1. 13 Songs by Fugazi {2 EPs on 1 CD} (1989)
2. Hard Candy by Counting Crows (2002)
3. Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks by Stevie Nicks {compilation} (1991)
4. Indie Cindy by the Pixies (2014)
5. Help! By the Beatles (1965)
6. Challenders by the New Pornographers (2007)
7. Handwritten by Gaslight Anthem (2012)
8. Flowers by the Rolling Stones {Russian “edition” w/ 10 bonus tracks} (1967)
9. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap AC/DC (1976)
10. The Who Sings My Generation by the Who (UK 1965 as My Generation/US 1966)

What are you listening to?

Counting Crows, “American Girls”

Stevie Nicks with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around”

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2ahwj_tom-petty-stevie-nicks-stop-draggin_music

Happy 103rd birthday to Robert Johnson, quite possibly the greatest influence on popular music, although he only recorded 29 songs before his untimely death. He was considered a wannabe by senior Delta blues figures like Son House, so Johnson went to the crossroads near Dockery Plantation at midnight and sold his soul to the devil. When he returned, his contemporaries’ jaws dropped. No one had ever heard a guitar played like that, and his voice was haunted, as if he was fully aware of the terrors nipping at his heels. When you listen to his recordings, it sounds like two people playing guitars, but it’s just Robert, alone in the studio. (Overdubbing didn’t exist yet.) One can only imagine what the future would have held for him musically The devil, however, called in his marker early.

One could make the argument that without Johnson, Elvis would never have walked into Sun Records in 1953. (Sun Records might not have existed either, since they started out recording blues musicians like Howlin’ Wolf, who were heavily influenced by Johnson.)

1. American Beauty by Bruce Springsteen (limited edition vinyl EP released for Record Store Day)
2. Swan Lake: The Essential Highlights composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; performed by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (1989)
3. Live Seeds by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (1993)
4. Blondie by Blondie (1976)
5. Teeth Dreams by the Hold Steady (2014)
6. St. Vincent by St. Vincent (2014)
7. Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II by Billy Joel {compilation} (2 CDs; 1985)
8. Songs of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen (1967)
9. Handwritten by the Gaslight Anthem (2012)
10. Rush soundtrack by Eric Clapton (1992)

What are you listening to?

“Spinners” (live) by the Hold Steady

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QHMsP4DkUA

“Tell Her About It” by Billy Joel

Scene from the film Black Swan, featuring Natalie Portman performing the White Swan; she won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance

1. American Beauty by Bruce Springsteen (limited edition vinyl EP released for Record Store Day)
2. Do to the Beast by Afghan Whigs (2014)
3. Time Capsule: The Best of Matthew Sweet 1990-2000 {compilation} by Matthew Sweet
4. Easter by the Patti Smith Group (1978)
5. Live in Boston by Fleetwood Mac (1 CD & 2 DVDs; 2004)
6. Madman Across the Water by Elton John (1971)
7. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC (1978)
8. The Complete Discography {compilation} by Minor Threat (1988)
9. Faith by George Michael (1987)
10. Double Platinum {compilation} by Kiss (1978)

What are you listening to?

Bruce Springsteen & the E Straat Band with Tom Morello, “American Beauty”

George Michael, “Faith”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu3VTngm1F0

1. Do to the Beast by Afghan Whigs (2014)
2. Teeth Dreams by the Hold Steady (2014)
3. Time Capsule: The Best of Matthew Sweet 1990-2000 {compilation} by Matthew Sweet
4. At Folsom Prison by Johnny Cash (1968)
5. The Blind Leading the Naked by Violent Femmes (1986)
6. The Black Album by Prince (1987)
7. Long May You Run by the Stills-Young Band (1976)
8. The Very Best of the Meters by the Meters {compilation} (1997)
9. Out of Body by the Hooters (1993)
10. It’s Five O’clock Somewhere by Slash’s Snakepit (1995)

What are you listening to?

Matthew Sweet, “Girlfriend”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9aWPTCc2r0

The Afghan Whigs, “Algiers”

1. Say You Will by Fleetwood Mac (2003)
2. Teeth Dreams by the Hold Steady (2014)
3. Fortune by the Mendoza Line (2004)
4. Sign ‘O’ the Times by Prince (2 CDs; 1987)
5. Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan (1965)
6. John Lee Hooker: The Ultimate Collection 1948-1990 {compilation} (2 CDs; 1991)
7. Let It Die by Feist (2005)
8. Voyageur by Kathleen Edwards (2012)
9. The Best of Blondie by Blondie {compilation} (1981)
10. Double Platinum by Kiss {compilation} (1978)

What are you listening to?

Blondie “Heart of Glass”

Feist, “Mushaboom”

Feist, “Inside and Out”

1. Teeth Dreams by the Hold Steady (2014)
2. Say You Will by Fleetwood Mac (2003)
3. Live at the Hollywood Palladium by Keith Richards & the X-Pensive Winos
4. Burned by Electrafixion (1994)
5. Fortune by the Mendoza Line (2004)
6. Let’s Cut the Crap & Hook Up Later on Tonight by Marah (1998)
7. Days Are Gone by Haim (2013)
8. Z by My Morning Jacket (2005)
9. Strictly Commercial: The Best of Frank Zappa by Frank Zappa {compilation} (1995)
10. I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning by Bright Eyes (2005)

What are you listening to?

Fleetwood Mac, “Say You Will” {live}

1. Teeth Dreams by the Hold Steady (2014)
2. Run Fast by the Julie Ruin (2013)
3. October by U2 (1981)
4. Bleed American by Jimmy Eat World (2001)
5. English Oceans by Drive-By Truckers (2014)
6. Unearthed by Johnny Cash (5 CD w/ 4 CDs of previously unreleased material; 2003)
7. Live on I-5 by Soundgarden (2011)
8. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band with Tom Morello (CD/DVD; 2014)
9. Hit {compilation} by Peter Gabriel (2 CDs; 2003)
10. Thundering Herd: The Best of the Golden Palominos {compilation} (2 CDs; 1991)

What are you listening to?

Jimmy Eat World, “The Middle”

The Julie Ruin, “Just My Kind”

1. Live on I-5 by Soundgarden (2011)
2. Lost in Revelry by the Mendoza Line (2002)
3. English Oceans by Drive-By Truckers (2014)
4. High Violet by the National (2010)
5. Time Stand Still by the Hooters (2007)
6. St. Vincent by St. Vincent (2014)
7. High Hopes by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band with Tom Morello (1 CD/1 DVD; 2014)
8. Lightning Bolt by Pearl Jam (2013)
9. Spend the Night by the Donnas (1 CD/1 DVD; 2002)
10. Blowoff by Blowoff {Bob Mould & Richard Morel} (2006)

What are you listening to?

The Donnas, “It’s on the Rocks” live

The National, “Bloodbuzz Ohio”

Brian Johnson, the singer for AC/DC joins Billy Joel on stage for a rousing “You Shook Me All Night Long.”