What's all the excitement?

It's my birthday!
I celebrate entering my final year of the 30s today by unveiling (unleashing?) a glam-rock mix to the masses. I will post the mix on Art of the Mix later today.
Here is a track-by-track guide to "You Wear Your Pleasure Like a Torch," a mix for playing loud and partying hard:
1. Gary Glitter - "Hello! Hello! I'm Back Again"
Gary Glitter's reputation shall never be salvaged and he is by all accounts a reprehensible criminal. Still, spare a kind thought for his band and producer Mike Leander. They created the stomping sound we all associate with "glam."
2. David Bowie - "Watch That Man"
David Bowie wanted to emulate "Exile on Main Street" by the Rolling Stones, so he sank his vocals deep in the mix, allowing guitarist Mick Ronson and pianist Mike Garson to star.
3. Sparks - "Lost and Found"
A "Kimono My House"-era B-side that allows unheralded guitarist Adrian Fisher to show off.
4. T. Rex - "Raw Ramp"
Here's the greatness of Marc Bolan: Even his B-sides sound like all-time classic songs. "Raw Ramp" backed up a little song called "Get it On (Bang a Gong)."
5. Roxy Music - "Pyjamarama"
Brian Eno-era Roxy Music had few peers.
6. Slade - "Bangin' Man"
Although, here's one of Roxy's few peers -- the mighty Slade. Swen, this one's for you.
7. The Sweet - "Wig-Wam Bam"
The archetypal glam rock song -- fake-sounding hand claps, chugging guitar and nonsensical lyrics sung as if they mean everything in the world. Danny Holloway, in his 1972 NME review of this single, labeled it "unadulterated nonsense." Well, yeah!
8. Mud - "Dyna-Mite"
Seriously. One of my Top 5 songs of all-time.
9. Roxy Music - "Virginia Plain"
Bryan Ferry... Brian Eno... Andy Mackay... Phil Manzanera... Roxy Music were like an all-star team.
10. David Bowie - "Suffragette City"
C'mon, we all know the words, sing along!
"Oh don't lean on me man, cause you can't afford the ticket/I'm back on Suffragette City."
11. Suzi Quatro - "48 Crash"
Remember Leather Tuscadero from Happy Days? The bass... the attitude... the black leather... the hot looks... Here, she sings a punk-rock song three years before the Sex Pistols formed. I think I'm in love.
12. Slade - "Cum on Feel the Noize"
The power-chord opening alone from this mighty song blows the Quiet Riot version clean out of the water. Ridiculously so.
13. The Sweet - "Blockbuster"
Glam rock with a siren blaring. Brian Connolly and Co. should have received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
14. Mud - "Tiger Feet"
One of the 12 catchiest songs of all-time.
15. Sparks - "Amateur Hour"
Ron and Russell Mael came out of Los Angeles with a sound unlike any other band. Here, they sound a bit glam, but they remained an entity unto themselves. An insanely catchy entity.
16. Slade - "Take Me Bak 'Ome"
Jim Lea and Noddy Holder are among the most underrated songwriters of our time. Mark that down.
17. T. Rex - "Chariot Choogle"
"Standing on your porch, you wear your pleasure like a torch."
18. Mott the Hoople - "All The Young Dudes"
This song always makes me wave a football (soccer) scarf over my head like I'm at the F.A. Cup final.
19. Wizzard - "Rock n Roll Winter"
Roy Wood pioneered the "back-to-the-Fifties" sound of glam. Here, he even provides a rare glam ballad.
20. David Bowie - "Drive-in Saturday"
The great, forgotten Bowie single. It is about people from the future who have forgotten how to make love, so they need to watch porn videos to re-train themselves. No, really!
21. T. Rex - "Ride a White Swan"
The 1970 classic that started it all. Rest in Peace, Marc Bolan.
22. The Move - "California Man"
Is it really glam? Here's how I look at it: It has the retro sound filtered through early 1970s sensibilities (it came out in 1972), it has hand-clapping, Roy Wood later painted his face as the leader of Wizzard, and this song has served as my de facto theme song for about 30 years. So yeah, it's in the mix.
Well, there you have it... the 2005 birthday mix!
My presents today have included more vintage reggae CDs, so this might be the last rock you get out of me for a while!
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