j's indie/rock mayhem - 14th december 2005

[ah, this week's show was a hoot with several callers making me feel like maybe i'm onto something every now and again. this week's theme was twofold: first, the best single songs of 2005 and then, for the last half hour, christmastime. i could've easily filled the entire two hours with great songs, but with my last show of the year coming up next week (i'm taking the following week off), i needed to get all this stuff in. so let's go! onward!]

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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the Darkness - "Knockers" [count me among those who love the darkness. whether tongue-in-cheek, or totally serious, these guys write catchy songs. not to mention that their lead singer's lyrics are sharp, clever and downright funny. huzzah for good music that doesn't take itself too seriously, especially when it would be impossible to do so in the first place. from their new album one way ticket to hell and back. click here to download.]
Silver Jews - "Punks in the Beerlight" [definitely one of my favorite songs of this year. tanglewood numbers, as an album, has held up okay, but it's the single songs off of it that will really stand the test.]
Kano - "P's and Q's" [a song you haven't heard on the show before, if only because i haven't taken the time to work on editing it. this is from 2005's best compilation album, run the road, a blitzkrieg set of the best of the burgeoning british grime scene. kano has a full length LP out now that is supposed to be quite good, but this song is hot to death. click here to download.]
Brendan Benson - "Spit It Out" [the lead track from this year's alternative to love. great power-pop. benson is way up there and is deserving of comparison to the other greats of that genre.]
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Ryan Adams - "The Sadness" [the last of the 29 previews. this is one of the longer songs i've played (a little over 6 minutes) and the most up tempo. it's got a nice faux-spanish glaze to it and is quite good. let's hope the whole thing stacks up. 29 is released next tuesday, december 20th. click here to download.]
Mando Diao - "You Can't Steal My Love" [the garagey-splendor of hurricane bar is a nice change to the garage bands being touted for the first half of this decade. decidedly more like the jam than other bands. and they're swedish. who knew?]
Kanye West feat. Jay-Z - "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" (remix) [i went on a small tirade about kanye being the only worthy nominee for album of the year at the grammy's this year. and it's true. not to mention that this song is a big step: a majorly commercial hip-hop artist calling attention to the irony of diamonds, long sought after as a symbol of status in hip-hop culture, enslaving africans in diamond mines in africa. that said, there are at least 5 better hip-hop albums this year than late registration, but as far as big commercial hip-hop goes, there were none. he better win the grammy.]
Bob Mould - "Paralyzed" [i love this song. and body of song, while not on my top 25 albums list, is a great listen. this song was definitely one of my favorites of the year. click here to download.]
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Devin Davis - "Iron Woman" [there were two songs that whole-heartedly caught my ear and wouldn't let it go all year. this is the first one. lonely people of the world, unite! is a dynamite record. the best power-pop album of 2005 and one of the best albums period. this song is unbelievable. believe it.]
Spoon - "I Turn My Camera On" [from this year's gimme fiction. this track is completely not spoon, yet completely spoon at the same time. "sister jack" is also a fine selection from this album.]
John Doe - "Heartless" [by request, but certainly one of my favorite songs of this year. from the excellent forever hasn't happened yet.]
the Finks - "Wake Up" [a north carolina band on the list. more songs about robots and black things is a great record, even superior to their debut exit the planet which was on last year's top 25. but will it make this years? we'll see.click here to download.]
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Common - "The Corner" [if i sounded a bit giddy playing this song last night, it's cos it's stellar. one of the best hip-hop albums of this year and of course, who was at the producing helm? you guessed it. kanye west. but he's a bit better behind the boards than in front of the mic, no offense, kanye. be is to be heard.]
Greg Dulli - "Cigarettes" [while not in my top 25 this year, greg dulli has gotten awful good at writing great single songs as amber headlights proves. this song and a few other excellent tracks from the album are tremendous.]
Kathleen Edwards - "Summerlong" [not a single, but ceaselessly in my head all year. personal reasons for loving it aside, this is a tremendous song. back to me is a fantastic album and the future is bright for probably my favorite female songwriter of the moment.]
Iron and Wine / Calexico - "Sixteen, Maybe Less" [from the in the reins EP that the two collaborated on for this year. a really stellar collection and a bang-up year for iron and wine. really amazing stuff.]
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the New Pornographers - "Sing Me Spanish Techno" [those two songs that grabbed my ears and wouldn't let go? this is the second one. "listening too long to one song" was my motto this year. twin cinema, you are a brilliant record.]
Talib Kweli - "Broken Glass" [so, i made a mistake. it's easy to get turned around. the beautiful struggle was released in 2004. so my bad. although this song is still bangin'.]
Teenage Fanclub - "Slow Fade" [from the excellent new album man-made. another album that, despite its gifts, will probably not make my top 25. some great singles off this album though. especially this one.]
the Perceptionists - "Memorial Day" [from the quite, quite good black dialogue. this was the best political anthem of the year and it shows.]
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the Kinks - "Father Christmas" [i started off the christmas sets with this classic kinks track. i usually play a cover of it by a band called lapdog, but i downloaded the original off of come dancing with the kinks. great christmas social satire. click here to download.]
Type O Negative - "Red Water (Christmas Mourning)" [if you've never heard this song from the october rust album, you're missing out. "god damn ye, merry gentlemen?" "woe, mistletoe?" you can't make that stuff up. type o negative, despite their tongue-in-cheek aping of gothic stereotypes, is a great band, no doubt.]
the Ramones - "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)" [someone should've played this for scott stapp and 311 back at thanksgiving. c'mon guys. 'tis the season! click here to download.]
the Flaming Lips - "Christmas at the Zoo" [from my personal favorite flaming lips album, clouds taste metallic.]
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Vince Guaraldi Trio - "Christmas Time Is Here" [this is the vocal take version from a charlie brown christmas. another review i read nailed it: who would have the balls to have a jazz trio score a children's cartoon now a days? charles schultz himself picked guaraldi to do this (after he had done previous work for schultz' cartoon specials) and what an inspired recording. the album is a gem of christmas time. click here to download.]
Tom Waits - "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis" [although it has little to do with christmas outside of the title, this is one of my favorite tom waits' songs for it's beautiful, first-person narration of desperation and hope for forgiveness. waits' character is as loveable as the end up being untrustworthy. blue valentines is one of waits' most underrated albums.]
David Bowie and Bing Crosby - "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth" [yes, from that television special of yore. david bowie's obviously pre-written dialogue is hokey and makes him sound like an idiot. of course bing crosby sounds like precisely the square peg in the androgynous hole that he was. oh, well. still quite pretty.]
Johnny Cash - "Blue Christmas" [a classic from the man in black. a big, big, big thank you to satisfied '75 over at aquarium drunkard for this and the david bowie song. made my christmas a whole lot more interesting.]
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the Pogues - "Fairytale of New York" [nary a christmas goes by that i don't play this. my favorite christmas-related song of all time. from if i should fall from grace with god. this really ought to be an official carrol or something.]

That's it for this week. Next week is it! The J's Indie/Rock Mayhem Top 25 Albums of 2005! Until then, take care and be safe!