Friday Random Ten, Tom Delay indictment edition

Next up: will it be cat-killin Dr. Bill? or Satan's Minion Karl Rove? Vote for your favorite in the comments. Place Bets.

As always, props to Lauren for starting this, and to Norbizness for running with it.

1. Madonna of The Wasps - Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians. Soft Boys, Egyptians, or by his lonesome, Robyn always does the same idiosyncratic alt-psychedelic stew of warped Beatlesque pop about death, fish, insects, and death. This form his brief late eighties dalliance with mainstream... well, not acceptance, so much; maybe presence. Highly recommended. 8/10

2. 6 Pack Heaven - Snopek. Milwaukee maestro's late seventies prog-pop band that wrote the massive hit Hamburger Holocaust. Website here. Shrine Here. Extra track from the reissue. Features the guitar virtuoso Byron Wiemann. Not nearly as good as San Francisco Radio . 7/10

3. Cathedral - Robyn Hitchcock. Gonna be one of those days, eh iTunes? ignore all that new music there, just keep repeating someone. 13,944 songs, 967 different artists, and you drop a repeat on the third try? You come up with the same song twice, and I'm switching to Windows. Good song tho. From Robyn's early solo work, I Often Dream Of Trains. Highly recommended. 8/10.

4. The New Routine - Bob Geldof. Always been a big fan of Loudmouths, especially The Boomtown Rats. This is from his most recent stuff, a bit of electronic fiddling about added. Not his best. 5/10.

5. Two Swords - English Beat. Overcaffeinated English Second Wave ska. Hey, it was my college music. still makes me pogo; albeit slower and not as long. 7/10.

6. Primate House (1731 11th Avenue) - J Neo Marvin and the Content Providers. Very obscure alt music from the west coast; features some Mekon Rico Bell on accordion. Excellent story song about a dive rooming house. Highly recommended. 9/10.

7. Stumble - REM. It's difficult to remember how out of time and unusual this was when it was released. I remember how revelatory Murmur was when it was released. One of the only bands that I celebrated when they went major-label. IRS Records was always supportive of developing artists, and REM is the result. Nice Work, Copeland. 8/10.

8. Perfect Sense, Pt. 2. - Roger Waters. More concept prog from Waters. This is from the actually pretty good album Amused To Death. Something about the format established by vinyl LPs is especially suited to concept albums. Check it Out. 6/10.

9. Write Your Own Song - Matthew Sweet. Exuberant rebuttal to critics who complain that he's never written the perfect song that Girlfriend implied; this is from the very good disc In Reverse, which is lush and stays just this side of being overproduced. Makes me think if he teamed up with Jeff Lynne, they could own the world. Check it out. 7/10.

10. Hong Kong Garden - Siouxsie and the Banshees. Post Punk inspired by the Sex Pistols, the Suicide Girls owe nearly everything to Siouxsie Sioux. 7/10.

11. Flowers - Camper Van Beethoven. Old stuff. New stuff. Camper is always worthwhile. Check it out. 8/10.

12. Cygnus X-1 - Rush. Oh, like YOU don't have anything embarrassing on your playlists. I still like it, and we were all young once, right? 4/10 tho.

13. Such Little Nonbelievers - The Loud Family. Noisy little power pop gem. Check it out. 8/10.