On the Right Side of 2010

I haven't come up with any new year's resolutions yet, but I am proud of myself for putting together my best of 2010 compilation before year's end. :) (And like last year, all the mp3s are tagged with the name of the album they come from.) Happy 2011 to everyone!

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The Game Gets Old Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

Iwo Ko La Dami Tunji Oyelana and The Benders

When The Sun Don't Shine Best Coast

Everyone But You The Young Veins

Barstool Night Driving in Small Towns

Radio Gal Paul Burch

El Dorado Jim Lauderdale

Bring It On The Gaslight Anthem

The Lady And The Rose Los Lobos

Cirandar Seu Jorge and Almaz

Chicas Kamikaze Matorralman

Bang Bang Bang Mark Ronson & The Business Intl

Come Alive [War Of The Roses] Janelle Monae

Unbroken, Unshaven The Budos Band

Zebra Beach House

Small Craft On A Milk Sea Brian Eno

The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart) Ryan Bingham

The Reason Why My Heart's in Misery Lay Low

See You Tonight Volebeats

Nothing Was Stolen (Love Me Foolishly) Phosphorescent

The Talk of the Townes - Disc Two

As promised, here's a second batch of Townes Van Zandt cover tunes.

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If I Needed You Christina Kulukundis

Delta Momma Blues Steve Earle

Heavenly Houseboat Blues Christian Kjellvander

Flyin' Shoes Lyle Lovett

Pancho and Lefty Gillian Welch

Sanitarium Blues Garry Heffern & The Walkabouts

Cowboy Junkies Lament Cowboy Junkies

Tecumseh Valley Nanci Griffith

Loretta John Prine

White Freight Liner Blues J.D. Crowe

Buckskin Stallion Blues Mudhoney/Jimmy Dale Gilmore

To Live Is to Fly Thomas Denver Jonsson

Why She's Acting This Way Phosphorescent

Catfish Song Richard Buckner

The Talk of the Townes

Since I did a Tom Waits tribute last year (here and here), I figured I'd spotlight another great songwriter this year. This time, it's the Texas troubador, Townes Van Zandt. Now, Townes songs may not lend themselves to quite the stylistic variations that Waits' do, but they're still some pretty dandy songs. I should point out that there are some pretty good Townes compilations already out there (There's a Hole in Heaven Where Some Sin Gets Through, Introducing the Townes Van Zandt via The Great Unknown, Poet, as well a nice homemade mixtape at the website whenyouawake.com, all of which I took a couple of tracks from.) So it's hardly an original idea, but I hope folks still like it. I'll post Disc Two next week.

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Snake Song Emmylou Harris

Our Mother the Mountain Great Lake Swimmers

For the Sake of the Song Azure Ray

Mr. Mudd & Mr. Gold Robert Earl Keen

Rex's Blues Carrie Rodriguez

I'll Be Here In The Morning Jerry Jeff Walker

Que Te Vaya Bien, Miss Carrusel Nacho Vegas

Snowing on Raton Rosalie Sorrels

No Place To Fall Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan

Rake Rhonda Harris

Colorado Girl Devendra Banhart

Snake Mountain Blues Hero Horns

Waiting Around To Die The Be Good Tanyas

My Proud Mountains John T. Van Zandt

Billie Holiday and Elis Regina - Diva a Deux

While I don't necessarily worship at the altar of Billie Holiday and Elis Regina, I do like 'em both quite a bit. And I was inspired to put 'em together by Arthur Phillips novel The Song is You where there are fairly lengthy disquisitions on both of them (and a particular version of Billie Holiday's I Cover the Waterfront is of great importance to the novel's protagonist). Of course, then, I had to start the mix with I Cover the Waterfront.

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I Cover The Waterfront Billie Holiday

Nova Estação Elis Regina

Aviso aos Navegantes Elis Regina

Too Marvelous For Words Billie Holiday

Vida de Bailarina Elis Regina

You Go To My Head Billie Holiday

Me, Myself And I Billie Holiday

Triste Elis Regina

Speak Low Billie Holiday

Aquarela do Brasil Elis Regina

I Wished On The Moon Billie Holiday

Atrás Da Porta Elis Regina

Pois E Elis Regina

Tenderly Billie Holiday

Tatuagem (Tattoo) Elis Regina

You've Changed Billie Holiday

Alô, Alô, Marciano, Marciano Elis Regina

They Can't Take That Away From Me Billie Holiday

I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm Billie Holiday

�guas De Marco Elis Regina

Lonesome Bob - Things Fall Apart

Looking back, it's a little hard to believe there was such a thing as an alt-country bandwagon in the mid to late 90s. And it's even harder to believe that certain artists and bands were criticized for jumping on said bandwagon. :) Now, to be sure, there was some alt-country dross back in those salad days, as there is with any genre. But I do hope that folks appreciate that there was a lot of good stuff. Prominent among the really "good stuff" is Lonesome Bob's 1997 debut album, Things Fall Apart. (His second album, Things Change, is almost as good.) Unconscionably, it's now out of print, so I thought I'd post it tonight.

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Love Is Not Blind

Do You Think About Me?

Point Of No Return

Waltzing On The Titanic

Different Shades Of Gray

What Went Wrong

My Mother's Husband

Heaven's Gate

Too Much Time

Someone Watching Over Me

The Plans We Made

Call My Name

Sleepless Nites

On the Right Side of Christmas 2010

Well, I decided to make it an annual thing, so here's another Christmas music comp. (You can also still download last year's comp, btw.)

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A Christmas Duel Cyndi Lauper & The Hives

Jingle Bells Johnny Paycheck

Christmas (The Buzz Of Delight) Matthew Sweet

Up On A Housetop The Jackson 5

Mele Kalikimaka Arthur Lyman

The Christmas Song Alex Chilton

Silent Night Temptations

In the Bleak Midwinter The Pipettes

Christmas in Hollis Run DMC

The Little Wiped-out Drummer Boy The Spongetones

Frosty The Snowman The Ronettes

Cold, Cold Winter The Pixies Three

Purple Snowflakes Marvin Gaye

Calling on Mary Aimee Mann

Merry Christmas From A Bar Mike Ireland And Holler

Christmas Must be Tonight The Band

Everything Is Cool John Prine

Please Come Home For Christmas Little Johnny Taylor

The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot A Girl Called Eddy

Las Mananitas Herb Alpert And The Tijuana Brass

Jingle Bell Jamboree Keb' Mo'

Xmas Shelby Lynne

What Are You Doing New Years Eve Nancy Wilson

Hello Mr. New Year The Coolbreezers

Aretha and Dusty

There's a scene in Woody Allen's Manhattan where he discusses the things that make life worth living. Now the scene may be a tad overwrought, but I have to confess to sometimes thinking along the same lines. Specifically, I would definitely put a lot of Aretha Franklin and Dusty Springfield songs on my list. Now, I'll confess, the idea to put the two together in a mixtape didn't occur to me until I saw a post on the great blog http://soul-sides.com comparing their versions of I Can't Wait to See My Baby's Face (Yes, I also used the same pix from the post.) As with my previous Dusty mixtapes, I tried to limit my use of tracks from the albums Dusty in Memphis and A Brand New Me (since they're so perfect on their own), but I weakened and started the mix with Breakfast in Bed.

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Breakfast in Bed Dusty Springfield

Groovin' Aretha Franklin

Try Matty's Aretha Franklin

Your Hurtin' Kind of Love Dusty Springfield

Crazy He Calls Me Aretha Franklin

Every Ounce of Strength Dusty Springfield

I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face Aretha Franklin

All the King's Horses Dusty Springfield

O-o-h Child Dusty Springfield

Ramblin' Aretha Franklin

Bring It On Home To Me Aretha Franklin

Sunny Dusty Springfield

Can You Love Again (Hey Now Hey) Aretha Franklin

Easy Evil Dusty Springfield

Master Of Eyes Aretha Franklin

Mamas Little Girl Dusty Springfield

Love Letters Aretha Franklin

Sweetest Smile And The Funkiest Style Aretha Franklin

I've Got A Good Thing Dusty Springfield

To Love Somebody Dusty Springfield

That's The Way I Feel About Cha Aretha Franklin

Heat Takes a Walk: The Stan Ridgway Collection

I've always liked those albums that begin with an instrumental track that leads into the rest of the album - in addition to Fun Boy Three's Waiting, Lyle Lovett's Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, another favorite from the 80s is Stan Ridgway's Mosquitos. While it's been a long time since Stan's band Wall of Voodoo hit it big, he's still putting out good solo album, most recently Neon Mirage, as well as projects with Pietra Wexstun and Drywall. My faves are still Wall of Voodoo's Call of the West and Mosquitos, as well as his greatest hits collection, Songs That Made This Country Great (which seems to only be available as a download through emusic). So here's some of Stan's classic noir stylings.

Side One

Heat Takes A Walk

Lonely Town

The Overlords

Mexican Radio

Afghan Forklift

Good, Bad and Ugly

Triangle Head

Don't Box Me In

Monsters of the Id

Rose

High On a Mountain

Mouthful of Sand/Roadblock

Turn A Blind Eye

Camouflage

Side Two

Mission Bell

Back Towards Diamond Bar

Longarm

Bing Can't Walk

Talkin' Wall of Voodoo Blues

This Town Called Fate

Luther Played Guitar

Mr. Moon Man

Lost Weekend

Watch Your Step/Jack Talked (Like a Man on Fire)

Cannon Song

Twisted Classic Hollywood Ending

The Last Honest Man

A Long Way Home

Last year, I put together a comp of stuff with a late 60s/70s country vibe that I thought was a good driving mixtape. In a similar vein, here's a collection of road songs or, a tad more accurately, songs about travelling.

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Windfall Son Volt

555 X 2 Bo Ramsey

Nowhere Road Steve Earle & The Dukes

East Bound and Down Dave Dudley

Graceland Paul Simon

El Paso The Gourds

East Of Houston, West Of Baton Rouge Chris Gaffney

Ramblin' Fever Billy Joe Shaver

To Her Door Paul Kelly & the Messengers

40, 80 or 10 Tanya Savory

Come a Long Way Michelle Shocked

I've Been Everywhere Hank Snow

To The Homeland Malcolm Holcombe

Interstate Bill Kirchen

Long Time Gone Jann Browne

Good to Be on the Road Back Home Cornershop

Shangri-La M. Ward

A Long Way Home Dwight Yoakam

Roadworn And Weary Supersuckers

Can't Hardly Wait The Replacements

Dear Heartbroken in Glasgow

It's hard to imagine that any Gen Xer who loved Lloyd Cole and the Commotions back in the 80s wouldn't also love Camera Obscura - even if they hadn't recorded their endearing homage Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken (which was the highlight, at least for me, of their live show this past summer). Long live lush indie pop!!

Disc One

Come Back Margaret Camera Obscura

Sweetness Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

Shine Like A New Pin Camera Obscura

Jennifer She Said Lloyd Cole And The Commotions

These Days Lloyd Cole And The Commotions

Pen And Notebook Camera Obscura

Cut Me Down Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

Tougher Than The Rest Camera Obscura

Everybody's Complaining Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

Keep It Clean Camera Obscura

Teenager Camera Obscura

Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken? Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

Disc Two

Rich Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

My Maudlin Career Camera Obscura

French Navy Camera Obscura

Sean Penn Blues Lloyd Cole And The Commotions

Let's Get Out of This Country Camera Obscura

Jesus Said Lloyd Cole & the Commotions

The Last Song Camera Obscura

Rattlesnakes Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

Perfect Skin Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

Marathon Not A Sprint Camera Obscura

Mystery Train (Live) Lloyd Cole

Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken Camera Obscura

The Inimitable and Incandescent Iris DeMent

I don't really know how to describe Iris DeMent's voice, and I can't quite explain why her singing "sticks to my ribs" like it does, but damn, when she sings, her voice just insinuates its way into you. If you need any proof, here's an 18 song collection - there's one track from each of her formal releases (Infamous Angel, My Life, Way I Should Be, and Lifeline) plus live tracks, soundtrack and tribute contributions, duets, etc.

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(We're Not) The Jet Set

There's A Whole Lot Of Heaven

Big City

I'm Still In Love With You

I Don't Want To Get Adjusted

I Miss A Lot Of Trains

The Way I Should

Hobo Bill's Last Ride

God May Forgive You

Banks of Marble

Wildwood Flower

Trust Each Other

Whispering Pines

You've Done Nothing Wrong

The Train Carrying Jimmie Rodgers Home

Mexican Home

Acres of Corn

Mama's Opry

Atlantic Sisters of Soul

In some ways it's understandable that Aretha Franklin overshadowed other female soul singers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. On the other hand,.... damn, there were a lot of great female soul singers from that time period who didn't get the recognition they should have. In that spirit, here's Atlantic Sisters of Soul, a really good out of print compilation from the fine folks at Rhino. (And if you find yourself wanting more female soul, the Atlantic Unearthed: Soul Sisters comp Rhino put out in 2006 is also pretty good, though a tad inconsistent.)

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Dear Lover Mary Wells

I Don't Know Baby Washington

A Woman Will Do Wrong Dee Dee Sharp

Why (Am I Treated So Bad) The Sweet Inspirations

(Until Then) I'll Suffer Barbara Lynn

Sister Pitiful Judy Clay

Shake A Hand Toby Lark

Mojo Hannah Tammi Lynn

Wish Someone Would Care Mary Lou

Can I Be Your Main Thing Margie Alexander

Wonderful, Marvelous Jackie Moore With The Dixie Flyers

What A Man Laura Lee

Can I Hold You To It Lorraine Johnson

She Didn't Know (She Kept On Talking) Dee Dee Warwick

Who Are You Gonna Love Rozetta Johnson

Unsatisfied Woman Jean Battle

Set Me Free Esther Phillips With The Dixie Flyers

Full Time Woman Irma Thomas

Your Turn To Cry Bettye LaVette

Don't Try To Take The Fifth The Pointer Sisters

Victim Of A Foolish Heart Bettye Swann

I Do Believe That I'm Losing You Ones'y Mack

Sweet Surrender Margie Joseph

Chrissy and Emmy - Not Your Average It Girls

For those of you above the age of 40, it's probably not that hard to remember when Chrissie Hynde and Emmylou Harris were the "it girls" of rock and country, respectively. So here's a little tribute to them (including my all-time favorite Emmylou song - her version of Butch Hancock's Bluebird).

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Brass in Pocket Pretenders

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend Emmylou Harris

I Still Miss Someone Emmylou Harris

I Go To Sleep The Pretenders

Rough and Rocky Emmylou Harris

Kid Pretenders

Back On The Chain Gang The Pretenders

Making Believe Emmylou Harris

When Will I See You? The Pretenders

Red Dirt Girl Emmylou Harris

Birds Of Paradise The Pretenders

Satan's Jewel Crown Emmylou Harris

When He Calls Emmylou Harris

She The Pretenders & Emmylou Harris

Thanks to You Emmylou Harris

The Losing The Pretenders

If You Were a Bluebird Emmylou Harris

My Favorite Crowded House

Is it just me or are overcast fall afternoons practically made for listening to Crowded House's exquisite pop? Whatever your feelings on the subject, here's a Crowded House mixtape, including a couple from their new release Intriguer.

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World Where You Live

Sister Madly

Sacred Cow

Private Universe

Kare Kare

Four Seasons In One Day

Love This Life

Walked Her Way Down

Tombstone

Weather With You

She Goes On

Don't Dream It's Over

You Are The One To Make Me Cry

Fingers of Love

Either Side Of The World

Saturday Sun

I Walk Away

Better Be Home Soon

A Different Kind of Southern Rock

In case you've forgotten, there was a period in the 70s when southern rock (sometimes labeled southern boogie) was quite the rage - at least on fm rock radio. Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Charlie Daniels Band, The Marshall Tucker Band (and a couple of others I'm forgetting) were staples of the playlists on all the New York City rock stations I listened to as a teen. Fast forward 7-8 years and a different kind of southern rock emerged - the great jangle pop revolution of the mid 80s spearheaded, of course, by R.E.M. Now, I would bet there's still a lot of folks who still listen to those 80s R.E.M. albums, but just in case folks have forgotten Let's Active, Pylon, Guadalcanal Diary, Love Tractor, etc., here's a couple of southern rock compilations.

Download Disc One

Hyena R.E.M.

Easy Does Let's Active

Colorblind the Windbreakers

Satan Love Tractor

Watusi Rodeo Guadalcanal Diary

Stop It Pylon

Oddfellows Local 151 R.E.M.

Laredo Radio The Swimming Pool Q's

Wheel of Pleasure Love Tractor

Plus 7 Fetchin' Bones

Make Up With Me Let's Active

Ten Layers Down Let's Active

Just Fine The Windbreakers

Trail of Tears Guadalcanal Diary

Driver 8 R.E.M.
Crazy Pylon

Download Disc Two

Every Word Means No Let's Active

Blue Tomorrow The Swimming Pool Q's

7 Chinese Brothers R.E.M.

So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry) R.E.M.

Catch the Wind Drivin' N' Cryin'

Gilbert Takes the Wheel Guadalcanal Diary

Run The Windbreakers

Changeless The Windbreakers

Torn Apart The Spongetones

Crystal World Love Tractor

Danger Pylon

Auctioneer (Another Engine) R.E.M.

Volume Pylon

Venice Love Tractor

Reflecting Pool Let's Active

Why Do the Heathen Rage? Guadalcanal Diary

Soy Un Perdedor: Beck's Bestest

Was it really 16 years ago that we all shed our grungy clothing and sang along to Beck's slacker ode "Loser"? While we all ponder the 90s and the passage of time, here's a sampling of Beck's finest.

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Que Onda Guero

Bonfire Blondes

Think I'm In Love

Tropicalia

Stagolee

Clock

Replica

Fresh Hex

The Golden Age

Black Angel's Death Song

Your Cheatin' Heart

Jack-Ass

Nobody's Fault But My Own

Last Night I Traded My Souls Innermost For Some Pickled Fish

Peaches & Cream

Tender Beasts Of The Spangled Night

Bad Blood

Loser

More 70s Blaxploitation Music

Around this time last year, I put together a mixtape of music from 70s blaxploitation films. Now, I must confess to cheating a little bit on Volume 2 - several of the songs are from the early 70s, but not from any particular film (and the cut from The Budos Band came out only a month ago.) I'll try to be a better boy next week. :)

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Easin' In Edwin Starr
The World We Live In McKinley Jackson
Shaft In Africa Johnny Pate
Truck Turner (Main Title) Isaac Hayes
Ain't no Such Thing As Superman Gil Scott-Heron
Cleveland Now Booker T. Jones
Rite of the Ancients The Budos Band
Different Strokes Syl Johnson
Aragon Roy Ayers
Tippi Toes The Meters
People Get Up And Drive Your Funky Soul James Brown
Brothers on the Slide Cymande
Harlem Bass Tony Barthele
Woman of the Ghetto Marlena Shaw
Nappy Head (Theme from "Ghetto Man") War
Expansions Lonnie Liston Smith
Theme From Cleopatra Jones Joe Simon

Variations on the Folkie: Bragg, Prine, and Sexsmith

Folk music often gets maligned in certain quarters for a variety of perceived flaws. Heck, even I have often made jokes about folk music (and musicians). :) So, in defense of folk music and all its variations, I offer you a mixtape of Billy Bragg (folk-punk, well sorta), John Prine (folk-country), and Ron Sexsmith (folk-pop/rock).

Update: Something messed up the last third of the cd when I initially burned it, so I got rid of the whole thing and replaced it. So if you downloaded it the first couple of days it was up, you should probably just delete it and download it again.

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Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian [Live] John Prine

Tell Me Again Ron Sexsmith

Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key Billy Bragg & Wilco

Love Has No Pride Billy Bragg

Ring Them Bells Ron Sexsmith

Souvenirs John Prine

The Only One Billy Bragg

If You Don't Want My Love John Prine

Almost Always Ron Sexsmith

Summer Blowin' Town Ron Sexsmith

The Warmest Room Billy Bragg

All The Best John Prine

Strawberry Blonde Ron Sexsmith

Glory Of True Love John Prine

A Good Time John Prine

The Milkman Of Human Kindness Billy Bragg

Gold In Them Hills Ron Sexsmith

Beautiful World [Live] John Prine

When the Ship Comes In Billy Bragg

Dolphins Billy Bragg

Seem To Recall Ron Sexsmith

Charley Pride - In Person at Panther Hall

Ah, live albums. There's a bunch of great ones (Townes Van Zandt Live at the Old Quarter and Robert Earl Keen's Live Album (the first one) immediately come to mind) and a lot of stinky ones. Charley Pride's "In Person" is definitely in the first category. Nice choice of covers and his own hits, some funny banter, and the amazing Lloyd Green on steel guitar. Just a really great country album!

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Intro By Bo Powell

The Last Thing On My Mind

Just Between You And Me

I Know One

Dialogue

Lovesick Blues

The Image Of Me

Kaw-Liga

Shutters And Boards

Six Days On The Road

Streets Of Baltimore

Got Leavin' On Her Mind

Crystal Chandeliers

Cotton Fields

More Girl Group Music

As promised last week, here's another compilation of girl group music. Btw, my only rule was that it had to be at least two women singers - after all you can't really have girl's talk without, well....two girls. :)

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Baby That`s Me The Cake

He Did It The Ronettes

Girl Of 100 Lists The Go-Go's

Stop Pretending The Pandoras

My One And Only, Jimmy Boy The Girlfriends

Chapel of Love The Chicks

Iko Iko The Dixie Cups

There's No Right Way to Do Me Wrong The Miller Sisters

Growing Upside Down The Ditty Bops

I'm Blue The Ikettes

Nothing But a Heartache The Flirtations

I`ll Keep Holding On The Marvelettes

Leave My Kitten Alone The Detroit Cobras

High School Yum Yum The Donnas

Such A Joke Vivian Girls

This is a Foxy World Tom Tom Club

Then He Kissed Me The Crystals

Whatta Man Salt-N-Pepa

The Party Betty & The Werewolves

Silent Treatment The Bangles

It Happens Every Day Persianettes

Since You've Been Gone The Dreamers

So Young The Veronicas

Da-Di-Da-Da The Satin Bells

Maybe The Three Degrees

I Just Want to Hear Girl's Talk - Volume 1

I can't claim that I've got anything particularly interesting or insightful to say about girl groups. Therefore, I'll just let the music speak for itself. I will, however, say that several of the tracks come from Rhino's (fill in superlative) 60s girl group box set, One Kiss Can Lead to Another. (The sampler on emusic is also pretty dandy.) I'll post Volume 2 next week.

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He Was Really Sayin' Somethin' Bananarama

Chains The Cookies

Needle In A Haystack The Velvelettes

Bhang, Bhang, I'm a Burnout Dum Dum Girls

You're No Rock N' Roll Fun Sleater-Kinney

Nobody Knows What's Goin' On (In My Mind But Me) The Chiffons

You Won't Forget Me Jean & the Statesides

Crying In The Rain The Sweet Inspirations

Teardrop Sea Tonettes [1-2-3-4-5-6-7]

Count The Days Patti Labelle and The Bluebelles

Satellite Luscious Jackson

Your Time Is My Time Tralala

He Doesn't Love Me The Breakways

Tell Me What You Want The Pipettes

He's Not That Kind Of Guy The Tangeers

Cherry Bomb The Runaways

Swallow My Pride Thee Headcoatees

Those Memories of You Dolly Parton/Emmylou Harris/Linda Ronstadt

Double Knots The Living Sisters

Sweet Sweet Love Durettes

Come See About Me The Supremes

And My Heart Sang Tra La La Brenda & The Tabulations

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Bouzoukee Version) Petty Booka

All Grown Up Gore Gore Girls

The Train From Kansas City The Shangri-Las

Richard Buckner and Elliott Smith - The Bards of Gen X

For reasons I won't go into here, I've always been suspicious of the term "voice of a generation". On the other hand, I've always kind of thought of Richard Buckner and Elliott Smith as well, ..... the voice of Gen X - or better yet, the voice of a small, but not insignificant subset of Gen X. (The social scientist in me always comes out.) Whatever you want to call them, they are two of my favorite artists and I think their stuff still holds up remarkably well. So here's two mixtapes (combined into one download) featuring album cuts, obscurities, live tracks, etc.

Download Both Discs

Disc One

Pull Richard Buckner

Tomorrow Tomorrow Elliott Smith

Pretty (Ugly Before) Elliott Smith

Lucky Buzz Richard Buckner

Angel In The Snow Elliott Smith

Sister Richard Buckner

When Love Is Gone Richard Buckner

kiwi maddog 20/20 Elliott Smith

Her Richard Buckner

Stickman Elliott Smith

Place Pigalle Elliott Smith

Hard Ground Richard Buckner

Wouldn't Mama Be Proud? Elliott Smith

Disc Two

Because Elliott Smith

Gauzy Dress in the Sun Richard Buckner

Oscar Hummel Richard Buckner

Needle In The Hay Elliott Smith

Do You Want To Go Somewhere? Richard Buckner

New Disaster Elliott Smith

Rose Parade Elliott Smith

Dusty from the Talk, Richard Buckner

A Living Will Elliott Smith

Mile Richard Buckner

Poor Old Tom Richard Buckner

A Passing Feeling Elliott Smith

Boys, The Night Will Bury You Richard Buckner

The True Ways of Tim Easton

At the Sadies show I went to last week, I was talking with someone about their lack of commercial success. I reasoned then that if they had been around 30-40 years ago, they probably would have had a hit single at some point. I still think that's partly true, but I also think that it's pretty much impossible for any band (i.e. most of what's called alternative country) to straddle the rock and country genres today whereas that wasn't the case in the 70s.* Case in point is tonight's featured artist - Mr. Tim Easton. He's put out five great solo albums (Okay, Ammunition isn't that great, but Porcupine is a real nice return to form), but I think the fact that his songs are "kinda" twangy has unfortunately limited his commercial success. On that note, if you're new to Tim Easton and like what you hear, I'd start with either Special 20 or Break Your Mother's Heart. (All of his stuff is also available on e-music, with the exception of his Haynes Boys album).

* Yes, there's Wilco, but only their first two albums can really be called alternative country.

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Just Like Home

Baltimore

Burgundy Red

Get Some Lonesome

Jackie

Amor Azul

Hummingbird

Before The Revolution

Stormy

I Wish You Well

Bitters Past

All the Pretty Girls Leave Town

Troublesome Kind

I Would Have Married You

True Ways

Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha

Just in case you need more early 60s music after last week's post, here's another homage to that period. Of course, not all of the songs are from that era, but all (or just about all) have that vibe. In particular, there's a lot of Latin flavored stuff given the significant Latin influence on popular music during the 50s and early 60s. Fix yourself a caipirinha and enjoy.

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Thirteen Men Miss Ann-Margret

Mood Tattooed Les Baxter's Drums

Caravan The John Buzon Trio

Come Di 8 & ½ Souvenirs

Miami Beach Rhumba Xavier Cugat And His Orchestra

Pizziricco The Mavericks

Here Comes That Man Again Kirsty MacColl

Latin Golightly Henry Mancini & His Orchestra

El Nino Prodigio Orquestra Melodias Del 40

Cool Lou Busch & His Orchestra

If You're Goin' To The City Mose Allison

Twisted Lambert, Hendricks & Ross

Complicacion Tito Puente & His Orchestra

Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha Sam Cooke

Fascinating Rhythm Don Ralke & His Orchestra

Just You, Just Me Katharine Whalen

Big Foot Baby Carl Sonny Leyland

Pretty As A Moonbeam Irving Fields Trio

Deus Brasiliero Marcos Valle

Soul Sauce (Guacha Guaro) Cal Tjader

I'm Hip Blossom Dearie

Blue Rumba Rolley Polley

Moanin' Ray Charles

Bright Lights And Blonde Haired Women Ray Price

Ain't That A Kick In The Head Dean Martin

Dreaming With Jimmy and Roy

Like a lot of other folks, I’m really looking forward to the 4^th season of Mad Men starting next Sunday. In addition to the writing, acting, clothing, etc., I like the fact that it’s set in the early 60s (though I imagine the 4^th season will begin at some point in 1964). One of the things I find interesting about the time period is that you saw relatively little nostalgia for the era up until the mid/late 90s (the pretty brief Rat Pack/Swingers infatuation). See, my pop culture theory is that nostalgia for a time period is that it usually takes about 20 years – since the people who were 15-16 at the time are now 35-36 and capable of writing about it.

Now, I don’t really have any good explanations for why the early 60s defies this theory. Perhaps part of it may be attributed to the old canard that rock music died during this period (until the Beatles and Stones brought it back to life). Just to be clear, I cancelled my subscription to that canard a long time ago as I like a lot of the popular music from that time period. In particular, I’ve always liked the operatic quality a lot of that music had, exemplified by Roy Orbison and, on the jazz side, Jimmy Scott. It’s that operatic quality they both share, as well as the fact that they have so many so songs about dreams that I thought they’d go together well in a mixtape. (P.S. I cheated a little and used some of their material that wasn’t recorded in the early 1960s. Remember, I don’t have to be as historically accurate as Mad Men.)

Disc One

In Dreams Roy Orbison

Street Of Dreams Jimmy Scott

My Prayer Roy Orbison

Stay With Me Jimmy Scott

Things That Are Love Jimmy Scott

The Actress Roy Orbison

Imagination Jimmy Scott

Shahdaroba Roy Orbison

The Crowd Roy Orbison

If I Should Lose You Jimmy Scott

Sweet Dreams Roy Orbison

I Have Dreamed Jimmy Scott

I Had A Love Once Jimmy Scott

Leah Roy Orbison

Dream Jimmy Scott

Disc Two

If You Are But A Dream Jimmy Scott

Lonely Wine Roy Orbison

Distant Dreams Roy Orbison

I Wish I Knew Jimmy Scott

Love Hurts Roy Orbison

There Is No Greater Love Jimmy Scott

Why Try to Change Me Now Jimmy Scott

The Great Pretender Roy Orbison

Don't Take Your Love From Me Jimmy Scott

Blue Angel Roy Orbison

What Good Would It Be Jimmy Scott

She Wears My Ring Roy Orbison

Beautiful Dreamer Roy Orbison

Unchained Melody Jimmy Scott

Dream Roy Orbison

Still Tripping on The Sadies - Volume 2

Since I'm hoping to go see The Sadies in a couple of weeks (and because they've just put out a great new cd Darker Circles), I thought it was time put together another Sadies mixtape (the first one is here). This one includes tracks from a couple of cds (Jon Langford's Mayors of the Moon and John Doe's Country Club) where The Sadies are basically the backing band.

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Ten More Songs

One Million Songs

Snow Squadron

Cheat

Tiger Tiger

Rat Creek

Strange Birds

I Tried Not To

Anna Leigh

The Bug Jar

The Starlight

Yours To Discover

Why Be So Curious (Part 3)

Whispering Circles

The Horseshoe

Stinking Creek

Glass Of Wine

Solitaire Song

Stop The World And Let Me Off

Lay Down Your Arms

Another Wave of Old School Reggae

As I noted last year when I put together an old school reggae mixtape, reggae seems to have acquired a bad reputation at some point in the 90s. I'm not sure exactly why, but perhaps it was people angry with their roommates playing Bob Marley's Legend (the huge selling greatest hits collection that inexplicably featured some pretty wretched versions of his songs). At any rate, I hope this doesn't deter anyone from enjoying this mixtape (or any other non-Legend Bob Marley) :)

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Coming in Hot Peter Tosh

Peace Love and Understanding The Gaylads

Things & Time Wailing Soul

Leggo Beast Steel Pulse

Keep On Moving UB40

True True True Ken Parker

I Fell In Love The Conquerors

Show Me That You Love Me Sugar Minott

On and On Aswad

Police & Thieves Junior Murvin

Come on Home Joe Higgs

Me And You Carlton And The Shoes

Chatty Chatty People Ranking

Natty Kung Fu Dillinger

Sooner or Later Jimmy Cliff

Samala Toure Kunda

Love the One You're With Phillis Dillon

Coming In From The Cold Bob Marley & The Wailers

A Good Ride with Lyle and Robert Earl

Back when I had an alternate country radio show in the 90s, I'd often do a Texas themed show around July 4. Since I put together an all Texas alt-country 90s mixtape back in November, I thought I'd focus this week on everyone's favorite Aggies - Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen. It's a little light on the obscure tracks, but heavy on the Texas themed songs.

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Cowboy Man Lyle Lovett

Amarillo Highway Robert Earl Keen

Nothing But A Good Ride Lyle Lovett

Hall Of Fame Robert Earl Keen

Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas Robert Earl Keen

That's Right (You're Not From Texas) Lyle Lovett

Corpus Christi Bay Robert Earl Keen

L.A. County Lyle Lovett

The Coming Home Of The Son And Brother Robert Earl Keen

Which Way Does That Old Pony Run Lyle Lovett

Sonora's Death Row Robert Earl Keen

Rollin' By Lyle Lovett

Just The Morning Lyle Lovett

Gringo Honeymoon Robert Earl Keen

Sold American Lyle Lovett

Levelland Robert Earl Keen

Up In Indiana [Acoustic] Lyle Lovett &His Large Band

The Front Porch Song Robert Earl Keen

Up on the Lowedown (Again)

Last year, I put together two Nick Lowe mixtapes. And since you can never go wrong with Mr. Lowe, here's Volumes 3 and 4. Now you may wonder why I've only included 2-3 tracks from his Brentford Trilogy (The Impossible Bird, Dig My Mood, The Convincer). My reasoning is that those albums are so perfect (even the sequencing of the songs is magnificent), they should be heard as such. And besides, it might have meant getting rid of Shake That Rat. :)

Volume 3

You Got The Look I Like

Without Love

Skin Deep

Shake That Rat

Cool Reaction

Little Hitler

So Heavy

(Hope To God) I'm Right

Lovers Jamboree

(Hey Big Mouth) Stand up and Say That

Ba Doom

Burning

Gai-Gin Man

Saint Beneath The Paint

Feel Again

Volume 4

What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding? (Acoustic)

Now And Always

Couldn't Love You (Any More Than I Do)

Mama Said

When I Write The Book

I Can Be The One You Love

Basing Street

A Better Man

I Trained Her To Love Me

Dream Girl

Indoor Fireworks

What Lack of Love Has Done

Different Kind Of Blue

There Will Never Be Any Peace (Until God Is Seated At the Conference Table)

Endless Grey Ribbon

Sweet Soul Music - Voices from the Shadows

If you have any interest in soul music, I highly recommend Peter Guralnick's book Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom. When it came out, Warner Brothers also put out a really great companion cd, Sweet Soul Music: Voices from the Shadow. It's been out of print for some time now, so I thought I'd post it tonight. Enjoy!

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True Love Travels On A Gravel Road Percy Sledge

Nickel And A Nail O.V. Wright

My Song Aretha Franklin

Crying In The Streets George Perkins & The Silver Stars

Separation Line Laura Lee

Some Kind Of Wonderful Soul Brothers Six

Rainbow Road Arthur Alexander

She's About A Mover Otis Clay

Heart Full Of Love The Invincibles

Hold On (To What We've Got) James Carr

Losing Boy Eddie Giles

I Paid For The Party The Enchanters

I Stayed Away Too Long Solomon Burke

Greatest Love Judy Clay

It's In The Wind Don Covay

Tabu Ley Rochereau and Franco

One of the things I've always loved about The Simpsons is the way that the show's storyline is never apparent until about 6-7 minutes in. It's also one of the things I really like about the songs of the legendary Congolese musicians Tabu Ley Rochereau and, especially, Franco. Of course, I like Franco's amazing guitar playing and Tabu Ley's voice even more. From what little I've read, there seems to have been a rivalry between the two, but they did do an album together (Omana Wapi). Continuing on in that spirit, I give you a Tabu Ley/Franco mixtape. (And if you're new to Tabu Ley and Franco, I'd highly recommend the 2 cd comps of each put out by Stern's Music.)

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Keyla Tabu Ley Rochereau

Bolingo ya bougie Franco

Ibeba Tabu Ley Rochereau

Ekoti Ya Neube Franco

Na Bosani Yo Te Franco

Londende Tabu Ley Rochereau

Lisanga Ya Ba Nganga Franco And Rochereau

Bazonzele Mama Ana Franco

DJeke Tabu Ley Rochereau

AZDA Franco

Mireille Mwana Tabu Ley Rochereau

Nalembi Nalembi Tabu Ley Rochereau

Sandoka Franco

A Rosanne By Any Other Name

Yes, I know the name of the comp is pretty lame, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying the great Rosanne Cash (whose memoir comes out in August).

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Seven Year Ache

The Summer I Read Collette

Miss The Mississippi And You

I Count the Tears

I Don't Have To Crawl

Fair And Tender Ladies

The Winding Stream

I Still Miss Someone

I Don't Want to Spoil the Party

Pink Bedroom

One Step Over The Line

Baby, Better Start Turnin' 'em Down

Our Little Angel

Seventh Avenue

What We Really Want

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

The World Unseen

Somewhere in the Stars

Besotted With Brazil Classics

While waiting in line to go see Caetano Veloso last month, I spotted David Byrne. I was really tempted to go up and ask him why there is no Brazil Classics 6 on Luaka Bop (his label) - there’s Volume 1 (Beleza Tropical), Volume 2 (O Samba), Volume 3 (Forro, Etc.), Volume 4 (The Best of Tom Ze – Massive Hits), Volume 5 (Tom Ze – The Hips of Tradition) , and Volume 7 (What’s Happening in Pernambuco). Because I’m a wee bit obsessive, I was curious. Plus, I think it would have been funny to see him look at me like I’m bonkers. But discretion (or cowardice) prevented me from acting on this impulse. Since I still wanted to make a Brazil Classics compilation, I just decided to include some tracks from Beleza Tropical 2 Novo! Mais! Melhor! – think of it as an honorary Brazil Classics cd, especially since it is on the Luaka Bop label.

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A Felicidade Tom Ze

Balanca Pema Marisa Monte

O Fole Roncou Luiz Gonzaga

Carimbo Nacio Zumbi

San Vicente Milton Nascimento

Sarau Para Ramades Paulinho da Viola

Our Monthly Bread Tom Ze

Multiply into One Tom Ze

O Leaozinho Caetano Veloso

Ela Nao Gosta De Mim Agepe

Se Vacilar O Jacare Abraca Wado E Realismo Fantastico

Chiclete Com Banana Jackson Do Pandeiro

Bog La Bog Carlinhos Brown

Acho Carlos Careqa

Querubim Dominguinhos

Vale Do Juca Siba

Doi Tom Ze

Batuco No Chao Martinho Da Silva

Quilombo, O El Dorado Negro Gilberto Gil