Son Of A... Pick

This pick was fun and came from a warm place in my heart. Right around when Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats came out with their track, I said it's about time to make a connection here. Son of a gun there are a lot of bitch songs. And songs that use an euphemism for bitch. I picked my favorites. I am majorly positive that there are a million other songs that fit in right here, so Please, pretty please, leave your favorites in the comments, so I can make another volume of these.

Son Of A... Pick

01 Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man

02 Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats - S.O.B.

03 Dead Or Alive - Son Of A Gun

04 Jimmy Buffett - Son of a Son of a Sailor

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

06 Nazareth - Hair Of The Dog

07 REO Speedwagon - Son Of A Poor Man

08 NWA - A Bitch Iz A Bitch

09 Johnny Guitar Watson - Ain't That a Bitch

10 Buckcherry - Crazy Bitch

11 Spinal Tap - Bitch School

13 Body Count - KKK Bitch

14 Rod Stewart - Ain't Love A Bitch

15 Prince - Irresistible Bitch

16 Rolling Stones - Bitch

17 David Bowie - Queen Bitch

18 Sonic Youth - Ghost Bitch

19 Simple Minds - Little Bitch

20 Nancy Sinatra - Son Of A Preacher Man

Bill Laswell Pick 2

You are not going to get much more info on Bill Laswell. There's just too much. Read his bio on the internet. I'm not even going to talk about seeing him live although that was great. I have no idea if he's even playing live anymore. Go see him in any configuration if he is. Well worth it. I am not going to talk about how volume two has a few tracks on this pick that are slightly more difficult music. I figure if you are here, you can deal with challenging. I'm just going to let you discover it yourself. Good luck! You get nothing from me today.

Bill Laswell Pick 2

18 Zillatron - Bugg Light

19 Axiom Funk - If 6 Was 9

20 Third Rail - Grounded

21 Shin Terai - Clue

22 Massacre - Killing Time

23 Deadline - Makossa Rock

24 Herbie Hancock - Rockit

25 Material - Busting Out

26 Buckethead, Bill Laswell & Shin Terai - Movements 1

27 Last Exit - My Balls-Your Chin

28 Painkiller - Scud Attack

29 Brian Eno - Lizard Point

30 Arcana - Gone Tomorrow

31 Buckethead - Binge And Grab (Instrumental Version)

32 Time Zone - World Destruction

33 Praxis - Blast-War Machine Dub

34 Cobra Strike (with Buckethead) - 

Bill Laswell Pick 1

This is only a two part pick, but could easily have been 10 times that. Bill Laswell is a bass player, but he's also a producer, artist, businessman, engineer and everything else. I like best that he brings people together to make different kinds of art. Listen to the tracks on these two volumes and notice how different (and how the same) they sound. This is just a sampling of his work.From ambient to remix work, to noise, to dub, rock to funk. It's just so good. I tried to get a good sampling. Enjoy it!

Bill Laswell Pick 1

01 Yellowman - Disco Reggae

02 Public Image Limited - Rise

03 Hector Zazou - I'll Strangle You

04 Dub Syndicate - Wake Up

05 Fab Five Freddy - Change The Beat

06 Bob Marley & Bill Laswell - No Woman No Cry

07 Ryuichi Sakamoto Feat. Iggy Pop - Risky (12Inch Remix)

08 Sly & Robbie - Fire

09 Brian Eno & David Byrne - America Is Waiting

10 Yothu Yindi - World Turning

11 Bootsy's Rubber Band - Jungle Bass (Short Version)

12 Laurie Anderson - Sharkey's Night

13 Manu Dibango - Electric Africa

14 Mick Jagger - Just Another Night

15 Ebn - Electronic Behavior Control System

16 The Golden Palominos - Omaha

17 Tabla Beat Science - Magnetic

Maze Pick

Maze is really just Frankie Beverly. And Frankie Beverly is Maze. This pick does include one song from Frankie as the Butlers which happened before Maze. It's a good track and kinda fits in. Maze is one of those bands that is famous, but isn't. They are a great band, but just unknown enough that people usually recognize the music, but not any of the song titles. Famous enough to always have been playing, but it seems like only the fans know about them. If you didn't before, now you do. If you did, then you will be asking why I didn't include whatever your favorite track is that I skipped. Leave it in the comments. There are a dozen for everyone I skipped. Like I always say, it's just my pick. Just put on a white suit and enjoy it.

Maze Pick

01 Maze & Frankie Beverly - The Morning After

02 Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly - Can't Get Over You

03 Maze & Frankie Beverly - We Are One

04 Maze - Golden Time Of Day

05 Maze & Frankie Beverly - Workin' Together

06 Maze - Joy And Pain

07 Maze - Before I Let Go

08 Maze - Running Away

09 Maze - Back In Stride

10 Maze - While I'm Alone

11 Maze - Love Is The Key

12 Frank Beverly And The Butlers - If That's What You Wanted

13 Maze - Happy Feelin's

14 Maze - Southern Girl

Material Pick

I was lucky enough to see Bill Laswell in various iterations at different trips to NY. And somehow have collected a bunch of the recorded output as well. Material I first heard on a compilation of mutant disco and leftfield called SeiZE the Beat on Ze records. It had some great songs that I just connected with. Including the Busting Out track by Material with Nona Hendryx. The shorter version in on this pick, but look for the longer version it really is better. The band kindof went all over the map stylistically over the years, but always cool guests. Whitney Houston on one of her first tracks, spoken word from William S. Burroughs, members of Parliament-Funkadelic and more. Just listen to this pick and get an idea. I spread it out between each of the albums to give you more of an idea.

Material Pick

01 Material - Seven Souls

02 Material - Words Of Advice

03 Material - Cosmic Slop

04 Material - Playing With Fire

05 Material - Mantra (Doors Of Perception Edit)

06 Material - Reduction

07 Material - Don't Lose Control

08 Material - I'm The One

09 Material - Black Light

10 Material - Ciquiri

11 Material - Metal Test

12 Material - Memories

13 Material - Busting Out

14 Material - Memory Serves

15 Material - Secret Life

Cramps Pick

This pick of the Cramps is cool for me. One I like the Cramps quite a bit. What a fun band to see live! Two, I wore their t-shirt when my daughter was born. They do have some Greatest hits albums (look for Bad Music For Bad People or How To Make A Monster both are decent), but none of them reflect all my favorites. This does. Early stuff, late stuff, middle stuff. It's all in here. My favorite picks. I'm sure that I am missing your favorite, because they are the kind of band that don't really have "hits" they just have favorites. And if you are a fan, you probably have all the albums anyway. You should, if you don't. There really isn't a bad song in the bunch. You can't go wrong! Psychedelic, punk, garage, rockabilly: Psychobilly

Cramps Pick

01 The Cramps - She's Got Balls

02 The Cramps - What's Inside a Girl

03 The Cramps - Daisys Up Your Butterfly

04 The Cramps - Naked Girl Falling Down the Stairs

05 The Cramps - I Can't Hardly Stand It

06 The Cramps - Surfin' Bird

07 The Cramps - Jackyard Backoff

08 The Cramps - Like a Bad Girl Should

09 The Cramps - Bikini Girls With Machine Guns

10 The Cramps - I Was A Teenage Werewolf

11 The Cramps - Human Fly

12 The Cramps - I Wanna Get in Your Pants

13 The Cramps - Strychnine

14 The Cramps - God Damn Rock & Roll

15 The Cramps - Hanky Panky

16 The Cramps - Garbageman

17 The Cramps - Bend Over, I'll Drive

18 The Cramps - I Ain't Nuthin' But a Gorehound

19 The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck

20 The Cramps - Can Your Pussy Do the Dog

21 The Cramps - Big Black Witchcraft Rock

22 The Cramps - Psychotic Reaction

23 The Cramps - Sunglasses After Dark

Allee Willis Pick

Allee Willis is a Grammy award winning songwriter most known for her writing the Theme Song for Friends and Earth, Wind & Fire's Boogie Wonderland. She wrote a ton of other songs that you've probably heard, but didn't know she has a hand in. Here are a few of my picks of her's. She also wrote scripts for Broadway musicals, directed videos for Debby Harry, The Cars, etc. All around renaisance woman. I frankly had never heard of her but her name appears on all these songs, so you end up knowing who she is. She definitely knew music. Not a person I would have wanted to hang out with, but she probably wouldn't have wanted to hang out with me either. Oh well. I like September. And anything Fishbone does

Allee Willis Pick

01 Herbie Hancock - Trust Me

02 Toto - The Little Things

03 Joe 'Bean' Eposito - You're The Best

04 Rembrandts - I'll Be There For You

05 Cyndi Lauper - That's What I Think

06 Pointer Sisters - Neutron Dance

07 Patti Labelle - Stir It Up

08 Deborah Harry - Stability

09 Level 42 - Micro Kid

10 Pet Shop Boys - What Have I Done To Deserve This (With Dusty Springfield)

11 Herbie Hancock - Come Running To Me

12 Sheena Easton - If It's Meant To Last

13 Pablo Cruise - I Want You Tonight

14 Earth, Wind & Fire - September

15 Fishbone - Where'd You Get Those Pants

16 Earth, Wind & Fire - Boogie Wonderland

17 Maxine Nightingale - Lead Me On

18 Stanley Clarke & George Duke - Touch And Go

Dead Kennedy's Pick

 After you've gotten the Dead Kennedys family pick and solo picks with and without Jello Biafra, it only made sense to throw in my pick of the DK's themselves. I usually don't when there are great compilations already available. And the the Dead Kennedys do have some samplers available. I suggest Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death or perhaps you could try Milking The Sacred Cow or even the Original Singles Collection to get most all these tracks. All of them have tracks not on my pick and all are missing tracks from my pick. That's just the way it goes. If you like the band enough to get all these picks, you'll want those three as well anyway.

Dead Kennedy's Pick

01 Dead Kennedys - Soup Is Good Food

02 Dead Kennedys - Pull My Strings

03 Dead Kennedys - I Fought The Law

04 Dead Kennedys - Halloween

05 Dead Kennedys - Holiday In Cambodia

06 Dead Kennedys - Take This Job And Shove It

07 Dead Kennedys - Police Truck

08 Dead Kennedys - California Über Alles

09 Dead Kennedys - Too Drunk To Fuck

10 Dead Kennedys - Kill The Poor

11 Dead Kennedys - Chemical Warfare

12 Dead Kennedys - Forward To Death

13 Dead Kennedys - Viva Las Vegas

14 Dead Kennedys - Cesspools In Eden

15 Dead Kennedys - Mtv Get Off The Air

16 Dead Kennedys - Rawhide

17 Dead Kennedys - Moon Over Marin

18 Dead Kennedys - Nazi Punks Fuck Off!

19 Dead Kennedys - Let's Lynch The Landlord

No Jello Pick

This continues the Dead Kennedys solo family pick. This one obviously is all tracks with no Jello Biafra. Which leaves us with the three other main guys of the band: East Bay Ray, DH Peligro and Klaus Flouride. They each had solo albums or were in other bands. But I specifically did not include one band. the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Peligro played with the Chili Peppers (even wrote a couple of songs for one of their albums) but he left before he recorded those songs, so I do not include them (from Mothers Milk).Peligro also made three albums as Peligro. Klaus Flouride had a few solo albums going back the longest. And East Bay Ray played with several people as well as his solo shots. None of them as famous or well known as the DK's, but still cool. Maybe the Guitar Hero track...

No Jello Pick

01 Klaus Flouride - Shortnin Bread

02 Klaus Flouride - The Drowning Cowboy

03 Peligro - King of the Road

04 East Bay Ray - Echos

05 Peligro - Purple Haze

06 East Bay Ray - Shark Truck

07 John Singer,David Brian,Sheila Schat,Klaus Flouride - Dining Room Table

08 East Bay Ray and The Killer Smiles - Raising the Stakes

09 Klaus Flouride - Gruesome Stains

10 East Bay Ray & Ben Folds - Guitar Hero

11 Peligro - Coffee Shop

12 Peligro - Sum of Our Surroundings

13 Peligro - Night of the Monkey

14 Peligro - Cornfed Knuckle Head

15 Klaus Flouride - Dancing With Shauna Grant

16 East Bay Ray - Original Moon

17 Klaus Fluoride - Uncle Bill

18 Klaus Flouride - Keep On Walking

19 Peligro - Virid

Jello Biafra Pick 3

This last of this pick has a few more Jello spoken word parts sampled by various artists. Ice-T is my favorite of the selection. Brujeria is a pretty cool band. One more Lard track which is long as all get out., but doesn't see like it when you are listening. Another of the evil tracks from The Witch Trials (go get that ep, its so good). A few more tracks from bands that you've already heard in the previous few days. But add in Pansy Division, Bank Of Sodom and Le Butcherettes! just to rround things out. Hopefully you enjoyed the compilation. I have the other DK's solo work coming soon as well as a shorter pick of my DK's pick (even though there are several compilations of that stuff out there already.) Tell me in the comments what I missed.

Jello Biafra Pick 3

31 Jello Biafra And The New Orleans Raunch And Soul All Stars - Bangkok (Live)

32 Brujeria - Raza Odiada

33 Pansy Division with Jello Biafra - Average Men

34 Bank Of Sodom - How Do You Spell Relief

35 Jello Biafra & Melvins - McGruff The Crime Dog

36 Ice-T with Jello Biafra - Freedom Of Speech

37 Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon (With The Toadliquors) - Are You Drinkin' With Me Jesus

38 Jello Biafra - Rob Now Pay Later

39 Lard - I Am Your Clock

40 Jello Biafra & Melvins - Those Dumb Punk Kids (Will Buy Anything)

41 The Witch Trials - Humanoids From The Deep

42 Le Butcherettes featuring Jello Biafra - Spider-Waves

43 Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - Panic Land

44 Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon - Let's Go Burn Ole Nashville Down

Jello Biafra Pick 2

 Part two of the Jello Biafra solo pick. This one has more of the "Ministry" connection: 100 Homo DJ's, Lard, Revolting Cocks. More of the always enjoyable Mojo Nixon who surprisingly works well with Jello. A couple of instances of bands using Jello's spoken word as samples (more of that tomorrow, too.) NoMeansNo, Throw Rag, Melvins and DOA join the list of bands Jello has guested on. All decently good on their own. The rest are bands Jello joined or formed even if only for a short while. To me the highlights are the several really long tracks and the weakest ,(to me) is the Love Me, I'm a Liberal cover. And I usually am a sucker for covers. Take the one New Orleans zydeco classic. I love that!

Jello Biafra Pick 2

17 1000 Homo Djs - Hey Asshole

18 Tumor Circus - Swine Flu

19 Jello Biafra And The New Orleans Raunch And Soul All Stars - Don't Mess With My Toot Toot

20 Lard - The Power Of Lard

21 Jello Biafra With Mojo Nixon - Buy My Snake Oil

22 Coldcut featuring Jello Biafra - Every Home A Prison

23 Jello Biafra With NoMeansNo - The Sky Is Falling And I Want My Mommy

24 Jello Biafra And The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - Satan's Combover

25 Throw Rag featuring Jello Biafra & Keith Morris - Children Of The Secret State

26 MotorPsycho - Punch

27 Jello Biafra & Melvins - Halo Of Flies

28 Jello Biafra with DOA - Wish I Was In El Salvador

29 Revolting Cocks featuring Jello Biafra - Dead End Streets

30 Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon - Love Me, I'm A Liberal

Jello Biafra Pick 1

One of the greatest punk bands ever is the Dead Kennedys. I was lucky enough to have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area to witness them live many times. I was able to meet Jello Biafra, hang out at the Fabulous Mabuhay Gardens, interview the band, even hosted Jello later as a Spoken Word artist. He was a brilliant artist, but an ass. No biggie, because he made some great music and had insightful stuff to say. He got a pass. Just like Trump said at one time, if you are a celebrity you can get away with everything. It's true, even with a minor celebrity like Eric. His band mates were a bit nicer, but more about them on a later post. This three volume pick will not feature anything by the DK's and also nothing from the spoken word section of Jello. Maybe I will do some of that later. This is only his solo stuff on his own, but mostly with other bands. There was no lack of offers, I am sure. Every One of these tracks features Jello on vocals.One of my favorites is The Witch Trials. Especially The Tazer.

Jello Biafra Pick 1

01 Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - The Terror Of Tinytown

02 Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - The Brown Lipstick Parade

03 Jello Biafra & Nomeansno - Jesus Was A Terrorist

04 Teenage Time Killers featuring Jello Biafra - Ode To Sean Hannity

05 Jello Biafra & Mojo Nixon - Plastic Jesus

06 Tumor Circus - The Man With The Corkscrew Eyes

07 Jello Biafra And The New Orleans Raunch And Soul All Stars - House Of The Rising Sun

08 The Witch Trials - The Tazer

09 Jello Biafra with DOA - Full Metal Jackoff

10 Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - Dot Com Montecarlo

11 Jello Biafra with DOA - That's Progress

12 Jello Biafra With Steel Pole Bath Tub - Hazing For Success

13 Lard - War Pimp Renaissance

14 Jello Biafra & Melvins - Plethysmograph

15 Jello Biafra with Brown Town West - Jezebel

16 Lard - Forkboy

Ships And Dip III Bands

Way before covid, somewhere in 2008, when people were cruising a lot. I was able to go on a cruise with the Barenaked Ladies. A friend bought the tickets for my wife and I to go. They couldn't and knew we liked the band. Longer and more complex story than all that. Suffice it to say that we saw a ton of bands, all friends of the Barenaked Ladies. Some were side projects and some just other bands they knew. Either way we had a great time. These were the bands that performed. (most of them). I picked a favorite of mine from each band. From the Barenaked Ladies I did not use any of their current "hits," just some fun tracks. I hope you get a little of the idea of how fun it was.

Ships And Dip III Bands

01 Barenaked Ladies - Big Bang Theory (Theme Song)

02 Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta

03 The Vanity Project - That's All, That's All

04 Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle - The Diving Board

05 The Vanity Project - Wilted Rose

06 Guster - One Man Wrecking Machine

07 Carbon Leaf - Love Loss Hope Repeat

08 Odds - Wendy Under The Stars

09 Great Big Sea - When I'am King

10 The Handsome Family - Fallen Peaches

11 The Brothers Creeggan - Anna On the Moon

12 Great Big Sea - Consequence Free

13 Gaelic Storm - Kelly's Wellies

14 Griffin House - Tell Me A Lie

15 The Handsome Family - The Lost Soul

16 Guster - Satellite

17 Sarah Harmer - I Am Aglow

18 Barenaked Ladies - The Other Day I Met A Bear

19 Gaelic Storm - Johnny Tarr

20 54 Seconds - Better

21 Oakhurst - Eggs On My Face

22 Barenaked Ladies - Some Fantastic (Live)

Mercedes De Milo 3

This is volume 3 of the Mercedes De Milo pick. By now you get the feel of these compilations. A little Louis Jordan to mix in with the new wave. Funny how what was once included in New Wave. Not sure if people would call some of this stuff new wave anymore, but back then there was a lot more leeway. I liked the loose definition better, so you can mix different types of music in together. I didn't quite make another volume of this, but you probably could easily enough. Give me your suggestions in the comments. Might be fun to do.

Mercedes De Milo 3

49 Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta

50 Flesh For Lulu - Seven Hail Marys

51 Jags - Back of My Hand

52 Jason & The Scorchers - White Lies

53 Hoodoo Gurus - Tojo (Never Made It to Darwin)

54 Joe Jackson - I'm The Man

55 Alex Chilton - No Sex

56 Wire Train - Chamber Of Hellos

57 dB's - Amplifier

58 Guster - One Man Wrecking Machine

59 John Hegley and the Popticians - I Saw My Dinner On TV

60 Marshall Crenshaw - You're My Favorite Waste Of Time

61 Robyn Hitchcock - Listening To The Higsons

62 Louis Jordan - Beans And Cornbread

63 Translator - Everywhere That I'm Not

64 REM - Shiny Happy People

65 Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth

66 Harlequin - Innocence

67 Prism - Don't Let Him Know

68 Odds - Someone Who's Cool

69 Rockpile - Teacher Teacher

70 Tin Huey - I'm A Believer

Mercedes De Milo 2

I still kept the tag PZA, in case anyone was interested to see which ones were made or inspired by her, but by this volume it was just inspiration, she didn't have a hand in making this pick, I did, however, use the same criteria for picking out songs. And my album collection was growing at the time. I went from a few hundred albums to multiple crates of albums. I was trying to diversify, too. But much of what I was collecting was in this genre. Once a month I went to Tower Records and I would just go through asection I hadn't really gone through, Jazz, Classical, World etc. and pick out an album by the name and cover. No idea what was inside. Just pick it. I picked a few duds, but mostly I was lucky and picked some really cool stuff. None of that is on this pick, but just to get you an idea of where my head was at.

Mercedes De Milo 2

24 The Young Fresh Fellows - Amy Grant

25 Nick Lowe - I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass

26 Elvis Costello - Waiting For The End Of The World

27 Cracker - Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)

28 Lmnop - Please Believe Me

29 Barenaked Ladies - Get In Line

30 Dave Edmunds - Crawling From The Wreckage

31 Jim Croce - You Don't Mess Around with Jim

32 Radiohead - Creep

33 The Endmen - Letter From Constance

34 Commander Cody & Lost Planet Airmen - Two Triple Cheese Side Order Fries

35 Violent Femmes - Country Death Song

36 REM - It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

37 Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

38 Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World

39 Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians - My Wife & My Dead Wife

40 Swamp Zombies - Creep

41 Joe Jackson - It's Different For Girls

42 Camper Van Beethoven - Where The Hell Is Bill

43 Cake - Short Skirt, Long Jacket

44 They Might Be Giants - Don't Let's Start

45 Richard Hell And The Voidoids - Blank Generation

46 Pianosaurus - Thriftshoppin'

47 The Replacements - Kiss Me On The Bus

48 Blink 182 - Another Girl Another Planet

Mercedes De Milo 1

In the 80's a girl made a cassette for me. She used some music her older brother had and put together a C60 and gave it to me. She named it after this mannequin I owned. Eventually I redid it with an extra 10 minutes or so, to make it full CD length. Using the same criteria. Adding songs that I liked. This pick grew over the years until I had three volumes. This is the very first one. The pick includes 80 new wave and oldies that fit the feel and flavor. Over the time we were together she made quite a few cassettes for me that I still have. I've re configured them as CD's and now mp3 playlists and they are still cool. This was my first exposure to some of these songs. I knew some of the bands, but not all the songs at that time. Now it's hard to imagine not knowing everything from some of these artists. And yes, the cover is from a picture of the real Mercedes de Milo. No, the relationship did not end well, but she had some of the coolest cassettes ever. 

Mercedes De Milo 1

01 Missing Persons - Words

02 Plimsouls - Now

03 Danny And The Juniors - At The Hop

04 Humans - Get You Tonight

05 Human Sexual Response - Cool Jerk

06 Dexy's Midnight Runners - Seven Days Too Long

07 Squeeze - Piccadilly

08 Suburban Lawns - Janitor

09 Fleshtones - I've Gotta Change My Life

10 The Undertones - Tearproof

11 Elvis Costello - Mystery Dance

12 Josie Cotton - Johnny, Are You Queer

13 The Dell-Vikings - Come Go With Me

14 20-20 - The Night I Heard A Scream

15 Humans - I Live in the City

16 Paul Collins' Beat - It's Just A Matter Of Time

17 Yachts - Now I'm Spoken For

18 Jules and the Polar Bears - Good Reason

19 Plimsouls - Zero Hour

20 Fay Ray - Modern Lovers

21 Elektrics - Pretty Plastic

22 Fabulous Poodles - Mirror Star

23 The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet

Heads Family Pick 1

Here's my pick of the best of the Talking Heads family A little bit of everyone. Some solo David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Harrison in the Modern Lovers. Solo Tina Wymouth, Tom Tom Club and even their guest spot with Gorillaz. All the Talking Heads are on the last track and everyone except for Byrne on The Heads track (with guest volcalist Johnnette Napolitano - Concrete Blonde.) David Byrne guested on several tracks over the years. a couple of those are on here and not on the Byrne Baby Byrne comp from a couple of days ago. Keep going back to those other family picks and see which ones were left out. And which ones made the cut. Is it my imagination or does the caricature of Byrne look like a skinny Tony Robbins?

Heads Family Pick 1

01 Modern Lovers - Roadrunner

02 Bonzo Goes To Washington - Five Minutes

03 Gorillaz - 19-2000

04 Brian Eno & David Byrne - America Is Waiting

05 David Byrne & Fatboy Slim Featuring Cyndi Lauper - Eleven Days

06 Thievery Corporation Feat. David Byrne - The Heart's A Lonely Hunter

07 Tina Weymouth - October Dance

08 David Byrne - Girls On My Mind

09 Jerry Harrison - Rev It Up

10 Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood

11 David Byrne & Fatboy Slim - American Troglodyte

12 Jerry Harrison - Slink

13 Tom Tom Club - Man With The Four-Way Hips

14 X-Press 2 Featuring David Byrne - Lazy (Radio Edit)

15 The Heads - Damage I've Done

16 Talking Heads - Popsicle

Happy Mother's Day!

Have a brunch in honor of your mom! This connection is all Mama songs. Part one of the Mama songs was last year. A wider variety of mama songs this time (and none about Mother.) All kinds of different Mama's, too. Some means your mother, some means your woman. I combined them this time. I am lucky that my mother is still alive and doing well. I don't get to see her much since she lives a ways away, but other family is there. I do live with my mother-in-law which in some ways is easier and other ways is much, much harder. And I do live with my woman, although I don't call her mama or mother. I'm not Ozzy. Anyway enjoy this selection. I'll have more next year.

Happy Mother's Day!

18 Garth Brooks - Papa Loved Mama

19 Genesis - Mama

20 Annie Lennox - Mama

21 Eight to the Bar - If My Mama Could See Me Now

22 Clifton Chenier - Mama Told Papa

23 Swing Out Sister - Mama Didn't Raise A Fool

24 Black Eyed Peas - Hey Mama

25 Funkadelic - Red Hot Mama

26 Tom Tom Club - My Mama Told Me

27 Gene Simmons - Pop And Mama (Vers. 1)

28 Johnny Paycheck - I'm The Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)

29 Josie and the Pussycats - A Letter To Mama

30 Etta James - Tell Mama

31 Syl Johnson - I Want To Take You Home To See Mama

32 Three Dog Night - Mama Told Me (Not to Come)

33 Little Walter - Tell Me Mama

34 Prince - Make Your Mama Happy

35 Robert Mitchum - I Learn A Merengue, Mama

36 Slade - Mama Weer All Crazee Now

37 Ozzy Osbourne - Mama, I'm Coming Home

38 The Shirelles - Mama Said

39 Loggins & Messina - Your Mama Don't Dance

40 Toto - Mama

Byrne Baby Byrne

I suppose if we are going to do a family pick of the Talking Heads, their lead singer and kind of the leader of the group should have his own pick. Like all of the rest of the band, there is no greatest hits of David Byrne (at least that I have ever seen.) But I do think that pick would look a lot like this compilation here. A sampling from his solo albums, his collaborations with Brian Eno and also his guests with Fatboy Slim and X Press. And one Talking Heads track that is from a 12 inch single. Byrne is eclectic, but he's a genius as well, or maybe he is one because of the other. No one knows for sure. I just know I like his work. He absorbs his environment, so be prepared to be surprised. Go look up his curated discs from around the world. Also good.

Byrne Baby Byrne

01 David Byrne - Tiny Apocalypse

02 David Byrne & Brian Eno - Home

03 David Byrne - Girls On My Mind

04 David Byrne - Dialog Box

05 David Byrne - Miss America

06 David Byrne - Like Humans Do

07 David Byrne - Make Believe Mambo

08 David Byrne - Back In The Box

09 David Byrne - Angels

10 Brian Eno & David Byrne - The Jezebel Spirit

11 David Byrne - Ex-Guru

12 David Byrne - His Wife Refused

13 Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (12'' Version)

14 David Byrne & Fatboy Slim - American Troglodyte

15 X Press 2 Featuring David Byrne - Lazy (Fatboy Slim Remix)

16 David Byrne - The Call Of The Wild

17 David Byrne - The Cowboy Mambo (Hey Lookit Me Now)

18 David Byrne - Daddy Go Down

Tom Tom Club Pick

Sometimes I think this band was more famous than the Talking Heads, they certainly had a few big hits. This pick is another in the Talking Heads family series. Like yesterday's Jerry Harrison pick, I just do not understand why some record company has not made a greatest hits compilation of this band. They are so fun. And they were highly influential as well. Sampled endlessly from Genius Of Love and Wordy Rappinghood. They were intelligent and whimsical at the same time. There is a great biography that's worth seeking out about Tina Weymouth. It tells you about how she and Chris met, started the Talking Heads and much more. Definitely look for it. My favorite Tom Tom Club song is on here, from Close To The Bone, their second album, listen again to Man With The Four-Way Hips. More family picks coming tomorrow.

Tom Tom Club Pick

01 Tom Tom Club - Wordy Rappinghood

02 Tom Tom Club - Genius Of Love

03 Tom Tom Club - Man With The Four-Way Hips

04 Tom Tom Club - She's Dangerous

05 Tom Tom Club - Time To Bounce

06 Tom Tom Club - Suboceana

07 Tom Tom Club - Sunshine and Ecstasy

08 Tom Tom Club - Who Feelin' It

09 Tom Tom Club - You Sexy Thing

10 Tom Tom Club - Love To Love You Baby

11 Tom Tom Club - Under the Boardwalk

12 Tom Tom Club - Femme Fatale

13 Tom Tom Club - Who Wants An Ugly Girl

14 Tom Tom Club - Lorelei

15 Tom Tom Club - L'Elephant

16 Tom Tom Club - You Make Me Rock And Roll

Jerry Harrison Pick

Kind of continuing the Talking Heads family pick obviously Jerry Harrison was in the Talking Heads since they started recording. He's also done some very good solo albums. Most people also know that he was part of the original Modern Lovers with Jonathan Richman before the Talking Heads and he was in The Heads when David Byrne took a break from the group. I always liked that side project with guest singers replacing Byrne. What many people didn't know was that during the 80's he did a side project anonymously called Bonzo Goes To Washington. It was a one off 12 inch single using a sample from Ronald Reagan on a hot mic saying that he was going to bomb Russia. At the time it was something Reagan got a lot of trouble for saying, even though it was a joke. Harrison took that sample and made a dance track out of it. The music is very dated, but it's still funny if you know the story. Not sure why Harrison still does not have a greatest hits compilation, but I like to think it would look like this. We Begin Bombing In Five Minutes!

Jerry Harrison Pick

01 Jerry Harrison - Man With A Gun

02 Jerry Harrison - Worlds In Collision

03 Jerry Harrison - Things Fall Apart

04 Jerry Harrison - Rev It Up

05 Jerry Harrison - A Perfect Lie

06 Jerry Harrison - Bobby (Extended Mix)

07 Jerry Harrison - Breakdown In The Passing Lane

08 Talking Heads - Houses In Motion

09 Bonzo Goes To Washington - Five Minutes

10 Jerry Harrison - Slink

11 Modern Lovers - Pablo Picasso

12 The Heads - Damage I've Done

13 Jerry Harrison - Song Of Angels

14 Jerry Harrison - Flying Under Radar

15 Modern Lovers - Roadrunner

Bernie Worrell 3

Here is the last volume of the Bernie Worrell pick. Several long tracks including one from Praxis (with Bill Laswell.) And one track from the Golden Palominos also with Bill Laswell. A guest spot with Science Faxtion with Bootsy Collins and Buckethead. Another guest spot with the Pretenders. As well as Les Claypool's Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains which also included Buckethead and Brain (from Primus). Bernie was a full member of this supergroup. As you look closer Praxis, Science Faxtion and Claypool's band all were inter-related. Go check out how they fit together and listen to the differences (and similarities) each have. Is that tie, just Bernie? I find it interesting that each of his projects has a pretty cool bass player in the picture.

Bernie Worrell 3

24 Funkadelic - Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow

25 Bernie Worrell - Bass On The Line

26 The Golden Palominos - Boy (Go)

27 Pretenders - My Baby

28 Funkadelic - (Not Just) Knee Deep

29 Praxis - After Shock (Chaos Never Died)

30 Colonel Claypool's Bucket Of Bernie Brains - Buckethead

31 Science Faxtion - Famous

Bernie Worrell 2

The second volume of the Bernie Worrell pick. Not as many tracks, because several are long tracks, but especially Fela Kuti with an almost 30 minute track "Army Arrangement" which happens to be the first Fela Kuti track I ever owned. Volume one was posted yesterday. So today two tracks here from African artists. A track from the Talking Heads. One each from Parliament and Funkadelic. One Bill Laswell associated track and one solo album track. If you just heard him here, you would say how diverse and cool he was, but this is just the tip of his genius.

Bernie Worrell 2

17 Fela Kuti - Army Arrangement

18 Funkadelic - Atmosphere

19 Bernie Worrell - Dissinfordollars

20 Parliament - Chocolate City

21 Manu Dibango - Electric Africa

22 Talking Heads - Girlfriend Is Better

23 Praxis - Crossing

Bernie Worrell 1

This pick comes in three volumes. Bernie Worrell was, yes, playing with the Talking Heads on the Stop Making Sense movie, but also on several other of their albums. But he was famous way before that. As a member of P-Funk, Parliament, Funkadelic, he played on many different artist albums. A few that are not as well known are Public Image Limited, Fela Kuti, The Pretenders, Manu Dibango and so much more. I divided this up into CD length volumes. You can listen to the whole shebang or by volume. It's very cool to hear his playing from song to song. BTW, he has half dozen or so albums solos in addition to all these guest spots and bands he's been in, so I have sampled several to give you a taste of that as well. Well worth looking for those albums if you don't have them.

Bernie Worrell 1

01 Bernie Worrell - Woo Together

02 Eddie Hazel - Frantic Moment

03 Material - Cosmic Slop

04 Mtume - Juicy Fruit

05 Med, Blu & Madlib featuring Mf Doom - Knock Knock

06 Keith Richards - Big Enough

07 Talking Heads - Burning Down The House

08 Jerry Harrison - Slink

09 Gil Scott-Heron - Re-Ron

10 Parliament - Flash Light

11 George Clinton - Atomic Dog

12 Stephanie Mills - You Can't Run From My Love

13 Public Image Limited - Home

14 Ginger Baker - Uncut

15 Fred Schneider - Monster

16 Funkadelic - Hit It and Quit It

Pol's Country Pick 4

I'm not sure if this should be just a Country Pick or more related to That's Nice, That's Real Nice. I haven't quite decided while I am typing this. By the time you read it, however I guess you'll know what I decided. Probably the former since it is not all alt-country which is what the latter was. Most of these country songs are a little bit randy. Been thinking of a pick I could use and a friend of mine started sending me a selection of newer bands with some good songs that I hadn't heard before. And of course made me start thinking of other songs that would fit in (old and not so old), So I put them all together for this compilation. Anyway, if you are ever in the Austin area, see if Cornell Hurd Band is playing. They are a fun band to see live. We miss Danny, but the band is still going strong. Cornell was from the San Jose area way back when, but transplanted in Texas years ago. Well worth a drive from Dallas if you fly in there. Just make sure he's playing.

Pol's Country Pick 4

71 Jim Stafford - Spiders and Snakes

72 Zane Williams - 99 Bottles

73 Cornell Hurd Band - If You Play With My Mind (You're Gonna Get Your Hands Dirty)

74 Buck Satan and The 666 Shooters - Quicker Than Liquor

75 Rodney Crowell - She's Crazy For Leaving

76 Eddie Spaghetti - Gotta Get Drunk

77 Kinky Friedman - Get Your Biscuits In The Oven And Your Buns In Bed

78 Deryl Dodd - New Tony Lamas

79 Kevin Fowler - Don't Touch My Willie

80 Hayes Carll - Another Like You

81 Marti Brom with Cornell Hurd Band - They Were Doing The Mambo

82 Fred August Campbell & The Spur Of The Moment Band - The I-95 Asshole Song

83 The Beat Farmers - Big Rock Candy Mountain

84 Junior Brown - My Wife Thinks Your Dead

85 John Prine with Iris Dement - In Spite Of Ourselves

86 Hayseed Dixie - Big Bottom

87 Roy Drusky - Peel me a Nanner

88 Tommy Alverson - Una Mas Cerveza

89 Rodney Carrington - Letter To My Penis

90 Robert Earl Keen - That Buckin' Song (Saddle Sore Mix)

Ednah Holt & Lynn Mabry Pick

Ok this pick is kind of different and I'll tell you why. I was rewatching the Talking Heads movie Stop Making Sense and enjoying how much fun they were having on stage. So I looked up who the background singers were. I already knew all of the other musicians and most of their family connections. For example I have a great Bernie Worrell pick that I still need to post on this site. And wow, both of them have a great list of people they played with as well as their own projects. Ednah Holt, for instance, played on her own and with Starluv. And she was in The Ritchie Family. Lynn Mabry sang with Sly Stone, Parliament-Funkadelic, Brides of Funkenstein, George Michael and ended up being in business with Sheila E. This list just scratches the surface of who they toured with, but even Stevie Nicks is on the list. Anyway here is my pick of the beginning of your search. Starting with a Stop Making Sense track .They really do look like they are having fun in the movie. And yet it doesn't look like they sang together anywhere else but there.

Ednah Holt & Lynn Mabry Pick

01 Talking Heads - Slippery People

02 Ednah Holt - Serious, Sirius, Space Party

03 The Brides Of Funkenstein - Disco To Go

04 Ednah Holt & Starluv - People Come Dance

05 Ritchie Family - I Feel Disco Good

06 Sheila E. - Heaven

07 Fred Wesley And The Horny Horns featuring Maceo Parker - Four Play

08 Angela Bofill - Angel Of The Night

09 Luther Vandross - If I Had A Hammer

10 Junie Morrison - Love Has Taken Me Over (Be My Baby)

11 Eric Clapton - Run Back To Your Side

12 Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove

13 George Michael & Elton John - Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me

14 Bryan Ferry - Slave To Love

15 Eddie Hazel - California Dreamin'

What Is The Connection? Tequila 2

Happy Cinco de Mayo! This is part two of the Tequila Connection. If you didn't find your favorite tequila song yesterday, I am pretty certain it will be here today. I didn't get every tequila song or margarita song, but I got a lot over these two days. Have a safe and fun Cinco de Mayo! Drink some beer (or water) in between your tequila to slow it down. Get a lyft, don't drive. But do listen to these to these great tequila songs. There is something for every taste! But if I missed your favorite Tequila song, please leave it in the comments in case I ever make volume 3. Not too unlikely.

What Is The Connection? Tequila 2

24 Rick Derringer - Cheap Tequila

25 Marc Jordan - Margarita

26 Jason Aldean - Tattoos And Tequila

27 Luke Bryan - One Margarita

28 J.J. Cale - Teardrops In My Tequila

29 Kid Cudi - Tequila Shots

30 Lenny Dee - Tequila

31 Kenny Chesney - Tequila Loves Me

32 Ted Heath & His Music - Tequila

33 Juanes, Christian Nodal - Tequila

34 Jamiroquai - Hot Tequila Brown

35 Brooks & Dunn - Tequila Town

36 Jon Pardi - Tequila Little Time

37 Santana featuring Romeo Santos - Margarita

38 Allen Toussaint - Tequila

39 Ryan Griffin - Salt, Lime & Tequila

40 Eddie Rabbitt - Pour Me Another Tequila

41 Ramsey Lewis - Tequila Mockingbird

42 Pretenders - Tequila

43 Johnny Winter - Cheap Tequila

44 Kentucky Headhunters - Cheap Tequila

45 Mr. Cranky - Tequila Moon

46 Steve Goodman - How Much Tequila (Did I Drink Last Night)

47 Alan Jackson - Mexico, Tequila And Me

What Is The Connection? Tequila 1

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. A fun holiday for not just Mexicans, but appropriated by all Americans. Wasn't a huge holiday until Mexican in the United States took it over. It actually celebrates a minor victory of one of Mexico's wars way back when. It is not Mexican Independence day! I thought that for years and I should have known better. I was born in California and school kids there learn all sorts of Mexican history. Or maybe I did get taught that, but I was just a bad student? Either way now it is the day that everyone drinks and drives around in lowrider cars with Mexican flags on them. SO to celebrate I have a couple of days worth of Tequila songs in this connection. My favorite alcoholic drink although I am not drinking anymore. I miss a really good Añejo. Sipping Tequila can be very tasty. Most of these songs are not about that, though. Be careful! Tequila can be dangerous.

What Is The Connection? Tequila 1

01 The Champs - Tequila

02 Dan + Shay - Tequila

03 Bobby Bare - Tequila Sheila

04 Joe Nichols - Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off

05 Los Del Rio - Tequila Boom Boom

06 Lonestar - Tequila Talkin'

07 Jim Reeves - Drinking Tequila

08 Randy Rogers Band - Tequila Eyes

09 John Anderson - Straight Tequila Night

10 Eagles - Tequila Sunrise

11 Kovacs - Tutti Frutti Tequila

12 Paradiso Girls - Patron Tequila

13 Jax Jones & Martin Solveig - Tequila

14 Jimmy Buffett - Margaritaville

15 Lorrie Morgan & Sammy Kershaw - He Drinks Tequila

16 Tracy Byrd - Ten Rounds With Jose Cuervo

17 Kevin Fowler - Tequila Kisses

18 Terrorvision - Tequila (Mint Royale Shot)

19 Sammy Hagar - Mas Tequila

20 Darius Rucker - One Tequila

21 Kenny Chesney Featuring Grace Potter - You And Tequila

22 JD Walker with Mark Cooke - 1 Tequila, 2 Tequila, 3 Tequila, Floor

23 Jason Aldean - That's What Tequila Does

Rap 4

Volume four of the Rap pick. You will notice that there are some more hits, some crossover songs (that incorporated rap). Candyman got in trouble, 2 Live Crew got in trouble. I added Paris (who I got to see live at a show I helped put together with my radio station) BTW, his crew were a bunch of thugs who trashed everything. Break The Grip Of Shame is still one of the best songs to use to check your subwoofers. What a bass line! Several of these bands were from the Bay Area. That's what I was listening to. I have more in an upcoming Rap 5 from about the same time that has more of the Gangsta Rap and also one volume each dedicated to Pre Rap, Ladies in Rap and Metal Rap. But I have to take a break from the Rap for awhile. And this is the perfect place to do it, because the naming convention changed after this.

Rap 4

01 MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This

02 Naughty By Nature - O.P.P.

03 Candyman - Knockin' Boots

04 Kriss Kross - Jump

05 Wreckx-N-Effect - Rump Shaker

06 Digital Underground - Humpty Dance

07 Salt 'n Pepa - Let's Talk About Sex

08 C&C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)

08 De La Soul - Me, Myself and I

09 Paris - Break The Grip Of Shame

10 Young MC - Bust A Move

11 Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch with Loleatta Holloway - Good Vibrations

12 2 Live Crew - We Want Some Pussy

13 Tone Loc - Wild Thing

14 Sir Mix-A-Lot - Baby Got Back

15 2 Live Crew - Me So Horny

16 Run DMC vs Jason Nevins - It's Like That

17 House Of Pain - Jump Around

Rap 3

Continuing on with the Rap pick, this is volume three. Some of these tracks I think many people will not even remember, but some of these are now classic tracks. I made this some time ago based on what I was actually listening to, actually exposed to at the time. This all happened fairly quick, it went from being a joke genre (disco rap) getting played nowhere to stations all adding songs. The alternative clubs were playing The Egyptian Lover and the Roof is On Fire next to the Cure. I was still playing Grandmaster and Sugarhill gang, but you could not ignore punk band Beastie Boys changing to rap. And soon after NWA dropped Dopeman! Obviously that changed things a bit. Rap was at the time very masculine oriented with a few exceptions (see upcoming volume with all women rappers). Ice T before his TV career was protesting that women were taking his songs as misogynistic and he claimed they weren't. Lots of sexist stuff starting (remember The Alzeby Inn) We got the smooth LL Cool J and one of my favorites of the time Eric B and Rakim. I loved that they sampled Ofra Haza, which most people had no idea about, but that I loved. I didn't include the novelty rap song at the time Roaches, which had a funny video, but was basically Rumors in disguise. Run DMC also changed things by getting Aerosmith on board, which meant mainstream radio and MTV airplay for them and the Beastie Boys.

Rap 3

01 Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - Gold

02 Timex Social Club - Rumors

03 Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three - The Roof Is On Fire (Club DJ)

04 The Egyptian Lover - The Lover (12- Long Mix)

05 LL Cool J - Going Back To Cali

06 Fat Boys - Sex Machine

07 Boogie Boys - A Fly Girl

08 Ice-T - Sex (Club Mix)

09 Run DMC - Walk This Way

10 Sugarhill Gang - Apache (Jump On It)

11 NWA - Dopeman (Remix)

12 Beastie Boys - She's Crafty

13 Eric B And Rakim - Paid In Full (7 Minutes Of Madness Coldcut Remix)

14 UTFO - S.W.A.T. (Get Down)

15 Audio Two - Top Billin'

16 Doug E Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew - La Di Da Di

Rap 2

A continuation of the Rap pick. This is Volume two, but part of it was around the same time as volume one. Again this is not me claiming these were the best rap songs of the time. Just the ones I was exposed to then and that I liked and played. Obviously Sugarhill Gang was well known at the time. Kurtis Blow had earlier stuff out but Basketball caught my fancy. Whodini and UTFO actually were getting play at our local dance club (on Thursday night - modern night along with the New Wave). Celluloid tracks like World Destruction were getting played alongside PiL. Everyone liked the Fat Boys and rap really started to get popular outside of the hard core crowd. Many still saw this as a fringe genre and wasn't going to last, bringing in Rhino records novelty "Jewish" version of Rapper's Delight (on colored blue vinyl in the shape of a star). Until Run DMC took over. I remember these young college girls we picked up in Santa Cruz who said they could scratch, but really all they did was take the boombox volume and adjusted to the volume in time to the music. Didn't really hurt the cassette of Run DMC they were playing (and it was funny, too.) And besides, they were cute. Fun side story is that I got to meet Run DMC in New York and had them do a drop in for my radio show as I was playing their album. They did it, but weren't very nice about it. Giving me shit for not being black. Right out side the Apollo theatre in Harlem. Made me miss my ride home, so I ended up taking the subway home at 3 am or so. This was before Guiliani cleaned up New York. I want to say October 1985? Real fun.

Rap 2

01 Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight

02 UTFO - Roxanne, Roxanne

03 Whodini - Friends

04 Fat Boys - Jail House Rap

05 Run DMC - Hard Times

06 Kurtis Blow - Basketball

07 The Furious Five vs Sugarhill Gang - Showdown

08 Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three - Request Line

09 Time Zone - World Destruction [Extended 12'' Mix]

10 Run DMC - Rock Box

11 Sugarhill Gang - Troy

12 Run DMC - King of Rock

13 Gefilte Joe and the Fish - Napper's Delight