Latest Episodes for this Channel
Fri November 07 2008
Graham Parker - White Honey This week, I spent so much time focusing on the election hoohaa that I pretty much zoned out everything else. To remedy th...
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Graham Parker - White Honey This week, I spent so much time focusing on the election hoohaa that I pretty much zoned out everything else. To remedy that, I listened to Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey cd
in the car, since it seems that is where I do my best listening. (By the way, I highly recommend Morrison to soothe your soul and reclaim your brain. Trust me.) In typical ADD fashion, my mind
wandered...
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Graham Parker - White Honey This week, I spent so much time focusing on the election hoohaa that I pretty much zoned out everything else. To remedy that, I listened to Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey cd
in the car, since it seems that is where I do my best listening. (By the way, I highly recommend Morrison to soothe your soul and reclaim your brain. Trust me.) In typical ADD fashion, my mind
wandered to Graham Parker's White Honey. Parker pays homage to Morrison's style by invoking the blue-eyed soul, complete with warbly keyboards, driving bass line, and horns. This is one of those
Parker songs that I love love, since it's got all of that, plus his snarly vocal. I couldn't wait to get home and drag out Parker's Howlin' Wind album and give it a whirl in the cd player. Whew. My
brain was saved. What election?
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Fri October 31 2008
Yesterday, I shopped in this very stodgy gift shop in the swanky new section of the Natick Mall, errr, I mean The Natick Collection. (Hoity-toity enou...
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Yesterday, I shopped in this very stodgy gift shop in the swanky new section of the Natick Mall, errr, I mean The Natick Collection. (Hoity-toity enough for ya?) This is the kind of store that
usually features music like Yanni or Enya or something else from that blah, new-agey, mind-numbing genre in their overhead play, so you'll forget about why you're there and buy an overpriced Willow
Tree ange...
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Yesterday, I shopped in this very stodgy gift shop in the swanky new section of the Natick Mall, errr, I mean The Natick Collection. (Hoity-toity enough for ya?) This is the kind of store that
usually features music like Yanni or Enya or something else from that blah, new-agey, mind-numbing genre in their overhead play, so you'll forget about why you're there and buy an overpriced Willow
Tree angel. You know the store. It's the one with the sales lady that wears prissy sweater sets, reeks of Shalimar, and has sports bifocals hanging from a chain around her neck. I strolled in to look
at greeting cards, and I was astonished to hear actual rock music. I had to look around! Am I in the right place? I could swear that's Sonic Youth I'm hearing. This, of course, shook my world. What
if I walked into Hot Topic and heard Barry Manilow singing Can't Smile Without You? What if I headed into Gymboree and heard Slipknot blaring while mommies shopped for outfits for their kidlets? That
would happen in bizarro world! Perhaps the gift store clerk flipped the wrong switch and had no idea how to rectify the situation, or maybe she was just a rock and roller under all of the mall sales
lady clothing. Who knows. But hearing Teen Age Riot while I skimmed through the birthday cards was a rare treat that I'm certain will not reoccur. This leads to the flashback. I was tempted to play
that great Sonic Youth song, but during the drive home, I started thinking about when it was released. 1988. Lots of good, lasting tunage came out that year, including Tracy Chapman's debut,
Fisherman's Blues from The Waterboys, and The Traveling Wilburys' Vol. 1. I think the Pixies' released Surfer Rosa in 88, as well. I'm know I'm leaving out some choice releases, but I had to focus on
the traffic and avoid the Massholes surrounding me, waiting to cut me off at any moment. Today's flashback is from The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1. I've chosen a couple of deep cuts from the album,
Tweeter and the Monkey Man, featuring Dylan on lead vocal and a definite Jeff Lynne production sound, and Not Alone Any More, the Roy Orbison showcase song.
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Sun October 26 2008
July - Dandelion Seeds British band, July, began their career as a skiffle* band named The Playboys, morphed into an R & B outfit, and after sever...
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July - Dandelion Seeds British band, July, began their career as a skiffle* band named The Playboys, morphed into an R & B outfit, and after several other name/genre changes, finally ended up as
an influential psych-rock band. Dandelion Seeds kicks off as a rather funky blues-based jam song featuring some nice guitar grooves and a touch of bongo, but at around the 2:23 mark, the song shifts
in...
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July - Dandelion Seeds British band, July, began their career as a skiffle* band named The Playboys, morphed into an R & B outfit, and after several other name/genre changes, finally ended up as
an influential psych-rock band. Dandelion Seeds kicks off as a rather funky blues-based jam song featuring some nice guitar grooves and a touch of bongo, but at around the 2:23 mark, the song shifts
into hazy dream-like keyboard part, then shifts back to the funky stuff. It seems all rather Pink Floydish to me, and that's perfectly fine. The lyrics are all plenty trippy, too: up above the trees,
looking down on leaves, birds fly by my side, people look up hopelessly at dandelion seeds. I can't remember the last time I looked up hopelessy at dandelion seeds, but, um, whatever. Duuuuude, I
want what he's smokin'.
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Fri October 24 2008
Donnie Iris - Ah! Leah! Yes, it's totally cheesy, but whenever I hear it, it sends me back to 1981, when I finally moved back to the states from Guam....
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Donnie Iris - Ah! Leah! Yes, it's totally cheesy, but whenever I hear it, it sends me back to 1981, when I finally moved back to the states from Guam. I had just settled in a duplex in OB (That's
Ocean Beach, and I still call it that. I also have an OB decal on my car window to this day.), and I was in radio heaven. After four years living in a place that had one decent radio station, and one
so-s...
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Donnie Iris - Ah! Leah! Yes, it's totally cheesy, but whenever I hear it, it sends me back to 1981, when I finally moved back to the states from Guam. I had just settled in a duplex in OB (That's
Ocean Beach, and I still call it that. I also have an OB decal on my car window to this day.), and I was in radio heaven. After four years living in a place that had one decent radio station, and one
so-so backup, I had plenty of choice. There were a few good stations in San Diego, and if I tweaked my antenna just right, I could occasionally pull in KROQ or KLOS from the LA area. I'm relatively
certain this song got airplay on those stations, as well as those that played Top 40 songs. A little factoid about the song: Donnie Iris, who can't stop his burning desire for Leah, was a member of
the funk-rock band Wild Cherry. Remember Play That Funky Music, White Boy? He was also a member of The Jaggerz, and wrote a hit song for them, The Rapper. Donnie is still around, too, and performs
with Donnie Iris and The Cruisers, mostly near his home in western Pennsylvania.
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Thu October 16 2008
This week on the Contrast Podcast, the theme was Album Closers, and I chose Elvis Costello's final song from the US release of "This Year's Model", "R...
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This week on the Contrast Podcast, the theme was Album Closers, and I chose Elvis Costello's final song from the US release of "This Year's Model", "Radio Radio." I usually put considerable thought
into my choice, so I mulled over several choices of what I consider perfect album closers before I settled on the Costello song. Here's a short list: The Beatles - A Day In The Life, from Sgt.
Pepper's ...
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This week on the Contrast Podcast, the theme was Album Closers, and I chose Elvis Costello's final song from the US release of "This Year's Model", "Radio Radio." I usually put considerable thought
into my choice, so I mulled over several choices of what I consider perfect album closers before I settled on the Costello song. Here's a short list: The Beatles - A Day In The Life, from Sgt.
Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band The Who - Love, Reign O'er Me from Quadrophenia Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out) from The Bends Pink Floyd - Eclipse from The Dark Side Of The Moon Fleetwood Mac
- Albatross from English Rose Elliott Smith - Say Yes from Either/Or Cat Stevens - Tea For the Tillerman from Tea For the Tillerman Ben Folds Five - Evaporated from Whatever And Ever Amen Led
Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks from Led Zeppelin IV The Clash - Train in Vain from London Calling Joni Mitchell - The Last Time I Saw Richard from Blue Patti Smith - Elegie from Horses Every one of
those is a perfect ending to a great album. It is difficult for me to choose one song for today's flashback, so I randomly chose the Ben Folds Five song, "Evaporated."
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