Do You Want To Hear the Best Song Ever?

How to explain?

Okay, so I think I’ve mentioned before that I frequent a Guided by Voices message board. I know, I know, message boards are sooo 1990s, but this particular board is quite a beehive of activity. You can go on there and “talk” about pretty much anything. Most of the discussion does not necessarily revolve around Robert Pollard, but everyone there does have a love for most-things-Bob in common. The other commonality seems to be a love for Rock & Roll in general. In fact, music is probably the most active topic—you can find a thread on just about any band you can think of. Heated arguments occasionally ensue, because aside from Pollard projects, you can’t get much of a consensus on any other artist. The boarders are very passionate about their taste in music and extremely knowledgeable when it comes to Rock History. I can’t tell you how many great recommendations I’ve gotten from that board over the last few years.

There is one thread in particular, titled “The Best Song Ever . . . Right Now At Least”, which I have long thought would make a good source for a Burn and Shine compilation. As you can probably surmise from the title of the thread, it is a place where members name a particular song that is currently kicking their ass. Sometimes these can be obvious, like “Unsatisfied” or “A Day in the Life”, but usually people venture into the thread to divulge the virtues of songs a little more off the beaten path.

I decided to go through the last few pages (the thread started in March of 2005 and is currently up to page 316) picking songs that were on my hard drive that had not yet made one of my compilations here at B&S. It has my signature all over it—you’ll see some of my favorite artists—but I can’t take credit for the choices. In order to give credit to the people who inspired the compilation, I’ve put their screen names in parentheses next to the song they nominated.

I’ll let the compilation speak for itself, but I will say that I think it turned out pretty fabulous, and I will continue to mine that thread for future Burn and Shine compilations.

Happy listening!


Do You Want To Hear the Best Song Ever?

01. Mission of Burma, "Progress" [1985] (Pimple Zoos)
02. The Monkees, "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round?" [1967] (Chapter 18)
03. Bobby Fuller, "Let Her Dance" [1965] (Steve Cock)
04. Brian Eno, "Burning Airlines Give You So Much More" [1974] (Man of Dimension)
05. Dinosaur Jr, "Does It Float" [1985] (Man of Dimension)
06. Archers of Loaf, "Death in the Park" [1995] (Ultra Maroon Blazer)
07. Martha & the Muffins, "Echo Beach" [1979] (The Third Man)
08. The Clash, "Jail Guitar Doors" [1977] (Dannyramone)
09. The Stranglers, "Golden Brown" [1981] (LARM)
10. Devo, "Beautiful World" [1981] (Dirty Dutch)
11. Low, "Starfire"[1999] (Lookit55)
12. Throwing Muses, "Not Too Soon" [1991] (MoreHotDogsPlease!)
13. The Wedding Present, "Dare" [1991] (Pimple Zoos)
14. Screaming Trees, "Seeing and Believing" [1986] (MoreHotDogsPlease!)
15. Undertones, "My Perfect Cousin" [1979] (LARM)
16. Wire, "Map Ref. 41n 93w" [1979] (Jscott)
17. The Byrds, "Wasn't Born to Follow" [1968] (Berno)
20. 20/20, "Backyard Guys" [1979] (Berno)
19. Roxy Music, "Editions of You" [1973] (Breadwinner & Klutz)
20. Nick Drake, "From the Morning" [1972] (Riff Randall)
21. X, "White Girl" [1981] (Dirty Dutch)
22. Tall Dwarfs, "Crawl" [1990] (Spastic Semicolon)
23. Sex Pistols, "Bodies" [1977] (Dirty Dutch)
24. Them, "Richard Cory" [1966](LARM)
25. The Church, "Tear It All Away" [1982] (RedLetterDay)

Total Time: 1:19:25

Download it here: Do You Want to Hear the Best Song Ever?

Christmas Tunes!

[EDIT: December 8, 2011]
If you are finding this blog for the the first time in search of Christmas tunes, then thanks for stopping by! If you like the comps featured below, then don't forget to check out the latest volume in the Christmas Redux Series featured here: Merry Christmas!
[/End EDIT]

It's the home stretch, folks: Christmas is less than three weeks away. Of course that means it's Christmas Redux time here at Burn and Shine! Twenty-five more holiday faves from my seemingly endless supply of Rock & Roll Christmas tunes. This year's edition features a few returning stars from my previous Christmas compilations: The Ventures, Stevie Wonder, the Sonics, the Eels, the Pointed Sticks and Low. Several of these artists, however, are making their first appearance on a Burn and Shine playlist. I'd especially like to call your attention to track #12, as it was submitted by one of my readers. Rob Stuart of Broken Promise Keeper, stumbled upon my blog during Power Pop Month here at B&S. He graciously sent me an mp3 of a Christmas song he recorded in 2009. One listen, and I knew it had to be on this year's Christmas compilation.

If you have any recommendations for future Xmas Redux volumes, please leave me a comment.

Merry Christmas and Happy Listening!

Christmas Redux Five (Artwork for this volume can be seen and downloaded at the end of this post):

01. The White Stripes, "Candy Cane Children"
02. NRBQ, "Christmas Wish"
03. Billy Childish, "Ho Ho!"
04. Adam Arcuragi, "The Christmas Song"
05. Paul Westerberg, "Away in a Manger"
06. The Young Republic, "Merry Christmas Again . . ."
07. The Psycho Daisies, "Santa Is Coming Down Again"
08. Trembling Blue Stars, "Christmas and Train Trips and Things"
09. The Sonics, "I Don't Believe in Christmas"
10. The Ventures, "Sleigh Ride"
11. The Very Foundation, "All Lit Up (For Christmas)"
12. Broken Promise Keeper, "Christmas Countdown"
13. Chris Stamey, "Christmas Time"
14. The Flaming Lips, "Christmas at the Zoo"
15. The Payola$, "Christmas is Coming"
16. The Icicles, "Snowman Song"
17. Eels, "Everything's Gonna Be Cool This Christmas"
18. Stevie Wonder, "What Christmas Means To Me"
19. The Vipers, "Christmas I'll Be Home"
20. The Dickies, "Silent Night"
21. Jens Lekman, "Run Away With Me"
22. The Pointed Sticks, "Xmastime Again"
23. Brendan Hanlon & the Bat Men, "Christmas Party"
24. Julian Casablancas, "I Wish It Was Christmas Today"
25. Low, "Long Way Round the Sea"

Total time: 1:12:47

Download it here: Christmas Redux Five


Since I've gotten so many new readers this year, I've gone ahead and reposted all four previous editions of Christmas Redux below. If you're interested in reading the original posts just click the "Xmas" tag at the end of today's post, otherwise just download the comps right from this page.


Christmas Redux

01. “The Christmas Song” by the Raveonettes
02. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love
03. “Just Like Christmas” by Low
04. “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy” by Buck Owens
05. “All the Right Reasons” by Dressy Bessy
06. “Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag” by Gary Walker
07. “Christmas Eve” by the Galaxies
08. “Run Run Rudolph by Dave Edmunds
09. “Christmas Spirit??” by the Wailers
10. “Santa Claws” by Vermont
11. “Santa Claus” by The Sonics
12. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid
13. “O, Little Town of Bethlehem” by the Young Fresh Fellows
14. “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” by Pedro the Lion
15. “Little Drummer Boy (Up the Kyber)” by the Hoodoo Gurus
16. “Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas?” by the Staple Singers
17. “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” by the Ramones
18. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by Bruce Springsteen
19. “2000 Miles” by the Pretenders
20. “I Want an Alien for Christmas” by Fountains of Wayne
21. “Merry Christmas Girl” by The Figgs
22. “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes
23. “Old Toy Trains” by Roger Miller
24. “Happy Christmas (Was is Over) by John & Yoko with the Harlem Community Choir
25. “Auld Lang Syne (Alternate Mix) by the Beach Boys

Time: 1:14:41

Download it here: Christmas Redux



Christmas Redux Two

01. “Frosty the Snowman” by the Ronettes
02. “Christmas All Over Again” by Tom Petty
03. “Someday at Christmas” by Stevie Wonder
04. “Winter Wonderland” by the Cocteau Twins
05. “Joseph, Who Understood” by the New Pornographers
06. “Spotlight on Christmas” by Rufus Wainwright
07. “Christmas Wrapping” by the Waitresses
08. “Christmas Celebration” by B.B. King
09. “Jingle, Jangle” by The Rockfield Chorale
10. “Father Christmas” by the Kinks
11. “Jingle Bell Rock” by the Ventures
12. “Thanks for Christmas” by the Three Wisemen (XTC)
13. “Christmas Ain’t Christmas Without the One You Love” by the O’Jays
14. “Peace on Earth-Little Drummer Boy” by Bing Crosby & David Bowie
15. “Everyday is Christmas” by Swag
16. “Holiday Spirit” by the dB’s
17. “The Christmas Song” by Weezer
18. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by the Cadillacs
19. “Purple Snowflakes” by Marvin Gaye
20. “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues
21. “Jingle Bells (Buala Bas)” by the Clancy Brothers
22. “So Much Wine” by the Handsome Family
23. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by John Prine
24. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Death Cab for Cutie
25. “New Year’s Revolution” by Graham Parker

Time: 1:16:20
Download it here: Christmas Redux Two



Christmas Redux Three

01. “The Christmas Sound” by the Swimmers
02. “It’s Christmas Time” by Yo La Tengo
03. “Put the Lights on the Tree” by Sufjan Stevens
04. “Your Christmas Whiskey” by the Minus 5
05. “Silent Night” by the Primitives
06. “Your Christmas is Going to the Dogs” by the Eels
07. “All That I Want” by the Weepies
08. “December 25th” by Desmond Reed
09. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by the Crystals
10. “Santa’s Beard” by They Might Be Giants
11. “The Mods of Christmas” by Zumpano
12. “Christmas” by the Buzz of Delight
13. “Egg Nog” by Luna
14. “X-mas Song” by the Fireflies
15. “Christmas in Baghdad” by the Black Lips
16. “Donna and Blitzen” by Badly Drawn Boy
17. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Bright Eyes
18. “Merry X-mas Everybody" by Slade
19. “Christmas Celebration” by Weezer
20. “Last Christmas” by Erlend Oye
21. “Rock Around the Christmas Tree” by Daniel Johnston
22. “Baby, Please Don’t Get Stoned (It’s X-mas) by Je Suis France
23. “Christmastime” by Aimee Mann & Michael Penn
24. “She’s Coming Home” by the Wailers
25. “Space Christmas” by Shonen Knife

Time: 1:10:36

Download it here: Christmas Redux Three



Christmas Redux Four

01. “Seasons Greetings” by Robbers on High Street [2:23]
02. “Merry Christmas Will Do” by Material Issue [3:36]
03. “Careless Santa” by Mono Puff [2:16]
04. “iPod Xmas” by Hello Saferide
05. “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway [3:32]
06. “Christmas is Cancelled” by The Long Blondes [4:29]
07. “Let Me Sleep (Christmas Time)” by Pearl Jam [3:00]
08. “If Christmas Can’t Bring You Home” by The Reigning Sound [2:32]
09. “Ghost of Christmas” by Manic Street Preachers [3:39]
10. “I Believe in Father Christmas” by Greg Lake [3:22]
11. “Back Door Santa” by Clarence Carter [2:10]
12. “Christmas Eve” by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci [1:51]
13. “Christmas Must Be Tonight” by The Band [3:41]
14. “Little Saint Nick (Single Version)” by The Beach Boys [2:11]
15. “There Ain’t No Sanity Claus” by The Damned [2:31]
16. “Christmas Vacation” by The Descendents [2:39]
17. “Power Pop Santa” by The Pointed Sticks [3:20]
18. “Holiday Hymn” by Orange Juice [3:01]
19. “Lonely This Christmas” by Carter USM [2:12]
20. “Christmas” by The Posies [3:53]
21. “Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday” by William Bell [2:39]
22. “Silver Bells” by Swearing at Motorists [2:03]
23. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by The Ronettes [2:42]
24. “It’s Christmas So We’ll Stop” by Frightened Rabbit [5:28]
25. “Christmas Time (Is Here Again) by The Beatles [3:03]

Total Time: 1:15:25

Download it here: Christmas Redux Four







Download the Artwork for Vol. 5 (Courtesey of T. Remley!): Christmas Redux Five Artwork

A Pocketful of Posies!

I don't think I've ever done a show review here at Burn and Shine. Truth is, I don't go to many shows anymore. Lame, I know. There are a few reasons, mostly it's parenthood, but living in Chattanooga doesn't help. Since we got pregnant (our daughter turned two in August) I've seen a grand total of four shows: Superdrag twice, GBV last month and the Posies last weekend. This was my first time seeing the Posies, and I was inspired enough to slap together a little Posies-Primer. I would have posted this the day after the show, but having just posted the 1985 compilations earlier in the week, I felt it was a little too soon. I have a few spare minutes this Thanksgiving morning, while my better half goes grocery shopping, so here is a quickie show review (followed by the comp).

It was a great, if sparsely attended, triple bill last Saturday night at The Loft in Atlanta. A band I didn't care for, Aqueduct, opened the show right around 8:30pm and played for about a half hour. Brendon Benson, who I like, was next. Sidenote: I did not realize that Jon and Ken were in Brendan Benson's band on this tour. My wife and I both agreed that BB's songs were much better Posie-fied. I also did not realize that in some cities Benson headlined. That was not the case Saturday night in Atlanta-- thankfully, I was definitely there to see the Posies. Benson played a pretty good 45-minute set, then the Posies played for about an hour and a half.

They played nearly every song from the new record, Blood/Candy, and a smattering of their "greatest hits" over the course of about an hour and a half. There were also a couple of cool guest appearances, Linda Hopper (Oh-Ok, Magnapop) came on to sing Lisa Lobsinger's part on "Licenses to Hide" from the new record. She looked and sounded fantastic, even if she had to use a cheat sheet to remember the words. Mike Mills (R.E.M.) made an appearance at the end for an all hands on deck rendition of "September Gurls".

I knew it would be a fun night, but I had no idea just how much the Posies would flat out RAWK, Ken Stringfellow in particular-- he's got all the rock moves down pat. We were right in front of Jon Auer, and I certainly have a new found appreciation for his guitar chops-- I don't think he played a wrong note all night long.

As I mentioned earlier, the show was not packed. While I certainly enjoyed not being bumped into the whole night, it was kind of sad that a band that has been together for so long (Jon and Ken have been writing songs together since 1986, according to Wiki) and is this good can have such a small following-- at least in this part of the country.

Doing my small part to help rectify this wrong, I put together this 20 track compilation of the Posies. I took three songs from each of their proper albums (not including this year's Blood/Candy), plus two rarities. Hopefully this will introduce a few people to this fantastic band and their fairly deep discography. If you already know and love the Posies, then please feel free to point someone you know who has not been properly introduced to the Posies to this post. There was a Best of the Posies album released in 2000, but it only chronicles their time on Geffen and, I think, is currently out of print.

Happy listening and Happy Thanksgiving!

A Pocketful: An Introduction to the Posies, 1988-2005

01. I May Hate You Sometimes
02. Under Easy
03. Paint Me
04. My Big Mouth
05. Golden Blunders
06. Suddenly Mary
07. Saying Sorry to Myself
08. Dream All Day
09. Solar Sister
10. Flavor of the Month
11. Fight It (If You Want)
12. Grant Hart
13. Ontario
14. Every Bitter Drop
15. Somehow Everything
16. Looking Lost
17. Chainsmoking in the U.S.A.
18. I Guess You're Right
19. I Finally Found a Jungle
20. Conversations

Tracks 1-3 from Failure (1988)
Tracks 4-6 from Dear 23 (1990)
Track 7 from Yellow Pills Vol. 2: More of the Best of American Pop (1994, but it sounds more like a Dear 23 track so I stuck it before the FotB songs)
Tracks 8-10 from Frosting on the Beater (1993)
Tracks 11-13 from Amazing Disgrace (1996)
Tracks 14-16 from Sucess (1998)
Track 17 from Nice Cheekbones and a Ph.D. EP (2001)
Tracks 18-20 from Every Kind of Light (2005)

Total Time: 1:08:38

Download it here: A Pocketful of Posies!

1985.

Last November (one year ago today, actually!) I put up a compilation of some of my favorite songs from 1984. Today we celebrate 1985. The year of Back to the Future and The Breakfast Club: both of which had very successful soundtracks thanks to Huey Lewis and Simple Minds. Once again though, you won't find anything quite that huge represented on my compilation. Well, actually, on either of these compilations (more on that in a moment!). My focus is primarily with college rock. Just about every one of these 38 songs would have gotten the most attention left of the dial back in 1985. One of the songs here managed to scrape the bottom half of Billboard's Hot 100. Another was on a very successful album, you maybe remember this fantastic video?




But for the most part these songs were beloved by few-- some even creeping into "obscure" territory. Two discs worth this time around, because I had a plethora of songs vying to make the cut. The first disc is very much in the same realm as last year's 1984 edition. The bonus disc is devoted to bands with an Americana bent. Some have said that the Mekons' album Fear and Whiskey from 1985 "ushered in the age of Alt-Country as a marketing category." So I figured I would give that little niche a compilation of its own.

Happy Listening!


1985:

01. The Cult, "She Sells Sanctuary" [4:17]
02. Dramarama, "Anything, Anything" [3:19]
03. Robyn Hitchcok, "Egyptian Cream" [3:32]
04. Plasticland, "Posing For Pictures" [2:06]
05. a-ha, "Love is Reason" [3:07]
06. The Three O'Clock, "Her Head's Revolving" [3:11]
07. The Style Council, "Walls Come Tumbling Down" [3:22]
08. The Sisters of Mercy, "Walk Away" [3:26]
09. Butthole Surfers, "Mexican Caravan" [2:41]
10. The Lyres, "Someone Who'll Treat You Right Now" [3:06]
11. Martin Newell, "Golden Lane" [3:30]
12. The Chameleons, "Perfume Garden" [4:28]
13. Prefab Sprout, "Faron" [3:41]
14. Dinosaur Jr (Barlow), "Gargoyle" [2:11]
15. The Screaming Blue Messiahs, "Someone To Talk To" [3:36]
16. Tall Dwarfs, "Sleet" [2:09]
17. Hüsker Dü (Hart), "Green Eyes" [2:55]
18. Dukes of Stratosphere, "My Love Explodes" [3:31]
19. New Order, "Sub-Culture" [3:27]
20. Squeeze, "King George Street" [3:48]
21. Sonic Youth & Lydia Lunch, "Death Valley '69" [5:11]
22. Beat Happening, "Foggy Eyes" [2:45]
23. Jonathan Richman, "Now is Better Than Before" [2:08]

Total Time: 1:15:16

Download it here: 1985

1985: The Birth of Alt-Country?

01. The Mekons, "Hard To Be Human Again" [3:53]
02. Beat Farmers, "Bigger Stones" [2:22]
03. The Three Johns, "Brainbox (He's a Brainbox)" [4:03]
04. The Long Ryders, "Looking for Lewis and Clark" [3:58]
05. Danny & Dusty, "Send Me a Postcard" [2:58]
06. Camper Van Beethoven, "Where the Hell is Bill?" [2:06]
07. The Del Fuegos, "Don't Run Wild" [3:30]
08. Jason & the Scorchers, "White Lies" [3:21]
09. The Blasters, "Dark Night" [3:44]
10. Lone Justice, "Ways to Be Wicked" [3:25]
11. The Connells, "Seven" [3:08]
12. Tom Waits, "Jockey Full of Bourbon" [2:42]
13. Green on Red, "Sixteen Ways" [3:38]
14. The Knitters, "The New World" [2:51]
15. Thin White Rope, "Dead Grammas on a Train" [2:53]

Total Time: 48:29

Download it here: 1985: The Birth of Alt-Country?

Here's a link for the jewel case artwork, courtesy of T. Remley: 1985 Jewel Case Art

Halloween Compilation Artwork

Once again T. Remley has supplied the artwork for my latest compilation. Download the jewel case artwork here: Candy Apples & Razor Blades Vol. 3 Artwork

Just in case you missed the Halloween comp earlier this week, you can find it here: Happy Halloween!