Ep. 9, A: Alice in Chains, "Get Born Again"

From the album Music Box

Alice in Chains:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: My brother Shannon got me hooked on Alice in Chains back in the '90s. It was very difficult to choose a song. Either way, this one goes out to my boys at the Pita Pit. F'ing metalheads.

This song was one of the last recordings featuring Layne Staley. It wasn't on any of their albums -- only their Best Of box set. — BJ

Ep. 9, B: Beastie Boys, "Sabotage"

From the album Ill Communication

Beastie Boys:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I'm pretty sure this was the first Beastie Boys song I ever heard - my brother made a tape with music videos from 1996 (back when Mtv was worth two sh*ts). This was the second video. I've been ill ever since. — BJ

Would that be the video tape Shannon borrowed from me and never returned? (The answer is yes.) That tape ruled. — cwc

Ep. 9, C: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "Let The Cool Goddess Rust Away"

From the album Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: If you don't have this album, you need to go buy it. (Period.)— BJ

Ep. 9, D: The Dodos, "Fools"

From the album Visiter

The Dodos:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: This band is just another reason why I want to move to San Francisco. According to their Myspace page, they're a "Happy Hardcore" band. I think I could live a Happy Hardcore life -- what about you, Chris?

If you dig them -- go check them out in Minneapolis (July 8) or Chicago's Pitchfork Festival (July 20). — BJ

Happy Hardcore: sounds like porn. — cwc

Ep. 9, E: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, "Our Hell"

From the album Knives Don't Have Your Back

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: So what if I'm playing Emily Haines twice in one show! I'm showing her versatility -- this is her "slow side." — BJ

Ep. 9, F: The Fugees, "Ready or Not"

From the album The Score

The Fugees:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: One of the first albums I ever owned. What a hip group of 5th graders we were. Too bad they stopped making music together (until they released "Take It Easy" in 2005) a year after the album was released. — BJ

Ep. 9, G: Al Green, "I Can't Get Next To You"

Al Green:   Web site

DJ comments: Doesn't Al Green just put you in the mood? He's the ultimate love/funky-feeling-in-the-pants artist. — BJ

Ep. 9, H: Handsome Boy Modeling School, "If It Wasn't For You (feat De La Soul and Starchild Excalibur)"

From the album White People

Handsome Boy Modeling School:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I love their promotion work. Below is a promo video for their music. Check out their photos if you haven't already. — BJ

Ep. 9, I: Iggy Pop, "Real Wild Child (Wild One)"

From the album Blah-Blah-Blah

Iggy Pop:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Seeing as most of my other songs fulfill some nostalgic hole in my music collection, I decided to go with an old Iggy Pop favorite for "I" today. — BJ

Ep. 9, J: James Brown, "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"

James Brown:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Fun James Brown facts:

• He had 17 #1 singles -- his first being "Try Me" in 1958


• He had 98 songs on the Billboard Top 40


• He served four yeas in prison before becoming a gospel singer


• His aunt ran a brothel, where he lived for a while

— BJ

Ep. 9, K: The Kinks, "Mr. Churchill Says"

From the album Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

The Kinks:   Fan site

DJ comments: Can't ever decide which Kinks album is my favorite. It's either Arthur or Village Green Society. For a band that kind of died with the '60s (l don't feel like a ton of people know who The Kinks are anymore), they've been picking up some steam in the past few years. For instance, "Picture Book" was featured in an HP commercial a few years ago.

Other random note: Chris and I had a math teacher named Dave Davies. Actually, his name was Dave David Davies. What were his parents thinking? — BJ

Ep. 9, L: Lyrics Born, "I Changed My Mind (Stereo MCs Rattlesnake Mix)"

From the album Same !@#$ Different Day

Lyrics Born:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: The new Lyrics Born album came out on 4/22. Check out the Pitchfork review of Everywhere At Once -- that is if you want to trust anything Pitchfork has to say. — BJ

See my commentary in the Y post for my opinion on Pitchfork reviews. — cwc

Ep. 9, M: Metric, "Soft Rock Star"

From the album Grow Up and Blow Away

Metric:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Yes, this is the second Emily Haines song in one day. What can I say? She's a sexy blonde Canadian chick. — BJ

Ep. 9, N: No Kids, "The Beaches All Closed"

From the album Come Into My House

No Kids:   MySpace

DJ comments: There should be a license for having kids. I'm dead serious. — cwc

Here's a clip of the band from SXSW:

Ep. 9, O: Oh No, "Heavy"

From the album Dr. No's Oxperiment

Oh No:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Oh yes! — cwc

Ep. 9, P: The Pipettes, "We Are the Pipettes"

From the album We Are the Pipettes

Pipettes:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Not anymore, you're not: Two Pipettes Enter, Two Pipettes Leave. But hey, my favorite one is still around, so all is well. — cwc

I should started a betting pool: Will Chris Play the Pipettes This Week? I could have made hundreds! — BJ

Ep. 9, Q: Question Mark and the Mysterians, "96 Tears"

From the album 96 Tears

Question Mark and the Mysterians:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Hey, they talk about these guys during the awesome film Punk: Attitude, so I feel OK playing them on KRUI, your sound alternative. — cwc

Ep. 9, R: The Ruby Suns, "Tane Mahuta"

From the album Sea Lion

Ruby Suns:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: This song is kinda cool. This video is freakin' awesome. — cwc

Ep. 9, S: Sally Shapiro, "He Keeps Me Alive"

From the album Disco Romance

Sally Shapiro:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I love this woman. She makes me dance. That is a tall order. — cwc

The only video I could find has altered the speed of the song upward. It's not quite Alvin and the Chipmunks, but it's odd. Better than nothing?

Ep. 9, T: Anna Ternheim, "Bridges"

From the ep Anna Ternheim

Anna Ternheim:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Another brilliant Swedish artist. Why am I not surprised? — cwc

Video availability is an issue, so we'll go with my second-favorite Ternheim song, Lovers Dream:

Ep. 9, U: Ungdomskulen, "Modern Drummer"

From the album Cry-Baby

Ungdomskulen:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: This band's name would be worth a lot of points in Scrabulous. — cwc

Ep. 9, V: The Vaselines, "Son of a Gun"

From the album The Way of the Vaselines

Vaselines:   Wikipedia entry

DJ comments: 99.9% of people heard Nirvana's versions of this song and "Molly's Lips" before hearing the originals, if they've heard the originals at all. The Vaselines sounded much different than I expected, but cool all the same. Well, this song is cool; not so sure about their original rendition of "Molly's Lips," what with the clown horns and what not... — cwc

Ep. 9, W: A Weather, "Spiders, Snakes"

From the album Cove

A Weather:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: You see, it's OK to use these guys at "W" since you don't account for the articles "a," "an," and "the" when you alphabetize. However, I encourage you to take issue with Brittany for Emily Haines at "E" or James Brown at "J." She says you can e-mail complaints to her at the following address: eatmyass@alphabetsoup.com — cwc

Below, a video for another A Weather song, "The Feather Test":

Ep. 9, X: X-Ray Spex, "I Am a Cliche"

From the single Oh Bondage! Up Yours

X-Ray Spex:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I would much rather look at a young Poly Styrene, but instead, I found this goddamned video... — cwc

Ep. 9, Y: Yellow Swans, "Our Oases"

From the album At All Ends

Yellow Swans:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Hey, I listen to these guys for the first time this week, and what happens? They're breaking up! But not before playing a June 8 show at Iowa City's very own Picador. Anyway, I inserted this into the playlist simply as a springboard for conversation: this sort of music garners an 8.6 rating from Pitchfork, while Interpol's last album landed a 6.0? Goldfrapp's latest a 4.6? Is this noise really 50% better than Our Love to Admire, and almost twice as good as Seventh Tree? Really? Maybe I should just pretend to like Yellow Swans, which would allow me to sing along to the song we just finished hearing at "X": I Am a Cliche! — cwc

No video. Tough shit.

Ep. 9, Z: Zero 7, "Futures"

From the album The Garden

Zero 7:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Zero 7 + Jose Gonzalez = Good shit — cwc