April Fools 4

Happy April Fools! Some birthdays you just never forget. My cousin's falls on April 1st, which means every year her birthday message doubles as a prank threat. She's a good sport about it. That's also why the April Fools series exists — a once-a-year excuse to dig deep into jokers, jokes, and jokey energy across genres, eras, and languages. Volume whatever-this-is keeps that tradition going with 24 tracks spanning reggae dub, hip-hop, psych rock, new wave, French ye-ye, German schlager, and a few left turns even I didn't see coming. The Pick this round is Faith No More's reading of "I Started A Joke" — a cover that somehow out-saddens the Bee Gees original, which is saying something. As always, the joke's on you if you sleep on this one.

April Fools 4

64 Scientist - Joker Dub

65 Billy Myles - The Joker (That's What They Call Me)

66 Duran Duran - 911 Is A Joke

67 MCM And The Monster - Serious Joke

68 Eric B & Rakim - I Ain't No Joke

69 Sharon Van Etten - Joke Or A Lie

70 Garden Odyssey - The Joker

71 The Laurie Johnson Orchestra - Joker

72 Brian Jonestown Massacre - When Jokers Attack

73 Nina Hagen - Life Is A Joke

74 Conny Froboess - Jolly Joker  (Holl)

75 Robbie Williams & The Orb - I Started a Joke (I Started An Orb Mix)

76 The Ventures - Joker's Wild

77 Cherrie Vangelder-Smith - Jokers

78 Henriette Coulouvrat - Can't You Take A Joke Ha Ha Hi Hi!

79 Druids - Girl Can't Take a Joke

80 The Milestones - The Joker

81 kd Lang - The Joker

82 Faith No More - I Started A Joke

83 Lee Scratch Perry - The Joker

84 REM - The Worst Joke Ever

85 Wolfmother - Joker & The Thief

86 Queens Of The Stone Age - Running Joke

87 Pet Shop Boys - I Started A Joke

Deadbolt Picked

Since I have been looking at and listening to a variety of rockabilly, it only makes sense that I make this pick. Deadbolt says they are the scariest band ever. I don't know about that but they are fun. Horror pop, surf or surfabilly, psychobilly and their own brand of voodoobilly, I think they are cool. These are my favorites and even include a couple of tracks from one of their side projects I also like. It does not contain every fan favorite, but it does have many of them. It's my pick, so I included all my favorites. Ilike that the name plays off the lock illusion I attribute to their band name. That's why there are bones in the locking mechanism. Even though you technically can't pick a bolt.

Deadbolt Picked

01 Deadbolt - Blacktop Fever

02 Deadbolt - Voodoo Moonshine

03 Deadbolt - Hang Em High

04 Deadbolt - Hillbilly War

05 Deadbolt - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

06 Deadbolt - Orange Blossom Special

07 Deadbolt - One Day I Will Kill You

08 Deadbolt - Tiki Man

09 Deadbolt - Telephone The Dead

10 Deadbolt - Zulu Death Mask

11 Deadbolt - Down In The Lab

12 Deadbolt - James Bond Theme-You Only Live Twice

13 Deadbolt - Voodoobilly Man

14 Deadbolt - Scare Me

15 Deadbolt - El Paso

16 Deadbolt - Cockeye

17 Deadbolt - Truck Driving S.O.B.

18 Deadbolt - Billy's Dead

19 Deadbolt - Last Time I Saw Cole

20 Deadbolt - El Perversio

21 Strangers 1800 - Rawhide

22 Strangers 1800 - Hang 'Em High

Shuckin' And Jivin' 2

I still have no idea what "genre" of music this pick is. There are hints of country and hints of hillbilly hick and some that doesn't at all. I asked AI to look at it and it said: Eclectic. I guess so. A couple of these artists appeared on volume 1 of Shuckin' & Jivin' but most are new to this series. I only think of hunting Brer Rabbit in the middle of the country about to meet up with the boys of Deliverance and driving a Harley. The cover is part of the ride that used to be at Disneyland from Bear Country Jamboree. None of the songs have anything to do with that. A few about drinkin' and eatin', a couple of covers and a few what I believe they call novelty records. It just all sounds good together. To me.

Shuckin' And Jivin' 2

23 Delta Spirit - Trashcan

24 Kaleo - Way Down We Go

25 Chickasaw Mudd Puppies - Chickenbone

26 Slim Cessna's Auto Club - This Is How We Do Things In The Country

27 The Record Company - Off The Ground

28 JJ Grey & Mofro - Country Ghetto

29 Highly Suspect - My Name Is Human

30 Pokey LaFarge - Something In The Water

31 Slobberbone - Gimme Back My Dog

32 Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man

33 The Felice Brothers - Frankie's Gun!

34 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat The Devil's Tattoo

35 Elle King - Ex's & Oh's

36 Shakey Graves - Dearly Departed

37 Gear Daddies - (I Wanna Drive The) Zamboni

38 Hayseed Dixie - Highway To Hell

39 Asylum Street Spankers - Beer

40 Caamp - By And By

41 The Gourds - Gin And Juice

42 Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel

43 Reverend Horton Heat - Eat Steak

Auto-Mo-Billy

This one started on the stupid idea of the name. I wanted to get Rockabilly songs on this pick that all had something to do with cars. Automobiles. I am not really a car guy. My wife. She knows cars. People all around me know cars. My next door neighbor was a champion racer. Friends that love cars. I've actually had some cool cars in my life, but mostly it wasn't on purpose. I always wanted a VW Bus, so I had one of those. I've had English sport cars. An MG-B GT (which was fun just because of all the letters), a Spitfire (wouldn't mind getting another one of those.) I once had a car that had parts of five different model names on it (and five different shades of red paint - I called it my Hot Tamale). My fastest car ever was not my 1964 Mustang which I ruined by making it fast and loud and modern, but an old VW Bug that was also converted to be fast. Porsche engine. It was fun, but I got too many tickets in it. This comp is missing some big name car songs, but I don't care.

Auto-Mo-Billy

01 Psycho Devilles - Psycho Cadillac

02 Bob Cass - Corvette Baby

03 The Crew - Red Chevrolet

04 Wally Hughes - Convertible Car

05 Jack Kitchen - Hot Rod Boogie

06 Harry Hutchins - Rockin' Rollin' Cadilac

07 Rocky Davis - Hot Rod Baby

08 Flyin' Cats - Hot Rod Gang

09 Billy Burnette - Hot Rod Hillbilly

10 Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps - Race With the Devil

11 Sonny Wallace - Black Cadillac

12 Bobby Brown & The Backup Boosters - She Knows Cars

13 Brian Setzer Orchestra - Drive Like Lightning (Crash Like Thunder)

14 Tom Tall - Hot Rod Is Her Name

15 Arkie Shibley & His Mountain Dew Boys - Hot Rod Race

16 Gene Simmons - Peroxide Blond And A Hopped Up Model Ford

17 Jimmy Carroll - Big Green Car

18 The Camtwisters - Hotrod Twist

19 Pat Davis - Spinner Hub Caps

20 Session '57 - Cool Cruisin' Car

21 Richie Deran - Girl And A Hot Rod

22 Bill Sherill - Cadillac Baby

23 Bobby Verne - Red Hot Car

24 Tommy Lam - Speed Limit

25 Joyce Green - Black Cadillac

26 Larry Dowd - Pink Cadillac

27 Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen - Hot Rod Lincoln

28 Bill Parsons - Hot Rod Volkswagen

29 Eddie Ringo - Full Racing Cam

30 Stray Cats - Look At That Cadillac

Bobby Orlando Big O

I'm very torn about this pick. I would never have said that I am a big fan Hi-NRG and yet without knowing the term, I am and always was a big fan. Everyone visiting this blog knows that I put on a lot of disco and frankly that's kind of what it is. I think of Giogio Morodor and Donna Summer I Feel Love. And one of the prolific purveyors of Hi-NRG productions was Bobby Orlando especially in the 80's. This pick is just a sampling of stuff he did. From writing to producing and everything in between Bobby O  had control of the dance floor for years. And a lot of it I had no idea he was a part of until later. Divine and the Flirts are a good example of my ignorance. I knew the tracks and played the songs, but I wouldn't have classified it as that genre and I had no idea that the Big O had anything to do with them. Enjoy revisiting this selection or hearing it with new ears.

Bobby Orlando Big O

01 Roni Griffith - Desire

02 The Flirts - Passion (Extended Mix)

03 Free Enterprise - Make It On My Own

04 Bobby O - She Has A Way

05 Girly - Working Girl (One Way Love Affair)

06 Divine - Native Love (12'' Version)

07 Oh Romeo - One More Shot

08 Hippies With Haircuts - Eye On You

09 Waterfront Home - Take A Chance On (On Me)

10 Bobby O & Claudja Barry - Whisper To A Scream

11 Beachfront - Once In A Lifetime

12 Gina Desire - Breathless

13 Banana Republic - Lonely Too Long

14 Wow - Bring On The Men

Swing Swing Swing 4

Four volumes in and I am clearly not over this. More is coming! The pick runs from the golden era heavyweights who invented the whole thing through the neo-swing revival acts that proved it never actually died. I think it just went underground for a while. As an amateur ballroom dancer for years, emphasis on amateur, there is nothing quite like a good swing tune for reminding your feet what they're supposed to be doing even when your brain has other ideas. This volume has a little more muscle and defiance to it than the previous three. Either way it swings. From sex to war to just drinking, it's all here this time. And every time. All through the ages.

Swing Swing Swing 4

65 Benny Goodman - Don't Be That Way

66 Duke Ellington - C Jam Blues

67 Gavin Povey & The Fabulous Oke She Moke She Pops - Hook Line & Sinker

68 The Indigo Kings - How Can It Be True

69 Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers - What's The Matter With You

70 Harry James & His Music Makers - Two O'Clock Jump

71 The Lazy Jumpers - Salt And Pepper Boogie

72 Robyn Adele Anderson - Immigrant Song

73 Count Basie - Shorty George

74 Keely Smith - Swing, Swing, Swing (Sing, Sing, Sing)

75 Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra - Wrappin' It Up

76 The Atomic Fireballs - Man With The Hex

77 Erskine Hawkins - Tippin' In

78 Woody Herman - Four Brothers

79 Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - You & Me & Bottle Makes 3 Tonight (Baby)

80 Charlie Barnet - Skyliner

81 Jennifer Rocket - Stand Up Baby

82 Phantom Alley Swing - Pocket Full of Stars

83 Artie Shaw - Begin The Beguine

84 Maria Muldaur - It Ain't The Meat (It's The Motion)

85 Glenn Miller - Pennsylvania 6-5000

86 Jimmie Lunceford And His Orchestra - For Dancers Only

87 Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie

88 The Mighty Blue Kings - Baby Drives Me Wild

89 Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra - Pull The Other One, Rob!

Salsoul Selection

This selection/pick sits right in the middle of a very specific corner of disco — the Salsoul Records world, which was its own thing even within the broader New York scene. Salsoul had its own DNA: Latin percussion, gospel-inflected vocals, lush orchestration, and a particular sense of drama that set it apart from the more stripped-down funk happening elsewhere. It's not the same universe as Patrick Adams, but there's definite overlap in spirit if not in sound — both were chasing something bigger and more emotional than the average dancefloor demanded. The label gave us some of the most beloved twelve-inch singles ever cut, and the remix culture around it — Gibbons, Pettibone — was as important as the records themselves. Thirteen tracks, no filler.

Salsoul Selection

01 Touch Of Class - I'm In Heaven

02 Loleatta Holloway - Hit And Run

03 Instant Funk - I Got My Mind Made Up

04 Bebu Silvetti - Spring Rain

05 The Salsoul Orchestra - Ooh I Love It (Love Break) (Moplen Radio Edit)

06 Charo & the Salsoul Orchestra - Dance A Little Bit Closer (Extended Version)

07 First Choice - Let No Man Put Asunder

08 Skyy - Call Me

09 Candido - Jingo (Original Shep Pettibone 12 inch Remix)

10 Carol Williams - More

11 Double Exposure - Ten Percent (Walter Gibbons 12 inch Mix)

12 Inner Life featuring Jocelyn Brown - Ain't No Mountain High Enough

13 Joe Bataan - Latin Strut