Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Damon Albarn Edition

As I’m typing this, Damon Albarn may have conceived yet another new recording project. Albarn has come a long way from the days when Blur’s debut album seemed to be a last gasp of Madchester style dance music, becoming the most artistic of the Britpop brigade of the ’90s. Although Blur eventually came to a halt, Albarn’s growth has continued, whether he’s compiling a world music collection, putting together another Gorillaz release, or working on his latest project, Rocket Juice and the Moon, with Tony Allen (Fela Kuti’s former drummer, and Flea, he manages to expand his horizons while coming up with great, accessible songs. In that spirit of eclecticism, grab your iPod or MP3 player, hit shuffle and share the first 10 songs to come up.

1. Julian Cope — My Nation Underground (My Nation Underground): The follow up to St. Julian failed to further heighten Julian Cope’s commercial prospects. While it’s not quite as great as its predecessor, there are plenty of good songs on this album. Even though the production on this track is a bit two slick, it’s a nice piece of ’60s-centric R & B infused psych-groove rock.
2. Sly & The Family Stone — Everyday People (Stand!): One of the numerous classics from Sly Stone during the second half of the ’60s. This is such a simple song, showing Sly’s mastery of throwing together a few catchy parts into a coherent whole that flows perfectly, leading up to a wonderful chorus. This song is so concise — it’s perfect pop, R & B style.
3. Gravel Pit — The Ballad Of Ezra Messenger (Silver Gorilla): I’m not sure how one would best describe this Boston band. Some of their songs were great garage pop, but others, like this story song, were basically beefed up folk rock, with a basic blues base. I guess that the music here is generally rooted in various ’60s rock tropes, without being slavishly devoted to recreating ’60s sounds, in the way many garage bands have done since the ’80s. Thus, there is a certain modern sleekness to Gravel Pit’s music, without ever sounding slick. Indeed, this tune is played with a lot of passion.
4. The Mummers — This Is Heaven (Glow) (Tale To Tell): This is pretty, brassy pop from this British band with the wonderful warble of frontwoman Raissa Khan-Panni. These songs have elements of classic pre-rock pop, augmented by wonderful horn charts and strings. This is wide screen music, and so happy and uplifting.
5. The Hold Steady — Stuck Between Stations (Boys And Girls In America): I’m somewhat surprised that The Hold Steady wasn’t able to gain a foothold on Triple-A radio with their third album, as this song would seem to fit in well with what gets played on those stations. This is The Hold Steady in maximum Springsteen/bar band mode, with a cheery, intent piece of anthemic rock, interesting lyrics from Craig Finn, and a great middle eight. Though I guess it doesn’t have a big chorus to go along with the guitars that are made for raising one’s fist in the air.
6. Gang Starr — ALONGWAYTOGO (Hard To Earn): Gang Starr will never fully get its due in my book. DJ Premier created some of the freshest music in all of hip-hop, a mix of creative samples and a variety of rhythms. Gang Starr sometimes used hard beats, but so many of their songs would really swing, and this one is a good example. Guru’s laconic rhyme style always went perfectly with whatever Premier conjured, which is why it is such a shame they had such a terrible falling out.
7. NRBQ — Some Kind Of Blues (Grooves In Orbit): While most hardcore NRBQ fans favor their earlier material, this early ’80s album is my fave, as it mixes some of their best pop material with some good old fashioned rock and roll. Moreover, they sometimes split the difference, like on this song, which is based on a fairly basic blues riff, and adds a nifty melody near the end of each verse (perhaps a bridge, I suppose) that gives the song a sweet and catchy chorus. This subtle stuff is what makes people NRBQ fans, but that subtlety really limited their audience.
8. Magazine — Sweetheart Contract (Where The Power Is): I’m not sure what album this is off of, as this comes from a compilation. It’s typical Magazine – post-punk menace, art-pop keyboards and the icy bitterness of the one and only Howard Devoto.
9. Foxy Shazam — A Dangerous Man (Introducing): This Cincinnati band is centered around an approach that mixes the baroque pomp of bands like Sparks and Queen with grittier rock and the vocal histrionics of singer Eric Nally, who may have studied Faith No More’s Mike Patton. This is probably the signature song on the band’s second album, with a stop-start rhythm and a couple nifty twists and turns that keep the song always moving somewhere interesting.
10. The Lassie Foundation — You Could Shoot Me Down (I Duel Sioux and the Ale of Saturn): A really sweet piece of jangly college rock that could also be typed as power pop. The melody is so swoony and sung so sweetly, this isn’t that far away from bands like Gigolo Aunts and The Greenberry Woods.