People Who Died: In Memoriam

For my final playlist this year, I've decided to completely abandon my "best songs of 2009" idea (Playlist.com already did it, and it's fairly great) for this playlist, a look back at music greats we lost this year.

Note that some I wanted on this playlist were either not on the site or hidden, guest-playing on someone else's song. Also, below the playlist is a YouTube video of a Louie Bellson drum solo. One of the greatest drummers who ever lived; died February of 2009. Enjoy that. (Some serious shit goes down starting at about 2:45.)

Artists featured in this playlist include Vic Chesnutt, The Stooges, Michael Jackson and Lynyrd Skynyrd. It's a fairly diverse one. Okay, it's an incredibly diverse one. Anyway, enjoy it.

Get Behind Me, Santa!: 50 Songs for Christmas

That's right, boys and girls. It's that time of the year again, and (obviously) therefore, I am once again bringing you a handmade special themed playlist. 50 Christmas Songs for yous. I've tried my hardest to pick fifty that you'll probably never hear on the radio this holiday season (in other words, be prepared to bawl, laugh, groan, and shit bricks in general).

Artists featured include The White Stripes, Eels, Beck, Tom Waits, Roy Orbison, Jimi Hendrix, and The Flaming Lips. That's right, another mostly all-star playlist. Enjoy.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name: Songs for Thanksgiving

It's safe to say that are not many Thanksgiving-related songs out there. That being said, here's my hit-and-miss of a Thanksgiving playlist. Hope you enjoy it. This playlist includes artists like Joey Ramone, Simon and Garfunkel, Bruce Springsteen and Adam Sandler.

Somebody's Watching Me!: Songs for Halloween

Yes, it is once again that time of the year, and so I must present to you my ultimate Halloween playlist. The playlist features thirteen classic spooky songs, including everything from Boris Pickett's timeless holiday favorite "Monster Mash" to Bauhaus's sprawling minimalist gothic rock track "Bela Lugosi's Dead".

I also advise you to check out Playlist.com's Halloween playlist, featured on their home page. It features quite a few of the songs in my playlist, plus a few more excellent additions (including the Twilight Zone theme and Rocky Horror's "Time Warp", not to mention "Thriller"). That playlist has 23 perfect Halloween songs -- please check it out.

So without further adu, my October 31st playlist, which includes artists like The Who, Roky Erickson, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Cramps:

Is He Alive or Dead?: Songs of the Periodic Table

Is he alive or dead? Oh, don't worry, I'm very much alive, although I do realize that I have not posted a playlist since August. I have been increasingly busy with various other things (you know that people actually pay attention to) and this has severly cut into my free time, the time I use to make these playlists for you people out there somewhere.

But fear not, for I am back with a new playlist, and this time, the theme is chemical elements. That's right, twenty songs featuring elements (like carbon, copper, uranium, nickel, and many more!). This one is quite diverse, featuring songs like prolific experimental poet Anne Waldman's bizarre new wave ditty "Uh-Oh Plutonium", obscure song-poem "Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Potassium" sung by the equally obscure Lynne Richards, and of course, the classic "The Elements", by mathematician and master musical satirist Tom Lehrer. Other artists include Nirvana, Tom Waits, Steve Miller Band, and Sonic Youth.

And to make up for that missing twentieth song, the fairly recent elements tune (from Here Comes Science, September 2009), "Meet the Elements", by They Might Be Giants: check it out on YouTube here. And don't miss my ultra-awesome Halloween playlist next Saturday.

Candles in the Rain: A Woodstock Tribute

The famous Woodstock Festival (officially, Woodstock Music & Art Fair) took place from August 15 to August 18, 1969. I might be somewhat late for the 40th anniversary of the event this year, but oh, well. Better late than never, right? This playlist includes songs by pretty much every artist appearing at Woodstock, excluding the Grease Band, Quill, and the Keef Hartley Band, who were not available on Project Playlist. In several cases in this playlist, there is a song that was performed at the event (such as Canned Heat's Woodstock "unofficial anthem", "Going Up the Country"), and occasionally, there's even a song directly from the event (such as Country Joe McDonald's infamous "Fish Cheer").

Enjoy this playlist, which features artists including The Grateful Dead, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Jimi Hendrix.

A Tribute to Les Paul

(most info shamelessly copied from Wikipedia)

Following the death of someone as innovative and important as Les Paul, it would be ridiculous for me to not post a playlist like this. Not only was Les Paul a groundbreaking pioneer in the creation of the solid-body electric guitar -- he was also concieved and developed the process of overdubbing and multitrack recording, the most popular way of recording popular music (basically, without Les Paul, we'd have very little of the music we have today).

Les Paul was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame with his wife Mary Ford in 1978. He also recieved a Grammy Trustees Award in 1983. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The Mix Foundation established an annual award in his name (The Les Paul Award) which honors "individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio technology."

This playlist is made up of ten songs. The majority are recordings by Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford, including the first track, which includes a demonstration of Les Paul's overdubbing innovations, captured in his invention, the "Les Paulverizer". This playlist also features a Bing Crosby collaboration and an Alsou collobration, which was featured on the Grammy-winning album Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played. Enjoy.

Lester William Polsfuss
(June 9, 1915 – August 13, 2009)

More Cowbell

Insert intriguing description here. So, I bring you twenty songs featuring the one and only cowbell.

Featuring an all-star playlist including Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

Songs to Learn On Your Theremin

The theremin. Since its invention by Léon Theremin in 1920, it has wowed audiences, boggled minds, and found its way in plenty of weird science fiction movies. It's also found its way in popular music as well, beginning with the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" and "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" (however, both actually included the sounds of a similar instrument, the electro-theremin). Since then, plenty of other bands and musicians have incorporated the theremin into their songs. This playlist is made up of 18 of those songs.

Featured artists include The Beach Boys, The Flaming Lips, Pixies, and Led Zeppelin. (Also featured is Clara Rockmore, generally considered to be the most accomplished performer ever of the theremin.)

Rock Around the Clock: The Greatest Rock Songs (Part 1)

I present to you the first part of a new series of playlists entitled "Rock Around the Clock: The Greatest Rock Songs". These playlists fuse together what I believe to be the greatest rock songs ever made, based on their influence and general impact, and on their appearance in various lists, including those of DigitalDreamDoor.com and Rolling Stone.

If you think of songs that should've obviously been on here but aren't, don't worry. There are more playlists in this series to come. Enjoy.