March 28: AAFF

It’s that time of the year again. Happy Ann Arbor Film Festival!

Happy 40th Birthday, WCBN!
Happy 50th Birthday, AAFF!
What joyous times we live in.

Following tradition, The Liz presents to you an entire show’s worth of soundtrack musics to celebrate Ann Arbor’s annual festival of films. This one’s listener-approooved.

In the first march of the Siamese children, don’t the pops of the record make you want to scratch a persistent itch? or run a comb through some severely tangled hair? I promise I didn’t speed up the record to 45rpm. a little curious, I think, that the versions differ so strikingly.

This edition of Break Your Radio includes a track described as “Baroque Philip Glass”. I’m not describing Philip Glass as broke, without money. Nor am I saying that the track resembles a broken Philip Glass, cracked down the middle and not functioning properly. Baroque, like ornate, like the historical period.

Netflix claims that Richard Gere performs his own cornet solos in The Cotton Club, but a glance through the soundtrack information leads me to believe that Netflix cannot be trusted…

Someone’s a little protective of their copyright, so I couldn’t easily find a video of Rosie Perez doing the right thing in the first scene of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. Buuut you can read some choice quotes from Spike, Rosie, and Chuck D about the famous dance scene. Also, I recommend that you check out Rosie Perez shakin it through Untamed Heart.

(1 hour)
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EVENTS EVENTS

WCBN is sponsoring some films at AAFF! Paul Clipson’s Compound Eyes 1-5 (and more). Friday, March 30 (this Friday). B-Side. 11:30pm.

Please note that JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR will be the next featured movie that WCBN sponsors at Arbor Brewing Company. WCBN Free Movie Night. Wednesday, April 11 (second Wednesday of every month). ABC tap room. 9pm.

March 21

The beautiful weather in Ann Arbor prompted me to begin this show with a summer theme.

Here you also can hear three different renditions of Paul Desmond’s “Take 5”–the classic version performed by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, a version of Indian descent that features the tabla, and a rendition by a post-Soviet accordion synth artist.  at the same time, of course.

(1 hour)
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March 14: HAPPY LADIES’ DAY

Happy Ladies’ Day to EVERYONE! (especially to John M from Sarah B.)

To preempt your question, No. Today is not an “official” ladies holiday. What would that mean, anyway? Can’t every day be Ladies’ Day? That’s our easy challenge for our coming lifetime! to make every day Ladies’ Day. Remember that goal actively, if you have to, until it becomes a habit.

I felt it was due time for another full hour of female musicians. I’d forgotten what a joy it is to play so much of the ladies, and it felt bittersweet when, after an hour, I had so very many ladies who did not hit the airwaves today. They’re on the hotplate, and they shall bubble until the next time I decide to celebrate women artists for the entirety of a show. Who’m I kidding? You’ll hear them soon enough, just interspersed with the other half of the population.

And a BONUS comes after our scheduled hour of Break Your Radio. Our friend Freedom the DJ began her show with an especially apropos track.

Apologies for the unfulfilled request, by the way. I’ll get better at that; I promise.

ohthankyousomuch, speakerphoneman, for making my day. I love that you were inspired to buy flowers for your woman after listening to this show. I think that’s sweet.

(1 hour)
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P.S. A suggestion made during this show likely typifies sexual harassment in the workplace, so I hope you did not follow my advice. Let’s both of us be more prudent in the future.

P.P.S. There’s more where this came from. Click here and here and here for more ladies! Like you could ever get enough…

March 7

A mathematician calculated that this show is remarkable + miraculous = remarkulous.

If you ask me how or why that is, I answer you with music. and a more detailed explanation, if you click on the thingy.

(1 hour)
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The show begins with several Leo Kottke tracks playing several at a time (what we call the “2-way Larry”, whose origins can be traced to Saturday’s Robot Pasta show and has been modified from the original phenomenon of two duplicate Lawrence Whelk records spinning on two turntables simultaneously. But you already knew that).

Then comes a lot of classical piano. One piece was composed for the left hand, one piece contains many laden pauses, and one piece is designated alla breve. Are you who is visiting this corner of the interwebs (you, sitting there; did you know I’ve fixed it such that I can see you when you click here?) well-versed in musics? You look like the type. Can you explain how 2/2 and 4/4 time sound any different?

I’ll mention here that Lang Lang and the erhu were participating in a music mosaic, and that Lang Lang is a pianist.

Is this gonna be good? It’s hard to say…
Needless to say, I nonetheless will tell you that this edition of Break Your Radio is good. quite good, indeed.