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