Soca 4

More straight-from-the-islands energy to keep things moving. Soca’s that perfect mix of calypso’s storytelling soul + Trinidad’s unbeatable rhythm section + a splash of everything the Caribbean throws in — it’s born right there in the heart of the islands, and you can feel the sun, the jump-up crowds, and the pure joy in every beat. Soca is born to make you smile and sweat at the same time. Give the whole run a listen; you’ll feel why it’s still the soundtrack to good times. This pick captures that magic: big hooks, wine commands, road march drive, and grooves that make you move without thinking twice. 

Soca 4

52 Alison Hinds - Roll It Gal

53 Super Blue - Get Something and Wave

54 Lyrikal - Cloud 9

55 Marzville - Give It to Ya

56 Nadia Batson - Fattt

57 King Bubba - Calling in Sick

58 Krosfyah - Oil Pumping

59 Erphaan Alves - Intentions (Wine & Touch)

60 Island Strategy - Put Your Peppers On

61 Motto - Uber Everywhere

62 Shal Marshall - Splinters

63 Freezy - Split in De Middle

64 Fimba - Funky Business

65 Viking Ding Dong - Leave It Alone

66 Zoelah - Wine Up On Me

67 Speady - Hold Ya Bam Bam

68 United Sisters - Whoa Donkey

69 Linky First - Rock and Come In

70 Square One featuring Andy Armstrong - Turn It Around

71 Mac Fingal - Big Belly Man

What's The Connection? Brother Bands

Today is my late brother’s birthday, and this Connection is in his honor. I’ve brought together a bunch of bands that carry the name of the bond we shared—whether by blood or by spirit. Not that he would have loved all these bands (he wouldn't have) but to honor him, I didn't just hit shuffle. I meticulously aligned every track by key and tempo so the journey is seamless, flowing from one heartbeat to the next without a single jolt. Brotherhood is a frequency that never fades. We always loved each other even though we fought a lot until we grew up. This mix is my way of staying on that wavelength with him. Happy Birthday—this one is for you, Eric!

What's The Connection? Brother Bands

01 Jungle Brothers - Doin' Our Own Dang

02 Osborne Brothers - Rocky Top

03 Mills Brothers - Paper Doll

04 Allman Brothers Band - Ramblin' Man

05 Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23

06 The Bellamy Brothers - Let Your Love Flow

07 The Louvin Brothers - My Baby's Gone

08 Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl

09 Isley Brothers - It's Your Thing

10 Blues Brothers - Soul Man

11 Bollock Brothers - Harley David (Son Of A Bitch)

12 The Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody

13 Doobie Brothers - Takin' It To The Streets

14 The Drool Brothers - Gals Side B

15 The Statler Brothers - Do You Know You Are My Sunshine

16 Everly Brothers - Wake Up Little Susie

17 Gatlin Brothers - Night And Day

18 Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today

19 The Soledad Brothers - Rock Me Slow

20 Twinkle Brothers - Mob Fury

21 Jonas Brothers - Sucker

22 The Walker Brothers - Make It Easy On Yourself

23 Delmore Brothers - Hillbilly Boogie

What's The Connection? Brothers 1

For some reason I was inspired to make this connection for my late brother whose birthday is tomorrow, but you get this playlist today. So many songs with brother in the title, it isn't even funny. Here's the first volume of this. I have a couple more hours to put together and I will, but after tomorrow, because I have something planned for tomorrow already. Youll have to wait and see. More on him tomorrow.

What's The Connection? Brothers 1

01 Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms

02 Neil Diamond - Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show

03 Manhattan Transfer - Four Brothers

04 Bing Crosby - Brother, Can You Spare A Dime_

05 Dean Martin - Hey, Brother, Pour the Wine

06 Isley Brothers - Brother, Brother

07 Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Brothers Cup

08 Queen - Soul Brother

09 Hot Chocolate - Brother Louie

10 Earth, Wind & Fire - Blood Brothers

11 The Cult - Brother Wolf, Sister Moon

12 War - Me and Baby Brother

13 The Fall - Oh! Brother

14 Hollies - He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother

15 David Bowie - The Bewley Brothers

16 Erasure - Brother And Sister

17 Phil Manzanera - Blood Brother

18 Jungle Brothers - Jungle Brother

Soca Pick 3

I love having these here now while it is cold at my house. More high-energy Caribbean vibes straight from the islands to warm you up. These tracks bring that irresistible soca energy: jump-up anthems, wine commands, road march grooves, and pure feel-good rhythms. This pick always sounds great at gigs and makes you want to move no matter where you are. Something about this music just hots you right, even if you don't know all the tracks. Give the whole list a spin — there's something here for every part of the party. And yeah, the cover sticks to the classic soca compilation tradition: beach, sun, and a little skin. No complaints here. More soca coming soon — stay tuned! If you've got favorite current soca recommendations, drop them below — always hunting for more to add to the rotation!

Soca Pick 3

30 Ah Puch & Di Conch Fritters - San Pedro All Day

31 Kes - Savannah Grass

32 Machel Montano - Fast Wine

33 Destra - Lucy

34 Olatunji - Ola

35 Kerwin Du Bois - No Apology

36 Patrice Roberts - A Little Wine

37 Voice - Cheers to Life

38 Benjai with H2O & Phlo - Phenomenal

39 Farmer Nappy - My House

40 Hypasounds - How She Like It

41 Skinny Fabulous - BTW (Behaving The Worst)

42 Ultimate Rejects - Full Extreme

43 Bunji Garlin - Big Bad Soca

44 Ricardo Drue - Vagabond

45 Problem Child - Under Vibes

46 Nailah Blackman - Baila Mami

47 Fadda Fox - Ducking

48 Burning Flames - Swing Engine

49 General Grant - Rev the Engine

50 Iwer George - Time to Wine

51 Mr. Killa - Run Wid It

World Domination 3

This is a continuation of my World Domination series. See the previous ones for a description if you need one. I'm sure you will hear what this pick is all about as you listen to any of them. Not any specific part of the world, but there is a theme going through this. They are all danceable tracks. I'm not exactly looking for authenticity as if I was an archivist of music from around the world. I'm not, but I can listen to the beat and see if it moves my feet. Pretty much most all of this does. That it moves around the world is just the side connection.

World Domination 3

45 Tigerstyle & Sarbjeet Kaur & Billa Bakshi - Ay-Ha!

46 Alpha Blondy - Cocody Rock

47 Alaap (Channi Singh) - Bhabiye Ni Bhabiye

48 Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata

49 Manu Dibango - Soul Makossa (Original long Version)

50 AJ Harris and the Pink Tacos - Brisket Beats (Smokehouse Sonidero Mix)

51 Baaba Maal - Wango Arti

52 Bally Sagoo - Noorie

53 Kes - Savannah Grass

54 Fela Kuti - Water No Get Enemy

55 Thievery Corporation - Warning Shots

56 Celia Cruz - La Vida Es Un Carnaval

57 Manu Chao - Clandestino

58 Frey & Walz - Learing Centers (Somali mix)

59 Tinariwen - Sastanàqqàm

60 The Bhundu Boys - Hatisi Tose

Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading 2 (Authors)

If the first session of USSR was about the act of reading, this one is about the names on the spine. I still remember those hours in school where we all had to be quiet and at least pretend to read while the teachers took a breather. I still try to knock out at least one book a week, though the reading glasses make it a chore these days. This run gets heavy fast, moving from the Americana of Kerouac and Whitman into a dark basement with Sylvia Plath followed by a double-shot of Hemingway. That Blue Clocks Green track is the real jolt—it’s got a happy synth-pop rhythm, but the lyrics are essentially a suicide note. This Pick is for the next time you feel like digging through the library instead of the crates.

Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading 2 (Authors)

24 The Rolling Stones - Victor Hugo

25 10,000 Maniacs - Hey Jack Kerouac

26 Billy Bragg & Wilco - Walt Whitman's Niece

27 Graham Parker - Just Like Hermann Hesse

28 The Smiths - Shakespeare's Sister

29 The Pogues - Lorca's Novena

30 The Mountain Goats - Lovecraft In Brooklyn

31 Lou Reed - Edgar Allan Poe

32 Modest Mouse - Bukowski

33 Ryan Adams - Sylvia Plath

34 Kenny Chesney - Hemingway's Whiskey

35 Blue Clocks Green - Hemingway (12 Version)

36 Serge Gainsbourg - Baudelaire

37 James Brown - Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf

38 Blood, Sweat & Tears - The Modern Adventure Of Plato

39 Life In Exile - Ayn Rand

40 Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers - Hey Kafka

41 Steve Hackett - Jane Austen's Door

42 Golden Earring - Orwell's Year

43 Elton John - Oscar Wilde Gets Out

Happy Holi!

Happy Holi! Here's a crazy pick that is a lot like the chaos of all that color flying around. Interestingly, the acronym for the rainbow is usually ROYGBIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet), but in my school the honors class had a club and they called it Vibgyor. Somehow, I was in it. I ended up getting kicked out for being disruptive and smart alecky, which is actually a lot like the disruptive nature of the holiday itself. This is a Connection of songs that are just as disruptive, with a whole rainbow of flavors ending in the most Holi way I could think of.

Happy Holi!

01 Rolling Stones - She's A Rainbow

02 Leslie Gore - Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows

03 Bob Marley & the Wailers - Rainbow Country

04 The Box Tops - Neon Rainbow

05 Alan Jackson - Chasin' That Neon Rainbow

06 The Marshall Tucker Band - Searchin' For A Rainbow

07 Donna Summer - I'm A Rainbow

08 Salsoul Orchestra - Salsoul Rainbow

09 Katy Perry - Double Rainbow

10 Ke$ha - Rainbow

11 Kacey Musgraves - Rainbow

12 Gwen Stefani - Rainbow Connection

13 Ramones - She Talks To Rainbows

14 The B-52's - She Brakes For Rainbows

15 Man - Rainbow Eyes

16 Lemon's Chair - Vibgyor

17 Jimmy Fallon - Reading Rainbow

18 Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole - Over The Rainbow

19 A.R. Rahman - Rang De Basanti