My Tribute to the Aughts - Third in a Trilogy

Above is a fan made, video tribute to Jam Master Jay (October 30, 2002). Above that is a video introduction to Howard Zinn's A People's History of American Empire, narrated by Viggo Mortensen. Sadly, Zinn passed away earlier this week. On that somber note, here's the third and final volume of my Tribute to the Aughts.

R.I.P. 2000’s – Disc 3

51. “Super” by Neu! (Klaus Dinger, 03/21/08)
52. “Hep Cat Baby” by Eddy Arnold (05/08/08)
53. “Who Do You Love?” by Bo Didley (06/02/08)
54. “Precious, Precious” by Isaac Hayes (08/10/08)
55. “Paint Box” by Pink Floyd (Richard “Rick” Wright, 09/15/08 )
56. “Statue of Liberty” by the Descendents (Frank Navetta, 10/31/08)
57. “We Can Love” by Delaney & Bonnie (Delaney Bramlett, 12/27/08)
58. “Down on the Street” by the Stooges (Ron Asheton, 01/06/09)
59. “Goo Goo Muck” by the Cramps (Lux Interior, 02/04/09)
60. “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes (Estelle Bennett, 02/11/09; & Ellie Greenwich, 08/26/09)
61. “Do Ya” by Electric Light Orchestra (Kelly Groucutt, 02/19/09)
62. “Planet Strange” by Titanic Love Affair (Jay Bennett, 05/24/09)
63. “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine” by the Seeds (Sky Saxon, 06/25/09)
64. “Rock With You” by Michael Jackson (06/25/09)
65. “Needles & Pins” by Peter & Gordon (Gordon Waller, 07/17/09)
66. “Let Me Dream If I Want To” by Mink DeVille (Willie DeVille, 08/06/09)
67. “Can’t Hardly Wait” by the Replacements (Jim Dickinson, Producer; 08/15/09)
68. “500 Miles” by Peter, Paul and Mary (Mary Travers, 09/16/09)
69. “Summertime Blues” by Blue Cheer (Dickie Peterson, 10/12/09)
70. “The Enemy” by D.O.A. (Chuck Biscuits [HOAX] 10/24/09)
71. “Time” by the Alan Parsons Project (Eric Woolfson, 12/02/09)
72. “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground” by Jack Rose (12/04/09)
73. “Cows” by the Suburbs (Bruce C. Allen, 12/07/09)
74. “Gepetto” by Vic Chesnutt (12/25/09)
75. “Shivers” by the Boys Next Door (Rowland S. Howard, 12/30/09)

Total Time 1:14:45

Download it here: R.I.P. 2000's - Disc 3

In one last blatant attempt to get you to comment, who do you think was the most significant Rock & Roll-Related death of the decade? I'll give you one I forgot (and he wasn't listed in the Wiki article I linked). How about Sam Phillips? No Sam Phillips, no Elvis. No Elvis, No Beatles. No Beatles, end of Western Civilization as we no it.

But seriously, it was tremendously fun compiling these three discs, but at the same time it was a little depressing. I can only imagine that the next decade will bring even more significant deaths, as the figures who make up the first and second waves of Rock & Roll aren't getting any younger. I hope I'll still be around to catalog it.

Happy Listening!

My Tribute to the Aughts - Second in a Trilogy

The above video by Alice in Chains features Layne Staley singing lead. He passed away on April 5, 2002.

Here's the second installment, taking us from October of '03 through the end of '07. There are some heavy hitters on this comp, and it may be my favorite of the three. I'd love to give you a little blurb on each and every track, but in the interest of time I'll just pick three.

"Teenage Kicks" by the Undertones is on this to honor the late John Peel, who often said it was the greatest single ever recorded.

If you're my age (forty-something), then there is no way you escaped Boston's first, self-titled album-- one of the biggest selling debuts in history. I remember having a gestalt experience when I was in sixth grade, and my brother was playing it on our crappy record player. "There's not a bad song on this album!" I thought. True enough, but 30 years of Classic Rock radio have certainly caused me to feel as if many of those songs had worn out their welcome. Listening to it again recently in preparation for this tribute, I was able to forget how many times I'd heard "More than a Feeling" and I enjoyed the album all over again. Especially, "Hitch a Ride" which is really just a fantastic Power Pop tune-- think about it, harmonies, handclaps, guitar solo, all the elements are in place.

Finally, I know that what Ike Turner did as an abusive husband should never be forgiven. I hope, though, that we can also appreciate him as a very talented songwriter and an important figure in the History of Rock & Roll. I still have no idea how "Crazy in Love" wasn't a massive hit. I wish the Detroit Cobras would cover it.

Happy listening!

R.I.P. 2000’s – Disc 2

26. “Speed Trials” by Elliott Smith (10/21/03)
27. “Like a Summer Rain” by Jan & Dean (Jan Berry, 03/26/04)
28. “That’ll Be the Day” by the Crickets (Nikki Sullivan, 04/06/04)
29. “I Got a Woman” by Ray Charles (06/10/04)
30. “Personality Crisis” by the New York Dolls (Arthur Kane, 07/14/04)
31. “Flying on the Ground is Wrong” by Buffalo Springfield (Bruce Palmer, 10/01/04; & Dewey Martin, 01/31/09)
32. “Teenage Kicks” by the Undertones (John Peel, DJ 10/25/04)
33. “Just Like Yesterday” by Bread (Jimmy Griffin, 01/11/05; Mike Botts, 12/09/05; & Larry Knechtel, 08/20/09)
34. “Means to an End” by Traffic (Jim Capaldi, 01/28/05)
35. “Sister Madly” Crowded House (Paul Hester, 03/26/05)
36. “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by the Four Tops (Renaldo “Obie” Benson, 07/01/05; & Levi Stubbs, 10/17/08)
37. “Back Again” by Badfinger (Mike Gibbins, 10/04/05)
38. “Raw Hide” by Link Wray (11/05/05)
39. “Big Houses” by House of Freaks (Bryan Harvey, 01/01/06)
40. “634-5789” by Wilson Pickett (01/19/06)
41. “(I Wanna) Love My Life Away” by Gene Pitney (04/05/06)
42. “One Thing Can Hold Us” by the Go-Betweens (Grant McLennan, 05/06/06)
43. “You Can Get It If You Really Want” by Desmond Dekker (05/25/06)
44. “Do What You Want” by Billy Preston (06/06/06)
45. “Octopus” by Syd Barrett (07/07/06)
46. “Can't Explain” by Love (Arthur Lee, 08/03/06)
47. “Whenever You’re Around” by the Dave Clark Five (Dennis Payton, 12/17/06; & Mike Smith, 02/28/08)
48. “Out of Sight” by James Brown (12/25/06)
49. “Hitch a Ride” by Boston (Brad Delp, 03/09/07)
50. “Crazy in Love” by the Ike-Ettes (Ike Turner, 12/12/07)

Total Time: 1:12:03

Download it here: R.I.P. 2000's - Disc 2

We Interupt the Trilogy for a Special Bulletin

Hey folks, I'll get back to the R.I.P. trilogy by the end of the week, promise. I just wanted to share a short compilation I made a while back, after I picked up Joe Pernice's last album, It Feels So Good When You Stop. I put "I Go To Pieces" (see video above) on the 2009 covers compilation, but I really didn't mention much about the album. Cover albums are generally pretty novel, and this one is no exception (pun intended!). It is actually billed as a soundtrack to the book (same title) by Joe Pernice. I haven't actually read it yet, but the excerpts on the CD are pretty great. So this morning I was fishing around and found it at Amazon for the ridiculously low price of $9.97. That's for the hardback edition (paperback comes out later this year). Anyway, here's a link: Joe Pernice Book at Amazon. I have no idear how long it will be at this price, so snag it while you can (the Kindle download is more expensive).

Happy Listening!


It Feels So Good When I Stop: The Originals

01. Plush, "Found a Little Baby"
02. Peter & Gordon, "I Go to Pieces"
03. James & Bobby Purify, "I'm Your Puppet"
04. Sebadoh, "Soul and Fire"
05. Sammy Johns, "Chevy Van"
06. Dream Syndicate, "Tell Me When It's Over"
07. Dick Van Dyke, et al, "Chim Chim Cher-ee"
08. Tom T. Hall, "That's How I Got to Memphis"
09. Todd Rundgren, "Hello It's Me"

Bonus Track:
10. Plush, "Found a Little Baby (Instrumental)"

Total Time: 32:48

Download it Here: It Feels Good When You Stop: The Originals

My Tribute to the Aughts - First in a Trilogy

Okay, here's my tribute to the first decade of the 21st Century. As I mentioned in yesterday's post instead of compiling my favorite songs or artists of the decade, I've decided to post three compilations worth of Rock and Roll personalities who passed away during the decade. I'll post one new compilation every Friday (or Thursday night!) until the end of January.

I started filing away songs into an R.I.P playlist about six months ago. About a month back I figured there had to be a good resource on the interweb, which would remind me (and in some cases, educate me!) as to who exactly died over the last ten years. Say what you will about Wikipedia, but they have a great page devoted to Rock and Roll deaths: List of Deaths in Rock and Roll. While it's not complete, it did help me come up with more than 75 great tunes to share with you here at Burn and Shine. The first of which is Jim Carroll's "People Who Died" (see video above). JC left us on September 11, 2009.

I've sequenced the comps in the same order as the deaths. I know it sounds morbid, but I really hope you'll see this as a celebration of their work. I also hope these comps will stir up some comments. If you happen to scroll through the list over at Wiki and see a glaring omission (about a half dozen or so on my three comps aren't mentioned on the Wiki page), please leave me a comment here-- as I'd love to make a bonus disc and round this sucker out to an even 100 songs.

Just a few comments as to the songs I chose to represent the artist (or in some cases, artists). In almost all cases the person who passed away is either one of the performers, the writer and/or singer or producer of the song. When two or more people from the same band had passed away, I tried to use a song that featured both (or all three). For instance, the Ramones track, features Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee and the Mamas and the Papas track was co-written by John Phillips and Denny Doherty). There is one exception that won't show up until Disc 2, and I'll explain that one once we get there. Disc 1 takes us about three quarters of the way through 2003.

Happy Listening!

R.I.P. 2000s (Disc 1)

01. “Searchin’” by the Coasters (Will “Dub” Jones, 01/16/00; & Billy Guy, 11/05/02)
02. “Boys” by the Shirelles (Doris Kenner-Jackson, 02/04/00)
03. “Little Demon” by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, 02/12/00
04. “Sex & Drugs & Rock’n’Roll” by Ian Dury & the Blockheads (Ian Dury, 03/27/00)
05. “Let’s Go” by the Cars (Benjamin Orr, 10/03/00)
06. “A New England” by Kirsty MacColl, 12/18/00
07. “Hey Jack Kerouac” by 10,000 Maniacs (Rob Buck, 12/19/00)
08. “Respect Yourself” by the Staple Singers (Pops Staples, 12/19/00)
09. “I Saw Her Again” by the Mamas & the Papas (John Phillips, 03/18/01; & Denny Doherty, 01/19/07)
10. “I Don’t Care” by the Ramones (Joey, 04/15/01; Dee Dee, 06/05/02; & Johnny, 09/15/04)
11. “Dimples” by John Lee Hooker, 06/21/01
12. “What is Life” by George Harrison, 11/29/01
13. “In Fields of Fire” by Big Country (Stuart Adamson, 12/16/01)
14. “The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want to Get Over You)” by Waylon Jennings, 02/13/02
15. “Doctor, Doctor” by the Who (John Entwhistle, 06/27/02)
16. “You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice” by the Lovin’ Spoonful (Zal Yanovsky, 12/13/02)
17. “Johnny Appleseed” by Joe Strummer, 12/22/02
18. “Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You” by the Bee Gees (Maurice Gibb, 01/12/03)
19. “Finger Poppin’ Time” by Hank Ballard & the Midnighters (Hank Ballard, 03/02/03; & Cal Green, 07/04/04)
20. “Castles Made of Sand” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience (Noel Redding, 05/11/03; & Mitch Mitchell, 11/12/08)
21. “I’m Into Something Good” by Herman’s Hermits (Mickie Most, Producer, 05/30/03)
22. “(Making) Teenage Faces" by The Exploding Hearts (Matt Fitzgerald, Jeremy Gage & Adam Cox, 07/20/03)
23. “Empty Hearted Town” by Warren Zevon (09/07/03)
24. “So Doggone Lonesome” by Johnny Cash (09/12/03)
25. “Johnny & Mary” by Robert Palmer (09/27/03)

Total Time: 1:15:09

Download it here: R.I.P. 2000's - Disc 1

Jay Reatard R.I.P.

Waiting For Something - a short documentary about Jay Reatard

Jay Reatard | MySpace Music Videos

Weird, I was going to post my tribute to the decade on Friday (still am, actually). Instead of making a compilation of a bunch of bands I loved from the decade, I decided that I was going to make a compilation of all the Rock and Roll related deaths that happened during the Aughts. Here we are two weeks in and the first significant death of the Teens (?) happens, to a fellow Tennessean, no less-- one day after that rat bastard Lane Kiffin decided to bolt to the left coast. I digress. R.I.P. Jay.

New Spoon!!

Just in case you haven't heard it yet, NPR is streaming Transference. Listen to it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122279793

More Tunes From 2009.

It's snowing here in Chattanooga, and I found this random video of two dogs playing in the snow while matt pond PA's "Snow Day" is playing in the background. Great song, and, really, I can watch dogs play pretty much anytime.

As for today's blog entry, here are 50 more of my favorite tracks (in alphabetical by artist) from 2009 to keep you busy till that new Spoon record comes out in a couple of weeks (I got my 7" of "Written in Reverse" in the mail yesterday, yay!).

Happy Listening!

More from 2009:

01. “Everyone” by The Aliens
02. “Tenuousness” by Andrew Bird
03. “Epilepsy is Dancing” by Antony & the Johnsons
04. “Sheila” by Atlas Sound
05. “Slight Figure of Speech” by the Avett Brothers
06. “Ain’t Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo) by Blakroc
07. “Jackie Wood” by Box Elders
08. “Absolutely Anything” by Brilliant Colors
09. “Replacing Aim with Danger” by Broadfield Marchers
10. “Pop Magic Fantastical Masterpiece” by Canadian Invasion
11. “At the Cut” by the Cave Singers
12. “Crows” by Clues
13. “Microphone” by Coconut Records
14. “Spoiled” by Conor Oberst
15. “High Horse” by Daniel Johnston
16. “Same As It Used To Be” by Dexateens
17. “Fables” by the Dodos
18. “When the Well Runs Dry” by Drive-By Truckers
19. “I Don’t Feel Anything” by the Dutchess and the Duke
20. “All When We Were Young” by the Felice Brothers
21. “Lust for Life” by Girls
22. “Good Morning Happiness” by Grant Lee Phillips
23. “Two Weeks” by Grizzly Bear
24. “They Might Come Back Club” by Hallelujah the Hills
25. “The Place Where We Lived” by Hayden

Total Time: 1:12:34

Download it here: More 2009

Still More from 2009:

01. “Day Before” by Hush Arbors
02. “Im Watching You” by Jay Reatard
03. “Tailor” by Julie Doiron
04. “Too Much Freedom” by Lou Barlow
05. “To Ohio” by the Low Anthem
06. “For Beginners by M. Ward
07. “Little Sad Eyes” by Magnolia Electric Co.
08. “Disappearing Act” by the Mantles
09. “Twenty Cycles to the Ground” by Molina & Johnson
10. “Oh Cody” by Nobunny
11. “Do I Know You” by Noise Addict
12. “Down the Drain” by Ovens
13. “1901” by Phoenix
14. “Leap Year” by Port O’Brien
15. “Suicide” by the Raveonettes
16. “Trash Talk” by Reigning Sound
17. “Hurry for the Sky” by Robyn Hitchcock
18. “Turn the Dirt Over” by Sea Wolf
19. “Dynamite” by Son Volt
20. “What We Know” by Sonic Youth
21. “Silver Moons” by Sunset Rubdown
22. “A Flag in the Court” by Thee Oh Sees
23. “When I Died” by the Thermals
24. “Summer Things” by Tyvek
25. “Nothing to Hide” by Yo La Tengo

Total Time: 1:10:05

Download it here: Still More 2009

Goodbye 2009.

January is going to be a busy month here at Burn and Shine. I've got two more 2009 comps lined up and I've got a couple of things in store to commemorate the decade. Be on the lookout for those within the next few weeks. First though is my "final" favorites list of the year. Let's just knock this out, shall we?

Favorite Albums of 2009:

01. Grant Hart ~ Hot Wax
02. Magnolia Electric Co. ~ Josephine
03. El Goodo ~ Coyote
04. The Bats ~ The Guilty Office
05. Reigning Sound ~ Love and Curses
06. Built To Spill ~ There is No Enemy
07. J. Tillman ~ Vacilando Territory Blues
08. Hayden ~ The Place Where We Lived
09. The Mantles ~ The Mantles
10. Generationals ~ Con Law
11. The Thermals ~ Now We Can See
12. The Fresh & Onlys ~ The Fresh & Onlys
13. The Dutchess and the Duke ~ Sunrise / Sunset
14. Hallelujah the Hills ~ Colonial Drones
15. The Almighty Defenders ~ The Almighty Defenders
16. Kurt Vile ~ God Is Saying This To You …
17. The Disciplines ~ Smoking Kills
18. So Cow ~ So Cow
19. Hush Arbors ~ Yankee Reality
20. Outrageous Cherry ~ Universal Malcontents
21. Dinosaur Jr. ~ Farm
22. Apollo Ghosts – Hastings Sunrise
23. Flaming Lips ~ Embryonic
24. The Black Hollies ~ Softly Towards the Light
25. Ty Segall ~ Lemons
26. Broadfield Marchers ~ Displayed in Reflection
27. Tommy Keene ~ In the Late Bright
28. Brilliant Colors ~ Indtroducing
29. Box Elders ~ Alice and Friends
30. A.C. Newman ~ Get Guilty
31. Dexateens ~ Singlewide
32. Thee Oh Sees ~ Help
33. Jason Lytle ~ Yours Truly, the Commuter
34. Cheap Star ~ Speaking Like an Elephant
35. Cave Singers ~ Welcome Joy
36. Noise Addict ~ It Was Never About the Audience
37. Patterson Hood ~ Murdering Oscar
38. The Clean ~ Mister Pop
39. Black Lips ~ 200 Million Thousand
40. Son Volt American Central Dust
41. M. Ward ~ Hold Time
42. Girls ~ Album
43. King Khan & the BBQ Show ~ Invisible Girl
44. The Felice Brothers ~ Yonder is the Clock
45. The xx - XX
46. Eat Skull ~Wild and Inside
47. Lou Barlow ~ Goodnight Unknown
48. Sonic Youth ~ The Eternal
49. Pains of Being Pure at Heart ~ Pains of Being Pure at Heart
50. Sea Wolf ~ White Water, White Bloom
51. Mount Eerie ~ Wind’s Poem
52. Japandroids ~ Post-Nothing
53. Polvo ~ In Prism
54. Jack-O and the Tennessee Tearjerkers ~ Disco Outlaws
55. Brendon Benson ~ My Old, Familiar Friend
56. Grant Lee Phillips ~ Little Moon
57. Lee Fields ~ My World
58. Yo La Tengo ~ Popular Songs
59. Phoenix ~ Wolfgan Amadeus
60. Atlas Sound ~ Logos
61. The Raveonettes ~ In and Out of Control
62. Wilco ~ Wilco (The Album)
63. Coconut Records ~ Davy
64. Tyvek ~Tyvek
65. Dan Auerbach ~ Keep it Hid
66. Fanfarlo ~Reservoir
67. Future of the Left ~ Travels With Myself and Another
68. The Dodos ~ Time to Die
69. Fresh & Onlys ~ Grey-Eyed Girls
70. Ovens ~ Ovens
71. Wye Oak ~ The Knot
72. Mountain Goats ~ Life of the World to Come
73. Neko Case ~ Middle Cyclone
74. Conor Oberst ~ Outer South
75. Screaming Females ~ Power Move

Some records I got too late to really give ‘em a fair shake but sound promising upon first listen:

1220 ~ Killin for a Livin’
Aliens ~ Luna
Nobunny ~ Raw Romance
Knight School ~ The Poor and Needy Need to Party
Low Anthem ~ Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Molina & Johnson ~ Molina & Johnson
The Tripwires ~ House to House

Favorite Reissues of 2009:

01. Beatles ~ Mono Box/Stereo Box
02. Emitt Rhodes ~ The Emitt Rhodes Recordings
03. Various Artists ~ Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-1968
04. R.E.M. ~ Reckoning Deluxe Version
05. Nirvana ~ Bleach Deluxe Version
06. Dukes of the Stratosphear ~ Sonic Sunspot & 25 O’Clock
07. The Rationals ~ Think Rational!
08. Bee Gees ~ Odessa Deluxe Edition
09. Michael and the Mumbles ~ Michael and the Mumbles
10. Death ~ For the Whole World To See
11. Serge Gainsbourg ~ Historie de Melody Nelson
12. Bo Diddley ~ Ride On: Chess Masters Vol. 3 1960-61
13. Volcano Suns ~ The Bright Orange Years
14. Kraftwerk ~ The Catalog
15. The Feelies ~ Crazy Rhythms/The Good Earth (Wasn’t really crazy about the packaging on these, but it’s nice to have them back in print!)



Random thoughts about 2009:

What decade is it? Good to Great records from some iconic figures from the 90s: Polvo, Dinosaur Jr, Noise Addict, Son Volt, Lou Barlow, , Built to Spill, Yo La Tengo—there was even a great 7” by Superchunk and a new Nirvana record, WTF?

Although the Grant Hart record was far and away my #1, there were two other significant new-to-me finds in ’09 that do not show up on my album list. The first is the Rural Alberta Advantage, which got much hype last year for their digital only (I think) release Hometowns (it was subsequently released this year on Saddle Creek)—great, great album. The second, was a band in name only, Best Coast, Bethany Cosentino’s fuzzy, lo-fi, indie-pop project. She put out a slew of ep’s and 7” records that culminated in quite a nice body of work for the year. Hopefully she will put out a long player in the new year.

Loved the Heartless Bastards LP, Mountain, when I first got it, but it had no staying power for me. I found myself putting it in and then hitting the eject button a couple songs in.

Can’t believe I’ve left Camera Obscura off this list. Usually, they’re my goto band if I need to put a smile on my face. Listened to this one a few times, and just came away with a feeling of a band treading water. Still, “French Navy” was a pretty damn fine single.

One of the coolest tracks I heard this year was not only not by a rock artist, but was over twelve minutes long. It was “Cross the North Fork” by Jack Rose from his excellent The Black Dirt Sessions LP. If you are at all interested in finger-picking . . . well, then you probably already own this. If not pick it up. Sadly, Jack Rose passed away in December. Which leads me to . . .

WTF? Seems like there were a lot of Rock-related deaths this year: Ron Asheton, Lux Interior, Jay Bennett, Michael Jackson, Gordon Waller, Mary Travers, Rowland S. Howard, Sky Saxon, Bruce C. Allen, Chuck Biscuits, Mink DeVille, Jim Dickinson, Fred Travelina, Ellie Greenwich and John Hughes. R.I.P. and apologies to those I’ve missed . . .


As I said before, I've still got two more 2009 comps in the can, but for now I'll whet your appetite with a short compilation of my favorite cover songs from 2009.


Happy Listening!

Favorite Covers of 2009:

01. "I Go To Pieces" by Joe Pernice
02. “In My Room” by Best Coast
03. “Chances Are” by the Breeders
04. “I Still Miss Someone” by the Minus 5
05. “Reasons to Quit” by Phosphorescent
06. "Stop the World and Let Me Off" by John Doe & the Sadies
07. "Rebels" by Drive-By Truckers
08. “I Just Can’t Take it Anymore” by the Lemonheads
09. "California Zephyr" by Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar (not really a cover . . .)
10. "Stick Up for Me" by the Reigning Sound
11. "I Want Some More" by Dan Auerbach
12. "She Said, She Said" by the Feelies
13. "Scatchy" by Jack-O & the Tennessee Tearjerkers
14. “Attitude” by Pajo
15. “Jenny” by So Cow

Total Time: 45:20

Download it here: Covers 2009