Weekly Mix #69

2009 wasn't know as a great year for music but sometimes there are little nuggets to found. If nothing else the older songs are real good. Enjoy if you can; I think all but the final song is legally downloadable.


1. Do It For The Kids by Velvet Revolver

I dig the melody in this song.

2. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer by George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Look man, come down here! Hilarious story and worth the listen.

3. Treat Me Like Your Mother by The Dead Weather

More deep, trippy rock music; it's not their best song but it seems the most energetic

4. These Eyes by The Guess Who

Obviously the best part of the song is when he belts out the lyrics at the end

5. Thirteen by Danzig
Sometimes I think it would have been great to just receive a number over a name and just bring bad luck wherever I go. This is a badass gloomy song
6. Hey Hey What Can I Do by Led Zeppelin

A song that was supposed to be on Led Zeppelin III but suffered from some production error which made it the B-side of the Immigrant Song; not bad.

7. Modern Monkey by The Bardo

When you don't know anything about a band sometimes it's cool but sometimes it makes the experience flat. I know nothing of this band besides a couple songs that sound young and tough.

8. Mind Eraser, No Chaser by Them Crooked Vultures

Josh Holme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones, I guess it's a super group.

9. Sick Love Song by Mötley Crüe

It's a good effort long after the dream was over

10.Electric Funeral by Black Sabbath

Psychedelic heaviness by Ozzy and the boys

11.Rooster by Alice In Chains

If the 80s were all led Zeppelin knock offs then the 90s were all Black Sabbath rip offs. I love these guys if you haven't figured that out yet. More haunting heaviness from Seattle.

12.Down Boy by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

This song is from an E.P.; how awesome is that? The E.P. is a concept that makes no sense anymore but at when it did the Extended Play format meant an artist released an album with only four or five songs rather than the 8 plus on L.P. or Long Play album. Down is gloomy and angry.

13.Us Alone by The Vulcan Dub Squad

There is something so sad in this song that I can't really explain, maybe it's foreign language, maybe it's the wailing through out. This song should have been recorded in 1986; it would have been the greatest depressing song ever then but about 20 years younger than that it's different.

14.Lose Yourself by Eminem

Maybe his best song; it won him an Oscar

15.Death to All But Metal by Steel Panther
I agree, Metal rules and everything merely just gets us by
16.Drop It Low by Ester Dean & Chris Brown

Let's get the party started!

17.Whole Lotta Rosie by Guns N' Roses

ANGUS! I love a bootleg and this is a good one from G N' R's early days as they grind out some AC/DC.

18.Dirty Water by The Standells
If you're from Bean Town you know this song well. It refers to the Charles River which was disgusting as was much of the nations urban water ways back in the 60s. Now it's much more clean but for those of us who remember the pre clean up in the 80s know this song was no joke. This tune is also associated with the Red Sox as the song is played at Fenway Park after a Boston victory. It's funny that the best song about Boston is by a band that wasn't from there. "I love that dirty water, Boston you're my home"

Weekly Mix Tape Pt 26

This one was also done back in 2002. It continues my Aerosmith adoration as well as my discover of that trippy band, Clinic. I first heard them in a Border's book store while on the 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica where Patricia Richardson was being shown the way to a private bathroom. Please make an attempt to listen to new music and enjoy some of these songs.

1. Without Me by Eminem
From Marshal Mathers' third album, I first heard this song in Las Vegas
2. Big Ten Inch Record by Aerosmith
The bad boys of Boston at their innuendo best
3. I Can't Explain by The Who
I put this in as filler, no lie
4. Time Bomb by Rancid
This song was everywhere back in the mid 90s; it's kinda' turned into classic rock
5. Santeria by Sublime
If you are smart you will stay away from Santeria
6. Play With Fire by The Rolling Stones
Don't play with fire and don't mess with the Stones
7. Fell In Love With A Girl by The White Stripes
They do their best Buzzcocks tune and never again do they play like this
8. Clash City Rockers by The Clash
Not their best song
9. Just A Girl by No Doubt
The Song that started it all for this band from the Tragic Kingdom
10.Toxicity by System Of A Down
As time goes by this songs seems less interesting
11.California Dreamin' by The Mamas & The Papas
A 60s anthem about getting out of the cold and getting west
12.Walking With Thee by Clinic
Ladies and Gentlemen, Clinic the faceless band from England. One of the best bands to never make a blip in the U.S.
13.Sweetness by Jimmy Eat World
This is a nice little song by a little band
14.Dope Nose by Weezer
He alludes to Welcome to The Jungle . . . Awesome!
15.Barely Legal by The Strokes
Another great song from Is This It?, One of the best albums of the 00s
16.Bedbugs and Ballyhoo by Echo & The Bunnymen
That;s the way the bee bumbles
17.Sick & Tired by Cardigans
I saw them play live and they were great
18.A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T by The Hives
Frenetic!
19.B.O.B. by Outkast
This is Oukasts first voyage into a mix of mine, also my favorite song of theirs, Bomb Over Baghdad
20.Mama Told Me Not To Come by Three Dog Night
This song always makes me giggle
21.Can't Do A thing To Stop Me by Chris Isaak
Mr. Isaak would later become more creepy but not by much
22.Rise by Public Image Ltd.
All the anger in the world through Johnny Rotten in the 70s became this in the 80s

Weekly Mix Tape Pt 15

Here is your regularly scheduled weekly mix! There are a lot of power hits on this baby and there is some plot to it which is always enjoyable.

1. Zoo Station by U2
Ready to let go of the steering wheel?
2. Back In Black by AC/DC
One of the most awesome rock songs of all time.
3. Independent Women by Destiny's Child
don't hate
4. Fame by David Bowie
With John Lennon on guitar this is gem in the Bowie catalog
5. The Way I Am by Eminem
an answer to "Fame"
6. Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles
It's the Beatles
7. Don't Call Me Baby by Madison Avenue
More disco!
8. Burning Flag by Marilyn Manson
Never a big song but it's an angry rocker
9. Closer by Nine Inch Nails
The best Nine Inch Nails release? Yeah, I can accept that
10.Body Movin' by The Beastie Boys
Goof y in their old age
11.Life of Leisure by Luscious Jackson
Freinds of the Beasties
12.Pressure Drop by The Maytals
One of my favorite reggae jams
13.Punk Rock Girl by The Dead Milkmen
Funny song that should be more well known than it is
14.Punk Rock Classic by Red Hot Chili Peppers
continuing the Punk Rock theme. Gn'R takes a lump in this one for no real reason
15.Playground Love by Air
From The Virgin Suicided movie
16.Doin' Time by Sublime
this song gives me a yuk feeling
17. Sympathy For The Devil by The Rolling Stones
Is this one of the top ten rock songs ever?

Weekly Mix Tape Pt 9

There is a lot of energy on this bad boy including some very danceable Destiny's Child and Ian Brown the singer of the Stone Roses going solo. Please welcome Mötley Crüe to the world of mixes. This mix will get your blood going fast and can make teenagers angry. Enjoy!

1. Bad Reputation by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
I adore this song, it is so full of young attitude and cool. Joan Jett had bigger hits but this one remains my favorite. I always want to give people the finger when I hear it. Another thing, I don't think she's aged a day.

2. Too Fast For Love by Mötley Crüe
Before they were fat, rich and undead the Crüe were a tough bunch of assholes who could barely make it on stage. Too Fast For Love I believe was their first single and though it was never a hit it was damn good! Reminds me of the girls i would chase when I was sixteen.
3. Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys
Theremin! This song is great and if you don't feel the power you can have your Little Deuce Coup and leave! 
4. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
One of the greatest, most epic rock songs ever! Over the the top in every way, Queen set the bar with this classic. When the guitars kick in it is irresistible, you must bob your head!
5. Going To California by Led Zeppelin
I kind of want to cry every time I hear this song song as it reminds me of the optimism I felt when I moved to California but also has a heartbreak in it that reminds me my own lost dreams.
6. Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye
Sexiest song ever? I don't know for sure but it is great soulful stuff. Rest In Peace Marvin

7. Jumpin' Jumpin' by Destiny's Child
This was a hot jam when I made this mix way back in the day. Before Beoncé was the mega star she is now she was part of the girl group.
8. The Real Slim Shady by Eminem
 This is when Marshal Mathers blew up! He was that obnoxious, bleach blond, white rapper until this song dropped. Then he was enormous.
9. Heart of Glass by Blondie
From one blonde to another. From punk to disco the New York band were the coolest of the cool and one of the most accessible acts of the era. The hot lead singer didn't hurt either.

 
10.Girls & Boys by Blur
From one band that started as pop that went disco to another. Girls & and Boys is a funny, groovy dance song about Brits on hedonistic holiday.
11.You Really Got Me by Van Halen
The original Kins version was a rocker, the Van Halen version was insane! Anybody who's loved guitars has loved this song.
12.Remedy by The Black Crows
This is the song that made feel that the Black Crows weren't total wankers. It's sexy, rough and soulful Southern rock from the early 1990s
13. Whatever by Godsmack
This song gets worse with age. It's sort of a funky Nu Metal but it really isn't.
14. Natural Blues by Moby
Moby made all his money from the album, Play.  He made a lot of cash selling the rights to his songs to big companies to use in their commercials which he claims he used the pay check to give to organizations that fought against those big companies.
15. Love Like A Fountain (U.S. Version) by Ian Brown
The singer of the Stone Roses got some phat beats and grooves for this album. I find this song was the best effort from, Golden Greats.
16. Big Time Sensuality by Björk
Big time! Bjork needed us to know that she liked to dance and had some inkling to be a disco diva at the time. Now she barely makes what can be called music. I miss the old Björk.

17.London Calling by The Clash
Anger and fury on how shitty 1970s England was. Militaristic in sound this song was like a call to arms to get aware of the shite around us.
18.Here Comes Your Man by Pixies
Kind of a classic, kind of a simple little pop song but for whatever reason this was the beginning of a sea change in the perception of what was cool in music.
19.Gotta Stop by The Lemonheads
Short and sweet punk. Good way to end the mix.

00s Countdown 30-21

This is getting nervous! This is where there will be more people throwing fits and crying than before. Am I right about these songs and their placements? With out a doubt!

30. Somebody Told Me by The Killers
This Las Vegas band scored big with this key board heavy 80s throw back sound.


29. Beautiful by Christina Aguilera
"Don't look at Me", whispers the little blond during her porno phase when she was showing her bare ass to the world; it makes perfect sense to me. "Beautiful" is a song that once you hear it you can't get it out of your head and it makes you feel good about your self. They should print these lyrics and post them in jr. highs across the country.




28. Hay Baby by No Doubt
From one blond to another. This is the tale about being a chick behind stage and seeing just how disgusting boys really are while sipping tea and being bothered by fans. the best part of the song is when the dance hall bt by Bounty Hunter.

27. Time is Running Out by Muse
Relationships can be suffocating and this song illustrates this perfectly with buzzing guitar and anguished vocals.

26. Without Me by Eminem
Ladies and gentlemen the most famous white rapper of all time, Eminem. This song encapsulates the media circus his life had become after selling millions of records and giving up his privacy and any chance to raise his daughter normally. It's serious but funny but serious but an F.U. to just about everybody.

25. Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliott
This song changed the way we refer to sex. Her videos at this point were directed By Hype! and very cutting edge.

24. Get Busy by Sean Paul
Yes! Make me dance you crazy Jamaican dance hall machine! This song takes me to another place in the world of dance music without even asking!



23. The Middle by Jimmy Eat World
So catchy! Jimmy Eat world may be worst band name on this list but the song, The Middle is like a great rock pop song from the 80's. If you're curious the video has lots of people in their underwear which pushed the popularity of the song quite a bit.


22. Tick Tick Boom by the Hives
This is the highest ranking song by Swedes on the countdown. I was sold the moment I heard this song; it's the best piece the band has put out and it rocks! Besides having a great sound the band has a great look. They are so cool!




21. Fell In Love With A Girl by The White Stripes
I don't know if this is supposed to be a Buzzcocks tribute but it might as well be. This song was our introduction to possibly the band of the decade or at the rock dude of the decade known as Jack White. He and his wife/sister formed this duet and made great sounds while wearing nothing but black ,white and black; it was a gimmick that worked.

Albums? Top 10? 2000s? Really?

A friend posed to me that top ten albums are more important than a top 100 list of songs. I argued that nobody buys albums so what does it really matter. So this will be a retro tribute to the 90s, 80s, 70s and even the 1960s when the Album concept was launched. We have come 360 in our music listening units, granted it’s no longer on a wax 45s but in a digital MP3; there are no more B-Sides, no more hidden gems to find that are too out there for mainstream radio. Nor will there will be pieces like, “Hey Hey, What Can I do” which didn’t make it to Led Zeppelin’s III album because Jimmy Paige was so messed up he ruined the end of the recording leaving the song to be designated as “The Immigrant Song” B-Side. No more Singles like Sam Cooke’s “Shout” which originally was a two sided single where side A ends as he sings, “Now waaaaaaaaaait a minute . . .” and then the DJ would either have to flip the wax over as quickly as he could or buy a second copy for another turn table.
This countdown will be a memorial to vinyl, cassette and even CD’s which introduced the hidden track. Notables include John Mellencamp’s rendition of the Hombres’, “Let it All Hang Out” and Nirvana’s “Endless and Nameless” that appeared on Nevermind, sort of.

I'm also going to compare this to the Rolling Stone List


Anyway here's the top ten albums of the decade!


1. Elephant (2003), The White Stripes
This isn't the cute White Stripes from before, this is the White Stripes post break up. Jack white is disillusioned, and angry. The opening track, "Seven Nation Army" relays this fury with the pounding bass drum that pulls you through the song down to Wichita via wild horse to get as far from the pain as possible. Through the story of the album Mr. White gets lost, gets angry, gets tender, lonely and gets possessive sometimes all in one song. Even though Meg White sings, "In The Cold, Cold NIght"; it's still Jack's story of desperation. "The Hardest Button to Button" we find our man trying to accept all the bull and swallow his pride. By the finally of the album which is a joyful sing along with Holly Golightly, "Well It's True That We Love One Another" you need it. It offers the hope for the new and the short memory of painful break ups.
Rolling Stone Rank #5


2. Back to Black (2007), Amy Winehouse
So much more than a 1960's R & B tribute, Amy Winehouse delivered one of the best albums about dysfunction we've had in a long, long time; it's no mistake this Album took home Grammy's galore. We travel with Amy as she refuses to get clean on the huge "Rehab", as she finds out her man's been cheating her in "Me & Mr. Jones", as she cheats on her man in "I'm No Good" and as she plays the other woman in the title track all in triumphantly wonderful production. When you follow the story on the album you feel unclean for knowing far too much about her troubled romance but you will go back and listen again because the songs are so complete and make you ask, "What kind of Fuckery is this?"
RSR # 20


3. Is This It? (2000), The Strokes
Yes. Yes, this is it. This bands arrival on the scene was statement that garage bands were still out there even if it was a three car garage band. With a sound that can be compared to The Velvet Underground's less edgy stuff, The Stooges less loud stuff and even the Cars early stuff. The strokes wrote catchy tunes with awesomely crappy low-fi sounding guitar about not getting along with girls. The big single, "Last Night" finds our singer Julian Casablancas crooning about his lack of reason behind walking out on his girlfriend in such a way that nobody in the history of the universe will ever understand. The title track, "Is This It?" he argues with his girl about things that are creating a rift in their romance. Every song on the Album is a joy to listen to and has some drive to it, "The Modern Age" is a fine example of the foot tapping, head nodding effect the songs have.
RSR # 2


4. The Black Album (2003), Jay-Z
He hailed it as his final album and it was remixed by DJ Danger Mouse as the Gray Album (which some find to be a better album) The Black Album containing two totally kick ass and iconic tunes "Dirt of Your Shoulder" and the Rick Rubin rocker, "99 Problems". The album in many ways typical of a rap album as the star boasts but also keeps it real by informing us of his tough roots. As his "final" album Jay-Z goes out on top and from the looks of things he's stayed there . . . just not on this list.
RSR # 14 "The Blue Print" ranked higher




5. Marshal Mathers LP (2000), Eminem
Slim Shady grows up . . . sort of. The second album from Eminem shows us that he still has a soft spot and an cutting edge for pop culture in the mega genre crossing, "The Real Slim Shady" where he makes fun of Mtv's party line expecting to be demonized for it but obviously it didn't work out that way. Some peole say the album is shocking, others hilarious and some call it a very personal work; it is in fact all three at various times. On "The Way I Am" Eminem doesn't defend himself in any other way than stating that he is who is his for better or worse as he explains that he should have to defend himself in the first place but the media likes to pick on him; he even gives a shout out to Marilyn Manson. The Album is the rapper at the cross hair of being a f'd up guy who can't choose between getting high or taking care of his daughter and an entertainer obsessed with the entertainment industry. Sure he says he want to kill his wife but he also dresses up like Britney Spears.
RSR # 7


6. Dangerously In Love (2003), Beyoncé
An R&B diva arrives! Beyoncé releases her first solo album after her career with the many faces of Destiny's Child. The vocals are strong, the songs are gold and the sales were enormous. From the very beginning of the first song, "Crazy In Love" you are pumped with energy and primed to shake your ass on the dance floor. Generally the album is ripe with dance numbers like, "Naughty Girl" which the chanteuse does her best Donna Summer and "Baby Boy" which brings in dance hall rap dude, Sean Paul for some heat. She gets intimate on the tune, "Gift From Virgo". There are several songs to give Beyoncé street cred by including the likes of Big Boy and her man Jay-Z. It's a solid pop collection that at it's best is very enjoyable and at it's worst it's harmless.
RSR # Did Not Rank

7. Weezer (green) 2001, Weezer
The nerds make a comeback! When Hashpipe hit the air I was shocked to find out that the band was still around; I had thought that they sank into 90s oblivion but that was not the case. Not only did this album put them back on the map but it let them expand there sound into more fun style rock pop. "Island in the Sun" is a sweet little melody that is fun to chill out to. "Knock-Down Drag-Out" and "Photograph" are the strong power pop tunes as well.
The Green LP relaunched the bands career making them decade long mainstays releasing catchy tune after catchy tune making a greatest hit album totally awesome!
RSR # Did Not Rank


8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2006), Show your Bones
The sophomore effort from the hipster trio of Williamsburgh and now Silver Lake is a gem. They brought along the acoustic guitar and Karen O got damn catchy in her melodies even venturing into lullaby territory on "Dudly". There is still some anguish in the lyrics but nothing to compare with "Maps" on Fever to tell. The big hit, "Gold Lion" Karen turns into Siouxie Sioux with harrowing wails. On "Phenomena" the bad gets down right dirty, sounding like a stripper's bump and grind, hypnotizing and sexual. This album is the album that sees the band mature from their previous and that's always important for a band that sticks around.
RSR # Did Not Rank but "Fever to Tell" did


9. Gorillaz (2005), Demon Days
Eclectic, danceable and chillable. The cartoon band, The Gorillaz second album takes the elements that made the first album enjoyable and make them gel more cohesively. Hypnotic, melodic and weird are more adjectives to describe the music and while, the ubiquitous "Feel Good In." has a catchy bass line, "DARE" resurrected Sean Ryder from debris of 90s Manchester and stuck his fat head in a video for, Noodle to dance around. The songs found on the Demon Days are surreal dreams put to music, keyboard and beat heavy, Dennis Hopper even lends narration to "Fire Coming Oot Of The Monkey's Head." If there is one album to get high to this decade this is the one.
RSR # Did Not Rank


10. Felt Mountain (2000), Goldfrapp
Goldfrapp's dark, moody masterpiece is not something you'll find yourself walking away from with a smile, even the Goth kids get the shivers when they hear her coo over music that seems from another era, one that never existed. There's circus odd circus notes on "Oompa Radar" that in it's place could send a person on the edge right over. The chilling violins on "Human" that make the listener dread what's about to happen to our siren but when the song breaks out into a samba beat it still seems very dangerous.
This is a trippy, trippy album that needs to be listened to from start to finish; it is a complete work of art not just a collection of songs. The lyrics are somber to fearful almost in that torch song way that can be reminiscent of Portishead if Portishead didn't use beats. Strings, organ, whistling, keyboard whines and odd percussion range from seeping and dramatic to small warnings.
RSR # Did Not Rank


Here's the link to the Rolling Stone Top 100