The B's: "Because," Elliott Smith

From the soundtrack American Beauty

Elliott Smith:   MySpace

DJ comments: Just watched American Beauty for the eighth time recently, and was reminded how great this song is once the end credits started rolling. — cwc

The B's: Beck, "Gamma Ray"

From the album Modern Guilt

Beck:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Yet another sweet groove from the Beckmeister. — cwc

The B's: Blind Pilot, "Go On, Say It"

From the album 3 Rounds and a Sound

Blind Pilot:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: A recent Google search yielded a headline that read, "Blind Pilot: Portland's next breakout indie band?" Perhaps. I like this song, anyway. — cwc

The B's: Born Ruffians, "Hummingbird"

From the album Red, Yellow & Blue

Born Ruffians:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I love bands that aren't afraid to turn lyrical nonsense into a great hook. — cwc

The B's: Black Kids, "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You"

From the album Partie Traumatic

Black Kids:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Will likes to sing along to the "Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance!" part in the car. He rules. — cwc

The B's: The Black Ghosts, "Tears from a Gun"

an iTunes "Discovery Download"

Black Ghosts:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: One of the 206 groups with the word "black" in their name that I like. — cwc

The B's: The Blows, "Two Minutes"

From the album Upskirts

The Blows:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I'm not entirely convinced that these guys aren't the Killers in disguise. — cwc

The B's: Bang! Bang! Eche!, "4 to the Floor"

From the ep Bang! Bang! Eche!

Bang! Bang! Eche!:   MySpace

DJ comments: That's pronounced Bang! Bang! Ekayzay! From the unsourced Wikipedia entry:

Bang! Bang! Eche! formed at a LARP (or Live Action Role Playing) convention in Minsk, Belarus. Centred around a mutual love for dinosaurs and cartoons, the original trio of Sullivan, Ryder, and Burgess began practicing across the road from a homeless shelter in early 2007.

After playing a a 10 date residency at local venue PartyCentral, the band recruited the duo of Worsley and Doney as security. Worsley was chosen due to her notoriety in underground fighting circles and Zach was always close to the band as he was the only person with a driver's license.

Over the next few months BBE began incorporating the two into their live performances, and thus the band grew to a five piece, with T'Nealle taking up bass parts, and Zach becoming "lead sermonizer".

Towards the end of 2007, Worlsey wrote the 5 songs which make up the band's self titled EP. The band has described the EP as "a five-track foray into the 'Land Before Time,' but in this case the dinosaurs play synths and sixteenth beats while the T-Rexes bust rhymes."

So yeah, there you have it... — cwc

The B's: Buffalo Tom, "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here"

From the album Schoolhouse Rock! Rocks

Buffalo Tom:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: My son is really getting into the old Schoolhouse Rock! videos, so I thought I'd bust out a song from a mid-'90s tribute album. You might just learn something... — cwc

The Buffalo Tom version:



And the original:

The B's: Badly Drawn Boy, "Everybody's Stalking"

From the album The Hour of Bewilderbeast

Badly Drawn Boy:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: If you aren't into Badly Drawn Boy, start with the "Bewilderbeast" album and, well, maybe stop there. — cwc

The B's: "Blown a Wish," My Bloody Valentine

From the album Loveless

My Bloody Valentine:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: What!? Have I played these guys before? :) — cwc

The B's: Black Nite Crash, "Losing Kind"

From the album Array

Black Nite Crash:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Kinda feeling a Pacific Northwest vibe in my picks tonight (these guys are from Washington). I could do a lot worse than that. Based on their shoegaze sound and band name based on a song title from the band Ride, I'm guessing they kinda like the band Ride...and you should too. — cwc

The B's: "Black Eyed Dog," Nick Drake

From the album Time of No Reply

Nick Drake:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Kinda sad. Not much else to say. — cwc

The B's: The Breeders, "No Aloha"

From the album Last Splash

Breeders:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: I loved this group something fierce back in the day. Unfortunately, they seemed to peak with the album that provides this song, as Title TK and Mountain Battles did nothing for me. — cwc

The B's: Bikini Kill, "Capri Pants"

From the album Reject All American

Bikini Kill:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: At the risk of reigniting the whole Riot Grrrl movement, I always thought Kathleen Hanna and Tobi Vail were both kinda hot. — cwc

The B's: "Been a Son," Nirvana

From the album Incesticide

Nirvana:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: Kurt's dad must have been an awesome guy. — cwc

The B's: Bloc Party, "Trojan Horse"

From the album Intimacy

Bloc Party:   Web site   MySpace

DJ comments: We'll see if the new album stands up to the previous two. I do really like this tune, and the new single "Talons" is pretty good. You can get the album from the band right now, or wait until the 28th for retail joints to sell it. — cwc

The B Episode: "Baby Driver," Simon & Garfunkle

From the album The Essential Simon & Garfunkle

DJ Comments: MY GOD I LOVE PAUL SIMON! -- BJ

The B Episode: Beirut, "The Canals Of Our City"

From the album Gulag Orkestar

DJ Comments: The way these guys layer music is absolutely incredible. Thanks to the person who requested this song -- I would play Beirut in every show, but I don't want to be like Chris with his Cure obsession.

I actually had a couple come into Donnelly's a few weeks ago, and as we were playing Beirut over the speakers, they said, "Can we say something about this music? It's incredibly odd. It sounds like something you'd hear on the streets in Turkey... and we've been to Turkey before!" Had to include that.

The B Episode: "Baby," Of Montreal

From the album Cherry Peel

DJ Comments: I had to cut myself off at three songs with "baby" in the title. There are just so many good songs to choose from, baby! (Sorry, that was lame.) -- BJ

The B Episode: "Baby I," Amy Milan

From the album Honey From the Tombs

DJ Comments: Another lovely lady from my old favorite, Broken Social Scene. I never really listened to Millan's solo work because I thought it was all country. This song slapped me in the face and called me a moron.

The B Episode: "Bad Things To Such Good People," Pedro the Lion

From the album Winners Never Quit

DJ Comments: Pedro is always fitting on a rainy day.

So, about the album title and that whole "Quitters never win" thing... what about people who quit smoking or quit drugs? HUH?! -- BJ

The B Episode: "Between The Lines," Atmosphere

From the album Lucy Ford

DJ Comments: Atmosphere is playing at The Englert on November 5. The Englert seems like an odd venue, but I bet it would rock at the same time. -- BJ

The B Episode: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Ain't No Easy Way"

From the album Howl

DJ Comments: Howl is definitely the most dynamic of the B.R.M.C. albums. Take Them On... and B.R.M.C. are great, but each just kind of follows a single thread. -- BJ

The B Episode: "Barnacles," Ugly Casanova

From the album Sharpen Your Teeth

DJ Comments: I would have to say that I like this album more than any Modest Mouse album I've listened to. Not to say Modest Mouse isn't great, but Isaac really hit it on the head with Ugly Casanova. -- BJ

The B Episode: "Banana Ghost," Man Man

From the album Six Demon Bag

These guys just played here on Sunday (October 19). Sadly, I missed it. One of those things where it was my own damn fault... I really wanted to go too!

Anyway, I would highly suggest watching the video, as it is rather spectacular.

The B Episode: Broken Social Scene, "Fire Eye'd Boy"

From the album Broken Social Scene

DJ Comments: The sixth song off my second favorite BSS album. I've always had good luck with the sixth song on any album -- it always seems to be a gem.

I'd highly suggest going to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_Social_Scene and looking at all the musical acts related to BSS -- related meaning one member/former member of the band has some involvement. The list is enormous. -- BJ

The B Episode: "Beware," Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire

From the album Oh! The Grandeur

DJ Comments: Some of Bird's older stuff is great because he really shows the music that's influenced his career. His newer stuff is a much more evolved, modernized version of that. -- BJ

The B Episode: "Black Hole," She & Him

From the album Volume One

DJ Comments: A great take on some old songs. Plus it's M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel (that one chick who played the older sister on Almost Famous. -- BJ

The B Episode: "Black Jack," Mos Def

From the album The New Danger

DJ Comments: I think this is the most hip hop we've ever played in one show. -- BJ

The B Episode: "Blue Skies," Tom Waits

From the album The Early Years (Disc Two)

DJ Comments: It's strange listening to Tom Waits before the whiskey and cigarettes really soaked in. I'm pretty sure this song was released on a demo in '71. -- BJ