Episode 33: Stealing from Blue Glass (And Myself)

     Don’t worry: I’m not going to give every single show a subtitle. Aside from my unsure powers of creativity, my continuing to do so would probably quickly become annoying. There is a good reason, however, for this particular subtitle. The first part of it refers to the fact that I derive a lot of inspiration from (and spend a lot of money based on) the programming decisions of other DJs. For the last couple of months, I’ve derived immense pleasure from a weekly show called Vidro Azul (Blue Glass) broadcast (and podcast) by Ricardo Mariano from the University of Coimbra in Portugal. When my friend Pedro first sent me the link for the show, I was struck by the amount of overlap there is between what Mariano plays and what I often try to do. His show reveals impeccable taste and gives me something to aspire to. To be sure, I don’t dig everything he plays, but if you like my show, chances are really high that you’ll love his. Several of the items in this morning’s episode, indeed, are by artists I heard for the first time on Vidro Azul, but you wouldn’t have known that without this disclosure.
     The part of the subtitle in parentheses is a nod to how my insane workload over the last several weeks has ironically afforded me more time to listen to the varied CDs I have at home. As a result, I’ve been able to dig more deeply into the things I own, love, and have never played on the radio. In other words, all of the listening has given me another challenge: can I create a show that sits well alongside the others, but doesn’t rely heavily on the large but relatively stable set of artists I often program? I guess you, dear listeners, will be the judges of that....

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• The Pretenders, “Brass in Pocket,” The Pretenders, Sire
• Bauhaus, “Kick in the Eye 2,” Mask, Beggars Banquet
• Peter Murphy, “Roll Call,” Deep, Beggars Banquet
• The Jesus & Mary Chain, “Drop,” Automatic, Blanco y Negro
• Odawas, “Song of Recompense,” The Aether Eater, Jagjaguwar
• Radar Bros., “Papillon,” The Fallen Leaf Pages, Merge
• The Lilac Time, “The Nursery Walls,” Looking for a Day in the Night, spinART
• Johnny Cash, “That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day),” American III: Solitary Man, American Recordings
• Cousteau, “Mesmer,” Cousteau, Palm Pictures
• Celebration, “Holiday,” Celebration, 4AD
• Rachel’s, “Artemisia,” Selenography, Quarterstick
• The Apartments, “Everything Is Given to Be Taken Away,” Apart, Hot

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• Primal Scream, “The Lord Is My Shotgun,” Evil Heat, Epic
• Galaxie 500, “Strange,” On Fire, Ryko
• Cass McCombs, “My Pilgrim Dear,” A, Monitor
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood, “Fury/Born to Run,” Welcome to the Pleasuredome, ZTT
• Grandaddy, “Campershell Dreams,” Just like the Fambly Cat, V2
• Colin Newman, “Troisieme,” A–Z, Beggars Banquet
• AOKI Takamasa and Tujiko Noriko, “NOLICOM,” 28, Fat Cat
• Sondre Lerche, “On the Tower,” Two Way Monologue, Astralwerks
• Richard Buckner, “Lil Wallet Picture,” Devotion & Doubt, MCA
• Johnny Adams, “Reconsider Me,” Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945–1970, CMF/Lost Highway
• Cassandra Wilson, “Lost,” Thunderbird, Blue Note
• XTC, “The Last Balloon,” Apple Venus, Vol. 1, TVT