In a SLR 1.0 vs. SLR 2.0 fuzz-pop showdown, I certainly expect that the music fans are the winners.
(Via Pitchfork)
ALSO: Wow. I need to hear this.
AND MORE: Washington City Paper uses some insider access to get the whole story on the new tracks.
Yes, it's a little DT tradition... along with tuning in for various portions of the Jon Solomon Holiday Extravaganza over at WPRB.
Happy holidays. Please do what you can to enjoy this reflective season even when things are still falling apart around us.
For another two+ broadcast days (as of this writing), WPRB-FM is conducting its annual membership drive. If you care about independent, free-form, free-association radio, managed by students and community volunteers, then please take a moment and visit now to pledge your support.
I was fortunate enough to share in the festivities, mostly in a logistical capacity but also behind the controls for an otherwise unloved slot beginning at 2am local time. I don't know that I pulled off anything special, but I certainly enjoyed myself and got a few guffaws and woots from the folks working the phones. Time to start challenging myself in some new ways for the next broadcast...
Two anniversaries to cover today...
First, it's good to see that people are still remembering and sharing their thoughts on New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. Over the past few years, I've offered my own commentary and recollection on the city and storm, along with the now-infamous Nagin/Robinette interview during the disaster. Love or hate him, Ray Nagin did hit the nail on the head in these ten minutes.
Listen (and read) again, experience the shock and devastation again, and make this year the year that you don't just brush aside the tragedy.
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Second, it's now been 12 years since a car chase of uncertain origin ended in a tunnel in Paris, resulting in the deaths of Dodi Al-Fayed (heir to the Harrod's fortune) and Diana, Princess of Wales. I recall sitting in a bar in Madison, WI, just before the start of my second year of law school, somewhat shocked that the crash was really the only story on TV that evening even in a bar that should have had the Brewers game (or Packers pre-season hysteria).
The good boys of Let's Wrestle, likely 6-7 years old at the time, have offered their own tribute in the form of "Diana's Hair." The song was written a year ago, so that opening line is slightly off, but "ell-leh-ven" just sets up the song so beautifully ... I've had this song running through my head for most of the day -- melancholy descending chorus, brooding disillusionment, and thoroughly random tale of youthful peeping tommery.
From the album "In The Court Of The Wrestling Let's" (2009, Stolen Recordings).
In the past few years, it seems like I only get out to concerts in clusters -- two or three nights out of four, and then nothing for another two months. 2009 has been no exception, with flurries of activity in March (aided by the pre-SXSW rush) and May (NYC Popfest). Since these events are long in the past, I'll try to keep it brief... but documentation of the events still has some personal value.
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The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Let's Wrestle, Knight School
Bell House, Brooklyn, NY, 13-Mar-2009
This was my first trip to The Bell House, another venue from the team that runs Union Hall (a few blocks away in Park Slope). This converted Gowanus warehouse feels more like an old barn/banquet hall, with exposed rafters and concrete floor, rusticized paint job on plaster walls, and wood latticework behind bar. Wider than it is deep, with lots of standing room in the wings behind band. (Bonus points for the great beers out front; the performance space sacrifices taps but adds some surprising choices in cans.)
