NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
JOHN COOPER CLARKE . . . . . Evidently Chickentown . . . . . Snap, Crackle & Bop
KURT VILE . . . . . Freak Train . . . . . Childish Prodigy
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS . . . . . More News From Nowhere . . . . . Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
BOB DYLAN . . . . . Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues . . . . . The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The "Royal Albert Hall Concert"
IKE REILLY . . . . . Lights Out (Anything Goes) . . . . . Lights Out (Anything Goes)
THE KINKS . . . . . Sunny Afternoon . . . . . The Kink Kronikles
IAN HUNTER . . . . . When The World Was Round . . . . . Shrunken Heads

TOM WAITS . . . . . Singapore . . . . . Glitter and Doom Live
ELIZA CARTHY . . . . . Rolling Sea . . . . . Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys
PROCOL HARUM . . . . . A Salty Dog . . . . . A Salty Dog
THE DECEMBERISTS . . . . . From My Own True Love (Lost At Sea) . . . . . Picaresque
ALELA DIANE & ALINA HARDEN . . . . . I Have Returned . . . . . Alela & Alina
NICK DRAKE . . . . . River Man . . . . . Five Leaves Left
BECK . . . . . Around The Bend . . . . . Sea Change
THE BEATLES . . . . . Within You Without You . . . . . Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Remastered)

YO LA TENGO . . . . . Today Is The Day . . . . . Today Is the Day
PAUL WESTERBERG . . . . . Making It Go . . . . . Come Feel Me Tremble
JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS . . . . . Coma Girl . . . . . Streetcore
BLACK LIPSTICK . . . . . Serpentz . . . . . Converted Thieves
FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE . . . . . Stacy’s Mom . . . . . Welcome Interstate Managers
THE SLEEPY JACKSON . . . . . This Day . . . . . Lovers
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS . . . . . Loose Translation . . . . . Electric Version
YEAH YEAH YEAHS . . . . . Y Control . . . . . Fever to Tell
DAVID BOWIE . . . . . Fall Dog Bombs The Moon . . . . . Reality
SUKILOVE . . . . . As Long As I Survive Tonight . . . . . Sukilove
EELS . . . . . Rock Hard Times . . . . . Shootenanny!
JOE HENRY . . . . . Your Side Of My World . . . . . Tiny Voices
ROSANNE CASH . . . . . September When It Comes . . . . . Rules of Travel

This one began with a bunch of tunes featuring folks who are struggling to make sense of situations they find themseles stuck within, starting with John Cooper Clarke's lament about a particular place that's set to a spare, almost metronomic drum beat. This burg could certainly be a stop on Kurt Vile's favored method of transporation, where you might find yourself in the midst of a group simlar to the one populating the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds track that followed, which certainly recalls a number of Bob Dylan classics, including the one we heard here. That led to a new Ike Reilly tune about a guy struggling to maintain a grip after his family has broken apart, and the rhythmic feel of that one brought to mind an old Kinks song that's also about someone who's pretty much bottomed out. Summing it all up was Ian Hunter, clearly not pleased with much of what he's been observing about the world we live in these days.

Tom Waits opened this section with his own special take on the sailor's life from the new live disc, and it was followed by a trio of seaworthy tales from Eliza Carthy, Procol Harum and the Decemberists. The tune from Alela & Alina that followed worked well as a response to the Decemberists' song, and then we moved on to a stunning Nick Drake track that's always seemed to me to be about someone who feels terribly disconnected from the world in which he exists. The same could be said for the Beck song that followed, which I think not coincidentally bears a strong musical resemblance to the tune that preceded it. It also features some strings at the end that brought to mind the Beatles and George Harrison's contribution to Sgt. Pepper, which is about the connections that exist between us all, whether or not they're recognized.

The remainder of this show was given over to another installment of the decade in music, which we started reliving a few weeks back on a year by year basis. This time around the focus was on 2003, and so far I've managed to stick to my original decision and limit each year's output to a lucky 13 songs. (If you'd like, you can review the reasoning behind this decision in the notes for Program #639.) Up next, 2004 and 2005.

Here's another one (actually two) from the Kinks