Many Thanks to the Hughes Brothers - 12/28/04

Hey all. I was kind of sick for my first of the Tuesday-during-break radio shows so we listened to the Dead Presidents soundtrack Vol. 1 & 2 primarily. This is probably my favorite soundtrack ever. All soul.

But I wasn't in the mood yet at the beginning and we had to throw on a couple of things real quick. Hence Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, the Ted Leo and the Christina Aguilera (I love that she does those little interlude things like Janet Jackson).

And they didn't fill up the whole show which is why we had the three-for from Nina Simone and the live Marvin Gaye tune.

The rest, all Dead Presidents.


Me First & The Gimme Gimmes - Take It On The Run
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Criminal Piece

CD1
Christina Aguilera - Loves Embrace interlude
Christina Aguilera - Loving Me 4 Me
Curtis Mayfield - We People Darker Than Blue (Live)
Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes - I Miss You
The Dramatics - Get Up & Get Down
(this one skipped a few times)
Curtis Mayfield - If There's Hell Below
Aretha Franklin - Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
Al Green - Tired of Being Alone
The O'Jays - Love Train
Isaac Hayes - The Look of Love

CD2
James Brown - I Got the Feelin'
The Impressions - Keep on Pushing
The Undisputed Truth - Smiling Faces Sometimes
Curtis Mayfield - Right On for Darkness
The Temptations - Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
The Intruders - Cowboys to Girls
Jerry Butler - Never Gonna Give You Up
Stevie Wonder - I Was Made to Love Her
The Impressions - (Man Oh Man) I Want to Go Back
Sam & Dave - When Something Is Wrong With My Baby
Nina Simone - Go to Hell
Nina Simone - Sugar In My Bowl
Nina Simone - Do What You Gotta Do
Marvin Gaye - Got to Give It Up (Live)

For the Ladies - a mix CD

Since there is was no radio show this week, I'm serving this up instead.

Okay, so for those of you reading this who have no idea why I'd be posting this here, a few weeks (or a month or so ago), Jen, Jenn and Karen and Tom accompanied me to an O.A.R. show at The State Theater in Portland. And since we had such a good time I decided to put together a mix CD (which would conveniently double as a Christmas gift).

The disc had to include more than just O.A.R. stuff though and as such includes anything we talked about and heard at the bar before hand, the songs playing at The State before the show started and songs that were playing after the show ended as well as a couple of tunes I just felt like including.

So girls, here it is. I started putting this mix together a couple of days after the show and between writing papers and driving back and forth to Orono and trying to get to work on time I it took me six "drafts" to reach this final incarnation. I've listened to this disc more than you all probably will combined but it was fun and since I'm trying to make more mix-CDs (the new mix-tape), it was good practice. The delay in mailing can be attributed to my inability to get a hold of Karen to find out her address. But now it's in the mail and you should all get it soon.

Playing at the bar:
The Violent Femmes (this is the live version of the song that was playing over and over again)
The Sex Pistols (this turned the conversation to that Crazytown song)

Talked about at the bar:
The Dollyrots (one of three albums I'd listened to on the ride to and from Orono that day and a great, funny song about crappy boyfriends)
Crazytown ("you and me girl, like Sid and Nancy" is The Sex Pistols reference and also the least romantic line ever included in a song - unless double overdoses are your thing)
Liz Phair (another of the three albums I'd listened to on the ride to and from Orono that day, and also a truly catchy tune)
Green Day (another of the three albums I'd listened to on the ride to and from Orono that day, and this album is consistently making nearly every "Top Albums of the Year" list)
Jackopierce (I'm not sure how this song came up but I think it's a very good version of a sappy classic)
John Mayer (this was mentioned for the way this guy manages to make every situation seem both sweet and tender and horribly heart-wrenching)
The Gourds (this you're going to love, I read a review of their most recent album the other day that called them the originators of "hick-hop")

Stuff heard around the show:
O.A.R. (the two songs were both played by the band during the show, "Crazy Game of Poker" was my motivation for attending the show and I was not let down)
The Rolling Stones (this song was playing between the opening band and O.A.R., while everyone was off peeing and getting beers, I was sitting in the balcony)
Jackson 5 (this was playing as the band took the stage)
Jimi Hendrix (this played after the show ended)

Things that were just included for the fun of it:
Damien Rice (I really like this song and thought at least a couple of you would too, it was either this or Howie Day's "Collide")
Northern State (I put this in for the line "I'm gonna break this shit up like Brenda and Dylan" - the song skips a little but listen to it anyway, I'm sure you'll appreciate it)
Jamie Walters (we all know him best as the guy who played Donna's abusive, cheating boyfriend Ray on my favorite (and all of yours too, natch) show, the incomparable "Beverly Hills, 90210."

I also threw in a copies of the live O.A.R. album "Any Time Now." You can look it up on Amazon.com for a list of the tracks and to get a copy of the cover art.

if i didn't know... - a concertgoer compilation

O.A.R. - Crazy Game of Poker
Dollyrots - Fight Like Jackie Chan
Damien Rice - Cannonball
Crazytown - Butterfly
Violent Femmes - Kiss Off (live)
Liz Phair - Fuck and Run
The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden
O.A.R. - Hey Girl
Northern State - The Man’s Dollar
The Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant
Green Day - Wake Me When September Comes
Jackson 5 - I Want You Back
Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile (A Slight Return)
Jamie Walters - Hold On
Jackopierce - Please Come to Boston
John Mayer - Comfortable
The Gourds - Gin & Juice

Have You Heard? - 12/18/04

It's been a couple of days since I did my show so this isn't as fresh in my mind but I'm sure I'll muddle through.

My friends Tom and Rick were supposed to come up to do the show but Rick's snowblower broke and fixing that was more important than coming up and Tom didn't show up (I'm not sure why but I'm guessing his reason was better than a broken snowblower). So, instead I continued on with a little more of listening to my own CDs that I really haven't listened to that much. It was all pretty good stuff.

The Good:
The Maytals (I forgot that even though The Harder They Come is generally considered a Jimmy Cliff album that it includes lots of other reggae acts. Since this is the first song of the show (and for me it's usually a crap shoot what's going on then) this was a pretty good pick. I got this from one of the record clubs and was the album I put in the alarm clock during a trip to Chicago last year.)
Curtis Mayfield (This guy is just awesome. There was never any doubt in my mind that this would be good. I bought this album at Dr. Records in Orono one day. That is such a great little record store.)
Linton Kwesi Johnson (Solid reggae, this was from a Shanchee (not sure of the spelling) sampler I got a while ago. It's got a really good Bunny Wailer tune on it too.)
Sade (I love Sade. Like Curtis Mayfield, I really had no doubt I would love this song too. I just can't get enough Sade.)
Angie Stone (I'm a big Angie Stone fan. I think she's got a fantastic voice and her first two CDs (I haven't heard the third one yet) are among the best stuff I've heard in ages. This song is basically Angie over a Marvin Gaye tune (which kind of surprised me) and she is a big Marvin appreciator so I was not too disappointed. If you like classic soul, get some Angie Stone.)
Janet Jackson and Kanye West (Okay, it's true that everything Kanye touches is good and this is no exception but I was surprised to see this album (Janet's Damita Jo) on the Blender Top 100 albums of the year list.)
Christina Aguilera (The more I listen to this album the more I really like it. Is that so wrong? The anti-Britney is way more than that.)
Patti Smith (Just what you'd think it is but prettier.)
Son Volt (I bought a bunch of Eddie Bauer collections a while ago and this is the only one I haven't really listened to yet. It's a lot more country than what I usually listen to but it's kind of that alt-country stuff so I'm saying it's pretty good. There a tune by Kasey Chambers on here that sounds like old Loretta Lynn and is, thus, really great.)
The Dead Milkmen (These guys are the best. Once I thought to buy some of their stuff, it took me like a year to find this album and Big Lizard in My Backyard. But some treasures are worth a little search.)
Roxy Music (I have been a Roxy Music fan since like 1985 and while some of their stuff is a bit odd, it's all good. I bought this album (and another one) at the Salvation Army store in Augusta one day.)
Mary J. Blige (This is the album with No More Drama and Family Affair but I'd never gotten very far past those two tracks. I will now though.)
Alicia Keys (I really like her sound. This album was one that I was surprised to realize I hadn't listened to too much.)
The Delfonics (This is good stuff too. I'll be putting this one in the car for a while.)
Bobby Womack (Bobby Womack has always been pretty impressive and while this album isn't the all-around best showcase for that, it is good.)
Whitney Houston (I am always surprised by the amount of haterating that goes toward Whitney and I was really surprised this album didn't do a lot better but it's all good. Really though, can Whitney do any wrong?)
Changing Faces (This is one of those late-90s R&B groups that kind of got lost in the crowd. They shouldn't have. Two girls with great voices.)

The Middle-of-the-Road:
Fine Young Cannibals (I like FYC but this wasn't the most inspired song. I can see why I recognize other names on the album and not this one.)
The Frotus Caper (My friend Chris's band. I do like this song. If you get a chance to see them play (they play around Portland a lot), go and see them.)
Patsy Cline (I like Patsy too. Some of her stuff is just a little too plain for me though.)
Atlantic Starr (Sugary-80's R&B. Not bad but not great.)
Kelly Price (This girl has a great voice but her choice of subject matter leaves something to be desired.)
Us3 (I kept thinking this was something else the whole time it was on.)

The Not-So-Good:
Madonna (From the Ray of Light album. This song stunk. It was techno-y and I was not even remotely in the mood for that.)
Jennifer Lopez (This song was not good either. I'm sure there are other songs on this album that aren't too bad but I haven't found them yet.)
Aaliyah (This is from that album she made when she was hooking up with R. Kelly and the whole thing is just kind of disturbing. And it's quite obvious she hadn't figured out what she wanted to say yet either. Good for what it is but that doesn't make it all good.)

Here's the list ->

CD1

The Maytals - Sweet Dandy (The Harder They Come soundtrack)
(missed a few seconds at the beginning)
Madonna - Sky Fits Heaven
Jennifer Lopez - Let's Get Loud
Aaliyah - No One Knows How to Love Me Quite Like You Do
Curtis Mayfield - So In Love
Linton Kwesi Johnson - Sense Outa Nansense
*Talk*
Fine Young Cannibals - Don't Let It Get You Down
Sade - Clean Heart
Angie Stone - Wish I Didn't Miss You
Janet Jackson f/ Kanye West - My Baby
Christina Aguilera - Soar
Patti Smith - 1959

*Talk - PSA - Energy Star*

CD2

Son Volt - Windfall (Homeward Bound - Eddie Bauer collection)
The Dead Milkmen - I Walk the Thinnest Line
Roxy Music - Eight Miles High
Rufus Wainwright - Grey Gardens
The Frotus Caper - I'm Not Fun
Peter Gabriel - Lay Your Hands On Me
Patsy Cline - Too Many Secrets
Atlantic Starr - Touch A Four-Leaf Clover
Alicia Keys - Heartburn
*Talk*
Mary J. Blige - Never Been
Kelly Price - Can't Run Away
The Delfonics - Trying to Make a Fool of Me
Us3 - It's Like That
Bobby Womack - Just My Imagination
Whitney Houston - Get It Back
*Talk*
Changing Faces - Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)
(this got cut off by the jerk who came on after me)

Unheard - 12/11/04

Okay, so the idea behind the theme of today's radio show came about as I was looking through my CD collection (at least the ones that are in cases) for songs to put on a couple of mix CDs. I realized that a lot of the CDs in my collection are there either for their one-hit wonders or because I bought them super cheap (think Bull Moose cut-out bin) or because they just somehow migrated into my collection. Of these CDs, many have received only a cursory listen, if any listen at all, and it's because of this that I decided to put together a bucket (or, more accurately, a milk crate) of the CDs I haven't really listened to and are just sitting in my collection getting little to no love.

The Good:

Lou Rawls (I've never figured out the whole story of why this guy is the pariah of the Soul world but I really dig his voice and this album (Stormy Monday with Les McCann Ltd.) is a great combination of his voice and really, really lush orchestration (really just kind of traditional jazz backing)
The Cure (The original goth band and still the best. I bought this album, Wild Mood Swings, in one of those Columbia House sales and have barely put it in the CD player. But it's good, as all of their albums are.)
X-Ray Actress (This is, from what I gather a Maine band (at least the singer's from Maine according to my limited recollection) and I really liked this song. Girl-fronted and poppy. Gets me every time.)
Cracker (I'm not sure how this one made it into my CD collection but this song was a lot better than I expected. I've had the poster for this album rolled up among the hundreds of others I have for years.)
Al Green (I bought this album used at Bull Moose but I also picked up a copy of LL Cool J's Radio the same day so this one got left behind. It's got "Take Me to the River" on it but I played one I'd never heard before. It's Al Green, do you really even need to ask how good it was?)
Marvin Gaye (This is from the Live at Montreaux double disc and it was just as good as you would expect it to be.)
Big Head Todd and the Monsters (I've been a fan of this band from way back and this disc is no exception. Surprisingly this band has come up as a topic of conversation 3 or 4 times in the last week.)
Smashmouth (Okay, this band really should suck but I have to admit that their particular brand of catchy pop is like candy for the ears, this song was no exception. From the Fush Yu Mang album.)
Widespread Panic (This song was no "Coconuts" (or anything else from the Space Wrangler album) but it was as good as I wanted it to be. This band, for me anyway, sort of fell by the wayside after my (first) freshman year and with the death of their original singer a few years ago I really hadn't paid too much attention to them. But I used to really like them and now I remember why.)
Luscious Jackson (I always lumped this band in with a bunch of others I think of as angry-type, all-female (or female-fronted) grrrl bands (think L7, most of the bands on the Mad Love soundtrack) but I'm not sure how accurate that was. I liked this song.)
Television (This album was something I bought when I was listening to a lot of early and early-ish punk. I can't believe how little I've listened to it because every time I put it on I like it and think to myself how I can't believe how little I've listened to it.)

The So-So:

Tears for Fears (Okay, so I'd heard this song before, I just didn't recognize the name. That "Songs From the Big Chair" album really is a classic.)
Tin Machine (As much as I like David Bowie, I've never really been able to wrap my tastes around Tin Machine. I do like them, just not as much as I always think I should.)
Ray Davies (This is a pretty cool album ("Storyteller" or something like that although I'm pretty sure it has no relation to the VH1 program of the same name) and the songs are good. I don't know how many are Kinks tracks but it's all acoustic (at least what I've listened to so far) and the version of "You Really Got Me" on here is really good.)
Atlantic Starr (This is one of those old R&B bands that I always wanted to listen to and I found a CD cheap a while ago but I'm pretty sure this is the first time it's been near any of my CD players. It was good. A little fluffy but I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing.)
Janet Jackson (Okay, we've all heard Janet - a LOT - but this is from her first album (you know, the one with her in the pool on the cover) and it shows. Not great but that always gets colored by the fact that a lot of the stuff that came later was just so freaking great.)
Redd Kross (I've always heard good things about this band which is, I imagine, why I own this CD but I'm pretty sure this has never seen the inside of my CD players either. But it was good. Not great but good.)
Oasis (Song #6 (which has no name on the track listing on the back of this CD) is apparently very short so I played the next song too. Aside from "Wonderwall" (the Ryan Adams cover of this song is really good too) and the other tune that was a hit from this disc, I hadn't listened to any of the rest of it. This was good enough. Just what I expected.)
G.E. Smith & Saturday Night Live Band (I always knew G.E. had chops and this song proves it as well as anything else. I still miss him on SNL.)
Lenny Kravitz (This guy has been getting on my nerves lately (that new "Lady" song SUCKS) but this song is pretty good. I'd heard it before. Apparently I don't remember the track names as well as I used to. 10 years or so between listens probably doesn't help much.)
Billy Lawrence w/ MC Lyte (I LOVE MC Lyte but I don't know who Billy Lawrence is and now I know why. MC Lyte is the only reason this song stayed on this list and not the one below.)
Nick Drake (Aside from "Pink Moon," this CD gets very little love from me. Which is a shame considering how good this guy was.)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (This sounds like updated Beatles stuff. Early Beatles stuff. But a little different. And it's good. I can see why it was getting all that press back when it came out.)

The Bad (not so bad that it's awful, but still not really that good):

Guns 'N' Roses (I meant play "Dead Horse" but apparently I picked the wrong track on the CD player. This song was not all that. Or even a little that.)
Nona Gaye (I was playing this when the guy who does the show after me walked in and the first thing he said (yes, even before hello) was "Is this Paula Abdul?" Now it's not like I have anything against Paula (I mean we're talking about a whole lot of high school dance memories there), but this just isn't really a compliment. And the song deserved it.)

The Really, Really Not Good (or The Absolutely Horrible):

The Toadies (This was just awful. I was expecting kind of an edgy, jam band kind of sound and it was more like bad garage metal kind of stuff. Not good.)

Look below. It's the list.

CD1

Lou Rawls with Les McCann Ltd. - Stormy Monday
Tears for Fears - Head Over Heels
The Cure - Jupiter Crash
Tin Machine - Prisoner of Love
X-Ray Actress - I Want It All
The Toadies - Quitter (Live)
Ray Davies - See My Friends
Atlantic Starr - When Love Calls
Janet Jackson - Forever Yours
Redd Kross - Visionary
Cracker - Sick of Goodbyes
Oasis - #6 & Some Might Say
G.E. Smith & The Saturday Night Live Band - Might As Well Get Drunk

CD2

Lenny Kravitz - My Love
Billy Lawrence w/ MC Lyte - Come On (Set It Off soundtrack)
Al Green - Hangin' On
Marvin Gaye - Come Get To This (Live)
Nick Drake - Things Behind the Sun
Big Head Todd and The Monsters - Salvation
Smash Mouth - The Fonz
Guns 'N' Roses - Bad Obsession
Widespread Panic - You Got Yours
Luscious Jackson - Mood Swing
Television - Friction
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Too Real
Nona Gaye - When You Were Mine

Blast from the past - 3/8/04

Okay, so I was digging around in some old e-mail this afternoon and I came across this. And now that I have this little forum for my pet project, I thought I'd tack this on. It's not too old and I still listen to all of this stuff. If it rains pretty soon here (which I'm sure it will) I'll be dragging out all the R&B and Soul. For some reason I always feel more inclined to play that stuff on a rainy day. But for the record, here's one for the archives (and I believe the CDs are still kicking around as well.


Martha and the Vandellas - Nowhere to Run

Talk

Al Green - Love and Happiness
Dean Martin - You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You
Sammy Davis Jr. - Ee-O Eleven (a little mixup near the end)
David Gray - Babylon
Talking Heads - Girlfriend Is Better
Tom Petty - I Need to Know
Rod Stewart - Reason to Believe
Blind Faith - Had to Cry Today
Journey - Faithfully
James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Warren Zevon - Poor Poor Pitiful Me
Big Head Todd and the Monsters - Bittersweet
Joan Armatrading - Weakness In Me
Sade - No Ordinary Love

PSA - not on disc
Talk - not on disc

Neil Young - Natural Beauty
Little Feat - Dixie Chicken
Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue
Bryan Adams - Heaven
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
Louis Armstrong - We'll Be Together Again
Rufus & Chaka Khan - Sweet Thing
Angie Stone - Holding Back the Years
Prince and The New Power Generation - Blue Light
The Ramones - I Want You Around
The Cure - Boys Don't Cry
Fine Young Cannibals - Good Thing
Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark - If You Leave

Back In The Day - 12/04/04

Yes, yes, y'all. So today's show was all old school cuts. I could have gone for hours longer. Which would have been cool but time runs out. Aside from having a few cueing issues (duly noted below), the only real problem I had was trying to figure out which of those awesome cuts would come next.

Mad props to Meaghan and Ebony for both listening via the "intraweb" and also calling in to say hi. Hi back girls. It's always nice when your friends listen to what you do. Songs for Meaghan: Positve K - I Got A Man, Too $hort - More Freaky Tales (clean) and by specific request the Queen Latifah/Monie Love collaboration Ladies First. Meaghan had a few other requests but I didn't bring in Adina Howard or the other one she suggested. Song for Ebony: Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge). It was her only request.

The other funny thing was I played Goin' Back to Cali while I was talking to Meaghan and she said she didn't think that was that old. I pointed out that, according to the liner notes, the song was released in January 1988. She said that wasn't that long ago. I laughed. She said it was a good year with several more to follow. I thought that was nice.

Let a couple "shit"s slip through. One in Ice-T - Colors and one in Roxanne Shante - Roxanne's Revenge. I was really pissed about that Kid 'N' Play tune skipping. I screwed with the CD player to see if I could get through it but that seemed to make it even worse so I cut in and put on the next tune.

CD1

Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
(missed a little at the beginning)
Whodini - Freaks Come Out at Night
Kool Moe Dee - Suckers
(went a little long because of some freaky caller)
*Talk*
LL Cool J - Goin' Back to Cali
Positive K - I Got A Man (radio mix)
Biz Markie - Pickin' Boogers
Ice-T - Colors
(a little bleed at the end as I forgot to turn off the turntable)
Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day (remix)
Public Enemy - Don't Believe the Hype
Too $hort - More Freaky Tales (Clean)
Kid 'N' Play - Hype
(skipped with a minute-forty-eight left)
*Talk (quick to cover screwup)*
Kwame (The Boy Genius) - The Man We All Know and Love

*PSA - He's So Hot - Talk*

CD2

UTFO - Roxanne, Roxanne
Roxanne Shante - Roxanne's Revenge
Doug E. Fresh - Cut That Zero
Sir Mix-A-Lot - Posse on Broadway
(screwed up the opening but then started it over)
De La Soul - Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)
Queen Latifah w/ Monie Love - Ladies First
Salt 'N Pepa - The Showstopper
Boogie Down Productions - My Philosophy
*Talk - PSA - Showers*
Def Jef - Give It Here
Stetsasonic - Talkin' All That Jazz
Eric B. & Rakim - Microphone Fiend