Let's get the band back together, man

Seattle music and the grunge era is now twenty years old, firmly and securely letting me know that I am past due. Recently I've had conversations with friends of mine about that era what it all meant if anything. There was a time when all involved would say it meant nothing but as age has set in and paid off well as well a s a documentary on Pearl Jam I'd say that note has changed. At the time it was supposed to be counter culture or the rise of the underground but now I see it as just more Rock under a different label. There was great music and not so great music but the funniest thing is that I never saw any of Seattle bands live which makes me feel quite lame. I almost saw pearl jam in Boston about five years about I passed that up to have dinner with old friends.
So instead of lamenting that, I made a Seattle Mix which isn't just the early 90s big four Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alic In Chains it's the bands that I know and like from that region, even Aberdeen. No Tad, no Sir Mix-a-lot. It thought about putting a modern Alice In Chains song on here but as good as the song is it didn't feel right, I wasn't sure if the Foo Fighters counted so I left the  off also I almost put L7 on here before I realized they were from LA. No Stone Temple Pilots because while they fell under the grunge label at the time they were from southern California as well. This leads me another point would be a mix of all the bands who get lumped into the Seattle grunge department even though they had nothing to do with it, there were bands from Boston that got were lumped into that genre as I recall. Jeepers, I should put out my best of Boston mix too, i should go city by city. Anyway enjoy it. Click on the song title to hear it.

1. Queen Bitch by Green River

The band that started it all, members of Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone and then Pearl Jam made up the line up.

2. Crazy On You by Heart

Hell yeah, Heart! Sure they were horrible in the 80s but their music in the 70s was hot.

3. Bed of Roses by Screaming Trees

Not one of the big four, Screaming Trees were the authors of a lot of airplay. Their biggest hit, I Nearly Lost You was overplayed and got a big life from it's presence on the Singles soundtrack.

4. Touch Me I'm Sick by Mudhoney

This is what indie rock is all about, loud and obnoxious and dumb.

5. Here She Comes Now by Nirvana

Great little cover of Velvet Underground expanding the original version by three minutes of fuzz. The biggest band of the era. RIP Kurt.

6. I'm Above by Mad Season

Some called them a supergroup as they were made up of Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam members but when you take a look at all the mingling in the Seattle bands it's just another project. Temple of the Dog is not on this mix but they are a good example of the incestuous nature of the scene.

7. The King is Half-Undressed by Jellyfish
These guys were all the buzz for a couple months with a Queen/Beatles sound back in 1990. The singer was the drummer and stood upright when the performed. I guess Sheila E was also an influence.
8. Jesus Christ Pose by Soundgarden

It doesn't get much heavier than this or as frenetic. Some say nothing off the Badmotorfinger album can compare with the Superunknown album but I disagree. Chris Cornell has got the greatest pipes to come out of Seattle since the Wilson sisters of Heart, I mean holy shit that dude can sing!

9. Negative Creep(live) by Nirvana

This is my favorite Nirvana song and that may be an annoying hipster sort of thing to say but I just love how hard this song is, how out of control it seems.

10.Nutshell by Alice In Chains

None of the big 4 could be more dark Than Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell's band. This song is somber if not down right depressing and as per usual about addiction.

11.Lump by Presidents of the United States of America

You remember this ditty, right? Weird Al even parodied it. They preferred to be called PUSA for whatever Seattle reason. They were one of those bands that would have never made a name for themselves if it hadn't been for all the big bands in the area. Coat tails anyone? This was the Seattle band you little sister got into after it was over.

12.Are You Experienced? by The Jimi Hendrix Experience

He was from Seattle and he was buried there so deal with that if you disagree. This is the greatest guitarist in rock, right? Hard, psychedelic beautiful.

13.Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden

Psychedelic and beautiful, spoon fed to the masses. This song more than any of the others has grown on me.

14.Would? by Alice In Chains

Not only soft and acoustic but big and aggressive with amazing harmonies. This song wasn't supposed to be on the Dirt album but it's notoriety from the Single's soundtrack pushed it on. This is my favorite Alice In chains Song.

15.Barracuda by Heart

Man did they rock this jam! Could anybody even cover this song and do it justice?

16.Do The Evolution by Pearl Jam

Those who know me know that this is my favorite PJ song. Why? I don't know. It's lo-fi, angry and doesn't sound like Pearl Jam. Additionally the video is super cool!

17.Silent Lucidity by Queensryche

Before the Grunge fad, this was Seattle. It's still a big epic sweeping song that I enjoy.

18.Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns by Mother Love Bone
RIP Andrew Wood, you were born to be a star but it wasn't meant to be. Pearl Jam also does a great version of this song.

Weekly Mix #67

Here we go with another 2009 creation but with three songs from 1984, do yo know them off the top of your head? This whole mix is very 80s feeling.


1. Here I Go Again by White Snake

Hated this song until just a couple years agao when suddenly I decided I was David Coverdale

2. Check My Brain by Alice In Chains

The boys from Seattle are back but not with lead singer Layne Staley who overdosed on Heroin some years back. This song rocks!

3. What You Need by INXS
We're going back to the 0s when pop and rock found perfect harmony . . . another band, another dead singer.
4. Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z feat. Alicia keys

Because New York needs another anthem, a more modern one.

5. Come Together by The Beatles
This is weird song but it sure is groovy. As I made this mix this song was all over the television as the main song on some music video game.
6. Sort Of by Silversun Pickups

This is a dizzying song, frantic and almost desperate and still showing Billy Corgan that they're better at being him than he is.

7. Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) by David Bowie

One of my favorite Bowie tunes, what phase was this?

8. Uprising by Muse
This is from Muse's huge The Resistance album that spawn a lot of good music. This is not the best song on it and that's okay.
9. Make It Take It by Amanda Blank

Just a club girl and her ambitions

10.Magic Man by Heart

Try to understand, he's a magic man; he's got magic hands. One of Heart's big three, Magic Man, Crazy On You and Barracuda. Some say this song is sleazy and they're kind of right; it has a dark 1970's vibe.

11.Drive by The Cars
This song was so huge it's hard to explain, maybe it's the Mutt Lang produced synthesizers deep woosh or Benjamin Orr's vocals, maybe it was the Timothy Hutton directed video with Paulina Porizkova. Whatever it was this song represents the band at the hugest commercial point. It's not their sunniest tune but it's arguably their best.
12.Kind of a Girl by Tinted Windows

Their are some who say the Cars were a shitty synth New Wave band that never made a impact on music but just listened to songs like this by almost super group Tinted Windows. Members of Hanson, Cheap Trick and Smashing Pumpkins came together to produce this 80s inspired ear candy.

13.New Girl Now by Honeymoon Suite

Speaking of the 80s . . . Beisdes Rush and Bryan Adams this is what was going on in Canada. This is New Wave rock magic. Big drums, keyboards and echo laced vocals. Props to the video for having a Delorean!

14. For What It's Worth by Placebo

This band always makes me think of the 80s but I don't know why. This ain't no Pure Morning, showing that they aren't a single note group again. The brass in the song is a bit disarming.

15.Pretty In Pink by Psychedelic Furs

Here's more of the real deal. This I believe is the original version not the more excitable version they did for the movie.

16.Tangled Up In You by The Mumblers

This is not Bob Dylan but I suppose the song title might be an allusion to Tangled up in Blues.

17.Wake Up by The Doors

I love some of Jim Morrison's live poetry; it's very charged with lizards and sex.

18.Yellow Ledbetter by Pearl Jam

The best song that was never on a an album. It is so mellow it makes me think of 80s beer commercials.

19.Hippy Hippy Shake by Georgia Satellites
From the movie Cocktail, this song was nothing in the gigantic shadow of Tom Cruise's star power and The Beach Boys Kokomo
20.(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You to by Weezer
Is this Weezer's most epic song? It's a big one and that's why it caps off the mix.

Weekly Mix Tape Pt 38

There is a lot of huge songs on this mix and a lot of oldies in respect to the time the mix was made. There are only two songs from same decade which is against my current way of thinking which requires more modern tracks with old highlights that show genre and influence.

listen and enjoy

1. Rio by Duran Duran

This is what star power is all about, only a band like Duran Duran could pull off a song like this and make it seem awesome, only a band like this could do a video like this with Simon Le Bon riding the bowsprit.

2. Communication Breakdown by Led Zeppelin

So powerful, heavy and fast this song was when it came out in 1969 that it caused the Beatles to break up.

3. Barracuda by Heart

And while we're on the topic of powerful and heavy, this song goes the full distance! Rocking out full bore!

4. How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths

Some have labeled the best song of 1980s and I don't disagree. While initially I found this song morose and depressing, I couldn't resist it's sonic beauty. Johnny Marr's guitar work is beautiful factories, passing cars and emotional. It is a song that never charted in the states by a band that wasn't even as popular as The Cure but there's nothing else like it. Not even U2, R.E.M or Guns n' Roses could accomplish something like this.

5. New Model No. 15 by Marylin Manson

He can suck it a smile, not bad. Apparently he has adult film talent singing in the background but all I hear is Marylin's whiny bark.

6. Draw Your Breaks by Scotty

After all that power guitar we're taking it mellow and to the Caribbean island of Jamaica.

7. Here Comes the Hotstepper by Ini Kamoze

This is a feelgood song not in the way that makes you walk on sunshine but the kind that makes you feel cooler than shit and strut.

8. Wrong Way by Sublime

A song about hooking up with a girl who has unfortunate family issues by a guy who OD'd twice in the same tenderloin hotel. Rest in Peach Bradley.   

9. Roots Radicals by Rancid

Even though they were from The East Bay they always seemed more British than their contemporaries, Green Day and Offspring.

10.What' I Say, Pt 1 by Ray Charles  

Some of the best organ in popular music, ever. The groove and rhythm travel and get the blood in motion.

11.Hey Sailor by The Detroit Cobras

I've never seen this band live but I have heard they smoke more cigarettes than any other band. this is whiskey lovin' blues rock.

12.Daddy Never understood by Deluxx Folk Implosion

Straight ahead loud from the notorious motion picture, Kids.

13.Sing Your Life by Morrissey

I thought this was a happy song when I first heard it but that's the way it is with the best song from this man.

14.Jesus Christ Pose by Soundgarden

Let us return now to crazy guitars that rip up the fabric of reality, dig into your mind and demand satisfaction. Chris Cornel used to be such bad ass motherfuckin' singer and then fame happened.

15.Big Empty by Stone Temple Pilots

This was the song that made STP  cool to me. I didn't quite bond with the first album but this tune was soulful, bluesy and huge and available on the Crow soundtrack as well as the bands second album.

16.It's Only Rock n' Roll (But I like It) by The Rolling Stones

Classic rock must be represented. I must have been real hot for this song at the time I made the mix because I rarely ever play it. Maybe I just needed a song.

17.Jealous Again by The Black Crows

I hated this song for years, I hated this band for almost as long as I hated the song but I mellowed and realized it wasn't that bad.

18.Portland, Oregon by Loretta Lynn and Jack White

Some people said this was their favorite song from 2004 but I disagree. It is a good tune about gin drinking though.

19.Where Did You Sleep Last Night by Nirvana

  When Nirvana's Unplugged album came out I told myself I wouldn't buy it unless the Leadbelly cover was on it. The amount of pain and agony Kurt Cobain emotes through his voice is enough to make you shutter and almost agree to help him pull the trigger.

20.Hey, Hey, My My (Into The Black) by Neil Young

This is the story of Johnny Rotten or at least that what Neils says and who knows, maybe it is but if you read or heard Kurt Cobain's suicide note you know that he incorporated it into his rock n' roll story.

Weekly Mix Tape Pt 8

IS this mix intriguing? Maybe, what was the purpose of putting two Beatles inspired bands on it with the word some form of believing in the title? This mix also contains R.E.M. at their most cryptic; I don't think Michael Stipe even remembers what the lyrics meant. A Boston shout out goes to Buffalo Tom, Letters to Cleo and Lemonheads. Yup, I like this mix quite a bit, "The Wanderer" is one of U2's and Johnny Cash's best songs. This mix is actually kind of exhausting.
Go listen for your self, I believe all songs are available for purchase on iTunes.



1. This Charming Man by The Smiths
This was the worlds introduction to one of the great British bands of the 80s. Somber, mysterious lyrics, great guitar hooks, what else does a band need?
2. I'm a Believer by The Monkees
The band that people have loved and loved to hate. True they were a manufactured group for television but the songs were really good pop.

 
3. The Only One I Know by The Charlatans (UK)
The Manchester sound or the Madchester sound found another group in these blokes. Keyboard rich that some compared to Deep Purple they even played Hush live in their early days.
4. Mr. Big Stuff by Jean Knight
Switching it up some we get funky.
5. Swan Swan H by R.E.M.
What the hell is this song about? "girl and dog he bore his cross" It's a great tune.
6. Crazy On You by Heart
Fantastic classic rock that starts off as a noodling acoustic thing but then  brings the rock in a big dramatic. Barracuda and this are my favorites by Heart. People used to say the Wilson sisters were lesbians, I don't know if that's gross or understandable.

7. Negative Creep (live) by Nirvana
Raw, noisy, abrasive,  frightening, this is my favorite Nirvana song and the live version From the Muddy Banks Of The Wishkah is so god damned insane and brash it makes the studio recording seem like a little demo from beneath the bed.
8. Sad Girl by Lemonheads
A song about a mess of a chick
9. Christine Sixteen by Kiss
This song is ridiculous but it's Kiss and there's nothing you can do about it.
10.Pumping On Your Stereo by Supergrass
 swear they're singing humping on your stereo.
11.Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie
The theme song for the album is just a classic example of Bowie's willingness to lose himself in an idea.
12.Jealousy by Liz Phair
She was huge in 1994 but then she had a kid and disappeared. Not really but if would have been better if she had.

 
13.Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin
Easily one of my top five Zep songs. There is so much power and might from the hammer of the gods! If this song doesn't get you going on some viking berserker rampage, nothing will. 
14.Taillights Fade by Buffalo Tom
It might as well be a power ballad in the anti power ballad era.
15.I Feel Love by Donna Summer
Sexy disco.

 
16.Parallel Universe by Red Hot Chili Peppers
This is about the last time I enjoyed a Chili peppers' in earnest. After this they checked their balls in and mailed it in. Congrats though, they made it to the Rock N' Roll Hall OF Fame.  Oh yeah that means so much. 
17.Slow Dog by Belly
Belly was a band that came from  Throwing Muse and was big for 1993.
18.Heroin Girl by Everclear
This song doesn't really jibe well with the rest of the bands crappy melodic sing alongs. It actually has oomph and punk notions!
19.Happy Jack by The Who
I don't care much for the Who but this song is good.

 
20.Step Back by Letters to Cleo
I thought this song was one of the best of 1994 but nobody listened to me for just reason. It's catchy but it's never been a hit.
21. Let's All Make Believe by Oasis
One of the few shining moments from Oasis' post Morning Glory days.
22. The Wanderer by U2 and Johnny Cash
Who would have thought Cash and U2 would record together? This song is a great American song despite it's weirdness. The lyrics are excellent, ironic, funny and creepy.