NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
ART BRUT . . . . . Direct Hit . . . . . It's a Bit Complicated
FRANZ FERDINAND . . . . . What She Came For . . . . . Tonight:Franz Ferdinand
HOT CHOCOLATE . . . . . You Sexy Thing . . . . . The Full Monty: Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack
STEREOLAB . . . . . Self Portrait With 'Electric Brain' . . . . . Chemical Chords
THE BEATLES . . . . . Got To Get You Into My Life . . . . . Revolver [UK]
SPOON . . . . . The Underdog . . . . . Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
DEVOTCHKA . . . . . Along The Way . . . . . A Mad and Faithful Telling
CALEXICO . . . . . Close Behind . . . . . Feast of Wire
FRANKIE LAINE . . . . . Main Title . . . . . Blazing Saddles
CLEM SNIDE . . . . . Hum . . . . . Hungry Bird
BOB DYLAN . . . . . Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues . . . . . Highway 61 Revisited
BECK . . . . . Walls . . . . . Modern Guilt
DAVID BOWIE . . . . . Always Crashing In The Same Car . . . . . Low
ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3 . . . . . Goodnight Oslo . . . . . Goodnight Oslo
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE . . . . . Title And Registration . . . . . Transatlanticism
DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES . . . . . No One Does It Like You . . . . . In Ear Park
PATSY CLINE . . . . . Sweet Dreams . . . . . Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits
M. WARD & LUCINDA WILLIAMS . . . . . Oh Lonesome Me . . . . . Hold Time
NEIL YOUNG . . . . . Pardon My Heart . . . . . Zuma
ALELA DIANE . . . . . To Be Still . . . . . To Be Still
BEN KWELLER . . . . . Hurtin' You . . . . . Changing Horses
THE PERNICE BROTHERS . . . . . Saddest Quo . . . . . Discover a Lovelier You
MOJAVE 3 . . . . . Puzzles Like You . . . . . Puzzles Like You
THE SEARCHERS . . . . . Don't Throw Your Love Away . . . . . Searchers - Greatest Hits
THE SINGLES . . . . . There's Nothing Wrong When I'm With You . . . . . Better Than Before
FATS DOMINO . . . . . My Blue Heaven . . . . . My Blue Heaven: The Best of Fats Domino
TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS . . . . . Let The Four Winds Blow . . . . . Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino
THE CLASH . . . . . Pressure Drop . . . . . Black Market Clash
VAMPIRE WEEKEND . . . . . A-Punk . . . . . Vampire Weekend
THE ENGLISH BEAT . . . . . Hands Off She's Mine . . . . . I Just Can't Stop It
JUSTIN HINDS & THE DOMINOES . . . . . Rub Up, Push Up . . . . . Island 40, Volume 2: 1964-1969 -- Rhythm and Blues Beat
THE HEPTONES . . . . . Party Time . . . . . The Best of Studio One, Vol. 1
CARLTON & THE SHOES . . . . . Love Me Forever . . . . . The Best of Studio One, Vol. 2: Full Up
KEN BOOTHE . . . . . Everybody Needs Love . . . . . Trojan Box Set: Jamaican Hits
ALICIA KEYS . . . . . You Don't Know My Name . . . . . Reggae Gold 2004
This show began with a trio of tunes from Art Brut, Franz Ferdinand and Hot Chocolate that examine a slice of nightlife in clubs and bars; from there it was Stereolab picking up the beat and flowing nicely into the Beatles using some big, brassy horns to lead the way. Spoon maintained the forward momentum with another horns-laced track, and then it was DeVotchKa and Calexico steering the sound into more of a Southwestern direction, which is how we ended up with Frankie Laine from the Blazing Saddles soundtrack—which I managed to see the second half of recently on TV; it's still hilarious after all these years.
The new Clem Snide disc was actually recorded in 2006, but the band split up before the record could be released. Now Eef Barzelay has put the band back together and they will be touring to support the disc. A theme of weariness and alienation runs through many of his tunes, including the one that opened this set, and a sense of dislocation was evident in the tracks from Bob Dylan, Beck and David Bowie that followed. Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 were next with a tune about an experience he had on a train in Norway many years ago, and then it was Death Cab for Cutie remembering better days leading to Department of Eagles perhaps in the middle of a situation that may be looked back upon in the same way some day down the line.
Patsy Cline's sublime version of a Don Gibson tune was followed by M. Ward dueting with Lucinda Williams on another great Gibson song. Once upon a time Neil Young covered that one as well; here it was one of his own lamenting the end of a relationship followed by Alela Diane added some nice pedal steel guitar to the mix as she waits for somebody important/special to return. Then it was Ben Kweller (with some more pedal steel) attempting to help someone through a bad time followed by the Pernice Brothers taking things in more of a pop direction while struggling to remain optimistic. Mojove 3 were next with a lovely pop gem that trys to make sense of a relationship, and then it was the Searchers with some well-timed advice leading to the Singles making it clear how they feel.
A favorite from Fats Domino to help him celebrate his 81st birthday today was followed by Toots and the Maytals putting their stamp on another of his many hits. From there it was the Clash covering a Toots tune that segued nicely into one from Vampire Weekend, which in turn fed quite cleanly into the English Beat from their debut disc. Then we went back to the source for a quartet of tunes from Jamaica in the '60s by Justin Hinds & the Dominoes, the Heptones, Carlton & the Shoes and Slim Smith before landing at the end with Alicia Keys and an alternate version of a song from her second disc set to a reggae track that sounds as if it could have been recorded back in the day, totally transforming it for the better.
Here's another one from Toots and the Maytals