“My Advice” Fast Kids

This way: My Advice

FAST KIDS is the solo power-pop project of Mike Brandon (The Mystery Lights), paying homage to his power-pop roots. Raised in the Central Coast punk scene of California (Salinas, Santa Cruz) and now based in Ridgewood, Queens, Mike channels influences from power-pop pioneers like The Nerves, The Boys & The Shivvers to craft his debut Fast Kids Forever, recorded at Business District Recording in Johnson City, NY with producer Hunter Davidson.

[Spotify] My Advice 

“Sharky” Cheetah Chrome

This way: Sharky

Known professionally as Cheetah Chrome (February 18, 1955 – September 13, 2026) was an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket from the Tombs and the punk rock band Dead Boys.

Rocket From the Tombs

Chrome joined protopunk band Rocket from the Tombs in September 1974, having previously been in a band with member Peter Laughner. The band broke up in mid 1975, having never recorded any material. In 2003, after the release of The Day the Earth Met the Rocket from the Tombs, he reformed Rocket from the Tombs with David Thomas, Craig Bell, with Steve Mehlman (Pere Ubu) on drums and Richard Lloyd (Television) replacing the late Peter Laughner. The reincarnation of the group toured in 2003 and 2006. In summer 2003 it entered the studio to record some of the band's old material for the first time. The recordings were released as Rocket Redux (SmogVeil). Chrome did a U.S. West coast tour in April 2004 (backed by Sweet Justice) as well as a 10 date Midwest/East coast tour as guitarist in Texas Terri's band in July. At the end of July he headlined "Festimal" in Cedeira, Spain. In September 2004, the members of RFTT flew to Germany to headline one night (the Buzzcocks headlined the other) of the International Punk Kongress in Kassel; then, in 2006, they reconvened in Cleveland to write material for a new record. This material became the single "I Sell Soul/Romeo and Juliet", released in 2010,[citation needed] and the full-length album Barfly, released in 2011. Chrome left the band again in December 2011.

Dead Boys

After the initial breakup of RFTT, Chrome, alongside other members Stiv Bators and Johnny Madansky would form a new group, Dead Boys. They took the name after the RFTT song "Down In Flames". The band released two albums before breaking up in 1980.[

[Spotify] Sharky 

“Ain't it Fun” Dead Boys, RIP Cheetah Chrome

This way: Ain't it Fun

Cheetah Chrome is one of the greats, most famous for the Dead Boys he was in a ton of other bands and made all kinds of great music. Rocket from the Tombs being another seminal Ohio punk bands perhaps even predating some of the NYC scene (What was in the water in Ohio?). 

The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed in 1975 by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, lead guitarist Cheetah Chrome, and drummer Johnny Blitz—the latter two having splintered from the band Rocket from the Tombs. The original Dead Boys released two studio albums: Young, Loud and Snotty and We Have Come for Your Children.

The Dead Boys were active from 1975 to 1980, briefly reunited a few times in the mid-1980s, and regrouped in 2004 and 2005 for the first time without Bators, who had died in 1990. In September 2017, Chrome and Blitz reunited the band with a new line-up for a 40th anniversary tour along with a new album, Still Snotty: Young, Loud and Snotty at 40, a re-recording of their debut album. This lineup included Chrome and Blitz with vocalist Jake Hout, guitarist Jason "Ginchy" Kottwitz and bassist Ricky Rat. Hout quit in November 2024 over plans for a new Dead Boys album with an AI-synthesized Bators vocal.

In July 1976, the band's members moved to New York City at the encouragement of Joey Ramone, the Ramones' lead singer. Taking the name Dead Boys from a line in the RFTT song "Down in Flames", the Dead Boys quickly gained notoriety for their outrageous live performances. 

[Spotify] Ain't it Fun 

“Mothership” Fripp and Toyah

This way: Mothership

Frippertronics, Yes please. Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox are an iconic British artistic couple renowned for their legendary music careers and their viral "Sunday Lunch" internet videos of cover songs.

[Spotify] Mothership 

“The One to Wait” CCFX

This way: The One to Wait

CCFX was an American underground pop supergroup formed in Olympia, Washington in 2017 by members of local bands CC Dust and Trans FX. The original lineup consisted of Chris McDonnell, Mirče Popovic,  Mary Jane Dunphe and David Jaques. Their debut self-titled EP was released by DFA in 2017. The record’s sound trafficked in an amorphous nostalgia — Dunphe's haunting vocals drift alongside sun-kissed riffs that soar and envelop, held up by a steady breakbeat and bouncing, vernal basslines. In 2018 the group followed up with dance remixes of the EP before disbanding. 

Chris McDonnell has continued exploration of dance-inflected production through his projects ,  and , and most recently of rock ‘n’ roll with the group Star 69. Mary Jane Dunphe, meanwhile, has stepped out as a solo artist, delving into her own idiosyncratic iterations of what pop can mean. During their time in CCFX, McDonnell and Dunphe also shared a drastically different, and equally mysterious, one-off country band called the County Liners.

[Spotify] The One to Wait 

“Do Your Best” John Maus

This way: Do Your Best

John Maus (born February 23, 1980) is an American composer, singer, and songwriter known for his baritone singing style and his use of vintage synthesizer sounds and medieval music church modes, a combination that often draws comparisons to 1980s goth-pop. His early lo-fi music recordings anticipated and inspired the late 2000s hypnagogic pop movement. On stage, he is characterized for his intense displays of emotion while performing. He is also a former teacher of philosophy at the University of Hawaiʻi, where he later earned his PhD in political science.

Maus' early influences included Nirvana, a-ha, Syd Barrett, Jim Morrison, and composers of the medieval music, Renaissance music, and Baroque music eras. In 1998, he left his hometown of Austin, Minnesota to study experimental music at the California Institute of the Arts. When he befriended and first worked alongside classmate Ariel Pink, he took a greater interest in pop music. He produced most of the music from his first two albums Songs (2006) and Love Is Real (2007) on cassette tape with an early 1990s sound bank. The albums generally drew negative reviews upon release, and it was not until the success of his third, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves (2011), that he became more widely accepted as an outsider music artist. Following a five-year absence from public appearances and releasing new music, he returned with the albums Screen Memories in 2017, and Addendum in 2018. His sixth studio album, Later Than You Think, was released in September 2025.

Released: November 19, 2007

[Spotify] Do Your Best 

“VHS” Swimming Paul

This way: Vhs

Swimming Paul is a French DJ and producer from Paris who began DJing while spending time in London. Immersed in the UK electronic scene, he started producing and released his first tracks in spring 2023. His second single, “Fading,” quickly caught the attention of BBC Radio 1, with support from Pete Tong, Danny Howard, and Jess Iszatt. He has been releasing music steadily every 4 to 6 weeks and dropped his debut album “Smiling Through The Pain” in June 2024. In September 2024, he released the club anthem “VHS RAVE” in collaboration with Tiësto, earning widespread support across the dance scene. Known for his high-energy, emotional sets.

[Spotify] Vhs 

“Her Love” Alex Ebert

This way: Her Love

Alex Ebert (born May 12, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and composer. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the American bands Ima Robot and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. On January 12, 2014, Ebert won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for his musical score to the film All Is Lost (2013).

Ebert was born in Los Angeles in 1978, the son of a psychotherapist, Michael Ebert, and actress Lisa Richards. His father would often take the family on long car trips through the desert. On one such trip, his mother took a video of his father chanting in the desert, cradling Alex's baby sister, Gabi, which would one day become a part of the video for the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros song "Desert Song". His grandfather, Carl Ebert, was a prominent German actor, director, and opera administrator who emigrated to California following the rise of Adolf Hitler.

[Spotify] Her Love 

“As Long as I Have You” Buddy Miller

This way: As Long as I Have You

Buddy Miller (born September 6, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer. Miller is married to and has recorded with singer-songwriter Julie Miller. Buddy was born in Fairborn, Ohio, near Dayton, and his family eventually settled in Princeton, New Jersey. His grandfather gave him the nickname "Buddy".

During the late 1970s Miller was in a country-rock band called the Desperate Men, which played in venues in the North Jersey and New York area, including clubs like Stanhope House and Cuss From Hoe. In 1975, he moved to Austin, Texas, and played rockabilly music in Ray Campi's band. He auditioned for and played in the band Partners In Crime with Julie Griffin (soon to be his second wife).

In 1980, they moved to New York City, and Miller formed the Buddy Miller Band, which included singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin on vocals and guitar. He also performed with Jim Lauderdale and Larry Campbell. Each Sunday, Miller performed in Kinky Friedman's band at the Lone Star Cafe. Miller moved to Nashville in the 1990s, after a stint in Los Angeles. He worked on recording sessions as a guitar player and vocalist, and began producing his own records in his living room studio named Dogtown.

[Spotify] As Long as I Have You 

“TV as Eyes” Chrome

This way: TV as Eyes

Chrome is an American rock band founded in San Francisco in 1976 by musician Damon Edge and associated with the 1970s post-punk movement. The group's raw sound blended elements of punk, psychedelia, and early industrial music,[6] incorporating science-fiction themes, tape experimentation, distorted acid rock guitar, and electronic noise. They have been cited as forerunners of industrial rock.

They found little commercial success as part of San Francisco's 1970s music scene, but developed a cult following in the United Kingdom and Germany following the release of the LPs Alien Soundtracks (1977) and Half Machine Lip Moves (1979). Edge died in 1995; subsequently, guitarist Helios Creed has revived the Chrome name for recordings and performances.

Chrome was formed in 1975 by Damon Edge (real name Thomas Wisse: drums, vocals, synths, production) and Gary Spain (bass guitar, violin) in San Francisco. While studying at the California Institute of the Arts, Edge became influenced in making unusual sounds; this progressed after a trip to Morocco where he heard a lot of Arabic music. In his head, he began putting a beat behind the music and started coming up with ideas for songs. Chrome's music contained a lot of atmosphere in the sound production, featuring three- and eight-note melodies, usually layered with an atonal drone backed by a rhythm section. This sort of atmosphere was influenced by the music he had heard in Morocco. About six months after that trip, Edge began forming a band and recording his new music.

Chrome, in their first incarnation, drew inspiration from King Crimson and the Stooges. They recorded and released their first album, The Visitation, along with John Lambdin (guitar) and Mike Low (guitar, vocals). After recording The Visitation, Edge sent the album to Warner Brothers to see if they wanted to release the album. A Warner Brothers A&R representative told Edge that the album sounded like a "messed up Doors album"; to Damon Edge, this was a compliment. The label did not release the album, so Edge set up his own label, Siren Records. After the recording of the first album, singer Mike Low left the band, to be replaced by new guitarist Helios Creed. Creed cited the influence of the emerging punk rock scene as foundational to Chrome's later output.

[Spotify] TV as Eyes 

“Hypnotized” Amor Y Powers

This way: Hypnotized

Amor y Powers is a musical collaboration between Tucson-based guitarist Naïm Amor and legendary post-punk guitarist Kid Congo Powers (known for his work with The Cramps, The Gun Club, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds).

The project began during pandemic-era lockdowns when Naïm Amor started experimenting in his studio with a mix of rockabilly and garage electric guitars, electronic drum machines, and bass synthesizers. Inspired by the tones of Link Wray and the raw electronic sound of Suicide, Amor invited Kid Congo Powers to collaborate on electric guitar "dialogs". Their sound blends rockabilly, fuzz, surf noir, and post-punk with desert atmospheres.

Tonight live in Phoenix!

[Spotify] Hypnotized 

“Till Victory”, Half Japanese is half dead, RIP David Fair

This way: Till Victory

Half Japanese is an American art punk band formed by brothers Jad and David Fair in 1974, after their family's relocation to Uniontown, Maryland.

Half Japanese's original instrumentation included a small drum set, which they took turns playing; vocals; and an out-of-tune, distorted guitar. Both Fair brothers sang, although over time Jad held the frontman role. As of the band's last several releases since the 1990s, according to the album and CD credits, Half Japanese composes and plays the entirety of the music while Jad, eschewing his role as guitarist from earlier albums, plays almost no guitar but is responsible for the vocals and lyrics, which typically divide into either "love songs or monster songs."

Their lyrics often deal with monsters and the supernatural (especially as influenced by "creature feature" and sci-fi movies), in addition to more conventional themes, such as young love.

The band was formed in Jad and David Fair's bedroom in the mid-1970s, with sources varying on the exact date. The band released their first single, "Calling All Girls", in August 1977, followed by a triple album, 1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts in 1980.

The band played and recorded as a duo until the early 1980s, when they began incorporating additional members into the group: Mark Jickling (guitar and vocals) and brothers Ricky and John Dreyfuss (drums and saxophone). Since that time, dozens of musicians have come and gone under the Half Japanese banner, including Howard Wuelfing, Don Fleming and Jay Spiegel both from the bands B.A.L.L. and Velvet Monkeys, and Shockabilly bass player and Shimmy Disc impresario Mark Kramer among others. Jad is the only member who has been with Half Japanese from the beginning. David temporarily left the band in 1987 in order to take care of his family, and since then has been involved with the band sporadically.

The next line-up of Half Japanese came together in the late 1980s, proving to be a long-lasting and stable unit recording several albums and touring frequently throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. This incarnation featured guitarist/multi-instrumentalist John Sluggett (also a longtime member of Moe Tucker's band), multi-instrumentalist Jason Willett, Mick Hobbs, and drummer Gilles Reider. Since then, the group has worked with Moe Tucker from The Velvet Underground, who produced and performed on Fire in the Sky (1992), as well as The Band That Would Be King (1989), and with Fred Frith, and John Zorn, among others.

[Spotify] Till Victory 

“Heartbreak A Stranger” Bob Mould

This way: Heartbreak A Stranger

Just before Hüsker Dü broke up, Mould moved to a remote farmhouse in Pine City, Minnesota, having quit drinking and drugs, and wrote the songs that would make up his first solo album. Released by the newly formed Virgin Records America label, 1989's Workbook eschewed Mould's trademark wall-of-noise guitar for a lighter tone. Drummer Anton Fier (of the Feelies and later the Golden Palominos) and bassist Tony Maimone (of Pere Ubu) served as Mould's rhythm section. The album peaked at number 127 on the Billboard 200 chart, and the single "See a Little Light" reached number 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

His 1990 album Black Sheets of Rain had a much heavier guitar sound, recalling Hüsker Dü's louder, angrier moments. According to the liner notes for the 2012 re-release of Sugar's Copper Blue, Creation Records president Alan McGee verified that total album sales were 7,000 copies. Still, the album peaked at number 123 on the Billboard 200 chart, and the single "It's Too Late" reached number 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.

[Spotify] Heartbreak A Stranger 

“Tell You Why Tomorrow” Hüsker Dü

This way: Tell You Why Tomorrow

Hüsker Dü was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardcore punk band, and later crossed over into alternative rock. Mould and Hart were the band's principal songwriters, with Hart's higher-pitched vocals and Mould's baritone taking the lead in alternating songs.

Creative and personal tensions between Mould and Hart intensified. With Mould already doing most of the band's managerial duties, bringing in David Savoy to help with that end, Savoy's suicide on the eve of the band's 1987 tour in support of the double album Warehouse: Songs and Stories threw the band into a tailspin. In September 2006, Hart told Britain's Q magazine, "I take full responsibility for [Savoy's] suicide. It was a direct result of the pressure of working for Bob and me, because he was being forced into a two-faced situation." Mould called Savoy's suicide "the beginning of the end."

The promotional tour for Warehouse: Songs and Stories included some of the highest profile television appearances in the band's career, including performances on The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers and the NBC morning news program Today.

The band dissolved after a show in Columbia, Missouri, on the band's December 1987 tour. Hart was trying to quit heroin using a supply of methadone, but the bottle had leaked. Hart still played the show, but Mould and Norton were concerned he would be unable to play the remaining shows due to withdrawal. While Hart insisted he could perform, Mould had already canceled the remaining dates. Mould has said that the breakup was about "three people going their separate ways," referring to Hart's drug use and new relationship, Norton's recent marriage and new business, and Mould himself having quit a lifelong drinking habit back in 1986. After a band meeting on January 26, 1988, Mould decided to leave the band and made it official two days later.

[Spotify] Tell You Why Tomorrow 

“8 Miles High” The Byrds

This way: 8 Miles High

"Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn (later known as Roger McGuinn), and David Crosby. It was first released as a single on March 14, 1966. Musically influenced by sitar player Ravi Shankar and jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, the song was influential in developing the musical styles of psychedelia and raga rock. Accordingly, critics often cite "Eight Miles High" as being the first bona fide psychedelic rock song, as well as a classic of the counterculture era.

The song was subject to a U.S. radio ban shortly after its release, following allegations published in the broadcasting trade journal the Gavin Report regarding perceived drug connotations in its lyrics. The band strenuously denied these allegations at the time, but in later years both Clark and Crosby admitted that the song was at least partly inspired by their drug use. The failure of "Eight Miles High" to reach the Billboard Top 10 is usually attributed to the broadcasting ban, but some commentators have suggested the song's complexity and uncommercial nature were greater factors.

[Spotify] 8 Miles High 

[Charming cover] 8 Miles High (Hüsker Dü) 

“Ex Athelete” C Turtle

This way: Ex Athelete

London, UK. 

[Spotify] Ex Athelete 

“Little Sparrow” Dolly, RIP

This way: Little Sparrow

Its' hard to imagine a musician as poweful in life as Dolly Parton. She really did transcend the boundaries. And she did it with such a glowing smile. Growing up I mostly knew her from late night talk show apparences. Her music durring those days didnt interest me much. I like it when country leans folk and not heavy syrup. But she certainly has her folk and bluegrass leanings. Here is a track from 2001. Cheers to the woman who cured Covid!

[Spotify] Little Sparrow 

[Bonus] We are the Champions 

“Feel the Pain” Dinosaur Jr

This way: Feel the Pain

How is this song so good? I can't stop listening to it. It's a real simple struckture. Yet infinite. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums). After three albums on independent labels, the band earned a reputation as one of the formative influences on American alternative rock. Creative tension led to Mascis firing Barlow, who later formed Sebadoh and Folk Implosion. His replacement, Mike Johnson, came aboard for three major-label albums. Murph eventually quit, with Mascis taking over drums on the band's albums before the group disbanded in 1997. The original lineup reformed in 2005, releasing five albums thereafter.

Mascis's drawling vocals and distinct guitar sound, harking back to 1960s and 1970s classic rock and characterized by extensive use of feedback and distortion, were highly influential in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s.

Mascis and Barlow played together, on drums and guitar respectively, in the hardcore punk band Deep Wound, formed in 1982 while the pair were attending high school in western Massachusetts. After high school, they began exploring slower yet still aggressive music like Black Sabbath, the Replacements, and Neil Young. Mascis's college friend Gerard Cosloy introduced him to psychedelic-influenced pop bands like Dream Syndicate, which Mascis in turn showed to Barlow. Barlow explained, "We loved speed metal ... and we loved wimpy-jangly stuff".

[Spotify] Feel the Pain 

“Box Score” Wild Pink

This way: Box Score

Wild Pink is an American indie rock band from the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City.

Wild Pink began in 2015, releasing an EP titled 2 Songs. In May 2015, Wild Pink joined Texas Is Funny Records and released a new single, as well as announcing a second EP, Good Life, which was released on June 30, 2015. In 2016, the band announced their self-titled debut full-length album, which was released on the Tiny Engines label in February 2017. The band's second album, Yolk in the Fur, was released on July 20, 2018.

In January 2020, Wild Pink contributed to a benefit compilation in support of Bernie Sanders's 2020 presidential run. Organized by indie rock band Strange Ranger, the compilation was titled "Bernie Speaks With the Community."

[Spotify] Box Score 

“Problem Child” The Cramps

This way: Problem Child

Ther latest and greatest (cravest?) from the Cramps. Most of these we have heard before. Early demos from 1977. Henry Rollins and Poisin Ivy banded together to get these to our ears. It's hard to top the Cramps, one of the all time greats.

[Spotify] Problem Child