Episode 14

     I don’t know whether there’s any particular thread tying together the items I picked for this show. That is, no thread besides perhaps consolidation. If my mandate is not to play things that are being programmed on other stations (as I’ve heard in a number of station meetings), this show is miraculously in the clear. Deep album cuts, those that for me are most sonically intriguing, are always on offer on ECI. And a lot of what I program is stuff you would never hear on any commercial station, let alone one of WHPK’s peer college stations. So, for a number of other reasons I need not detail, henceforth and forever I’m going to let my pop flag fly. Put your headphones on....

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• Eric Matthews, “Fanfare,” It’s Heavy in Here, Sub Pop
• Gene Loves Jezebel, “Always a Flame,” Immigrant, Beggars Banquet
• Piano Magic, “You Can Never Get Lost (When You’ve Got Nowhere to Go),” Disaffected, Darla
• Equal I, “Equation,” Anokha: Soundz of the Asian Underground, Quango
• Prefab Sprout, “Michael,” Jordan: The Comeback, Epic
• Prefab Sprout, “Mercy,” Jordan: The Comeback, Epic
• Vetiver, “Amerilie,” Vetiver, DiCristina
• Caetano Veloso, “Zera a Reza,” Noites do Norte, Nonesuch
• Hanne Hukkelberg, “Do Not As I Do,” Little Things, Leaf
• Los Lobos, “Angels with Dirty Faces,” Kiko, Slash
• Van Morrison, “Ballerina,” Astral Weeks, Warner Brothers

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• Frou Frou, “Psychobabble,” Details, MCA
• Jason Falkner, “Revelation,” Can You Still Feel?, Elektra
• Massive Attack, “Protection,” Protection, Virgin
• Sleater-Kinney, “Jumpers,” The Woods, Sub Pop
• Múm, “The Island of Children’s Children,” Summer Make Good, Fat Cat
• Lloyd Cole, “2cv,” Rattlesnakes, Capitol
• Stars, “The Vanishing,” Heart, Arts and Crafts
• Dee-Lite, “Who Was That?,” World Clique, Elektra
• The Flaming Lips, “Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell,” Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Warner Brothers
• The Pharcyde, “Ya Mama,” Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde, Delicious Vinyl
• Louis Jordan, “Beware, Brother, Beware,” The Best of Louis Jordan, MCA

• 2:00–3:00 a.m.:
• Paul Weller, “The Loved,” Days of Speed, Epic
• Roxy Music, “Mother of Pearl,” Stranded, Virgin
• Richard Davis, “Inbetween Thoughts,” Safety, Punkt
• Sufjan Stevens, “The Seer’s Tower,” Illinois, Asthmatic Kitty
• Common, “Real People,” Be, MCA
• Thomas Dolby, “The Flat Earth,” The Flat Earth, Capitol
• Rickie Lee Jones, “Deep Space,” The Magazine, Warner Brothers
• Me’shell Ndegéocello, “Come Smoke My Herb,” Comfort Woman, Maverick
• Joni Mitchell, “The Hissing of Summer Lawns,” The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Asylum
• Joni Mitchell, “God Must Be a Boogie Man,” Mingus, Asylum
• Red House Painters, “Katy Song,” Red House Painters (I), 4AD

Episode 13

     This was lucky 13, the episode in which I played things that most college DJs would likely avoid. You know what I mean: Sade, Ryan Adams, Van Hunt, Radiohead and the like. And for those who would look askance at anyone’s programming such artists, well, that’s too bad. After all, worthwhile music can in fact come from major labels (and lots of crap issues forth from the most beloved indies). So give the list a look, and if you like what you see (and know the secret handshake) get the podcast version to hear the show in all its ragged glory (e.g., a snippet of a Low song trying to creep into a Beach Boys song before being slapped down by the vigilant DJ)....

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• P.J. Harvey, “Ecstasy,” Rid of Me, Island
• Marianne Faithfull, “Alabama Song,” 20th Century Blues, RCA
• Carla Bozulich, “Just As I Am,” Red-Headed Stranger, DiCristina
• Nina Simone, “Tell Me More and More and Then Some,” After Hours, Verve
• Orange Juice, “Poor Old Soul (Part One),” The Glasgow School, Domino
• Blonde Redhead, “In Particular,” Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, Touch and Go
• Spoon, “I Summon You,” Gimme Fiction, Merge
• Dani Siciliano, “Come As You Are,” Likes, !K7
• The Beach Boys, “Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder),” Pet Sounds, Capitol
• Low, “When I Go Deaf,” The Great Destroyer, Sub Pop
• Fine Young Cannibals, “Funny How Love Is,” Fine Young Cannibals, IRS
• The English Beat, “I Confess,” Special Beat Service, London

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• The Art of Noise, “The Army Now,” Into Battle with the Art of Noise, ZTT
• Ryan Adams, “Sylvia Plath,” Gold, Universal
• M. Ward, “I’ll Be Yr Bird,” Transistor Radio, Merge
• Mercury Rev, “The Funny Bird,” Deserter’s Songs, V2
• Anja Garbarek, “The Cabinet,” Balloon Mood, RCA
• The Books, “Vogt Dig for Kloppervok,” Lost and Safe, Tomlab
• Radiohead, “How to Disappear Completely,” Kid A, Capitol
• Van Hunt, “Who Will Love Me in Winter?,” Van Hunt, Capitol
• Sade, “Immigrant,” Lovers Rock, Epic
• Sleater-Kinney, “Steep Air,” The Woods, Sub Pop
• Out Hud, “2005: A Face Odyssey,” Let Us Never Speak of It Again, Kranky
• The Autumn Rhythm, “See You Again,” Secret Songs, Midriff

• 2:00–3:00 a.m.:
• Morsel, “Pieces,” Para Siempre, Small Stone
• Catherine Irwin, “Hex,” Cut Yourself a Switch, Thrill Jockey
• Sufjan Stevens, “Casimir Pulaski Day,” Illinois, Asthmatic Kitty
• Scheer, “Wish You Were Dead,” Infliction, 4AD
• Stereolab, “Rainbo Conversation,” Dots and Loops, Elektra
• Thievery Corporation, “Samba Tranquille,” The Mirror Conspiracy, ESL
• Cibelle, “Deixa,” Cibelle, Six Degrees
• Felt, “Primitive Painters,” Ignite the Seven Cannons, Cherry Red
• Junkboy, “Shadow and Act,” Lost Parade, Enraptured
• Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions, “On the Low,” Bavarian Fruit Bread, Rough Trade
• The Sundays, “24 Hours,” Blind, Geffen
• China Crisis, “Strength of Character,” Flaunt the Imperfection, Virgin

Episode 12

     Sigh. Another one down. And another one in which friends of mine played a major part, not only for introducing me to new music but also for re-opening my ears to great things in my CD library. In the former category (and going way back), there’s my high school classmate Rob Baker, who lent me his Walkman on a long spring break trip to visit southern colleges back in 1986. And what was in it when I clicked PLAY, but the Fall album listed below? Despite the fact that I really dug the CD straightaway, it took me nearly 20 years to buy it. But the seed had been planted long ago. In the latter category, big thanks to Mariel and her open ears and sure eye. She steered me back to the Smiths album that I’ve always liked the least and thus gave me the song to open the show. Now I wonder why I disliked the album so when it was released. She also got me to delve a little deeper into the Aluminum Group album below. The song she dug most found its way into the show. In the latter category as well, there’s J. Niimi and Michael O’Flaherty. In one of the playlists for their WHPK radio show, Radio Zero, they programmed a couple of tunes that sent me back to This Is the Sea, one of the most brilliant albums from the mid-1980s. Among other things, what Mike Scott and his fellow Waterboys did was to open my ears to how expansive, groovy, and texturally varied rock could be.
     The only thing left to say is that, in reading what follows the colon, infer the inverse of the normal meaning of the cliché: With friends like these, who needs enemies?

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• The Smiths, “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me,” Strangeways, Here We Come, Warner Bros.
• Gastr del Sol, “The C in Cake,” Crookt, Crackt, and Fly, Drag City
• Cardinal, “Dream Figure,” Cardinal, Empyrean
• Rickie Lee Jones, “Cloud of Unknowing,” Ghostyhead, Warner Brothers
• Tortoise, “Glass Museum,” Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Thrill Jockey
• The Fall, “L.A.,” This Nation’s Saving Grace, Beggars Banquet
• Andrew Bird, “Skin Is, My,” The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Righteous Babe
• Piano Magic, “You Can Hear the Room,” Disaffected, Darla
• Radiohead, “Climbing Up the Walls,” OK Computer, Capitol
• Linton Kwesi Johnson, “Inglan Is a Bitch,” Bass Culture, Mango
• The Waterboys, “Old England,” This Is the Sea, Chrysalis

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• Saint Etienne, “No Rainbows for Me,” So Tough, Warner Brothers
• Electrelane, “Those Pockets Are People,” Axes, Too Pure
• Electrelane, “The Partisan,” Axes, Too Pure
• Four Tet, “Sun Drums and Soil,” Everything Ecstatic, Domino
• Animal Collective, “Bat You’ll Fly,” Spirit They’re Gone—Spirit They’ve Vanished, Fat Cat
• Bill Frisell, “1968,” Unspeakable, Nonesuch
• Hanne Hukkelberg, “Searching,” Little Things, Leaf
• Sinéad Lohan, “What Can Never Be,” No Mermaid, Interscope
• Blue States, “Season Song,” Man Mountain, XL
• Roland Orzabal, “Maybe Our Days Are Numbered,” Tomcats Screaming Outside, Gold Circle
• Cibo Matto, “Moonchild,” Stereo Type A, Warner Brothers
• Aluminum Group, “Two Lights,” Happyness, Wishing Tree

• 2:00–3:00 a.m.:
• Heidi Berry, “Follow,” Heidi Berry, 4AD
• Apostle of Hustle, “Folkloric Feel,” Folkloric Feel, Arts and Crafts
• Aterciopelados, “Gozo Poderoso,” Gozo Poderoso, BMG
• Laurie Anderson, “Smoke Rings,” Home of the Brave, Warner Brothers
• Sufjan Stevens, “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhh! Illinois, Asthmatic Kitty
• Sufjan Stevens, “Let’s Hear that String Part Again Because I Don’t Think They Heard It All the Way Out in Bushnell,” Illinois, Asthmatic Kitty
• Portishead, “Humming,” Portishead, London
• The Polyphonic Spree, “It’s the Sun,” The Beginning Stages of the Polyphonic Spree, Hollywood
• The Monkees, “Papa Gene’s Blues,” Anthology, Rhino
• Wire, “You Can’t Leave Now,” Send, Pink Flag
• My Bloody Valentine, “Don’t Ask Why,” Glider EP, Sire