“The Man Who Dies Everyday”, Ultravox

This way: The Man Who Dies Everyday

One of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. 

Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British New Wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tigr Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was their 1981 hit "Vienna".

From 1974 until 1979, singer John Foxx was frontman and the main driving force behind Ultravox. Foxx left the band in March 1979 to embark on a solo career and, following his departure, Midge Ure officially took over as lead singer, guitarist and frontman on 1st November 1979 (despite writing and rehearsing with the band from April of that year) after he and keyboardist Billy Currie worked in the studio project Visage. Ure revitalised the band and steered it to commercial chart success lasting until 1987, at which time the group disbanded.

A new line-up, led by Currie, was formed in 1992, but achieved limited success, with two albums failing to chart and one solitary single reaching 90 in the UK Singles Chart. The band's best-known line-up of Currie, Ure, bassist Chris Cross and drummer Warren Cann reformed in 2008 and performed a series of reunion shows in 2009 and 2010 before releasing a new studio album, Brill!ant, in May 2012 which reached 21 in the British Album Charts. In November 2013, Ultravox performed as special guests on a four date UK arena tour with Simple Minds. These shows proved to be Ultravox's last, as in 2017 both Currie and Ure indicated that Ultravox had run its course.

[Spotify] The Man Who Dies Everyday

 

“The Dark Don't Hide It”, Magnolia Electric Co.

This way: The Dark Don't Hide It

Jason Molina (December 30, 1973 – March 16, 2013) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Raised in northern Ohio, he came to prominence performing and recording as Songs: Ohia, both in solo projects and with a rotating cast of musicians in the late 1990s. Beginning in 2003, he would garner a further indie following for his releases with the band Magnolia Electric Co.

Molina had a prolific career between his two musical projects and solo releases, producing a total of sixteen studio albums, eight EPs, and numerous singles. His overall discography was noted by critics for blending elements of indie rock, blues, and alternative country with his tenor vocal range. 

In 2009, Molina canceled a tour with Will Johnson, citing health problems. He spent the next four years dealing with alcoholism, which ultimately resulted in his death from multiple organ failure in March 2013. 

In March 2003, while on tour, Molina announced that he would rename the band Magnolia Electric Co., retaining the stylistic direction of the album of the same name. Molina also continued to release solo work under his own name. The first such release came in January 2004, as the full-length vinyl release Pyramid Electric Co.

Though Magnolia Electric Co. and Pyramid Electric Co. were originally intended as a double album, the latter seems to be the stylistic polar opposite of the former.

Engineered by Mike Mogis, who also engineered Ghost Tropic, Pyramid found Molina alone at the microphone with only his voice and a piano or guitar. Magnolia Electric Co.'s first official release was a live album, Trials and Errors, followed by a studio album, What Comes After The Blues, and an EP, Hard To Love a Man, all released in 2005. In 2006, Molina released two more records: the sparse solo Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go and the more conventional Fading Trails with Magnolia Electric Co., the latter culled from three separate sessions over the previous year.

[Spotify] The Dark Don't Hide It

 

“Sweet Thing”, David Bowie

This way: Sweet Thing

Sweet Thing" or "Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (Reprise)" is a suite of songs written by David Bowie for the album Diamond Dogs. Recorded in January 1974, the piece comprises the songs "Sweet Thing" and "Candidate" and a one-verse reprise of "Sweet Thing." 

In the opening line, "Sweet Thing" contains the lowest note Bowie had recorded in a studio album (C2) until "I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spacecraft" for the album Heathen (2002), where he growled the word "Well" (G1) towards the end of the song.

Bowie recorded a track with the same title, "Candidate" – but no musical similarity to the Diamond Dogs song "Candidate" and only a few words of lyrics in common – during the first several days of January 1974. It was unavailable until 1990 when it was released as a bonus track on the Rykodisc reissue of Diamond Dogs; it also appeared on the bonus disc of the 30th Anniversary Edition of Diamond Dogs in 2004.

[Spotify] Sweet Thing

 

“Stumble”, J Mascis

This way: Stumble

J Mascis (born December 10, 1965), known professionally as J Mascis, is an American musician, best known as the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist and played drums and guitar on other projects. His most recent solo album, Elastic Days, was released in November 2018. He was ranked number 86 in a Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists", and number 5 in a similar list for Spin magazine in 2012. v

[Spotify]  Stumble

“Telegraph”, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

This way: Telegraph

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Cooper (various instruments) and Stuart Kershaw (drums); McCluskey has been the only constant member. Regarded as pioneers of electronic music, OMD combined an experimental, minimalist ethos with pop sensibilities, becoming central figures in the late 1970s/early 1980s emergence of synth-pop.

McCluskey and Humphreys led precursor group the Id from 1977–1978, and re-recorded their track "Electricity" as OMD's debut single in 1979. Weathering an "uncool" image and a degree of hostility from music critics, the band gained popularity throughout Europe with the 1980 anti-war song "Enola Gay", and achieved broader recognition via Architecture & Morality (1981) and its three hit singles. Although later reappraised, Dazzle Ships (1983) was seen as overly challenging, and eroded European support. The group embraced a more radio-friendly sound on Junk Culture (1984); this change in direction led to greater success in the United States, and yielded the 1986 hit, "If You Leave".  

[Spotify]  Telegraph

“Texas Drums Pt 1”, Pottery

This way: Texas Drums Pt 1

Pottery is a Canadian five-piece indie rock/garage punk band from Montreal, Quebec, composed of Austin Boylan, guitarist Jacob Shepansky, keyboardist Peter Baylis, drummer Paul Jacobs and bassist Tom Gould. They released their debut single Hank Williams on November 28, 2018, which was later included in their 2019 extended play No. 1. On June 26, 2020, the band released their first full-length album, Welcome to Bobby's Motel.  

[Spotify]  Texas Drums Pt 1

“Subliminal”, They Might Be Giants

This way: Subliminal

They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG expanded to include a backing band. The duo's current backing band consists of Marty Beller, Dan Miller, and Danny Weinkauf. The group is known for their uniquely experimental and absurdist style of alternative music, typically using surreal, humorous lyrics and unconventional instruments in their songs. Over their career, they have found success on the modern rock and college radio charts. They have also found success in children's music, and in theme music for several television programs and films. The duo has been credited as vital in the creation of the prolific DIY music scene in Brooklyn in the mid-1980s.

 

TMBG have released 22 studio albums. Flood has been certified platinum and their children's music albums Here Come the ABCs, Here Come the 123s, and Here Comes Science have all been certified gold. The band has won two Grammy Awards. 

[Spotify]  Subliminal

“Gates of Steel”, Devo

This way: Gates of Steel

Freedom of Choice is the third studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in May 1980 on the Warner Bros. label.

Devo is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic lineup consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", the song that gave the band mainstream popularity. 

Devo is known for their music and stage shows mingling kitsch science fiction themes, deadpan surrealist humor and mordantly satirical social commentary. Their early, pre-Warner Bros. dissonant songs use synthetic instrumentation and time signatures proven influential on subsequent popular music, particularly new wave, industrial, and alternative rock artists. Devo (most enthusiastically Gerald Casale) was also a pioneer of the music video, creating clips for the LaserDisc format, with "Whip It" getting heavy airplay in the early days of MTV.

[Spotify]  Gates of Steel

“Everybody Knows”, Wooden Shjips

This way: Everybody Knows

Wooden Shjips (pronounced "ships") is an American experimental and psychedelic rock band from San Francisco, California. 

Their sound has been described as experimental, minimalist, drone rock, and "spacey psychedelic rock". They have been compared to Suicide, Spacemen 3, Loop, The Velvet Underground, The Doors, Soft Machine, Guru Guru, The Black Angels and many more. They are signed to Thrill Jockey records.

Guitarist Ripley Johnson also plays in two side projects, including Moon Duo, formed in 2009 with Sanae Yamada. The project has released one EP and seven albums.

[Spotify]  Everybody Knows 

“O Superman”, M.A.N.D.Y, Boka Shade, Laurie Anderson

This way: O Superman

Cover -remix of the great Laurie Anderson song. One of Get Physical’s best tracks, ‘O Superman’ sees a new release with remixes from Man Power and SIS alongside the 2008 version from Robag Whrume and a remaster of the now classic original. 

Man Power kicks off the new interpretations with an epic, ten and half minute version that patiently stretches the original’s melodies into pads and held bass tones across crisp, micro-house styled beats before unleashing loose, clattering breakbeats after a striking, extended breakdown. 

SIS’s dreamy, percussive version sees the German producer in hypnotic, and tracky form, focussing on the ebb and flow of the original’s tuneful vocoder and synth work that drift across his perfect groove. 

[Spotify] O Superman

“Blues Came Down”, Joe Pug

This way: Blues Came Down

I think I like this song so much because I was in a Marching Band. Joe Pug (born April 20, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter from Greenbelt, Maryland. He has released two EPs, as well as the albums Messenger, The Great Despiser, Windfall, The Flood in Color, and The Diving Sun. 

While working as a carpenter in Chicago after dropping out of the University of North Carolina, Pug wrote and recorded what would eventually become his debut EP, Nation of Heat. Its literate lyrics received widespread acclaim and Pug's unorthodox promotional strategy of distributing free CDs to anyone interested in sharing his music resulted in the EP selling over 20,000 copies. After touring with Steve Earle in 2009, Pug was signed by Nashville indie label Lightning Rod Records and released Messenger in 2010. After moving to Austin, Pug released The Great Despiser in 2012.

Pug's acclaimed narrative songwriting has led critics to draw comparisons between his work and that of John Prine and Bob Dylan. His stated influences include John Hiatt, Warren Zevon, and Beck, as well as literary figures such as John Dos Passos, John Steinbeck, Raymond Carver and most notably, Walt Whitman.

[Spotify]  Blues Came Down 

“Pink Turns to Blue”, Hüsker Dü

This way: Pink Turns to Blue

This great song from my one of my all time fav bands, and all time fav albums. It just doesn't get much better than this. 

By 1983, the members of Hüsker Dü wanted to create music outside of the confines and restrictions of hardcore. In an interview with Matter in 1983, Mould told interviewer Steve Albini, "We're going to try to do something bigger than anything like rock & roll and the whole puny touring band idea. I don't know what it's going to be, we have to work that out, but it's going to go beyond the whole idea of 'punk rock' or whatever."

The following year, Hüsker Dü recorded the double album Zen Arcade in 45 hours for the cost of $3,200. Zen Arcade is a concept album following a boy who leaves home to face a harsh and unforgiving world. Its artistic and conceptual ambitions were a great stretch given the purist sentiment then prevalent in U.S. punk rock. Zen Arcade received critical praise and significant mainstream music press attention, ending up on several year-end best-of lists. It also helped expand the band's audience beyond the punk community. In his review for Rolling Stone, David Fricke described Zen Arcade as "the closest hardcore will ever get to an opera ... a kind of thrash Quadrophenia."

[Spotify]  Pink Turns to Blue

“It's all Over Now Baby Blue”, Bob Dylan

 This way: It's all Over Now Baby Blue

"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his Bringing It All Back Home album, released on March 22, 1965, by Columbia Records. The song was recorded on January 15, 1965, with Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica and William E. Lee's bass guitar the only instrumentation. The lyrics were heavily influenced by Symbolist poetry and bid farewell to the titular "Baby Blue". There has been much speculation about the real life identity of "Baby Blue", with possibilities including Joan Baez, David Blue, Paul Clayton, Dylan's folk music audience, and even Dylan himself. 

[Spotify]  It's all Over Now Baby Blue 

“Baby Blue”, Badfinger

 This way: Baby Blue

Serious haircuts require serious examination. Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, Wales, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham, Mike Gibbins, Tom Evans, and Joey Molland. They are recognised for their influence on the 1970s power pop genre. It is estimated that the band sold 14 million albums.

The band evolved from an earlier group called The Iveys, formed in 1961, which became the first group signed by the Beatles' Apple label in 1968. The band renamed themselves Badfinger, after the working title for the Beatles' 1967 song "With a Little Help from My Friends" ("Bad Finger Boogie"). From 1968 to 1973, Badfinger recorded five albums for Apple and toured extensively, before they became embroiled in the chaos of Apple's dissolution.

Badfinger had four consecutive worldwide hits from 1970 to 1972: "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney, 1970), "No Matter What" (produced by Mal Evans, 1970), "Day After Day" (produced by George Harrison, 1971), and "Baby Blue" (produced by Todd Rundgren, 1972). Their song "Without You" (1970) has been recorded many times, and became a US and UK number-one hit for Harry Nilsson and, two decades later, a UK number-one for Mariah Carey.

After Apple Records folded in 1973, Badfinger struggled with a host of legal, managerial, and financial problems, leading to Ham taking his own life in 1975. The surviving members struggled to rebuild their personal and professional lives against a backdrop of lawsuits, which tied up the songwriters' royalty payments for years. Their subsequent albums floundered, as Molland and Evans alternated between co-operation and conflict in their attempts to revive and capitalise on the Badfinger legacy. In 1983, Evans also killed himself.

[Spotify]  Baby Blue 

“High School”, Yee Loi

 This way: High School

Two sisters (Rose 13 & Matilda 11) from Liverpool, England rocking out! Great Ramones influenced punk rock. 

[Spotify]  High School 

"On the Lips", JD McPherson

This way: On the Lips

JD McPherson (born April 14, 1977), is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He is known for a retro sound rooted in the rock and roll, rockabilly, and rhythm and blues music of the 1950s. McPherson was born as the youngest child in his family in rural southeastern Oklahoma, growing up on the family’s cattle ranch near the town of Talihina. His father was a farmer and ex-army, while his mother was a church minister. He took up the guitar at age 13. In high school, he played in a number of local punk rock bands and began writing his own songs. He has stated that he has always been in a band of some sort since he was 16 years old

[Spotify]  On the Lips 

Playlist #5

This way to the latest spotify playlist: sotd playlist #5

Here is playlist number five, 

7 hours plus of pure pop drivel for the masses.

Enjoy, 

—brENDan

also:

playlist 4: sotd playlist #4

playlist 3: sotd playlist #3

playlist 2: sotd playlist #2

playlist 1: sotd playlist #1

“The Jail House Blues”, Sam Collins

This way: The Jail House Blues

Sam Collins (August 11, 1887 – October 20, 1949), sometimes known as Crying Sam Collins, was an early American blues singer and guitarist. His style has been described as "South Mississippi", rather than Delta blues and "The Jail House Blues" is his best-known recording. 

Collins was born in Louisiana and grew up in McComb, Mississippi, just across the state line. By 1924, he was performing in local barrelhouses, often with King Solomon Hill; both of them sang falsetto parts and played slide guitar. Collins's first recording in 1927 was "Yellow Dog Blues", made for Gennett Records and recorded in Richmond, Indiana. His bottleneck guitar was referred to as a "git-fiddle" on record labels of the time, and blues historian Robert Palmer noted that his guitar "seemed to literally weep."

[Spotify] The Jail House Blues

“Do You”, Spoon

This way: Do You

Spoon is an American indie rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 1993. The band is the brainchild of Britt Daniel (vocals, guitar) and Jim Eno (drums) and has seen many lineup changes throughout their history. Alex Fischel (keyboards, guitar) and Gerardo Larios (guitar, keyboards) are also currently members of the band. Critics have described the band's musical style as indie rock, indie pop, art rock, and experimental rock.

Spoon released their debut studio album, Telephono, in 1996 through Matador Records. Their next full-length album, A Series of Sneaks, was released in 1998 through Elektra Records. The band subsequently signed with Merge Records, where Spoon achieved greater commercial and critical prominence with the albums Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill the Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007), and Transference (2010). They signed with Loma Vista Recordings and ANTI- for the release of They Want My Soul (2014). The band later returned to Matador to release their ninth album, Hot Thoughts (2017). 

[Spotify] Do You

“Criminals”, The Tallest Man on Earth

This way: Criminals

Kristian Matsson (born 30 April 1983) is a Swedish singer-songwriter who performs under the stage name The Tallest Man on Earth. Matsson grew up in Leksand, and began his solo career in 2006, having previously been the lead singer of the indie band Montezumas.

Since 2006, Matsson has released five full-length albums and two EPs. He records and produces these in his home, and usually records his voice and guitar together on one track. He is known for his charismatic stage presence. 

[Spotify] Criminals

“Where Have all the Flowers Gone”, The Searchers

This way: Where Have all the Flowers Gone

The Searchers were an English Merseybeat group who emerged during the British Invasion of the 1960s along with the Beatles, the Hollies, the Fourmost, the Merseybeats, the Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry and the Pacemakers.

The band's hits include a remake of the Drifters' 1961 hit, "Sweets for My Sweet"; "Sugar and Spice" (written by their producer Tony Hatch); remakes of Jackie DeShannon's "Needles and Pins" and "When You Walk in the Room"; a cover of the Orlons' "Don't Throw Your Love Away"; and a cover of the Clovers' "Love Potion No. 9". With the Swinging Blue Jeans, the Searchers tied for being the second group from Liverpool, after the Beatles, to have a hit in the US when their "Needles and Pins" and the Swinging Blue Jeans' "Hippy Hippy Shake" both reached the Hot 100 on 7 March 1964.

"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is a modern folk-style song. The melody and the first three verses were written by Pete Seeger in 1955 and published in Sing Out! magazine.

[Spotify] Where Have all the Flowers Gone

“Sound on Sound”, Big Boys

This way: Sound on Sound

Big Boys were an American pioneering punk rock band who are credited with having helped to create and introduce skate punk as a new style of music, which became popular in the 1980s. They also were famous by bring elements of funk into their hardcore punk style. Based in Austin, Texas, United States, the band members were Randy "Biscuit" Turner on vocals, Tim Kerr on guitar and Chris Gates on bass. The key members of the band were childhood friends for a decade before the band was started. Over the years the group played with five drummers in all; Steve Collier, Greg Murray, Fred Schultz, Rey Washam and Kevin Tubb who played only one show (the band's first) because Collier was sick. 

The hardcore punk style, a development from the earlier punk sound, arose spontaneously in various cities, but in Austin it was represented by MDC, Big Boys, The Huns, The Skunks and The Dicks. The bands often played together; Big Boys and The Dicks jointly released a split single and an LP, Live At Raul's.

Big Boys shows were legendary, frequently involving food fights, with "Biscuit" frequently sporting a pink ballerina's tutu and pink cowboy boots. Invitations would be made to the audience to come up and sing along, which often occurred. At the end of early shows, the band was famous for yelling, "OK y'all, go start your own band."

[Spotify] Sound on Sound

“Dark Allies”, Light Asylum

This way: Dark Allies

Light Asylum is a Brooklyn-based electronic music duo consisting of Shannon Funchess and Bruno Coviello. The band released their first EP In Tension in 2010. The four track EP was re-released in 2011 through notable indie label Mexican Summer. Their self-titled début album was released in May 2012.  

[Spotify] Dark Allies

“Mr. Giant Man”, James Last

 This way: Mr. Giant Man

James Last, (17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015_— also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of the years 1950–1952), his trademark "happy music" made his numerous albums best-sellers in Germany and the United Kingdom, with 65 of his albums reaching the charts in the UK alone. His composition "Happy Heart" became an international success in interpretations by Andy Williams and Petula Clark. 

Last is reported to have sold an estimated 200 million albums worldwide in his lifetime (figures vary widely, for example British Hit Singles & Albums (2006) reports 100 million at that time), of which 80 million were sold by 1973 - and won numerous awards including 200 gold and 14 platinum discs in Germany, the International MIDEM Prize at MIDEM in 1969, and West Germany's highest civilian award, the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany) in 1978. His album This Is James Last remained a UK best-seller for 48 weeks, and his song "Games That Lovers Play" has been covered over a hundred times. Last undertook his final tour months before his death at age 86, upon discovering in September 2014 that an illness had worsened. His final UK performance was his 90th at London's Royal Albert Hall, more than any other performer except Eric Clapton.

[Spotify] Mr. Giant Man

 

“Pennies to Save”, Lync

 This way: Pennies to Save

Lync was a 90s post-hardcore band from Olympia, WA

Formed in 1992, Lync was Sam Jayne, James Bertram and Dave Schneider. Lync's distinctive sound of distortion, cryptic lyrics and irregular tuning created a chaotic, visceral sound which drew comparisons to Fugazi, The Fall, and Drive Like Jehu. Lync's music is credited with influencing the sound of acts such as Modest Mouse and Roadside Monument.

[Spotify, Not likely]

“Song against Sex”, Neutral Milk Hotel

  This way: Song against Sex

Neutral Milk Hotel was an American rock band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psychedelic folk. Mangum was the band's lyricist, and wrote surreal and opaque songs that covered a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, nostalgia, sex, and loneliness. He and the other band members played a variety of instruments, including nontraditional rock instruments like the singing saw, zanzithophone, and uilleann pipes. 

Neutral Milk Hotel began as one of Mangum's home recording projects, and in 1994, he released the song "Everything Is" on Cher Doll Records. The single's exposure convinced him to record more music under this name, and in 1996, he worked with childhood friend Robert Schneider to record the album On Avery Island. The album received modest reviews, and sold around 5,000 copies. After the release of On Avery Island, Mangum recruited musicians Julian Koster, Jeremy Barnes, and Scott Spillane. Neutral Milk Hotel's second album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, was released in 1998, and received mostly positive but not laudatory reviews.

While on tour, the band's newfound stardom through the Internet had a negative effect on Mangum, and his mental health began to deteriorate. He did not want to continue touring, and Neutral Milk Hotel went on hiatus shortly after. During the hiatus, Neutral Milk Hotel gained a cult following, and the critical standing of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea rose tremendously. Several music outlets such as Pitchfork and Blender called In the Aeroplane Over the Sea a landmark album for indie rock, and one of the greatest albums of the 1990s. Many indie rock groups such as Arcade Fire and The Decemberists were influenced by Neutral Milk Hotel's eclectic music and earnest lyrics. Neutral Milk Hotel reunited in 2013, and underwent a reunion tour before another hiatus in 2015.

[Spotify] Song against Sex