Thursday, December 27, 2012

On the Right Side of 2012

     It's my annual "best of" (actually I prefer "my favorites") compilation  and I must confess I always feel a little self-conscious about this one in a way that I rarely do about my other compilations.  Not so much about how it will be received, but more along the lines, "so this is the kind of music I listen to....Are my tastes too stereotypically 40something? Am I in a bit of rut in terms of expanding my palette? But I'm over it now. :) I should also mention that there were a few artists I left off because they had appeared on the best of 2010 or best of 2011 comps.  Anyway, happy listening and a Happy New Year to all!


Download

Hang Loose Alabama Shakes
3 Pears Dwight Yoakam
Please Return To Jesus Bap Kennedy
Slip and Roll Aimee Mann
Leonard Sharon Van Etten
Magic Summertime Eleni Mandell
Blackwind Patrick Watson
Tell Me A Tale Michael Kiwanuka
Who David Byrne & St. Vincent
Dirty Money Antibalas
All Your Gold Bat For Lashes
Sweet Life Frank Ocean
Montauk Rufus Wainwright
The Kingdom Has Already Come Iris Dement
Adam and Eve Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
Yet Again Grizzly Bear
Splitter Calexico
Human Being Cat Power
I Like To Keep Myself In Pain Kelly Hogan
Deep River Bobby Womack

Thursday, December 20, 2012

More Bowie Covers

     In addition to being inspired to do a Bowie covers compilation by seeing the Feelies perform Fame in Something Wild, I should also cite Seu Jorge's great set of Bowie covers from the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou soundtrack (specifically The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions cd) as inspiration.  For some reason, I only got it earlier this year.  Not only the cd is great, but it also validates my argument that the best tribute albums are usually one artist paying homage to another artist.  (And yes, I realize that kind of invalidates my putting together a tribute compilation like this, but I prefer not to dwell on that. :)  I also recognize that including Nirvana's version of The Man Who Sold the World is a bit on the obvious side (especially since Richard Barone's version is quite dandy).  Blame it on my Gen Xer mentality if you must.

Download

The Man Who Sold The World   Nirvana
Queen Bitch Capsize 7
Watch That Man Lulu
Ziggy Stardust Bauhaus
Oh! You Pretty Things Seu Jorge
China girl Rhonda Harris
Andy Warhol Tubalcain
Ashes to Ashes The Wee Trio
Starman Culture Club
Red Money Swahili Blonde
Changes Lewis & Clarke
Soul Love Marti Jones


Thursday, December 13, 2012

All About Bowie

    As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I saw the 1986 movie Something Wild again recently and was struck by how good The Feelies were as the high school reunion band - especially their cover of David Bowie's Fame.  In addition to sending me on a Feelies listening binge, I also started listening to more Bowie, and, of course, more Bowie covers.   The pickings were a little slim - especially given how many Bowie tribute albums there are - but I consider that a testament to Bowie rather than an indictment of his songwriting.  There's some interesting interpretations (starting with M. Ward's version of Let's Dance) as well as some nice straightforward covers (Culture Club's take on Starman).  Disc Two comes next week.

Download

Let's Dance M. Ward
After All Ventilator
The Gospel According to Tony Day Edwyn Collins
John, I'm Only Dancing Vivian Girls
Suffragette City The Get Up Kids
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) Ex-Voto
Fame Dennis Coffey
The Sun Machine (Memory Of A Free Festival) Mercury Rev
Fall in Love With Me Guy Chadwick
Drive in Saturday Teacher and the Pets
The Bewley Brothers Sister Crayon
Heroes TV On The Radio

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Tarnation - Gentle Creatures

          I was tempted to indulge in just a bit of nostalgia for the alternative country of the 1990s, but I'll refrain and just say that Tarnation's out of print 1995 album "Gentle Creatures" is an underappreciated gem.  It's out of print now (as is their also out of print follow-up Mirador), but, unbeknownst to me til about 20 minutes ago, the lead singer (and creative force) Paula Frazer has put out several solo albums.   Which I will shortly be checking out. :)

(p.s.  I still haven't figured out new solution to the recent file-sharing problems, but I figured I'd give filefactory.com a shot.)

Download

Game Of Broken Hearts
Halfway To Madness
The Well
Big O Motel
Tell Me It's Not So
Two Wrongs Won't Make Things Right
Lonely Lights
Gentle Creatures
Listen To The Wind
The Hand
Do You Fancy Me
Yellow Birds
Burn Again
Stranger In The Mirror
It's Not Easy

Thursday, November 29, 2012

On the Right Side of Christmas 2012

    Yes, it's time for another compilation of Christmas music.  I don't know if it flows quite as well as some
of the previous Xmas compilations (which are still available to download here), but it's a little more mainstream - probably the one you could play with the least amount of complaints at a holiday party.  

Download

Christmas Is Quiet Wild Colonials
Get Down for the Holidays Jenny O.
Go Where I Send Thee Kenny Burrell
You'll Never Find My Christmas Bishop Allen
Born In Bethlehem Lonnie Donegan
Gift X-Change Calexico
Away In A Manger Buddy & Julie Miller
The First Snowflake The Boy Least Likely To
The Bells Of St. Mary's Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
I Want A Boy For Christmas Del-Vets
Christmasville USA Jimmy Charles
Merry Christmas Loopy Lu The Kaisers
Jingle Bells Paul Franklin
California Christmas Sleepy Rebels
Deck Us All With Boston Charlie Lambert, Hendricks & Ross
Blue Christmas Heartless Bastards
The Gift Of Giving Bill Withers
Sweet Secret Peace Neil Finn
Please Come Home For Christmas Willie Nelson
Silent Night Tom Waits
I Saw Three Ships Nat King Cole
Little Drummer Boy Miracle Legion
O Holy Child Dusty Springfield
Auld Lang Syne The Black On White Affair

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A Real Cool Time in Hoboken

      Well, I'm about halfway moved into the new digs, so I'm finally able to post something.  I mentioned my fondness for the soundtracks to Married to the Mob and Something Wild when I posted them about two years ago.  I hadn't seen either film, however, in a long time so I had to watch Something Wild again this summer when it was on HBO.  The film still holds up well, imho, and I had forgotten how great the Feelies are in the film as the band at the high school reunion (check it out if it's been a while).  In addition to delving back into the Feelies, I also spent a lot of time listening to other Hoboken bands from the 1980s and 1990s. And since I didn't post anything last week, it's a two disc compilation of said Hoboken bands.  (And I do know that Ben Vaughn was from Philly, but I know he frequently played Maxwell's - the hub of the Hoboken scene.)

Disc One

That Time Is Gone The dB's
Magdalena Ben Vaughn
On the Roof The Feelies
Living In Confusion The Schramms
George Says Kate Jacobs
I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City Richard Barone
Path to Springs Yo La Tengo
The Undertow The Feelies
Who Betrays Me The Cucumbers
If And When The dB's
Nuts & Bolts The Bongos
Daddy's Gone For Good Ben Vaughn
Country Song Tiny Lights
What Can I Say Yo La Tengo
Funeral Song Dave Schramm


Disc Two

Real Cool Time The Feelies
Ups and Downs The dB's
How Many Lives The Schramms
My Siberia Kate Jacobs
Don̢۪t Say A Word (Hot Chicken #2) Yo La Tengo
Young And Dancing The Individuals
Carved In Stone Ben Vaughn
Loveless Love The Feelies
Sweet Blue Cage Richard Barone
Skydiving The Bongos
Right Here, Right Now The Cucumbers
Wild and Small The Schramms
Bad Reputation The dB's
Some Kinda Fatigue Yo La Tengo
Vibrato In The Grotto Ben Vaughn

Friday, November 16, 2012

I just moved...

....so I still haven't hooked up my desktop computer where I have all my music files and such.  As such, there's no mixtape tonight.   I'm hoping to be a little more moved in by Sunday, but damn, I got a lot of crap to sort out. :) 

Friday, November 9, 2012

50,000 Obsessive Elvis Costello Fans Can't Be Wrong

    I'm moving into a new place tomorrow so I don't have much to time to write tonight.  But I do hope you enjoy my collection of Elvis Costello obscurities - I tried to make it a cross-section of stuff from various points in his career.  There's also a lot of good stuff I didn't include, so I may have to make another 1-2 of these at some point.

Download

Temptation (live)
From Head To Toe
New Rhythm Method
Still Feeling Blue
Blame It On Cain (Honky Tonk Demo)
Peace Like a River
Aubergine (with Jazz Passengers)
The Night Before Larry Was Stretched
A Condemned Man
Sticks and Stones
So You Want To Be A Rock N Roll Star
My Mood Swings
Little Boxes
What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend (Live)
Gloomy Sunday
Impatience
Sad About Girls
That Day Is Done (With The Fairfield Four)

Friday, November 2, 2012

Keep Your Eye on the Road


    I lost (or perhaps a better way to put it is that Time Warner misplaced it) my internet last night, but I've got it back.  And since I live in one of the sections of NYC that never lost power during Hurricane Sandy, I can't complain too much.   Regular readers/downloaders of this blog will remember that I tend to post road song compilations around this time of year and this year it's no different.  The mix below is a little more mellow than usual.  I don't know why exactly - perhaps I'm just mellowing out a bit. :)

Download

Goin' To Acapulco Jim James & Calexico
Time For Me To Come Down Amy Rigby
Old Shoes (& Picture Postcards) Tom Waits
Several Miles Ron Sexsmith
Eight Days On The Road Aretha Franklin
The Road Is A Lover Alison Krauss & Union Station
Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight Emmylou Harris
Churches off the Interstate Laura Cantrell
White Line Fever Merle Haggard
Eye On The Road Bob Neuwirth
Sheila's On The Road Tommy Womack
I'm Coming Home Robert Earl Keen
Wheels Stars of Heaven
Wayfaring Stranger Mandy Barnett
Jackson Lucinda Williams
Northbound Tim Easton
Nevada Moon Rosalie Sorrels
The Road to Ensenada Lyle Lovett
We'll Be Here Soon Phosphorescent
Goin' Home Dan Auerbach

Thursday, October 25, 2012

In Defense of Folk Rock

    A couple of years ago, I posted a compilation featuring male artists (Billy Bragg, John Prine, and Ron Sexsmith) who, in one way or another incorporated folk into their music.  Tonight's compilation has a slightly different premise as I feature four female artists (Sarah Harmer, Jenny Lewis, Shannon McArdle, and Sharon Van Etten) who offer different variations on the ever-sturdy folk rock.  I am aware that Lewis (especially her band Rilo Kiley) is more likely to be considered indie rock, but like I said, it's different variations on folk rock.  

Download

Rabbit Fur Coat Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins
Washington  Sarah Harmer
One Day Sharon Van Etten
Poison My Cup Shannon McArdle
I'm That! The Mendoza Line
Almost Sarah Harmer
I Wish I Knew Sharon Van Etten
Sing A Song For Them Jenny Lewis
Wedding Dance Slow Dazzle
Go Ahead Rilo Kiley
Lodestar Sarah Harmer
Kevin's Sharon Van Etten
Life of His Own Sharon Van Etten
Close Call Rilo Kiley
The Dream Of Axes Shannon McArdle
How Deep in the Valley Sarah Harmer

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Johnny Paycheck - The Real Mr. Heartache

     Like a lot of folks, I was pretty unaware of Johnny Paycheck - save his huge hit Take This Job and Shove It for a long time.   So I was pretty unprepared for the insanely brilliant country to be found on the Country Music Foundation's 1996 24 track compilation of Paycheck's 1960s recordings on the Little Darlin' label.   The songwriting, the singing (jesus christ, he can sell a song), and, of course, Lloyd Green's inspired pedal steel playing.   Just phenomenal country.  Now, it went out of print a while back, then I think it was back in print for a while, but is now definitely out of print (and pretty rare).  However, Nowhere to Run, another compilation of his Little Darlin' label did come out last year and they share about 10-11 songs in common.  Still, there's about 18-19 tracks on that comp that aren't on The Real Mr. Heartache.   The Koch label also put out some other comps of Paycheck's stuff from the 60s - they're all good, but I think I'm kind of partial (at least this month) to The Complete Gospel Sessions.  And also check out The Soul and the Edge - it's a nice collection of his best 70s material.

Download

Don't Start Countin' On Me
The Girl They Talk About
A-11
The Real Mr. Heartache
I'm Barely Hangin' On To Me
The Lovin' Machine
He's In A Hurry (To Get Home To My Wife)
The Ballad Of Frisco Bay
Wherever You Are
Big Town Baby
Hang On Sally
(Pardon Me) I've Got Someone To Kill
(It's A Mighty Thin Line) Between Love And Hate
Apartment #9
The Late And Great Me
Motel Time Again
Jukebox Charlie
Touch My Heart
My Baby Don't Love Me Anymore
The Cave
Don't Monkey With Another Monkey's Monkey
(Like Me) You'll Recover In Time
It Won't Be Long (And I'll Be Hating You)
If I'm Gonna Sink (I Might As Well Go To The Bottom)


Thursday, October 11, 2012

The Passion and Pride of Johnny Paycheck

       Given his career arc, I understand that it would be difficult to make a Johnny Paycheck biopic.  But why, oh why, isn't his music used in more films? You'd think someone like Quentin Tarantino would have made some southern noir 60s film based around the music of Paycheck by now.  As a (very) partial remedy, I give you a 15 song sampler of the truly late and great Mr. Paycheck.  I'm pretty partial to his 60s stuff recorded on the Little Darlin' label, but I've also included a bunch of his 70s songs as well.  And since it's out of print, I will post the great Paycheck collection put out by the Country Music Foundation: The Real Heartache: The Little Darlin' Years next week.

Download

I'm A Coward
Heartbreak TN
Livin' in a House Full of Love
I'm Glad to Have Her Back Again
Not Much I Don't
She Thinks I Still Care
It's Only A Matter Of Wine
Kissing Yesterday Goodbye
I Thought I'd Never Fall in Love Again
She's All I Got
I'm Gonna Tell The World
Black Sheep
Passion and Pride
From Cotton To Satin (From Birmingham To Manhattan)
The Wheels Fell Off The Wagon

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Happy 15th Yep Roc!

          I was going to get all righteous (or just a little righteous) in discussing music labels and why they still matter, but I'm going to refrain and just say that Yep Roc has long seemed to be a cool (well, except for the name), artist friendly label.  And since they're celebrating their 15th birthday next weekend (October 11-13th) with a set of live shows in Carrboro, North Carolina by their various acts, I thought an homage was in order.  There's one track from each year from a different Yep Roc artist starting in 1998 with Nick Lowe's Faithless Lover from his Dig My Mood album (*) and ending with Eleni Mandell's Bun in the Oven (from her 2012 release I Can See the Future).  Needless to say, there were some Yep Roc artists I really like (I'm looking at you Big Sandy, Dave Alvin, etc.) that I couldn't fit in.

Download

Faithless Lover Nick Lowe
One Paper Kid Two Dollar Pistols With Tift Merritt
Turquoise Laika & The Cosmonauts
Fool's Paradise Greg Hawks & The Tremblers
Shallow Heart, Shallow Water Caitlin Cary
Some Tears Thad Cockrell
Drivin' All Night Long Amy Farris
Georgia Hard Robbie Fulks
Adventure Rocket Ship Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3
The Trial The Sadies
El Huracan y Pin Pon The Iguanas
Hot Talk Chuck Prophet
Cloud Spitter Steve Wynn And The Miracle 3
Little Tiger John Doe
Bun In The Oven Eleni Mandell



* I know Dig My Mood was initially released by Upstart records, but it was reissued by Yep Roc.  Therefore, it counts. :)

Thursday, September 27, 2012

I'm Gonna Make You Love The Jayhawks - Side B

      As promised, here is Side B (I listened to the Jayhawks on my car cassette player a lot back in the 90s so it seemed apropos to label the comps as Side A and Side B).  For those of you new to The Jayhawks, I'd recommend Tomorrow the Green Grass and Hollywood Town Hall (Louris and Olson harmonizing at their finest) followed by Rainy Day Music (definitely their best post-Olson album). 

Download

The Trap's Been Set Mark Olson & Gary Louris
My Own Jo Ellen Mark Olson And The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers
Fools On Parade The Jayhawks
Tailspin The Jayhawks
Do You Know How it Feels to be Lonesome Golden Smog
Tiny Arrows The Jayhawks
Martin's Song The Jayhawks
Get The Load Out The Jayhawks
I´m Gonna Make You Love Me The Jayhawks
Last to Know The Jayhawks
Desperate Serenade The Jayhawks
Up Above The River The Jayhawks
Sing Me Back Home The Jayhawks


Thursday, September 20, 2012

I'm Gonna Make You Love The Jayhawks - Side A

           As I've mentioned a couple of times on the blog, I tend to listen to a lot of twang in the fall, especially on my morning (and afternoon) commutes.  As I practically wore out the cassette tapes I had of them back in the 1990s when I had a car, I thought an homage to the alternative country superstars The Jayhawks including solo releases from Mark Olson and Gary Louris (and, also, material from The Jayhawks albums that Olson wasn't on) was overdue.  I'll post Side B next week.

Download


Blue The Jayhawks
Up Above My Head The Jayhawks
Sioux City The Jayhawks
Break My Mind The Jayhawks
If You Really Want Me To, I'll Go The Jayhawks
Precious Time The Jayhawks
Lights The Jayhawks
December's child Mark Olson And The Creekdippers
It's Up to You The Jayhawks
Keith And Quentin The Jayhawks
Good Long Time The Jayhawks
Black Grass Gary Louris
It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines Mark Olson With Victoria Williams

Thursday, September 13, 2012

A King Sunny Ade's Ransom

         I don't really know why it took me so long, but I didn't become a King Sunny Ade fan until about 8 years ago when I bought Best of the Classic Years, a collection of material culled from his 1967-1974 recordings.  Once smitten, I, of course, couldn't believe that he had never become an international star, especially since there was a real push in the early 1980s - when he was with Island Records - to expand his audience.  As for tonight's mix, I tried to incorporate material from various stages of his career.  I also owe the website http://globalgroovers.blogspot.com/ thanks for posting several of his out of print albums.

Download

Sunny Ti De
Ma Jaiye Oni
Ja Fun Mi [Instrumental]
John Ali
Egbe board
Ogunja
Solution
Maajo
Afojudi
A kunle a tewo adura
S.K. Dada
Baba orun a mbe o


Thursday, September 6, 2012

We Need an Answer: A Collection of Answer Songs

      I usually don't go in for the themed mixtape (not that there's anything wrong with them), but I was listening to Camera Obscura's "Hey Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken" and I couldn't help but start making an answer song mixtape.   I know that I already included the song (as well as the Lloyd Cole and the Commotions song which the Camera Obscura song answers) on the Dear Heartbroken in Glasgow comps.  But I really love both songs and I also had a hard time finding any other contemporary answer songs that I liked (and everything else on the mix was either country or soul/old r&b).  In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that I used a couple of the ones featured on a WFMU blog.  There's a bunch of other ones there too, if you're so inclined.

Download

I'm Sorry Brenda Lee
I'm Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee) Ben Vaughn
Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind) Loretta Lynn
I Come Home A-Drinkin Jay Lee Webb
High Heel Sneakers Tommy Tucker
Slip In Mules Sugar Pie DeSanto
Hit The Road Jack Ray Charles
Well, I Told You The Chantels
King Of The Road Roger Miller
Queen Of The House Jody Miller
Mama Didn't Lie Jan Bradley
Mama Didn't Know Major Lance
Bring It on Home to Me Sam Cooke
I'll Bring It On Home To You Carla Thomas
The Wild Side Of Life Hank Thompson And His Brazos Valley Boys
It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels Kitty Wells
It's A Man's World James Brown
It's A Man's Woman's World (Pt. 1) Irma Thomas
Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken Camera Obscura

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Aretha and Dusty - Volume Two

     About two years ago, I posted an Aretha Franklin - Dusty Springfield compilation.  A year later, a commenter said that he was surprised that Dusty won the "competition" between the two easily.  I was a little surprised by that, but I have to admit, after listening to the comp again several months ago, that indeed Dusty won that compilation.  In the spirit of fair competition, I thought a rematch was in order (plus, it's only right that this comp includes Dusty's version of "I Can't Wait to See My Baby's Face).  I say it's a draw, but I'll let y'all make up your own minds.

Download

So Well When You're Well Aretha Franklin
I Can't Hear You (No More) Dusty Springfield
Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody Aretha Franklin
Meditation (Meditao) Dusty Springfield
Climbing Higher Mountains Aretha Franklin
Heartbeat Dusty Springfield
Oh No, Not My Baby Dusty Springfield
96 Tears Aretha Franklin
I'll Try Anything Dusty Springfield
I Need A Strong Man (The To-To Song)  Aretha Franklin
You Send Me Aretha Franklin
I'm Gonna Leave You Dusty Springfield
Hello Sunshine Aretha Franklin
Let Me in Your Way Dusty Springfield
Every Natural Thing Aretha Franklin
Who Gets Your Love Dusty Springfield
Love Shine Down Dusty Springfield
I've Been Loving You Too Long Aretha Franklin
I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face Dusty Springfield
I'll Never Be Free Aretha Franklin
Tupelo Honey Dusty Springfield

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Jonboy Langford and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts: Misery Loves Company

      Here's the out of print (and pretty darn rare) 1994 Jonboy Langford and the Pine Valley Cosmonauts Misery Loves Company cd I promised last week.  As I may have written previously, I know some folks are a little skeptical of tribute albums, but Jonboy definitely has a way with The Man in Black's songs (I do think one artist paying homage to another artist generally work better than a bunch of artists all covering one artist).  Among Jonboy's releases that are in print, I'd recommend are his collaborations with Sally Timms and the Sadies, his solo All the Fame of Lofty Deeds release, and, of course, his too numerous to list releases with The Mekons.

Download

Cocaine Blues
Tennessee Flat-Top Box
Guess Things Happen That Way
What Is Truth?
I Got Stripes
Busted
Big River
Sunday Morning Coming Down
There You Go
I Still Miss Someone
Thing Called Love
Give My Love To Rose
Next In Line
Home Of The Blues

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Tell 'em Jonboy is Here: A Jonboy Langford Collection

            Whatever alternative country is (or has been), it's kind of hard to imagine it without the contributions of Jon Langford - starting, of course, with The Mekons, then on to his various solo projects, his collaborations with Sally Timms, Richard Buckner, and The Sadies, the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, and, of course, his work with The Waco Brothers.  With that in mind, here's 18 tracks of Jon Langford in all his various guises.  Oh, and befitting his status as the hardest working man in alternative country (you should also check out his artwork), he's just put out a single to benefit a foundation to provide free music tuition to people in Wales.  Lastly, if you're wondering a track from his Pine Valley Cosmonauts tribute album to Johnny Cash isn't on the compilation, it's because I noticed that the album was out of print.  So I'll post that next week.

Download



Hole in the Ground The Mekons
Tubby Brothers Jon Langford
Plenty Tough Union Made Waco Brothers
Maverick Mekons
From Attic To Basement Richard Buckner And Jon Langford
Sweet Kind Of Love Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Junco Partner Jon Langford
Dark Sun Sally Timms & John Langford
The Fame Of Lofty Deeds Jon Langford
Strange Ways to Win Wars Jon Langford & Skull Orchard
Teeth Mekons
Amnesia The Mekons
Up To My Neck In This Jon Langford And The Sadies
Revolution Blues Waco Brothers
Road to Florida Mekons
Nothing to Say Waco Brothers
White Freightliner Blues John Langford & Sally Timms & John Rice
Over the Cliff Jon Langford's Hillbilly Lovechild

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Short Cuts soundtrack

      I was in beautiful central California last weekend (for a cousin's wedding) and brought along Jennifer Egan's  novel "A Visit from the Goon Squad".  As I was finishing it (it's very good, btw), I was thinking how about it might be made into a movie - which, in turn, made me think of Short Cuts, the 1993 California based movie which is based on several different Raymond Carver short stories.  So, of course, when I got home, I listened to the Short Cuts soundtrack.  While pulling the cd out, I realized it was on the ill-fated Imago label (along with Aimee Mann's first two albums) and probably out of print.  Which it is, so enjoy! :) And after listening to it, you should definitely check out the movie - the director Robert Altman is at the top of his game.

Download

Open On Helicopters (Sound Effect) Sound Effect
Conversation On A Barstool Annie Ross & Low Note Quintet
To Hell With Love Annie Ross & Low Note Quintet
Punishing Kiss Annie Ross & Low Note Quintet
Cello Concerto In B Minor Lori Singer & The Trout Quartet
Blue Annie Ross & Low Note Quintet
Evil California (These Blues) Annie Ross & The Low Note Quintet With Iggy Pop & Anthony Coleman
Berceuse From "The Firebird Suite" Lori Singer
A Thousand Years Annie Ross & Low Note Quintet
Cello Concerto No. 2, Opus 30-First Movement Lori Singer & The Trout Quartet
Imitation Of A Kiss Annie Ross And The Low Note Quintet With Roy Nathanson
Full Moon Annie Ross & The Low Note Quintet With Michael Stipe, Steven Bernstein, & Dave Tronzo
I Don't Know You Annie Ross And The Low Note Quintet With Dave Tronzo And Lori Singer
Nothing Can Stop Me Now Low Note Quintet
Earthquake Into Low Note (Sound Effect) Sound Effect
Ending Credits Music: Medley - Prisoner Of Life / I'm Gonna Go Fishin' Annie Ross And The Low Note Quintet With Lenny Pickett
How Does She Do It So Quickly? Thomas Tree & Cory J. Coppage

Thursday, August 2, 2012

More Bobby Womack and Sam Cooke

  As promised, here's disc two of Bobby Womack and Sam Cooke.  Another thing about them that I like that I didn't mention last week is there respective affection for country music.  So, of course, I had to feature a country music cover from each of them.  I think I take Sam's Tennessee Waltz over Bobby's Point of No Return, but ymmv.  Oh, and I also didn't mention last week how good the SAR Records set is - a ton of great gospel and soul from Sam Cooke's label including, but not limited to, Bobby and Sam.

Download

These Foolish Things Sam Cooke
Just My Imagination Bobby Womack
Cloud of Unknowing  Bobby Womack (w/Gorillaz)
Lost And Lookin' Sam Cooke
Point Of No Return Bobby Womack
Tennessee Waltz Sam Cooke
Cousin Of Mine Sam Cooke
One More Chance On Love Bobby Womack
Nearer To Thee Sam Cooke
Yield Not To Temptation The Womack Brothers
And I Love Her Bobby Womack
Don't Cry On My Shoulder Sam Cooke
Yes, Jesus Loves Me Bobby Womack
Bill Bailey Sam Cooke
I Lost Everything Sam Cooke
I'm In Love Bobby Womack




Thursday, July 26, 2012

Bobby Womack and Sam Cooke

   I've been enjoying Bobby Womack's new album "The Bravest Man in the Universe" for several weeks now (and was planning to go see him perform in Brooklyn, but the show was cancelled), so I thought it was high time to put together a Bobby Womack - Sam Cooke compilation.  I'm not going to get into their personal relationship (you can check wikipedia for all the details), as I paired them together because they're two of my very favorite soul men - in particular, both have an amazing talent to take pop dross (well, maybe not dross, but maybe pop fluff) and turn it into a soul-pop delight.  I tried to stay away from their most popular stuff, but there were a few cuts I just couldn't resist.  Disc two is next week.

Download

The Bravest Man In The Universe Bobby Womack
The Last Mile Of The Way Sam Cooke
Somewhere There's A Girl Sam Cooke
Arkansas State Prison Bobby Womack
You Gotta Move Sam Cooke
I Wish It Would Rain Bobby Womack
Baby I Can't Stand It Bobby Womack
Somebody's Gonna Miss Me Sam Cooke
Somewhere There's A God The Womack Brothers
Lonely Island Sam Cooke
Little Girl Sam Cooke
Take Me Bobby Womack
I Got A Right To Sing The Blues Sam Cooke
(If You Want My Love) Put Something Down On It Bobby Womack
Nobody Wants You When You're Down And Out Bobby Womack
Little Red Rooster Sam Cooke

Thursday, July 19, 2012

M. Ward and Upward: Disc Two

     As promised, here's another disc of the great M. Ward.  I got back from England a few days ago and I'm still a little out of it so I'm not sure how well the songs are sequenced....but it ends with To Go Home, so how bad can it be? ;)

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Howlin' For My Baby
Bean Vine Blues, No. 2
Helicopter
Let My Love Open The Door
Blue Bayou
Were You There?
Story of an Artist
Fearless
Goodway
Headed For A Fall
Roll Over Beethoven
To Go Home

Thursday, July 12, 2012

M. Ward and Upward

      First off, I apologize for the title of this compilation - it did seem fairly clever for about 23 minutes.  At any rate, I'm excited to go see M. Ward in August so I thought I'd put together a nice mixtape which ultimately ended up being a 2 disc compilation (the guy has a lot of b-sides, appearances on soundtracks, compilations, other people's albums, his side projects, etc.)   For the M. Wardniks, hopefully there's a few cuts you haven't heard before.  And for the newbies to M. Ward who want more, I'd start with Post-War, and then go on to Transfiguration of Vincent, End of Amnesia, Hold Time, and his more recent one, Wasteland Companion.

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For Beginners
The Twist
Green River
Way It Goes
John King's Watercolor Bicycle
Ridin' In My Car
I Get Ideas
Cosmopolitan Pap
Crooked Lines
Color Of Water
One More Goodbye
Sweethearts On Parade


Thursday, July 5, 2012

Let's Take the Day Off: The New Girl Group Sounds

      Since I tend to feature a lot of "older" music (i.e. Gen Xer nostalgia stuff) on the show, I thought I'd put on my hipster fedora and put together a compilation of new girl groups - ya know, a variety of lo-fi, garage rock, indie pop, etc. The perfect soundtrack for driving to the beach or sitting in a kiddie pool drinking a Corona. :)  (And btw, I'm aware that some of these bands have boys in them.)

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Let's Take the Day Off Denise James
The Box Veronica Falls
Girlfriend Island Frankie Rose and The Outs
Tomorrow Will Be Yesterday The Girls At Dawn
Yours Alone Dum Dum Girls
I'm Not Asleep Vivian Girls
This Is Real Best Coast
Each And Every Day Best Coast
Where Evil Grows Gore Gore Girls
Hip Check! The Come Ons
Vanishing of Time Vivian Girls
Break My Heart La Sera
Love Has Got Me Crying Again Denise James
Know Me Frankie Rose
Hang Around Grass Widow
Wild Eyes Vivian Girls
In My Head Dum Dum Girls
Let's Go Home Best Coast