Barcelona - "Studio Hair Gel"

Barcelona - "Studio Hair Gel": "The keyboards are excellent and the sassy female vocals, taunting about bad `80s taste and hipsterism, add up to sharp new wave."

William Shatner - "Theme From Cyrano / Mr. Tambourine Man"

William Shatner - "Theme From Cyrano / Mr. Tambourine Man": "Actually, this might be even more amazing than the other Shatner tune I just posted. How the hell did he come up with this?"

William Shatner - "How Insensitive"

William Shatner - "How Insensitive": "Pure Shatner magic, `60s vintage."

Benny Benassi - "Satisfaction"

Benny Benassi - "Satisfaction": "Normally, this song would make me think of sexy robots (kind of like in the Bjork video for "All Is Full Of Love", but much faster) - but, for anyone who's seen the video, it's hard not to think of jiggling."

The Gossip - "Standing In The Way of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)"

The Gossip - "Standing In The Way of Control (Soulwax Nite Version)": "In the original version, The Gossip started an indie dance party. Now Soulwax transforms the song into what I can only describe as riot disco, somehow keeping the original's thrashy vibe while pumping up the bass and the Beth Ditto."

A. A. Bondy - "No Man Shall"

A. A. Bondy - "No Man Shall": "Verbena's Scott Bondy - now performing as A.A. Bondy - fully reveals his mellow, melancholy side on this first solo record. We've seen elements of this before in Verbena ("Me and Yr Sister")", but here he allows that side of him to take full reign and, even without the distorted rock that was the cornerstone of Verbena anywhere to be found, it's a suprisingly fulfilling affair. (Thanks to Dick Huey for flagging this one for me. Without him, I don't know if I would have made the Scott/A.A. connection.)"

The Locust - "The Half-Eaten Sausage Would Like To See You In His Office"

The Locust - "The Half-Eaten Sausage Would Like To See You In His Office": "I know I essentially said 'Happy Thanksgiving' yesterday - but this song really says Happy Thanksgiving. So, uh, once again - gobble gobble."

Belly - "Feed The Tree"

Belly - "Feed The Tree": "Most of us will be feeding our bellies tomorrow - and here, Belly feeds the tree - so, basically, this is my strange way of saying Happy Thanksgiving.
(And I'll never pass up a chance to show my love for Belly.)"

Res - "They-Say Vision"

Res - "They-Say Vision": "Another cross-genre casualty! Much like other artists who don't fit neatly into one category, like Nikka Costa, Res never quite nailed an audience. Her album crossed R&B, reggae and other genres - while this song, one of my favorites, was almost alt-rock in nature. People didn't know what to do with her, so she faded away, but this track is a gem."

The Rolling Stones - "Sway"

The Rolling Stones - "Sway": "It's dark, it's down, it's dirty and it's one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs."

Office - "Company Calls"

Office - "Company Calls": "When the song starts off with lyrics like 'you're a big city woman / with big city responsibilities', it feels like it might veer off into Rick Springfield grand-standing pop-rock territory. Instead, the chorus kicks in, trading off lead vocals with group vocals, like cascading rockets filled with 80s new wave goodness, glistening with a light Arcade Fire sheen."

David Bowie - "Fashion"

David Bowie - "Fashion": "Just because I'm happy that Project Runway is back on the air. It's total fluff, but I still haven't tired of the Tim Gunn-isms and the friendly orange glow of Michael Kors."

Prince - "If I Was Your Girlfriend"

Prince - "If I Was Your Girlfriend": "This song is from Prince, as a girl, who was maybe kind of a guy, singing to his/her not-quite-girlfriend? This song just operates on a level outside of logic and still brings the funk, even while the song is almost skeletal in arrangement. It's hard to imagine anyone else other than Prince being able to pull it off and have it be a great song."

The Human League - "The Sound Of The Crowd (12'' Version)"

The Human League - "The Sound Of The Crowd (12'' Version)": "What's better than 'The Sound of the Crowd'? More 'The Sound of The Crowd'! Sure, it's unecessary, but this 12" version make the fun of the song last a little longer, without really tinkering with it and breaking its' vibe, like so many other 80s remixes do."

Kylie Minogue - "2 Hearts"

Kylie Minogue - "2 Hearts": "Ladies and gentlemen, it's Kyliefrapp! Even though it's not as dancy as Supernature's glam disco stomp, there's something Goldfrapp-y about the new Kylie single - but in the best way. Since the new Goldfrapp (out in `08) will be a return to their more mellow roots, this might have come along at the right time. (This was also a musical souvenir from my recent time in Europe, BTW.)"

Suede - "Metal Mickey"

Suede - "Metal Mickey": "My goodness - has it really been fifteen years since Rodney on the ROQ turned me onto this tune, back when I still lived in L.A.? I loved it when I heard it and it wound up not even being my favorite song on the record. This whole album's a keeper and I'm glad we finally have it live in Rhapsody!"

Eurythmics - "Sing-Sing"

Eurythmics - "Sing-Sing": "The reason there was such a large gap in my Rhapblog was because I was going around and about Europe for two weeks. I'm going to start filling in those missing days with songs that came up on my trip in some way or another. This one is mainly just a French tune I thought of while I was in Paris."