Week of January 9, 2012

1. "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love"--Van Halen, Dressed to Kill (live bootleg):
Considering the first full-length studio album with David Lee Roth on vocals since 1984 will be released in a month, and the first single from that album is coming out tomorrow, this is the perfect opening to this week's blog. "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" is one of my all time favorite songs by VH. This live version is good but has standard, sub-par, bootleg production. Great song. I can't imagine any of the new songs will live up to this single, but not many have. SHUFFLE GOLD!!

2. "South of Round Rock, Texas"--Dale Watson, Cheatin' Heart Attack:
Not a great song to follow VH, but a great song nonetheless. A very catchy, country dance hall song. My friend took me to see Dale Watson at the Broken Spoke in Austin nearly 10 years ago. He is a proponent of old style country music and often blasts Nashville music as not country. If you are a Waylon and Willie fan, pick up some Dale Watson. By the way, in case you are not familiar with TX, the town just south of Round Rock, TX is Austin. NO SHAME.

3. "Bed for the Scraping"--Fugazi, Live Series Volume 16, in NYC:
As mentioned in a previous post, Fugazi has recently made hundreds of their live shows available digitally through their website. About 10 years ago, they put 30 of those shows on CD and made them available. Those are all out of print now but of course can be purchased digitally. Great live version of this song, one of their later ones, and good Ian banter at the end. NO SHAME.

4. "Make This Go On Forever"--Snow Patrol, Eyes Open:
A friend turned me onto Snow Patrol with their album Final Straw, in 2003. I really liked that album. This album followed in 2006 and received love from the t.v. show "Gray's Anatomy." I suppose I should have seen that as a bad sign, but I did like this album. Since then they have released two other albums. I have heard one but not the most recent. I think they are a good band but I lost some interest over time. Though often compared to Coldplay, I never found that comparison to be terribly significant or legitimate. NO SHAME.

5. "Powerline"--Husker Du, New Day Rising:
The second Bob Mould song in 3 weeks. I am a huge fan of his. Two weeks ago was Sugar; this week we have Husker Du, his first three-piece band. Husker Du was an amazing band in the 80s. I got on the Husker Du train at the very end, essentially as they were breaking up. I came to most of their music later. New Day Rising is one of my favorite albums, but "Powerline" is a deeper cut for me. Solid, but not gold. NO SHAME.