Episode 9

     This morning’s show was the last one for the quarter. Since the schedules for the interim and the summer have yet to be finalized, I don’t know when the next show will air. If you check back here in the next week or so, there should be some information posted.
     I met two wonderful people earlier, Mat and Beth, who are training to be DJs at the station. Having gone through training myself only a few months ago, it was somewhat strange for me to be talking as though I had some grand wisdom to impart about operating the equipment in the studio, following FCC rules, etc. But I hope they learned something useful. And I, in return, was reminded (again) that I need to give the more recent, downtempo music of Saint Etienne another chance. I also learned something else: apparently no one who tuned in to the show this morning cared about getting tickets to see Caribou, Junior Boys and Russian Futurists for free (all three groups are playing a show on 7 June at the Empty Bottle). Or maybe none of the listeners were 21 or older. Oh, well....
     Most of the show made it to CD, so I should have a recording available for those in the know (and/or outside the listening area) in the next few days. In the meantime, here’s what you would have heard had you had your radio tuned in:

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• Suicide, “Keep Your Dreams” (Remix), Suicide (First Album), Mute
• Kraftwerk, “Showroom Dummies,” Trans-Europe Express, Capitol
• Cabaret Voltaire, “Seconds Too Late,” The Living Legends, Mute
• Metric, “Hustle Rose,” Old World Underground, Where Are You, Everloving
• Saint Etienne, “Woodcabin,” Good Humor, Sub Pop
• Grace Jones, “Pull Up to the Bumper,” Island Life, Island
• The Cure, “Just One Kiss,” Japanese Whispers, Fiction
• The Glove, “Looking-Glass Girl,” Blue Sunshine, Polygram
• Siouxsie and the Banshees, “Belladonna,” Hyaena, Geffen
• The Monkees, “Daydream Believer,” Anthology, Rhino
• Dukes of Stratosphear, “Vanishing Girl,” Chips from the Chocolate Fireball, Geffen
• Jim White, “Book of Angels,” Wrong-Eyed Jesus, Luaka Bop
• Emiliana Torrini, “Today Has Been OK,” Fisherman’s Woman, Rough Trade

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• Matt Johnson, “Like a Sun Risin’ thru My Garden,” Burning Blue Soul, 4AD
• Mark Hollis, “The Gift,” Mark Hollis, Pond Life
• The Books, “It Never Changes to Stop,” Lost and Safe, Tomlab
• The Russian Futurists, “Your Life on Magnetic Tape,” Let’s Get Ready to Crumble, Upper Class
• Junior Boys, “High Come Down,” Last Exit, Domino
• Caribou, “Pelican Narrows,” The Milk of Human Kindness, Domino
• His Name Is Alive, “I Can See Myself in Her,” Last Night, 4AD
• Komeda, “Cul de Sac,” What Makes It Go?, Minty Fresh
• Mos Def, “Umi Says,” Black on Both Sides, Rawkus
• World Party, “This World,” Egyptology, Chrysalis
• Neil Finn, “Wherever You Are,” One Nil, Parlophone
• Brookville, “This Is How It Ends,” Wonderfully Nothing, Unfiltered

Episode 8

     Due to circumstances beyond my control, this morning’s show was not taped. I generally don’t mind performing a little digital audio trickery to recreate a portion of a show, but the amount of time I’d need to redo an entire show is something I can’t really spare right now. Maybe at some point before the 31 May show, I’ll be able to reconstruct it. If I can’t, you’ll just have to let your eyes scan the playlist and hope your inner ear can take care of the rest.
     All in all, it was an exceptional show, partly for the timeliness of this morning’s tribute. Nearly 25 years ago, on 18 May 1980, Ian Curtis committed suicide—right before Joy Division, the band in which he was the singer, was to embark on its first tour of North America. Shortly thereafter, the remaining members regrouped, calling themselves New Order. I played three songs from that tragic time. The first of them comes from the album that Joy Division would have been promoting, Closer. The second comes from the last live performance the group did (2 May 1980), while the last is one of the first singles recorded by New Order (the original version featured Curtis on vocals). It was pretty bracing music, lightly and not-so-lightly transformed by the production work of Martin Hannett. So, if you’ve got any lying around, give your Joy Division and early New Order recordings a spin tomorrow. And think about Ian Curtis....
     The beginning of the show was inspired by my having seen Mercury Rev and Doves at the Vic Theatre last Friday night. I was (virtually) grinning from ear to ear when the lights dimmed for MR. As images started being projected on the screens behind the stage, I heard the familiar opening of “Lorelei.” Only after the entire track had played did the band members take the stage to perform “Secret for a Song,” the opening track on The Secret Migration, which after being available for a few months in England, Japan and elsewhere, will finally have a U.S. release today. The tracks I played by MR and Doves are ones that I wish that each group had played. On the way back to the South Side, I had a line from a Rolling Stones song repeating in my head: “You can’t always get what you want.”
     Other highlights from this morning’s show include the Hector Zazou track, from an album that featured a number of arty rockers (e.g., David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto, John Cale, Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry) helping the leader to create musical interpretations of poems by the French Symbolist poet Arthur Rimbaud. Interesting as well was the track by the Twilight Babies: Mikey Brown (guitars), Adam Walker (programming) and Alison Lewis (vocals)—the first two have also been members of the 19.5 Collective. I have really fond memories of meeting Mikey and Adam through my friend Yasmine and hanging with them when I still lived in Michigan. The group has released two other albums since the one listed below, and they have become critically lauded performers on the Detroit scene. They’re definitely worth further exploration....

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• Cocteau Twins, “Lorelei,” Treasure, 4AD
• Mercury Rev, “Nite and Fog,” All Is Dream, V2
• Doves, “Rise,” Lost Souls, Astralwerks
• Sublux, “Dirty Walls, Lonely Plates,” Nothing That Is Still, Selective Focus
• A Camp, “Silent Night,” A Camp, Stockholm
• Joy Division, “Means to an End,” Closer, Factory
• Joy Division, “Ceremony,” Still, Factory
• New Order, “In a Lonely Place,” Substance, Qwest
• Hector Zazou, “Hunger,” Sahara Blue, Tristar
• Cat Power, “Fool,” You Are Free, Matador
• M. Ward, “Fuel for Fire,” Transistor Radio, Merge

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• Múm, “The Ghosts You Draw on My Back,” Summer Make Good, Fat Cat
• Joanna Newsom, “Sprout and the Bean,” The Milk-Eyed Mender, Drag City
• Stina Nordenstam, “Butterfly,” The World Is Saved, V2
• The Sea and Cake, “There You Are,” The Fawn, Thrill Jockey
• Twilight Babies, “Every Little Mistake,” If You Want Me to I Could Write It Down, (no label)
• Apostle of Hustle, “Baby, You’re in Luck,” Folkloric Feel, Arts & Crafts
• Feist, “One Evening,” Let It Die, Polydor
• Galaxie 500, “Summertime,” This Is Our Music, Ryko
• Pavement, “Fillmore Jive,” Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Matador
• Dead Can Dance, “The Cardinal Sin,” Spleen and Ideal, 4AD
• Café Tacuba, “11,” Reves/Yosoy, WEA
• Gil Scott-Heron, “A Lovely Day,” From South Africa to South Carolina, TVT

Countdown to Ecstasy

     So, here we are, a little less than two hours away from another episode of ECI. Tomorrow’s show promises to be something like a return to form—in part because I had more time to devote to planning it, in part because I’m feeling much better than I was two weeks ago at this time.
     The big programming event for the show has to do with an important historical event, at least important to me. A sad and pivotal 25th anniversary will occur this Wednesday, and one of the sets, perhaps in the first hour, will be an explicit commemoration of it. And, as long as I’m giving everything away, I should say that there will also be a set of songs by women with strangely girly voices. As I thought about things I might play, I found myself with a few tracks fitting that description. Whether they work as a unit or not is, of course, another matter....

Episode 7

     This was far from being the best show, at least in terms of my engineering skills. Chalk it up to my struggling through most of the show with the (after?) effects of a sinus infection. Still, I think there were some charming moments. (I won’t say what they are in case mine are different from yours). Thanks to those who called in to pledge (as well as those who let me know why they couldn’t or didn’t; maybe next time). Those who did pledge, of course, will get that mp3 CD I mentioned in the last post. It turned out well, I think, and it contains nearly 11 hours of music. And all for a measly pledge.
     I’ll keep this one brief. Sleep beckons, calling me back to good health....

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• Belly, “Full Moon, Empty Heart,” Star, Reprise
• Colin Newman, “Alone,” A–Z, Beggar’s Banquet
• Mono, “The Blind Man,” Formica Blues, Mercury
• Elk City, “Dreams of Steam,” Status, A Hidden Agenda
• The Smiths, “This Night Has Opened My Eyes,” Hatful of Hollow, Rough Trade
• TV on the Radio, “Wear You Out,” Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, Touch and Go
• New Order, “We All Stand,” Power, Corruption and Lies, Qwest
• Trembling Blue Stars, “All Eternal Things,” The Seven Autumn Flowers, Bar-None
• The Cure, “Sinking,” The Head on the Door, Elektra
• Doves, “Ambition,” Some Cities, Capitol
• Sufjan Stevens, “Seven Swans,” Seven Swans, Sounds Familyre

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• Brian Eno, “Burning Airlines Give You So Much More,” Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, EG
• Bush Tetras, “Can’t Be Funky,” New York Noise (compilation), Soul Jazz
• Rough Trade, “The Sacred and the Profane,” For Those Who Think Young, True North
• Brian Eno, “Third Uncle,” Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, EG
• Belle & Sebastian, “Stay Loose,” Dear Catastrophe Waitress, Rough Trade
• The Decemberists, “The Sporting Life,” Picaresque, Kill Rock Stars
• George Harrison, “I’d Have You Anytime,” All Things Must Pass, EMI
• Andrea Echeverri, “Amortiguador,” Andrea Echeverri, Nacional
• The Blue Nile, “Let’s Go Out Tonight,” Hats, Linn
• Junior Boys, “When I’m Not Around,” Last Exit, Domino
• Herbert, “It’s Only,” Bodily Functions, !K7