George Pettit, ALEXISONFIRE

"What is the MC5 of my generation? I hope to hell it's not Green Day"

CANADIAN five-piece Alexisonfire say they sound like a guy with a pretty voice getting into an argument with a guy who is "kinda upset about things." This is a pretty accurate description of a post-hardcore group with two vocalists- one 'the singer' and one 'the screamer'. Dog’s Blood (2010) is their latest work, a four track EP, that opens with screamer vocalist George Pettit sounding like he's, well, "kinda upset about things". Here Pettit lists an energetic Summer mix to ride your bike around to.

ALEXISONFIRE - Dog's Blood

Available on: Dog's Blood EP

THE SONICS - Have Love, Will Travel

Protopunkers have to start somewhere and this is a great place. This is the song in my head every time I'm having a great day. Just imagine bowling around town, doing chores, with this song in your headphones. It's like New Years Eve every second this song is playing.

Available on: Rocknrolla (Original Soundtrack)

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS - Babe I'm on Fire

Clocking in at just shy of 15 minutes, Babe I'm On Fire is an epic rocker that seems to never end. I would also like to say that Nocturama is a largely unsung Nick Cave record and it would be a perfect before-bed album if you didn't have to worry about waking up to this monster of a song.

Available on: Nocturama

MC5 - Looking At You

What is the MC5 of my generation? I hope to hell it's not Green Day. Oh man, that seriously just made me sad. The thought that I might grow old and not have ever seen something as mind-blowing as a bunch of white panthers screaming: "Kick out the jams mother f*ckers!" Oh well, I guess there's always YouTube. *sob*

Available on: Back In The USA

LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY & THE UPSETTERS - Dread Lion

Ever see one of those Lee Perry Guiness commercials? Probably not. This is a BMX song for me. I put on Dread Lion and ride my bike around town. It makes me feel like a predator. Not the kind that lures children into his cube van, the kind that kills gazelles to feed its young.

Available on: Super Ape

FUCKED UP - Year Of The Rat

The guitar lead in this song makes me think of weird, mid 80's, sci-fi television shows. If there were ever a music video for this song, which there most certainly won't be, Scott Bakula should star in it. Fucked Up: Canadian, amazing, fiercely influenced by Quantum Leap.

Available on: Year Of The Rat (EP)

SKIP JAMES - Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues

Cream covered the song I'm So Glad by Skip James and the money Skip got from the royalties allowed him to pay for cancer treatment. He lived on to make two more records before he died. Don't let his high pitch voice fool you, Skip James was a murdering, bootlegging, pimp. He is also one of my favorite blues players of all time.

Available on: She Lyin'

ODETTA - When I Was a Young Girl

I shook Odetta's hand a few weeks before she died. I took my wife to go see her at a small dinner theater in Toronto. She played in a wheel chair and had to be lifted onto the stage by a few people. There wasn't a dry eye in the place during When I Was A Young Girl. I have never been that close to a living legend, I may never be that close to one again. What a voice.

Available on: The Essential Odetta