D-A-R-K Dark Dark Dark!

Today's Finn and Charlie didn't take so long to draw BUT I'm not making you wait so long till I post it.

Labels: comic

posted by Tony at 11:58 AM | 0 comments

What a bad picture!: 7/27 show

(Sorry for the delay in posting this playlist.)

This week, when I played the Polyphonic Spree, I accidentally played the same song as I played the last time I was on the air — when I subbed for Mary a week and a half ago. But I tell you, "Light to Follow" is an awesome song. I like this song in the way I liked songs in high school: deeply and thoroughly. It seems to speak to me on some level. I honestly didn't pay that much attention to the Polyphonic Spree before (though I'm fond of their cover of Nirvana's "Lithium"), but I really like this album — all of it.

Which brings me to my thoughts about my top 10 of the year, which is still 5 months away. But here are the albums that are currently in the running, alphabetically by artist:

Lily Allen		Alright, Still
Battles		Mirrored
Bobby Conn		King for a Day
The Earlies		The Enemy Chorus
Gogol Bordello		Super Taranta!
Haale		Morning and Paratrooper (Two simultaneously-released EPs I'm counting as on album)
The Noisettes		What's the Time Mr Wolf?
The Polyphonic Spree		The Fragile Army
Rufus Wainwright		Release the Stars
Patrick Wolf		The Magic Position

Some of these won't make it to the final list, but they will probably all at least be Honorable Mentions.

Please take a moment to sign the petition to support low-power FM in urban areas.

This week's playlist:

*: new stuff
(r): requests

Artist	Song	Album	Label
The Talking Heads	Found a Job	Once in a Lifetime Boxed Set
Babes in Toyland	More More More	Spirit of '73: Rock for Choice	550 Music/Epic
*Balkan Beat Box	Joro Boro	Nu-Med	JDUB
*Life on Earth!	Barefoot on Tiptoe	Look!! There is Life on Earth!	Subliminal Sounds
Andrew Bird	Action/Adventure	Fingerlings	Self-released
*The Polyphonic Spree	Light to Follow	The Fragile Army	TVT
Hair	Good Morning Starshine	Hair - Original Broadway Recording	RCA Victor
(r)The Cocteau Twins	Blue Bell Knoll	Blue Bell Knoll	4AD
*Ulrich Schnauss	A Song About Hope	Goodbye	Domino
The Sea and Cake	Shoulder Length	One Bedroom	Thrill Jockey
*Arthur and Yu	1,000 Words	In Camera	Hardly Art/Sub Pop
Hank Williams	Long Gone Lonesome Blues	40 Gratest Hits	Polydor
Laurie Anderson	Coolsville	Strange Angels	Warner Brothers
The Future Bible Heroes	Losing Your Affection (Client on Demand Mix)	The Lonely Robot	Instinct
Fantastic Plastic Machine	Beautiful Days	Beautiful	Emperor Norton
*Mark Ronson feat. Santo Gold	Pretty Green	Version	RCA
*Gogol Bordello	Harem in Tuscany	Super Taranta!	Side One Dummy!
ZZZZ	Forget It	Demo	Self-released
The Red Krayola	Born in Flames	The Singles 1968-2002	Drag City
*Sonic Youth	Rain King (Live)	Daydream Nation (Deluxe Edition)	Universal/Geffen
*White Stripes	I'm Slowly Turning Into You	Icky Thump	Warner Brothers
Troubled Hubble	Nancy	Penturbia	Latest Flame Records
Pizzicato Five	If I Were a Groupie	The Sound of Music by Pizzicato Five	Matador
*The Beastie Boys	Dramastically Different	The Mix-Up	Capitol
Desmond Dekker	Israelites	Israelites	TKO
The Style Council	Changing of the Guard	Confessions of a Pop Group	Polydor
CocoRosie	Rainbowarriors	The Adventures of Ghost Horse and Stillborn	Touch and Go
Husker Dü	Could You Be the One	Warehouse Songs & Stories	Warner Brothers
The Cocktails	Miss Maple	Peel	Carrot Top
*Githead	Space Life	Art Pop	Swim
*Begushkin	Nightly Things	Nightly Things	Locust
Lali Puna	Faking the Books	Faking the Books	Morr Music
*John Vanderslice	Kookaburra	Emerald City	Barsuk
The Aluminum Group	Tiny Decision	Happyness	Wishing Tree Records
Rufus Wainwright	Grey Gardens	Poses	Dreamworks
*St. Vincent	Paris is Burning	Marry Me	Beggar's Banquet
*Of Montreal	Tropical Iceland (Live of KCRW)	Suffer for Fashion EP	Polyvinyl
The Go! Team	Ladyflash	Thunder Lightning Strike	Memphis Industries
Buddy Holly	I'm Gonna Set ME Foot Down	The Buddy Holly Collection	MCA
Zen for Primates	Funky Town	Blessed Are the Sheep Herders

Labels: music, playlists, wluw

posted by Tony at 11:21 AM | 0 comments

Can't Talk... Reading...

Go read Finn and Charlie

Labels: comic

posted by Tony at 11:50 AM | 1 comments

WLUW, What's Next? I Don't Know.

Something is happening here in Chicago with WLUW that's I've been processing over the past few days. (If you don't want to read all of this, please skip down to the bottom where I ask for a little help.)

The Background:
As you may know, WLUW is an independent, listener-supported radio station. Loyola University owns and maintains the transmitter, and WBEZ (Chicago Public Radio) provides management assistance and guidance. Loyola decided about 5 years ago to shut down the station in order to deal with a budget shortfall, and WBEZ stepped in with a proposal to keep it going. Key to that proposal was that WLUW would be self-supporting, by means of fund-raising events and pledge drives. For the past 5 years, the staff of the station (which is mostly volunteer) has been building up toward this goal, and last month we finally hit it. It was very exciting and validating; an interesting thing about raising money from listeners is that it is exactly a referendum on whether or not people are happy with you — if listeners are supporting you, it means the radio is good.

The News:
Last Friday, Robert Feder of the Sun-Times broke a story, leaked to him by persons unknown (denials have come from both Loyola and BEZ), that Loyola was terminating the agreement with WBEZ and taking back control of the station. This came as a complete shock, a punch in the gut. This past weekend was also the Pitchfork Festival and the Clark Street Fest, two events (one of them quite major) where WLUW has a presence. We were there to raise money and awareness of the station; suddenly we are uncertain about the future, and we have to talk to not only listeners and potential listeners, but also the press.

Mr. Feder, a pox on your first-born for ruining our weekend.

In any event, we had no details until last night's meeting with representatives from WBEZ. Torey Malatia, the General Manager, came with his Program Director, Ron Jones, and someone named Daniel whose exact title I can't remember. They had no definitive answers for us, but told us what they could.

(Torey Malatia has been a controversial figure in Chicago, in part for his decision to end most music programming on WBEZ, and also for his decision to help WLUW. Many mistrusted WBEZ's intentions towards WLUW, and WBEZ has been portrayed akin to the Borg. After Monday's meeting I have nothing but respect for the man. He clearly is passionate about radio that serves the public, and was definitely broken up about the loss of WLUW. I don't agree with all of his decisions at WBEZ, but I respect him. And I can also validate that WBEZ's influence on WLUW has been nothing but good.)

Loyola has been secretive about their motivations for a while. Rumors have been around since the agreement began that Loyola wanted the station back, but they would never admit to even thinking about it. They have not met with Shawn and Craig, our Program Director and Station Manager, for about a year and a half; this leads me to believe that they had grievances there but did not want to work them out. In any event, it's all speculation.

What seems clear is that Loyola wants the station to be the centerpiece of its new School of Communication, and they want more student involvement. (In fact, WLUW has higher student involvement than most college stations; Northwestern's WNUR has more mainly because all Journalism students are required, as part of their studies, to do reports for the radio. No students were ever turned away from WLUW, and getting involved was much easier and more welcoming than at WHPK when I was a student at the U of C 15 years ago.)

What is also clear is that Shawn and Craig are leaving almost immediately. (This appears to come from Loyola; no one at WLUW or WBEZ wants to see them go.) While there's a very good chance that Loyola will continue the community programming, it's also likely that they intend to make changes (otherwise, why fire the folks who have made it a success?). And whether or not they plan to keep the format the same, and even the staff the same, the dream we've been building to for five years is scuttled.

So the upshot is this: I do not know if there will be a place for me at the station next year. I will continue to treat the station professionally, and Shawn and Craig taught us; I will not mention the situation on air, and I will continue to work to build the reputation of the station and play good music. And I will prepare for a few different possibilities: I may stay with the station, I may leave radio altogether, or I may help to build a new community radio station in Chicago.

The Plea:
So here's where I need your help. If a new station is to form in Chicago, it will need better access to the airwaves. Currently, the low end of the dial is crowded, and the commercial end is closed to low-power FM in urban areas. New legislation is trying to open up the commercial end of the dial to low-power stations. These stations would be not-for-profit, and would not interfere at all with the more powerful commercial stations next to them. Multiple community stations could open around the country, serving their various local areas.

Please take a moment to sign the petition to support low-power FM. It might be the only future of community radio in Chicago.

Thanks for reading. More info here at Chicagoist

Labels: personal, wluw

posted by Tony at 6:51 PM | 1 comments

Ectomorph man!

Go read Finn and Charlie. I just posted a new one.

Labels: comic

posted by Tony at 11:59 PM | 1 comments

Open up the broken cup - 7/16 show, subbing for Mary

I promised some notes:

Gogol Bordello is immensely fun "Gypsy punk" — imagine the Gypsy Kings fultered through garage-punk. I discovered them from a listener request, back when I had a Saturday night show. They were performing in Chicago that night, and the listener was on his way to the show, and wanted to get in the mood, so I played somethign for him. I confess I didn't get into them much at that point, but now we have a new abulm of theirs in rotation, and it's really great stuff straight through. And I just got an email from my friend JJ saying she loves Gogol Bordello and she's glad I'm playing it. Me too.

And now, today's show:

* New!
(r) Request

Artist	Song	Album	Label
Nick Drake	Things behind the Sun	Pink Moon	Island
Ulrich Schnauss	Knuddelmaus	Faraway Trains Passing	Domino
The Art of Noise	Galleons of Stone	In No Sense? Nonsense!	China Records
*Plants	Tumbleweed	Photosynthesis	Strange Attractors
*Interpol	Pace is the Trick	Our Love to Admire	Capitol
Daylight Basement	Any Kind of Pretty	Any Kind of Pretty	Self-released
Rufus Wainwright	Rebel Prince	Poses	Dreamworks
Bobby Conn	Love Let Me Down	King for a Day	Thrill Jockey
*Gogol Bordello	Suddenly... (I Miss Carpathy)	Super Taranta!	Side One Dummy
*A Hawk and a Hacksaw	Romanian Hora and Bulgar (Live Somewhere in Europe)	A Hawk and a Hacksaw and The Hun Hangar Ensemble EP	Leaf
Kate Bush with Prince	Why Should I Love You?	The Red Shoes	Columbia
*Chromeo	Tenderoni	Fancy Footwork	Vice
Grandmaster Flash	The Message	The Message	Sakkaris
The Aluminum Group	Two-Bit Faux Construction	Pedals	Minty Fresh
*Sonic Youth	Candle	Daydream Nation (Deluxe Edition)	Universal/Geffen
Pit er Pat	Solstice	Pyramids	Thrill Jockey
Nina Simone	The Gal from Joe's	My Baby Just Cares for Me	Duchesse
*Savath and Savalas	Paisaje	Golden Pollen	Anti-
*The White Stripes	Conquest	Icky Thump	Warner Brothers
Joe Jackson	Stepping' Out	Hot Chip-DJ Kicks	!K7
M+M	Black Stations/White Stations	Mystery Walk	One Way
*Bonde do Role	Marina do Bairro	With Lasers	Domino/Mad Decent
*The Ladybug Transistor	In-Between	Can't Wait Another Day	Merge
Andrew Bird	Scythian Empire	Armchair Apocrypha	Fat Possum
Jamie Lidell feat. piano by Gonzalez	Muliply (In a Minor Key)	Multiply Additions	WARP
Tom Waits	Clap Hands	Rain Dogs	Island
Mavis Staples featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo	Down in Mississippi	We'll Never Turn Back	Anti-
*Polyphonic Spree	Light to Follow	The Fragile Army	TVT
*Airiel	Mermaid In	The Battle of Sealand	Highwheel
The Kitchens of Distinction	Railwayed	Strange Free World	One Little Indian
Zerostars	Sleeping In	2nd album preview	Self-released
*The National	Brainy	Boxer	Beggars Banquet
Goober and the Peas	MacArthur Park	20 More Explosive Fantastic Rockin' Smash Hit Explosions	Pravda
The Gothic Archies	This Abyss	The Tragic Treasury (Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events)	Nonesuch
*Spoon	My Little Japanese Cigarette Case	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga	Merge
(r)*Junior Boy (performing Stars)	Sleep Tonight	Do You Trust Your Friends?	Arts and Crafts
(r)*Shellac	Steady as She Goes	Excellent Italian Greyhound	Touch and Go
Irakere	Bacaloa con Pan	Si, Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba, Vol. 1	Waxing Deep

Labels: music, playlists

posted by Tony at 6:50 AM | 0 comments

Delays » Cancellation

No Finn and Charlie this week.

Like three of my flights this week, the delay has turned into a cancellation. (Three cancellations for a 2-day trip? Yes, one of the cancellations was actually a rebooking. Sigh.)

Next week, I promise ya.

posted by Tony at 10:56 PM | 0 comments

Delays, Delays

Finn and Charlie will be delayed this week while I travel on business. I should have it up on Thursday evening.

posted by Tony at 3:33 PM | 0 comments

Bang goes another kanga on the bonnet of the van: 7/6 show

No notes this week... I'll have something to say next week I'm sure.

*: new stuff
(r): requests

Artist	Song	Album	Label
Kate Bush	The Dreaming	The Dreaming	EMI Manhattan
PJ Pooterhoots	Can't Go for That	No Go EP
*Chow Nasty	Thick Shake	Super (Electrical) Recordings	Omega
*Von Südenfed	Fledermaus Can't Get It	Tromatic Reflexxions	Domino
The Streets	Has It Come to This?	Original Pirate Material	Vice
The Sea & Cake	Hotel Tell	One Bedroom	Thrill Jockey
*Lavender Diamond	Open Your Heart	Imagine Our Love
*Meg Baird	Do What you Gotta Do	Dear Companion	Drag City
Sophia Loren	Zoo Bee Zoo Bee Zoo	Divas Exotica	Capitol
*The Beastie Boys	Suco de Tangerina	The Mix-Up	Capitol
Silkworm	Penalty Box	It'll Be Cool	Touch & Go
(r)Blonde Redhead	Dr. Strangeluv	23	4AD
The Judybats	All Day Afternoon	Pain Makes You Beautiful	Sire
Caetano Veloso	13 de Maio	The Best of	Nonesuch
Tegan and Sara	You Wouldn't Like Me	So Jealous	Sanctuary
Elliot Smith	Independence Day	XO	Dreamworks
k.d. lang	Lifted by Love	Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Soundtrack)	Sire/Warner Brothers
*Eddie Ray	You Are Mine	Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label	The Numero Group
*Maserati	Inventions	Inventions for the New Season	Temporary Residence
*Plants	Seedling Three	Photosynthesis	Strange Attractions
Janis Martin	All Right Baby	Get Hot or Go Home: Vintage RCA Rockabilly '56-'59	The Country Music Foundation
Kirsty MacColl	Miss Otis Regrets	Galore	IRS
(r)Pretty Girls Make Graves	All Medicated Geniuses	The New Romance	Matador
*The Long Blondes	Separated by Motorways	Someone to Drive You Home	Rough Trade
Chin Up Chin Up	Collide the Tide	We Should Never Have Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers	Flameshovel
Savath and Savalas	Ya Verdad	Golden Pollen	Anti-
Rufus Wainwright	The Art Teacher	Want Two	Geffen
Canasta	Shadowcat	2-song demo	Self-released
Echo and the Bunnymen	Begbugs and Ballyhoo	Echo and the Bunnymen	Sire/Reprise
Puffy Ami Yumi	Planet Tokyo	Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi Soundtrack	Epic
*The Polyphonic Spree	Running Away	The Fragile Army	TVT
*The Ladybug Transistor	Here Comes the Rain	Can't Wait Another Day	Merge
Meryn Cadell	Johnny and Betty	Bombazine	Sire/Reprise
Troubled Hubble	Nancy	Penturbia	Latest Flame Records
*Battles	Atlas	Mirrored	WARP
Super Furry Animales	Ysbeidiau Heulog	Mwng	Flydaddy
O Bando	E Assim Falava Mefistófeles	Love, Peace, and Poetry: Brazilian Psychedelic Music	QDK Media
*The National	Squalor Victoria	Boxer	Beggar's Banquet
The Detholz!	Last Train to Mars	Who Are...	Vortecs
The Futureheads	Decent Days and Nights	The Futureheads	Sire
Baby Teeth	Diaghalev Was Right	The Baby Teeth Album	Self-released
*Mark Sultan	Spinning Ceiling	The Sultanic Verses	In the Red
Angelique Kidjo	Lonlon (Ravel's Bolero)	Djin Djin	EMI

Labels: playlists

posted by Tony at 11:49 PM | 0 comments

Why Am I Always on a Train or a Fast Plane - 7/4 subbing--for-Jenna show

*new stuff
(r) requests

Artist	Song	Album	Label
Rufus Wainwright	What a World	Want One	Dreamworks
Patti Smith	People Have the Power	Dream of Life	Arista
*The Polyphonic Spree	Mental Cabaret	The Fragile Army	TVT
*Apparat	Holdon	Walls	Shitkatapult
Haale	Navayee	Morning	Darya
The Aluminum Group	The Mattachine Society	Plano	Minty Fresh
*Dommm	Dad	Yoloxochitl	Young Cubs
*Bonde do Role	Caminhao de Gas	With Lasers	Domino/Mad Decent
Psalm One	Beat the Drum	The Death of Frequent Flyer	Rhymesayers
Les Négresses Vertes	Hou! Mama Mia (Ethnik Extended)	10 Remixes	Razzia
*Meg Baird	Sweet William and Fair Ellen	Dear Companion	Drag City
Meryn Cadell	Strength	Bombazine	Sire/Reprise
The Shangri-Las	Out in the Streets	The Myrmidons of Melodrama	RPM
Jamie Lidell	Multiply (in a Minor Key)	Multiply Additions	WARP
Stereolab	The Noise of Carpet	Emperor Tomato Ketchup	Elektra
Os Mutantes	A Minha Menina	Everything is Possible	Luaka Bop
*The Beastie Boys	Electic Worm	The Mix-Up	Capitol
*Gogol Bordello	My Strange Uncles from Abroad	Super Taranta!	Side One Dummy
The Husbands	Bar-B-Q	There's Nothing I'd Like More than to See You Dead	Swami
The Cells	Watchout!	Self-released EP
*Battles	Leyedecker	Mirrored	WARP
Björk	I See Who You Are	Volta	Atlantic
Laurie Anderson	Born, Never Asked	Big Science	Warner Brothers
Sufjan Stevens	Chicago	Come On Feel the ILLINOISE	Asthmatic Kitty
*The Emerald Lizards	Mistake (Vampire)	Electric Earthquake	Self-released
Peeping Tom featuring Bebel Gilberto	Caipirinha	Peeping Tom	Ipecac
(r)Elvis Costello and the Attractions	Indoor Fireworks	The Very Best of...	Rykodisc
*Von Südenfed	Chicken Yiamas	Tromatic Reflexxions	Domino
Nick Drake	Pink Moon	Pink Moon	Island
Nina Simone	Little Girl Blue	My Baby Just Cares for Me	Duchesse
*Colleen	Sun Against My Eyes	Les Ondes Silencieuses	Leaf
*Savath and Savalas	Apnea Obstructiva	Golden Pollen	Anti-
The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	She Just Wants to Move	I Bet You Say That to All the Boys	Fashion Brigade
Klaus Nomi	Simple Man	Simple Man	RCA
Tom Zé	Estúpido Rapáz	Estudando o Pagode	Luaka Bop
*Spoon	Rhythm and Soul	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga	Merge
Quasar Wut-Wut	The Tramps of Taro Sound	Taro Sound	Glorious Noise
*Maserati	The World Outside	Inventions for the New Season	Temporary Residence
Toms	Sun	Yellow Pills: Prefill	Numero Group
*David Vendervelde	Dancing Seagulls Instrumental	Nothin' No EP	Secretly Canadian
Mary Weiss	Tell Me What You Want Me to Do	Dangerous Game	Norton
Calexico	Roka	Garden Rain	Quarterstick

Labels: playlists

posted by Tony at 1:35 PM | 0 comments

More strange sights

Continuing on last week's theme, we have this week's Finn and Charlie.

Labels: comic

posted by Tony at 11:52 PM | 0 comments

Pietà

I was on the bus this morning, approaching work. The bus stopped at the corner of Bronx and Gross Point, waiting for a break in traffic, when suddenly there was a loud cry of surprise. A man dressed all in white was bending over to pick up his fluffy white dog; what I'd just missed seeing was the car that had hit it.

"Did you see that?" There was a loud guy on the bus, the kind of guy who talks to anyone, and narrates anything happening around him. So it was from him that I learned what happened: the dog was running off, the man chasing after it; Gross Point is a busy street. Did the driver even know what had happened? How does he feel?

The man picked up the dog, cradled him in his arms, and carried him to the sidewalk. The dog had a tear of blood on its face; the man had blood on his white pants. He crossed Bronx behind the bus (still waiting for a break in traffic, or perhaps the driver was thinking what I was thinking, what can I do?), and reaching the corner of Bronx and Davis, right behind us, just stopped. He kneeled, still holding the dog. The numbness of shock was fading, and grief was coming in its place.

What could I do? Call 911? Where's my phone? My Blackberry has a phone... I put my hand on the Blackberry on my belt.. what what would 911 do? If it were a child, we'd know how to respond, but what do you do in a pet emergency? I thought about getting off the bus, but what would I do? What could I do? I had no car to help take the dog to the hospital; in any event, maybe he'd stopped because he realized there was nothing to do, and the dog was already gone.

Later I realized what I could have done. I could have used the phone to find an animal hospital; I could have called the office and asked Julio to come get us to take us there. I could have been there with him so he wasn't all alone.

But instead I sat on the bus watching him, cradling his dog in his arms like a pietà, his face contorted in grief.

Labels: journal

posted by Tony at 10:21 AM | 1 comments