“Free Money”, Patti Smith

This way: Free Money

Horses is the debut studio album by American musician Patti Smith, released on November 10, 1975 by Arista Records. Smith, supported by her regular backing band, recorded the album at Electric Lady Studios in September 1975, choosing former Velvet Underground member John Cale as the album's producer.

The music on Horses was informed by the minimalist aesthetic of the punk rock genre, then in its formative years. Smith and her band composed the album's songs using simple chord progressions, while also breaking from punk tradition in their propensity for improvisation and embrace of ideas from avant-garde and other musical styles. With Horses, Smith drew upon her backgrounds in rock music and poetry, aiming to create an album combining both forms. Her lyrics were alternately rooted in her own personal experiences, particularly with her family, and in more fantastical imagery. Horses was additionally inspired by Smith's reflections on the previous era of rock music—with two of its songs being adapted in part from 1960s rock standards, and others containing lyrical allusions and tributes to past rock performers—and her hopes for the music's future. 

[Spotify] Free Money 

“Starry Eyes”, Roky Erickson

This way: Starry Eyes

Roky Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Called an "outsider genius," he was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre in the 1960s, as well as horror rock in the 1970s and 80s.

Erickson was born in Dallas, Texas to Roger and Evelyn Erickson, and had four younger brothers. The nickname "Roky", a contraction of his first and middle names, was given to him by his parents.[3] His father, an architect and civil engineer, was stern and disapproving of Erickson's countercultural attitudes, once forcibly cutting his son's hair rather than allow him to grow it out Beatles-style. His mother was an amateur artist and opera singer, and encouraged Erickson's musical talent by taking guitar lessons herself so she could teach him. 

[Spotify] Starry Eyes 

“News at Ten”, The Vapors

This way: News at Ten

The Vapors are an English new wave and power pop band formed in Guildford, active from 1978 to 1982 before reforming in 2016. They are best known for their 1980 hit single, "Turning Japanese", which reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

1978–1982

Based in Guildford, Surrey, an early version of the group were playing at The Three Lions pub in Farncombe when The Jam's bassist Bruce Foxton spotted them. The group's line-up stabilised with David Fenton (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Howard Smith (drums), Edward Bazalgette (lead guitar) and Steve Smith (bass). Howard Smith and Steve Smith were not related. The group were originally named The Vapours but had removed the "u" to help garner more attention in America. Foxton then offered the group a few gigs and agreed to jointly-manage them with John Weller (father of Paul Weller). The Vapors were then offered a slot supporting The Jam on the Setting Sons tour in 1979.

[Spotify] News at Ten 

"Passion Clouds", fantasy of a broken heart

This way: Passion Clouds

fantasy of a broken heart is an art-pop two-piece from Brooklyn. The duo splits vocals, songwriting credits, and guitar duties, while Wollowitz supplies some bass, piano, and drum programming. 

[Spotify] Passion Clouds 

“Think I Pass”, BRONCHO

This way: Think I Pass

New album, Natural Pleasure, out April 25, 2025

Ryan Lindsey (vocals, guitar)

Ben E. King (guitar)

Penny Pitchlynn (bass guitar)

Nathan Price (drums). 

[Spotify] Think I Pass 

“Final Solution”, Pere Ubu, RIP dear Dave Thomas

This way: Final Solution

Pere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their debut album The Modern Dance in 1978 and followed with several more LPs before disbanding in 1982. Thomas reformed the group in 1987, continuing to record and tour.

Describing their sound as "avant-garage," Pere Ubu's work drew inspiration from sources such as musique concrète, 60s rock, performance art, and the industrial environments of the American Midwest. While the band achieved little commercial success, they have exerted a wide influence on subsequent underground music.

"My mom threw me out til I get some pants that fit"

[Spotify] Final Solution 

“Plumbers Unite!”, Foyer Red

This way: Plumbers Unite!

Brooklyn’s Foyer Red makes sweet yet abrasive songs that careen into delightfully unexpected places. They bounce between time signatures, boast bass lines and guitar riffs that clang and shimmer, and feature vocals that seamlessly crisscross over each other. Whenever the songs feel like they might dissolve into near-chaos, they’re reined in by earworm hooks and masterful leftfield pop songwriting. It’s organized clamor.  

The band started as a trio with singer and clarinetist Elana Riordan, drummer Marco Ocampo, and singer/guitarist Mitch Myers. The three would email each other song ideas and record the ones that stuck. In 2021, they started playing music together in the same room and immediately came out with the Zigzag Wombat EP, which Pitchfork raved about, writing, “They make fuck-you crayon rock. At its best, their debut is a little bit freaky and more than a little bit funny.” Though they had been a band for only a few months, their self-recorded and charming debut proved that they had hit the ground running almost fully formed with a distinct, tongue-in-cheek, deconstructive take on indie rock. 

[Spotify] Plumbers Unite! 

“The Wheel”, IDLES

This way: The Wheel

Idles are an English rock band formed in Bristol in 2009. The band consists of Adam Devonshire (bass), Joe Talbot (vocals), Mark Bowen (guitar), Lee Kiernan (guitar), and Jon Beavis (drums).

After spending eight years honing their live performances, the band released their debut album, Brutalism, in 2017 to critical acclaim. Their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018), increased their exposure significantly, and was followed by their first UK number one album, Ultra Mono, in 2020. The band released their fourth album, Crawler, in 2021. Tangk, their fifth studio album, was released in 2024 and became their second to reach number one in the UK. 

[Spotify] The Wheel 

“Walking on a Wire”, Linda and Richard Thompson

This way: Walking on a Wire

Shoot Out the Lights is the sixth and final album by British husband-and-wife rock duo Richard and Linda Thompson. It was produced by Joe Boyd and released in 1982 on his Hannibal label. A critically acclaimed work, is there a better album in all of rock n roll?

[Spotify] Walking on a Wire 

“I'll fly Away”, Rev Gary Davis

This way: I'll fly Away

Gary D. Davis (April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972),  known as Reverend Gary Davis and Blind Gary Davis, was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infancy, Davis first performed professionally in the Piedmont blues scene of Durham, North Carolina in the 1930s, then converted to Christianity and became a minister. After moving to New York in the 1940s, Davis experienced a career rebirth as part of the American folk music revival that peaked during the 1960s. Davis' most notable recordings include "Samson and Delilah" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy".  

Davis' fingerpicking guitar style influenced many other artists. His students included Stefan Grossman, David Bromberg, Steve Katz, Roy Book Binder, Larry Johnson, Alex Shoumatoff, Nick Katzman, Dave Van Ronk, Rory Block, Ernie Hawkins, Larry Campbell, Bob Weir, Woody Mann, and Tom Winslow. He also influenced Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Wizz Jones, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb' Mo', Ollabelle, Resurrection Band, and John Sebastian (of the Lovin' Spoonful).

Davis was born in Laurens, South Carolina in the Piedmont region, on a farm that was, by his recollection, "way down in the sticks; so far you couldn't hear a train whistle blow unless it was on a cloudy day."

Of the eight children his mother bore, he was one of two who survived to adulthood. He became blind as an infant.

[Spotify] I'll fly Away 

“Waiting”, Alice Boman

This way: Waiting

Alice Boman (born 2 December 1987) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and musician. Boman recorded her first extended play (EP), Skisser (which means "sketches" in Swedish) in her bedroom, never intending it to be publicly released. She treated the recordings like demos, and sent them to a studio with the intention of getting the songs professionally recorded. However, she said that "the guy at the studio liked [the demos] so much that he sent them to Adrian Recordings, and they wanted to release them." The EP came out on Adrian Recordings on 22 May 2013,[3] and it has since been re-released on limited edition vinyl. An EP containing remixes of Skisser tracks "Waiting" and "Skiss 2" was digitally released in November 2013. It contained remixes by 1987, NATTEN, Summer Heart, Kalter and PAL.

 

[Spotify] Waiting 

“4 Hours”, Clock DVA

This way: 4 Hours

Clock DVA are a musical group from Sheffield, England, whose style has touched on industrial, post-punk, and EBM. They formed in 1978 by Adi Newton (born Gary Coates) and Steven "Judd" Turner. Along with contemporaries Heaven 17, Clock DVA's name was inspired by the Russian-influenced Nadsat language of Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange. Dva is Russian for "two". 

History

1978–1981: White Souls in Black Suits and Thirst

Newton had previously worked with members of Cabaret Voltaire in a collective called The Studs and with Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware in a band called The Future. He formed the first lineup of Clock DVA in 1978 with Judd Turner (bass), David J. Hammond (guitar), Roger Quail (drums) and Charlie Collins (saxophone, clarinet) (born 26 September 1958, Sheffield).

Clock DVA was originally known for making a form of experimental electronic music involving treated tape loops and synthesizers such as the EMS Synthi E. Clock DVA became associated with industrial music with the 1980 release of their cassette album White Souls in Black Suits on Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records. Paul Widger joined on guitar. The LP Thirst, released on Fetish Records, followed in 1981 to a favourable critical reaction, and reaching the top of the NME Indie Charts, by which time the band had combined musique concrète techniques with standard rock instrumentation. "4 Hours", the single from Thirst, was later covered by former Bauhaus bassist David J on his 1985 solo EP Blue Moods Turning Tail.

The band split up in 1981, with the non-original members of the band — Quail, Collins, and Widger — going on to form The Box.

Turner died in September 1981 due to an accidental drug overdose.

 

[Spotify] 4 Hours 

“Hammering So Hard”, Squirrel Bait

This way: Hammering So Hard

Squirrel Bait was an American punk rock band from Louisville, Kentucky active from 1983 to 1988. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well as math rock. Squirrel Bait, along with Hüsker Dü, are often noted as precursors to the emocore ("emotional hardcore") sound that arose from the D.C. hardcore punk scene with bands like Rites of Spring, Beefeater and Fugazi.

Squirrel Bait signaled the second coming of American punk – bands of little brothers and sisters who got to grow up on Black Flag and Hüsker Dü without a preparatory course in Supertramp. ... Like a hundred other little Düs across the country, Squirrel Bait managed to make a couple of records before spintering off to form five more bands. Unlike most of that punk rock loam, the members of Squirrel Bait chewed up their legacy and shat out something curious and consequential.

[Spotify] Hammering So Hard 

“OK”, The Philistines Jr.

This way: OK

The Philistines Jr. was founded by brothers Peter Katis and Tarquin Katis, alongside friend Adam Pierce. In addition to guitar, bass, and drums, their early records made use of keyboard instruments such as electric organ and toy piano.

After their second full-length, Analog vs. Digital, was released in 2001, they issued no new material until 2010, when If a Band Plays in the Woods...? was released. This was released with a companion album, If a Lot of Bands Play in the Woods...?, of other bands covering and remixing tracks from If a Band Plays in the Woods...?. Artists on the companion album included The National, Mice Parade, Tokyo Police Club, Tapes 'N Tapes, Jonsi, Mercury Rev, Oneida, We Were Promised Jetpacks, and Frightened Rabbit.

The band was then quiet again for several years, but in 2017, they released a cover of the song "NYC" by Interpol. The Philistines Jr. toured with Gang of Youths in 2018. After the suicide of Frightened Rabbit singer Scott Hutchison, The Philistines Jr. contributed a cover of "Bright Pink Bookmark" to Tiny Changes, a tribute album of covers of songs from Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Fight - which Peter Katis had produced. Later in 2019, the group released its fourth full-length, Help!, which Paste described as "an attempt to make sense of the world at an unsettled time."

In addition to the Philistines Jr., the group members also play in bands called Iris and The Zambonis. Peter Katis works as a producer, Tarquin Katis runs Tarquin Records, the band's own label, and Adam Pierce records under the pseudonym Mice Parade.

 

[Spotify] OK 

“Docket”, Blondshell, Bully

This way: Docket

Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum, better known as Blondshell, is an American indie rock musician based in Los Angeles, California. Following an early pop-leaning career under the name BAUM, Teitelbaum debuted Blondshell in June 2022 with the single "Olympus". She has toured with acts including Suki Waterhouse, Horsegirl, and Porridge Radio and has performed at South by Southwest, Austin City Limits Music Festival, and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Her self-titled debut album was released on April 7, 2023 via Partisan Records, receiving positive reviews. 

 

[Spotify] Docket 

“No No No No”, Tommy Ray

This way: No No No No

This guy thinks very highly of himself.

 

[Spotify] No No No No 

“Shamebirds”, life. Punk

This way: Shamebirds

Airtight power pop from Vancouver, Canada for life. Punk comes for you in the night. Great sound with this band.

 

[Spotify] Shamebirds 

“I Found that Essence Rare”, Gang of Four, RIP bassist Dave Allen

This way: I Found that Essence Rare

This could be the only perfect LP. No bad songs, and what a great sound. Allens work on the bass is a high mark for all bass playing. Gang of Four are an English post-punk band, formed in 1976 in Leeds. The original members were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. There have been many different line-ups including, among other notable musicians, Sara Lee, Gail Ann Dorsey, and David Pajo. After a brief lull in the 1980s, different constellations of the band recorded two studio albums in the 1990s. Between 2004 and 2006 the original line-up was reunited; Gill toured using the name between 2012 and his death in 2020. In 2021, the band announced that King, Burnham, and Lee would be reuniting for a US tour in 2022 with David Pajo on guitar and Sara Lee returning to the band. 

 

[Spotify] I Found that Essence Rare 

“Dreaming”, Blondie, RIP Clem Burke

This way: Dreaming

Sorry to hear of the passing of Clem Burke, drummer for Blondie. He was one of the best and this song proves it. He kept that beat and brought so much more to the song of that band. In recent years he kept busy playing with the likes of Glenn Matlock of Sex Pistols fame. Also a member of the Romantics from 1990 until 2004. I know I've probably posted this song before, but really, you can't beat it.

 

[Spotify] Dreaming 

“Du Sang du Singe”, La Jungle

This way: Du Sang du Singe

LA JUNGLE. Mons, Belgium. La Jungle is a techno/kraut/transe/noise duo from Mons, Belgium. The band performed more than 600 concerts since 2013. Members: Rémy Venant aka Roxie Rookie, Mathieu Flasse aka Jim Frisko Binwette

 

[Spotify] Du Sang du Singe 

“Artroom Wonder”, Peter Murphy

This way: Artroom Wonder

Peter Murphy (born 11 July 1957) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the vocalist for the post-punk band Bauhaus, which he co-founded with Daniel Ash in 1978. After Bauhaus disbanded, Murphy formed Dalis Car with Japan's bassist Mick Karn and released one album, The Waking Hour (1984). He went on to release a number of solo albums, including Should the World Fail to Fall Apart (1986) and Love Hysteria (1988).

In 1990, Murphy achieved commercial success with his single "Cuts You Up", which reached the top 60 of the US Billboard Hot 100 which is for singles sales. His album Deep also reached No. 44 on the Billboard 200. In 1992, Murphy released Holy Smoke, which reached No. 108 on the Billboard 200 chart, featuring lead single "The Sweetest Drop". After the release of Holy Smoke, Peter moved from London to Turkey with his family and from there he released Cascade in 1995. Bauhaus then reunited briefly for the well-received Gotham tour in 1998.

In 2002, Murphy released Dust with Turkish-Canadian composer and producer Mercan Dede, which utilizes traditional Turkish instrumentation and songwriting, abandoning Murphy's previous pop and rock incarnations, and juxtaposing elements from progressive rock, trance, classical music, and Middle Eastern music, coupled with Dede's trademark atmospheric electronics. He followed this up two years later with Unshattered (2004). The next several years would see a second reunion of Bauhaus from 2005-2007 during which they recorded their fifth and final album Go Away White, released in 2008 after they had broken up again. Peter then returned to his solo efforts, releasing Ninth in 2011. In 2014, he released Lion, produced by Killing Joke's Youth, which reached No. 173 on the Billboard 200.

 

[Spotify] Artroom Wonder 

“Myriad Harbour”, New Pornographers

This way: Myriad Harbour

The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band has released nine studio albums to date. The band have received critical acclaim for their use of multiple vocalists and songwriters, as well as for the elements of power pop incorporated into their music.cPitchfork has described the band's sound as "peppy, gleeful, headstrong guitar pop", while Stereogum has retrospectively praised the band's debut album Mass Romantic as "one of the greatest and most immediate power pop albums ever rendered".

The New Pornographers' name was chosen by Carl Newman, who has said that he came up with it after watching a Japanese film called The Pornographers.[4] The band has released nine albums to date: Mass Romantic (2000), Electric Version (2003), Twin Cinema (2005), Challengers (2007), Together (2010), Brill Bruisers (2014), Whiteout Conditions (2017), In the Morse Code of Brake Lights (2019), and Continue as a Guest (2023). A live album recorded on their 2006 tour is available only at concerts and on the band's website. In 2005, the band was the subject of Reginald Harkema's documentary film Better Off in Bed.

 

[Spotify] Myriad Harbour 

“Spooky Cooties”, Jr. CHemists

This way: Spooky Cooties

Here is a band. My old band, an early high mark for me. Michael, Dawn and Brendan team up for childhood excellence. This Arizona Disease extended single split with the Les Seldoms of Tucson. The brainchild of this recording is Johnny Glenn who was in a band called Prefix.

We will be playing Spooky Cooties this weekend at our reunion show at Club Placebo, Phx.

[Spotify] No!

“Traveling Alone”, Kathleen Edwards

This way: Traveling Alone

Edwards has a new LP of covers out, here is one of Jason Isbells with hime backing her up. Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2002 debut album, Failer, contained the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates". Her next two albums – Back to Me and Asking for Flowers – both made the Billboard 200 list and reached the top 10 of Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. In 2012, Edwards' fourth studio album, Voyageur, became Edwards' first album to crack the top 100 and top 40 in the U.S., peaking at #39 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #2 in Canada. In 2012, Edwards' song "A Soft Place To Land" won the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, an annual competition that honours the best song written and released by 'emerging' songwriters over the past year, as voted by the public. Her musical sound has been compared to Suzanne Vega meets Neil Young. 

[Spotify] Traveling Alone 

“The Model”, Kraftwerk

This way: The Model

"Das Model" ("The Model" in English) is a song recorded by the German group Kraftwerk in 1978, written by musicians Ralf Hütter and Karl Bartos, with artist Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, Die Mensch-Maschine (known in international versions as The Man-Machine). 

In 1981, the song was re-released to coincide with the release of the studio album Computerwelt (Computer World in English). It reached no. 1 in the UK singles chart. Both the German and English versions of the song have been covered by other artists, including Snakefinger, Hikashu, Big Black and Robert.

The lyrics were written by Emil Schult, who was in love with a model when he wrote the song. He also composed music for the song, though it was too guitar-heavy for the musical concept of Kraftwerk and it was rewritten by Bartos and Hütter to fit the sound of the band.

As with all of the songs on The Man-Machine, The Model was released in both German- and English-language versions. The lyrics are very close between two versions, with the exception of a guttural-sounding "Korrekt!" added after the line "Sie trinkt in Nachtclubs immer Sekt" in the German version. (The English lyric is "She's going out to nightclubs, drinking just champagne.") 

[Spotify] The Model 

[A good cover] The Model