“I Want You”, Elvis Costello

This way: I want You

“blistering songs about sexual despair and disgust”

What a truly great album.

Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter. He has won multiple awards in his career, including Grammy Awards in 1999 and 2020, and has twice been nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Male Artist. In 2003, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Costello number 80 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Costello began his career as part of London's pub rock scene in the early 1970s and later became associated with the first wave of the British punk and new wave movement that emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s. His critically acclaimed debut album My Aim Is True was released in 1977. 

From the great LP “Blood and Chocolate” of 1986. On this record he referred to himself as Napoleon Dynamite which was borrowed unceremoniously for the title of a film.

[Spotify] I want You

[Extra Credit] I Want You (with Fiona Apple)

“Leave My Kitten Alone”, Little Willie John

This way: Leave My Kitten Alone

Little Willie John (November 15, 1937 – May 26, 1968) was an American R&B singer who performed in the 1950s and early 1960s. He is best known for his successes on the record charts, with songs such as "All Around the World" (1955), "Need Your Love So Bad" (1956), "Talk to Me, Talk to Me" (1958), "Leave My Kitten Alone" (1960), "Sleep" (1960), and his number-one R&B hit "Fever" (1956). An important figure in R&B music of the 1950s, he faded into obscurity in the 1960s and died while serving a prison sentence for manslaughter. John was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Dead at 30, sad tale. 

[Spotify] Leave My Kitten Alone

[Extra credit] Leave My Kitten Alone

“These Fangs”, Say Hi to Your Mom

This way: These Fangs

Say Hi to Your Mom is a Seattle-based indie rock band formed in Brooklyn in 2002 by Eric Elbogen. At some point they changed their name to Say Hi, which is lame and I do not allow for such things. Say Hi to Your Mom’s  albums were mostly recorded at Elbogen’s home, with him playing all of the instruments and providing vocals. 11 albums in all, not bad. 

[Spotify] These Fangs

“You Can't Be Funky”, Bush Tetras

This way: You Can't Be Funky

Bush Tetras are an American punk band from New York City, formed in 1979. They are best known for the 1980 song "Too Many Creeps", which exemplified the band's sound of "jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals". Although they did not achieve mainstream success, the Bush Tetras were influential and popular in the Manhattan club scene and college radio in the early 1980s. New York's post-punk revival of the 2000s was accompanied by a resurgence of interest in the genre, with the Tetras' influence heard in many of that scene's bands. 

[Spotify] You Can't Be Funky

“Jackhammer John”, Woody Guthrie

This way: Jackhammer John

Woody Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, who is considered one of the most significant figures in American western folk music. His music, including songs, such as "This Land Is Your Land", has inspired several generations both politically and musically. 

Guthrie wrote hundreds of country, folk, and children's songs, along with ballads and improvised works. His album of songs about the Dust Bowl period, Dust Bowl Ballads, was included on Mojo magazine's list of 100 Records That Changed The World, and many of his recorded songs are archived in the Library of Congress. Songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Hunter, Harry Chapin, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Andy Irvine, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Jeff Tweedy, Tom Paxton, Brian Fallon, and Sixto Rodríguez have acknowledged Guthrie as a major influence on their work. He frequently performed with the slogan "This machine kills fascists" displayed on his guitar.

[Spotify] Jackhammer John

[extra] Jackhammer John

“If”, Leslie Winer

This way: If

After her modeling career brought her to London in the mid-1980s, she spent a great deal of time at Leigh Bowery's nightclub, Taboo. It was while in London she met musicians Jah Wobble, who was a former bassist for Public Image Ltd, and Kevin Mooney, former bass player for Adam and the Ants. In 1987, she would co-write the track "Just Call Me Joe" with Sinéad O'Connor. The song would appear on O'Connor's debut album The Lion and the Cobra, with Winer performing the backup spoken vocal. With Wobble and Mooney, she would record the album Witch in 1990. BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel played some tracks off this white label and the record went on to become a small cult-classic prompting NME to refer to Winer as "The Grandmother of Triphop". She had previously recorded a couple of 12" singles under the name '©' along with co-writer Karl Bonnie from Renegade Soundwave. She has also worked with Grace Jones. Helmut Lang did a small pressing of her album Spider that he released in his NYC shop sometime around 1999 to promote one of his shows. Winer occasionally records music with Swedish composer Carl Michael von Hausswolff and others

[Spotify] Not likely

“Lawnmower of Love”, Mr. T Experience

This way: Lawnmower of Love

The Mr. T Experience (sometimes abbreviated MTX) is an American punk rock band formed in 1985 in Berkeley, California, United States. They have released eleven full-length albums along with numerous EPs and singles and have toured internationally. Their music is best classified as pop punk and is intentionally playful, comical, and satirical, often dealing with issues of love and relationships. The band's name is taken from actor and television personality Mr. T.

The Mr. T Experience serves mainly as the creative outlet for singer/guitarist "Dr. Frank" Portman, its primary songwriter and sole continuous member throughout multiple lineup changes. The band is closely associated with the Berkeley and greater San Francisco Bay Area punk rock movement of the late 1980s and the 1990s, revolving around the 924 Gilman Street venue and the Lookout! Records label, through which they have released all of their albums since 1990.

[Spotify] Lawnmower of Love

“A Rock and a Hard Place”, Sisters of Mercy

This way: A Rock and a Hard Place

The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company WEA. Currently, the band are a touring outfit only. 

The group has released three original studio albums, the last of which was released in 1990. Each album was recorded by a different line-up; singer-songwriter Andrew Eldritch and the drum machine called Doktor Avalanche are the only points of continuity throughout. Eldritch and Avalanche were also involved in The Sisterhood, a side-project connected with Eldritch's dispute with former members.

Why can people just get along?


[Spotify] A Rock and a Hard Place

“Cover Band”, Redd Kross

This way: Cover Band

Redd Kross is an American alternative rock band from Hawthorne, California, United States, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald while they were still in middle school. With the addition of friends Greg Hetson and John Stielow on drums, the band's first gig was opening for Black Flag. Steve was 13 when they recorded this record. 

This from 1980.

[Spotify] Cover Band

“Holy Terror”, Peter Stampfel

This way: Holy Terror

Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American musician and singer-songwriter.

A complete national treasure. Coming of age during the folk scene of 1960 Grenwich Village. Stampfel is perhaps best known as a member of the Holy Modal Rounders, a seminal psychedelic folk band. He was also briefly a member of the Fugs and has been the leader of several musical projects, including the Bottlecaps and the WORM All-Stars.  He brought a folk sensibility and musicianship to the psychedelic rock world.

[Spotify] Holy Terror

“ Apathy”, Gia Margaret

This way: Apathy

Gia Margaret is an American singer-songwriter and producer from Chicago, Illinois. She was trained in classical piano as a child and began pursuing a degree in music before ending both endeavors because they were “creatively limiting”. Margaret has had various jobs prior to becoming a musician, including a nanny, book store clerk, and dental assistant. She released her first full length album, There’s Always Glimmer, in July of 2018. She describes the genre of her music as “sleep rock,” and has been compared to everyone from Imogen Heap to Postal Service.  

[Spotify] Apathy

“Boxcar”, Jawbreaker

This way: Boxcar

Jawbreaker is an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996, and again since 2017. The band is considered to be influential to the 1990s emo genre.

Lead vocalist and guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach, bassist Chris Bauermeister, and drummer Adam Pfahler formed the band while students at New York University, later relocating to Los Angeles where they released their debut album Unfun (1990) through independent record label Shredder Records. Relocating again to San Francisco the next year, they released 1992’s Bivouac through the Tupelo Recording Company and The Communion Label. 

[Spotify] Boxcar

[extra credit] Boxcar (Mountain Goats)

“Lost Cause”, Beck

This way: Lost Cause

Beck is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide-ranging genres. He has musically encompassed folk, funk, soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia. He has released 14 studio albums (three of which were released on indie labels), as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music.

[Spotify] Lost Cause

[Extra credit] Lost Cause

“Speakers Push the Air”, Pretty Girls Make Graves

This way: Speakers Push the Air

Good god in heaven who would take a band name from a Smiths song? A serious show of no judgement, but here we are and with a great song no less. Pretty Girls Make Graves was a post-punk band, formed in Seattle in 2001. The line which itself was named after a quote from Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. Andrea Zollo and Derek Fudesco had played together previously in The Hookers, as well as The Death Wish Kids and Area 51 along with Dann Gallucci, with whom Derek had formed Murder City Devils. Not long before the Murder City Devils disbanded, Derek and Andrea formed Pretty Girls Make Graves along with Jay, Nick and Nathan. From 2002.

[Spotify] Speakers Push the Air

“Stranger than Fiction”, Bad Religion

This way: Stranger than Fiction

Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1980. The band’s lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and extensive use of three-part vocal harmonies. The band has experienced multiple line-up changes, with singer Greg Graffin being the band's only constant member, though fellow founding members Jay Bentley and Brett Gurewitz have since rejoined, and guitarist Brian Baker has performed with the group since 1994. The most recent additions to the band are guitarist Mike Dimkich and drummer Jamie Miller, who joined in 2013 and 2015 respectively. To date, Bad Religion has released seventeen studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, three EPs, and two live DVDs. They are considered to be one of the best-selling punk rock acts of all time, having sold over five million albums worldwide.

After gaining a large underground following and critical praise through their releases on Gurewitz's label Epitaph in the 1980s and early 1990s, Bad Religion experienced mainstream success after signing to the major label Atlantic in 1993, and along with California-based bands like Green Day, The Offspring, NOFX and Rancid, they were responsible for the punk rock revival movement of the 1990s. 

Shortly before the release of Stranger than Fiction, Gurewitz left Bad Religion to run his label Epitaph on a full-time basis (in response to the success of the label's then-artists the Offspring and Rancid), and was replaced by Brian Baker. The band's success had slowly dwindled by the late 1990s, and after three more albums, they were dropped from Atlantic in 2001; this resulted in Bad Religion returning to Epitaph and Gurewitz rejoining the band. 

From 1994.

[Spotify] Stranger than Fiction

“la nuit americaine”, LESCOP

This way: la nuit americaine

The former frontman of La Rochelle punk act, Asyl, Lescop struck out on his own in 2012 with his self-titled debut album. Signed to the up-and-coming Franco-Anglo indie label Pop Noire, his revitalized cold wave tunes have a way of getting under your skin. The opening track of Lescop (2012), La Forêt, for example, is as infectious today as it was five years ago. His long-awaited second album, ECHO (2016), doesn’t disappoint. Standout singles from it include David Palmer and the chillingly beautiful Echo. 
All credit to Steve! Thanks for this one. 

[Spotify] la nuit americaine

“Sailin' On”, Bad Brains

This way: Sailin' On

Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of other genres like funk, heavy metal, hip hop and soul. Bad Brains are followers of the Rastafari movement. 

Originally formed as a jazz fusion ensemble under the name Mind Power, Bad Brains developed a very fast and intense punk rock sound which came to be labeled "hardcore", and was often played faster and more emphatically than many of their peers. The unique factor of the band's music was the fact that they played more complex rhythms than other hardcore punk bands, also adapting non-punk style guitar riffs and solos into their songs.

Bad Brains have released nine studio albums (one of which is entirely composed of instrumental versions of their early material). The band broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different singers or drummers. Since 1994, the "classic" lineup of singer H.R. (Human Rights), guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson has reunited, albeit performing sporadically.

[Spotify] Sailin' On

“Play Money”, The New Pornographers

This way: Play Money

Whiteout Conditions is the seventh studio album by Canadian indie rock band The New Pornographers. It was released on April 7, 2017, and is the first album not to feature either longtime drummer Kurt Dahle or singer-songwriter Dan Bejar (Destroyer).

I only play for money, honey
Look at what this run has done to me
It has me gunning for the country
Skies memory and moonless
A vision copied from the bootlegs
We are out of tune so mostly tuneless
For a fee, I'll fight any foe

For a fee, I'll take any blow

[Spotify] Play Money