Exactly one year ago today, visitors to this site were greeted with the Yule Log while I was preparing for a trip to Berlin. I stayed at a great pension/guest house in Prenzlauer Berg during that trip.
Today, BoingBoing Gadgets regales us with tales of the Scotch and Sofa, a lounge/bar in Prenzl'berg that features a TV permanently tuned to a Yule Log.
And with that recognition, the year comes full circle. Happy holidays -- seriously, do what you can to enjoy this reflective season even when things are falling apart around us.
From 7:00pm (eastern daylight time) on October 1 to late on October 8 (or early on October 9), WPRB, 103.3 FM, Princeton, NJ will be holding its annual membership drive. Funds pledges and donated during this drive help support the station's annual operating budget.
For the few people reading this site who don't already know me in real life, it shouldn't take long to figure out that WPRB is one of the most significant institutions in my life. I first darkened its (admittedly dingy) doorstep in September 1990 and quickly became part of the family -- spinning records, reorganizing the record library, fixing broken equipment, or just hanging out on the dilapidated couches in the lobby. 18 years later, I remain a member of the station's alumni managing board, helping to ensure that WPRB is there for future generations of students, community members, and loyal listeners.
The membership drive is a great event for the station's all-volunteer staff. It brings students, alumni, and community members together, helping (or forcing) them to meet more people than just the DJs who immediately precede and follow their own shows. It helps every participant understand their connection to the business of running a small business in a complex economic environment. And with all the special on-air events and free food, it's just a fun time to be around.
This year, through the Free Yr Radio campaign sponsored by Toyota and Urban Outfitters, WPRB will be giving away a new Toyota Yaris automobile. You don't have to pledge to win, but nobody likes a freeloader, right?
All contributions are welcome -- small, large, anywhere in between. Premiums abound at all levels, from magnets to t-shirts to the Pledge Penguin FM radio. There's even a handy installment option this year if you'd rather spread out the payments. Check out pledge.wprb.com for all the details, and thanks in advance for your support of independent radio.
So yes, I had the good fortune to visit my old stomping grounds at WPRB-FM and once again subject an unsuspecting public to my own warped perspective on radio. Scattered comments:
- I was pleased with this show, though it probably relies too heavily on music I know cold -- particularly songs I brought in (marked *). I need to be doing shows more often to get through my backlog of "stuff I have to play on the air" and to then start digging into those reaches of the revamped library I don't already know.
- Technically, I'm finally getting the hang of this studio and board configuration. Segues felt good and tight, breaks not so much.
- I have a huge knowledge gap (roughly 1996-2004) when I was essentially absent from the independent music world except to occasionally check in on bands I already knew. I just haven't had the time or energy to find the good stuff that existed only in that period. It's not necessarily a problem, but it is something I recognized in pulling the show together.
- As I mentioned on-air, the Gang of Four's "Armalite Rifle" is among the easiest songs to throw into a set, regardless of what precedes it. That steady martial drum intro can blend into, or more often obliterate, just about anything. I had a few other good transitions in this show, but this one was essential to get me out of a downbeat trap set by...
- Rockferry -- an uneven album to my ears, but with a standout title track.
- If you haven't heard it yet, please check out Moa Anbassa by Getatchew Mekuria and The Ex and Guests. Saw them perform last week at Lincoln Center (thanks to the NY arts fund and WFMU) and the show was fantastic. "Ethiopian post-punk jazz" is a VERY poor blippr-riffic summary that misses all the interplay and rhythm and fury and passion of the music. Sadly, WPRB doesn't have this record yet -- may I suggest a re-rock trip/order to those in the know?
Check out the full playlist after the jump...
Wheeeee! Return with me (if you dare) to an earlier time, when we could go watch bands all night and wander through record and thrift stores all day, metaphorically running headfirst into brick walls just to see if we could knock them over. Perhaps the age of 20-22, give or take a few years, which for me was the early 1990s. I'm well past that stage in my life -- usually for the better, as my bank statement will attest, but sometimes for the worse as I was reminded when recently spending some time around a band who is still there.
Sky Larkin is a threesome from Leeds, a Yorkshire city that is (probably) best known in the US as the site of a fabulous live performance and recording by The Who (including the definitive version of "Magic Bus"), sometimes recognized as the original birthplace of The Wedding Present, and disparaged by others as home to one of the more comedo-tragic footballing enterprises of recent history. Two out of three certainly have some bearing on our heroes of the moment -- let's just hope they avoid the trifecta.
Sky Larkin - "Antibodies" (demo)[From B'Wich'D, a Wichita Recordings sampler in the August 2008 Plan B Magazine]
I was fortunate enough to catch the band in its first US appearances, at Pianos (on the Lower East Side) and Union Hall (in Park Slope). And while it's taken me too long to post these thoughts, the memories and exhilaration of the moment haven't faded much.
Nestor is absolutely possessed behind the drum kit -- grinning and growling and grimacing, singing along without a microphone, destroying borrowed cymbal stands, and generally having a damn good time regardless of what happens around him on the stage. Clicheed but true, you could swap him and Animal (the Muppets drummer, allegedly inspired by the Who's Keith Moon) and probably not tell the difference in either setting.
Doug is the straight man, as bass players so often are. He sets the table with a calm, melodic line and then follows with a bantering wit that might deserve some microphone access between songs. To say any more would take away from his obvious joy at his particular role.
And then there's Katie, for whom these songs and this whole musical experience is clearly a passion. It's been a long time since I saw a singer and guitarist pouring him- or herself into each song so completely. Her voice is clear and strong and runs fairly high in the register, while her guitar playing is rhythmic with flashes of noise and fury. She is so wrapped up in what's happening and what she's creating that her eyes are closed half the time during each song (a trait I share, though from the audience perspective while in charlie-brown-pogo-dance mode).
The songs are deceptively simple, with solid bits layered together that just start to jangle before going jagged. The basic formula was there with the early Myspace demos, but they've added tremendous depth to the songs. The closest musical comparison I can make is Tsunami in 1992-93, right before Deep End was released. There are similar edges in the chords and lyrics, though Sky Larkin's songs seem somewhat less personal (no slight intended in either direction). The band recently recorded its first full-length effort in Seattle, with a release on Wichita Recordings coming early in 2009. Keep your fingers crossed and ears open when it finally hits.
1. Unfortunately, the afterlife got a whole lot funkier today, as Isaac Hayes has passed on. Go have a slow jam (or crate-digging sample fest) of your own as a fitting memorial. My well-worn copy of Hot Buttered Soul is cranked up as I write -- keep your ears peeled for the most sinister Bomb Squad sample of all time during Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalimystic.
2. If you happen to live in the middle of the northeastern Atlantic seaboard, I have shows to recommend this week.
- Tuesday (12-Aug), my old pals at WPRB are holding a free concert, in connection with the Free Yr Radio campaign, down in Philadelphia. Secret Machines headline, DJ Dave P (of Making Time / RVNG fame) provides the general entertainment. Hurry on over to see if tix are still available -- they are free but registration is required.
- Wednesday (13-Aug) and Thursday (14-Aug) mark the first US appearances by Sky Larkin, both in New York City. I've mentioned this Leeds threesome before (March 2007, October 2006) and am excited to see what they've got in store now. The new studio recording of Molten (available as a free MP3 from the band's site) is quite promising and a bit different from the version I posted in March 2007. All indications point to a full length release on the horizon which could be something special. Wednesday at Pianos (8pm stage time -- really!), Thursday at Union Hall at a more civilized hour.
3. Belated Show Reviews (after the jump) -- NYC Popfest Finale, The Feelies.
