NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
THE JIM CARROLL BAND . . . . . People Who Died . . . . . Catholic Boy
JARVIS COCKER . . . . . “Further Complications.” . . . . . Further Complications
THE JAM . . . . . Private Hell . . . . . Setting Sons
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS . . . . . Hold On To Yourself . . . . . Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
JONI MITCHELL . . . . . Trouble Child . . . . . Court and Spark
ST. VINCENT . . . . . Black Rainbow . . . . . Actor
BILLIE HOLIDAY . . . . . Things Are Looking Up . . . . . The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Vol.5: 1937-1938

M. WARD . . . . . Stars Of Leo . . . . . Hold Time
TIM BUCKLEY . . . . . Happy Time . . . . . Blue Afternoon
YO LA TENGO . . . . . I’m On My Way . . . . . Popular Songs
RICHARD HAWLEY . . . . . I’m On Nights . . . . . Lowedges
RICK NELSON . . . . . Lonesome Town . . . . . Rick Nelson - Greatest Hits
GIRLS . . . . . Hellhole Ratrace . . . . . Album
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN . . . . . Backstreets . . . . . Born To Run: 30th Anniversary 3-Disc Set (CD/2DVD)

PATRICK WOLF . . . . . Hard Times . . . . . The Bachelor
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA . . . . . Hey Boy Blue . . . . . Eldorado
THE SLEEPY JACKSON . . . . . Good Dancers . . . . . Lovers
THE BEATLES . . . . . I’m Only Sleeping . . . . . Revolver (Remastered)
OASIS . . . . . Falling Down . . . . . Dig Out Your Soul
DAVID BOWIE . . . . . V-2 Schneider . . . . . Heroes
SISTER VANILLA . . . . . Jamcolas . . . . . Little Pop Rock
THE CAESARS . . . . . Strawberry Weed . . . . . Strawberry Weed

NEIL YOUNG . . . . . On The Beach . . . . . On the Beach
SONIC YOUTH . . . . . Malibu Gas Station . . . . . The Eternal
WEST INDIAN GIRL . . . . . Beach . . . . . We Believe
THE HELIO SEQUENCE . . . . . Just Mary Jane (Calypso) . . . . . Com Plex
ZEEP . . . . . Light Your Touch . . . . . People & Things
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE . . . . . Lather . . . . . Crown of Creation

The death of New York CIty poet Jim Carroll triggered an immediate memory of his first album, which came out during the end of my time as a college radio DJ. It's one of those that's become lost in the foggy areas that seem to occupy more and more of my brain—except for the track we heard to open this program, which was my (and many other folks) favorite. His recounting of the horrible deaths at a young age of so many people he knew combined with his own difficult experiences opened the gate to a set of tunes filled with struggling people. So we had Jarvis Cocker looking over his life from the very beginning; the Jam painting a pictue of middle-aged pain and angst; Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds offering some valuable advice in times of stress; Joni Mitchell taking on those special neuroses that Southern California seems to provide; and St. Vincent trapped in the stifling world that everyday life can become. Finally, and a bit ironically, we heard Billie Holiday in an oh-so-rare upbeat mood.

This section began with M. Ward literally singing about the highs and lows of life, which led to Tim Buckley feeling good about making his way back to the homestead and a new one from Yo La Tengo that seems more about finding a way to make a positive change in a relationship. From there we heard a love song from Richard Hawley with some nice trebley guitar, which brought to mind an old Rick Nelson track that had him feeling a little blue. A new one from Girls starts out in a similar place before it builds to a finish that this time around flipped a switch to raise a door that revealed Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

The seed of this set was a tune that didn't make the final group, which happens on occasion, and so what remained begain with one from Patrick Wolf's last disc that flowed nicely into the Electric Light Orchestra. Next up was the Sleepy Jackson with a tune that has a bit of George Harrison-like slide guitar, and from there we heard the remastered Beatles featuring George on the backwards guitar. Oasis followed with a track from what appears to be their final disc that features Noel Gallagher on lead vocals and a rhythm that bears more than a passing resemblance to another Revolver track, "Tomorrow Never Knows." David Bowie maintained the momentum with an instrumental that uses two German sources for its title and only lyrics—the rocket weapons produced by the Nazis in World War II and the last name of Kraftwerk member Florian Schneider. The distorted production on that one gave way to first Sister Vanilla (the Reid Brothers with sister Linda essentially picking up where the Jesus and Mary Chain left off) and then the Caesars creating some noisy effects of their own.

The last portion of this program began with an old favorite from Neil Young that I hadn't pulled out in a long time; from there we moved to Sonic Youth with one from this year's disc that kept the California coast locale intact, and then it was West Indian Girl's summer release that maintained a connection to what preceded it even as it paved the way for the Helio Sequence tune that followed. The pschedelic feel of that one was echoed in the new Zeep tune we heard next, and some of the lead guitar on that one conjured up an old Jefferson Airplane tune, which seemed like a suitable place to call it quits.

Here's another one from the Jam