dodos - Visiter
Calexico - Carried To Dust
Black Mountain - In The Future
The Explorers Club - Freedom Wind
Bryan Scary - Flight Of The Knife
Giant Sand - ProVisions
Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Sigur Ros - Med Sud...
Jamie Lidell - Jim
The Raveonettes - Lust Lust Lust
Dungen - 4
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
The Dirtbombs - We Have You Surrounded
Spiritualized - Songs In A&E
The Sea And Cake - Car Alarm
The Kills - Midnight Boom
Mugison - Mugiboogie
Johnny Flynn - A Larum
The Walkmen - You And Me

Lots of music from some old friends too...

John Hiatt - Same Old Man
Beck - Modern Guilt
Glen Campbell - Meet Glen Campbell
Al Green - Lay It Down
Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere - Nudge It Up A Notch
B. B. King - One Kind Favor
Paul Weller - 22 Dreams
Steve Winwood - Nine Lives
Solomon Burke - Like A Fire
Pretenders - Break Up The Concrete

And these list could keep going on and on...

Satellite Radio and The Lightning Strike

Recently I had the opportunity to listen to satellite radio. XM Radio to be exact which also included some Sirius stations. Now I would never have gone out and purchased the service but I did have to purchase a new car recently and the XM radio was included in the package. I din't really care for it all that much initially. I like programing my own music in the car with CDs or my iPod but my wife likes the satellite radio and she uses the car for her daily commute to work. So where does the lightning strike come in? My car was struck by lightning and totaled causing me going out to buy a new car which happened to have satellite radio. It took a while to really determine what happened to my car. We didn't know right away about the lightning strike. I just went out to the car one morning to go to work and it didn't start. I called AAA and they couldn't get it started so it was towed to a shop in the neighborhood. They couldn't figure out what was wrong. The car stayed with them for a week before they finally gave up and said I needed to take the car to the dealer. This car was a 2001 Honda Accord with 21K miles on it and I have a very short commute. This car was going to last a long time. Except it got struck by lightning. So after a week in the one shop it went to the dealer and they had the car for another week before they admitted that they couldn't figure out what was wrong either. The electrical system was fried and the computer system gave weird readings. At one point one of the technicians jokingly said to me it looked like the car was jumped by a Mac truck. That got me thinking about maybe it was struck by lightning because we had some bad electrical storms in the area. I checked the newspaper online archive and saw that there was a bad storm with lots of lightning the night before I had the problem with the car. We were out that night in the other car and we remembered the big storm that night. Our block club has a listserv and I emailed the group asking if anyone remembered a lightning strike that night. Several people replied to describe lightning strikes that night and one person was on his porch when he saw lightning strike a tree in front of his house. My car was parked on the street that night under that tree. I brought up the possibility of the car being struck by lightning to the dealer technician and he exclaimed that it would explain lots of things. They were truly boggled with the problem and even had the resources of the national Honda network which was not helping them with the situation. They started looking at the car with a lightning strike in mind and things started making sense to them. Then they found a small series of scorch marks on the roof of the car which confirmed the lighting strike. By this time another week had passed and we were without the car for three weeks now. I made an insurance claim and the adjuster came out and declared the car totaled. It just was not worth fixing and how could they fix it? One would never know if they got all the problems solved and how many man hours would it take to go through the entire electrical system. No, it was totaled. We got a check from the insurance company and went out looking for a car. This was not a good time to look for a used car because we just went through a summer of high gas prices and all the good fuel effecient cars had been snapped up. We looked at new cars and finally ended up getting a 2009 Hyundai Sonata that happened to include XM satellite radio free for three months. I got to check out satellite radio for the first time and yeah there sure are a lot of stations. A week after we had the car we drove down to Philadelphia for a long weekend and I really got to experience this new radio service. Most of the stations were crap but there was a handful that kept us going on the trip. We also tried out some of the comedy stations and some news but mainly it was music of course. As time went on having this radio what really started making a difference was the special shows with interesting people picking the music. An example of these would be Bob Dylan's show. That was an interesting listen full of great picks and a unique take on music. Another great find was Little Steven's Underground Garage. A great selection of music that was always interesting and fun to listen to. It also led me to explore some of the new garage revival bands featured on his show and where many of them were being signed to his record label Wicked Cool Records. I've been listening to lots of new music through his show and his label and of course I love listening to new music. I got a new mix coming. I feel it. A mix full of these great garage bands. Coming soon.

Armagideon Time... a mix

And you thought I was going to talk about the economic meltdown and start of the 2nd Great Depression but actually this is just another reggae mix. However, it is something a little more hot, dark and dangerous and has a few angry Brits thrown in for some cultural diversity. 

Armagideon Time 

1. Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised) - Peter Tosh (Legalize It, 1976) 

2. Utterance - Black Uhuru (Red, 1981) 

3. Taking Over - Sizzla (Taking Over, 2001) 

4. Steppin' Out - Steel Pulse (Earth Crises, 1984) 

5. Crazy Baldhead - Bob Marley & The Wailers (Rastaman Vibration, 1976) 

6. Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)(Live) - Bob Marley & The Wailers (Live At The Roxy, 2003) 

7. Time Tough - Toots & The Maytals (Funky Kingston, 1973) 

8. Warning - Tony Rebel (If Jah, 1998) 

9. Armaagideon Time - Dr. Israel (Inna City Pressure, 1998) 

10. One More Time - The Clash (Sandinista!, 1980) 

11. Whine & Grind / Stand Down Margaret - The English Beat (I Just Can't Stop It, 1980) 

12. Food For Thought - UB40 (Signing Off, 1980) 

13. What's The Matter With The World - Bushman (The Reggae Box, 2001) 

14. War & Friction - I Roy (Ten Commandments, 1978) 

15. Old Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear (Marcus Garvey, 1975) 

16. Blood & Fire - Niney (Freaks, 1992) 

17. Chant To King Selassie - Augustus Pablo (East Of The River Nile, 1977) 

18. All Nations Bow - Big Youth (The Chanting Dread Inna Fine Style, 1983) 

19. I Love Jah - Beres Hammond & Flourgon (Music Is Life, 2001) 

20. Jah Rastafari, Jungle Safari - Lee "Scratch" Perry (Jamaican E.T., 2002) 

21. Give Praises - Yabby You (Dub It To The Top: 1976-1979, 2002)

Reggae Got Soul... a mix

Some of the classic stuff. This mix was originally posted to AotM back in October of 2003. 

1. Israelites - Desmond Dekker & The Aces 

2. Rivers Of Babylon - The Melodians 

3. The Harder They Come - Jimmy Cliff 

4. Reggae Got Soul - Toots & The Maytals 

5. King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown - Augustus Pablo 

6. Concrete Jungle - Bob Marley & The Wailers 

7. I Shot The Sheriff (Live) - Bob Marley & The Wailers 

8. Police & Thieves - Junior Murvin 

9. Book Of Rules - The Heptones 

10. War Ina Babylon - Max Romeo 

11. 1895 (96 Degrees In The Shade) - Third World 

12. Marcus Garvey - Burning Spear 

13. Worth His Weight In Gold (Rally Round) - Steel Pulse 

14. Ratafari Liveth - Peter Broggs 

15. One Way - Inner Circle 

16. Positive - Black Uhuru 

17. Stepping Razor - Peter Tosh 

18. No. 1 In The World - U Roy 

19. Private Beach Party - Gregory Isaacs 

20. The Ghost (Dub Version of Marcus Garvey) - Burning Spear

McHoover On The Tube

Watched the debate last night and was certainly not impressed with McCain. Sure, he can recite lots of times when he did things in government but we never heard what the results were of his decisions over the years. He also came across as a snarling little twit, a weasel and he certainly didn't look presidential all of the time. He was condescending and arrogant. It was also really weird that he refused to look at Obama anytime during the debate. I guess I just don't trust McCain. He has shown that he will do anything and say anything to get elected. Now that may be a typical characteristic of a politican but this guy promotes himself as a maverick. All the things that he did that was supposedly bucking his party and president has been reneged on. Tax cuts for the rich, immigration reform, campaign finance, energy, etc etc. He has changed his position to pander to far right conservatives. Oh yeah, he is a conservative. The maverick thing was bullshit. It also looks like McCain's stunt to suspend his campaign so that he could go to Washington and solve the crises backfired. His request for Obama to also suspend his campaign and postpone the debate was a pathetic gimmick that stunk of desperation. I just don't trust McCain's risky behavior. The Palin pick and his bullshit campaign suspension illustrates that distrust. I can't see him being careful and steady as president. He would risk everything for personal gain. It's been interesting to see all the right wing print columnists declaring Palin unfit to be Vice President.

All Tomorrow's Parties... a mix

Andy Warhol was on my mind when I made this mix a while ago after watching a PBS program on him and then getting the DVD. We had also recently visited the Warhol museum in Pittsburgh where we bought some books on him and his work. This CD mix came out of me like some "Exploding Plastic Inevitable". Andy Warhol was everywhere in NY during that time and these songs are all somehow connected to him.

The Factory, CBGB, The Velvets, The Dolls, Bowie, the Sticky Fingers cover, Nico, the entire New York scene. Warhol's influence was immense.

Of course this mix just uses Warhol as a touchstone to put together a collection of songs about him, the people around him and the NY scene in general.

All Tomorrow's Parties

1. All Tomorrow's Parties - The Velvet Underground (The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967)
2. Andy Warhol - David Bowie (Hunky Dory, 1971)
3. Artist Only - Talking Heads (More Songs About Buildings And Food, 1978)
4. Venus - Television (Marquee Moon, 1977)
5. We Are The Mystery Girls - The New York Dolls (Too Much Too Soon, 1974)
6. Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed (Transformer, 1972)
7. Sweet Jane - Mott The Hoople (All The Young Dudes, 1972)
8. Femme Fatale - R.E.M. (Dead Letter Office, 1987)
9. Chelsea Girls - Nico (Chelsea Girl, 1967)
10. I'll Be Your Mirror (Live) - Lou Reed (NYC Man: The Ultimate Lou Reed Collection, 2000)
11. White Light/White Heat (BBC Live) - David Bowie (Bowie At The Beeb, 2000)
12. No Fun - The Stooges (The Stooges, 1969)
13. Sister Morphine - The Rolling Stones (Sticky Fingers, 1971)
14. You Know More Than I Know - John Cale (Fear, 1974)
15. Song For Nico - Marianne Faithful (Kissin' Time, 2002)
16. Hello It's Me - Lou Reed & John Cale (Songs For Drella, 1990)
17. Sunday Morning - Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs (Under The Covers - Vol. 1, 2006)
18. Rock 'N' Roll - The Velvet Undergound (Loaded, 1970)

Cold Winter Sun Symphony... a mix

Here comes the sun. A mix from several months back about the sun, the warmth of the sun, the shining sun.

1. Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles (Love, 2006)
2. The Warmth Of The Sun - The Beach Boys (Greatest Hits Vol. 1, 1999)
3. Who Loves The Sun - The Velvet Underground (Loaded, 1970)
4. Lazy Old Sun - The Kinks (Something Else, 1967)
5. Sun Is Out - The Apples In Stereo (New Magnetic Wonder, 2007)
6. Sun In The Sky - The Seers (Psych Out, 1991)
7. It's The Sun - The Polyphonic Spree (The Beginning Stages... , 2002)
8. Sun Is Still Shining - The Moody Blues (To Our Children's Children's Children, 1969)
9. The Sun - The Pretty Things (Emotions, 1968)
10. By The Grace Of The Sun - Richie Havens (By The Grace Of The Sun, 2004)
11. Sun, Sun, Sun - The Elected (Sun, Sun, Sun, 2006)
12. Way Of The Sun - Archer Prewitt (Wilderness, 2005)
13. Play In The Sun Again - The Dreadful Yawns (Early, 2003)
14. Sun Child - The Vines (Winning Days, 2004)
15. Into The Sun - Great Northern (Trading Twilight For Daylight, 2007)
16. Fly Into The Sun - Sun Dial (Acid Yantra, 1995)
17. Cold Winter Sun Symphony In D Major - Faine Jade (Introspection: A Faine Jade Recital, 2006)
18. Fingers Of The Sun - The Fugs (Electromagnetic Steamboat:: The Reprise Recordings, 2001)
19. And The Sun Will Shine - The Bee Gees (Horizontal, 1968)
20. Around The Sun - R.E.M. (Around The Sun, 2004)
21. Here Comes The Sun Again - M. Ward (Transitor Radio, 2005)

Some Cool Vids...

These guys are a hoot.




Sarah Palin and the Preaching Witch Hunter

The Struggle Carries On... a mix

Another in my series of protest rock mixes. I had to post this today after watching the news and seeing Bush leading us into a second great depression. Corporate welfare indeed.


Phil Ochs in the picture.




Phil Ochs singing Power And The Glory.







Title comes from a line in the Billy Bragg opener.


The Struggle Carries On

1. I Dreamed I Saw Phi Ochs Last Night - Billy Bragg (The International, 2006)
2. Power And The Glory - Phil Ochs (Farewells & Fantasies, 1997)
3. There But For Fortune - Joan Baez (Washington Square Memoirs: The Great Urban Folk Boom 1950-1970, 2001)
4. Blowin' In The Wind - Peter, Paul & Mary (Best Of Peter, Paul & Mary, 1970)
5. 7 O'Clock News/Silent Night - Simon & Garfunkel (Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme, 1966)
6. In The News - Kris Kristofferson (This Old Road, 2006)
7. Anthrax - Kimya Dawson (Body Of War: Songs That Inspired An Iraq War Veteran, 2008)
8. How Did I Get Out Alive? - Mischief Brew (Songs From Under The Sink, 2006)
9. The Damage Done - Butch Hancock (13 Ways To Live, 2004)
10. When The Generals Talk - Midnight Oil (Oils On The Water, 2004)
11. War Dance - XTC (Nonesuch, 1992)
12. This Is Baghdad - Bruce Cockburn (Life Short Call Now, 2006)
13. Dad's Gonna Kill Me - Richard Thompson (Sweet Warrior, 2007)
14. Love Vigilantes - Laura Cantrell (Body Of War: Songs That Inspired An Iraq War Veteran, 2008)
15. War - Joan Osbourne (How Sweet It Is, 2002)
16. Glory Of War - The Redwalls (De Nova, 2005)
17. After The Garden - Neil Young (Living With War, 2007)
18. Road To Peace - Tom Waits (Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, 2007)
19. Political Science - Randy Newman (Sail Away, 1972)
20. Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream - Pete Seeger (If I Had A Hammer: Songs Of Hope, 2006)

As always... download available on request.

It's Four In The Morning... a mix

A reworking of a mix previously posted on AotM. Actually it's just the last several songs that are changed. The title comes from the opening line of the first song.

1. Famous Blue Raincoat - Leonard Cohen (Songs Of Love And Hate, 1971)
2. Pink Moon - Nick Drake (Pink Moon, 1972)
3. Waltzing's For Dreamers - Richard Thompson (Amnesia, 1988)
4. Waltz #2 - Elliot Smith (XO, 1998)
5. Five String Serenade - Mazzy Star (So Tonight I Might See, 1993)
6. Nightswimming - R.E.M. (Automatic For The People, 1992)
7. The Golden Age - Beck (Sea Change, 2002)
8. Blonde On Blonde - Nada Surf (Let Go, 2003)
9. New Slang - The Shins (Oh, Inverted World, 2001)
10. Sonnet - The Verve (Urban Hymns, 1997)
11. The Way He Sings - My Morning Jacket (At Dawn, 2001)
12. Perfect Day - Lou Reed (Transformer, 1972)
13. The Good Thing - Talking Heads (More Songs About Buildings And Food, 1978)
14. More Than This - Roxy Music (Avalon, 1982)
15. I'd Like That - XTC (Apple Venus Volume 1, 1999)
16. She Doesn't Exist - Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians (Greatest Hits, 1996)
17. So Long Marianne - John Cale & Suzanne Vega (Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village In The 60s, 1999)

We Got All Lined Up... a mix

From a time and a place...

1. Lined Up - Shriekback (Care, 1983)
2. I Found That Essence Rare - Gang Of Four (Entertainment, 1979)
3. All That Jazz - Echo & The Bunneymen (Crocodiles, 1980)
4. Bloodsport - Killing Joke (Killing Joke, 1980)
5. Houses In Motion - Talking Heads (Remain In Light, 1980)
6. The Walk - The Cure (Japanese Whispers, 1984)
7. Careless Memories - Duran Duran (Duran Duran, 1981)
8. All Stood Still - Ultravox (Vienna, 1980)
9. Reduction - Material (Temporary Music, 1981)
10. Collapsing New People - Fad Gadget (Gag, 1984)
11. It's A Sin - Pet Shop Boys (Actually, 1987)
12. Blasphemous Rumours - Depeche Mode (Some Great Reward, 1984)
13. Temptation - New Order (Substance, 1987)
14. Nova Heart - The Spoons (Arias & Symphonies, 1982)
15. Treason - The Teardrop Explodes (Kilimajaro, 1980)
16. Seven Minutes To Midnight - Wah! (Na=Poo--The Art Of Bluff, 1981)
17. Boys Keep Swinging - David Bowie (Lodger, 1979)

9/11

George W. Bush will always be known as the president who spent the summer of 2001 on vacation and incompetently ignored the warnings that allowed the terrorist attack on America to happen during his watch. I grunt in disgust every time I hear a Republican exclaim that Bush and his administration has kept America safe. That they can turn around a gross security failure and use it politcally to increase their own power. That they can take a moment when the country should unite and use it to divide the American people for political gain. They didn't keep us safe. They let 9/11 happen and then started a war they were planning long before that horrible day in September. History's footnote on George W. Bush will be brief... "George W. Bush was the first US president of the 21st Century and considered one of the worst presidents. He is known for the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America that happened during his administration and the incompetently waged war against the wrong country that seriously weakened the US both militarily and economically."

When The Levee Breaks - Mix

Inspired by reading The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley three years after the flood and during the evacuations preparing for Hurricane Gustav.


When The Levee Breaks


1. Before The Deluge - Jackson Browne (Late For The Sky, 1974)
2. The Levee's Gonna Break - Bob Dylan (Modern Times, 2006)
3. Hurricane Party - James McMurtry (Just Us Kids, 2008)
4. O Katrina! - The Black Lips (Good Bad Not Evil, 2007)
5. Hurricane - Golden Smog (Another Fine Day, 2006)
6. When The Levee Breaks - Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
7. Here Comes The Flood - Peter Gabriel (Peter Gabriel, 1977)
8. Hurricane And Fire Survival Guide - Cloud Cult (Feel Good Ghosts, 2008)
9. Hurricane - Jamie Lidell (Jim, 2008)
10. New Orleans Is Sinking - The Tragically Hip (Up To Here, 1989)
11. In A Flood - John Cale (Black Acetate, 2005)
12. Disaster - Saturday Looks Good To Me (Sound On Sound, 2006)
13. After The Flood - Lone Justice (Lone Justice, 1985)
14. Talkin' Bout New Orleans - The Meters (Fire On The Bayou, 1975)
15. Jesus In New Orleans - Over The Rhine (Ohio, 2003)
16. The Sharpest Town - Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint (The River In Reverse, 2006)

McSame and Pain

Can't believe this shit. They must really think we are stupid.

OK, now this is a pretty funny...

The Great Deluge

I just finished this book. It was particularly intense reading experience because New Orleans was once again on the news everyday as Hurricane Gustav approached the city. So I was reading of the many horrific experiences from three yeas ago as another hurricane was bearing down on the still greatly damaged city. One thing I couldn't believe was how Ray Nagin could possibly still be mayor. The book was full of heroic stories and also truly evil people taking advantage of the crises. There was also a tremendous number of totally incompetent political lackeys running FEMA and other government agencies. 

 After reading this detailed examination of that awful event I realized we were only seeing a tiny portion of the tragedy as it unfolded on television. It was actually worse than I ever imagined. Much worse. For example the "toxic gumbo" of contaminated water that flooded the city is vividly described throughout the book. It is completely unimaginable how that must have smelled let alone getting that disease ridden scum in your body or infecting a cut. This book illustrates the unpreparedness of authorities before Katrina and was interesting to compare with the ongoing response to Gustav. Also interesting to see the different behaviors of the politicians threes years after the Katrina experience.

Hot Buttered Soul - The Mix

I needed to followup that last post on Isaac Hayes with this mix that opens with that great first song from the Hot Buttered Soul album. This of course is the full lenght jam of the Burt Bacharach song that Dionne Warwick made into a hit. Lots more great songs here including George Benson sounding an awful lot like Stevie Wonder and the Earth, Wind & Fire backed Ramsey Lewis soul jazz jam. The mix ends with a trio of late 60s classic soul. 

1. Walk On By - Isaac Hayes (Hot Buttered Soul, 1969) 

2. This Masquerade - George Benson (Breezin', 1976) 

3. Sun Goddess - Ramsey Lewis (Sun Goddess, 1974) 

4. I Want You - Marvin Gaye (I Want You, 1976) 

5. If I Ever Lose This Heaven - Average White Band (Cut The Cake, 1975) 

6. I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun - Rotary Connection (Hey Love, 1971) 

7. Now That We Found Love - Third World (Journey To Addis, 1978) 

8. Love And Happiness - Al Green (I'm Still In Love With You, 1972) 

9. Baby I Love You - Aretha Franklin (Aretha Arrives, 1967) 

10. All I Need - The Temptations (With A Lot Of Soul, 1967) 

11. I'll Keep Holding On - The Marvelettes (Ultimate Collection, 1998)

Hot Buttered Soul - Isaac Hayes

I've been meaning to write something about soul man Isaac Hayes since his recent death. I've always loved his music. Issac Hayes had several high points throughout his career. Many people got to know his music from Shaft in 1971 and then there was his huge resurgence as the Chef character in South Park in the 90s. Then I was a little weirded out with his later scientology thing and stopped listening to anything he had to say. But for me it was the Hot Buttered Soul album in 1969. I grabbed that record based on the title and cover. I was vaguely aware of his name from song writing credits from Sam & Dave singles I owned that he produced for Stax Records in the late 60s such as Soul Man. The House Party 1968 mix I posted recently is an example of some of the soul music I was listening to at the time. Then along comes Isaac Hayes and Hot Buttered Soul. It was an amazing thing to listen to back in 1969. Four songs on one album... ten minutes or more for each song at a time when the three minute soul single was king. Nothing Hayes would do later would have the impact on me of the songs on Hot Buttered Soul. Truly amazing.

Walk On By was a Burt Bacharach song originally a hit by Dionne Warwick.

Friday I'm In Love - A Tavern Mix

Another mix for my brother's bar. The bartenders wanted some music they knew so here is a mostly early 90s mix of radio fodder and some stuff that should have been on the radio. 

1. Friday I'm In Love - The Cure (Wish, 1992) 

2. She's Electric - Oasis ([What's The Story] Morning Glory, 1995) 

3. Laid - James (Laid, 1993) 

4. She Don't Use Jelly - The Flaming Lips (Transmissions From The Satellite Heart, 1993) 5. Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet (Girlfriend, 1991) 

6. There She Goes - The La's (The La's, 1990) 

7. What You Do To Me - Teenage Fanclub (Bandwagonesque, 1991) 

8. That Is Why - Jellyfish (Bellybutton, 1990) 

9. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star (So Tonight That I Might See, 1993) 

10. I Feel Possessed - Crowded House (Temple Of Low Men, 1988) 

11. The One I Love - R.E.M. (Document, 1992) 

12. Found Out About You - Gin Blossoms (New Miserable Experience, 1992) 

13. Flavor Of The Month - The Posies (Frosting On The Beater, 1993) 

14. Common People - Pulp (Different Class, 1995) 

15. Runaway Train - Soul Asylum (Grave Dancer's Union, 1992) 

16. Somebody's Crying - Chris Isaak (Forever Blue, 1995) 

17. Drowning In Your Tears - The Rembrandts (L.P., 1995) 

18. If I Could Talk I'd Tell You - The Lemonheads (Car Button Cloth, 1996) 

19. Buddy Holly - Weezer (Weezer, 1994) 

20. When I Come Around - Green Day (Dookie, 1994) 

21. So You Think You're In Love - Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians (Perplex Island, 1991) 

22. If I Can't Change Your Mind - Sugar (Copper Blue, 1992) Have a listen...

Here Comes Your Man - A Tavern Mix

I'm back to making mixes for my brother's bar although it's hard to do from almost 300 miles away. I talked to some of his bartenders recently about the music they liked and wanted to hear while working. I also looked through the collection of CDs behind the bar. It's a small city bar and they don't want to take up valuable space with a jukebox and they just very recently added a kitchen so they don't want to spend money on a fancy music service and sound system. So I'll try to help out. Each of the upcoming mixes will be around an hour long and focus on a theme whether a time period, a musical style, etc. My house party soul music mix from last week is a good example of something they will like at the bar. This mix is a collection of late 80s and 90s alternative rock. Lots of familiar stuff which is what those bartenders like and they won't grab a mix off the shelf if they don't like it themselves. So here goes...

 

1. Under The Milky Way - The Church (Starfish, 1988) 

2. Dreams - The Cranberries (Everybody Is Doing It, So Why Can't We, 1993) 

3. Just Like Heaven - The Cure (Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, 1987) 

4. Here Comes Your Man - Pixies (Doolittle, 1989) 

5. Cut Your Hair - Pavement (Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, 1994)

6. Creep - Radiohead (Pablo Honey, 1993) 

7. Beetlebum - Blur (Blur, 1997) 

8. In The Meantime - Spacehog (Resident Alien, 1995) 

9. Low - Cracker (Kerosene Hat, 1993) 

10. Today - Smashing Pumpkins (Siamese Dream, 1993) 

11. One Headlight - The Wallflowers (Bringing Down The Horse, 1996) 

12. Counting Blue Cars - Dishwalla (Pet Your Friends, 1995) 

13. Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Blood Sugar Sex Magik, 1991) 

14. Selling The Drama - Live (Throwing Copper, 1994) 

15. Lithium - Nirvana (Nevermind, 1991) 

16. Happy When It Rains - The Jesus & Mary Chain (Darklands, 1987) 

17. Cuts You Up - Peter Murphy (Deep, 1990) 

18. Mysterious Ways - U2 (Achtung Baby, 1991)

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

With the Olympics opening this weekend in Beijing I thought it would be a good time to post about a book I've just finished reading... The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. This is a terrific read about what the subtitle calls Adventures in the World of Chinese Food. The author, Jennifer 8. Lee, is a Chinese-American writer with the New York Times and she has put together a wonderful account of the impact of Chinese food in America. I first heard about Lee and her book on an NPR interview with the author. So when the book showed up in my library I grabbed it for a quick read. There's lots of great stories concerning fortune cookies, soy sauce, chop suey, General Tso and the history of Chinese restaurants in America. It was a very enjoyable book and I really had to have some Chinese food after reading it. I'm going to get lots more in the coming weeks, take out of course, for sitting in front of the TV with my chopsticks watching the Olympics from Beijing. Visit Lee's blog - fortunecookiechronicles.com The NPR story is here.

House Party - 40 Year Old Mix

This is a newly updated mix of an old mix. A forty year old mix.

Forty years old would be summer of 1968. I was a high school kid in Philadelphia and I had my first job making decent money back then working in a machine shop shoveling the hot chips flying off the lathes. Most of my pay went for buying records and going to shows. During that summer I was checking out the West Coast bands playing at the original Electric Factory down on Arch Street, hanging out downtown at the head shops on Samson Street and groovin' at the Be-Ins in Fairmount Park.

I was the guy with all the music. I was an obsessive collector even back then and read everything I could get my hands on to discover new music. I was also getting invited to parties with the understanding that I would bring my records and I would arrive with a box of 45s.


I had playlist of stuff that worked good at these parties but this was not some DJ setup that would evolve later on. There would just be a record player with a changer that would play a stack of singles in the order they were placed on the spindle.




So before mixes were created on mp3 playlist, burned CDs and cassettes there was the carefully selected stack of 7" 45 rpm singles sitting on a record changer. The mix listed here is taken from my collection of 45s from 1968 which I still have. In fact I probably still have every single, album, tape and CD that I have be accumulating for about 45 years now. I've never sold or gotten rid of anything from my collection much to my wife's chagrin.

This mix below is all soul music from the time that I owned on singles. I will post a companion mix of garage rock singles that was also from pre-1968. By that time I was strictly buying albums for rock music and had been for a couple of years.

House party music from my stack of 45s.


1. The Show Stoppers - Ain't Nothin' But A House Party
2. Dyke & The Blazers - Funky Broadway, Pt.1
3. The Soul Survivors - Expressway To Your Heart
4. The Isley Brothers - This Old Heart Of Mine (Is Weak For You)
5. The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love
6. The Dells - There Is
7. Marvin Gaye - I'll Be Doggone
8. The Four Tops - Reach Out (I'll Be There)
9. Martha & The Vandellas - I'm Ready For Love
10. Soul Brothers Six - Some Kind Wonderful
11. Sam & Dave - I Thank You
12. Fantastic Johnny C - Boogaloo Down Broadway
13. Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood
14. The Parliaments - (I Wanna) Testify
15. The Temptations - The Way You Do The Things You Do
16. The Platters - With This Ring
17. The Contours - Just A Little Misunderstanding
18. Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston - It Takes Two
19. Aretha Franklin - Think
20. Jackie Wilson - Higher And Higher
21. Arthur Conley - Sweet Soul Music
22. James Brown - I Got The Feelin'
23. Sly & The Family Stone - Dance To The Music
24. Jr. Walker & The All Stars - Shake And Fingerpop
25. The Capitols - Cool Jerk
26. Gladys Knight & The Pips - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
27. Kim Weston - Helpless
28. The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger

You're Gonna Miss Me

Last night my wife and I watched the Roky Erickson bio "You're Gonna Miss Me" on the Sundance Channel. It was a stunning film that both shocked and entertained us. I knew the basic outline of Roky Erickson's life of mental illness and hundreds of LSD trips but seeing the story of his life unfold was like watching a car wreck. His mother was unbelievable. He was crazy. His family was crazy. His entire life was crazy. Tormented genius indeed.

After watching this film it is nice to hear that Roky is back playing and sounds great. He has played at Austin's South By Southwest Festival the past few years.

Here is a clip of Roky singing with the 13th Floor Elevators.



Here is a trailer for You're Gonna Miss Me

A couple of videos..

A couple of videos from a couple of bands I've seen at a neighborhood watering hole recently.

Just loved the Detroit Cobras even if they didn't start playing until well after midnight on a Tuesday night.




Grizzly Bear put on a great show. Strange video here.

Armageddon Days... a mix

I posted this mix on AotM back in March of this year on the five year anniversary date of the start of Bush's Iraq War. Armageddon Days (Not In My Name Vol. 4) 

1 The The - Armageddon Days (Are Here Again) (Mind Bomb, 1989) 

2 Killing Joke - Wardance (Killing Joke, 1980) 

3 Fear - Let's Have A War (The Record, 1982) 

4 Green Day - American Idiot (American Idiot, 2004) 

5 Robert Plant & The Strange Sensation - Freedom Fries (Mighty Rearranger, 2005) 6 Faith No More - War Pigs (The Real Thing, 1989) 

7 The Ramones - The Shape Of Things To Come (Acid Eaters, 1993) 

8 The Dead Kennedys - Holiday In Cambodia (Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegitables, 1980) 

9 Love And Rockets - Ball Of Confusion (Sorted: The Best Of Love And Rockets, 2003) 

10 10,000 Maniacs - My Mother The War (Campfire Songs: The Popular, The Obscure & The Unknown Recordings, 2004) 

11 Yo La Tengo - Nuclear War (Version Two) (Nuclear War, 2002) 

12 Celebration - War (Celebration, 2005) 

13 Arcade Fire - Antichrist Television Blues (Neon Bible, 2007) 

14 Sonic Youth - Youth Against Fascism (Dirty, 1992) 

15 The Clash - Hate & War (The Clash, 1977) 

16 The Stranglers - Tank (The UA Singles '77-'79, 2001) 

17 Matthew Sweet - Holy War (Girlfriend, 1991) 1

8 Super Furry Animals - The Man Don't Give A Fuck (Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1, 2005) 

19 MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (Kick Out The Jams, 1969)

Wilber The Cat

My nephew made this film and posted in on You Tube. I'm not a cat person but maybe you are. Check it out. More short films from Eric are here.

Oil Man's War... a mix

Oil Man's War

This is one of several mixes I put together to mark five years of war in Iraq. I began a series of anti-war mixes back in March of 2003 during the lead up to the war and added a couple of more in March of 2004 and 2005. I'll post them here soon too.

1 Bright Eyes - When The President Talks To God (When The President Talks To God, 2007)

2 Ani DiFranco - Millennium Theater (Reprieve, 2006)
3 The National - Start A War (Boxer, 2007)
4 Billy Bragg - Price Of Oil (Peace Not War, 2003)
5 The Decemberists - When The War Came (The Crane Wife, 2006)
6 The Wrights - Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning (Song Of America, 2007)
7 Lizzie West & The White Buffalo - 19 Miles To Baghdad (I Pledge Allegiance To Myself, 2006)
8 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Details Of The War (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, 2005)
9 Lucy Kaplansky - Line In The Sand (The Red Thread, 2004)
10 Tom Waits - Hoist That Rag (Real Gone, 2004)
11 Son Volt - Endless War (Okemah And The Melody Of Riot, 2005)
12 John Fogarty - Long Dark Night (Revival, 2007)
13 Neil Young - Let's Impeach The President (Living With War, 2007)
14 Kathleen Edwards - Oil Man's War (Asking For Flowers, 2008)
15 John Gorka - War Makes War (Old Futures Gone, 2003)
16 Dixie Chicks - Not Ready To Make Nice (Taking The Long Way, 2006)
17 Joan Osborne - Why Can't We Live Together (How Sweet It Is, 2002)
18 Solomon Burke - A Change Is Gonna Come (A Change Is Gonna Come, 1994)

You're Not The Only One... some best of 2007

You're Not The Only One... some best of 2007



2007 was a very good year for music and I put together several mixes of songs from albums that I enjoyed throughout the year.









1 Fields - Song For The Fields (Everything Last Winter, 2007)
2 Cloud Cult - Please Remain Calm (The Meaning Of 8, 2007)
3 Liars - Houseclouds (Liars, 2007)
4 VietNam - Priest, Poet & The Pig (Vietnam, 2007)
5 The Besnard Lakes - And You Lied To Me (The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, 2007)
6 Oakley Hall - No Dreams (I'll Follow You, 2007)
7 Pinback - Devil You Know (Autumn Of The Seraphs, 2007)
8 Phonograph - In The Mind (Phonograph, 2007)
9 Ghost Stories - The Nettles In Your Mouth (Quixoticism, 2007)
10 Castanets - Sway (In The Vines, 2007)
11 The Pines - Let's Go (Sparrows In The Bell, 2007)
12 Hoots & Hellmouth - Rattle These Bones (Hoots & Hellmouth, 2007)
13 Field Music - In Context (Tones Of Town, 2007)
14 Animal Collective - Fireworks (Strawberry Jam, 2007)
15 The Lovetones - Navigator (Axiom, 2007)
16 The High Dials - Picture Of A Fading Man (The Holy Ground, 2007)
17 Great Lakes Myth Society - Stump Speech (Compass Rose Bouquet, 2007)
18 The Dreadful Yawns - Due South (Rest, 2007)

Baby I've Got Some... a mix

I'll start with a mix I put together earlier in the year. One of several mixes of music from the previous year. Baby I've Got Some... Title taken from the opening line from the opening song of the Besnard Lakes album. One of my best albums of 2007. I found myself coming back to it over and over again. So many good albums from 2007. Here are songs from a few more.

1 The Besnard Lakes - Disaster (The Besnard Lakes Are Dark, 2007) 

2 Arizona - Life Is Great (Fameseeker And The Mono, 2007)

3 Keren Ann - Lay Your Head Down (Keren Ann, 2007) 

4 Winterpills - Broken Arm (The Light Divides, 2007) 

5 Oakley Hall - All The Way Down (I'll Follow You, 2007) 

6 The Broken West - Down In The Valley (I Can't Go On, I'll Go On, 2007) 

7 Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running (Neon Bible, 2007) 

8 Spoon - You Got Yr Cherry Bomb (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, 2007) 

9 Ideal Free Distribution - Apples And Oranges (Ideal Free Distribution, 2007) 

10 Life On Earth - Sell Your Soul To Me (There Is Life On Earth!, 2007) 

11 The Three 4 Tens - I Am The King (Down The Way, 2007) 

12 Maps - You Don't Know Her Name (We Can Create, 2007) 

13 The Shins - Turn On Me (Wincing The Night Away, 2007) 

14 Albert Hammond, Jr. - Everyone Gets A Star (Yours To Keep, 2007) 

15 Radiohead - Jigsaw Fallin In Place (In Rainbows, 2007) 

16 The Ponys - Exile On My Street (Turn The Lights Out, 2007) 

17 King Khan & The Shines - Take A Little Bit (What Is?!, 2007) 

18 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Not Want You Wanted (Baby 81, 2007) 

19 Wilco - Walkin (Sky Blue Sky, 2007) 

20 Birdie Busch - Hold Ya (Penny Arcade, 2007) 

21 David Vandervelde - Nothin' No (The Moonstation House Band, 2007) 

Back From Vacation

I took a break from blogging but I'm back with this new blog. I've shut down my previous blogs and some of my other web pages. This blog will be my main online place for posting music mixes, book & film discussions, and political commentary. Whatever. I just got back from vacation and really wanted to go check out Art of the Mix to see what's been going on the past two weeks. Unfortunately the viruses, bugs, trojans, etc that were constantly attacking the site earlier this month are still there. I've been visiting that site several times a week if not everyday for five and a half years and it's been hard to go cold turkey. So I am going to post my mixes here and maybe some of my old friends from AotM will stop by to check them out. Maybe we will be able to continue sharing mixes and having our music discussions on the blogs while the site gets sorted out. I'll get a few mixes up as a proof of concept