Don't Tell a Soul, Vol. 66: I hate Winnipeg

Submitted for the approval of the Twin Ports Awesome Mix Tape Appreciation Society, the latest installment of "Don't Tell a Soul."

As always, to encourage the consumption of music that doesn't suck, I have provided -- wherever available -- links to free, artist-sanctioned MP3s of the songs.

Beefcake!
Matt

(Questions? Comments? Want one of your band's songs to be considered for an upcoming awesome mix tape? E-mail mperrine [at] duluthbudgeteer [dot] com.)

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1. Drew Danburry - "Tonight I Was Trying to Read... (Pt. 1)"
An awesome, bluesy intro to ...

2. The Donnas - "Don't Wait Up for Me"
The biggest, skull-crushing stadium anthem the Donnas have ever pushed out. (Way to go, girls!)

3. Doomtree - "Knives on Fire"
Not to be outdone, Minneapolis' preeminent hip-hop collective strikes with the best single 2007 had to offer (which, unfortunately, I did not hear until 2008...). Sims, P.O.S. and Cecil Otter's ferocious rhymes are backed by Paper Tiger's most unrelenting production to date. Speaking of Doomtree, I just found out that P.O.S. and Cecil Otter will be performing at Duluth's Pizza Luce at 11 p.m. Feb. 8. (Tickets go on sale Jan. 21. $10.)

4. The Good, The Bad and The Queen - "The Bunting Song" (acoustic vers.)
This is another one of those instances where I wish I had heard something before it was way after the fact.

5. Atmosphere - "66th Street" (download others here)
Slug's best "story-song" yet -- about getting held up at a Richfield c-store by a (fuckin') flare gun. (That's right!)

6. Gogol Bordello - "Wanderlust King" (listen here) (download others)
I can't remember how Walt phrased it -- Gypsy punk? -- but I'm glad he placed so much emphasis on this addicting song.

7. The Who - "Amazing Journey"
Does it get any more classic than this?

8. Faux Jean - "The Ballad of Kim and Thurston" (free download of "Drunk and Stoned" here)
Too many unforgettable lines to count, so here's a small sampling: "As long as we're alive / Why don't we write some songs? / And we can start a band / So we can play our songs."

9. Jason Collett - "Out of Time" (MP3 of "It Won't Be Long" here)
Is it too early to name "Here's to Being Here" one of 2008's best albums? (Probably.)

10. DJ Abilities - title unknown (Track 2 from "Fall 06 Set List") (download a track here)
A 15-minute odyssey of masterful turntablism. Some stops along the way: Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and Rage Against the Machine's "Bombtrack." Not to be missed. Under any circumstances. Like anything else he does.

11. Fatboy Slim - "Praise You" (Adrock and Mike D remix) (listen here)
While this pales in comparison to DJ Abilities' monumental epic before it, this "Small Stars" remix is leaps and bounds more interesting than Fatboy Slim's fluff piece of an original.

12. Polysics - "Married to a Frenchman"
Like a majority of Zac Bentz's work with the Surfactants, this takes Technicolor pogo punk to the extreme.

13. Deathray - "Wild as I Wanna Be" (listen here)
No "My Lunatic Friends" by an means, but just knowing that this group is still around is worthy of inclusion by itself.

14. Paul Westerberg - "Love You in the Fall" (listen here)
Damn, this one just missed the opportunity to be included on the autumn mix tape for my sweetheart.... (Maybe next fall, eh?)

15. Talking Heads - "Wild Wild Life" (listen here)
The more I look back at all those old awesome mix tapes, the more I realize there's been a substantial hole where Talking Heads tracks should be.

16. The Weakerthans - "One Great City!" (download other MP3s here) (and here)
Oh so funny! I hate Winnipeg too, but for entirely different reasons.... (And, no, it's not just because my Guess Who were dissed here.)

p.s. If you ever get bored, check out the irreverent "travelogue" from a trip to Winnipeg my buddies and I put together in 2004 after we went to see the Pixies' second show in so many years.

17. Soft - "Droppin'" (watch video here) (download "Higher" here)
Sweet, another track to make out to!

18. USSR - "Dance Floor" (listen here)
... And ride around on trains to! (Well, either that or break shit to!)

19. Both - "Brick to the Face"
I know I've said my share about the genius of Greg Cougar Conley, but, really, why stop?

20. The Whitsundays - "Sorry James"
If ever I were to use the "pretty" tag, it'd be right now ... something tells me these guys probably stick out like a sore thumb in the Edmonton music scene. (I'm sorry, I really have no idea what that means....)

21. Jellyfish - "Calling Sarah"
No, I'm sorry; this is the prettiest song of all time.