Episode 34: 6/6/6

     With all the work that 20th Century Fox is doing to promote its remake of the classic 1976 film The Omen, even the most ostrich-like U.S. resident would have a hard time not knowing that today’s date, in shortened form, resembles the fabled “mark of the beast.” Thinking about the admittedly thin symbolism of the day, I started plotting a few days ago to program songs dealing with the anti-Christ, the apocalypse, etc., but since my show never includes metal, I had to settle for a compromise: playing songs about the Devil. As a conceit for a show, this one had the potential to get quickly out of hand, so I kept it simple. Four songs about the Devil, two in each hour. From their titles, three of them should be obvious (and they are fairly obvious choices). The fourth was a last-minute find on a CD I’ve rarely taken off the shelf: The Geraldine Fibbers’ Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home. The track listed below has the distinction of being a song wherein the Devil is a woman. I hope you dig/dug it.
     There is at least one other notable item on the playlist for this morning: a track from Scott Walker’s The Drift, available later today in your favorite record store (or at least one that carries 4AD releases). It’s Walker’s first release since 1995’s Tilt, and, like its predecessor, it is not a recording for the casual listener. Believe it or not, the track I played is among the least challenging ones on the album. If the early reviews are any indication, though, this release will end up on the year-end, best-of lists of many listeners who pride themselves on their sophisticated, eclectic tastes. Right now, I’m not sure whether it will be on mine, but chances are slim. Hmmm. What does that say about me? (Oh, yeah. In case you were wondering how I got a CD that is not yet released and that the station does not yet possess, I found a copy of it in a local store over the weekend. I’m not sure why or how they had a copy on the shelves, but I chose not to inquire.)
     Oh, yeah. There is one more thing: Green on Red’s Gravity Talks. It is one of those brilliant albums from the mid-80s that most listeners who weren’t around then, no matter how hip they think they are, have never heard. And that’s a shame. I could bore you with the tale of how revelatory the afternoon was when I first heard it, played in my high school’s studio art class by an upperclassman who also turned me onto the Rain Parade (David Roback’s pre-Mazzy Star band), but why? I could likewise recommend a few songs for you to track down (no, the album isn’t available from iTunes or eMusic); instead I’ll simply suggest that you stay tuned. I’m certain that a few more the album’s tracks are going to slip into the rotation in the near future....

• 12:00–1:00 a.m.:
• The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil,” Beggars Banquet, ABKCO
• Sparklehorse, “Apple Bed,” It’s a Wonderful Life, Capitol
• Odawas, “The Unnamed Sphinx,” The Aether Eater, Jagjaguwar
• Celebration, “Foxes,” Celebration, 4AD
• The Geraldine Fibbers, “Richard,” Lost Somewhere Between the Earth and My Home, Virgin
• Green on Red, “Blue Parade,” Gravity Talks, Warner Brothers
• Billy Bragg, “Levi Stubbs’ Tears,” Talking with the Taxman about Poetry, Elektra
• Neko Case, “I Wish I Was the Moon,” Blacklisted, Bloodshot
• Great Lake Swimmers, “Song for the Angels,” Bodies and Minds, Misra
• Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man, “Romance,” Out of Season, Sanctuary
• Eric Matthews, “Fried Out Broken Girl,” It’s Heavy in Here, Sub Pop
• Brookville, “Home,” Wonderfully Nothing, Unfiltered

• 1:00–2:00 a.m.:
• Múm, “We Have a Map of the Piano,” Finally We Are No One, Fat Cat
• Dani Siciliano, “She Say Cliché,” Likes..., !K7
• Herbert, “Down,” Scale, !K7
• Keren Ann, “For You and I,” Nolita, Blue Note
• Robert Johnson, “Me and the Devil Blues,” The Complete Recordings, Columbia
• Scott Walker, “Buzzers,” The Drift, 4AD
• Cass McCombs, “Cuckoo,” PREfection, Monitor/4AD
• Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, “Up Jumped the Devil,” Tender Prey, Mute
• Edith Frost, “Lucky Charm,” It’s a Game, Drag City
• The Czars, “The Hymn,” Goodbye, Bella Union
• His Name Is Alive, “The Bees,” Stars on E.S.P., 4AD
• Seekonk, “Air,” Pinkwood, North East Indie