5-1-2012 show

It's been a fruitful few weeks with lots of new stuff coming out as well as plenty that I've checked out. I always like being able to share my latest discoveries and this show has them in spades. For example, how did I miss Long Fin Killie back in the day? Amazing band, glad all their albums were less than $2 on Amazon! And Taming The Outback, wow, what a great post-punk crate digging find - it's the album Echo & The Bunnymen didn't make after _Crocodiles_! The teaser from the forthcoming Peter Blegvad/Andy Partridge album is fantastic, can't wait for it to get released! And lots of new stuff from old and new favorites.

Unfortunately, my new work schedule means that I have to put the show on hiatus. I'm not wrapping it up yet, maybe I can do it once a month through the summer, we'll have to see. I'll try to get back to posting other things to the blog but the show will have to wait. For now!

Unfortunately, it appears a glitch has resulted in a corrupt file of the broadcast, but here's the music.

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
The Waco Brothers & Paul Burch - Flight To Spain (Great Chicago Fire, 2012)
Billy Bragg & Wilco - Union Prayer (Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions, 2012)
Paul Westerberg - Man Without Ties (Besterberg, 2005 - originally released in 1993)
The Agitator - Die Like A Dog (No! (promo), 2011)
The Fall - Victrola Time (Night Of The Humerons 7", 2012)
Public Image Ltd. - Lollipop Opera (One Drop EP, 2012)
Dalis Car - Soundclound (InGladAloneness EP, 2012)
The Frank And Walters - Indie Love Song (Greenwich Mean Time, 2012)
Toy - Motoring (Motoring 7", 2012)
The Bats - Free All Monsters (Free All Monsters, 2011)
The Saints - Grain Of Sand (Prodigal Son, 1988)
British Sea Power - Facts Not Right (EP4, 2012)
Long Fin Killie - Lipstick (Amelia, 1997)
Half String - Eyesick (Maps For Sleep 1991-1994, 2012 - originally released in 1997)
The Chameleons - Heaven (BBC session) (digital distribution, 2012)
Taming The Outback - Fire & Smoke (1986-1989, 2011 - originally released in 1986)
The Primitives - I'm Not Sayin' (Echoes And Rhymes, 2012)
Gazelle Twin - Changelings (John Foxx & The Maths remix) (The Entire City Remixed, 2012)
Peter Blegvad & Andy Partridge - The Cryonic Trombone (Gonwards, 2012?)
Oingo Boingo - Forbidden Zone (Forbidden Zone soundtrack, 1983)
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - The Rider (White Lunar, 2009)
The Outsiders - Freeway (Calling On Youth reissue, 2012)
Bap Kennedy - Working Man (The Sailor's Revenge, 2012)
The dB's - Working For Somebody Else (The Sound Of Music, 1987)
The Wonder Stuff - Back To Work (Escape From Rubbish Island, 2004)
Magazine - Model Worker (Peel session) (The Complete John Peel Sessions, 2008 - originally released in 1980)
Chelsea - Right To Work (Right To Work 7", 1977)
Wire - In The Art Of Stopping (Send, 2003)

4-10-2012 Show

New stuff from David Sylvian, The Verlaines, Anthony Reynolds, British Sea Power, a pair of recent Barbara Manning tracks, a set of Elvis (songs about, not by), one of the great irresistible forces meets the unmovable object collaborations and more this week!

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
Einsturzende Neubauten - Total Eclipse Of The Sun (Silence Is Sexy, 2000)
David Sylvian - Where's Your Gravity? (A Victim Of Stars, 2012)
British Sea Power - Brand New Century (EP3, 2012)
Spotlight, Floodlight ft. Rob Dickinson - Mercy Street (digital distribution, 2010)
Barbara Manning - Never Go Back (V/A - Thank You Chico, Goodnight, 2011)
The Sleaze Tax - Tape You To A Star (digital distribution, 2009)
The Rip - Wrecked Wee Hymn (V/A - Time To Go - The Southern Psychedelic Moment, 2012 - originally released in 1987)
The Verlaines - A Call From Decades Past (Untimely Meditations, 2012)
Bressa Creeting Cake - A Chip That Sells Millions (V/A - Tally Ho! Flying Nun's Greatest Bits, 2011 - originally released in 1997)
The Nightblooms - One Weak Moment (live) (Live EP, 1992)
Killing Joke - In Cythera (MMXII, 2012)
Anthony Reynolds - Be My Next Ex-Girlfriend (version) (Life's Too Long, 2012)
The Jazz Butcher - Inside Your Heart (V/A - Another Spark, 1984)
The Nightingales - Elvis, The Last Ten Days (Pissed & Potless, 2001 - originally released in 1982)
Peter And The Test Tube Babies - Elvis Is Dead (V/A - Vaultage 78, 1978)
These New Puritans - Elvis (Beat Pyramid, 2008)
Whipping Boy - Suspicious Minds (V/A - Natural Born Elvis, 1998)
Slowdive - Alison (Souvlaki, 1993)
Lokomotiv - Next Time Round (Next Time Round single, 2000)
Stephen Emmer - Wish On (Vogue Estate, 1982)
Anita Lane - Bedazzled (The World's A Girl single, 1995)
Dizrhythmia - A Grown Man Immersed In Tin-Tin (Dizrhythmia, 1988)
Jon Hassell - Courage (Dream Theory In Malaya, 1981)
The Long Decline - Buckle Up & Join In Lad (The Long Decline, 1997)
Saint Etienne - Kiss And Make Up (Kiss And Make Up single, 1990)
Kimo - Discover Me (Surrender, 2008)
Homer - Lucky Thirteen (Lucky Thirteen single, 1995)
Marc Almond - Threat Of Love (Open All Night, 1999)
Inspiral Carpets feat. Mark E. Smith - I Want You (I Want You single, 1994)
The Stranglers - Shut Up (Nice 'N' Sleazy single, 1978)

Days Of The Week show

After playing "Everyday Is Like Sunday" on a grey, rainy day this weekend I decided that this week's theme would be the days of the week. I pick these themes because they get me to dig deeper into my library, pair unusual bands and are generally fun to make flow well. Unsurprisingly, the weekend days are over-represented and the mid-week Wednesday and Thursday are not as great for song titles. A surprising amount of kiwi bands write songs about the days of the week along with some classic post-punk, alt-country and more!

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
Morrissey - Everyday Is Like Sunday (Viva Hate, 1988)
The Associates - Tell Me Easter's On Friday (Fourth Drawer Down, 1981)
The Brilliant Corners - Meet Me On Tuesdays (Everything I Ever Wanted, 1988)
The Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays (The Fine Art Of Surfacing, 1979)
Linoleum - On A Tuesday (Dissent, 1997)
Longwave - Sunday Nite Health (Life Of The Party EP, 2004)
Clearlake - Sunday Evening (Lido, 2001)
Versus - Saturday Saints (On The Ones And Threes, 2010)
Graeme Downes - Sunday Kickaround (Hammers And Anvils, 2001)
The Mutton Birds - Ash Wednesday (Too Hard Basket, 1998)
Able Tasmans - Wednesday (She's Coming Round) (Hey, Spinner!, 1990)
Alec Bathgate - Friday In The Ground (Gold Lame, 1996)
Screaming Meemees - Sunday Boys (If This Is Paradise, I'll Take The Bag, 1982)
Suburban Reptiles - Saturday Night, Stay At Home (Saturday Night, Stay At Home 7", 1978)
The Puddle - Thursday (Thursday 7", 1993)
The Cakekitchen - Is It Only Monday? (Time Flowing Backwards, 1991)
The Jody Grind - Friday (Lefty's Deceiver, 1992)
Lucinda Williams - Sundays (live) (Lucinda Williams reissue, 1998)
Robbie Fulks - Let's Kill Saturday Night (Let's Kill Saturday Night, 1998)
Kirsty MacColl - Big Boy On A Saturday Night (Titanic Days, 1993)
Radio Birdman - Monday Morning Gunk (Radios Appear, 1977)
Dead Kennedys - Saturday Night Holocaust (Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death, 1987 - originally released in 1982)
The Professionals - Friday Night Square (I Didn't See It Coming, 1981)
China Drum - (Had A Good Idea On) Monday (Goosefair, 1996)
Beagle - A Different Sunday (Sound On Sound, 1992)
You Am I - Tuesday (Hourly, Daily, 1996)
Steve Diggle - Wednesday's Flowers (Heated And Rising EP, 1993)
Bandola - 'Til Tuesday ('Til Tuesday EP, 1992)
Jacques - Tuesday's Child (Roses For Ashes EP, 2003)
Bill Pritchard - Wednesday (Half A Million, 1988)
The Fatima Mansions - Thursday (Viva Dead Ponies, 1990)
The Ropers - Blue Sunday (V/A - Why Popstars Can't Dance, 1994)

Singled Out: The Kinks

It's been a while since I did a Singled Out show and this time DJ Jeff and I wanted to honor The Kinks. It's only an hour so we chose some pretty unusual tracks from the Davies brothers. Aside from the massive volume of music to choose from, there's a huge amount of great anecdotes and stories about The Kinks, who are a world-class band if ever there was one, dedicated to their art and their audience. They certainly gave the people what they wanted!

You can listen to this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
The Kinks - See My Friends (single, 1965)
The Kinks - Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (single, 1966)
The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon (single, 1966)
The Kinks - I'm Not Like Everybody Else (Sunny Afternoon single, 1966)
The Kinks - David Watts (Something Else, 1967)
The Kinks - Love Me Till The Sun Shines (Something Else, 1967)
The Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society (The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968 & single, 1969)
The Kinks - Big Sky (The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968)
The Kinks - Picture Book (The Village Green Preservation Society, 1968)
The Kinks - Apeman (single, 1970)
The Kinks - Catch Me Now I'm Falling (single, 1979)
The Kinks - (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman (single 1979)
The Kinks - Destroyer (single, 1981)
The Kinks - Around The Dial (Give The People What They Want, 1981)
The Kinks - Better Things (single, 1981)

This show is for the birds!

Birds! This week's show is all about one of my favorite sources of music - the birds of spring. From post-punk heavyweights Killing Joke and Public Image Ltd to recent cuts from Chris Mills and The Wheat Pool, all the songs are dedicated to our neighborhood avian singers. Sure, most of the music isn't as serene and beautiful as the tweets we hear outside but as a theme it pulls together quite well.

You can listen to this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
Bill Nelson - When The Birds Return (The Two-Fold Aspect Of Everything, 1984)
Killing Joke - Birds Of A Feather (Birds Of A Feather 7", 1982)
Public Image Ltd. - No Birds (Metal Box, 1979)
Siouxsie And The Banshees - Painted Bird (BBC session) (At The BBC, 2009 - originally released in 1982)
Tarnation - Yellow Birds (Gentle Creatures, 1995)
The Wheat Pool - Nervous Bird (Hauntario, 2009)
Kristin Hersh - Little Birdy (Murder, Misery And Then Goodnight, 1998)
Leonard Cohen - Bird On The Wire (Songs From A Room, 1969)
The Jam - Big Bird (live) (Dig The New Breed, 1982)
Carl Gustav & The 84's - Through Birds, Through Fire (I Want To Kill Russians 7", 1981)
The Final Eclipse - Birdsong (V/A - Avon Calling bonus disc, 2005 - originally released around 1980)
Dr. Yogami - Nightmare Birds (V/A - A Real Cool Time, 1985)
Essential Logic - Eagle Bird (Wake Up EP, 1979)
LiLiPut - Birdy (LiLiPut, 1982)
Lung Leg - Anatomy Of A Dolly Bird (Hello Sir, 1997)
Think Tree - Hire A Bird (Eight/Thirteen, 1990)
The Bats - Chicken Bird Run (Compiletely Bats, 1990)
Trash - Screech Of Bird (Not Gate, 1994)
Slate - Iron Bird (live) (V/A - Arclife, 1999)
Grant Lee Buffalo - Mockingbirds (Might Joe Moon, 1994)
Chris Mills - Blackbirds (Living In The Aftermath, 2008)
Adrian Belew - Bird In A Box (Mr. Music Head, 1989)
Brian Stevens And The Flip - A Little Bird Told Me So (V/A - Yellow Pills Vol. 2, 1994)
Felt - Dark Red Birds (Poem Of The River, 1987)
Jack Frost - Birdowner (As Seen On T.V.) (Jack Frost, 1990)
Salad - Broken Bird (Ice Cream, 1997)
Bettie Serveert - Get The Bird (Kid's Allright EP, 1993)
Heavenly - And The Birds Aren't Singing (Le Jardin De Heavenly, 1992)
The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) (The Icicle Works, 1984)
Peter Holsapple And Chris Stamey - Bird On The Wing (Here And Now, 2009)
The Blue Aeroplanes - Whatever Happened To Our Golden Birds? (Rough Music, 1995)
Dead Can Dance - Bird (A Passage In Time, 1991)

3-20-2012 show

This week brings new stuff from The Shins, Andrew Bird and High Highs, old stuff from Psychic TV, The Cure and Can, with a special highlight of box sets from Simple Minds and The Blackeyed Susans! Unfortunately a brown-out means I couldn't record the show, so here's the music sans DJ banter and insight.

Notes:
The new Shins album is a mixed bag after a couple of listens - James Mercer fired the entire band after the last album and there's something missing in the rhythm section on the new one.

I picked up a new wave compilation called "New Wave Club Class*x - Sinners Day 2011" and was pleasantly surprised by a bunch of bands I hadn't heard much from before.

I highlighted two box sets I recently bought. The first is Simple Minds first 6 albums - fantastic stuff, overlooked due to their later awful sell-out years. The other is from The Blackeyed Susans, a wonderful folk-rock band from Australia which imbues their music with something ineffable from where they live.

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
The Shins - The Rifle's Spiral (Port Of Morrow, 2012)
Andrew Bird - Orpheo Looks Back (Break It Yourself, 2012)
High Highs - Horses (High Highs EP, 2011)
Psychic TV - Godstar (single version) (Godstar 7", 1985)
Visage - Fade To Grey (single version) (Fade To Grey 7", 1980)
Severed Heads - Petrol (Petrol 7", 1985)
Sex Gang Children - Deiche (Dieche 7", 1984)
The Leather Nun - Gimme Gimme Gimme (Gimme Gimme Gimme! 7", 1986)
The Cure - A Forest (Peel session) (Digital distribution, 1980)
BT - Always (feat. Rob Dickinson) (These Hopeful Machines, 2010)
Janet LaValley - Love To Hear You Cry (Digital distribution, 1995?)
Stephen Hero - Welcome Home! (57 Stars Of The Air Almanac, 2007)
Lois - Northern Soul (Snapshot Radio EP, 1996)
The Housemartins - Happy Hour (London 0 Hull 4, 1986)
Street Chant - Yr Philosophy (Means, 2010)
Cinematic - Aqua Baby (Cinematic, 1994)
David Yetton - Stars Without Make-Up (Blow Out Your Candles, 2005)
Lard - War Pimp Renaissance (Pure Chewing Satisfaction, 1997)
Michal Kahan - Chevere!! (Baby Escapo EP, 2003)
Juniper Moon - No Te Pongas El Sombrero (El Resto De Mi Vida, 2002)
Monstrance - The Floating World (Monstrance, 2007)
23 Skidoo - Last Words (The Gospel Comes To New Guinea, 2002 - originally released in 1981)
Can - Mushroom (Tago Mago, 1971)
Simple Minds - Changeling (Real To Real Cacophony, 1979)
Simple Minds - Thirty Frames A Second (Empires And Dance, 1980)
Simple Minds - The American (Sister Feelings Call, 1981)
(all part of X5 box set, 2012)
The Blackeyed Susans - Mary Mac (Mouth To Mouth, 1996)
The Blackeyed Susans - Smokin' Johnny Cash (Spin The Bottle, 1997)
The Blackeyed Susans - Private Dancer (Dedicated To The Ones We Love, 2001)
(all part of Reveal Yourself box set, 2009)

Rockabilly Show

This week's show is a bit outside our normal focus: 1950s rockabilly! This is the motherland, the wellspring and inspiration for all the music I love. Some of it emphasizes the 'rock', some the 'billy' but it's all ridiculously catchy and fun! You'll hear big names like Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and The King as well as lesser known artists like Buck Griffin, Malcolm Yelvington and Barbara Pittman. I managed to fit 50 tracks into 2 hours, join the fun!

Normally, I try to list the original source release but almost all of these tracks came out on singles and are now conveniently compiled somewhere. I've listed the release year after the title.

You can listen to this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
Bill Haley With Haley's Comets - Crazy Man, Crazy (1953) (V/A - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control, 1999)
Carl Perkins - Dixie Fried (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Sun Story, 2011)
Eddie Cochran - Somethin' Else (1959) (V/A - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control, 1999)
Gene Vincent - Cat Man (1957) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
Johnny Burnette Trio - The Train Kept A-Rollin' (1956) (V/A - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control, 1999)
Buck Griffin - Stutterin' Papa (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The MGM Story, 2011)
Bob Gallion - My Square Dancin' Mama (1957) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The MGM Story, 2011)
Arthur Smith - Who Shot Willie? (1951) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The MGM Story, 2011)
Billy Jack Wills - All She Wants To Do Is Rock (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The MGM Story, 2011)
Don Gibson - I Ain't A Studying You Baby (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The MGM Story, 2011)
Simon Crum - Stand Up, Sit Down, Shut Your Mouth (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Capitol Story, 2011)
Rudy Grayzell - There's Gonna Be A Ball (1955) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Capitol Story, 2011)
Lew Williams - Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Imperial Story, 2011)
Dennis Herrold - Hip Hip Baby (1957) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Imperial Story, 2011)
Weldon Rogers - So Long, Good Luck And Goodbye (1957) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Imperial Story, 2011)
Malcolm Yelvington & The Star Rhythm Boys - Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee (1954) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Sun Story, 2011)
Ray Smith - Right Behind You Baby (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Sun Story, 2011)
Sonny Burgess - Red Headed Woman (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Johnny Bell - Flip Flop And Fly (1959) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Jackie Lee Cochran - Ruby Pearl (1957) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Jerry Kennedy - Teenage Love Is Misery (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Terry Noland - Come Marry Me (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Johnny Caroll - Tryin' To Get To You (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Billy Harlan - School House Rock (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Justin Tubb - Rock It On Down To My House Baby (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Ben Hewitt - I Want A New Girl Now (1960) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Mercury Story, 2011)
Connie Dycus - Rock-A-Bye Baby Rock (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Mercury Story, 2011)
Eddie Bond - Slip, Slip, Slippin' In (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Mercury Story, 2011)
Ronnie Dawson - Rockin' Bones (1959) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
John & Jackie - Little Girl (1958) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
Hasil Adkins - Chicken Walk (1958) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates - Shakin' All Over (1960) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
Tom Tall - Stack-A-Records (1958) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
Johnny Dollar - Action Packed (1958) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
The Collins Kids - Hoy Hoy (1958) (V/A - Rockabilly Essentials, 1998)
Janis Martin - My Boy Elvis (1956) (V/A - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control, 1999)
The Miller Sisters - Ten Cats Down (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Sun Story, 2011)
Barbara Pittman - I Need A Man (1956) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
Laura Lee Perkins - Kiss Me Baby (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Imperial Story, 2011)
Wanda Jackson - Honey Bop (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Capitol Story, 2011)
George Jones - Who Shot Sam (1959) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Mercury Story, 2011)
Rock-A-Teens - Woo-Hoo (1959) (V/A - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control, 1999)
Warren Smith - Ubangi Stomp (1956) (V/A - Rockin' Bones, 2006)
Billy Riley & The Little Green Men - Red Hot (1957) (V/A - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control, 1999)
Ricky Nelson - Stood Up (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Imperial Story, 2011)
Little Richard - The Girl Can't Help It (1956) (V/A - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control, 1999)
Jerry Lee Lewis - High School Confidential (1958) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Sun Story, 2011)
Roy Orbison & Teen Kings - Ooby Dooby (1956) (V/A - Loud, Fast & Out Of Control, 1999)
Buddy Holly - Love Me (1956) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Decca Story, 2011)
Elvis Presley - That's All Right (1954) (V/A - Essential Rockabilly - The Sun Story, 2011)

Flying Nun show

My favorite label ever, Flying Nun, is back in the saddle and has two new compilations out. While people may be familiar with the top tier bands such as The Chills, The Clean, The Bats, The Verlaines, etc, I decided to showcase the lesser bands over the 30 years the label has been putting out the best indie rock from New Zealand - which stands against anywhere else in the world! Everything from voice-and-guitar to pop to noise-rock gets an airing here and I am quite looking forward to their new signings.

You can listen to this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
25 Cents - The Witch (Don't Deceive Me 7", 1981)
Naked Spots Dance - Governed By You (New EP, 1982)
Fetus Productions - State To Be In (Fetalmania EP, 1983)
Marie And The Atom - Isol (Yellow Read Aloud EP, 1983)
The Victor Dimisich Band - Native Waiter (The Victor Dimisich Band EP, 1983)
Bill Direen - Alligator Song (C0NCH3, 1985)
Sneaky Feelings - Husband House (Take Sides, 1985)
The Weeds - Wheatfields (Wheatfields 7", 1985)
Axemen - The Wharf With No Name (Derry Legend, 1987)
The Dead C - I Was Here (Eusa Kills, 1989)
The Sombretones - Good Evening Listeners (The Sombretones EP, 1990)
The Terminals - Uncoffined (Uncoffined, 1990)
Chainsaw Masochist - Thrashing Around (Periphery, 1991)
Olla - Septic Hagfish (Septic Hagfish 7", 1991)
Queen Meanie Puss - Contracts (The Beauty Of Dogs 7", 1991)
The Strange Loves - Turn Your Lights On (See Your Colours, 1991)
Dribbling Darts - Hey Judith (Present Perfect, 1993)
The Renderers - A Touch Of Evil (A Touch Of Evil 7", 1993)
Solid Gold Hell - Bitter Nest (Swingin' Hot Murder, 1994)
Celia Mancini - Kiasu (Kiasu 7", 1996)
David Mitchell & Denise Roughan - Crying Room (The Ghost Club 7", 1996)
Garageland - Fingerpops (Last Exit To Garageland, 1996)
Superette - Touch Me (Tiger, 1996)
Betchadupa - Spill The Light (Betchadupa, 2000)
The Subliminals - United State (United State, 2000)
The D4 - Get Loose (6Twenty, 2001)
High Dependency Unit - Schallblute (Fire Works, 2001)
Gerling - The Deer In You (When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun, 2001)
PanAm - Interstate Boy (PanAm, 2003)
The Phoenix Foundation - 40 Years (Happy Ending, 2007)
Shocking Pinks - Emily (Shocking Pinks, 2007)
The Mint Chicks - Life Will Get Better Some Day (Screens, 2009)
Die! Die! Die! - Howye (Form, 2010)
Grayson Gilmour - I Am A Light! (No Constellation, 2010)

Compiling Simple Minds

Ah, Simple Minds, what a long, strange journey - for both the band and my own fandom. I imagine I heard some early tracks while hanging around WMUA in the fall of 1984, but I don't remember anything until, like the rest of America, I saw the video for "Don't You Forget About Me" on MTV. I thought it was a great song, and I still do. I picked up "New Gold Dream" and "Sparkle In The Rain" and loved them to pieces. But when "Once Upon A Time" came out, I was appalled - what happened here? I consigned them to the back of my mind, appreciating what I had (_New Gold Dream_ and _Sparkle In The Rain_) but didn't give them another thought. By 2007, enough chatter on my favorite music forum inspired me to sample those early albums - and what great slices of post-punk they turned out to be! I put together this compilation and figured I had the best bits. But a new box set, _X5_, has just been released which reissues their first 5 albums plus most of the b-sides, and it's less than $25 - an irresistible deal. Spinning it last night, it all sounds brilliant. That's one of the things I love about being a music obsessive - great music is always there, waiting for you, whenever you're ready for it.

Disc 1:
1. Someone (Life In A Day)
2. Life In A Day (Life In A Day)
3. No Cure (Life In A Day)
4. Chelsea Girl (Life In A Day)
5. Real To Real (Reel To Real)
6. Naked Eye (Reel To Real)
7. Citizen (Dance Of Youth (Reel To Real)
8. Carnival (Shelter In Suitcase) (Reel To Real)
9. Factory (Reel To Real)
10. Premonition (Reel To Real)
11. Changeling (Reel To Real)
12. Calling Your Name (Reel To Real)
13. I Travel (Empires And Dance)
14. Today I Died Again (Empires And Dance)
15. Celebrate (Empires And Dance)
16. This Fear Of Gods (Empires And Dance)
17. Twist/Run/Repulsion (Empires And Dance)
18. Thirty Frames A Second (Empires And Dance)

Disc 2:
1. Kaleidoscope (Celebration)
2. In Trance As Mission (Sons And Fascination)
3. Sweat In Bullet (Sons And Fascination)
4. 70 Cities As Love Brings The Fall (Sons And Fascination)
5. Love Song (Sons And Fascination)
6. Seeing Out The Angel (Sons And Fascination)
7. Theme For Great Cities (Sister Feelings Call)
8. The American (Sister Feelings Call)
9. 20th Century Promised Land (Sister Feelings Call)
10. Someone, Somewhere In Summertime (New Gold Dream)
11. Promised You A Miracle (New Gold Dream)
12. New Gold Dream (New Gold Dream)
13. Glittering Prize (New Gold Dream)
14. Up On The Catwalk (Sparkle In The Rain)
15. Speed Your Love To Me (Sparkle In The Rain)
16. Waterfront (Sparkle In The Rain)

New Acquisitions Show

I've been on a buying spree (and a bit of downloading as well) so this week is a review of my new acquisitions with some old favorites filling in the rest. New stuff from The Twilight Sad and Bap Kennedy, new to me stuff from 15-60-75 (aka the Numbers Band), the Triffids and more! Apologies for the lost first minute, still sorting out the new studio recording options.

You can list to this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
Icewater - All I See Is You (Keep An Eye On The Sky, 2009)
Alex Chilton - Every Day As We Grow Closer (original mix) (Keep An Eye On The Sky, 2009)
Big Star - Thank You Friends (demo) (Keep An Eye On The Sky, 2009)
Chris Bell - You And Your Sister (Keep An Eye On The Sky, 2009 - originally released in 1978)
Dimmer - Seed (I Believe You Are A Star, 2001)
The Twilight Sad - Dead City (No One Can Ever Know, 2012)
Wire - Moreover (live) (The Black Session, 2012)
15-60-75 - It's In Imagination (Datapanik In The Year Zero, 1996 - originally released in 1979)
Tripod Jimmie - Autumn Leaves (Datapanik In The Year Zero, 1996 - originally released in 1982)
The Teardrop Explodes - Strange House In The Snow (Everybody Wants To Shag... The Teardrop Explodes, 1990 - originally released in 1981?)
The Triffids - Field Of Glass (Beautiful Waste And Other Songs, 2008 - originally released in 1985)
Richard Thompson - Let It Blow (radio session) (Live At The BBC, 2011)
Bap Kennedy - Lonely No More (The Sailor's Revenge, 2012)
Pete Townshend - Save It For Later (White City reissue, 2006)
Jason Ringenberg - Hard Luck Boy (One Foot In The Honky Tonk, 1992)
The Long Ryders - Looking For Lewis And Clark (long version) (Anthology, 1998 - originally released in 1985)
The Psychedelic Furs - Watchtower (House EP, 1989)
British Sea Power - Machineries Of Joy (EP2, 2012)
Radiohead - Little By Little (live) (The King Of Limbs Live From The Basement DVD, 2011)
Virgin Prunes - Decline And Fall (...If I Die, I Die, 1982)
Cabaret Voltaire - Sensoria (12" mix) (Microphonies, 1984)
Annie Christian - Transmission (The Other Way EP, 1998)
Danielle Dax - Fizzing Human-Bomb (Inky Bloaters, 1987)
Chimera - Tiago (Earth Loop, 1996)
The Flaming Stars - The Dead Don't Care (London After Midnight, 2006)
Max Eider - Her Life (Hotel Figueroa, 2001)

Midwest Show

At long last, two hours of Midwestern bands! From Chicago to Milwaukee, from Minneapolis to Omaha, it's underground rock from America's heartland! It was great fun and quite enlightening to do the research and come up with this show. Doubtless I missed some very worthy bands, please post a comment.

You can listen to this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
The Stooges - Down On The Street (Fun House, 1970)
Devo - Through Being Cool (New Traditionalists, 1981)
Pere Ubu - Navvy (Dub Housing, 1978)
Dow Jones And The Industrials - Can't Stand The Midwest (Let's Go Steady 7", 1980)
Destroy All Monsters - You're Gonna Die (Bored 7", 1978)
The Embarrassment - Patio Set (Sex Drive 7", 1980)
The Suicide Commandos - Mosquito Crucifixion (Make A Record, 1978)
Husker Du - These Important Years (Warehouse: Songs And Stories, 1987)
The Replacements - Anywhere's Better Than Here (live) (Inconcerated Live promo EP, 1989)
Blue Ash - Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her) (No More No Less, 1973)
Raspberries - Overnight Sensation (Hit Record) (Starting Over, 1974)
The Bears - Veneer (Eureka!, 2007)
Big Black - Bad Houses (Atomizer, 1986)
The Effigies - No Progress (We're Da Machine EP, 1983)
Naked Raygun - Strange Days (Raygun...Naked Raygun, 1990)
Zero Boys - Civilizations Dying (Vicious Circle, 1982)
Uncle Tupelo - We've Been Had (Anodyne, 1993)
The Detroit Cobras - Cha Cha Twist (Baby, 2004)
The Bottle Rockets - A Living Hell (V/A - For A Decade Of Sin, 2005)
Son Volt - Drown (Trace, 1995)
The Coctails - Working Holiday (V/A - Working Holiday, 1994)
Low - July (Things We Lost In The Fire, 2001)
Tortoise & Colin Newman - Untitled 2 (radio session) (Digital distribution, 2009)
Poster Children - Where We Live (Daisychain Reaction, 1991)
The Moon Seven Times - My Medicine (The Moon Seven Times, 1993)
Lanterna - Silent Hills (Lanterna, 1992)
Violent Femmes - Kiss Off (Violent Femmes, 1983)
Scrawl - Your Mother Wants To Know (Velvet Hammer, 1993)
Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI (Do The Collapse, 1999)
The Libertines (US) - Bad Memories Burn (Tilt-A-Whirl, 1988)
Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod (short version) (Jesus Built My Hotrod EP, 1991)
The Faint - Sex Is Personal (Blank Wave Arcade, 1999)

Valentine's Day 2012 Show

This week's show falls on Valentine's Day and it's a big gift to my wife! She has to put up with listening to quite a bit of "spouse-inappropriate" music over the years so I've picked artists she likes and love songs that won't make you cringe! Thanks to the vagaries of college radio technology, the mike wasn't working very well today, apologies for the hollow sounding back announcing.

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes (new version) (New Blood, 2011)
Roxy Music - More Than This (Avalon, 1982)
The Go-Betweens - Finding You (Oceans Apart, 2005)
Hem - Valentine's Day (I'm Talking With My Mouth EP, 2002)
The Innocence Mission - Since I Tell You My Every Day (We Walked In Song, 2007)
Kelly Hogan - I'll Go To My Grave Loving You (Because It Feel Good, 2001)
The Lilac Time - I Want To Be Your Man (Lilac6, 2001)
XTC - Then She Appeared (Nonsuch, 1992)
Lloyd Cole - What's Wrong With This Picture? (The Negatives, 2001)
The Sound - Hand Of Love (Thunder Up, 1987)
Nick Cave - (Are You) The One That I've Been Waiting For? (The Boatman's Call, 1997)
Stan Ridgway - Anything For You (The Complete Epilogues, 2011)
Mick Karn - When Love Walks In (feat. David Sylvian) (Dreams Of Reason Produce Monsters, 1986)
Snow Patrol - You Are My Joy (live) (Live At Somerset House, 2005)
Astrid Williamson - To Love You (Never Enough, 2003)
Kate Bush - The Sensual World (The Sensual World, 1989)
Boh Runga - Not Given Lightly (V/A - Stroke: Songs For Chris Knox, 2009)
The Frank And Walters - I'm A Believer (After All EP, 1992)
The La's - There She Goes (radio session) (BBC In Session, 2006 - originally released in 1988)
Thomas Dolby - I Scare Myself (The Flat Earth, 1984)
The Magnetic Fields - The Book Of Love (69 Love Songs, 1999)
The Real Tuesday Weld - Battery-Powered Flowered Love (The Valentine EP, 2000)
Syd Straw - Marry Me (Pink Velour, 2008)
Bram Tchaikovsky - Girl Of My Dreams (Strange Man, Charmed Man, 1979)
The Lemonheads - Into Your Arms (Come On Feel The Lemonheads, 1993)
R.E.M. - Arms Of Love (Man On The Moon EP, 1992)
Del Amitri - More Than You'd Ever Know (Move Away Jimmy Blue EP, 1990)
Wilco - I Got You (At The End Of The Century) (Being There, 1997)
Robyn Hitchcock - I Feel Beautiful (Jewels For Sophia, 1999)

2-7-2012 Show

Last week I did my annual purge+renew whereby I take between 50 and 100 CDs up to Bullmoose and Maine and trade them in for something much better. I always feel cleaner after I've jettisoned old stuff that either never did it for me or simply hasn't kept my interest. So this week I'm including some of my new interests - the Canterbury scene (Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers), the Cramps, 21st century indie rock (Odonis Odonis) and some sad women (Sandy Denny).

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
Matching Mole - Gloria Gloom (Little Red Record, 1972)
Nick Mason - I'm A Mineralist (Fictitious Sports, 1981)
Robert Wyatt - Heaps OF Sheeps (Shleep, 1997)
Kevin Ayers - Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes (radio session) (The BBC Sessions 1970-1976, 2005 - originally released in 1974)
Neats - Caraboo (Neats, 1983)
The Cramps - New Kind Of Kick (File Under Sacred Music, 2011 - originally released in 1981)
Margot Smith - Life Time (Sleeping With The Lion, 1993)
The Innocence Mission - Broken Circle (The Innocence Mission, 1989)
Sandy Denny - Who Knows Where The Time Goes? (radio session) (The Best Of The BBC Sessions, 2008 - originally released in 1973)
Bachelorette - Down In The Street (The End Of Things, 2005)
The Verlaines - Ready To Fly (Ready To Fly, 1991)
The Wannadies - Might Be Stars (Be A Girl, 1994)
VKTMS - Teen-Age Alcoholic (VKTMS, 1997 - originally recorded in 1982)
Protex - Don't Ring Me Up (Don't Ring Me Up 7", 1978)
Punishment Of Luxury - Puppet Life (Laughing Academy, 1979)
Joe Jackson - Got The Time (Look Sharp!, 1979)
Crooked Fingers - Your Control (feat. Neko Case) (Forfeit/Fortune, 2008)
Drive-By Truckers - A Ghost To Most (Brighter Than Creation's Dark, 2008)
Jason & The Scorchers - Gettin' Nowhere Fast (Halcyon Times, 2010)
Odonis Odonis - New World (Hollandaze, 2011)
Disco Inferno - It's A Kid's World (The 5 EPs, 2011 - originally released in 1994)
The Red Crayola - Born In Flames (feat. Lora Logic) (Born In Flames 7", 1980)
T.I.T.S. - Void (Second Base, 2009)
Propaganda - Dream Within A Dream (A Secret Wish, 1985)
Black Swan Lane - Tired (A Long Way From Home, 2007)
Roddy Frame - Western Skies (Western Skies, 2006)
Sally Timms - This House Is A House Of Trouble (featuring Marc Almond) (This House... 7", 1987)

Compiling Devo rarities

Every so often I realize I haven't delved deeper into a favorite artists' catalog. I particularly enjoy digging through b-sides and non-lp material as great bands litter their singles with gems. A while back I ran into stalwart listener pblfsda on the T and we were chatting about Devo. He recommended I check out the _Pioneers Who Were Scalped_ compilation as it has lots of rarities and the best bits from the later years. The oddities are great - I love the General Boy spoken word stuff, and it does have the four good tracks from "Oh No" and "Shout", but the rest of disc 2 is, frankly, awful! I was inspired to put together my own compilation of b-sides and outtakes from a variety of sources. Stuff like "Find Out" and "Part Of You" are better than almost all of "Oh No" and _Recombo DNA_ has some excellent outtakes. I excluded some worthy tracks only because I have them on my import version of "Q: Are We Not Men". Here's my tracklisting:

I'm A Potato (from Hardcore Vol. 1)
Mongoloid (single version, found on Pioneers)
Jocko Homo (single version, found on Pioneers)
We're All Devo! (from Pioneers, found on Pioneers)
Mechanical Man (from Greatest Misses - an early demo)
Be Stiff (non-lp single)
Duty Now For The Future! [General Boy] (found on Pioneers)
General Boy Visits Apocolypse Now [General Boy] (found on Pioneers)
It Takes A Worried Man (found on Pioneers)
Turn Around (b-side)
Make Me Dance (Recombo DNA)
Time Bomb (Recombo DNA)
Nu-Tra Speaks (found on Pioneers)
Mecha-Mania Boy (non-lp single)
Peek-A-Boo! (Dance Velocity) (remix from _Oh No_)
That's Good (from _Oh No_)
Big Mess (from _Oh No_)
Find Out (b-side)
Part Of You (outtake that is found on the Infinite Zero version of "Oh No")
Modern Life (Recombo DNA)
Faster And Faster (Recombo DNA)
One Dumb Thing (found on Pioneers)
Love Is Stronger Than Dirt (Recombo DNA)
Shout (the only good song on _Shout_)

Emergency show

Last night, instead of working on the Midwest show, I spent a couple of hours in the emergency room of my local hospital, so why not do a show with just that theme? My boy's fine but now you can enjoy this mix of punk, new wave, and downbeat rock.

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
999 - Emergency (999, 1978)
Stiff Little Fingers - State Of Emergency (Inflammable Material, 1979)
The Undertones - Emergency Cases (Teenage Kicks single, 1978)
Rezillos - Ambulance (radio session) (Digital distribution, 2009)
Just Urbain - Hospital Bed (V/A - Shakedown! Brisbane Punk Rock (1979-1983), 2005 - originally released in 1980)
Glide - Spin Doctor (Open Up And Croon, 1995)
The Chills - Martyn's Doctor Told Me (Secret Box, 2001)
The Stereo Bus - Mental Hospital (Hey Thank You single, 1999)
The King Of Luxembourg - Trial Of Dr. Fancy (V/A - Too Good To Be True, 2005 - originally released in 1986)
Killer Pussy - Teenage Enema Nurses In Bondage (Teenage Enema Nurses In Bondage single, 1982)
Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! (Into The Gap, 1984)
Whiskeytown - Nurse With The Pills (radio session) (Strangers Almanac reissue, 2008)
Thomas Feiner & Anywhen - Scars And Glasses (The Opiates (Revised), 2008)
Patrick Duff - Rock'n'Roll Doctor (Luxury Problems JP edition, 2005)
Hofman - Follow The Ambulance (Reach Around Hofman EP, 1998)
The Replacements - Take Me Down To The Hospital (Hootenanny, 1983)
The Proletariat - Scars (Soma Holiday, 1983)
Dangerous Birds - Emergency (V/A - Laughing At The Ground single, 1982)
Prolapse - Black Death Ambulance (Pointless Walks To Dismal Places, 1994)
Sleeper - Big Nurse (Alice EP, 1993)
The Convent - Scars (About Kings And Queens And Stolen Bicycles, 2002)
All Natural Lemon & Lime Flavors - Emergency Turn Off (Turning Into Small, 1998)
Billy Bragg - A Nurse's Life Is Full Of Woe (Talking With The Taxman About Poetry reissue, 2006)
Tiger - I'm In Love With RAF Nurse (Race EP, 1996)
Jesse Malin - Scars Of Love (The Heat, 2004)
Sisters Of Mercy - Doctor Jeep (Vision Thing, 1990)
Swell Maps - Doctor At C. (Collision Time Revisited, 1989 - originally released in 1979)
Cop Shoot Cop - Ambulance Song (Release, 1994)
Second Layer - State Of Emergency (State Of Emergency EP, 1980)
Wire - Ambulance Chasers (live) (The Ideal Copy, 1987)
Justin Sullivan - No Pain (live) (Big Guitars In Little Europe, 1995)

Rain show

This week's theme is inspired by the warm winter we've been having and all the rain that's come down. Do you know how many songs have been written about the rain?! I could've filled out half this playlist with just songs from New Zealand bands, I guess it rains a lot down there! Hear some from Robert Forster, Snapper, Sons And Daughters and more! I'm still getting the hang of my new Linux box and only just discovered I set the native audio recording software to record in mono! Next week I'll have it all worked out.

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
Robert Forster - If It Rains (The Evangelist, 2008)
Immaculate Fools - Rain (Woodhouse, 1995)
Marcellus Hall - One Drop Of Rain (The First Line, 2011)
The Triffids - Raining Pleasure (Raining Pleasure mini-LP, 1984)
Let's Go Naked - Rainshower Me (Insides, 2007 - originally released in the late 80s)
Weddings Parties Anything - Rain In My Heart (live) (They Were Better Live, 1999)
The Pterodactyls - Every Time It Rains (V/A - Outnumbered By Sheep, 1986)
The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience - I Like Rain (Love Songs, 1988)
Snapper - Rain (Shotgun Blossom, 1990)
The Bads - Feels Like Rain (Earth From Space, 2005)
Lanky - Here Come The Rains (Wait, 2000)
John White - Goodbye To Rainy Days (Mogwash, 2006)
Demarnia Lloyd - Rain (Set Upon A Curve, 2002)
Close Lobsters - Going To Heaven To See If It Rains (Forever Until Victory! The Singles Collection, 2009 - originally released in 1986)
TV21 - It Feels Like It's Starting To Rain (Snakes And Ladders: Almost Complete 1980-82, 2010 - originally released in 1981)
Fantastic Something - If She Doesn't Smile (It'll Rain) (V/A - I'll Give You My Heart, I'll Give You My Heart, 2008 - originally released in 1984)
The Suede Crocodiles - Stop The Rain (Stop The Rain single, 1983)
Sons And Daughters - Come In Out Of The Rain (Dance Me In single, 2005)
True Believers - The Rain Won't Help When It's Over (Hard Road, 1994)
Dave Couse - Will It Ever Stop Raining? (Genes, 2003)
Seafood - Psychic Rainy Nights (Messenger In The Camp, 1999)
The Pogues - A Rainy Night In Soho (Poguetry In Motion EP, 1986)
The Raincoats - Rainstorm (Moving, 1983)
Annie Lennox & Paul Buchanan - Here Comes The Rain Again (live) (Digital distribution - originally released in 1995)
The Dambuilders - Hibachi In The Rain (A Young Person's Guide, 1989)
Guadalcanal Diary - Pray For Rain (Jamboree, 1986)
The Railway Children - After The Rain (radio session) (The Radio One Evening Show Sessions, 1993)
I Am Kloot - Morning Rain (Natural History, 2001)
Nick Lowe - Raining Raining (live) (The Doings, 1999)
Scott Walker - It's Raining Today (Scott 3, 1969)
Vangelis - Tears In Rain (Blade Runner Trilogy, 2007 - originally released in 1982)

Compiling Husker Du

I was never much of a fan of the hardcore scene, though I do like bits and pieces. When it came to Husker Du, I liked the poppier side of their output, and fortunately I had a friend who made me a great sampler tape which formed the basis for this compilation. Another friend, years later, offered his suggestions and I added in Allmusic's picks from each album. After reviewing it all I came up with 2 playlists of 16 tracks each. I know there's more room on each disc but this captures everything that was great about the band and shows off their tremendous songwriting. As I've said, sometimes less is more.

Disc 1 (82-85):
1. Sunshine Superman (Everything Falls Apart)
2. Everything Falls Apart (Everything Falls Apart)
3. In A Free Land (Everything Falls Apart)
4. Real World (Metal Circus)
5. It's Not Funny Anymore (Metal Circus)
6. Diane (Metal Circus)
7. Something I Learned Today (Zen Arcade)
8. Never Talking To You Again (Zen Arcade)
9. Chartered Trips (Zen Arcade)
10. Pinks Turns To Blue (Zen Arcade)
11. Turn On The News (Zen Arcade)
12. Flip Your Wig (Flip Your Wig)
13. Makes No Sense At All (Flip Your Wig)
14. Hate Paper Doll (Flip Your Wig)
15. Green Eyes (Flip Your Wig)
16. Games (Flip Your Wig)

Disc 2 (85-87):
1. New Day Rising (New Day Rising)
2. Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill (New Day Rising)
3. I Apologize (New Day Rising)
4. Celebrated Summer (New Day Rising)
5. Terms Of Psychic Warfare (New Day Rising)
6. Books About UFOs (New Day Rising)
7. Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely (Candy Apple Grey)
8. Sorry Somehow (Candy Apple Grey)
9. Too Far Down (Candy Apple Grey)
10. Hardly Getting Over It (Candy Apple Grey)
11. These Important Years (Warehouse)
12. Ice Cold Ice (Warehouse)
13. Could You Be The One (Warehouse)
14. Up In The Air (Warehouse)
15. Eight Miles High (single a-side)
16. All Work And No Play (Don't Want To Know b-side)

1-17-2012 Show

This week is themeless, with new stuff from The Joy Formidable, The Lucy Show, and The Kills, obscure stuff from NNB, Asylum Street Spankers, and Clive Pig, and a mix of more great underground rock! Unfortunately, a technical glitch on my end prevented me from recording the show with my scintillating commentary, so you'll just have to do with the music itself. Here's the bits worth repeating:

The Joy Formidable's debut EP was OK and showed promise - their debut album delivers in spades.
The Lucy Show track is from an aborted reunion in 1993 and it shows the grunge influence at the time.
Kitchen's track, as is usually the case with Peel sessions, is a clearer mix of a great track with a better vocal/guitar balance.
The Kills are often compared to The White Stripes but this track is beyond anything the White Stripes have done.
The Be Bop Deluxe track is from a fantastic *8* CD career overview of Bill Nelson.
I dig that Flock Of Seagulls track, off the same album that gave us "I Ran", in part because it's more guitar-y.
Charlotte Gainsbourg is backed by two members of Air and sings lyrics written by the guys from Pulp and The Divine Comedy.
Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire singing Johnny Cash? That's pretty damn cool!
NNB is one of those bands that released less than half a dozen tracks but deserves to be remembered.
"Fiery Jack" by The Yummy Fur is a 48 second cover of The Fall's song!
"Jumper Clown" is a cover of a Marc Riley & The Creepers song. Riley had been kicked out of The Fall and this was his response to a live song they'd been doing, "Hey Marc Riley". The jumpers refer to MES' clothes of choice at the time.
Momus is interpreting a Jacques Brel song, "Jackie". His name is Nick Currie, hence the change in title.

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
The Joy Formidable - Whirring (The Big Roar, 2011)
The Lucy Show - She's Going Down (Remembrances, 2011)
Kitchens Of Distinction - Four Men (Peel session) (Digital distribution - originally released in 1992)
The Kills - Future Starts Slow (Blood Pressures, 2011)
Be Bop Deluxe - Panic In The World (Juan Les Pins mix) (The Practice Of Everday Life, 2011 - originally released in 1978)
Andy Prieboy - The Same Great Guy With A Great New Look (Every Lady Gets A Song EP, 2011)
A Flock Of Seagulls - Telecommunication (A Flock Of Seagulls, 1982)
Charlotte Gainsbourg - 5:55 (5:55, 2006)
Family Cactus - Coal Town (Come Howling, 2009)
White Swan Black Swan - Ode To Sergio (Castle Of Useless Junk EP, 2008)
Marshmallow - Anytime Soon (Marshmallow, 2005)
Ghost Club - Ghost Club Theme Song (Ghostclubbing, 2002)
Stephen Mallinder - I Walk The Line (V/A - 'Til Things Are Brighter, 1988)
Asylum Street Spankers - Funnel Of Love (V/A - Hard-Headed Woman, 2004)
Paul Burch - Life Of A Fool (live) (V/A - Bloodied But Unbowed, 2006)
Cordero - Close Your House Down (V/A - For A Decade Of Sin, 2005)
The Dawn Parade - Wider Than The January Skies (Caffeine Row single, 2002)
Low Pop Suicide - Disengaged (On The Cross Of Commerce, 1993)
Matthew Sweet - Superdeformed (V/A - No Alternative, 1993)
Adorable - A To Fade In (Against Perfection, 1993)
NNB - Slack (Slack New World 7", 1978)
The Yummy Fur - Fiery Jack (Kinky Cinema, 1997)
The Wedding Present - Jumper Clown (It's A Gas EP, 1994)
Bruce Gilbert - Eline Cout II (The Shivering Man, 1986)
French Frith Kaiser Thompson - March Of The Cosmetic Surgeons (Invisible Means, 1990)
Momus - Nicky (Nicky EP, 1986)
Mark Kozelek - Rock'n'Roll Singer (Rock'n'Roll Singer EP, 2000)
John Greaves - The Price We Pay (with S'Ange & Kristoffer Blegvad) (Songs, 1994)
Clive Pig - Too Much Talk (A Whale Of A Tale, 2005)

Less is more: anthologies and best-of's

I am a music obsessive. I love discovering an artist and digging into their back-catalog, down to b-sides and compilation tracks. Even with artists I already love I can find neglected periods in their history that deserve reappraisal. But sometimes I want to separate the wheat from the chaff and listen to just the best bits. And frankly, with so much music at my fingertips I don't always want to hear the second tier material, deserving as it may be. That's where a well-compiled collection does the job. But inevitably, I find there are key tracks missing, a single disc doesn't satisfy or an artist's huge catalog requires a bigger overview. I'm lazy, I want an easy starting point to build a playlist. At this point, here's what I do:

First I read about existing compilations on Allmusic.com and Rateyourmusic.com, my go-to resources for reviews.
If there's a clear winner, I'll pick it up or recreate it if I own most of it already.
I will often make a spreadsheet and collate tracklistings across comps - this is a quick way of determining if any obvious tracks are missing. If something shows up on four out of five comps but not the one I picked, I'll add it to mine.
Sometimes I'll review the I Love Music or Steve Hoffman forums - they're great sources of discussion for people like me and they usually have threads discussing artists best tracks.
Lastly, I'll add my own picks if I'm very familiar with an artists catalog.

This has served me very well. As I said, I'm lazy - I don't want to listen to and rate tracks off 10 albums! But as I'll discuss, once in a while that is exactly what I do. In the coming posts I'll share how I improved upon, or created, artist compilations.

I told you I was obsessive!

Covers of underground artists

There was no show last week, so last week's show is this week's! And this week's show is all covers! I did a covers show when I just
started this program but it was covers of famous songs. These covers are all of other underground artists and I tried to set up some fun
pairings, so you have XTC covering Captain Beefheart followed by Primus covering XTC. I always enjoy hearing familiar songs performed
in different ways, or with a different voice.

You can download this podcast by clicking here.

Playlist:
The Chameleons - Splitting In Two (live) (Live In Toronto, 1992)
Jon Auer - Tears (6 1/2 EP, 1999)
XTC - Ella Guru (Mayor Of Simpleton EP, 1989)
Primus - Making Plans For Nigel (Miscellaneous Debris EP, 1992)
Sex Pistols - Road Runner (rehearsal) (The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle, 1979)
The Beasts Of Bourbon - Anarchy In The UK (live) (From The Belly Of The Beasts, 1993)
Julian Cope - Non-Alignment Pact (World Shut Your Mouth EP, 1986)
The Frank And Walters - An Elegant Chaos (Something Happened To Me single, 1999)
John Cale - Hallelujah (V/A - I'm Your Fan: The Songs Of Leonard Cohen, 1991)
Bauhaus - Rosegarden Funeral Of Sores (Telegram Sam single, 1980)
The Smiths - What's The World? (live) (Sweet And Tender Hooligan EP, 1995)
The Dream Academy - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (Please Please Please single, 1985)
R.E.M. - Arms Of Love (Man On The Moon single, 1992)
Gene - Nightswimming (Where Are They Now? single, 1997)
The Comsat Angels - I Wanna Destroy You (From Beyond 2, 2000)
Silkworm - Our Secret (The Chain single, 1992)
Mission Of Burma - Heart Of Darkness (live) (The Horrible Truth About Burma, 1985)
The Spinanes - Fame And Fortune (Noel, Jonah And Me EP, 1994)
Helmet - Primitive (Born Annoying, 1994)
Catherine Wheel - Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely (30 Century Man EP, 1992)
Barbara Manning - Paintwork (V/A - Perverted By Mark E. - A Tribute To The Fall, 2004)
Pop Will Eat Itself - Everything That Rises Must Converge (Love Missle F1-11 EP, 1987)
Del Amitri - Bye Bye Pride (Just Like A Man EP, 1992)
Luna - Indian Summer (Indian Summer EP, 1993)
The Loud Family - Back Of A Car (Slouching Towards Liverpool EP, 1993)
Emilie Simon - Femme Fatale (with Tim Keegan) (Émilie Simon, 2003)
The House Of Love - Pink Frost (The Girl With The Loneliest Eyes EP, 1991)
John Wesley Harding - Heavenly Pop Hit (split single, 1990)

No show this week

You know what? Little kids with stomach bugs and hosting a radio program don't mix, so I had to miss this week's show. The good news is I've got a good one all set for next week - all covers by and of underground artists! Should be fun. In the meantime, I'm getting ready to start blogging more broadly. First up, some of my favorite homemade compilations.