various artists - Mojo Presents: The Dreamers (15 Tracks Of Kate Bush-Inspired Dream Pop)

I don't have the October 2014 issue around which to contextualize the claim, but can one truly say this collection is Kate Bush-inspired? This stretches the definition of what "dream pop" is, and I always found Kate Bush (who I love...don't get me wrong) to be more akin to Peter Gabriel on the art rock tip, so I'm casting a gimlet eye towards the title. But there's a Wye Oak song here, and one by Julie Holter, and I can always skip over The War On Drugs, so I guess I'll just throw this one out to you, my people, and wish you not only a happy Mojo Monday, but a solemn Memorial Day.

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various artists - Mojo Presents: It's A Wonderfull Life (A Journey Into Sound)

It only took me around 40-something years before I finally came around on what made Siouxie & The Banshees so great, so this wasn't something I would have sought out even just a few years ago.  This is just an unbelievably cool collection, curated by Siouxie Sioux and Steve Severin. You know, those two.

Primarily comprised of film and stage music, spanning the 1940s to the early 60s, and loaded with sounds you've almost certainly absorbed throughout your life, whether you're 12 or 80. C'mon, you don't have to have been a Disney kid to know "When You Wish Upon A Star" or "A Night On Bare Mountain"...but it helps. For those of us who grew up on the western side of the Atlantic, maybe we didn't get turned on to the themes from "Whiplash", "The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre", or "Fireball XL5". But they left indelible marks on they who did encounter them; hence their appearances here.

This is also a good introduction to Satie, Lotte Lenya, not Bernard Herrmann; not to mention Siouxie & The Banshees representing with their 1987 cover of a song from "The Jungle Book". That's why I'll be packing this off in a care package to my 11-year-old niece, who deserves to hear only the finest.

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various artists - Mojo Presents: Rumours Revisited (A Tribute To Fleetwood Mac's Classic 1977 Album)

Would it surprise you, dear reader, to hear I've become an unabashed fan of Fleetwood Mac? Yup, the same fella who saw Fugazi at least 20 times, who championed Sleater-Kinney and Clarissa's Wierd and Pig Destroyer, the aging punk you all know in love. I've really grown to love the classic Buckingham/Fleetwood/McVie/McVie/Nicks lineup. I've even uncovered what made the Peter Gren lineup so great. Don't tell the punx.

This is not a grand tribute to one of the greatest selling records of all time. I recognize a few names here: Yeasayer, Liars, Julia Holter. Holter's version of "Gold Dust Woman" is probably my fav track here, and that song will never be topped by Hole's 1996 cover. The rest of the lineup is a melange of American, British, Kiwi, Danish, and Canadian artists who I probably should be a lot more fair to. So let's save the commentary by just noting that I rate this as perfectly cromulent and worth the "free with purchase" that led me to it in the first place.

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various artists - Mojo Presents: Small Faces & Friends

The things I know about Small Faces could fit on an index card. I know that "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" is one of the first concept records (if not the first), that Kenny Jones replaced Keith Moon as the Who's drummer after Moon died, and that "Whatcha Gonna Do About It?" is a killer proto-punk banger. Oh, and Steve Marriott left to start Humble Pie, which led to Rod Stewart & Ronnie Lane joining the leftover members to start Faces, whose entire catalog I celebrate.

See, an index card.

But, in the estimation of Mojo Magazine, they also had some cool friends. I'll cosign Nico (performing a Gordon Lightfoot composition) and the Nice; one of my favorite Teutonic vocalists AND some proto-prog featuring Keith Emerson is worth checking out. I only knew Murray Head from teaching me about one night in Bangkok; I discovered via this freebie from 2014 that he was a label mate of Small Faces with his 1967 single "She Was Perfection". There's an early Rod Stewart solo cut from 1968, and compiler Rob Caiger even whipped up a pair of Small Faces rarities.

This one's even got a pretty cool cover. Not something I typically see in Mojo comps, but here, it's poppin'.

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various artists - Mojo Presents: Purple Soul

I think I snagged this mainly because it has Arabian Prince and Arthur Russell tracks I hadn't heard before. Well, that, and it was a buck. It's a lot of Prince-inspired and Prince-adjacent R&B; everything from Toro Y Moi to Poliça to a sampling of the Stones Throw catalog. And if it seems like I'm reaching for commentary or trenchant insight, well, it's because this is a world of music I always enjoy, but am not particularly educated in...certainly not to same degree I am on punk or hardcore or free jazz. I sound dumb enough writing about music I know a lot about; no need to sound below stupid.

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