Music

1. "Lose Yourself" - Eminem (8 Mile, 2002)
2. "Stronger" - Kanye West (Graduation, 2007)
3. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.) - Jay-Z (The Blueprint, 2001)
4. "The Champ" - Ghostface Killah (Fishscale, 2006)
5. "Smart Went Crazy" - Atmosphere (You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having, 2005)
6. "The Way I Am" - Eminem (The Marshall Mathers LP, 2000)
7. "Mrs. Jackson" - OutKast (Stankonia, 2000)
8. "Hey Mama" - Kanye West (Late Registration, 2005)
9. "Gravel Pit" - Wu-Tang Clan (The W, 2000)
10. "Ghetto Pop Life" - Danger Mouse & Jemini (Ghetto Pop Life, 2003)
11. "One Mic" - Nas (Stillmatic, 2001)
12. "My Life" - The Game ft.

• 0205 - "Dancin' Homer" Tony Bennett
• 0218 - "Brush with Greatness" Ringo Starr
• 0301 - "Stark Raving Dad" Michael Jackson as Leon Kompowsky
• 0310 - "Flaming Moe's" Aerosmith
• 0313 - "Radio Bart" Sting
• 0407 - "Marge Gets a Job" Tom Jones
• 0409 - "Mr.

The description of "great pop band that never got the commercial success it deserved" is usually reserved for Big Star, but XTC deserve the title more - while the group did chart a few tunes and do occasionally show up on 80's pop compilation albums, it's surprising that the group got nowhere near the attention that their contemporaries of the post-punk New Wave scene did. With Elvis Costello, The Police, Talking Heads, Squeeze and Joe Jackson all charting major hits and became a big part of 80's pop culture, XTC was undeservedly reduced to having a small but rabid following.

• ***
• Mastodon - Crack the Skye [Progressive Metal - 2009] - I enjoyed this, it was heavy, riffy and had elements of doom. B
• Passion Pit - Manners [Indie Electronic - 2009] - Slightly better then I thought it would be, but it's still Indie Electronic, so it sounds like every other Indie Electronic album ever. C-
• Van Morrison - Astral Weeks [Folk Rock - 1968] - Still brilliant. Everyone must buy this album, a majestic mix of folk, jazz and rock.