Programing Note

Next week, Feb 27, I'll be on the air from 11am - 1pm. In case you're keeping score...

American Idol, Feb 21, 2007

Yup, I watch it and love it. So-called music fans who hate it need to lighten up. It's silly. It's a candy bar. It could be much, much better, but it's what I need at times. And isn't it great to see Paula all screwed up on a regular basis?

And...Simon loves to say it, but he knows--it’s so NOT a singing competition. It’s entertainment, and sometimes barely that. But--how is it that these contestants get what may be their only chance to perform in front of a shockingly large audience—and they play it safe? Don’t they know you’re supposed to take risks while you’re young? Most of them are going home early, so why not let it all go and rip into a song you love (assuming they can get permission to perform it), and tear it up! Taylor Hicks connected with folks last year--at least in part because he (usually) seemed passionate about the music, and wasn’t afraid to look like a dork. Ah well…Makes me respect last years first loser, Bobby Bennett, who did “Copacabana” for his grandmother—what the heck, why not? Do something you can feel good about 20 years from now. To use the sports cliché, leave it all on the stage…I expect more of the “play-it-safe” disasters this evening. Thank goodness, I’ve got to work tonight, so I can tape it and fast forward through the Whitney Houston numbers…

That said, here’s my top five from last night:
1. Blake Lewis. Don’t know the song, but he seemed to really connect to it and that came across. My wife thinks he looks like a young Morrissey, so let’s hope they finally get around to doing a New Wave, or 1st Wave night, so he can do a beat-box version of “Meat Is Murder”.
2. Chris Sligh. Yeah, the song was rather lame, but he pulled it off with more energy than any other contestant did. He suggests he has a strategy, and he’s clearly the brightest contestant yet, so he’ll be interesting to watch. He’ll certainly get the Xian rocker votes, which should get him to the top 5. Look for him to shave his head if he gets to the finals, and maybe develop stigmata.
3. Chris Richardson. Big drop off from 1 & 2, but he was decent
4. Phil Stacey. The start was dreadful, but he got it together where most never did.
5. no one. Really, all the rest were tragically flawed, if not dreadfully boring.

First to go: Sanjaya Malakar. His sister “gave” him the song. She must be bitter. Sounded like he’d only heard it yesterday, or the day before. No energy—heck, he’s 17! He should be jumping out of his skin!

Biggest disappointment: Sundance Head. Makes you realize how bad some of the Moody Blues’ songs are—as songs. As recordings, unique to the band, they rock. In the wrong hands—awful. Mr. Head’s lack of savvy will do him in much earlier than necessary. Too bad. He should have done “Treat Her Right”.

February 20, 2007 Playlist

SunnO))) & Boris - Fried Eagle Mind - Altar (Southern Lord)
MV & EE With The Bummer Road - Big Deal - Green Blues (Ecstatic Peace!)
MV & EE With The Bummer Road - Grassthighs - Green Blues (Ecstatic Peace!)
Val Stöecklein - Say It's Not Over - Grey Life (Dot)
Wolves - The Job Mr Kurtz Done - My Latest Novel (The Workers Institute)
Tim Hecker - 7000 Miles - Radio Amor (Alien8recordings)
Principal Edwards Magic Theatre - Pinky: A Mystery Cycle - Soundtrack (Dandelion)
Gastr Del Sol - The Wrong Soundings - Crookt, Crackt, Or Fly (Drag City)
The Arms Of Someone New - Untitled - Promise (C'Est La Mort)
Farewood - Play Is Done - Figures In Shadows (Arclight)
Pylon - Crazy - Hits (dB)

February 13,2007 Playlist

Funkadelic - Funky Dollar Bill- Free Your Mind...And Your Ass WIll Follow (Westbound)
Can -Outside My Door - Ege Bamyasi (Spoon)
Slovenly - Muddy Puddle - Highway To Hanno's (SST)
United States Of America - Osamu - United States Of America (Columbia)
Black Dice - Seabird, Things Will Never Be The Same - Beaches & Canyons (DFA)
Bill Frisell - Live To Tell - Have A Little Faith (Elektra)
Roy Buchanan - Down By The River - Sweet Dreams: The Anthology (Polydor/Chronicles)
Kris Kristofferson - Sunday Morning Comin' Down - Me And Bobby McGee (Columbia)
Yo La Tengo - Barnaby, Hardly Working - Fakebook (Bar/None)
Michael Nesmith - Harmony Constant - And The Hits Just Keep On Comin' (RCA)
Eleventh Dream Day - Write A Letter Home - Eigth (Thrill Jockey)
Thomas Brinkman - Question About...- Klick Revolutions (Maxernst)
Supreme Dicks - Summertime (Childhood's Impossible Now) - This Is Not A Dick EP (Runt)

More Program Notes

For the rest of the spring, I'll be back on Tuesday mornings, 10:30am to 12:00 noon.

Do tune in next week for the Marathon (station fundraising) show. I'll try hard to make it as painless as possible...

This morning I mentioned looking at Captain Beefheart videos on YouTube, so here are two of my favorites. These are from the Captain's appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1980. As one of the comments suggests, this was during one of the absolute worst periods for SNL (and that's saying something), and I recall being completely blown away by these songs. This may have been the last time a musical act on the show really broke new ground--over 20 years ago!

Hot Head

Ashtray Heart

Search "Captain Beefheart" on YouTube for a bunch of equally essential Beefheart moving pictures.

February 7, 2007 Playlist

Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band - The Thousandth And Tenth Day Of The Human Totem Pole - Ice Cream For Crow (Virgin)
Paul Flaherty/Randall Coulbourne Sextet - Part 3 - Ringtaw (Zaabway)
Clinic - Interlude = Visitations (Domino)
Tim Buckley - Lorca - Lorca (Elektra)
The Moody Blues - Lost In A Lost World - Seventh Sojurn (London)
Ghost - Motherly Bluster - In Stormy Nights (Drag City)
The Psychic Paramount - The Perfect Request - Origins And Primitives Vol. 1 +2 (No Quarter)
Moolah - The Hard Hit - Woe Ye Demon Possessed (EM/Druidsound)
Von Lmo - Atomic Sound - Red Resistor (Variant)
Crawlspace - Space Truckin' - The Spirit Of '76 (Gulcher)
DoF - Last Night Static - Sun, Strength, and Shield (Abandon Building)
John Cale - Analucia - Paris 1919 (Reprise)

Programing Notes

This week, I'll be vacating the Tuesday time slot for Wednesday, 10:30am - 12:00noon (Feb 7, 2007). Not sure this will be a permanent move, or if I'll be programing past this week. Could be the chance to take a break until the summer--we'll see. Regardless, I'll keep this blog going, and perhaps start posting some sounds fairly soon...

Also--note that the week of Feb 12-18 will be the WRTC Marathon. This is a fundraising event for the station, where we ask you to pledge your financial support for Radio Trinity College. You can also visit the WRTC website and pledge from there.