Aqua Teen Hunger Force - "All I Want For Christmas Is My One Front Tooth"

Aqua Teen Hunger Force - "All I Want For Christmas Is My One Front Tooth": "Merry Christmas, everyone!"

Failure - "Saturday Saviour"

Failure - "Saturday Saviour": "The lead-off track from Failure's amazing Fantastic Planet. They did 90s alt rock better than the bands who got famous for just that, with their major riffs and pounding drums, but it just didn't happen for them, in that commercial sense. Make up for this wrong by listening to this right now."

Belly - "Full Moon, Empty Heart"

Belly - "Full Moon, Empty Heart": "I remember how deeply I fell in love with Belly's Star when it came out, a love that continues to this day. There are still records coming out that I listen to a lot, maybe even obsess over, but it's been a while since I fell head-over-heels for a complete album, the way I did for this one (and others from the same time period). Perhaps it's just nostalgia? Or perhaps it's just hard to duplicate the blend of pop, quirk, melancholy and melody the way this album did."

The Jets - "You Got It All"

The Jets - "You Got It All": "To Rocky - love, Walgreens"

Peter Bjorn and John - "Nothing To Worry About (Rhapsody Originals Version)"

Peter Bjorn and John - "Nothing To Worry About (Rhapsody Originals Version)": "The original is catchy, if a little too clean, so this looser and rougher live version is a welcome reworking. (Plus the song has grown on me from all the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia promos it got used in.)"

Mick Jagger - "Memo From Turner"

Mick Jagger - "Memo From Turner": "Mr. Jagger at his swaggery best, from the movie Performance, even if it still sounds like a Stones tune. Probably my favorite part of that movie as well."

A Place to Bury Strangers - "Keep Slipping Away (Richard Fearless Remix)"

A Place to Bury Strangers - "Keep Slipping Away (Richard Fearless Remix)": "Not a radical reworking of the original, instead with Richard Fearless (Death In Vegas) taking the various song elements and tweaking them in subtle ways. I particularly like the new drums, which are retuned from the original crispness into something even more abrasive and drum machine-y."

The Strokes - "Soma"

The Strokes - "Soma": "I remember when this album came out - I was living in the world's smallest apartment in Manhattan and there were a lot of arguments with friends about if this band was worth the buzz or not. The press might not have been able to contain their excitement, justified or not, but there is a certain charm to this album, even with the distance of time. It's fun in a pompous-yet-casual way and the light fuzz gives everything a warm feeling."

The Raveonettes - "Last Dance"

The Raveonettes - "Last Dance": "It took me a while to warm up to it, but this is the happiest-sounding 80s movie/new wave tribute that's really about death. I suppose it's the sound of a double-decker bus crashing into us...
(You can also download it for free here.)"

Alan Parsons Project - "Eye In The Sky"

Alan Parsons Project - "Eye In The Sky": "R.I.P. APP vocalist Alan Woolfson. This song is your smooth rock radio gold."

Spoon - "Chicago At Night"

Spoon - "Chicago At Night": "I'm not in Chicago tonight, but this late night feels like this song anyway."

The Jealous Sound - "Broad Shoulders"

The Jealous Sound - "Broad Shoulders": "There was new Jealous Sound last year? And I just found out about it now? Damn.
It sounds like a slightly more upbeat take on their Kill Them With Kindness sound, their 2003 full-length, but that's a good thing!"

The English Beat - "Sole Salvation"

The English Beat - "Sole Salvation": "Smooth 60s-style pop with an 80s sophistication, a sound two members of The Beat would later revisit and refine on the first Fine Young Cannibals album as members of that band."

Sluts Of Trust - "Meanwhile in Rocksville"

Sluts Of Trust - "Meanwhile in Rocksville": "Who would have thought that a band that sounds so garage-y would also be so charming? Tongue firmly planted in cheek from the 'meanwhile, in Rocksville...' intro on, the Sluts also taunt you with the meaning of the F-word and the heavy Scottishness of the whole thing adds to the aforementioned charmingness.
Totally unrelated: Happy Thanksgiving!"

Superchunk - "Foolish"

Superchunk - "Foolish": "I find this song completely hypnotic, with its overlapping guitar melodies and waves of feedback distortion. The drum part is also strangely calming to me, even if it almost feels like a loop. One of my favorite songs ever. (Posted today for @mgrooves)"

Shakira - "Give It Up To Me (Featuring Lil Wayne)"

Shakira - "Give It Up To Me (Featuring Lil Wayne)": "I don't think I'm going to get as obsessed with this as I did with "She Wolf", but there's something super-catchy about the 'is this what you wanted? / is this what you wanted?' and 'world music' breakdowns."

Mew - "Introducing Palace Players"

Mew - "Introducing Palace Players": "Mew is both wonderful and frustrating to me. They come up with such wonderful musical elements, but they always arrange them in a way that seems kind of...off, so you have to work to like it. Here, you can easily fall in with the jagged, post-punk guitar melody, but the drums behind it seem a breath off, like when a record is being played back at not quite the right speed. Then again, maybe that's the charm of it."

Melba Moore - "You Stepped Into My Life"

Melba Moore - "You Stepped Into My Life": "I had no idea that Melba Moore took on my favorite song re-discovery of the year, the Bee Gees' "You Stepped Into My Life" - and made it even more disco-fied than the original, which should have been impossible. It doesn't touch the glory of the Gibb original, but it's still fun to listen to."

Adina Howard - "Freak Like Me"

Adina Howard - "Freak Like Me": "I have no idea what made this just pop into my head. Maybe it was all the 'baby' songs this week, but I just got the bridge and chorus in my head, both being amazing.
'I need a freak in the morning, freak in the evening, just like me!'"

Wham! - "Everything She Wants"

Wham! - "Everything She Wants": "All of yesterday's talk of 'giving [someone] a baby' made me think of Mr. Michael's emphatic "having my baby" cry in this 80s pop classic. I think I remember doing yard work to this album when it came out..."