radio free gak

rfg #48 - "Don't dance into the fire"

2009-01-06T03:30:00Z

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:

]]> The Arcade Fire: Burning Bridges (unreleased, 2008) Merge
Eartha Kitt: I Want to be Evil (Greatest Hits Purr-fect, 1956) House of Hits
Eartha Kitt: Hurdy Gurdy Man (Sentimental Eartha, 1970) Spark
Cosmo Vitelli: Straight My Time (That Thing 12", 2008) Cliche Breaks
Golden Bug: Bisco (Hot Robot, 2008) Gomma
Let's Go To War: Burn Down the Disco (Burn Down the Disco, 2008) Last Gang
In Flagranti: I Chatted up the Nympho Secretary Pt. I (Sexy Piss Tool, 2008) Codek
Act Yo Age: La Fumo Loco [In Flagranti Remix] (The Hott This EP, 2008) Sweat It Out
Oblio: Epicureanism (Principal of Discovery, 2008) Codek
Salem: Whenusleep (Water EP, 2008) Merok
Shed: Estrange (Shedding the Past, 2008) Ostgut
Holy Fuck: Frenchy's (LP, 2007) Young Turks
Francesco De Masi: Sequence 1 (The Inglorious Bastards OST, 2008) Dagored
Francesco De Masi: Sequence 2 (The Inglorious Bastards OST, 2008) Dagored
Francesco De Masi: Sequence 3 (The Inglorious Bastards OST, 2008) Dagored
Francesco De Masi: Sequence 4 (The Inglorious Bastards OST, 2008) Dagored
Freddie Hubbard: Cold Turkey (Red Clay, 1970) CTI

January's a somewhat dead month for shows as everyone recuperates from the previous year. I'll get back into the concert listings shortly since some local acts can capitalize with the partially empty bookings.

You can kick things off in 2009 by downloading Don't dance into the fire as an MP3, virtually Duran Duran free [81.6 Mb, 89:06]

rfg #47 - "Final shots from a twenty aught eight"

2008-12-30T03:30:00Z

The fifth night of Christmas, the final night of Hanukkah and the first night of black ice on the roads in Vancouver, already caught in the crossfire of every possible winter storm system (as evidenced by the wonky radio programming last week; my fill-in whilst I was out east, fighting the flu, was unable to get to the station due to a foot of snow her way). All this converged on the ultimate episode for the year 2008. UBC campus was pretty much closed, meaning all the DJ's after 5pm relied on each other to get into the station.

I was reluctant to pull yet another list of the best songs, best albums, best music, best whatever else to add to the pile. After juggling several lists, I slid more towards songs I had neglected to play in the past and then fuse a few threads together to give a narrow focus on songs you would've heard in the year but mixed in some harder to find gems to flesh things out.

Naturally, it was time to pull one of the best soundtracks of the year out; after debating on using WALL·E as the hub around a children's music themed episode, or waiting to see if Thomas Newman's score would be nominated for an Academy Award, I opted for it after a recent rewatch during one of my prolonged flights. Amongst the fantastic graphics, the surreal story and feisty robots, the sound design behind the film was phenomenal and all credit goes to Ben Burtt, a veteran audio auteur.

Due to the empty nature of the building, as the hosts passed the booth onto the next host, there was often a great deal of chatter over the holiday season's events and what the future may hold. It's great to have a moment to bond with people you only have fleeting moments with as the shows change, so if there were moments where songs didn't properly lead into each other, just know it was intentionally negligent. Based on the weather and usual yuletide activities, it's hard to say how many people would be listening live. As well, with the weather outside icy, most radios were tuned to the news, like the taxi I had to take home after the buses couldn't make it up the hills along West Point Grey.

The last tidbits of sound were thrown together at the last minute as a quick audio snippet of the 1985 leap second was added (since 2008 will have its own, otherwise known as 23:59:60 UTC), along with the standard Auld Lang Syne by Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians, leading us to another Scottish treat, the sound of ships sailing along the North Sea during Hogmanay, the New Year's Eve celebration. I like a little audio pastiche every once in a while, so I'll try to come up with a few more as time permits.

And with that, the songs that close the year.

]]> Ella Fitzgerald: What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? [Mangini vs. Pallin Mix] (Verve Remixed: Christmas, 2008) Verve
The Very Best: Dinosaur on the Ark (Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit are the Very Best, 2008) Ghettopop/Green Owl
Sylvie: Please Make It Home (Trees and Shade are our Only Fences, 2008) Smallman
The Constantines: Transcanada (Kensington Heights, 2008) Arts & Crafts
School of Seven Bells: Wired for Light (Alpinisms, 2008) Ghostly International
Fleet Foxes: White Winter Hymnal (Fleet Foxes, 2008) Sub Pop/Bella Union
Jóhann Jóhannsson: Fordlândia - Aerial View (Fordlândia, 2008) 4AD
Morgan Geist & Jeremy Greenspan: Ruthless City (Double Night Time, 2008) Environ
Hot Chip: Ready for the Floor (Made in the Dark, 2008) Astralwerks
Friendly Fires: Paris [Aeroplane Remix featuring Au Revoir Simone] (Paris, 2008) XL
Hercules & Love Affair: Blind [featuring Antony Johnson] (Hercules & Love Affair, 2008) DFA
Hatchback: The Lotus and the Robot (Colours of the Sun, 2008) Lo Recordings
Michael Crawford: Put On Your Sunday Clothes (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Thomas Newman: 2815 A.D. (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Thomas Newman: WALL·E (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Thomas Newman: Bubble Wrap (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Thomas Newman: Foreign Contaminant (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Thomas Newman: Repair Ward (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Thomas Newman: 72 Degrees and Sunny (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Thomas Newman: Define Dancing (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Thomas Newman: Mutiny! (WALL·E OST, 2008) Disney
Myke Weiskopf: WWV - Leap Second Notice 1985 (At the Tone: A Little History of NIST Radio Stations WWV & WWVH, 2008) Obscure-Disk
Bill Thompson: Hogmanay on the North Sea (Field Recording from Aberdeen, 2005) self-released

Microphone levels were a bit high, hence why I sound louder and more in-your-face than usual.

I left out a brief bit where Gavin forgets his usual list of cab companies to start his show off and I struggle to remember whether there were any others to the downtown four he cited; I nailed none of the suburban ones, surprise. Mr. Walker was in fine form though he had a funeral earlier – which thankfully became a rousing wake – and news of trumpeter Freddie Hubbard dying that morning. It's been a harsh year for many fine people, but none of these folks will be forgotten quickly.

You can download Final shots from a twenty aught eight as an MP3 you can sneak under the mistletoe one last time [83.7 Mb, 91:21]

See you in 2009, when everything will be just fine.

rfg #46 - "Smell my holiday cheer"

2008-12-16T03:30:00Z

Nothing helps calm the rising tide of holiday anxiety than by listening to a really frantic collection of strange music somehow pegged to the baby Jesus' birth.

Actually, this episode was completely horrific in the early stages as I tried stuffing the show to the gills with every possible genre and funny bit I had. Considering that early Saturday, I maybe had two Christmas songs in my iTunes and by the evening, it had turned to twenty hours worth, there was a veritable avalanche of carols that made me twitchy.

Because, like most of you, I can't stand the same thirty or so songs you always hear. If it was up to me, there'd be more sacred hymns, tearjerking ballads and bizarre murder stories in the holiday canon, but ninety minutes of all that along with the usual spattering of deranged nuggets of joy sounds atrocious. Christmas mixes are tenuous things since most of the time, it sounds incoherent.

I scaled back, allowing the first half hour to be kinda psychedelic, segueing brilliantly from what the previous show was doing with noise pastiches from local heroes the Value Village People. The second half hour started off electronic before the stylistic overload crept up into the final third.

For a handful of my friends, the Star Wars Theatre (3000?) rendition of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas kicks off the holiday season, though starting off with that random slice of yuletide splendour will scare most people off. Also in the stable are Low's sublime Christmas release, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet's quirky quicky and Morphine's drowsy B-side.

Not helping matters was the fact that a half hour until airtime, I was still at work, downtown, stuck on a phone call that went on for hours. Thankfully, I had all my toys with me, so I hailed a taxi to the campus for the first time (which ain't cheap) and managed to get there in time to collect my wits, check the records, say hello to everyone who was still there and test the turntables.

The cool thing was that the music department hauled out the super collection of tinseltown tunes; there were hundred of shiny discs, black discs and other musical media. I used a spate of them during the background randomly. Messing around with so much music provided ample distraction and you can tell in the first half hour that I was still wound up from the rush of the day, tripping over words like my tongue was swollen. The clocks in the studio were widely varied, making time estimates wonky and I jettisoned my Italian tracks at the end for more Shadowy Men, just 'cuz I wanted to.

I'm sure there's more but my net connex is proving wonky tonight, so let's cut to the chase.

]]> Low: Just Like Christmas (Christmas, 1999) Kranky
The Beatles: The Beatles' 1968 Christmas Record (The Beatles' Christmas Album, 1970) Apple
The Royal Guardsmen: Snoopy's Christmas (Snoopy And His Friends, 1967) Laurie
Jigsaw Seen: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, 2004) Vibro-phonic
Grateful Dead: Cold Rain and Snow (Grateful Dead, 1967) Warner Brothers
King Khan and BBQ Show: Plump Righteous (Split 7", 2007) Norton
Jon Spencer: Big Yule Log Boogie (Subpop Singles Club 7", 1992) Subpop
The Chills: Special Time (Secret Box, 2001) Flying Nun
Servotron: Christmas Day of the Robot (There is no Santa Claus!, 1996) Amphetamine Reptile
Yerzmyey: Merry Christmas! Jesus Holy, Born So Lowly (The 8bits of Christmas, 2003) 8bitpeoples
Fognode: Carol of the Bells (A Mutated Christmas, 2001) Illegal Art
The Go! Team: The Ice Storm [Live at KCRW] (Audio Assault Course – College Radio Sessions, 2006) self-released
Patton Oswalt: My Christmas Memory (Feeling Kinda Patton, 2004) United Musicians
Canadian Brass: I Saw Three Ships (The Canadian Brass Christmas Solos - Tuba, 1986) Hal Leonard
Frank Black: Holiday Song (Frankblackfrancis, 2004) SpinART
Star Wars Theatre: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (?, before 1994) ?
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet: Winterfresh (It's a Wonderful Record!, 1994) Jetpac
Morphine: Sexy Christmas Baby Mine (Best of 1992-1995, 2003)
Neko Case: Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (New Coat of Paint: Songs of Tom Waits, 2000) Manifesto
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci: Christmas Eve (Spanish Dance Troupe, 1999) Mantra
James Brown: Soulful Christmas (Funky Christmas, 1995) Polydor
The Knife: Christmas Reindeer (2006) self-released
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet: Deck the Halls [featuring the Vienna Boys Choir and Brent Bambury] (It's a Wonderful Record!, 1994) Jetpac

As indicated during the show, I'm out next week, so Ms. Anita B of Samsquantch's Hideaway will be graciously filling for me as her regular show is scheduled for the holiday break, when the building the station is in will be locked for 3 days. Those curious souls can listen to the revivial of the 17 hour holiday music loop during that time, for which I've programmed a few hours, albeit highly randomly.

You can download Smell my holiday cheer as a glittering MP3 you can hang on the highest bough [84.4Mb, 92:06]

rfg #45 - "Neon poinsettia"

2008-12-09T03:30:00Z

I wish this show could've gone a bit longer, but them's the breaks. Seems like any of the programs before me get their time eaten by the show before and I'm left with the tightest 90 minutes to wiggle with.

Nevertheless, this was a solid piece of the genre cake as I stayed mostly electronic. Fittingly, so was the music as most of the discs I found in the library were old and fairly unplayable (compact discs do not age gracefully), so the bulk of the show came off the iPod. However, it was only yesterday that I found a used vinyl of the Thief soundtrack (the trailer as heard during this week's broadcast), which helped greatly since all I had from Tangerine Dream was the Heartbreakers soundtrack, which is nice on its own but that film was rather insignificant, especially in contrast the blazing white glow of Michael Mann's debut film. There was a lot more I could've tackled regarding Mann and his audio æsthete, but you have to hear the music from time to time and not so much from me.

The Modular Recordings snapshot was semi-intentional; I had hoping to drop a remix of The Presets' This Boy's In Love but sometimes, people need to be able to find what song they hear easily. At some point, I'll play you Cut Copy's remix work of the Presets, one long languid day. (As eluded during the show, here's the Exclaim! profile on Cut Copy in wake of their 2008 best-of lists.)

Not sure what else to say but man, I play a lot of Amon Tobin. I need to switch over to Richie Hawtin for Canadian electronic music, or find other sources of fresh national technologies.

This is my playlist; tell me yours.

]]> Entertainment: U 1988 (U 1988, 2008) I'm a Cliché
Cut Copy: Sands of Times (Demo, 2008) Modular
The Presets: This Boy's in Love (Apocalypso, 2008) Modular
Little Boots: Meddle [Designer Drugs 80's Coke Jam remix] (MySpace, 2008) Iamsound
Depeche Mode: Clean [Colder Version] (Remixes 81-04, 2004) Mute
Sunship: Almighty Father featuring Warrior Queen (Almighty Father 12", 2004) Casual
Burial: Forgive (Burial, 2006) Hyperdub
Weird Tapes: Nightstalking (Nightstalking, 2008) self-released
Amon Tobin: Hot Pursuit (Piranha Breaks EP, 1997) Ninja Tune
Matthew Dear: Pom Pom [The Juan Maclean Backup Vox Remix] (Pom Pom - The Juan Maclean Remixes, 2008) Ghostly International
Whomadewho: TV Friends [Hot Chip Remix Tomboy Edit] (TV Friend 12", 2008) Gomma
Tangerine Dream: Heartbreakers (Heartbreakers OST, 1985) Virgin
Tangerine Dream: Footbridge to Heaven (Heartbreakers OST, 1985) Virgin
Tangerine Dream: Scrap Yard (Thief OST, 1981) Virgin
Tangerine Dream: Trap Feeling (Thief OST, 1981) Virgin
Tangerine Dream: Igneous (Thief OST, 1981) Virgin
Amon Tobin: Keep Your Distance (Foley Room, 2007) Ninja Tune
Genghis Tron: Recursion [CFCF Remix] (Board Up The House Remixes Volume 2, 2008) Lovepump United

Getting neglected in all this was the sublime backing track to the wonky concert listings, provided by Patrick Vian. Grosse Nacht Musik is a rad, rad, rad song that WFMU highlighted sometime ago. I hope his sole album Bruits et Temps Analogues gets re-released some day soon. Maybe I'll save up all these weird songs for an instrumental show. I'll file that with every other crazy idea I have.

You can download Neon poinsettia as a stark MP3 you can decorate a room around [80.0 Mb, 87:23]

rfg #44 - "Advent ages"

2008-12-02T03:30:00Z

Going into this week's show, I thought the entire proceedings would have gone overly whimsical. (Starting with Tiny Tim can do that.) The first half hour had a serious eighties college radio vibe, despite the fact that most of the recordings came from the past few years. The station had a single by These Electric Lives that I hadn't heard before, so coming up with Soda Water as a replacement was a fantastic upgrade. The Oxford Collapse song had been burrowing in my mind for a while, which is odd since most of their stuff straddles the nostalgia line too closely for me to truly appreciate.

CITR's archives had plenty of options for most of the artists I had lined up, though sometimes what I brought with me worked better. It's unfortunate that Bat for Lashes isn't in the library, since their debut stands as one of the strongest in recent memory. As the college sound floated up into the darkened clouds, I had to locate a few Canadian acts to both fit in and then lead us elsewhere. The recent fund drive delayed new playlist adds for a few weeks, so a great backlog is finally clearing, allowing me to tear into the new work from Sebastian Grainger (formerly of Death from Above 1979) and The Buttless Chaps, allowing me to land back in the salt of the earth.

...and dive into the Sacred Harp choral style, as featured in the recent documentary Awake, My Soul. CITR's music co-ordinator Mr. Meat had told me that he added the soundtrack specifically for me, which was gracious. Upon first listen though, I snapped to attention as the a capella choirs half-chanted, half-sang their notes. Taking a good chunk of hymns I knew — for those who may have known, one fact I don't advertise all the time is I used to be a church organist, though in the Lutheran tradition — the melodies and arrangements became almost Gregorian though brilliantly imprecise. I love the fact that the recording sessions were treated as field recordings, whereby the song leader (who changes each song) calls out the song or page number and everyone goes through the first verse in solfege then barge into the actual words on the second verse. Add to the fact that the songs are known by their melody instead of the song title, which better reflects the flexibility that hymns have as songs can take lyrics from other hymns, and standards such as Amazing Grace are known by locations (in this case, New Britain), the Sacred Harp tradition seemingly remixes the entire canon I'm familiar with.

The new-folk versions that followed weren't as immediate but it's great to see how the old gospel influence develops over different genres. And in many cases, certain artists gained their first exposure to this style as part of this project and discovered a way with music they hadn't necessarily been exposed to before. I can imagine some of you may be daunted with the idea of hearing religious themes; in that case, you can always unlisten to the words and pick out the character and unspoken message or history of what's being sung. If I had time, I'd like to sketch out a series of shows that explore the various parts of music and this soundtrack stands as a great way to highlight the human voice.

And with that, the playlist.

]]> Tiny Tim: Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight (God Bless Tiny Tim, 1968) Reprise
These Electric Lives: Skyscrapers (Learn by Doing, 2006) independent
Oxford Collapse: Proofreading (A Good Ground, 2007) Kanine
The December Sound: Summer's Gone (December Likes Sitar, 2003) self-released
Pinback: Fortress (Summer in Abaddon, 2004) Touch & Go
Ralph Carney: Fluids (I Like You (a Lot), 1999) Birdman
The Legends: Call It Ours (Up Against the Legends, 2004) Lakeshore
Goldfrapp: Lovely Head (Felt Mountain, 2000) Mute/EMI
Gang Gang Dance: First Communion (Saint Dymphna, 2008) Social Registry/Warp
Bat for Lashes: Prescilla (Fur and Gold, 2006) Echo/Parlophone
Mirage: Lady Operator (After Dark, 2007) Italians Do It Better
Sebastian Grainger & the Mountains: Who Do We Care For? (Sebastian Grainger & the Mountains, 2008) Outside Music
The Buttless Chaps: Coal Grey Sky (Cartography, 2008) Mint
Van Morrison: The Way Young Lovers Do (Astral Weeks, 1968) Warner Brothers
Holly Springs Sacred Harp Convention: Stratfield, 142 (Awake, My Soul OST, 2008) Awake Productions
Henagar - Union Sacred Harp Convention: Eternal Day, 383 (Awake, My Soul OST, 2008) Awake Productions
Henagar - Union Sacred Harp Convention: New Jordan, 442 (Awake, My Soul OST, 2008) Awake Productions
Henagar - Union Sacred Harp Convention: The Prodigal Son, 113 (Awake, My Soul OST, 2008) Awake Productions
Rayna Gellert & John Paul Jones: Blooming Youth, 176b (Help Me to Sing: Songs of the Sacred Harp, 2008) Awake Productions
The Good Players: David's Lamentation (Help Me to Sing: Songs of the Sacred Harp, 2008) Awake Productions
Richard Buckner: Windham, 38b (Help Me to Sing: Songs of the Sacred Harp, 2008) Awake Productions
Zooey: Endless Summer on the Beaver Island (The Beaver Island EP, 2003) spa.RK
Woven Hand: Consecration, 448t (Help Me to Sing: Songs of the Sacred Harp, 2008) Awake Productions

Backing the sorta wonky concert listings was the delightful yet dark The Dixie Saga by Italian act Populous. I need to find some more music from that DJ.

Does anyone know an online Gregorian chant Shoutcast stream? I'd prefer MP3 or OGG and I've only found a Portuguese site that uses Windows Media Player, which misbehaves.

You can download Advent ages as an MP3 to help fight off the holiday season [80.3 Mb, 87:37]

rfg #43 - "Who likes gold?"

2008-11-25T03:30:00Z

Hmm, another round of gold. Funding drives do no wonders to my memory.

This is the second (and final) episode as part of the 3rd annual CITR Fund Drive, representing the point where the station hit the 90% mark of its goal towards $15 000 (which was eventually achieved on the morning of the penultimate day of the drive; as of writing, the total is over sixteen thousand). Naturally, the rhythm of the show was substantially better than the one last week. Upgrades appeared in the forms of: new music; the occasional and better prepared notes; and stronger comfort in pitching the plea for cash.

And, for the first time ever, I even had a caller pledge, though he didn't want the radio free gak prize pack. I have to figure out a more enticing offer the next time the drive comes along; I even added a copy of Caribou's latest (and 2008 Polaris Prize-winning album) Andorra at the behest of the station manager, who I spooked into appearing on air as she updated the totals board (sorry Bren) but no takers.

The money theme in the show was somewhat subtle yet fluid, starting off with the New York City garbage strike audio clip I had forgotten to use last week. I had Blondie's take on the Nerves' classic Hanging on the Telephone cued at one point, but after some idle chatter about one DJ spinning too much Cher (!?), I opted for the less travelled artists.

The profile on Jerry Goldsmith went all right, though tracks were pruned as time ran tight. Goldsmith remains a difficult artist to fully profile since he had composed thousands of tracks for hundreds of productions over his lifetime. Nevertheless, I did cover some ground with his sixties lounge style and his early eighties sci-fi fare. I forgot to mention an earlier profile I had on Goldsmith's score to Planet of the Apes, but in hindsight, I tend to overplay that card.

After my shift, I took my shift on the phones, though things were quiet throughout the evening. My work on the finale poster was printed out finally, which I hope to upload for you soon. The pilgrim drawing remains a little suspect and badly laid on the poster but the typography's all right, considering I had to work with an unfinalized roster. I hung out with the crew that was there 'til 1am and somehow, managed to get a lift home.

I also had to step in after The Jazz Show since the show afterwards, Vengeance is Mine had a night off due to the host being ill, so I had to prepare the overnight broadcast. Instead of relying on the usual BBC Worldwide feed, I tried choosing a mix of other fantastic podcasts, but after a browser crash, I opted simply for a spate of the most recent Funky 16 Corners podcasts, which remain a source of frustration to subscribe to via iTunes. I did a quick blurb after fading out The Jazz Show theme and hoped that no other crashes transpired overnight.

You don't need to punch no monkey for the playlist.

]]> Beck: Gamma Ray (Modern Guilt, 2008) Interscope
Crash Crew: On the Radio (The Crash Crew, 1984) Sugar Hill Records
Eric B & Rakim: Paid in Full [Mini Madness - the Coldcut Remix] (Paid in Full, 1987) Island
Caribou: Niobe (Andorra, 2007) Merge
The Kills: Cheap and Cheerful (Midnight Boom, 2008) Domino
Basement Jaxx: Cish Cash [featuring Siouxsie Sioux] (Kish Kash, 2003) Astralwerks
Atomic 7: The Man with the Golden Card (...Gowns by Edith Head, 2003) Mint
The Rheostatics: Bad Time to be Poor (The Blue Hysteria, 1996) Raise a Little Elf
Air: Mer du Japon (Pocket Symphony, 2007) Astralwerks
Badmarsh & Shri: The Air I Breathe [Kid Loco's Land of 1000 Strings Mix] (Jesus Life for Children under 12 Inches, 1999) Atlantic
Jerry Goldsmith: Main Title from Capricorn One (Capricorn One OST, 1977) Intrada
Jerry Goldsmith: Our Man Flint (Our Man Flint OST, 1965) 20th Century Fox
Jerry Goldsmith: Main Title from Seconds (Fantastic Voyage, 1994) Silva Screen
Jerry Goldsmith: Main Title from Alien (Alien OST, 2007) Intrada
Jerry Goldsmith: Outland (Brain in a Box: The Science Fiction Collection, 2000) Rhino
Sex Mob: Goldfinder (Din of Inequity, 1998) Sony

As an added bonus to the regular rfg show, I included the first part of The Jazz Show in this week's podcast because I wound up providing the first tune after the regular show theme. The audio goes more into the explanation, but I had Money Jungle lined up as a possible fund drive theme, but Gavin said he would bring his copy in for his show. He forgot, so he wound up using my version, and providing some fantastic context about the song and the musicians involved that I had no way to provide.

Bennie Green: Soul Stirrin' [Stereo version] (Soul Stirrin', 1958) Blue Note
Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus & Max Roach: Money Jungle (Money Jungle, 1962) United Artists Jazz

As I found out by sticking around at the station so late, Gavin uses the mono version of Soul Stirrin' as his closing theme, which makes for a nice bookmark to his always excellent show. Gavin's preferences for jazz match mine well; a nice contrast to the usual "safer" jazz you would hear on other stations. You should check out The Jazz Show podcast if you haven't already.

You can download Who likes gold as an MP3 [100.8 Mb, 110:01]. Next week should be back to normal, though I struggle to recall what I had planned after all my proposed programming notes disappeared after my recent laptop theft. Consider episode #44 a reboot of sorts, though ideas for a new show title prove to be another chore that keeps getting postponed.

Shake a Tail Feather - "Soul 101: A fund drive special"

2008-11-22T06:15:00Z

The quick recap: I have no memory whatsoever whether I mentioned this on prior episodes, but I was a guest on Shake A Tail Feather during the station fund drive (which is still going strong for a few days more). He proposed that we cover an introductory show about soul and R&B music, exploring the early roots of both genres and giving examples of what soul music is.

We figured out early on that our ambitions could barely be wedged into our two hour show, especially as we talked plentifully about music along with the ever-so important donation information. We had each brought in a wide selection of music; I brought most of the Southern and New Orleans music whilst Jason focused on earlier works.

The show flew by quickly; we had waited in the lounge, listening to a bit of the collegiate sports broadcast with the other volunteers before tuning into Linda Bull's selection of modern Italian soundtrack and orchestral music (Linda hosts Give'em the Boot on Tuesday mornings, along with a bluegrass show on Co-op Radio, CFRO 102.7 FM Vancouver).

By midnight, we got the call from the next host that he would be 15 minutes late, so I took over the controls quietly as Jason packed and scrambled to catch the last express bus. I wound up taking a very delayed local one myself.

Not sure what else to write up here, since I still have to prepare my actual show, so here's the playlist.

Eli "Paperboy" Reed and the True Loves: (Doin' The) Boom Boom (MOJO Presents: The New Dictionary of Blues and Soul)
Ruth Brown and Her Rhythmakers: I Want to Do More (Blowing the Fuse: 1956)
Roy Montrell: (Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone (Blowing the Fuse: 1956)
Huey "Piano" Smith: Free, Single and Disengaged (New Orleans Funk, Vol. 1)
The Mar-Keys: Last Night (Stax 50th Anniversary)
Booker T and the MGs: Green Onions (Stax 50th Anniversary)
William Bell: You Don't Miss Your Water (Stax 50th Anniversary)
The Chantels: Maybe (Blowing the Fuse: 1958)
Sam Cooke: I'll Come Running Back to You (Blowing the Fuse: 1958)
Jerry Butler and the Impressions: For Your Precious Love (Blowing the Fuse: 1958)
Ray Charles: What'd I Say (Blowing the Fuse: 1959)
Isley Brothers: Shout (Blowing the Fuse: 1959)
Chuck Jackson: I Wake Up Crying (The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection)
Mary Wells: You Beat Me To the Punch (Sweet Soul Music: 1962)
Allen Toussaint: Gotta Travel On (What Is Success)
Otis Redding: A Change Is Gonna Come (The Definitive Soul Collection)
Al Green: Back Up Train (Back Up Train)
The Radiants: Voice Your Choice (MOJO Presents: Chess Classics)
The Fifth Dimension: Stoned Soul Picnic (The Very Best of ...)
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: Tell Me (100 Days, 100 Nights)
The Fifth Dimension: Love's Lines, Angles, and Rhymes (The Very Best of ...)
James Brown: Funky President (People It's Bad) (Make It Funky - The Big Payback: 1971-1975)

You can download Soul 101 as an MP3, though I threw on this on my podcast for those of you who don't always read the blog [120.3 Mb, 131:23]

rfg #42 - "The ecstasy of gold"

2008-11-18T03:30:00Z

It's the third annual CITR Fundrive (donate now) and my inaugural take on the whole endeavour on soliciting funds live on air. Since the bulk of my dialogue was pre-written, I elected not to write up anything else, relying primarily on old notes. Since I had no idea how much I'd be talking, I had way more music queued than time to play; regular listeners can calculate that with about 10 minutes less music, I spoke for 10 minutes more than usual, which left me rather parched...especially since I'm actually recovering from a recent sinus infection that had me homebound and somewhat rested today.

This show became a best-of due to many reasons; mostly due to the fund drive formatting, but parts related to my lack of laptop and a delay in its replacement. I did have a loaner from work but it has its own unreliable history along with lack of space for me to restore anything from my backup drive. Thankfully, the iPod had a good chunk of this week's show preloaded and I could recycle the bits I had for the previously aired songs whilst giving updates. However, Cancon leapt up along with a few playlist requirements thanks to the new Dears and the CFCF EP.

The radio free gak prize pack at airtime was as follows: any pledge over $101.90 included a copy of the Fountain soundtrack (as composed by Clint Mansell, not as whoever I said during showtime, and performed by the Kronos Quartet and Mogwai — I have not yet seen or heard the film or soundtrack but I'm tempted to open one of the copies lying around), a button I made and some Finnish salmiakki candy. As well, anyone who would've pledged $20 on top of any additional gift would have it hand-delivered (within reason) instead of having the donor pick it up from UBC campus.

However, there was only one caller during my show and he took a tax receipt, so I'll leave the existing gifts for next week and try to throw some more into the gak prize pack. This may rely on me coming into the station to make a mixed CD, along with hitting up a friend for some silk-screened shirts. Podcast listeners are wholly encouraged to donate despite the lack of immediacy offered by the prizes, though the logistics of getting those gifts out would need to be sorted, since the existing fund drive budget does not include postage costs. Still, I'm on the board with $170, which is a good step towards $15 000. At the end of my show, the total amount collected was over $6000 – fantastic for 5 days.

Naturally, the technical faults appeared, sensing the time was ripe to directly solicit the listenership as things broke down. The primary CD player refused to open and the secondary started to skip during certain songs, meaning that I had to creatively cue things so that the third player was the primary, using the second one for short songs on trusty discs. As well, the turntables were a fiasco and a half, as the left turntable was only mono in the left speaker and the right turntable's levels were bleeding already when nothing was playing. That meant that the Max B. track was in double mono for the last half of the song as I tried to figure out how on earth the mixer was miswired (again) and scrapping my other vinyl selections. I was forced to rely on my iPod heavily, which is ironic since I was moving away from relying too heavily on using that as my primary device as I got comfortable with my show. Someone pledge more money now to get that stuff fixed!

Of course, the entire show wasn't a "clip show"; the last 20 minutes included my first profile on Ennio Morricone, which had been long gestating but the sheer size of my collection is already monstrous, and I barely have the surface scratched. The five tracks I played covered a wide range of his wilder and generally known compositions, including some of his spaghetti Western works plus some more psychedelic pieces. I should devote a whole show for him in the future and Morricone was one of the few acts that survived completely on my iPod after my stolen laptop.

Adding to the madcappery of the show was a good friend photographing me during the last 45 minutes. Due to his time, he'll send all the photos for me to sort through, so there's bound to be a few keepers, along with evidence of my moustache for November.

I touched upon Burli briefly as part of my pitch appeal, and there's a world of information on its history and its founder Stefan Ellis along with the interconnectedness with CITR, but it shows how community radio can extend further into the community. I have a couple other stories similar to that I can share next time.

Meanwhile, here's what was heard.

]]> The Avalanches: Radio (Since I Left You, 2000) Modular
Turn On: Ru Tenone (Turn On, 1997) Drag City
Hot Chip: Shake a Fist (Made in the Dark, 2008) Astralwerks
Nigo: March of the General (Ape Sounds, 1999) Mo'Wax Records
Max B.: Bananaticoco (Max B, 2001) Wah Wah
Ebony Bones: We Know All About You (White Label, 2007)
Ahmed Fakroun: Yo Son [Prince Language Edit] (Yo Son/Bamalama, 2007) Editions Disco
M.I.A.: Paper Planes [DFA Remix] (Homeland Security Remixes, 2008) XL
The Dears: Money Babies (Missiles, 2008) Maplemusic
CFCF: Arctic (Panesian Nights, 2008) Paper Bag
Ennio Morricone: A Fistful of Dollars (A Fistful of Dollars OST, 1967/1998) BMG/Razor & Tie
Ennio Morricone: L'estasi Dell'oro (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly OST, 2004) Capitol
Ennio Morricone: Requiem Per un Operaio (from La Califfa 1970) (Morricone In The Brain, 2007) Bella Casa
Ennio Morricone: Slalom (Titoli Versione Film) (from Slalom 1965) (Morricone In The Brain, 2007) Bella Casa
Ennio Morricone: La Scoperta Dell America (Esoctica) (from La Scoperta Dell America 1964) (Morricone In The Brain, 2007) Bella Casa

Backing me most of the time was my little Buddha Machine, an iPod-sized loop generator I've used in my travels as a white noise device along with a lucid dream trigger. I had hoped to use all nine of the loops during the show, but technical difficulties availed themselves. The Buddha Machine shared its slot with the secondary CD player.

You can download The ecstasy of gold as a hard-selling MP3 [81.1 Mb, 88:37]

Pledge your part.

2008-11-15T04:00:00Z

As announcements go, this will be short and sweet. November is a notoriously busy time of year for charities and fundraising; the United Way campaign is underway and I'm still growing a moustache for Movember, for which I have to post a photo of my current status, which is vaguely walrus-like in growth.

However, the main crux of this is post is the third annual CITR on-air funding drive, which started this past Thursday and goes until November 27. We're targetting $15 000 CDN and after one day, we're almost at the $2000 mark. This is my first fund drive and I'm in the midst of preparing not just some special shows, but also some prize packs for the first few donors.

How to donate:

Donate by Phone: call +1 604 822 8648 (UBC-UNIT) between 7am - 2am Pacific from November 13-27. Visa, MasterCard, personal cheques, money orders, cash and direct deposit are accepted.

Donate Online: visit the UBC Development Office and please enter CITR Capital Campaign in the field marked "I would Prefer to Donate To". When donating online, please state the name of your favourite show in the comment column. radio free gak is easy to spell.

Donate by Mail:

UBC Development Office
Suite 500 5950 University Blvd.
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3

Donations can also be made in-person between 8am and 8pm at CiTR Radio offices. As well, donations can be made in monthly installments through direct deposit, which will ease the pressure on your bank account.

For more information about the campaign, you can contact the Station Manager citrmgr@ams.ubc.ca or +1 604 822 1242.

rfg #41 - "You see dashes, I see minus signs"

2008-11-10T03:30:00Z

Sorry to have missed you last week. As I indicated during the show, I didn't plan on missing it because I also didn't plan on having my place being broken into whilst I was at work either. When I got home an hour before airtime, I realized I wasn't going anywhere and I waited for the police whilst figuring out what to do with a front door that couldn't be secured. I had no physical harm to myself or any loved ones, just a bruised spirit.

This show was pretty much in the bag then, so pardon any staleness or sense of numb anxiety on my part. I was already a few weeks behind on a tribute to Dolemite in light of Rudy Ray Moore's death, but with the extra time available, I was surprised to find some music of his that was actually safe to play on radio.

Henry, the host of the show before mine, had a few overlapping acts with my proposed setlist, so after conferring with him about what he played as I hung out in Studio 1 during the last half hour of his show, I made a few substitutions for Department of Eagles and Deerhunter. The former act has pretty much lost the lo-fi pastichery of their past recordings which I dug, though their songwriting has solidified. Meanwhile, the latter continues to slowly convince me of sheer genius despite the indie trappings.

As you may have heard, some of the songs had little skips and pauses due to either the older quality of the CD's or the players themselves were starting to give out. I was lucky that more of the selections from the Lost Highway soundtrack didn't completely freeze altogether since the machine thrashed with its error correcting in the studio. Distractions continued as the wall clock stopping midway during the show, requiring me to climb up, see what the story was with the battery, reset the time then somehow place the clock back in a way so that it wouldn't fall. As well, one of the other DJ's previously on the air rewired with the turntables again, messing up the channels and breaking the locks on the shelving below, which caused the station engineer to expand his vocabulary. Then there was an eager student wishing to become a station volunteer, which required a quick two minute rundown before a song ended to tell him about what roles were available and how to sign up for a tour.

Since Henry ran a little late with his show and the various times the studio claimed to have, I realized around the time I played the snappy Raphael Saadiq piece that I had to scale my show back a bit. Thus, no concert listings this week and a shortened selection of Angelo Badalamenti songs at the end. The entire show went by in a blur but I suspect it was an aberration based on everything else that was going on.

And a reminder: starting Thursday at 5pm Pacific, it's the third annual CITR Fund Drive, so the next two shows will be leaner, meaner and asking for money. Times are tight for everyone, including the station that seems ready to fall apart at any given moment, so if you can donate, your generosity will be greatly appreciated and not overlooked.

This is your playlist.

]]> Rudy Ray Moore: Radio spot for The Human Tornado (Dolemite OST, 1975) Generation International
Arthur Wright: Theme from The Human Tornado (Dolemite OST, 1975) Generation International
Department of Eagles: Waves of Rye (In Ear Park, 2008) 4AD
Yo La Tengo: Sometimes I Don't Get You (I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, 2006) Matador
TV on the Radio: Dancing Choose (Dear Science, 2008) Interscope/4AD
Deerhoof: Chandelier Searchlight (Offend Maggie, 2008) Kill Rock Stars
Deerhunter: Vox Humana (Weird Era Cont., 2008) Kranky/4AD
Tiger Tones: Seventeen (Tiger Tones, 2008) Pinacolada
Sister Sonny: Leonard in Drag (Bandit Lab, 2001) Jetset/Rec 90
Bogdan Raczynski: My Love I Love 2 (My Love I Love, 2001) Rephlex
AFX: PWSteal.Ldpinch.D (Chosen Lords, 2006) Rephlex
MSTRKRFT: Bounce featuring N.O.R.E. (Bounce, 2008) Dim Mak
Deadmau5: Hi Friend (Hi Friend, 2008) Maustrap
Raphael Saadiq: 100 Yard Dash (The Way I See It, 2008) Sony/Columbia
Menahan Street Band: Montego Sunset (Make the Road by Walking, 2008) Daptone
Brownout: Barretta (Homenaje, 2007) Freestyle
The Herbaliser: Can't Help This Feeling (Can't Help This Feeling, 2008) K7
Angelo Badalamenti: Fred & Renee Make Love (Lost Highway OST, 1997) Interscope
Angelo Badalamenti: Fats Revisited (Lost Highway OST, 1997) Interscope
Angelo Badalamenti: Fred's World (Lost Highway OST, 1997) Interscope
Barry Adamson: Something Wicked This Way Comes (Lost Highway OST, 1997) Interscope
Barry Adamson: Hollywood Sunset (Lost Highway OST, 1997) Interscope
Trent Reznor: Driver Down (Lost Highway OST, 1997) Interscope
Smashing Pumpkins: Eye (Lost Highway OST, 1997) Interscope

Aside from the station fund drive, I'm also growing a moustache for November for charity to help fight prostate cancer. I was supposed to get a photo of my 'stache as present on Monday night, but my designated photographer was caught busy and along with my stolen primary camera, my backup camera's power supply is missing so I can't do much aside from rely on kindness from those I know with lenses. However, if you're feeling doubly generous, you can make a donation for Movember.

You can download You see dashes, I see minus signs as a wee MP3 [80.6 Mb, 88:07]

rfg XL - "Black roses in the cemetery"

2008-10-28T02:00:00Z

When it comes to my Hallowe'ens, half of the chills and thrills arrive in the form of spills.

As I prepared this week's show — all about spooky music with a mix of some campiness and some outright horror — I was getting frustrated with trying to fill 90 minutes of airtime, which usually comprises of 75-80 minutes of music. I fretted over the final cuts on Sunday and set myself up for a pretty solid show. I figured I had a reasonable backup plan in the form of the Dawn of the Dead soundtrack — graciously provided to me by a co-worker on his original vinyl — in case I wanted to swap a few songs, though that score wound up somewhat less ethereal than I was expecting.

Never did I expect to jump on the air a half hour early though, as the previous host never made his shift this week (I should email him and check to see how he's doing). Once I arrived at the station, I found out what the deal was and dove right into the show at 7pm. The basic plan I had was to run with the show as it was and then somehow come up with the last half hour based on my extra tracks and those that were left off.

Whatever my intentions were...well, you can hear that the seams were roughly sewn, especially as I juggled around my tracklist during the last hour and switched sloppily from my iPod to the laptop when I ran out of the homebrew. (Please don't ask what I was thinking when I started snapping my fingers, or tried to snap said fingers, ugh.) There was a quick fade-out of the Throbbing Gristle song halfway through as I finally clearly heard the rather gruesome story being told, which would generally fly all right on a campus radio station though not during primetime. Actually listening to the lyrics, or at least reading them beforehand, is going to be a new habit to learn, considering I was already slightly leery about the Golden Palominos song later on, a track that has bolted me awake one night as I heard Nicole Blackman's eerie tale of a kidnapping.

One thing I wish I had done was feature the original song by Delia Derbyshire I had selected; a long piece featuring a woman talking about the ocean. A quirky tale would have provided a little break from the increasingly ominous latter half of the show, though Derbyshire's an artist who deserves her own profile very soon.

All in all, this episode should definitely raise the hair on the back of your neck, intentionally or not. I had reluctant expectations going into this show, and I adequately met them at times.

I present to you now your playlist. Please inspect each song for possible razors and other spikey objects before listening.

]]> Maury Laws: The Baron (Mad Monster Party? OST, 1967) Retrograde/Percepto
Jad Fair & Phono-Comb: In a Haunted House (In a Haunted House, 1995) Derivative
North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative: Do They Know It's Hallowe'en? (Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?, 2005) Vice
Fantômas: Rosemary's Baby (The Director's Cut, 2001) Ipecac
Godspeed You! Black Emperor: Moya (Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada EP, 1999) Constellation
Arch M: Cat Grave (Mountain Tan Commercials, 2008) Cavern
J. Spaceman & Sun City Girls: Spook (Mr. Lonely OST, 2008) Drag City
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet: Big Baby (Savvy Show Stoppers, 1990) Cargo
Richard Delvy: Green Slime (The Green Slime OST, 1968) ?
Ralph Dörper: Assault (Eraserhead, 1983) Operation Twilight
Throbbing Gristle: Slug Bait – ICA (The Second Annual Report, 1977) Industrial
Delia Derbyshire: Music of Spheres (EMS LP 1, 1971) EMS
The Golden Palominos: Victim (Dead Inside, 1996) Restless
Pocahaunted: Ashes is White (Island Diamonds, 2008) Not Not Fun
Goblin: The Hunt (Dawn of the Dead OST, 1979) Varese Sarabande
Goblin: Target Shooting (Dawn of the Dead OST, 1979) Varese Sarabande
The City of Prague Philharmonic: Suite from The Omen (A History of Horror: From Nosferatu to the Sixth Sense, 2006) Silva
Brian Eno: In Dark Trees (Another Green World, 1975) Island
Little Howlin' Wolf: Oul Nei Piesec; Ostatni Morzu (The Singles Volume 1, 2003) Heresee
Belbury Poly: The Hidden Door (The Hidden Door, 2008) Ghost Box

Interspliced throughout the entire episode were snippets of dialogue and direct from video recordings from Shadow of the Vampire, Ed Wood's Glen or Glenda with Bela Lugosi himself, Destroy All Planets and Comic Book Confidential. Johnny Pearson's Graveyard provided additional ambience, along with Trent Reznor's Intermission from his score to the video game Quake.

You can download Black roses in the cemetery as an MP3, if you dare [110.0 Mb, 120:18 — though about anytime I talk in the last hour is dire...skip ahead when necessary]

rfg #39 - "Smiling baby on the ceiling"

2008-10-21T02:30:00Z

Up until late Sunday, this show was going to be mostly blues-related, but since I wasn't feeling in a blues mode, I shelved that program and came up with this one, featuring plenty of music from one of the old guard in electronic music: Underworld.

Based on their regular lengthy songs, Underworld easily took up half the show — including their songs from Trainspotting and Batman & Robin — along with the recent discovery within the station archives of the soundtrack to the film Breaking and Entering, whom they wrote along with Lebanese composer Gabriel Yared, a man I should dig up more music for a future episode.

The rest of the show fell into place quite quickly, although relying on the obituaries can appear to be an instant tribute that approaches distastefulness. Still, Neal Hefti's theme to the original (yet very campy) Batman television series is one of those unlikeliest of gems that will never go away. And the Four Tops' Levi Stubbs wasn't someone that immediately struck a chord, but then you listen to Bernadette, as heard in the background during this scene in Madhouse, or just Stubbs himself as the voice of Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors, and you realize what a powerful voice he had. And as referred to on air, during one of my fill-ins for Shake a Tail Feather, I played their song from Shaft Goes to Africa.

Wire and Crystal Castles provided an unconventional theme as they both had recently cancelled shows in the Vancouver area; I would have fit The Breeders in but time didn't permit. And further in concert tie-ins, I had tickets to give away to Wednesday's sold-out show by Dengue Fever, but no takers. It's a shame; from what songs of theirs I spun during my Asian themed show, their Cambodian songs should sound delightfully exotic. Maybe I should have landed tickets myself...

Otherwise, Mr. Walker called during the early part of the show, indicating that he wouldn't be able to appear tonight after he recovered from surgery. He was relaying some graphic details about the procedure as a segment ended, hence the brief silence towards the first third of the show as I quickly wrapped up the call and prepared one of his older shows for rebroadcast. To conclude all the campy Batman antics — and to soothe the way to the Jazz Show — I wanted to find a quality version of Count Basie's defining take on Hefti's Li'l Darling, but I settled for the The Ray Brown Trio's version, which has a nice languid feel to close the ceremonies.

That's mostly it, save for the playlist, which follows.

]]> Neal Hefti: Batman Theme (Batman TV Soundtrack, 1966) Mercury
The Four Tops: Bernadette [Stereo] (Reach Out, 1967) Motown
Fembots: Can I Be Your Mirror? (Calling Out, 2008) Weewerk
Superconductor: Word One (Bastardsong, 1996) Boner
Wire: Hard Currency (Object 47, 2008) Pink Flag
Crystal Castles vs. Health: Crimewave [Kilowatt Remix] (MySpace, 2008) unsigned
Mass Repeat: Wulfenite (MySpace, 2008) unsigned
Dengue Fever: Hold My Hips [Paul Smith Remix] (WTFTTFG Blogathon Charity, 2006) M80 Music / Birdman
Underworld: Crocodile (Oblivion with Bells, 2007) Side One
Underworld: Dark Train (Dark & Long, 1994) Junior Boy's Own
Underworld & Gabriel Yared: St Pancras (Breaking and Entering OST, 2006) V2
Underworld & Gabriel Yared: Happy Toast (Breaking and Entering OST, 2006) V2
Underworld & Gabriel Yared: Primrose Hill (Breaking and Entering OST, 2006) V2
Underworld & Gabriel Yared: Mending Things (Breaking and Entering OST, 2006) V2
Underworld: Moaner (Beaucoup Fish, 1999) Junior Boy's Own
Link Wray: Batman Theme (Early Recordings, 1971/2006) Rollercoaster/Ace
The Ray Brown Trio: Li'l Darlin' (Live at the Loa – Summer Wind, 1990) Concord

Holding sway as I gave the concert listing was the "doper than the gold around your neck" classic Green Onions by Booker T and the M.G.'s.

You can download Smiling baby on the ceiling as a pretty long ringtone, though most people prefer the MP3 [94:34, 86.6Mb]

Samsquantch's Hideaway [Fill-in] - "Post-election day whatever"

2008-10-16T01:30:00Z

It's been some time since I've done a fill-in, but as Anita B was unavailable this week, I stepped into the comfortable shoes that is Samsquantch's Hideaway, the Wednesday evening Canadiana program. And for reference purposes, the Samsquantch appeared on the Trailer Park Boys.

There was no major theme for the show, though the program was bookended by non-Canadian bands making Canadian references; the fact that there's band out of Italy called Vancouver amuses me to no end, though they sound pretty good. Naturally, relying partially on the station's catalogue meant that most of my nationally selected music veered towards indie, though I had a few wild cards in my deck, ranging from folktronica to the noble yet cheesy Rock Encouter, which WFMU brought to the world's attention. I had some other selections for Hayden and Boards of Canada before finding replacements from the station library.

Val, host of Folk Oasis, the show after the Hideaway (and a show I've filled in for in the past), would often hang out as she prepped her show that night and we caught up on what was going down as of late. As her show started, I managed some banter that may have been caught on air, but I excluded from the download since any chicanery came later in the show and may have somewhat inaudible (I'll check and if there's anything good, I'll append or make a separate download).

Compared to Monday's regular show, I sounded far healthier and since work had me on the phone a lot today, my voice was well primed for mischief. It's nice to have a looser time on the radio now and then, since fun is not only a key objective, but it's also infectious. Of course, this led to a minor gaffe or two, especially since I was juggling a lot of CD changes this time around, along with a few records. That and the cart requirements being completely different made for a different challenge in the background as I fumbled quickly to fit certain bits onto the air. The advert at the end should've come a few minutes before but at least I didn't completely forget it altogether.

All in all, it was a blast – a nice respite from the federal election mayhem from the night before. Or downer, depending on your political leaning.

And now, for something that's never been done before: the playlist.

]]> Low: Canada (Trust, 2002) Kranky
Vancouver: Penalty Box (Even My Winters are Summers, 2008) Recycled Music
Jeff Buckley: Vancouver (Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, 1996) Columbia
of Montreal: Heimdalsgate like a Promethean Curse (Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, 2007) Polyvinyl
The Dears: Death or Life We Want You (Gang of Losers, 2006) Maple Music/Arts & Crafts
Islands: Pieces of You (Arm's Way, 2008) Anti-
Wolf Parade: Language City (At Mount Zoomer, 2008) Sub Pop
Duchess Says: Ccut Up (Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs, 2008) Alien8
Republic of Safety: Vacation (Vacation, 2006) Sonic Unyon
Dragonette: The Boys (Boys, 2007) Universal
Women: Black Rice (Women, 2008) Flemish Eye/Jagjaguwar
The Arcade Fire: Cold Wind (Cold Wind, 2005) Merge
Hayden: More Than Alive (In Field & Town, 2008) Hardwood
Allegories: Fish Water Desert Trapeze (Surreal Auteur, 2008) Auteur Recordings
Azeda Booth: Ram (In Flesh Tones, 2008) Absolutely Kosher
Vitaminsforyou: B4U [Jokers of the Scene Remix] (B4U single, 2008) Sfeericle
Junior Boys: Last Exit [Fennesz Mix] (Last Exit - Bonus Disc, 2004) Kin
Mylab: Master Korean Musicians from Canada (Mylab, 2004) Terminus
The Band of the Royal Regiment of Canada : Rock Encounter (In Concert On Parade, 1975) Periwinkle
Esquivel!: Canadian Sunset (More of Other Worlds, Other Sounds, 1962) Rhino/Warner Brothers
Boards of Canada: In a Beautiful Place in the Country (In a Beautiful Place in the Country, 2000) Warp

You can download Post-election day whatever as a wildly spirited MP3 [80.7 Mb, 88:06 — Alternate link in case I remove the original from my podcasteroo]

rfg #38 - "Tripping on tryptophan"

2008-10-14T02:30:00Z

Sorry for the delay in getting this entry posted — one factor has been my increasingly unreliable internet connection at home. The new coaxial cable is helping with giving my speeds slightly over dial-up but speeds remain less than optimal.

The other factor for those of you who listen closely is that I had the sniffles, which I tried to obscure on air but failed often. Symptoms later deteriorated to the worst runny nose I ever had that night. My headspace drifted at times, which accounted for the occasional misread bit as I tried to figure out what I had meant when things were written earlier. The iPod had its own little fits, skipping ahead in songs whenever I wasn't looking, though that problem abated after the first half hour.

Kid Koala kicked things off with a song that one of the CBC Toronto folks use when filling in on one of the national morning programmes on Radio 1. After some disco, house and some demo music, the next highlight was the little profile on Monkey: Journey to the West, a Chinese opera that features the main Gorillaz duo with a heavy Oriental feel. One of the Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, led into a segue into Central African music as his recent production work for Amadou & Mariam allowed a sensible change of gears.

I played some Stereolab too, though I debated using the old tour single song versus a song off Stereolab off-shoot (and 2008 tour opener) Monade. Now that most of my 45's are up from Brooklyn, I could've gone with the latter after all. Alas...

The Lalo Schifrin soundtrack to Enter the Dragon was a recent acquisition, perfectly located after reading The AV Club's mixlist on "songs from and inspired by classic cult films" and some comments there. Though there are parallels to my recent bout of blaxploitation scores, Schifrin's score retains its own character, much like his work for the original TV series Mission: Impossible.

Somehow, I had more wiggle time this week, so I managed to fit pretty much everything in, though nailing the timing of the PSA's and adverts still needs to be perfected, especially more so now as placement of these carts is more closely monitored. Those things are going to fairly consistent going forward, just so you know.

On with the playlist.

]]> Kid Koala: Skanky Panky (Some of My Best Friends are DJ's, 2003) Ninja Tune
Kris Menace: I Feel Music in Your Heart (I Feel Music in Your Heart 12", 2003) Work It Baby
Bobby Evans: Freak-a-zoid Robots [RMXXOLOGY Theme] (Freak-A-Zoid Robots, 2008) Delicious Vinyl
Nite Jewel: What Did He Say (What Did He Say 12", 2008) Italians Do It Better
Chromatics: Lady (Demo, 2008) unreleased
Poni Hoax: Antibodies (Images of Sigrid, 2008) Tigersushi
Ssion: Credit in the Straight World (Credit in the Straight World, 2008) Sleazetone
The Organ: Let the Bells Ring (Thieves, 2008) Mint
Novillero: Shadowboxing (A Little Tradition, 2008) Mint
Monkey: Monkey's World (Journey to the West, 2008) XL
Monkey: Heavenly Peach Banquet (Journey to the West, 2008) XL
Amadou & Mariam: Sabali (Welcome to Mali, 2008) Because
Babatunde Olatunji: Jin-go-la-ba (Drums of Passion, 1959) Columbia
Alèmayèhu Eshèté: Addis Abèba Bété (Éthiopiques 9: 1969-1974, 1971) Buda Musique
Stereolab: Cellulose Sunshine (Chemical Chords, 2008) 4AD
Stereolab: Fried Monkey Eggs [vocal version] (The Underground is Coming, 1999) Duophonic
Lalo Schifrin: Theme from "Enter the Dragon" (Enter the Dragon OST, 1973) Warner/Collectors Choice
Lalo Schifrin: The Monk (Enter the Dragon OST, 1973) Warner/Collectors Choice
Lalo Schifrin: The Big Battle (Enter the Dragon OST, 1973) Warner/Collectors Choice
Lalo Schifrin: The Human Fly (Enter the Dragon OST, 1973) Warner/Collectors Choice
Lalo Schifrin: Bamboo Bird Cage (Enter the Dragon OST, 1973) Warner/Collectors Choice
Mickey Moonlight: A Big Ship Passing (Interplanetary Music, 2008) Ed Banger

Blipping away in the background of the concert listings was Mary France by legendary electronic composer Jean-Jacques Perrey.

One announcement I forgot to mention: I'm filling in this week for Samsquantch's Hideaway, one of the Canadian-themed programmes on CITR. You can listen in from 18:30-20:00 Pacific on Wednesday.

You can download Tripping on tryptophan as a fuzzy chunky MP3 [83.4 Mb, 91:05]

rfg #37 - "If you were me, you'd be goodlooking"

2008-10-07T02:30:00Z

Time to padlock the basement and rock the garage.

Episodes like this one form organically as I sort through my increasing cachet of planned songs and notice little trends. I can't say whether as of late, I'm intentionally working on creating more focused shows for certain genres or styles, but the past month's worth of programming definitely mark their territory. This one specifically goes for that ramshackle guitar sound, either from a garage, punk, psychedelic, rockabilly or otherwise loud standpoint.

And I kidded you not when I said that I had just arrived back in Vancouver from New York: I landed just before 3pm and needed to go home, unpack and come up with the show, which had been a loose amorphous state during my travels, but I had to buckle down and streamline things. Upon reaching the studio with only a few minutes to spare, I combed through a few replacement songs, which proudly meant including local act (with station connections) the Tranzmitors, though I had to bump the freaky Peruvian song I had lined up.

Admittedly, I used a few too many cues for the Brian Tyler profile, since I had to talk over one of the Red Elvises tracks and forced the Czerwone Gitary to get a quick fade out before cutting over to Gavin — I'll keep that song on reserve for future usage, mind you. Bubba Ho-Tep is such a quirky film stylistically and the soundtrack works itself well with the horror clichés along with satirizing them, much like a mummy that is only quick enough to attack the elderly. Six String Samurai relies heavily on the score to compensate for the low budget placed otherwise on the visuals, though there's enough chutzpah everywhere to give that movie an energy you can power a large city for days.

The set on the Shangri-Las seemed natural to throw into the proceedings, especially since Mary Weiss still manages to convey that same sassy vibe after all these years. I wanted to preserve that as the rest of the short songs kept fluctuating, though I managed to luck out on Canadian content after discovering Diet Cola and The Von Zippers were representing the true north strong and freak.

Now, before I collapse from exhaustion triggered by jet lag and cold medicine, let's give you some playlist love:

]]> Mohammed Rafi: Jan Pahechan Ho (Bombay Connection, Volume 2: Bombshell Baby of Bombay, 2007) Bombay Connection
Thee Midniters: Jump, Jive and Harmonize (In Thee Midnite Hour!!!, 1967) Norton
The Shadows: Scotch on the Socks (Cherrystones Hidden Charms, 2004) Universal
Some Chicken: Blood on the Wall (New Religion 7", 1978) Raw Records
Mary Weiss: Don't Come Back (Dangerous Games, 2007) Norton
The Shangri-Las: The Train from Kansas City (I Can Never Go Home Anymore, 1965) Red Bird
Diet Cola: Wicked Witch of the Northeast (Early Learning 7", 2008) Army of Bad Luck
Oscar Hammond & the Majestics: Top Eliminator (Come on Willie 7", 1964) Score
The Dutchess and the Duke: Resevoir Park (She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke, 2008) Hardly Art
The Ramblin' Ambassadors: Rat Creek (Vista Cruiser Country Squire, 2008) Mint
Bruce McCulloch: Hangover Chronicles (Drunk Baby Project, 2002) Tront
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet: Vibrolux Deluxe (Sport Fishin' Accessories, 1993) Cargo
Atomic 7: Meet Me Tonight in the Shadow of Love (...en Hillbilly Caliente, 2004) Mint
Home Blitz: Hey! (Home Blitz, 2007) Gulcher
Honey Thief: Beyond Movement (2008) unsigned
A Girl Called Eddy: The Long Goodbye (A Girl Called Eddy, 2004) Anti
Tranzmitors: Who's Gonna Tell Mary? (Tranzmitors EP, 2008) Deranged
The Von Zippers: Brokedown (Estrus Sampler Volume 2, 1999) Estrus
Brian Tyler: A-C-T-I-O-N (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: Bubba's Lament (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: The Mask of Kemosabe (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: Investigation (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: The Sebastian Haff Show (Bubba Ho-Tep OST, 2003) Silver Sphere
Brian Tyler: Astro (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
Brian Tyler: Relentless Sun (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
Brian Tyler: Dream March (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
The Red Elvises: Boogie on the Beach (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
The Red Elvises: Love Pipe (Six String Samurai OST, 1998) Palm Pictures
Czerwone Gitary: Bylas Mej Pamieci Wierszem (Rytm Ziemi, 1974) Muza

Backing the concert listings was Johnny Lytle's Big Bill.

One thing that struck me as I listened to the show was that my accent was relatively normal, since after being in New York for a few days, my Brooklynese toughened up quite quickly whilst I walked the streets of my old hood. I kinda expected to bring it with me, but having the cans on your ears when you talk puts you in a different head space. My cold made my voice even lower than usual, though the compromise of congestion doesn't balance out the benefits.

You can download If you were me, you'd be goodlooking as a dope MP3 [81.8 Mb, 89:18]