On the Right Side of 2013

     Perhaps it's a character flaw of mine, but I rarely reflect at the end of the year on whether or not it's been a good year.  (I used to have New Years resolutions, but I gave that up as well a long time ago.)  And it's a bit tragicomic that the fact that it was a good year for music (which is why the compilation is two discs this year) got me thinking about whether or not it was also a good year in, you know, other ways.

    Anyway, with respect to the music, I do want to point out that 1) I don't include any artist/band who appeared on my best of 2011 or 2012 compilation and 2) these are not necessarily cuts from my favorite albums, but rather 30 songs I liked from this year.  That said, I would like to mention one of my favorite releases from this year, Daniel Romano's Come Cry With Me.  The only reason there's no cut from the album on the compilation is because I went with Romano's duet with Weather Station.  Oh, and 3) I just realized that I forgot to tag the mp3s with the album they appear on.  But that does not excuse folks from not seeking out an artist whose song you like. :)

        Lastly, here's to a great 2014 - musically and otherwise.

Disc One

Sun, Arise! (An Invocation, An Introduction)	Phosphorescent
Tomorrow Is Forever	The Weather Station (w/Daniel Romano)
Twined & Twisted	Valerie June
You Know I Won't	Sam Phillips
Lickety Split	Tim Easton
30 and Up	Aceyalone
Gimme A Knife	Wavves
Who Have I Become?	Best Coast
Back In Your Arms Again	The Mavericks
The Gypsy	The James Hunter Six
Snake Chapman's Tune	Robbie Fulks
Vegas	Polica
Relatively Easy	Jason Isbell
Lived and Died Alone	Lindi Ortega
On A Balcony	Okkervil River

Disc Two Lightning Bolt Jake Bugg Master of My Craft Parquet Courts Troublemaker Camera Obscura Mind Games Leagues European Me Johnny Marr City Swan Neko Case Coming Through Willis Earl Beal (w/Cat Power) Cheater's Game Kelly Willis And Bruce Robison Bakersfield Son Volt Ride Wayne Hancock Uncle Ace Blood Orange Tempest Lucius Lay Myself Down Mazzy Star Sorrow Tears + Blood Kronos Quartet, Kyp Malone, Tunde Adebimpe + Stuart Bogie Oh, Mama Aoife O'Donovan

Going Back to the Crescent City

    The HBO series Treme concludes its four season run next week.  I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I've grown really fond of the show - especially the music and the depiction of the New Orleans music scene on the show.  I thought it only fitting, therefore, to put together a couple of mixtapes culled from the out of print Crescent City Soul boxset which covers the time period 1947-1974.  The one exception is the last song on disc 2, Indian Red by the Baby Dodds Trio, a favorite from one of the 2nd season episodes.

Disc One

New Orleans Twist	Blazer Boy
Come On	Earl King
Let the Four Winds Blow	Roy Brown
I'm Slippin' In	Spiders
I'll Be the Bee	Ruth & Al
Over You	Aaron Neville
It Keeps Rainin'	Fats Domino
Who Drank My Beer While I Was In the Rear	Dave Bartholomew
Sittin' and Wonderin'	Jesse Allen
Toy Bell	Bees
I Know	Barbara George
She Put the Hurt on Me	Prince La La
It Will Stand	Showmen
Shame, Shame, Shame	Smiley Lewis
Help Yourself	Diamond Joe
3 x 7 = 21	Jewel King
Lipstick Traces	Benny Spellman
Ruler of My Heart	Irma Thomas

Disc Two

Mardi Gras in New Orleans	Professor Longhair
Shake Shake Baby	Archibald
Grumblin' Fussin' Nag Nag	Del Royals
Looped	Tommy Ridgley
I'll  Gonna Be A Wheel Someday	Bobby Mitchell
One Night	Shirley Lewis
A Certain Girl	Ernie K-Doe
I Want Somebody	Tommy Taylor
I Just Want You	Bobby Charles
Valley of Tears	Calvin Lee
It Won't Be Me	Lee Diamond
Tiddle Winks	Allen & Allen
Jumpin' Tonight	Joe Turner
Ain't Got No Home	Clarence "Frogman" Henry
Workin' In the Coal Mine	Lee Dorsey
Cissy Strut	The Meters
Whip It On Me	Jessie Hill
My Indian Red	Baby Dodds Trio

On the Right Side of Christmas 2013

       The Christmas lights are now up on the main drag in my neighborhood (or maybe I just didn't notice it til now) so it seems apropos to post my annual Christmas music mixtape tonight (you can still download the previous ones here.)  

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White Christmas	Elizabeth Elmore
Winter Wonderland	Ray Charles
Dig That Crazy Santa Claus	Oscar McLollie with his Honey Jumpers
Santa Won't Be Blue For Christmas	Jimmy Charles
Christmas Time's A-Coming	Bill Monroe
Twinkle	JD McPherson
It's Christmas, go on and say hello	Roman Candle
Tonight It's Christmas Time	Hey Ocean!
Santa's Got a Bag of Soul	Soul Saints Orchestra
Five Pound Box Of Money	Pearl Bailey
You're All I Want For Christmas	Brook Benton
The Christmas Song	Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear	Sam Phillips
Merry Christmas Darlin'	James Hand
I'll Make Everyday Christmas (For My Woman)	Joe Tex
River	Cee-Lo Green
Listen To The Bells Ring	Lisa Mychols
Another Lonely Christmas	Prince
Good Morning Blues	Ella Fitzgerald
Hooves On The Roof	Nick Lowe
Silent Night	The Swan Silvertones
Christmas Morning	Lyle Lovett
Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming	Feist
Auld Lang Syne	Andrew Bird

I've Got a Thing About Trains

      It's that time of year when I put together a road song compilation of some sort.  Two years, it was a truck driving song comp so this year I decided to go for a train song (is there such a thing?) theme. There's a couple of songs that aren't necessarily about traveling by train, but I just couldn't bear to leave them off.

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I Like Trains	Fred Eaglesmith
Train, Train	Dolly Parton
Two Trains	The Hollisters
Night Train To Memphis	Bobby Hebb
Train Song	Feist + Ben Gibbard
Jimmie The Kid	Jimmie Rodgers
The Last Steam Engine Train	John Fahey
Yonder Comes a Freight Train	Laura Cantrell
The Memphis Train	Rufus Thomas
Chattanooga Choo Choo	Ray Charles
Mystery Train	Elvis Presley
Big Black Train	Flatt & Scruggs
Bringin' In The Georgia Mail	Jim & Jesse
Hillbilly Train	Sonny George & The Tennessee Sons
Long Black Train	Allison Moorer
Railroads	Holly Williams
White Train	The dB's
I've Got Things About Trains	Johnny Cash
Train Home	Chris Smither
Train to Birmingham	John Hiatt

Sometimes You Can Hear Them Weeping: A Chris Isaak Collection

       Other than to pat myself on the back for being one of the few people to buy his debut album Silvertone back in 1985 (and to note what a great live act he was back in the late 1980s), I don't really have too much to say about Chris Isaak tonight. However, I will take this moment to rave about his former guitarist James Calvin Wilsey, whose guitar playing was such a big part of those early Chris Isaak's albums.  He kind of disappeared for a while, but he put out a truly dandy instrumental album Dorado in 2008 (The track San Bernadino from disc two is from the album) and I think he now plays some local gigs out in California.

     Oh, and I'd like to thank whichever blog put together the Chris Isaak "Lost Songs, Lost Loves" compilation way back when. It doesn't seem to exist anywhere on the internet anymore, but it had some very rare Isaak tracks that I don't think I would have been able to get my grubby little mitts on.

Disc One

Blue Moon

Life Will Go On

Eyes Of Texas

Except The New Girl

Devil in Disguise

Jack the Ripper - Rumble - Tequila

Wanderin'

So Lovely Is The Night

Blue Spanish Sky

Everyone Gets Down

How's the World Treating You

The Little White Cloud That Cried Disc Two Suspicion Of Love Heart Full Of Soul The Lonely Ones You Don't Cry Like I Do I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry Besame Mucho It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You Dark Moon San Bernardino Baby Please Don't Go Somebody's Crying Think Of Tomorrow

Etta and Nina: The High Priestesses of Soul

   I was listening to my Nina Simone- Cat Power mix a while back while washing dishes and I thought I really need to do something else with Nina Simone. But instead of doing a part two, I thought I'd pair her with her contemporary Etta James this time.  I realize there's nothing original about this and even the name of the compilation is taken from one of Nina Simone's album.  Moreover, I have nothing original to say about either artist.  But just because it was relatively easy to put this one together doesn't mean it's not worth listening to, right?    


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Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)	Nina Simone
All I Could Do Is Cry	Etta James
Nobody Loves You (Like Me)	Etta James
My Baby Just Cares For Me	Nina Simone
I Just Want To Make Love To You	Etta James
Blues For Mama	Nina Simone
Dust My Broom	Etta James
Gimme a Pigfoot	Nina Simone
Gin House Blues	Nina Simone
Seven Day Fool	Etta James
Tanywey	Nina Simone
I'd Rather Go Blind	Etta James
The Sky Is Crying	Etta James
Turn Me On	Nina Simone
I Wish Someone Would Care	Etta James
Backlash Blues	Nina Simone
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free	Nina Simone
Almost Persuaded	Etta James

L.A. is the Place for Me

  I was going to wait until later in the week to post this, but as I was putting the final touches on the cover art (yeah, it was just adding the title to an existing picture), I thought it's an excellent day to crank up some 60s rock, so I should just post it now.  To be more specific, it's L.A. mid to late 60s bands (or bands that were produced in L.A.) - a lot of garage rock, but also some "sunshine pop" and just a wee bit of country rock.  I owe a big debt of gratitude to the website Through a Vast Crystal Sphere and the mammoth rock and pop box sets on that site.  I tried not to over-rely on the selections there, as there's also several cuts from the Rhino 4 disc set Where the Action Is: LA Nuggets 1965-1968, plus various and sundry other sources. (Disclaimer: I think all the bands are from LA or LA based, but I didn't check that hard.)

       In addition to the aforementioned box sets, my general infatuation with Los Angeles in the late 1960s, I'd also cite a Sadies concert from several years ago where they did a killer cover of Love's "A House is not a Motel" as the spark for my obsession with LA rock from this period.  And if any of The Sadies (or their friends) are reading this blog, I'd highly recommend an entire album of 60s psychedelic rock covers or heck, just a tribute album to Love. 

Side A

I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night	The Electric Prunes
Put the Clock Back on the Wall	The E-Types
Swim	Penny Arkade
To Claudia on Thursday	The Millennium
Louise	Keith Allison
Underground Lady	Kim Fowley
It's A Hard Life	The Seeds
Gone And Passes By	Chocolate Watch Band
That's the Way the World Has Got to Be	Chris Lucey
Buy for Me the Rain	The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
If You Want This Love	The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
Little Girl, Little Boy	Odyssey
You're Gonna Miss Me	13th Floor Elevators
Love Special Delivery	Fire Escape
Oh My Baby	The Kicks
A Clown's No Good	Merry Go Round
Follow Me	Lyme & Cybelle
Falling Sugar	The Palace Guard

Side B

A House Is Not A Motel	Love
Guaranteed Love	Limey & The Yanks
Lies	The Knickerbockers
I Don't Walk There No More	Research 1-6-12
Where Were You When I Needed You?	Grass Roots
Wasn't Born to Follow	The Byrds
November Night	Peter Fonda
Underground Fire	Ventures
Sleepy Hollow	The Last Word
Zig Zag Wanderer	Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band
Riot On Sunset Strip	The Standells
What I Want You To Say	Barracudas
Superman	The Clique
Night Time	The Strangeloves
Hey Joe	The Leaves
Snowblind	Judy Henske & Jerry Yester
Moonlight Drive	The Doors
Words	Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

An Afternoon with the Gilbertos

    Well, it's hot and humid here on the east coast (and only going to get worse), so it seemed like a good time for some Brazilian music.  I know that Bebel Gilberto is not Astrud's daughter (she and Joao broke up not long after she recorded The Girl from Ipanema), but I still think the three of them sound quite dandy together.

Download

Um Segundo (Album Version)	Bebel Gilberto
O Grande Amor	Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto
Dreamer	Astrud Gilberto
A Felicidade	Astrud Gilberto
Trevo de 4 Folhas	Joao Gilberto
Batucada	Bebel Gilberto & Vini­cius Cantuaria
Berimbau	Astrud Gilberto
Falsa Baiana	Joao Gilberto
It Might As Well Be Spring	Astrud Gilberto
Nossa Senhora	Bebel Gilberto
Wave	Joao Gilberto
Desde Que O Samba E Samba	Joao Gilberto
Fly Me To The Moon	Astrud Gilberto
Lonely	Bebel Gilberto
Who Needs Forever?	Thievery Corporation (Astrud Gilberto)
Chega de Saudade	Joao Gilberto
Oba, Oba	Astrud Gilberto
Tim Tim Por Tim Tim	João Gilberto
All Around	Bebel Gilberto
I Wish You Love (Que Reste-T-Il De Nos Amours)	Joao Gilberto
Non-Stop to Brazil	Astrud Gilberto

Election and Traveller soundtracks

    I admit I've got a pretty bad track record of predicting which artists are going to make it.  In retrospect, I understand why some of the artists I thought would hit big didn't do so.  The one, however, that still  puzzles me is Mandy Barnett. Given her voice, the enduring popularity of Patsy Cline (whom Barnett sounds a lot like), her magnificent 1999 sophomore album I've Got a Right to Cry, and Sire's, her record label at the time, commitment to her.  She's only released a few albums since then, though I think she still plays Patsy Cline sometimes in Alway, the play about Patsy Cline's life.  She does, however, as I just discovered, have a track on the new Eddy Arnold tribute album - You Don't Know Me that just came out on Tuesday (so I haven't heard it yet.)  Back in the late 1990s, she also appeared on two soundtracks - Election and Traveller.  The soundtracks are a little hit or miss, but Mandy's contributions are definite highlights.   Since they're out of print, I thought I would post them tonight.  

Election soundtrack

Get Set	Taxiride
Jennifer Juniper	Donovan
Rising Sign	Hurricane #1
If You'll Be The Teacher	Mandy Barnett
Three Times A Lady	The Commodores
This Road I'm Travelling	Mojave 3
Born To Be With You	Damnations TX
Drown In Small Cowgirl Boots	Jolene
Find A Way To Win	Tim Carroll
Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now	Patience & Prudence
Right In The Back Of Your Mind	Spacehog
La Piscine Couverte	April March
Only God Knows	Martin's Dam
Weird	Sebadoh
El Tostado	Joey Altruda and the Cocktail Crew
Election [selections from the original score]	Rolfe Kent

Traveller Soundtrack

Young Love	Kevin Sharp
Dark Moon	Mandy Barnett
Don't Rob Another Man's Castle	Royal Wade Kimes
Sweeter Than The Flowers	The Cox Family
Te-Ni-Nee-Ni-Nu	Lou Ann Barton
Love And Happiness	Al Green
I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes	The Cox Family
Gonna Find Me A Bluebird	Royal Wade Kimes
Searching (For Someone Like You)	Mandy Barnett
I Love You A Thousand Ways	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Sweet Nothin's	Tina & The B-Side Movement
Blues Stay Away From Me	Thrasher & Shiver
Please Help Me I'm Falling (In Love With You)	Lila McCann
Rockin' Robin	Bryan White
Seven Lonely Days	K.D. Lang And The Reclines With Take 6
If You've Got The Money I've Got The Time	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Dream Lover	Mandy Barnett
King Of The Road	Randy Travis

Sucking in the '70s - Volume 5

   I confess to an unnatural (and perhaps unhealthy) fascination with the 1970s.  It could be that as a Gen Xer who's lived through the general rightward turn of the last 30 years, I just can't get my head around all the crazy shit people were up to when I was just an innocent tyke.  I tend to look up on the period with not quite equal parts bewilderment, jealousy, affection, a wee bit of judgmental dismay, and a whole lot of profound wonder at some of the self-serving musings of the day - especially all the pop songs that rationalized egoistic behaviors in the name of finding oneself.  Case in point - The Commodores Easy and lines like "I wanna be free to do the things I know are right" after the protagonist has told his girlfriend he's leaving her.  Still, I really do like the song - something about the vaguely countryish melody just gets to me.  Which is a long-winded way for me to introduce the fifth volume of my Sucking in the 70s compilations (volumes 1-4 are still available for download, btw).

Download

Color Him Father The Winstons (If You Let Me Make Love to You Then) Why Can't I Touch You? Ronnie Dyson Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard Paul Simon Chico And The Man (Main Theme) Jose Feliciano I Can See Clearly Now Johnny Nash Easy The Commodores Daniel Elton John Country Road James Taylor Take It Easy The Eagles (Don't Fear) The Reaper Blue Oyster Cult A Love That's Real The Intruders Love on a Two-Way Street The Moments Midnight Rider The Allman Brothers Band Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues Danny O'Keefe Break Up to Make Up The Stylistics Bell Bottom Blues Derek & The Dominos Help Me Make It Through The Night Sammi Smith Ain't No Woman (Like The One I've Got) The Four Tops O-o-h Child The Five Stairsteps Because The Night Patti Smith Group

The Essential Replacements Collection

   I watched the documentary about The Replacements, "Color Me Obsessed" (you can see it on youtube, fyi) several months ago.  Unlike most music documentaries, there's, uh..., no music in the film.  Nor are there any interviews with the band.  Instead, it's just 2 hours of folks (mostly fans, but also people who knew 'em way back when, musicians who were influenced by them, etc.) reminiscing about The Replacements (also known as The Mats to their legions of Gen X fans) and talking about their music.   The film could have used some tighter editing, but I think the conceit still works (it works even better in All Over But the Shouting, the book that would seem to have inspired the

documentary).  Seeing it also inspired me to put together a couple of Replacements mixtapes using my usual formula - obscurities, a cut from each formal release, and lots of live tracks - especially the covers the Replacements were so known for.  I don't think I necessarily captured the ineffable essence of the band (notwithstanding the title), but I tried.   Oh, and if you're just now discovering The Replacements and want more - go buy Let It Be, Tim, and Pleased to Meet Me (and then Hootenanny, Stink, etc.....).

p.s. By the by, I've re-upped most of the links on the site over the last couple of months.

pps.  I neglected to mention when I first posted this that The Replacements (Paul Westerberg and Tommy Stinson) recently put out a 5 song ep "Songs for Slim".  All the proceeds go to help pay Slim Dunlap's (the guitarist who replaced Bob Stinson) medical bills.  So go out and get it if you haven't - it's pretty damn good!!! (Busted Up from Side A is from Songs for Slim just in case you were wondering.)

Side A

Hey, Good Lookin'

Busted Up

Ought To Get Love

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

Kissing in Action

Cool Water

Nightclub Jitters

Route 66

No More the Moon Shines on Loreena

Chasing the Night

Gary's Got A Boner

More Cigarettes

California Sun

Little GTO

Bundle Up

Cruella DeVille

Date to Church

Back To Back

If Only You Were Lonely

Side B

Hold My Life

Perfectly Lethal

Jungle Rock

'Round and 'Round

20th Century

Heartbeat, It's a Love Beat

Stuck in the Middle

My Little Problem

Ain't No Crime

Left Here In The Dark

Till We're Nude

empty is your heart

Another Girl, Another Planet

I Wanna Destroy You

Street Girl

Pool & Dive

Time Is Killing Us

We Know the Night

Within Your Reach

In the Land of the 3 Named Singer Songwriter

          As early March weather in the Northeast tends to be reliably crappy, I always wish I was heading to SXSW in Austin.  Great music, great food, and usually great weather.   So as a little wistful homage, I give you  tonight's compilation of 3 named Texas singer songwriters.  Now, I usually don't go for cute themes, but, well, there are a lot of durn good 3 named singer songwriters in Texas (all of the ones below have some sort of connection to Texas even if they don't all live there now).  So if you find it annoying, just change the name of the comp  (and the artwork) after you download it.

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Yesterday Tomorrow Was Today	Billy Joe Shaver
Leavin' Texas	Jerry Jeff Walker
Last Train to Amsterdam	Ray Wylie Hubbard
Think It Over One Time	Robert Earl Keen
What Do You Do When You're Lonesome	Justin Townes Earle
Another True Love	Dickie Lee Erwin
Contrabandistas	Bobby Earl Smith
You Broke the Rules	Susanna Van Tassel
Scratch upon Her Windowpane	Jo Carol Pierce
Be Here To Love Me	Townes Van Zandt
Running With You	Sarah Elizabeth Campbell
Don't Be A Stranger To Your Heart	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Sympathy For A Train	Willis Alan Ramsey
Lucky Moon	Jon Dee Graham

Take the (Johnny) Cash

   This is usually the time of year when I feature some alternative country woman artist such as Neko Case, Kelly Willis, Lucinda Williams, or Gillian Welch (they've all been re-upped, by the way).  In order to fend off any potential charges of sexism, I've decided to feature a lil' ol' male country artist named Johnny Cash. :)  Basically, I stayed away (at least I think I did) from any cuts that appear on either his 3 cd greatest hits collection or the Love, God, Murder discs.   I could probably have made another 2-3 volumes, but if you decide that you need a lot more Cash, there's always the recent 63 cd box set with every Columbia album he ever released and 2 cds of rarities.

Download Volume One

If I Give My Soul

One Too Many Mornings

Ridin' On The Cotton Belt

Any Old Wind That Blows

Oh What A Good Thing We Had

Wo Ist Zu Hause, Mama

Honky-Tonk Girl

Banks Of The Ohio

Billy & Rex & Oral & Bob

Cold Shoulder

Hidden Shame

Wrinkled, Crincled, Wadded Doll

The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore

Troublesome Waters

The Letter Edged In Black

Girl From The North Country

Just the Other Side Of Nowhere

Tell Him I'm Gone

Navajo

My Old Kentucky Home

Old Chunk Of Coal

Download Volume Two

I Washed My Face In The Morning

Fools Hall Of Fame

To Beat The Devil

The Fable of Willie Brown

Crystal Chandeliers And Burgundy

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry

Life's Railway To Heaven

Six White Horses

Go On Blues

So Doggone Lonesome

Roughneck

That's Enough

Wildwood In The Pines

Don't Think Twice It's Alright

Don't Step On Mother's Roses

There You Go

I Don't Know Where I'm Bound

Bottom Of The Mountain

Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby

Sugartime

Amen

I'm Living in the 80's - Disc Five

    Yes, it's that time of year again - time for another 80s (mostly) postpunk mixtape.  I tried to avoid the most obvious tracks, but I confess to not being as much of a maven about this stuff (there's a bunch of bands - like The Jesus and Mary Chain - that just weren't on my radar or I didn't quite get during my misbegotten late teen/early 20s years).   And there were some obvious cuts I just couldn't resist - I'm looking at you The Waterboys' This is the Sea.  (Also, I just noticed that the links for Discs 1-4 aren't working, so I'll try to re-up them.)

       I should also mention that my posting on the blog is going to be reduced from now on - life change stuff, less free time, and all.  Plus, I'm starting to run out of ideas for mixtapes. :)

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A Walk Across The Rooftops	The Blue Nile
Coldsweat	Sugarcubes
Colours Fly Away	The Teardrop Explodes
Pushing Up The Daisies	Colourfield
Cattle and Cane	The Go-Betweens
Watching you Without Me	Kate Bush
Leave Me Alone	New Order
For Belgian Friends	The Durutti Column
Colours Fly And Catherine Wheel	Simple Minds
It's So Hard	Jesus And Mary Chain
Bikini Red	The Screaming Blue Messiahs
The Last Of The Famous International Playboys	Morrissey
The Back Of Love	Echo & The Bunnymen
Killing An Arab	The Cure
Here Come Cowboys	The Psychedelic Furs
Kingdom Of Love	The Soft Boys
Love at First Sight	The Gist
This Is The Sea	The Waterboys