“The Man” – Patto

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A gem from the soundtrack of Jody Hill’s beyond twisted 2009 mall cop film “Observe and Report.” This is a slow-boil blues/psychedelic number from an obscure 1970 artist named “Patto.” If it seems like nothing special at first, please stay with it, because it explodes at the end into some terrific scream-singing and crunchy guitar work.  By the way, aside from Martin Scorsese, PT Anderson, and Wes Anderson, there is no filmmaker who assembles a better and cooler rock soundtrack than Jody Hill.  I’ve been checking out Hill’s “Eastbound and Down” HBO show on DVD and my favorite MC5 song “Miss X” made a very prominent cameo.

“I’m Losing You” – John Lennon and Cheap Trick

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Why oh why, wasn’t this the track used on “Double Fantasy”? Lennon … plus the best (and most underrated) hard rock band of the 1970s? This is so much better than the version that wound up on the album. An edgier, grittier, and harder rockin’ version of an already great song.

“Watch the Moon Come Down” – Graham Parker and the Rumour

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A lovely song about the isolation of a small town. Parker is another one of these terrific performers/songwriters who has only had marginal commercial success over the years. However, 2012 could finally be his year. Parker will be a pivotal part of Judd Apatow’s new film “This is Forty,” which is a sort-of-sequel to “Knocked Up,” this time focusing on Paul Rudd’s and Leslie Mann’s characters. Should be great.

“Wicked Little Town” – from the 2001 movie “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” dir. John Cameron Mitchell

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I can’t find the original version from the stage album, so this really good, but not quite as good version from the movie soundtrack will have to do.  The best song from a stellar modern musical. “Hedwig” is everything “Rent” claimed to be: radical, transgressive, emotional, and groundbreaking. The film version (which is probably the only way you can see it these days) is great. It’s so damn good, I almost threw something at the smug host at a local film society back in 2001 when he snickered about how “wacky” this film was. Yes, there are some funny moments here and there, but the film is about as grim and heartbreaking as “Pink Floyd The Wall.”

“Pleasant Street” – Tim Buckley

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Man, I love Tim Buckley. He’s often lumped in with other folk artists of the era, but I think that’s entirely wrong. While he strummed a guitar and often sang lovely and sad ballads, Buckley could turn on a dime and be the scariest, most intense motherf–ker in the room. That voice, when it rises and cracks and wails, comes from a private hell that I don’t want to ever go near. Incredibly powerful stuff.