Sunday Random 10 (x 2)

Been crazy around TWDQ HQ, between the final throes of a remodeling project and the kid getting ready to go to Russia.

Here's what the little green Nano offered up the last couple of Sundays. Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

07/24/2011
The Beach Boys - I'm Waiting for the Day
The Wild Tchoupitoulas - Big Chief Got a Golden Crown
Nick Lowe - All Men are Liars
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - She May Call You Up Tonight
The Beatles - And Your Bird Can Sing
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - And Your Bird Can Sing
Patty Griffin - Icicles
Neil Young - Like a Hurricane
Adam Again - River on Fire
The Avett Brothers - Shame

07/31/2011
Brendan Benson - Feel A Whole Lot Better
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - She May Call You Up Tonight
The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations
Kirsty MacColl - Innocence
Derek & The Dominos - I Looked Away
Wilco - Dreamer In My Dreams
Radiohead - Anyone Can Play Guitar
Adam Again - Hopeless, Etc.
Tom Waits - On the Nickel
The Baseball Project - The Magic Mitt of Jason Byles

Bonus 11th track: U2 - Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of

Last week's ten was pretty remarkable for the back-to-back "And Your Bird Can Sing" renditions. Also, if you've never heard Adam Again's haunting "River on Fire", go check out the clip. We really miss Gene Eugene. Same goes for Patty Griffin's "Icicles".

This week's list is really interesting because each of the first two tunes was a lead-off track on one of our annual Faves compilations, immediately followed by another Faves track. Also, Derek & The Dominos remains Mr. Clapton's career high point.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Do you suppose Paul Krugman spent this morning's This Week roundtable listening to Grover Norquist, yearning for such a sock?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10

It's hot and muggy outside, so let's see what the little green Nano offered up to cool us down.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

Mavis Staples - Downward Road
The Decemberists - January Hymn
Robert Plant - Angel Dance
The Replacements - Bastards of Young
The Decemberists - Rox in the Box
Joe Henry - A Friend to You
AfroCubism - Djelimady Rumba
The Suburbs - Drinking with an Angel
Lyle Lovett - An Acceptable Level of Ecstasy
Buddy Miller - That's How I Got to Memphis

Couple of tunes from the excellent new Decemberists album, couple from great Twin Cities bands (not counting The Jayhawks backing Mr. Henry), and a couple featuring Buddy Miller (he's the guitarist in Mr. Plant's Band of Joy).

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("What liberal media?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (a bunch of them)

Yeah, sure we'll be back later in the day with a fresh ten, you bet.

Here's that Sunday's ten, plus the holiday weekend edition and...wait for it...today's random ten!

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!!!

06/26/2011
Eddie Vedder - Without You
The Avett Brothers - I Killed Sally's Lover (Live)
The Hold Steady - Your Little Hoodrat Friend
The Beatles - When I Get Home
Steve Dawson - Temporary
Sam Dees - The World Don't Owe You Nothing
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - Willin'
The Beatles - Lady Madonna
Eddie Vedder - Can't Keep
Johnny Cash - Come In Stranger

07/03/2011
The Baseball Project - The Ballad of Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson
Fountains of Wayne - All Kinds of Time
Nick Lowe - True Love Travels on a Gravel Road
Fountains of Wayne - Leave the Biker
Earth, Wind & Fire - Sing a Song
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - The Game Gets Old
Ry Cooder - Fool for a Cigarette/Feelin' Good
Sam Cooke - Only Sixteen
Wilco - Everlasting Everything
Kirsty MacColl - You Just Haven't Earned It Yet Baby

07/10/2011
Marshall Crenshaw - What Do You Dream Of?
Solomon Burke - Cry to Me
Jonathan Rundman - What Wondrous Love is This
Erik Brandt - Ain't Broke
The Beatles - If I Needed Someone
Robert Brown and The Sons of The South - Nobody Knows
Beki Hemingway - Fort Bragg
Jonathan Rundman - Church Directory
Lucinda Williams - Kiss Like Your Kiss (The Kitchen Tapes)
Beki Hemingway - Saturday

And today's bonus 11th, since you've all been so patient:
Ivy - Digging Your Scene

So three weeks ago, the Nano had a thing for the sweet new Eddie Vedder "Ukulele Songs" record and the Fab Four. Last week it was Fountains of Wayne (new album available for pre-order now!) and this week it was into Ms. Hemingway and Mr. Rundman in a big way. We also think it's reminding us about the new album Mr. Brandt will be recording this coming week.

We'll try to be more prompt next week.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("How do you reach a compromise with people who doesn't understand the meaning of the word?"), already in progress.

Catching up...

Before we fire up the Nano today, let's review the weeks we've missed here due to a lot of stuff goin' on (most notably, this project):

06/05/2011
XTC - The Wheel and the Maypole
The Beatles - Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite
Tom Waits - Lucky Day (Live)
Boiling Point - Pieces of Me
R.E.M. - Can't Get There from Here
Aaron Neville - I'm So Glad (Trouble Don't Last)
The Weepies - When You Go Away
Bob Dylan - Masters of War (demo)
Suburbs - Tape Your Wife to the Ceiling
Adam Again - Worldwide

06/12/2011
Florence + The Machine - I'm Not Calling You a Liar
The Smiths - Hand in Glove
Bruce Cockburn - Waiting for a Miracle
John Coltrane - Summertime
Joe Henry - Curt Flood
Jonathan Rundman - Read the Signs
The Beatles - Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
This Train - A Million Years
Fountains of Wayne - Richie and Ruben
Dan Zanes - Lincoln & Liberty

The Fountains of Wayne tune is a preview they've posted from their forthcoming album, due out August 2nd. Yeah, we'll be at the record store that day. Before lunch.

Back later today with a fresh ten.

Update: Hey wait, we weren't quite caught up...

06/19/2011
Lucinda Williams - Soldier's Song
Muddy Waters - Gypsy Woman
Joe Henry - Short Man's Room
The Baseball Project - Gratitude (for Curt Flood)
The Bangles - Eternal Flame
Jonathan Rundman - David & Peter & Thomas
Jonathan Rundman - I'm Alive and Sleep Deprived
Van Morrison - Cleaning Windows
The Belfast Cowboys - Domino
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Rise Up with Fists!!!

That's better.

What Goes Around...

In our previous episode, we wondered if an offensive"prayer" by a lunatic would derail a vote on an amendment that would chisel discrimination into the state constitution.

Well, it didn't derail it, so in November 2012, the voters of Minnesota will get to decide about the rights of other Minnesotans, which is just plain wrong, regardless of whose rights they are.

It did, however, have some karmic consequences for the "pray-er." He'd already been booted off one right-wing station prior to the "prayer" and in the wake of it, was dumped from another, leading to This Week's Discussion Question:

Just how crazy do you have to be to be too much for stations who air Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "Didn't start this fight? Are you kidding, you coward?"

Discuss.

Sunday Random 10 (x2 - Holiday edition)

Been another couple of busy weeks at TWDQ HQ. Ran through a random 10 yesterday while scraping wallpaper paste and when we plugged the little green Nano into the laptop, the Last Played column didn't show it'd played anything since Friday.

We fired it up again this morning, so here's what fell out first the last coupla weeks:

05/22/2011
Dan Zanes - The Shantyman's Life
Lucinda Williams - Ugly Truth (The Kitchen Tapes)
Over the Rhine - Sleep Baby Jane
Steve Cropper & Felix Cavaliere - One of Those Days
Fountains of Wayne - Sink to the Bottom
The Smiths - What Difference Does it Make?
This Train - Baby Baby
Alice Cooper - Elected
Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues
Ringo Starr - I'm the Greatest

05/29/2011
Uncle Tupelo - New Madrid
The Rutles - Joe Public
Bob Dylan - Ain't Gonna Grieve
The Band - When I Paint My Masterpiece
Ike Reilly - Good Work
The Beatles - Blue Jay Way
Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I'll Still Be True
Tom Waits - House Where Nobody Lives
The Bad Plus - Smells Like Teen Spirit

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Save It for Later

First, we bring you the breaking news that today's Rapture has been postponed because after this opening "prayer" at Friday's Minnesota House of Representatives session, Jesus will likely still be throwing up at the appointed hour. At this time, a Rapture make-up date has not been scheduled.

Based on the video clip of the incident, Jesus may need a stint on the 15-day disabled list, followed by a brief minor league rehab assignment rapturing mice and small birds to make sure he's back in rapturing shape.

Which brings us to This Week's Discussion Question:

How sweet would it be if that lunatic's "prayer" torpedoed the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment vote?

Please keep the discussion civil and do feel free to wander off into "When you speak for me, you don't speak for me."

Discuss.

Sunday Random 10 (x 2)

Been so busy we don't even remember what we've been doing that kept us from posting. Let's see what the Nano's tossed out over the last couple of Sundays.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!!!

05/08/2011
Radiohead - Thinking About You
Uncle Tupelo - Graveyard Shift
Talking Heads - Heaven
The Beatles - Only a Northern Song
Bob Dylan - The Times They Are A-Changin' (demo)
Rosanne Cash - Seventh Avenue
Bob Dylan - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (demo)
Fountains of Wayne - Number 45 Sunblock
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros - Up From Below
The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger

05/15/2011
Derek & The Dominos - Got to Get Better in a Little While (Live)
The Beatles - When I Get Home
Buddy Miller (feat. Ann McCrary) - No Good Lover
Girlyman - Tell Me There's a Reason
The Beach Boys - You Still Believe in Me (Live)
Odetta - The Times They Are A-Changin'
The B-52's - Party Out of Bounds
Wilco - Walken
XTC - Church of Women
Afrocubism - Dakan

And a bonus because you've been so patient: 11. Ritchie Valens - La Bamba

Starting to see some newer stuff here. Picked up a used copy of the Dominos' excellent Live at the Fillmore on Record Store Day, so this week we started with a 13-minute track. The young man can play a little bit. Too bad that band only lasted one album. We got a couple of versions of Dylan's anthem, including his own Witmark demo on piano. The Buddy Miller tune is from the fine new Majestic Silver Strings record with Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot, & Greg Leisz.

We'll see if we can get this up in a more timely fashion next week.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question (Why not both, Newt?), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10 (x 2)

Whole lotta painting and baseball going on, not much blogging. Started up the Nano en route from TWDQ HQ to play at the Sunrise service and the two tunes it kicked out were entirely appropriate. Finished up the rest while applying some Ancient Marble after spending a glorious Sunday afternoon at the ballpark witnessing what, sadly, remains the most recent win for the local nine. This week, we fired up the Nano after the 5 p.m. service.

So let's see what else it had queued up. Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

04/24/2011
The Beach Boys - We Got Love (Live)
U2 - Peace on Earth
Joe Henry - Flesh and Blood
Old 97's - Big Brown Eyes
The Kinks - See My Friends
Old 97's - You Belong to My Heart
The Who - Happy Jack
Steve Dawson - Out of Your Mind
Joe Henry - Buckdancer's Choice
Boiling Point - Incomplete

05/01/2011
The Turtles - Happy Together
Tom Waits - The Part You Throw Away
Ringo Starr - No-No Song
Jonathan Rundman - Church Directory
Erik Brandt - Who Am I Making the Bed for When You Aren't Here?
Girlyman - Invite Me In
Janelle Monae - Cold War
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - Alone Again Or
Gear Daddies - Dream Vacation
The Turtles - Elenore

Final tune on Easter Sunday is from the band led by the worship leader with whom we played that morning. This week we had some excellent bookends, especially since "Elenore" is pretty much "Happy Together" inside out in a blatant attempt at a hit. (It also features some of the most sublimely dumb lyrics in rock 'n roll.) Thanks again to Dave Biljan for insisting the Gear Daddies put out their odds and ends on Cant Have Nothin' Nice all those years ago.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Why does anyone care what Donald Trump thinks about anything?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10

Did today's shuffling with paint brush in hand, so the little green Nano accompanied the second coat of Ivoire on the dining room wall.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

The Hold Steady - Banging Camp
Muddy Waters - Train Fare Home Blues
The Decemberists - Sons & Daughters
Paul Simon - Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War
Kaivama - Edina Speedtrap
Dolly Varden - Overwhelming
The Beatles - I'm Looking Through You
The Rascals - Easy Rollin'
Tom Waits - Falling Down (Live)
Split Enz - What's the Matter with You

Sadly, I don't have any Red House Painters on the Nano. The Kaivama is a new acquisition and while we didn't get anything off the fine new Paul Simon record that hit the racks this week, we did get a wonderfully-named song from the underrated Hearts and Bones.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

So Listen, Mister D.J., Keep Those Records Playin'...

Happy Record Store Day from all of us at TWDQ HQ! We hope you're celebrating the occasion in the traditional manner.

Here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Isn't every day Record Store Day?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "No, it isn't."

Discuss.

Meanwhile, we're gonna go find some good stuff that'll eventually show up on a future Sunday Random 10.

Sunday Random 10

It's Sunday again! The last little bit of snow is melting off the grounds at TWDQ HQ, so let's see if spring's in the air on the little green Nano. Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

Jack Logan - Town Crier
Old 97's - Doreen
Wilco - My Darling
Girlyman - I Know Where You Are
Los Lobos - I Got to Let You Know (Live)
Professor Longhair - Boogie Woogie
Professor Longhair & His Blues Scholars - Hey Now Baby (Live)
Los Lobos - 27 Spanishes
Allen Toussaint - Bright Mississippi
The Pogues - Bottle of Smoke

The Nano still must think it's Mardi Gras since it pulled up a couple of 'Fess tunes and one from the terrific Allen Toussaint. It brought back a Los Lobos tune from last week and bookended the Longhair tracks with a new Lobos tune from last year's fine Tin Can Trust. "Doreen" is the early 97's at their frantic best and The Pogues' profane ode to a race horse is from the essential If I Should Fall from Grace with God.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Could we send Mississippi down to Triple A and bring Puerto Rico or Guam up to the 50-state roster? Even if Mississippi's out of options, it ain't like Canada or Mexico is going to claim them off of waivers." And please do wander off into "And why the hell is anyone asking an idiotic question like that in twenty-freaking-eleven?"), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10

...and it's actually still Sunday! Let's find out what the little green Nano shuffled up this week.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

Todd Rundgren - The Range War
Todd Rundgren - All the Children Sing
Boiling Point - Stars Are Falling
The Smiths - Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Joe Henry - Nico Lost One Small Buddha
The Beatles - Chains
Los Lobos - I Got to Let You Know (Live)
Katrina & The Waves - Walking on Sunshine
The Neville Brothers - Every Day
Jonathan Rundman - Ah, Holy Jesus

Well, no Baseball Project songs off their fine new album (or even "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" or "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request"), but we did get two of our favorite Todd tunes right off the bat (pun fully intended) and we hope to be humming Katrina's big hit next Saturday evening as we get our first live glimpse of the local nine.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("Where have you gone, Dude-You-Have-No-Koran Guy? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you."), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10

Let's see what the little green Nano shook out this week. It's the only thing green around TWDQ HQ since Tuesday night's storm blew in and left another layer of white.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

Bob Dylan - I'll Keep It with Mine
The Suburbs - Girlfriend
Jimi Hendrix - Pali Gap
Johnny Cash - Guess Things Happen That Way
Jonathan Rundman - Oswiecim
The Rolling Stones - Play with Fire
Jules Shear - Sad Sound of the Wind
Wilco - The Lonely 1
Ike Reilly - Morning Glory
The Waterboys - This Land is Your Land

Nice mix there. "Sad Sound of the Wind" is another of those great lost singles of the early 90s and why The Suburbs were never big outside of Minneapolis/St. Paul, we'll never know.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

I'll Be Back

Horrific natural disasters like the Japanese earthquake and tsunami tend to bring the stupid-ass theologians out of the woodwork, so here's This Week's Discussion Question:

Would it really count as The Second Coming if Jesus just popped by briefly to say "Stop. Talking. Now." to a few folks?

Please keep the discussion civil and do not wander off into "That wouldn't be a brief stop, chief."

Discuss.

Sunday Random 10 (x 2)

Crazy, crazy busy around TWDQ HQ. Didn't get to the iPod last week until Monday and until late Sunday this week, so let's see what the little green Nano shook out on Mardi Gras and St. Paddy's weeks. Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

03/13/2011
The Beatles - With a Little Help from My Friends
Split Enz - Straight Old Line
Steve Dawson - Out of Your Mind
Los Lobos - La Bamba
Muddy Waters - Trouble No More
Guided by Voices - Queen of Cans and Jars (live)
The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
The Faces - Maybe I'm Amazed
The Beatles - Rock and Roll Music
The Avett Brothers - Ill With Want

03/20/2011
Bruce Springsteen - The Brokenhearted
Todd Rundgren - Torch Song
The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down
Los Lobos - On Main Street
Peter Holsapple & Chris Stamey - Here and Now
Professor Longhair - Go to the Mardi Gras
The Ike Reilly Assassination - When Irish Eyes Are Burning
The Baseball Project - The Death of Big Ed Delahanty
Elvis Presley - I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (Slow version)
Beki Hemingway & Jonathan Rundman - Easy Chair

And a bonus because you've waited--all three of you--so patiently, the 11th song that popped up this week was the lead track on this year's Faves compilation:

Steve Dawson - Obsidian

Well, we got about as Mardi Gras as you can get with 'Fess, but Ike Reilly's about as close as we got to St. Paddy's, so maybe next week we'll get some Pogues or Waterboys or Van the Man.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question--and hang on, kids, there's an actual one coming in a few minutes, already in progress.

Rookies and Steroids

Couple of quick items while we're at it.

Numero uno, the Minnesota Twins have a great ad agency. Nice bit of acting by young Mr. Valencia. And who knew first base coach Jerry White could croon?

Numero two-oh (copyright Molly), Fred Clark must be juicing, because he's been hitting them out of the park one after the other over at the great Slacktivist blog for several weeks now.

Sunday Random 10

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we should just call it Bi-Weekly Sunday Random 10. Let's find out what the little green Nano shuffled up the last coupla Sundays. Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

02/27/2011
Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone
Lookbook - Real Love
Preservation Hall Jazz Band (feat. Tom Waits) - Corrinne Died on the Battlefield
Eddie Floyd - Knock on Wood
The Beatles - Good Night
Bettye LaVette - It Don't Come Easy
Otis & Carla - Tramp
Bruce Springsteen - Candy's Boy
Dolly Varden - Forgiven Now
Phoenix - Lasso

03/06/2011
XTC - Wounded Horse
The Beatles - Rock And Roll Music
Aaron Neville - Stand By Me
Fountains of Wayne - Amity Gardens
The Beatles - The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill
Bob Dylan & The Band - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
Talking Heads - City Of Dreams
Tom Waits - House Where Nobody Lives
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Say Hey (I Love You)
Muddy Waters - She's Nineteen Years Old

We did update a couple of things in the blogroll and added a couple of new ones (we are digging the new Baseball Project album these days).

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question ("You really want to go there, Gov? Oh yeah, there's a Mr. Koch on line 2...), already in progress.

Sunday Random 10

Been a couple of busy weeks, so here's another two-fer from the little green Nano.

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

02/13/2011
The Temptations - All I Need
The Crazy Teens - Crazy Date
Bruce Springsteen - The Brokenhearted
Todd Rundgren - You Cried Wolf
The Avett Brothers - Talk on Indolence (live)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - Money
Fountains of Wayne - Hey Julie
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
Rosanne Cash (feat. Elvis Costello) - Heartaches by the Number
Old 97's - Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue

02/20/2011
The Beatles - Flying
Robert Plant - House of Cards
Jonathan Rundman - I'm a Liar
XTC - I'm the Man Who Murdered Love
Johnny Cash - Train of Love
Wilco - Sunken Treasure
Old 97's - Big Brown Eyes
Split Enz - The Devil You Know
The Ventures - Wipe Out
The Avett Brothers - Go to Sleep

And even with a couple of Old 97's tunes, we failed to catch the boys Sunday night at First Avenue. Hope they made it through the Blizzard du Jour to their next gig.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.

Super Sunday Random 10

While the Green Bay Packers are celebrating their victory in Debut of New Commercials Bowl XVL, let's see what the little green Nano unpacked today!

Let's...Hit...Shuffle!

Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint - Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?
Crowded House - Locked In
Wilco - How to Fight Loneliness
The Twilight Hours - Forgot Me Now
Professor Longhair - Stag-O-Lee
Brendan Benson - You Make a Fool Out of Me
Marshall Crenshaw - Someday, Someway
The Twilight Hours - Yes
XTC - Love on a Farmboy's Wages
Erik Brandt - Locks

Hmmmm, no Black Eyed Peas. Again.

We now return you to This Week's Discussion Question, already in progress.