7:05am

Willie Nile “Grenade” from Golden Down (Razor & Tie 1981) —I think Willie Nile just might be the least heralded brilliant songwriter of the last 30 years.Buy it!

7:12am

The Hives “If I Had a Cent” from Lex Hives (Disques Hives 2012) N  —Don't laugh, but I'm starting to think the Hives remind me of Devo - it's not that much of a stretch to compare the last Devo album to this one.Buy it!

7:16am

k.d. lang & The Siss Boom Bang “Perfect Word” from Sing It Loud (Nonesuch 2011) —Perfect song from a perfect record - she's such an amazing singer, such control of all that power.Buy it!

7:24am

Tom Russell “Walking On the Moon” from The Long Way Around CD COMP (Hightone 1997) —Find me a better song about the difference between young love and older cynicism.Buy it!

7:36am

Rufus Wainwright “Candles” from Out of the Game (Decca 2012) N  —Ditto.Buy it!

7:47am

The dB's “I Didn't Mean to Say That” from Falling Off the Sky (Bar/None 2012) N  —Peter Holsapple's song would be great if he recorded it with anybody, but it's brilliant recorded by his old friends.Buy it!

7:54am

Love “7 And 7 Is” from Da Capo (Elektra 1966) —Not a fantasy, but fantastic rock'n'roll.Buy it!

8:03am

Cheap Trick “The Ballad of TV Violence (I'm Not the Only Boy)” from Cheap Trick (Epic 1977) —I do remember the concern over TV violence back in the time of this record.Buy it!

8:12am

Janiva Magness “I Don't Want to Do Wrong” from Stronger For It (Alligator 2012) N  —I can't get enough of this incredible Gladys Knight cover version.Buy it!

8:21am

Vintage Trouble “Jezzebella” from The Bomb Shelter Sessions (Cortex 2012) N  —Speaking of rocking hard, but with a lot more open space in that big beat.Buy it!

8:28am

Aquitaine “Photo Tangerine” from American Pulverizer, Pt. 1 - EP (self 2012) N L —Excellent St. Louis band with its first official release under its third name in a year.Buy it!

8:36am

Bruce Springsteen “Because the Night” from The Promise (Columbia 2010) —Springsteen essentially gave this song to Patti Smith, because he had so many good ones at that time he could easily spare it. But it's nice to hear his version, too.Buy it!

8:43am

Half Knots “You See a World” from Color Them Blue (Half Knots www.halfknots.com 2007) L —A gorgeous song from Danny Kathriner that I hadn't heard in a while. I love the ability of itunes shuffle to remind me of things like this.Buy it!

8:51am

Sweet Honey In The Rock “Solid Gold II” from The Women Gather (Earthbeat 2003) —Who needs words when these women can sound like this?Buy it!

9:01am

Chris Potter Underground “It Ain't Me, Babe” from Ultrahang (ArtistShare 2009) —Chris Potter is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, saxophonist under the age of 60 these days. Yup, this is the Dylan song, turned into jazz of mesmerizing beauty.Buy it!

9:10am

Leo Kottke “Arms of Mary” from Leo Live (Private Music 1995) —I saw Kottke a few times in the years preceding this live record - man, his guitar playing is spellbinding.Buy it!

9:21am

Creedence Clearwater Revival “The Midnight Special” from The Concert (Fantasy 1980) —Fogerty in peak form here.Buy it!

9:30am

Elizabeth Cook & the Grascals “The Great Atomic Power” from Song of America (31 Tigers 2007) —Nice take on the Louvin Brothers song; it's hard to sing this and minimize the irony.Buy it!

9:36am

Marty Stuart “Sundown In Nashville” from Nashville, Volume 1: Tear The Woodpile Down (SUGAR HILL www.sugarhillrecords.com 2012) N  —Country music master.Buy it!

9:43am

Rough Shop “Blue Swallow Hotel” from Beneath the South Side Bridge (Perdition 2012) N L —I love the way John Wendland sings the opening line "There's one hundred per cent refrigerated air." You have to hear it. And the whole thing is great, anyway.Buy it!

9:52am

Chris Smither “Hundred Dollar Valentine” (Signature Sounds 2012) N  —The drummer has a great time on this one - Smither is always very good, but this might be his best record in a long time.Buy it!