radio free gak #4 - "Aw, this party was about to go all Airwolf!"

Overall, a solid show. Obviously, comfort is kicking in slowly though the first minute or so remains a basket full of nerves. The previous host, Henry, had to take off in a hurry, which gave me some unprecedented setup time.

The main change is that I used my iPod for the bulk of MP3's, though there was a set where I switched back to the laptop to compare sound quality (which led to my main mistake for the evening: forgetting to take the cue off when I was trying to get some cue music for the concert listings. So I miscued the cue, which joins the mental list of "Things to be aware of when mixing live"). The iPod sounded a bit flat when compared to the laptop, though the last half hour sounded fine when working with the less compressed soundtrack pieces. I may have to tinker with the equalizer to see if there's a optimal setting, though based on the options, each song may require its own setting. I also dropped 3 CD's in the show, which continue to broadcast the highest fidelity. I should try some vinyl soon (outside of Burli however; I played the Aislers Set a few weeks ago from a recorded seven inch).

The show flowed all right, especially the clean mixing in the first half hour. My current thoughts have the last half hour dragging a touch though, probably since the pieces rang longer than I initially thought. Part of that stems from my jostling of soundtrack selections almost up until airtime, but another part is from some behind-the-scenes action: I'm in the first week of a new apartment and I'm still not sleeping properly. I think the apartment is too quiet yet the walls are too thin, meaning amongst the still of the night, whenever the dreaded elevator is used, or footfalls clack on the tiled lobby floor, I'm up. I'm trying earplugs now, which makes me feel shut off from existence, thus makes me uncalm. I need white noise, or evening baths, or something.

Next week's show should wrap up the Oscar nominated scorework, which though important, allows me to move back to the weirder soundtracks out there which are starting to form a logjam through my cachet of selections. I'm also looking to do some theme shows soon, right now centring on covers, space and the ever-so-critical Canada-only focus.

Playlist follows: