Monday, June 30, 2008

review time #4

just dropped off a couple new album reviews:

artist - album title - label

The M’s - Real Close Ones - Polyvinyl

You’ll likely either love or hate Real Close Ones - often a good indication of a potentially great album. It may take some getting getting used to, but the psych-pop mixed with each richly layered track offers some familiarity. Think T. Rex vs. Head Of Femur vs. The Beatles with the occasional drum machine loop (it works) and you can see why it may take a minute to adjust to this new album by The M's. 5 bucks says Real Close Ones ends up on a few "Best of 2008" lists.

Apollo Up! - Walking Papers - Grand Palace

Walking Papers is a short EP that is more of a song collection than a well-planned album. But who cares? The songs rock, the sound is fantastic, and the band is on hiatus for a little while. That's right - this is the last Apollo Up! you’ll be able to get your grubby hands on until frontman Jay Leo returns from his Afghanistan adventures. Enjoy and play often.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

glastonbury videos!

courtesy of the bbc's glastonbury site. we'll see how long they stick around the internets, though. follow the links if you want to watch some of my favorites (in no particular order):

the raconteurs




Friday, June 27, 2008

saturday sub time

i'll be filling in for dj jazzy jesse tomorrow from 6-8pm. jesse won't be able to make it to the studio for "these are the breaks", so he's asked me to sub and i'm happy to oblige. the cool part is that i can play whatever i want for 2 solid hours.

tune in if you're interested - i don't know what i'll play, but it will probably be a different show than what you normally get on nashville mixtapes. i doubt it'll be much like "these are the breaks" either.

show #8 playlist

congratulations to wiley for winning tonight's pair of tickets to forecastle! he, like me, wants to see dr. dog again and again and again. apologies to everyone else who tried to get in on the tickets, but you can go to antennas to heaven to find out what other gift-giving opportunities are on the horizon. all is not lost.

here's tonight's playlist:

makes sense to me mix
radiohead - you
clearlake - i'd like to hurt you
doves - here it comes
radiohead - blow out
fleet foxes - white winter hymnal
my morning jacket - knot comes loose
midlake - head home
travis - happy to hang around
the panics - don't fight it
blur - ambulance
my brightest diamond - inside a boy
cortney tidwell - mama from the mountain
portishead - numb

rotation & random mix

portishead - machine gun
jim noir - ships and clouds
the black angels - doves
blackstrap - steal my horses
the arcade fire - rebellion (lies)
no age - things i did when i was dead
fleet foxes - quiet houses
elbow - not a job
mercury rev - holes
gospel gossip - (fall)
j spaceman - 3d girls
silje nes - ames room
spiritualized - goodnight goodnight

Thursday, June 26, 2008

forecastle favorites

as mentioned before, tonight i'll give away a pair of tickets to the last day of festivities at forecastle '08 in louisville. don't forget, it's sunday, july 27.

i'm going to copy annie's method of gift distribution this time because my "tickets-go-to-the-third-caller" method was far too darwinian. in the spirit of democracy / equal rights / socialism i'll take calls from everybody the first hour and pick the winner's name out of a hat at 11pm. so if your concert dreams have been shut down by me in the past, you'll have a fair shot this time.

i was going to play some music you can expect to hear at the festival during tonight's show, but none of it really fits with the other stuff i'll probably play. so here you go instead:

dr. dog - say something








backyard tire fire - vagabonds and hooligans








cabin - i was here








talk to you tonight.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

more forecastle fun

(my old neighborhood)

i'll be giving away sunday, july 27 passes to forecastle during this week's show. dr. dog (!), backyard tire fire, keynote speaker robert f. kennedy jr., and louisville's own cabin will all be on hand for the day's festivities. with any luck i will too, but there's no doubt that some fortunatate listener will be headed to lovely louisville at the end of july. of course, you have to pay for transport and accommodations, but free festival tickets should help you on your way.

just like last time, i'll make sure to play some tunes from the bands listed above so you know what you're getting into. but hopefully you trust me by now, right? if you missed my first post championing the greatness of louisville, look no further.

good luck!

Friday, June 20, 2008

show #7 playlist

thanks for listening to my nicotine withdrawal weirdness. i promise to be back to my old self next week once i get used to my new cigarette-free lifestyle. in the meantime, you can hop over to my previous post re: paul selby's record label.

and here are the goods...

the black keys - strange times
the brian jonestown massacre - vacuum boots
blackstrap - steal my horses
blonde redhead - spring and by summer fall
elliott smith - independence day
turin brakes - state of things
i am kloot - morning rain
the brian jonestown massacre - anemone
portishead - western eyes
them - i put a spell on you
half japanese - put some sugar on it
david bowie - rebel rebel
the velvet underground - waiting for the man

spiritualized - i gotta fire
blackstrap - i burned your town
neva dinova - supercomputer
neva dinova - clouds
beach house - gila
paul selby - yellow soul
bon iver - skinny love
radiohead - reckoner
el perro del mar - glory to the world
wye oak - please concrete
rufus wainwright - poses
radiohead - house of cards
the breeders - regalame esta nocha
elbow - we're away

Monday, June 16, 2008

monster black keys giveaway blowout spectacular

this week i'll be giving away a pair of tickets to the black keys concert at the ryman on wednesday, october 8. so i guess that means you pretty much have to tune in, right? here's a tip - i'll get rid of them at some point during the first hour so you don't have to endure the whole show. happy dialing and good luck.

the black keys - strange times






Sunday, June 15, 2008

mixed up

on a personal note, i gave up cigarettes today. i only attempted this monumental feat one time back in 2001. it lasted a half-hearted month, but cigarettes have long been my wubby / blanky and i happily gave into temptation after the first batch of nicotine inhalers ran out.

even though i actually want to quit this time, it feels like i'm ending a long marriage because i love my wife too much. a wife who wants to kill me every day. i should be excited, but i'm pretty sad about all this to be honest.

so, wish me luck and here's a brief mix dedicated to those pesky smokes i've loved so much and the jones i already have for them (click on the tape):

Friday, June 13, 2008

show #6 playlist

here's tonight's playlist. hope you enjoyed it!

songs for john and eileen + concert mix

the decemberists - summersong
the pogues - a pair of brown eyes
all we seabees - painter
+
margot & the nuclear so and so's - skeleton key
south - recovered now
doves - snowden
lambchop - up with people
cortney tidwell - missing link
the features - armani suede
band of horses - is there a ghost
modest mouse - dramamine
black rebel motorcycle club - weight of the world
spiritualized - out of sight

rotation mix
jim noir - look around you
working for a nuclear free city - rocket
neva dinova - supercomputer
mt. wilson repeater - tether in the haze
elbow - one day like this
neva dinova - a man and his dream
the breeders - night of joy
portishead - the rip
elbow - mirrorball
kassin+2 - lake line
wye oak - regret
el perro del mar - do not despair

neva dinova - supercomputer









Tuesday, June 10, 2008

review time #3

now that i'm a real live dj i only have to review 5 albums per semester instead of the trainee-hazing 10 albums. everyone at wrvu does this so the station can choose albums to put on rotation and i put my reviews here so you can see what's worth your hard earned cash (or not). here are the first two of the summer:

artist - album title - record label

Blackstrap - Steal My Horses And Run - Tee Pee Records
Swedish shoegaze pop doesn’t sound that interesting on paper, but keep in mind how well Swedes rip off original sounds and make them mainstream (The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Mary Onettes, The Hives, etc.). Apparently Steal My Horses And Run was released in Europe some 1 1/2 years ago and finally made its way here this spring, so there is a risk that pseudo My Bloody Valentine / The Jesus And Mary Chain / The Velvet Underground has completely passed its pop culture peak. But if you’re like me it doesn’t matter much - I'd steal my ideas from those guys and get a record contract if I could. Why shoegaze "pop"? The album does have a very polished studio sound and the tempo is more upbeat than you might expect, but there’s no denying the songs are there. Virtually any song is worthwhile and all are FCC safe.

Golden Animals - Golden Animals (EP) - Happy Parts
Golden Animals takes jangly 60’s blues rock reverb, mixes in some schmaltzy Paul McCartney , and adds a touch of home studio sound in this eponymous debut. Ultimately, it is what it is – a 12 minute, 4 song EP with a pleasant retro feel that leaves the listener hoping they’ll soon put out more material to show what else they can offer.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

come one, come all


nashville's own cortney tidwell doesn't play many live shows around town, so when i found out she was celebrating the completion of her new album with a residency at the basement i cleared my calendar for both shows (wednesday, june 11 and wednesday, june 18). believe me, it'll be worth every bit of your $5 - especially considering all the special guests slated to attend: kurt wagner of lambchop fame, lone official, altered statesmen, the privates, and possibly more.

see you there.

cortney tidwell - missing link






Friday, June 6, 2008

free forecastle festival fun!

if you want to go to louisville in july, i have your entertainment covered. during next week's show i'll be giving away a pair of tickets for an entire saturday of music, art, and activism at this year's forecastle festival. you can take a look at the line-up here, but my own recommendations would be tortoise, margot & the nuclear so and so's, and nashville's own all we seabees.

there aren't a whole lot of huge acts that play forecastle, but that's not really the point. it's also a chance to visit a great town, check out the local record stores (ear x-tacy, ear x-tacy, ear x-tacy!), and get out of nashville for the weekend. i went to louisville last year at the end of july and the weather was amazing.

if you want my advice, i'd book a room at the 21c museum hotel. it's one of the coolest hotels in town, it's not that expensive if you split the cost, and it's within walking distance of the festival. here are some pictures from my last visit (those are red penguins all over the building):

the entire hotel is a modern art museum:

and the bar makes great mint juleps:

anyway, listen next thursday to win 2 free tickets for saturday (july 26). listen again on thursday, june 26 to win 2 free tickets for sunday (july 27). with any luck the station will score a couple press passes for me and i'll get to go too. otherwise, i'm really jealous.

show #5 playlist

putting in the extra time this week just makes me look forward to having a "specialty" show (i.e. a truly freeform show) that much more, but i'm still the rookie so i have to pay my dues and work my way up the ladder. i guess by next summer i'll be able to play whatever i like without having to put on rotation. still, if it weren't for wrvu's stash i never would have heard the likes of wye oak and neva dinova, so who am i to complain?

anyway, i'm obviously groggy and half asleep. hope you enjoyed the show... here's what you heard (or missed):

summer sounds mix

grandaddy - summer here kids
the beach boys - heroes and villains
doves - valley
elbow - picky bugger
radiohead - i am a wicked child
vince guaraldi trio - skating
the american analog set - gone to earth
lowercase collective - warm
the waterboys - when ye go away
van morrison - sweet thing
i am kloot - morning rain
grandaddy - laughing stock
neva dinova - apocalypse

summer love mix
band of horses - the funeral
the flaming lips - in the morning of the magicians
my morning jacket - golden
the rolling stones - wild horses
joe beats & andrew bird - i
gnarls barkley - who's gonna save my soul
massive attack - live with me
the bird and the bee - the races
bon iver - flume
coldplay - bigger stronger
death cab for cutie - company calls epilogue

rotation / sleepy mix
flight of the conchords - foux du fafa
the breeders - regalame esta noche
wye oak - please concrete
elbow - one day like this
gospel gossip - (fall)
jim noir - ships and clouds
mt. wilson repeater - out country way
peter moren - tell me in time
gospel gossip - (maybe)
gospel gossip - (next)
elbow - switching off




Monday, June 2, 2008

this week's show

apparently the air conditioning system at sarratt is dead and the wrvu studios are experiencing a heat wave (90+ degrees outside and tons of hot equipment inside).

assuming the problem is fixed by thursday night you can expect an extra-long dose of nashville mixtapes this week. since i don't have to work until much later than usual on friday, i've decided to sit in for an extra hour. that means a 2 hour mix tape followed by an hour of studio favorites!

the only downside is for anyone who may listen to the audio archive of the show on wrvu.org. it's going to record and archive the first 2 hours, but not the last. sorry.

r.i.p bo diddley...

dan in real life

apologies to whomever called into last week's movie night show to hear a track from "dan in real life". not only did i butcher the name of the film ("day in the real life"?) but i never played any music from it. i may not play anything from the soundtrack this week, but i'll try to squeeze in a sondre lerche song or two since he did the music for the entire film.

for that matter, i'll see if patti smith, chris mann, aimee mann, doves, lowercase collective, and all the other requests can fit into what i'm trying to do this week. i have this whole backlog that i really haven't touched, so i may just set aside a 20 minute set for everyone's previous requests.