Billy Nayer Show

by neuroboy

blind date test
of course you'll forgive me for thinking this was akin to The Tim and Eric Awesome Show.

durability
a few chuckleworthy keepers on here. lyrically, reads like a manus pinkwater novella

best song/worst song (this replaces the 'get-through-itiveness' category, which wasn't all that insightful to begin with.)
christ/angel in a tree

IVO-METER

i tip my hat to these fellow musical absurdists. if not for the music, i give them above-average marks for not only a great concept, but a very entertaining, efficient and effective way of presenting themselves to the world electronically. this is the correct way to be a self-sufficient artist.

Bedhead

by kochalka

blind date test
didn't this band have two bass guitarists at one time? i swear i saw them open for man...or astroman at the patio in indy in the late 90s. i think i'm losing it.

durability
this won't be one i play frequently, but i've got a space on my mental shelf for it on lonely late nights when i decide to mix 64 oz. of miller high life with organizing the shelves in my home office.

best song/worst song
the rest of the day/withdraw

IVO-METER

overall, a brooding and repentant david bazan vibe mixed with equal parts velvet underground, inasmuch as David Bazan was trying to sound like the more emotive, christian moments of the velvet underground. meh-heh.

functional, restrained, and slightly above-average.

The Bees

by Banger

blind date test
i'm sure i've seen a MOJO mentioning the Bees at one point or another, but my real familiarity with the isle of wight is when alice cooper got hit in the face with cake while trying to hypnotize the audience with his watch fob. now that was awesome. (i feel like i'm revealing the limits of my cred here in these reviews)

durability
i'm actually planning a party just so i can DJ and play The Bees

best song/worst song
left foot stepdown/lying in the snow

MOLLY-METER (Makes no sense, but the Ivo-meter is broken. thanks, picoodle.)

the Bees are the sound of a good time, stealing hither and thither from the best parts of more than a handful of credible genres, never quite committing to a single one, yet with aplomb enough to give ned raggett a hard on. this is the kind of shit they probably play at velvet-roped exclusive parties where schlubs like me aren't invited. when i die, i want this to be played at my funeral, because there'll be no time for tears. just one big good old time with plenty of Courvoisier, swiss jackets and italian loafers. don't think of it as losing a son, but gaining a dau....nevermind.

Black Oak Arkansas

by DumpJack

blind date test
even though i've spent a fair amount of time during my formative years attending 'Nam Jams and biker rallies with relatives, i've surprisingly never come across BOA.

durability
couple songs on here deserve repeat listens.

best song/worst song
good stuff/everybody wants to see heaven

IVO-METER

half my gene pool comes from the ozark region, so how could i not give these boys a couple hoppy-smellin kudos. if they would keep away from the indulgent jim dandy shuffles and stay with the sweaty nasty swamp-stomps, i might throw 'em another ivo.

Beth Orton

by Sketch

blind date test
her name has floated around in my brain pan for nigh on a year or two, but always within the lobal regions that contain what little scraps of remembrance i have of most singer-songwriters

durability
beth orton reminds me of every lawn seat concert i ever fell asleep at

best song/worst song
stolen car/lean on me

IVO-METER

i've listened to this tenner from the purported matron of folktronica, but i just can't seem to find it any more appetizing than a plate of iceberg lettuce. i tried.

Bobby Bare, Jr.

by Rick Derris

blind date test
so it turns out i'm just a few Kevin Bacon-style degrees away from Bobby, being that his dad made his industry breakthrough via Chet Atkins, who was a finger-pickin' pal of the old guitar player in my dad's band. so it would go "my dad -> my dad's old guitar player -> chet atkins -> bobby bare sr. -> bobby bare, jr." ain't that somethin.

no, really.

durability
little bare's lyrical wit wins most of this tenner repeated listens

best song/worst song
visit me in music city/i'll be around

IVO-METER

something in bobby bare jr's voice says he's the real deal. it's the cracks in all the right places, that i guess you can only really have if your pops made a living playing all the honky-tonks.

I think Rick Derris posted the JR mix and Dumpjack posted the SR mix... just saying

you're probably right...i whip these out in little resting-my-eyes breaks from doing my page layouts. thanks for the tip

Link Wray

by Radcliffe

blind date test
Of course I'd already heard the rabble-rouser anthem "Rumble." I suppose you could say without his power-chord epiphany, the Toots Roots Listmania would nary exist.

durability
This mix is rough and tough and reeks like whiskey, like a Shawnee brave.

best song/worst song
La De Da: the exuberant song of an apostle who drinks, fights and fucks on Saturday, and shouts "Glor-uh!" into a sweaty hanky from the pulpit on Sunday.
It Was a Bad Scene: Link sounds best with a bullet mic and the "God Out West" bullet-wounded amplifier fuzz, not this pristine Ribfest/Neumann U87 production.

IVO-METER

Not bad for one lung.