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We’re gonna just have fun this month. School’s out, after all, right? Right. Now, onto keeping it simple:

I was just taking a look at my summer calendar, and I’m going to be a busy, busy traveler. I’ve got weddings, business trips, and, if I’m lucky, maybe a vacation of my own, too. I’m going to be on planes, trains, and automobiles, and my iPod is going to be an integral part of every trip. I’m going to need some good tunes for the open roads (or tracks, or skies, etc.), so let’s have at it, gentlemen!

This month, our playlists are about traveling: hitting the open road, leaving on jet planes, riding the rails, or just hoofing it. Starting out going from point A to point B, realizing that you forgot something important back at point A at a roadside McDonalds halfway through a 5 1/2 hour drive, turning around and heading back to point A, grabbing what you left behind, getting back on the road towards point B, and finally arriving at point B almost 5 hours later than you should have. Not that anything like that has actually happened to me or was completely my fault or anything…

Right. Anyway, enjoy these playlists that are sure to get your motor running:

• Onkel Rudi’s “Hit ‘Da Road”
• U.N.K.L.E. Matt’s “…And the road you rode in on”
• Uncle Sam’s “Cars? Where we’re going we don’t need cars…”

I feel I’m gleefully representing the political and “moral” climate of my home state of Massachusetts when I proudly admit that my crush this month is on two guys named Josh and Lucas. (…NOT, I repeat NOT, that weird acting-talent-infused McConaughey clone named Josh Lucas…) I guess this admission won’t come as any surprise to those who know me well, or just people who know the two of them better as DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. Shadow is… Well, he’s friggin’ DJ SHADOW, the single greatest representative of turntablism since back when Grand Mixer DST and Aladdin just called it “DJing” (and is playing Avalon on July 3rd). Cut Chemist is responsible for the musical side of the best hip-hop you’re not listening to right now, as the producer for Jurassic 5.

Together, they’ve released the two greatest vinyl-breaks-based albums ever produced, “Brainfreeze” and “Product Placement”. This is not a category in which there is much competition. Back in the early 1980’s, people like Double Dee & Steinski or DST put out 12″ singles that were made up entirely of other people’s vinyl, respun and remixed with lots of little voice and movie snippets thrown in. But since 1986 and the emergence of the sampler, all the dusty-fingertipped vinyl spelunkers regarded their finds as mere library fodder for looping (myself included). On these two albums, Shadow and Cut Chemist return to the basics; spinning and mixing some of their best rare finds off vinyl, inspired by the sheer amount of one-off promotional commercial recordings they found while digging for more Blackbyrds or Lyn Collins records. I’m talking rare obscure recordings made to promote Slurpees. That kind of thing.

The two albums were originally made available only as double-vinyl sets, but eventually found their way onto CD, and places like Newbury and Twisted Village carried them as “imports” since they were really bootlegs. I don’t think Shadow and Cut Chemist were very concerned about any money getting back to them, because then they would have to worry about someone going after them for the five hundred or so “samples” they had no intention of ever clearing. Anyway they’re both great records, and I copied both for Uncle Sam a little while ago, knowing his fondness for all things beats & breaks. This track is from the second side of “Product Placement” and is made up of obscure songs and commercials recorded to promote various colas, notably Coke and something called “Strike”? The backing tracks are primarily “Fun Buggy” by The Poets, and “It’s The Real Thing” by the Ivor Raymonde Orchestra. The album continues on into a song about milk, but I kept loading this up on my iPod and repeating this section, so finally I just edited the damn thing out and called it “Thirsty First (The Real Thing)”. Enjoy! It’ll bring a smile to your face.

Download: “Thirsty First (The Real Thing)” - DJ Shadow & Cut Chemist (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

I don’t know if this is so much a “monthly crush” as it is a monthly severe-case-of-earworm. This month was chock-full of excellent releases (Springsteen, Neil, and Pearl Jam, oh my!), but this one was never far from my headphones. Gnarls Barkley is the brainchild of DJ/masher-upper/producer Danger Mouse (the mad genius responsible for the outstanding Jay-Z/Beatles mash Grey Album 2 years back and producer of two of last year’s best albums, the still-growing-on-me Gorillaz album Demon Days and Danger Doom’s Mouse and the Mask) and R&B singer Cee-Lo (former member of Goodie Mob), and it’s one of the most quirky and enjoyable things you’ll ever hear. Their album St. Elsewhere is a catchy-like-bird-flu dose of turntable-infused R&B, and “Crazy” is the cream of that crop.

The single has just notched its’ 7th straight week at #1 in the UK, where it debut at the top of the charts based on digital sales alone (a global first), but so far it’s been very under-the-radar here at home. Well, it’s time to change that!

DM lays down quirky bassline that sounds like it was plucked from the Gorillaz album, and propels it forth on a driving drum/bass sample. Cee-Lo’s vocals are high and dry, and they absolutely soar when the chorus’ orchestral swells kick up. The chorus adds to the insane aesthetic, too - the strings call to mind the crazy-making muzak that Nurse Ratched constantly played over the ward loudspeakers in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

It’s better than Cats. You’ll listen to it again and again and again. Enjoy!

Download: “Crazy” - Gnarls Barkley (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

It’s the middle of May, and my ears are atwitter with new music.

Recent weeks have seen the release of Paul Simon’s fun new album, Surprise, and Neil Young’s hot anti-war album, Living With War.

There are also some interesting new songs from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Guns ‘n’ Roses have played a handful of gigs in NYC.

I even went to see a wonderful concert by Thomas Dolby, and have the pictoral evidence to prove it.

But my choice for a “crush of the month” is Nebraska’s own Josh Rouse.

Why? Well, he’s come up a lot in my iPod’s shuffle, his songs are catchy and kinda fun, and his song, “Summertime,” has me looking forward to the better aspects of the summer months. In fact, most of his latest album, Subtitulo, is good fun. While it’s not quite as potent as the masterful Nashville, Rouse is in fine voice throughout his new collection of songs. And the influence of the recording location - Valencia, Spain - is woven in the harmonies and instrumentation of the songs.

But “Summertime” is a song that makes me smile. It’s no deeper than that - Rouse is just a lot of fun, and fits my mood today.

“Summertime” - Josh Rouse (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

This took me some time and effort to compile, mainly because I was a bit unclear on the concept at first. My initial idea was to be a succession of songs where each featured a sample of the song before. This is problematic, since it would by definition need to be in chronological order, and people have only been sampling since the mid-80’s. The longest string I could think of was James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” (the most sampled song in history), which was sampled by the Fresh 4 for their cover of “Wishing on a Star,” which was sampled by Candy Flip for their cover of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which was, in turn, sampled by Jam Master Jay for a song by The Afros that he produced. I sampled a loop off of that in 1991. but it was just too esoteric, and when Rudi then clarified his connections, new ideas blossomed.

I instantly thought of many songs that featured well-known artists in hidden roles, and a few of them ended up on this list, just not in the way I originally intended. I mean, I tried to connect out to Sinead O’Connor or Bob Dylan or Rakim or even Don Henley, who sang harmony on “Watching TV.” But the 30-minute limit stymied any long rambling connections to Johnny Cash through Dylan and then to U2 through “The Wanderer” and on to the Art of Noise through producer Trevor Horn who had a hand in “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” I tried to avoid what hip-hoppers refer to as “posse cuts,” but the “Mother” performance was too good to pass up.

What I ended up trying to find in each case was a song where THREE notable people were involved - that way I could connect, say, Godley & Creme to The Art of Noise through Trevor Horn, and then leave via Rakim. But the Rakim one only led to the Coldcut remix of “Paid in Full,” then the Coldcut song “Sound Mirrors” led to Cinematic Orchestra through their bass player, but unless Fontella Bass ever did anything with Roger Waters, I’d hit a dead end.

You begin to see the whirlwind my mind has been in for the past week. I suppose it’s only fair, considering I threw Uncle Sam’s entire life into turmoil with my last Selection. So anyway, enjoy what I ended up with, and join in my sadness that I couldn’t find a place for Banco de Gaia’s “Celestine,” which features the legendary Dick Parry on sax.

1. Roger Waters, Sinead O’Connor, & The Band, “Mother”
   Levon Helm sang on this, and played drums on…
2. Mercury Rev, “Opus 40″
   Before Jonathan Donahue left to form Mercury Rev, he was part of the Flaming Lips, and played on…
3. The Flaming Lips, “You Have to Be Joking”
   Michael Kamen got a co-writing credit on this song because the backwards string sample is from his score to Brazil. Kamen also arranged strings on…
4. David Gilmour, “Out of the Blue”
   Anne Dudley played keyboards on this, as well as on…
5. The Art of Noise feat. Rakim, “Metaforce”
   This was produced by Trevor Horn, who also produced…
6. Seal, “Don’t Cry”
   Jeff Beck played guitar on this, as well as on…
7. Roger Waters, “Watching TV”
   Obviously Roger Waters wrote this as well as track 01.

Download: Seven Degrees of Horny Floydian Lips
(Click here for download instructions)

Okay, so I laid down the ground rules for this over two months ago (in my head, at least).

Then I had a case of writer’s block: I just couldn’t connect the dots.

Nothing.

Nada.

Lots of dead ends.

Lots of split ends - but that’s another matter, entirely.

But then I got started on an obtuse angle (sleep deprivation, classes, cycling and other such things will do that to me), and decided on a starting point: The Beatles. Firstly, they are my favorite musical act of all time, and I keep returning to them as a constant in my musical library. And the Fab Four also worked with quite a few people behind the scenes, which allowed my to start - and finish - my musical journey.

So, in an eleventh-hour fit of “gotta finish this,” it is done - and here for you to enjoy!

And this mix is a shade over 30 minutes - but as the creator of this month’s theme, I’m taking creative licence. So there!

As some bloke from Cambridge once said, “OK…. here we go”:

1. The Beatles, “For You Blue”
   The starting point of this journey is from The Beatles’ ill-fated Get Back album, which eventually became Let It Be under the (over)production helm of Phil Spector. But the original project was produced and engineered by Glyn Johns, who went on to produce…
2. The Eagles, “Tequila Sunrise”
   …the band that used to back Linda Ronstadt before they set out on their own (much like The Band to Bob Dylan). Johns is credited with helping the band establish the “SoCal Country Rock” sound. In particular, the voice of The Eagles’ drummer, Don Henley, became instantly recognizable. As such, Henley’s vocal abilities are often desired by other artists, such as…
3. Roger Waters, “Watching TV”
   …Roger Waters, bassist for Pink Floyd, who teamed with Henley on his Walden Woods charity project. Henley sang harmony vocals on this song by Waters, which directly addresses the Tienanmen Square uprising. But Waters is best known for his work with the Floyd, including the co-composer credit on…
4. Dar Williams, “Comfortably Numb”
   …this track from The Wall. Dar Williams and Ani DiFranco handle the vocals on this recent cover of the song, a standout track on Williams’ My Better Self CD. She has a great band backing her, including Steve Holly, who was a member of the last iteration of…
5. Paul McCartney & Wings, “Rockestra Theme”
   …Wings, the first post-Beatles band fronted by Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney and Denny “Go Now” Laine. Back To The Egg became Wings’ last hurrah, due in no small part to Laine’s drug use and Paul’s drug bust in Japan during the tour for this album. On the album, McCartney decided to form a “super group,” the “Rockestra,” which counted amongst its members…
6. Pete Townshend, “Give Blood”
   …the lead guitarist of The Who, who at the time was dealing with the recent death of Keith Moon - who, oddly enough, died after partying with Paul McCartney. “Give Blood” is a track on Townshend’s White City, an album which also featured the talents of…
7. Pink Floyd, “Remember A Day”
   …David Gilmour, whose first work with Pink Floyd was on this track from their 1968 release, A Saucerful Of Secrets. This album was the Floyd’s second full-length studio work, and also the work where Syd Barrett was given the heave-ho during recording sessions. Gilmour was brought in to help save the sinking Pink Floyd ship, which in turn saved the hide of…
8. The Beatles, “I’m Looking Through You”
   …Norman “Normal” Smith, who was the recording engineer for The Beatles before leaving in late-1965 to produce The Pink Floyd (as they were then known) for EMI. His last work with The Beatles was Rubber Soul. This album is seen as a landmark album in the Fab Four’s catalog, and the semi-acoustic sound is due, in large part, to the work of Smith in capturing the instruments.

Have fun!

Download: Musical Entomology: From Beatles to… Beatles
(Click here for download instructions)

Gotta tip my cap to Onkel Rudi for this month’s theme - playing the Kevin Bacon game with my music collection was tough, but loads of fun. Thank Jebus, tho, for the All Music Guide, because without it, I never would have been able to make many of these connections. I guess that’s the price one pays for digital downloads; sure, I get my music on the cheap, but without liner notes, how would one ever know the identity of the album’s engineer or mixer without an online database like the AMG? I mean, my brain has lots of room for near-meaningless information, but even I have my limits.

When I started to play musical connect the dots, I thought I’d take up Rudi’s bonus challenge of making the string go full circle. My alpha and omega? The Beastie Boys. Why the Beasties? Well, in addition to having gone through occasional bouts of delirious near-obsession with them, they also have a long history of collaborating with offbeat and diverse folks, so finding interesting departure and entry points would be a little easier. I tried using other bands as starting/ending points for this, but too often they worked within a relatively small community of artists & producers - the Beasties were a perfect fit (so perfect that I didn’t have to edit any of the songs to get under the 30-minute limit - woo-hoo!). I got reeeeal close with Primal Scream, tho, and if prompted, I may share that one with you later this month.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s my playlist, which takes you from Brooklyn to Britain and back again:

1. Beastie Boys, “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”
   I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for this one. I moved to Brooklyn in 1998, and my friends Rudi & Ben drove me and my stuff into the city. I was in the car with Ben when we crossed into Brooklyn, and when that happened, this song popped up on the mixtape a friend had made for me. It comes from the Beasties’ classic 1986 Def Jam debut Licensed to Ill. Ill was was produced by über-producer Rick Rubin, who also was behind the boards for…
2. Johnny Cash, “Personal Jesus”
   …this Depeche Mode cover, which appeared on Cash’s American IV: The Man Comes Around. The Man in Black was joined by a host of collaborators for his series of American albums, and this track is no exception - the guitar you hear is the work of John Frusciante, who also is a member of…
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Cabron”
   …the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who added this three-minute burst of East LA sunshine to thier last album, By the Way. The most famous Chili Pepper, tho, may be bassist Flea, who leant his talents to…
4. Mick Jagger, “I’ve Been Lonely For So Long”
   …this track from Mick Jagger’s fantastic 1991 solo disc Wandering Spirit. Mick’s day job, of course, is with…
5. Rolling Stones, “Gimme Shelter”
   …the Stones, who recorded this thundering classic back in 1969. The female vocal? That’s well-traveled soul singer Merry Clayton, who’s still pretty busy with studio work, including…
6. Everlast, “Black Coffee”
   …this pretty number from Everlast’s 2000 album Eat at Whitey’s. Clayton’s vocal is an unexpected treat, as is the orchestral arrangement by David Campbell, who also leant his talents to…
7. Beck, “Missing”
   …this groovy, almost bossa-nova number from last year’s Guero. Guero, of course, reunited Beck with production duo the Dust Brothers, who helmed his masterpiece Odelay!, as well as…
8. Beastie Boys, “The Sounds of Science”
   …Paul’s Boutique, which is home to this track, probably my favorite Beasties tune of all. What’s not to love? It opens with a goofy loop and silly rhymes before doubling the pace & kicking it into high gear with a fantastic sample from the Beatles’ Abbey Road.

Enjoy the playlist…

Download: Connecting the Dots with the Beastie Boys
(Click here for download instructions)