People ask me, "Why there are so many Pit Bulls in shelters?" Because people 1) want to pretend they're tough and are ignorant of the fact that 2) if they don't fix their Pit Bulls/Pit mixes, 3) they'll make more dogs that 4) aren't fixed and 5) make more dogs that 6) end up unwanted in shelters and 7) are castigated ultimately with death because they're 8) villainized by the media and 9) unwanted except by people who a) want to save them from shelters because they're great dogs or b) want to pretend they're tough (and the cycle starts anew.)

‘THREE BAD BROTHERS THAT MADE HISTORY’: CHUCK D PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE BEASTIE BOYS

Tracklist:

The Temptations - “My Girl”
Aaliyah - “One in a Million”
Art of Noise - “Moments in Love”
Isaac Hayes - “Your Love is So Doggone Good”
Air - “Playground Love”
Kanye West - “Blame Game”
Lil Wayne  ft. Drake - “With You”
Tricky - “Love Cats (Cure cover)”
The Knife - “Heartbeats”
Tom Tom Club - “Genius of Love”
Chaka Khan - “Ain’t Nobody”
Michael Penn - “No Myth”
Nicolay - “I Love the Way You Love”
Hall & Oates - “One on One”
Snoop Dogg - “Beautiful”
Curtis Mayfield - “Gimme Your Love”
The Delfonics - “La-La Means I Love You”
Stevie Wonder - “I Was Made to Love Her”
Blackstreet - “No Diggity (Soulwax remix)”
Jamie Lidell - “A Little Bit More”
The Cardigans - “Lovefool”
Paul McCartney and Wings - “Silly Love Songs”
Mstrkrft - “Easy Love”
Neil Young - “When You Dance You Can Really Love”
The Dead 60’s - “Just Another Love Song”
Anita Ward - “Ring My Bell”
Edwin Collins - “A Girl Like You”
Purple Crush - Two of Hearts
Heart - “Magic Man”
Rusko - “I Love You”
The Blow - “Hock It (YACHT remix)”
The Presets - “This Boy’s in Love”
The Cure - “Love Song”
Cut Copy - “Feel the Love”
Smashing Pumpkins - “Stand Inside Your Love”
King Biscuit Time - “I Love You”
Bob Dylan - “Lay Lady Lay”
Yeasayer - “Love Me Girl”
XTC - “When You’re Near Me I have Difficulty Breathing”
Hot Chip - “Hand Me Down Your Love”
Tiger Shark - "I Would Die 4 U (Prince cover)"

If you made it this far on the page, I love you and am making more music for you soon.

Diplo & crew aren't reliable - Mad Decent Worldwide Radio episodes seem to come out on no set schedule, and because they feature a wide variety of dance music, some of the DJs' mixes offer more to chew on than others - but they are pure fun and offer unexpected surprises.

4. The John B Podcast

I wasn't sure who John B was when he walked up to a club in South Beach, dressed in DayGlo and hair standing at attention. My first thought was that he was just another club kid in need of attention, who had a whole lotta friends to give it to him: nearly everyone standing in line to get in flocked to him when he walked up.

I learned who he was a few hours later, when he took over the decks to massive cheers in the club/laundromat and played an impressive mix of drum 'n' bass, techno and self-produced punkers like "Stalking U on Myspace." 

The voiceover in the UK DJ's episode #92, a live recording in Braunschweig, Germany, summarizes The John B Podcast - and his sense of humor - nicely:

It was a time of war, a world where electronic music was under attack from the evil hordes of reality television: the armies of The X Factor, the legions of American Idol, and worst of all, those fist-pumping douchebags from Jersey Shore. Techno fought against electro, dubstep versus drum 'n' bass. But now, it's time for a change. One man will bring these worlds together once more. Drum 'n' bass united with the world of electro, techno and bass. Part human, part machine, raised on a distant planet by robots - electro, drum machines and synthesizers. And now, this man is here tonight, the undisputed master of drum 'n' bass. Ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your panties, put your hands in the air and make some noise for your DJ tonight.

3. Kick in the Eye

Over several hours in each monthly episode of Kick in the Eye, @themutante and @mrjohnkennedy bring you sounds that suck, sonics that scare you, songs that you love when you remember them, and music that reaches into all corners of your life.

2. XLR8R Audio Podcast

Invariably, the XLR8R Audio Podcast is the best music for working to, playing in the background while dining with friends, or having a late-night chillout session. Techno, house, R&B, dubstep, disco, and every sub-genre in between is woven into a series that's amazing in its consistency - and variety.

1. Solid Steel

Ninja Tune's mastery of vintage hip-hop, modern electro and bass is equalled by none other and their regular Solid Steel podcast Especially good for motor-vehicular travel and appreciating the increasingly sci-fi nature of your daily existence.

Bonus: WNYC's Radiolab

WNYC's Radiolab isn't an electronic-music podcast, but definitely a show that wouldn't be possible without electronic audio devices creating amazing sonics. Stories and sound effects take you on a tour of places and experiences you've heard of but never lived through.

P.S.

The Tiger Shark podcast ain't too shabby, either. I just posted a new song to it and will have some more mixes available soon, too.

Photo of puma/mountain lion/cougar at Exotic Feline Rescue Center by Dreamstate Images

And no, this song isn't about picking up older single ladies.

Subscribe to the podcast.

Download the track:

Nightmare Before Halloween features classics ("Thriller"; the Ghostbusters theme) and lesser-known but equally spooky songs by the likes of Puscifer, Pig and Tom Waits.

Giving Thanks for Halloween has a bunch of monster cuts, mostly low-end heavy drum and bass to shake your rear end.

Dance of the Dead includes Sufjan Stevens, Deadmau5, Dr. Dre & Ice Cube and "The Monster Mash," amongst many more.

What tracks would you include in a haunting mix? Leave a comment below.

And follow me on Tumblr now, too.

Subscribe to the Tiger Shark music podcast, or get the free MP3 here:

Love this? Like me on Facebook. And subscribe to the Tiger Shark Music podcast so you don't miss a (heart) beat.

Tracklist:

The Temptations - “My Girl”
Aaliyah - “One in a Million”
Art of Noise - “Moments in Love”
Isaac Hayes - “Your Love is So Doggone Good”
Air - “Playground Love”
Kanye West - “Blame Game”
Lil Wayne  ft. Drake - “With You”
Tricky - “Love Cats (Cure cover)”
The Knife - “Heartbeats”
Tom Tom Club - “Genius of Love”
Chaka Khan - “Ain’t Nobody”
Michael Penn - “No Myth”
Nicolay - “I Love the Way You Love”
Hall & Oates - “One on One”
Snoop Dogg - “Beautiful”
Curtis Mayfield - “Gimme Your Love”
The Delfonics - “La-La Means I Love You”
Stevie Wonder - “I Was Made to Love Her”
Blackstreet - “No Diggity (Soulwax remix)”
Jamie Lidell - “A Little Bit More”
The Cardigans - “Lovefool”
Paul McCartney and Wings - “Silly Love Songs”
Mstrkrft - “Easy Love”
Neil Young - “When You Dance You Can Really Love”
The Dead 60’s - “Just Another Love Song”
Anita Ward - “Ring My Bell”
Edwin Collins - “A Girl Like You”
Purple Crush - Two of Hearts
Heart - “Magic Man”
Rusko - “I Love You”
The Blow - “Hock It (YACHT remix)”
The Presets - “This Boy’s in Love”
The Cure - “Love Song”
Cut Copy - “Feel the Love”
Smashing Pumpkins - “Stand Inside Your Love”
King Biscuit Time - “I Love You”
Bob Dylan - “Lay Lady Lay”
Yeasayer - “Love Me Girl”
XTC - “When You’re Near Me I have Difficulty Breathing”
Hot Chip - “Hand Me Down Your Love”
Tiger Shark - "I Would Die 4 U (Prince cover)"

Because your (my) time is valuable, I'll kick the best-of-other-people's-music list off by starting with the best first. Without further ado:

The Top 10 Albums of 2010

(click on album titles or images to listen to/buy the tunes on Amazon)

1. King Midas Sound - "Waiting For You..."

Rules were made to be broken. So I'm going to break the rules for best-of-year lists, and make my #1 of 2010 an album that was released late in 2009. You probably haven't discovered it, either. With its consistent bass rumble and washes of gentle effects and low-key drums, "Waiting For You..." is the kind of thing I would listen to if I was Godzilla, planning my next move a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, lamenting the fact that humans simply don't understand me. Kevin Martin's production is driving music for a rainy, lonely night - but only if your car's speakers offer substantial low end to rumble your rump while your brain relaxes.

2. Gorillaz - "Plastic Beach"

I wanted to dislike this album. Since the beginning, I've thought the Gorillaz concept was a bit annoying: cartoon characters playing music with a cast of guest stars on albums that vary tremendously in their songs' styles. Sounds like a formula for disaster, and each time I buy a new Gorillaz album, I expect it to be the one that ends the franchise with a mangled wreck of music. But "Plastic Beach" tops all the others - sublime in places, flat out funky in others, and enjoyable from start to finish. Listen to it twice and I guarantee that pleasurable fragments will float through your head for days.

3. Major Lazer & La Roux - "Major Lazer & La Roux Present LazerProof"

If you like Major Lazer, La Roux, hip hop, electronic, reggae, dubstep, and/or mashups (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit when I typed that word), you gotta get this mix. And while you're at it, subscribe to the Mad Decent podcast and get whatever else Diplo has put out lately.

4. Yeasayer - "Odd Blood"

The resurgence of 80's pop culture in the youth of today is quite disgusting. (See "New Kids on the Block," fluorescent clothing, and Ray-Bans.) But we who are actually children of the 80's have finally digested all of the toxic day-glo that coke-addled Hollywood types forced into our young, impressionable minds - and we've survived, albeit in some strange mental forms. Judging by Yeasayer's music, it's possible to sound like you're from the 80's (in a good way), while living in the 10's, and having plenty of fans born in the 90's. Or something like that.

5. Tobacco - "Maniac Meat"

Like King Midas Sound's "Waiting For You...", this is driving music. But these are tunes for burning asphalt in the middle of the day, when the sun's bright and singeing your skin as you're driving away from civilization, to hike in the hills, relax on the beach, or to run out of gas in the middle of the desert and pray that one of the circling vultures comes close enough so you can yank it from the sky and wring whatever moisture its body holds into your parched mouth. (Tobacco albums sound like that last option.)

6. Portugal. The Man - "American Ghetto"

Do you despise Wasilla, Alaska because of whatever it did to unleash Sarah Palin upon this planet? Despise it no longer: it also produced Portugal. The Man. "American Ghetto" is heavy on drum machines and slow, funky beats - quite the departure from their previous music, much of which is reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. This album is Portugal. The Man's "Kid A." I'm running out of lofty comparisons - just get the album, already. And catch their live show.

7. Midlake - "The Courage of Others"

This album could have been released 40 years ago. 25 years ago, I would have been sitting in the family room, my parents' fancy turntable in front of me, and I'd be admiring the cover of this album for the duration of the LP. Its songs feature acoustic guitars, gentle singing, flutes, nature, rulers (not the kind that measure), and courage. Bilbo Baggins would fit easily into the world of "The Courage of Others."

8. Sleigh Bells - "Treats"

So simple, so catchy, so hip: I hate to love it. At least it's not Black Eyed Peas, whom I love to hate. (On a different note, if you're looking for distorted drum-machine beats, heavy guitars, and female vocalists, check out Atari Teenage Riot. They did the whole "We're on the bleeding edge of hip and we love to make noise with electronics and guitars and hip-hop beats" thing awhile ago - albeit at a much, much faster tempo.)

9. Fever Ray - "Fever Ray"

This is a solo album, but we may as well just call this the Knife. "Fever Ray" sounds like a long-lost second disc to the Knife's hypnotizing "Silent Shout" album. But I'll go ahead and play Fever Ray's game and pretend it's not a Knife album.

"Fever Ray" is the kind of stuff played in purgatory to give souls glimpses of hell and, at the same time, glimmers of hope for what lies beyond.

10. The Black Keys - "Brothers"

They keep getting better and better. This time they're mostly without Danger Mouse, and it doesn't hurt a bit.

The Rest of the Best Albums of 2010

11. Band of Horses - "Infinite Arms"

More uptempo and upbeat than their other albums, they toured for this album with a terrific live show to boot.

12. Massive Attack - "Heligoland"

I could lament the fact that this isn't "Mezzanine." But nothing will ever be "Mezzanine" again. So I'll settle for "Heligoland," with King Midas Sound filling in the gaps.

13. RJD2 - "Colossus"

Yeah, I know: Mad Men's theme song is an RJD2 track. You know that, but did you know the Deeter, as I like to call him, has been around for awhile, producing mostly hip hop, and now stuff like this, where he plays the instruments, sings, and does a rather fine job? And he was raised in the magnificent Midwest - Columbus, OH, to be exact. So close to Indianapolis, we're practically brothers.

14. M.I.A. - "Maya"

Sure, her sense of fashion resembles the pile of clothes at Goodwill after the employees take all the good stuff. But then again, so does Yeasayer's. At any rate, this album has some delicious bass and beats (much of it courtesy of Rusko, who also released a good album this year, and Diplo, one half of the aforementioned Major Lazer). And "Maya" also has the prerequisite amount of socio-political commentary we've come to expect and love from M.I.A. Even if we don't know what she's ranting about, it still makes us want to throw molotovs at the Man.

15. Deftones - "Diamond Eyes"

Go ahead, roll your eyes. "Music for meatheads," you say. "Music for the guy who can't get the girl so he goes to an expensive steakhouse to stuff his face and cry in his cocktail," I say. Seriously, though: Deftones are one of the most reliable (minus "B-Sides and Rarities," which doesn't count) head-banging bands around.

16. Big Boi - "Sir Lucious Left Foot..."

I put ellipses in the King Midas Sound album title because it had them. I put ellipses in Big Boi's album title because it was too long. Thankfully the album isn't that way, and gives us enough fuel to keep bouncing our badonkadonks until the next Outkast album comes out.

17. John Mellencamp - "No Better Than This"

"Pink Houses," these songs ain't. Rather, they represent the Midwest with a nice chunk o' mid-century Americana. And they're recorded with one mic in some cool places. So there.

18. The New Pornographers - "Together"

Like the Deftones, the New Pornographers are an impressively reliable band. Unlike the Deftones, the New Pornographers have red-headed chanteuse Neko Case and a bevy of singable, memorable pop songs.

19. Noisia - "Split the Atom"

I'd call this drum and bass. But then it also has dance. And dubstep. And ambient. And IDM. So overall, it's "electronic." It's time to coin a better term than that, Hipsters. How about "foliage step"?

20. Antibalas - "Who Is This America?"

That's a great question, Antibalas - thank you for asking! This "America" you keep hearing about has repeatedly lured your children to the drugs, the premarital sex, the curse words, and the gays. If this America takes take our freedoms, you won't be able to defend yourself the next time someone tries to break into your house to steal all that money you saved from the tax cuts, now, will you? (P.S. Fela's dead. Long live Fela!)

21. Minus the Bear - "Omni"

It would be impossible for Minus the Bear to follow up the stellar "Planet of Ice" with another "Planet of Ice." After all, "Planet of Ice" was Minus the Bear's "Kid A." So instead, they followed it up with the soundtrack to every girl-gazing high school boy's summer. In a good way.

22. Uffie - "Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans"

She admits she kinda fell into this whole music thing. As long as Black Eyed Peas exist in this world, I will vote for Uffie every time - someone must vanquish those tasteless legumes.

23. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - "Mojo"

Wow, wasn't expecting this at all. Petty has released many great tunes throughout the years, but I was never sure about his albums as a whole. With "Mojo," I am.

24. How to Destroy Angels - "How to Destroy Angels"

Trent Reznor. 'Nuff said.

25. Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma"

A nice companion piece to Tobacco's "Maniac Meat." Listen to this in the hospital as you're recovering from the wounds sustained when you tried to catch that big vulture (see #5 above), but instead that vulture caught a big piece of you.

The Others

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Kanye West, Chromeo, Lil' Wayne, and probably a few we've forgotten also put out respectable albums in 2010.

Best Album Cover of 2010: Deftones - "Diamond Eyes"

The pretty bird looks beautiful until it rips your eyes out - kind of like the women Deftones seem to sing about.

Worst Album Cover of 2010: Underworld - "Barking"

Underworld: "We're calling the album 'Barking.' Can you design something, say, noisy?"

Artist: "Indeed! I shall give 20 toddlers 20 Mountain Dews. After they drink, I shall then put them all into a 20'x20' room containing only a box of markers and a blank white canvas as a floor."

Underworld: "Splendid!"

Tracklist:

The Misfits - "Skulls"

Ed Rush & Optical - "Ghostbuster"

Method of Defiance - "The Only Way to Go is Down"

Doc Scott - "Fabio's Ghost"

Vex'd - "Ghost"

The Redeemer - "Sound Killah"

Bong-Ra - "666 MPH"

Keltech - "Ghost"

The Presets - "Kicking & Screaming"

Concord Dawn - "Horror Show"

DJ Fresh & Pendulum - "Kingston Vampires"

Dr. Octagon - "Aliens (Sub Focus remix)"

Tiger Shark - "The Fly"

Sub Focus - "Swamp Thing"

Dieselboy - "Death Sentence"

Concord Dawn - "Raining Blood"

The Prodigy - "Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix)"

The Upbeats - "Werewolf"

Koncrete Symphony - "Psycho Killer"

Amon Tobin - "Reanimator"

Techno Animal - "Beheaded"

Peter Tosh - "Dracula (Vampire Version)"

Tracklist:

The Herbaliser - "Something Wicked"

Sufjan Stevens - "You Are The Blood"

Zero 7 - "Ghost sYMbOL"

The Raveonettes - "Dead Sound (Pets on Prozac remix)"

Deadmau5 - "Ghosts 'n' Stuff (Feat. Rob Swire)"

Charles Bernstein - "Main Title" (from the soundtrack to "A Nightmare On Elm Street")

DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "A Nightmare On My Street"

Whodini - "Freaks Come Out At Night"

Felt (Slug and Murs) - "Deathmurdermayhem [Explicit]"

The Clash - "Straight To Hell"

Max Romeo & the Upsetters - "I Chase The Devil"

Warren Zevon - "Werewolves Of London (LP Version)"

Dr. Dre & Ice Cube - "Natural Born Killaz [Explicit]"

RJD2 - "The Horror"

Dead Kennedys - "Halloween"

Bobby "Boris" Pickett - "Monster Mash"

Dälek - "Lynch"

Dance like the undead at your Halloween party!

Listen to the "Nightmare Before Halloween" mix featuring ghosts like Michael Jackson, monsters like Alice Cooper and plenty of living dead. Get the full tracklist, too.

Impatient and don't wanna click the link above? Download the enhanced audio file below, featuring all the links and information found in the podcast. Best played in iTunes:

This mix originally planned on dressing up as Strawberry Shortcake for Halloween until some sense was beaten into it with a jawbreaker- and rock-candy-filled pillowcase.

Download the mix or subscribe to the always-free-and-always-supernatural Tiger Shark Music podcast.

After you download the mix, let us know in the Comments section which scary songs you'd add to your Halloween party mix.

Tracklist:

The Citizens of Halloween (Danny Elfman) - "This Is Halloween"

Tom Waits - "God's Away On Business"

Screamin' Jay Hawkins - "I Put A Spell On You"

Neko Case - "Dirty Knife (Album Version)"

Venetian Snares - "Kétsarkú Mozgalom"

Puscifer - "Rev 22-20 (Dry Martini Mix)"

Pig - "On the Slaughterfront (Album Version)"

Alice Cooper - "Feed My Frankenstein"

Talking Heads - "Psycho Killer (Remastered & Extended Version)"

Joy Division - "Dead Souls"

The Zombies - "Call of the Night (Demo Version)"

8-Bit Weapon - "Movie Monsters Game (Disco Terror Mix)"

Rockwell - "Somebody's Watching Me"

Michael Jackson - "Thriller"

Simian Mobile Disco - "Bad Blood"

The Rapture - "The Devil"

Black Devil Disco Club - "The Devil In Us"

Fela Kuti - "Zombie"

Ray Parker, Jr. - "Ghostbusters"

Ladytron - "Ghosts"

Evil Nine - "Feed on you"

Kode 9 + The Spaceape - "Bodies"

Gorillaz - "Dracula"

Lee 'Scratch' Perry & Devon Irons - "Vampire"

With American dance-music artists duking it out with foreigners from across the oil-slicked pond, this is a global mash-up of countries America is better than.

Download and listen to Tiger Shark Mix 4: Dancing with the Scars and get the full tracklist.

With Americans like the King of Pop, Kid Cudi and Kanye West duking it out with foreigners including Frenchies like Daft Punk, the Canadian Feist, Australians the Presets, the Dutch Noisia, Italians the Bloody Beetroots, Norwegians Röyksopp, the German Boys Noize, and a buncha Brits, this is a global mash-up of countries America is better than.

Celebrate your freedom by downloading the free mix in MP3 or M4A formats, and subscribe to the always-free-and-always-American Tiger Shark Music podcast.

Tracklist:

(00:08) Michael Jackson (representing the mighty countries of Dubai and California) - "Get on the Floor"

(04:30) Daft Punk (reppin' France) - "Around the World"

(07:52) Estelle (reppin' England) ft. Kanye West (reppin' his ego) - "American Boy"

(11:30) TTC (reppin' France) - "Travailler (Orgasmic Remix)"

(14:20) Kid Cudi (reppin' USA) - "Enter Galactic (Love Connection Pt. 1)"

(18:00) Major Lazer (reppin' Earth) - "Keep It Goin' Louder ft. Nina Sky & Ricky Blaze"

(20:43) The Bloody Beetroots (reppin' Italy) - "House No. 84"

(24:27) Noisia (reppin' the Netherlands) - "Red Heat"

(27:10) Basement Jaxx (reppin' the U.K.) - "Twerk (ft. Yo Majesty)"

(30:28) Justice (reppin' France) - "D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT remix)"

(34:27) MSTRKRFT (reppin' Canada) - "Bounce (ft. Nore & Isis)"

(37:17) The Presets (reppin' Australia) - "My People"

(41:20) Simian Mobile Disco (reppin' the UK) - "Off the Map (ft. Jamie Lidell)"

(45:17) Evil Nine (reppin' the UK) - "Wait (ft. David Autokratz)"

(48:58) Boys Noise (reppin' Germany) - "My Moon My Man (Feist)"

(54:40) Junior Boys (reppin' the USA) - "The Equalizer"

(58:06) Röyksopp (reppin' Norway) - "The Girl and the Robot"

It's good to be King.

Yelp, the service that allows anyone to review virtually any business/recreation spot, just launched their latest iteration. Featuring the ability to become Duke/Duchess of realms, Foursquare-like badges and more, the new Yelp adds some fun elements to what was already a great free service.

And best of all, I'm King of Indianapolis. It's about time (for my humble servants to bring me Sun King Grapefruit Jungle in a special package of a BMW X6 M-Series.)

Signed,
Your Fearless Leader

Bugs. Ants. Spiders from Mars. And a White Snake.

Download and listen to Tiger Shark Mix 3: Creepy-Crawlies and get the full tracklist.

Download the Creepy-Crawlies mix in MP3, M4A, or subscribe to the Tiger Shark music podcast on iTunes. You know you have 15 minutes to listen to this.

Read the blog post that inspired this mix, featuring insects, reptiles and alien arachnids.

Tracklist (15:08):

0:08 Dynospectrum (ft. Slug & Ant, aka Atmosphere) - "Anything is Everything"

2:26 White Snake - "Is This Love"

4:39 Iron Butterfly - "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

5:29 The Locust - "Moth-eaten Deer Head (Tiger Shark edit)"

5:52 The Bug - "Angry (ft. Tippa Irie)"

6:57 Deer Tick - "Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)"

8:00 The Beatles - "I Saw Her Standing There"

9:06 Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars (David Bowie) - "John, I'm Only Dancing"

10:39 Adam and the Ants - "Desperate but not Serious"

12:00 Bugz in the Attic - "Move Aside"

14:15 Adam and the Ants - "Kick!"

Download and listen to Tiger Shark Mix 2: Blog to the Dubstep and get the full tracklist.

Phew! Got this mix out the door before dubstep splinters into two dozen other subgenres.

The words "blog" and "dubstep" are much like Dick Cheney: they should've never been born. But unlike Cheney, they're integral to this post.

Like "blog" and "dubstep", this mix sounds heavy and dirty. Lots of bass. Lots of beats. And thanks to La Roux and Burial, some beautiful sounds, too.

Download the MP3 version, the enhanced M4A version, or best of all, subscribe to the Tiger Shark music podcast on iTunes so you don't miss a beat.

Tracklist (53:11):

1. Kode 9 - "Portal (ft. the Spaceape)"
2. Evol Intent - "Gunpowder Plot"
3. The Bug - "Jah War (ft. Flowdan)"
4. Bong-Ra - "Go Tiger! (ft. Hanin Elias)"
5. Bassnectar - "Timestretch"
6. La Roux - "In for the Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix)"
7. Burial - "Fostercare"
8. The Bug - "Ganja (ft. Flowdan)"
9. Skream - "Check It (ft. Warrior Queen)"
10. Rusko - "Got Da Groove (ft. Gucci Mane)"
11. Lil' Wayne - "I Feel Like Dying (Flying Lotus remix)"
12. Modeselektor - "Let Your Love Grow (ft. Apparat & Paul St. Hilaire)"
13. Vex'd - "Corridor"
14. TC - "Where's My Money (Caspa remix)"
15. Michna - "Triple Chrome Dipped (Star Eyes & Mayster Liquid Vision remix)"
16. The Bug - "Poison Dart (ft. Warrior Queen - Skream remix)"
17. Burial - "Archangel"

Shoutout to Baz from Atomic Indy for the title. Has the same nasty words, but doesn't sound as gross as the original title, "Dubstep on My Blog".

Download it below. Read more and get the full tracklist here, as well as an MP3 version (without goodies like the cover art or track info). Next up: the Creepy-Crawly mix. And the iTunes podcast.

Hip hop? Reggae? Techno? 80's synth ballad AND hair metal? Check, check, check, check AND check:

Download. Listen. Irresistible, just like kittens.Background:

Tiger Shark mix 1: Cute & Cuddly is the first music mix in a series to accompany the Thursday Friday Saturday blog posts about bands and musical artists named after animals (or at least sharing their names). The first post was Top 10 Bands Named After Cute Animals.

Sure, it might not make a lot of sense. But listen, and you'll find it makes more sense than not. Plus it's just dang fun (note on the curse words: there are a few of them. But there are more funky beats than dirty words. Promise.)

Tracklist:

1. The Korgis - "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime"
2. Bunny Clarke - "Move Out of My Way"
3. Eek-A-Mouse - "Ganja Smuggling"
4. Mouse On Mars - "Fish Bord"
5. Danger Mouse & Jemini - "What U Sittin' On? (Danger Mouse's 26" Remix ft. Cee Lo & Tha Liks)"
6. The Bird & The Bee - "F*cking Boyfriend"
7. deadmau5 - "Hi Friend!"
8. Bunny Rabbit - "Saddle Up"
9. Miss Kittin & The Hacker - "Uno"
10. Felix Da Housecat ft. Miss Kittin - "Madame Hollywood"
11. Possum Dixon - "Watch the Girl Destroy Me"
12. Britny Fox - "Girlschool"
13. Super Furry Animals - "The Proper Ornaments"
14. Modest Mouse - "Doin' the Cockroach"

Download the mix in MP3 format, or in the M4A below, both of which can be played on any Apple device and most other audio players.

This first mix in the Bands Named After Animals series is also the first Tiger Shark music podcast - coming soon to an iTunes near you.

One thing I've learned from the wealth of messages I receive daily: There are three surefire ways to make sure subscribers don't read your organization's email messages. Sure, subscribers might open it (online marketing pros know that encouraging subscribers to open an email in the first place is quite a feat itself), but once they open it, if you do the following three things, your call to action - whether a request to donate, buy a product, or share with a friend - will go unheeded.

This message lacks a logo, an image related to the text's content, and an immediately obvious message. (Click to view larger).I'll use a message I received from Lifeline Animal Rescue Network as an example. This post is meant to help organizations improve their marketing, and is not meant as an insult or critique of the organization - to the contrary, Lifeline has a noble cause - to help homeless animals. Though I'm still not 100% sure what they do to help.

But that's not the point of this post - the point is that doing these three things in a business or non-profit's email to customers and supporters will ensure that most people won't read a message if they open it:

1. Use Inconsistent Branding

This email has a generic-looking banner and format. The organization's website has a different one (I'm not sure either is a logo.) Since I'm not familiar with this organization in the first place (and how they got my email address is a separate matter), how can I trust that the message I receive is from the organization itself and not an imposter trying to steal my credit card information?

Anyone can grab a company or non-profit organization's logo, slap it into an email distribution program, and send it out as if it's from the organization. But if the message you're sending out truly is from who you say it's from, it's important to cut down on as many red flags as possible for the reader. If I was familiar with Lifeline and received this message, the lack of consistent, recognizable branding is the first red flag that would make my brain slow down a bit and say "Hey, something's not right here..." The second thing to do to turn people off from your email is:

2. Don't Include Images

There's nothing pretty to look at in this message. Besides the blue banner and the easycontact brand footer, there's no color. There's no photograph, no drawing, no icon. I didn't know what this message was about when I opened it; a photograph of animals would have done wonders to encourage me to read the message.

People are inundated with email, and providing one powerful visual in any electronic communication can make the difference between gaining a new customer or turning someone off for good. Most email marketing programs (Convio, ExactTarget, etc.) allow you to brand your message with your logo and include images, even with free versions.

Even with a powerful image, though, many people wouldn't read this message because the author chose to:

3. Write a Large Block of Tiny Text

This is an easy trap to fall into. I know, because I LOVE to write. Even this post is probably longer than necessary. And many people, when given access to email their organization's supporters, think "I'm going to include every single thing in this message that's important to me about this subject because I KNOW it will be important to the person reading this and they won't have as many questions for me once they read it!" Not true.

E-blasts and electronic newsletters need to be easy to scan (there's plenty of research on e-communication effectiveness, especially from usability expert Jakob Nielsen.) And better yet, the message should fit onto one screen rather than multiple scrolled screens. And most importantly, your audience should be able to figure out what the heck you're trying to make them do within the first few seconds of them opening the message - or else they'll probably delete it right away and lessen the odds that they'll open a message from you again.

The only reason I read the Lifeline email was because I didn't know what it was (besides an email message I don't remember subscribing to) and had thought about writing on this topic for awhile. And the problem with this email wasn't only the fact that there were more paragraphs and more tiny-font words than there needed to be - the biggest issue is that I STILL don't know exactly what Lifeline is or what they do. I know they want to help animals, and somehow they want to help animals by having people eat food and donate money, but the correlation between these things is lost on me.

So if you're responsible for using email to bring customers to your business, encourage supporters of your non-profit cause to donate, or even invite your friends and family to your next big party, consider adding appropriate visuals and cutting the text down to only the most important, easily understandable stuff. With that in mind, I'm done writing for now.

Wait, no I'm not: What's the most effective electronic message you've recently received from a company or non-profit, and did they not do the steps above? Leave your comment below.

The last Top 10 Bands Named After Animals post was dedicated to cute ones. This list, not so much.

Because not as many people like creatures that wriggle or slither as cats and dogs, we'll keep this short & sweet.

1. The Bug

It's impossible not to list a musical artist with a name like "the Bug" here. Plus, the music made by Kevin Martin, aka the Bug, is simply wonderful: lots of bass, Jamaican toasters and a sinister vibe that can't be beat.

2. Slug & Ant (aka Atmosphere)

Dunno how they got their nicknames, and don't really care to find out, especially if Slug got his name from the slimy creature and not a lead bullet. At any rate, Slug & Ant, aka Atmosphere, have been making great Midwestern hip-hop for quite awhile and put on a good show, too.

3. The Beatles

The misspelling nearly disqualified them. But the fact that they're one of the greatest bands of all time - and the fact that they aren't Papa Roach - set them in this list with ease. (Side note: Thursday Friday Saturday's music-production unit, Tiger Shark, considered using the name "The Beatless" before settling on Tiger Shark. Someone else had used it. And we didn't want to be sued by the Beatles or the Beatless.)

The Beatles' "Love" is basically an amazing remix album. And a Cirque du Soleil Vegas show.

4. The Locust

If you like goofy, complex, aggressive music, look no further than the Locust. If you like tales of locusts ravaging human foodstuffs as a portent of horrible things to come, look no further than the Bible

.

5. Bugz in the Attic

Another shoe-in to this list, Thursday Friday Saturday saw Bugz in the Attic in South Beach, Miami's Winter Music Conference one time. And we've seen bugs in our attic-converted-to-bedroom, which has its fair share of creepy crawlies this time of year.

6. Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars

Yeah, technically this is the name of a David Bowie album. But given the fact that it was a pretty sweet concept album and the band's name was the Spiders from Mars - and we needed to kick Papa Roach off the Top 10 somehow - the Spiders deserve a spot.

7. White Snake

Unless you drive a 1987 Camaro or heard White Snake's "Here I Go Again" at the bowling alley last night, you probably haven't heard it for years. You're welcome. (And if you were reminded by Great White when you read "White Snake", don't worry: they will be in a future Top 10 Bands Named After Animals list.)

Buy the White Snake "Definitive Collection" with not only "Here I Go Again", but classics "Slide It In", "Ready An' Willing" and more. Something tells us that the band had something other than a long, legless reptile in mind when they came upon their name (that's what she said.)

8. Adam and the Ants

Adam and the Ants were the type of 80's British band - along with A Flock of Seagulls and Duran Duran - that made us wonder what the heck was in the water across the pond.

9. Iron Butterfly

So butterflies aren't creepy or crawly - when they're adults. But at one point in their life, they're larvae, which is creepy-crawly enough, just like the plastic surgery on the woman's face who introduces their classic song, "In A Gadda Da Vida", in this video:

10. Deer Tick

Thursday Friday Saturday doesn't know much about Deer Tick, other than they deserve this spot more than Papa Roach, and they get a bonus point for having the name of an animal in their album "War Elephant." And another bonus point for having the coolest desert-themed band visual (on their album below) since the Clash's "Rock the Casbah" video. And yet another bonus point for having the most anti-Web 2.0 site we've seen in a long, long time.

Disqualified: Papa Roach

There's a possibility of a "Bottom 10 Bands Named After Animals" post on Thursday Friday Saturday. On second thought, no there isn't: the animals named after bands like Papa Roach have already suffered enough indignity by the music played by the bands named after them.

No offense to roaches, but a roach is not the coolest thing you can incorporate into a band name. And preceding it with "Papa" doesn't help much, either.

Next time on "Top 10 Bands Named After Animals": kitty cats! Who do you want to see on future lists?