“The Whole of the Moon”, The Waterboys

 This way: The Whole of the Moon

The Waterboys are a British-Irish folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained as the only constant member throughout the band's career. They have explored a number of different styles, but their music is mainly a mix of folk music with rock and roll. They dissolved in 1993 when Scott departed to pursue a solo career. The group reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and to tour worldwide. Scott emphasises a continuity between The Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions."

[Spotify]  The Whole of the Moon

“Fairytale in the Supermarket”, The Raincoats

  This way: Fairytale in the Supermarket

The Raincoats are a British experimental post-punk band. Ana da Silva (vocals, guitar) and Gina Birch (vocals, bass) formed the group in 1977 while they were students at Hornsey College of Art in London.

Signed to the label Rough Trade, the band released three albums in their early incarnation: The Raincoats (1979), Odyshape (1981), and Moving (1984). They reformed in 1993 and released the album Looking in the Shadows in 1996.

da Silva and Birch were inspired to make a band after they saw The Slits perform live earlier that year. Birch stated in an interview with She Shreds magazine, "It was as if suddenly I was given permission. It never occurred to me that I could be in a band. Girls didn’t do that. But when I saw The Slits doing it, I thought, ‘This is me. This is mine.’”[3] For the band's first concert on 9 November 1977 at The Tabernacle, the line-up included Birch, da Silva, Ross Crighton (guitar) and Nick Turner (drums). Kate Korus (from The Slits and later the Mo-dettes) joined briefly but was replaced by Jeremie Franko. Nick Turner left to form the Barracudas, and Richard Dudanski (ex-The 101ers and later Public Image Ltd.) sat in on drums, while filmmaker Patrick Keiller replaced Franko on guitar. 

[Spotify] Fairytale in the Supermarket

“Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out”, Shel Silverstein

 This way: Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out

Sheldon Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer known for his cartoons, songs, and children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in some works. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold more than 20 million copies. He was the recipient of two Grammy Awards, as well as Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nominations. He also wrote A Boy Named Sue. 

[Spotify]  Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out

“Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick”, Ian Dury

  This way: Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick

Ian Dury (12 May 1942 – 27 March 2000) was an English singer-songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and before that of Kilburn and the High Roads.

[Spotify] Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick

“Alpine Star”, William Tyler

  This way: Alpine Star

William Tyler (born December 25, 1979, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American musician and guitarist who plays folk, indie folk, and pop rock. His debut studio album, Behold the Spirit, was released on November 22, 2010. Adam Bednarik produced the album with Tyler on Tompkins Square Records. He has since released three additional solo albums.

His work is usually all instrumentals.

Before he became a solo artist, Tyler was a member of Lambchop and Silver Jews beginning in 1998. Tyler first joined Lambchop at the age of 19 because Kurt Wagner approached him about playing the organ in the band. However, it turned out that he got to play guitar because he admittedly said "I couldn't really play" the organ. Before releasing music under his own name, Tyler used The Paper Hats as working title for his solo music.

[Spotify] Alpine Star

“On My Radio”, The Selecter

 This way: On My Radio

I pushed out Madness last week which lead me to some great songs by this band The Selecter. This song has it all, and look how much fun they are having.

The Selecter are a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in mid-1979. The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead vocals, Neol Davies and Compton Amanor on guitar, Desmond Brown on Hammond organ, Charley 'H' Bembridge on drums, and Charley Anderson on bass. The band's name is based on the term "selector", which is a Jamaican word for disc jockey. The band were one of the most successful ska bands of the 2 Tone era, notching up several top forty singles in the British charts. Having co-released the first 2 Tone Ska single with The Specials, they are considered one of the founding acts of the movement. Though highly influential, the original lineup only remained together for a year, and even with replacement players the band only continued until breaking up in 1981.

The Selecter reformed in 1991 and vocalist Black continued to perform and release music under The Selecter name until 2006. By 2011, another version of the band featuring Neol Davies was touring separately. In June 2011 Black applied for, and won, The Selecter trademark and the right to use the name herself. The reformed, Pauline Black-led lineup still tours and releases albums under The Selecter name, most recently releasing Daylight, the band's 15th studio album, in 2017.

[Spotify] On My Radio

“Blue”, The Jayhawks

  This way: Blue

The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene during the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists, guitarists and songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, its country rock sound was influential on many bands who played the Twin Cities circuit during the 1980s and 1990s like Uncle Tupelo, the Gear Daddies and the Honeydogs. They have released eleven studio albums with and without Olson who left the band in 1995, including five on the American Recordings label. On hiatus from 2005 to 2009, the 1995 lineup of the band reunited, releasing the album, Mockingbird Time, in September 2011. After the tour, Olson again left the band. After another hiatus in 2013, the 1997 lineup led by Louris reunited to play shows in 2014 to support the reissue of three albums released between 1997 and 2003. The band has remained active touring and recording since, including the release of the albums Live at The Belly Up in 2015, Paging Mr. Proust, produced by Peter Buck in 2016, Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018 and XOXO in 2020.

[Spotify] Blue

“Who Made Who”, ACDC

 This way: Who Made Who

I'm not going to say anything about this band, 
but this is a good song.    

[Spotify] Who Made Who

“OD’d In Denver”, Bill Callahan and Bonnie “Prince” Billy

 This way: OD’d In Denver

Drag City legends Bill Callahan and Bonnie “Prince” Billy are back today with another cover, this time a version of “OD’d In Denver” by legacy country star Hank Williams Jr. There’s a guest on this track too, BPB maestro Will Oldham’s Superwolf partner Matt Sweeney, who is apparently the guitarist indie rock veterans call up when they want to get rootsy (see: his recent collabs with Stephen Malkmus and Kurt Vile).

[Spotify] OD’d In Denver

“One Step Beyond”, Madness

 This way: One Step Beyond

Madness are an English ska band from Camden Town, North London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up.

The most successful period for the band was from 1980 to 1986, when Madness spent 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. UB40 shared the same number of weeks, the largest for any British group in the decade, but over a longer period.

[Spotify] One Step Beyond

“Sugar Baby”, Sam Amidon

 This way: Sugar Baby

Samuel Amidon (born June 3, 1981 in Brattleboro, Vermont) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His parents are folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon. His younger brother, Stefan Amidon, is a professional drummer who performs with The Sweetback Sisters among other groups. Amidon attended The Putney School in Putney, Vermont for one year.

In 2001, Amidon self-released Solo Fiddle, an album of traditional Irish fiddle instrumentals.

Amidon's first album of songs, But This Chicken Proved False Hearted (2007), was made with longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett and was initially released on the Los Angeles-based electronic label Plug Research.[4] It was reissued on CD and LP in 2015 by Omnivore Recordings.

His second album, All Is Well (2008), was produced, recorded and mixed by Valgeir Sigurðsson at Greenhouse Studios in Iceland and featured orchestral arrangements by Nico Muhly. His third album, I See the Sign (2010), was also produced by Sigurðsson and featured multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily and orchestral arrangements by Muhly, with guest vocals by Beth Orton. Both albums were released on the Icelandic label/collective Bedroom Community and met with critical acclaim from sources such as Pitchfork, Stylus Magazine and the New York Times, which chose I See the Sign as a top-ten album of 2010.

This one from 2008.

[Spotify] Sugar Baby

“Let‘s Build a Car”, Swell Maps

  This way: Let‘s Build a Car

Swell Maps were an English experimental DIY, early post-punk rock group from Birmingham, England who were active between 1972–1980.

Influenced by bands such as T. Rex and the German krautrock group Can, they created a new soundscape that would be heavily mined by others in the post-punk era. Despite existing in various forms since 1972, Swell Maps only really came together as a musical entity after the birth of British punk.

The band consisted of Solihull based teenagers Epic Soundtracks (real name Kevin Paul Godfrey), his brother Nikki Sudden (real name Adrian Nicholas Godfrey), Jowe Head (Stephen Bird), Biggles Books (Richard Scaldwell), Phones Sportsman (David Barrington) and John "Golden" Cockrill, the band cut the single "Read About Seymour" as their debut in 1977. It is widely considered one of the classic punk era singles, and is name-checked in the song "Part Time Punks" by Television Personalities.

[Spotify] Let‘s Build a Car

“Fascist Groove Thang”, Heaven 17

  This way: Fascist Groove Thang

Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), and Glenn Gregory (vocals). Although most of the band's music was recorded in the 1980s, they have occasionally reformed to record and perform, playing their first ever live concerts in 1997. Marsh left the band in 2007 and Ware and Gregory continued to perform as Heaven 17.

Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware were the founding members of pioneering British electro-pop group the Human League; Glenn Gregory had been their original choice when seeking a lead singer for the band but he was unavailable at the time, so they chose Philip Oakey instead. When personal and creative tensions within the group reached a breaking point in late 1980, Marsh and Ware left the band, ceding the Human League name to Oakey. Taking their new name from a fictional pop band mentioned in Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel, A Clockwork Orange (where The Heaven Seventeen are at number 4 in the charts with "Inside"), they became Heaven 17 and formed the production company British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.)

[Spotify]  Fascist Groove Thang

“Michael was Hearty”, Jake Xerxes Fussell

 This way: Michael was Hearty

Jake Xerxes Fussell (born 1987 in Columbus, Georgia) is an American singer and guitarist who plays folk and blues music, with a focus on traditional Southern folk songs.

Before releasing his debut album, Fussell recorded vernacular Southern Music in the field with music historian, George Mitchell and Grammy Award-winning folklorist, Art Rosenbaum. He often leverages his knowledge of traditional American folk music in his own work, for example, by adapting the cry of a 19th Century fishmonger for his song "The River St. John’s".

[Spotify] Michael was Hearty

“Happy and Bleeding”, PJ Harvey

This way: Happy and Bleeding

Polly Jean "PJ" Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English musician and singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments.

She has been releasing demo versions of a large part of her back catalogue. This is a great one.

Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automatic Dlamini as a vocalist, guitarist and saxophone player. The band's frontman, John Parish, became her long-term collaborator. In 1991, she formed an eponymous trio called PJ Harvey, and subsequently began her career as PJ Harvey. The trio released two studio albums, Dry (1992) and Rid of Me (1993) before disbanding, after which Harvey continued as a solo artist. 

[Spotify] Happy and Bleeding

“Nothing To Me”, Sanford Clark

This way: Nothing To Me

Sanford Clark (born October 24, 1935) is an American country-rockabilly singer and guitarist, best known for his 1956 hit "The Fool", written by Lee Hazlewood. But this guy has a ton of great songs.

[Spotify, not likely]

Playlist #3

This way to the spotify playlist: sotd playlist #3

Here is playlist number three, 7 hours plus of pure pop drivel for the masses.

Enjoy, 

—brENDan

also:

playlist 2: sotd playlist #2

playlist 1: sotd playlist #1

“Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love”, Van Halen

  This way: Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

Sometimes pop perfection can be a fast sled ride to oblivion. On occasion there is a musician that approaches an instrument with a new take, A new sound, an undiscovered country laying right at our fingertips. How does he get all those notes in that song? I can only imagine what the sheet music for this looks like. Eddie Van Halen died last week at the age of 65, RIP.

[Spotify]   Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love

Extra credit (Minutemen)  Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love 

“Sorry You're Sick”, Ted Hawkins

 This way: Sorry You're Sick

Ted Hawkins (October 28, 1936 – January 1, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter born in Biloxi, Mississippi. He was an enigmatic figure for most of his career. He split his time between his adopted hometown of Venice Beach, California, where he was a mostly anonymous street performer, and Europe and Australia, where he and his songs were better known and well received in clubs and small concert halls.

[Spotify] Sorry You're Sick

“Institutionalized”, Suicidal Tendencies

This way: Institutionalized

Suicidal Tendencies is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1980 in Venice, California, by vocalist Mike Muir, who is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtroopers of Death, they are often credited as one of "the fathers of crossover thrash". Suicidal Tendencies have released thirteen studio albums (four of which are composed of re-recorded or previously released material), two EPs, four split albums, four compilation albums, and two long-form videos. The band achieved their first success with their 1983 self-titled debut album; it spawned the single "Institutionalized", which was one of the first hardcore punk videos to receive substantial airplay on MTV.

All he wanted was a Pepsi.

[Spotify] Institutionalized

“Howlin’ for my Darlin”, Howlin Wolf

This way: Howlin’ for my Darlin

"I couldn't do no yodelin', so I turned to howlin'. 

And it's done me just fine"

Howlin' Wolf (born Chester Arthur Burnett, June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), was a Chicago blues singer, guitarist, and harmonica player. Originally from Mississippi, he moved to Chicago in adulthood and became successful, forming a rivalry with fellow bluesman Muddy Waters. With a booming voice and imposing physical presence, he is one of the best-known Chicago blues artists.

The musician and critic Cub Koda noted, "no one could match Howlin' Wolf for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits." Producer Sam Phillips recalled, "When I heard Howlin' Wolf, I said, 'This is for me. This is where the soul of man never dies.'" Several of his songs, including "Smokestack Lightnin'", "Killing Floor" and "Spoonful", have become blues and blues rock standards. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 54 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

[Spotify] Howlin’ for my Darlin

“Anxiety”, IDLES

This way: Anxiety

This is some intense music, reminds me of The Fall for endless hopelessness. IDLES are a British rock band formed in Bristol in 2009. The band consists of Joe Talbot (vocals), Mark Bowen (guitar), Lee Kiernan (guitar), Adam Devonshire (bass) and Jon Beavis (drums).

Their debut album, Brutalism, was released in 2017 to critical acclaim, as was their second album Joy as an Act of Resistance in 2018. Their third album, Ultra Mono, was released on 25 September 2020.

[Spotify] Anxiety