The danger of playing iPod Roulette with an iPod full of compilations from a mix CD club I've been in for four years is that I have hundreds of songs I don't know much about. Such is the case with "Punks In the Beerlight." I credit one Jonathan W. for introducing me to this song, which he dedicated to George A. on one of our many compilations. It's a great song, probably one of my favorites that I've discovered through this mix club I speak of. High five, Jonathan.

The song begins with four drumbeats and then a guitar riff, before fully rockin' out, and the male voice comes in right away with the opening line "Where's the paper bag that holds the liquor / just in case I feel the need to puke." The guitars are the meat of this song, driving fervent melodies and licks from start to finish. After the first chorus, a female voice appears out of nowhere for a couple of lines ("If it gets really really bad / if it ever gets really really bad"), to which he answers "Let's not kid ourselves. It gets really really bad." As it wraps, the song's finishing lines are sung on repeat: "I've always loved you to the max / I loved you to the max / I loved you to the max / I loved you to the max," etc.

It's a very hooky song that is only a few years old, but I think you could have convinced me that this was an alternative rock hit from the '90s by the likes of Teenage Fanclub or The Lemonheads. It has a timelessness to it and is simply a well written, well composed rock song.

I've never heard anything else by Silver Jews, though I think maybe later today I'll hit the digital airwaves and listen up.