January 2009 Archives

I trust you had a safe yet rambunctious New Year's. 2009's all right thus far, though the weather in Vancouver is still enough to mess with everyone. Aside from the streets and sidewalks that will never be cleared until the next rain, the roads are growing monstrous potholes, as the busride to the station took a few nasty bumps along the way. I ran into Gavin outside the station, where he was waiting after spending some time earlier in the afternoon on campus tending to other matters. As I suspected, he used to drive a taxi (only until recently due to some surgery), so he explained some of the worst roads to be on when the weather turns.

I scampered up to the booth where Henry was spinning his final show with a few friends; due to his masters work, his time was being encroached with mostly lab time, so he surrendered his time slot, offering to fill-in when necessary. We shared a few words on air as warm wishes were extended and he closed with a Magnetic Fields song.

My show was pretty much self-contined on the iPod, starting off with a quick tribute to Eartha Kitt before diving into some electronic dance. I aimed for a consistent feel throughout half the show, which expanded into a grander theme when I found out that In Flagranti were pretending to be an act or two in my selected songs without my knowledge.

Aside from that, Inglorious Bastards took care of the tail end of this episode; the soundtrack to the film is a pastiche of styles, which gives that road trip feel as many adventures are encountered. I've only seen parts of the film, so news of the DVD re-release is completely welcome.

Gavin filled in some more details about Freddie Hubbard's life and his fireball personality. I had no idea that in 1992, Hubbard had lip surgery to deal with an infection, which ended his performing career. Gavin covers a lot of brilliant facts about jazz on his show, but during songs, he often tells me more about the players and their characteristics, which made them sound like the cool cats you think they are. I only wish I had properly checked out the liner notes to Red Clay before spinning one of the songs, since having Herbie Hancock and Joe Henderson in you band makes the entire sound swing.

And now: don't bore us, just to get the chorus — the playlist: