fat possum summer jam

Those who are in the know might tell you that I am obsessive when it comes to things I love. I feel compelled to dig up every little scrap of goodness I can find about whatever it is that I'm really into at that particular moment. It generally results in annoying people around me, but sometimes it has the benefit of educating me to the point where I can pass along cool stuff to others. In the case of Oxford, Mississippi's Fat Possum records, I think the latter to be true.

I find it amazing just how few people are aware that a label from Oxford is being recognized as arguably the best indie label this side of Sub Pop. They have certainly been on a winning streak the last couple of years, releasing album of the year contenders such as The Walkmen's Lisbon, to recent hotness like Unknown Mortal Orchestra. And whether or not they've meant to or not, they've developed a Fat Possum sound which is characterized by surf and garage elements and often very analog, purposefully stripped down production. This emergent style also makes the Fat Possum catalog perfectly suited to the sweltering summers we enjoy here in Mississippi.

So, obsessive as I am, I put together this little playlist of things you can currently buy that has a Fat Possum logo on the back. Some of it is brand new. Some of it is reissued. But all of it has a certain summery quality that I think you'll enjoy on your next trip to Dauphin Island.

grrrls don't mess around - or - how joan jett is responsible for everything i know about music today.

As long as I can remember, there just been something about a woman's voice that works for me. You could dig deep and say it probably goes back to the womb, hearing my mother's voice or some nonsense like that. But not really. It was more the combination of woman and music. I never had the benefit of growing up with hippies playing Janis Joplin or Joni Mitchell, but I do recall my first purchases with my own money were female artists: Madonna and Aretha Franklin. It wasn't until later in the 80s when I got my own walkman radio that I discovered a broader range of female artists, and later still until the fateful day when I heard a woman rock. And I mean really rock. Joan Jett had this little song called I Love Rock n' Roll, and by god, I did. It was my first step down the path of appreciating the entirely natural combination of the fairer sex and the fiercest instruments.

My appreciation of Joan Jett would later lead me to The Runaways, which led me to glam, punk, garage and so many other types of music that you could say my entire musical journey of discovery was forged by one badass grrrl. And I'm still taking that journey today. This very day, in fact, as a conversation about Big Star and The Replacements somehow lead around to playing The Breeders. I can't for the life of me remember that segue, but from there my coworker Ian and I discussed the golden age of girl bands, the 90s, and how there is a relative dearth of girl bands today. Sure, there are plenty of bands with a girl singer, but how many bands with multiple female participants? This, of course, led to a duel of libraries where we tried to outdo each other with classic selections from what we had on hand. Which lead to the challenge: Create a kick-ass playlist of nothing but girl bands, where girl band is defined as not only having a female singer, but at least one other female in the band.

And so, the challenge seeded, it took root and reached fruition with the help of some folks who know more about music than I do (Thx Billy, Ming, Marsh, Ian.) Below are 30+ bands from the 90s-00s that met the criteria. And most of them flat-out rock. There's just something about a girl and a guitar that gets us going.

50 scorchers from The Stooges to The Walkmen

Not that have particularly good taste in music, but I love what I love...and that generally falls into the garage-ish territory. And why not cover a wide range of the stuff I listen to daily, you know, for the kids. There's a ton of gems here...The Kinks, The Jam, The Rakes,...a whole lot of "the's" for sure.