Shuffled: Reagan Edition

Every other Wednesday I hit the shuffle button on my 90 gigabytes of music and post the results. I might have to justify some of the stuff in my library, but hopefully it will help inform you of new music -- Or at least be entertaining.

Sometimes I wonder if iTunes' shuffle mode knows more than it is letting on. Maybe it is really a sentient robot programmed to provide an enjoyable mix of tunes. I mean, how else can you explain the fact that I ended up with a Reagan themed song to begin and end this Shuffled? Well, technically the first one is a Reagan themed band, not song. Also, I more frequently end up with the middle of an audiobook thrown into my mix, so maybe there aren't any sentient robots. Still, Reagan theme is crazy!




#1 - Reagan Youth - Urban Savages from A Collection of Pop Classics


Everyone has heard of bands like The Dead Kennedys and The Ramones, but Reagan Youth might have flown under your radar. In my mind, they're one of the very best 80s punk bands to have ever existed. They were around until 1990, and a few years after their break-up, Dave Rubenstein, their singer, killed himself. Both of their CDs were later collected into A Collection of Pop Classics, and a live CD fittingly entitled Live & Rare was also released. I'd easily recommend the former, and once you're hooked, the latter as well.

#2 - Green Day - Having a Blast from Dookie


Green Day gets a lot of crap nowadays, but back when Dookie came out everyone liked them. It didn't matter if you were a punk, a jock, or anything in between, Dookie was your favorite record. That's when my Green Day history began, stealing my brother's copy of the CD out of his room whenever he left the house and listening to it over and over. Needless to say, it is incredibly nostalgic for me.

#3 - Bright Eyes - Make a Plan to Love Me from Cassadaga


I'm not well-versed in the music of Bright Eyes, but I'm well aware that many people think Conor Oberst is a douche who claims to have invented emo music or something like that. Cassadaga is actually the only CD of theirs that I've listened to many times. Most of the others I just haven't really bothered to sit down and listen to.

#4 - Voodoo Glow Skulls - Morning Air Raid Sirens from California Street Music


It's funny how I completely love Band Geek Mafia, but could mostly care less about every other Voodoo Glow Skulls album. Their other CDs are good, but they didn't have the same style as Band Geek Mafia. On that release, the horn section was right up front instead of hidden in the back, providing accents for the guitars. Either way, they are a pretty unique ska band that deserve a listen if you haven't heard them before.

#5 - GWAR - Reaganator from War Party


If you're unaware of GWAR, prepare to be educated. Actually, I won't get that into it here, but they're a metal band that wears elaborate costumes of space-monster characters they've created for themselves, and performs tongue-in-cheek story-lines throughout their songs and live performances using the rich tapestry of background story they've made-up. They have a pet T-Rex, and a whole cast of other characters, including The Reaganator, which as you may have assumed, is the dead president Ronald Reagan exhumed and made into a robot. Yep, it's great stuff, and I eat up every second of it.