I felt in the mood for some Louis Armstrong from the incandescent early days, and we followed that with a young Bonnie Raitt channeling some of that old blues feel. A couple of Mississippi John Hurt covers from Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Taj Mahal brought us to a new one from Graham Parker with some jazz-tinged guitar that conjured up a distinctive old favorite from Simon & Garfunkel. That one's rhythm segued nicely into a John Cunningham track, and the fuller sound of that tune paved the way for the Stereolab song that finished up.

Here we began with Ike Reilly joined by Shooter Jennings for a tune that, as Ike describes it, is all about "wants and needs and death and sex and love and lust," which brought on one from the MInus 5 that falls on the more enigmatic side of the "what does it mean" index. The same can be said for the Bob Dylan & the Band track, which came to mind when I initially heard the deadpan manner in which Robyn Hitchcock sings the tune that followed from his latest disc with the Venus 3 (plus assorted other friends). Wherever (and whatever) the afterlight is, it may be where Eef Barzelay's "friend" hopes to end up, and from there we heard David Bowie playing with his Ziggy Stardust image followed by a new one from Dr. Dog that seemed connected to those glam days of the early '70s when I first heard it. This set's final tracks were from Neil Innes and the Marble Tea; not only did they work well together, but last Sunday I met Knight Berman, Jr., the guy who is the Marble Tea, at the Ocean County Public Library in Tom Rivers, NJ, to see Neil Innes perform, and all I can say is that I had a smile on my face throughout the show. We heard Bonzo Dog Band tunes, Rutles tunes, a song from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and assorted Neil Innes songs from his solo records. All of them offered a combination of wit and humanity that is both rare and entertaining. If you have an opportunity to see a Neil Innes show, make sure you do. You won't regret it.

Supergrass has decided to call it quits; they had a nice run of almost two decades filled with many excellent tunes. We went back to the very beginning for their first single, which ends with repeated cries of "Tonight" that always conjure a Beatles track from pretty early on in their career. The rest of the set was filled with some superior guitar rock from across the decades; I found a groove and just kept following it to its natural conclusion.

The latest Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings release is still in heavy rotation on my personal listening device, and we've been making our way through it here on Lucky Dog Radio as well. My favorite Temptations tune followed, which brought on the Rolling Stones covering a Temptations track, and then we heard Camera Obscura and a tune with a rhythm that sounds like a sped up version of an old Foundations hit from 1969. Yo La Tengo working a soul groove brought on a Nick Lowe track with some great horns, and then we heard from Findlay Brown with what seems like an obvious homage to Roy Orbison followed by one from Roy that perfectly set up the new She & Him track that brought the curtain down.

Here's the complete playist.

NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
LOUIS ARMSTRONG . . . . . Sweet Little Papa . . . . . The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings, Vol. 1
BONNIE RAITT . . . . . Give It Up Or Let Me Go . . . . . Give It Up
RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOTT . . . . . Richland Women Blues . . . . . A Stranger Here
TAJ MAHAL . . . . . My Creole Belle . . . . . Avalon Blues: A Tribute to the Music of Mississippi John Hurt
GRAHAM PARKER . . . . . Bring Me A Heart Again . . . . . Imaginary Television
SIMON & GARFUNKEL . . . . . Punky’s Dilemma . . . . . Bookends
JOHN CUNNINGHAM . . . . . You Shine . . . . . Happy Go Unlucky
STEREOLAB . . . . . Self Portrait With ‘Electric Brain’ . . . . . Chemical Chords

IKE REILLY . . . . . The War On The Terror And Drugs . . . . . Hard Luck Stories
THE MINUS 5 . . . . . Smoke On, Jerry . . . . . Killingsworth
BOB DYLAN & THE BAND . . . . . Please Mrs. Henry . . . . . The Basement Tapes
ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE VENUS 3 . . . . . The Afterlight . . . . . Propellor Time (Dig)
EEF BARZELAY . . . . . Apocalyptic Friend . . . . . Lose Big
DAVID BOWIE . . . . . Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide . . . . . Sound + Vision
DR. DOG . . . . . Jackie Wants A Black Eye . . . . . Shame, Shame
THE RUTLES . . . . . Cheese And Onions . . . . . The Rutles
THE MARBLE TEA . . . . . The Center Of The Universe . . . . . The Center Of The Universe

SUPERGRASS . . . . . Caught By The Fuzz . . . . . I Should Coco
THE BEATLES . . . . . Hold Me Tight . . . . . With The Beatles (Remastered)
THE BUZZCOCKS . . . . . Promises . . . . . Operators Manual
THE SOFT PACK . . . . . Answer To Yourself . . . . . The Soft Pack
THE JAM . . . . . Strange Town . . . . . The Jam - Greatest Hits
SPOON . . . . . Trouble Comes Running . . . . . Transference
THE FLAMIN’ GROOVIES . . . . . Shake Some Action . . . . . D.I.Y.: Come Out And Play - American Power Pop (1975-78)
TOMMY KEENE . . . . . Back To Zero . . . . . Places That Are Gone: [ 6 song Mini-LP ]
THE RECORDS . . . . . Starry Eyes . . . . . Poptopia!: Power Pop Classics Of The '70's
THE BYRDS . . . . . She Don’t Care About Time . . . . . The Byrds

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS . . . . . The Game Gets Old . . . . . I Learned The Hard Way
THE TEMPTATIONS . . . . . Since I Lost My Baby . . . . . The Ultimate Collection
THE ROLLING STONES . . . . . Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) . . . . . Some Girls
CAMERA OBSCURA . . . . . If Looks Could Kill . . . . . Let's Get Out of This Country
THE FOUNDATIONS . . . . . Build Me Up Buttercup . . . . . The British Invasion: History of British Rock, Vol. 9
YO LA TENGO . . . . . If It’s True . . . . . Popular Songs
NICK LOWE . . . . . Not Too Long Ago . . . . . At My Age
FINDLAY BROWN . . . . . I Still Want You . . . . . Love Will Find You
ROY ORBISON . . . . . It’s Over . . . . . For The Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits
SHE & HIM . . . . . Brand New Shoes . . . . . Volume Two

Here's another one from Neil Innes

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