The Not-Pop Jukebox

Today's songs all started with one that isn't even on it. I've not mentioned my love for spy music for some time but it's still there and a song like Undercover Agent for the Blues is right up that alley. Once I started down it, though, I thought I'd find more undercover songs.

Find them I did! While you get the Billy Joe White version of the original song (as I've never really been a fan of Tina Turner's voice), you can also listen to that ubiquitous 70s hit Undercover Angel as well as Snoop Dogg and Bootsy Collins going undercover for funk. Technically, Agent 13 doesn't have undercover as the first word in the title but I really wanted to include Undercover Ska and the song seemed to fit beautifully.

I've also included some rockin' Monster Truck, a little Two Door Cinema, and some badly-mastered Silver Bullet (are you still rapping back there? I can't hear you!) If that's not enough, I threw in OPM and their surprisingly enjoyable Undercover Freak. Have a listen to all nine and let me know if you've got a favorite undercover song that I missed.

I can't help it, I love MIA. Technically she's not a chart-topper, at least here in the US, but this video does have well over 8 million views. It's over four years, but still that's pretty popular. That plus a SuperBowl performance with Madonna pretty much makes her pop music.

I don't care. I listen to a song like Buckly Done Gun and three beats in I've forgotten all about music snobbery and self-imposed rules. I'm too busy dancing. For a full-on Friday, add a little MIA. If you can take another after this one, have a listen to Galang or Bad Girls.

As I was jamming all over the living room I was thinking about her sound and thought, "What if MIA did a song with Die Antwoord?" Then my head exploded so I had to stop thinking about it. You go right ahead, though, and tell me if this is an idea for which the musical world is not ready or if it's another of my psychotic collaboration ideas that would never work.

If you've been to The NPJ in the last long while, you might have noticed my adoration of Janelle Monae. Thus I squealed like a little girl getting a pony when +Caren Kelleher pointed me at the video for Q.U.E.E.N., uploaded a whole two days ago.

Why, you may be wondering, am I calling this a True Confession post? Well, with two and a half million views in two days I'm pretty sure she can now be considered popular. But the best part? The song made me dance my booty off, drool over her coat, groove to the horns, and then raise my fist. Keep in mind the message: the booty don't lie.

Sorry, I'm too interested in watching this again to be coherent. Watch, love, and share. Happy Friday!

I'm feeling old-school tonight so I'm reaching way back to 1985 for Slick Rick (then known as MC Ricky D) and Doug E. Fresh. La Di Da Di came out on the B side of The Show but, despite the "six minutes" ear worm the latter engendered, I think it's a more fun song.

La Di Da Di has been sampled and referenced by everyone from Beyonce and PSY to Sublime and Mos Def. It's also been covered by Snoop Dogg and Korn. If you're looking for a building block to basic 80s hip hop knowledge, you can't beat Slick Rick and Doug E Fresh.

The best part of the song, however, is the silly story it tells of a day in the life of Slick Rick. If you want more early hip hop (and who doesn't?) I've got 29 more songs that'll take you back to the days when you could understand every word and the backbeats were simple. In the meantime, have a listen to La Di Da Di and tell me if you think this was a true story.

It's Friday, and you know what that means: a short post basically saying, "Hey, guys, here's a great song!" While, as a rule, I'm not a fan of Theophilus London and his misogynistic bull, I have to give him credit for All Around the World. It's a dance jam that, like so many songs these days, should have ended about 2:15 or at least skipped about 30 seconds there in the middle. Seriously, people, if you're going to get people dancing don't stop and noodle around long enough for them to decide they really need a trip to the facilities or another drink. Keep them on the floor!

This public service announcement brought to you by The Not-Pop Jukebox. Let's all just hope musicians take it to heart.

I thought I'd long ago posted Whodini but, when I went to link to one of them, I found that I'd left you darlings without this classic rap group. To make up for that lack, enjoy the truth of The Freaks Come Out at Night. I'll be bringing more Whodini to you in the future, particularly Haunted House of Rock without which no Halloween collection is complete.

I hated to include the full credits for this song in the post title, but you should know that Buckjump features The Rebirth Brass Band and The 5th Ward Weebie playing with Trombone Shorty--or the other way around. As real life interfered with my listening pleasure this evening and I spent the evening at a massive band concert, that's all the introduction I'm giving you. Well, that and I can only hope my son can one day play something that jams this hard. Enjoy!

The Very Best get turned into goats after drinking Kondaine. Okay, they don't really, but a goat really was sacrificed in the making of this video. Be careful what you drink this weekend or you might find yourself at the end of a leash in a tiny African village. I think that's the lesson, here.

I was going to just post a good song today, Black and White from INXS, but then I got to wondering what other songs there were out there with that title. That led me to develop this list specifically selected to induce genre whiplash. It's got Django Reinhardt, Static X, Three Dog Night, Eminem, and five more on top of the INXS song I meant to share. Enjoy, and let me know if I missed your favorite Black and White song. (Please note that Michael Jackson's song contains an "or" and thus is not eligible for this list even though I do like it.)

You don't hear a lot of songs these days about how to do various dances. Happily I bumped into Azonto, which teaches you how to do a dance that I hadn't even known was apparently sweeping large portions of the world. As far as I can tell, it's pretty much doing whatever you want, which means I can do it as well as anyone. That's my kind of dance.

At any rate, this is Fuse ODG and Itz Tiffany sharing their versions of the Azonto dance. I recommend a fair amount of volume and enough room to really boogie if you're going to give it a listen. At least don't chair dance too close to the windows. And if you need visual instructions, too, check the video for it. Otherwise, get ready to Azonto!

For Stan Lee's 90th birthday I thought we'd have a song with pretty much every superhero and villain (and Abraham Lincoln and Care Bears) all fighting one another. If you thought my recent post of MC Frontalot was a geeky as nerdcore could get, The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny should open your eyes to the true reason the genre never took the world by storm.

In truth, Lemon Demon isn't really a nerdcore guy. He's more a geek who plays with music. That doesn't mean he isn't fun and that you shouldn't listen to more--quite the opposite, in fact. He just doesn't really rap, more spoken word and Devo-esque things like Knife Fight and Fancy-Pants Manifesto. He makes Stan Lee look downright jock-like.

I bring you today the non-prophetic Nerdcore Rising from MC Frontalot. Not only does he specify that he recorded it in 2005 but it includes a great, cheesy compu-voiced verse. Sure, nerdcore never has overtaken the popularity of hip hop or rap, but that doesn't invalidate the entertainment value of MC Frontalot and the idea of having geeky, mostly-grammatical rap take over the airwaves.

If you're not familiar with MC Frontalot, you can listen to a pile of his stuff at Grooveshark. I'd particularly recommend Final Boss, Indier Than Thou, and Bizarro Genius Baby. But to understand the whole thing, start with Nerdcore Rising. If you're already a fan, drop me a recommendation, yo.

I had something else entirely planned for the Mashup of the Month when, in looking for a link, I bumped into Rock of Ages on DJ Schmolli's site. You'll just have to wait until next month because, let's be honest, 23 amazing hits crammed into a single, five-minute sing along trumps a whole lot of other stuff.

And so I bring you the whole, rockin' mess complete with video that not only demonstrates how bad hair has always been in music but how much goofiness there's always been in videos therefor. The link above takes you to the post where you can download the song for free and fill your day with even more of DJ Schmolli's mashup goodness. Yeah, you're welcome.

I've put together a little trio of songs for you all today, one that starts with some classic 80s Hall and Oates and then wanders a decade or two toward today. We'll move from I Can't Go for That to De La Soul's Say No Go, based on the song. In between I've sandwiched Tech N9ne with No Can Do, in the spirit of following the lyrics.

Be warned that Tech N9ne says a naughty word or three and lifted the intonation of "no can do" from the original Hall and Oates song. That's what qualified them for the list, after all. You should hear some of the songs I banished! Well, in point of fact, no, you shouldn't.

Whatever the case, have a listen to this genre-spanning set and do share any other I Can't Go for That-based songs you might know. I'd be frankly shocked if you have any but I do enjoy surprises.