The Dawn of Kraut Rock

This week’s wog features the robotically blissful music of Kraftwerk, best known for their long paean to the German Überhighway, the Autobahn—which isn’t in this set, BTW. That the ‘werkers were fascinated by the confluence of computers and music—in an outrageous yet endearing way—can be illustrated by their song Pocket Calculator, which of course was back in the day when the PC was just a blip on the horizon—and is in this set, BTW. Also you will find Trans-Europe Express (a great train song), Computer Love (kisskiss), The Model (ooo!), Tour de France, and finally, The Robots. So sync up with Kraftwerk, find the list at Podwogging.com.

80-Minute Mix-Up

This week’s Wog has bas actually been sitting on my iPod for over a year. The Magic Blender is one of the first Wog-a-Thons I put together, but because it lacked a specific theme or genre I put off putting it online. But make no mistake: this Brisk collection of songs is one of my favorites, kicking off with Bring On the Night by the Police, concluding with Mark Knopfler’s Boom Like That, and including such classics as Stevie Nicks’ Talk To Me, My Sharona by The Knack, and REO Speedwagon’s Don’t Let Him Go. So go to Podwogging.com and stick this wog in your blender!

Year of the Wog

Best-of albums, especially for artists who aren’t in the current generation of pop stars, can definitely offer a great bang for your musical buck. Al Stewart’s Best Of is one of my favorites, and delivers a solid 38 wogging minutes. Stewart’s halcyon days were the 70s, when his biggest hit, Year of the Cat, lilted its way onto the airwaves. But his songs, a kind of Scottish storytelling pop, full of wistful notions and historical references, can’t be so easily attached to one place or time. This week’s wog is definitely on the softer side though, easy on the bones, and can be found at Podwogging.com. Of course.

Get Juiced!

For my money, the best pure pop act to come out of Britain during the New Wave 80s was Squeeze, who deserved far more acclaim than they received. Whether crafting catchy tunes like If I Didn’t Love You or bopping you with their Brit accents in Cool for Cats, Squeeze delivers the goods in this week’s wog, 39 minutes of Vigorous pop. If you’re never heard them, and you like funny, sassy, and sardonic—think Kinks with a dash of Split Enz—by all means, check ‘em out. My woglist resides at Podwogging.com.