Man or Astro-Man? - “Planet Collision” - 1996, Surf rock a la Dick Dale meets punk rock and classic sci-fi movie sound bites. Is this the coolest band ever? Possibly.

Low Cut Connie - “Rio” - 2011, In the years between the late aughts, and the two thousand teens, there was this wave of bands playing traditional rock n roll in a more modern style. This is one of those bands, and they are great.

Joe Strummer, The Mescaleros - “Bhindi Bhagee” - 2001, Joe Strummer originally was the front man for The Clash. In this song there is a hint of the punk aesthetic that he started in, but it is expanded into rock, and even features some traditional middle eastern instruments (his father was a diplomat in Ankara, Turkey). He recorded three albums with the backing band, The Mescaleros, which at the time was a more “world-music” outfit. This song is a perfect blend of Joe Strummer’s and the Mescaleros’ styles.

Iggy Pop - “Lust For Life” - 1977, Originally the front man for The Stooges, and then transitioning to a prolific solo career, Iggy Pop punked and grunged his way through the 70s to 90s. This song is a dirtied up rock n roll as only Iggy could make it at the time.

Ocean Colour Scene - “Hundred Mile High City” - 1997, I heard this band first in a shoe store in London. This was pre-shazaam and the sales lady didn’t have a clue who sang it when I asked. It wasn’t until I re-watched Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, when I figured out who Ocean Colour Scene was, as this song is on the soundtrack. This is one of their more intense tracks, but they are a great rock band at the end of an era of this type of music. I think they would've been huge if they would have been a decade earlier.

Wang Chung - “Dance Hall Days” - 1984, Classic serial killer synth pop. This is one of Wang Chung’s first popular songs, though it is drowned out by the more known later release, “Everybody Have Fun Tonight.” Gross. Also originally their band name was Huang Chung.

LCD Soundsystem - “I Can Change” - 2010, This is probably my biggest miss in listening to music. I didn’t even start listening to them until after they dramatically “retired” after selling out Madison Square Garden. There is a documentary about that MSG show - the performances are amazing, the rest of the documentary is hipster bullshit.

Wilco - “Spiders (Kidsmoke)” - 2004, Wilco started out their career as alt-country, but made a huge step towards rock n roll with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Then they made the album, A Ghost is Born, and all the Wilco fans that I knew hated it. But it grew on everyone and now I think it is one of my favorite albums of theirs. This song in particular is a sharp departure from alt-country, with a droning verse, and straight rock instrumental chorus.

The Sword - “Barael’s Blade” - 2006, Guys I’m sorry but not everyone is going to like this one. I don’t care. This is only meant to be listened to at 11. It is not for the faint of heart. The Sword is an Austin stoner metal band that, in this particular song, is singing about a Medieval hero named Barael, wielding a bastard sword and slaying beasts.

Amanaz - “Making the Scene” - 1975, Amanaz is a Zamrock band that drew influences from American and British rock of the 60s/70s and mixed it with traditional Zambian music. The guitar work in the band is right up Hendrix’s alley.

Beck - “Volcano” - 2008, Slowing it back down here. There are two versions of Beck. One that does the experimental rock music he’s most known for like in the 90s hit, “Where It’s At,” and then the other side of the coin is a slooooooowwwww melancholy folk music. This song is squarely in the latter category.

Ghostland Observatory - “Silver City”- 2010, This duo exploded on the electro scene when they spent well more than they were getting paid on a light show at the Austin City Limits festival. They weren’t even on the main stage, but you could see the lights from across the park. I’m pretty sure the entire festival gathered in front of their stage and the rest was history.

The Avalanches - “Frontier Psychiatrist” - 2000, These guys are crazy because their music is a patchwork of samples and movie sound bites. These are some of the best producers/DJs out there.

Sturgill Simpson - “Make Art Not Friends” - 2019, Sturgill said, “Fuck you, I do what I want,” on this record. He teamed up with legendary anime producer Junpei Mizusaki, and created an anime movie with this album as the soundtrack. Up until this album, Sturgill was squarely in country music, albeit dabbling in psych as well. But this album is a straight rock onslaught

Stephen Malkmus - “Jenny & The Ess Dog” - 2001, This album was my intro to Stephen Malkmus, and was his debut solo album. It is a bit less experimental, and more poppy than his previous work with Pavement, or Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks.

Mapache - “Life on Fire” - 2020, Another chill tune from Mapache (See December 2022 playlist), but this time in English.

Steve Itterly - “Livin’” - 2019, Steve is a musician that I connected with via twitter. He is a songwriter from the pacific northwest and sings some great folk music.

Dumbo Gets Mad - “Indian Food” - 2013, Psych duo from Italy. This song mixes vintage sounds and effects with some synths and heavy reverb.

Bob Marley & The Wailers - “Coming in From the Cold” - 1980, Don’t know why, but I don’t remember hearing this song until recently. But it’s a good one.

Josh Ritter - “The Temptation of Adam” - 2007, I’ve said before that Josh Ritter is a great songwriter, and this is one of the best examples. It tells the story of a post-apocalyptic bunker/missile silo where a couple falling in love is also in charge of the red button that would launch the nukes that destroy the world as we know it.