Ringing In

Happy New Years Eve!  We'll take a break from our Best of 2012 List to wish all y'all a great night and a peaceful day!  Here's a few tunes to keep the party going, from early on to the stumbling break of dawn! Enjoy, and behave!

Part 4 of the Big Rock Candy Mountain Best of 2012 List returns tomorrow!  We're almost there!


Swing the old year away!


Billy Ward and His Dominoes: Ringing in a Brand New Year (mp3)

Johnny Otis: Happy New Year Baby (mp3)

Jimmy Jules and the Nuclear Sound System: The New Year (mp3)

Cameos: New Year's Eve (mp3)

The Qualities (Sun Ra): Happy New Year to You (mp3)

Blind Lemon Jefferson: Happy New Year Blues (mp3)

Be careful out there!

I'm Drunk and Dirty, Don't Ya Know

Small technical difficulties with our LP to digital making us late today, but here we are!  Day 3 of Big Rock Candy Mountain's 50 Best Records of 2012!

Not much to say, other than encouraging folks to let us know their faves of the year, in case we missed something!

On with it then...

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Best Records of 2012, Part 3

30. Radar Eyes: Radar Eyes

Blip and bleep space travel over Beach Boys fuzz incognito, the last wave on nuclear ground.

Radar Eyes: In Time (mp3)

29. T.Tex Edwards: Intexicated!

Cowpunk castration, a collection of sorts, psycho hillbilly wipe 'em off after shame, stomp and shit-caked boots travelin' gothic sugarcane sleaze.


T.Tex Edwards: Cravin' (mp3)

28. The Golden Boys: Dirty Fingernails

Bar band glory, organ-drenched geetar salvation, last body in the bar looking for love or fucking either one will do, the stink of stale beer and 3 AM hullabaloo.

The Golden Boys: Outta The Dark (mp3)

27. Puffy Areolas: 1982: Dishonorable Discharge

Nasty-ass scuzz, with theme deconstructed out of blown speaker dissolve, cranked-out blown, and blasted fuzzed out vocal disappear. 


Puffy Areolas: Not Tonight (mp3)

26. Andre Williams: Night and Day (with the Sadies)/ Life /  Hoods and Shades

The legend...3 albums in one year, the very soul of rhythm, hard lived and full of piss, garagecountyrhythmandbluessoulbaby...yes...you cannot fuck with this man!

Andre Williams and the Sadies: I Gotta Get Shorty Out of Jail (mp3)

25. Becky Lee and Drunkfoot: Hello Black Halo

Big stomp deepcountryblues trashgirl fuck you.

Becky Lee and Drunkfoot: Shoot 'em Down (mp3)

24. Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs: Sunday Run Me Over

More Holly Golightly exploration of old weird america, perhaps her best ever, slicing out cotton fields on fire viewed from creaky boards with history crashing and slipping into god, who has abandoned the shack, the devil alive in fire.

Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs: Goddamn Holy Roll (mp3)

23. Useless Eaters: C'est Bon LP/ Addicted to the Blade 7"

The last bastion at the end of the world, sharded and angular, sleazed-out full of garbage leavings and lo, a saviour!


Useless Eaters: Receiver (Drop the Bomb) (mp3)

22. Hank Haint: Blackout

Yr best Hank Williams for the new millennium,  in rawking chair electric spinning sparks against dying fireflies, the world at it's cowboy end big hat smoldering on wooden planks dreaming of yesteryear.


Hank Haint: Keep On Walking (mp3)

21. The Hussy: Weed Seizure

Psyh-destruction, kaboom, the peace sign shining neon with shards of bellybutton gazing focused into frenzy, toked and twisted into fuzzy blasting aural explosion!
The Hussy: Bang Bang (mp3)


As ever, support the bands and the labels!

Driven By The Snow

 Man, we want that hi-fi system above....

Here we go!  Day 2 of the Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 50 Rekkids of 2012!  Good times!

Y'all might notice a lack of 7"'s on the list...gonna give 'em their own list eventually.

Also, y'all might notice that we have virtually no major label releases on our list (maybe a couple of exceptions coming up).  Oddly, that's not so much on purpose, but more, well, the fact that the "majors" don't really release anything interesting.  It's just not in their nature.

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 50 Records of 2012, Part 2

40.  Eric Burdon & The Greenhornes: S/T

A legend returns, garage band in tow, for typically tart shout-along, taking the piss, no prisoners.

Eric Burdon & The Greenhornes: Black Dog (mp3)

39. Singing Loins: Here On Earth

Busker-influenced (from way before the recent wave of lame pretenders) stomping and  back-porch hootin'!


The Singing Loins: Happy Me Up (mp3) 

38. Soulsavers: The Light, The Dead Sea

Swirled black as night sinful gospel, fading in and out like am radio crackle, deep beats and symphonic hallelujah if trance was heaven, and we won't tell who does "vocals".

37. Teen: In Limbo

Ronettes meet the Cure, girls in summer fuzzy and sepia, produced by Sonic Boom of Spectrum and Spacemen 3, so that's what you can expect.


Teen: Better (mp3)

36. Spiritualized: Sweet Heart Sweet Light

The sound of psych god moving across the surface.

Spiritualized: Hey Jane (mp3)

35. K-Holes: Dismania

Nooo Yawk no-wave inspired freakout and splatter, geetar frenzy sax destruction deconstructed  blown a fuse.

K-Holes: Rats (mp3)

34. Ex-Cult: Ex-Cult

Punk from a garage filled with paint fumes, traded vocal shouty, shambling, stanky, Memphis on fire!

Ex-Cult: Better Life Through Chemistry (mp3)

33. Atomic Suplex: Bathroom Party 

Rawk baby, lose yr eardrums the party's started, everyone's naked and fucking toward the end of time, balloons popped into helium madness!


Atomic Suplex: I'm On (mp3)

32. Cowbell: Beat Stampede

DeepBluesCountryFreakbeatR'nB mashemup, timeless.

Cowbell: Oh Girl (mp3)

31. Ketamines: Spaced Out

Psych-fuzzed trash snot, surged with organ and vintage rawk, yum!

Ketamines: Teenage Rebellion Time (mp3)


Please support independent artists and labels.  Buy a record or 7".  Take a chance and go see a show at yr local dingy club!  Fuck arena spectacles!

I've Been Warped By The Rain

The end of the year insanity continues today with Part 1 of the world famous Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 50 Records of the Year!

One of our favorite quotes this year is by Gyp Rosetti on Boardwalk Empire.  We're gonna paraphrase it a tad..."What's that?  A list?  I got a list.  He got a list.  He got a list...Everybody got lists!".  And so do we, of course.

As ever, we stress that this is our favorite records of the year.  We think they're pretty swell, but making a qualitative decision in regards to what is "best", even in this accelerated culture, seems premature.  Which of these records will we still be listening to 5 years from now?  Who can tell?  Most of these records don't appear on the majority of the "major" lists out there, both in print media and in the more widely-read cognoscenti of the interwebs.  That's ok.  We're not beholden to advertising dollars or bottom lines.  We'd like to believe we do whatever small part we can to help push bands and records that folks might like, if given the opportunity.  For what it's worth.

Usually we write some annoying, long-assed assessment of the music industry, or whatnot, at this point.  Eh.  What's the point?  Some great records came out this year, and some annoying ones did, as well.  While the music industry might be suffering, and justifiably so, music itself is doing just fine, thank you very much.  Bands are finding new and innovative ways to market themselves and get their tunes out there into the hands of fans, without the help of suits who view records as commodity rather than art and self-expression.  That's a good thing, and a trend to watch, one which can only improve with time and experimentation.    And vinyl continues to thrive, and has returned from the realm of hipster snobbery to a medium that folks across all spectrums can enjoy.  So, we're generally pretty positive these days. That's enough said, we think.

We've narrowed our records down to 50, which was actually pretty tough (we listen to a shit-ton of music, and are generally grouchily enthusiastic.).  If we missed anything, which is inevitable, let us know what yr favorites were!

Without further rambling, then:

The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 50 Records of 2012, Part 1

50. Bailter Space: Strobosphere

New Zealand space fuzz glory, burn the milky way in rusted tanker, god drunk in slow fire  void.

Bailter Space: Blue Star (mp3)

49. Mean Jeans: Mean Jeans On Mars

Super Rawk, burn down the AC/DC crown, lowest common denominator accelerated to the ends of the earth and yr mom thinks this is the best band ever.


Mean Jeans: Don't Stop Partying (mp3)

48. Spider Bags: Shake My Head

Fuzzy fizz,  snot flying loose into teenage rebellion, with 60's garage doors shut down and shakin'!


Spider Bags: Friday Night (mp3)

47. The Men: Open Your Heart

Rawk rangers on speed dial, angular buzzsaw ripping wooden toy soldiers raw, tribal rhythm bursting heart attack shout, psych-groove-adelic!


 The Men: Candy (mp3)

46. Tindersticks: The Something Rain

Ultimate Autumnal soul, deep rain washed-out forest spouting orange and red, muted by last trumpet keening slow sudden peace.


Tindersticks: This Fire of Autumn (mp3)

45. Bill Fay: Life is People

Startled sparrow in spring, a legend returned with piano plinked in cosmic groove and stillness with all the universe circling now.  

Bill Fay: Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People) (mp3)

44. Mind Spiders: Meltdown


Urgent geetar pop showdown, throbbed and organ drenched, a time-elapsed alternate earth top of the pops throwdown, stand on yr stacks cocks out superstar spangle. 


Mind Spiders: On The Radio (mp3)

43. Chicken Snake: Trouble on my Doorstep


Scuzzy cowboy corn-shucking, back porch on fire sleazing backroads harmonica and slide, hollerin' the holler 'til the cows come callin' all hot and bothered.


Chicken Snake: I Am A Lonesome Hobo (mp3)

42. Rayon Beach: This Looks Serious

Psych-pop sludge'n' shimmy, dirty spangled revival, surfing oil spilled waves of sound and broiled muddy water.  


Rayon Beach: Sister Fever (mp3)

41. Walter Daniels and the Giblets: 10" S/T

Harmonica-dreched  trashcountryblues, a living legend, big-footed and stompin', teaching them thar youngun's how god made music, crusted and black bottomed, primordial torn from dinosaur bones and tarpit sludge. 

Walter Daniels and the Giblets: The Big Break (mp3)


Part 2 tomorrow!  Support the artists!

On the Eve

As Mr. Sovine famously said, here it is Xmas.  Time to celebrate the birth of Shane MacGowan! We made it!  Our War on Christmas (tm) has reached it's end for another year. 

And don't forget to tune back in Wednesday for the start of our world famous Big Rock Candy Mountain Best of 2012 extravaganza!

Regular readers will already know the two songs we're posting today.  They're our two favorite Xmas songs.

One is a very humorous take on family life at Christmas-time.  The other is a sweeping epic of love, hope, despair, and the very human condition of dreaming for a better life.  We could write (and have written) paragraphs about the songs, but let's just let them speak for themselves.

Have a great Holiday, however you choose to celebrate. 

The Pogues: Fairytale of New York (mp3)

Robert Earl Keen: Merry Christmas From the Family (mp3)

Thanks.

Red Nose Santa

Almost there! 

Today's Xmas cookies are courtesy of the mighty Otis Gibbs, the sublime Young Republic, and the wailin' Titus Turner! 

Rockin' on a Reindeer!

Otis Gibbs: Crap For Christmas (mp3)

Young Republic: Merry Christmas Again (mp3)

Titus Turner: Christmas Morning Blues (mp3)

Thanks for visitin'.  Have a seat and make yrselves at home!

Well, the world didn't end, so we figger Santa Shane MacGowan's birthday on December 25th is still happenin'. 

Gettin' closer to the big day, so let's break out the fruitcake, and slice off a big chunk.

Like Santa, we're all over the map today.  A little something for everyone, and everything for all! 

2 more days to go!

Santa's got a thing for chimneys!

 Dennis Turner: Santa Claus, Santa Claus (mp3)

Ian Fenn: Rockin' Rollin' Christmas (mp3)

Kay Martin and Her Bodyguards: I Know What You Want For Christmas (mp3)

Johnny Houston: Give Me A Kiss For Christmas (mp3)

The Yobs: Another Christmas (mp3)

The Von Bondies: Aint No Chimney in the Big House (mp3)

Charles Brown: Christmas In Heaven (mp3)

Loretta Lynn: Gift of the Blues (mp3)

Be good to each other!

Good Gravy Santa

Just a few more days until December 25th, the birth of Shane MacGowan.  Gonna go a bit crazy over the next few days, as is our tendency, so buckle up yr Santa suits and get the sleigh gassed up.

Before the true insanity, let's take a Holiday stroll down Americana (whatever that is) lane.

We've got The Band (who have some Canadian members) going old-timey on a special night.  Chip Taylor examines sibling rivalry for the Yuletide.  The seminal Paul Kelly (who is Australian) watches an Xmas celebration from afar, and shares the gift of gravy.  And the Trainwreck Riders take their sleigh on a long, dusty path!


Ho Ho Ho!



The Band: Christmas Must Be Tonight (mp3)

Chip Taylor: Bastard Brothers (mp3)

Paul Kelly: How To Make Gravy (mp3)

Trainwreck Riders: Christmas Time Blues (mp3)


Drop a few bucks in the red bucket if you have a chance.

Shut Down Santa

Just a reminder.  Starting a week from today is our world famous Big Rock Candy Mountain Best of 2012 List, where we count down 50 or so of our Top 10 favorite records of the year (yeah, we know...).  Stay tuned!

Now, on with the festive show.

Santa's hitting the beach today, waxing his board (heh), and surfing his bag of toys to all points warm and tropical.  Special thanks to Untamed Youth, The Surfaris, Lord Douglas Byron, and The Chevelles for helping Santa on his way!

Santa Hangs Ten!

Surfaris: A Surfer's Christmas List (mp3)

Lord Douglas Byron: Surfin' Santa (mp3)

Untamed Youth: Santa's Gonna Shut 'em Down (mp3)

The Chevelles: Come All Ye Faithful Surfer Girls (mp3)

Thanks for stopping by. Please support independent artists and businesses this Holiday Season.

Xmas In The City

It's time to bake and ice the Xmas cookies.  Let's go, daddy-o!

Santa's a rawk'n'roller today, with help from The Jacobites (the late and much-lamented Nikki Sudden's band after Swell Maps), Jukebox Zeros (from a killer free comp by One Chord Progression...grab it now!), and Cincinnati's very own Buffalo Killers. 

Santa's got a guitar!


Jacobites: Teenage Christmas (mp3)

Jukebox Zeros: Christmas in the City (Aint too Pretty) (mp3)

Buffalo Killers: Secret Santa (mp3)

Please support the bands, the independent labels, the independent rekkid stores!

Funky Santa

Howdy.

We debated on whether it was appropriate to do an Xmas post today, due to recent events.  After some thought, and discussions with others, we've decided to go on ahead.  Figger the world needs as much joy as it can get these days, and we're a small corner tucked away, but hopefully we make at least of few of y'all smile now and again.  We're not remotely religious, and the majority of the world doesn't even celebrate the primary focus of our posts this month, at least not on a spiritual level.  We're all in this together, though, somehow and in some way.  Peace on Earth, indeed.

Now, on to the original post.

Playin' "Captain Obvious" today! A little sumthin' sumthin' to shake the tinsel off yr tree and get yr Santa suit a'quakin'!

Grab yr partner and groove deep down to the funky Xmas stylings of Count Sidney and His Dukes, Funk Machine, Graham Parker and Nona Hendryx (of Labelle), and his lordship, James Brown!

Santa's got a bag full o' Soul!

Count Sidney and His Dukes: Soul Christmas (mp3)

Funk Machine: Soul Santa (mp3)

Graham Parker and Nona Hendryx: Soul Christmas (mp3)

James Brown: Soulful Christmas (mp3)

Be good to each other.  We're all we've got.

Shakin' Santa

More merry madness!

If y'all haven't already done so, head on over to the great Aquarium Drunkard, where they've got a very special Xmas "mixtape", curated by yours truly!  Sort of a "greatest" hits, if you will.  We're pretty proud of the mix, and think you'll dig it!

Today we're gonna keep boppin' along 'round the aluminum tree with some jumped up Yuletunes courtesy of The Sabres, Paul Bain, and Blue Moon Special. 

Rockin', rollin' and wailin' Santa!

The Sabres: A Cool, Cool, Christmas (mp3)

Blue Moon Special: Flying Home For Christmas (mp3)

Paul Bain: Santa Claus Boogie (mp3)

As ever, please consider helping out those less fortunate this year.  Why not?

Jingle Twist

Bells a'jingled.  Hope y'all enjoyed the greatest Xmas song ever that we posted yesterday.

Time's runnin' short, so let's get a little stompin' and groovin' today, courtesy of Jimmy Reed, Alabama Red and Sammy Marshall!

Anybody else notice how there a ton of Xmas tunes out there with the same title, but aren't the same song?  Just sayin'.

Jimmy Reed: Christmas Present Blues (mp3)

Alabama Red: Goin' Home For Christmas (mp3)

Sammy Marshall: Jingle Mint Twist (mp3)

Thanks for stoppin' by.

A Very Special Xmas Episode

Now it's starting to feel like a Festive Season!

Today, we're gonna treat y'all to the very greatest Christmas song of all.  Courtesy of the master himself, Mr. Red Sovine, Words cannot even describe the brilliance of this song.  You have to hear it for yourselves, and stick around for the fantastic ending.  We promise it'll be worth your time.  The song is dedicated to our buddy Good John over at WMSE. 

Del Reeves and Jimmy Martin do their damndest to match Mr. Sovine's brilliance. 

If you grab one song from us this joyous season, this is the one you need!

Red Sovine: Billy's Christmas Wish (mp3)

Del Reeves: Christmas Is Lonely (mp3)

Jimmy Martin: Christmas is Everywhere Except in My Heart (mp3)

Thanks.

Holiday Hookup

Couple of new slabs of fruitcake to stuff down yr stockings today!

The Vanishers welcome guest Ginger St. James to help out on a rollicking cowbilly tune about...well, what else?  Nuthin' like a Holiday hookup...

Guitar, Country, and Rockabilly legend Cordell Jackson with a boppin' Xmas tune about them there youngsters and their hip, happenin' Yulesville!

Them bells is swingin'!

The Vanishers with Ginger St. James: Christmas Wish at the End of the Bar (mp3)

Cordell Jackson: Be Bopper's Christmas (mp3)

Thanks.

Rig Ridin' Santa

The Xmas rig keeps on a' rollin'! 

Couple of things...1) Songs are up for a limited time (about two weeks), so grab 'em while you can! 2) We're happy to re-post tunes from previous years' Holiday blow-outs, so if there's a tune you missed from yesteryear, let us know.  Re-posts from this year will have to wait til next year.  It's just a thing.

Now then...

Some of our tunes come from folks like you, who have been kindly sharing with us over lo these past 7-8 years!  Thanks to all of y'all!  And sometimes we run across a tune from the interwebs that is absolutely irresistible.  Today we're gonna feature both of those instances.

Feller named Thomas M. shared a shit ton of mixes with us yesterday, and filled a bunch of holes in our collection.  We're still going through 'em, but two great songs jumped to the top of the giftin' pile.  First is the Ramonas'  awesomely revved up and pissed off ode to Santa.  And then there's Hillbilly Casino's trashbilly ode to a very Southern Santa.

And finally, an Xmas truckin' tune, by Wayne Mayfield, we found over at the mighty Junk Shop Juke Box (which should be an essential daily stop for y'all), which we can't resist sharing here, given our well known obsession with all things truckin'.  It's ripped from vinyl, just the way we like it, and it's...well...it's a fascinating little tune (head on over to Junk Shop Juke Box to read their take on the tune).  Highly recommended!


The Ramonas: Santa's Got A GTO (mp3)

Hillbilly Casino: Blue Suede Santa (mp3)

Wayne Mayfield: Santa's Trucker (mp3)

As always, please support the artists in any way you can!  Go to shows!  Buy merch!  

Bongo Beatin' Santa Claus

Back on schedule, with a very, very special Xmas post for all y'all today!  "B" is for "Beatnik"!  "B" is for "Boogaloo"!

We've posted the mighty, hip, and groovin' Babs Gonzales before, with the essential "Be Bop Santa Claus", and here's two more happenin', hip, and jivin' beatnik Holiday tunes for yr pad!

Following those two finger poppers, Baby Jane and the Blenders weigh in with a screamin' good trashy girl group number sure to light up yr Xmas tree!

And what Christmas would be complete without a spooky little tune about everyone's favorite bad guys hijacking the holidays, courtesy of the "monster masher" himself, Mr. Bobby "Boris" Pickett?

Oh yeah, hepsters, this might be the greatest Xmas ever!

Babs Gonzales: Teenage Santa Claus (mp3)

Babs Gonzales: Rock and Roll Santa Claus (mp3)

Baby Jane and the Blenders: You Trimmed My Christmas Tree (mp3)

Bobby Boris Pickett: Monster's Holiday (mp3)

As ever, please consider donating to yr favorite charity this time of the year.  Hell, consider it all year 'round!