Read:My:Back

Overplayed on the Radio 1.0—False Front

A loving tribute to songs that I've definitely overplayed in my nineteen years (yikes!) of doing radio.

This first installment honors the debut album of Jersey Weirdo band, Ween-pals, and Shimmy Disc confidantes, False Front. I distinctly recall grabbing their debut album (the terribly-titled Dude) out of WPRB's to-be-listened-to pile in 1992 and being immediately taken with the lush acidity of the opening track, "Maniac I." The twin guitar leads sounded like Thin Lizzy under the magical spell of Robitussin, and let's just say that lyrics like "when all the acid hits your brain, leave it to me to feel your pain" spoke with a particular kind of townie-DJ poignancy for me when I was 20 years old. Subsequently, the song became a staple of my program for years afterwards, even following me to WFMU (where I've apparently only aired it twice, according to the playlist search database. Both times in 2007. Huh.)

Having lost track of my own copy of the album years ago, I might've forgotten all about "Maniac I" had it not popped up randomly on the iTunes rotation yesterday. I went back and listened to it three times in a row. Yep, still a great song! Listen using the player below.

Announcing the Read:My:Back Mixtape!

The term "podcast" has seen some rough road over the last decade. I'm no tech-head, and the amateurish design stylings of this blog certainly don't give me any license to kvetch, but a proper podcast implies automatic delivery at regularly scheduled intervals. Sort of like a magazine subscription, in that you sign up for it, and get a new issue at around the same time every week or month. As such, MP3 blogs that haphazardly post 40MB Audacity mixdowns and call them 'podcasts' might be exposing people to a lot of interesting sounds, but they are doing so while severely agitating the RSS nerds in their collective midst.

While I appreciate the plight of said nerds, I don't actually know very much about syndicating content or RSS feeds myself. So in a feeble effort to distance myself from this conundrum of syntax, I'd now like to announce the Read:My:Back... Mixtape!

Same concept, slightly different method: The R:M:B Mixtape will occur on no set schedule and will hop genres with reckless abandon—pretty much like the last three years of my terrestrial radio shows on WFMU, but minus the James Gang deepcuts and rambling mic breaks. (Though I am considering rectifying that last detail... Can anyone recommend a reasonably-priced condenser mic to me?) Furthermore, downloading the entire show is more than likely to just scatter the songs into your iTunes library according to whichever filing protocols get you hot and bothered. So much for my meticulous and thoughtful segues, eh? But never mind about that -- As always, it's the music that matters.

The source material for this project is WFMU's Free Music Archive. With more than 30,000 free and legal MP3s now residing in their stable, the FMA has been my first and best connection to new sounds as my life transitioned from that of weekly radio host on WFMU (with regular access to the station's fabled new bin) to stay-at-home dad, where daily engagement with the art that I love is now limited to around 45 minutes during naptime. Not to say that the 180 degree lifestyle changeup hasn't delivered amazing rewards.... I just didn't come here to tell you about them.

So for whatever it's worth, here's the first of what will hopefully be many editions of these musical diversions. Observing the metamorphosis of my music sharing habits across the years from obsessive mixtape-maker to radio show host to harried blogger fills me with a kind of weird anxiety -- where or what will the next leap forward will be?

Gal Costa's cover of "It's All Over Now Baby Blue"

The only song that's ever made afternoon Holland Tunnel traffic not only tolerable, but transcendent.

Windows down, volume clockwised. Inching along like a dying slug.

I dunno, maybe you had to be there?

Photo by Keithlam [CC BY-NC-ND 3.0]

Steve Wynn of Dream Syndicate—Around Town and on the Radio

Praise be to Joltin' Joe Belock. He's had Steve Wynn as a musical guest on his radio program almost as many times as I've had Dalek, and from my perspective, nothing defines the Three Chord Monte aesthetic better than these fantastic sessions from the former Dream Syndicate frontman. Now based in New York after years of being closely affiliated with the left coast musical underground, I've had the pleasure of seeing Steve and band perform many times and under many different circumstances. Two that come immediately to mind include a spur-of-the-moment run through of the Dream Syndicate's Days of Wine and Roses (at Manitoba's sometime in mid-2001), and also the odd occasion of them providing ambient musical accompaniment to a reading by crime fiction writer George Pelecanos (at Magnetic Field.) The latter was especially great, as my wife lived mere steps from Magnetic Field at the time—that afforded us the rare opportunity to rock until the late hours sans the mood-killing reality of a 3 AM subway ride on a work night. (Feel free to ignore that last bit if you're younger than 30, though I've always been ornery about getting home so late. I have theorized that my fleeting interest in hardcore music was mainly rooted in the fact that most of the shows were weekend matinees.)

Anyhow, in the midst of what were at one time fairly frequent live dates around town, Steve and band also made periodic stops at WFMU for live sets on Joe Belock's program, all of which are now available in their entirety in the FMA. This mix is whittled down to reflect my favorites, so take the fact that I've titled it "The Best of..." with a grain of salt. Try as I might, I was powerless to shy away from his epic renditions of old Dream Syndicate classics, even though Steve's more recent sounds are just as impressive. Naturally, if you like what you hear, I'd certainly urge you to go grab everything else.

Wedding Present Radio Sessions from 1992

The Wedding Present: The Black Session by Peplau

I've been to exactly one Wedding Present concert. They played Maxwell's sometime in 1993, and although they performed masterfully and were louder than a freakin' atomic bomb going off, the fact that "Dalliance" (or anything else from the brilliant Sea Monsters LP) did not figure into the setlist sort of tarnished the experience in my memory. Sea Monsters and Bettie Serveert's Palomine totally defined a particular era at WPRB for me, and even as those months were unfolding in realtime, getting stiffed on "Dalliance" was a palpable annoyance. Getting on twenty years later, this live radio session from around the same time makes me feel like it's finally time to forgive.

Originally heard on the Black Sessions program which broadcasts on France Inter (French Public Radio—"FPR", if you will...) this great-sounding set showcases the band at their creative peak, and David Gedge's vocals in their exquisite and froggy-like prime. That's not to suggest that their later material is anything to scoff at—many years after this performance, a reincarnated version of the band effortlessly blew a lot of minds (mine included) with the track "Interstate 5", and rightly so.

But I didn't come here to tell you that. (Focus, man, focus!) These sounds have been blaring forth from the official r:m:b sound system all morning, and show no signs of relinquishing their control any time soon.

Go forth and amplify!

Zillions of Vintage Gospel MP3s

Get right with God.

Via BT.

Good Morning, America

It's always pretty after an apocalypse
So we strolled past the flowers planted by the Bloods and Crips
And they chose
white lilies cause they're such wacky kids
It was a good day
Damn right, it was a good day

Almost all the hypocrites and demagogues were gone
Like the sacramental moment In a Last Poets song
And Bayard Rustin came back just to bitch slap Farrakhan
It was a good day
Damn right, it was a good day

Burned to the ground
We knew it would burst into bloom
Healthy and good
So we struck that match and went back to sleep

Lee Atwater was on the corner turning tricks
Clutching the failed box set of his heartfelt blues licks
He said "I think I liked the ghetto better when it was sick"
It was a good a day
Damn right, I gotta say it was a good day

Razed to the ground
We knew it would burst into bloom
Healthy and good
Bayard Rustin smiled and went back to sleep

Good morning, America

-Smart Went Crazy -- "It Was a Good Day"

Jonathan Kane Sampler Mix

A critical primer if ever there was one: One song apiece from the February and Jet Ear Party LPs, as well as a live track recorded for one of WFMU's Free Music Series concerts. By my reckoning, that song ("Pops") was the first ever licensed for inclusion in the Free Music Archive.

Kane and friends will be performing during the Table of the Elements Copernicium Festival, which goes down at the Issue Project Room from May 12th-14th. Also appearing: Zeena Parkins, Stephen O'Malley, plus Rhys Chatham and the Lords of Tinnitus. [More info and MP3s here.]

Download now and set your ears to bleed!

The Ex—Live at the Knitting Factory, 1999

WFMU's Kurt Gottschalk recently forwarded a link to some amazing footage of The Ex performing live on a Paris streetcorner. Watching it quickly set me longing for the years in which I routinely saw The Ex perform knockout sets at the old Knitting Factory on Leonard Street. Let praise be freely distributed to whomever uploaded this 80 minute knockout video of one such concert, during which The Ex ably demonstrate why they are the single greatest and most inspiring band of current history. Any chance to see them perform live should be seized upon as though your life depended on it. No foolin', they are that good!

I'm sure I was at the Knitting Factory on this night—probably in my customary stance near the other side of the stage, knocking back a Maker's Mark and getting my head torn up in the most joyous manner possible: entirely at the hands of The Ex. The author of the original Blogotheque piece sent by Kurt summates this band pretty effectively when s/he writes:

"[The Ex] started their career in Amsterdam squats at the beginning of the DIY movement, played ten times in every single European and international venue, mixed their rock with the freest jazz, and then rooted it in the heart of Ethiopia. The Ex is a symbol for musical freedom in its most rigorous form."

Bravo, I say! For more written eloquence, check out these words from WFMU's Brian Turner, regarding the band's visit to his radio program in January of 2007.

The Ex frequently rotates the selection of free MP3s available on their website, so definitely grab these favorites while they're still in the mix.

Listen to the Painters | Hidegen Fújnak a Szelek (with Tom Cora) | Prism Song | It's a Sin

Late note regarding the Knitting Factory video: DO NOT MISS the psycho guitar improv that punctuates the song "Lump Sum Insomnia" (pay close attention beginning at the 58 minute mark). The song is from their Starters-Alternators album (1998) and remains a much-anticipated element of their live show. No wondering as to why!

Earth Day 2011—Magic Carpathians say Enjoy Trees!

Check out this drop-dead amazing track from the new Magic Carpathians album, appropriately titled Enjoy Trees! It's cool to hear them occasionally veer from their psychedelic, soundscapey ways (which I happen to be a big fan of) and point themselves in the direction of hypnotic pop like this. You can download the whole album from the Free Music Archive over here. Load your personal bleep box accordingly and go commune with nature, maaaan.

Photo by prayerfriends [CC BY-NC-ND 3.0]

No trees in your neighborhood?

Vamanos.