1. Alvin Lucier and Thomas Buckner, Music for Baritone with Slow Sweep Pure Wave Oscillators (excerpt)

2. Heavens to Betsy, Firefly

3. The Caulfield Sisters, Mosquito Song

4. Nailbiters, Unsorted

5. R.E.M., Baby I

6. Courtney Love, The Second Most Beautiful Girl in the World

7. Rosewater Elizabeth, lost fallen and vine

8. Home, (You Can Do It Over Again) It's a Bird

9. Shannon Wright, Captain of Quarantine

10. Stereolab, Wow and Flutter

11. Superchunk, Under Our Feet

12. Mirah, Mt. St. Helens

13. Eric Lyon, Deep and Heavy Love Vibes

14. The Great Big New Ones, Antarctica

15. Fleetwood Mac, Beautiful Child

16. Sonic Youth, Stereo Sanctity

17. Lois, Capital A

18. New Sand Mountain Wildcats, Swervin in My Lane

19. Sleater-Kinney, Maracas

20. Sleater-Kinney, A Quarter to Three (live)

Oops, forgot the spoiler space. Sorry!

I'll be doing a full review of this shortly, but I have to say I was totally digging this on my way to North Carolina for vacation last week. I'm kinda lazy right now, so I have to ask where did you get those Sleater Kinney and Heavens to Betsy songs (they aren't on any of their discs that I have so I'm guessing comp tracks)? Also, I was totally hoping that it was the band Courtney Love and not that "movie star diva" doing solo stuff. Is that a comp track as well? BTW Indoor Living is my favorite Superchunk album, so you won points by including Under Our Feet!

Thanks for the kind words! I'm about halfway through an overly long set of liner notes that I plan to post here, but here are some previews:

The Heavens to Betsy song is from their 7-inch "These Monsters Are Real," which also includes the classic breakup song "Me and Her." It's only four songs but I find myself listening to it a lot more than the full-length album Calculated.

I downloaded the Sleater-Kinney live track from an ftp site set up by some people on the Words & Guitar mailing list. I can send you the link if you give me your e-mail address.

And yes, Courtney Love is the band, not the former Mrs. Cobain. That song is from the "Uncrushworthy" 7-inch, which is out of print and was a total pain to track down. I found it through www.gemm.com, which is a great resource for finding out-of-the-way music.

Anyway, I'm glad you liked the disc. I was (and still am) afraid that a few items on there are going to fatally annoy most listeners.

Oops, I notice I only partially answered your Sleater-Kinney question:

"Maracas" is the b-side to "You're No Rock N Roll Fun," another 7- inch. That record player has been coming in handy lately.

I forgot about that Heavens to Betsy 7 inch. This is going to sound really flakey, but I think I even have it. I'll have to check when I get home tonight.

Have you heard SKs version of the Boston classic More Than A Feeling?

I've heard it but only online. Wasn't that from one of those Villa Villakula (or however you spell that) releases? Those are impossible to find.

Yeah, I've done the same thing, hearing a song I really like, then realizing weeks later that I already own a copy.

I'm not really sure where that Boston cover was from. One of my coworkers played it for me. I love SK and all, but that was not a very good cover.

And yes, I do that all the time when it comes to forgetting what I have and don't have (particulary when vinyl is involved). Or I put down something at a record store because I think I already have it...and I don't...

I have the Heavens to Betsy split 7 inch with Bratmobile hanging up on my wall, but not the Monsters. Now that I think about it, the Monsters cover got water damaged during some pretty minor flooding about 7 years ago. That's why it's not hanging up and off my radar.

I suppose I'll file this little episode as more mental bouts of Scott's music geekery...

I've been meaning to write some liner notes for this collection, since some of the songs or artists might not be totally familiar to everybody here.

This is more or less a snapshot of what I'm listening to these days, with a few old favorites thrown in. That would explain some of the rather noticeable biases here -- the vast majority of the songs are from the 1990's or later (the oldest is from 1979), and I've included a heavy sprinkling of departed and/or defunct Florida bands that I wish more people had known about. At a certain point, the sequencing of the music took on a life of its own, which means even I'm surprised at a few of the songs that were included and some that didn't make it.

Anyway, here goes:

1. I know nothing about these composers and don't even own this piece of music, but it seemed to fit what I was looking for -- something short, blank, soothing (and probably misleading) to start things off.

2. What can I say? I've always had kind of a thing for angry girls with guitars, and this band is one of my favorites. Heavens to Betsy were part of the much-written-about riot grrrl movement of feminist punk bands who flourished in the early 1990's. They were from Olympia, Washington, and consisted of singer/guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer. They put out a demo tape, a couple of singles, a few songs on compilations and one album before breaking up; this last event would have been really sad had it not led to the creation of Corin's even more incredible band Sleater-Kinney (about whom more later). This song is from _These Monsters Are Real_ (1992).

3. Only when I read Lauren's song list did I realize just how much this disc owes to a band I didn't even include here. Pee Shy were an accordion-and-clarinet band from Tampa who alternately amused, puzzled, enraged and enchanted a small but growing gathering of listeners for three years before fleeing to Brooklyn. Place me in the enchanted camp -- one of my favorite musical memories concerns the nights I spent squatting on the concrete floor of the Stone Lounge, watching the magic ensue and trying to memorize Cindy Wheeler's enigmatic lyrics. (Was she really singing "Why is there a big car in the sky?" What was that about Blanche DuBois? Why all the references to Satan? Oh, don't ask.) On the drives home I didn't have to listen to the radio because I could still hear the songs in my head; sometimes they would pop up in dreams, too. They got signed to Polygram in the great alternative post-Nirvana gold rush of the mid-1990s, released two wonderful but low-selling albums, got dropped and ended in an apparently ugly split.

Anyway, the band (specifically, clarinet player Jenny Juristo-Morrison, via her show on the local community radio station) played a big role in introducing me to most of the musicians on this CD, but I ended up leaving them off it with some vague idea that it's time to let go of the past. In their place is The Caulfield Sisters, a new-ish band headed by the sainted Cindy and her beatific Pee Shy bandmate Mary Guidera. They seem to have kept all of Pee Shy's hard-earned wistfulness but taken the wackiness down a few notches. This is from their 2003 demo EP _Songs for Phoebe_. I had to download the mp3 off of http://www.caulfieldsisters.com because they only sell the EP at their shows, and they're in New York and I'm not. (But if any NY-based Towies happen to attend any of their concerts ...)

4. The Nailbiters are another Tampa-area band, one that might actually still exist (under the name The Unrequited Loves), and a descendent of the equally amazing Monday Mornings. The songwriter and lead singer in all these efforts is Mike O'Neill, who I hope has a happier personal life than his lyrics reflect. I saw the Nailbiters perform once in a bar called the Oak Barrel and couldn't understand a damn word Mike was singing; Suzanne wound up performing there 11 months later after her outdoor show got rained out. This is from the album _Every Wasted Second Gone_ (1998)

5. This song is for anyone who ever wondered what R.E.M. sounded like during the late Carter administration; it's taken from a much-bootlegged January 1981 performance at the now-defunct club Tyrone's in Athens, Georgia. It's one of the songs they wrote during their first year but ended up never putting on a proper record. R.E.M. certainly went on to write much better material, but I always thought this song is a lot of fun, and it shares much of its mood and subject matter with the Nailbiters song. So there!

6. No, not *that* Courtney Love. This Courtney Love was a band made up of singer/guitarist Lois Maffeo and drummer Pat Maley, who created it back when Mrs. Cobain and her husband had yet to become huge celebrities. Lois is a singer-songwriter who says she doesn't like singer-songwriters, which probably means she's not much of a Suzanne fan, but I think she's nifty anyway. We'll hear more from her later. This song is from the 7-inch EP _Uncrushworthy_ (1990).

7. Rosewater Elizabeth concerts were atmospheric beyond belief -- lights dimmed, candles burning, guitarists sitting down while the keyboardist went into seizures and this thin woman alternated between crooning and caterwauling. The intensity could be terrifying; other times they'd get so quiet nobody would clap because they couldn't tell the song had ended. This was another Tampa band that fled; they moved to Atlanta and morphed into a more dance-club-friendly band called Underwater, who were compatriots of the Tow's very own weaklazyliar. Eventually Underwater broke up too. This song is from the "Witch Name" single (1995).

8. Yep, another Tampa band. Home were these creative, gawky, high-strung guys who spent the early 1990s making album after album of guitar-and-keyboard madness on low-budget Radio Shack cassettes -- Rush Limbaugh samples, Blondie and AC/DC covers, radio pranks, various versions of the same song that was either about atomic radiation or some cute girl from French class, songs that rhyme "cool daddy Viet sniper" with "plastic diaper," a little Rachmaninoff thrown in for good measure. You know, the usual. They've also cited a big Pink Floyd influence, believe it or not. Anyway, they put out one album on Sony's Relativity label (recording the whole thing in a trailer and then handing the finished product to the record company, which promptly shipped it to bargain bins around the U.S.), then moved to New York with Pee Shy and just kept on releasing stuff on independent labels. This song is from the EP _You Can Make It Underground_ (1995), which they recorded with that first flush of Sony's money. I believe it's also still for sale at their web site, www.screwmusicforever.com.

9. Shannon Wright, the former lead singer of the Jacksonville band Crowsdell, has attracted a following with her solo albums in the past few years. I saw her by chance at the Covered Dish in Gainesville in 1998; she sat down with her acoustic guitar and for the rest of the night it was like she was wrestling some mad beast. The way she repeats the one line over and over at the end of this song was kind of scary, contrary to the way it sounds on the album. The song is from _flightsafety_ (1999).

10. Finally, a band that has nothing to do with Florida! Stereolab are another of my favorites, and picking one song for this compilation was incredibly difficult. This is almost the closest they've ever come to writing a normal pop song, even if it does involve IBM and the end of the Cold War. It's from _Mars Audiac Quintet_ (1994).

11. OK, back to the U.S. Southeast. Superchunk are from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and have basically been around forever. The song is from _ Indoor Living _ (1997).

12. Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn is an utterly charming songwriter who first caught my attention by the way she includes elements from nature (water, stars, volcanoes) into her personal tales. She's from the Philadelphia suburbs but spent some quality musical time in Olympia, where she recorded this. It's from _Advisory Committee_ (2002).

(continued)

13. Eric Lyon is a composer at Dartmouth College who specializes in electronic and computer music, although as you can tell this piece is all acoustic. His stuff is atonal yet I find it oddly kind of catchy; I once used part of his piano piece "Bonko Bonzo” as the greeting on my answering machine. This was performed at the Bonk Festival, an annual experimental music gathering held in St. Petersburg and Tampa; I believe the performers were the University of South Florida Percussion Ensemble. It’s from the Bonk compilation CD _Spank Me! It's Contemporary Classical_ (1998).

This is Eric's explanation of the song: "When we add the human element to machine music, we get free noise. Adding alcohol to a computer destroys it. Adding alcohol to human performers rearranges their blood chemistry, their emotional state, and ultimately, their sense of rhythm. Thus the organic is reclaimed from the artificial.” In other words, it’s about the 1970’s. (And for those who are still listening to this song and aren't as enthralled by it as I am, I assure you: yes, it does end eventually.)

14. The Great Big New Ones were a three-woman supergroup who flourished in the Tampa area in 1995-96, largely for the purpose of writing angry rants about their ex-boyfriends. They were wonderful. This is one of their calmer moments. It's taken from their self-titled 7-inch released on www.screwmusicforever.com (1996) (they also put out an album, which I don't have because it went out of print in about five seconds). By the way, the singer and lead guitarist is Corey Jane Holt, who also played the piano on "Deep and Heavy Love Vibes."

15. This is from _Tusk_ (1979), an album with which I have some very primal emotional associations involving two different women, some happy and some sad (the associations, not the women. OK, them too). This song falls into the sad category, I suppose.

16. I think of both Suzanne and Sonic Youth as classic New York musicians, so there had to be a place for them on this CD. This is kind of a religious song, I think. It’s from the album _Sister_ (1987).

17. Can anyone possibly not love this song? This is Lois Maffeo from Courtney Love again, this time with Brendan Canty of the band Fugazi on electric guitar and Heather Dunn of Tiger Trap playing drums (on another album, Lois writes: “Heather does a very persuasive sonic interpretation of a fly being swatted”). This is probably my favorite song of hers and is from my favorite Lois album, _Infinity Plus_ (1996).

18. The New Sand Mountain Wildcats have been around since 1977 and are big favorites at the yearly Florida Folk Festival in White Springs (an event that Katherine Harris did her best to screw up when she was Florida's secretary of state), as well as events like next month's San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival in Pasco County. Their instruments are very old-timey; that bass you hear is one of the guys thumping a rope that’s tied to an upside-down wash tub. This is a cover of a song by Robert Earl Keen. It's from their cassette _Wildcat Strike!_ (1994?).

19. Given how much time I’ve been spending listening to Sleater-Kinney in the past few years, I couldn’t pick just one of their songs; by far the hardest thing about this collection was deciding which two to include. This is the B-side to the “You’re No Rock n’ Roll Fun” single (2000).

20. Sleater-Kinney again. “A Quarter to Three” is one of my favorite songs by them; this version is a little harder-edged than the still-incredible version that closes out their album _The Hot Rock_ (1999). It was recorded at the Cabaret Montreal in September 2000.

Scott's Review of More Songs About Insects and Cars...
I enjoyed this disc a lot. It mostly brought me right back to 1992-1996 when I was in college. I listened to a lot of indie rock at the time (I still do). Many of the artists were familiar to me, and the ones that weren’t seemed familiar as well (at least stylistically). Below are some words about each song.

1. Alvin Lucier and Thomas Buckner: Opening instrumental mood music.

2. Heavens to Betsy: Go figure I go from asking Bob where he got this track, to realizing that I actually owned the 7”. I have loved Corine Tucker’s work for many, many years.

3. The Caulfield Sisters: This tune has a really cool Mazzy Star/Jesus and Mary Chain vibe. This reminds me of the countless Sunday nights in the 90s watching 120 Minutes on MTV (before it sucked). Love it.

4. Nailbiters: My god this disc is really making me miss 90s indie rock. This song cruises along. I’m almost reminded of the band Small Factory or a male-fronted Tsunami (both of which I adore).

5. REM: When I first listened to this disc I didn’t look at the set list. Then I said what I thought about the song and Lauren told me who it was. It took me a while but I finally asked midsong: “Is this REM?” Man, I totally remember when these guys were the coolest band around. I always love hearing their early works, particularly when it rocks. I’ll pass on anything by them past “Out of Time.”

6. Courtney Love: I’ve only heard one other song by this band “Don’t Mix the Colors.” That song was played about a million times over my 4 years of DJing in college. I don’t know why I never pursued this band further. I’m definitely digging this.

7. Rosewater Elizabeth: I can’t quite make heads or tails of this tune. I kind of like it, even though it kind of annoys me in the way some newer goth bands do (the operatic like singing). Is this even goth?

8. Home: Wow this tune is interesting. Kinda has a weird Pavement vibe mixed with a little Skeleton Key (I think that’s the band I’m thinking of…It’s one of Lauren’s bands). Actually, that chorus reminds me of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (I’m such a geek for name checking Carter USM…if anybody knows that band or the song I’m thinking of “Sheriff Fatman” I’d be shocked). Cool!

9. Shannon Wright: As someone who sits alone for hours on end singing and playing acoustic guitar, my music collection doesn’t feature too many acoustic performers. I don’t know if it should, but this is some fine mellow music. Why can’t more bars that have free acoustic music feature stuff like this and not some dork playing Van Morrison and Steely Dan covers?

10. Stereolab: I have had an odd fascination with this band for many years and own a bunch of their discs. I normally would scoff at this kind of dancy-lounge music and call it pretentious, but the music and the dual vocals are just so catchy. Their later work, particularly “Dots and Loops” got a little too “out there” for me. But this song was always a favorite of mine.

11: Superchunk: I’ve loved this band for so long. I even put a song from this album on my CD. Mac has one of the coolest voices in indie rock.

12: Mirah: I could almost picture this song being played in a Winona Ryder movie. You know the part where she’s sitting alone in a park quietly reflecting on what went wrong…Anyway, interesting female vox with sparse acoustic guitar. The tempo change caught me a bit by surprise…in a good way.

13: Eric Lyon: Instrumental THIRTEEN MINUTES LONG!?!?!??!? You could have easily put 4 or 5 more Sleater Kinney rarities on this disc for me to enjoy. Shame on you!!!! => It’s interesting I suppose if you’re into this kind of thing. After the first listen, I usually skipped over it though.

14: The Great Big Ones: Bob, my man, we would have gotten along smashingly when I was in college. This is exactly the kind of music I was listening to (when I wasn’t listening to punk and hardcore). Another band I was unfamiliar with but again it’s great indie rock.

15: Fleetwood Mac: I was never a big fan of the Mac with the exception of “Go Your Own Way.” My God that was venomous tune. Stevie’s cool though.

16: Sonic Youth: SONIC YOUTH, SONIC YOUTH, SONIC YOUTH!!!!!! My God I love this band. Even their albums that are horrible are great. I have this on tape which means I never get to listen to it. I really need to get this on disc and “Daydream Nation” too.

17: Lois: Very cool song. Again it’s got that great 90s indie rock sound (I’ve been saying that a lot). Cool supergroup. This is the first I’ve heard of them, but as I mentioned I liked Courtney Love, I ADORE FUGAZI, and always liked Tiger Trap. This reminds me of a band I’ve been listening too lately, but for the life of me I can’t remember their name (maybe it’s the Teacups).

18: New Sound Mountain Wildcats: Let’s just say I was on the road driving with Lauren to North Carolina for a vacation when I first heard this tune (and your CD). I said “Amen Brother” about a dozen times listening to this song. I love this kind of country/bluegrass.

19-20: Sleater Kinney: Both of these songs were unfamiliar to me considering I own all their full-length albums. I’ve gotten lazy over the years collecting everything by bands I like because they inevitably put out a b-sides album. Morrissey did it (twice). Smashing Pumpkins did it. Superchunk’s done it a bunch of times as well. BTW I love these tracks. Corine always get the props in this band, but let’s give it up for Janet and Carrie!!!!

Hey Bob,

Sorry I didn't post an update that Scott promptly handed me your CD on Oct. 1. I've been listening to it quite a bit lately in the car.

I love it! Well, most of it ... just a few songs I could do without; you'll get my full review before the end of October.

Hey, thanks! I look forward to it.

Great CD!

1.Alvin Lucier and Thomas Buckner, Music for Baritone with Slow Sweep Pure Wave Oscillators
Mood music to start the CD off. I usually didn’t even notice it since I listened to the CD mostly in my car and road noise drowned it out. I didn’t bother keeping it on my copy.

2. Heavens to Betsy, Firefly
I’m not really familiar with Heavens to Betsy, but I really like this song!

3. The Caulfield Sisters, Mosquito Song
A band I hadn’t heard of, until Bob mentioned they were a spin-off of one of the bands (Pee Shy) on my CD. It’s very different than Pee Shy, but really cool. I’ll definitely have to check them out.

4. Nailbiters, Unsorted
Another band that’s completely new to me ... this song has a great beat to it. I like it!

5. R.E.M., Baby I
I’m a big R.E.M. fan ... but I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard this song. It’s great!

6. Courtney Love, The Second Most Beautiful Girl in the World
I vaguely was aware that there was a band called Courtney Love, but hadn’t ever heard them. I love it! I’d love to sing songs like this, if I was in a band.

7. Rosewater Elizabeth, lost fallen and vine
I didn’t really care for this one. Not my thing. Skipped it on my copy.

8. Home, (You Can Do It Over Again) It's a Bird
Fun song! Interesting rhythms ... good beat. I like it!

9. Shannon Wright, Captain of Quarantine
I love this too. Simple – “girl with guitar,” like how FJ described Zeynep’s songs from It’s a One Time Thing ... In fact, she actually does remind me of Zeynep ...

10. Stereolab, Wow and Flutter
I know a couple of Stereolab songs, but I’ve never really listened to them much. I enjoyed this song.

11. Superchunk, Under Our Feet
A band we’ve followed for years. Everybody should listen to Superchunk.

12. Mirah, Mt. St. Helens
Great song! Starts out “girl with guitar,” but builds ... really cool. Such a sweet voice.

13. Eric Lyon, Deep and Heavy Love Vibes
I can see why Bob finds this “oddly kind of catchy” – I think I could almost like it, if it didn’t go on for so long, or if it followed a bit more of a pattern. It was a little too random, I think. Anyway, I left this one off my copy.

14. The Great Big New Ones, Antarctica
Good song – another one where I think the rhythm is just great.

15. Fleetwood Mac, Beautiful Child
An OK song. I thought it was kind of pretty, actually, but didn’t really fit the rest of the mood of the CD. (also left off my copy)

16. Sonic Youth, Stereo Sanctity
I’m not too familiar with these guys. I can only think of one other Sonic Youth song I know at the moment (though, I’d probably know more if I heard them). I like this song.

17. Lois, Capital A
I definitely need to listen to more Lois. I love this. Scott, you should find it for me for Christmas.

18. New Sand Mountain Wildcats, Swervin in My Lane
A little bit of a departure from the style on the rest of the CD, but I appreciate this departure. It’s pretty funny. Any driver can relate.

19. Sleater-Kinney, Maracas
Great song. I love the way these guys layer vocals ...

20. Sleater-Kinney, A Quarter to Three (live)
This one’s good too.

Thanks, Bob! Lots of new music to look out for ...

OK, here's my review of Bob's disc: Bob, I'd love to go clubbing with you! Particular favorites:

2. Heavens to Betsy, Firefly 6. Courtney Love, The Second Most Beautiful Girl in the World 12. Mirah, Mt. St. Helens

I know that recently (mostly due to sundays, holidays or domestic disturbances) I have been sending these along a day or two 'late'. I plan to put this one in the mail today.