1. Midnight Movies, “Nights in White Satin.” The Los Angeles psych-rock band comes on like Jefferson Airplane doing Days of Future Passed. Singer Gena Olivier lays off all that “Breathe deep — the gathering gloom” hoo-ha, choosing instead to let the band end it all with a Summer of Love breakdown/freakout.
2. Gipsy Kings, “Hotel California.”
3. The Perishers, “Trouble Sleeping.”
4. Ween, “Joppa Road.”
5. Rhymefest feat. Michael Jackson, “Foolin’ Around.” Again, if you have not downloaded Man in the Mirror, do it now. Mixtapes are it. Next up, Wale’s tribute to Seinfeld, A Mixtape About Nothing. Seriously, and like Rhymefest, he put it together with Mark Ronson. More on him later.
6. Roy Ayers, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.”
7. Miles Davis, “Blue in Green.”
8. Shea Seger, “Clutch.” Shea! Come back!
9. Battles, “Rainbow.”
10. Mark Ronson and Kasabian, featuring the Dap-Kings, “LSF.” When I spoke to Tom Meighan of Kasabian a few years ago, he fired a miniature lash-out at me when I invoked Happy Mondays. In a sense, I don’t blame him, since Kasabian is much more rockist (especially on last year’s follow-up, Empire), and he’s much more of a Stone Roses acolyte. Still, “LSF” sounds exactly like something off Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches. But if that puts you off your feed, you should hear this amazing rethink of the song, in which Ronson (pictured above with random record executive) brings in his buddies in the Dap-Kings to give it some real, gone classic soul grease. Amazing what some R&B chops can do.