Them's Fighting Words 7 (Southern Rock Pick)

Do I really expect you to believe I sat on this project for ages just to drop another volume right on top of the last one? Pull the other one, it's got bells on. Still, if I am determined to keep milking this cow, this seventh pick manages to avoid turning into a total train wreck. Stacking legendary, worn-out road warriors against newer acts should make for a jarring mess, but the tracking holds its ground remarkably well. I am shocked the whole thing doesn't choke on its own fumes, but it moves along fine right up to the final needle drop. If you want to see where this sudden burst of energy started, you can go dig up the previous Them's Fighting Words posts, but let's see how long this unexpected sprint actually lasts before I disappear again.

Them's Fighting Words 7

104 Bean Pickers Union - Warrior

105 Elvin Bishop - Travelin' Shoes

106 Marshall Tucker Band - See You One More Time

107 Gregg Allman Band - Thorn And A Wild Rose

108 Atlanta Rhythm Section - Georgia Rhythm

109 Outlaws - (Ghost) Riders In The Sky

110 Hank Williams, Jr. - All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight

111 Dickey Betts - Duane's Tune

112 Alabama Shakes - Hold On

113 The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

114 Drive-By Truckers - Goddamn Lonely Love

115 Little Feat - Willin'

116 Henry Paul Band - Grey Ghost

117 Confederate Railroad - Trashy Women

118 Lynyrd Skynyrd - Tuesday's Gone

119 Allman Brothers Band - Blue Sky

Them's Fighting Words 6 (Southern Rock Pick)

There is only so much mileage you can squeeze out of denim and dual-lead guitars before the formula starts to decay, but these tracks refuse to roll over quietly. Instead of trailing off into a tepid victory lap, this mid-series pick hits like a rowdy, beer-soaked barroom brawl that stays remarkably light on its feet. The pacing relies entirely on sheer momentum, letting legendary, worn-in grooves trade punches with younger, heavy-bellied rock outfits without dropping the ball. I am honestly surprised it didn't collapse under its own weight, but the whole thing holds together perfectly through the final chord. You can dig right into the earlier chapters of Them's Fighting Words to see exactly how we got here, so don't go stripping the gears just yet because there is still a whole lot more coming down the pike.

Them's Fighting Words 6 

88 Clutch - Electric Worry

89 Lynyrd Skynyrd - That Smell

90 Molly Hatchet - Fall of the Peacemakers

91 ZZ Top - La Grange

92 Charlie Daniels - Uneasy Rider

93 38 Special - Rockin' Into The Night

94 Georgia Satellites - Battleship Chains

95 Stillwater - Mind Bender

96 The Winters Brothers Band - Sang Her Love Songs

97 Atlanta Rhythm Section - Champagne Jam

98 Mountain - Mississippi Queen

99 The Georgia Thunderbolts - Looking For An Old Friend

100 Cry Of Love - Peace Pipe

101 The Black Crowes - Hard To Handle

102 Allman Brothers Band - Jessica

103 Blackfoot - Rattlesnake Rock 'N' Roller

Surf Beat 5

I was starting to think this concept had fully run its course, but this batch proves there is still some gas left in the tank. Forcing classic, reverb-drenched twang to sit right alongside abrasive, snotty punk rock should result in total structural failure, but instead, it creates a weirdly infectious friction. This particular pick functions like a high-speed collision where the aggressive energy of the underground perfectly mirrors the frantic velocity of the tides. It is a loud, messy collision of subcultures that somehow feels completely intentional by the time the final note cuts out. If you want to dive deeper into this chaotic surf dynamic, the full archive is waiting, though this might just be the absolute final ride unless you guys have some suggestions to keep it going.

Surf Beat 5

120 Los Straitjackets - Nocturnal Twist

121 The Surfaris - Scatter Shield

122 Slacktone - Bells Of St. Kahuna

123 Agent Orange - Miserlou

124 Moms I'd Like to Surf - Major Surf

125 The Adolescents - Amoeba

126 Aqualads - Surf! Surf! Surf!

127 Circle Jerks - Wild In The Streets

128 The Weirdos - Solitary Confinement

129 Ribsy - Collapse

130 The Razorblades - Grease Your Hair and Get Tattooed

131 The Atlantics - Flight Of The Surf Guitar

132 Big Boys - Which Way To Go

133 The Electric Firebirds - Let's Make It

134 Swami John Reis & The Blind Shake - Brown Room

135 King Curtis & the Noble Men - Beach Party

136 The Waikikis - Hawaii Tattoo

137 The Bitch Boys - The Final Ride

138 Bob Collins & Fabulous Five - If I Didn't Have A Dime

139 The Archies - Sugar, Sugar

140 Bert Weedon - 40 Miles of Bad Road

141 The Faction - California Dreamin'

142 Mister Neutron - Comanchero

143 Wounds - China Doll

144 Dick Dale - Nitro

145 Mailbooz - My Baby Came Back On the Last Wave Today

146 The Tarantulas - A Fistful Of Dollars (Overture)

147 The Surfrajettes - Word Salad

148 Frankie and the Pool Boys - Cat Fight

149 Insect Surfers - Mojave

Son Of A...Pick 2

I expected this one to fight me a bit more, but it settled into a surprisingly comfortable groove. When you stack tracks that lean heavily on a shared attitude, you usually brace yourself for a sonic headache, but the pacing here keeps the energy from completely collapsing in on itself. The pick anchors the whole mess, letting the older instrumental grooves and the aggressive, modern thumping bounce off each other without feeling like total whiplash. I honestly didn't think these styles could share the same space so smoothly, but they do. If you missed the first round of this bitch, it might be time to catch up.

Son Of A...Pick 2

21 Bowling For Soup - The Bitch Song

22 Nero - Bitch I'm Gone

23 The Ventures - Son Of A Preacher Man

24 Nashville Pussy - The Bitch Just Kicked Me Out

25 Sylvie Vartan & Axelle Red - Son Of A Preacher Man

26 Red Aunts - Little Drummer Bitch

27 Gaelic Storm - Son Of A Poacher

28 Prince - Billy Jack Bitch

29 Bloodhound Gang - American Bitches

30 Rodney Carrington - Big Mouth, No Arm, Son of a Bitch

31 Room Eleven - Bitch

32 Bobby Shmurda - Bobby Bitch

33 The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up

34 Stranglers - Bitching

35 Mark Mothersbaugh - Queen Bitch

36 Benga - Smack Your Bitch Up (Official Video)

37 Progidy, Noisia, Kill the Noise, Tiesto, Aoki - Tornado My Bitch Up (Rudebrat Mashup)

38 Guns N' Roses - Back off Bitch

39 Cartman - Kyle's Mom's A Bitch

What's The Connection? Slippery

Slippery is one of those words that sounds exactly like what it means. You know the feeling - you step somewhere you should not have, or you put your faith in someone who turned out to be exactly what the word implies, and there you are on the floor wondering how you got there. Happens to the best of us, sometimes on the same day. The Connection shares one track with a slipping post from a while back, same song, same version, showing up again like it owns the place. Watch your step.

What's The Connection? Slippery

01 Ambitious Lovers - Slippery

02 Kidz In The Hall, Masta Ace - Slippery Shoes

03 Staple Singers - Slippery People (Club Version)

04 Lauren Watkins with John Morgan - Slippery Slope

05 Funk Society - Slippery Slope

06 Tiptoes - Born Slippery

07 Talking Heads - Slippery People (12'' version)

08 Surprise Chef - Slippery Dip

09 Chicago Afrobeat Project - Slippery People

10 Karl Bryan & The Crystalites - Slippery

11 Ultrasonic Grand Prix featuring Little Barrie & Shawn Lee - Slippery When Chet

12 Commodores - Slippery When Wet

13 Doobie Brothers - Slippery St. Paul

14 Guthrie Govan - Wonderful Slippery Thing

15 Pink Floyd - Slippery Guitar

16 Stavely Makepeace - Slippery Rock 70's

17 Phabo featuring Destin Conrad - Slippery

18 Migos featuring Gucci Mane - Slippery

19 Angie Stone - Slippery Shoes

20 Mood II Swing - The Slippery Track

Slide Guitar 2

There is something about a slide that makes everything feel like it happened a long time ago, even when it didn't. This pick covers a lot of ground - Delta gospel grime, desert highways, devotional drone, slow cinematic burn - and the slide guitar set holds together better than that list probably suggests. Also part of the instruments series, if that means anything to you. What is your favorite Slide Guitar song?

Slide Guitar 2

18 Mississippi Fred McDowell - You Got To Move

19 Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - Like A Rock

20 Zac Brown Band - All Alright

21 Pink Floyd - High Hopes

22 Rory Gallagher - Want Ad Blues (AKA Wanted Blues)

23 George Thorogood And The Destroyers - Bad To The Bone

24 Bonnie Raitt - Give It Up Or Let Me Go

25 Derek Trucks Band - Sahib Teri Bandi-Maki Madni

26 Sonny Landreth - Congo Square

27 Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas

28 Richard Marx - Don't Mean Nothing

29 George Harrison - Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)

30 Led Zeppelin - In My Time Of Dying

31 Chris Rea - Road To Hell

Ambient House

I followed Brian Eno down the ambient rabbit hole back when Music For Airports came out, then kept following it through the EG and Obscure catalogs for years. When house producers started going that direction it felt like two things I already loved finding each other. When Ricki started talking about clouds I was done. That is probably why I ended up caring about this whole pick series and the rest of the house stuff at all.

Ambient House

01 The Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds

02 Global Communication - 1431

03 Leftfield - Melt (Remastered)

04 The Future Sound Of London - Papua New Guinea  (Original 12' Version)

05 Aphex Twin - Xtal

06 808 State - Pacific State

07 Spacetime Continuum With Terence McKenna - Archaic Revival

08 Orbital - Belfast

09 Ultramarine - Hymn