Albums of the Year

After many hours of listening, scribbling notes on pieces of junk mail, re-listening, and scribbling more notes, my top 20 albums of the year list came to fruition. I am rather happy with how it turned out, and it translated to a nice year-end radio show. It was fun being on at 10 am on New Year's Eve, knowing I had many more listeners than I normally would expect. Many thanks to everyone who listened and supported me throughout the year.

My list is posted below as part of the show's playlist. Comparing the year-end list with my half-year list, a couple things pop out. Most notably, the fall of Feist's "The Reminder" from #4 to #16 at year's end. While it contains many great tracks, the slow and wandering second half of the album eventually lead to its downfall. It was perhaps the most front-loaded album of the year. Also of note, both Justice and Simian Mobile Disco failed to land in my Top 20 at the end of the year. They are both enjoyable and innovative albums, but electronic dance albums often don't come together for me (i.e. the single tracks are outstanding, but the album doesn't feel cohesive and they don't yield repeated listens).

An mp3 of the first 80 minutes of the show has been uploaded! Click below. I was hoping to have two mp3s covering the entire show for everyone, but the second CD-R I had decided not to cooperate. Sorry.

Music is My Girlfriend - 12/31/07
* Recording begins with the last minute of "Auld Lang Syne" (the New Year's Song) and ends along with Jens Lekman's "Your Arms Around Me" (which was played AFTER Patrick Wolf's "Bluebells" due to CD skipping problems. Just listen, you'll see).

Playlist
Rank. Artist - Album

20. The Shaky Hands - The Shaky Hands
"Why and How Come"

19. !!! - Myth Takes
"Heart of Hearts"

18. Earlimart - Mentor Tormentor
"Nothing is True"

17. King Khan and the Shrines - What Is?!
"No Regrets"

16. Feist - The Reminder
"I Feel it All"

15. Datarock - Datarock
"I Used to Dance with my Daddy"

14. Radiohead - In Rainbows
"Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"

13. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
"The Underdog"

12. Electrelane - No Shouts, No Calls
"To the East"

11. Menomena - Friend and Foe
"Wet and Rusting"

- Excellent EP Interlude - Ra Ra Riot - self-titled EP - "Each Year"

10. Okkervil River - The Stage Names
"Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe"

9. Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
"Nantes"

8. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
"Your Arms Around Me"

7. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
"Bluebells"

6. National - The Boxer
"Fake Empire"

5. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
"Keep the Car Running"

4. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
"Gronlandic Edit"

3. M.I.A. - Kala
"Paper Planes"

2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
"Skinny Love"

- Excellent EP Interlude - Los Campesinos! - Sticking Fingers into Sockets EP - "You! Me! Dancing!"

1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
"All My Friends"
"Us v Them"

Thanks for listening. See you next year!

Some Songs I Like

Filled in for the "Hands-On Experience" show tonight from 8:30 till 10:30pm. I tried to play a bunch of my favorite songs from the past year, but when I put a playlist together I had at least 3 hours of music lined up without much digging. In a way I ended up succeeding, but if I were you I wouldn't read this as any sort of "best songs of the year" list.

In other news, I think I am done reading the KBUT studio phone number on the air. It always leads to really bad requests that don't fit my show. at all. See this week's examples below...

No mp3 this week, but there WILL be one for Monday's best albums show. Once again, that show is at 10am Mountain Time.

Artist / Song

Zookeeper / Ballad of My Friends
Shaky Hands / Why and How Come
Spoon / the Underdog
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists / Bottle of Buckie
Arcade Fire / Keep the Car Running
Patrick Wolf / Overture
Bon Iver / Skinny Love
Dire Straits / Money for Nothing *call-in request
the Hives / Won't Be Long
Black Lips / Cold Hands
Art Brut / Post Soothing Out
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year
Jose Gonzalez / Down the Line
Feist / I Feel it All
Earlimart / Nothing is True
The National / Fake Empire
Dinosaur Jr. / We're Not Alone
Red Hot Chili Peppers / Snow (Hey Oh) *call-in request
Vietnam / Priest Poet & Pig
Devendra Banhart / Seahorse
Kentucky Nightmare / Caroline and I
Menomena / Wet and Rusting
Jens Lekman / Opposite of Hallelujah
Of Montreal / Suffer for Fashion
Of Montreal / Sink the Seine
Cut Copy / So Haunted
M.I.A. / Paper Planes
LCD Soundsystem / All My Friends

Closing Out the Year

Kind of late notice, but I will be on KBUT tonight at 8:30 MT until about 10:30 pm. I will be playing a bunch of tracks that are among my favorites of the past year. This show is a bit of a precursor to my year-end spectacular on Monday, Dec 31st. Instead of my normal late night time slot, I will be filling in for the 10 am to Noon show. I will be featuring my top albums of the year in a countdown, so be sure to tune in! Once again, that's 10 am Mountain Time, so it would start at Noon for you East Coasters.

KBUT's New Website

For anyone who has been or has been trying to listen to the KBUT stream from KBUT.org, you may have noticed that the main website content has not been updated since July! Thankfully, the fully-new and improved KBUT website has recently been deployed. I highly recommend checking it out.

kbut.org
My Profile
*** edit 12/21 - Oh wow, they just posted the profile picture that I submitted and it looks even more ridiculous than I ever imagined. I imagine I will change it in the near future, but enjoy it while it lasts. (p.s. I had a bloody nose and no tissues to mop up the mess. And no, I didn't faint)

There has been talk of digital archiving of shows with the new website, so you may be able to hear my shows in the their entirety in the future!

A Dash of Christmas Spirit

With Christmas on the horizon and plenty of new music in tow, I ventured into the KBUT studios for yet another edition of Music is My Girlfriend. Sufjan Stevens made a couple of appearances this week with his cheery, offbeat Christmas anthems that blended well with my mix of brand spankin' new tunes.

Thanks to Eric and Alex (Kellan's friends from out of town) for coming into the studio. Eric, I have never seen such enthusiasm for reading underwriting announcements.

There is a new "Bad Album Cover" this week, but sadly our turntables weren't working in the studio so I could only describe the album without musical accompaniment. Kelis' "Young Fresh N' New" won the award this week for looking much like Frankie Paul's previous award winner. However, Kelis' album did not come out in the 80s/early 90s (it was released in 2001) and it shows no signs of irony.

Sorry, I am out of music CD-Rs for recording my show. No mp3 this week!

Artist / Song

Brazos / Mary Jo
the JBs / Pass the Peas
Jonquil / Whistle Low
Sufjan Stevens / Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!
DJ STV SLV / Got Your Smoke
White Williams / New Violence
Radiohead / Unravel (Pocket mix)
Bon Iver / Skinny Love
Zookeeper / Ballad of My Friends
John P. Strohm / Where is my Mind?
Atlas Sound / I'll Be Your Mirror
Tyler Ramsey / These Days
Yeasayer / 2080
Devendra Banhart / Lover
Grateful Dead / Loser *by request
Cave Singers / Elephant Clouds
Beirut / Elephant Gun
Chromatics / In the City
Sufjan Stevens /
!!! / Heart of Hearts
Department of Eagles / No One Does it Like You (demo)
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year
Of Montreal / The Past is a Grotesque Animal
LCD Soundsystem / All My Friends

Crying on the Dancefloor (Xmas mix)

Tomorrow's show will feature a small selection of indie christmas tunes (probably a good dose of Sufjan Stevens' many Christmas classics). In advance, I'd like to feature this Christmas mix that Johan Agebjorn made for Pitchfork.com. At 36 minutes its perfect for an at-work listen but a bit too long for my radio show, so here you go:

Crying on the Dancefloor - link to Pitchfork.com

I especially like the ~28 minute mark where the Nixon track leads up to everyone's holiday favorite, A-ha's "Take on Me." Unfortunately, the subsequent Sally Shapiro bonus track is kindof lame.

Tracklist:
1. Fake: "Empty Garden" (Sound of Scandinavia) 1984
2. Valerie Dore: "Get Closer" (Merak Music) 1984
3. Sally Shapiro: "Skating In The Moonshine" (Paper Bag / Permanent Vacation) 2007
4. Squash Gang: "I Want An Illusion" (Indalo Music) 1986
5. Sandra: "Around My Heart" (Virgin) 1989
6. Angie Care: "Your Mind" (Merak Music) 1984
7. Nicolas Makelberge: "Dying In Africa" (Rico) 2006
8. Nixon: "Anorak Christmas" (Benno) 2001
9. A-ha: "Take On Me" (WEA) 1984

Merry Christmas!

Old Time Dave visits KBUT

Monday night I was treated to a special surprise as I entered the KBUT studios to prepare for my show. I knew that my buddy Josh Bock was filling in for Arvin's show ahead of mine, but I was not aware that he had Old Time Dave, a folk singer/songwriter/comedian from Lyons, CO, in the studio with him. I quickly convinced Dave to stick around and sing a couple tunes to fit in with my theme of "snow". Dave went off into some quiet of corner of KBUT to contemplate his mission and came back about 30 minutes into the show with several winners. If you haven't downloaded any of my shows to date, I would highly recommend downloading this one. As a special treat, I started recording early to catch more of Old Time Dave's live music and antics. After Dave and Josh and everyone else left, a small but amazing dance party erupted in the studio, as evidenced by the last couple tracks on this week's playlist.

No "Bad Album Cover" this week, as there was just too much excitement to dig around and find a qualified recipient. Plus, Herbie Mann deserves more time.

Click below and follow the instructions to download an mp3 of this week's show:
Music is My Girlfriend - 12/10/2007

Artist / Song

Jonathan Richman / Abdominable Snowman in the Supermarket
Be Good Tanyas / Rain and Snow
Elliott Smith / Angel in the Snow
Belle and Sebastian / Winter Wooskie
Mew / Snow Brigade
Motorhead / Ace of Spades (live) *by request
King Khan & BBQ Shrine / Into the Snow
Zookeeper / Snow in Berlin
Bill Monroe / Footprints in the Snow
Old Time Dave / Watching the Snow Fall (live in studio)
Old Time Dave / Just Because (live in studio)
Old Time Dave / Snowbye (live in studio)
Au Revoir Simone / Fallen Snow
Readymade Ft Feist / Snow Lion
Mark Mothersbaugh / Snowflake Music
Grateful Dead / Cold Rain and Snow
E*vax / Snow
House and Parrish / Pristine Fields
Kentucky Nightmare / Caroline and I
Josh Ritter / Wait for Love (You Know You Will)
Hot Chip / Over and Over
Ghostland Observatory / Sad Sad City
Muscles / Ice Cream
Freeform Five / No More Conversations (mylo remix)
Bloc Party / Banquet (Phones remix)
TV on the Radio / Walk Like Me

Certain Sort of Sound

Last Wednesday (December 5th)) I filled in for my former boss's regular time slot from 8:30-10:30 (the "Certain Sort of Sound" show). He usually plays a mix of classic rock with some jam bands thrown in, so I tried to follow suite in my own way. I made absolutely sure not to play Widespread Panic, but I did take his request to spin some Grateful Dead (this lead some listeners and friends to remark that "they didn't know I had any hippie in me"). It was fun to play a different time slot, especially one where I got a great deal of listeners and callers.

Artist / Song

Neil Young / Dance Dance Dance (live 1971)
Van Morrison / Sweet Thing
Devendra Banhart / Seahorse
Bob Dylan / If You See Her, Say Hello (live 9/16/74)
Stevie Wonder / I Wish *by request
Jerry Garcia / Back Home Again in Indiana
Grateful Dead / Tennessee Jed (live 10/19/73)
Grateful Dead / Cream Puff Way
Amboy Dukes / Baby Please Don't Go
Count Five / Psychotic Reaction
Grateful Dead / Can't Come Down
Bob Dylan / Hurricane (live)
Frank Zappa / Don't Eat the Yellow Snow
Frank Zappa / Dancin' Fool
Velvet Underground / Stephanie Says
Velvet Underground / Sweet Jane (live)
David Bowie / Suffragette City
Kinks / This Time Tomorrow
Nick Drake / Pink Moon
Charlie Rich / Who Will the Next Fool Be
Al Green / Jesus is Waiting
Curtis Mayfield / Move on Up

Another Monday Night

Having gone to a birthday dinner for a friend before my show, I didn't have much chance to prepare some new tunes for Music is My Girlfriend. In a pinch, I ended up playing much of the new music that I had played the previous week, which really isn't so bad because I probably don't have very many listeners each week anyway.

This week's entrant in the Bad Album Covers segment of the show is jazz flautist Herbie Mann, whose sexually-charged album cover for 1971's Push Push has permanently scarred me. See cover at left.

Due to the lack of prep and repetition from last week, there is no mp3 for this week's show.

Artist / Song

Devendra Banhart / Seahorse
Zookeeper / Ballad of my Friends
Cave Singers / Seeds of Night
Cut Copy / So Haunted
Herbie Mann / Whats Going On
The Hives / T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.
King Khan and the Shrines / No Regrets
Talking Heads / Genious of Love
Monster Bobby / The Closest Experience...
the Pipettes / Dirty Mind
Au Revoir Simone / Sad Song
Jens Lekman / Opposite of Hallelujah
White Williams / Route to Palm
Ha Ha Tonka / Up Nights
M Ward / To Go Home
Band of Horses / No One's Gonna Love You
Walk Parade / I am a Runner...
Akron/Family / Ed is a Portal
Vampire Weekend / M79
Bela Karoli / String of Lights
Devendra Banhart / Lover
TV on the Radio / Me - I
TV on the Radio / Wolf Like Me
Ghostland Observatory / Sad Sad City

Bad Album Cover of the Week

After a refreshing Thanksgiving trip back to the Midwest, I returned to Crested Butte with a stellar new idea and a full slate of music to play. Starting this week (Nov. 26, 2007) I will be featuring an album from KBUT's studio that I deem to have an awful cover. Background information on the artist will precede a selected track from the album. As you may have noticed, I have put in a new sidebar item to feature these album covers, and in the future pictures will be uploading prior to each week's show. This fun little diversion will take place each week around 11:50pm.

Blind Jamaican reggae star Frankie Paul took home the first weekly Bad Album Cover honors, with his "Can't Get You Out of My Mind." The cover features a poor cutout of Frankie in an all white getup in front of an obnoxiously pink background. This pink disaster is nicely complimented by the salmon/peach colored background to the album's title (Picture at left). Perhaps even better than the cover, though, is Paul's cover of Technotronic's "Pump it Up" which you can hear if you download the mp3 of the evening's show.

Monday's edition of Music is My Girlfriend went swimmingly. It was nice to be back in the DJ seat after a week away, during which I was exposed to a good deal of music that had been hiding on my iPod.

An mp3 of the show is linked below. It runs from the beginning of the show through most of LCD Soundsystem's "Give it Up."

Music is My Girlfriend - 11/26/07

In other news, see the post below for the results of the "First Annual McFarren Matriarch CD Challenge."

Artist / Song

Handsome Furs / Sing! Captain
Zookeeper / Ballad of My Friends
Okkervil River / You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock n Roll Man (live)
Junip / Chickens
Au Revoir Simone / Sad Song
Frankie Paul / Pump it Up *Bad Album Cover selection
Ghostland Observatory / Midnight Voyage
Fugazi / Arpeggiator (live)
Queens of the Stone Age / 3's & 7's (live)
Decemberists / The Soldiering Life
Nick Drake / Northern Sky
Oslo / No Regrets
King Khan & the Shrines / No Regrets
Black Lips / Not a Problem (live)
White Williams / New Violence
John Maus / My Whole World is Coming Apart
the Go! Team / Patricia's Moving Picture
Bonde Do Role / Office Boy (CSS remix)
LCD Soundsystem / Give it Up
Jens Lekman / I'm Leaving You Because I Don't Love You
Al Green / Jesus is Waiting
Zookeeper / Snow in Berlin
Camera Obscura / I Need All the Friends I Can Get
Kentucky Nightmare / Caroline and I
Pixies / Dig a Fire
White Rabbits / While We Go Dancing
Stars / The Ghost of Genova Heights
Dan Deacon / Wham City

First Annual McFarren Matriarch CD Challenge

The Challenge
Both my brother Kyle and I were to create a mix CD that we thought our mother would enjoy. She would grade each track on a scale of 1 to 5 as we drove to Columbus, OH for Thanksgiving. All songs had to be previously unheard of by our mom. Overall average score would take the victory. Our brother Adam was the scorekeeper.

Kyle's Entry (Mom's comments follow each track)
1. Our Love - Rhett Miller - 4
"it wasn't irritating"
2. Green Gloves - the National - 3
"i couldn't understand the words"
3. California Stars - Wilco - 5
"i like the beat and i can understand the words"
4. The World i Love - Papercuts - 3
"couldn't understand it"
5. I Feel It All - feist - 1
there was A LOOK. "i really did not like this song. everything rhymed with door or floor or war."
**noted as worst song
6. Could We - Cat Power - 3
"just average"
7. Cold Cold Heaven - Earlimart - 4
"i enjoyed listening to that song"
8. Sky Starts Falling - Doves - 2
"too loud. i don't like how it changes the rhythm back and forth"
9. Eleanor Put Your Boots On - Franz Ferdinand - 4
"sounded kind of beatle-ish"
10. Wait for Love (You Know You Will) - Josh Ritter - 5
"easy to sing along with"
11. To Go Home - M. Ward - 4
"i like the beat & music but i'm not sure about the words"
12. Who Cares What the Question Is? - the Bees - 3
"a little bit twangy"
13. Diablo Rojo - Rodrigo y Gabriela - 4
"it really grew on me. it was a good Dancing With The Stars song"
**noted as most memorable song
14. Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway (Again) - Wilco - 3
"i really like the main part, but parts in the middle got irritating"
15. Campus - Vampire Weekend - 3
no comments, DANCE was starting...
16. D.A.N.C.E. - Justice - 2
"do the what?? do the Tance? i didn't like all that A-B-C crap"
17. Don't be Afraid to Sing - Stars - 3
"I like the music, not sure about the lyrics. at one point did he say he only had one arm?"
18. The Bleeding Heart Show - New Pornographers - 3
"there were parts of it i liked"

My Entry
1. One of These Things First - Nick Drake - 3
"I like the music more than the words. I want to give it 3+"
2. While You Were Sleeping - Elvis Perkins - 3
"Kindof Long. Parts where I thought I liked it and parts where I didn't"
3. The Opposite of Hallelujah - Jens Lekman - 4
"I enjoyed the beat. It was very catchy"
4. Sing Theresa, Says - Greg Laswell - 4
"I enjoyed it"
5. Rain - Bishop Allen - 4
"I liked that song. Good beat. I liked the tones at the end"
6. Canyon - Richard Buckner - 3
"I had trouble hearing it"
7. So Sorry - Feist - 5
"Who sings that song?"
8. Glory Bound - Martin Sexton - 3
"The high parts were too high"
9. Fallen Snow - Au Revoir Simone - 3
"Good beat. Sometimes it got irritating, sometimes it got better, just an average song"
10. Heartbeats - Jose Gonzalez - 4
"Simon & Garfunkel-ish"
11. Terrible Vision - Rhett Miller - 2
"I thought it was kindof stupid"
12. Shelter - Ray Lamontagne - 4
"I liked that song"
13. Dirty Mind - the Pipettes - 3
"I kindof liked the music and the beat"
14. Falling Slowly - Once Soundtrack - 3
no comments - next song was starting
15. Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying - Belle and Sebastian - 4
"Enjoyed the song. More of an upbeat song even though he was dying"
16. Chicago (acoustic) - Sufjan Stevens - 3
"Just average"
17. The Greatest - Cat Power - 4
"I enjoyed that song. Running out of things to say'
18. Keep it Loose, Keep it Tight - Amos Lee - 3
"I liked parts of it"
19. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star - 3
"A little slow but overall ok"

The Results
Kyle's Average = 3.27
Grant's Average = 3.42

Grant is the winner!

Analysis
All parties agreed that Kyle took more risks with his mix, and the results proved this point. Kyle had more 5's, 2's, and 1's while Grant had more 4's and 3's. Feist provided the most outrageous moments of the challenge, as her song "I Feel it All" was awarded the worst score of the challenge during Kyle's mix. Her track "So Sorry" was given a 5 during Grant's mix, with mom asking "Who sings that song?" Upbeat songs scored well with mom, as long as the lyrics were intelligible and the track didn't drag on. On occasions where both Kyle and I used the same artist, Grant generally choose the better scoring song. The exception was Rhett Miller, whose "Terrible Vision" was deemed "kindof stupid" and awarded a 2.

The Future of the Challenge
Short-term: Mom will receive a mix of all songs she rated either 4 or 5 (from both CDs). Grant will find a suitable trophy that will passed on to each year's winner.

Long-term: Several changes have been instituted to next year's challenge. Both Kyle and I will choose exactly 15 songs for Mom and submit them in advance to our brother Adam. He will make sure there is no overlap in choices, and will then make randomized mixes from our choices. Mom will be allowed to award half points (such as 3.5, 2.5, etc).

Another Monday Night

Another week with nothing special on the palate, except for 2 hours of good music. I played a solid mix of brand new and slightly used tunes, although I had to follow 2 hours of on-air drunkeness so I'm not sure how many people actually heard my show.

Sorry, no mp3 this week.

No show next week, as I will be home for Thanksgiving.

Artist / Song

Dinosaur Jr / We're Not Alone
Jane's Addiction / Classic Girl *request
Hives / Won't Be Long
White Williams / Headlines
Datarock / Fa-Fa-Fa
Prefuse 73 / Pomade Suite Version One
Fujiya + Miyagi / Collarbone
Cave Singers / Seeds of Night
Vampire Weekend / I Stand Corrected
White Rabbits / Navy Wives
Decemberists / 16 Military Wives
House + Parrish / Pristine Fields
Jose Gonzalez / Cycling Trivialites
Jens Lekman / Your Arms Around Me
Ha Ha Tonka / Up Nights (live)
Kevin Drew / Frightening Lives
New Pornographers / Myriad Harbour
Los Campesinos! / You! Me! Dancing!
Vampire Weekend / M79
White Williams / Route to Palm
Handsome Furs / Cannot Get Started
The Go! Team / Keys to the City
Fryars / The Ides
Beirut / Nantes
Yeasayer / 2080
!!! / Yadnus

Another Night in the Office

Having done a radio show just 24 hours prior, I wasn't sure I was totally ready to jump back into the studio for another go at it. However, I perservered and cranked out a couple hours of mostly new tunes for the Gunnison Valley to savor and enjoy. I had a good time and I think it went rather well (despite having played most of these songs on previous shows). I ended things with a half hour DJ set from James Murphy and Pat Mahoney (who are two of the brains behind DFA records).

Sorry, no mp3 this week!

Artist / Song

Kevin Drew / Safety Bricks
Sunset Rubdown / The Taming of the Hands that Came Back to Life
White Williams / New Violence
Throw Me the Statue / Lolita
Los Campesinos! / Don't Tell Me To Do the Math(s)
Pelle Carlberg / Clever Girls like Clever Boys Much More Than...
Cut Copy / So Haunted
Professor Murder / Champion
White Rabbits / The Plot
TV on the Radio / Wolf Like Me
Appleseed Cast / February
Cave Singers / Dancing on Our Graves
Band of Horses / The General Specific
Devendra Banhart / Lover
Ra Ra Riot / Suspended in Gaffa (live)
White Williams / Violator
Ghostland Observatory / Sad Sad City
Jesu / Silver (Original Beats)
Ghosthustler / Busy Busy Busy
Black Dice / Manoman
James Murphy and Pat Mahoney / Fabriclive 36 (edit)

Funk Fill-In

My buddy Brendan was awarded a new weekly timeslot on Sunday nights from 10pm until 12zm, but prior to gaining his own show he had scheduled a backpacking trip in New Mexico. Thus, I volunteered to fill-in for him on Sunday, November 4th.

I tried to play was Brendan might play and it quickly morphed into 2 hours of funk. It was nice to explore a genre that doesn't normally get much play on my usual show.

Sorry, no mp3 of this show.

Artist / Song

Herbie Hancock / Watermelon Man
Neil Young / Down By the River (live 1970)
Jerry Garcia / Let's Spend the Night Together
Stevie Wonder / We Can Work it Out
James Brown / Tighten Up (live 1968)
James Brown / Medley (live @ Apollo 1962)
the JBs / Givin' Up Food for Funk
James Brown / Mother Popcorn (pt. 1)
Parliament / Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)
Karl Denson / I Want the Funk
Parliament / P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
the JBs / Pass the Peas
Bootsy's New Rubber Band / Funk Express Card
Sly and the Family Stone / Underdog
Curtis Mayfield / Move on Up
O'Jays / Backstabbers
Gil Scott Herron & Brian Jackson / The Bottle
BIlly Preston / Outa-Space
The Meters / Just Kissed My Baby
The Chakachas / Jungle Fever
The Blackbyrds / Do It, Fluid

Back to 2 Hours

After an 8 hour radio show, two hours seemed so easy to fill. Armed with a CD full of new music and several excellent new releases in the studio, the show flew by rather quickly. Thanks to Burke and Josh for stopping by and helping me celebrate as the clock struck midnight and it became October 30th, my Birthday. Also thanks to Tom for calling in and chatting even though the stream wasn't working.

We finally got the Muscles album in the studio, featuring the amazing track "Ice Cream" that you may remember me playing constantly several months ago. Havn't listened to the whole album yet, but hopefully it lives up to that track.

In other news, Burke recently got a regular Sunday night radio slot from 10 till midnight, meaning that Teocalli Tamale employees are the closing DJs Monday, Thursday and Sunday nights. Also, fellow employee Drew has the noon-2pm show on Mondays. We are taking over KBUT.

An mp3 of this show is linked below. It starts in the middle of the first song, "Ice Cream", and goes through part of Hot Chip's "My Piano" -

Music is My Girlfriend - 10/29/07

Artist / Song

Muscles / Ice Cream
LCD Soundsystem / All My Friends (live on KCRW)
Jens Lekman / The Opposite of Hallelujah
TV on the Radio / Me-I
Band of Horses / No One's Gonna Love You
Ra Ra Riot / St. Peter's Day Festival (live)
Ghostland Observatory / Stranger Lover
Muscles / Chocolate Raspberry Lemon and Lime
the Pipettes / Pull Shapes
Walter Meego / Through a Keyhole
Kevin Drew / Safety Bricks
Devendra Banhart / Lover
Pas Chic Chic / Tes Cliches Declenches
Cave Singers / Elephant Clouds
Beirut / Nantes
Sunset Rubdown / The Taming of the Hands That Came Back to Life
Cansei De Ser Sexy / Music is my Hot Hot Sex
Bonde Do Role / Marina Do Bairro
Muscles / Hey Muscles I Love You
Hot Chip / My Piano
Menomena / Weird (Dekoder remix)
Black Kids / Hurricane Jane
Hold F*ck / Lovely Allen
Peter Bjorn and John / Up Against the Wall
Jesu / Silver (Original Beats)
Cut Copy / So Haunted

Ra Ra Riot

Interested in my new favorite band? If so, head over to Daytrotter.com for some free downloads of their live studio session (and a needlessly verbose description of the band). Live versions of Music is My Girlfriend favorites "Each Year" and "Dying is Fine" bookend unreleased recordings of the Kate Bush cover "Suspended in Gaffa" and new track "St. Peter's Day Festival". The latter is the first time I've heard this track fleshed out, but you can hear the sparse, acoustic version at their myspace page . I vaguely recall hearing "Suspended in Gaffa" performed at the Monolith Festival and it was great.

Dear Jose Gonzalez,

Notes from Jose Gonzalez, live at the Bluebird Theatre, Denver, CO - 10/12/07

Dear Jose Gonzalez,

Frankly, I was rather amazed with your virtuosic solo performance last Friday night. Although I have seen few solo singer/songwriter types in the live setting, I imagine that your impressive guitar chops are hard to beat. As a non-guitarist, seeing you play live displayed your perfectionist brand of wizardry in a way that I can't sense on your recordings. While your albums tend to feel flat over their entirety, your live show had its share of ups and downs and amazing moments (like your stunning encore version of "Crosses"). What really comes across live is how your classical style of playing blends with your pop songwriting to find strong melodies and hooks within the intricate picking (see "Cycling Trivialities"). Your new album's tracks sounded just as great as the old, and your mid-set cover of The Knife's "Heartbeats" provided the audience with the hum/sing-along they were waiting for.

Next time you visit, however, please don't make the audience wait an hour between the opener and yourself. You nearly had a riot on your hands.

Sincerely,
Grant

P.S. I enjoyed your closing cover of the Smiths' "Love Will Tear Us Apart." It's melancholy lyrics match well with your own, although I'm sure you can make your transposition more intricate with time and practice.

woot

I had a great time Monday, October 15th in the studio. No, I didn't get many callers or do a theme show, I just had fun and played a mix of old and new tracks. I think it was one of my better shows of late, so download the mp3 and decide for yourself.

A recording of this week's sterling show is linked below. This runs from the beginning through most of Modest Mouse's "Spitting Venom".

Music is My Girlfriend, 10/15/07

Artist / Song

Observatory Ghostland / Sad Sad City
Radiohead / Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Los Campesinos! / You! Me! Dancing!
Black Kids / I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You
Electrelane / Cut and Run
Cave Singers / Seeds of Night
Iron and Wine / White Tooth Man
Jose Gonzalez / Cycling Trivialities
Devendra Banhart / Seahorse
Lou Reed / Vicious
The Strokes / Between Love and Hate
Modern Lovers / 96 Tears (live)
Black Lips / Not a Problem (live)
Richard Hell and the Voidoids / Blank Generation
The Jam / That's Entertainment (demo)
Modest Mouse / Spitting Venom
the Notwist / Pilot
Beirut / Nantes (live on KEXP)
M. Ward / Magic Trick
Ra Ra Riot / Dying is Fine
The Archivist / Jeremiah
Citay / First Fantasy
Beirut / La Bonlieu
A Mountain of One / Brown Piano (remake by Studio)

"Oldies"

In the mood for yet another theme show, I decided to go back in time a bit and play only tracks that were pre-1980. This lead to alot of 60s garage rock and plenty of 70s punk, with a healthy dose of Jonathan Richman included. It was a good time, but a few technical glitches marred the show.

You can listen to this show by clicking below. The recording runs from the beginning through The 13th Floor Elevators' "You're Gonna Miss Me" (which some of you may remember from the movie High Fidelity). The link is now a hotlink, meaning you don't have to go to megaupload and type in the password. Much easier.

Music is My Girlfriend - 10/8/07

Artist / Song

Television / See No Evil
Talking Heads / Stay Hungry
Buzzcocks / Ever Fallen in Love
Velvet Underground / Waiting for the Man
Count Five / Psychotic Reaction
The Outsiders / Time Won't Let Me
Rare Breed / Beg, Borrow and Steal
Modern Lovers / Roadrunner (Once)
Modern Lovers / She Cracked
Jonathan Richman / New England
Jonathan Richman & Modern Lovers / Ride on Down the Highway (live)
Modern Lovers / Hospital
Nick Drake / Pink Moon
Nick Drake / Blues Run the Game
Cat Stevens / Wild World
Van Morrison / Everyone
The Standells / Dirty Water
Sonics / Strychnine
Monks / Oh, How to Do Now
Love / 7 & 7 Is
13th Floor Elevators / You're Gonna Miss Me
Clash / Janie Jones
Jam / In the City
Damned / New Rose
Sex Pistols / Holidays in the Sun
Clash / Garageland
Kinks / This Time Tomorrow
Kinks / The Village Green Preservation Society
Talking Heads / Don't Worry About the Government (live 77)
Velvet Underground / Some Kinda Love (live)
Velvet Underground / Over You (live)
Television / Marquee Moon

A-Z, Round II

Following the relative success of my first A-Z show back in June, I knew I would be doing another at some point. With a wealth of alphabetically-diverse new music in my hands, I decided to resurrect the theme for Monday, October 1st. If you missed it last time, A-Z is where I play one song from one artist of each letter of the alphabet. Look at the playlist and you'll figure it out. As per my brother's comment in June, I did follow proper alphabetizing procedure (ex. last names are counted, not first names). It was a fun show and the timing was perfect. Thanks to Burke for stopping by and recommending some Quicksilver Messenger Service and Frank Zappa. Q and Z are always tough spots to fill. Part of my mission was to play some somewhat bizarre and interesting new music, so when my friend Katie told me the next day that my show was "weird," I took it as a compliment.

I recorded this show, so if you weren't able to tune in you can click below and download the first 80 minutes (just type the three letter code near the top of the page). The recording runs from A (Akron/Family) through most of R (Ra Ra Riot).

Music is My Girlfriend, 10/1/07 - MP3

Artist / Song

Akron/Family / Lake Song/New Ceremonial Music for Moms
Black Kids / I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You
Citay / First Fantasy
Deerhoof / Kidz are so Small
Eels / Trouble with Dreams
the Field / Paw in my Face
Jose Gonzalez / The Nest
Glen Hansard / Say It to Me Now
Iron and Wine / Innocent Bones
Jonquil / Lions
Kig Khan and BBQ Shrine / Blow My Top
Limes / Beyond Blue
Monks / Oh, How to Do Now
New Pornographers / My Rights Versus Yours
Okkervil River / Unless Its Kicks
Pitter Pat / Emergency
Quicksilver Messenger Service / I Found Love
Ra Ra Riot / Dying is Fine
Sunset Rubdown / Winger-Wicked Things
Tokyo Police Club / Citizens of Tomorrow
Unicorns / Innoculate the Innocuous
Vampire Weekend / Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Wrens / 13 Months in 6 Minutes
XTC / Making Plans for NIgel
Yeasayer / Sunrise
Frank Zappa / Don't Eat the Yellow Snow

I Had a Headache

Ideally, I would have been more excited and prepared to come back to my show after missing last week. Instead, I had a headache and didn't really know what to play after a long day of work and errands. I was lucky enough to see an intimate performance of a couple local bands that night in Gunnison, but even that was not enough to erase my headache and tiredness. I ended the show with at least half an hour of long electronic songs, mainly because I ran out of other stuff to play. I was not totally impressed with any of the new albums in the studio (Iron and Wine, Gravenhurst, Figurines, Two Gallants, etc.) that I had been excited about. Perhaps it was my mood going into them, so I will give them another chance. I did play some music from bands I saw while I was away, notably several Ra Ra Riot songs and one from the National and LCD Soundsystem.

While I was away seeing great concerts, the always great Josh Bock filled in for me. He tells me he played music that I turned him onto, so it must have been like listening to my show anyway. Josh had a regular slot now, Thursday nights at 10:30 Mountain Time. If you can, check it out.

I do have an mp3 of most of this show available. Follow this link and type in the letter code to access the download. It wasn't my best show, and the mp3 seems to skip a bit for unknown reasons. The recording goes from the beginning of the show through part of the Working for a Nuclear Free City track. Here's the playlist:

Artist / Song

Ra Ra Riot / Dying is Fine
Man Man / Van Helsing Boombox
Iron & Wine / Wolves (the Shepard's Dog)
Two Gallants / Miss Meri
Black Francis / Lolita
Throw Me the Statue / Lolita
Akron Family / Ed is a Portal
Ra Ra Riot / Ghost Under Rocks
Figurines / Let's Head Out
Belle & Sebastian / The State I Am In
Glen Hansard / Fallen From the Sky
frYars / The Ides
Jose Gonzalez / Down the Line
The Twilight Sad / And She Would Darken the Memory
Gravenhurst / Hollow Man
The National / Mistaken for Strangers
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year
Working for a Nuclear Free City / Asleep at the Wheel
The Rapture / Sister Savior (DFA Dub)
LCD Soundsystem / Us v Them
Nine Inch Nails / The Hand That Feeds (DFA remix)
Le Tigre / Deceptacon (DFA remix)
One-Two / O-Hot Brain (Pedro + Panama remix)
Matt + Kim / Yea Yeah (Bobby Evans ft. Jimmy Jamz final)
Ra Ra Riot / Can You Tell

Dear The National,

Notes from The National, live at the Ogden Theatre, Denver, September 18, 2007

Dear The National,

You are a band on the rise, and if your new release "Boxer" did not win over Denver, your show Tuesday night at the Ogden Theatre went a long way towards conquering another town. You brought a much fuller and rocking sound to your entire catalog, providing a memorable live set that was wonderfully different from your albums. I actually enjoyed every song better in the live setting, that is, except for my two favorite songs of yours: "Fake Empire" and "Slow Show." "Slow Show" was adequate and perhaps on par with the album version. "Fake Empire," however, seemed abbreviated for a song that begs to be stretched and was not nearly as exhilarating as the recorded take. Yes, you didn't have room for the grand piano that graced the stage of your Letterman performance, but where was the horn section? At the very least, lead-singer Matt Berninger could learn to play the small trumpet part as the song crescendos, seeing as when not singing he has little else to do (note: this is actually a good thing most of the time as he doesn't try to distract the audience from the band). On a more positive personel level, drummer Bryan Devendorf is a terrific whirlwind of activity who may somehow define the phrase "restrained relentlessness." Newcomer, multi-instrumentalist Padma Newsome provides a winning touch with his athletic violin playing that added another level of crescendo to many of your songs.

On a slightly sour note, your fans in Denver are absolutely annoying. Perhaps I spoke prematurely about winning over the town, seeing as a good deal of the crowd seemed to treat the show like a networking event, talking constantly throughout your set. Even two of your "friends" - girls who had band passes and talked to/hugged Berninger seconds before their set - were not above this distracting and disrespectful activity. Also distracting from your set was a pair of Dave-Matthews-fan-esque girls whose atrocious dancing lacked any form or beat. Also, also, distracting were the idiot twenty-somethings behind me who, although coming to like the band they knew nothing about, made smarmy, smart-alike comments throughout the show in a form of impress-the-girl-one-ups-manship. Oh yes: also, also, also, distracting was the ear-piercing whistling and poorly timed hollars of the above mentioned pass-holding girls. Perhaps your band show have a more careful screening process when admitting fans into the venue.

Sincerely,
Grant

P.S. Regarding your opener, St. Vincent: I actually semi-enjoyed her album "Marry Me" but she sounded terribly grating last night. I could see your sound mixes being wildly different, but perhaps allow her some leeway in fine tuning her own mix. Otherwise she may alienate every audience to her talents, as she seemed to do Tuesday night. Of course, she may just not put on a very good live show.

Exernal Links:
Official website
the National - D.C. show review

First Thoughts: Monolith Day Two

On Saturday, September 15th I returned to Red Rocks Amphitheatre eager for another full day of great music. On today's card: Art Brut, Spoon, Matt + Kim, Flaming Lips, Au Revoir Simone, and YACHT. Here's a quick rundown of my thoughts, which will be soon revised into a longer and more complete entry.

Art Brut won the day with their crowd-pleasing late afternoon set on the main stage. Frontman Eddie Argos is a joy to watch, and the band provides a more accomplished sound than their seemingly pedestrian songs hint at. Au Revoir Simone's set was coy keyboard bliss, and they provided what may have been the weekend's most endearing moment when they invited their young cousins up on stage to dance along to "Sad Songs" (if I recall correctly). Matt and Kim seemed to be the happiest people on Earth during their set. A bass-heavy sound mix could not deter the enthusiam from spilling over into the crowd. Cloud Cult sounded great for a band I know next to nothing about, and I will certainly look into their catalog in the near future. Spoon were better than I remember (from about 3/4 years ago) and sounded great, but were in retrospect nothing to write home about during a long weekend of music. The Flaming Lips put on an amazing spectacle, but their sonic contribution didn't match the visual wonder and I left halfway through the set to go see YACHT. YACHT was playing to a room of about 20 people who did their best to make him feel welcome as he sang and danced to his laptop beats and faught with the sound guys. Brian Jonestown Massacre played lackluster, dated rock to a crowd waiting for a fight to break out amongst the band. The mild bickering I heard almost sounded rehearsed. Local Denver band Nathan and Stephan put on a great show on the small Rock Room stage. Indianapolis natives Margot and the Nuclear So and So's presented themselves as a good-natured indie 9-piece who has yet to realize their sonic potential, but could be headed in the right direction. Earl Greyhound played loud, funk metal that attracted a large audience but didn't mesh with my tastes. Just when I thought I was a live hip-hop hater (after Friday's abysmal Kid Sister set), Lords of the Underground showed me just how fun and exhilarating rap stage veterans can be. Knowing nothing about the band, I caught the Swayback's final song and it sounded terrific enough to excite me about their music and prospects.

Previously unknown bands to explore: The Swayback, Nathan + Stephan, Cloud Cult, Lords of the Underground, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

Personal Highlight of the Day: A group of guys saluted my Modern Lovers T-shirt as I left the Brian Jonestown Massacre set to seek better music. I found out seconds later that this group of guys was Art Brut.

First Thoughts: Monolith Day One

Wow, that was a great day. You can expect a full report in the next day or two, but I just wanted to post some immediate reactions. Ra Ra Riot really made the day for me. I only knew one of their songs going into the set, but they blew me away. Go see this band now! Six kids who look like high school band dropouts with more raw enthusiasm and energy than the rest of the bands combined. Really a great show for them, as I think they stole it away from the big names. After their show the merch tent was swamped with people buying their EP and shirt. I bought both. Ran into them a couple times after their set and told them how great it was. I stopped after the second time so as not to appear creepy, but I really just wanted to talk to them for the rest of the night.

In other news, Decemberists and Ghostland Observatory were very entertaining in different ways. Cake was professional and acted like the headliner they were. Flosstradamus provided a great DJ set, that was unfortunately cut short for the overrated Kid Sister to take the stage. I had to leave her show early because I was worried about being the last one standing there as she aliented an audience that didn't know what to make of her. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah sounded great. Kings of Leon were ok, but have strayed far from the scratchy, Southern rock revivalists of their first record. Editors were like seeing an Interpol show. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were loud and not much else. Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band puts on a great show and even had a song about their cousin being on cops in a trailer park in Speedway, IN (they are from Indy).

I am thinking about doing a radio documentary of sorts about the Monolith festival. I think it would be really great and a way to thank KBUT for letting me go to the show.

Amazing thanks to KBUT and Erin Roberts for hooking with up with a Media Pass that allowed me to be extra cool for free.

The next 5 days are going to be great

In a couple of hours I will be arriving at Red Rocks Amphitheatre for my very first concert at this legendary venue. Actually, its not just one concert, but an amazing two-day festival (Monolith Festival) that features dozens of bands I look forward to seeing live. Among them: Flaming Lips, Decemberists, Cake, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Ra Ra Riot, Ghostland Observatory, Spoon, Kings of Leon, Art Brut, and many more! I am incredibly excited, and its all free! KBUT was able to score me a press pass for the event. Stay tuned for a long blog or two about the weekend...

Also, Monday night is the unparalleled Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem show and Tuesday night is The National. Hence, "the next 5 days are going to be great."

Monolith Primer

For Monday, September 10th's MIMG, I decided to play solely artists who will be appearing at the Monolith festival this weekend at Red Rocks. It was a good concept for a show that I hadn't had much time to plan, and it worked amazingly. I had several happy callers, one of whom told me it was the best show she'd ever heard on KBUT. Thanks for stoking my ego, anonymous caller. Here's the playlist:

Artist / Song

Ra Ra Riot / Each Year (RAC mix)
Matt and Kim / Yea Yeah
Editors / An End Has a Start
Spoon / I Turn My Camera On
Decemberists / O Valencia!
Art Brut / Post Soothing Out
Flaming Lips / Fight Test
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth
Ghostland Observatory / Sad Sad City
Cake / Meanwhile, Rick James...
Cat-a-Tac / Needles and Pins
Au Revoir Simone / The Lucky One
Kings of Leon / Red Morning Light
Spoon / The Underdog
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club / Windows
Margot and the Nuclear So & So's / Queit as a Mouse
Decemberists / Perfect Crime #2
YACHT / See a Penny (Pick It Up)
Flaming Lips / Ego Tripping (Self Admiration with Blow Up mix)
YACHT / A Summer Song
Ghostland Observatory / Stranger Lover
Kings of Leon / Taper Jean Girl
Cake / Love You Madly
Art Brut / Emily Kane
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood
Flaming Lips / Do You Realize??? (Live CD101 version)
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year

Stupid Fill-In Shows

Stupid Fill-In Shows! I used all of my new and terrific downloads on Saturday night filling in for the "Get Back to Radio Show" (see below). Oh well, I ended up playing a number of the same tracks Monday night (Sept. 3rd) as well as some of the more electronic and weird songs I have come across recently.

There are no links this time, but I might add them if I have some free time this weekend.

Artist / Song

frYars / the Ides
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year (RAC mix)
Band of Bees / Who Cares What the Question Is?
Manchester Orchestra / Where Have You Been?
Los Campesinos! / You! Me! Dancing!
The Beta Band / Dry the Rain
The Aliens / Robot Man
Caribou / Melody Day
Holy F*ck / Lovely Allen
Kanye West / Stonger (A-Trak remix)
M.I.A. / XR2
Architecture in Helsinki / The Whirlwind (YACHT remix)
The Tough Alliance / Something Special
SImian Mobile Disco / Sleep Deprivation
Studio / West Side
Working for a Nuclear City / Asleep at the Wheel
Explosions in the Sky / First Breath After Coma
Minus the Bear / Burying Luck
A Mountain of One / Ride
Devandra Banhart / Seahorse
Electrelane / Between Wolf and Dog
Electrelane / To the East
Fujiya + Miyagi / Ankle Injuries

Get Back to Radio

On Saturday, September 2nd I filling in for the "Get Back to Radio Show" from 6 to 8pm. Twas a nice timeslot as many family and friends from afar were able to tune in. In particular, it was nice emailing back and forth with my uncle Dick. Nick Drake was his and his wife Susan's request. Also, Tom had emailed me asking if I could play the new Devandra Banhart epic "Seahorse". The song is about 9 minutes long, so when I played it and Tom called in I had a good chance to catch up with him. To close the show, I played the Rappers Delight Club, who are actually 4th graders from Maryland, as a joke to lead into Clyde's hip-hop show at 8pm. He didn't think it was very funny.

Artist / Song (Sorry there are no links today!)

Menomena / E is Stable (live)
Pseudosix / Under the Waves
A Mountain of One / Ride
Rogue Wave / Lake Michigan
Jose Gonzalez / Down the Line
The Shaky Hands / I'm Alive
Devandra Banhart / Seahorse *request by Tom
Elvis Perkins / While You Were Sleeping
Okkervil River / Our Life is Not A Movie or Maybe
Earlimart / 700>100
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year
Band of Horses / Is There A Ghost
Porlolo / Saw Your Head
Phosphorescent / A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise
Nick Drake / Blues Run the Game *request by Susan
Sparrow House / unkown title (live)
frYars / The Ides
Yeasayer / 2080
Black Lips / Cold Hands
Richard Swift / Kisses for the Misses
Benoit Pioulard / Triggering Back
Papercuts / John Brown
Celebration / Evergreen
Studio / West Side
Tough Alliance / Something Special
Caribou / Sundialing
Tegan and Sara / Back in Your Head *request by Josh
Rappers Delight Club / When We Were Kids

New Music Pairs

As I said last week, there are alot of good new albums in the studio right now. I decided to highlight a bunch of these artists this week by playing a new track of theirs paired with an older track. Things went pretty well, but it was a pretty quiet night in the studio. Pairs lasted until I played two new tracks by the Papercuts, then a couple of single tracks that have caught my ear over the past week or so.

Last week I said I was really digging the new Bishop Allen album, "The Broken String", but I feel I should retrace my steps. The first several tracks are really amazing, but it kindof falls off from there. Instead, pick up Earlimart's new album, "Mentor Tormentor". Earlimart was friends with Elliott Smith, and you can hear some similarities in a few of their songs. Many, however, are more upbeat and more fully orchestrated than Smith's. It's a good album.

As for the downloads, I added links to the bands myspace page if I couldn't find a direct download of the song. I only did this when the song is previewable on myspace. They are labeled differently so you can choose whether you want to deal with myspace or not (I think myspace is the most poorly designed web phenonmena in history, so I try to avoid going there as much as possible) . Enjoy the downloads!

Artist / Song

Bishop Allen / Rain
Bishop Allen / Another Wasted Night
Okkervil RIver / Black
Okkervil River / Plus Ones (myspace)
Architecture in Helsinki / The Cemetary
Architecture in Helsinki / LIke it Ar Not (myspace)
Bonde Do Role / Montagem Do Cobra
Bonde Do Role / Marina Do Bairro
Minus the Bear / Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse
MInus the Bear / Knights (myspace)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Down Boy (myspace)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Cheated Hearts
Imperial Teen / Everything
Imperial Teen / Ivanka
Tegan + Sara / Walking with A Ghost (Miami Horror remix)
TEgan + Sara / Back in Your Head (myspace)
Rogue Wave / Lake Michigan
Rogue Wave / Bird on a Wire
Jose Gonzalez / Down the Line (myspace)
Jose Gonzalez / Heartbeats
Iron + Wine / Boy with a Coin
Iron + Wine / Bird Stealing Bread
Earlimart / Nothing is True
Earlimart / Sounds
Interpol / Who Do You Think
Interpol / Slow Hands
Papercuts / John Brown
Papercuts / Take the 227th Exit
Pseudosix / Under the Waves
Ra Ra Riot / Each Year
Earlimart / Cold Cold Heaven
Brazos / Hands Up, Little Gun
Schooner / Carrboro

Pledge Drive Show #2

With KBUT's fundraising nearing its precipice of $34,000, Music is My Girlfriend hit the airwaves this past Monday night. Having already received pledges from friends and family, I had low expectations for my week two output. However, thanks to a few generous strangers (and with the help of my in-studio friends), I raised another $300 dollars to put me at a total of $645 (approximately) for my two pledge shows. I am rather proud of this fact, and anyone who was in the studio Monday night can attest to my jubilation when we started receiving random donations from enthused listeners. One generous woman donated $100 and simply wanted to hear "Karma Police" by Radiohead. It was a great night in many facets, and perhaps more out-of-control than last week's show. I brought in a snare drum, tambourine, and cowbell so that my friends and i could play along to our favorite tunes and provide a little percussion during the spoken segments. It was good fun. Yes, there were more sing-along segments as well.

Amid all of the craziness, I failed to keep a playlist. Sorry. However, you might notice below that last week I included a number of links to mp3s and streams of songs, so keep yourself entertained by listening to those tunes. Have a good weekend.

Pledge Drive Show #1

As our bi-annual pledge drive churns forward (and nears it goal) at KBUT, allow me to file a report on my first experience doing a pledge drive show. Such a show is quite different from a normal shift on the radio, mainly because you end up talking between every one or two songs as you plead with and entice folks to call up and pledge money to the station. These shows take a bit more planning, as you have to get all of your premiums in order and be rather on top of it as you talk about said premiums. I offered up my album of the year, LCD Soundsystem's Sound of Silver, for a $40 Basic Membership pledge, but had no takers. In fact, I really didn't have any strangers calling in to pledge (late night shows are notorious for their slow earnings). Thankfully, I did have a lot of support from friends and family and fellow KBUT DJs. Per my calculation, I raised over $300 for the station last Monday night, making my show the most lucrative late night show for the week. Thanks to everyone who helped out in making last Monday a success!

As for the show itself, it was downright out of control. Early in the week I had a conversation with Erin, our Program Director, about my Call-In Karaoke idea. She thought is was terrific, and it turns out most of the other employees of the station agreed. I made several pitches on the air emploring listeners to be the first ever "Call-In Karaoker" in KBUT history (for a mere $25 pledge). Alas, we had no willing partcipants. Instead, after downing a couple of beers, we had a studio of about 8 people singing along terribly to "Tiny Dancer". I shudder when I think about how we sounded over the air. If there was ever a show that I should have recorded, it was this one.

In addition to the many premiums that KBUT and generous local businesses provide for pledges, I decided to throw my own into the mix. For a $150 pledge, I will mail a monthly compilation CD of the newest of new music to the lucky pledger. For $225, they get an entire year's worth. I know it sounds a little steep, but consider that most pledges yield a premium worth about half the value of the pledge. Pledges, first and foremost, are a donation to KBUT. Its something to feel good about, not a way to score a screaming deal from local businesses. Anyhow, I did have one taker for this premium (well, actually two people are splitting the pledge, but I'll allow it).

On to the playlist! I started off with a generous portion of new music (save for the Kinks track), and slowly resorted to some of my safe picks. As the night wore on, we decided to keep on playing until 1:30am, finishing off with a solid half hour of Michael Jackson's greatest hits. It earned my show and extra $40 pledge, so I think it was worth it. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, including Kellan, Kristen, Mark, Drew, Dave, Greg, and anyone who I am forgetting at this time.

Artist / Song
The Kinks / This Time Tomorrow
Midlake / Roscoe
Arthur and Yu / Lion's Mouth
Oh No! Oh My! / Walk in the Park
Black Lips / Katrina
Richard Swift / Most of What I Know
Pelle Carlberg / Clever Girls Like Clever Boys Much More Than...
Okkervil River / Our Life is Not a Movie Or Maybe
Throw Me the Statue / Lolita
Feist / I Feel It All
Architecture in Helsinki / The Same Old Innocence
Arthur & Yu / 1000 Words
Metric / Soft Rock Star
Elton John / Tiny Dancer *in-studio sing along
Black Lips / Cold Hands
LCD Soundsystem / Someone Great
Loggins & Messina / House at Pooh Corner *request from Mark
Regina Spektor / Real Love *request from Kristen
Irene / By Your Side
Muscles / Ice Cream *request from Brooke
Simian Sjoberg / Track 4
Oh No! Oh My! / Walk in the Park *yes, i played this earlier
Belle & Sebastian / Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying
Say Hi to Your Mom / Let's Talk About Spaceships
Arcade Fire / Well and the Lighthouse *request from Greg
The Beatles / Hey Jude
The Kinks / Village Green Preservation Society
John Denver / Rocky Mountain High
Van Morrison / Sweet Thing *request from Amber
Leo Kottke / When Shrimps Learn to Whistle *request from Drew
Talking Heads / Don't Worry About the Government
Michael Jackson / Billie Jean
MJ / Thriller
MJ / Man in the Mirror *request from Josh
MJ / Don't Stop Till You Get Enough
MJ / P.Y.T.
Nelly Furtado / Say it Right

Out of It

Monday I was feeling a little out of it. For no apparent reason I was kindof anxious all day long, and by the time 10:30 rolled around I was rather tired. I had spend an hour or two downloading new tracks from the internet and was all set to break some of them out, when I got to the studio and realized I had forgotten my cable that connects my iPod to the board. Thus, I had to scramble with my music choices and therefore revisited alot of songs I have played in the past. Forgive me, but I was not exactly feeling this one. I did, however, get alot of kudos from friends and listeners, so perhaps I should reenact this scenario every week.

Artist / Song

Spoon / The Underdog
St. Vincent / Paris Is Burning
Handsome Furs / Can Not Get Started
Avett Brothers / Paranoia in B Major
Iron and Wine / Boy With A Coin
Yo La Tengo / I Feel Like Going Home
Metric / Hardwire
Menomena / Wet and Rusting
Sufjan Stevens / Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
Notwist / One with the Freaks
Belle and Sebastian / Get Me Away I'm Dying
Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton / The Bank
Cat Power / The Greatest
Twilight Sad / Cold Days from the Birdhouse
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Diamond Sea
Laura Veirs / Fire Snakes
Jens Lekman / Maple Leaves
The Kinks / The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks / Sunny Afternoon
The Kinks / Picture Book
Steely Dan / Peg
Antony and Johnsons / Fistful of Love
Nico / These Days
St. Vincent / Jesus Saves, I Spend
Man Man / Van Helsing Boombox
Bodies of Water / These Are The Eyes
Benoit Pioulard / Palimend
I'm From Barcelona / Ola Kala
Wolf Parade / You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son
White Stripes / I Can't Wait
Art Brut / Emily Kane
Sam Cooke / Bring It Home To Me

The brief Kinks explosion was a direct result of having just seen the trailer for the new Wes Anderson film. Sadly we didn't have "This Time Tomorrow" in the studio, but I had downloaded it and was going to play it had I not forgotten my cable. Boohiss.

In more important news, the biannual KBUT pledge drive just kicked off on Tuesday AM. I would like to encourage all out there to listen in to my show of Monday, and if the mood strikes you right, give us a call and make a donation. KBUT is a great community resource for us out here in Crested Butte, and we feel lucky that we get to share it with the rest of the world through the internet. Plus, there are some great Premiums you can win for pledging! More news to come on this front...

July 23, 2007

Playing a little catch-up this week. Here's the playlist from July 23rd's Music is My Girlfriend. Started off with a steady stream of new music, then revisited my love for old transformers anthems. Ended with a slew of 60s garage rock that previewed a show I have in the works focusing on this genre.

Artist / Song

Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Is Is
Handsome Furs / Dumb Animals
Interpol / Who Do You Think
Bodies of Water / I Guess We'll Forget the Sound, I Guess, I Guess
Metric / Hardwire
Emily Haines and The Soft Skeleton / The Bank
Handsome Furs / What We Had
Manchester Orchestra / Wolves at Night
Fog / What Gives?
Of Montreal / Du Og Meg
St. Vincent / Now Now
Tim Armstrong / Into Action *Josh's request
The Thermals / Here's Your Future
LCD Soundsystem vs. Franz Ferdinand / All My Friends
Feist / One Evening (Gonzalez Solo Piano)
Vince DiCola / Autobot - Deceptacon Battle
Justice / Waters of Nazareth
Simian Mobile Disco / I Got This Down
Justice / D.A.N.C.E.
!!! / Me and Giuliani Down By the Schoolyard
Architecture In Helsinki / Heart it Races (YACHT's I Should Coco mix)
The Sonics / Psycho
The Sonics / Night Time is the Right Time
The Sonics / Strychnine
Paul Revere and the Raiders / Just Like Me
Rocky and the Riddlers / Flash and Crash
The Artesians / Trick Bag

Ten Best Albums of 2007

Having recently passed the halfway point of 2007, I decided it would be a good time to get all retrospective on y'all. Thus, Monday night I unveiled my Top Ten Albums of the First Half of 2007, highlighting 2-4 tracks from each as I counted down on the show. It was a good time. I also through in a couple of my favorite tracks by artists who have yet to release a full album this year but who have shown great promise. Here Goes:

10. The Shaky Hands - The Shaky Hands
Played:
Why and How Come
I'm Alive

Single Track Highlight: Ghosthustler / Parking Lot Nights

9. Justice - Cross
D.A.N.C.E.
Phantom

8. Datarock - Datarock
Laurie
I Used to Dance with My Daddy
* Note: I fully understand that this album was originally released in 2005 but only in Europe. It did not see its North American debut until June of 2007. If this bothers you, slot Simian Mobile Disco's album "Attack Decay Sustain Release" in at #10 and move the Shaky Hands and Justice up a notch.

Single Track Highlight: Professor Murder / Champion

7. Menomena - Friend and Foe
Muscle n Flo
Wet and Rusting

6. The National - Boxer
Fake Empire
Apartment Story
Slow Show

5. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
Get Lost
Augustine
Overture

4. Feist - The Reminder
1234
Past in Present
I Feel It All
So Sorry

3. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
The Well + Lighthouse
Keep the Car Running
Intervention

2. Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse
Gronlandic Edit

1. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
Someone Great
New York, I Love You But...
All My Friends

Feel free to comment, debate, and leave behind your top ten

Parental Visitation

My Parents were in CB earlier this week and I was happy that they were able to drop by the studio Monday night before they retired for the evening. Here's what went down:

Artist / Song

Architecture in Helsinki / Heart it Races
Of Montreal / Suffer for Fashion
Spoon / The Underdog
Interpol / The Heinrich Manuever
Appleseed Cast / February
Polyphonic Spree / Section 28
Two Gallants / Lady
The Chiffons / One Fine Day *mom's request
Zach Condon / Venice
Beirut / Elephant Gun
Beastie Boys / The Kangaroo Rat
Spring Creek Bluegrass / Waterline Blues
Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Ricky Skaggs / Feast Here Tonight
The National / Slow Show
Neil Diamond / Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show *dad's request
The National / Fake Empire
Feist / I Feel it All
Feist / My Moon My Man
Jackson 5 / I Want You Back (Z-Trip remix)
Matthew Dear / Pom Pom
LCD Soundsystem / Freak Out
Architecture in Helsinki / Debbie
Datarock / I Used to Dance with My Daddy
Fiery Furnaces / Single Again
Fiery Furnaces / Here Comes the Summer
Fiery Furnaces / Evergreen
Of Montreal / The Past is a Grotesque Animal

Twas a fun show. Look for more theme weeks to be approaching as my work schedule calms down and I have more time to prepare. Also, a mid-year retrospective highlighting the best releases of 2007 so far is on the horizon.

Catching Up

Playlist for 7/2/07

Artist / Song

Beatles / Lovely Rita
Beastie Boys / The Kangaroo Rat
Blitzen Trapper / Wild Mountain Nation
White Stripes / 300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues
M. Ward / Duet for Guitars #2
Metric / Soft Rock Star
Rufus Wainwright / Going to a Town
Art Brut / Pump Up the Volume
Frank Black / Threshold Apprehension
White Stripes / Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn
Spoon / Don't Make Me a Target
Beatles / Track 5 / Love
Sonic Youth / Within You and Without You
Matthew Dear / Pom Pom
Chemical Brothers / A Modern Midnight Conversation
Lion / The Transformers (theme) / 1986 Animated SDTK
Vince diCola / Autobot/Decepticon Battle / 1986 Animated SDTK
Bonde Do Role / Marina do Bairro
Chemical Brothers / Saturate
Bonde Do Role / Solta O Frango
Bonde Do Role / James Bonde
Matthew Dear / Fleece on Brain
Beastie Boys / 14th St Break
Sonic Youth / Teenage Riot
B52s / Rock Lobster
Spoon / The Underdog
Datarock / Computer Camp Love
Polyphonic Spree / Section 29 (Light to Follow)
Two Gallants / Lady
White Stripes / St. Andrew
and finally a reprise of Autobot/Decepticon Battle because it rocks

Go to these Concerts

hello all, tis good to be back after another couple of weeks off. This past Monday (June 25th) I decided to inform the county about artists that will be appearing in the Gunnison Valley and also the wider state of Colorado in the coming months. It was a fun show. I am rather excited to see many of my favorite artists coming to the front range in September, with the Monolith Festival @ Red Rocks Sept 14-15 and then Arcade Fire / LCD Soundsystem @ Red Rocks Sept 17th.

I am going to cease included "album" on playlists because it's really unnecessary information unless it is a live track.

Artist / Song
Spoon / The Underdog
Modest Mouse / Dashboard
Arcade Fire / Well and the Lighthouse
Art Brut / Post Soothing Out
Dj Logic / 9th Ward Blues
Ryan Adams / Two
Old 97s / Big Brown Eyes
Get Him Eat Him / 2x2
LCD Soundsystem / All My Friends
Arcade Fire / Keep the Car Running
Rapture / Whoo! Alright Yeah... Uh Huh
Daft Punk / Harder Better Stronger Faster
Beastie Boys / B for my Name
Dan Deacon / Crystal Cat
Bob Dylan / Romance in Durango (Live 1975)
Gordon Lightfoot / Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
G. Love and Special Sauce / Sweet Sugar Mama
G. Love and Special Sauce / Rodeo Clowns
Beastie Boys / The Kangaroo Rat
DJ Logic / Hypnotic
Cake / War Pigs
Bob Dylan / Tangled up in Blue (Live 1975)
Flaming Lips / Fight Test
Spoon / Two Side of Monsieur Valentin
Dan Deacon / Wham City

A-Z-!!!

Wow, this is surely the fastest that I have posted a playlist from a show, but I am still very much awake and still pretty excited about tonight's show. I don't think it was my best and certainly not my most put together show, but I did have a record number of callers for a late night show. Thanks to all the unknown people who called in tonight to ask what I was playing, make a request or simply say they were enjoying the show. You all made my night.

As for the music, I had burned 3 discs worth of material for tonight's show. These consisted of songs that I had really enjoyed over the past 3 years but had forgotten about or had simply not played recently. Of course, I left these CDs at home. Upon realizing this fact, I decided to do an A-Z show where I would play one song from one artist of each letter of the alphabet. It was a good time and got me to play some stuff I normally wouldn't have played. I reached Z about 12 minutes before 12:30am, but luckily a caller had requested some !!! and I guess punctuation goes after Z. Here goes:

Artist / Song / Album

Andrew Bird / A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left / The Mysterious Production of Eggs
Beta Band / Needles in My Eyes / The Three EPs
Chin Up Chin Up / We Should Have Never Lived Like Skyscrapers / We Should...
Datarock / Computer Camp Love / Datarock
Essex Green / Mrs. Bean
Figurines / Silver Ponds
Get Him Eat Him / Get Down! / Arms Down
Hot Chip / My Piano / DJ Kicks
I'm From Barcelona / Chicken Pox / Let Me Introduce My Friends
The Jam / That's Entertainment / Stranger Than Fiction SNDTK
Kings of Convenience / I'd Rather Dance With You / Riot on an Empty Street
Lou Reed / Andy's Chest / Transformer
Metric / On the Sky / Grew Up and Blew Away
Neutral Milk Hotel / Holland 1945 / In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Old 97s / Timebomb / Too Far to Care
Prefuse 73 / One Word Extinguisher / One Word Extinguisher
Question Mark & the Mysterians / 96 Tears (En Espanol) / More Action
Ratatat / Lex / Classics
Schneider TM / Reality Check / Zoomer
They Might Be Giants / I'm Impressed / The Else
The Uncut / Understanding the New Violence
Violent Femmes / Held Her in My Arms / Add it Up
Weezer / My Name is Jonas (live) / Blue Album Deluxe
Xiu Xiu / Crank Heart / Fabulous Muscles
Yo La Tengo / Tighten Up / Yo La Tengo is Murdering the Classics
Zero 7 / Throw It All Away / The Garden
!!! / Me and Guiliani Down by the Schoolyard / Louden Up Now
!!! / Heart of Hearts / Myth Takes

Finally

After a long process of downloading, loading, and uploading (combined with a busy schedule and laziness), I can finally present to you the first-ever downloadable mp3 of the Music is My Girlfriend Show.

The mp3 covers the first 1 hour and 13 minutes of my May 7th show. As you probably don't recall, this show largely consisted of electronic, techno and dance music. Even if said music is not exactly your bag, you should still listen for the witty banter between Josh Bock and myself. Topics include: Spiderman 3 and its absent soundtrack, Pirates 3 and Johnny Depp, Crested Butte's altitude, and many other fascinating oddities.

Here's the link to the download page:
MegaUpload Link
Hidden near the top is a text box where you must type the three letter code shown and then click the download button.

Here's the portion of the show that is part of this mp3:
Artist / Song / Album

LCD Soundsystem / Someone Great / Sound of Silver
Junior Boys / In the Morning (Hot Chip remix) / Dead Horse EP
Mylo / In My Arms / Destroy Rock & Roll
Bassnectar / Verbing the Noun / Underground Communication
Cut Chemist / What's the Altitude? / The Audience is Listening
Timo Maas / Shifter / Loud
Daft Punk / Aerodynamic / Discovery
Joakim / Rocket Pearl / Monsters and Silly Songs
Joakim / Drumtrax / Monsters and Silly Songs
Spank Rock / Girlfriend is Better / Fabriclive 33
Thivery Corp / The Heart's A Lonely Hunter (ft. David Byrne) / Cosmic Game
Weezer / Tired of Sex / Pinkerton *request by Katie
Walkmen / Red River / Spiderman 3 Soundtrack
Justice / Phantom / Ed Rec V2
Nortec Collective / Casino Soul / Tijuana Sessions V 1

Enjoy! Hopefully more mp3s are to come, but I have no other recorded shows to date so it may be awhile.

FM in the AM

Filled in Thursday morning (June 7th) for the 8am "Touch Me in The Morning" show. As always, the daytime show proved to be good fun as more people in town and elsewhere were able to tune in. I got several requests and calls about what I was playing. Special thanks to the unnamed lady who corrected my pronunciation of Loudon Wainwright. Playlist was as such...

Artist / Song / Album

Nick Drake / Blues Run the Game / Family Tree
Zach Condon / Venice
Bodies of Water / I Guess We'll Forget the Sound, I Guess, I Guess
Map of Africa / Bone
Loudon Wainwright / The Swimming Song
Okkervil River / Our Life is Not A Movie or Maybe
The National / Slow Show / The Boxer
Odawas / Alleluia
Jose Gonzalez / Lovestain / Live Session EP
Cat Power / He War / You Are Free
Jeff Buckley / Last Goodbye / So Real
Shaky Hands / Maker Make / The Shaky Hands
Belle and Sebastian / The State I Am In / Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
Loudon Wainwright / Passion Play / Knocked Up SDTK
Spoon / The Underdog / Single
Electrelane / In Berlin / No Shouts, No Calls
The Polyphonic Spree / Section 29 (Light Will Follow) / The Fragile Army
Bodies of Water / Doves Circle the Sky
Of Montreal / Gronladic Edit / Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Arcade Fire / The Well and the Lighthouse / Neon Bible
Architecture in Helsinki / Like It or Not / Places Like This
Of Montreal / A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger / Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Shaky Hands / I'm Alive / The Shaky Hands
Arctic Monkeys / Old Yellow Bricks / Favourite Worst Nightmare
Art Brut / People in Love / Its a Bit Complicated
Muscles / Ice Cream
Architecture in Helsinki / Heart It Races / Places Like This
Architecture in Helsinki / Hold Music / Places Like This

That's it.

Back in the Saddle

With nothing too special planned for my triumphant return to DJing yesterday night, I simply trotted out a bevy of new music that had caught my ear during various 20 hour car rides. Here's the playlist:

Artist / Song / Album

Mystery Jets / Scarecrows in the Rain / Zootime
Feist / My Moon My Man / The Reminder *call-in request
Spoon / The Underdog / Ga Ga Ga Ga
Voxtrot / Kid Gloves / Voxtrot
Art Brut / Post Soothing Out / Its a Bit Complicated
Matt Pond PA / Reading / If You Want Blood
Electrelane / Cut and Run / No Shouts, No Calls
White Stripes / Icky Thump / Icky Thump
Dinosaur Jr. / We're Not Alone / Beyond
Talking Heads / Hey Now / True Stories
Paul McCartney / Ever Present Past / Memory Almost Full
Electrelane / The Lighthouse / No Shouts, No Calls
They Might Be Giants / I'm Impressed / The Else
The Shaky Hands / Clapping Song / The Shaky Hands
Architecture in Helsinki / Heart it Races / Single
Beirut / Postcards from Italy / Gulag Orkestar
Bonde Do Role / Marina do Baireo / With Lasers
Architecture in Helsinki / Heart it Races (As Played by Dr Dog) / Single
Bonde Do Role / Tieta / With Lasers
!!! / Yadnus / Myth Takes
Dan Deacon / Woody Woodpecker / Spiderman of the Rings
Joakim / Drumtrax / Monsters and Silly Songs
LCD Soundsystem / Freak Out / All my Friends Single
Franz Ferdinand / All My Friends / All my Friends Single
Junior Boys / In The Morning (Hot Chip remix) / Dead Horse EP

That's about it. I am nearing the ability to post mp3s of a couple of my shows, so look forward to that. Also a few other concert notes may appear up here soon. Be good.

Dear !!!,

Notes from !!!, live at the Metro in Chicago, May 23, 3007

Dear !!!,

You put on a fantastic, amazingly energetic live show. I expected no less and you delivered. Band chemistry is terrific, especially once you brought out your unnamed female vocalist/party-starter.

My only negative comment? Play for more than an hour next time.

Sincerely,
Grant

the Going Home Edition

For my last Music is My Girlfriend before my return trip home (I will miss 2 shows), I decided to be so very creative and do a "going-home" theme. This featured mostly songs with the word "home" in the title, but also roadtrip songs and place-name songs. It went well, but was pretty mellow and depressing (based on the songs I played). I was tired and not much was happening in the way of studio visitors, so it worked. Thanks to Kellan for hanging out, and also Josh and Andrew for stopping by upon returning from their homefront (the frontrange). Tom was able to call-in and listen from back in Indiana, so many thanks to him as well.

Artist / Song / Album

Roger Miller / Whistle-stop
Clarence "Frogman" Henry / Ain't Got No Home
Dinosaur Jr. / Going Home / Where You Been *request from Gwen
Old 97s / Streets of Where I'm From / Too Far to Care
Wilco / Via Chicago / Kicking Television
Bob Dylan / Subterranean Homesick Blues / Bootleg Series
Radiohead / Subterranean Homesick Alien / OK Computer
Yo La Tengo / Feel Like Going Home / I Am Not Afraid of You...
Arlo Guthrie / I'm Going Home / Alice's Restuarant
Of Montreal / On the Drive Home / The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower
Elvis Costello / Radio Radio *request from Tom
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah / In This Home on Ice / self-titled
Franz Ferdinand / Come On Home
Modest Mouse / A life of Artic Sounds / Building Nothing out of Something
Britt Daniels / Bring It Home to Me / Bridging the Distance Comp
Willie Nelson / Homeward Bound / Live and Kickin
Promise Ring / My Life is at Home / Wood/Water
Muddy Waters / I Feel Like Going Home
Rosie Thomas / Much Farther to Go / These Friends of Mine
Sufjan Stevens / Chicago / Feel the Illinoise
Gang of Four / At Home He's A Tourist / Return the Gift
Bloc Party / Price of Gas (Automato remix) / Silent Alarm remixed
LCD Soundsystem / Daft Punk is Playing at My House / self-titled
Patti Smith / Midnight Rider / Twelve
Belle + Sebastian / I Love my Car / Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
Medeski, Martin + Wood / Bubblehouse / Last Chance to Dance Trance
Jonathon Richman / Roadrunner (once) / Best of...
Detriot Cobras / Green Light / Tied + True
Velvet Underground / Train Round the Bend / Loaded
Charlie Rich / Feel Like Going Home

In other radio news, I am filling in tonight at the usual time - 10:30pm Colorado time. Tune in if you can.

Bored with the Usual

Having already done one show with new music/indie rock on Monday, May 7th, I decided to do more of an electronic/dance/techno themed show for Music is My Girlfriend that evening. Here's the playlist:

Artist / Song / Album

LCD Soundsystem / Someone Great / Sound of Silver
Junior Boys / In the Morning (Hot Chip remix) / Dead Horse EP
Mylo / In My Arms / Destroy Rock & Roll
Bassnectar / Verbing the Noun / Underground Communication
Cut Chemist / What's the Altitude? / The Audience is Listening
Timo Maas / Shifter / Loud
Daft Punk / Aerodynamic / Discovery
Joakim / Rocket Pearl / Monsters and Silly Songs
Joakim / Drumtrax / Monsters and Silly Songs
Spank Rock / Girlfriend is Better / Fabriclive 33
Thivery Corp / The Heart's A Lonely Hunter (ft. David Byrne) / Cosmic Game
Weezer / Tired of Sex / Pinkerton *request by Katie
Walkmen / Red River / Spiderman 3 Soundtrack
Justice / Phantom / Ed Rec V2
Nortec Collective / Casino Soul / Tijuana Sessions V 1
DJ logic / 9th Ward Blues / Zen of Logic
Nina Simone / Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter / Remixed & Reimagined
Brazilian Girls / Pussy / Brazilian Girls
Spank Rock / Track 5 / Fabriclive 33
DJ Shadow / You Can't Go Home Again / single
Royksopp / Remind Me / Melody AM
Freeform 5 / No More Conversations (Mylo remix)
Spank Rock / Track 6 / Fabriclive 33
Muscles / Chocolate Raspberry Lemon Lime
Spank Rock / Track 14 / Fabriclive 33

Thanks to Tom for attempting to tune in and mistaking my voice for someone else. Luckily, he was able to tune in again last night and make a request. Woot.

The Muscles track near the end of the playlist was the pair to "Ice Cream" played earlier in the day (see Morning Mix playlist below).

Morning Mix 5/7/07 Playlist

Just over a week ago I filled in for Erin Roberts, our station's new program director. I was rather excited when she asked me to fill in for her, as she has an awesome show and a 10am time slot. I decided to do mini two-song sets for the show. The sets were paired based on some sort of similarity (such as new/old from same artist, the bands are touring together, both bands released comeback albums, etc.). Here's the playlist:

Artist / Song / Album

The National / Fake Empire / Boxer
The National / Slow Show / Boxer
Feist / 1 2 3 4 / The Reminder
Feist / So Sorry / Live 4.15.07
Sufjan Stevens / Chicago / Illinoise
Sufjan Stevens / Free Man in Paris / Joni Mitchell Tribute Album
Arcade Fire / Keep the Car Running / Neon Bible
Electrelane / To the East / No Shouts, No Calls
TEd Leo + RX / Biomusicology / Tyranny of Distance
Decemberists / Sporting Life / Picaresque
Modest Mouse / Paper Thin Walls / Moon + Antarctica
Modest Mouse / Dashboard / We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
Peter Bjorn + John / Young Folks / Writer's Block
Peter Bjorn + John / Let's Call It Off (Girl Talk remix)
Patrick Wolf / Land's End / Wind in the Wires
Patrick Wolf / Overture / The Magic Position
White Stripes / Icky Thump / Icky Thump
White Stripes / Death Letter / De Stijl
Dinosaur Jr. / We're Not Alone / Beyond
Stooges / My Idea of Fun / The Weirdness
Beirut / Postcards from Italy / Gulag Orkestar
Beirut / Elephant Gun / Lon Gisland EP
The Blow / Parentheses / Paper Television
YACHT / See a Penny (Pick it Up)
Muscles / Ice Cream

Dear Martin Sexton,

Notes from Martin Sexton, live at Boulder Theatre in Boulder, CO, April 26, 2007

Dear Martin Sexton,

You, sir, have an amazing voice and are surely a talented musician. Perhaps, then, you should rethink this band you currently have touring with you. The highlights of the evening all occurred when the band took a break and your voice could stand alone with your guitar. Sadly though, these moments were few and far between. Work on this.

Another note of concern... you received the greatest crowd response upon playing cover songs. After releasing seven albums, wouldn't you think you would have a couple massive crowd pleasers? Sure, "Folsom Prison Blues" is an unbeatable track, especially when played jugband-style (also the only point of the show in which your band complemented your voice/songs). But Billy Preston's "Will It Go Round in Circles"? A great song, but it shouldn't be a true concert highlight at the expense of your own compositions. Maybe its just me, but I don't totally dig your songwriting. This is purely my taste, but your lyrics are far too simplistic and obtuse while lacking in wit and irreverence.

Finally, you strangely resemble Jack Black both while and while not singing. This is unfortunate for you and distracting for the audience. Sorry.

Dear Ratatat,

Notes from Ratatat, live @ Bluebird theatre in Denver, March 23, 2007

Dear Ratatat,

To put it simply, get a drummer and your live show won't suck. Yes, your beats are great and interesting, but they are hardly unplayable. How nice would it be to replace that idiot "sitting" behind the keyboards? I distinctly remember him falling off his stool only 2 songs into your set. Wouldn't you rather hire a stellar drummer that would make your show a "must-see" instead of an "only-go-if-you-live-nearby-and-tickets-are-cheap"?

Yes, a drummer would make your show unbeatable rather than a stale recreation of your album. Might I also make another suggestion? Mike Stroud, please cut the guitar god poses. You are a worthy guitar player, but not outstanding. The Townsend-esque windmills and gymnastic bridges are a tad overkill for your repetitive chords and licks. Please rethink your stage presence.

As for bassist Evan Mast: carry on.

Yours Truly,
A Concerned Fan

New Music Monday

Playlist from April 30, 2007

Artist / Song / Album

Shaky Hands / Why & How Come
Roger Miller / Whistle-Stop
Vietnam / Priest, Poet & the Pig / Vietnam
Beirut / Elephant Gun / Lon Gisland
White Stripes / Icky Thump / Icky Thump
Patrick Wolf / Bluebells / Magic Position
Papercuts / John Brown
Voxtrot / Kid Gloves
Sufjan Stevens / Free Man in Paris / Jonie Mitchell Tribute
The National / Fake Empire / The Boxer
Feist / I Feel It All / The Reminder
Electrelane / To The East / No Shouts, No Calls
The Blow / Hey Boy / Poor Aim: Love Songs
Low / Breaker / Drums + Guns
Peter Bjorn & John / Let's Call It Off (Girl Talk remix)
TV on the Radio / Wolf Like Me / Live @ Amoeba Music
Ghosthustler / Parking Lot Nights
LCD Soundsystem / All My Friends (AMIGAMAN remix)
The Rosebuds / Get Up Get Out / Night of the Furies
Busdriver / The Trogolodyte Wins
Feist / Mushaboom / Live 4/15/07
Black Moth Super Rainbow / Sun Lips
Muscles / Ice Cream
Joakim / Drumtrax / Monsters + Silly Songs
Mandrew / Hotwax / The Wonderful World of Mandrew
Tokyo Police Club / Citizens of Tomorrow
Primus / Southbound Pacyderm / Tales from the Punchbowl *request from Dave
Jose Gonzalez / Heartbeats / Veneer *request from Kellan & Kristen
The Knife / Heartbeats / Deep Cuts
Tegan & Sara / Walking With A Ghost (Miami Horror remix)

Things went swimmingly, and I was able to play an entire set of new music up until the last couple requests as the show was ending. I'll be filling in for our Program Director Erin on Monday morning (5/7/07) at 10am Colorado time. She has an awesome show playing similiar music as I do, so I'm trying to plan this one out to live up to her standards.

Since this was all new music, I'll leave you with some recommendations. Buy or Download or just check out these albums:
Lon Gisland EP by Beirut
Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem
The Reminder by Feist
Boxer by the National
The Magic Position by Patrick Wolf

Chasing Seafoam Dreams Around Another Dirty Old Town

Thoughts from Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, Live @ the Gothic, Denver 4/22/07

The short version:
Should you have any passing interest in Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, I implore you to attend their live show.

The slightly longer version:
Rarely does one get the chance (at least in the "all things new" world of indie rock) to see a veteran like Ted Leo in an intimate venue like the Gothic Theatre. Such an event, as I learned Sunday night, is something to be treasured. Ted Leo absolutely controlled the stage on this evening, keeping the audience enthralled with a wide selection of songs from his Pharmacists back catalogue and their new album, "Living with the Living". If concert goers were not already excited to see the D.C. based band, the opening onslaught of "Sons of Cain", "Me and Mia", and "Dial Up" was enough to stoke anyone's interest.

As the night wore on with stellar rendition after stellar rendition, Ted Leo faught through snapping strings and Kristen's disapproval of what looked like white Keds, but were in reality a pair of hipster approved Vans. I don't think I've ever seen anyone with a better crowd relationship, as Mr. Leo kept us smiling and laughing while he caught his breath in between songs. When a drunken man up front kept screaming "Ted Leoooooo!" at the top of his lungs, Ted politely asked the man's name. "Steve," he replied. "What's your full name?" As the man barked out "Steven O'Neil," Ted got down in the man's face and screamed into the mic, "Steven O'Neillllllll!"

Pitchfork recently posted photos and a brief review of Ted Leo's concert at the Metro in Chicago. My impressions of their live show are rather similar, except I had no interest in seeing an end to the show. Paul Thompson, on the other hand, found the energetic act satisfying albiet a bit tiresome, as "the set's 10 p.m. endtime couldn't have come soon enough."

My favorite conversation of the night:
Me: (on Ted Leo's clothing) "It takes balls to wear pearly white pants during your set"
Kellan: (3 minutes later) "If you're going to be a drummer, you'll need to be flawless"
Me: "Ball-less?!"
Kellan: "Flawless"
Me: "Jaw-less?!"
Kellan: "Flawless"
Me: "Oh, flawless... I know."

tedleo.com
Denver Post Concert Preview

soundtracks are my girlfriend

First, a quick update: I will not be filling in tomorrow (Friday) because I will be in Denver (for a Martin Sexton concert) and basically out of Crested Butte. My buddy Drew is taking that time slot, so tune in for some good tunes from him if you like.

Following a successful whistling themed show the prior week, I decided to try out another themed edition of music is my girlfriend. This week it would be only music from soundtracks, preferably lesser known tracks if that would fly.

Artist / Song / Soundtrack

Roger Miller / Whistle-stop / Robin Hood (animated)
Huey Piano Lewis and the Clowns / Don't You Just Know It / Snatch
April March / Chick Habit / Death Proof
Santa Esmerelda / Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood / Kill Bill V 1
Marvin Gaye / Got 2 Give It Up (pt 1) / Boogie Nights
The Jam / That's Entertainment (demo) / Stranger Than Fiction
ELO / Mr. Blue Sky / Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Beta Band / Broken Up a Ding Dong / Igby Goes Down
Chris Farley / Fat Guy in a Little Coat / Tommy Boy
Molotov v. Dub Pistols / Here Comes the Mayo / Y Tu Mama Tambien
Dust Brothers / Space Monkey / Fight Club
Bruce Willis / Zed's Dead / Pulp Fiction
The Centurians / Bullwinkle Part II / Pulp Fiction
Mark Mothersbaugh / Ping Island-Lightning Strike Rescue Op / The Life Aquatic
Dr. No - James Bond Theme (Symphonic Version)
Cab Calloway / Minnie the Moocher / Blues Brothers
Taj Mahal / Ajax Piano Rag / Scrapple
Cat Stevens / Here Comes My Baby / Rushmore * request by Kyra
Lisa Loeb / Stay / Reality Bites * request by Sarah
Velvet Underground / Stephanie Says / Royal Tenenbaums
Folksmen / Start Me Up / Mighty Wind
And Now LIttle Green Bag... / Reservoir Dogs
George Baker Selection / Little Green Bag / Reservoir Dogs
Warren Zevon / Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead / same * request by Josh
The Muppets / FInale: the Magic Show / Muppet Movie
Pearl Jam / State of Love and Trust / Singles
Dr. Teeth + The Electric Mayhem / Can You Picture That / Muppet Movie * request by Drew
Soggy Bottom Boys / I am A Man of Constant Sorrow / O Brother Where Art Thou
Mazzy Star / Fade Into You / Angus
Craig DeGraff / Scooby Doo Mega Mix / Scooby's Snack Trax
Beck / Feather in Your Cap / Suburbia
13th Floor Elevators / You / High Fidelity
Al Hirt / Green Hornet / Kill Bill V 1
Chris Farley & David Spade / Graduation / Tommy Boy
Joy Division / Atmosphere / Trainspotting
Scherzo / Ninth Symphony: Second Movement / Clockwork Orange

Thanks to Josh, Drew & Andrew for hanging out in the studio and helping me make selections. Thanks to Sarah, Matt, Kyra and anyone else out there who was listening on the internet from oh so far away.