I love various artists compilations. Hard to find a better place to discover or rediscover great artists who you might never have heard otherwise or may have forgotten about with time.

So here's a thread to promote what V/A comps you like.

Probably the most highly anticipated comp this year with a much debated track list over the net is Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era - 1976-1995 . Most of these songs are from the early 1980s, from underground bands that never recived the recognition they deserved. Many current artists from REM to the White Stripes owe a portion of their success to these real music bands who are the bridge between the today's punk/garage artists and the original Nuggets of the 1960s- bands like The Seeds, The Remains, 13th Floor Elevators, etc etc.

This collection really brings back the memories and all these songs are still vital & relevant today as many of them are still unheard by casual fans of music. OOOoo i had fun hunting down the lps these songs came from. Often writing to the artists & buying the music directly from them. Only small fanzines mentioned & promoted most of these bands as Spin & Rolling Stoned magazines wouldn't know real music if it bit them on their worthless butts. Without the internet, it was zines & word of mouth that kept real music alive in the early-mid 1980s.

Many artists were left off for the sake of time but ya gotta appreciate what they give us. Lotta fun music here- garage, pyschedelic, surf, R&B. Bands that became XTC and the Bangles. Bands from the US, UK and Australia. This box set is the companion piece to Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground which chronicled punk & the roots of indie on the other half of the 80s. I highly recommend both!

Here's the "Children" track list:

Disc: 1
1. Vanishing Girl - The Dukes of Stratosphear 2. Help You Ann - The Lyres
3. The Real World - The Bangles
4. We're Living in Violent Times - The Barracudas
5. The Trains - Nashville Ramblers
6. Seven Years - Watermelon Men
7. Strangers When We Meet - The Smithereens
8. Wading Through a Ventilator - The Soft Boys
9. I Can't Hide - The Flamin' Groovies
10. The Girl from Baltimore - The Fleshtones
11. It's a Good Thing - That Petrol Emotion
12. She's Fine - Stems
13. All My Life - Point
14. Down at the Nightclub - The Creeps
15. (My Girl) Maryanne - The Spongetones
16. She Turns to Flowers - The Salvation Army
17. You Are My Friend - Rain Parade
18. Mr. Unreliable - Inmates
19. (I Thought) You Wanted to Know - Chris Stamey, The dB's
20. She Don't Know Why I'm Here - The Last
21. There Must Be a Better Life - Biff Bang Pow!
22. Slave Girl - Lime Spiders
23. I May Hate You Sometimes - The Posies
24. I Helped Patrick McGoohan Escape - Times
25. It's About Time - The Pandoras
26. I Live for Buzz - Swingin' Neckbreakers
27. I Want You Back - Hoodoo Gurus

Disc: 2
1. This Damn Nation - The Godfathers
2. Tell Me When It's Over - Dream Syndicate
3. Whenever I'm Gone - The Prisoners
4. New Kind of Kick - The Cramps
5. And She Rides - The Long Ryders
6. Motorbike Beat - Revillos
7. Tears (Only Dry) - The Vipers
8. 25 O'Clock - The Dukes of Stratosphear
9. Don't Give It Up Now - The Lyres
10. If and When - Chris Stamey, The dB's
11. Pabst Blue Ribbon - The Untamed Youth
12. There She Goes - The La's
13. Kingsley J - Vibrasonic
14. I Can Never Tell - The Crawdaddys
15. Make Me Stay - Green Telescope
16. Everyday Things - The Plimsouls
17. I Wanna Destroy You - The Soft Boys
18. It's You - Mickey & the Milkshakes
19. Apology - The Posies
20. Lights Are Changing - The Bevis Frond
21. Ahead of My Time - Droogs
22. Welcome to My Love - Funseekers
23. Flowers in the Sky - Revolving Paint Dream
24. Metal Baby - Teenage Fanclub

Disc: 3
1. The Unguarded Moment - The Church
2. I Can't Pretend - The Barracudas
3. Out of the Unknown - Died Pretty
4. L.A. Explosion - The Last
5. I'll Cry Alone - The Flamin' Groovies
6. Sunspots - Julian Cope
7. Hindu Gods of Love - Lipstick Killers
8. Death and Angels - Green on Red
9. Barbed Wire Heart - Sinners
10. Pink Frost - The Chills
11. She Told Me Lies - Chesterfield Kings
12. Beauty and Sadness - The Smithereens
13. Test Drive - The Mummies
14. Busy Man - DMZ
15. Love Will Grow - Stems
16. She Goes Out With Everybody - The Spongetones
17. Hypnotized - The Plimsouls
18. No Apology - The Unclaimed
19. God Knows It's True - Teenage Fanclub
20. You Keep on Lyin' - Hoods
21. Don't Break Down - The Sting Rays
22. The World Has Changed - The Fleshtones
23. Baby What's Wrong - Cynics
24. Psycko (Themes from Psycho and Vertigo) - Laika & the Cosmonauts
25. My Name Is Tom - The Jigsaw Seen

Disc: 4
1. Gentle Tuesday - Primal Scream
2. With a Cantaloupe Girlfriend - The Three O'Clock
3. Like Wow -- Wipeout! - Hoodoo Gurus
4. Bad News Travels Fast - The Fuzztones
5. Plains of Nazca [Single Edit] - Sun Dial
6. Getting Out of Hand - The Bangs
7. Please Don't Tell My Baby - Mickey & the Milkshakes
8. One Half Hour Ago - Rain Parade
9. You're My Loving Way - The Aardvarks
10. Transfiguration - Screaming Trees
11. A Scandal in Bohemia - United States of Existence
12. Where the Wolf Bane Blooms - The Nomads
13. Cheated and Lied - The Vipers
14. Strawberries Are Growing in My Garden - The Dentists
15. Won't Need Yours - Tell-Tale Hearts
16. Weakness - Inspiral Carpets
17. You'll Know Why - Miracle Workers
18. Not My Memory - The Unknowns
19. Far Away - The Prisoners
20. Ain't That a Man - The Optic Nerve
21. Mink Dress - Plasticland
22. Tight Turn - Raybeats
23. One Way Ticket - The Nerves
24. Tracy Hide - The Wondermints

Here's another nice comp, Lagniappe: A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina. Saddle Creek record label artists contribute songs to this benefit cd. i dunno if these are new or old songs but some are really good and nice way to check out bands like Broken Spindles, Two Gallants, Elected, Criteria, etc. For me the best song hands down is "Ten Percent to the Ten Percent " by Cursive followed by The Faint's "Hypnotised".

A war orphans benefit, Help: A Day in the Life is a UK release with some great new songs. Radiohead's "I Want None of This" is way cool as is Keane's cover of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road". Kaiser Chefs cover "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and Boy George and Antony (of Antony & the Johnsons) do a great duet of "Happy Christmas, War is Over".

Here's a fantastic Beatles tribute to their Rubber Soul album. Not a bad cover song in the bunch.

This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute To The Beatles' Rubber Soul

1.Drive My Car - The Donnas
2.Norwegian Wood(This Bird Has Flown) - The Fiery Furnaces
3.You Won't See Me - Dar Williams
4.Nowhere Man - Low
5.Think For Yourself - Yonder Mountain String Band
6.The Word- Mindy Smith
7.Michelle - Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals
8.What Goes On - Sufjan Stevens
9.Girl - Rhett Miller
10.I'm Looking Through You - Ted Leo
11.In My Life - Ben Lee
12.Wait - Ben Kweller
13.If I Needed Someone - Nellie McKay
14.Run For Your Life - Cowboy Junkies

I have a compilation of various artists doing Carpenters' covers, called "If I Were A Carpenter".

There are so many good bands on this compilation, including Shonen Knife doing a cover of "Top Of The World". A lot of the covers are unique interpretations, with nary a miss in sight.

Another of my favourites is "I'm Your Fan" which is a compilation of Leonard Cohen covers. This was my first introduction to the Duke of Depression. I still prefer some of these covers to his versions, mainly because they bring some light to his darkness. Favourites are "Don't Go Home With Your Hard On", "Suzanne" and "Hallelujah" (I think Jeff Buckley does this cover on the album).

Amazingly, two artists cover "Tower Of Song". Both do different interpretations, and both work.

Oh yeah, just remembered one more of my fave compilations. "Stairways to Heaven" is an album where each artist covers "Stairway to Heaven". The twist is that they do it in their unique style.

Cover bands are involved, which means that you have the song sung in a Beatles' style, B52s, Elvis. You also have the song done as opera, jazz, showtune, heavy rock, etc. etc. There is even a spoken word version.

Amazingly clever concept and surprisingly easy to listen to.

Yeah i luvs that Carpenters' covers comp cd. My fave there is Diswalla's "It's Going to Take Some Time" version though the whole cd is great.

i need to get a copy of the Cohen covers comp. i haven't seen the Stairways cd. My fave cover of that song is by Dread Zeppelin, ya know, Elvis-gone-reggae.

A music-life changing cd for me is Africafunk: The Original Sound of 1970's Funky Africa, a brilliant collection of Afro funk put on cd in 1999. i think i was born to Afro funk boogie now! Here's the track list:

1 "African Rhythms" Oneness Of Juju
2 "Ajo" Peter King
3 "Hail the King" Wali & The Afro Caravan
4 "African Battle" Manu Dibango
5 "Malik" Lafayette Afro-Rock Band
6 "African Hustle" Mombasa
7 "Expensive Shit" Fela Ransome Kuti
8 "Talkin' Talkin' " Matata
9 "Megaton" Vecchio
10 "Weya" Manu Dibango
11 "Netsanet" Mulatu Astatqe
12 "Racubah" Ice
13 "Road Close" Tony Allen

This cd lead me to many cd's by the artists here & other Afro funks artists mentioned in liner notes of those cds. Fela's the godfather of Afro funk and ya just gotta hear Oneness of Juju (prog/jazz/funk) to believe it (late nite music yes indeedy). Tony Allen is still funkin' away and i think Lafayette Afro-Rock Band may be as well. If ya like Antibalas, yer gonna love this stuff.

i owned this cd once, but then i took it to school and lost it. the lesson is, never go to school.

The Andrew Denton Breakfast Show Musical Challenge

Billy Jean - neil finn
I Write The Songs - mark lizotte
Word Up - taxiride
Dancing Queen - jimmy barnes
Cheap Wine - tina arena
Lump - lee kernagehn
Wuthering Heights - james reyne
Legs - human nature
My Heart Will Go On - the screaming jets
1999 - shawn mullins
Freak - troy cassar-daley
I Touch Myself - rolf harris
Ben - john stevens
Creep - gina jeffreys
You Got Nothing I Want - alex lloyd
Gangsta's Paradise - richard clapton
S.O.S. - tonic
Jump in My Car - men at work
Down Under - The Red Army Choir Under Direction of Victor Eliseev
Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) - james blundel
It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock & Roll) - The Wiggles
Pretty Vacant - The Delltones
Nutbush City Limits - Suzanne Johnston
Why Don't You Get a Job? - John Williamson
Thriller - Joe Dolce
Play That Funky Music - Archie Roach

my favourites are "cheap wine" by tina arena and "legs" by human nature

"word up" and "wuthering heights" are cool too. it's all good .

well, except "i touch myself" by rolf harris...that's just disturbing...there's breathing... *shudder*

I used to really like the Tank Girl soundtrack.

Can't remember what's on it now, for the life of me.

Something about "she walks softly but she carries a big gun" and a soft rock remake of "let's fall in love".