(SPECIAL BONUS F-TRAIN/PARK SLOPE EPISODE!) With Daniel and Kelli moving from their lovely brownstone abode in Park Slope (right off the F-Train) to a new loft in Williamsburg, it's time for a special F-Train/Park Slope episode. First the outstanding nearby old-timey western/bluegrass outfit known as The Cobble Hillbillies (an awesome name for a western band based in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn) did their ode to our shared connection to the world: the "F-Train" from their self-titled debut EP (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon). Next another local band who plays a lot on the F-Train and various platforms around Brooklyn called The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn did an old favorite standard of mine "I'll Fly Away" from their album Good Night Harry. Then Park Slope and Williamsburg based, TSiMH favorites The Might Be Giants did "Brooklyn" which name-checks both the F and the L trains, as well as the Gowanus Canal (respek!), from their Venue Songs album (TMBG digital store). Next the late great Elliott Smith did the song "Bled White" about riding the F-Train from his album XO (iTunes, Amazon). Then ex-Soul Cougher Mike Doughty did "Thank You, Lord, for Sending Me the F Train" from his double-album Skittish / Rockity Roll (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon). Then Ben Kweller (who lives down the street) did a song called "My Apartment" about his, well, apartment, and taking the F to and from it, found on his album On My Way (iTunes, Amazon). And finally my favorite Death Cab for Cutie song and one of the most listened to songs in my iTunes circa 2001-02, about the final destination of Brooklyn-bound F-Trains "Coney Island", from their The Photo Album (iTunes, Amazon). This episode features a clip from Bill Hicks talking about his apartment in NYC from his album Love, Laughter, and Truth (iTunes, Amazon).

(LAST NORMAL EPISODE OF THE YEAR!) First up New York City-based Asobi Seksu (a name that is Japanese slang for 'playful sex') did "New Years" from their fantastic album Citrus (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon). Then a flash-back from last year this time, New York City's Nellie McKay's new album Pretty Little Head (iTunes, Amazon) is FINALLY out having been back-burnered for a year, and we heard "Food" from it. Next we heard a great Eugene Chadbourne cover by TSiMH favorite Luna called "Happy New Year" from their recent covers collection Lunafied (iTunes). And finally we heard a couple of tracks from the forthcoming, totally awesome album from Portland's The Shins called Wincing the Night Away (iTunes, Amazon). First we heard "Australia" followed by "Phantom Limb", the ladder being the first single (iTunes, Amazon) which is available now.

(SPECIAL EXTRA-LONG, CHRISTMAS EPISODE!) First up a fantastic christmas vs. Depeche Mode mashup by DJ Tabernacle called "Enjoy the Silent Night" from a 35 track free christmas sampler from Michigan's Suburban Sprawl records. Download the whole glorious thing here. Next the UK's The Late Greats did a version of probably my favorite xmas song "Sleigh Ride" from another great new compilation called It's Not Like Christmas (iTunes). Then from TSiMH favorite, Sweden's Jens Lekman did "Run Away with Me" from his extremely limited release USA October 2005 tour EP. Next novelty songster Bob Rivers did a great parody of The Carpenters rendition of 'Sleigh Ride' called "Flu Ride" from his album Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire (iTunes, Amazon). Then the UK's Holly Golightly did "Christmas Tree On Fire" from her new EP by the same name (iTunes). Next Ingo Star Cruiser (feat. Gaby Fröden) did a quality cover of another of my favorite xmas songs, Low's "Just Like Christmas" this version found on the afore mentioned It's Not Like Christmas (iTunes). Then another TSiMH favorite, DJ Rx did "Happy RxMas and a Whole Lotta Love" from his free totally awesome album thepartyparty, which you used to be able to download for free from his site, or buy in physical form, which I hope you did. And finally, yet another TSiMH favorite, Belle & Sebastian did "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" which can be found on their single for it in eMusic.

First up Brooklyn's poptacular The Ladybug Transistor did "Here Comes the Rain" from their new EP by the same name (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon). Next Stephin Merritt's The 6ths did "Just Like a Movie Star" (feat. Dominique A) from the great all-guest-vocalist album Hyacinths and Thistles (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon). Then Norway's Royksopp did the original version of thier very first hit "Eple" from the album Melody Am (iTunes, Amazon). Next Denver's Dressy Bessy did "Who'd Stop the Rain" from their album 2005 album Electrified (iTunes, Amazon). Then Los Angeles' hip-hop/mashup masters The Arbiters did a mashup of 'Fame' and 'Walk on the Wild Side' called "Sure Side of Fame" it's on their They are Biters EP which is awesome and free to download from their less-than-awesome site. And finally a second track from The 6ths' Hyacinths and Thistles (iTunes, eMusic, Amazon), it was "Kissing Things" (feat. Sarah Cracknell of Saint Etienne).

(SPECIAL EXTRA-LONG, GUEST-HOSTED EPISODE WITH RITMO LATINO'S NEIL HOHMANN!) First up San Francisco's amazing DJ Shadow with "This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)" from his latest, The Outsider (iTunes, Amazon). Then Los Super Elegantes did "Sixteen" from Channelizing Paradise (iTunes, eMusic). Next Pepe & The Bottle Blondes did "I Want Some Lovin'" from Late Night Betty (Amazon). Then just in time for xmas we got Kay Starr doing "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix)" from the most-excellent Christmas Remixed - Holiday Classics Re-Grooved (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). Next Superaquello did "La Emergencia" from their album La Emergencia (iTunes, Online). Then El Perro del Mar did "Here Comes That Feeling" from their record El Perro del Mar (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). Next Quiero Club did "No Coke". Then The Sea and Cake did "The Biz" from their album by the same name (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). Then Pink Martini did the title-track from their Sympathique album (iTunes, Amazon). Next Bishop Allen did "Corazon" from their January EP (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). And finally Maria Peszek did "Moje Miasto" from Miasto Mania (buy here if you can read Polish, or here). They weren't on the show, but Neil also recommends NYC's Mosquitos' self-titled album (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic).For more about Neil Hohmann, check out his show Ritmo Latino at it's website!

First up, the Jean-Benoit Dunckel half of the awesomeness that is Air has released a self-titled solo album (iTunes, Amazon) under the name Darkel, we heard "My Own Sun". Next was London's decided Swedish sounding Plastic Operator with "Folder" from an EP by the same name (eMusic, iTunes). Then from Sweden/France Envelopes did "I Don't Like It" from their debut album Demon (iTunes, Amazon). Next Austin's Voxtrot did "Trouble" from their new (see, they keep putting out EPs and as a result, I keep putting them on my show) Your Biggest Fan (eMusic, iTunes, Amazon) EP. And finally we heard a slower song from Darkel called "How Brave You Are" from the same debut album (iTunes, Amazon) as "My Own Sun". This week's show features a clip from Realtime with Bill Maher on HBO about the lack of a REAL liberal voice in American political leadership. ALSO: Check out the great blog Candied Pop! ALSO 2: My new favorite way to buy music is with my killer DRM-Free monthly subscription to eMusic! I pay ~$16/month and can download 90 well-encoded MP3s! So, check out eMusic now! (I discovered after recording the audio where I say I'm not being paid that there actually IS a way for me to get paid! So sign up with one of my eMusic links (like that one), get your free tracks, and whether or not you continue your subscription I get 6 big dollars!)

(SPECIAL EXTRA-LONG GUEST-HOSTED EPISODE WITH LANE!) First up the Moscow-born, NYC-residing Regina Spektor did "Fidelity" from her recent album Begin To Hope (iTunes, Amazon). Next Brazil's essential Os Mutantes with "A Minha Menina" ("My Girl") which can be found on their The Best of Os Mutantes (iTunes, Amazon). Then South Africa's fantastic Miriam Makeba did "The Click Song" from her album Africa (iTunes, Amazon). Next the classic bluesman Leadbelly did "Goodnight Irene" from The Best of Leadbelly (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). Then Austin's Daniel Johnston did "True Love Will Find You In the End" from his album 1990 (iTunes, Amazon). Next the impressively fecund Screaming Jay Hawkins did "Whistling Past the Graveyard" from Somethin' Funny Goin On (iTunes, Amazon). Then Nashville's Lambchop did "Is a Woman" from their 2002 album by the same name (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). Next we heard from San Francisco's Joanna Newsom. First a short clip of "Emily" from her new album Ys (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic), then the entirety of "Sadie" from older album The Milk-Eyed Mender (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). Then Harry Nilsson did "The Clearing In the Woods (Narration)" from The Point (iTunes, Amazon). Then TSiMH favorite who is also a Lane favorite, Of Montreal did "Scenes From My Funeral" from Horse & Elephant Eatery (No Elephants Allowed): The Singles & Songles Album (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). Then we heard two short tracks from Half-Handed Cloud. First "Can't Even Breathe On My Own Two Feet" from their album Learning About Your Scale (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic), then "I Got a Letter" from their What's the Remedy? EP (iTunes, eMusic). And finally Cat Power did a cover of The Honeydrippers' "Sea of Love" from her album The Covers Record (iTunes, Amazon, eMusic). This episode features a clip from the audio book of Ulysses (iTunes, Audible, Amazon) by James Joyce.

First up, in recognition of the Democratic sweep in last week's U.S. elections we heard Willie Nelson's fantastic "Blue Skies" from his 1978 classic album Stardust (iTunes, Amazon). Next we heard new material from Melbourne, Australia's amazingly great, ska/rock/pop/rap/latin/etc. band The Cat Empire doing "Hello" from their recently released self-titled EP (iTunes, Amazon). Then a fascinating "reworking" of a the classic Beatles tune "Strawberry Fields Forever" from the forthcoming, totally great, album Love (Amazon) which is a soundtrack of sorts for the new Cirque du Soleil-meets-The Beatles show in Las Vegas. Next, with Joe Lieberman holding on to his seat in Connecticut I thought it was a good time to play what will probably be my mom's least favorite song she's ever heard on my show... but I love it. It was a local NYC band called Jesus H. Christ & The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse doing "Connecticut's for Fucking" from their self-titled debut album (iTunes). And finally another quality track from The Cat Empire, we heard "Lullaby" from the same EP as before (iTunes, Amazon). This week's show features clips from PBS's NOW hosted by David Brancaccio (subscribe); HBO's Realtime with Bill Maher (subscribe); and Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (watch).

(SPECIAL GUEST-HOSTED, EXTRA, EXTRA, EXTRA LONG KELLI'S MUSICAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY EPISODE!) First up, she played "Into the Groove," off of Madonna's Immaculate Collection (iTunes). Next was Nirvana's "School" from their first album, Bleach (iTunes). Then Sonic Youth did "Swimsuit Issue" from Dirty (iTunes).Then Bikini Kill's "New Radio" which can be found on a 45 or on their Singles collection (iTunes). Then she played the UK's Huggy Bear with "Dissthetic Penetration" off of their album, Taking the Rough with the Smooch (Amazon). Next up was Beck's "Cyanide Breathe Mint" off of his album, One Foot in the Grave (Amazon). Then she played DC's Minor Threat with their song, "Small Man, Big Mouth", which is available on their eponymous release (iTunes). Next up was "Gold Sounds," the fantastic song by Pavement from their album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (iTunes). Then Morphine's "All Your Way" from their album Yes (iTunes). Next she had Brooklyn's musical ambassadors of love They Might Be Giants with their hit, "Ana Ng" from Lincoln (iTunes). The next track was brought to you from Elliot Smith, dubbed "The Biggest Lie," off of his eponymous record (iTunes). Then she listened to two tracks from the Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs trilogy of discs (iTunes) — "Absolutely Cuckoo" and "The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure", respectively. The Neutral Milk Hotel then brought us "Ghost" from their album, The Aeroplane Over the Sea (iTunes). Then, from their album Loveless (iTunes), she played My Bloody Valentine's "When You Sleep." Next Blonde Redhead did "In Particular" from their album, Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons (iTunes). Then she played Beulah with "Silver Lining" from their album The Coast is Never Clear (iTunes). The next song comes to us from Belle and Sebastian from their album, The Boy with the Arab Strap (iTunes) and is titled "Sleep the Clock Around." Next up was the title track from the album Last Match (iTunes) by the Aislers Set. She then played the title track from the album Milk Man (iTunes) by Deerhoof. Next, Scotland's Camera Obscura did "Suspended From Class" from their album, Underachievers Please Try Harder (iTunes). The last track on this loooooonnnnggggg episode (thanks Daniel) was Low's "Laser Beam" off of the fantastically-titled What We Lost in the Fire (iTunes).

(SPECIAL HALLOWEEN EPISODE!) First up, a new song from a new band, The Postmarks did a cover of Ministry's heavy metal classic "Every Day is Halloween" which is available for download on their MySpace page for free. But you'll also want to check out their Remixes (iTunes) EP that has a couple of songs which will be on their debut album due out in January and (if the few songs they've released to date is any evidence) is sure to be grand. Next Melbourne, Australia's Julian Nation did "Halloween River Cruise" from his Jens-Lekman-esque debut We Are All Writers (Book Club Records' store). Then ex-Pogue Shane MacGowan and his Popes did "Haunted" from The Snake (iTunes, Amazon). Next Long Island's Blue Oyster Cult did their classic "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" from Agents of Fortune (iTunes, Amazon) or their greatest hits records (iTunes, Amazon). Then close personal friend of TSiMH Adam Roddick did his new song, fittingly for halloween called "Late October 2006" which can be downloaded from his MySpace page. And finally, Oklahoma's own Evangelicals put out a fantastic halloween song this year called "The Halloween Song" which, too, can be downloaded from their MySpace page. There have been 2 other Special Halloween Episodes of TSiMH, you can find them here and here.