Hamilton Leithauser, Rostam - “In a Black Out” - 2016, “Hamilton Leithauser has the best voice in rock n’ roll currently.” - Chris Maraldo. Hyperbole? Maybe? But is he wrong? Probably not. Hamilton was the lead singer of The Walkmen, and Rostam was the big brain behind the production for Vampire Weekend.

Delicate Steve - “Cowboy Stories” - 2017, Delicate Steve is one of those musicians that I feel like more people should know who he is. He’s toured with pretty much everybody relevant in the last 20 years and some from beyond that. Kanye West sampled his music two different times. He is a musician’s musician.

Kevin Morby - “Valley” - 2020, Kevin Morby is one of the best songwriters of the last 20 years. I recommend him if you like Wilco, Sun Volt, Jayhawks, etc. He’s better than the last two….. dare I say he is comparable to Jeff Tweedy.

New Order - “Age of Consent” -1983, After the lead singer of Joy Division, Ian Curtis, took his own life, the remaining members recruited two more people and continued on as New Order and continued on to become one of the most influential bands of the 80s, selling 3 million copies of the single “Blue Monday” in 1983. They continue to perform currently and have an entire exhibit in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

Ty Segall - “Squealer” - 2019, Not everyone is going to like this…. Ty Segall is one of those musicians that touches on whatever genre he feels like at the moment of recording. This song is from a live show that he did metal renditions of his own works that weren’t necessarily metal in the first place.

George Harrison - “Sour Milk Sea” - 1970, Sour Milk Sea was a demo done in the All Things Must Past recordings and was released in 2014 on the remaster of the album. Such a great song, but I’m not sure that it needed a full production recording, so I’m actually glad it didn’t make the album. It actually was recorded first in 1968 in the Escher Demos done pre-White Album. But this version is better.

The Cure - “Pictures of You” - 1989, This is well out of their goth phase and fully ambient rock. Great for a drive.

The Olympians - “Apollo’s Mood” - 2016, This is basically a supergroup of musicians that you may not have heard of. Members of Antibalas, The Dap Kings, Lee Fields’ band, and Steely Dan, make up this amazing instrumental soul band.

Deer Tick - “Art Isn’t Real (City Of Sin)” - 2007, I associate Deer Tick’s sound with the Pacific Northwest for some reason, but these guys are from Providence, RI. This song is off their debut album. Alternative Country/Folk sound.

Middle Brother - “Million Dollar Bill” - 2011, Middle Brother is a super group of John J McCauley III (Deer Tick), Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes), and Matt Vasquez (Delta Spirit). They started out with a surprise show at SXSW festival in 2009 and started touring officially in 2010. This particular song was written by Goldsmith and is also featured on the Dawes album, Nothing is Wrong, released the same year. In this version though, each member sings a verse, and it seems more personal.

A Tribe Called Quest - “Can I Kick It?” - 1990, Classic hip hop from one of the most influential early alternative hip hop groups of the 80s/90s. It samples Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” iconic bass riff.

8Ball & MJG - “What Can I Do” - 1995, Never quite reaching household name status, 8Ball & MJG still were icons and influential in the southern hip hop scene. They also started on the Houston record label Suave Records which made Texas one of their most popular regions.

Panda Bear, Sonic Boom - “Edge of the Edge” - 2022, Panda Bear made a name for himself with the Animal Collective but has been releasing solo work since 2007. He is most known for electro-pop but also has dabbled in folk music as well. Sonic Boom has worked as a producer for Panda Bear on multiple occasions, but this is their first official joint album. Panda Bear has always had an evident Beach Boys influence to his singing style, but this song in particular he was really channeling Brian Wilson in both production and singing style.

Brazilian Girls - “Pussy”- 2005, Skip this one if the kids are around. The Brazilian Girls are not Brazilian and there is only one girl in the band. Honestly, I recognize that the lyrics to this song are ridiculous. But it is catchy af.

Byron Lee & The Dragonaires - “Jamaica Ska” - 1964, Originally formed in 1950, it wasn’t until 1961 that the band got it’s big break, being featured as the hotel band in the first James Bond film, Dr. No. In this era they were playing in the precursor to reggae called, ska, but later in their career they incorporated more calypso sounds from Trinidad & Tobago. They released a whopping 72 albums from 1962 to 2010.

The Arcs - “A Man Will Do Wrong” - 2023, Dan Aurbach side project. This was the band’s second release since 2016, and was recorded in honor of recently passed band member, Richard Swift.

Soul Coughing - “Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago” - 1994, One of the most underrated bands of the 90s. The lead singer and band leader, Mike Doughty, was a door man at an experimental-jazz club in New York City, which greatly influenced the band’s makeup (singer, upright bass, keys, drums) and the spoken word style of Doughty.

Talking Heads - “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” - 1984, This is the live version from the iconic performance, Stop Making Sense, and was originally recorded in the studio in 1983 for the album, Speaking in Tongues. The title, Naive Melody, refers to the simplicity of the music of the song. David Byrne described it as the only true love song that he has written.

The Velvet Underground - “Rock & Roll” - 1970, The Velvet Underground basically personified the late 60s experimental rock scene. In 1966 Andy Warhol became their manager, and they were the house band in Warhol’s studio in 1966 and 1967. This song is off of their album, Loaded, which I consider probably their most approachable music to the masses.

Sturgill Simpson - “Sam” - 2021, This song is in tribute to our dog, Bella, who unfortunately passed this month.