The S Episode: Smashing Pumpkins, "1979"

From the album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Smashing Pumpkins:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I have mixed emotions about this song. I really like the groove found here, but it also seems to mark the band's transition into eventual suckdom. When they lost the fuzz guitar, they lost me. But again, this song somehow still works for me. — cwc

The S Episode: Paul Simon, "You Can Call Me Al"

From the album The Paul Simon Collection: On My Way, Don't Know Where I'm Goin'

Paul Simon:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Way back in 1992, I was hanging out with my buddy Jason Kolsrud in his dorm room. We had just started college at UNI. We were looking at his roommate's idea of a good mix tape and laughed in particular at this song's inclusion. And now, 16 years later, here I am playing it on the radio. I'm not sure what's funnier: that I now fit my young self's definition of lame, or that I didn't realize how lame I was then, as I probably went back to my own dorm room to listen to Kris Kross or Jesus Jones. — cwc

The S Episode: Elliott Smith, "Needle in the Hay"

From the album Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith:   MySpace

DJ comments: Can't disassociate this song from Richie Tenenbaum's suicide attempt. It doesn't help that Smith is a tragic figure in his own right. — cwc

The S Episode: The Shins, "So Says I"

From the album Chutes Too Narrow

The Shins:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: You know, if Natalie Portman had introduced me to the Shins in a manner similar to that scene in Garden State, they'd probably be my favorite band. 'Cos, you know, she's kinda delicious. — cwc

The S Episode: Spoon, "Back to the Life"

From the album Kill the Moonlight

Spoon:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: We haven't played these guys since Week 1 of the Soup? What's wrong with us? — cwc

The S Episode: Sublime, "Scarlet Begonias"

From the album 40 Oz. to Freedom

Sublime:   MySpace

DJ comments: The sample leading into "Smoke Two Joints" on this album is often miscredited to the movie Reefer Madness. Not true. It comes from a hilarious movie called Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, which was scripted by Roger Ebert and lampooned a bit in the first Austin Powers movie (the scene near the beginning in the Pussycat Lounge or whatever it was called). Go rent/Netflix it, and you'll find yourself wondering how Ebert maintained any credibility in the movie biz. — cwc

The S Episode: Sleater-Kinney, "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone"

From the album Call the Doctor

Sleater-Kinney:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: While some drool over The Woods, I'll take the earlier stuff of Call the Doctor and especially Dig Me Out. I also was known to drool over drummer Janet Weiss from time to time as well. (shrug) — cwc

The S Episode: She & Him, "I Should Have Known Better"

From the album Volume One

She & Him:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: An interesting turn on a Beatles song. Zooey rules. — cwc

The S Episode: The Sugarcubes, "Water"

From the album Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!

Sugarcubes:   MySpace

DJ comments: I had no idea the Sugarcubes did a reunion thing, but the video below shows a snippet of such a gig. I'm not foolish enough to think that Bjork wasn't carrying that group on her mighty voice, but I found the dynamic of the quirky Sugarcubes music and her voice to be satisfying more often than not. But I think she's doing OK for herself without the 'Cubes. (Says Captain Obvious.) — cwc

The S Episode: The Stone Roses, "Elephant Stone"

From the album The Stone Roses

Stone Roses:   Web site

DJ comments: As much as I love these guys, I had to laugh when they put out their second album, five years after their incredible debut, and made predictions of selling 10 million units of the new disc. I think it might be safe to say that I am the only UI-affiliated person — student, staff, faculty, whatever — who owns a copy of Second Coming. If you are part of the UI community and you have that album, take consolation in the fact that you are (possibly) just as cool as me. — cwc

The S Episode: Sebadoh, "Spoiled"

From the album III

Sebadoh:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I've always been more of a Folk Implosion fan when it comes to Lou Barlow, but this Sebadoh song really stands out among myriad FI songs on the Kids soundtrack. That's a soundtrack you should own, and Sebadoh's III is fantastic too. — cwc

"Spoiled" bookends the trailer below.

The S Episode: Sufjan Stevens, "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!"

From the album Illinois

Sufjan Stevens:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: You could honestly play two-thirds of this album on the radio and be accused of playing nothing but gems. I might be underselling it, too. — cwc

The S Episode: Sonic Youth, "Into the Groove(y)"

From the album The Whitey Album

Sonic Youth:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Long live Sonic Youth! The weird thing is, both SY songs we've played on the Soup thus far have been covers (the Carpenters' "Superstar" being the other). They even went under the name Ciccone Youth for this song (and album). We need to show them some proper love soon. — cwc

The S Episode: "Scissor Paper Rock," Architecture in Helsinki

From the album Fingers Crossed

Architecture in Helsinki:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Do you remember that really hilarious beer commercial where the two dudes were going for the last beer at the same time, and they decided to play Rock Paper Scissors for it, and the dude literally threw a rock and hit the other guy in the face with it, and then he walked away with the last beer? If you do, and you actually thought it was funny, um, you're a douche. — cwc

The S Episode: "Scenic World," Beirut

From the album Gulag Orkestar

Beirut:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: One of the few Beirut titles I can pronounce! I think that's why I used to play "A Sunday Smile" so often, to avoid tripping over the other difficult ones... — cwc

The S Episode: "Suddenly," Black Rebel Motorcyle Club

From the album Take Them On, On Your Own

BRMC:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: This song is far superior to Billy Ocean's "Suddenly." I don't care what you say, Beast! — cwc

The S Episode: "Sandy," Caribou

From the album Andorra

Caribou:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Jeez, I think Brittany is giving our listeners a sneak peek at next week's theme: we'll go A-Z with names in song titles. "Sandy," "Sadie," "Sascha"... — cwc

The S Episode: "Sadie," Joanna Newsom

From the album The Milk-Eyed Mender

Joanna Newsom:   Web site

DJ comments: Um, not sure what to say here, so, um... (This is one of Brittany's picks that doesn't overlap into my jukebox. We don't agree on everything, believe it or not. But unlike some people who gush about Newsom online, either in mainstream media or in blogs, I can spell her name right!) — cwc

The S Episode: "Sascha," Jolie Holland

From the album Escondida

Jolie Holland:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: When your advocates are as varied as Tom Waits, Sage Francis, and Bad Religion's Greg Graffin, you know you're good. Jolie Holland, you're good. — cwc

The S Episode: "Succexxy," Metric

From the album Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?

Metric:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: You know a band is cool if they can use "ilovemetric.com" as their Internet domain and you don't think they're assholes for it. — cwc

The S Episode: "The Sons of Cain," Ted Leo + the Pharmacists

From the album Living with the Living

Ted Leo + the Pharmacists:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Ted Leo was the best show in Iowa City in 2007. Just admit it... — cwc

The S Episode: "Softhand," For Love Not Lisa

From the album Merge

For Love Not Lisa:   MySpace

DJ comments: I saw these guys live back in 1995 or 1996 with about 20 other people at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis. I felt bad for them, as they were the headliners, but some local teenage band was on before them and all their teenage friends went home before FLNL played. Kids. — cwc

The S Episode: "Scenario," A Tribe Called Quest

From the album The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I started thinking about what five rap albums I would want if I could only have five in my collection. I know this much: Tribe's Anthology makes the cut... — cwc

The S Episode: "Shadrach," Beastie Boys

From the album Paul's Boutique

Beastie Boys:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Paul's Boutique STILL sounds ahead of its time, 19 years later. Of course, with all the legal pitfalls/ungodly expenses that go with sampling these days, there's no wonder it still sounds fresh. — cwc

This video is hot.

The S Episode: "Sassafras Roots," Green Day

From the album Dookie

Green Day:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I still say that if you don't like these guys (or the Dookie stuff anyway), you are with the terrorists. — cwc

The S Episode: "Summer Babe (Winter Version)," Pavement

From the album Slanted and Enchanted

Pavement:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Stephen Malkmus, man. This dude makes Steven Wright sound high-strung. — cwc

The S Episode: "Suburban Home," Descendents

From the album Milo Goes to College

Descendents:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: "I want to be stereotyped! I want to be classified!" One of my favorite song intros of all time. And the line "I don't want no hippie pad! I want a house just like Mom and Dad!" is great too. — cwc