bestofs

Albums I can actually place in some definitive, album of the year order

1. Deerhunter - Cryptograms
Here's how I know this is my favorite album of the year
a. Of the top 16 tracks played on my last.fm tracker, 12 are the tracks on cryptograms. and that does not count the number of vinyl plays i got.
b. I purchased both CD and vinyl versions of the release, something I almost never do. I think the last one was for Ghostface's Fishscale.
d. I can fully support sad-bastard/my-life-sucks lyrics from a frontman that has Marfan syndrome.
c. It was the best album of the year.

2. Low - Drums and Guns
The "I'm Sick to Death of Low" sticker that came with the album was quite fitting for my impression of the band. I just have never "got" Low. It sounds like a lot of the Low faithful are not too keen on this album because it doesn't "sound like Low." Sometimes change is good. That's why I still listen to Yo La Tengo and Liars. Folks, Low can't keep making albums with Mimi Parker's rhythm section and Sparhawk's plodding Open G guitar forever. Also, how is it that Dave Friedman has managed to have his hand in two of my favorite albums of the past three years that were both by bands I never cared for beforehand (the other being Sleater Kinney The Woods)?

3. Radiohead - In Rainbows
This really just highlighted how shitty Hail to the Thief actually was.

Albums that i cannot, but are all pretty worthy

liars - liars
love of diagrams - mosaic
gui boratto - chromophobia
no age - weirdo rippers
parts and labor - mapmaker
lcd soundsystem - sound of silver
a place to bury strangers - a place to bury strangers
prinzhorn dance school - prinzhorn dance school
baroness - the red album
robert wyatt - comicopera
stars of the lid - and their refinement of the decline

egon

very tempting

http://westernmass.craigslist.org/act/398745849.html

Did you feed and dress yourself this morning? I didn't.

I don't like Skittles, but this commercial has made my day. The best part is at the beginning when he gives a pitiful expression when asked to touch a stapler.

i am a wicked child

My sister is stopping through Amherst on the way to visit some old friends in Vermont. Last night I used her computer to look up directions to the bus terminal and noticed she hadn't signed out of her facebook account. Playful profile edits ensued.



Keep in my mind my sister is a sweetheart and, like all of the family brood, was raised in a barn. So I played her some Patton Oswalt comedy and she ate it up. It reminded me of when teenagers first discover pornography. Just giddy and wrong. She also seemed to like King Khan & The BBQ Show.

Foodz 1.1

Potato and Leek Soup - Exactly as it's described. It's a modified version of what I read online and in several books. The main and probably key idea I stole was the inclusion of a roux. It gives the soup a really great level of richness. I included carrots for additional flavor, which wasn't called for. At the end I added fresh chopped scallions to counter the other flavors, to which I enjoyed.



Recipe is as follows:

6-7 yukon gold potatoes (or other I guess) scrubbed clean and cubed in 1-inch chunks
3/4 lb. of carrots (I used baby carrots) in biteable size
3 leeks chopped in 1-inch pieces
1 cup heavy cream
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup of flour
6 quarts of water
3/4 tsp of dried thyme (or whatever the fresh equivalent is)
salt and pepper
green onions (optional)

1. Put the water. potatoes, leek and carrots in a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until it looks like a well-combined mixture. You know, it just looks delicious. While this is boiling make the roux by combining the melted butter and flour to make a paste. Try not to eat the butter flour, tempting it may be.

2. Turn down to a simmer and add the thyme and roux. Add salt and pepper to taste. At this point the soup should look fairly thick. Not thick enough! In a blender or food processor, place batches of the soup in and blend it up real good. Put your focus on the carrots. They make nice orange speckles in the soup, resulting in bonus presentation points. You don't have to blend the entire batch of soup, unless you're anti-chunk (which makes you a nazi).

3. At this point the soup is souper (wordplay! lame.) thick. Add the cream and call it a day. Serve and put some chopped green onion on top if you like. Serve with a classy beer. Like Miller High Life.

Crude Brood

I'm pretty excited about the Atlanta Braves acquisition of Mark Texeira from the Texas Rangers, though it's definitely bittersweet they had to part with the fun-named Jarrod "Salty" Saltalamacchia** (pronounced salt-ala-mock-ia). And on top of that they just released Julio Franco, who has a lot of love from the Atlanta Braves fanbase. He was going to be a bench player, but the 48 year old can play ball a lot better than some of those other reserves out there who are half his age. It's a shame they couldn't get another starting pitcher, but to be fair there was really nothing good to trade for this year. I'm seeing a tight race in the NL East this year, especially if the Phillies keep raking.

With that out of the way, here's this weeks playlist which got a great deal of audience participation this week. Four requests, which I believe ties my personal best as well as people calling in with compliments. I think this is definitely a better route than threatening your listeners by playing the same song nonstop. Probably my favorite song I played during the show was Margo Guryan, which reminds me of some of the Isobel Campbell sung Belle and Sebastian tracks. Second favorite was the Shooting at Unarmed Men. Yay malicious McLusky offshoots.

*'s are the requests

Deerhunter - Strange Lights - Cryptograms - Kranky
Finest Dearest - Making a Sound - Off Sides - S/R
Public Image Ltd. - Swan Lake - Second Edition - Warner Bros.
Black Dice - Smiling Off (DFA Remix) - Smiling Off - DFA/Astralwerks
Fog - The Last I Knew of You - Ditherer - Lex
Selmanaires, The - Let's Go There - Here Come the Selmanaires - International Hits
Devo - Mongoloid - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! - Warner Bros.
Dry Bread - Words to My Song - Cult Cargo: Grand Bahama Goombay - Numero Group
Pulp - Babies - His 'n' Hers - Island
Shape of Broad Minds - Let's Go (feat. MF Doom) - Blue Experience EP - Lex
Artanker Convoy - Ejector - Cozy Endings - The Social Registry
*Guided by Voices - Everywhere With Helicopters - Universal Truths and Cycles - Matador
Shellac - Be Prepard - Excellent Italian Greyhound - Touch and Go
Stereo Total - The Monster - Fields and Streams - Kill Rock Stars
Guryan, Margo - Sun - 25 Demos - Oglio
Don Caballero - Room Temperature Lounge - Singles Breaking Up - Touch and Go
Shooting at Unarmed Men - All Hail Sergio - Yes! Tinnitus! - Too Pure
*Saint Etienne - Erica America - Good Humor - Sub Pop
*Rogue Wave - Bird on a Wire - Descended Like Vultures - Sub Pop
*Stereolab - Cosmic Country Noir - Margerine Eclipse - Elektra
Channels 3x4 - Boys - Christian Girls EP - Summer Lovers Unlimited
Justice - New Jack - Cross - Vice/Ed Banger
Royal Fingers - Test Driver - Wild Eleki Deluxe - Del Fi
Young Marble Giants - Posed by Models - Peel Session - Domino
Cinematic Orchestra, The - Familiar Ground - Ma Fleur - Ninja Tune
Rubinoos, The - No More Where She Came From - Paleophonic - Varese Sarabande
1990s - Enjoying Myself - Cookies - Rough Trade
Rondelles, The - T.V. Zombie - Shined Nickels and Loose Change - K
Unrest - Winona Ryder (xx Version) - B.P.M. (1991-1994) - Teenbeat

**Amazingly spelled correctly on first attempt.

Shark Infested Sea

Nothing fun to report this week. Only, the station several weeks ago received several 12" from Summer Lovers Unlimited, a label I was not familiar with. Quick research showed that the Crystal Castles were on the label, who I think are great. Short story shortened, they release a some good, quick electro. I'd recommend checking out Dandi Wind and Channels 3x4. The Dandi Wind track played during the show is my particular favorite. Additionally, a caller liked it enough to call in and get info on them.


McLusky - She Will Only Bring You Happiness - The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire - Too Pure
Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages - Til the Following Night - It's Hard to Believe It: The Amazing World of Joe Meek - Razor + Tie
Epsilons - Problems - Killed 'Em Deader 'n a Six Card Poker Hand - Retard Disco
Ponys, The - She's Broken - Celebration Castle - In the Red
Specific Heats, The - My Secret Agent Days are Numbered - Aboard a Spaceship of the Imagination - Total Gaylord
Simian Mobile Disco - State of Things - Simian Mobile Disco EP - Interscope
Fisk Industries - We Saw Orion - EPs and Rarities - Mush
Boards of Canada - Open the Light - Music Has the Right to Children - Warp
Kalkbrenner, Paul - Der Berserker - BPitch Control Compilation 2002 - BPitch Control
Digitalism - I Want I Want - Idealism - Astralwerks
Stop Die Resucitate - Bad Night [Instrumental] - Bad Night 12 - Summer Lovers Unlimited
Dandi Wind - Balloon Factory - Break the Bone and Suck the Marrow From It EP - Summer Lovers Unlimited
Channels 3x4 - Plastic - Christian Girls EP - Summer Lovers Unlimited
Von Sudenfed - Flooded - Tromatic Reflexxions - Domino
Battles - Rainbow - Mirrored - Warp
This Moment in Black History - Are Lipps Our Inc. - Midwesterncuttalistick - Version City
Five Mod Four, The - Poor Old Soul - Whiskers - Contraphonic Music
Spiritualized - Cop Shoot Cop... - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space - Arista
Mutants, The - New Drug [Version Two] - Fun Terminal - White Noise
Pissed Jeans - Secret Admirer - Hope for Men - Sub Pop
Fibonaccis, The - Somnambulist - Repressed: The Best of the Fibonaccis - Restless
Japanther - Summer Hills - Master of Pigeons - Menlo Park
Meat Puppets - Vultures - Rise to Your Knees - Anodyne
Maximum Joy - Stretch - Unlimited (1979-1983) - Crippled Dick Hot Wax

July 17th Playlist

A pretty bland playlist for the week, mostly because my mother was visiting and she said she was going to listen. With that kind of parental pressure I just couldn't touch anything that seemed too "hardcore" for her ears. Before the show, the entirety of Les Savy Fav's Go Forth LP was played instead of automation.


Man Man - Van Helsing Boombox - Six Demon Bag - Ace Fu
Costello, Elvis and the Attractions - Uncomplicated - Blood and Chocolate - Rykodisc
Can - Flow Motion - Flow Motion - Spoon/Mute
Make Up - Gold Record Pt. I - Sound Verite - K
El Perro del Mar - God Knows (You Gotta Give to Get) - El Perro del Mar - Control Group
Oneida - Thank Your Parents - Happy New Year - Jagjaguwar/Brah
Cinematic Orchestra - To Build a Home - Ma Fleur - Ninja Tune
Parts & Labor - Brighter Days - Mapmaker - Jagjaguwar/Brah
Yo La Tengo - Cherry Chapstick - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out - Matador
Schnauss, Ulrich - Medusa - Goodbye - Domino
Eluvium - Prelude for Time Feelers - Copia - Temporary Residence
Clorox Girls - Flowers of Evil - J'aime les Filles - Byo
Buzzcocks - Everybody's Happy Nowadays - The Peel Sessions - Strange Fruit
Justice - Stress - Cross - Vice/Ed Banger
Tortoise - Whitewater - A Lazarus Taxon - Thrill Jockey
Dynamics, The - Ice Cream Song - First Landing - Hacktone
Artichoke - Anarchy in the U.K. - Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols by Artichoke - Greeen
Arab Strap - There is No Ending - The Last Romance - Transdreamer
Animal Collective - Baleen Sample - Prospect Hummer EP - Fat Cat
Six Parts Seven - Awaiting Elemental Meltdown - Casually Smashed to Pieces - Suicide Squeeze
Spoon - Eddie's Ragga - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Merge
Comet Gain - The Fists in the Pocket - City Fallen Leaves - Kill Rock Stars
Sultan, Mark - Mortal Man - The Sultanic Verses - In the Red
Ponys, The - Pose Psychotic - Turn the Lights Out - Matador

July 10th Playlist

What you're looking at below is my very failed attempt at trying to get a ton of requests (and therefore, listener satisfaction) by having them call in and request or else the same Flaming Lips cover of Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head" play on loop. In the studio I don't have to hear what's going out over the air, I can just play whatever I want to hear without the audience hearing it. They however are stuck with it. Unless they're smart enough to realize they can change the dial- which is exactly what I'm guessing they did. The Flaming Lips song was actually played a lot more often, I lost count towards the end of the first hour. It did give me a chance to read the new issue of Fader and listen to Can's Delay 1968 EP and Dinosaur Jr.'s Bug, the latter of which for some inexplicable reason I had never heard.

On a positive note, when I come into the studio, usually a half hour before my show starts, it's been running on automation, generally consisting of prerecorded sets done by station members. Most of the time it's playing jazz, world music, or interviews on social issues. Now I just flip that off and put a full record on. Last week it was disc 3 of the Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs and this week was Jay Reatard's Blood Visions. See I don't totally hate the listeners.

The *'s denote the requests and the first and last tracks were my picks.

Ponys, The - Sad Eyes - Laced With Romance - In the Red
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
*Gang of Four - Natural's Not in It - Entertainment! - Rhino
*Pop, Iggy - Lust for Life - Lust for Life - Virgin
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
*Jefferson, Blind Lemon - Peach Orchard Mama - Blind William Jefferson - Mildstone
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Flaming Lips, The - Can't Get You Out of My Head - Fight Test EP - Warner Bros.
Measles Mumps Rubella - Lighter's Out - Zusammen Mit Motown/Lighter's Out 7" - M'alady's

2007 Summer Jam

I think it's time to declare it, something that's never been done in the history of my life- have an official BTP summer jam.

Cut Copy's "Hearts on Fire." Here's the song in a nutshell: take everything musically wrong/corny about the 80s, run it through a sieve, toss what doesn't make it through into a blender with some post-P,C,L New Order singles and you get this banger. Those keyboards, the "oh oh-ah's," the blatant New Order guitar outro rip, it's all magic.

Some other 2007 bangers over at BTP currently:

Van Halen - I'll Wait (80s coke jams need to make a comeback)
King Khan & The BBQ Show - I'll Never Belong (or anything In the Red related)
The Thermals - A Pillar of Salt (where the hell was I last year to miss this punk-pop gem?! Answer: over-saturating myself with CSS)

hype machine it if you don't have it.

If this gets read by someone else, be aware that the 91.1 WMUA Blog will probably be the more interesting read in terms of music input (read: snobbery). However, like this one, both are currently in their pre-natal stages. Conception has occurred, and what you're looking at is probably the equivalent of an ultrasound 12 weeks in. It looks ugly as sin, but you can just make out the gender.

Foodz 1.0

And so it begins-

Hobbit Food- Biscuits, roasted chicken parts and roasted vegetables (leeks, onions, carrots, potatoes and garlic)


Asparagus and Zucchini Pasta w/ Creamy Goat Cheese Sauce- aside from that, there's basil in it


Beans and Rice w/ Cornbread- Yum. There's red pepper, grape tomatoes and onion in that. Simple.