Countdown!

Someone sent me the link to the above video about two years ago. It's about ten minutes long but well worth the time. I always thought it was a pretty great concept and that it would make a good theme for a compilation. So here's my musical version of the countdown:

01. The Triffids, "25 to 5" (1:06) Originally found on the album In the Pines (1986).

02. The Vibrators, "24 Hour People" (1:53) Originally found on the album V2 (1978).

03. Elf Power, "23rd Dream" (2:08) Originally found on the album Back to the Web (2006).

04. John Guilt, "22 Revolutions" (3:59) Originally found on the EP By Any Other Name (2003).

05. The Lucksmiths, "21" (5:09) Originally found on the EP Boondoggle (1994).

06. The Misfits, "20 Eyes" (1:47) Originally found on the album Walk Among Us (1982).

07. Jonathan Richman, "Nineteen in Naples" (3:00) Originally found on the album I'm So Confused (1998).

08. Alice Cooper, "I'm Eighteen" (3:01) Originally found on the album Love it to Death (1971).

09. The Cure, "Seventeen Seconds" (4:00) Originally found on the album Seventeen Seconds (1980).

10. Whiskeytown, "16 Days" (3:55) Originally found on the album Strangers Almanac (1997).

11. You Am I, "Fifteen" (3:06) Originally found on the album #4 Record (1998).

12. Guided by Voices, "14 Cheerleader Coldfront" (1:31) Originally found on the album Propeller (1992).

13. Big Star, "Thirteen" (2:52) Originally found on the album #1 Record (1972).

14. Dirty Looks, "12 O'Clock High" (3:58) Originally found on the album Dirty Looks (1980).

15. Nine Below Zero, "11 Plus 11" (2:33) Originally found on the album Third Degree (1982).

16. Waxwings, "Ten O'Clock Your Time" (3:21) Originally found on the album Low to the Ground (2000).

17. The Moldy Peaches, "Lucky Number Nine" (2:08) Originally found on the album The Moldy Peaches (2001).

18. The Byrds, "Eight Miles High" (3:38) Originally found on the album Fifth Dimension (1966).

19. Echo & the Bunnymen, "Seven Seas" (3:21) Originally found on the album Ocean Rain (1984).

20. The Pretty Things, "Midnight to Six Man" (2:21) Originally found on the album Get the Picture? (1965).

21. The Mountain Goats, "Cubs in Five" (2:05) Originally found on the album Nine Black Poppies (1995).

22. Lloyd Cole & the Commotions, "Four Flights Up" (2:38) Originally found on the album Rattlesnakes (1984).

23. Wire, "Three Girl Rhumba" (1:24) Originally found on the album Pink Flag (1977).

24. The Clean, "Billy Two" (2:23) Originally found on the EP Boodle Boodle Boodle (1981).

25. Ultra Vivid Scene w/ Kim Deal, "Special One" (3:16) Originally found on the album Joy: 1967-1990 (1990).

26. The Plimsouls, "Zero Hour" (2:35) Originally found on the EP Zero Hour (1980).

Total Time 1:12:52

Download it here: Countdown!

Erin Go Bragh!

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last compilation. As some of you may know, I've started coaching a local high school tennis team this Spring, and that is taking a lot of my spare time. Great fun though. Speaking of fun, is there a song that is more fun than House of Pain's "Jump Around"? How 'bout the Gaelic version in the video above? Very cool and apt for the current holiday. Here's a comp you can drink some green beer to:

Kiss Me I'm Irish:

01. The Pogues, "Streams of Whiskey" (2:33) This is probably my favorite Pogues' track from their debut long player, Red Roses for Me (1984).

02. Them, "My Lonely Sad Eyes" (2:31) Ireland's answer to the Rolling Stones, the Van Morrison led Them, are often written off as novelty band with a couple of hits (most notably "Gloria" of course), but one listen to the two disc compilation The Story of Them featuring Van Morrison: The Anthology, 1964-1966 (1997) proves they were a formidable R&B combo. This is a Morrison original from the 1966 LP, Them Again.

03. The Undertones, "Wrong Way" (1:24) This gem of a song has the unenviable position of following John Peel's favorite single. It does follow "Teenage Kicks", but this track, written by Billy Doherty, the Undertones' drummer, is nearly as good. From their eponymous debut, 1979.

04. Kirsty MacColl, "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" (3:07) Okay, this one's a stretch. Kirsty was born in England and her parents were Scottish. But she was very good friends with the Pogues and collaborated with them on numerous occasions. This was from her 1981 LP, Desperate Character.

05. Ash, "Girl From Mars" (3:30) Second appearance at Burn and Shine for these pop-punkers from Northern Ireland (see Candy Apples & Razor Blades from October 30, 2008). From their second album, 1977 (1996).

06. Xdreamysts, "Dance Away Lover" (1:58) Don't know much about these guys other than that this is the b-side of a single called "Right Way Home" which came out in 1978, and they were from Northern Ireland.

07. Dexy's Midnight Runners, "Tell Me When My Light Turns Green" (3:46) Although Dexy's formed in Birmingham, England, Kevin Rowland was ethnically Irish and spent some his early years in Ireland. This is from DMR's first album, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels (1980)-- just a couple of years before they'd make a huge splash across the pond with "Come on Eileen".

08. Bap Kennedy, "Long Time a Comin'" (2:38) If this sounds a little like Steve Earle, it might be because he produced it for his (now defunct?)E Squared record label. This was Kennedy's first album, and still my favorite. From Domestic Blues, 1998.

09. Adrian Crowley, "Only Daughter/Sweet Sorrow" (3:14) I picked this up in the cheap bin at McKay's in Knoxville merely because of the cool cover:





Great song, and the album, When You Are Here You Are Family (2002), is produced by Steve Albini.




10. The Divine Comedy, "Something for the Weekend" (4:20) Another band I'm not really too familiar. I got this track from that fabulous Brit Pop Box Set that came out on Rhino in 2007. It is originally from the album Casanova (1996), definitely a band I need to check out a little further.

11. U2, "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" [Martin Hannett version] (4:01) Until I got the compilation Zero: A Martin Hannett Story (2006), I had never heard a studio version of this song. I only knew it from the live Under A Blood Red Sky EP. I was blown away by this version, which actually pre-dates U2's first album Boy, but was released as a single the same year, 1980.

12. My Bloody Valentine, "(When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream" (3:18) Loveless is often considered MBV's magnum opus, but I'm convinced that the album that preceded it, Isn't Anything (1988) is just as good, and, perhaps, was even more influential.

13. Virgin Prunes, "Sandpaper Lullabye" (3:08) One of the more adventurous bands to come out of the post-punk scene-- certainly the most adventurous to come out of Dublin. This track is positively tame, almost pretty, by their standards. From their debut album, A New Form of Beauty, 1981.

14. Rollerskate Skinny, "Swingboat Yawning" (3:49) Considering the amount of adulation the likes of Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine, the Flaming Lips, even Mercury Rev has received, I've always wondered why Rollerskate Skinny never got their due (terrible name? raw deal from Warner Brothers? who knows?). Seriously, Horsedrawn Wishes (1996) is criminally under-appreciated album-- find it in a cheap bin near you.

15. Stiff Little Fingers, "Barbed Wire Love" (3:32) These punks from Belfast might have been just out of step with the times. Their debut, Inflammable Material, came out in 1979, and they sounded a little closer in spirit to the original 1977 punks than the Joy Divisions and Gangs of Four who were all the rage at the time.

16. The Boomtown Rats, "Lookin' After No. 1" (3:10) Speaking of 1977, that's just when this single was released by Bob Geldof & Co. It sounds just as powerful today.

17. Snow Patrol, "Tiny Little Fractures" (2:29) According to AMG: "Although Snow Patrol was formed in Dundee, Scotland, vocalist/guitarist Gary Lightbody and bassist/keyboardist Mark McClelland were both originally from Northern Ireland." From the album Final Staw, 2004.

18. Elvis Costello, "Less Than Zero" (3:19) Sure Elvis was born in England, but as a friend of mine explained, "Costello (Declan Patrick Aloysius MacManus) was born in England. His paternal grandfather, Patrick, was the son of Irish-born parents, but Patrick was born in Mersey, meaning Elvis was third-generation English. But Elvis has always worn his Irish heritage on his sleeve, which pissed off the Pogues back in the day, who felt he was an English Johnny-Come-Lately to the Irish party." Probably my favorite artist represented on this comp, and, coincidentally I chose another track from 1977, from My Aim is True.

19. That Petrol Emotion, "It's a Good Thing" (2:34) After the demise of the Undertones, the O'Neill brothers (the main songwriters for the Undertones, though neither of them sang lead for that band) formed TPE and had some minor success, especially in the UK. This is from their first and best album, Manic Pop Thrill (1986).

20. The Waterboys, "World Party" (4:01) Fisherman's Blues (1988) was my introduction to the Waterboys, though they had been releasing records for about five years by that time. If I were to rank my favorite Irish albums, this would be top 5 for sure.

21. Sinéad O'Connor, "Mandinka" (3:46) O'Connor made quite a splash with her debut, The Lion and the Cobra (1987). Though she's had a commendable career, she never quite fulfilled the promise of this one.

22. The High Llamas, "Put Yourself Down" (4:22) Another Irish ex-Pat who moved to England, Sean O'Hagan's High Llamas have made quite a career out stealing elements of Steely Dan and the Beach Boys. On this track they even cop the mandolin sound of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion". From the first High Llamas album, Santa Barbara (1992).

23. Thin Lizzy, "Running Back" (3:17) Essentially a rewrite of "The Boys are Back in Town", but forgivable since it's from the same album, Jailbreak (1976).

24. Van Morrison, "The Way Young Lovers Do" (3:18) Astral Weeks (1968) is generally considered at or near the top of the list of greatest albums in the history of pop music. It's an album that reveals itself to me a little more every time I listen to it. It's quite complex, and "pop" might not be the best word to describe it as this track, with it's fabulous brass arrangements, clearly demonstrates.

25. Jonathan Richman & Julia Sweeney, "Just Because I'm Irish" (1:54) I would imagine anyone born in Boston is at least part Irish, even if it's just spiritually. This is a great little track featuring an SNL alum who really is Irish. From You Must Ask the Heart, 1995.


Total Time: 1:18:49

Download it here: Kiss Me I'm Irish!

Merge Records Turns 20 This Year!

Happy B-day Merge, I hope you'll be around for another twenty! In celebration of this momentous occasion, Merge is releasing a series of compilations this year via their website and they've also decided to have a little contest. Anyone can submit their own 20 song compilation of Merge artists, and if your comp gets picked (at random) you win some cool stuff. Details here: Make Your Own Score! I decided to make, but not submit, my comp and post it here. So here is my Score 20:

01. Spoon, "Sister Jack" (Piano Demo) from the bonus disc of 2005's Gimme Fiction. Personally, I think this version slays the album version by a mile. (1:44)

02. Camera Obscura, "Happy New Year" from Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi, 2002. It's hard not to love these Scottish popsters. (4:03)

03. Neutral Milk Hotel, "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea" from the album of the same name, 1998. Arguably the most lauded album in the entire Merge catalog. Jeff Mangum has never issued a follow up, and thus the cult of NMH (for better or worse) was born. (3:22)

04. Portastatic (featuring Georgia and Ira of Yo La Tengo), "St. Elmo's Fire" by from the Scrapbook EP, 1995. A fantastic cover of Brian Eno's gem, by one of the founders of Merge, Mac McCaughan. (3:33)

05. Butterglory, "Carmen Cross" from Rat Tat Tat, 1997. Terrible band name, I agree, but a great little band nonetheless. They started out as Pavement copyists, albeit with a little more pop sensibility, but by this, their final album, they had really found their own voice. (3:46)

06. The Rosebuds, "You Better Get Ready" from The Rosebuds Unwind EP, 2005. I never really know what to expect from the Rosebuds, from disco influenced dance-athons to mid-tempo ballads to flat out rockers-- this one falls in the last camp--but they are always interesting. (2:07)

07. Caribou, "Hello Hammerheads" from The Milk of Human Kindness, 2005. This was the first album I heard by the artist formerly known as Manitoba. I was hooked by this sparingly, beautiful tune. (2:46)

08. Lambchop, "It's Not Alright" from What Another Man Spills, 1998. Another cover, this time Kurt Wagner tackles Dump (Yo La Tengo's James McNew's side project). (3:26)

09. Conor Oberst, "Sausalito" from Conor Oberst, 2008. Picking up where Bright Eyes' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning left off, Oberst convincingly puts out a country record. (3:10)

10. The 6ths (feat. Lou Barlow), "In the City in the Rain" from Wasps' Nest, 1995. Stephin Merritt is one of the most celebrated of Merge's alumni, here I chose the Lou Barlow sung gem from one of his various side projects. (3:43)

11. Teenage Fanclub, "It's All in My Mind" from Man-Made, 2005. From their first, and so far only, release on Merge. Come back guys! (3:45)

12. Polvo, "Vibracobra" from Cor-Crane Secret, 1992. This band were tagged, maybe a little unfairly, as "math rock". I never really understood that genre, but I always loved Polvo. (4:47)

13. Crooked Fingers, "New Drink for the Old Drunk" from Crooked Fingers, 2000. After the Archers of Loaf dissolved in 1998, Eric Bachmann put out a couple of interesting solo records as Barry Black. Nothing on those records prepared me for the brilliance of his next project, Crooked Fingers. This is from their debut. (3:53)

14. Versus, "You'll Be Sorry" from Hurrah, 2000. By the time I bought this, my first, Versus record, they had been putting out albums for six years. This was their first for Merge and sadly their swan song-- still one of my favorite albums of the decade. (4:40)

15. Richard Buckner, "Town" from Meadow, 2006. Apparently, Merge is in the process of doing some Richard Buckner reissues due out later this year. Hopefully that means a new album soon. (4:09)

16. The Ladybug Transistor, "The Places You'll Call Home" from The Ladybug Transistor, 2003. Sasha sings on this lovely little Ladybug Transistor track. (4:04)

17. The Beatnik Filmstars, "Wrong" from In Hospitalable, 1997. The British answer to the American lo-fi scene of the early/mid 90's. (2:38)

18. The Essex Green, "Don't Know Why (You Stay)" from Cannibal Sea, 2006. One of my favorite psychedelic, indie-pop bands of the current decade-- though I'm not sure what they're up to these days as this was their last release. (3:27)

19. M. Ward, "Outta My Head" from Transfiguration of Vincent, 2003. I'll admit, I really didn't like this record when I first heard it back in '03. I listened to it again not too long ago (mainly because I liked the She & Him record so much), and it absolutely floored me. I don't know what I was thinking the first time around. His new one comes out next Tuesday (Feb. 17th)! (2:52)

20. Superchunk, "Slack Motherfucker" from Tossing Seeds (Singles 89-91), 1992. How else could I have possibly ended this tribute? (2:54)

Total Time: 1:09:39

Download it here: Score 20 - A Merge Records Tribute

My Album Lists for 2008

Two posts in one day, but this one is not accompanied by a compilation-- just scroll down to the next entry for today's podcast.

My 30 Favorite Records of 2008:

01. Damian Jurado, Caught in the Trees
02. Crooked Fingers, Forfeit/Fortune
03. The Gaslight Anthem, The ’59 Sound
04. Jonathan Richman, Because Her Beauty is Raw and Wild
05. Paul Westerberg, 49:00
06. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
07. The Dutchess & the Duke: She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke
08. The Tallest Man on Earth: Shallow Grave
09. Cobra Verde, Haven’t Slept All Year
10. Chad VanGaalen, Soft Airplane
11. Army-Navy, Army-Navy
12. Drive-By Truckers, Brighter Than Creation
13. Capstan Shafts, Fixation Protocols
14. Gentleman Jesse & His Men, Gentleman Jesse & His Men
15. Ezra Furman & the Harpoons, Inside the Human Body
16. Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron, Lost Wisdom
17. The Lucksmiths, First Frost
18. The Wedding Present, El Rey
19. Matthew Sweet, Sunshine Lies.
20. Blitzen Trapper, Furr
21. What Made Milwaukee Famous, What Doesn’t Kill Us
22. Pelle Carlberg, The Lilac Time
23. Okkervil River, The Stand-Ins
24. She & Him, Volume One
25. Sun Kil Moon/Mark Kozelek, April/The Finally LP
26. Centro-matic/South San Gabriel, Dual Hawks
27. Silver Jews, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
28. Jay Reatard, The Matador Singles ‘08
29. Alejandro Escovedo, Real Animal
30. Shearwater, Rook

Ten more that were hovering nearby (in alphabetical):

01. American Princes, Other People
02. Billy Bragg, Mr. Love & Justice
03. Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst
04. Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs, Dirt Don’t Hurt
05. The Mountain Goats, Heretic Pride/Satanic Messiah ep
06. R.E.M., Accelerate
07. Robert Pollard, Robert Pollard is Off to Business
08. The Rosebuds, Life Like
09. Sloan, Parallel Play
10. TV on the Radio, Dear Science

Eight stellar debut full-lengths that have me hopeful of the future that didn't quite make my top 40:

1. Down By Avalon, Down By Avalon
2. The Weakends, The Weakends
3. Ty Segall, Ty Segall
4. Liam Finn: I’ll Be Lightning
5. Dead Trees: King of Rosa
6. Crystal Stilts, Alight of Night
7. Titus Andronicus, The Airing of Grievances
8. Women, Women


Five that could have been much better:

1. Bob Mould, District Line
2. Stephen Malkmus, Real Emotional Trash
3. Of Montreal, Skeletal Lamping
4. Magnetic Fields, Distortion
5. Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs

25 More Faves from 2008

Okay, the Boss has a new one out this week. This really isn't a video, but at least you can listen to the single (from the movie The Wrestler which I don't think has yet played here in Chattanooga) in its entirety.



Rounding out my year in songs, here's the third volume of my favorite songs of 2008 (also in alphabetical and sans commentary) with apologies to all the songs that didn't make the cut:

2008 - Volume 3

01. The Magnetic Fields, "The Nun's Litany" (2:58)
02. Mark Kozelek, "Finally" (2:13)
03. Michael Cera & Ellen Page, "Anyone Else But You" (1:57)
04. The Mountain Goats, "Sax Rohmer #1" (3:40)
05. Nada Surf, "From Now On" (2:36)
06. Of Montreal, "Gallery Piece" (3:48)
07. Pelle Carlberg, "Nicknames [Feat. Karolina Komstedt] (3:45)
08. Photon Band, "Where Did the Love Go? (3:41)
09. The Raconteurs, "Old Enough" (3:57)
10. Robert Pollard, "No One But I" (3:39)
11. She & Him, "Sweet Darlin'" (2:41)
12. Shearwater, "Century Eyes" (2:18)
13. Sliver Jews, "Aloyisius, Bluegrass Drummer" (1:54)
14. Sloan, "All I Am Is All You're Not" (3:03)
15. Sons & Daughters, "Iodine" (3:02)
16. The Spinto Band, "Summer Grof" (2:26)
17. Stephen Malkmus, "We Can't Help You" (3:04)
18. Titus Andronicus, "Titus Andronicus" (3:13)
19. TV on the Radio, "Golden Age" (4:14)
20. Ty Segall, "You're Not Me" (2:42)
21. The Weakends, "Devil By My Side" (2:39)
22. The Wedding Present, "Palisades" (3:52)
23. Wolf Parade, "The Grey Estates" (3:27)
24. Women, "Group Transport Hall"(3:27)
25. You Am I, "Beau Geste" (3:12)

Total Time: 1:14:55

Download it here: 2008 - Vol. 3