The Willys - Part V

The 20 continues.

Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas!
Now on with the countdown...

16-13

16. The Black Ghosts – (s/t)










"Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu don't feel loooooooonsoooooooome don't yooooooooo?" sings Damon Albarn on "Repetition Kills You". This combo of Simian Mobile Disco and the Wiseguys made for a dancefloor explosion in the UK. You can most certainly shake your rump to to these boys. If the Repetition doesn't move you, then check "Anyway You Choose To Give It". If still nothing, then check your pulse...

15. The Dutchess and the Duke – She’s the Dutchess, He’s the Duke










Many thanks to the kids at SubPop whose parent label Hardly Art highly recommended this boy/girl duo. Imagine if the White Stripes had not been soaked in Mississippi Delta blues but steeped in early Between the Buttons Stones. Listen to "Reservoir Park" and tell me it wouldn't fit right between "Ruby Tuesday" and "She Smiled Sweetly"....(If you've never listened to the Rolling Stones - Betwen the Buttons - then do - it's my 2nd favorite Stones album after Sticky Fingers)

14. The Virgins – (s/t)










After last years EP that was aptly titled: "07", I was about to pee my pants waiting for the Virgins full-length debut. It couldn't have lived up to my excitement, but it almost did. The shame was that they re-recorded 2 of the best songs from the EP and not for the better..."Love Is Colder Than Death" and "Rich Girls" were unreal on the EP. Rich Girls stayed about the same, but L.I.C.T.D. became an entirely different song....***If you can find the more upbeat version of "Love Is..." off the EP, get it! The Virgins are what Dexy's Midnight Runners (they sang "Come on Eileen", morons...) would sound like in 2008, I think...

13. The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely










While not the herky jerky of the debut, this album sounds more cohesive. Rather than a Jack White song followed by a Brendan Benson song, the boys really collaborated for this effort. You can't help get fired up by "Salute Your Solution", and Brendan really cuts his teeth on "Many Shades of Black". "Carolina Drama" takes me back to some old White Stripes, while "Attention" sounds like the Brendan Benson of 1996...."Sittin' Pretty"

Tomorrow: #12-9