NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
THE SOFT PACK . . . . . Flammable . . . . . The Soft Pack
HARRY NILSSON . . . . . Jump Into The Fire . . . . . Nilsson Schmilsson
ISOBEL CAMPBELL & MARK LANEGAN . . . . . The Flame That Burns . . . . . Sunday at Devil Dirt
MARK PICKEREL AND HIS PRAYING HANDS . . . . . The Last Leaves . . . . . Cody's Dream
ELVIS COSTELLO . . . . . My All Time Doll . . . . . Secret, Profane and Sugarcane
SPOON . . . . . Out Go The Lights . . . . . Transference
TELEVISON . . . . . Venus . . . . . Marquee Moon

THE ROLLING STONES . . . . . Dandelion . . . . . Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)
THE SLEEPY JACKSON . . . . . This Day . . . . . Lovers
GIRLS . . . . . Hellhole Ratrace . . . . . Album
HEADLESS HEROES . . . . . Just Like Honey . . . . . The Silence of Love
THE WITCH HAZEL SOUND . . . . . 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her . . . . . This World, Then the Fireworks
YO LA TENGO . . . . . Madeline . . . . . And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
THE COWSILLS . . . . . The Rain, The Park & Other Things . . . . . The Best of the Cowsills: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection
STEPHEN JONES & LUKE SCOTT . . . . . We All Make The Little Flowers Grow . . . . . Total Lee! The Songs of Lee Hazlewood
CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG . . . . . Dandelion . . . . . Irm

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS . . . . . You Must Be Out Of Your Mind . . . . . Realism
BOB DYLAN . . . . . One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later) . . . . . Blonde on Blonde
STEVE FORBERT . . . . . Romeo’s Tune . . . . . Jackrabbit Slim
JOSH RITTER . . . . . Kathleen . . . . . Hello Starling
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN . . . . . 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) . . . . . The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
PAUL WESTERBERG . . . . . Love On The Wing . . . . . PW & The Ghost Gloves Cat Wing Joy Boys (Amazon.com Exclusive)

ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3 . . . . . Belltown Ramble . . . . . Goodnight Oslo
TRAFFIC . . . . . Heaven Is In Your Mind . . . . . Heaven Is in Your Mind
BECK . . . . . Strange Apparition . . . . . The Information
UNITED NATIONS OF SOUND . . . . . Are You Ready? . . . . . Digital Single
THE MOVE . . . . . Feel Too Good . . . . . Looking On

We began this time with one from the very enjoyable new disc by the Soft Pack, and that energetic dose of rock & roll brought to mind an old Harry Nilsson tune. One more on the subject from Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan brought with it a subdued intensity that was maintained in the Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands track that followed, creating a segue that should have worked for all the Screaming Trees fans out there in Listener Land as well. Elvis Costello pining for the lover he can't seem to shake led to Spoon knocked out by the girl who walked into the ballroom and Television intoxicated with the beauty that art so often can provide.

This section ended with a new tune from Charlotte Gainsbourg that shares a title with an old favorite from the Rolling Stones c. 1967, which opened things here. In between we heard some bright, late '60s-influenced pop from Australia's Sleepy Jackson followed by the darker overtones of Girls into Headless Heroes adding a bit of subdued jangle guitar to a Jesus and Mary Chain tune. From there the Witch Hazel Sound kept the '60s pop feel with some horns added to the mix, which seemed to flow nicely into one from Yo La Tengo with some wonderfully warm organ. That brought on a late '60s guilty pleasure from the Cowsills, followed by a remake of a Lee Hazlewood song from the same time period by Stephen Jones and Luke Scott with a title that led us to Charlotte Gainsbourg.

The new Magnetic Fields disc has a winning combination of smart, incisive lyrics and distinctive instrument combinations, and we started here with a tune that leaves no doubt a reconcilliation won't be happening any time soon. From there it was Bob Dylan apologizing for a breakup even as he's explaining that it wasn't his fault, but after that the tide turned with Steve Forbert anticipating better times, Josh Ritter making a bold move, Bruce Springsteen looking for a companion for the night (and maybe longer) and Paul Westerberg displaying an ornithologist-like feel for the vicissitudes of love.

A pleasant stroll through a Seattle neighborhood with Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 brought with it some philosophizing on one's place in the big picture, which is similar to what Traffic was driving at in the tune that followed, and the same can be said for the Beck track that came next. Richard Ashcroft of the Verve has a new disc coming next month; the project name is United Nations Of Sound and the tune heard here has been released through iTunes. In addition to carrying forward the theme of this set, it also conjured through its music an old favorite from the Move that takes me back to those halcyon days of the early '70s when it certainly seemed possible to simply "feel too good."

Here's another one from Traffic