Names, A: Aly

"Aly, Walk With Me," The Raveonettes

From the album Lust Lust Lust

Raveonettes:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: We're off to a loud, fuzzy start today. This is fitting, as UI alum Sam Paxton has helped curate this show. Wait until you see some of the testosterone tunes he picked! Joanna Newsom fans, run and hide! (Can someone please explain to me why she is sooooooo great, yet a band like Vampire Weekend supposedly sucks? She sounds like a giraffe dying while Edward Scissorhands runs his blades along a chalkboard. Seriously.) — cwc

Check their performance of this song on “Letterman.” Cool stuff. The robotic drummer rocked my world. — sp

Names, B: Bryn

"Bryn," Vampire Weekend

From the album Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Hey, haters: Sam hates these guys too! You all suck farts, though! (OK, maybe he doesn't hate them...) — cwc

Personally, not a fan of these guys … a little overhyped in my book. But they’re still better than most of the crap on the radio and MTV these days. — sp

Names, C: Candy

"Candy," Iggy Pop (with Kate Pierson)

From the album Brick by Brick

Iggy Pop:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Back before I’d ever heard of the Stooges, or really ever paid any attention to punk rock, I heard this song. I always thought the Kate Pierson hooks were incendiary (thank you, William Miller). Plus, it has a sentimental value … it reminds me of a ginormous basketball player named Candy (well, Khandi) in my days of covering college hoops. — sp

Names, D: Detlef

"Detlef Schrempf," Band of Horses

From the album Cease to Begin

Band of Horses:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Detlef Schrempf. Easily a starter on my all-time NBA All-Ugly team, alongside dudes like Rik Smits (alongside Larry Bird in linked pic), Sam Cassell, and Dwayne Schnitzius. — cwc

What about Paul Mokeski and Scot Pollard? — sp

Detlef in action:

Names, E: Elise

"A Letter to Elise," The Cure

From the album Wish

The Cure:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: This was toward the end of the Cure's great run from 1987 to 1993, before Porl Thompson left to play guitar for Page/Plant and drummer Boris Williams left to do whatever former Cure/Thompson Twins drummers do in their free time. Thompson is back, and the band's new singles (second one came out yesterday) have an invigorated sound. — cwc

June 2000, St. Louis. One of the best concerts I ever saw. If you ever get a chance, check out the Cure live. You won’t regret it. — sp

Names, F: Floyd

"Floyd the Barber," Nirvana

From the album Bleach

Nirvana:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I’m one of the few people outside Seattle who actually OWNED “Bleach” before I owned “Nevermind.” A technicality, for sure, since I opened “Bleach” on Christmas Eve and got “Nevermind” the very next day. Still, I love to tell that story to any music snob that will listen. — sp

Names, G: Glynis

"Glynis," Smashing Pumpkins

From the album No Alternative

Smashing Pumpkins:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Man, me and Sam probably both freaked out when this compilation came out. (I know I did.) This was before the days of file sharing, mp3s, CD burning by the masses. This was like finding a sweet mix tape in a CD rack: Pumpkins, Breeders, Beastie Boys, Pavement, Nirvana, Bob Mould, Buffalo Tom, Uncle Tupelo, Soundgarden ... — cwc

Once upon a time, I thought the Smashing Pumpkins were the greatest band of all time, and if they had died in a plane crash or something in 1994, nothing would’ve changed my opinion. But then, Billy Corgan had to shave his head for an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” and the band jumped the shark. They never recovered from his “Mellon Collie” egomania and it still breaks my heart after all these years (almost as much as the new “Indiana Jones” raped my youth). So I try to remember him as the driving force behind “Gish,” “Siamese Dream,” a solid B-sides compilation (“Pisces Iscariot”), plus a handful of other compilation tracks, like this gem. — sp

Names, H: Heather

"Bull in the Heather," Sonic Youth

From the album Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star

Sonic Youth:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Finally, some love for an SY original. — cwc

Names, I: Isabel

"Isabel," The Sleeping Planes

From the album I Could

The Sleeping Planes:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Who says I don't love the local crews? A shout-out to Marty Carpenter! — cwc

Names, J: Jimmy

"Jimmy James," Beastie Boys

From the album Check Your Head

Beastie Boys:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I was pushing for the White Stripes in this spot … “Jolene” or “Jimmy the Exploder” would’ve worked. But it’s hard to argue with this one. One of the best “Side 1, Track 1” choices of all time. — sp

Names, K: Kelly

"The Kelly Affair," Be Your Own Pet

From the album Get Awkward

Be Your Own Pet:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I think this song is inspired by a dream Sam had about running off with Kelly Kapowski. — cwc

Nah, I was all about Stacy Carosi. Or Tori. Or Violet … when she screeched “Samuel,” I felt like she was talking to me. — sp

Names, L: Linus, Lucy

"Linus and Lucy," Vince Guaraldi Trio

From the album A Charlie Brown Christmas

Vince Guaraldi Trio:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Sure, it's June, but anytime is a good time for Charlie Brown Christmas music. — cwc

A Charlie Brown Christmas is the Mount Everest of Christmas specials. My friends believes it is Emmitt Otter’s Jugband Christmas, but I digress. The jazzy hooks never fail to make me smile.

Names, M: Michelle

"My Michelle," Guns N' Roses

From the album Appetite for Destruction

GNR:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: We've played "Xanadu." Twice. And we're still here. Will this be the song that loses us our show? — cwc

Appetite For Destruction is one of those albums that reaches a new level of awesome with each passing year. Those guys showed the world that violent degenerates can succeed, too. — sp

Names, N: Nikki

"Darling Nikki," Foo Fighters

From the single Have It All

Foo Fighters:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: The song that got Tipper Gore all in a huff. Wonder what she thinks of today's lyrics and/or videos. — cwc

Hey, I love Prince as much as the next child of the ‘80s, and I think he’s one of the most underrated guitarists of all time. Sit back and enjoy this cover, which undoubtedly prompted the Purple God to cover the Foos’ “Best of You” at the Super Bowl a couple of years back. — sp

(wanted to add a vid, but Prince is kinda going all Lars Ulrich on the YouTubers, even when he’s covering someone else, as he is blocking his version of a Radiohead song...)

Names, O: Oliver

"Oliver Twisted," The Vaselines

From the album The Way of the Vaselines

Vaselines:   Wikipedia entry

DJ comments: I think this song is based on that Brady Bunch episode where Cousin Oliver visited a pretzel factory, a mishap occurred, and hilarity ensured. — cwc

Names, P: Peter

"Peter Piper," Run-D.M.C.

From the album Raising Hell

Run-D.M.C.:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: God, I miss good rap. Tribe, NWA, Public Enemy. These guys started it. Forget the crap on MTV. The rap and hip hop of the 2000s is the new hair bands of the ‘80s. Overkill. — sp

Hey look, it's Run-Dweeb-M.C.!

Names, Q: Quincy

"Quincy Punk Episode," Spoon

From the album A Series of Sneaks

Spoon:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: It was a bummer that these guys played in the Quad Cities during Mission Creek, so I'm glad we ended up with the Iron & Wine show. (Not that I have the cash to go or anything...) — cwc

Names, R: Ruby

"Ruby Soho," Rancid

From the album And Out Come the Wolves...

Rancid:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: If my boys T-Dub and Ryno are listening, this one is definitely for you. — sp

I worked in a pizza joint in high school, and one of the waitresses was named Ruby. We always joked with her that she had a mean right jab, so we knew better than to fuck with her. She always laughed, but I think deep down she wanted to kill us. I still look over my shoulder every once in a while, just to be safe. — cwc

Names, S: Sally

"Sally Cinnamon," The Stone Roses

From the album The Complete Stone Roses

Stone Roses:   Web site

DJ comments: And my love affair with the Stone Roses continues on the Soup... — cwc

Names, T: Tom

"The Ghost of Tom Joad," Rage Against the Machine

From the single The Ghost of Tom Joad

RATM:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: With all apologies to Springsteen, this version is boss. — cwc

You may have a copy of “Renegades” with this song on it, a version enhanced with lots of studio effects and trickery. But this is the raw promo version. Never fails to get the blood pumping. — sp

Names, U: "Uncle"

"Uncle Jonny," The Killers

From the album Sam's Town

The Killers:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: OK, so Uncle isn't really a name. But there isn't much out there to choose from in the U column. It was either stretch the rules to include this Killers tune, or go with something lame by Mos Def. We were simply thinking of you this time. — cwc

Yeah, we cheated a little here, but I bet you can’t find a cool song with a name that starts with U. — sp

Names, V: Valencia

"O Valencia!," The Decemberists

From the album The Crane Wife

Decemberists:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: This is an epic fuckin' vid. — cwc

Names, W: Wilma

"Wilma's Rainbow," Helmet

From the album Betty

Helmet:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: There’s never been a better snare drum sound than that of one John Stanier. One of my underrated drum heroes. — sp

A video from the old Jon Stewart show!

Names, X: Xerces

"Xerces," Deftones

From the album Saturday Night Wrist

Deftones:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: This is still no White Pony kind of dominance, but this song is pretty good. — cwc

I’ve always thought the Deftones were like a heavy-metal Cure (check out any of their covers sometime). A great song named after the god from “300” … well, it’s spelled different, but still. There are better songs off this album (“Saturday Night Wrist”), like “Cherry Waves,” but that’s not a name. And if your name is Cherry Waves, how’s that career in porn treating you? — sp

Names, Y: Yoko

"The Ballad of John and Yoko," The Beatles

From the album Past Masters, Vol. 2

Beatles:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Christ, you know it ain't easy! — cwc

Yoko didn’t break up the Beatles. Paul did. Give her a break! Tell C and BJ to play “Kiss Kiss Kiss” sometime. — sp

Names, Z: Ziggy

"Ziggy Stardust," David Bowie

From the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust

David Bowie:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: This one was easy. No other comment necessary. — sp

Thanks to Sam for joining us for some Soup this week!