McCrank's Juke - October Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - October Mix (2009)

I suppose the October mix should be something a bit more boombastic. With B-sides from Morrissey, a new Echo & The Bunnymen albatrosse and other new music releases hitting faster than shit-water on a windshield, I would expect a better hit list for the month of October. It is the month with Halloween for christsakes! Well, I prefer to zig, when others zag. YOu'll find here a throwback list with a bit of retro and some of the best Factory Records hits that the old dust-bin can hold. From the best new UK band and The Smiths' rip-off The Drums, to old Hooky inspired band Revenge and on down the Factory Records work-hole. You have another McCrank mix of the sublime and the newest of the alternative universe. It probably isn't the best list, but I figure October will sallow it up and offer better, more robust tunes later in the month. Hey you may even get two lists for October! (Should I bring the old blog back?).

Tell me what are you listening to? Is it Lady Ga Ga -- if so this ain't UR blog. Are you raving about Kanye West, The Flaming Lips, or the Blueprint 3? Then this ain't UR house. Thrilled aout Them Crooked Vultures or the return of Alice In Chains? (UR on the borderline now, sucka). If you find any of the tracks below peek some interest or you listen to KZSC 103.3 - then this may fly your way. Get on board to soar, the plane is leaving.

McCrank's Juke - October Mix (2009)
01. I Felt Stupid - The Drums
02. Gruesome Castle - The Wake
03. Precious Moments - Revenge
04. Life By The Sea - The Names
05. Waterfall - Wendy & Lisa
07. Straight To Hell (Feat Mick Jones) - Lilly Allen
08. Seasons - John Carpenter
09. Come Saturday - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
10. Oscillate Wildly (Instrumental) - The Smiths

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McCrank's Juke - September Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - September Mix (2009)

This almost seems like my John Hughes tribute list. From the Prince written beats of 1985 and up to the 2009 Islands release - this list delivers the synth and drum machines like nothing else. This list jams the retro-80's and indie hits into a bonus 12 song list for September. Chairlift is busy scoring and exploding all over the place thanks to a clever Nano tie-in, while the experiment over at Beck's website with the "Beck Record Club" are just too good not to mention. I am excited about XX and the band The Big Pink (send the album my way could you?) along with The Mary Onettes, who crank up the Hughes meter with their throwback sounds. Like Michael McDonald but way more trippy and crank'd. I could be way off on that actually. Tell me what you think? Either way September is a gateway to the upcoming record release spigot which will feature new albums by The Beastie Boys, Echo & The Bunnymen and others. Gearing up for the holiday season, I am sure. Nothing new here, just to say there is some slickness out thereand you should do your best to get out and have a listen. Explore all of these bands, buy their EPs and releases -- go to a show and support indie cred musicians. Blast off!

McCrank's Juke - September Mix (2009)
01. Fools - The Dodos
02. Ceiling Wax - Chairlift
03. Suffication - White Ring
04. Haunted Mealtimes - Elbows Like Swords
05. Feel It All Around - Washed Out
05. No You Don't - Islands
06. European Son - Beck
07. Stars - The XX
08. Velvet - The Big Pink
09. Transparence - Asobi Seksu
10. Run, Run - Those Dancing Days
11. Void - The Mary Onettes
12. Screams Of Passion - The Family

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McCrank's Juke - August Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - August Mix (2009)

If this playlist doesn't get me a job with KZSC 103.3 in Santa Clara, nothing will. Another McCrank classic featuring the best of new indie bands, mope rock, and other hits from the past. I have to admit August has been anemic for new music, but explosive for all of the live shows and festivals. You'd think out of one of those massive outside venues, we'd have discovered the next Nine Inch Nails or something by now. Instead, we're seeing Kings of Leon dominate the airwaves and the eclipse of the mega-band - with the Dead Weather and the new superband project from Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones - Them Crooked Vultures. I've looked past most of this with some amusement, looking for rare tracks, smaller bands with little or no label -- yet touring and hitting the local scene. Former Ghosts are playing the WORKS gallery in San Jose for christsakes! This goth-like list hits the depths with The Knife (who've I have just recently heard. Could be the soundtrack for 'Eyes Wide Shut') an electro-circus like band and weaves in some NIN killers in Zola Jesus and Six By Seven. Also the list includes a cover of the Kenny Rodger, Dolly Parton song - "Islands in The Stream" - weaved together by the stillness of Constantines. Very surreal. It's almost like I am looking forward to October. Come September we'll see it pick up for X-mas with the new Beastie Boys, Echo & The Bunnymen and some other mainstream drops. Until next month...

McCrank's Juke - August Mix (2009)
01. Islands In The Stream - Constantines
02. Enemy - Six By Seven
03. Clay Bodies - Zola Jesus
04. New Resolution - Heartless Bastards
05. Casa Bey - Mos Def
06. Science Of Fear - The Temper Trap
07. Heartbeats (Live) - The Knife
08. Carnage Visors - The Cure
09. Hold On - Former Ghosts
10. Loaded - The Idle Hands

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McCrank's Juke - July Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - July Mix (2009)

July is a swealtering month for music. You have that lag time between September and now, but still albums are falling out all over the place. Miss Derringer, scored a killer album, freshly dropped July 14th. Pearl Jam single is out and the list goes on...Caught Prince's gift to the Montreux Jazz Festival, say Girl In A Coma at the Blank Club and have been cat crawling the music scene post-MJ death. new tracks from Shonen Knife, Thom Yorke, Big Pink, and Jay Z. It is shaping up to be a bear of 2009. As you can see from the eclectic selection of acts below, I seemed to amass a attraction to new indie bands, some rockers and some experimental noize!! From the dead-to-rights Band of Skulls to Bombay Bicycle Club and to the local Oakland band Hottub. There is no method to the madness other than solid performances and some quality tunes from across the web. I hope you enjoy and take a chance to go see some of these bands. I am keyed up for The Horrors in October at the SF Independent and Los Campesinos! at the Brookdale Lodge in August in Santa Cruz. Yah now!

McCrank's Juke - July Mix (2009)

01. Revenge (Flaming Lips)- Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse (Mark Linkous)
02. You Came Out - We Have Band

03. Never Forget You - The Noisettes

04. 123Go - HOTTUB

05. Read My Mind - The Killers

06. How Are You - Bombay Bicycle Club

07. Black Tears - Miss Derringer

08. Big Star - Isa & The Filthy Tongues

09. Fires - Band Of Skulls

10. Morning After - Dead By Sunrise

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McCrank's Juke - June Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - June Mix (2009)

It all comes crashing down! First the old computer blew, then I got the new one, minus PhotoShop. My Optimus Prime computer I shelled for ain't shit without all the pirate booty I had stored up! The music links gone, the stored porn, gone! 'My Favorites' - down the tubes. As all good things, then it's time to say goodbye. As you may have noticed I did a bit of pruning in the garden, so as to not end up like that lady I read about in the newspaper. It was fun to be at the forefront of this music blog movement, like it was exiciting to be the The Sugarhill Gang when it was all "awash" and anew. Now that every college dick has a page with his favorite Oasis, Nirvana, and Animal Collective boots avilable -- it seems that it ain't about pushing the envelope and being new (not that I was very robust). I took from Ape Shall Never Kill Ape and was inspired to push it further. Now Largehearted Boy and other mainstream blogs are running with full steam and the upstarts are following the template. Time to do something new! (Fuck you -- yes I am on Twitter, but no that ain't it).

For those of you kind enough to comment and write in -- the fine looking lady in the monthly posts is named Sash Suicide. You can follow here: http://twitter.com/sashsuicide. She'd probably kick my ass for using her pictures without paying modeling fees. another reason to skip town!

So no more Echo & The Bunnymen, Joy Division, Clash, English Beat and the likes. No indies: Noah and the Whale, Ida Maria, The National. Just a simple look back through the monthly recommendations from prior months to serve notice. Eventually this blog will all desolve, and like me, you might wake up and go about your lives thinking this was all a dream. I know. I am.

McCrank's Juke - June Mix (2009)

01. My World - Lee Fields & The Expressions

o2. Slaughter Lane - Girl In A Coma

03. The Boys Are Leaving Town - Japandroids

04. All The Memories, All At Once - Sunlight Ascending

05. If I Ever Feel Better - Phoenix

06. First Of The Gang To Die - Zee Avi

07. Got Nuffin - Spoon

08. Last Of The English Roses - Peter Doherty

09. Summer Of Hate - Crocodiles

10. No Hands (Peel Session) - Echo & The Bunnymen

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McCrank's Juke - May Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - May Mix (2009)

Looks like The Coup's Boots Riley has joined guitar favorite Tom Morello to form Street Sweeper, which sounds like a Marxist/Rap version of Rage Against The Machine. I will check them out May 22nd. Likewise, new albums are dropping for Summer from some large indie acts. Iron & Wine comes to mind, along with New Wave Passion Pit and upcoming releases from Girl In A Coma and others. Is it me, or have a few bands ripped of Prince's pre-"Dirty Mind" sound? I am hearing that synth Minneapolis shit in Ciara's stint on SNL and form some of those garage-based MGMT wanna-be's. It's Summer so fuck it, hit-it and roll down the windows, crank style. I have to say now, now every children is a refreshing rock band that gives me the driving guitars and the indie credit I so crave. Peter Hook joins the Crystal Method, cause his solo shit ain't together and a whole host of other inspirations for May. Enjoy all the fuzz and beats! Bonus: The Twilight Sad - A cover of The Smith's "Half A Person".

McCrank's Juke - May Mix (2009)

01. Street Sweeper - 100 Little Curses

02. Iron & Wine - Love Vigilanties

03. Now, Now Every Children - Everyone You Know

04. Clay Machine Gun - 7th Floor

05. The Crystal Method (Feat Peter Hook) - Dirty Thirty

06. Perry Farrell- Nasty Little Perv

07. Passion Pit - The Reeling

08. The Twilight Sad - Twenty Four Hours

09. Vivian Girls - Moped Girls

10. Crystal Stilts - Sugarbaby

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Ian Mcculloch - Songbook (2008)

I am passing up the Ida Maria concert at The Blank Club right now, so I can post this Ian Mcculloch 4-track EP called "Songbook". Recorded at Parr Street Recording Studios, Liverpool England on February 2008. This solo acoustic show was recorded and broadcast on Sky Arts 1 in the UK. The first broadcast was June 19 2008 and it featured a worn looking Ian Mcculloch interview interspersed with the below list of complete live songs. No bullshit medleys here or annoying voice-overs. Edited and ripped from the programme with loving care from the lads over at Villiersterrace.com. In addition and as an added bonus - you get an acoustic single off the forthcoming Echo & The Bunnymen album - The Fountain. This single, "The Fountain" is a bit on the downlow, as in depressing and a bit melancholy. It's a tad alright if it was featured on a solo album of lullabyes for the kids, but it sounds kind of rough and rank for a Bunnymen closer. I recall reading an interview that Ian mentioned having a bunch of songs like this for a children's album. Not a bad idea for some side cash (diversify) and a way to find another alternate audience. The Echo & The Bunnymen things should be saved for forthright rockin' and rockstar ethos. The solo thing is for croonin' and ripping off Lou Reed, coupled with this type of acoustic ballads. I would buy it for sure, plug it into the kids room and clear out that Baby Einstein crap! I hope Ida Maria forgives me for missing the show, as I assume she'll be back. If you have the balls - buy her album to get some cool punk/pop riffs.! If you don't - listen up to this "soft-as-shit" EP of Bunnymen ballads.

Ian Mcculloch - Songbook (2008)
01. Rescue
02. The Killing Moon
03. Nothing Lasts Forever
04. The Fountain

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McCrank's Juke - April Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - April Mix (2009)

The year is burning through, as it is already April and time for another McCrank's Juke April Mix. This mixtape features some former SXSW bands, some faded goth tracks and a bit of indie pop from some of your current MTV2 artists. I am back to watching Subterranean and feasting on indie videos. I am also pick-axing Metallica Guitar Hero and looking for some hot albums for 2009. Big ups to Suicide Girls for keeping the fires and looking forward to some breaking tunes and upcoming artists (N.A.S.A. - anyone?). I must admit the return of No Doubt, Prince, Green Day and Eminem seem to be April's bigger stories - but I can't seem to come to grips with bands that are still rehashing the old routines from the 90's. The Slim Shady videos are case in point. Also, hasn't T-Pain killed the voice box yet? The sludge of Clear Channel and hype label music has stung my ears, turning me towards the darker rock of yesteryear. Sad to say I don't have Sirius to bail me out, Phil. Either way, enjoy the below April music mix from McCrank's Juke. (Also, skip the new Prince 3-pack form Target. Get your hands on the "Indigo Nights" live disk from last year's London residency).

McCrank's Juke - April Mix (2009)

01. Face To Face - Siouxsie And The Banshees

02. Blueballs - Eve White, Eve Black

03. Six And Three Quarters - Ipso Facto

04. Sea Within A Sea - The Horrors

05. Stay Alive - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

06. Lover - Nite Jewel

07. My Love - The Bird and the Bee
08. A Forest [The Cure Cover] - Bat For Lashes

09. StrangePowers - The Magnetic Fields

10. Oh My God - Ida Maria

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McCrank's Juke - March Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - March Mix (2009)

The reunion train should be leaving the station. From Jane's Addiction and Blur to Blink 182 and Faith No More -- can old music really die? It's a roundup for sure. In the meantime, and under the watchful eye of March and April's beavy of indie music fests (Yes, Lallapalooza is officially the old-timers concert of choice) SXSW and Coachella, we present to you the official March playlist. This McCrank's Juke March Mix features a local bay area band, a hotly anticipated single from a punk band turned Siouxsie and the Banshees, and a few other musical morsels. By now you've already punk'd the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs, seen Ian Mcculloch on Youtube, and probably hit up Lighthearted Boy for your SXSW torrent downloads. You probably are even wathcing Direct TV for your live feed from Austin. Well here at the Jukebox we're still trolling dark alleys and scooping up rarities to share with you from live shows, EPs, demos and the like. March has seen it's fare share of Twitter bands, Clear Channel releases (U2) -- but March seems to be the month for the indie (thanks Austin!). Here we share a few for your liking. Hit us up and let us know we're on track -- so we can continue to bring you the depths of the web.

McCrank's Juke - March Mix (2009)

01. Soft Shock - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

02. When Your Blackening Shows - Our Broken Garden

03. Company - An Horse

04. Love Is A Wave - Crystal Stilts

05. Out On You - Schande

06. Heroes - Ian Mcculloch

07. Keep Me Warm / Stella - Ida Maria

08. Stay Alive - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

09. Clap For The Killers - Street Sweeper

10. In Return - Torche

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McCrank's Juke - February Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - February Mix (2009)

It is almost half way through February and good news seems to be everywhere. New releases in store for The Felice Brothers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, D'Angelo, Silversun Pickups and count them three albums by Prince. Considering this list is only 1/4 inch of the total musical iceberg for 2009, it shows that the musical landscape might be shifting. The worm is turning as they say. I am looking forward to lots of indie acts, some electro inspired disco, Echo & The Bunnymen performing 2 shows at SXSW and a whole host of bands coming through for Coachella. Ra Ra Riot, Los Campesinos!, Asobi Seksu and The National - all on tour! To make matters even better I have compiled a list for McCrank's February Music Mix. This includes a few obscure tracks and a couple of oldies pulled from SPIN and the likes. Ida Maria is getting a lot of space on my ipod this week, along with Bat For Lashes and some of that quirky shit from Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. Yeah I said it! Either way , enjoy some smooth sounds, light one up and plug into this playlist to get the February jones down on your jock.

PS. What is the deal with Jane's Addiction being in the studio with Trent Reznor?

McCrank's Juke - February Mix (2009)
01. Give A Little Love - Noah And The Whale
02. After Hours - We Are Scientists
03. Things You've Never Done - The Manhattan Love Suicides
04. Shame Is The Name - Morrissey with Chrissie Hynde
05. We're All Going To Hell (Live) - Ida Maria
06. Cities Burning Down - Howling Bells
07. Poor And Free - Papercuts
08. In The Air Tonight - Takka Takka
09. Classic Girl - Jane's Addiction
10. Glass - Bat For Lashes

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McCrank's Juke - Bands To Watch (2009)

Well I've heard "Get On Your Boots" by U2, the latest single from the new album and all I can say is that mainstream music is going continue to falter. Major label bands will pick-up where they left off in 2008 - selling less, appealing to fewer and whoring more in '09. Comcast I am sure will do it's best to pick from the indie scene and try harder to find music like M83 and Noah And The Whale to try and cross-over to it's ritualistic formula pop. I heard on Live 105.3 yesterday that M83 was an "underground" band that was just being discovered. Funny they made most of the top 20 album blogs for 2008. Not very un-discovered, but possibly not mainstream -- yet. For every Animal Collective popping, we'll get the old re-treads like Jonas Brothers and Coldplay (see the Grammys - coming up). For 2009, I have plucked a group of notable bands (researched from SPIN, NME, Blogs, etc.) that may buck the trend. These upcomers are on indie labels for the most part, but are popping up in multiple sites and on multiple radars. Take a listen and please buy something from them if you like it. Propogate and philanthropize their music! They are great bands and they deserve the plugs.

McCrank's Juke - Bands To Watch (2009)

01. Florence And The Machine

02. Little Joy

03. Lulu Rouge

04. The Big Pink

05. Booka Shade

06. The Soft Pack

07. The Chapman Family

08. TWIN ATLANTIC

09. THE VIEW

10. Sound of Guns

11. The Hot Melts

12. Catfish Haven

13. Matt and Kim

14. Airborne Toxic Event

15. The Helio Sequence

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McCrank's Juke - Upcoming Albums (2009)

McCrank's Juke - Upcoming Albums (2009)

Here is a list from the major music labels, who will be releasing albums in 2009. Looks like a lot of the big names, like U2, Eminem, Morrissey and the likes. I am excited at the prospect of there being 10 times this amount, once we filter in the smaller indies and one-off records from smaller bands like Bat for Lashes and the Helio Sequence. I suppose some of the bands that blew up in 2007/2008 are anxious to follow-up with another album, so there will be some return visits from MGMT and possibly Santigold as well -- as yet unplanned but expected. What albums are you looking forward to? Are you pushing anything? McCrank's Juke just released the mix-tape for January, so my favorites are out as a mix of indie, old hits and best of's.

McCrank's Juke - Upcoming Albums (2009)

01. Reel Big Fish - Fame, Fortune and Fornication

02. Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

03. Hot Chip - Hot Chip with Robert Wyatt and Geese EP

04. Courtney Love - Nobody’s Daughter
05. Lily Allen - It’s Not Me, It’s You

06. Mos Def - The Ecstatic

07. … And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - The Century of Self

08. Asobi Seksu - Hush
09. Beirut - March of the Zapotec EP + Realpeople - Holland EP

10. Morrissey - Years of Refusal

11. Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand

12. The Screaming Blue Messiahs - Live At The BBC

13. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
14. Massive Attack - Weather Underground

15. The Prodigy - Invaders Must Die
16. U2 - No Line on the Horizon

17. The Rakes - KLANG

18. The Decemberists - Hazards Of Love

19. KMFDM - Blitz
20. Pearl Jam - Ten [Reissue]

21. Jane’s Addiction - A Cabinet of Curiosities [Box Set]

22. Dave Matthews Band - TBA

23. Depeche Mode - TBA

24. Deftones - Eros
25. Dr. Dre - Detox
26. Eminem - Relapse

27. Peter, Bjorn, & John - TBA

28. Rakim - The Seventh Seal
29. Silversun Pickups - Swoon
30. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - TBA

31. Echo & The Bunnymen - The Fountain

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McCrank's Juke - January Mix (2009)

McCrank's Juke - January Mix (2009)

Can you really still say Happy New Year, after ten days in January? Been lagging on the posts, but researching the hell out of new bands. I am deep into the indie scene. Finding new gems on NME and via recent "Best of 2008" blogs, some of which are featured below for your listening pleasure. McCrank's Juke's - January Mix is steeped in the gothic sounds (you'd think some of these guys were in Joy Divsion or Bauhaus) that I tend to favor. Lots of horrorpop and some mellowy, electronic sounds - whispy and remeniscent of Halloween as a kid. Been reading Batman 100 by artist Paul Pope and listening to Glasvegas while planning on seeing "Righteous Kill" and some other mind-numbing experiences. Great indian dance party last night... Looking forward to music picking up again in February with some all new albums, including the new Flaming Lips CD. Anyone going to see Social D at the new Fox Theatre in Oakland?

McCrank's Juke - January Mix (2009)

01. Geraldine (Radio Edit) - Glasvegas

02. Keep Your Eyes Ahead - The Helio Sequence

03. Can't Take it With You - Social Distortion

04. Keep Me Warm - Ida Maria

05. A Forest - Bat For Lashes

06. Girl With One Eye - Florence And The Machine

07. A Brief History Of Love - The Big Pink

08. I Wish I Had Never Been in Love - The Hot Melts

09. Coverging In The Quiet - Crystal Stilts

10. Death (Crystal Castles Remix ) - White Lies

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