ODDS 'N' SODS #29

[MP3] A.C. NEWMAN/"The Heartbreak Rides" [2009]

[MP3] CAT POWER/"Dark End of the Street" [2008]

[MP3] NORTHERN PORTRAIT/"The Fallen Aristocracy" [2008]

[MP3] DENT MAY & HIS MAGNIFICENT UKULELE/"College Town Boy" [2008]

[MP3] ANIMAL COLLECTIVE/"Summertime Clothes" [2009]

[MP3] MEETING OF IMPORTANT PEOPLE/"Mothers Pay More" [2008]

ODDS 'N' SODS #27

[MP3] THE AWKWARD STAGE/"Heaven is for Easy Girls" [2006]

[MP3] QUITZOW/"Sponsor (It Didn't Mean a Thing)" [2008]

[MP3] CHAMPAGNE RIOT/"Scandinavian Warfare" [2008]

[MP3] HANNA BAUMMANN/"Moods" [2008]

[MP3] KITE/"Ways to Dance" [2007]

[MP3] THE FLYING TOURBILLON ORCHESTRA/"In a Dream" [2008]

ODDS 'N' SODS #26

[MP3] JESSE MALIN/"Russian Roulette" [2008]

[MP3] AC/DC/"Anything Goes" [2008]

[MP3] ROBBIE WILLIAMS/"Supreme" [2000]

[MP3] BEN KWELLER/"The Biggest Flower" [2008]

[MP3] ISOBEL CAMPBELL & MARK LANEGAN/"Asleep on a Sixpence" [2008]

[MP3] LILY ALLEN/"Everyone's at It" [2009]

ODDS 'N' SODS #23

[MP3] JENTRI COLELLO/"Bird of Prey" [2008]

[MP3] ELECTRIC SIX/"Heavy Woman" [2008]

[MP3] MARY LOU LORD/"Sunspot Stopwatch" [1997]

[MP3] RADIOHEAD/"Let Down" [1997]

[MP3] R.E.M./"Let Me In" [1994]

[MP3] SAM COOKE/"Chain Gang" [1960]

ODDS 'N' SODS #22

[The BEST OF AUGUST mix will be up later today....]

[MP3] ANNIE/"Bad Times" [2008]

[MP3] THE BOY BATHING/"The Questions Simple" [2008]

[MP3] THE LEVELLERS/"Before the End" [2008]

[MP3] CLIENT/"Here and Now" [2003]

[MP3] BRENDAN CANNING/"Hit the Wall" [2008]

[MP3] PHOEBE KILLDEER & THE SHORT STRAWS/"He's Gone" [2008]

ODDS 'N' SODS #20

This wasn't how this was supposed to be.

I had six other songs all picked out and ready to go. Six brand-spankin'-new songs specially-designed to kick you in the ass and then rub it all better. So brand-spankin'-new they still had that new-song smell. Yep, no question, you would have loved 'em. But now you'll just have to wait. Because today, instead of those, we have these....

See, what happened was, I was going through my old mix CDs again (always a dangerous thing), and the song "Woman in Love" by BARBRA STREISAND (yes, that Barbra Streisand) got itself lodged in my medulla oblongata (or wherever the hell it is that songs go to get lodged). Much of the blame for this must go to my old nemesis -- nostalgia. For, you see, Barbra Streisand's is one of those voices of my youth. The '70s, specifically. You know: "Memories/Misty, water-colored memories"; "Love/Soft as an easy-chair"; "Flowers/You don't bring me flowers/Anymore." And, as it turns out: "I am a woman in love/It's a riiiiiight I defeeeend/Over and over agaiiiiiin."

(Hoo boy. I've lived my entire life in an effort to never be this queer.)

But let's be clear here. It's not just nostalgia and Babs' ability to hold a note that are to blame for this sudden, left-field, We-Interrupt-Your-Regularly-Scheduled-Programming post. Blame it, also, on THE BEE GEES. BARRY GIBB, specifically. For, you see, Seductive Barry wrote and sang backing vocals on "Woman in Love." You know: those synthesized, eunuch-android backing vocals that infected JOHN TRAVOLTA with Saturday Night Fever, broke DIONNE WARWICK's heart, and ate DIANA ROSS alive.

You have much to answer for, Mr. Gibb. Not least of which: this here sudden, left-field, We-Interrupt-Your-Regularly-Scheduled-Programming post....

[MP3] BARBRA STREISAND/"Woman in Love" [1980]

[MP3] SAMANTHA SANG/"Emotion" [1977]

[MP3] BARBRA STREISAND & BARRY GIBB/"Guilty" [1980]

[MP3] DIONNE WARWICK/"Heartbreaker" [1982]

[MP3] BARBRA STREISAND & BARRY GIBB/"What Kind of Fool" [1980]

[MP3] ANDY GIBB/"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" [1977]

ODDS 'N' SODS #19

[Stop back by a little later, kids, for the Best of July mix....]

[MP3] STEREOLAB/"Daisy Click Clack" [2008]

[MP3] ZEITGEIST/"Bunny" [2008]

[MP3] TWO SHEDS/"WTF?" [2008]

[MP3] GET WELL SOON/"You/Aurora/You/Seaside" [2008]

[MP3] THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS/"Your Daddy Don't Know" [2002]

[MP3] PULP/"Disco 2000" [1995]

ODDS 'N' SODS #18

[MP3] TRAVIS/"Sarah" [2008]

[MP3] UH HUH HER/"Not a Love Song" [2008]

[MP3] RON SEXSMITH/"One Last Round" [2008]

[MP3] THE CLOUD ROOM/"24 Hr Heartbreak" [2007]

[MP3] KIETHEVEZ/"Non Compos Mentis" [2008]

[MP3] THE MAGNETIC FIELDS/"Meaningless" [1999]

ODDS 'N' SODS #17

[MP3] THE DISPLACEMENTS/"Down and Out" [2008]

[MP3] FONDA/"Surrender" [2003]

[MP3] STEPSONDAY/"Deep" [2008]

[MP3] BRETT ANDERSON/"Funeral Mantra" [2008]

[MP3] THE VINES/"A.S III" [2008]

[MP3] FRANK SINATRA/"French Foreign Legion" [1959]

ODDS 'N' SODS #16

[MP3] ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS/"No Hiding Place" [2008]

[MP3] THE RASCALS/"I'll Give You Sympathy" [2008]

[MP3] JAKOB DYLAN/"Valley of the Low Sun" [2008]

[MP3] CLINT/"Los Testigos No Descansan En Domingo" [2008]

[MP3] BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY/"I'll Be Glad" [2008]

[MP3] STARFLYER 59/"I Love You Like the Little Bird" [demo] [2008]

ODDS 'N' SODS #15

[A quick note on Track #6: PRINCE's "When You Were Mine" [1980] has been covered by many an artist over the years, but, for me, MITCH RYDER's version will always be the A-number-1. Partly, this is pure nostalgia, seeing as the song received quite a bit of airplay in the Detroit area in the '80s. That's understandable enough, of course, what with Mitch being a Detroiter and all (technically, a "Hamtramcker"). The song was produced by JOHN MELLENCAMP (or John Cougar Mellencamp, as he was then known). Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, it has never been released on CD, so this less-than-stellar copy is all I have to offer. Hopefully, you can crank up the volume, ignore the aural infirmities, and still get your groove on. (Oh, and I just learned this a minute ago: Winona Ryder's real name is Winona Horowitz; she changed it to Ryder after seeing a Mitch Ryder album in her father's record collection. Well, whattaya know about that...?)

[MP3] THE DRESDEN DOLLS/"Pretty in Pink" [THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS cover] [2008]

[MP3] SPARKS/"Let the Monkey Drive" [2008]

[MP3] FABIENNE DELSOL/"Mr. Mystery" [2007]

[MP3] SERGEANT/"K-Ok" [2008]

[MP3] THE BUILDERS AND THE BUTCHERS/"Spanish Death" [2007]

[MP3] MITCH RYDER/"When You Were Mine" [PRINCE cover] [1983]

ODDS 'N' SODS #14

[MP3] THE DANDY WARHOLS/"Mission Control" [2008]

[MP3] THE NATIONAL/"Forever After Days" [2008]

[MP3] SEBASTIEN TELLIER/"Sexual Sportswear" [2008]

[MP3] THE BEATLES/"It Won't Be Long" [1963]

[MP3] THE CARS/"Stranger Eyes" [1983] [BY REQUEST]

[MP3] TRACY CHAPMAN/"ACROSS THE LINES" [1988] [BY REQUEST]

ODDS 'N' SODS #13

[MP3] PULP/"Common People"

[MP3] THE SWEET SERENADES/"I Can Never Die"

[MP3] NEIL DIAMOND/"Pretty Amazing Grace"

[MP3] THE WEDDING PRESENT/"I Lost the Monkey"

[MP3] SCARLETT JOHANSSON/"I Don't Want to Grow Up"

[MP3] JOSEPH ARTHUR/"Radio Euphoria"

ODDS 'N' SODS #12

[MP3] HUSH THE MANY (HEED THE FEW)/"Revolve"

[MP3] ALIBI TOM/"Fire"

[MP3] LOW/"Monkey"

[MP3] THE WAVE PICTURES/"Strange Fruit or David"

[MP3] JUPITER ONE/"Turn Up the Radio"

[MP3] SARAH McLACHLAN/"Ice" [Dusted Mix]

ODDS 'N' SODS #10

[MP3] LADYTRON/"Black Cat"

[MP3] EDDIE VEDDER/"Society"

[MP3] MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND/"Bass Player"

[MP3] THE SWEET SERENADES/"First Taste of Trouble"

[MP3] THE HERMIT CRABS/"Friend's Folk Festival"

[MP3] FREDDIE STEVENSON/"Easy Now"

ODDS 'N' SODS #9

[MP3] PANIC AT THE DISCO/"Pas De Cheval"

[MP3] ALFA ROCOCO/"Lever L'ancre"

[MP3] SHE & HIM/"Sweet Darlin'"

[MP3] BRANDI SHEARER/"Lullabies"

[MP3] GARY JULES/"Mad World"

[MP3] k.d. lang/"hain't it funny?"

ODDS 'N' SODS #8

[MP3] MIXEL PIXEL/"Fake Girlfriend"

[MP3] ELECTRIC SIX/"Down at McDonnellzzzzzzz"

[MP3] MADONNA [w/JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & TIMBALAND]/"4 Minutes to Save the World"

[MP3] THE BLAKES/"Lintwalk"

[MP3] ANE BRUN/"Raise My Head"

[MP3] SUN KIL MOON/"Heron Blue"

ODDS 'N' SODS #7

[MP3] WE ARE SCIENTISTS/"After Hours"

[MP3] TOKYO POLICE CLUB/"Juno"

[MP3] MYSTERY JETS/"Veiled in Grey"

[MP3] TREMBLING BLUE STARS/"Beautiful Blank"

[MP3] JAYMAY"Blue Skies"

[MP3] SNAKE & JET'S AMAZING BULLIT BAND/"Kolmilan"

ODDS 'N' SODS #6

[The Best of February mix will be up later today....]

[MP3] SUPERGRASS/"When I Needed You"

[MP3] BILLY BRAGG/"Something Happened"

[MP3] BELL X1/"My First Born for a Song"

[MP3] A WEATHER/"Spiders, Snakes"

[MP3] THE POGUES/"Tuesday Morning"

[MP3] SEBADOH/"Ocean"

ODDS 'N' SODS #5

["The Best of 2006, Part 1" will be up later today, just in case you're jonesing for a semi-contemporary mix CD to wile away/while away your weekend.]

[MP3] R.E.M./"Supernatural Superserious" [From the upcoming LP ACCELERATE -- 01 Apr 08]

[MP3] CLINIC/"High Coin" [From the upcoming LP DO IT! -- 08 Apr 08]

[MP3] MALCOLM MIDDLETON/"Follow Robin Down"

[MP3] PLASTIC BERTRAND/"Major Tom"

[MP3] THERAPY?/"Diane"

[MP3] GUSTER/"Ramona"