“Airborne”, Wussy

This way: Airborne

Wussy is an American five-piece indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2001. The band consists of Chuck Cleaver (vocals/guitar-Former Ass Pony), Lisa Walker (vocals/guitar), John Erhardt (pedal steel), Joe Klug (drums) and Mark Messerly (bass).Cleaver and Walker write most of the songs and either alternate lead vocals or sing them in harmony. Live performances feature the two vocalists having a "combative rapport". They have released six albums, one live album, two EPs, one mini LP and a number of singles. Rock critic Robert Christgau lists this at number 4 on the Best Songs & Albums of the 2000's.  

[Spotify] Airborne

“Mr. Superlove”, Ass Ponys

This way: Mr. Superlove

Ass Ponys was an indie rock band based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The band was formed in 1988 from members of Ohio band the Libertines and Midwestern band Gomez. Their sound combines rock and country into an off-kilter blend of Americana music. They have gone on national tours with bands such as Pavement, Throwing Muses, and Possum Dixon. Among other periodicals, they have been featured in Rolling Stone, CMJ, and The Cincinnati Post.

The Ass Ponys went on hiatus in 2005, after releasing the compilation album The Okra Years – 4 years after their last original material was released in Lohio. More importantly, it appears that core band members are focused on new projects, so new Ass Ponys output seems unlikely any time soon. Vocalist Chuck Cleaver is focusing his attention on a new band, Wussy. Bill Alletzhauser currently fronts the band The Hiders. Randy Cheek plays with The Libertines US, The Fairmount Girls and The Ready Stance. Chuck Cleaver and Randy Cheek performed together at TedxCincinnati in November 2013. 

[Spotify] Mr. Superlove

“free dumb'”, Illuminati Hotties

This way: free dumb

Here is a cool new band. illuminati hotties are an American indie pop band (wait, what? indie pop? this is punk rock) from Los Angeles, California. They were founded in 2017 as a vehicle for the songwriting of Sarah Tudzin. 

Sarah Tudzin began her career in music as a recording engineer. In 2018, Tudzin and her band released their debut full-length album, Kiss Yr Frenemies, on Tiny Engines.

In October 2019 Tudzin released a song for download called "ppl plzer," with all proceeds from the track going to the suicide prevention group The Trevor Project.


After it had "leaked" on 3 July 2020 Illuminati Hotties announced a mixtape, Free I.H.: This Is Not The One You’ve Been Waiting For, would be released that month. An interview with Stereogum on 10 July made it clear it was connected to "an exit agreement that allowed Tudzin to buy out her Tiny Engines contract with a cash settlement and a payment of royalties on a future project" and would be released on 17 July.

[Spotify] free dumb

“Steak for Chicken”, Moldy Peaches

This way: Steak for Chicken

This charming band: The Moldy Peaches were an indie group founded by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band has been on hiatus since 2004. The appearance of their song "Anyone Else but You" in the film Juno significantly raised their profile; Dawson and Green made a handful of reunion appearances together in December 2007.  

[Spotify] Steak for Chicken

“Best Kept Secret”, Earwig

This way: Best Kept Secret

Here is a great one from back in the day. Earwig is an indie rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They have released music on micro-indie LFM Records and Anyway Records. The band consists of vocalist and guitarist Lizard McGee, bassist and vocalist Costa Hondroulis, and vocalist and keyboardist James McGee-Moore. Their most recent album Pause For The Jets was released in October 2016. This one from 2000.

[Spotify] Best Kept Secret

“Purple Rain”, Prince

This way: Purple Rain

Is this Princes finest moment? Well he has plenty of those. And I love the plethora of bands that covered this one. Above is the original, below enough covers to float a cruise ship.

[Spotify] Purple Rain

Bruce: Purple Rain

Dwight Yoakam: Purple Rain

Etta James: Purple Rain

Inter Arma: Purple Rain

“Atmosphere”, Peter Murphy and Trent Reznor (Joy Division cover)

This way: Atmosphere

Trent of Nine Inch Nails teams up with Peter Murphy from Bauhaus to cover a bunch of cool songs, here is a great cover of Atmosphere by Joy Division.

[Spotify] Not likely

“Caught in My Eye”, Kevin Morby

This way: Caught in My Eye

Caught in My Eye is a song by one of my all time favorite bands the Germs.

Kevin Morby (born April 2, 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He has released five studio albums: Harlem River (2013), Still Life (2014), Singing Saw (2016), City Music (2017), and Oh My God (2019). During live performances, Morby is accompanied by his backing band consisting of Meg Duffy on guitar, Cyrus Gengras on bass, and Nick Kinsey on drums.

[Spotify] Caught in My Eye

[Extra credit] Caught in My Eye (original)

“Top of the World”, Shonen Knife

This way: Top of the World

This band knows how to cover a song. I’m not even sure how you would go about coming up with something so much improved over the original. That amazing guitar line that isn't even in the original. This is from an LP of all covers of songs by the Carpenters. From 1994.

[Spotify] Top of the World

“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head”, Deadbolt —covers week—

This way: Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head

Deadbolt is a rock band from San Diego, California, U.S. They describe themselves as "The Scariest Band in the World." The band often features two or more bass players, who are called "The Wall of Thunder."

The band originally formed in 1988 as a trio, featuring guitarist and vocalist Harley Davidson, bassist and vocalist Robert "RA" MacLean and drummer Les Vegas. Both Vegas and MacLean have since left the band. Vegas' departure is chronicled in the song "Po' Boy" on the album Hobo Babylon.  

Deadbolt's music combines surf rock, goth, psychobilly and blues sound with unusual and offbeat lyrics, a style the band dubbed "voodoobilly." Besides the release of several CDs, the band has toured both North America and Europe extensively.

 [Spotify] Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head

[Extra credit—not recommended] Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on my Head (orig)

“Black Star”, Gillian Welch

This way: Black Star

Here comes the Radiohead. I love it when the new song meets the old sound. This version is pulled off to perfection.

Gillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, bluegrass, country and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely reminiscent of past rural forms."

Welch and Rawlings have collaborated on seven critically acclaimed albums, five released under her name, and two released under the name Dave Rawlings Machine. Her 1996 debut, Revival, and the 2001 release Time (The Revelator), received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. 

This from 2005.

[Spotify] Black Star

[Extra credit] Black Star (original)

“Credit in the Straight World”, Hole —Week of Covers—

This way: Credit in the Straight World

Here is a great cover of a song by Young Marble Giants. One of my all time favorite bands. Check them out if you don't know them. Only one LP, but it's solid gold. 

Hole was an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989. It was founded by singer and guitarist Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson. It had several different bassists and drummers, the most prolific being drummer Patty Schemel, and bassists Kristen Pfaff (d. 1994) and Melissa Auf der Maur. Hole released a total of four studio albums between two incarnations spanning the 1990s and early-2010s, and became one of the most commercially successful rock bands in history fronted by a woman.

Influenced by Los Angeles' punk rock scene, the band's debut album, Pretty on the Inside (1991), was produced by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, and attracted critical interest from British and American alternative press. Their second album, Live Through This, released 1994 by DGC Records, which featured less aggressive melodies and more restrained lyrical content, was widely acclaimed and reached platinum status within a year of its release. 

[Spotify] Credit in the Straight World

“Spray Paint”, Deeper

This way: Spray Paint

Here is a great recent band out of Chicago. The band consists of Shiraz Bhatti, Nic Gohl, and Drew McBride. They have about 3 LPs out and this is from their latests.

[Spotify] Spray Paint

“Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft”, The Carpenters

This way: Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft

A girl drummer? Yes please. The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (b. 1946). They produced a distinct soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded ten albums, along with numerous singles and several television specials. 

The siblings were born in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to Downey, California, in 1963. Richard took piano lessons as a child, progressing to California State University, Long Beach, while Karen learned the drums. They first performed together as a duo in 1965 and formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio followed by the middle-of-the-road group Spectrum. Signing as Carpenters to A&M Records in 1969, they achieved major success the following year with the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". The duo toured continually during the 1970s, which put them under increased strain; Richard took a year off in 1979 after he had become addicted to Quaalude, while Karen suffered from anorexia nervosa. This song is from 1977.

[Spotify] Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft

[Extra Credit] Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft Klaatu

“Highly Suspicious”, My Morning Jacket

This way: Highly Suspicious

My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The band's sound, rooted in rock and country, is often experimental and psychedelic. The group amassed a following beginning in the 2000s in part due to their live performances.

The group first found success in Europe after the release of its debut album, The Tennessee Fire (1999). Its next release, At Dawn (2001), led to a large stateside following and preceded several lineup changes. After signing to major label ATO Records, the group released two albums, It Still Moves (2003) and Z (2005), with the latter representing a critical breakthrough. The group's next release, Evil Urges (2008), was more polarizing for fans and critics, while Circuital (2011), its sixth album, saw a more measured response. After many years of side projects and touring, the band's seventh album, The Waterfall, was released in 2015. 

[Spotify] Highly Suspicious

“All Tomorrow’s Carry”, Special Interest

This way: All Tomorrow’s Carry

Special Interest are a New Orleans punk band who just put out their second album, The Passion Of. It’s one of those records that makes you stand up because no one should listen to it sitting down. Within a few minutes, the four-piece come off as corrosive and chaotic, then suddenly glammy and melodic. With an electronic industrial backbeat, a fully distorted bass, hardcore guitar squalls, and vocals from the incomparably powerful Alli Logout, the definitively queer band has taken the proto-glam, no wave sound from their 2018 debut Spiraling and beefed up its stats. The Passion Of is so full, so eye-popping, so potent, it’s hard to know where to begin.—Pitchfork 

[Spotify] All Tomorrow’s Carry

“My Son John”, Boiled In Lead

This way: My Son John

Boiled in Lead is a rock/world-music band based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and founded in 1983. Tim Walters of MusicHound Folk called the group "the most important folk-rock band to appear since the 1970s." Influential record producer and musician Steve Albini called the band's self-titled first album "the most impressive debut record from a rock band I've heard all year." Their style, sometimes called "rock 'n' reel," is heavily influenced by Celtic music, folk, and punk rock, and has drawn them praise as one of the few American bands of the 1980s and 1990s to expand on Fairport Convention's rocked-up take on traditional folk. Folk Roots magazine noted that Boiled in Lead's "folk-punk" approach synthesized the idealistic and archival approach of 1960s folk music with the burgeoning American alternative-rock scene of the early 1980s typified by Hüsker Dü and R.E.M. The band also incorporates a plethora of international musical traditions, including Russian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Scottish, Vietnamese, Hungarian, African, klezmer, and gypsy music. Boiled in Lead has been hailed as a pioneering bridge between American rock and international music, and a precursor to Gogol Bordello and other gypsy-punk bands. While most heavily active in the 1980s and 1990s, the group is still performing today, including annual St. Patrick's Day concerts in Minneapolis. Over the course of its career, Boiled in Lead has released nearly a dozen albums and EPs, most recently 2012's The Well Below.

My old pal Drew from back in the day.

[Spotify] Not likely

“Bells”, Hey Mercedes

This way: Bells

Hey Mercedes was a band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois, United States. The group formed in 1999/2000 after the dissolution of Braid. The band consisted of Bob Nanna on guitar and vocals, Todd Bell on bass and vocals, Mark Dawursk on guitar and vocals and Damon Atkinson on drums. Hey Mercedes proved a more melodic antidote to the previous band.

Hey Mercedes had their first practice session in April 2000. Their first release was a self-titled EP on Polyvinyl Records in September 2000. Soon after its release, they signed to Vagrant Records and started touring for support of their upcoming Vagrant full length. In 2001 alone, they performed 114 shows. In October 2001, the band released Everynight Fire Works. 


[Spotify] Bells