Various Artists (A-L)

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One of these days I'm going to form a band called "Various Artists", just to confuse the hell out of everyone. :-)

For "tribute" albums, check the tribute section...movie soundtracks are listed in the soundtracks section. The Metal Massacre and Digital Puppy CDs have been moved to their own pages.

"The Beavis and Butthead Experience"

1. Nirvana "I Hate Myself and Want to Die" (4:03)
2. Anthrax "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" (7:43)
3. Beavis & Butthead "Come to Butthead" (3:52)
4. Megadeth "99 Ways to Die" (4:11)
5. Run-D.M.C. "Bounce" (6:49)
6. Aerosmith "Deuces are Wild" (3:50)
7. White Zombie "I Am Hell" (5:01)
8. Primus "Poetry and Prose" (3:49)
9. Sir Mix-a-Lot "Monsta Mack" (4:04)
10. Red Hot Chili Peppers "Search and Destroy" (4:13)
11. Jackyl "Mental *@%#!" (2:38)
12. Cher w/ Beavis & Butthead "I Got You Babe" (9:23)

Well, about the only good thing I can say here is this album DOES contain some fairly good songs, even if they do all sound like outtakes. I'm not sure how I acquired this, I think my brother's CDs might have gotten mixed up with mine somehow...oh, by the way, "I Hate Myself and Want to Die" is the last song ever written by Kurt Cobain before he blew his brains out, isn't that ironic?

"A Black Mark Tribute"

1. Soulquake System "Firestarter" (3:33)
2. Memento Mori "Sold My Soul" (4:29)
3. Necrophobic "Ridden with Disease" (4:37)
4. World of Silence "Strawberry Fields Forever" (5:40)
5. Quorthon "God Save the Queen" (3:15)
6. Tad Morose "Power of the Night" (4:08)
7. Divine Sin "Eternal Dark" (3:03)
8. Hexenhaus "War" (3:36)
9. Corporal Punishment "It's a Sin" (3:56)
10. Bathory "Ace of Spades" (5:14)
11. Nightingale "Return to Fantasy" (4:21)
12. Edge of Sanity "Invisible Sun" (3:21)
13. Morgana Lefay "Parasite" (3:26)

I was forced to buy this one after finding out that Bathory's cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades" was not on the newest Jubileum collection...damn greedy record companies, I just KNOW they planned it that way! But, to my surprise, this turned out to be a really good compilation -- a bunch of various bands from the Black Mark label, doing "their favorite covers", ranging from '90s techno-funk to '80s new wave to '70s classic rock...even The Beatles!

Ironically, the Bathory song is a big disappointment -- their viking-metal style totally clashes with the gambler-living-on-the-edge theme of the Motorhead song. On the other hand, Quorthon (the main guy in Bathory, in case you didn't know that) does a phenomenal version of the Sex Pistols song, pure punk which sounds TOTALLY un-Bathoryish (though not dissimilar from his Purity of Essence solo opus.) The rest of the songs vary in quality, but manage to please more often than they fail.

Soulquake System's cover of Prodigy's "Firestarter" elicits a big "Huh?" from me, but Memento Mori (I swear, every time I read that name I get the urge to play Doom2) bottles the Nazareth sound perfectly on "Sold My Soul". Necrophobic scores with plain, classic death metal on Autopsy's "Ridden with Disease".

World of Silence's entry is just plain weird, but Tad Morose does an acceptable rendition of Savatage's "Power of the Night". Then comes the album's highlight, Divine Sin's cover of "Eternal Dark", a wonderful dose of no-frills eighties metal. The song is originally by Picture, a band so obscure that I think I heard of them once or twice back in the '80s...of course, now I'm wondering where I can hear their music!

Hexehaus's "War" (you know, that "WAR! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?" song -- believe me, you've heard it, everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Frankie Goes to Hollywood has covered it) demands that you hit the fast-forward button, but Corporal Punishment does a hilarious, doom/death version of "It's a Sin", originally a Pet Shop Boys (!!) song. The last three songs are a mixed bag: Nightingale's version of the Uriah Heep classic is more new wave than metal; Edge of Sanity's "Invisible Sun" remains extremely loyal to The Police's original (the vocals even sound like Sting!), with heavy guitars thrown in at all the right parts; and finally, Morgana Lefay's interpretation of Kiss's "Parasite" is a bizarre, B'52s-like techno mix.

Oh, and one last, totally trivial point..."Parasite" and "God Save the Queen" have both been covered by Anthrax.

"A Black Mark Tribute Vol. II"

1. Purity "It's Alright for You" (2:36)
2. Necrophobic "Moonchild" (4:39)
3. Hexenhaus "Sunshine of Your Love" (5:00)
4. World of Silence "Black Celebration" (4:07)
5. Quorthon "I'm Only Sleeping" (2:57)
6. Nightingale "C'est la Vie" (3:07)
7. Memento Mori "To Hell and Back Again" (4:41)
8. Divine Sin "You Can't Stop Rock and Roll" (3:25)
9. Edge of Sanity "Mother" (3:06)
10. Mental Crypt "Money, Money, Money" (4:12)
11. Bathory "War Pigs" (8:50)

Hey it's the "sequel" to "Black Mark Tribute"...pretty much the same bands, with a song selection that is just as eclectic: The Police, Iron Maiden, Cream, Depeche Mode, The Beatles, ELP (!!), Saxon, Twisted Sister, Danzig, ABBA (!!!!!!), and Black Sabbath. This time, Bathory scores with a WICKED cover of "War Pigs", complete with air raid sirens and fighter jets buzzing overhead...it also puts "War Pigs" in the lead for the number of unique versions (11) I own of that song ("Paranoid" is in second place with 9 versions, followed by "Iron Man" with 7.) Quorthon's solo offering, however, is an uninteresting acoustic jam of a Beatles song I've never heard before. World of Silence has the greatest challenge here, since it's my opinion that Depeche Mode songs can NEVER be covered properly, and they prove it. Memento Mori & Divine Sin have a much easier time, since they chose much more generic rock & roll tunes. The covers by Nightingale & Edge of Sanity are pretty good too, but that's about it...Mental Crypt's version sucks even worse than the original, Purity & Necrophobic are just too damn loud, and Black Mark should REALLY dump Hexenhaus from their lineup. I can't take another heap of shit from them.

"Chef Aid: The South Park Album"

1. Primus "South Park Theme" (0:40)
2. Ozzy Osbourne, DMX & Ol' Dirty Bastard/music by The Crystal Method "Nowhere to Run" (4:40)
3. Chef "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" (3:55)
4. Rancid "Brad Logan" (2:16)
5. Eric Cartman "Come Sail Away" (5:12)
6. Master P "Kenny's Dead" (3:24)
7. Chef "Simultaneous" (3:17)
8. Mase, Puffy, Lil' Kim & System of a Down "Will They Die 4 You" (3:52)
9. Perry Farrell & D.V.D.A. "Hot Lava" (3:50)
10. Wyclef Jean featuring Stan, Kyle, Cartman & Kenny "Bubblegoose" (2:52)
11. Chef "No Substitute" (4:47)
12. Elton John "Wake Up Wendy" (5:58)
13. Mousse T. vs. Hot 'N' Juicy "Horny" (3:31)
14. Devo "Huboon Stomp" (3:21)
15. Rick James & Ike Turner "Love Gravy" (4:01)
16. Ned Gerblansky "Feel Like Makin' Love" (3:26)
17. Ween "The Rainbow" (2:45)
18. Chef & Meat Loaf "Tonight is Right for Love (with Meredith Baxter-Birney)" (3:03)
19. Joe Strummer "It's a Rockin' World" (2:31)
20. Primus "Mephisto and Kevin" (5:18)
21. Vitro featuring The Cast of South Park "Mentally Dull (Think Tank Remix)" (4:34)

Oh man, this pisses me off. It started when I bought this CD for $4.99 used, only to find out it was the EDITED version (and I really believe I'm going to lobby Congress to pass a law requiring all "edited" versions of CDs to carry the label, "WARNING: THIS ALBUM HAS BEEN EMASCULATED UNDER PRESSURE FROM ULTRA-PC, ANTI FIRST AMENDMENT INTEREST GROUPS", those suckers make buying used CDs like walking in a mine field!) Well, I took it back to the store and told them it was defective, which IMHO all "edited" CDs automatically are. They just happened to have the proper version available, with the "Parental Advisory" sticker and everything, so I exchanged it for that. Well, guess what...this version sounds EXACTLY THE SAME!!! No "bleeps" or anything, but all the curse words have obviously been snipped -- it's most evident on the rap songs, especially "Will They Die 4 You", where ev*ry other f**k*ng word is ed*t*d to s**t. So how the FUCK does this qualify as "explicit"??? Maybe it's the sexual lyrics of Chef's songs, but hey, the "edited" version had "Suck On My Chocolate Salty Balls" just like this one. GRRRR!!! I guess I could upgrade to the so-called "Extreme" version, but I'm too pissed that the most subversive show on television has capitulated like this....

"The Concert for New York City"

Every so often, there's an event on TV that for days later, I wind up kicking myself saying, "Why the FUCK didn't I tape that??" Well, the parts with Billy Joel and The Who, anyway.

You see, the one song that really got to me after 9/11 was Joel's "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" -- it's like a fuckin' prophecy, especially when you consider such lines as, "I've seen the mighty skyline fall...I've seen the Empire State laid low..." And the first thing I thought of, when I saw how eerily similar the lyrics were to what actually happened, was: "Well, that's it. Billy will never play this song in concert again." So when he took the stage on October 20, 2001, just six weeks after the tragedy when the whole country was still in a dazed stupor, and he lit right into that instantly identifiable piano intro, I literally spit out my Coke. Then cheered. Then cried. Well, maybe not cried. But it was definitely an "emotion-swelling" event, when Billy showed the terrorists that he would NOT let them steal that song from him. (At the end he said, "I wrote that song 30 years ago, and I always thought it would be a science fiction song. I never thought it would really happen. But unlike the end of that song, we aren't going ANYWHERE!")

The other major highlight was the Who's performace, who literally blew EVERYONE else off the stage. (Not that it was all that hard. I mean, sheesh, look at all the crapola artists who showed up! Yeah, it's for charity and healing and all, but still...) It doesn't come across on record as well as it did on live TV (at least here, the world "fuck" isn't bleeped in "Who Are You") but you also gotta remember, this is perhaps the last recorded show of the Who before John Entwistle died. (And with Pete Townshend's recent run-in with the pedophile police, it may be one of the Who's last shows, period! And they were just planning their sixth annual "farewell tour"...) Occasional gems do show up elsewhere on the 2CD set, like David Bowie's impromptu cover of Paul Simon's "America", and of course firefighter Mike Moran's anti-Osama rant (yep, he's the "KISS MY ROYAL IRISH ASS" guy...they cut out nearly all the stage announcements, but I'm soooo glad they kept that one.) Still...I wish I'd taped it.

"ECW: Extreme Music"

1. Harry Slash & the Slashtones "This is Extreme! (ECW Theme)"--instrumental (2:30)
2. White Zombie "El Phantasmo and the Chicken Run Blast-O-Rama" (3:57)
3. Kilgore "Walk" (4:57)
4. Megadeth "Trust (ECW Instrumental Mix)" (5:28)
5. Bruce Dickinson "The Zoo" (6:04)
6. Motorhead "Enter Sandman" (5:14)
7. Grinspoon "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" (4:26)
8. Anthrax "Phantom Lord" (4:28)
9. Tres Diablos "Heard It on the X" (2:54)
10. Monster Magnet "Kick Out the Jams" (2:33)
11. Muscadine "Big Balls" (2:45)
12. Harry Slash & the Slashtones "Huka Blues"--instrumental (2:54)

Huh...a CD tribute to a pro wrestling league?? Now I've truly seen everything. Oh well, it's the music that counts, it could be dedicated to Jehovah's Witnesses for all I care. 2/3 of the songs are covers, including two Metallica songs: Motorhead's "Enter Sandman" is surprisingly light on the bass, and Anthrax's "Phantom Lord" is sung by Scott Ian (I think, anyway...it's *definitely* not John Bush!) Kilgore's version of "Walk" is virtually identical to the Pantera original; meanwhile, three Pantera guys team up as "Tres Diablos" to cover a ZZ Top song. Megadeth's "extended dub mix" is pointless. Bruce turns in the best track on the album with a terrific version of "The Zoo" (originally by the Scorpions) -- looks like there's hope for Iron Maiden after all, huh? Grinspoon's cover of Prong's "Snap Your Fingers" starts out cool but ruins the song's rhythm in the middle. Oh yeah, each song is dedicated to a wrestler in this stupid league, for example "Big Balls" (originally by AC/DC, of course) is dedicated to Balls Mahoney, "Enter Sandman" to Sandman, etc. Big deal. It's the stupidest packaging I've ever seen in my life, but as I said before it doesn't matter as long as the music rocks. And this one is certainly better than most!

"80's New Wave: New Wave Dance"

1. The Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star" (3:22)
2. Dead or Alive "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (3:16)
3. Bronski Beat "Why" (3:56)
4. Robert Palmer "Looking for Clues" (4:52)
5. ABC "When Smokey Sings" (4:18)
6. Blancmange "Blind Vision" (3:59)
7. Animotion "Obsession" (4:01)
8. Peter Godwin "Baby's in the Mountain" (4:07)
9. Passions "I'm in Love with a German Film Star" (4:00)
10. Visage "Fade to Grey" (4:01)
11. Men without Hats "The Safety Dance" (2:45)

Nice collection! It's got the highly sought "Safety Dance" (yes!!!), plus "Video Killed the Radio Star", "You Spin Me Round", and "Obsession" (although the long version on Roots of Rock: 80's New Wave is far superior), all fine songs indeed. Other surprisingly good songs include "Looking for Clues", "Blind Vision", and "When Smokey Sings"; "Fade to Grey", however, isn't as awesome as I remember, for some reason, and the songs by Peter Godwin, Bronski Beat, and the Passions pretty much suck. Oh, about that Buggles song...both those guys (Trevor Horne & Geoff Downes) were members of Yes for awhile, and Downes became the sole long-term member of Asia. As for the song itself, well, it's already earned it's place in history as the answer to the trivia question, "What was the first song ever played on MTv?" Heh...pointless, I know...

"Garage Band Rock"

1. The Isley Brothers "Twist and Shout" (2:32)
2. The Kingsmen "Louie Louie" (2:45)
3. The Standells "Dirty Water" (2:48)
4. The Knickerbockers "Lies" (2:43)
5. The Count Five "Psychotic Reaction" (3:07)
6. The Music Machine "Talk Talk" (1:57)
7. The Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard" (2:36)
8. Shocking Blue "Venus" (3:04)
9. The Turtles "Eve of Destruction" (2:42)
10. Norman Greenbaum "Spirit in the Sky" (4:00)

Would you believe I actually bought this thing at Ralph's??? Well I've always wanted to get a copy of "Spirit in the Sky" on CD, and figured it would have to be some sort of classic-rock compilation. And since this one also has "Talk Talk" on it, another GREAT song that I don't see often (and has been covered by Prong and Alice Cooper), I just tossed it in with my frozen dinners and Dr. Pepper 12-packs.

"Hempilation"

1. The Black Crowes "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" (3:39)
2. Blues Traveler "I Want to Take You Higher" (5:42)
3. Cypress Hill "I Wanna Get High" (3:42)
4. David Peel & the 360's "I Like Marijuana" (4:57)
5. Gov't Mule "Don't Step on the Grass, Sam" (5:44)
6. 311 "Who's Got the Herb?" (4:50)
7. Hater "Convicted" (1:14)
8. Sacred Reich "Sweet Leaf" (5:05)
9. High Fidelity "Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba" (5:19)
10. Ian Moore "Champagne & Reefer" (6:03)
11. Sublime "Legalize It" (4:22)
12. Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers "In the Flow" (4:30)
13. Widespread Panic "And it Stoned Me" (5:45)
14. Gus "Homegrown" (2:28)
15. The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies "High Time We Went" (3:59)
16. Raging Slab "Pot Head Pixies" (2:58)
17. Drivin' N' Cryin' "Too Rolling Stoned" (4:34)

Okay, one guess as to what THIS one's all about!! :) A fairly eclectic mix of musical genres, with lots of reggae & hoedown blues (naturally!) Obviously, the biggest draw here is Sacred Reich's "Sweet Leaf" -- gotta keep up with those Black Sabbath covers, you know -- plus covers of Bob Dylan's "Rainy Day Woman", Sly & the Family Stone's "Higher", and even Robin Trower's "Too Rolling Stoned". Unfortunately, according to the liner notes, the guys who put together this compilation are also supporters of that PETA terrorist group...ack, the paradoxes of life!! Dammit, where's my bong...

"I Love Metal"

1. Reggie & the Full Effect "Raining Blood" (2:37)
2. Avail "Iron Fist" (2:22)
3. Less Than Jake "We're Not Gonna Take It" (1:44)
4. Hot Rod Circuit "Sin City" (3:57)
5. The Get Up Kids "On with the Show" (3:38)
6. Jejune "No One Like You" (4:31)
7. The Killingtons "Animal (F**k Like a Beast)" (4:02)
8. Supernova "The Trooper" (4:02)
9. Mephiskapheles "Necromantical Screams" (2:42)
10. Lounge "Living After Midnight" (2:29)
11. Electric Frankenstein "Not for Sale" (3:32)
12. Modest Mouse & Califone "South of Heaven" (5:11)
13. Gardner "Flying High Again"--live, unlisted track (4:41)

This all-covers CD was recommended by an anonymous email. The original artists are: Slayer, Motörhead, Twisted Sister, AC/DC, Mötley Crüe, the Scorpions, W.A.S.P., Iron Maiden, Celtic Frost, Judas Priest, Girlschool, Slayer again, and Ozzy Osbourne. Okay...this CD was actually a big disappointment, since these apparently are all reggae/ska bands, but the actual songs are done regular metal style...and not that well, either. Granted, there are a few standout tracks: "Fuck Like a Beast" is done in wonderful melodic-metal style (kinda sounding like the Foo Fighters, and kinda hilarious because of the obscene lyrics); "Raining Blood" is an interesting techno/industrial mix (sounding very much like Die Krupps), and "South of Heaven" is a hilarious, Led Zeppelin-esque acoustic version. Additionally, "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "Living After Midnight" are done happy-punk style, and come off quite well.

Now, about the "hidden" track...this has got to be the most annoying mastering job ever inflicted upon the CD-buying public! The track starts with 7 minutes of silence, followed by some dumb plug for "the upcoming second compilation", followed by ANOTHER 6 minutes of silence, before getting to the actual song. You know, I'd really like to KILL whoever started this "dead air" trend...wasn't it Nirvana?? Oh wait...Cobain's already dead. So much for that idea...

"Live for Ireland"

1. U2 "Maggie's Farm" (6:45)
2. In Tua Nua "Seven into the Sea" (3:53)
3. Elvis Costello & the Attractions "Many Rivers to Cross" (2:42)
4. The Pogues "Dirty Old Town" (3:41)
5. The Chieftains "Boil the Breakfast Early"--instrumental (3:10)
6. Chris Rea "Steel River" (4:50)
7. Chris DeBurgh "Don't Pay the Ferryman" (3:16)
8. Cactus World News "The Bridge" (4:23)
9. The Boomtown Rats "Joey's on the Street Again" (8:10)
10. Clannad "Theme from Harry's Game" (2:28)
11. The Fountainhead "Feel it Now" (5:09)
12. Van Morrison "Here Comes the Knight" (4:08)
13. Paul Brady "The Island" (5:16)
14. Christy Moore & Paul Doran "Make it Work" (3:09)

This album came out in the mid-80's when benefit concerts were all the rage (Live Aid, Farm Aid, Band Aid, etc.) I kept it specifically for the rare U2 song (a Bob Dylan cover, in case you didn't know that); didn't even realize a CD version existed, until a copy showed up at Second Spin! (Remind me to check eBay to see how much this sucker's worth...) All the bands & artists are Irish, of course, including a couple U2 clones (In Tua Nua, Cactus World News) and a couple guys who think they're Bruce Springsteen (Chris Rea is one, I forget the other); on the other hand, you do get a cool number by the Boomtown Rats, plus an acoustic version of "Don't Pay the Ferryman" (although I would VERY much like to get the studio version, thank you!) Oh, and Clannad's "Volkswagen theme song" (again, the studio version is better.) The Chieftains also offer up a neat folk tune, making this CD an eclectic mix, yes indeed.

"Living in Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits Volume 1"

1. Kajagoogoo "Too Shy" (3:43)
2. Naked Eyes "Always Something There to Remind Me" (3:39)
3. Talk Talk "Talk Talk" (3:16)
4. Kim Wilde "Kids in America" (3:23)
5. The Vapors "Turning Japanese" (3:40)
6. Re-Flex "The Politics of Dancing" (3:55)
7. Paul Hardcastle "19" (3:37)
8. 999 "Homicide" (3:41)
9. Combo Audio "Romanticide" (3:08)
10. Classix Nouveaux "Guilty" (3:12)
11. The Stranglers "(Get a) Grip (on Yourself)" (4:00)
12. Tom Robinson Band "2-4-6-8 Motorway" (3:16)
13. Bow Wow Wow "C30, C60, C90, Go" (3:01)
14. Stray Cats "(She's) Sexy & 17" (3:28)
15. Thomas Dolby "She Blinded Me with Science" (3:40)
16. Spandau Ballet "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" (4:03)
17. Total Coelo "I Eat Cannibals" (3:32)
18. Haysi Fantayzee "Shiny Shiny" (3:41)

It's my goal over the next few years to collect as many 80's songs as I can, with as little overlap as possible, and without getting any CRAP SONGS (such as Culture Club!) This compilation is a nice one, with the essential track being "Kids in America" by that Kim Wilde chick (her solo album might even be worth getting, since "Chequered Love" was also a good song.) Also of prime interest are the songs by Talk Talk, Re-Flex, and Spandau Ballet; plus there's some songs that seem pretty cool now but I would have rather died than admit it a decade ago ("Too Shy", "Turning Japanese", "I Eat Cannibals", etc.) Some of this stuff is pretty damn obscure, in fact, tracks 8-13 I had never even HEARD OF before! Of those, the only really cool song is "Get a Grip on Yourself", which Prong did a version of (HA! I *knew* that was a cover...) The good news is, none of these songs outright SUCK...although I wish they chose a different Stray Cats tune (and speaking of the Stray Cats...did they ever release their regular albums on CD? I'd *love* to get a CD copy of Built for Speed...)

"Living in Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits Volume 3"

1. The Human League "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" (3:44)
2. Scritti Politti "Perfect Way" (4:00)
3. Bananarama "Cruel Summer" (3:28)
4. The Dream Academy "Life in a Northern Town" (4:15)
5. Arcadia "Election Day" (4:29)
6. Johnny Hates Jazz "Shattered Dreams" (3:27)
7. Corey Hart "Sunglasses at Night" (3:54)
8. Timbuk 3 "The Future's so Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" (3:22)
9. The Polecats "Make a Circuit With Me" (2:43)
10. Stray Cats "Rock This Town" (2:39)
11. Jellybean "Sidewalk Talk" (3:58)
12. Talk Talk "It's My Life" (3:53)
13. Cutting Crew "I Just Died in Your Arms" (4:34)
14. Device "Hanging on a Heart Attack" (4:00)
15. ABC "Poison Arrow" (3:23)
16. Ebn-Ozn "AEIOU Sometimes Y" (3:54)
17. So "Are You Sure" (4:07)
18. Tears for Fears "The Way You Are" (4:54)
19. The Monroes "What Do All the People Know" (3:29)

I skipped Vol.2 of this collection, since it was filled with such unlistenable crap as Culture Club, Toni Basil, and Katrina & the Waves. This one's possibly the best in the series, featuring such rare favorites as "Life in a Northern Town", "It's My Life", and "What Do All the People Know". I'm a little miffed, though, that they had to use the SHORT versions of "Perfect Way" and "Rock This Town" (although I did some VERY thorough research into compilations with that Scritti Politti song, and the only way to get the full version would be to buy the original album, dammit.) Also, they didn't use the version of "Fascination" that starts with a church-like synth intro. And there's a few crap songs: Bananarama (ACK!), Cutting Crew, and Ebn-Ozn (I must admit to liking "Shattered Dreams", though.) Arcadia, by the way, is a side project of Duran Duran done while the other guys were in Power Station; it's also interesting how they followed up The Polecats with The Stray Cats, and "Sunglasses at Night" with "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" ...hehe. Well, at least there's no overlap here, although I *do* plan to buy that ABC album someday, maybe.

"Living in Oblivion: The 80's Greatest Hits Volume 4"

1. Wang Chung "Dance Hall Days" (3:57)
2. The Fixx "One Thing Leads to Another" (3:16)
3. Spandau Ballet "True" (5:34)
4. Dexys Midnight Runners "Come on Eileen" (4:12)
5. The Blow Monkeys "Digging Your Scene" (4:41)
6. Thompson Twins "Sister of Mercy" (4:55)
7. The Church "Under the Milky Way" (4:55)
8. Red Box "Lean on Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)" (4:19)
9. Strawberry Switchblade "Since Yesterday" (2:56)
10. Scarlett & Black "You Don't Know" (3:39)
11. Belouis Some "Some People" (3:57)
12. The Motels "Shock" (4:11)
13. Burning Sensations "Belly of the Whale" (4:59)
14. General Public "Tenderness" (3:36)
15. Intaferon "Get Out of London" (3:23)
16. Tones on Tail "Go" (2:34)
17. Wide Boy Awake "Slang Teacher" (3:25)
18. Our Daughter's Wedding "Lawnchairs" (3:19)
19. Wall of Voodoo "Mexican Radio" (4:07)

This one was a tough call. Sure it's got "Dance Hall Days" and "Mexican Radio" (which Celtic Frost has hilariously covered, if you didn't already know that), both eagerly needed classics -- but when listening to this in-store, I skipped from track to track and heard nothing but CRAP SONG after CRAP SONG!! You know it's a bad sign when "Tenderness" and "True" are two of the BEST songs on the album...well, the deciding factor was the Burning Sensations' "Belly of the Whale", a Caribbean-styled tune that I really liked from the early MTv days, and probably impossible to find anywhere else. However, this CD does make me wish I'd invested in a player with a remote control, so I wouldn't have to get off my ass to hit fast-forward every few minutes (I guess that's what programming buttons are for, right?)

Oh, by the way, am I the only one who conjures up a rather vulgar image with the song title "Come on Eileen"?? Hehe. (As for the Blow Monkeys, I won't EVEN go there...)

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