Just being human - 11/30 show

I still don't know how I feel about Ariel Pink's Haunted Grafitti. He's got a new album, and thus far I've only heard one song. It was pretty good but had a disorganized quality that didn't quite work for me as a song. I've always liked the song "Interesting Results" (from an earlier album), but I didn't find anything on that album I liked nearly as much.

The new artist most piquing my curiosity at the moment is White Williams, in part because the album art kind of freaks me out (check it out here). It's funky and fun and a little messy. Anyway, I'm giving it more of a listen.

I'm also thinking good things about what I've heard so far from Cass McCombs.

Another thing I need to hear more of is the I'm Not There Original Soundtrack. The tracklist for the two-disc set is littered with interesting artists and pairings. How would Karen O handle "Highway 61 Revisited"? Very well, it turns out. And Sonic Youth on the title track? Good, though maybe not a standout. Iron & Wine and Calexico working together? I'd like to hear that, but I haven't had a chance yet. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Calexico together on "Just Like a Woman"? I can't imagine what it'll be like; I'll just have to listen and see. Anyway, I'm looking forward to giving the whole thing a listen.

*: new stuff
(r): requests

artist	song	album	label
Rufus Wainwright	Do I Disappoint You?	Release the Stars	Geffen
Ben Folds	Dog	Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP	Attacked by Plastic/Epic
*The Mary Onettes	Void	The Mary Onettes	Labrador
*The Corals	Who's Gonna Find Me	Roots and Echoes	Columbia
Os Mutantes	Panis et Circenses	Tropicália ou Panis et Circensis	Universal
Bobby Conn	Punch the Sky!	King for a Day	Thrill Jockey
Bobby Conn	Anybody	King for a Day	Thrill Jockey
*White Williams	I Want Candy	Smoke	Tigerbeat6
Marlene Dietrich	Near You	Divas Exotica	Capitol
Haale	Navayee	Morning	Darya
Gary Ogan and Bill Lamb	I Want to Live	This Mortal Coil Box Set: Original Versions disc	4AD
Andrew Bird	Simple X	Armchair Apocrypha	Fat Possum
*Malcolm Middleton	Fight Like the Night	A Brighter Beat	Full Time Hobby
Mess Up the Mess!	Esprit d'Escalier	You Remind Me of Summer Vacation	Paroxysm
*Six Organs of Admittance	Final Wing	Shelter from the Ash	Drag City
Echo & the Bunnymen	Do It Clean	Crocodiles (reissue)	Sire/Rhino
(r)Stars	Soft Revolution	Set Yourself on Fire	Arts & Crafts
The Earlies	Burn the Liars	The Enemy Chorus	Secretly Canadian
*Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti	Gopacapulco	Scared Famous	Human Ear Music
(r)*Sonic Youth	I'm Not There	I'm Not There OST	Columbia/Sony
Henry Padovani	Y a plus de saisons	A croire que c'était pour la vie	CIA
Rosa Passos	Águas de Março	Best of Rosa Passos	Velas
The Aluminum Group	Chocolates	Plano	Minty Fresh
*Figurines	Drove You Miles	When the Deer Wore Blue	Control Group
*Sigur Ros	Hljómalind	Hvarf/Heim	XL
Savath and Savalas	Faltamos Palabras	Golden Pollen	Anti-
*Cass McCombs	Full Moon or Infinity	Dropping the Writ	Domino
Office	Plus Minus Fairytale	A Night at the Ritz	Scratchie/Newline
(r)LCD Soundsystem	Disco Infiltrator	LCD Soundsystem	Capitol/DFA

Labels: music, playlists

posted by Tony at 10:28 AM | 0 comments

Thanksgiving chez Finn and Charlie 2007, part II.

This week's comic is a litle late; I subbed for a sick DJ at the station last night. Playlist coming later, for those who look for such things.

Meanwhile, enjoy the cartoon!

Labels: comic

posted by Tony at 11:59 AM | 0 comments

Pretending the echoes belong to someone... subbing for Claire on 11/26

Today I received an email news update from the Chicago Tribune that Jeannette Sliwinski had been sentenced to 8 years in prison for the killing of three local Chicago musicians. Sliwinski had intended to kill herself when she accelerated up to 87 miles per hour before slamming into stopped traffic — but she didn't kill herself; instead she killed the three men in the car she hit: Douglas Meis, Michael Dahlquist, and John Glick.

I first heard about this story in the spring of 2006 when I was doing a Memorial Day show. I invited listeners to call in with suggestions of musicians who had died, and this was one of the stories I heard.

So I decided to honor their memory again today by playing a song by each of the bands that they were in: The Dials, The Returnables, and Silkworm. And I read a little about the story in the paper.

I got a call thanking me for the tribute, by someone (a friend, or a relative perhaps) who had been in the courtroom earlier when the sentence was read. He told me that with good behavior she'd only have to serve 4 years, and with time served, that's less than two years away.

I didn't know what to say; to me this story had been sort of abstract, another person's tragedy. But this phone call brought it home and made it concrete. There is real pain behind the news, but you don't fully understand that until you are talking to someone involved.

I did make me think about the nature of community radio. We the DJs come from the community, and we play for the community, and sometimes what we play is about the community, and sometimes the community calls us and we make a connection.

I thanked him for calling and giving the information. It was very touching, and I'm glad he liked the set.


*: new stuff
(r): requests

artist	song	album	label
The Postal Service	We Will Become Silhouettes	Give Up	Sup Pop
The Beautiful South	You Keep It All In	Carry On Up the Charts	Mercury
*Morning Recordings	Join the Curtains	The Welcome Kinetic	Loose Thread
Kate Bush	Top of the City	The Red Shoes	Columbia
The Moodswings	Rainsong	The Moodswings	Arista
Maya Angelou	Since Me Man Has Done Gone and Went	Divas Exotica	Capitol
*White Williams	In the Club	Smoke	Tigerbeat6
*Speck Mountain	Stockholm	Summer Above	Burnt Brown Sounds
eX-Girl	Venus vs. Gas Onna	Endangered Species	Alternative Tentacles
Grandmaster Flash	The Message	The Message	Sakkaris
The Dials	Nothing But Crazy	Flex Time	Latest Flame
The Returnables	Teenage Imposters	The Returnables	Dirt Nap
Silkworm	Penalty Box	It'll Be Cool	Touch and Go
*The Mary Onettes	The Laughters	The Mary Onettes	Labrador
*Figurines	Hey Girl	When the Deer Wore Blue	Control Group
Rufus Wainwright	April Fool	Rufus Wainwright	Dreamworks
Laurie Anderson	The Day the Devil	Talk Normal Anthology	Rhino
Meryn Cadell	Inventory	Angel Food for Thought	Bongo Beat
*Muscles	Chocolate Raspberry Lemon & Lime	Guns Babes Lemonade	Modular
*Six Organs of Admittance	Jade Like Wine	Shelter from the Ash	Drag City
Nina Simone	Kangaroo	It'll End in Tears	4AD
Robert Pollard	Tomorrow Will Not Be Another Day	Normal Happiness	Merge
Troubled Hubble	Everything's Going to Be Fine in Canada	The Sun Beamed Off	Magic Spot
*The Owls	Apocalypse	Daughters and Suns	Magic Marker
*Citay	First Fantasy	Little Kingdoms	Dead Oceans
Aztec Camera	Down the Dip	High Land, Hard Rain	Tokuma Japan/Rough Trade
Bettye LaVette	Sleep to Dream	I've Got My Own Hell to Raise	Anti-/Epitaph
*Band of Horses	Islands on the Coast	Cease to Begin	Sub Pop
The Go-Go's	You Can't Walk in Your Sleep (If You Can't Sleep)	Beauty and the Beat	I.R.S.

Labels: playlists

posted by Tony at 7:08 PM | 1 comments

So Long As People Turn Their Heads - 11/23 show

Last night, at Thanksgiving, Kat asked the group, what's the most embarrassing thing on your iPod? I answered immediately, Shirley Bassey. I bought a Shirley Bassey greatest hits CD a while back (not long after her work with the Propellerheads on the song "History Repeating"), just for fun. I said, it'll be all the Shirley Bassey we need for the rest of our lives. I expected to enjoy owning a copy of "Goldfinger" and "Diamonds are Forever". I did not expect to enjoy the whole thing so more. I found myself playing the CD rather often.

It embarrasses me to like it so much, because she seems so not-quite-cool. She's not Nina Simone or Blossom Dearie. But on the other hand, if she were not cool, would the Propellerheads have worked with her? "History Repeating" is a cool song; Bassey almost growls as she sings about passing fads, with high bombast. It's the energy she brought to "Goldfinger" (the song that defined the James Bond theme song), as well as her fantastic version of "Hey Big Spender".

Not all songs are overblown to a humorous effect; some are earnestly dramatic. "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" is one of these. It is a classic dramatic diva number. The version I played is from a remix album, similar to the Verve Remixed series. This version has a beat and heavy bass. It is dramatic diva, but also cool.

Perhaps my concern is that a fondness for divas is too typically gay. Regular listened Pete said he could tell it was me DJing once "because of the chanteuses". I admit I do like the female jazz vocals, plus great female indie rock vocalists like Neko Case and Mirah.

So ultimately, I am not embarrassed to own or like Shirley Bassey's work, any more than I'd feel that way for Nina Simone, Blossom Dearie, Astrud Gilberto, or Ella Fitgerald. And I give myself permission to feel good about liking Liza Minelli, too.

And here's what Dorothy Gambrell has to say about guilty pleasures.

*: new stuff
(r): requests

artist	song	album	label
Belle and Sebastian	We Are the Sleepyheads	The Life Pursuit	Matador
Shirley Bassey	(Where Do I Begin) Love Story (Away Team Mix)	The Remix Album... Diamonds Are Forever
The Aluminum Group	Tiny Decison	Happyness	Wishing Tree
Astrud Gilberto	Frevo	Verve Jazz Masters 9	Verve
*The Owls	Channel	Daughters and Suns	Magic Marker
The Beach Boys	Sloop John B	Pet Sounds	Capitol
The Decemberists	16 Military Wives	Picaresque	Kill Rock Stars
Canasta	Microphone Song	We Were Set Up	Broken Middle C
*Babyshambles	French Dog Blues	Shotter's Nation	Astralwerks
*Monster Bobby	I Heard You Moved Away	Gaps	Hyphone
*Karen O and The Million Dollar Bashes	Highway 61 Revisited	I'm Not There Soudtrack	Columbia/Sony
(r)Patti Smith Group	Space Monkey	Easter	Arista
*Cass McCombs	That's That	Dropping the Writ	Domino
Ojos de Brujo	Todo Tiende	Techarí
The Magnetic Fields	I Thought You Were My Boyfriend	i	Nonesuch
CSS	Let's Make Love (and Listen to Death From Above)	Cansei de Ser Sexy
Mark Ronson feat. Santo Gold	Pretty Green	Version	RCA
*Moving Units	Nail It to the Cross	Hexes for Exes	Metropolis
OK Go	Antmusic	OK Go EP	Self-released
Brisa Roché	Warned	The Chase	Metro Blue
*Jens Lekman	Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo	Night Falls over Kortedala	Secretly Canadian
*Beirut	Guyamas Sonora	The Flying Club Cup	Ba Da Bing!
The Smiths	Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me	Singles	Reprise
*Sigur Ros	Ágætis Byrjun	Hvarf/Heim	XL
Grace Jones	Walkingin the Rain	Private Life: Compass Point Sessions
Air	Mer du Japon	Pocket Symphony	Astralwerks
Aguas de Março	Quarteto Jobim
*The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	Then and Not a Moment Before	The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	Bloodshot
The Clash	Clampdown	London Calling	Epic
The Gossip	All My Days	Movement	KRS
The Husbands	Sha La La Daniel	There's Nothing I'd Like More than to See You Dead	Swami
*The Hives	Hey Little World	The Black and White Album	A&M
Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire	Dear Old Greenland	The Swimming Hour	Rykodisc
Patrick Wolf	The Stars	The Magic Position	Tomlab
Los Blops	Que Lindas Son Las Mañanas	Del Volar de las Palomas	Shadoks/Normal
The Octopus Project	An Evening with Rthrtha	Avalanche	Peek-a-Boo
*Prefuse 73	Girlfriend Boyfriend	Preparations/Interregnums	WARP
Laurie Anderson	Smoke Rings	Talk Normal Anthology	Rhino
*Fire Engines	Big Gold Dream	Hungry Bear	Acture
Josephine Foster and the Supposed	All the Leaves Are Gone	Molten Truth Tour (Live)
Fazzini	Dell	Sulphur, Glue the Star	Locust
*Saturday Looks Good to Me	Money in the Afterlife	Fill Up the Room	K

Labels: playlists

posted by Tony at 9:58 AM | 0 comments

Eight! Nine!

Charlie prefers for things to go according to plan. This week's Finn and Charlie and HITCHED.

Labels: comic

posted by Tony at 11:48 PM | 0 comments

Saw you this morning - 11/16 show

No notes this week, again...

*: new stuff
(r): requests

artist	song	album	label
New Order	Age of Consent / Power, Corrpution, and Lies	Factory
LCD Soundsystem	Someone Great / Sound of Silver	CFA/Capitol
*The Octopus Project	Bees Bein' Strugglin' / Hello, Avalanche	Peek - A - Boo
*Black Dice	Gore / Load Blown	Paw Tracks
Laurie Anderson with Peter Gabriel	Gravity's Angel / Mister Heartbreak	Warner Brothers
Meryn Cadell	Spelling Bee / Angel Food for Thought	Bongo Beat
Baby Teeth	Diaghalev Was Right / The Baby Teeth Album	Self-released
Talking Heads	This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) / Once in a Lifetime (Boxed Set)
Hank Williams	My Son Calls Another Man Daddy / 40 Greatest Hits	Polydor
The Owls	All Those in Favor / Daughters and Suns	Magic Marker
The Juan MacLean	Tito's Way / Less Than Human	Astralweks/DFA
*Jens Lekman	Postcard to Nina / Night Falls over Kortedala	Secretly Canadian
*Tokyo Police Club	Box / Smith EP	Paper Bag
Sonic Youth	Tunic (Song for Karen) / Goo	DGC
The Polyphonic Spree	Light to Follow / The Fragile Army	TVT
*Band of Horses covering Grizzly Bear	Plans / Friend EP (Grizzly Bear)	WARP
*The Mekons	Dickie Chalkie and Nobby / Natural	Quarterstick/Touch & Go
(r)Stephin Merritt	The Ugly Little Duck / Showtunes	Nonesuch
*The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	Pins and Needles / The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	Bloodshot
Zerostars	The Good Can't Escape / The Good Can't Escape	Self-released
(r) Billy Bragg	Train Train / Talking with the Taxman about Poetry	Elektra
The Shangri-La's	Train from Kansas City / The Myrmidons of Melodrama	RPM
Architecture in Helsinki	Heart It Races / Places Like This	Polyvinyl
*Los Campesinos!	We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives / Sticking Fingers into Sockets	Arts & Crafts
Robbers on High Street	Spanish Teeth / Tree City	New Line Records
Jane Siberry	Miss Punta Blanca / Bound by the Beauty	Reprise
*Iron and Wine	Boy with a Coin / The Shepherd's Dog	Sub Pop
Vyvienne Long	Seven Nation Army / Even Better than the Real Thing

Labels: playlists

posted by Tony at 8:53 AM | 0 comments

The joys of management

Finn and Charlie

I apologize for the second week in a row of gross jokes.

Also — autobiographical alert: this did NOT happen to me, but it's based on a text message I received last week. You know who you are.

Labels: comic

posted by Tony at 11:12 PM | 0 comments

I thought there was a virtue in always being cool - 11/9 show

Jamie Lidell caught my ear with the loose and easy "In a Minor Key" version of his soul tune "Multiply", from his album Multiply Additions (an album of redone versions of songs from his album Multiply. I saw him at Pitchfork this year, and while he did play "Multiply", I discovered him to be a broader, more interesting artist than the oe song might imply. In concert he does a lot of free-form scat on top of oversample grooves (which he samples on the fly, up on stage). The song I played today is one that turned up on my iPod Shuffle (which picks a random selection of MP3s out of my collection). I didn't recognize him, and I had to look on the computer later to figure out who it was. This song is a bit wild, with rough, shouting lyrics; I haven't heard the original, but this Four Tet mix is an electronic dance groove with odd chirping bits. The whole effect is highly reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails, and couldn't be more different from "Multiply (In a Minor Key)".

More on Jens Lekman another day... but he really has a voice that makes you want to be friends with him. It's a little different from Kimya Dawson, whose voice makes you feel like you are already friends with her. Lots of people have voices that are fun to listen to, or highly emotive, or what have you, but it unusual for a voice to feel so personal.

A couple of years ago I went to see a sort of reunion show of the Ocean Blue at Schuba's. There opening band was a quartet from the Twin Cities call the Owls. They traded off vocal duties, and were very earnest and cute. They were also slightly off-key; maybe it was a bad night for them. Still, I thought the songwriting was strong, and I kept them in mind, in particular one song called "Peppermint Patty". In the intervening time, the Owls have been regrouping and learning the art of production. They took a good couple of years to put together their new album, Daughters and Suns. I reviewed it for the station last week, and found them much improved, but still charming. The album is well-produced, but not overproduced (and not off-key, either, for what it's worth). And, it contains the song "Peppermint Patty", which is as good as I remember it.

I got pretty into the the JudyBats in the nineties, and bought all of their albums. I went to one show at the Metro... a last minute idea to go on my own, back when we lived on Clarendon and the Metro was a short walk away. (Actually, it's probably just as far away now.) The band was never very popular, but they had their fans, and the concert was pretty full. Fast forward to about three years ago: the JudyBats were broken up, and the last album (around 2000) had seen the band reformulated without the lead guitarist. My friend Lynn informs me that they will be playing the Halsted Street Market Days. Have they reunited? No, not really — the somebody in the Market Days organization knows them and invited them up, and they are reuniting specially for this concert. The lead singer/songwriter and the lead guitarist are back together, albeit with a new backing band. The concert stage is set up in the 7/11 parking lot; we get their early and are near the front. There are not that many people, but those who are there and really hard core fans. I know all the lyrics to all the songs they play, and so does everyone around me. They play every single song I'd hoped to hear, including the quirky "Convalescing in Spain". It was a very good concert, and I felt lucky to be there; it was all the more special knowing this was it — there was no tour, no future plans, and no other concerts, not even in their hometown in Tennessee.

Later on I got into a yelling fight with someone at the Duncan Sheik concert that followed, which kind of marred the day. Those of you who know me will understand how unusual it is for me to get into an altercation with a stranger, or really, anyone.

*: new stuff
(r): requests

artist	song	album	label
The Flaming Lips	Fight Test	Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots	Warner Brothers
Jamie Lidell	The City (Fout Tet Mix)	Multiply Additions	WARP
Meryn Cadell	Janet Clark	Bombazine	Sire/Reprise
*Let's Get Out of this Terrible Sandwich Shop	Larlie	Listening	Roydale
*Miss Alex White & the Red Orchestra	I Dig History	Space & Time	In the Red
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists	Parallel or Together?	The Tyranny of Distance	Lookout!
The Eternals	Silhouette	High Anxiety EP	Aesthetics
Oneida	Busy Little Bee	Happy New Year	Jagjaguwar/Brah
*Jens Lekman	Sipping on the Sweet Nectar	Night Falls over Kortedala	Secretly Canadian
Les Negresses Vertes	I Love Paris	Red Hot + Blue	Chrysalis
Stevie Wonder	Golden Lady	Innervisions	Motown
*The Owls	Peppermint Patty	Daughters and Suns	Magic Marker
*The Fiery Furnaces	Cabaret of the Seven Devils	Widow City	Thrill Jockey
Laurie Anderson	Example #22	Big Science	Warner Brothers
Rufus Wainwright	Greek Song	Poses	Dreamworks
Violent Femmes	Gone Daddy Gone	Violent Femmes	Slash
Elliott Smith	Sweet Adeline	XO	Dreamworks
This Mortal Coil	Help Me Lift You Up	Blood	4AD
The Velvet Underground and Nico	I'll Be Your Mirror	The Velvet Underground and Nico	Polygram
*Beirut	Forks & Knives {La Fête}	The Flying Club Cup	Ba Da Bing!
*Extra Golden	Brothers Gone Away	Hera Ma Nona	Thrill Jockey
The Rapture	The Devil	Pieces of the People We Love	Universal
Deee-Lite	Deep Ending	World Clique	Elektra
*Siouxsie	About the Happen	Mantaray	Decca
*Rogue Wave	Lake Michigan	Asleep at Heaven's Gate	Brushfire
Wilco	Jesus, Etc.	Yankee Hotel Foxtrot	Nonesuch
*The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	I Never Thought I Could Feel This Way for a Boy	The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir	Bloodshot
Dax Riggs	Radiation Blues
Sleeper Car	Eugene's Lament	Shy Me	Self-release
The JudyBats	Scarlett	Pain Makes You Beautiful	Sire

Labels: music, playlists

posted by Tony at 11:32 PM | 0 comments

Invest in Long-Term Disability Insurance!

Or, if you prefer, just read my weekly strip, Finn and Charlie are HITCHED.

Labels: comic

posted by Tony at 11:59 PM | 5 comments

We believe in a land of love - 11/2 show

No notes this week...

*: new stuff
(r): requests

artist	song	album	label
New Order	Perfect Kiss (Live)	Selections from Retro	Warner Brothers
The Jazz Butcher	Party Time	Draining the Glass
*Morning Recordings	Join the Curtains	The Welcome Kinetic	Loose Thread
*Let's Get Out of This Terrible Sandwich Shop	VIP Room	Listening	Roydale
Meryn Cadell	Inventory	Angel Food for Thought	Bongo Beat
Le Kanin	Schön in Rosa und Rot	Quotenrocker
*Siouxsie	Here Comes That Day	Mantaray	Decca
The Magnetic Fields	Absolutely Cuckoo	69 Love Songs Vol. 1	Merge
Camille	Le jeune fille aux cheveux blancs	Le Fil
David Vandervelde	Nothin' No	Nothin' No EP	Secretly Canadian
*The Fiery Furnaces	My Egyptian Grammar	Widow City	Thrill Jockey
They Might Be Giants	The Mesopotamians	The Else	Idlewild
Jean-Claude Vannier	Le Papier Tue-Enfant	L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches	B Music/Finders Keepers
*Chicago Afrobeat Project	Carcass	(A) Move to Silent Unrest	CAbP Music
The Art of Noise	Fin du Temps	In-No-Sense? Nonsense!	China Records
The Talking Heads	I Zimbra	Fear of Music
The Shangri-La's	Sophisticated Boom-Boom	The Myrmidons of Melodrama	RPM
Carl Perkins	Blue Suede Shoes	The Sun CD Collection: Rock & Roll Originals Vol 1	Sun
*Sharon Jones & the Daptones	Tell Me	100 Day, 100 Nights	Daptone
*Múm	I Little Bit, Sometimes	Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy	Fat Cat
Edith Piaf	L'Effet Que Tu Me Fais	The Voice of the Sparrow: The Very Best of Edith Piaf
*PJ Harvey	The Piano	White Chalk	Island
Sonic Youth	Kool Thing	Goo	4AD
(r)Mission of Burma	That's When I Reach for My Revolver	Signals Chills & Marches	Ryko
Battles	Bad Trails	Mirrored	WARP
The Eternals	Patch of Blue	Heavy International	Aesthetics
Frisbie	Yes Impossible	New Debut	Appendix
*The Cynics	What She Said	Here We Are	Get Hip
(r)The Jam	Going Underground	Singles Box Set 1980-1982	Polydor
*Beirut	St. Apollonia	The Flying Club Cup	Ba Da Bing

Labels: playlists

posted by Tony at 8:00 AM | 0 comments