MOG

Another Month another playlist of the tunes that I was listening to for the last 30 days or so…..

This was a strange month for me because I was in Finland and Sweden for 2 weeks of it, and had in many ways more time to listen to music and at the same time less time to listen, and defiantly less time to play with my 9/06 playlist so here is it, my September 2006 playlist….

Anglo Girl Desire by Radio Birdman If you read my entries about Birdman in the last month it should be no surprise that one of their tunes would end up on my list, the only surprise is that it’s this one. There are other songs of theirs that I love more that have special meaning to me, but this one, well for me it’s the memory of a crush on a Finish girl that ended with her agreeing to go out with me and then canceling the date via e-mail. That was at the same time that I was discovering this song….. great song, but if you don’t know Birdman, start with New Race, I 94 or my personal current fave Descent into the Maelstrom… Radios Appear indeed.

Radioshadow by The Chuck Norris Experiment While in Gothenburg I failed to do two things, 1st is meet up with my friends in this band, and second was to find a copy of their new album. That’s too bad, cause I haven’t had a chance to tell my friends how much I dig this band and their music. It’s fuzzy, boppin and got enough sing a long pop to make it fun. Next time, I swear.

No Train To Stockholm by Lee Hazlewood Speaking of friends I missed on my trip, I didn’t meet up with the Coffinshakers, who are the ones that turned me on to this tune, and Lee Hazlewood’s music in general. By the way there is a train to Stockholm…. I rode it several times while in the area.

A Pillar Of Salt by The Thermals This blast of punk is a hold over from August, one of the few tunes that manage to say with me for over a month at a time. It has energy, and feel that I just can’t seem to shake. The vocals have a power and authority that is missing from so much current punk rock. Thanx to whomever on MOG wrote about them and got me to check them out.

Bottle and Chain by Jolly Jumpers ‘I believe in a Six Pack on My Grave’ do you need anything more than that? Well these guys do something that only Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands seem to have pulled off and that’s mix American and indie rock into something interesting.

I Feel Alright by The Damned I had several conversations with some new friends about music while I was on vacation and I found myself talking Mans P Manson (from the Maggots) about the Damned, and I mentioned that I am in Machine Gun Etiquette is their best record camp, where he mentioned that he was a Damned Damned Damned man… So I figured that maybe I should take another listen to Damned Damned Damned, and it’s a good record, nix that a great record, I just still think that MGE shows more range and mastery of more styles and totally has the best version of the MC5’s ‘Looking at you’ I have ever heard… that said I love their cover of I Feel Alright from Damned Damned Damned, it’s got a fun ironic feel that is in the sprit of both the origins of the tune and of the Damned… still one of the greatest punk bands ever, so if you haven’t heard them… now is the time. I should also say that I have seen the current line up play several times and they put on a killer show.

Crimson Ballroom by The Hellacopters It's Good But It Just Ain't Right by The Hellacopters I’m going to put these two together for obvious reasons. They are simply killer ‘Copters tunes that I listened to several times each, because they name check places and things that I was exploring and visiting. Helsinki and Stockholm and my extended rock and roll family in the Nordic lands. BTW they ‘Copters just released a best of CD that is the perfect entry point for people who want to check them out.

The Interpreter by The Flaming Sideburns Helsinki’s best rock band today? Yep, don’t get me wrong I love plenty of others (Thee Ultra Bimboos, The Pasty Walkers, The Jolly Jumpers, The BBQ Barbie’s, and Shake to name the few on the tip of my tongue), but the Sideburns know how to kick out the jams. This Roky Erickson cover is fun, fast and everything a cover should be.

Alone by King's X If you read all of this you should see that a lot of what I am talking about that makes this music land on a special list for this month and indeed each month is that it some how relates to my life, or something in it… King’s X were the first band that I was really emotionally involved with, the first band that really spoke to me on a emotional level consistently, and this tune from their latest album just hit home with it’s simple words, no one should be made to feel alone, no one should be made to feel ugly….. you know it’s true

The Friend I Never Had by Shake Deep husky vocals from Mila the drummer for the Ultra Bimboos, this song off their 3 song EP Remember was the one that caught my ear. It’s got a nice warm longing feel that’s got just a hint of the Cardigans alt pop in the sound, and if there is one band that you are going to check out from this playlist, I think for most of you, this should be the one.