After months of work, I’m about ready to share what I believe will be a 12-volume compilation and a fantastic follow-up to Ladies of the Eighties …

A new mix, just for you and yours.

“I Had Lost My Mind”

00:00 Daniel Johnston — “I Had Lost My Mind”
01:10 Dick Hyman — “Strobo”
02:41 Gary Glitter — “I Didn’t Know I Loved You”
05:58 Kim Wilde — “Cambodia”
09:45 Miike Snow — “Animal”
14:05 Mtume — “Juicy Fruit”
17:44 Lee Fields & The Expressions — “My World Is Empty Without You”
21:41 The Sound Offs — “The Angry Desert”
24:00 The Jelly Bean Bandits — “Generation”
26:54 The Staple Singers — “I Had a Dream”
29:43 The Almighty Defenders — “Cone of Light”
32:58 Warren Zevon — “Excitable Boy”
35:28 Bill Fox — “I’ll Give It Away”
38:47 Chris Knox — “It’s Love”
41:20 Music Go Music — “Light of Love”
46:28 Roky Erickson — “Nothing in Return”

Click here to download/listen.

About 8 months ago I began work on a mix that I’m finally releasing to the public. Titled “Foreign Substance,” it is a compilation of global psychedelia — hence the double entendre — that I’m rather proud of. I hope you enjoy it.

Here’s the track list:

01 Psychoactive Substances
Serge Gainsbourg, “Melody” (France, 1971)
Blues Section, “Cherry Cup-Cake Twist” (Sweden, 1968)
Embryo, “The Music of Today” (Germany, 1975)

02 Very Few People Have Heard Marijuana
Pierre Henry & Michel Colombier, “Psyché Rock” (France, 1967)
Improved Sound, LTD., “Leave This Lesbian World” (Germany, 1969)
Terry Jacks, “The Love Game” (Canada, 1974)

03 A Voice in the Head
Bjorn Olsson, “Visionen Vecklar Ut Sitt Landskap” (Sweden, 1999)
Bran, “Y Gwylwyr” (Wales, 1975)
Yura Yura Teikoku, “Soft Death” (Japan, 2005)

04 Go Out of Your Mind
Hemant Bhosle feat. Asha Bhosle, “Phir Teri Yaad” (India, 1970s)
The Apryl Fool, “The Lost Mother Land (Pt. 2)” (Japan, 1969)
Los Holy’s, “Holys Psicodélicos” (Peru, 1967)

05 If Tim Leary Were Here
Kraftwerk, “Klingklang” (Germany, 1972)
Robert Wyatt, “Heaps of Sheeps” (United Kingdom, 1997)
Brigitte Fontaine & Areski, “L’engourdie” (France, 1974)

06 There Wasn’t Anything Close to It
Pugh Rogefeldt, Har Kommer Natten (Sweden, 1969)
Illes, Nem Erdekel Amit Mondsz (Hungary, 1973)
Los Dug Dug’s, “Smog” (Mexico, 1972)

07 The Effects of Grass
Barıs Manço, “Coban Yildizi” (Turkey, 1979)
Cluster & Eno, “Fur Luise” (Germany, United Kingdom, 1977)
Arthur Brown, “I Put a Spell on You” (United Kingdom, 1968)

08 Discovering Fire for the Second Time
Caetano Veloso, “Asa Branca” (Brazil, 1972)

Click here to download.

Here’s a mix featuring several newish releases. Enjoy!

Wooden Shjips – “For So Long”

Papercuts – “Future Primitive”

Bonnie “Prince” Billy – “Without Word, You Have Nothing”

Animal Collective – “No More Runnin’”

Bill Callahan – “All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast”

Dan Deacon – “Snookered”

Arthur Russell – “Habit Of You”

Woods – “To Clean”

The War On Drugs – “Taking The Farm”

(Download me for later.)

This project was a lot of fun to put together, and M really enjoyed it. We listened to it for most of the trip out to Pittsburgh for the holidays. All told, I spent about 40 hours researching, burning and organizing this sucker. There are 77 songs, total. It’s a kitchen sink approach, with a couple notable exceptions. If I do this for the guys, I’ll probably be more selective because otherwise I’ll end up with a 12-volume series. I think we’ll call the mens’ rendition, Totally Dudes.

Anyway, the parameters of Ladies of the Eighties are as follows:

1) All songs must have been released in the ’80s, obviously.

2) The artists/groups must feature a female singer. Pretty simple. No male-female duets, so those of you hoping to hear “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack will be sadly disappointed.

3) Only one song per artist. Belinda Carlisle and The Go-Go’s count as separate entries, for obvious reasons.

4) All songs must be considered a “hit,” even if that means a relatively minor hit like the Siouxsie song or the Josie Cotton tune, which was originally released by Bomp, then reissued by Elektra, where it reached No. 38 on the Billboard Club Play Singles list. It’s a great song, so sue me.

5) No Bette Middler. Fuck her. Fuck Enya, too.

It’s quite possible that I’ve forgotten someone who may meet the above criteria. Things become more gray when you get into the wide world of New Wave, or club/house music, which I know little about. So if you think of someone, lemme know.

The songs I selected are largely my favorite songs by the artist in question. In a few cases, I chose a particular song because I knew it was M’s favorite.

Enjoy.

—

Ladies of the Eighties, vol. 1

Irene Cara — Flashdance
Mary Jane Girls — In My House
The Jets — Crush on You
Tiffany — I Think We’re Alone Now
The Go-Go’s — Our Lips Are Sealed
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts — Do You Wanna Touch Me
Samantha Fox — Naughty Girls (Need Love To)
Blondie — Rapture
Katrina & The Waves — Walking on Sunshine
Aretha Franklin — Freeway of Love
Whitney Houston — I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)
Sade — Smooth Operator
Eurythmics — Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Frida — I Know There’s Something Going On
Fleetwood Mac — Gypsy
Kim Carnes — Bette Davis Eyes
Sheena Easton — Strut
Tracey Ullman — They Don’t Know
Missing Persons — Destination Unknown

DOWNLOAD (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Ladies of the Eighties, vol. 2

Taylor Dayne — Tell It to My Heart
Lita Ford — Kiss Me Deadly
Josie Cotton — Johnny, Are You Queer?
Bow Wow Wow — I Want Candy
Tina Turner — What’s Love Got To Do With It
Donna Summer — She Works Hard for the Money
Nena — 99 Luftballons
Nu Shooz — I Can’t Wait
10,000 Maniacs — Like The Weather
The B-52’s — Roam
Kate Bush — Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)
Pat Benatar — Love Is A Battlefield
Debbie Gibson — Lost In Your Eyes
Suzanne Vega — Luka
Janet Jackson — Miss You Much
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam — Head To Toe
Laura Branigan — Self Control
Bonnie Tyler — Total Eclipse of the Heart
Tracy Chapman — Fast Car

DOWNLOAD (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Ladies of the Eighties, vol. 3

Madonna — Borderline
Salt-n-Pepa — Push It
Sheila E. — A Love Bizarre
Juice Newton — Queen of Hearts
Melissa Manchester — You Should Hear How She Talks About You
Quarterflash — Harden My Heart
Scandal — The Warrior
Siouxsie & the Banshees — Cities in Dust
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians — What I Am
The Pretenders — Back on the Chain Gang
Belinda Carlisle — Mad About You
Chaka Khan — I Feel For You
Jody Watley — Looking For a New Love
Roxette — Dressed for Success
Heart — These Dreams
Stephanie Mills — Never Knew Love Like This
Paula Abdul — Straight Up
Toni Basil — Mickey
Diana Ross — I’m Coming Out

DOWNLOAD (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Ladies of the Eighties, vol. 4

Martika — Toy Soldiers
Gloria Estefan — 1-2-3
Bananarama — Cruel Summer
Deniece Williams — Let’s Hear It For The Boy
Natalie Cole — Miss You Like Crazy
The Motels — Only The Lonely
Kim Wilde — Kids In America
The Bangles — In Your Room
Cyndi Lauper — She Bop
Berlin — Take My Breath Away
Olivia Newton-John — Physical
The Weather Girls — It’s Raining Men
Technotronic — Pump Up the Jam
Exposé — Point of No Return
Pebbles — Girlfriend
Stacey Q — Two of Hearts
The Pointer Sisters — I’m So Excited
T’Pau — Heart and Soul
The Waitresses — I Know What Boys Like
Dolly Parton — 9 To 5

DOWNLOAD (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Bonus downloads:
Tom Tom Club – Genius of Love
Stevie Nicks – Edge of Seventeen
Neneh Cherry – “Buffalo Stance”
‘Til Tuesday – Voices Carry
Shannon – “Let the Music Play”

—

UPDATE: The critics have spoken …

“Holy shit … this is AMAZING!”

–Jenny S., The Tucson Rock and Roll Guardian

“Jeeeeezzzzus this is comprehensive!”

–Eric H., The Rural German Disc Inquirer

Without a job to wake up for, I stay up until two in the morning, slip on the comfortable pair of headphones, peruse the ass end of my iTunes catalog (Ys, Zs, and numeral bands), and get to work.

Unemployment Blues

00:00 Introduction

00:19 3’s a Crowd — “I Don’t Wanna Drive You Away” (excerpt)

01:42 Zoo — “Hard Times, Good Times”

05:03 Yo La Tengo — “False Ending”

05:49 Young-Holt Trio — “Wack Wack”

08:44 Young Jacques — “Jacques Cousteau”

11:05 The 6ths — “Falling out of Love with You”

13:47 Yoko Ono — “I Felt Like Smashing My Face in a Clear Glass Window”

17:46 Yuya Uchida & The Flowers — “Combination of the Two” (excerpt)

20:59 Yabby U — “Version Dub”

23:29 24-Carat Black — “Poverty’s Paradise” (excerpt)

25:30 6ix — “I’m Just Like You”

28:07 The Yellow Jackets — “So What”

30:48 The Yardbirds — “Hot House of Omagararshid”

33:23 The 5th Dimension — “Let the Sunshine In (Reprise)”

ORGANS!, the long-awaited (by me anyway) follow up to last year’s smashing success, HORNS!, is ready to hit the shelves. If you’d like a copy, leave me a comment.

01 Introduction
02 Memphis Black: Why Don’t You Play the Organ, Man?
03 ? and the Mysterians: 96 Tears
04 Elvis Costello & the Attractions: The Imposter
05 The Small Faces: What’cha Gonna Do About It?
06 The Clean: Tally Ho!
07 Kim Fowley: Bubblegum
08 The Cyrkle: Red Rubber Ball
09 Adrienne Posta: Something Beautiful
10 Beefeaters: Hey Little Girl
11 Jonathan Fire Eater: Give Me Daughters
12 The Crazy World of Arthur Brown: I Put a Spell on You
13 Yo La Tengo: Sudden Organ
14 Blues Magoos: (We Ain’t Got) Nothing Yet
15 Status Quo: Green Tambourine
16 Mouse & the Traps: Cryin’ Inside
17 Clinic: Distortions
18 Rocketship: I Love You the Way I Used to Do
19 Camera Obscura: If Looks Could Kill
20 Adventures in Stereo: Down in the Traffic
21 Chubby Checker: Stoned in the Bathroom
22 Elfstone: Louisiana Teardrops
23 The Artwoods: One More Heartache
24 The Modern Lovers: Old World
25 The Lyres: She Pays the Rent
26 XTC: Are You Receiving Me?
27 The Galaxies IV: Piccadilly Circus

The Druids of Stonehenge — do they make the cut?

Ever since my freshman year of high school I’ve been on a quest to create my own personal “best of rock” compilation. My first attempt came on the heels of inheriting my older brothers’ record collections, which meant I finally had access to the catalogs of The Police, Dire Straits, and Led Zep. In response to what at the time seemed like a somewhat comprehensive influx of rock music into my collection, I tried to compile a list of the Top 500 All-Time Rock Songs, a concept that is utterly silly for even the Christgaus of the world. I had to have a recorded version of this list, which meant that I had to of course own the songs I was selecting. That meant an awkward, incredibly limited hodgepodge of mainstream rock crap, from then-current radio staples like Extreme and Bon Jovi to AC/DC, from old Aerosmith to “new” Aerosmith. Luckily, time has swallowed both the list and the 15 or so cassette tapes that made up the compilation. But time has not taken away my desire to chronicle my tastes.

Nowadays that urge manifests itself in fun, sometimes clever compilations (like the Songs About Girls 3CD mix) or end-of-the-year Best of CDs. But as of late I’ve been kicking the tires on another overwhelmingly ambitious project, a 100-song, four CD mix of my personal fave “garage rock” songs from pre-1970. I haven’t actually began to seriously research the mix, but I’m certain that it would be much more significant than a combination of the two Nuggets boxes. Otherwise, what would be the point?

While the comp would no doubt frustrate me to no end, it would nonetheless be a challenging project that I’m sure would feel dated to me the minute I completed it (hopefully far less so than the Top 500 comp of 18 years ago, though; just a year after compiling that list I discovered the Chili Peppers and my world tilted on its axis). The frustrations for the garage rock comp would come as a result of being limited to just 100 songs. To most, I’m sure that seems like a lot of room to maneuver, but I’ve got so many records that feature garage rock from around the globe — not to mention like 20 volumes of the Rubble series and countless other garage series comps — that I could easily do a USA and non-USA Top 100 (a la the Nuggets model). I don’t want to do that, however; I want to force myself to make stupid decisions, to narrow down my favorite Druids of Stonehenge songs from three to the one that could make the cut, or to mandate that no more than three Kinks songs can make the list. Then, after deciding which 100 songs cut the rug, I’d have to actually order them 100 down to 1. That process on its own could take me a month.

My question to you is, “Am I crazy?” Would you actually listen to a 100-song comp of my fave garage rockers? I mean, do you even ever listen to Nuggets, assuming you own it? And does it sound largely obvious and deficient to you, as it does to me? Give me some direction here folks.