McCrank's Juke - 10 Must Hear Tracks

McCrank's Juke - 10 Must Hear Tracks

Yes, this is somewhat of a new category, and well it could have been the list for March (maybe it should have been), but with mags like Q and Spin putting out their "must download tracks" I figured this was a good a way as any to put McCrank's own download list together. From Erykah Badu and Lil Wayne to the Prince inspired jams of DâM-FunK - this list pulls together a mixture of new talent, new music, and some damn straight cover tunes. Covers from the classic 80's bands like The Cure and Morrissey to Rancid and a solid soul-inspired take from The Big Pink. This list inspires me to be creative and allows me to mellow out from the stress around me. Music inspires! Including all the new tunes, really helps to mix up the classics in a blender. I am really loving the sounds of Phantogram and Sharon Van Etten, new clearly talented artists - who should be opening up SXSW instead of on side stages. We've had enough of the big band sounds from Pearl Jam and the like. (Yes, coming from someone who included Lil Wayne in this mix!). Tell me what you think of the mix? Have you heard these tunes? What's UR favorite?

McCrank's Juke - 10 Must Hear Tracks
01. Jump Up in the Air and Stay There - Erykah Badu and Lil Wayne
02. Come On Outside - DâM-FunK
03. Ruby Soho (Rancid Cover) - Vampire Weekend
03. Road To Rock N' Roll (Acoustic) - Joe Strummer
04. Jack The Ripper (Morrissey) - Colin Meloy (The Decemberists)
05. For You - Sharon Van Etten
06. Mouth Full Of Diamonds - Phantogram
07. InBetween Days (The Cure Cover) - Ben Folds
08. My Love Will Follow Me - Vivian Girls
09. These Arms Of Mine (Otis Redding Cover) - The Big Pink
10. There Are Listed Buildings - Los Campesinos

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Fine Young Cannibals - B-sides

Now I know I will probably take a lot of heat for this one. I mean who listens to the Fine Young Cannibals in 2010? The band has all but dissolved, the guys don't hang out and play anymore - the greatest hits can only re-package "She Drives Me Crazy" so many times and possibly the greatest things these guys have done - are all in the past. Andy Cox and David Steele formerly of The Beat, are solid musicians with a lot to add to the bubbling pie of music, which they're doing now in the form of producing and sourcing talent. Roland Gift is acting, eating and hanging out in bars (I guess). The rub is this: that many of the best past fads and artists seem to cycle back, in some form or antoher. I guess our memories, demand it. Hence why I see Charro on VH1 reality shows, Mick Jones has a second-life now with his band Carbon Silicon, and comeback tours are the norm. If you lived through the eighties, you know how strong this band was and how radio literally "killed this radio star". Overplayed, over produced - the band didn't zig, when the industry zagged. We're left with a lot of bargain bin 12" mixes (another 80's casualty - when are those coming back?) and our memories of hits like "Good Thing" and "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)". Well, maybe we can settle for a remake of the classic Something Wild movie.

Below, these songs you won't find on either of their two albums. In fact, a different mix of the song "Love For Sale" was later released on the charity album Red Hot + Blue. They're all here for you to sample, for those wishers and die-hard fans alike.

Fine Young Cannibals - B-sides

01.Wade In the Water (B-side of Blue)

02. Motherless Child (B-side of Funny How Love Is)

03. Love For Sale (Cole Porter cover; B-side 12" Blue)

04. Social Security (B-side of Good Thing)

05. You Never Know (B-side of Don't Look Back)

06. Pull the Sucker Off (B-side of She Drives Me Crazy)

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Echo & The Bunnymen - DEMOS

Echo & The Bunnymen - DEMOS

I am celebrating withthis post. A bevvy of good news from the Echo and the Bunnymen camp. Seems they're droping into Coachella on the same night as Jay Z, LCD Soundsystem, Passion Pit and The Cribs to name a few. They've announced tour dates, including a stop in SF and Reno (The Nugget baby!), and they're still hard-charging for another album to capitalize on their current line-up. Meanwhile, Sgt. Fuzz aka Will Sargent is Dj-ing and Ian Mcculloch has dropped his version of "Alice In Wonderland" via his biography which drops in Spring. Drinking the Blob Yates - indeed! I bet it will be a mind-junk of a book. What a year for the Bunnymen, even if the las album didn't jump out of the gates as planned. It had to pass the mustard, in order to get to the next drop of Bunnymen goodness. Below, you can experience - what some might call "The John Peel" sessions or demos from the Bunnymen's entire career. It has some rare singles and some rare to find tracks. Hopefully, you will enjoy asmuch as me. PS. I would love to hear Will Sargent with Perry Farrell on vocals. Trip Hop 2010!

Echo & The Bunnymen - DEMOS
01. All In Your Mind (1985 demo)
02. My Heart Is Overflowing (demo)
03. All My Life (ian mcculloch solo demo)
04. Baseball Bill (demo)
05. Clay (1982 demo)
06. Do You Love Him (never stop demo)
07. Don't Let It Get You Down (demo)
08. Empire State Halo (demo)
09. Evergreen (demo)
10. Fools Like Us (demo)
11. I Want To Be There When You Come (demo)
12. I'll Fly Tonight (instrumental demo)
13. Just A Touch Away (demo)
14. Live Forever (demo)
15. My Heart Is Overflowing (instrumental demo)
16. Nothing Last Forever (demo)
17. People Are Strange (1987 demo)
18. Rollercoaster (ian mcculloch solo demo)
19. Satelitte (demo)
20. The Killing Moon (demo)

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The Beat - Live Deeside Leisure Center (1982)

The Beat - Live Deeside Leisure Center (1982)

If you know about McCrank's Juke you know about our ska fix and some of the great old shows we've posted from The Beat or for you yanks - The English Beat. This classic 1982 show is very special. Recorded July 30th 1982 at the Queensferry, Flintshire, in Wales. The Birmingham band, provides a live radio experience, playing all of their hits from the forth coming album "Special Beat Service". The show is amazing and has some great interviews mixed in to frame the band at it's baddest. Dave Wakeling, Rankin Roger, Andy Cox, David Steele, Everett Morton, and Saxa (sax legend) perform at break-speed, flavoring the songs with ska, pop, soul, reggae, and punk rock. This is a quality show to add to your indie and 80's mix. Recently, I have downloaded a few treasures, including some 1983 never released session tracks from The Beat, including "It Makes Me Rock (Kid Jensen Session 1983)" and "Night & Day (Kid Jensen Session 1983)". Among others, these stand out and may find their way up on the blog. Enjoy this taste to bring back the flavors. SPecial thanks to Liam_Ska's Heavy, Heavy Monster Blog!

The Beat - Live Deeside Leisure Center (1982)

01. Interview Part o1

02. Rankin Full Stop

03. Sorry

04. Ackee 1,2,3

05. Hands Off, She's Mine

06. Interview part 02

07. Jeanette

08. Sugar & Stress

09. Doors Of Your Heart

10. Mirror In the Bathroom

11. Interview Part 03

12. Get A Job

13. Stand Down Margaret

14. Too Nice To Talk Too

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McCrank's Juke - February Mix (2010)

McCrank's Juke - February Mix (2010)

You'll have to excuse the dark mix that has shaped up to be February on McCrank's Juke - February Mix (2010). #McCranksJuke - It must be the winter chill or the bleak look into the future, I see. From winter favorites "Black Celebration" to the first glimmer look at Peter Hook's Freebase UK (now re-branded The Light). This mix tape, includes mostly the old favorites from the 80's mixed with the electronic induced throw-back bands, like Yacht, Cold Cave, and Apparatjik (featuring members of ColdPlay and A-Ha, no really). I find I really like The Soft Pack and up and coming band Small Black. Both indie bands flavor a bit of punk and a dip of the synth and hail from San Diego and Brooklyn, respectively. What indie and garage soundz are supposed to be, raw - rthym, and fookin' fresh, not over-hyped and over-produced (yet). Let me know if these guys appear at SXSW this year. Lastly, check out Houdini's Last Act - another favorite, but more rock/blues dust-up that sounds like Sun, Kill, Moon. Fookin' sounds for February, dust-up and get to UR record store/download site ad grab up some of these to explore (including the new one from Xiu Xiu). PS. Yeah the barfing shocked me too, so once is enough video wise.

McCrank's Juke - February Mix (2010)
01. Black Celebration - Depeche Mode

02. Release The Kracken - The Daysleepers

03. Plan B Vocoder Vox - Freebass UK
04. Answer To Yourself - The Soft Pack
05. So Post All 'Em (Remix) - Yacht

06. Youth and Lust - Cold Cave
07. Somewhereanywhere - Houdini's Last Act
08. Dear God, I Hate Myself - Xiu Xiu

09. Frozen Fingers - Apparatjik

10. Despicable Dogs - Small Black

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Echo & The Bunnymen - Live Berlin 1981

Well, well seems like the Bunnymen.com website is getting some juice from the fine folks at SXSW, who've named the site runner-up in a huge contest of sorts. I think that is good considering how few users visit the place. I rather prefer the footloose atmosphere over at Villiers Terrace.com - The Ultimate Echo and the Bunnymen Discography. It seems rather like a pub that you'd find Ian Mcculloch in, lots of loud voices, cheer, and some ramblings funnny enough to rival Comedy Central. The .com site on the other hand, is pure 100% beef - meaning marketing, twittering, and re-selling the golden oldies via advertising efforts. The real people, fans - meet up on the Terrace. Enuff about that - either way any news for Bunnymen.com is good news. This below show comes kindly from the fine folks at Villers Terrace - the fan site for all things Bunnymen. Recorded in Berlin in the early days (1981) to be exact, this show is a really good audience recording, featuring songs from the tops album "Heaven up Here" - probably my favorite Bunnymen gem. Now you won't get your head smashed in via the loo but it does hit hard, with the rumbling rhythm from Les and Pete. They blast crowd favorites like "All That Jazz", "Rescue" and "Over The Wall". You even get the seldom acknowledged live version of "The Puppet" a single less favored by the band as being up to snuff , now that they're able to look back. I rather like it, considering the latest releases. Either way, charge up the ipad or itouch and jam these Berlin sessions, like The Basterds.

Echo & The Bunnymen - Live Berlin 1981

01. With a Hip
02. All That Jazz
03. Show of Strength
04. The Promise
05. Pride
06. Pictures on my Wall
07. The Puppet
08. Heaven Up Here
09. Turquoised Days / All I Want
10. All My Colours
11. Over The Wall
12. No Dark Things
13. Rescue
14. Crocodiles
15. Villiers Terrace

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Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Live Brooklyn (2002)

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Live Brooklyn (2002)

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros are one of my favorites sounds and most loved bands. My original time with The Clash and then through Joe's solo work - really brings back memories. This show is one of the rareand most direct shows from The Mescaleros catalog. It was recorded 4/4/2002 at the famous St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn. The set features Joe performing the usual Clash covers and other songs like "The Harder They Come" and Lou Reed's "Walk On The Wild Side". The Mescaleros, back him up with some wagon wheel type drumming and some old-fashion punk rock. The show comes to us courtesy of Blogger's Delight a true fan's treasure trove of all things Joe Strummer. Drop by and peruse the site. They do great things Stummer wise up there and they sure beat the hell out of the ramblins on the ol Jukebox. Consistency hurts us all, what with Twitter and the likes takin' up our time. Everyone's got something to say, but really how manyh of us listen or care? Joe did, that's why McCrank's Juke is presentin' this fine show, for all to hear.

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Live Brooklyn (2002)

01. London's Burning
02. Bindhi Baghee
03. Shaktar Donesk
04. Tony Adams
05. Rudi Can't Fail
06. Cool'n'Out
07. Police & Thieves
08. Armaggedeon Time
09. White Man In Ham Palais
10. Bummed Out City
11. The Harder They Come
12. Mega Bottle Ride
13. Johnny Appleseed
14. Pressure Drop
15. Police On My Back
16. Walk On the Wild Side
17. Blitzrieg Bop
18. I Fought The Law
19. Bankrobber

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