Great but forgotten

Apologies for not doing any kind of Christmas post. I was thinking of doing something based on Steve Martin's SNL Christmas monologue, but (A) NBC doesn't have that on its site and (B) all I really want is peace. Seriously. Everywhere from the Middle East to the Internet, where I've been involved in some really tedious bickering lately.

I'm now in my favorite post-Christmas activity, iTunes gift card spending. Here's what I have so far:

• Lindsey Buckingham, To Try for the Sun: Heavy on the acoustic picking. Saw it on a "Best of" and figured I'd give it a listen. Not bad.
• Motorhead, Ace of Spades: Because it's ridiculous to have it as a ringtone and a Young Ones episode and not as an actual song.
• Hayseed Dixie, Ace of Spades: Because Hayseed Dixie is just that good.
• KT Tunstall, Black Horse and the Cherry Tree: Artist I'm planning to watch in 2007.
• Weird Al, White and Nerdy: Fluent in JavaScript and Klingon, be-otch.
• Talking Heads, Burning Down the House: One of those songs that makes you go, "Oh yeah -- I used to have that on tape somewhere and should really have it on the iPod."
• Young MC, Bust a Move: Just filling out the '80s songs.

There's one '80s song I can't get at iTunes because it's simply not there. And that's a shame. Like a couple of Dubstar songs, this one surely has enough of a following to warrant a few downloads.

So as with Dubstar, I'll reluctantly link to YouTube. In this case, the video is indeed kind of silly, mostly because the lead singer insists on doing the Belinda Carlisle two-step through the whole thing. That's a little odd for a band that was aiming for a Clash/U2 political vibe with the odd pop hit mixed in.

Guessed it yet?

Here you go -- Red Rockers' China



Great bass line, isn't it?

At least they made a video. If you want to hear the powerful Vixtrola song Gunboat, you have to watch some weird thing with subtitles that has nothing to do with the band itself.



Updating: I searched for some more stuff at iTunes based on an old list of songs I couldn't find. Found: Big Country's You Dreamer and Poe's breathtaking Haunted, which has apparently inspired a lot of fan videos at YouTube.

Not found: Whale's Hobo Humping Slobo Babe, Melting Hopefuls' She's a Big Boy Now, more Big Country and this charming effort from Stretch Princess ...



I didn't realize the lead singer played bass. Uh oh -- crush alert ...

Updating: If you're not up on your Minako and would rather just hear Vixtrola without the video, check their MySpace page. Seems they have some trouble with their record label. Sounds like Poe. Or maybe Fiona Apple.