In the absence of any big idea today we offer up melody miscellany, a grab bag, a mixture of somewhat random hooky tunes, collected over time but never put to blog purpose. Until now.

Before Dave Merritt got his Golden Seals thing going he put out an EP with a band called Adam West. “Ernie’s Stiped Shirt” is a lofi gem in a You Won’t register. The Paul and John are working a more slick poprock vein, a bit of Elvis Costello and whole lot of Porter Block.  “When I Lost My Way” is just one of ten winning tracks from their 2014 album Inner Sunset. Sometimes a remake really brings out the sweetness of a song. I feel that way about Motion City Soundtrack’s more acoustic rendition of “Fell In Love Without You” from their tenth anniversary edition of Even If It Kills Me. Slowing things down, winnowing out most of the accompaniment reveals a simple, stark bit of beauty. Melbourne’s The Smallgoods offer up a neat hooky treat on “Capricorn” that ambles with an Elephant 6/Apples in Stereo ambience. Sometime Guided By Voices collaborator Tobin Sprout is no slouch in the solo album releasing category. 2010’s The Bluebirds of Happiness Tried to Land on My Shoulder has a moody vibe reminiscent of Hayden. I like particularly the droney, hypnotic “You Make My World Go Down.”

Something from out of left field, that’s today selection. Tunes you may have missed but now, thankfully, can follow up on.

Photo courtesy James Vaughn Flikr collection.