May 30

Doc Watson passed away yesterday. I don’t know his music very well, but I wanted to remember him on the air. This show contains a slew of Doc’s finger-pickin, mostly from the album Memories.

The show begins with techno-jazz and culminates in the moment that a Russian interrupts the music with a discussion of tickles and sickles.

(2 hours)
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Maybe it’s worth remembering some of the lyrics in “Samuel”, by Laleh: Don’t compare the worst in them with the best in you.

Playlist
Artist = “Song title”, Album title. [Notes.]
1. Kasper Bjorke (with Jacob Bellens) = “Hummingbirds”, Fool
2. Urbana Youth Outreach = “Jentendo (beat mix)”, No war
3. Mati Zundel = “Aero Tinku”, Amazonico gravitante
4. Get The Blessing = “OCDC”, OCDC
5. Gemma Ray = “Bring ring ring yeah”, Island fire
6. Laleh = “Samuel”, Sjung
7. Arstidir = “Shades”, Made In Iceland V: Various artists
8. Pop Project = “You’ve won the lottery”, Stars of stage and screen
9. Beatles = “I want you (she’s so heavy)”, Abbey Road
10. Turing Machine = “Sex ghost”, What is the meaning of what
11. Elliott Smith = “no name #2”, Roman candle
12. Cat Power = “American flag”, Moon pix
13. The Blow = “The moon is there, I am here”, Bonus album
14. Ava Luna = “Stages”, Ice level
15. Mucca Pazza = “Hang ‘em where I can see ‘em”, Safety fifth
16. Jon Porras = “Blue crescent vision”, Black mesa
– mixed with –
17. Alexan Demidov = “Lines on a Soviet passport”, Soviet poetry and humor
– mixed with –
18. Urbana Youth Outreach = “x”, No war
19. Jim Campilongo = “Backburner”, Orange
20. Fthrsn = “Hysteria”, Hysteria
21. Doc Watson = “Don’t tell me your troubles”, Memories
22. Doc Watson = “Blues stay away from me”, Memories
23. Doc Watson = “Nobody knows but me”, Portrait
24. Doc Watson = “In the jailhouse now”, Memories
25. Doc Watson = “Double file & salt creek”, Memories
26. Punch Brothers = “The blind leaving the blind: 4th movement”, Punch
27. Incredible String Band = “Second fiddle”, No ruinous feud
28. TriBeCaStan = “Two for Ornette (Dee Dee/Theme from a symphony)”, New deli
29. Field Music = “Who’ll pay the bills?”, Plumb
30. Konrad = “Sticks and stones”, Shadow boxing
31. Andrew Bird = “Hole in the ocean floor”, Break it yourself
32. The Mexicali Singers = “I can’t stop loving you”, The Mexicali Singers ride again
33. Guantanamo Baywatch = “Massage my Taj Mahal”, Chest crawl

May 23: Comedy classics

I sorta curated this comedy show, picking and choosing the tracks that I found interesting on the albums. I heard from a couple listeners who said that they grew up with these records. I wonder, did I play your favorites? Did you wish you heard your favorite sketch? sketch, skit, eh, whatever.

This show mostly contains Steve Martin and Bill Cosby, with songsters like Martin Mull and Spike Jones thrown in. and Bill Cosby scats.

Damn that Steve Martin and his dirty words. But thank you, Steve Martin, for relating flatulence to the ozone layer.

(2 hours)
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Playlist
Artist = “Song title”, Album title. [Notes.]
1. The Steve Martin Brothers = “Hoedown at Alice’s”, The Steve Martin Brothers
2. Steve Martin = “Let’s get small”, Let’s get small
3. Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers = “Jubilation day”, Rare bird alert
4. Steve Martin = “Cocktail show, Vegas”, The Steve Martin Brothers
5. Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers = “King Tut”, Rare bird alert
6. Bill Cosby = “two daughters – two brothers – the tank – smoking”, Revenge
7. Martin Mull = “Tuna fish salad”, In the soop with Martin Mull, Les Daniels, and Ed Wise
8. Bill Cosby = “Buck, buck”, Revenge
9. Bill Cosby = “Dance of the frozen lion”, At last Bill Cosby really sings
10. Bill Cosby = “Superman – hoof and mouth – greasy kid stuff”, Bill Cosby is a very funny fellow right!
11. Spike Jones and his City Slickers = “Cheatin’ on the sandman”, Riot squad
12. Martin Mull = “Dancing in the nude”, Martin Mull
13. Martin Mull = “Consuela was a Mexican”, In the soop with Martin Mull, Les Daniels, and Ed Wise
14. Radio Free Vestibule = “The sound of…”, Sketches songs and shoes
15. Hofi Geza = Hungarian comedy
16. Bill Cosby = “a nut in every car – toss of the coin – little tiny hairs”, Bill Cosby is a very funny fellow right!
17. Bill Cosby = “Ralph Jameson”, I started out as a child
18. DJ Food feat. Natural Self = “The illectrik hoax”, The search engine
19. Clark = “Secret”, Iradelphic
20. Donna Summer = “I feel love”, Endless summer
21. Stevie Wonder = “Kesse ye lolo de ye”, Journey through The Secret Life of Plants
22. Kink Gong

May 16

I don’t understand this art of the remix. An artist needs to use the same medium and the same material to devise something fresh while respecting the original creation. That’s not easy to do, and I think few accomplish the reinvention they may be going for. Is reinvention the aim? What else would inspire someone to make a remix? Simple mimicry? What’s the point of that?

I think Dr. Dog succeeds in covering Architecture In Helsinki (heard here).
I think The Gerbils succeed in covering Buddy Holly (heard elsewhere).

In any case, juxtaposing a remix and original leads to nice results, here in the form of Battles. [How do you pronounce “BDG #Gang Gang”, the folks who remixed a Battles tune?]

You’ll get to know Abner Jay during this show; he’s a self-described “folk song stylist” and “the last living minstrel”.

At least segments, if not the entirety, of this particular program are listener-approved. There’s a lot of heavy breathing in this one. Go figure.

(2 hours)
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After listening, answer me this, because I’m curious – Do you think the happy classical portion requires a special mood to enjoy?

Note: I misspoke about the show’s time slot – my show would be the shortest in the world if it went from twelve to noon. In fact, I dare you to Break Your Radio every Wednesday from noon to two.

Playlist
Artist = “Song title”, Album title. [Notes.]
1. Bob Dylan = “Like a rolling stone”, Highway 61 revisited
2. Abner Jay = “99 years in jail”, Folk song stylist
3. Jay Farrar, Will Johnson, Anders Parker, Yim Yames = “Changing world”, New multitudes
4. Abner Jay = “The reason young people use drugs”, True story of Abner Jay
5. Jean-Marie Leclair = selections from Sonatas for flute and continuo. [flute + harpsichord + viola da gamba]
6. Jean-Marie Leclair = “Sonata in E minor, opus IX (Book IV), No. 2”, Sonatas for flute and continuo
7. Jean-Marie Leclair = “Sonata in B minor, opus II (Book II), No. 11”, Sonatas for flute and continuo. [1674]
– mixed with –
8. Black Dice & Mr. Impossible = “Shithouse drifter”, The electronic mind monsters reader
– mixed with –
9. Jeff Mills = “Good question”, The Power
10. Mozart (played by Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Herbert von Karajan) = “Clarinet concerto in A Major, K. 622”, W.A. Mozart. [I guess clarinet = Bernard Walton]
11. Christian Sinding (sung by Edith Thallaug) = “Schifferlied: Schon hat die Nacht den Silberschein”, Romanser 1
12. Old South Quartette = “When de corn pone’s hot”, The earliest negro vocal quartets: 1894-1928. [released by Document Records]
13. Bruce Haack = “Clapping with Katy”, The electronic record for children
14. The Meters = “Look-ka py py”, This is Charly R&B: 22 blues, R&B and soul classics
15. BDG #Gang Gang (Battles remix) = “Ice cream”, Dross glop
16. Battles = “Ice cream”, Gloss drop
17. Billy Preston = “Everybody likes some kind of music (reprise)”, Everybody likes some kind of music
18. Billy Preston = “Space race”, Everybody likes some kind of music
19. Bell = “Mode 3”, Seven types of Six
20. Yeah NO = “Camper giorno”, Swell Henry
21. Call and Response = “Rollerskate”, Kindercare
22. Cornershop (feat. Rajwant) = “Beacon Radio 303”, The singhles club
23. Tartufi = “Dot dash”, Nests of waves and wire
24. the Cardigans = “Gordon’s gardenparty”, Life
25. Francois & the Atlas Mountains = “Do you want to dance”, e volo love
26. Abner Jay = “St. James infirmiry [sic] blues”, True story of Abner Jay

May 9: Note the new time slot!

*NOTE: We’ve got a new programming schedule!*
* Break Your Radio NOW ON WEDNESDAYS at NOON TO TWO *

The lyric “better google Kali Yuga” appears in one of the songs…Really, though, it might be interesting to learn more about Kali Yuga and the state of the world according to Hindu scripture.

Listen closely for an Emergency Alert System test, which blended into a manifesto of WCBN-FM narrated by arwulf. How do you like that, eh? Radio magic.

(2 hours)
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Playlist
Artist = “Song title”, Album title. [Notes.]
1. Kraftwerk = “Endless endless”, Trans-Europe express
2. Massive Attack = “Sly”, EP
3. MNML = “el faro”, antibalas corazon
4. Pandit Samta (tabla) and Binoy Pthak (harmonium) = “Teen tal (16 beats)”, Tabla lahara
5. Rob = “Make it fast, make it slow”, Make it fast, make it slow
6. La Chiva Gantiva = “Cumbiaje”, Pelao
7. Charles Bradley= “Stay awake”, Heartaches and pain
8. Funk Ark = “Road to Coba”, High noon
9. Nomo = “Rings”, Ghost rock
10. Jazz Punks = “Led Gillespie”, Smashups
11. 1982 = “6. 02:53”, Pintura
12. Georgia Anne Muldrow = “Kali yuga”, Seeds
13. The Naysayer = “Shrimp song”, Kitten time
14. Terry Sadler = “Pink shoe laces”, America’s Top Tunes (high fidelity!)
15. Father Kapoun – The Polka Padre = “Clarinet Laendler #1”, Swinging just right
16. Contino = “Monkey”, Back porch dogma
17. Dr. John = “Locked down”, Locked down
18. Lee Fields and the Expressions = “Still hanging on”, Faithful man
19. The Right Now = “Should’ve told me”, Gets over you
20. Mayer Hawthorne with Snoop Dogg = “Can’t stop”, How do you do
21. Willie Nelson with Snoop Dogg, Jamey Johnson & Kris Kristofferson = “Roll me up”, Heroes
22. YPPAH = “Several songs”, EIGHTY ONE
23. Build buildings = “Test me”, There is a problem with my tape recorder
24. Boom Bip & Doseone = “Dead man’s teal”
25. Bugs = “Broken”, Infinite syndrome
26. Kamasi Washington = “Thrill seeker”, Throttle elevator music
27. Dr. Dog = “Heart it races”, Architecture In Helsinki “Heart it races” covers and remixes

May 2

I started 30 minutes early because DJ K-Smashballs, who was subbing the previous slot, insisted on getting to her job on time.

Herein is an Erik Satie set, which includes the Scavenger Quartet (led by Frank Pahl), Chicha Libre, and 2 pianists. I’m a novice Erik Satie fan, and I think that any time I hear a Satie cover, I’ll just add it to the Satie set and play the whole medley on the radio all over again. Speaking of which, would you consider pianists to be “cover artists”, playing music that they haven’t written?

My current hero = Christian Rudder, and I make no bones about it.

Stick with this til the end for some serious reverb action! Jim (our chief engineer and general operations manager at WCBN) brought a delay pedal to the station to test out (i.e., play with) the new setup he wired in the FM studio. Jim listened on the headphones and giggled nearby as I explored the reverb effects as best I could…

This one’s listener-approved!

Hear what it sounds like to be drunk and real high in the spirit of the Lord (1.5 hours):
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I love that Freedom almost always provides a genius, seamless segue between our shows…Is this practic deliberate? I do not know.

Playlist
Artist = “Song title”, Album title. [Notes.]
1. Hoor-Paar-Kraat = “Relics of the inheritance”, The eureka tapes: The complete recordings
2. Booka Shade with yello = “Divine”, More!
3. The Klezmorim = “Minnie the Moocher”, Jazz-babies of the Ukraine
4. Scavenger Quartet = “The velvet gentleman’s bowler”, Hats. [Erik Satie composition]
5. Eve Egoyan (on piano) = “Valse-ballet Op. 62 (c1885-6)”, Hidden corners (Recoins). [Erik Satie composition]
6. Michel Legrand (on piano) = “1^ere gymnopedie”, Erik Satie // Michel Legrand. [Erik Satie composition]
7. Chicha Libre = “Gnosienne no. 1”, !Sonido Amazonico! [Erik Satie composition]
8. Chicha Libre = “The ride of the valkyries”, Canibalismo
9. Psapp = “King Kong”, Tiger, my friend
10. Bishop Allen = “Things are what you make of them”, Charm school
11. Modest Mouse = “Willful suspension of disbelief”, Everywhere and his nasty parlour tricks
12. Klaus Nomi = “Nomi chant”, Klaus Nomi
13. Miss Murgatroid & Petra Haden = the third song, Hearts & daggers
14. The Raincoats = “Dance of the hopping mad”, moving
15. Robert Glasper Experiment (feat. Erykah Badu) = “Afro blue”, Black radio
16. Nneka = “Soul is heavy”, Soul is heavy
17. Ada Richards = “I’m drunk and real high (in the spirit of God)”, Born again funk
18. Untempered Ensemble = “Poverty is the father of fear”, Untempered Ensemble