James Brown - "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1"

James Brown - "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1" - : "This is my favorite James Brown song. It's smooth, it's tight and it's on freakin' fire. And it's only Part 1! He's "movin', doing it, you know", you know? Like a sex machine!

I also have to note 'I Got Ants In My Pants, Pt. 1' because HE'S GOT ANTS IN HIS FREAKING PANTS!!! AND HE NEEDS TO DANCE!!! It's like the song title equivalent of Snakes On A Plane, which I think you internet cats know about already."

Willie Hutch - "I Choose You"

Willie Hutch - "I Choose You": "While cleaning up the house over the weekend (much, much overdue!), I rediscovered this great compilation cd I have of tracks from 70s blaxploitation movies, Pimps, Players and Private Eyes. 'I Choose You' is from that comp, having originally appeared on The Mack soundtrack. Just a real solid and smooth 70s soul track from an equally solid soundtrack."

Editors - "Munich"

Editors - "Munich": "I realize I've been so tied up in flashbacks that it was time to spin out some new music - so here's one for you, from U.K. act Editors. For fans of Interpol, Echo and the Bunnymen, etc. Play it now! "

Lindsey Buckingham - "Trouble"

Lindsey Buckingham - "Trouble": "Just One Of The Guys was on cable the other day (but isn't it always???) and it reminded me of this great solo Lindsey Buckingham track. Lindsey clearly held this track back from Fleetwood Mac - it screams Mac all over it, even if Lindsey played everything on the track and did all the vocals. The backing vocals during the chorus are particularly lush and the guitarwork is ace, as usual. With someone this good, it's no wonder why the Buckingham/Nicks/(Christine)McVie triumvirate was such a powerhouse for that band."

Steve Miller Band - "Abracadabra"

Steve Miller Band - "Abracadabra": "I love that guitar solo section! Now I just need to find the video with the dancing girl and the slight-of-hand magic...
Oh, and to my one reader, this is the single edit version, non-"remix" ending."

Electric Six - "Danger! High Voltage"

Electric Six - "Danger! High Voltage": "I finally just heard the new Electric Six record and, given how much I love their first album, I can't tell you how dissapointed I am with it. Of course, it's from a much different band lineup, so I'm not surprised, but the weaker songs can't hold up against their stronger jokes and it's all soggy. So, instead, I am reflecting on their earlier glory with this rockin' track from their debut instead."

Jesus & Mary Chain - "Far Gone And Out"

Jesus & Mary Chain - "Far Gone And Out": "Probably the first song to bring me into the JAMC camp, before sending me backwards (and forwards) into their catalog. I still have the holographic UK CD single for this track..."

Starflyer 59 - "Sundown"

Starflyer 59 - "Sundown": "I feel like i haven't posted a SF59 track in a while, so I must be long overdue. Here's a good one."

Chris Brown - "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)/Run It!"

Chris Brown - "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)/Run It!":
"Yo: Every so often, a pop/R&B track comes along and totally suckers me in...this is one of them. I don't know what it is, but I have the chorus stuck on my mind. Also, I prefer this live version to the album version because I think it sounds better with the live instrumentation, instead of the programming.

Run It!: Also insanely catchy. Two great tastes together in one. Even if it's totally from the Guilty Pleasure file."

Lovage - "Strangers on a Train"

Lovage - "Strangers on a Train": "...and speaking of Mike Patton, here's another totally different kind of project he's been involved with. Lovage is an amazing concept record about sex and the art of seduction, courtesy of Dan the Automator, Mike P. and Elysian Fields vocalist Jennifer Charles. This track is one of Jennifer's - the smooth groove and double entendres are a great example of the sultriness and humor that runs through this whole album. If you like this, you need to hear the whole album - it gets better!

Kind of by accident, but this track is also very appropriate for Valentine's Day, so enjoy this for that too."

The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton - "Come To Daddy"

The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton - "Come To Daddy": "Totally devastating in its original version (by Aphex Twin), so turning it into a fully live, electric version is almost mindboggling - making a totally schizophrenic song even moreso! Of course, it helps to have the maestro of mayhem, Mike Patton, on board. Proceed with caution...

For those of you unfamiliar with the original version, here it is."

Spiritualized - "Medication"

Spiritualized - "Medication": "I'm not the huge Spiritualized fan that most of my friends seem to be, but I've always liked this song. Starting out with a quiet Jesus and Mary Chain vibe before shifting into a multilayered modern psychedelic freakout, there's just something magestic and expansive about this track."

Steely Dan - "Pearl Of The Quarter"

Steely Dan - "Pearl Of The Quarter": "The last time I heard this performed was by a jazz-styled group at Disneyland. They said it was being performed in tribute to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. While that's all well and good, I know Steely Dan and I'm pretty damn sure that this song is about a HOOKER. I just know it. And if I'm right, knowing this song was performed for the kiddies at Disneyland is pretty hot."

ZZ Top - "Sharp Dressed Man"

ZZ Top - "Sharp Dressed Man": "Synths! Guitars! Beards! It's a magic combination. There's this one chord shift during the really long guitar solos at the end of the song that I love every time i hear it. Blogged today in tribute to me being in very close proximity to ZZ Top last night but being too chicken to come up and talk to them."

Year Of The Rabbit - "Rabbit Hole"

Year Of The Rabbit - "Rabbit Hole": "It rocks hard, it's catchy, it's short enough to make you want to play it more than once - so the fact that this wasn't a huge radio hit (or a radio hit at all) confirms either that radio sucks or people's taste in music blow or something. Another song in my Ken Andrews pantheon (he of Failure, On and Replicants fame as well). "

Minnie Riperton - "Inside My Love"

Minnie Riperton - "Inside My Love": "I figure after posting 'Sugar Walls' last week, I should offer a more genteel take on the same topic, something a little more tasteful (relatively) and sultry.

Bonus trivia: Minnie is the mother of one of my fave SNL performers, Maya Rudolph."

U2 - "The Fly"

U2 - "The Fly": "Bono bugs the hell out of me nowadays, but I still have to pick this song today in special tribute to T.K.S.F."

Snoop Doggy Dogg - "Who Am I (What's My Name)?"

Snoop Doggy Dogg - "Who Am I (What's My Name)?": "Snoop Doggy Doooogggggg!! Something at work today brought this jam back for me and I just had to share it."

Sheena Easton - "Sugar Walls"

Sheena Easton - "Sugar Walls": "This song is freaking dirty! I can't even believe this song used to get played on the radio... but so, so good."