Neko Case ( for beginners)

With Neko's new record, Middle Cyclone (which, by the way is fantastic) set to drop on March 3rd, I took the liberty of putting together a collection of tracks culled from every one of her releases (save for the live, Tigers Have Spoken) dating back to The Virginian, released on Bloodshot in 1997, up to the aforementioned Middle Cyclone.

Enjoy !

Hold On, Hold On
Deep Red Bells
Margaret Vs. Pauline
Blacklisted
Star Witness
Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
People Got A Lotta Nerve
Middle Cyclone
South Tacoma Way
Things That Scare Me
Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth
Twist The Knife
Vengeance Is Sleeping
Porchlight
Stinging Velvet
Thrice All American
Mood To Burn Bridges
Set Out Running
Dreaming Man
Outro With Bees
Bought And Sold
Furnace Room Lullaby
The Next Time You Say Forever
Magpie To The Morning
Bowling Green
Prison Girls

+++
+++

The Kids Want The Hits : Best of 2008 Part One

Cruel Girl - The Red Button
Dark As Days - Army Navy
I'm Amazed - My Morning Jacket
Gratification To Concrete - Robert Pollard
Demoted - Prima Donna
Satt Att Se - Dungen
Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him
The Strawberry Blonde - Mike Viola
Whose Authority - Nada Surf
Gamma Ray - Beck
Auctioneer - The Broken West
Digging The Fault Line - Brent Cash

Victor Jara's Hands - Calexico
Out On Your Own - The Dexateens
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
Morning Tide - The Little Ones
Geraldine - Glasvegas
Old Home Movies - The Botticellis
It's A Shame - Hayes Carll
Suffering Jukebox - Silver Jews
Hard Livin' - Justin Townes Earle
Hallowed Ground - Will Quinlan & The Diviners
Same Place Holiday - Jim Noir

+++
+++

Sunday A.M. Comedown : Best of 2008 Part 2

Sun It Rises - Fleet Foxes
Trials - Damien Jurado
Something About Your Love - Mason Jennings
Tears All Over Town - A Girl Called Eddy
Moorestown - Sun Kil Moon
Sea Of Japan - Peter Bruntnell
Song To Bobby - Cat Power
Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife - Drive-By Truckers
Such A Beautiful Thing - Chris Mills
Furr - Blitzen Trapper
Born Into A Light - Ryan Adams

Kid - The Dexateens
Barely Friends - Hayden
A Garland Of Song - The Owl Service
The Next Time Around - Little Joy
Little Tornado - Aimee Mann
Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes
Lover's Prayer - Ida
The Only Way - Jim Noir
Prospectors Arrive - Jonny Greenwood
Bob - Drive-By Truckers
Willow Tree - Chad VanGaalen

+++
+++

The Red Button

01. Cruel Girl
02. She's About to Cross My Mind
03. Floating By
04. She's Going Down
05. I Could Get Used to It
06. Hopes Up
07. Can't Stop Thinking
08. Gonna Make You Mine
09. Ooh Girl
10. Free
11. It's No Secret

+++

A friend turned me onto this power pop gem and as a result, it's been in constant rotation for about a week now. After a little snooping around, it turns out this was on Jack Rabid's (Big Takeover) best records of the year as well as John Borack's best power pop records of all-time. This record is nothing short of a clinic in sheer pop velocity.

Here are a couple of quotes I found :

If The Red Button had been around in the '60's when I was producing I would have signed them to EMI. - Norman Smith
Beatles engineer (1962-1966) and record producer (Pink Floyd/Pretty Things) for EMI

Pop music the way God, Paul and John had intended.
- John Borack - Goldmine Magazine