Song of the Day: Buzzcocks - What Do I Get?

Singles Going Steady is an essential album in my collection.  Although it's a compilation, it includes a lot of songs not available on other albums, making it that much more necessary.  I actually avoided Buzzcoks for a while, thinking that, based on their name, they were more punk than pop (and at the time, I was probably mistaking the term "punk" for "hardcore" - the fast, shouty stuff that I still don't care for much).  But anyone who likes The Jam or The Clash would probably enjoy Buzzcocks.

As I've mentioned with other songs in some previous posts, I actually came across this on Indie 103.1 when I first moved to LA, and I thought it was a contemporary song.  You could probably easily mistake this for early Green Day, and most of the songs on the album still sound fresh.  I suppose teenage angst always will.

Song of the Day: Duran Duran - New Moon on Monday

Like INXS, Duran Duran is a band I liked growing up that I figured I'd hate when I tried them again as an adult...but ended up still enjoying.  Call it a guilty pleasure or what have you, but Duran Duran made some incredible singles in their day, and even without the benefit of the videos, the songs endure.

It takes about three seconds to realize this song is from the '80s, and admittedly, the verses of "New Moon on Monday" are pretty cheesy.  But the chorus more than redeems the song, with the double-tracked vocals and a great guitar line.  Good luck getting this out of your head.

Song of the Day: Jaill - The Stroller

I've heard a couple songs from Jaill, a band now on Sub Pop, and they're enough to convince me to buy their new album. They remind me of a few bands, but for some reason I can't quite place which - maybe a little bit of The Stills, Tapes 'N Tapes and something a little on the dance-ier side of things, like Hot Hot Heat.

Playlist: July 2010 songs

All the songs featured in the blog in July

Click the link
http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/playlist/July+2010+blog+songs/33091698

or listen below

Song of the Day: Judson Claiborne - Twilight Spirit

Full credit goes to @daverawkblog for this find.  Probably 95% of the albums I've bought in the past 10 years are from blogs and now Twitter, and it's always rewarding to try something that someone recommends and wonder how you've lived without it.

In this case, I can't believe more people aren't touting Judson Claiborne - their Time and Temperature will undoubtedly make my top 10 albums for 2010.  I've already proclaimed my love of Fleet Foxes, and while these guys don't harmonize as intricately, they definitely share other qualities.  I know this is a good album because I had one hell of a time picking a favorite song - in fact, I was only able to pick one that wasn't my favorite.  But in the end, I had to go with the opener, "Twilight Spirit."

Song of the Day: XTC - Sgt. Rock (Is Going to Help Me)

I listened to and enjoyed Waxworks, the best of XTC from 1977-1982, but it wasn't until I saw their performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test that I realized how brilliant they were.  As the host explained, their performance felt like this song was bursting from them, and it reminds me of early Talking Heads - quirky pop music with punk undertones.

You can tell from this song that despite being catchy, the quirky sense of humor may have kept them from developing anything more than a cult audience.  Still, most of their first five or six albums are worth owning, but Waxworks is as good a place to start as any.

Song of the Day: Guillemots - Trains to Brazil

Great voice, great pop song