Behold the Power of Sock Puppetry

"Let's Stay Together," Al Green
Yeah, you've heard it a million times, but have you ever heard a couple of sock puppets do it?

"I.C.B.," New Order
This is a song from New Order's 1981 debut, Movement. This album doesn't get much respect but I think it's pretty good. Yes, it sounds like Joy Division with lasers but it's still a decent bridge between JD and the sound New Order would perfect on their next album, Power, Corruption & Lies. Here's some live footage from Berlin in '81. It's not the best quality, but still may hold interest for fans.

"Al Bine," Ali Farka Toure
I think this was the first song I heard by Toure. I love the lazy saxophone on it.

"Right Out of Your Hand," Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave rules.

"Everything Man," Talib Kweli
The opening cut from Eardrum has a nice shot out to The Treacherous Three, the group that launched Kool Moe Dee into the hip-hop stratosphere.

I Got More Game Than Parker Brothers!

"Drown in My Own Tears," The Smithereens
Ok, so, maybe The Smithereens weren't fashion plates, although you have to admit that Pat DiNizio had a way with a chapeau. And maybe they're weren't exactly easy on the eyes, either. But, dammit, I know killer hooks when I hear them! Their first two albums are really good. Come on, people! Who's with me?

"Breather," Laika
You are getting very, very sleepy...

"Butter," A Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory has been well-represented in the Shuffle, lately.

"The Lie and How We Told It," Yo La Tengo
From I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One. Well, another baseball season is upon us and many of you might know that YLT are lunatic New York Mets fans. In fact, they name-check Shea Stadium on "Moby Octopad," another track from this album. Ira Kaplan, with the help of Mets legend Ed Kranepool, explains the baseball origin of the band's name. In other sports news, Twins fans get to suffer through a season of watching Johan Santana in a Mets uniform.

"Tropical-Iceland," The Fiery Furnaces
You just never know what you're going to get with these two. In a case of democracy run amok, the band has decided to let fans chart the direction of their next album.

I Am Young and I'm Alive

"In the Round," The Cardigans
The Swedish quintet put out a best-of CD earlier this year. I'm still waiting for their compilation of Black Sabbath covers. Nina Persson's side project, A Camp, is reported to be releasing its second album later this year, again with the help of Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse. A Camp's first disc, from 2001, was a journey into country. In fact, Nina's got that quiver in her voice that reminds me a little of Emmylou Harris. "In the Round" is from The Cardigans' most recent album, Super Extra Gravity.

"Banta," Daby Toure
Toure (no relation to Ali Farka and Vieux Farka) is a Mauritanian singer-songwriter who is just as influenced by someone like Mark Knopfler as he his the music of his homeland. Pleasant stuff.

"Lume, Lume," Fanfare Ciocarlia
A little Roma music is good for the soul.

"Break You Off," The Roots
One of my favorite hip-hop acts. ?uestlove and Black Thought are the bomb! The Roots are looking at a late April release for their 10th album, Rising Down. The steamy video guest stars the actor Hassan Johnson, known to many as "Wee-Bey" Brice from The Wire, R.I.P.

"Juanita," The Flying Burrito Brothers
Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman basically invented country-rock. This track is from The Gilded Palace of Sin, one of those archetypal albums that traces a huge arc from the roots of a musical movement to its present-day form, in this case what we've come to call "alt-country." Chris Hillman was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, along with the rest of The Byrds. In 2006, the documentarian Gandulf Hennig filmed a biography of Parsons's life, Fallen Angel. If you're into the history of music, it's a must-see.

I Gotta Make Moves!

“No Time to Play,” Guru f/ D.C. Lee & Ronny Jordan
Guru put out the first volume of the Jazzmatazz series in 1993, and it just about perfectly embodied the whole hip-hop/jazz movement. He recruited jazz heavyweights like Donald Byrd, Branford Marsalis and Roy Ayers to put a jazz vibe that hip-hop had only been starting to incorporate. It really is amazing and belongs in every music lover’s library. On “No Time to Play,” Ronny Jordan plays guitar and D.C. Lee contributes vocals. She used to sing with Paul Weller’s The Style Council. In fact, they were once married and have two children.

“What?,” A Tribe Called Quest
I generally consider this the lead-in track to “Scenario.”

“Cars and Parties,” Edith Frost
Edith Frost is a singer in the alt-country vein and deserves more time on the air. Any time on the air, really. She’s been spending the last year or so making guest appearances on the albums of other artists like Sonny Smith, The Zincs and Morning Recordings. She hasn’t put out a record of her own since 2005’s It’s a Game. This song comes from her Drag City release, Wonder Wonder.

“It’s All in Your Mind,” Beck
As Mac Wilson said last week, it just wouldn’t be a Shuffle without Beck.

“Loving Cup,” The Rolling Stones
I love, love, love this song!