Modern Sound Corporation - Safari (pt. 2)

Produced by Barry Guard. Distributed K-Tel Sweden.

...and a very happy New Year to all the listeners, friends, and family out there! Let's toast to the surprises (musical and otherwise) that 2011 will bring...

Ann Steel - My Time

Too essential not to post. Music by Roberto Cacciapaglia, lyrics by Giada Di Villahermosa. Recorded in Milan.

Does the insistent pulse symbolize the mechanization of time in modern life?

Two tracks to help ring in your New Year.
Cheers!

David Ruffin: Anything That You Ask For

Ray Barretto: A Deeper Shade of Soul

Gimmicks - Bermuda Inn

They don't make 'em like this anymore; in fact, they never made them like this. Recorded in Stockholm and produced by Leif Carlqvist.

The Roches - Hammond Song

Big thanks to Greg for featuring this one on his female folk mix. Produced by Robert Fripp, with Frippertronics invading at the 2:11 mark.

You'd be OK if you'd just stay in school...

Juanita Rogers - A Love Letter Full Of Promises

Available on this. And I'm still looking for suggestions for an all-acapella playlist. It will be a hard row to hoe, but we're well on the way with some great suggestions here.

Johnny Paycheck: Friend, Lover, Wife

Inga Humpe - Do I Have To

Curved Air: Hide and Seek

This slice of life goes out to Mr. Beer N. Hockey. The title is definitely fitting to the music -- with all the corners and alleyways in this song you wonder if you are lost or actually going the right way, but no worries cause by the end you'll slam right smack into the person you were looking for. Album review here.

David Allan Coe: Funeral Parlor Blues

Cornershop Presents Bubbley Kaur - Topknot

I wanted to do a vinyl rip of this, but records ordered on November 22nd still haven't arrived from snowy England, so we're doing this amazon mp3-store-style. I rarely say no to a double-tracked vocal and the chorus on this prayerful jam is no exception.

Ultravox!: Sat'day Night in the City of the Dead

So, how many debut albums had Brian Eno & Steve Lillywhite as the production team?

Nick Holder - Summer Daze

Mystic Slot - No Way Back

File under: funking for fun. Zero complaints about whatever the effect is on that ride cymbal. Mystic slot taking you deep into the labyrinth on this one.

Crack The Sky - Rangers At Midnight

Leo Sayer: More Than I Can Say

Originally by The Crickets. I've always been partial to this version, which reminds me of childhood for some reason.

New Viva show (#100!) in the ark hive.

Family Fodder - Primeval Pony

Essential new material from a band once deemed the G.B.O.A.T. I'll leave this up for 24 hours, because I want people to hear it. The album is now available in stores.

The Beach Boys: Stoked

The Crickets: It's Too Late

Pastor T.L. Barrett And The Youth For Christ Choir - Like A Ship (Without A Sail)

Daddy likes the twin-tambourine attack (left and right channels).

Lead Vocal and Electric Piano, T.L. Barrett
Piano, Gary (Snake) Riley, 17 years old
Bass, Richard Evans
Drums, Charles Pittman
Rhythm Acc., Stanley Fox

Available on a great reissue from Light In The Attic.

Taxi - Campari Soda

Radiohead's got nothing on this baby!

Procol Harum - Grand Hotel

New York Dolls: Looking For A Kiss (Studio Demo)

Paul McCartney: Ram On
The Clean: In the Dreamlife U Need A Rubber Soul

"She used my head like a revolver...."

T. Rex: Planet Queen (remastered) and (acoustic)

Simon and Garfunkel - So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright

The Ether: Rue Des Jours

Ennio Morricone: Farewell To Cheyenne

Black on White Affair: A Bunch of Changes

Karin Krog and Archie Shepp - Steam

Fuzzy vibes for a Friday. I heard this on FMU this morning while I was sitting in the car for street cleaning and doing a crossword puzzle. Heady stuff. Recorded in Oslo on January 10, 1976 (a Saturday). Written by Archie Shepp.

Al Green: I'm A Ram

I'm partial to Reverend Al Green but Teenie's guitar riffs on this track are tight.

Saturday Night Special

Phil Wainman - Going, Going, Gone

Dana Gillespie - Andy Warhol

I never noticed the melody of the verses in this tune until I heard this version. The chorus here sounds a touch more like Heart than I would wish, but c'est la vie. Good for a rainy November Thor's-day.

Harry Nilsson: Without Her

Bad Cash Quartet - Amuse You

...and so we draw a close to Year Four of the Decade. As Year Five begins, my new direction is clear: mostly Swedish stuff from the late '90s that sounds kind of like Blink-182.

I hope everyone's cool with that.

Jerry Garcia - Eep Hour

Boat Club - Nowhere

Two dudes from Gothenburg with a yen to emulate Flesh + Blood-era Roxy. How can I resist this?

Available on Caught The Breeze.

Eggstone - The Dog

More from Eggstone. I feel like this one starts off inauspiciously, then gets ruling in a very '90s-anthem way on the chorus. Typically Eggstoneësque classy move with the surprise chord change into the bridge at 2:01.

Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - Hold Tight!

Laetitia Sadier - Un Soir, Un Chien

Oops... this is from a newish album so I probably shouldn't be posting it. I'll leave it up for a day and then take the link down. In the meantime, all are strenuously encouraged to buy the album. It's a winner!

New Viva show (#98) in archives.

Thanks again to all who contributed to the 1997 project. I ended up using only a handful of the picks (in truth, I had 40 of 60 minutes programmed before I asked for help!), but I listened to all and enjoyed them immensely.

Considering an all-acapella playlist. You know, Prelude: "After the Goldrush", Bobby McFerrin, Guillaume de Machaut, selections from that Bjork album, etc. Is there enough good acapella material out there to warrant such an endeavor? Let me know if you have ideas...

Eggstone - Taramasalata

Huge thanks to Ely at Songblague for the tip on this slice of labyrinthine pop. I feel an Eggstone phase coming on...

photo courtesy of RVK Across the USA

Eric Clapton: Black Summer Rain

Deerhoof - Polly Bee

Getting pumped for the big show at Poisson Rouge tonight: Deerhoof. A band who continue to expand the rock idiom both harmonically and melodically (as opposed to merely texturally and rhythmically). Tickets still available!

Meanwhile, the 1997 project rolls along. Keep sending me your suggestions for a playlist of all songs from 1997, the last year when everything was shiny and the world was perfect. Deadline is this Friday.

Beck - Deadweight (edit)

I'm working on an all-1997 playlist for Viva Radio. This is one of the signature jams I remember from that gleaming year. Please write in with further suggestions for the playlist. Any organized sound created and/or distributed in 1997 qualifies. Deadline is this Friday 10/15!

P.S. Enjoy the authentic digi-rot at 0:43.

Lifter Puller - Nassau Coliseum

Grateful Dead - Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo

Recorded "live" at Chicago's historic Auditorium Theatre, Thursday, May 12, 1977. I'm officially adding this number to the "great codas" thread started here.

John Lennon: Oh My Love

The Jam: Wasteland