Your Daily Song Fix

A little secret about Your Daily Song Fix – We don’t turn down Prince requests! Shout out to Jon Cylus for the selection.

From their 1977 album of the same name, this song rocks, plain and simple. Richard Hell is best known for his influence on punk fashion (spiked hair, clothing held together with safety pins, etc.) and for his roles in the band Television (who was infinitely instrumental in the popularization of New York’s CBGB club) and then later with Johnny Thunders’ The Heartbreakers.

Since the 80s, Hell has focused primarily on writing novels, but still releases some music.

In 1998 Animal Liberation Orchestra (aka ALO) debuted their first album “Animal Liberation Orchestra & The Free Range Horns Vs. L.A.G.” under the label Lagmusic. The Saratoga, CA quartet pairs jam band bounce with balmy Hawaiian twinge. ALO was originally a nine-piece ensemble which was streamlined to consist of the four core members.  ALO keyboard player Zach Gill attended college with the king of the mellow sound, singer/songwriter Jack Johnson, who eventually signed ALO onto his label Brushfire Records.

"I hate conventional blues, but I love myself."

When you hear the break in this song you’ll wonder why this band didn’t do that kind of thing all the time. JSBE provides the kind of music you think you’d play after 15 glasses of whiskey and it feels awesome.  Boogie down + sledgehammer over the face rock  = me dancing/screaming at the top of my lungs.

JoSpence was a member of the Washington-based (What! What!) Pussy Galore.  After the band broke up in 1990 it seems Jon Spencer set out to destroy everything he loved about to the blues.  Thank god I love every minute of it.

SPN

In honor of the New Orleans Jazz Festival this past weekend, here is a New Orleans classic originally written by James “Sugar Boy” Crawford.

You know the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Janis Joplin but The Flamin’ Groovies may have been crafting the most timeless music in San Francisco during the Age of Aquarius.  This song from 1970’s Flamingo hooks you immediately and pounds the rock fury home from beginning to end.  The guitar solo routinely makes a fool of me while I try the fingering in my car.

SPN

Dr. Dog formed in Philadelphia in 1999 but have only recently gained popularity. Their melodies are reminiscent of The Beatles (the guitar solo here is especially Beatles-esque) and their vocal harmonies are similar to The Beach Boys. However, they’ve molded a style of their own and this song is a great example, with more folk flavor than the pop sounds that Dr. Dog is often compared to.

Imagine you’re a nihilist. Now imagine you’re blasting down a desert highway in a convertible with this song as your non-diegetic soundtrack. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds have had an long, illustrious career, and “Albert Goes West,” from their great 2008 album Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!! captures them at their most fist-pumpingly energetic. Just don’t ask them to take responsibility for anything.