I'm especially fond of his last couple of albums. And so few artists can bring themselves to go out on a high note without the temptation to revisit their legacy.

It topped a 2007 survey of most-hated Christmas songs ... It's time we give the Singing Dogs their due.

That's a great take!

I am not a Korn fan, but my younger brother got me into a song they did with The Cure on MTV Unplugged. It's a Korn song and a Cure song played together: "Make Me Bad / In Between Days".

(Is it a mash-up if it's done by the bands themselves?)

Anyway, it's totally awesome.

I'm making a blues rock mix and I've pulled down stuff from the recent John Mayall box set and it's pretty fascinating.

The intriguing thing for me is hearing the progression of superstar guitarists go from Clapton to Peter Green (famous for the blues edition of Fleetwood Mac) and Mick Taylor (who replaced Brian Jones in the Rolling Stones).

I've got a lot of Clapton on this mix and even listening to his early Mayall stuff the thing that strikes you is his attack. His shit just jumps out at you and grabs you by the earlobes no matter what band he's in: Cream, Blind Faith, Derek & the Dominoes, Mayall. Doesn't matter. He announces his presence with authority.

Peter Green is just so incredibly fluid and musical. Really an unsung genius. Gorgeous, flowing lines.

And Mick Taylor - well, I know there's a reason why his tenure with the Stones coincides with his their greatest work. But I don't think I realized how much Stevie Ray Vaughan took from him. Though as Stevie's playing got jazzier he took a lot more from Peter Green.

Anyway, just some random observations as I futz around with this mix which also includes Rory Gallagher, Hendrix, Johnny Winter, Duane Allman et al.

It's a Paramore soap opera! [link]

Wowza. That's something. I have a couple of Paramore CDs but never followed anything that happened with the band.

The comments on that are more soap opera than the blog post itself. And I thought I was upset when Dave Gregory left XTC...

I'm working on my annual xmas comp (late as usual). I had several themes in mind but decided to go with songs about the telephone, that take place on the telephone or use telephone metaphors (and I went with that rather than some of my other ideas because before I knew it, I had made more paid downloads than I could justify doing for research I wasn't going to use). I haven't put them in their final order yet. And there might be some weeding.

Hello Ma Baby by ...uh...me
Dr. Jazz Stomp by Bob Brozman
Memphis by Pianosaurus
Mind Your Own Business (only has the one telephone verse so it may go) by Hank Williams
Telephone Baby by Johnny Otis
The Telephone Hour from Bye Bye Birdie OSTR B'way
Ring Ring - ABBA
Telephone Line - ELO
Call Me - Blondie
Your Phone's Off the Hook (But You're Not) - X
Operators Are Standing By - TMBG
Royal Telephone - Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Marie Knight
Hanging on the Telephone - Blondie
Operator - Gladys Knight & The Pips
Operator - Manhattan Transfer
Pennsylvania 6-5000 (2002 Remastered) - Glenn Miller Orch
867-5309/Jenny (Album Version) - Tommy Tutone
The Telephone Song - The Andrew Sisters
Don't Hang Up - The Orlons
Alo...Alo? - Carmen Miranda
Telephone Song - Cabaret OSTR B'way 1966
Hot Line - The Sylvers
Call Collect On Christmas - Del McCoury
Long Distance Call - Muddy Waters
Telephone Song (Live) - Jerry Reed
Operator - Mary Wells

I just love the song"Telephone Wires" by The Intelligence. Great crunchy lowfi fun!