and I feel the sweat rolling up my neck

It is hatefully hot outside, with conditions outside approximating those found within Satan’s armpit. I have therefore retreated to the sanctuary of the AC room, where I’ve been playing Neverwinter Nights and selecting appropriately sizzling tracks for your listening enjoyment.

Wall of Voodoo – Ring of Fire (from the Wall of Voodoo EP, 1980) – Before making their mark on the listening public’s consciousness with their novelty hit, “Mexican Radio”, Wall of Voodoo released an EP and album of brilliant, spooky music that wove synth, spaghetti western, and Latin music elements into a fascinating tapestry of tracks that radiated feelings of isolation and apocalyptic dread. Shamefully, the self-titled 1980 EP and 1981 Dark Continent LP are both currently out of print.

Billy Lee Riley & His Little Green Men – Red Hot (from Red Hot: The Best of Billy Lee Riley, 1999) – Raw, throaty, raucous fifties rockabilly. No Jordanaires are needed here.

The Minds – Hot (from Plastic Girls, 2003) – Here’s some great synthpunk from Portland, Oregon (home also to the Epoxies). The genre may have died on the vine (despite the release of the Epoxies’ near-perfect Stop the Future LP in 2005) but it was fun while it lasted.