I enjoyed these back in the day, and it's been a while since we've had one. And, hey, I actually have an iPod this time around, so at least I can participate.

I only have a 4GB and I mostly listen to podcasts, so I may not get as much diversity as you guys, but here goes. Have a feeling that U2 will pop up more than once, as I stuck quite a few of their albums on there a while ago when going through a phase.

1. U2 - Love Is Blindness

And straight off the bat! One of those late night, lying in bed, moonlight through the window kind of tracks. I love those type of songs, particularly to end an album with.

2. BS 2000 - N.Y. Is Good

This is, I believe, one of the Beastie Boys side projects. The version on my iPod is the opening track from a Mix Master Mike mix CD. It's decent.

3. Girl Talk - Ask About Me

Love this album, but not a huge fan of the sexually explicit lyrics used. It can be embarrassing to have coming from the car radio. This one features lyrics about "getting your pussy wet" over Spandau Ballet's True.

4. Beastie Boys - That's It That's All

Nothing special from a nothing special album. Not offensively bad either though.

5. The Prodigy - Omen Reprise

A 2 minute reprise of a song that I'm growing to like more lately. Never understood the point of a reprise to be honest. Actually the last 4 tracks have been around the 2-3 minute mark. This is going quickly.

6. Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

My favourite of their songs, though truthfully, I'm only really familiar with their first album, despite owning a couple. This and Dark Of The Matinee are the only two of theirs I have on here.

7. U2 - Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?

2 tracks from the same album? Not much randomness going on here. This is a good one to sing out loud to.

8. Large Professor - Back To Back

Jesus, another track from the Mix Master Mike CD. Not much to say about this one.

9. U2 - Wild Honey

Fuck. I really don't like this song. Skip.

10. Damien Rice - Rootless Tree

Up until this point, I felt my list was fairly lame and not really a representation of my tastes lately. This makes up for it. This is from his second album, 9, and it took me quite a while to really get into as much as O (one of my top 3 albums ever, maybe #1). But I've been playing the hell out of it the last few weeks. This was released as a single, and yet features the chorus... "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you and all we've been through". I'm not sure if it was bleeped on the radio or even got played ever. He sure doesn't like making things easy for himself.

Quite a mainstream selection, no? I think I'm gonna have to cycle some songs off of there this week. That's the problem with a 4GB iPod.

Excellent, I love these.

1. Suzanne - Leonard Cohen. Good song.
I love Leonard Cohen.

2. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Zappa.
An instrumental by Zappa.

3. Coal Miner's Daughter - Loretta Lynn.
Classic country...ahhh.

4. Tony Montgomery - Dylan and the Band.
Not the best song these guys did together but very good.

5. Laurence of Euphoria - Skip Spence
Honestly, I never got into Skip Spence until recently. Oar is a pretty good album.

6.Good times are past and gone - Flatt and Scruggs
This isn't the best example, but these guys found a way to push the bluegrass envelope. They covered quite a few Dylan tunes, and Scruggs probably helped the formation of Newgrass more than any single musician other than John Hartford.

7. Cold Chill - Stevie Wonder.
I love Stevie, but "Conversation Peace" is an album that doesn't do it for me. This song is very solid, though.

8. Jesus will take me home - Leon Russell and Newgrass Revival.
Leon Russell is one of my favorite musicians of all time. His country album with Willie Nelson was amazing, and his songwriting ability was very good.

9. Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix (from the box set)
This is a great version.

10. What we really were - Mission of Burma.
Yes, oh Fuck YES! These guys are coming to Madison in April and I cannot wait!

1. Radiohead - Prove Yourself

An alright song from Radiohead's first album. Just a small small glimpse into their future awesomeness here.

2. The Beach Boys - Boogie Woodie

I love the Beach Boys, but this is an early nothing instrumental song. Totally forghetable.

3. Harvey Danger - Carlotta Valdez

Harvey Danger is so great, and this is another great song by them. About the movie Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcook. Never seen that movie before, so whatever. Love the song though.

4. George Harrison - Isn't it a Pity (Version 1)

My favourite Beatle's first solo album post Beatles. Carl Harrison had some fun songs on All Things Must Pass, this one is good and you could see it fit onto a Beatles album somewhere.

5. Spoon - Goodnight Laura

One of the better songs on the new Spoon album. The album isn't anything special. I do love the piano on this one.

6. Stars - He Lied About Death

Stars are one of those cool indie Canadian bands with some out of this world songs and some average songs. This is one of the average ones.

7. Neil Young - A Man Needs a Maid

Neil Young is the man, but this song is bizarre. It does sound good though.

8. At the Drive-In - Enfiade

Speaking of bizarre! The hyenna talking intro to this song is insane. Then again, so is the rest of the song.

9. Billy Bragg & Wilco - Black Wind Blowing

Love Mermaid Avenue, Mermaid Avenue Vol. II is disappointing though. This is alright.

10. Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance

This is a super fun album and this is the closer. A nice bouncy song.

1. Dave Brubeck - Take Five

Starting to really get into jazz as I get older and this is some great milling around the house alone chill music.

2. Juelz Santana- Dipset (Santana's Town)

About one of the last vestiges of New Millenium Hip Hop I care for.

3. RUN-DMC - Down With the King

Because it's RUN-DMC fools! Plus its DMC's greatest verse EVER.

4. Telepopmusik- Breathe(extended mix)

I love, love, love this song! Great relflecting music.

5. Q Lazarus- Goodbye Horses

Just one of the songs that has always stuck in my head since Silence of the Lambs. I even got the Buffalo Bill dance down pat!

6. Azul- La Bomba

Two words: Super. Porky.

7. Snoop/C Murder- Down 4 My N's

Not a big No Limit fan however, this song was definitely a banger.

8. Earth, Wind and Fire_- Reasons

Loved EW&F since I was a youngster and this is my favorite cut.

9. Coco Brovas- Won on Won

Been ridin with them since they were Smiff-n-Wessun

10. Andrae Bocelli- Con te Partiro

Beautiful song. End of story.


Yeah, I know, I got real eclectic tastes...........

Oh man... I've missed this!

Von Freeman - Never Fear Jazz Is Here

Von Freeman is in his 80's but you'd never know it from how hard he is swinging.

Raekwon ft. Ghostface - Cold Outside

OB4CL2 has really grown on me. This is one of those R&B joints that turns deadly serious.

Napalm Death - From Enslavement To Obliteration (Live)

Finally, I have a version of this song with Barney on vocals. This live track, well, obliterates. ND are phenomenal live.

Nick Drake - Fly (Acoustic Version)

I prefer this to the one with strings. Such a sad, tender little ballad.

Miles Davis - Miles Runs The Voodoo Down

I love electric Miles but had to skip this cuz it's 18min long and I needed something easier to focus on

Therapy? - Teethgrinder

Perfect. I've been diggin' so much Therapy? lately. They were one of the 90's best bands, easily.

Goblin - Aquaman

This just kinda noodles around for five minutes before becoming the greatest sub-Pink Floyd Pink Floyd song ever.

Jeru The Damaja - Come Clean

Classic. One of the greatest hip-hop songs ever.

Billie Holiday - I Cover The Waterfront (live)

This song makes me want to die. So sad. Stan Getz takes a great solo here.

Kraftwerk - Pocket Calculator

Kneel before Kraftwerk!

I think it's 7000+ files on this work machine...

1) "Sadness" by Norikazu Miura, from the Suikoden V soundtrack

2) "Everybody's Fool" by Evanescence - Yes, even I got hooked by poppy rock Gothic lyrics. Thankfully I broke out of it after the follow up album, which was awful.

3) "City of Dools" by G-Spac - This may be mis-labeled for all I know. It's from a Ghost in the Shell techno tribute album.

4) "Awoke, Only To Fall Asleep Again" by SunDummy & Stephen Philips - I have a love of Drone music, especially at work or to fall asleep to.

5) "Just a Girl" by No Doubt - One of my many theme songs

6) "Kickin' My Heart Around" by the Black Crowes - This is about as close to country as I get

7) "Fight Tune: Arms of Shinra" by Masashi Hamauzu, from the Dirge of Cerberus soundtrack - A case where the soundtrack far outshines the game

8) "Thunder Kiss '65" by White Zombie - He's fun in small doses

9) "503" by Hans Zimmer, from the Angels and Demons soundtrack - This is one of my top three Hans Zimmer soundtracks, even though I'll never see the movie because I can't stand Dan Brown's writing.

10) "Tubthumping" by Chumbawumba - Another one of my many theme songs

Watch, the next 10 songs will be all music and anime. ;-)

Michael Jackson - Beat It

I've been pumpin' MJ tunes since his death and this one has quickly become my favorite. The beat is sick. Despite the silly backing chorus, Michael actually manages sounds tough! Great song. The mini-movie by Scorcese is great too!

Willie Nelson - Always On My Mind

A classic. Makes me want to weep into my beer.

Cappadonna ft. Ratchet & Raekwon - Life's A Gamble

Sick beat sampled from SUSPIRIA. Rae sounds asleep on it though. Cappa comes correct, though his voice sounds slightly hoarse. Ratchet is on the chorus and adds nothing. Sad waste of a sick, sick beat.

Scud Mountain Boys - Freight of Fire

One of the saddest alt-country songs I've ever heard. There are two versions of the song. The Pine Box version and the one from Dance The Night Away. They are slightly different from one another but both wonderful just the same.

Sepultura - Drug Me

A Dead Kennedy's cover from the Virus 100 tribute album. This was recorded around the same time as Arise and has that signature sound to it. A very simplistic song that really doesn't highlight the band's strengths too well. Igor, one of metal's best drummers, sounds really stunted by it.

Yep. Been my favourite MJ track for time. Since at least 2000, when I started uni and played HIStory a lot for some reason. I think the big hook for me was the EVH solo, which might be the most insane I've ever heard in a straight-up pop song.

1. "What Do You Know?" by MURS

This will remind you that the old school is the best school.

2. "Fucking In The Bushes" by Oasis

When the Gallagher brothers are determined to act like self-destructive media whores, they get on my fucking nerves. When they STFU and play their instruments, badass tracks like this are the result.

3. "Little Things" by Danny Elfman (from the sountrack for the movie, WANTED)

You thought Elfman couldn't make pop tracks after he left Oingo Boingo and was only good for brooding symphonic movie music? You guessed wrong.

4. East Jesus Nowhere by Green Day

Everytime I begin to think that Green Day is a fly by night poser punk band that will fade out any day now, along comes a song like this that proves me wrong. This song is a fucking anthem.

5. Another Body Murdered by BOO-YAA Tribe / Faith No More

The Judgement Night soundtrack needs to be re-issued like yesterday.

I made a mistake. The MJ/Scorcese mini-movie is for Bad.

Damn right. that Soundtrack was on constant rotation in my high school years. I wore out the cassette before I converted over to Cd's

1. Shadow Of The Day - Linkin Park
I like their more angry music. Just seems too calm. Since they hit mainstream, they lost some of their edge
2. Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck - Demon Hunter
Cover of the Prong song, by the same name. Just incredible. Bwahaha
3. Rat Race - The Specials
Nice little ska melody.
4. Turn The Page- Metallica
Must be cover day. Two covers so far. One of my favorite Metallica covers not named Am I Evil
5. Piano Man - Billy Joel
Wow, how did that get in there. I enjoy a piano driven ballad as much as the next person. Despite my crunching heavy metal guitar tendencies, I like an easy listening tune now and then.

I actually had no idea this existed. I loved the Oompa Loompa songs for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, especially the very Boingo-esque "Tale of Violet Beauregarde." I will go and purchase this track now.

My iTunes and iPod is a mishmash of 90% of my CD collection and most MP3's I have collected over the years, so who knows what will come up...

Tick Tock - The Vaughan Brothers

In addition to being the guitar legend he is, this shows the man could also sing with soul and passion. Damn hard to believe it will be 20 years this August that we lost him.

Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth

One of the great one-hit wonders of the 80s.

I Am The Walrus (Anthology 2 version) - The Beatles

The straight version before the overdubbing of strings, choruses, and radio broadcast.

Doggin' Around - Jackie Wilson

One of the greatest singers ever to step in front of a microphone.

Night Rider - Dick Dale and His Del-Tones

Speaking of badass guitar players...

The Way of Love - Ronnie Dio and The Prophets

Ronnie James Dio's pre-metal career from circa 1964 or 1965. A ballad later made a hit by Cher and Ronnie goes all Broadway during the second half of the song. Dude could've had a decent career as a pop crooner had he not taken the path he took.

Long Black Limousine - Elvis Presley

One of the tracks from his Memphis sessions in early 1969. The greatest recordings Elvis ever made.

The Witch - The Sonics

The Sonics ruled. That is all.

Unanswered Prayers - Garth Brooks

Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the explosion of Garth in the music scene. I still dig his stuff, I don't care.

(Gotta Get) A Meal Ticket - Elton John

A rocking track from the awesome Captain Fantastic album.

Sleepwalk - White Witch

The most awesome obscure 70s band you have never heard of. Mix pop, rock, jazz, progressive, glam, southern boogie, and space rock in a blender and this is what you get. And they were the odd group out signed to Capricorn Records. Singer Ronn Goedert's vocals are like an odd blend of Axl Rose and Geddy Lee. Their two-out-of-print album are worth checking out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Witch_(band)

Spiders and Snakes - Jim Stafford

Heh. Every iPod or similar MP3 player needs a novelty song, right?

1. "President of What?" by Death Cab For Cutie
First song in the shuffle is the first song from the first release by DCFC; how apropos...
2. "Gracie" by Ben Folds
This is Folds in full-on sentimental pap mode, but it's a lovely little melody.
3. "Tropicalia" by Beck
Love the bouncy little guitar riff that opens up the song.
4. "Cowboy Dan" by Modest Mouse
From MM's breakthrough album "The Lonesome Crowded West". The image of a man shooting a rifle into the sky and yelling that if he has to die then God does too is great.
5. "Outlaw Blues" by Bob Dylan
The lyrics are mainly about Dylan shedding his former politically conscious folk singer image. A very prototypical blues melody, nearly identical to "Roadhouse Blues" by The Doors.
6. "Ant Farm" by Eels
At only 2:12, one of the shorter tracks from E's sea change album, "Electro-Shock Blues", which is full of short tracks: only one song runs over 4 minutes.
7. "Not Even Jail" by Interpol
One of those many Interpol songs that you can tell someone "if you don't like this song, don't bother listening to anything else by them."
8. "Green Shirt" by Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Good track off of "Armed Forces", one of my favorite Costello/Attractions albums.
9. "Rag and Bone" by The White Stripes
I love the little bit with Jack and Meg bantering back and forth that opens the song.
10. "Your Rocky Spine" by Great Lake Swimmers
My girlfriend turned me on to these guys last year. Some great banjo in this track.

Akoya Afrobeat Orchestra - Fela Dey

Dubbed out, modern-day afrobeat.

Unsane - Empty Cartridge

Like getting run over by a bus.

Sinister - Diabolical Summoning

These guys scare the shit outta me.

The Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds (Live '93)

I could listen to this forever.

Method Man - Meth vs. Chef

I wish this beat was hotter. Edit~! Never mind, I am an idiot. This beat is smokin! Chef owns Meth on this.

His Desperate Housewives theme is seriously one of the overlooked awesome compositions of last decade.


Their first album had some moments of obscene beauty.

John Frusciante - Your Pussy's Glued To A Building On Fire
Lo-fi freak-folkists and Barret-heads should care about Frusciante's heroin albums more. This is one of the best songs on any of them. It is the sounds of junkie insanity.

Funkadelic - Cosmic Slop
"My mom's a hooker" lyrics over a murderous bassline. The live version from "Hardcore Jollies" is superior, cause it got a guitar solo.

Jay Reatard - Nightmares
Awww. Blood Visions is so without any down time, a complete front-to-backer. "I'll keep searching for you", it's SO CATCHY. What a great songwriter who is dead for ever and ever.

The Beatles - When I'm Sixty-Four
I fucking hate this song. So much. Paul McCartney is like the friend of your friend (your friend is John Lennon) who you hang out with a lot and he always tries to be nice to you but you still think he is a stupid little pussy.

Animal Collective - Peacebone
I'm from Baltimore! I liked 'em way before Merriweather! I think Strawberry Jam's the best thing they've ever done; Avey's voice is so high in the mix and I think it's the best sound the band has. This, Reverend Green, and Fireworks are just such monumentally sonic pop rock songs.

Pink Floyd - Wot's... Uh the Deal
I'm getting really, really good songs out of my shuffle. I love the Gilmour-lead Floyd from between the More soundtrack and Obscured by Clouds (except Atom Heart Mother). There's lots of songs that you'd figure would be on the radio, but for some reason "One of These Days" is the only one. "The Nile Song" and "Ibiza Bar", "Fearless", "Free Four", "Childhood's End", "Cymbaline", the never-properly-recorded "Embryo", "Crumbling Land"...

Blur - Tender
Man, how was this not a mega-super-monster hit? There's like, five hooks in it and they all work. It's like a Michael Jackson song. Damon Albarn is a great singer who is not afraid to tambourine, handclap, and choir the piss out of a song.

Otis Redding - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
I prefer this and the Devo version to the original. Something about the horns here, and how Otis keeps says "satisfashion".

Prince - I Would Die 4 U
I grew up in Eden Prairie (the former home of the GRAFITTI BRIDGE) and I've seen Purple Rain like, a billion times. We are all very lucky to live in a universe where such a ridiculous being as Prince can and does exist.

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Damage
Return To The 36 Chambers should ALSO be dug more by Barret-heads. Dirt's career needs to be reevaluated as the important avant-garde event that it was, god damnit.

Shuffle...

1. Nirvana - Negative Creep (Live @ Reading)
Not the biggest Nirvana fan, but I've always liked this song. Daddy's little girl ain't a girl no more.

2. Willie Williams - Armagideon Time
Original of the Clash cover. Not really a reggae fan, but this makes me rethink that whole stance. A lot of people won't get no supper tonight.

3. Calexico - Attack El Robot! Attack!
Fun instrumental thingie from Feast of Wire.

4. Blitzen Trapper - Fire and Fast Bullets
Just heard them on World Cafe. Gotta get this album back out, it's a fun one. There's dragons and demons alive in the sky.

5. Leonard Cohen - The Partisan
I slept on Cohen for waaaay too long. I wish I was an eighth as cool as him. There were three of us this morning. I'm the only one this evening.

6. Air France - Collapsing At Your Doorstep
Last year was the year I fully embraced electronic music. This is just gorgeous. No. Better. Sorta like a dream.

7. Neil Young - Down By the River (Live @ Massey Hall)
Nice shorter version of this song. Neil's the man, nuff said. She could drag me over the rainbow and send me away.

8. Spoon - The Ghost of You Lingers (Daytrotter session)
I like the new album quite a bit. I still really dig the minimalism of Kill the Moonlight. This is a cool version recorded for Daytrotter. Very synth-y. I had a nightmare nothing could be put back together.

9. Sun Kil Moon - Glenn Tipton
Holy fuck do I love this song! A verse about his dad, a verse about a dead donut shop owner, and a verse about a young serial killer, and it's beautiful to boot. Some like Jim Nabors, some Bobby Vinton. I like em all.

10. Brazos - Avignon
I downloaded Brazos' Phosphorescent Blues a couple months ago, but never really got into it. This song is really cool, though. A new seat at the table. It's our's to fill it up.

That was fun.

I love these threads. Let's see how my ipod will embarrass me today.

1. The New Pornographers - These are the Fables Not my favorite NP song, but a nice bit of songwriting. Good start.

2. Common ft/Sadat X & Talib Kweli - One-Nine-Nine-Nine For some reason I have the edited version of Soundbombing 3 on here. Common absolutely rips it on this one. I have forgotten what a great CD this is.

3. Dntel ft/Grizzle Bear - To a Fault Downloaded this album when it came out, listened to the first couple of songs and put it away. Not my cup of tea.

4. Handsome Boy Modeling School - Once Again Dan the Automator is still one of my favorite producers. His stuff has held up really well.

5. Barenaked Ladies - Footprints Eh. Let's just move along.

6. Rod Stewart - You're in my Heart Not the best Rod Stewart song but I have a soft spot for it.

7. Johnny Cash - Understand Your Man Yeah, this is pretty middle of the road Johnny Cash, but it's still Johnny Cash.

8. Vampyros Lesbos - Track 08 I love this album so fucking much.

9. Belle & Sebastian - Beautiful Tigermilk is one of my desert island albums, totally solid from top to bottom.

10. Flying Burrito Brothers - High Fashion Queen Fuck yeah! I love the rambling piano in this song. It's a shame Gram Parsons was such an asshole because boy, he sure could sing.

Their track, Scrape, makes me want to either get into a barfight or ride a BMX off of a cliff and BASE Jump to oblivion. Unsane fucking rules.

1. Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler) - Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye is a poet. A fucking poet, I say.

2. Fast Cars - Aesop Rock

Where has this amazing white boy rapper gone to? He owes me another fucking album.

3. How To Operate With A Blown Mind - Lo-Fidelity Allstars

Man, this song is sexy! Too bad that electronica is supposedly passe these days.

4. Hard To Please - Frank Ilfman w/ Charlie Grant providing vocals

One day I was goofing off at my apartment and some crap movie called Hollywood Flies was on Showtime. I really wasn't paying attention to the movie until this weird scene where Vinnie Jones is playing some criminal and he's dancing with some Italian girl he's holding hostage.

This track was playing during the scene and it is soooooo the captivating song. It took me a good six months to find the MP3 and toss it onto my iPod.

5. Under Attack - Devola

It saddens me that Devola was the odd band out when alt girl rock took off and Flyleaf and Paramore started to hit it big. This song kicks ass, especially the apeshit insane percussions.

6. Pump It Hottie - The Red-Head Kingpin and the FBI

Can't believe a thing about the New Jack Swing. This track is nothing but the truth.

7. Bullet The Blue Sky - U2

I think Bono and The Edge are talented guys, but holy shit. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. prove on this song that U2 is made up of four badasses, not just two.

Sonny Rollins - Caravan (Live at the Village Vanguard)

Sonny Rollins without a piano player is an uninhibited nightmare. He just flies off into his own stratosphere. Tenor trio recordings are incredibly rare, most players get lost without the chord changes. Not Sonny. He uses it as a chance to really shine.

Prong - Unconditional

How many times does Tommy Victor yell "Unconditional" in this song? Sounds like at least twenty-five.

Slayer - Psychopathy Red

This 7" blew me away. Had me psyched for World Painted Blood. Too bad this was the best song on it.

Nirvana - Dumb

I'm only just now beginning to understand just how awesome Nirvana was. At the time it was just too easy to get caught up in all the hype. Then I went backwards (Pixies, Killing Joke, Gang of Four) and felt that Nirvana were just too derivative. Then a decade or so passed by and now I think they are awesome again.

Danzig - How The Gods Kill

The most bad-ass evil riff ever (once it kicks in).

Had a nice long stretch of uninterrupted music listening this morning at work...

The Esquire All-American 1946 Award Winners - Long Long Journey

Duke Ellington, Don Byas, Louis Armstrong all on the same cut together. 'Nuff said!

Heresy - Face Up To It

Mindmeltingly fast proto-grind from Nottingham, UK. If you like ND, Siege, Cryptic Slaughter, etc...

Horace Parlan - The Book's Beat

Greasy spoon jazz for the after-hours set. Grant Green is an under-heralded guitar master.

Lamb - Five

Short, sweet instrumental from this influential trip-hop duo.

Napalm Death - Hung (live)

Barney screams out "Hung" at the top of his lungs before the band has even begun and already I can picture a fuckin' huge circle pit breaking out. This is one of ND's best songs and they take it at a much faster clip live.

Sonic Youth - 100%

My favorite song from Dirty.

Metallica - Master of Puppets

No matter how much they suck now, people will be pumping this tune for as long as life exists on earth. So fuckin' righteous!

The Budos Band - Chicago Falcon

The Budos hit such a sick groove on this. It's just impossible to sit still too. All you funk and soul cats need to get down with the Budos sound.

Killing Joke - Love Like Blood

The absolute highlight of their synth era and one of their catchiest songs.

Vangelis - Dawn

As retro-dated as Vangelis's music sounds now, to me it still sounds like the future was meant to.

Nottingham has to be one of the great under-rated heavy music hotbeds.

1. Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys - I think this is Jay's best single in a long time. Simple piano beat from Alicia with a good build to the choruses.

2. Best Rapper Alive - Lil' Wanye - I like this Lil' Wayne better than anything from him after "Dedication 2."

3. A Little Doubt Goes A Long Way - Reel Big Fish - One band that stands out for making crappier albums the longer they stay around. Good song, but they peaked with "Turn Off the Radio."

4. Choo Choo Ch'Boogie - Asleep At The Wheel - A classic from the best West Texas Swing band ever.

5. Don't Hate Me (Because I'm Beautiful) - Nerf Herder - Hell yes. I loved the BASEketball soundtrack.

6. Water Runs Dry - Boyz II Men - Took me back to middle school dances. They don't make groups like this anymore.

7. Redneck Games - Jeff Foxworthy - I can't believe I still have this on my iPod, but it wasn't terrible. Well, compared to Larry The Cable Guy, I guess.

8. Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money - The definition of the song that gets stuck in your head and NEVER LEAVES.

9. Magic - Ben Folds Five - The further back I go in the catalog, the more I like from Ben Folds.

10. If You Only Knew - Jurassic 5 - For my money, "Power in Numbers" was the best hip hop album released in the 00's. Not as gritty as their early stuff, but not so polished that it became mainstream. About as good an album as I have in my collection.

1.) "Don't Follow" - Alice in Chains

-Okay so this one isn't truly random since it was the song I was listening to when I clicked on the thread. One of my favorite AIC songs off of possibly the best song for song album/EP they ever released.

2.) "Wagon Wheel" - Against Me!
-A cover of an Old Crow Medicine Show song, and it is really great. I prefer this song to the other because the lone vocals of Tom Gabel pack a bigger punch to me than the group vocals of the other version.

3.) "Lip Gloss and Black" - Atreyu
-Ahh the angsty past of my teenage years. I used to listen to this song a lot back then, but I not too much anymore. The fact I added it to my iPod says that I legitimately like it, and that is true. Plus, it is much better than anything Atreyu puts out these days.

4.) "Suffocate" - Sevendust
-I love Sevendust and I

1.) "Don't Follow" - Alice in Chains

-Okay so this one isn't truly random since it was the song I was listening to when I clicked on the thread. One of my favorite AIC songs off of possibly the best song for song album/EP they ever released.

2.) "Wagon Wheel" - Against Me!
-A cover of an Old Crow Medicine Show song, and it is really great. I prefer this song to the other because the lone vocals of Tom Gabel pack a bigger punch to me than the group vocals of the other version.

3.) "Lip Gloss and Black" - Atreyu
-Ahh the angsty past of my teenage years. I used to listen to this song a lot back then, but I not too much anymore. The fact I added it to my iPod says that I legitimately like it, and that is true. Plus, it is much better than anything Atreyu puts out these days.

4.) "Suffocate" - Sevendust
-I love Sevendust and I really, really like the "Seasons" album as a whole, and while this isn't the best song on that album it is

Lucky Man - Alan Price
I just downloaded this. I'm cheating and just starting from here so not entirely random. Title song from a great movie no one has seen called O Lucky Man! Upbeat little number, nothing mind blowing but an enjoyable 2:14. If wisdom hangs around your neck like pearls instead of chains, you are a lucky man.

Damnation Alley - Hawkwind
Not by any means my favourite Hawkwind track. I've only got a couple disks worth of their stuff (a custom job from a friend of mine who decided I couldn't live without hearing Hawkwind, and he was more or less right) but this woudln't be more than somewhere in the middle. Still, it has Dr. Strangelove references. It can't possibly be all bad though it never really takes off for me the way some of my favourites of theirs do.

Dumb - Nirvana
Off the Unplugged album, which remains probably my favourite thing they did. Again not my favourite track off the album or anything, but I love that album so much it's hard to miss.

Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
This is the live version off the BBC Sessions album, which for the record is my favourite Zeppelin album by far. This is better than the studio version, no fucking contest.

Refuse/Resist - Sepultura
I guess as far as Sepultura goes, this is a classic. Pretty much the only "screaming band" I can still listen to, except maybe Slayer. Sepultura is pretty great and I like this track a lot to this day. It's not Roots Bloody Roots but it's still pretty great.

The Villa Medici Fountain at Sunset - Respighi
I absolutely love when a classical track follows a really heavy track on my list or vice versa. Although this is no "Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Winter 1st Movement + Rammstein's Mein Tiel", which is about the most goddamn awesome combination of things ever when you put them back to back, but still a nice enough track here. Sounds like the kind of thing that belongs as background music in an old movie.

Of the Girl - Pearl Jam
This is off one of their 70 trillion live albums (they record and offer almost all of their live shows individually), in this case a show from Montreal on which this was the opening cut, and it might be my favourite track from the whole show. Just a great live song that encompasses Pearl Jam's sound so well.

Mein Tiel - Rammstein
Ha. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Great track by pretty much my favourite band that is not Black Sabbath. Angry music to scare old folks at it's very best. I remember when these guys were new around when I was in high school and I stumbled across them on the Lost Highway soundtrack. It was one of maybe 5 bands I ever heard that I thought "I need more of this, today, right fucking now". I never have fallen out of love with them since.

Rocker - AC/DC
I'm a big fan of the Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheep album. This is a nice sub-three minute burst of high speed action. There are probably kids mish mashing things out there these days swing dancing to this or something. More power to them I guess. Not as good as Ride On or Squealer but it doesn't offend my ears.

The Ghost of Tom Joad - Bruce Springsteen
I never listened to Springsteen at all until I was in my mid-20's but I've got a few select tracks around these days. I like this song a lot, but I've never heard the full album.

Battle Cry - by Nujabes and Shing02

I have outgrown anime (or at least I don't like the new stuff) but Samurai Champloo still holds a special place on my DVD shelf and this track is so fucking mellow. And the beats, Dear Lord, the beats....

Satan - Orbital

I prefer the remix with Kirk Hammett from the Spawn soundtrack when I am at the dojo working over the heavy bag, but the pure techno original will cause you to do 90 mph when you are behind the wheel of your car.

Prime Audio Soup - Meat Beat Manifesto

BREAKBEATS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Testify - Rage Against The Machine

I am so glad these guys are back together and singing of righteous protest. I fucking hated Audioslave.

Drums of Death Pt. 1 - UNKLE

So yeah. Go download some DJ Shadow, mother fuckers.

Just hit a five song run I loved.

Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
One of my favourite guitar riffs ever. I really have a hard time imagining how anyone could hate this song. That "I'll stay with you 'till my seas are dried up" line always reminds me of Spinal Tap's Sex Farm Woman though. Plowing through your beanfield. I mean that in the best way possible, this song is great.

Break for Love - Raze
I know fuck all about house music. This is just a track I heard in GTA: San Andreas that I liked so I grabbed the real thing. One of several songs off that game's soundtrack I bothered to track down individually on the interwebz.

Life by the Drop - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Just Stevie and an acoustic guitar doing a really simple, soulful song about struggling with staying sober. I never cared for him much as a voalist to be honest but he really put his heart into this. And as such it's one of my favourite tracks he ever recorded. I'd rather listen to an okay singer put their heart into something than some studio produced piece of perfection bullshit any day.

Surfin' Bird - The Ramones
This rules so much. Apparently the legend goes the vocals were actually a one take job done without even being able to hear the drum line or anything... just straight out, and in absolutely perfect rythym. Even if that's bullshit, this still rules.

War Pigs - Cake
I love this song way too much, and this version of it is a lot of fun. Really nice to hear someone do a cover of a song and do it in a totally original way.

Nile - Kafir!

How did I manage to sleep on NILE? These guys are insanely awesome, bringing the brutal/technical death metal inter-spliced with insane melodic Middle Eastern/Egyptian pentatonic beautifulness and lots of rhythmic and vocal oddities, like what I believe is a Muezzin singing at one point? Damn! Peaking at their discography, it looks like I have some catching up to do.

Thelonious Monk - You Took The Words Right Out Of My Heart (Live in San Francisco)

No one can fully transform a standard quite like Monk. Here he accents the songs quirks while keeping true to the melody. It is a beautiful rendition of an otherwise hoary old chestnut.

Napalm Death - State Of Mind

I must have a lot of Napalm Death on my computer because they keep coming up... Yup, like nine albums worth. This is from Fear, Emptiness, Despair, the highlight of their mid-90's groove era. Absolutely pummeling!

Masta Killa - Things Just Ain't The Same

Yikes! This is the promo single for MK's new album and it's got me falling asleep. Super boring beats do not accent MK's laconic style.

Slowdive - Some Velvet Morning

Shoegazer-version of the classic Nancy Sinatra/Lee Hazlewood tune. I really dig this! Slowdive were certainly underrated in their era.

1. The Mask - Danger Doom featuring Ghostface Killah
The first pairing of Ghost and Doom such a shame swift & Changable cuz if this track was any any indication it woulda been the bees knees.

2. Playa From Around The Way - Master P featuring Mo B. Dick & Silkk The Shocker
Ghetto D gets alot of love and its a great album, a southern classic. But Ice Cream Man is a predecessor for that album and sound the last No Limit album of the Richmond era before P and his rag tag clan of soldiers took over the world. and this song is a smooth pimpy Cali rollin in your ride song.

3. Walk That Walk - Dorrough featuring Tum Tum
Dorrough is just catchy & fun and hip hop needs those types of guys. tha being said this is the song from that album I really dont like.

4. Just Like A Women - Bob Dylan
Closet thing to a love song we will ever get to a love song from Bob Dylan. But im not complaining I love me some Bob Dylan and this song is great.

5. Keep Pushin - Sheek Louch
Sheek is very underratted and is by circumstance is the third member of Lox/D-Block. Man is grimey im a big fan wish rappers would get off the swag & popping bottle band wagon and get back to that east coast timbs and hoodies black and mild's winter rap.

6. Pimp Tha Pen - Dj Screw featuring Lil Keke
A southern standard, Just a classic song off a classic album I cant do justice in words to how much I love this song and how much of an impact this song has had on not only the Houston rap scene but to the southern rap scene in general.

7. No Mo - The Last Mr. Bigg
Mr. Bigg is a very underrated rapper, plus one of the few rappers who rap bout slanging drugs that really did ( he spent like 8 years in jail for drug trafficing). And this song is bout how he doesnt deal drugs anymore and how he is walking the straight and narrow and is rapping now.

8. Army Ants - Tom Waits
Spoken Word bout the science of ants & other bugs by Tom Waits nuff said.

9. Powda Daddy - Pimp Daddy featuring B-32
Pimp Daddy is a New Orleans Bounce Legand and this is a gangsta ass bounce track bout the drug of choice in New Orlkeans heroin as only early Cash Money could do, Bouncey and Catchey though the content is very dark.

10. Dem Boyz - Lil Flip
Lil Flip at his shit talking best over a bass heavy southern fried up tempo beat by Play-N-Skillz.

Desperate Bicycles- Natural History

Little known lo-fi punk band. Catchy,sounds cheap though. Goes on a little too long also

Flaming Lips- Are You A Hypnotist

This is a album I don't listen to much so I wasn't crazy familiar with this song. Really psychedelic though and I like it.

Shellac- Crow

Yes,awesome stuff. A really underrated band here. The drums on this track alone are amazing.

The Posies- I Guess You're Right

I guess this is ok. It came with Itunes. Ok to listen to once, But I've heard their earlier albums are better(I have Frosting On The Beater,But haven't listened to it yet.)

Flaming Lips- Fight Test

I like this song a lot,But I hate it when randomness plays the same artists in close order.

St.Vincent- Save Me From What I Want

A good song,but one of the weaker ones from Actor.Still a nice song though

Nirvana- On A Plain

A classic deep cut from Nevermind(Which surprisingly my least favorite Nirvana album).
A really good song though and these guys never made a bad record.

Cardigans- Iron Man

A really neat Sabbath cover. I'm probably the only one who loves The Cardigans here though

Mystery Jets- Two Doors Down

Fun little pop song that namedrops Marquee Moon and has a sax solo. Radd.

High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine

This is the second leaked song and I like it about as much as the last one, which is not that much. I really think they peaked with Blessed Black Wings. These songs might sound better if they'd gotten that filthy production treatment that their earlier stuff got. This mix is terrible. The drums sound terrible and Pike's voice is very flat. Their older stuff just thundered, totally overpowering. This song just sounds so weak in comparison. Oh well...

Edit~! The breakdown at the six minute mark is pretty hot though. Stream for song is here:

http://www.spin.com/articles/exclusive-new-song-high-fire

Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige - You're All I Need

Grimy but beautiful, this was my joint for like two summers in a row.

Unsane - Against The Grain

Unsane brutalized me last Friday. This was the opening song. It hammers.

Woody Guthrie - Lonesome Valley

Dust, ash, and shackles. I love Woody Guthrie.

Pearl Jam - Better Man

Used to love this song but its been played to death.

I actually did a blog post about what has gone on my portable music player. But the randomness-specific stuff is this:

Slayer - 'Mr. Freeze'
Discordance Axis - 'A Leaden Stride to Nowhere'
Genghis Tron - 'Greek Beds'
Discordance Axis - 'Sound Out the Braille'
Blink-182 - 'The Party Song'

It works so well, and I'd never have thought of putting them in sequence. We begin this run with another of those concise blasts of precision hardcore brilliance from the California thrashers. Then, the DA track lets us know how far extremity came in four years. It's an epic for the album, clocking in at over four minutes, and it complements the fury of the Slayer track perfectly. Six years on, Tron hits us with a slice of cybergrind that is rare for them in that it kicks in instantly. While it sacrifices DA's finesse for sheer volume it's nevertheless a fie example of the band. (An even better example would be 'White Walls', so get that listened.) As though this were a considered compilation, DA return with the far briefer 'Sound Out the Braille', to provide both an accidental bumper and happily coincidental thematic coherence. After less than a minute, that rage is replaced by... a man swearing under his breath. It's Blink-182, to provide comic relief and a dynamic swing. I must add, though, that this is probably the fastest Blink song I've heard. While it's very silly, it's also really good, and rounds out this set of songs quite nicely.

Haven't done this in a dogs age.

1. Thinking of you - A Perfect Circle

2. Cadillac Dreams - Kiss
Hot in the Shade was underrated.

3. Torture - The Cure

4. Howling at the Moon - Ramones
I dare you not to sing along.

5. Long Distance Drunk - Modest Mouse

6. Cool Rock Boy - Juliana Hatfield
Also very underrated.

7. The End of the World - The Cure
Nice job shuffle....

8. Life - The Beta Band

9. Doin' Time - Sublime

10. Ignoreland - REM
Automatic for the People is a fucking masterpiece.

I need to throw in my love of these types of thread. I usually end up getting a few new songs on my iPod because of these. My tastes are extraordinarily eclectic so here goes.


1. Someday the Dream Will End - Final Fantasy X OST

I loved FFX's soundtrack, moreso than the game. Just very well done.

2. Winter Warz - Ghostface Killah

This is one of my fave Wu Tang tracks, with Ghostface going for over a minute at the end. A part I have memorized to this day.

3. We Fly High - Jim Jones

I don't remember when I got this one. Nothing too special just a nice hook.

4. December 4th - Jay - Z (DJ Danger Mouse)

The Grey Album is one of the better mashups that came out of Jay Z releasing just vocal tracks and letting people mix them up.

5. Time - Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd needs no explanation

6. Feelin on Yo Booty - R. Kelly

7. The Ride to Hel - Tyr

Viking Metal! Fricking awesome!

8. Waffle - Sevendust

I've always been a big Sevendust fan. And I'm not going to lie, having a black frontman is the primary reason.

9. Hey Ya - Outkast

This whole double album they did was amazing.

10. Kiss - Prince

I dont have to explain Prince I don't think

That's Cappadonna. The order is U-God, Ghost, MK, Cappa.

Damn I stand corrected.

yeah Cap spit 56 straight bars on that song

LL Cool J - I Shot Ya [remix]

Fuck yeah! Actually forgot I had Mr. Smith on my iPod. LL Cool J is still one of my favorite MC's, from the hardcore shit to the R&B songs.

MC Lyte - Wonder Years

Cool Primo beat, but that's about it.

Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker

One of the first songs I learned to play on my electric guitar, so for that reason alone it's awesome.

The Doors - Roadhouse Blues Live

One of my favorite songs by the Doors, a few months ago I was in a bar where they played this song. The whole bar was singing along on top of their lungs. It was awesome.

John Mayer - Half of my hear

Fuck this album. I'm deleting it as we speak...

Carcass - Tomorrow Belongs To Nobody

I don't know anyone else who likes Swansong era Carcass but I think the stuff is bloody brilliant -- an insane take on NWOBHM ground through the Carcass blender with a dash of AC/DC and Thin Lizzy. The riffs are huge, the solos classy, the songs overall rough and metal without being Necrotism. I love all era of Carcass but this is actually my favorite because I can crank these songs all day without getting worn down by extremity.

Madonna - Like A Prayer

This is such a perfect pop song! When the choir kicks in... it's literally heaven.

Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield

Gosh, this song is actually dark! Love the synth parts. Pat can really belt 'em out too. This song is dope!

Unsane - Blew

I love Unsane's Am-Rep racket. They are the heaviest out of the bunch but retain a real bluesy feel, particularly on this tune. Saw them in February and they put on the best show I'd seen in a long time. Few bands can match the Unsane intensity.

Kenny Burrell ft. Coleman Hawkins - Tres Palabras

This is wonderful! A bluesy samba number, which all the participants excel at, particularly pianist Tommy Flanagan who sounds right at home on this tune. Coleman Hawkins delivers his typically huge sound on the tenor sax and Burrell solos nicely as well. My only beef with the tune is in how it's mixed. The drums sound totally separate from the rest of the instruments and it can be distracting. Overall, a great tune though!

The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down

Don't know what can be said about The Beatles at this point... great song, great harmonies, great guitar tone... damn...

Pestilence - Resurrection Macabre

I was skeptical when Pestilence got back together but this song is wicked! No two Pestilence albums are the same, they've evolved with each release, usually anticipating the next big trend. That doesn't quite happen here, though the Pestilence sound certainly gets a nice modern update -- lots of blasts and breakdowns, things not really found on their records before. The riffs are a beast too. Nice to hear that Patrick Mameli hasn't lost his ability to write catchy riffs. Can't wait to see them in June.

Michael Jackson - Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

MJ lives! Love the callback to Manu Dibango's 'Soul Makossa' at the end.

Landmine Marathon - Skin From The Skull

One of my favorite new finds... imagine Bolt Thrower fronted by Karyn Crisis and you get a good approximation of Landmine Marathon's sound.

Coldplay - God Put A Smile On Your Face

I can't help but like Coldplay. They are so cheesy but they write good hooks. Their songs stick with me for days.

Bionic Jive - Freaks

Late comers to the hip-rock scene. Tracks are hit and miss, but this joint and I Shot Lucifer are the real deal.

Gorillaz - Stylo

I was really looking forward to Plastic Beach when I heard this song. The first half of the album is kinda slow but the next four or five songs (including this one) fucking rule.

Cypress Hill - We Ain't Goin Out Like Dat

Horrorcore at its finest. Best track on Black Sunday is still Hand on the Glock, IMO.

Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser (No Chaser)

Why didn't they release this song first instead of New Fang? This song kicks ass! And there isn't nearly enough crazy drumming from Grohl on the other songs that would make me buy the album.

I have never heard that album. I always think of Carcass ending at Heartwork, and not in a snobby way. I like what I've heard of Blackstar, so see no reason to dislike Swansong. I should get it.

This might help sway you...



Swansong totally kicks ass!

Burst-Undoing
Burst hadn't really developed into the awesome band they would become by this point, but this is still a very good song. You can tell they intend to become unique prog metal visionaries with songs that stay interesting for their full eight minute lengths, they're just not there yet.

Poison The Well-Breathing's For The Birds
This is off of Versions, which is the best thing PTW have ever done by quite some distance. For such a slow, drifting tune it has a real sense of progression, with an unsettling melody and lung bursting, roaring finale that compliment each other perfectly.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed-Flamingo Snuff
I could hug my Ipod for giving me this. No real surprise as I have nigh on 400 ANb tracks on it, but this is one of my favourites. It's a GTA: Vice City rampage set to music, expertly conjuring up those moments when you get so distracted by cocaine and hookers that you crash your speedboat into a police station.

Cobalt-A Clean, Well Lighted Place
Like almost every black metal record I end up buying, Gin left me feeling tricked by hype and bored by the lifeless, cliched vocals. But unlike most of them, it grew on me immensely and made it onto my year end list. Forget the name, this needs to be listened to in a dark, unlit place to make sense, so it didn't have the full effect listening to it just now on a bench in my lunch break.

Clutch-Arcadia
One of the better early Clutch tunes. Neil Fallon screaming 'I've done my time, inebriate me!' over a catchy riff is nothing to be sniffed at, even if they've become much better in every way since.

Naked City-I Die Screaming
Just got the box set of Naked City a couple of months ago, haven't properly listened to much beyond the first disc because the packaging is a work of art and I don't want to start dismantling it so I can listen in the car. This sounds like a jazz band being slowly murdered, and is quite abstract, but you can see where Fantomas got a lot of their ideas.

The Smackdown-My Entrance Looked Better When It Had Firecrackers
Awesome! My Ipod must have picked up the fact that I was doing this for DVDVR, as The Smackdown are a (Swedish, I think) spazzcore band whose songs all have wrestling based titles. This is fast, catchy, chaotic and made for random playlists. Their finest moment was basing a song around the fact that 1995 was a bad year for wrestling, but this will certainly do.

Autopsy-Fleshcrawl
Incredibly short instrumental, instilling a sense of mounting dread that really would have made more sense in the context of the album. I tend to like rather than love death metal but Autopsy thoroughly deserve their reputation for being great at it.

Daughters-The Hit
From their self titled LP, which is in the running with Dillinger and Shining for my album of the year so far. Hypnotic riff, far more conventional structure than you'd expect from Daughters, Alexis Marshall yowling 'the hands are the eyelids to the soul!' with absolute conviction, they'd better replace the missing half of the band quickly so I can go and see them.

Muse-Apocalypse Please
Opening track to Absolution, overblown and prophetic as all good Muse needs to be, but you can tell it's an extended intro. At the time I thought they'd write much better albums than this, but on reflection it probably has a better ratio of hits to filler than anything they've done before or since. This is hardly a standout, but I'll take it over Soldiers Poem or most of the last album.

Inspired by SturmCRF, I decided to do a metal keyword-only shuffle and see what came up, some interesting surprises indeed:


Metallica - Ecstasy of Gold/Blackened (Live, Seattle 1989)

Listening to this, I could almost cry. Ecstasy of Gold, the Ennio Morricone theme for The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly really gets the blood flowing in anticipating for Metallica hitting the stage and just tearing it the fuck up with "Blackened." This is Metallica back when they were the greatest band on the planet. Lars still has his chops here and just blazes through the tune. I'm sure the place was just one big roiling sea of bodies. When I meet Metallica doubters now, I often recommend the Seattle '89 show as the apex of their live abilities and easily the best thrash show ever recorded.

Rachel's - Cuts The Metal Cold

A beautiful piece of post-modern classical and the first song on this shuffle to threw me for a loop as I was only expecting metal tunes as in the genre, forgetting that keyword would include titles as well.

Kraftwerk - Metal On Metal

Speaking of which... Kraftwerk's metal opus is actually one of my least favorite tunes by them. It is interesting, compelling even but ultimately lacks that big hooks that make most Kraftwerk songs so memorable.

Entombed - About To Die

Yes! Entombed channeling Slayer! This tune (from Morning Star) is my favorite latter-day Entombed number. It thrashes like an excerpt from Reign In Blood yet retains Entombed's typical tongue-in-cheek skepticism and humor. If you gave up on Entombed after Wolverine Blues, give this album a try. I dig almost all of it.

Landmine Marathon - Red Days

More female-fronted old-school death metal from the most exciting band I've discovered in quite some time. They have the potential to be huge in a couple years if they keep refining and expanding this sound.

Gary Numan - Metal

I didn't even know I had this song. Man, it kicks ass! Weird, nerdy proto-percussive prog with a great beat. Like it a lot!

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music (Remix)

This is a great remix. Adding simplistic minimalist beats to this track was a brilliant move, instantly rendering it more listenable.

Carcass - Firm Hand

Easily the most metal song on Swansong -- a tune that would easily have been just as at home on Heartwork. I've been loving Carcass lately. Each album of theirs is different than the one before it and grows organically from goregrind to deathgrind to melodic death metal to death-tinged rock. Easily one of the 90's best bands.

Unsane - Sick

Ugh! Their grimiest, most bludgeoning song. Like having a backhoe smash down on your skull after having dug your own grave.

Danzig - Tired Of Being Alive

Bluesy as all get out! I don't really think of Danzig as metal, more a dark-tinged blues rock, as if Roy Orbison had reincarnated as an occultist. Danzig may be huge dick but he wrote some great tunes back in the day. Those first three Danzig albums all kick ass.

My playlist was nice to me.

Rammstein - Der Meister
This is a live cut off some bootleg album (Das Spiel Mit Dem Feuer, if one is so inclined to look for such things) that is half an early live show and half I think remixes of other things. The show ruled hard, the other things... not as much. But this cut was fucking amazing. This was always a really energetic song that alternated between really angry and it's strangely melodic chorus, but this version is just balls out amazing. Maybe my favourite Rammstein track ever, as far as this specific version goes (the live cut of Weisses Fleisch right after it on the same bootleg would be the other thing in the running). Plus if you really want to see some completely ridiculous badass metal lyrics, look this thing up on one of those translated lyric websites sometime.

David Bowie - I'm Deranged
Lost Highway soundtrack says hello again, go figure. Seems to pop up a lot for me lately. This is another really energetic track that meshes will with the above, but of course being Bowie this is way more melodic. It's like the fury and the harmony. Or something. Good combo though. I've never thought this track was individually mindblowing, but I do find when it pops up that it compliments a lot of other songs I like well.

Motorhead - Reverse Orgasmatron
Har har har. That music comments that don't warrant a thread got me fiddling around a bit with both playing random things backwards in Audacity just for kicks, and pumping random things through the echo effect. This is just Orgasmatron played backwards... and it's fucking amazing. I think I actually like it better this way, which is why I saved the mp3 of it afterward. Of course Lemmy sounds like some weird demented chanting thing (which still works), but the song totally works and even the drums don't sound bad which is the big problem if shit reverses normally. Seriously, I could totally use this as my personal wrestling theme music everywhere I went. It rules.

Tool - Pushit
I don't have a lot of Tool actually, but I do like them. One of those bands I've always liked when I hear them but never take the big plunge into immersion. Anyway this was a nice change of pace after the first three tracks and it's got an appropriate dark tone of course. I don't think I know Tool's stuff enough to say how great this really is, but I like it.

Hawkwind - Magnu
Fuck yes. One of my favourite numbers from a band I never even knew existed for so long that once I heard them I was amazed they weren't a bigger deal than they were back in their earlier years. If I made a playlist of nothing but my ***** tracks this would definitely be in there. This is just crazy, single riff driven, drug/space rock at it's best and a totally amazing track. Just one of those songs I could loop forever and it would be totally hypnotic and awesome.

Black Sabbath - Faeries Wear Boots
The live cut off Past Lives. Past Lives really ruled, by the way. I mean shit, even the version of Tommorow's Dream isn't lame, and the cut of Hand of Doom that opens disk 2 is a big "wait, I never noticed this was one of Sabbath's really awesome songs before". Loved this album so very, very much, and this song always had a really neat groove to it that never really sounds right to me when anyone else does it. Tony Iommi is literally the reason I was obsessed with guitar in high school and to this day no one has probably had more influence on my own playing, when I do still play just for fun. I never really did get the hang of this track, for some fucking reason. But really you can't go wrong with classic Sabbath.

Judas Priest - The Hellion/Electric Eye
I don't really like Priest following up Sabbath, because come on, Sabbath is way better. But still if you're going to hit a Priest track this is a pretty fun one. One of my more favored tracks from Judas Priest, who I liked a lot more 10 years ago than now, but this track I still give the big thumbs up to for sure. Good live metal shout-a-long track, I'm sure.

Butthole Surfers - Birds
Electriclarryland was a really, really good album back in the day. This was I think the opening track, a really loud, fast, angry piece of work that meshed pretty darn well with everything else I seem to be hitting in this stretch. I don't recall much else on the album being nearly this heavy. This one track is pretty hardcore, the rest is still good but not to the same tone.

Iron Maiden - Prowler
What the fuck, did my playlist decide to just enforce the "metal only" theme from above? I swear I didn't set it up that way. I'm not complaining though. This was the first track off the very first Iron Maiden album, and you know what? It's probably my favourite Maiden track other than Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I'm not a massive Maiden fan, although I like them (liked some of Bruce's solo stuff better, specifically Chemical Wedding). But this track for me hits on Maiden doing all the shit Maiden does really well. Always loved this tune.

The Ramones - Gimmie Gimmie Shock Treatment
This is, without any hesitation, my favourite Ramones track of all time, and probably my favourite punk track ever. It's just 1 minute and 44 seconds of punk perfection.

Smashing Pumpkins - Slunk

Everytime I want to forget about Smashing Pumpkins some pre-Siamese Dream song comes on to knock me out all over again. I never need to listen to anything they did from that album on but Gish and Lull are awesome and this is their most rockin' song ever!

Patti Smith - Ask The Angels

I'm reading Smith's memoir "Just Kids" so I've had a hankering for her. It's amazing really, she is one of the most documented musicians in American history -- books, poetry anthologies, films, installations, tributes, photo collections, etc. -- and yet Horses is her only album to sell over six figures and "Because The Night" was her only charting song at #13. She's like The Velvet Underground that way. Hugely influential without really selling diddle-squat.

Kraftwerk - Planet of Visions

This is more of an interlude than a song but it's got a kick-ass, catchy beat and synth-line so it's cool with me.

Pestilence - Changing Perspectives

Ooh! Something from Spheres! People sure do hate this record but I think it's neat. The perfect mix of crunchy death metal and avant-garde squiggles. These guys were listening to a lot of krautrock and jazz fusion -- kaleidoscopic horror!

Dropdead - Bosnia

Thirty-six seconds of glorious crust-punk!

You generally have good taste in metal, but I can't even begin to understand this. :)

Why you would want your Carcass to sound like AC/DC is beyond me. Swansong has some moments (few and far between) but it's boring as can be. Like AC/DC.

Thanks!



Well for starters, Carcass had completely exhausted their previous blueprints of goregrind and melodic death metal. There was absolutely no way they were going to top albums like Necrotism and Heartwork. Secondly, the Swansong sound is already heavily present on that latter album, particularly on the bonus tracks. Also, I didn't say that it sounds exactly like AC/DC, just that you can hear an AC/DC influence, as well as Iron Maiden/Judas Priest/Thin Lizzy/Helmet influences. I think this is a good thing as Carcass takes the NWOBHM template and filters it through their own aesthetic. I don't get the criticism that Swansong doesn't sound like Carcass at all as to me it totally does. Jeff's lyrics are witty and vile. His snarling rasp is intact. The songs are heavy, laden with big hooks and great solos. The production is excellent. It totally rocks.



Then again, a lot of my favorite albums are the ones that turned the fanbase against that band, albums like Wolverine Blues, Spheres, Diatribes, and Chaos A.D. So maybe it's just me...