MOG

Each Month, I start a file in my iTunes that is a playlist for the tunes that catch my ear that month. I have been doing this since Feb of 2006, and each month I write a Mog post covering what I have been listening to each month… I am starting to post this write up in other spaces beyond my Mog (and if you are reading this somewhere besides Mog, you can find all the old ones at www.mog.com/iren)… cause I want to hit as many I-Balls as I can. As with any endeavor of this type this is an evolving form. For this month the new status quo (and I don’t have one of their songs for you this time around) is that I am going to include whole www addresses with each post (when available). I also want to apologies for any weird formatting stuff right here and now, I type this in MS word and then post it on these various message places, some of which have…w ell formatting issues…. Anyway for this month here is what caught my ear…

Igloo by The Screaming Tribesmen (http://www.myspace.com/screamingtribesmen) If you don’t own the great Do The Pop comp, you need to own it. Not only does it contain classic Aussie punk tracks by The Saints and Radio Birdman, this little gem by The Screaming Tribesmen with it’s haunting, ice bound atmosphere is present. Don’t let the punk tag fool you, this is pure ringing post punk that would have been right at home in a set by Bauhaus. This was a track that my Brother stumbled across and turned me on to, and now I am sending it out to you…

Orgia of dead 2 by Messer Chups (www.myspace.com/messerchups) One of my favorite bands years past was Man or ASTROman… with their crazy energy filled space-trash-surf sound, and it takes The Messer Chups from Russia to come along and give me something with the same feel and energy. This time by combining that surf and space feel with a b-movie horror, lounge and rockabilly feel. The chirping crickets and the slow swing jazz of this tune, you can’t miss.

Back In Hollywood by Zolar X (www.myspace.com/zolarx) Just as with last month’s entry from these guys this is simply a great slice of glam pop, only this time it’s about the old days when they were first on the LA scene with their weirdness and alien freakiness. More good stuff from an album that has been a surprise favorite of mine this year.

Muswell Hillbilly by The Kinks Yes another month and another Kinks song, this time because of the cover of this tune recorded by Southern Culture on the Skids last year. It’s a proto-country rock tune that talks about the smoothing out of the hick edges and regionalism of society as people with better minds started really thinking that they new better than them ignorant hicks… or something like that… still it’s a great song about staying true to yourself and fighting off the forces of conformity.

Bible And Gun by Jason Ringenberg (www.jasonringenberg.com) This is the same Jason of the Jason & The Scorchers fame. Only this song is a haunting tale about a man wandering though the darkness and wasteland of the pre-civil war border wars in Missouri. I am sure there is something to be read into this tune, I just like the way it travels, with a bit of classic dark folk, a refrain of classic country vox and what almost seems like a journey though the end of the world.

Michigan by Nolan McKelevy (www.nolanmckelvey.com) I discovered this tune listening to the Roots Rock Radio posdcast. It caught my ear for several reasons. It’s about wanderlust, it name checks my home state (or at least the state I grew up in) and it’s got a great dream like quality. I guess it’s also safe to say that it is reflective of something that I know all to well, that desire to stay and be comfortable, the desire to run and get the hell out of this place, and finally the desire to return and see those streets you know so well again. You can download this track from Nolan’s website, so there is no reason not to pop on over there and give it a listen.

I don’t often speculate about next month, however I have a couple of records headed my way in the next 30 days that I am at least excited about. First and foremost is the new Mark Pickerel and his Praying Hands album, but also the album by Cock Sparrer that was released last fall that I missed and I finally got my act together and orders a copy of the soundtrack to The American Astronaut (along with the DVD)… I wouldn’t be surprised if tracks from those records made it on to next months list… also I wanted to mention that No Depression (I almost typed Neo Depression there) magazine has announced that they have exactly two issues left (one of which landed in my mailbox this week)… it’s a sad day for us all when a nitch music magazine like No Depression calls it quits.