OniPodapaeia

I haven't done a fabulous five in a while from the BilliPod, so here we go. For those of you just tuning in, it's the first five songs appearing on Shuffle:

"Rock 'n' Roll Machine" by The Donnas, from American Teenage Rock-N-Roll Machine. Granted, this second album is very raw and juvenile, but it shows how this all-girl band from Palo Alto has grown from their early roots as a garage band.

I first heard about the Donnas via The New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones when the band released their album The Donnas Turn 21. Great power-pop rock. They have made a name for themselves with their catchy tunes and soundtrack covers.
Hop on over to their website
check out their video for their song "40 Boys in 40 Nights":



Next is . . . "Keep the Faith" by Bon Jovi, from Cross Road, their greatest hits CD. Not much to say about that one.

Here's the "Keep the Faith" video:



Next we have "Knockers" by The Darkness, from One Way Ticket to Hell . . . And Back. I first heard of The Darkness from the original soundtrack of School of Rock. You can hear a version of this track here, courtesy of Culture Bully. The Darkness are hard rock with some great power metal riffing. Well worth a listen if you are unfamiliar with them, check out their songs at their MySpace page here. The fourth song listed, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" is typical of their tunage, with the "soaring falsetto" of lead singer Justin Hawkins poised to either hook you instantly or repel you forever.

Here's the Darkness performing "Knockers" on Top of the Pops:








Next we have "River Euphrates" by the Pixies, from Surfer Rosa. I first heard of the Pixies when I was writing for the college newspaper Arts section and had to review their breakthrough record Doolittle. The Pixies were instrumental influences in the rise of a little band called Nirvana.

Here's the Pixies performing "River Euphrates":



and lastly.......

"Thou Shalt Not Kill (In Memory of Dylan Thomas)" by Kenneth Rexroth, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and the Cellar Jazz Quintet, from Poetry Readings in the Cellar. A review of the album on eMusic elaborates:

Recorded at the Cellar in 1957, this CD boasts Rexroth's angry, 21-minute rant "Thou Shalt Not Kill (In Memory of Dylan Thomas)" -- one of the most powerful, biting examples of beat poetry -- as well as three free-spirited offerings from Ferlinghetti: "Autobiography," "Junkman's Obbligato," and "The Statue of St. Francis." Rexroth and Ferlinghetti are both joined by an acoustic bop quintet, which proves to be an appropriate accompaniment for the poets' very stream-of-consciousness performances. Beat poetry is an acquired taste, but for those who do have a taste for it, Poetry Readings in the Cellar is among the most essential releases of its kind.

Here's a little Rexroth bonus, reading a poem about Sacco and Vanzetti:



So that's that for the five today. Thanks for stopping by BillyBlog!