The year 1998 seems like it just went by on the calendar, but it's been 13 long years...

That was the year Barenaked Ladies wowed everyone with "One week." Well, I still go wow, and also with Lenny Kravitz and Joy Drop's brilliant "Beautiful." First I play some hits; and then I get spacey ... with the French duo Air [pictured], the English duo Shpongle, and American guitar soloist Buckethead.

The full playlist is here.

The long-fingered guitar maestro with the mask and KFC bucket on his head is for real. And 2008 was a typical year for him: 4 albums in disparate styles, all unique.

On one album Buckethead played and overdubbed all the instruments. I've never been a fan of the monochromatic sound that results (Prince, McCartney, Rundgren), but the tracks I selected do show off his soloing skill.

More enjoyable is the work he did with others. He frequently plays with Bill Laswell's Praxis and I showcased several songs from their 2008 collaberation "Profanation." They're joined by vocalists Maximum Bob singing or groaning the song "Worship," Killah Priest on "Galaxies" (he sings the F-word "funk," so no one needs to alert the FCC), and Ramellzee on "Revelations Part 2." The rest of the hour is all instrumental.

I close out this hour with a beautiful track from another of his collaberations - Brain with Travis Dickerson called "Future Evolution."