Perfect Game

"And they say that LBJ was a Soviet Jew..." Gibby for president, people.

Butthole Surfers - Moving To Florida

Foshan To Hong Kong

This in honour of Wong Kar Wai's amazing new arthouse kung fu flic The Grandmaster. Took his Foshan to Hong Kong trip a couple of days back and was totally bowled over. Granted, the story line was a bit confusing at times, but with this kind of superb photography and mesmerizing choreography, who cares? If deadpan fortune cookie one-liners and the most badass slomo's ever are your thing, too, don't hesitate. Alternative soundtrack by Scratch the mighty Upsetter, a surprising fellow aficionado of the genre.

Lee 'Scratch' Perry & The Upsetters - Kung Fu Warrior
Lee 'Scratch' Perry & The Upsetters - Deathly Hands
The Mighty Upsetter - Black Belt
The Mighty Upsetter - Kung Fu Man

No Need To Reason Why

"I hear that high lonesome sound..." Calvin Johnson, unlikeliest of crooners, we salute you.

The Halo Benders - Lonesome Sundown

Look Out Cleveland

Yeah, that mid-seventies Cleveland protopunk scene was something special alright. The priceless Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys got out later and would hit the big leagues by way of New York City, but this is the sound of how it all started in the Forest City. "I don't know what I know, but I'd just like to shoot it..." In need of some scenic background? Check here.

Electric Eels - Agitated
Rocket From The Tombs - What Love Is
The Styrenes - Drano In Your Veins
Mirrors - Shirley

From The Tombs

"I found myself set free in a city without weather..." On this day back in '77, Cleveland musician and scenester Peter Laughner died, way too young. Too much fleurs du mal. Play on.

Peter Laughner -  Baudelaire

Tears Fall Like Rain

Razor-sharp blues riffs, a piano tinkling faintly in the background, horns kicking in... And then you haven't even heard that mighty voice yet. Every soul cat worth his salt should own Bobby "Blue" Bland's 1961 masterpiece Two Steps From The Blues. "I want you to cry - cry me a river... I want you to - yes! - I want you to cry me a sea... yes I know someone's gonna hurt you, just like you've been a-hurtin' me..."

Bobby "Blue" Bland - Cry Cry Cry

Is Two

Prayers for better weather answered for now, so you can find me on the corner again, wearing my Vote For Miles shirt. Still amazing after all these years, this is. And that fat bass - courtesy of Michael Henderson - is boss.

Miles Davis - One And One

Rasta Pon Top

"May the roads rise to meet you, and the wind be always at your backs..." Getting mighty desperate for some real summer ambiance, so let's try and soften up the weather gods with a tropical soundtrack of sorts. Which should be a roots reggae one of course, my brethren. Presenting yet another red, green, and gold ten pack. Take warning, but swing easy.

Twinkle Brothers - Barabas
Soul Vendors - Swing Easy
Ralph Haughton & The Ebony Sisters - Take Warning
Little Roy - Hardest Fighter
Bongo Gene - Skyjack
Pablo Moses - One People
Herman's Allstars - Nightmare
Jimmy Riley - Living In Fear
David Isaacs & The Upsetters - We Are Neighbours
Tetrack - I'm Not Satisfied

Don't Enslave Yourself

Hey, a piggy bank. That calls for ye olde Soft Machine methinks...

Soft Machine - Save Yourself
Soft Machine - Pig

In Stitches

"I am a racing horse, I am a grazing horse, I am your favorite horse..." Plain and simple brilliance from the Oldham stable.

Palace Brothers - No More Workhorse Blues

Armadillo Brillo

Have I ever told you how much I love this beauty? Leo's debut, from back in '69. Released on John Fahey's famed Takoma label, and for obvious reasons also known as the Armadillo album. Here's a taste of the magic of the 6 and 12 strings therein: a 'prayer for the demise of the canoe and the radar trap without which Federal prisons will have to be rebuilt to accommodate prepubescence', as the liner notes rightly claim.

Leo Kottke - Crow River Waltz

Be Merry

Merry Clayton sings Carole King. The one they called Baby Sister sure had soul to sell. Oh yes-sir-ree. Ballad time!

Merry Clayton - Same Old Story

Diminishing Returns

Secretly out now: charming new living room recordings by Shrimper Records head honcho Dennis Callaci and Omaha, Nebraska's finest Simon Joyner. Lofi never goes out of style I guess. "Cause when you're saving for the future, you might as well be living free..."

Dennis Callaci & Simon Joyner - The Frayed End Of The Rope
Dennis Callaci & Simon Joyner - San Antonio

Run Come Rally draft

Throw away your folly, as this is some righteous roots. Just go deh.

Freddie McGregor - Rastaman Camp