Episode 32: Tributes and Memories

     On days when things are going well, there is something almost magical and inspired about the way a show comes together. In some ways, my process makes that possible but doesn’t necessarily ensure that things will go well. Usually, I spend the time between shows reading print and online reviews and features, buying CDs, doing a lot of listening and slowly compiling a list of songs I might play. By the time I sit down to make final decisions, I have more songs than can fit in a two- or three-hour show, so I keep the leftovers for future episodes. Deciding what to exclude is only one difficult part of the process. Sometimes a tune that I really was excited about just doesn’t work so well alongside the others—because of its sound, its length, etc. And, in other cases, more pressing circumstances intervene to make some choices more timely than others (more on that below). In any event, the next, perhaps more difficult step is deciding the running order. Which tune will start the show? Which one will close the show? How can I group things together in (and, yes, it is this precise) sets that average about 13 minutes and 30 seconds? And, most importantly, how do I manage the transitions from song to song and set to set?
     So, what makes this morning’s show so special? First, I really love the tracks and the transitions. Second, I think I responded well to two news items: one that came on Saturday and another that, as far I know, has gotten much less attention: the death of Grant McLennan of the Go-Betweens and the approaching 25th anniversary of Bob Marley’s death (11 May), respectively. The two tributes, as you see below, get pride of place on this episode. I’m especially pleased with the Marley segment, as it begins with an oblique but knowing tribute from Stevie Wonder and then proceeds with less-often heard pieces from Marley’s output: an early Wailers tune, the B-side of the “Waiting in Vain” single, and one underrated tune (my favorite) from the second-to-last studio album released during Marley’s lifetime. Third (remember, we were counting), this episode features a number of tracks that carry resonant memories for me: Selecter reminds me of the early days of free-format programming on MTV; the Aztec Camera tune takes me back to high school; the Héctor Lavoe song reminds me of my time in New York when I really started understanding and digging salsa; and the Bill Frisell tune reminds me of one my mentors in graduate school, the late Mark Tucker, who played that song for me on a brilliantly beautiful spring afternoon almost exactly nine years ago.
     So, yes, this morning’s show came together quite well. I hope those of you who got to listen enjoyed it, even without having as much time or memory invested in it. But, then again, maybe you have (or created) your own touchstones. And maybe, just maybe, this episode contained a revelatory moment for you....

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• The Go-Betweens, “Twin Layers of Lightning,” Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express, Beggars Banquet
• Lisa Germano, “We Suck,” Excerpts from a Love Circus, 4AD
• Robert Wyatt, “5 Black Notes and 1 White Note,” Ruth Is Stranger than Richard, Hannibal
• The Selecter, “Celebrate the Bullet,” Celebrate the Bullet, Chrysalis
• Stereolab, “‘Get a Shot of the Refrigerator,’” Fab Four Suture, Pure
• Boards of Canada, “Telephasic Workshop,” Music Has the Right to Children, Warp
• Aztec Camera, “The Birth of the True,” Knife, WEA
• The High Violets, “Invitation,” To Where You Are, Reverb
• The Flaming Lips, “Vein of Stars,” At War with the Mystics, Warner Brothers
• Great Lake Swimmers, “Let’s Trade Skins,” Bodies and Minds, Misra
• Héctor Lavoe, “La Verdad,” Comedia, Fania
• Cheikh Lô, “Toogayo M’Bedd,” Lamp Fall, Nonesuch

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• Stevie Wonder, “Master Blaster (Jammin’),” Hotter than July, Motown
• The Wailers, “Hammer,” Songs of Freedom (Boxed Set), Tuff Gong
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, “Talkin’,” Talkin’ Blues, Tuff Gong
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, “Roots,” Rebel Music, Tuff Gong
• Bob Marley & the Wailers, “One Drop,” Survival, Tuff Gong
• Gastr del Sol, “Eight Corners,” Mirror Repair, Drag City
• Bill Frisell, “One of These Days,” Nashville, Nonesuch
• Inara George, “No Poem,” All Rise, Everloving
• Van Hunt, “Character,” On the Jungle Floor, Capitol
• The Impressions, “We’re a Winner,” The Anthology 1961–1977, MCA
• Neil Finn, “Truth,” Try Whistling This, Work
• Slowdive, “Sing,” Souvlaki, SBK