Saturday Cleaning Playlist

1. The Recidivist - Norfolk and Western
I've seen N&W twice live. Tony Moreno (the group's principle instrumentalist) is one of the most interesting guys I've ever met.

2. John Hardy was a Desperate Little Man - The Carter Family
I remember my great-aunt and her husband at the time, Clarence, playing this song on accordian and harmonica in my grandparent's living room when I was about 7. Clarence was a diehard, old-school Southern Baptist farmer and I don't think he liked this kind of music, but he played it anyway.

3. Me and the Devil Blues - The Cowboy Junkies
Ripped from the soundtrack of this Christian Slater flick, Pump Up the Volume, about a bootleg radio station and the true coolness of independent radio. This song is so mellow and haunting. Uneven soundtrack, but a few good songs.

4. Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government) - The Vandals
"America stands for freedom/but if you think your free/try walking into a deli/and urinating on the cheese." Nuff said.

5. Hunted by a Freak - Mogwai
Mogwai is one of those ethreal-sounding jam bands that has been a college-radio mainstay for a few years now.

6. Tale of Five Cities - Peanut Butter Wolf
One of the major reasons why rap music has been so lame lately, is there's no longer the element of experimental beats in the mainstream. Its all about being radio-friendly - about making Wall Street happier than Main Street. PBW is a bit of a throw-back to those days of Grandmaster Flash, DJ Lethal (pre-Limp Bizkit Fred Durst bitch), Scribbles, Jam MAster Jay, and Terminator X.

7. Edie Brickell (Sixtoo at the helm remix) - DJ Vadim featuring Slug
Such a simple loop. One stupid lyric about "running my toes through your pink sand" almost ruins the track, but its forgivable in place. Slug is a very talented MC with a unique style - but he has seems to have a tendency to get too introspective at times, so caught up that it comes across as self-absorbed.

8. They're Hanging Me Tonight - Marty Robbins
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs is one of those trully legendary albums, pissing in the face of the concept of "genre". I've seen punk covers of "Big Iron," rock covers of "El Paso," and even a Tejano version of some of the album's songs.

9. Classical Homicide - Dalek
This song reminds me of what the Wu-Tang Clan would've sounded like if they'd performed as a Gregorian Chant outfit....backed by Nine Inch Nails.

10. Angel's Wings - Social Distortion
Off their latest album, Sex Love and Rock and Roll. Still trying to get the riff down.