DUFFY

No, that's not BELINDA CARLILE contemplating circles in the sand up in the top picture there; it's blue-eyed soulstress DUFFY (aka Aimee Anne Duffy), of Wales.

The latest in a lengthening line of distaff '60s revivalists (e.g. AMY WINEHOUSE and ADELE), Ms. Duffy has obviously listened to some Motown and DUSTY IN MEMPHIS in her time. To my ears, though, the songs below most evoke BOBBY WOMACK and DIONNE WARWICK, respectively.

DUFFY on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Hanging on Too Long"

[MP3] "Stepping Stone"

BONUS TRACK (just because whythehellnot?) >>>

[MP3] BELINDA CARLILE/"Circle in the Sand"

DEAN MARTIN - PART 2

DEAN MARTIN on WIKIPEDIA.

[MP3] "Everybody Loves Somebody"

[MP3] "Ain't That a Kick in the Head"

[MP3] "Sway"

[MP3] "Volare"

[MP3] "I Will"

[MP3] "Kiss"

[MP3] "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"

DEAN MARTIN - PART 1

I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for some boozy, swoony crooning... and there's only one Rat in the Pack who'll do....

DEAN MARTIN on WIKIPEDIA.

[MP3] "Somewhere There's a Someone"

[MP3] "That's Amore"

[MP3] "In the Chapel in the Moonlight"

[MP3] "You Belong to Me"

[MP3] "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone"

[MP3] "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You"

[MP3] "Hey Brother, Pour the Wine"

BEST OF 2006, VOL. 2

[Note: With this mix, the years 2002-2006 are now encapsulated & available -- just follow the portal(s). 2002 & 2006 are each divided into two volumes.]

Left-click [HERE] to download the BEST OF 2006, VOL. 2.

Portal to previous year-end mixes [HERE].

BEST OF 2006, VOL. 2 tracklist >>>

01 paul oakenfold/ready steady go
02 ladytron/destroy everything you touch
03 the charlatans uk/blackened blue eyes
04 the veils/advice for young mothers to be
05 director/reconnect
06 mojave 3/breaking the ice
07 asobi seksu/thursday
08 stina nordenstam/parliament square [the knife remix]
09 dover/let me out
10 rock kills kid/raise your hands
11 the like/the one
12 consequences/come on
13 the killers/a great big sled
14 the royal treatment plant/you don't need me
15 david & the citizens/let's not fall apart
16 the pipettes/pull shapes
17 the upper room/kill kill kill
18 los super elegantes/por que te vas?
19 mcalmont and butler/falling

WOLFKIN

WOLFKIN are a couple of not-so-melancholy Danes who rather entertainingly describe themselves thusly:

"Wolfkin is a non-ordinary rock-outfit who'll take you down for a trip through their fantasia. A place where mirages of orchestras, string-sections and otherworldly sceneries are invoked amidst the duo's hall-of-mirrors band.... A musical mixture of exotic noir, Morricone Americana, stylish and dirty drum programming that demand dancing, and oozing with psychedelic sensibilities reminiscent both of the spaced-out synthesizer meditations of the seventies as well as the sixties' hotheaded guitar-driven ecstasy of rock&roll.... [S]ongs that both hook you and hoodwink you, as they unfold lush in detail and ever-changing, shimmering from that murky twilight state between the real and the unreal."

Got the picture? Okey-dokey then.

In support of their debut long-player, BRAND NEW PANTS, Wolfkin just finished gigging at SxSW and will play Spaceland in L.A. on March 19.

WOLFKIN on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Coyoacan"

[MP3] [VID] "A Vacant Heart"

MARK LANEGAN

Forget, for a moment, that the picture above makes former SCREAMING TREES frontman MARK LANEGAN look like one of the BACKSTREET BOYS. That way madness lies.

What matters to us here today is that Mr. Lanegan has been busy as a bee/beaver in recent months. He's gone ahead and recorded another CD with former BELLE AND SEBASTIAN gal ISOBEL CAMPBELL, as well as one with AFGHAN WHIG GREG DULLI (as THE GUTTER TWINS).

Last year, he contributed mightily to the SOULSAVERS' disc. And his long-ago-and-far-away teaming with THE WALKABOUTS on a CHARLIE RICH classic remains a slow-burn favorite of mine.

So... sidle on up to the buffet and pick your poison. The sneezeguard is, conveniently, see-through....

MARK LANEGAN on MySPACE.

From the MARK LANEGAN & ISOBEL CAMPBELL LP SUNDAY AT DEVIL DIRT, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Who Built the Road"
[MP3] "The Raven"

From the GUTTER TWINS LP SATURNALIA, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Each to Each"

From the SOULSAVERS LP IT'S NOT HOW FAR YOU FALL, IT'S THE WAY YOU LAND, 2007 >>>
[MP3] "Paper Money"

From THE WALKABOUTS LP SATISFIED MIND, 1993 >>>
[MP3] "Feel Like Going Home"

CARINA ROUND

PJ HARVEY. PATTI SMITH. KT TUNSTALL. CHARLOTTE MARTIN.

Just four of the artists I've heard CARMINA ROUND compared to. Make of that what you will....

CARINA ROUND on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Stolen Car"

[MP3] "Come to You"

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS

From the new STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS album, REAL EMOTIONAL TRASH....

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS on MySPACE.

[MP3] "Gardenia"

[MP3] "We Can't Help You"

STUART A. STAPLES

On the subject of moody English singers... a couple tracks from lead TINDERSTICK STUART A. STAPLES' 2006 solo effort, LEAVING SONGS....

STUART A. STAPLES on MySPACE.

[MP3] "That Leaving Feeling" [w/LHASA DE SELA]

[MP3] "Which Way the Wind"

ELBOW

Melancholy saloon crooner GUY GARVEY and his Manchester mates in ELBOW are back -- and with a little extra pep in their step. (Well... relatively-speaking.)

Their fourth full-length, THE SELDOM SEEN KID, hits the shops on March 18.

ELBOW on MySPACE.

From the LP THE SELDOM SEEN KID, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Grounds for Divorce"
[MP3] "An Audience With the Pope"

From the LP CAST OF THOUSANDS, 2003 >>>
[MP3] "Not a Job"

From the LP ASLEEP IN THE BACK, 2001 >>>
[MP3] "Powder Blue"
[MP3] "Red"

CLOUD CULT

Almost a-year-to-the-day after releasing their last CD, THE MEANING OF 8, Minneapolis' eclectic CLOUD CULT will be dropping the next one on April 8. You can purchase it right [HERE], right now, for a right reasonable $10.

CLOUD CULT on MySPACE.

From the LP FEEL GOOD GHOSTS (TEA-PARTYING THROUGH TORNADOES), 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Journey of the Featherless"
[MP3] "May Your Hearts Stay Strong"

From the LP THE MEANING OF 8, 2007 >>>
[MP3] "Take Your Medicine"

GARBAGE

Rumor has it that the Scottish/American alt-rock collective GARBAGE will begin work on their fifth LP later this year. One guesses that the world will greet this news with little more than lukewarm enthusiasm, considering the rather tepid critical and commercial response to the band's last two efforts.

Still, for me, Shirley & the boys will always have a small-but-significant niche in my heart, as their music will always remind me of my brief-but-beloved residency in L.A./Marina del Rey, circa 1995-1997. Seems like a lifetime ago now, and I suppose it was.

So, now, some not-so-distant nostalgia to accompany a cold, spring-forward Sunday morn....

From their self-titled LP, 1995 >>>
[MP3] "Only Happy When It Rains"
[MP3] "Queer"

From the LP VERSION 2.0, 1998 >>>
[MP3] "Special"
[MP3] "You Look So Fine"

From the LP BEAUTIFUL GARBAGE, 2001 >>>
[MP3] "Drive Me Home"

From the LP BLEED LIKE ME, 2005 >>>
[MP3] "Bad Boyfriend"
[MP3] "Run Baby Run"

From the compilation ABSOLUTE GARBAGE, 2007 >>>
[MP3] "Tell Me Where It Hurts"

BONUS TRACKS >>>

[MP3] "#1 Crush"

[MP3] "The World is Not Enough"

[MP3] "Kick My Ass"

[MP3] "Soldier Through This"

[MP3] "Milk" [Wicked Mix] [w/TRICKY]

BEST OF FEBRUARY 2008

Left-click [HERE] to download the BEST OF FEBRUARY 2008 mix.

Portal to previous monthly mixes [HERE].

BEST OF FEBRUARY 2008 tracklist >>>

01 pinewood derby/ivy on stone
02 pete & the pirates/mr. understanding
03 sons and daughters/darling
04 matt costa/astair
05 split squad/hairless youth of bosnia
06 torpedo/from russia with love
07 m.i.a./paper planes
08 fleetwood mac/peacekeeper
09 lovers electric/it's ok
10 the features/the idea of growing old
11 paris motel/catherine by the sea
12 elf power/come lie down with me (and sing my song)
13 r.e.m./supernatural superserious
14 lykke li/i'm good, i'm gone
15 robert post/got none
16 pet shop boys/miracles
17 massive attack/live with me
18 matt costa/these arms
19 pete & the pirates/she doesn't belong to me
20 girls in hawaii/summer storm
21 moto boy/blue motorbike
22 biirdie/petals
23 british sea power/carrion

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"

THE LONG BLONDES

Back in December of 2006, I had this to say:

"THE LONG BLONDES are a new wave-influenced, art-rock collective from Sheffield, England -- home to one of my favorite groups of all time, PULP.... Led by sly, not-at-all-shy singer KATE JACKSON -- who I'm pretty sure is NOT the Kate Jackson who starred on the '70s TV show "Charlie's Angels" [ahem] -- the Long Blondes have been making waves in their home country with their aggressive-yet-poppy, girl-centric brand of rock. Fans of CATATONIA and "Ladykillers"-era LUSH should take note."

The Long Blondes' new disc, COUPLES, will be available April 8.

THE LONG BLONDES on MySPACE.

From the LP COUPLES, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "The Couples"
[MP3] "Nostalgia"

From the LP SOMEONE TO DRIVE YOU HOME, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "Once and Never Again"

WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS

They're from Austin, not Milwaukee -- so right there you've got to wonder about their trustworthiness....

WHAT MADE MILWAUKEE FAMOUS on MySPACE.

From the LP WHAT DOESN'T KILL US, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Sultan"
[MP3] "Self-Destruct"

From the LP TRYING TO NEVER CATCH UP, 2004 >>>
[MP3] "Hellodrama"

PINTO

Tunesmith extraordinaire ANDREAS MAGNUSSON of PINTO isn't slowing down after releasing last fall's full-length HOOK ME UP. The e-mail accompanying his brand-spankin'-newest single "The Dream is Over" tells us with a wink & a nudge:

"It may remind you a bit of a song sung by an insane girl with multi-colored hair back in the 80's. It is just a coincidence...."

Of course it is, Andreas. But hey, let's just be all classy about it and call it an homage, yes?

PINTO on MySPACE.

[MP3] "The Dream is Over"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] CYNDI LAUPER/"Time After Time"

DEVOTCHKA

DEVOTCHKA's new album, A MAD AND FAITHFUL TELLING, will hit the streets -- metaphorically-speaking -- on March 18.

DEVOTCHKA on MySPACE.

From the LP A MAD AND FAITHFUL TELLING, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "The Clockwork Witness"
[MP3] "Undone"

From the EP CURSE YOUR LITTLE HEART, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "The Last Beat of My Heart"

From the LP HOW IT ENDS, 2004 >>>
[MP3] "How It Ends"

From the LP SUPERMELODRAMA, 2000 >>>
[MP3] "Danglin' Feet"

ELF POWER

ELF POWER on MySPACE.

From the LP IN A CAVE, 2008 >>>
[MP3] "Softly Through the Void"
[MP3] "Paralyzed"

From the LP BACK TO THE WEB, 2006 >>>
[MP3] "An Old Familiar Scene"
[MP3] "Come Lie Down With Me (And Sing My Song)"

k.d. lang - part 1

k.d. lang on myspace.

From the LP ANGEL WITH A LARIAT, 1987 >>>
[MP3] "Rose Garden"

From the LP SHADOWLAND, 1988 >>>
[MP3] "Tears Don't Care Who Cries Them"

From the LP ABSOLUTE TORCH AND TWANG, 1989 >>>
[MP3] "Trail of Broken Hearts"

From the LP INGENUE, 1992 >>>
[MP3] "Constant Craving"
[MP3] "Miss Chatelaine"

From the soundtrack EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES, 1994 >>>
[MP3] "Hush Sweet Lover"

From the LP ALL YOU CAN EAT, 1995 >>>
[MP3] "Acquiesce"
[MP3] "Infinite and Unforeseen"

BONUS TRACK >>>

[MP3] "Crying" [w/ROY ORBISON]