Tuesday, November 27, 2007

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

Sunday, November 25, 2007

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).

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

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

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

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