Five on Friday: Pete Hinz of JJCnV and the Shaving Party

*(Editors' note: Pete has been impressing people in and visiting the Valley for a number of years. It's impossible not to be wowed by his relationship with the bass. Check out his recent Shaving Party release and follow the page to some of his history, like Death Takes A Holiday. And dig all the JJCnV noisy art- and post-punk here.)

By Pete Hinz

I've been given a very teeny tiny jukebox. It only holds five singles. Here are the A sides I'd stock it with. I'll include each one's B side, too.

'Mr. Wilson' by John Cale

This is the newest song I'll list here. By that I mean it's the song that's most recently taken hold of me. I've listened to Cale in the past and thought his work pleasant, but not always engaging... Until a couple of years ago, that is. At that point, my DNA mutated once again and viola! I'm head over heels for this track and many of Cale's other tracks.

B side - "Nothing's Going to Happen (Wall of Dwarfs version)" by Tall Dwarfs.

'It's Nothing to Me' by Sanford Clark

Tough, tough song with a wicked back beat and mean rockabilly guitar licks. Sanford delivers his wise-as-Merlin's lyrics with the gravity of a black hole doing shots at the end of the bar. Just be glad, buddy, you're a bystander to this story and not the main subject. Recorded in Lee Hazelwood's Arizona studio.

B side - "Psycho" by Jack Kittel.

'Cake Shop Girl' by Swell Maps

A man from the government comes along. He says they want to put out a stamp celebrating indie rock. He asks what they should put on this particular stamp to represent this entire genre. The answer: THIS TRACK. Swell Maps make a superbly glorious racket not beholden to a label, producer, or focus group. Their music could be likened to a quaint seaside town full of charming people all brandishing knives behind their backs. And that organ… wow. It's the sound of an ice cream truck making rounds through the Elysian Fields.

B side - "Bathysphere" by Smog.

'Triptych' by Roxy Music

We are the suffering. We are the damned. We've spent centuries in stone cathedrals groveling to divinities over our strife. Bryan Ferry gets it. Praise the lords, he has showcased this perpetual beggars' plight with some absolutely stunning music and heavenly vocals.

B side - "Regular John" by Queens of the Stone Age.

'Hate My Way' by Throwing Muses

Ginsberg wrote in Howl, "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness". I couldn't think of a more apt title and phrase to describe this song. The track rages and screams and undulates in various states of manic depression. For 40 years, this song has lived in my soul. The Leslie/David rhythm section flawlessly creates and shapes the mood while Kristin is out front, laying everything bare poetically. It is unique, it is fearless, and it is captivating.

B side - "Hey Joe" by Kathy McCarty.

For those tired of human voices, here's a bonus instrumental five:

• "Solace" by Scott Joplin.
• "Honey Trippin" by Mystic Moods Orchestra.
• "Love is Blue" by Paul Mauriat.
• "P.F.B." by The Flee-Rekkers.
• "Dad, There's a Little Phrase Called Too Much Information" by Out Hud.