Alright, the ice is melting and while I avoid a list-shaped elephant in the room (blog) , here’s 19 new songs, one fairly new one (Pegasvs) and an old reggae tune. I may try and write some liner notes, but no promises. This one turned out really good I think. I hope it inspires you to seek out some of these bands’ albums (like Warm Soda, my favorite of 2013 so far.) Meanwhile,  Heino and roses for everyone. Please enjoy… and no shuffling!

DOWNLOAD SOUND BITES OF SPRING ’13

TRACKLIST:
1. Mikal Cronin – Weight
2. Elephant Stone – Masters of War
3. The House of Love – Purple Killer Rose
4. Girls Names – Hypnotic Regression
5. Pegasvs – Atlantico
6. Wax Idols – Cartoonist
7. Anika – In the City
8. Ooga Boogas – Sex in the Chillzone
9. The Strokes – Welcome to Japan
10. Elephant – Skyscraper
11. Susan Cadogan – Do it Baby
12. Colleen Green – Time in the World
13. Wampire – Snacks
14. Jacco Gardner – Puppets Dangling
15. Fiction – Careful*
16. Suede – Hit Me
17. Wire – Love Bends
18. Warm Soda – Strange as it Seems
19. Golden Grrls – Paul Simon
20. Legs – Cast in Shadows
21. Highasakite – Son of a Bitch

*Does this sound like Lloyd Cole & the Commotions or what????

Well it’s the last day of 2012 and, while I have got any of my lists up yet (just making sure My Bloody Valentine doesn’t decide to drop the new album as a NYE surprise or whatnot), here are my annual year-end mixes. Unlike previous years were I took stills from viral videos and other internet memes for the artwork, I turned over duty to actually talented people who had done covers for my annual Summer Fridays series.

I know I’ve forgotten bands/songs that should be on here, but as is you’re getting about 100 great ones that pretty much sum up my personal faves of 2012. I will have Best Albums, Singles, reissues, etc up later this week. Until then, enjoy the tunes and see you in 2013.

A note about the Sendspace downloads, you want to click the “Click here to start download from sendspace” text link. (The other “DOWNLOAD” links are ads, it’s what you put up with for free hosting.) Here’s a link to all five mixes, but individual download links are underneath cover art for individual mixes…

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Cover art for Mix #1 is by Sable Yong who, when not singing for Year of the Tiger and Chalk and Numbers makes cool and impractical iPhone cases and other stuff you want at Rich and Damned. No, I do not know where that ramen is from (or maybe it’s udon?), but it looks very good! If only you could have animated GIF artwork work on iTunes…

DOWNLOAD SOUND BITES: BEST OF 2012 #1

Tracklist:
1. Ty Segall – The Hill
2. King Khan & the Shrines – I’ll Bite My Tongue
3. Peggy Sue – My Boyfriend’s Back
4. Allah-Las – Busman’s Holiday
5. The Limiñanas – Longanisse
6. Field Mouse – You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom
7. CUFFS – Private View
8. Beach Pigs – Catch Up in the Sun
9. Kelley Stoltz – Marcy
10. Jacco Gardner – Clear the Air
11. Sheer Agony – Pet Crow
12. Grass Widow – Milo Minute
13. Woods – Is it Honest
14. Allo Darlin’ – Capricornia
15. Craft Spells – Still Left with Me
16. AC Newman – Encyclopedia of Classic Takedowns
17. Lightships – Sweetness in Her Spark
18. Jim Ruiz Set – Neo-Acoustic Ambassador
19. Hospitality – The Birthday
20. The Peoples Temple – Looter’s Game
21. The Raveonettes – Young and Cold

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Cover art to Mix #2 is by legendary internet graffiti artist King of the Streets whose who grapples with his muse and respect for public property by working exclusively in MS Paint.

DOWNLOAD SOUND BITES: BEST OF 2012 #2

Tracklist:
1. METZ – Knife in the Water
2. A Place To Bury Strangers – So Far Away
3. Wax Idols – Schadenfreude
4. The Megaphonic Thrift – Moonstruck
5. Erik Blood – The Lonesome Death of Henry Paris
6. Savages – Flying to Berlin
7. BEAK> – Mono
8. Disappears – Pre Language
9. Japandroids – Evil’s Sway
10. Holograms – ABC City
11. Parquet Courts – Borrowed Time
12. Moonmen On The Moon, Man – Oh Look, A Sweat Balloon
13. Cloud Nothings – Stay Useless
14. Nude Beach – Some Kinda Love
15. Bleeding Rainbow – Pink Ruff
16. Total Control – Scene from a Marriage
17. PAWS – Sore Tummy
18. Street Chant – Sink
19. BNLX – Everything Must Go
20. The Soft Pack – Tallboy
21. Cheatahs – The Swan

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Cover art to Mix #3 is by longtime Summer Fridays contributor Greg Morris who is the first toymaker to the king, amongst other things. FYI, his cover is loosely based on the towering, haphazard wall of CDs in my apartment.

DOWNLOAD SOUND BITES: BEST OF 2012 #3

Tracklist
1. El Perro Del Mar – Walk on By
2. Hot Chip – These Chains
3. Purity Ring – Belispeak
4. Todd Terje – Inspector Norse
5. Saint Etienne – I’ve Got Your Music
6. Bertrand Bergulat – Double Peine
7. GOAT – Goatman
8. Icona Pop – I Love It
9. The 2 Bears – Work
10. Django Django – Default
11. Prince Fatty feat. Hollie Cook – And the Beat Goes On
12. Jessie Ware – 110%
13. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – You Need Me On My Own
14. Chromatics – At Your Door
15. New Build – Do You Not Feel Loved
16. WhoMadeWho – Inside World
17. Divine Fits – For Your Heart
18. Chairlift – I Belong in Your Arms
19. Summer Camp – Always
20. NZCA/LINES – Atoms & Axes
21. Bear in Heaven – World of Freakout
22. Grimes – Oblivion

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Kate Bryant has done cover art for Summer Fridays since they started. More than a couple have featured her Catahoula Leopard Hound Arlo, and he’s in this one too. It looks like a still from Canine Terminator. For for pictures of her dog (and other things), follow Kate on Instagram.

DOWNLOAD SOUND BITES: BEST OF 2012 #4

Tracklist:
1. Eternal Summers – Millions
2. Ice Choir – A Vision of Hell, 1994
3. Fergus & Geronimo – No Parties
4. Stealing Sheep – Genevieve
5. Cate Le Bon – Fold the Cloth
6. Liechtenstein – Ambitions
7. Deep Time – Coleman
8. Lower Dens – Brains
9. Dum Dum Girls – Lord Knows
10. Rachel Zeffira – Front Door
11. Tame Impala – Keep on Lying
12. Beach House – Other People
13. Peaking Lights – Live Love
14. Frankie Rose – Nightswim
15. Cat Power – Ruin
16. Melody’s Echo Chamber – Be Proud of Your Kids
17. Caged Animals – This Summer
18. Merchandise – Time
19. Moon King – Crucified
20. Dent May – Rent Money

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And cover art for Mix #5, which was at the top of this post too, is by Kelly Hitzing who has done mix art for a long time as well. She just got her degree in Landscape Architecture and is very talented. She would be a great addition to your firm, please hire her (especially if you’re in NYC, we need her back here).

DOWNLOAD SOUND BITES: BEST OF 2012 #5

Tracklist:
1. TOY – Motoring
2. Shrag – Chasing Consumations
3. Mac DeMarco – Freaking Out the Neighborhood
4. Punks on Mars – 8 Showers of Pain
5. The Intelligence – (They Found Me in the Back of) The Galaxy
6. The Babies – Moonlight Mile
7. The Fresh & Onlys – Presence of Mind
8. Orca Team – Behind Your Eyes
9. Scraps – 1982
10. Opossom – Fly
11. Violens – Sariza Spring
12. Two Wounded Birds – It’s Not Up to You
13. King Tuff – Alone and Stoned
14. Vex Ruffin – Take It
15. Useless Eaters – Black Night Ultraviolet
16. Terry Malts – Something About You
17. Graham Coxon – What’ll It Take?
18. The Cribs – Glitters Like Gold
19. Woollen Kits – Out of Whack
20. Field Music – Who’ll Pay the Bills?
21. Cats on Fire – 1914 and Beyond

I really don’t think it needs to be said, but the songs on these mixes are actually mixed together so, for reasons of “flow,” please don’t listen on shuffle.

A reader from France emailed me the other day asking what happened to Sound Bites, as I hadn’t posted anything since August. Well, I have a full time job where I also write about music, so this site has definitely gone by the wayside though I wish it wasn’t so. I also was having trouble in the mix production department, but having a little free time over Thanksgiving weekend I think I’ve sorted that out, so here’s my first try at a mix with new audio and photo software. It’s mostly new music, with a few oldies right in the middle. Do enjoy.

DOWNLOAD SOUND BITES GET AUTUMNAL!

Tracklist:

1 The Babies – Mess Me Around
2 Eureka California – Back to California
3 Veronica Falls – Teenage
4 Jim Ruiz Set – Neo Acoustic Ambasador
5 Jim Noir – Ping Pong Time Tennis
6 pow wow! – You’re Dead
7 AC Newman – Encyclopedia o Classic Takedowns
8 I Was a King – Leave
9 Housemartins – Think For A Minute
10 Dionne Warwick – Anyone Who Had A Heart
11 El Perro Del Mar – Walk on By
12 Jan Hammer Group – Don’t You Know
13 Jef Barbara – Larmes de crocodile
14 Bertrand Burgalat – Double Peine
15 Erik Blood – The Lonesome Death of Henry Paris
16 Omega Male – Testosterone
17 Moon King – Crucified
18 Parquet Courts – Stoned and Starving

This Sunday is the final installment of this year’s Sound Bites Series and we’re closing things with a doozy of a band: Brooklyn’s Ski Lodge. Mixing a dash of The Smiths’ swagger with more wordly influences, the band made a splash last year with their debut EP and will release their debut full-length for Dovecote Records sometime in the very near future. The band were also picked as one of the “8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear” in The L Magazine’s annual music issue and we couldn’t agree more. Here’s a sample:

Details: The Sound Bites series is a free show, as always, and I DJ at 2PM with the band on at 3PM sharp! The Stage is set up on Beekman just off South Street down by the seaport. Come down! (There may even be beer for sale this week!) Main Lodge resident Andrew Marr was nice enough to answer some food-related questions for us:

You’ll be playing at the Fulton Stall markets. What’s your favorite vegetable? And why.
Brussels sprouts, because you can roast em up real nice.

What’s your least favorite and why?
Mushrooms, i just don’t get why they have to be the way they are.  [Keep trying, they're awesome. - Ed]

You’ve been busy making your debut album. Did any particular food fuel it’s making?
Goldfish get snacked on a lot

Has food ever influenced your songwriting?
Food has probably had a negative influence on my songwriting, because after every meal I eat I then want to do absolutely nothing for an open ended amount of time.

Any good food-related band anecdotes?
Whenever we go out to eat as a band (bassist) Jared lists every restaurant within a 5 mile radius as an option for us to eat at.

Who is the best cook in the band? (And what’s their specialty?) Who is the finickiest eater? Do you often eat together as a band?
I’m gonna say that I (Andrew) am the best cook. I have never eaten anything the others have made but my parents taught me to cook pretty well. I don’t think any of us are very finicky, but yea we usually eat together when we play a show.

What’s your favorite local restaurants?
We all love Meatball Shop and M Shanghai

What’s your go-to hangover food?
Yogurt smoothies and pancakes

What food would you imagine Ski Lodge’s music being paired with?
A nice warm apple fritter with hot coffee to drink

It’s a Very Special Edition of the Sound Bites Series this at Fulton Stall Market this Sunday (8/19). Don’t worry, no one tries drinking for the first time and nearly dies. In this case it’s Brooklyn’s Caged Animals getting very especially acoustic. Which could all maybe use after Eternal Summers so awesomely destroyed our ear canals last weekend. Caged Animals make manage that rare tightrope walk of being heartfelt without sap, with big catchy choruses you’ll be singing along to after first listen. Which is to say they’re a great pop band! The band are currently finishing up their second album which will hopefully be out this fall. In the meantime, check out their most recent EP:

Details: The Sound Bites series is a free show, as always, and I DJ at 2PM with the band on at 3PM sharp! The Stage is set up on Beekman just off South Street down by the seaport. Come down! Caged Animals’ frontman Vincent Cacchione was nice enough to answer some food-related questions for us:

You’ll be playing at the Fulton Stall markets. What’s your favorite vegetable? And why.
Avocado because they aren’t shallow.

What’s your least favorite and why?
Cooked tomatoes (not tomato sauce though) are the nastiest vegetable imaginable. I have no idea why, because raw tomatoes and tomato sauce are both delicious.

You’ve been busy making the new Caged Animals album. Did any particular food fuel it’s making??
Coffee and B Complex have been the most influential over the creative process. Food wise, we Caged Animals keep it varied, Curried Tofu, Chicken Mole Burritos, Pastrami Sandwiches, Granny Smith Apples, you know!

Has food ever influenced your songwriting?
Certain slices of pizza have created miracles and modulations.

Any good food-related band anecdotes?
I can’t think of a more food-oriented band than Caged Animals. Our European tour-manager said we’re the most fun to tour with because everywhere we go we want to eat whatever that place is known for; this comment came over a plate of snails in some hole-in-the wall Parisian restaurant.

My favorite food related story happened on our way to SXSW this spring. When we were driving to Austin we couldn’t stop thinking about gumbo’s and Po’ Boys as we road through the Louisiana night. The next morning we woke up and started making serious headway into Texas, we were beginning to lose hope that we’d ever taste Cajun in the motherland and then at the eleventh hour we ended up having a totally next level and unbelievably sloppy crawfish experience at a gas-station just east of the border!

Who is the best cook in the band? (And what’s their specialty?) Who is the
finickiest eater? Do you often eat together as a band?
Best cooks in the band are Talya and Magali! Most frequent cook in the band is me (Vin). My specialty is curried tofu-scramble or vegetarian tacos! We are always eating together, I think that’s why we are such a special band, we’re really focused on our own vibe together.

We cook together during almost every practice and for the record there are NO finicky eaters in Caged Animals. Talya is the most likely to order the nastiest thing on the menu. Example: random, gas-station diner in Maine, “yes I’ll have the fried Clams.”

What’s your favorite local restaurants?
David’s Brisket House (thanks to Larry Ratso Sloman), Coco Lin Vegetarian Chinese (thanks to Matt Molnar), but if you really wanna treat me right you gotta take me for some Ethiopian.

What’s your go-to hangover food?
Brunch!

What food would you imagine Caged Animals music being paired with?
Thanksgiving dinner.

I am super-psyched to have Eternal Summers playing Sound Bites series at Fulton Stall Market this Sunday (8/12). It’s a free show, as always, and I DJ at 2PM and the band is on at 3PM sharp! The Stage is set up on Beekman just off South Street down by the seaport. Come down!

Eternal Summers new album, Correct Behavior, is one of my favorites of the year, they are great live and you’d be dumb to miss this show! DUMB!

Nicole, Daniel and Jonathan were kind enough to answer some food-related questions:

You’ll be playing at the Fulton Stall markets. What’s your favorite vegetable? And why.

Daniel: Carrots. I like to juice them.
Jonathan: Carrots too. I like to crunch em.
Nicole: Green Beans because they go with everything!

What’s your least favorite and why?

Daniel: I like okra buy sometimes okra can be kinda weird. I hope Okra doesn’t read this!
Jonathan: Onion. Texture. Taste. Overrides everything. I don’t dig.
Nicole: Radishes but they’re not bad. Just not a staple.

Did any particular food fuel the making of Correct Behavior?

Kombucha, 7-11 hotdogs, colloidal silver, nachos, kale.

Has food ever influenced your songwriting?

It always does. We have gotten a lot more physical in our music so if we eat junk it really affects our creativity and energy level.

Any good food-related band anecdotes?

Lio who runs Kanine Records used to make fun of how Daniel and I (Nicole) used to share our food all the time. We were just trying to save money but I guess it looked hilarious since he was buying our food!

Who is the best cook in the band? Who is the finickiest eater? Do you often eat together as a band when not on the road?

Nicole is the best cook. Jonathan is the finickiest eater and we usually just get coffee together.

You’re the first non-NYC band to play the Sound Bites series but you play here often. Any favorite Brooklyn/NYC restaurants?

Ella Cafe in Williamsburg, and this rad BBQ place on Bedford next to Soundfix records. Very surly drink names and tasty brisket!

What food would you imagine Eternal Summers music being paired with?

A salad and some raw meat.

Sorry about no new mix last week. We had snafus in both the audio and visual departments and in addition to other commitments, it didn’t quite come together. Anyway, we’re back this Friday with a lot of good stuff for you to hear, including a song by new favorite new band, Stealing Sheep; a rarity from the Blur 21 box set; new music from Chicago’s Mazes, SF’s Sic Alps, Welsh oddballs Race Horses, oddball oddball Lawrence’s Go Kart Mozart, and some “classic cuts” from The Wedding Present, New Order, T. Rex and a tip of the hat to late astronaut Sally Ride. And more!

Cover art this is by longtime contributor (and recent post grad school grad) Kelly Hitzing who has been spending this summer tubing down rivers in Tennessee and Florida. Which makes me think of the great Atari arcade game Tubin’ more than anything else. I digress. There are also FOUR songs with the word “sun” or some variation therein which I totally didn’t do on purpose.

Download and enjoy!

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 5.10

Tracklist:
1) Tame Impala – Elephant
2) T-Rex – Jeepster
3) Mazes – Messes
4) New Order – Weirdo
5) The Sea and Cake – Harps
6) Wild Nothing – Nocturne
7) Taken By Trees – Dreams
8) Stealing Sheep – Genevieve
9) Magic Trick – Sunny
10) Sic Alps – God Bless Her, I Miss Her
11) The Wedding Present – You Should Always Keep in Touch with Your Friends
12) Blur – Seven Days
13) Go Kart Mozart – The Sun
14) The Weathermen – Space
15) Race Horses – Sisters
16) Chris Stamey – The Summer Sun
17) Magic Trick – Sunny
18) The Luyas – Fifty Fifty

Yo! No shuffling!

It’s that time of year again — well a month later than usual — and the 2012 Sound Bites Series kicks off this Sunday (8/5) down at the Fulton Stall Markets with Habibi, one of Brooklyn’s most promising new bands. Barely a year old, these four girls make irresistible pop informed by ‘60s girl groups but have a dreamlike style all their own. The band just finished a tour with Sub Pop band King Tuff, and are currently working on their debut album. In the meantime you can check this track out:

Habibi will be on at 3PM sharp and I’ll be spinning tunes beforehand. Like I usually do, I asked the band about food and singer Rahill Jamalifard was kind enough to respond:

You’ll be playing at the Fulton Stall markets. What’s your favorite vegetable? And why?

Okra, my granmda in iran makes a killer okra stew, it’s such an underrated and underappreciated vegetable, and people never make it right, but when its made so that its still firm but cooked and doesnt fall apart when you fork it, its delicious.

What’s your least favorite and why?

I love em all, but least favorite…celery, its boring. Sorta like eating crunchy water.

Has food ever influenced your songwriting?

Food hasnt directly influenced my writing per se, but, food absolutely makes Habibi’s world go round.

Any good food-related band anecdotes?

Haha, yes all our good stories are food related! One we recently revisited and laughed about was a show we played at Johnny Brendas in Philly. They were kind enough to bring out a generous sized hummus plate for us and King Tuff before our show. The King Tuff boys hadn’t come into the bar yet and we basically bodied the whole thing and did some heavy heavy damage, to the point where the manager asked us kindly to please leave some for the other band. We laughed inside but cried a little too. Oh and later that night we all ate two cheese stakes each. Ha, we love food.

You recently toured with King Tuff. What kind of eater is Kyle?

Kyle loves food too, he yelled at us for getting the appropriate ‘cheese whiz’ on our Philly cheese steaks. And he sent a burger back once because they forgot his avocado! Haha, he’s serious about food!

Who is the best cook in the band? Who is the finickiest eater?

The best cook? Shoot, we all cook, and boast about our cooking but have never sampled each others, so lemme get back to you on that. And the finickiest would definitely be me. I’m annoyingly picky.

Where do you eat in Brooklyn?

I cook a lot at home, but if im not cooking at home, i really like Chimu in Williamsburg, which is a Peruvian joint with delicious chicken or the Tortilla Factory off the Jefferson L stop, I havent been to in a few years but im sure still remains decent, and Song in park slope, its cheap delicious Thai food. We all just went to this argentinian restaurant for Erin, our bass player’s birthday. It was called El Almicen in Williamsburg. I wouldnt recommend it though, unless you want four bites of tuna for 27 dollars.

What’s your cheap eats go-to joint? What about when you’re willing to splurge a little?

Yes! Go to Punjab on Houston. It’s an Indian cabbie spot thats cheap and delicious. $2 for a heaping plate of food! And if I’m splurging, well… I cant really afford to splurge but i really like this Mexican restaurant thats a bit pricey over by st. Marks called La Palapa, they have these different homemade salsas that will twist your panties in a knot and a really great and thorough dinner menu. Oh man and Ariana Afghan Kebab House in Hell’s Kitchen, their Kabuli Palow is amazing!

What’s your go-to hangover food?

I dont really get hangovers, i barely drink. But i definitely like to drink fresh made juices all day after a night of drinking.

What food would you imagine Habibi’s music being paired with?

Habibi’s music would be paired with tagine! Exotic, flavor full, rich and saucy. Yum, now im hungry!!!

Okay, okay this is a day late but … hey, man, things got crazy. (Not really.) Lot of great music on this week’s mix, which is basically new stuff and semi-obscure ’90s UK indie. Sleeper and The Poplinjays still sound good! Ditto Family Cat and Milltown Brothers. As for the new stuff, dig mix-opener by Toy  and that Melody’s Echo Chamber track. Yes, I’m repeating some bands but back when I made real mix tapes on a weekly basis, you’d just run through your favorite new albums track-by-track anyway… good songs are what counts. Cover art this week by Rich Scroggs who did a bang up job. Hope you’re boating or driving a race car this weekend. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 5.9

Tracklist:
1. Toy – Motoring
2. Spirea X – Chlorine Dream
3. Melody’s Echo Chamber – Endless Shore
4. The Boo Radleys – Rodney King (Song for Lenny Bruce)
5. Deep Time – Coleman
6. The Limiñanas – Betty and Johnny
7. Home – So Much Love
8. The Family Cat – What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
9. Endless Summers – Wonder
10. The Popinjays – Vote Elvis!
11. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Only in My Dreams
12. Milltown Brothers – Which Way Should I Jump?
13. Girls Names – A Troubled See
14. The Blue Aeroplanes – Yr Own World
15. The Sufis – Sri Sai Flora
16. Jasmine Minks – What’s Happening
17. Tropical Popsicle – The Age of Attraction
18. Sleeper – Inbetweener
19. Exlovers – You Forget So Easily
20. Lush – Ciao!

This week’s cover art was made by yearly Summer Fridays contributor and renegade digital street artist King of the Streets (KOTS) who, as you all know by now, values graffiti and property rights in equal measure. Hence, all his tagging is done via MS Paint. He also loves to shred and requested that this mix be something you can skate to. Well I did my best. There are some of the most aggressive songs ever committed to a Summer Fidays on this one (like GvsB) and maybe one of the most annoying (forgotten ’80s band The Sicilian Vespers, who I love). Plus, new tunes from METZ, The Soft Pack, Megaphonic Thrift, JEFF the Brotherhood and more. Rad?

DOWNLOAD SUMMER FRIDAYS 5.8

Tracklist:
1. Ty Segall – Tell Me What’s Inside Your Heart
2. The Adverts – Gary Gilmore’s Eyes
3. Mean Jeans – Hangin’ Tough
4. METZ – Headache
5. Girls Against Boys – Let Me Come Back
6. The Damned – Love Song
7. Unnatural Helpers – Hate Your Teachers
8. The Soft Pack – Saratoga
9. The Clean – Getting Older
10. Shrag – Show Us Your Canines
11. The Megaphonic Thrift – Moonstruck
12. Swervedriver – Blowin’ Cool
13. Mystery Band - Something Something Something
14. The Sicilian Vespers – Teenage Abuse
15. JEFF the Brotherhood – Country Life
16. The People’s Temple – Looter’s Game
17. The Fall – 2 X 4
18. The Intelligence – The Entertainer
19. Dinosaur Jr – Freak Scene
20. Gang of Four – I Found That Essence Rare