For most of us the time has come once again to slip our tax returns through the mail slot of our Federal Government's front door (although, if like me you live in one of the NJ counties affected by the massive floods of last month, you now have until May 11 to turn in your forms). With that in mind, the opening portion of this Lucky Dog Radio show was designed as the perfect soundtrack to be played in the background as you double-checked your figures and gnashed your teeth. Hope the tunes made the process a little less painful.

The latest disc from Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 has taken a little longer than usual for me to absorb; I'm not sure why—competition from other new releases, my general mood, sunspots—but lately I've been enjoying it quite a bit. We started here with one that ends with chirping crickets; that tends to conjure up Side 2, Track 3 from Abbey Road, which ends in a similar place and explains why we heard Side 2, Track 4 to follow. Federico Aubele offered an acoustic tune with some more solar (and lunar) imagery set to a quasi-reggae beat, which paved the way for the real thing by Gregory Isaacs followed by one from the Summer of 1969 that left little doubt what the Soul Sisters were desiring. From there a new one from Quadron shifted the sound in more of a minimalist soul direction, with the rhythm on that one showing a strong resemblance to the Marvin Gaye tune that followed. Next up was Girls with one that's emerged as a favorite from last year's debut and fed nicely into some early Modern Lovers to finish up.

Some galloping country stylings from John Doe and the Sadies kicked off this section, and we continued at a similar pace through the Old 97's and Langhorne Slim into Holly Miranda, where the music grew more lush and enveloping even as it surged ahead. Then it was time for a tall tale from Josh Ritter that moves from the Midwest out to Hollywood in the days of silent movies, which was followed by an early Steve Forbert tune with a more contemporary setting and cast of characters. Finally, Wilco with some help from Feist offered one that shares essentially the same title as a new tune from She & Him, and they sounded pretty good back-to-back as well.

Malcolm McLaren passed away a few days before this show came together; his chief claim to fame is as the man who turned four young guys who hung around his S&M clothing shop in London and into the Sex Pistols in 1975. They became ground zero of the punk rock explosion that began at that time, and McLaren was the promotional mastermind behind much of what became the Pistols legend for the few short years they were together. Of course, his scheming and disregard for the negative impacts he created within the band also led to their eventual destruction. Once it was done, McLaren moved on to pull together another group of musicians that he named Bow Wow Wow; that also fell apart after a couple of years. Deciding by this time that he needed to be the front man, McLaren began issuing his own discs; the track that opened this set was from his first release and is probably his best-known tune. The same can be said for the Bow Wow Wow tune that followed, a cover of an old Strangelove's song that employed the iconic Bo Diddley beat. The Pretenders did the same for an early track heard here from their recent live release, and the dance reference on that one brought on the Motors with what is perhaps their finest effort. An old favorite from the Who led to one from the recent Soft Pack disc that's full of hard-charging guitars, and then we finished appropriately enough with the Sex Pistols from the only album released while they were originally together as a group.

Here's the complete playist.

NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
ROBERT CRAY . . . . . 1040 Blues . . . . . Shame + A Sin
SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS . . . . . Money . . . . . I Learned The Hard Way
N.A.S.A. . . . . . Money . . . . . Spirit of Apollo
THE BRAINS . . . . . Money Changes Everything . . . . . 7-inch single
RANDY NEWMAN . . . . . It’s Money That Matters . . . . . Land of Dreams
THE FLYING LIZARDS . . . . . Money (That’s What I Want) . . . . . Flying Lizards
WRECKLESS ERIC . . . . . Take The Cash (K.A.S.H.) . . . . . Big Smash!
BING CROSBY . . . . . Pennies From Heaven . . . . . Bing! His Legendary Years, 1931 to 1957
MONTY PYTHON . . . . . Money Programme . . . . . Monty Python's Previous Record (Expanded Edition w/ Bonus Tracks)
GEORGE HARRISON . . . . . Taxman . . . . . Live in Japan

ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3 . . . . . Star Of Venus . . . . . Propellor Time (Dig)
THE BEATLES . . . . . Sun King . . . . . Abbey Road (Remastered)
FEDERICO AUBELE . . . . . Luna Y Sol . . . . . Causes 2
GREGORY ISAACS . . . . . Night Nurse . . . . . Night Nurse
THE SOUL SISTERS . . . . . Wreck A Buddy . . . . . Vol. 2-Tighten Up
QUADRON . . . . . Pressure . . . . . Quadron
MARVIN GAYE . . . . . How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) . . . . . Every Great Motown Hit of Marvin Gaye
GIRLS . . . . . Lava . . . . . Album
THE MODERN LOVERS . . . . . Astral Plane . . . . . The Modern Lovers

JOHN DOE & THE SADIES . . . . . I Still Miss Someone . . . . . Country Club
THE OLD 97’S . . . . . No Baby I . . . . . Blame It On Gravity
LANGHORNE SLIM . . . . . Land Of Dreams . . . . . Be Set Free
HOLLY MIRANDA . . . . . Sleep On Fire . . . . . Magician's Private Library
JOSH RITTER . . . . . Lillian, Egypt . . . . . The Animal Years
STEVE FORBERT . . . . . Going Down To Laurel . . . . . Alive on Arrival
WILCO WITH FEIST . . . . . You And I . . . . . Wilco (The Album)
SHE & HIM . . . . . Me And You . . . . . Volume Two

MALCOLM MCLAREN . . . . . Buffalo Gals . . . . . Duck Rock
BOW WOW WOW . . . . . I Want Candy . . . . . The Best of Bow Wow Wow
THE PRETENDERS . . . . . Cuban Slide . . . . . Pretenders: Live In London
THE MOTORS . . . . . Dancing The Night Away . . . . . The Motors 1
THE WHO . . . . . I Can See For Miles . . . . . Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy
THE SOFT PACK . . . . . More Or Less . . . . . The Soft Pack
THE SEX PISTOLS . . . . . No Feelings . . . . . Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols
Here's a couple more from the Sex Pistols