First, let’s get this out of the way. I actually enjoy The Killers’ music. I loved pretty much all of their first album, and their recent song “Read My Mind” is tops on my current “Top 25 Most Played” iPod listing, the result of incessant repetition a few months ago. But this band is a great example of a general “nothing new under the sun” feeling I’m getting from music these days. Perhaps it’s just me getting older, but so much I hear now sounds an awful lot like things I heard then. I mean whatshername, Fergie, has a new hit song that, while I admire her for actually singing instead of that chant-rap crap the buying public was letting her get away with, contains such a blatant rip of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” that I just want to walk up to strangers in the street and point this out. This one is obvious enough that I think even the average guy on the street just might get it, and for a second my frustration may be comiserated. sigh… Anyway, I really do like The Killers and wish them well. And there’s plenty of room in my heart and mind and iPod for them and their obvious influences. And The Bravery, too. But I just started to get amused at the thought of the guys in the band having to scramble around and hide all their U2 and Cure CDs whenever the groupies come over, so nobody catches on. Here’s some examples of the kind of stuff that they toss behind the couch until company leaves:

1. Blondie, “Dreaming”
I mean come on! I played this for Sam in the store, and honestly the first thing that came to mind was, “how did nobody get sued over this?” Besides the melodic Killerness of the chorus, this song also boasts big fun ABBAesque harmony arrangments and plenty of raw ore that would later be refined by The Go-Gos (”We Got The Beat”) and Kim Wilde (”Kids in America”).

2. Modern English, “Tables Turning”
Enter the old analog synth sounds, the vocal distortion, the epic-poem song that breaks down into a poignant piano solo halfway through. I personally think that Modern English is the single biggest influence on The Killers and their neo-post-modern-new-wave-post-punk ilk. There are worse influences to have.

3. U2, “Like A Song…”
This has turned out to be one of my favorite U2 songs, and I was a big fan of everything between “Boy” and somewhere around the end of “Where The Streets Have No Name”. Featuring Larry Mullen Jr at his all-time tom-flogging, hihat-splashing best, this is also a great showcase for the U2 formula of everyone playing a melody, from single echoed notes on guitar to high rhythmical plucking on bass. This is the sound that launched a thousand post-punkers. I guess I’m including this less for “hey that sounds like The Killers” purposes, and more for the thought that this is probably the type of energy that fueled young Killers / Bravery / Clap Your Hands / Wolf Parade / Hard-Fi, etc, and is a song that The Killers should really cover live if they don’t already. That and Psychedelic Furs’ “Heaven” - I think a Killers version of that would rock.

4. Iggy Pop, “Neighborhood Threat”
Pay attention, young killers-in-training. Take note of the warbly voice and limited range, the theatricality, the backing chorus… When you grow up and write songs of your own someday, make sure to sprinkle these in liberally. Oh yeah, and remember to give proper attribu- hey, where are you guys going? Get back here, we haven’t covered The Buzzcocks or Gary Numan yet! Oh well, I guess you’ll discover them on your own… Obviously.

Download: Blondie, “Dreaming” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Modern English, “Tables Turning” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: U2, “Like A Song…” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Iggy Pop, “Neighborhood Threat” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Anybody who knows me is well aware that I am a cyclist.

I do ride a lot, it’s true. Last weekend, I knocked off a 101-mile ride with relative ease. I love riding hills - even ones that would be considered tough to ascend on foot. And I’m in the process of building a tricked-out carbon fiber bike.

(And yes, that’s a picture of me, climbing Emigration Canyon when I was in Utah last month.)

And during the month of July, I’m glued to Eurosport, VeloNews and NOS, following the Tour de France.

I’ve seen the race in person, back in 1990 when Greg LeMond won his third (and final) Tour. And I’ve followed the race closely since 1986, when LeMond won his first. I loved watching the five consecutive wins of Miguel Indurain, the seven wins by Lance Armstrong, and the trials and tribulations of Jan Ullrich. And for the past six years, I’ve followed the adventures of Levi Leipheimer, former teammate of mine at Rowmark Ski Academy (he’s racing well this year - go, Levi!).

So what song could be more appropriate than Queen’s ode to cycling, “Bicycle Race”?

This version was recorded live in the late 1970s - I have no more data than that, as it’s from a ROIO that is a bit lacking in the nitty-gritty details.

Download: “Bicycle Race” - Queen (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

It’s amazing how an average album can be salvaged by one completely fantastic song, and my crush this month is a prime example of that: Carina Round’s sophomore album Slow Motion Addict.

The disc sounds like PJ Harvey fronting a glammy version of Franz Ferdinand, and, at first glance, that should be a pretty good combination, right? In practice, tho, it’s a bit disappointing: the songs generally lack memorable hooks and choruses, and the production is far too slick and generic for my tastes (thanks a lot, Glen Ballard). However, Round’s voice is a very impressive instrument, and the conviction with which she sings kept my tuned in for the entire disc.

The one song on Addict that really stuck with me is “Come To You,” a big, beautiful, ballad powered by Round’s raw, moving vocals and a propulsive, galloping rhythm. It’s been stuck in my head for weeks, and it’s single-handedly kept me returning to the album’s playlist to give it another try. It has yet to succeed in changing my mind on Addict, but it keeps Carina Round in my good graces, and it makes her worth checking out if you’re unfamiliar. Here’s to hoping that she hooks up with a better producer for her next album…

Download: Carina Round, “Come To You” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

My cool aunt Carolyn made a request a couple of months ago: make a CD for me to take on road trips. After hearing the full details of her request, tho, I decided that it would be a fun challenge for both Rudi & Matt, too, so I told her to cool her jets for a few weeks while we whipped up something special. The gist?

Make a playlist where all the songs have the same beat as the Beatles’ “Drive My Car.”

Carolyn lives in Newton, Kansas, almost the dead-center of the state, and has to drive about 4 hours east or west if she wants to visit family. “Drive My Car” (her pick) has a real peppy, driving beat, and a mix that steadily upbeat will keep her fingers a-tapping and help her get to her destination happily and safely.

So, with that direction, I let the Uncles have at it with me, and the results are indeed perfect for your next road trip. Enjoy and drive safely!

• Uncle Sam’s “Metronomic”
• UNKLE Matt’s “Drive My Cah”
• Onkel Rudi’s “Drive (if you want to)”

Here’s “Drive My Car” to get you started, too:

Download: The Beatles, “Drive My Car” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

This challenge was full of…. challenges. And originally I’d planned to make this a “mega-mix,” where each song flows into the other in seamless bliss.

But two things stood in the way - one practical, one more esoteric.

The first thing to note is that Ringo is very much a “feel” drummer. His tempo wavers a bit (”Drive My Car” varies between 122 and 124 beats per minute), but the songs always seem to be “just right.” And Ringo would be the first to admit that other drummers can carry a better, more consistent tempo. That said, the tempo variation gave me a bit of wiggle room to select songs for a fun playlist.

Secondly, citing any song by The Beatles was bound to make me smile - and incessantly ponder the right songs to list as follow-ups to “Drive My Car.” So I hemmed and hawed over songs for a long time. Even though the list of tempo-compatible songs was short(ish), it took me a long time to find the right order - and even the right performers. Had I wanted to, I could’ve made the entire list a bunch of songs by The Beatles, Wings, George Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo. But that didn’t seem quite right, however fun (and easy) that would’ve been.

So I present this list as a starting point - and one that’ll get you 24-or-so minutes along in your journey.

1. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” - The Beach Boys
   From the same basic time period as “Drive My Car” comes this Brian Wilson song that also happens to be an ideal driving song. Even though Pet Sounds is a very moody, melancholy album, this song still brings forth the image of driving along the California coast - and what’s not to like about that?
2. “Lucky Town” - Bruce Springsteen
   Bruce wrote one of the better cruising songs - “Blinded By The Light,” which became a hit for Manfred Mann - so it stands to reason that he would record more songs that invoke the feel of a good drive. “Lucky Town” is from one of Bruce’s “twin albums” from the early 1990s, Lucky Town and Human Touch. The former album is mostly uptempo songs, while the latter is more mellow fare. The story of going “down to lucky town” seems to work well for a wheeled journey.
3. “You Just May Be The One” - The Monkees
   This song is one that is seldom seen as a hit for The Monkees, yet it’s one of their stronger songs. To my mind, it’s all due to the fact that Mike Nesmith wrote the song and closely dictated its arrangement - Papa Nez was perhaps the most musically gifted of the “pre-fab Four.” This version, from one of the Missing Links compilations, is an earlier recording that was used on the TV show - the song was later re-recorded by Nesmith, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork on their superb Headquarters album. On this version, the only Monkee performing an instrument is Nesmith, who plays rhythm guitar.
4. “Straight Shooter” - The Mamas & The Papas
   From If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears, this song has such wonderful harmonies and moves along at a good clip - something that can’t often be said of the output of this crazy, folk-rock group. Enjoy the wall of sound as you cruise down the highway.
5. “On And On And On” - ABBA
   Ah - Scandinavian disco at its best. Benny Andersson and Bjørn Ulvaeus are a potent writing team - on a par with Lennon-McCartney, John-Taupin, Nanker-Phelge and Wilson-Love in terms of being able to churn out well-crafted, eminently hummable songs that aren’t pure bubble-gum pop pap. This song encourages any driver to keep moving, on and on and on…
6. “Rebel Rebel” - David Bowie
   An ode to cross-dressing and sexual ambiguity wrapped up in a rocking package - one of David Bowie’s most enduring and rocking numbers, and one that forever ears him a place on my “must-have” driving playlist.
7. “She’s A Rejecter” - Of Montreal
   Just to show that I’m not completely stuck in the pre-modern days, there’s this gem of a track from Atlanta’s Of Montreal. Their arrangements are odd and sometimes most discordant, but they know how to establish a good beat.

Enjoy - and don’t crash along the way!

Download: “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” - The Beach Boys (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Lucky Town” - Bruce Springsteen (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “You Just May Be The One” - The Monkees (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Straight Shooter” - The Mamas & The Papas (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “On And On And On” - ABBA (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Rebel Rebel” - David Bowie (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “She’s A Rejecter” - Of Montreal (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Onkel Rudi’s “Drive (if you want to)” (XML Playlist)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

The whole thing is available as a single ZIP file for one-stop-shopping:

Download: “Drive (if you want to)” (ZIP)
(Click here for download instructions)

Hi everybody! (Hi, Doctor Nick!) Sorry I’ve fallen way behind on my service requirements, I’m in the midst of one of those ongoing periods of life where my time is not my own. But I have today off, already got a few things done, and thought I’d finally get these descriptions posted. I’ll be brief. You be boxer.

When Sam brought up the idea for this month’s playlist, the first thing that popped in my head about “Drive My Car” wasn’t so much the tempo as the song’s groove. Kind of a lazy, old-fashioned R&B “Mustang Sally” kind of bassline, this groove shows up in a lot of different genres, powering funk and heavy metal, hip-hop and techno. I threw this list together quickly, trying to limit myself to songs that actually did seem to be of similar tempo to “Drive My Car”, but there was no science to it, I merely sang the Beatles’ song along with whatever track I was considering, and if it didn’t seem too out of place, onto the playlist it went.

1. MC Honky, “Sonnet No. 3 (Like A Duck)”
Honky is the solo side-project of Mark Oliver Everett (”E”), singer / songwriter of the band eels. On the “I Am The Messiah” album, E experiments a bit more with samples, turntables and other hip-hop devices, all wrapped in his wry sense of humor.

2. Candi Staton, “I’m Just A Prisoner”
A great example of that “Mustang Sally” groove, adapted and morphed with key changes and subtle tempo adjustments. And having the heavenly Staton on top like whipped cream doesn’t hurt. This is a hell of a song, and one that ends too soon. Check out what the drummer and horn players start to get into just as the track fades. Man, I bet they kept playing for fifteen minutes.

3. The Meters, “Ride Your Pony”
This is a definite direct-line descendant of “Sally”. You can actually hear the space where the backing vocals would go “ride, pony, ride…” Man, I think we’ve hit upon something here - these songs do really make for great driving music.

4. Soulwax, “Push It / No Fun”
This one just popped up on my iPod one day and I thought, “waitasec, that’s that groove I’ve been looking for!” (Okay I can’t resist - “It’s your cousin, Marvin Berry! You know that new sound you been lookin’ for? Well listen to this!”) I apologize for the ridiculous volume on this track, but I guess that’s what comes of it being part of a bootleg set of mash-ups. The “Best Bootlegs In The World Ever”, in fact. Not quite as sublimely successful as the amazing Aguilera / Strokes mix, this nonetheless entertains.

5. Beck, “Devil’s Haircut (remix by Noel Gallagher)”
I don’t even like this song, but it popped in my head instantaneously when Sam mentioned finding stuff like “Drive My Car”. Just to keep things marginally more interesting, I’ve thrown on the maxi-single remix by that Oasis guy.

6. Blondie, “Rip Her To Shreds”
Another song I’m not particularly fond of, but boy does it owe a lot to the Beatles song. That and all the “Leader Of The Pack” songs from the 50s I guess. This actually seems a lot more like stuff Patti Smyth and Lenny Kaye were into doing. Well I guess they were all hanging out at CGBGs together, maybe it rubbed off.

7. Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band, “Sookie, Sookie”
Here you go, prototypical groove from back in the day, Stax / Memphis / Donald “Duck” Dunn style. Help yourself, moptopped Liverpudlians.

8. The Ditty Bops, “There’s A Girl”
Okay, this isn’t part of the same groove at all, I just had to throw this on here. I mean, listen to it, it’s a friggin’ Beatles song!!! These girls can drive my cah anyday.

Download: MC Honky, “Sonnet #3 (Like A Duck)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Candi Staton, “I’m Just A Prisoner” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Meters, “Ride Your Pony” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Soulwax, “Push It/No Fun” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Beck, “Devil’s Hiarcut (Remix by Noel Gallagher)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Blondie, “Rip Her To Shreds” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Don Covay/Jefferson Lemon Blues Band, “Sookie, Sookie” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Ditty Bops, “There’s a Girl” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: UNKLE Matt’s “Drive My Cah” (XML Playlist)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

The whole thing is available as a single ZIP file for easy downloadin’:

Download: “Drive My Cah” (ZIP)
(Click here for download instructions)

I must admit, I think I had a harder time with this month’s theme than either Matt or Rudi because I’m just not as musical as the two of them. Rudi plays guitar (beautifully, I might add) and was in a band in high school, and Matt is a freakishly talented hip-hop producer and DJ and is also in a band. Me? I’m just a voracious fan of music with a loud mouth. To wit: when talking about finding tunes for our lists Matt talked about reacting to the boogie bassline throughout “Drive My Car” and trying to match that. Me? I tried to find songs whose beat made me tap my fingers at the same rate. Not quite as insightful, right? But hopefully just as fun.

So that was my brilliant plan for this month: isolate that driving, metronomic, cowbell-ready beat from “Drive My Car” and find its twins (or at least first cousins) in my music collection. What I discovered is that, at least to my ear, “Drive My Car” has a rather unique beat/tempo: nearly all of the songs I auditioned for my list were either just a little slower or just a little faster than it. So if my list isn’t a perfect match, I beg forgiveness. It’ll still make your fingers tap all the way from Newton to Garden City, KS, tho…

1. The White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army”
   This is, of course, lead single and biggest hit from Elephant, the album that welcomed the Stripes to the mainstream. Jack White’s guitar solos are blistering and lyrical, and Meg transforms that consistent, driving beat into an awesome, thrashy stomp. I get bonus points, too, ’cause the song name-checks Wichita.
2. Spoon, “The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine”
   Something about sound of the drums and the added strings here reminds me of the Beatles’ “white album” — dunno exactly what it is, but I like it. Actually, I absolutely lurved Spoon’s Gimme Fiction, which this song is from.
3. Texas, “Where Did You Sleep?”
   Sadly, most American audiences probably know Texas (the band, that is) best from the soundtracks to movies like Bend It Like Beckham and Love, Actually, and that’s a real shame: the Scottish band has been steadily releasing albums of unbelievably catchy, smart, blue-eyed soul-pop for years, and frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri has a can’t-miss voice. Time to give them their due, folks. This should have been the biggest single from their 2003 album Careful What You Wish For, but it didn’t even get an official release. It’s an excellent, excellent song.
4. Gorillaz, “Dare”
   The animated collaboration between Damon Albarn and Danger Mouse was a spectacular success, and this second single from Demon Days features famous drunk/Mancunian Shaun Ryder on vocals. According to Wikipedia, the song was initially titled “It’s There,” but Ryder’s thick accent while delivering that line sounded more like “it’s dare,” so it was changed.
5. Looper, “Mondo 66″
   I owe my pal Julie for hooking me up with the mp3 of this song — it was always one of those tunes I heard in commercials and movie trailers that made me say “what is that song!?!,” so it’s nice to finally figure it out.
6. Wilco, “The Thanks I Get”
   It’s crazy, but the best song from Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky sessions isn’t on the album — it’s this tune, released as a digital single just before the album’s release back in May. Alt.country-rock at its finest.
7. The Darkness, “Friday Night”
   I was actually really heartbroken when The Darkness broke up earlier this year: I loved their serious/smirking take on bombastic hair metal, and I’m sad that we won’t likely see any genius music videos featuring giant, furry, purple aliens again anytime soon. We can still revel in the tunes, tho, especially this cheeky anthem. Its video, by the way, is absolutely brilliant.

Download: The White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Spoon, “The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Texas, “Where Did You Sleep?” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Gorillaz, “Dare” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Looper, “Mondo 66″ (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Wilco, “The Thanks I Get” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Darkness, “Friday Night” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Uncle Sam’s “Metronomic” (XML Playlist)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

You can grab the whole thing in a single ZIP file, too:

Download: “Metronomic” (ZIP)
(Click here for download instructions)