(SPECIAL NEW BANDS THAT SOUND OLD EPISODE!) First up, NYC's great new group that could easily pass for being from 40 years ago The Dansettes did a demo song called "Forty Days". They have a new EP coming out soon. Get on their email list for details. Next was Big Sandy (without his Fly-Rite Boys) doing a 50's nod called "Have Love Will Travel" from his album Dedicated to You (iTunes, Amazon). Next was the UK's The Bees (formally The Band of Bees) whose album is a when's when of earlier sounds. We heard "The Start" from their recently released in the US album Free the Bees (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next, also from the UK, was Little Barrie with the song "Free Salute" from their debut album We Are Little Barrie (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then Michigan's Saturday Looks Good to Me did "Lift Me Up" from their latest album Every Night (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). And finally some straight up R&B from an electronica producer very well disguised, meet Jamie Lidell. The song was the title track from his album Multiply (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).

First up, Liverpool's Kathryn Williams did a cover of Nico's "These Days" from her all covers album Relations (iTunes, Amazon). On the same album she covers Pavement's "Spit on a Stranger" which is one of my favorite of their songs. Her's isn't as good as Mr. Malkmus', but it sure beats Nickel Creek's attempt. Next was the song "Forces" from Sweden's The Concretes new release of their album of previously-hard-to-find-in-the-US-songs Layourbattleaxedown (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then we heard Seattle's pre-teen wonder-girls Smoosh, and their song "Massive Curve" from their only album so far She Like Electric (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Smoosh is playing a couple of shows in NYC, and elsewhere. So check these kids out if possible. And finally New Orleans' most promising rock band in recent memory, World Leader Pretend, did "Tit for Tat" from their debut album Punches (iTunes, Amazon). This week's episode features a clip from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. You can download a great selection of QuickTime clips from the Daily Show at One Good Move.

(SPECIAL EXTRA-LONG MY FAVORITE COUNTRY/WESTERN SONGS EPISODE!) First up, the Canadian-born country/rockabilly/dance-hall-geniuses Ray Condo & His Ricochets are on full tilt for "Done Gone Crazy" from their 1997 album Door to Door Maniac (Amazon). Then The Dave & Deke Combo did their toe-tappingly fun song "Two Timin' Mama" from their 1996 album Hollywood Barn Dance (Amazon). Next I laid the smack down with some quality country covers of non-country songs. First was the Gap-tastic Queen cover by Dwight Yoakam of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" from, among other places, his Very Best of... (iTunes, Amazon). Then Austin's Dollar Store did the best Cher cover ever, "Believe" from their not-terribly-good self-titled album (iTunes, Amazon). (Cowboy hats off to Coverville for turning me on to that one.) Then it was back to the good-ole traditional country/western sounds with Tennessee Ernie Ford doing "Ballad of Davy Crockett" from any number of his around 100 releases, like this Greatest Hits (Amazon). Then we took it to the trailer park for Southern Culture on the Skids stand-out Little Debbie Love Ballad "Camel Walk" from their album Dirt Track Date (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Faux-old-timey-band Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys were next with "Three Years Blind" from their 1997 album Feelin' Kinda Lucky (iTunes, Amazon). Then we heard two songs by the legendary Austin country songster Blaze Foley. First was "Wouldn't that Be Nice" (not a Beach Boys cover), followed by the title track to the album, his prescient "Oval Room," which one can only assume was written about the Bush Dynasty (iTunes, Lost Art Records). And finally the classic western swing band The Light Crust Doughboys did "Happy Trails" from their limited edition, no longer available album Doughboy Way.This week's episode features a clip from the podcast for Ebert & Roeper at the Movies as they review the new Dukes of Hazard movie.

First up, the United Kingdom's great new rock act, The Envelopes did "It is the Law" from their forthcoming album (released this week) Demon (Amazon), you can buy this song from iTunes. Next was some quality German electronica by Mouse on Mars called "Send Me Shivers" from their most recent album from last year called Radical Connector (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then one of my favorite songs by the band Solex called "One Louder Solex" from their 1998 album Solex vs. The Hitmeister (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). And finally from the eagerly anticipated new album from Michigan born Sufjan Stevens called Illinoise (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music), we heard the appropriately titled song "Chicago."This week's episode has a clip from the July 29th Counter Spin from the media watch-dog group FAIR. (subscribe to their Podcast)

First up, New York City's awesome, modern-day-ragtime-band The New Rags did two songs off their new EP Take Jennie to Brooklyn (Silent Stereo Records). We heard "Your Room" and one that reminds me of older Of Montreal called "Love of My Life". Next was a song by former Pixie and longtime quality rocker Frank Black called "I Burn Today" from his brand new album Honeycomb (iTunes, Amazon). Then another New York City indie rock band, The Cloud Room, with their song "We Sleep in the Ocean" from their self-titled debut album (iTunes, Amazon). They have a great video for their standout song "Hey Now Now" on their website as well. And finally Andover, Massachusetts' longtime pop-punk band Piebald did "Part of Your Body is Made Out of Rock" from their 2004 album All Ears, All Eyes, All the Time (iTunes, Amazon). This week's episode has a Sounds in My Head first... an ad! But it's not really an ad, because no one is paying me to play it. It's really just a promo for The Dorktones Podcast. It's a cool show out of Norway that features classic surf/soul/reggae/rock/etc. This week's show also had a clip from the July 21st episode of Air America Radio's The Majority Report about Bush's "bold pick" of John Roberts for the supreme court.

First up, the UK's Interpol, known as Apartment, did "Everyone Says I'm Paranoid" from their EP by the same name (iTunes, Amazon). Then Austin's Ghostland Observatory did "Silver City" from their recently released, debut Delete, Delete, I Eat Meat (Indierect Records). After listening to Ghostland Observatory's album I was reminded of New York City's The Bravery, so we heard their fantastic "The Ring Song" from their self-titled debut (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music) from earlier this year. And finally on this episode, California's alt/country King Straggler did "Rebel" from their new, also self-title debut (iTunes, CD Baby).This week's episode features a clip The Muppet Show. Which incidentally will have a complete season one DVD box set release on August 9th. Pre-order yours now at Amazon. If you're into that sort of thing, like I am, check out my favorite Muppet website: Toughpigs.com.

First up, California's prolific lo-fi indie rockers The Mountain Goats did "This Year" from their recent album The Sunset Tree (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then Canada's also lo-fi, also indie rockers The Unicorns did "I was Born (a Unicorn)" from their 2003 album Who Will Cut Your Hair When I'm Gone? (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then Scotland's now-defunct The Vaselines did "Son of a Gun" from their 1994 collection The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History (Amazon, Other Music). And finally we heard The Real Tuesday Weld with "The Ugly and the Beautiful" from his 2004 album I, Lucifer (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).This week's episode features a clip from Democracy Now!, where they played a clip of FoxNews' Britt Hume following the tragic attacks on the London public transit system. Here's the RSS Feed to paste into iTunes to download every episode automatically!

(SPECIAL JULY 4th EPISODE!) First up, the late, great Elliott Smith did the fitting song "Independence Day" from his XO album (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then another everybody-knows-it-and-better-own-it song good for listening to on July 4th, the Violent Femmes with "American Music" from their 1991 album Why do Birds Sing? (iTunes, Amazon). Next was Sounds in My Head favorites' The Essex Green out of the love and wonder that is Brooklyn, with a song asking you to pray for people in southern states. Not a bad idea, Lord knows they need it down there. The song was "Southern Sates" from their 2001 album The Long Goodbye (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). And finally Denton, Texas' own Little Jack Melody & his Young Turks did "America" (from West Side Story) released on their album World of Fireworks (Amazon, Band's Store). You can also watch a video I made for this song. This weeks episode features a special David Cross interlude perfect for all the flaggots, from his 2002 album Shut Up You Fucking Baby! (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).

First up, a new song by New York City's Laura Cantrell called "Bees" from her (also new, obviously) album Humming by the Flowered Vine (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music) Her song "14th Street" is available for free. Next was Chicago's Ok Go with their brand new cover of The Cure's "The Love Cats" from their Do What You Want EP (iTunes, Amazon). No it's not AS good as the original, but hey not all covers are, listen to Coverville sometime if you don't believe me. Afters that the 1960's pop sensation Jimmy Justice (who was admittedly less than a "sensation" in the US, but big-time in the UK) did a version of one of my favorite standards "I'm Beginning to See the Light" from a collection called Ain't That Funny (The Pye Anthology) (iTunes, Amazon). Then, because I was inspired by their awesome-even-without-Neko Case show at Celebrate Brooklyn over the weekend, we heard the title track from the upcoming (August 9th) New Pornographers album Twin Cinema (Download from Matador's site, pre-order from Amazon). And finally since a little bit of Laura Cantrell is always better when followed with a little more Laura Cantrell — and because i just re-watched Oliver Stone's epic JFK — we heard Laura Cantrell's cover of the old Homer Henderson song "Lee Harvey Was a Friend of Mine" from her original Hello Recording Club release from 1994 (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). The episode features clips from both Bill Hicks and the June 24th episode of On the Media from NPR. UPDATE: This week's show (as of Wednesday June 29th) has been optimized for the new iTunes v4.9! Now it has jump-to chapter markers and lots of art and links!

(SPECIAL EXTRA-LONG, STUFF-YOU-CAN'T-BUY EPISODE!) First up, a barely released version of The Reverend Horton Heat's great song "Party Mad" from a 1990 local music collection called Tales from the Edge Vol. 1. This CD was released by one of the very first "alternative" format radio stations in the country, the original EDGE which was later bought by Clear Channel and chained all over the country. Still in it's infancy in 1990, 94.5 The Edge was truly "The Cutting Edge of Rock" (read an article featuring the creator of both the station of the Tales from the Edge series). A notably worse, but still decent version of "Party Mad" was released a full 14 years later on their 2004 album Revival (iTunes). Next was the bootleg version of Coldplay's "Trouble" which made it's way into the rotation of many radio stations in 2000 much to the chagrin of the band. Radio station's largely acquiesced to the wishes of the band, and the song was never heard from again, nor was it's remixer. After that The Concretes did "Teen Love" from their first, not-so-released (in the U.S. anyway), and now out-of-print album Boy, You Better Run Now. Then another anonymous mashup from the seedy underbelly of the internet, Björk vs. The Supremes with "Isobel (The Supremes Mix)" or sometimes referred to as "The Old School Mix", this song has obviously never been released. After that, Bob Peck did "Sweet 16" from the RE/Search collection's Incredibly Strange Music Vol. 1 (which is perhaps the most purchasable thing in this episode). Then Sounds in My Head favorite They Might Be Giants did "Your Racist Friend (The Sampladelic Remix)" from the 12" Don't Let's Start single from 1990. The un-remixed verion can be found on their landmark album Flood (iTunes). Then Davíd Garza (from his early days as Twang Twang Shocka Boom) did "Always Give Your Love Away" from the cassette-only, 1990 Me So Twangy. And finally R.E.M. did "Shiny Happy People (The Pop Mix)" from a radio promo from 1991. No, it's not an email hoax, NPR and PBS really are in jeopardy! If you haven't, PLEASE go sign the petition to let congress know that you don't want public broadcasting destroyed just because the Bush administration cut taxes for billionaires and thus destroyed the federal budget.

First up, The Jackson Five have been remixed along with a good many of their motown pals on Motown Remixed (iTunes, Amazon) which takes the Verve Remixed series to the next logical level. We heard the song "I Want You Back" the Z-Trip Remix. Next Queen-meets-Devo-esque Sparks did "Suburban Homeboy" from their 2002 album Lil' Beethoven (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next was Dalla... er, make that LA's Sara Radle (she recently relocated from Texas to California) did "Dig Those Sounds" from her most recent EP People You've Been Before (order from her label Jeez Louise Records). I have featured her previous band Lucy Loves Schroeder on The Sounds in My Head before (listen to the August 9th, 2004 show, it's also all in the archive). Sara Radle also has a new album coming out this fall so be on the listen-out for that. And finally, Virginia's Sparklehorse did "Gold Day" from 2001 album It's a Wonderful Life (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).

First up, Berkley, California's Brendan Benson did "Cold Hands (Warm Heart)" from his new album The Alternative to Love (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then the least folky song off Josh Rouse's new album Nashville (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music) is probably "Winter in the Hamptons", which I also happen to like best. Next was a New Orelans' rock outfit named for an R.E.M. song that sounds more like Radiohead than R.E.M. called World Leader Pretend with "Punches" from their Rubble-Rousing Misspent Bouts EP (iTunes, Amazon) but it is also on the upcoming album, also called Punches (Amazon). And finally Finland's best musical export since The Leningrad Cowboys -- tho nothing like them at all -- Husky Rescue did "Summertime Cowboy" from their hit-or-miss-but-worth-looking-into debut album Country Falls (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).

(SPECIAL EXTRA-LONG, ONE YEAR ANNIVERSIARY EPISODE!) First up, Doug Martsch (of Built to Spill) and Calvin Johnson's (of Beat Happening) side project band The Halo Benders resulted in the greatness that we heard, called "Your Asterisk" from their 1998 album The Rebels Not In (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then Belle & Sebastian did "Desperation Made a Fool of Me" from the Step into My Office, Baby single (Amazon, Other Music). Then Sounds in My Head favorite The Concretes did "Seems Fine Shuffle" from their Warm Night EP (Amazon). New Zealand's The Brunettes were next with their song "Boyracer" from the 2003 EP by the same name (buy from their website). (They are playing a show TONIGHT at the Mercury Lounge in NYC for $8.) Next was Australia's Cut Copy did "Going Nowhere" which is (by far) my favorite song from their debut album called Bright Like Neon Love (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then Canada's The Hidden Cameras did "I Believe in the Good Life" from their latest album called Mississauga Goddam (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next was Brighten's The Go! Team with "Junior Kickstart" from their fantasticabulous debut album Thunder, Lightning, Strike (iTunes, Amazon). And finally we heard Liverpool's Clinic with one of my favorite of their songs called "For the Wars" from their 2002 album Walking with Thee (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). This episode features a string of clips from one of my favorite people, Bill Moyers, speaking at the Free Press' 2005 National Conference for Media Reform in St. Louis, May 20th. You can listen to the whole thing here, and see it here.

First up, The Tourettes are (supposedly) coming back, so to celebrate, we check out their classic "Yer Inappropriate" from their awesome Life is Pretty (buy from them). Then Montreal's Stars did "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" from their respectable new album Set Yourself On Fire (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon). Next up, another fantastic classic, The Langley Schools Music Project and my favorite song from their album, 9-year-old Shiela Behman's amazing version of the otherwise horrid song "Desperado" by The Eagles. The whole album is worth owning for sure (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon). And finally, Ben Folds has a new record out (iTunes, Amazon), but since my favorite song on it is also the radio/mtv/promotion-out-the-ass song ("Landed"), I'm opting for less new, less heard song. We heard "Wandering" from his first of three EP's last year called Speed Graphic EP (iTunes). This episode features a clip from an NPR Weekend Edition interview by Scott Simon with Hans Fenger about The Langely Schools Music Project which can be heard in full here. Watch a video clearly inspired by The Langely Schools Music Project, the kids at Oak Knoll Elementary School, under the direction of John Ashfield covering The Polyphonic Spree's "Light & Day".

First up, Sacramento's Low Flying Owls did "Georgie Shot Johnnie" which is BY FAR the best song on their 2003 album Elixir Vitae (iTunes, Amazon). Then Brighton England's Electrelane did "Bells" from their new album Axes (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon), which isn't quite as good as their previous The Power Out (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon), but is worth looking into. Next, Norway's young'en Sondre Lerche did his song "Stupid Memory" from his album Two Way Monologue (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon), which came out last year. And finally, an oldie-but-goodie from a band I recently noticed I had never put on The Sounds in My Head, Quasi did one of my favorite songs off my favorite of their albums. That is, they did "Smile" from their most excellent record Field Studies (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).This episode features a clip of Michael Medved, the right-wing talk radio jack-ass, being served by Hans Riemer of Rock the Vote. In the show, the clip is trimmed for time, but you hear it all here.

First up, New York City's Ivy did "Edge of the Ocean [duotone mix]" from the Chillout 2002 album (iTunes, Amazon) The non-remixed version is on their 2002 album Long Distance (iTunes, Amazon). And they have a brand new album out called In the Clear (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then, to celebrate today's nice weather, we heard Jonathan Richman's seasonally fitting "Springtime in New York" from his 2001 album Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow (Other Music, Amazon). Next was Montreal's The Stills doing their song "Yesterday Never Tomorrows" from their debut album Logic Will Break Your Heart (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). And finally Australia's Architecture in Helsinki did "Wishbone" from their brand new album In Case We Die (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).

First up Canada's The Russian Futurists with "Paul Simon" from the just-released album Our Thickness (Amazon, Other Music). Then Australia's The Lucksmiths did "The Great Dividing Range" from their 2001 album Why That Doesn't Surprise Me (Amazon, Other Music). They've got a brand new album out, called Warmer Corners (Amazon, Other Music, iTunes), so pick that up too!. Next was the great Club 8 (who were an awesome indie band out of Sweden before it was the trend) with their song "Cold Hearts" from their most recent album Strangely Beautiful (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). And finally, from a new iTunes exclusive album put out by Björk which features 20 versions of her awesome song "Army of Me" (iTunes). The songs were chosen from over 600 submissions by Björk and the song's co-writer Graham Massey. The two I like most are both by bands from the UK, first 50 Hertz (feat. Haxor Och Porr) and an old-timey country rendition by The Messengers of God. I played them both. Note to Mac users: If you should be so lucky as to have updated to the sweet sweet world of Tiger, you'll be pleased to discover that The Sounds in My Head website supports the snazzy new RSS browsing feature of Safari v2.

First up the UK's Libertines did "Horror Show" from their 2002 quality-rock album Up the Bracket (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon). Then the Grand Rapids twee-poppers The Icicles did "Margie" from their Pure Sugar EP (Other Music). They have a brand new album, A Hundred Patterns (Poppolar), which was recorded at The Ladybug Transistor's studio, so you know it's gotta be good. Next was Scotland's Dogs Die in Hot Cars who have been heard on The Sounds in My Head before, but are good enough to be heard again, and they are with the song "Godhopping" from their 2004 Please Describe Yourself (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon). And finally, another favorite band of The Sounds in My Head, Los Angeles' Rilo Kiley did their song "Plane Crash in C" from their first album Take Offs and Landings (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon).

(SPECIAL BONUS EARTH DAY EPISODE!) First up Michigan's Wally Pleasant is back, even if he's gotten to the party a little late. His pro-environment/anti-Bush (that's redundant) song "Hey Georgie" from his new album Music for Nerds and Perverts was first up (buy it from his website). Then Austin's The American Analog Set did "Gone to Earth" from their 2001 album Know By Heart (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next was Montana folk-singer Amy Martin with her song "It's About Oil" from her live album Live in Missoula (iTunes, her online store). And finally the one, the only, Tom Waits did "Earth Died Screaming" from his 1992 album Bone Machine (iTunes, Amazon). Now go plant a tree! Be sure to visit treehugger.com daily. It is one of my favorite websites.This week's episode features a clip from The Daily Show where Samantha Bee interviews Republican pollster/evil genius Frank Luntz. I downloaded it from another great daily site onegoodmove.com because the official site used windows media which is total crap.

(WARNING: This is an awesome episode.) First up Kevin Barnes's Of Montreal did "Requiem for O.M.M." from their brand spankin' new The Sunlandic Twins (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music) which is more like their last album than any that preceded it. Next was Brighton, England's The Go! Team with their song "Ladyflash" from their insanely good debut album Thunder, Lightning, Strike (iTunes, Amazon). Next we heard a few songs by Scotland's often-Looper-esque Ballboy. First was "I Lost You, By I Found Country Music" (featuring Laura Cantrell) from his Past Lovers EP (Poppolar), then "A Europewide Search for Love" from his album A Guide for the Daylight Hours (which contains the original version of "I Lost You, But I Found Country Music" without Laura Cantrell making it absolutely amazing) (Amazon, Poppolar). And finally The Ladybug Transistor did "Perfect for Shattering" from their 2002 album Argyle Heir (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). They are touring right now, so be sure to check them out live if you have the opportunity. Speaking of bands that are touring, The Shins are on a sold-out tour right now, and touring with them are Sounds in My Head favorites The Brunettes, who will be doing a FREE in-store here in NYC at Williamsburg's Sound Fix. Be sure to check them out Sunday, April 24th at 4pm. Become inspired, by listening to a past episode with their appropriately titled song "Record Store", or their song "These Things Take Time" on another past episode. You buy their albums from their website.

(SPECIAL NICK DRAKE-LIKE EPISODE!) First up we took a listen to a classic Nick Drake song, "Road" from his Pink Moon (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music) album to set the mood. Then probably the closest thing to a current Nick Drake, Neil Halstead, did "Sleeping on Roads" from his album by the same name (Amazon, Other Music). What's the deal with 'roads' anyway? Then British folk singer Vashti Bunyan did "Just Another Diamond Day" from her 1970 by the same name (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music) which had string arrangements by the same guy who did some of Nick Drake's. Next was Samuel Beam, better known as Iron & Wine who must be the second closest thing to a modern day Nick Drake, with the song "Naked as We Came" from the 2004 album Our Endless Numbered Days (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then Philadelphia's Matt Pond PA did a cover of Lindsay Buckingham's National Lampoon's Vacation theme "Holiday Road" (again with the "roads!") from their new Winter Songs EP (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). And since you shouldn't listen to that version of the song without then listening to the original, it's included too!This week's episode features a clip of George W. Bush's most offensive nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, explaining his views of the UN. See the video of this audio and more here.

First up Omaha's Tilly and the Wall did "Fell Down the Stairs" from their 2004 album Wild Like Children (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then San Francisco's The Aislers Set did "Chicago New York" (NO, it wasn't Belle & Sebastian, it was The Aislers Set I tell you!) from their 2000 album The Last Match (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next was New York City's mellow-rockers The Occasion with one of their better songs "A Dulcimer’s Fancy" from their self-titled 2004 album (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next we heard the NYC-Transplant-from-West-Philly band Cheese On Bread and their two songs "I Like Cheese" and "Modern Art Gallery" both from their delightfully low-fi, (think The Moldy Peaches) record Maybe Maybe Maybe Baby (antifolk.net). And finally one of my favorite bands Luna (who sadly played their final shows back in February) did "Still at Home" from their final, quality album Rendezvous (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).This week's episode features a Freudian slip from George W. Bush addressing his real objectives for the United States of America. It is NOT edited together. Watch the video. Notice how no one listening to him even acknowledges his amazingly stupid mistake as they are all very accustom to his dumbass Bushisms.

(SPECIAL EXTRA LONG MY-FAVORITE-JAPANESE-CHICK-BANDS EPISODE!) First up Tokyo's trend-setting wonder-act Pizzicato Five did two songs: "Happy Ending" from their 1997 record Happy End of the World (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music) and "Baby Love Child" from their 1994 album Made in USA (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then we heard New York's amazi-crazy-fun faux-Japanese band Gaijin a Go Go with their song "1-2-3 (Un-Deux-Trois)" from their 2003 record Happy-55-Lucky (Amazon). After that, New York's defunct Cibo Matto (which is Italian for "food madness") had three songs to show off all their awesomeness: "Spoon" from their 1997 Super Relax EP (Amazon); "About a Girl" (a Nirvana Cover) which was never released; and "Flowers" from their mega-great final album Stereo Type A (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music) from 1999. After a go-go break, we returned to Gaijin a Go Go for "1-2-3 (Un-deux-trois) the Konishi Remix" (a remix of the song we heard before) that can be found on their 2003 Merry-55-Round (Amazon). Apparently "55" is Japanese for "Go" which makes their album titles clever. And finally we finish with one of my favorite Shonen Knife song's, the Osaka band's cover of The Carpenters "Top of the World", most easily obtained on their 1996 Birds & the B-Sides release (iTunes, Amazon).

First up Sweden's Suburban Kids with Biblical Names did "Rent a Wreck" (you can download it here) from their first EP by the same name. You can order Rent a Wreck from Poppolar.com or from Parasol Records. Next was Portland, Oregon's M. Ward who did the foot-stompingly good, if not album-representative, "Big Boat" from his new Transistor Radio (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon). Then Melbourne, Australia's Architecture in Helsinki are back (well, they are on April 12th anyway) with a new release called In Case We Die (Amazon). So to get people all psyched up for their new release, which promises to be better than their last, they have released the first single "Do the Whirlwind" (iTunes has just the one track, there is a CD single that is hard to obtain in the US). Oh, and explore their cool flash-site. And finally, New York City's transplant bother/sister-duo Astaire did the Cardigans-circa-Gran-Turismo-esque song "L-L-Love" from their debut EP Don't Whisper Lies (iTunes, Amazon).

(SPECIAL DAMN-I-MISS-THE-SQUIRREL-NUT-ZIPPERS EPISODE!) This week we take a look back at the band Squirrel Nut Zippers and some of their member's solo projects. I loved the SNZ and was sad when they petered out in the early part of this millennia. Thus, this episode is devoted to them, and some of their songs, that, as I like to say, you might have missed. First up, only released on their 2003 Best of album, their cover of "Under the Sea" from the Disney animated movie The Little Mermaid. It was recorded back in 1997 but had been shelved by Disney and was never released prior to this collection (Amazon, (the album is in iTunes listed as complete, but, mysteriously, does not contain this or the other unreleased track which should be on it). Next, an ultra-rare remix by the Dust Brothers (most famous for their great soundtrack to the movie Fight Club, not for their embarrassingly bad website) of the SNZ's song "Suits are Picking Up the Bill." This was only released on as single-track radio promo CD (and at $36 it has the enviable status as the most money I've ever spent on 1 song, by the way). Then SNZ auxiliary member Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire did "A Woman's Life and Love" (which, incidentally, features SNZ Katharine Whalen on vocals) from his 1998 album Thrills (iTunes, Amazon). Check out his new album, Mysterious Production of Eggs (Amazon), released last month. Next, we hear Jim Mathus who has his own solo project called Jas Mathus & his Knock-Down Society which has three albums to date. We heard "I Got Mine" from his 1997 album Songs for Rosetta (Amazon). And finally we heard the magnificent Katharine Whalen with her most excellent version of one of my favorite standards "My Baby Just Cares for Me," from her jazzy 1999 solo effort Jazz Squad (Amazon). This week's episode features a snippet of audio from NPR's This American Life episode First Day (which, like many episodes, is excellent and you should listen to) and the segment Squirrel Cop.

First up, Los Angeles' old-timey infused Ditty Bops did their song "Sister Kate" from their super good self-titled 2004 album (iTunes, Amazon). Next was San Francisco's Mates of State doing "Starman" from their All Day EP which also came out last year, and is some of their best I've heard (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then we go back in time for a great track by Nancy Sinatra... well, it's by Lee Hazlewood, it's performed by Nancy Sinatra, but regardless it is awesome. The song is "Sugar Town," and I pulled it off her Greatest Hits album, but is also on other releases (Amazon, Other Music). She also has a new self-titled album which you can check out in iTunes. And finally from the shadow of Belle & Sebastian come Scotland's Camera Obscura with their song "Happy New Year" from their not-as-heard-as-Underachievers Please Try Harder-album Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). They have a new EP called I Love My Jean coming out next week (Amazon), so watch for that, it's quality.This week's episode features an edited clip from the February 18th, On the Media from NPR. In it, co-host Brook Gladstone interviews Renita Coleman who conducted a large-scale study of people in various profession's ethics and found surprising results. Download the whole show as an MP3 and check it out.

First up Germany's Stereo Total did "Mars Rendez-Vous" from their solid new album Do the Bambi (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon). Next was Portland's The Decemberists with part IV of their new V part, 18 minute, song "The Tain" from a new one track single by the same name (Amazon, Other Music). Then Manchester, England's 80's underrated group Stockholm Monsters did their great song "Terror" which can be found on their 2003 re-release Alma Mater (Amazon, Other Music). And finally Norway's classic-rock-wannabes The Jessica Fletchers did their appropriately titled "Bloody Seventies Love" from their 2003 album What Happened to The? (iTunes, Amazon). This week show features a clip from the Cohen Brothers' awesome film Fargo. Why? How about: Why not?

First up New York City's The Ladybug Transistor treats us to some of the finest 60's inspired indie pop this side of the Atlantic, with their song "Today Knows" from their 1999 album The Albemarle Sound (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next was king of convenience Erlend Øye and his song "The Talk" from his quality album Unrest (Amazon, Other Music). Then we heard They Might Be Giants with their brand new song's "Alphabet of Nations" and "Flying V" from their new children's CD/DVD Here Come the ABCs (see videos listen to other samples) which isn't as good as one of their non-children's releases, but still has gems, like these (theymightbegiants.com (their own little iTunes but better quality files), Amazon, iTunes). And finally, and I mean finally The Postal Service has released more material, albeit not much, so we heard the unreleased b-side "Be Still My Heart" from their new We Will Become Silhouettes single (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Be sure to check out the new music video for this song, which you can see along with some of their other videos here.

First up New York City's youthful multi-talent Nellie McKay with her song "Ding Dong" from her debut 2004 album Get Away from Me (iTunes, Amazon). Then rocking straight out of the UK and into your ears, The Futureheads did "Hounds of Love" from their self-titled 2004 debut (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next was Momus with his song "Adam Green" (named for the ex-Moldy Peach) from his 1999 album Stars Forever (Other Music (he wrote about them too!), Amazon). As long as we're talking about Adam Green, I figured it'd be a good time to play The Moldy Peaches his ex-band which was he and fellow now-solo-artist Kimya Dawson's band. This is their song "Jorge Regula" from their self-titled 2001 debut (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon). And finally, because trying to get a sense of what Nellie McKay's Get Away from Me is like by only hearing one song is like trying to fully understand what's going on in the world by watching TV news, we also heard "Waiter" which sounds little like "Ding Dong," but is also a favorite song of mine off her stellar album.

First up we heard Sweden's awesome rock outfit Caesars with their song "(I'm Gonna) Kick You Out" from their 2003 album 39 Minutes of Bliss (In an Otherwise Meaningless World) (iTunes, Amazon). They have a new album coming out soon, so watch for that. Then Norway's Kaizers Orchestra did "Kontroll på kontinentet" (in english "Control on the Continent") from their 2001 album Ompa til du dør (Farmen). They too have an album coming out soon, and it will be more readily available in the US and elsewhere, so watch for that if you liked this song. Next was NYC's The Bravery with their song "No Brakes" from their ep Unconditional (iTunes, Amazon). Then Minnesota'sLow did "Laser Beam" from their 2001 album Things We Lost in the Fire (Amazon, Other Music). They have a new album that just came out called The Great Destroyer, and you can sample it in iTunes. And finally, because I like their album so much, and I think the commercial is one of the best iPod spots yet, I included the song "Jerk it Out" from the same Caesars album, as heard in Apple's iPod Shuffle commercial.

First up we hear the UK's Psapp with the song "Rear Moth" from their new album Tiger, My Friend (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then we heard one of my favorite surf rock bands out of Nashville The Los Straightjackets with their version of Skeeter Davis' song "It's the End of the World" (with vocals provided by Sixpence None the Richer's Leigh Nash) from their album Sing Along With (iTunes, Amazon). Next was California's The Lookyloos with the song "Spanish Castles" from their album — you ready for this? — Perhaps the Most Satisfying Joy Left to Us in an Age so Limited and Vulgar as Our Own (Amazon). And finally, we end with the very theatrical sounds of Boston's The Dresden Dolls and their song "Coin-Operated Boy" from their self titled 2004 record (iTunes, Amazon).This week show features a clip from The Majority Report with Sam Seder & Janeane Garofalo from Air America Radio, which you can download each day in full from Air America Place.

(SPECIAL COVERS EPISODE!) This week we hear a few of my favorite cover songs, new and old. These songs I like both the original song AND the cover version. Some are novel, but I think they all hold up on their own as well. Fist French model-turned-actress-turned-singer Vanessa Paradis cover's Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" from her 1990 album Variations sur le meme t'aime (Amazon). Then French/British effort Nouvelle Vague covered Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" from their album of 80's covers which is also called Nouvelle Vague (Amazon, Other Music, you can get this track in iTunes). Next was Seu Jorge covering David Bowie's "Life on Mars?" from the soundtrack to the new Wes Anderson movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then we heard Portland Oregon's The Decemberists covering Björk (don't miss her new video directed by Spike Jonze) with their awesome version of "Human Behavior" from a new compilation of bands covering her songs called Read - Interpreting Björk (iTunes, Amazon), and because I couldn't decide which song to put on the show, as a bonus song, also from Portland the band Noise for Pretend cover Björk's "It's Oh So Quiet" from the same record. (If you like covers as much as I do, you should check out Coverville. It's another podcast that is worth listening to.    )  

(SPECIAL MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY EPISODE!) We start with a great mix of sound from former Arrested Development front man Speech and Neneh Cherry and the song "Braided Hair" from the soundtrack to 1 Giant Leap (iTunes, Amazon). Then we hear the Barenaked Ladies and their cover of Public Enemy's landmark song "Fight the Power" from the soundtrack to the Coneheads (Amazon). Next, The Blind Boys of Alabama did their instant-classic "House of the Rising Sun"-styled "Amazing Grace" from their album Spirit of the Century (iTunes, Amazon). And finally Johnny Cash and The Clash's Joe Strummer teamed up to cover one of the best peace and justice songs in history, Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" from the box set Johnny Cash: Unearthed (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Ever wonder why the media never talks about what Dr. King was saying during his last three years of life? Find out in this article by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. FAIR also has other enlightening MLK articles, such as his stance on Affirmative Action vs. what The Right would have you believe. The Center for American Progress has a great synopsis of the progressive mission King preached, as well as a pocket guide for explaining to people what Dr. King preached and how it is still relevant and vital.

We start with Scotland's modern-day new wave band Dogs Die in Hot Cars and their song "Paul Newman's Eyes" from their debut album Please Describe Yourself (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Then we heard a snazzy bluegrass version of Air's "Kelly Watch the Stars" by Old School Freight Train which can be found on their album Bluegrass Tribute to Air: Blue Safari (Amazon, Tower), which as you may have guessed is all Air songs played on mandolins and banjos. Yes, it is glorious. Next was the UK act Saint Etienne with their song "Shower Scene" from their 2002 album Finisterre (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). And we finish with Iceland's Leaves (The Coldplay of Iceland) and their song "I Go Down" from their album Breathe (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music).This episode has a clip of Todd Berry from his new album Falling Off the Bone.

Welcome to 2005! With this episode, The Sounds in My Head finally becomes part of the "Podcasting" niche of niches, meaning we now can be accessed with your favorite podcasting app (see side bar for more details). And we start the new year with a great song by what was The Band of Bees, but is now The Bees, who have a new album (not out in the states yet, but will be soon) called Free the Bees and we heard the song "Go Karts" (Amazon, Other Music). Then we heard Chris Joss with a song that sounds like I should be talking over it, but is so good I don't, called "You've Been Spiked" from his album by the same name (iTunes, Amazon, Other Music). Next was Pinback with their five star song "Fortress" from their 3 star album Summer in Abaddon (iTunes, Other Music, Amazon). And finally indie darlings Stereolab did "University Microfilms International" which was released along side their newest album of greatness called Margerine Eclipse but as an iTunes Exclusive track, meaning to get it you've gotta fork over .99¢ to the iTunes Music Store.