“I Don't Want to Call You Baby. . . Baby”, Kids on a Crime Spree

This way: I Don't Want to Call You Baby. . . Baby

Named after the San Francisco Examiner article by Bruce Koon and James Finefrock entitled “Mousepacks: Kids on a Crime Spree” which also, spawned the late 70’s exploitation film “Over the Edge”, KOACS is an Oakland, CA trio comprised of longtime friends and musical conspirators Bill Evans, Rebecca Barron, and Mario Hernandez.  Their debut ep “We Love You So Bad” was released on the venerable Slumberland Records in 2011, with a follow-up single “Creep the Creeps” in 2013 and 4 song ep (Emotional Response) with Terry Malts in 2017.

At their makeshift recording studio and band space at the Karl Kardel Building in East Oakland, the band members are putting the final touches on their long-awaited LP that is being recorded on their newly resuscitated Tascam 16 track analog recorder.  The recording journey for the new album has been challenged by false starts, redoes, and equipment failures. After the completion of the “Creep the Creeps” single, the old-fi Tascam recorder started to show signs of age and deterioration.  Drop-outs and poor signal prevented any further tracks from being put down.

[Spotify] I Don't Want to Call You Baby. . . Baby

“Sirens of Titan”, Tim Heidecker

This way: Sirens of Titan

Tim Heidecker (born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. He is best known as one half of the comedy duo Tim & Eric, alongside Eric Wareheim. He has also acted in films such as Bridesmaids (2011), Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012), The Comedy (2012), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), and Us (2019). He currently co-hosts the parodic film review web series On Cinema and stars in the comedy series Decker, both alongside Gregg Turkington, as well as a weekly call-in show, Office Hours Live with Tim Heidecker, alongside DJ Douggpound and Vic Berger.  Heidecker played in various indie rock bands while in Philadelphia. He made an appearance in the 2008 Ben Folds and Regina Spektor music video entitled "You Don't Know Me".vAlthough Davin Wood composed the music for Awesome Show, Heidecker would sometimes sing and write lyrics. Williams Street Records released both Awesome Record, Great Songs! and Uncle Muscles Presents Casey And His Brother in 2008, featuring music from the first two seasons. Wood previously composed the music for Tom Goes To The Mayor, and he and Heidecker form the duo Heidecker & Wood. Inspired by 1970s soft rock, they released their first album, Starting From Nowhere, on March 15, 2011.  

[Spotify]  Sirens of Titan

“Sudden”, Onetwothree

This way: Sudden

Fantastic record by ONETWOTHREE, a new group featuring members of the late-'70s/early-'80s Swiss punk scene, all of whom are bassists. The band includes Klaudia Schifferle of Kleenex / LiLiPUT, as well as Madlaina Peer of the Noknows and Sara Schär, who was singer for TNT and Souldawn, and singer/bassist for The Kick. They formed in 2018, finding  the idea of a group made of three bass players novel. 

There is more than bass on their album, as ONETWOTHREE make skeletal DIY post-punk that draws on the influential music they each made with their former groups. If you are a fan of Kleenex / LiLiPUT you'll definitely want to hear the album's opening track, "Perfect Illusions," that is twitchy, poppy and danceable.  

[Spotify] Sudden

“Glass of Water”, Lithics

This way: Glass of Water

Lithics are a band from Portland Oregon. Lithics are:

Aubrey Hornor: Guitar, vocals

Bob Desaulniers: Bass, guitar, tape loops

Wiley Hickson: drums

Mason Crumley: Guitar. This from 2018.  

[Spotify]  Glass of Water

“A Song From Under the Floorboards”, Magazine

This way: A Song From Under the Floorboards

Magazine were an English rock band formed in 1977 in Manchester in England by singer Howard Devoto and guitarist John McGeoch. After leaving the punk group Buzzcocks in early 1977, Devoto decided to create a more progressive and less "traditional" rock band. The original lineup of Magazine was composed by Devoto, McGeoch, Barry Adamson on bass, Dave Formula on Keyboards and Martin Jackson on drums. Their debut album Real Life (1978) was critically acclaimed and was one of the first post-punk albums. After releasing two other albums Secondhand Daylight and The Correct Use of Soap, McGeoch left the band in 1980 to join Siouxsie and the Banshees. Magazine released another studio album and disbanded in 1981.

They reunited in 2009 for a UK tour, with almost all the original members, with the exception of McGeoch who died in 2004; he was replaced by Noko. Magazine released an album of new material, No Thyself, in October 2011, followed by a short UK tour. 

[Spotify] A Song From Under the Floorboards

“In Lies”, Green/Blue

This way: In Lies

Here is a good new band from Minneapolis. Released June 10, 2022. Songs written and recorded by Jim Blaha. Played, sung, and produced by Jim Blaha and Annie Sparrows. Mixing and vocal recording by Jared Miller at Filter Lab. Mastered by Mikey Young. Art by Jim Blaha and layout by Danny J. Henry. 

[Spotify]  In Lies

“Hunger for a Way Out”, Sweeping Promises

This way: Hunger for a Way Out 

Sweeping Promises is Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug. Their debut record 'Hunger For A Way Out' is out now via Feel It Records. This band is from Boston. 

[Spotify]  Hunger for a Way Out

“Tarred & Fucked”, C Turtle

This way: Tarred & Fucked

C Turtle is a London based band originally formed by Cole Flynn-Quirke as a solo project. The Band records all of thier music on a Tascam 4-Track. 

[Spotify] Tarred & Fucked

“Jukebox Babe”, Alan Vega

This way: Jukebox Babe

Jukebox Babe is a song by Alan Vega, released as a single in 1981 by Celluloid Records. Alan Vega (June 23, 1938 – July 16, 2016), was an American vocalist and visual artist, primarily known for his work with the electronic protopunk duo Suicide.

Lot of great solo material to mine . . .  

[Spotify]  Jukebox Babe

“Song of the Mournful Millionaire”, Fiver

This way: Song of the Mournful Millionaire

Words by Joe Wallace from the poem Song of the Mournful Millionaire written in 1950. Music written, performed and produced by Simone Schmidt. Recorded by Gavin Gardiner. Also in the fantastic band One Hundred Dollars.

In the late 2000s, Schmidt emerged as the unmistakable voice leading bands like alt-country act One Hundred Dollars, psychedelic caravan The Highest Order, and their solo project Fiver. Many listeners were introduced to Schmidt’s songs for the first time when U.S. Girls covered “Rage of Plastics” on their breakout release, In A Poem Unlimited. Yet after working on Fiver’s densely researched 2017 album, Audible Songs From Rockwood, a collection of fictional field recordings gathered from case files of patients at the Rockwood Asylum for the Criminally Insane between 1854-1881, Schmidt was ready to try a new form of expression. 

[Spotify] Song of the Mournful Millionaire

“Deep End”, Joe Pug

This way: Deep End

This guy can write a song . .  . Joe Pug 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.

[Spotify]  Deep End

“Things Fall Apart”, Jerry Harrison

This way: Things Fall Apart

Jerry Harrison (born February 21, 1949) is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He began his professional music career as a member of the cult band the Modern Lovers before becoming keyboardist and guitarist for the band Talking Heads. In 2002, Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.

Since Talking Heads went on indefinite hiatus in 1991, Harrison has focused more on producing other bands, a role he started while still with Talking Heads, beginning with the Violent Femmes third album The Blind Leading the Naked in 1986.

During the 1990s, he produced a number of hit albums for bands such as Live, The Verve Pipe, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd among others. He has also released three albums of solo music (all while Talking Heads were still active) and has participated in a number of partial reunions of Talking Heads. In 1999, he helped found the online music community GarageBand.com.  

[Spotify]  Things Fall Apart

“My White Devil”, Echo and the Bunnymen

This way: My White Devil

Echo & the Bunnymen are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freitas joined as the band's drummer.

Their 1980 debut album Crocodiles went into the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart. After releasing their second album Heaven Up Here in 1981, the band's cult status was followed by mainstream success in the UK in 1983 when they scored a UK Top 10 hit with "The Cutter", and the album which the song came from, Porcupine, hit number 2 in the UK. Ocean Rain (1984), continued the band's UK chart success with its lead single "The Killing Moon" entering into the top 10. After releasing a self-titled album in 1987, McCulloch left the band and was replaced by singer Noel Burke. In 1989, de Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident. After working together as Electrafixion, McCulloch and Sergeant regrouped with Pattinson in 1997 and returned as Echo & the Bunnymen, before Pattinson's departure in 1998. The band has done some touring and released several albums since the late 1990s to varying degrees of success.  

[Spotify]  My White Devil

“Memories are Now”, Jesca Hoop

This way: Memories are Now

Jesca Hoop (born April 21, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, who writes and performs in diverse musical styles. She has released five studio albums of her own, as well as live, acoustic and dual albums with others.  Hoop was born in Santa Rosa, California, to traditional Mormon parents Janette and Jack Dennis Hoop. She grew up singing hymns and folk tunes with her family in four-part harmony. At age 14, her parents separated, and two years later she broke away from her Mormon religion. Hoop described losing her faith as, "Now I feel free of it: I have faith in people". 

[Spotify]  Memories are Now

“Big Store”, Jacobites

This way: Big Store

You have to admire someone writing a song about the most mundane of things. Jacobites were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1982 by Nikki Sudden and Dave Kusworth, following the breakup of their respective previous bands, the Swell Maps (LOVE the Swell Maps!) and the Subterranean Hawks. The two had met in early 1980, and first performed together in May 1982 under the name Six Hip Princes, but it was not until 1984, after Sudden had already issued two solo releases, that the duo adopted the name Jacobites (after the rebel movement to restore the Stuart line to the British thrones) and completed the lineup by adding Nikki's brother Epic Soundtracks, also formerly of the Swell Maps, and bassist Mark Lemon. The Jacobites were a more traditional, song-oriented outfit than the experimental-punk style of Swell Maps. Sudden and Kusworth were both strongly influenced by The Faces, Bob Dylan, glam rock, and, most vitally, The Rolling Stones. 

[Spotify]  Big Store

“Living with Unemployment”, Newtown Neurotics

This way: Living with Unemployment

The Newtown Neurotics (later just The Neurotics) are an English punk rock group formed in Harlow, Essex, England, in 1979. They are noted for their openly political music. As The Newtown Neurotics, the band began their career playing punk heavily indebted stylistically to The Clash and The Ramones. They released a series of singles from 1979 – later collected on the album 45 Revolutions per Minute – and debut album Beggars Can Be Choosers in 1983. Over the course of the 1980s, the band dropped the "Newtown" from its name and became simply The Neurotics;[2] along with the name change came a stylistic broadening, including slower tempos and horn arrangements. They released several albums on noted UK postpunk label Jungle Records including Repercussions in 1986 and Is Your Washroom Breeding Bolsheviks in 1988.

This from 1983. 

[Spotify]  Living with Unemployment

“Double Life”, The Cars

This way: Double Life

The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, it consisted of Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), Ric Ocasek (rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), and David Robinson (drums). Ocasek and Orr shared lead vocals, and Ocasek was the band's principal songwriter. 

The Cars were at the forefront of the merger of 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synthesizer-oriented pop that became popular in the early 1980s. Robert Palmer, music critic for The New York Times and Rolling Stone, described the Cars' musical style: "They have taken some important but disparate contemporary trends—punk minimalism, the labyrinthine synthesizer and guitar textures of art rock, the '50s rockabilly revival and the melodious terseness of power pop—and mixed them into a personal and appealing blend."

The Cars disbanded in 1988. Orr died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer. The surviving original members of the Cars reunited in 2010 to record the band's seventh and final album, Move Like This, which was released in May 2011. Following a short tour in support of Move Like This, the band once again went on hiatus. In April 2018, the Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and reunited to perform at the induction ceremony. It was the band's final performance with Ocasek, who died on September 15, 2019 of cardiovascular disease.

[Spotify]  Double Life

“California Stars”, Billy Bragg, Wilco, Natalie Merchant

This way: California Stars

There is nothing better than this song. The daughter of the late folk legend Woody Guthrie contacted folk rock singer Billy Bragg, who in turn contacted Tweedy about recording an album of unreleased Woody Guthrie songs. Tweedy was indifferent to the idea of working with Bragg, but Jay Bennett's enthusiasm about the idea convinced Tweedy to get the band involved in the project. As a result of Tweedy's feelings on the political nature of some of the lyrics, Bragg recorded mostly political songs while Wilco recorded more neutral songs. Almost all of the songs that appeared on Mermaid Avenue and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II were recorded over a six-day period in December 1997. The first Mermaid Avenue album and a second Golden Smog album (Weird Tales) were released in 1998, Summerteeth was released in early 1999, and Mermaid Avenue Vol. II was released in 2000. Tweedy received his first Grammy nomination when Mermaid Avenue was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1999.

Mermaid Avenue is a 1998 album of previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, put to music written and performed by British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco. The project was the first of several such projects organized by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie, original director of the Woody Guthrie Foundation and archives. 

[Spotify]  California Stars

“Reno Nevada”, Mimi and Richard Farina

This way: Reno Nevada

Richard Fariña (March 8, 1937 – April 30, 1966-29 years old) was an American folksinger, songwriter, poet and novelist. Fariña is known for his novel Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me, originally published by Random House in 1966. On April 30, 1966, two days after the publication of his novel, Fariña attended a book-signing ceremony at a Carmel Valley Village bookstore, the Thunderbird. Later that day, while at a party to celebrate his wife Mimi Fariña's twenty-first birthday, Fariña saw a guest with a motorcycle, who later gave Fariña a ride up Carmel Valley Road, heading east toward the rural Cachagua area of Carmel Valley.

  [Spotify]  Reno Nevada

“Pretty Pink Rose”, Adrian Belew

This way: Pretty Pink Rose

This song with David Bowie singing . . . Adrian Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, Belew is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to his guitar tones (which, rather than relying on standard instrumental tones, often resemble sound effects or noises made by animals and machines). 

Widely recognized as an "incredibly versatile player", Belew is perhaps best known for his long career as singer and guitarist in the progressive rock group King Crimson between 1981 and 2009. He has also released nearly twenty solo albums for Island Records and Atlantic Records in a range of blended or alternated styles including art rock, New Wave, Beatles-inspired pop-rock, progressive rock and experimental noise. In addition, Belew has been a member of the intermittently-active pop band the Bears, and fronted GaGa in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Belew has worked extensively as a session, guest and touring musician, including periods with the Frank Zappa and David Bowie bands, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson, and Nine Inch Nails, as well as contributing to hit singles by Paul Simon, Tom Tom Club, and others. He scored a Top 10 hit single of his own in 1989 with "Oh Daddy," and his 2005 single "Beat Box Guitar" was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rock Instrumental Performance category. Belew has also worked in instrument design and multimedia, collaborating with Parker Guitars to help design his own Parker Fly signature guitar, and designing his own iOS mobile apps, "FLUX by belew" and "FLUX:FX, the multi-effect audio processor app."  

[Spotify]  Pretty Pink Rose

“Hot Head”, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band

This way: Hot Head

Don Van Vliet (January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist best known by the stage name Captain Beefheart. Conducting a rotating ensemble called Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, known separately as "The Magic Band", he recorded 13 studio albums between 1964 and 1982. His music blended elements of blues, free jazz, rock, and avant-garde composition with idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist wordplay, a loud, gravelly voice, and his wide vocal range. Known for his enigmatic persona, Beefheart frequently constructed myths about his life and was known to exercise an almost dictatorial control over his supporting musicians. Although he achieved little commercial success, he sustained a cult following as a "highly significant" and "incalculable" influence on an array of new wave, punk, and experimental rock artists. 

An artistic prodigy in his childhood, Van Vliet developed an eclectic musical taste during his teen years in Lancaster, California, and formed "a mutually useful but volatile" friendship with musician Frank Zappa, with whom he sporadically competed and collaborated. He began performing with his Captain Beefheart persona in 1964 and joined the original Magic Band line-up, initiated by Alexis Snouffer, the same year. 

[Spotify]  Hot Head

“Bad Love”, Dehd

This way: Bad Love

Dehd is an American three-piece indie rock band from Chicago formed in 2015. The band consists of members Emily Kempf, Jason Balla , and Eric McGrady. Jason Balla has cited Cocteau Twins, Broadcast, and Cate Le Bon as influences, while Emily Kempf has referenced the works of James Brown, Roy Orbison, and Dolly Parton as having shaped their musical approach. This off of there great new LP Blue Skies. 

[Spotify]  Bad Love

“Beginning of the Heartbreak”, Peter Gordon

This way: Beginning of the Heartbreak

Love of Life Orchestra (LOLO) is an experimental music group formed by Peter Gordon in New York in April 1977. The band is associated with the 1970s New York downtown music scene. 

A number of the players that would form the band came together in 1976, to perform Peter Gordon's Symphony in Four Movements at The Kitchen. Gordon was then asked to perform at a benefit concert for the New York non-profit Performing Artservices in Spring 1977, and so formed the Love of Life Orchestra with Arthur Russell, Peter Zummo, Jill Kroesen, "Blue" Gene Tyranny, David Van Tieghem, Scott Johnson, Ernie Brooks, Ed Friedman, and Kathy Acker. The group has had a widely varying lineup since, and other notable past members include Laurie Anderson, Rhys Chatham, and Ned Sublette.

[Spotify] Beginning of the Heartbreak

“That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate”, Mission of Burma

This way: That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate

This is a song that often raises to the surface in my brain. Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group formed in 1979 with Roger Miller on guitar, Clint Conley on bass, Peter Prescott on drums, and Martin Swope contributing audiotape manipulation and acting as the band’s sound engineer. In this initial lineup, Miller, Conley, and Prescott all shared singing and songwriting duties.

In their early years the band's recordings were all released on the small Boston-based record label Ace of Hearts.[2] Despite their initial success in the growing independent music circuit, Mission of Burma disbanded in 1983 due to Miller's development of tinnitus caused by the loud volume of the band's live performances. In its original lineup, the band released only two singles, an EP, and one LP, titled Vs. 

[Spotify]  That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate

“Cavity - First Communion”, Christian Death

This way: Cavity - First Communion

Christian Death is an American gothic rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized religion and conventional morality".

Williams was eventually joined by guitarist Rikk Agnew of the band Adolescents, James McGearty on bass guitar and George Belanger on drums. This line-up was responsible for producing the band's best known work, their 1982 debut album Only Theatre of Pain, which was highly influential in the development of the style of music known as deathrock, as well as on the American gothic scene which also produced bands such as Kommunity FK and 45 Grave. 

Following the release of Only Theatre of Pain, Christian Death's line-up had fallen apart, and by the time of the band's second album, Catastrophe Ballet (1984), Rozz was joined by Valor Kand of tour mates Pompeii 99 on vocals and guitar. Following the release of the band's third album, Ashes, in 1985, Williams left the band and was controversially replaced by Valor as frontperson of the band, with no original members of the band remaining, causing a divide in the band's fanbase that has continued to this day.

[Spotify] Cavity - First Communion