MOG

Each month this year, except in January (cause I didn’t think of this idea until February) I have been creating little playlist for the month. I put the songs that I am digging or catch my ear during that month into the list, just to see over the course of the year what were the tunes that moved me to pull them out of the mix and note them. I figure that at the start of each month I would write a little MOG post about the previous months selections. I should point out that I have been writing about a lot of these tunes in the last month as they have entered the 0’s & 1’s rocking through my brain and out of my iMac or iPod… These are in order of play count from my iTunes:

Texas in 1880 by Pat Green/Radney Foster I wrote a whole post about this one already and how it reminds me of a summer when I was a kid, and that it is about looking back and recalling a place and time long past. I think this was also one of a few tracks that really opened my years to the fact that there is vital country and western music being made presently.

Story of Her Fate by Screaming Trees Grunge was tagged as loud, fuzzy, and filled with the artistic short comings of punk (like there were any) and this song reminds me that there were also great vocalists, and melodic pop underpinnings to grunge….. and this song makes me think of when I was involved in Reanimator Records and a band called Mazinga and their song, Story of My Fate

Murder by Jet Black Berries Cowpunk Noir, JBB’s are a fave band of mine and this is just a great song, one of many that they wrote and should be resurrected by an adventurous Alt Country Band…

God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash Speaking of Country you don’t get much more country than Johnny, the Man in Black. The album that he had been recording just prior to his death came out last month, and it’s great, it’s magic and I know that I haven’t listened to it enough, but this song grabbed me. I have been tagged as negative for a good chunk of my life, but I never felt that I was anything other than resigned to the fact that no matter what you do, God will cut you down in the end. So push yourself to live, but never forget that at some point it’s all over. Thanks Johnny for putting it into this stomping haunting tune that really connects with me.

The Heart Of A Saturday Night by Jonathan Richman There was just something bouncy and catchy about Richman’s reading of this song, which I believe was originally written by Tom Waits. It’s got a wistful fun, slightly retro feel that’s just fun and rocking.

Mechanical Youth by Koffin Kats Monsters by Mad Marge & The Stonecutters Both of these tunes came from a free CD sampler (Loud, Fast, Rules! Vol. 4) that I got with a punk ‘zine. I have lot’s of those disc’s littering my collection and most of them have left me cold, but there were several tunes on this disc that I dug and had the attitude and energy to catch my ear. Mechanical Youth ‘s vocalist sounds like Dave Vainian from the Damned and for a while I thought that this track was the damned. It’s got drive, wail and is over before you know it. Mad Marge & The Stonecutter’s have that stop and start Psychobilly thing going, the songs isn’t that far from most Psychobilly but the vocals are clear and rich and just right.

Amelia Earhart Vs The Dancing Bear by The Handsome Family This band got a lot of press so I tracked down a couple of their tunes on the web (all of which were free, so you can find them yourself) and have been digging them for their quirky dusty feel. I like this one cause it’s kinda haunting and still upbeat and has that whole In Search Of thing going on (which is one of the things that scared the crap out of me as a kid, along with the Clint Howard episode of Night Gallery).

Like Little Willie John by Mark Lanegan Mark Lanegan was the lead singer of the Screaming Trees and has done some great stuff since that band split up. The best has been his solo album Bubblegum. This song came to mind cause I finally heard some Little Willie John at the start of the month, and dug it. Fever and Shaken’ being two tracks that every rock and soul fan should make it a point to track down and listen to. I love that low organ in the back ground and just the back porch whiskey and singin’ feel of the song.

Don't Look At Me by Barbe-Q-Barbies Free from their web site, yet another killer all girl band from Finland, playing punky pop, not as shimmering as later period Thee Ultra Bimboos or with the conviction and drive of The Patsy Walkers, but still better than sooo much similar stuff out there. I look forward to more from them.

Rockabilly Drugstore by Crime I’m not really sure why this one ended up on this play list, but it’s a classic punk track from a classic band that has been so over looked by far to many people for far too long.

Corona by Minutemen I saw We Jam Econo the Minutemen documentary this past month and was moved to dig out my copy of Double Nickels on the Dime and this is the track that caught my ear. It’s kind of country punk, that seems to be a theme running through many of this months tracks, I don’t know if it was the July heat and how it makes me erratic and lazy, but this one just seemed to catch my ear, now I just need to track down their BOC, CCR and Roky Erickson covers…

Monsanto Hayride by Adolescents Yet another track from the Loud, Fast, Rules! Vol. 4 comp, this time by the current incarnation of LA punk legends the Adolescents. I watched part of a documentary film called The Future of Food and that talked a lot about Monsanto and the issues they have caused with farmers and ownership of crop seeds. This tune takes them on and blasts them for their practices and actions. I also really like the line about Minnesota Genocide.

Two last entries that didn’t make it onto the play list but should have: It’s Cold Outside by The Choir Classic garage rock that I have always liked, but I played it a lot cause it was so hot for so long and I longed for the cold of winter

L-L-Love by Astaire I think that I read about this band here on MOG and found this tune, I’ve listened to it a lot and like it, there is just something about it that pulls it out of the eletronica ghetto. I think that like Death metal and Psychobilly, what makes a great eletronica group is when there is the addition of some other musical style thrown into the mix….

That’s it for last month, I already have a couple of tracks in the 8/2006 playlist, from The Atomic Swindlers and The New York Dolls among others, but I’ll write about them next month….

So what were the tunes that caught your ear in July???