Virtual Radio Playlist November

20 Current favourite tracks spinning on the virtual turntable this month, plucked kicking and screaming from the airwaves and archives of the Red Baron catalogue.

All of these tracks are available for a strictly limited time in the folder Radio Playlist 1

1. Polytechnic - Man Overboard
Nearly a year since this was named NME's track of the month. Polytechnic are from Manchester, England and are set to storm the US of A anytime soon ... good luck boys!

2. The Heavy - That Kind of Man
Im just going to quote from the press release for this one: "Welcome to The Heavy, kings of a kind of (West) Country voodoo soul which mixes and matches Curtis Mayfield, RZA, H.P. Lovecraft, Stax, Led Zeppelin and Screamin' Jay Hawkins into the kind of cauldron-melting potion which is utterly original, haunting, weird, sexy and unsettling all at once." Enough said.

3. Aereogramme - Conscious Life for Coma Boy
A slow burning smouldering epic of a tune, superbly engineered and recorded. The outstanding opening track on 2006's "My Heart has a Wish that you would not Go"

4. British Sea Power - Atom
This 2007 track rattles along seemingly on the edge of control, but ultimately delivers a rocking indie classic to rival the best of 90's indie pop/rock. Makes being in the Navy an almost worthwhile occupation.

5. Siouxsie Sioux - Into a Swan
Officially recorded under the simple "Siouxsie" name, this is unmistakably Siouxsie Sioux, back on form and giving us the sort of tune that Marilyn Manson would surely be playing on his next visit to the Dentist. Goth Sei Dank!

6. Orgy - Blue Monday
I applaud any band that wants to tackle this eighties New Order classic (The first ever 12" single?). Orgy have managed it with aplomb. (is that a real word?)

7. Milburn - Wolves at Bay
Hailing from Sheffield (Arctic Monkeys, Bromheads Jacket etc..) Milburn can lay claim to being the second most popular band from that City. Its not hard to see (hear?) why - also check out the very fine "What will you do (when the money goes)"

8. Meat Puppets - Disappear
Lead singer Kirkwood claims this song is about Yeti's who are supposedly always "disappearing". Well weird. What I want to know is why when the Meat Puppets are re-appearing after a long hiatus, they choose to write a song called Disappear? Whatever the answer, this guitar heavy anthemic tune is a corker.

9. Jacknife Lee - Making Me Money
Kicked off by a walking bassline, this track drives on through some effective digital high hat and canned drums the jam on the toast being Lee's bluesy vocal delivery. I really love it and its making me money....

10. Liars - Plaster Casts of Everything
Lumped into the punk/dance scene most famously inhabited by Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Liars are true to genre with this catchy experimental slab of hedonistic dance-rock.

11. Fury of the Headteachers - Farewell Comrade
Another band from current hotbed of British talent, Sheffield. This is quirky, perpendicular, indie-pop at its most brutal. These boys play like they have spent too much time in detention - hence their name, I guess. This is your execution.

12. The Weakerthans - Civil Twilight
Everytime I hear this I think its Grandaddy! Anyway all I know is they are BIG in Canada - a sort of Rock and Roll Polar Bear then ....

13. Dragons - Here are the Roses
A sentimental throw back to the best electro-synth pop of the eighties new wave. Superbly done, and no apologies for the retro feel to this one. Very refreshing. I hope these guys continue to make classic records like this one .... please?

14. Two Gallants - Despite What You've Been Told
Lyrically this pared down track is exceptional, sort of reminds me of something Elvis Costello might have written in a parallel universe... Melodically it builds layer on layer into an intense indie-folk tale of failed relationships. The video to this song is a step-by-step tutorial on how to put on a Clown's make-up. "Despite what you've been told, I once had a soul". Brilliant.

15. The Cribs - Dont you Wanna to be Relevant
The Editors take the Enemy on a day out to Sheffield to meet the Arctic Monkeys. OK, I made that bit up - but listen to this and hear what I'm getting at. I liked the Cribs first album "Mirror Kisses" and this tune ratchets up the pop pretentions another notch or two. 8 out of 10 - see me after.

16. The Cliks - Oh Yeah
Someone once wrote of the Cliks: "what might happen if Chrissie Hynde and the Murmurs' Leisha Hailey fell in love, got Bowie to help out with insemination and gave birth to an indie rock love child." And furthermore, if you think the lead vocalist is female, think again. Lucas Silveira handles the excellent vocals, and long may it continue, although somehow I think the band's instability will be their ultimate downfall. Shame.

17. Guster - One Man Wrecking Machine
Not new to the Indie scene (the band formed in 1992) this is the sort of track that lodges itself in a part of your brain normally reserved for complex Algebra and trigonometry, and without warning you find yourself humming it in the middle of Double Maths. Yay! splodgenessabounds.

18. Brindle - Fallout
Good Indie rock fodder - I know, I know, its all been done before .. but I'm a sucker for this stuff. Indulge me. Deb Suckling drives the band along with classic elastica shaped melodies - and the world is a better place for that.

19. British India - Tie Up My Hands
British India are another reason to look towards Antipodian lands for some Indie pop inspiration. This song actually made the No. 1 spot on JTV's music television ("What's that"? you ask). I have no idea but it sounds half good. It was their second single release from the debut album Guillotine, and saw the light of day down-under on May 28th 2007. Fresh (ish)!

20. Elbow - Mexican Standoff
What can I say about this track? Its been around for a few years now and is (in my opinion) the head-and-shoulders stand out track off the album "Leaders of the Free World". I cannot find enough superlatives to describe how this track pushes all the right buttons, so I'm not even going to try. If you havent heard it, you must have been hiding under a rock for the last 18 months. Come out right now! Pull on your best pair of headphones, whack the volume up to 11 gaffa tape it on "max" and dont move until the last pair of Mexican heels has subsided in your brain.

Look out for 20 more classy post-punk indie offerings from the Red Baron Catalogue - coming soon.