radiobombast

Closer, or Is It Closer? Transmission 59, 2013 September 4

The final regularly scheduled BOMBAST of the WRFI summer season is a return to the usual BOMBAST thing, whatever that is--circa January. No "Physical Evidence," not on account of a shortage but instead because I simply couldn't make it work this time around. The "Listening Parlour," however, is open, although Lady Catharsis is not in a talking mood. This show felt good and is good, even if it was a wobbly first step on the road to normalcy.

"Retro August" has taken a toll, physically and mentally. Still, some things remain. I continue to say ridiculous stuff like "a movie ticket giving-away." Perhaps these gaffes will always be with us. I'm beginning to think so.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 September 4, 2100-2300:

format = "Song Title" | Artist | Release Title | Label

1. "Black Steel" | Tricky | Maxinquaye | Island
2. "Making Love in Dub" | The Orb featuring Lee "Scratch" Perry| More Tales from the Orbservatory | Cooking Vinyl
3. "Polar" | Solyst | Lead | Bureau B
4. "Footprints in the Snow" / "Nothing Is Not Done | Flux | Uncarved Block | One Little Indian
5. "Our Lips Are Sealed" | Fun Boy Three | Our Lips Are Sealed | Chrysalis | "Listening Parlour"
6. "Crowds" | Cold Showers | Still Life | Dais
7. "Bania" | Hassan Hakmoun and Zahar | Trance | Realworld
8. "Jammin'" | Show-B | Compost Black #93 | Compost Black
9. "Time Fades" | Will Saul Presents CLOSE | Closer | Studio K7
10. "Fly on the Wall" | The Jesus Lizard | Down | Touch & Go
11. "Peter Gunn" | The Art of Noise featuring Duane Eddy | Peter Gunn | China - Chrysalis | "Listening Parlour"
12. "When the Night - Breakbot Remix" | Para One | When the Night | Because
13. "Interstice" | Steven Tang | Disconnect to Connect | Smallville
14. "My Father in Hong Kong 1961" | Gold Panda | Half of Where You Live | Ghostly International
15. "Between Waves" | Shortcircles | Between Waves | Plug Research
16. "Swallowed" | Jessica Bailiff | Kompilation | Kranky
17. "Falling - II" | Lace Curtain | Falling/Running EP | Mexican Summer
18. "Misbehave" | Chumbawamba | (Someone's Always Telling You How To) Behave | Agit Prop
19. "Melting Moments" | The Cannanes | Howling at All Hours | Chapter
20. "The Musical Rogues" | Wild Billy Chyldish & The Chatham Forts | All Our Forts Are With You | Damaged Goods

Next time: all the regular features, and fish. Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

Bed Music: Transmission 58, 2013 August 31

This program aired live at the end of a miserable, sticky day typical of Ithaca summer. Lady Catharsis and I raced over, full of meat from a barbecue party we had just attended. We proceeded to spin a dazzling collection of 45rpm records, although it could have been even more dazzling had we been a bit more careful.

I turned 45 this past week. This is not news--anyone could have deduced my age from the anecdotes I've left here and there on the site. Fellow Board Member Nicholas asked me, at the beginning of the week, "Are you going to do all 45s? I missed that chance." That sounded haunting, almost like the hammer and bell in The Magician's Nephew or something. I didn't want to go through life wondering what might have been. Of course, the week's regularly scheduled BOMBAST had been the A.R.Kane Hall of Legends induction. But there was "free airtime" Saturday night [aside--there's been way too much of that this summer], and LC actually wanted to do a show while Catharsis Junior was at a friend's slumber party, so there you are. The answer to the question I pose early on in the program is "definitely not sad."

Things we would have played, had they not turned out to be 33 1/3 RPM after all: two that I don't want to give away, since they will be "Listening Parlour" selections on the next regular program--have to use up that turkey somehow. Also, something by Lee "Scratch" Perry [btw thanks, Mojo Magazine, for giving your readers the worst vinyl format possible, that was almost as awesome as the time you didn't put James Brown on the cover when he died], and also this, by Hall of Legends inductees Dif Juz, which someone stashed away in the wrong record sleeve.

Anyway, what would the program be without crises, mistakes, and mistake-fueled crises?

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 August 31, 1900-2100:

format = "Song Title" | Artist | Release Title | Label

1. "Baby I Love You So" | Colourbox | Baby I Love You So | 4AD
2. "Rocket USA" | Loop | Wolf Flow | Reactor
3. "What She Said" | The Smiths | Shakespeare's Sister | Rough Trade
4. "Shift Away" | Trisomie 21 | Shift Away | Play It Again Sam | "Physical Evidence"
5. "The Key" | Kristin Hersh | Your Ghost | 4AD
6. "Don't Go (Remix and Re-Remix)" | Yaz | Don't Go | Sire
7. "Waiting for the Man" | Bauhaus | Ziggy Stardust | Beggars Banquet
8. "Dance Away" | Roxy Music | Dance Away | Atco
9. "Jakarta" | Trisomie 21 | Shift Away | Play It Again Sam | "Physical Evidence"
10. "Friday Night, Saturday Morning" | The Specials | Ghost Town | Two-Tone
11. "Rocket USA" | Thin White Rope | Bottom Feeders | Zippo
12. "Good Vibrations" | Psychic TV | The Magickal Mystery D-Tour EP | Temple
13. "Give It To Me" | Rick James | Give It To Me | Gordy - Motown
14. "Thieves Like Us (instrumental)" | New Order | Murder | Factory Benelux
15. "Waiting for the Man" | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | Messages | DinDisc
16. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" | Joy Division | Love Will Tear Us Apart | Factory
17. "Ravishing Delight" | Trisomie 21 | Shift Away | Play It Again Sam | "Physical Evidence"
18. "Nancy Sin" | Beat Happening | Nancy Sin | Sub Pop
19. "We Got the Beat" | Poison Idea | Taken By Surprise | Sub Pop
20. "Primitive Painters" | Felt | Primitive Painters | Cherry Red

next time: back to the usual Bombast hullabaloo, finally.

The Hall of Legends - A.R.Kane: Transmission 57, 2013 August 28

Tonight we converse with another Legend, this time Rudy Tambala of A.R.Kane. That band enters the Hall of Legends, where they join The Fall, Stereolab, Billy Childish, Coil, Prince Far I, Dif Juz, and Little Annie. Considering that we've played over 800 different artists in the nine months the program has aired, the Hall of Legends is an exclusive club. Nevertheless, the Induction Committee will adjourn while a new wing is built.

Every visitor to the site is a precious snowflake to me (yes, even the spambots!). Some of you, no doubt, are visiting for the first time, having been lured here by A.R.Kane. A special welcome to you. Enjoy what the site has to offer, even if from your perspective it's only this post. BOMBAST is a relatively new thing, but we have many episodes available here. The hyperlink above will take you to a loose description of the Hall of Legends, and this page describes the "idea" of the show, such as it is. The prose you find everywhere on the site is mostly for my own entertainment, since this is my outlet, but if it floats your boat as well, that's fine. Audio's at the bottom of the post if this is all TMI.

We have written too much about A.R.Kane, as some of you have heard, either from them or from me. (No, I'm not linking to it! Show some initiative.) Whether you're familiar with A.R.Kane's musical output or not, the contents of this program will teach you more about it than I could. I can only speak authoritatively about my own experiences:

• My first sighting of the Lollita record, and this progression of thought--first, "nice cover star"; then, "impressive knife"; finally (after reading the sticker comment promising "Big Black meets The Durutti Column"), "if this is anywhere in that ballpark I'll love it"
• The entire autumn of 1987, when I couldn't get the sound of "Haunting" out of my head
• Plugging my weak drum machine into my pathetic guitar amp because it was the closest I could get to that sound
• Experiencing chills in the middle of "Baby Milk Snatcher" when the guitars drop out

There are certainly more, but as I've mentioned elsewhere the golden years of A.R.Kane coincided with what is more or less a "missing period" for me, which is probably just as well. Less rhapsody to clutter anyone else's impression of the music or the time.

At any rate, there are many descriptors, associations, and likenesses that people toss around when discussing A.R.Kane. If you haven't encountered these classifications and similes, so much the better. To me, there are reasons A.R.Kane belong in the Hall of Legends more than certain "fellow travelers" whose vectors might overlap (although we should never say never). If these reasons aren't apparent to you after listening to this program, I certainly can't help you with words. But I do hope this amounts to a good use of your time. And if it clears the room, that could also be considered success.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 August 28, 2100-2300:

format = "Song Title" [Artist, Album, Label]

1. "Sado-Masochism Is a Must" [A.R.Kane, Lollita, 4AD]
2. "When You're Sad" [A.R.Kane, When You're Sad, One Little Indian]
3. "Baby Milk Snatcher" [A.R.Kane, Up Home!, Rough Trade]
4. "Sperm Travels Like Juggernaut" [A.R.Kane, Love-Sick, Rough Trade]
5. "Anitina (The First Time I See She Dance)" [M|A|R|R|S, Pump Up the Volume, 4AD]
6. "Haunting" [A.R.Kane, When You're Sad, One Little Indian]
7. "Spermwhale Trip Over" [A.R.Kane, Sixty-Nine, Rough Trade]
8. "The Sun Falls Into the Sea" [A.R.Kane, Sixty-Nine, Rough Trade]
9. "The Madonna Is With Child" [A.R.Kane, Sixty-Nine, Rough Trade]
10. "Spanish Quay (3)" [A.R.Kane, Sixty-Nine, Rough Trade]
11. "Listen Up! (Pulsar Mix)" [A.R.K, Listen Up!, Rough Trade] | "Physical Evidence"
12. "Pop" [A.R.Kane, "i", Rough Trade]
13. "Back Home / Down" [A.R.Kane, "i", Rough Trade]
14. "Green Hazed Daze" [A.R.Kane, Love-Sick, Rough Trade]
15. "Supervixens" [A.R.Kane, "i", Rough Trade]
16. "Lollita" [A.R.Kane, Lollita, 4AD]
17. "Up [demo]" [A.R.Kane, Soundcloud self-release]

next time: who can possibly know? Probably the usual. Enjoy the music!

The Hall of Legends - Little Annie: Transmission 55, 2013 August 21

We herewith induct Little Annie into the Bombast Hall of Legends! She graces the show with an interview to accompany a full-length special on her music. She's been at this for 30 years, many of which are chronicled in her book, You Can't Sing the Blues While Drinking Milk--it is true, by the way, that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame library has a copy; it's the only library in WorldCat that does. I've never spoken to anyone who had one foot in the Hall of Fame and another in the Hall of Legends, and this was a special pleasure.

I'm grateful for all site visitors, but I want to give a special welcome to first-timers, you know, those who wouldn't have found us but for Little Annie. Feel free to poke around, there's plenty of stuff that might interest you. There's some information on the Hall of Legends here, and a surprisingly current rundown of the Bombast "concept" here. My posts are mostly for me, since I don't have another blog--this will hopefully serve as a memoir, or maybe even the replacement "me" post-Singularity, but some of them might make interesting reading for someone. If that's not you, it's cool, feel free to scroll down to the bottom of this post where the audio is.

Still reading? Okay! Especially on Induction Nights, I like to let the music speak for itself, since rambling gets me into trouble. But I do have a personal story to share. It's "how I discovered Little Annie's music," so it's a story about the old days.

At KDVS all the new records we added to the collection bore a blank sticker on the front cover, so that deejays could comment on the music. Supposedly, the intent was that people would use this space to describe or classify a record's contents--just to be helpful, so that hardcore punk deejays, let's say, didn't waste a lot of time pulling and previewing records that turned out to be ambient new age, let's say. [Or vice versa!] Looking back, this wasn't such a great idea. People should have been exposed to more surprises. I know I should have been.

Anyway, every now and then the "sticker discourse" would move past the usual small talk ["metal crossover," "better than ever," "remember when this band was good?"] and take on a life of its own. Here's one of those times. In 1987, we received a white-label test pressing of this record from One Little Indian [what a VIP status we had, for a 5000-watt station 6,000 miles away!]--we weren't sure of the song titles, so we could barely label the disc, but I guess someone in the "music director" circle must have known of "Annie Anxiety" from her Crass period, so there was that.

All I remember is that song A2 ["Down by the Station," as it turns out] ignited one of the most intense "sticker debates" I witnessed in my time at KDVS. More and more stickers had to be added as the flame war continued, and if I remember correctly it carried over to the back of the generic sleeve. What was all the fuss about? The instrumental backing, "naturally." I've written previously about the arguments we used to have, which must seem silly now to everyone except those who still think that music dies a little bit whenever someone powers up a drum machine. But at our "college rock" station [at the time it could still be called that, without irony], in our sleepy little town, there were plenty of people who thought that way, and they were pissed that someone had the temerity to make a record that didn't sound to them like music. It's odd, in retrospect, that of all records it should have been this one that triggered such an outburst. Maybe Neubauten and Test Dept. skated by because they weren't "dance" music or something; it's certainly plausible.

Lost on these people was the fact that the record actually did feature live musicians with some pretty solid pedigrees [but then, without a proper sleeve, how could anyone know?]--it wouldn't surprise me if people who actually liked London Underground and African Head Charge records found themselves "asking rhetorically" if any talent or imagination had been necessary to make this thing. Also lost on the complainers was the argument that ripped jeans, a Marshall stack, and a "bad attitude" add up to a cliché of their own. There really wasn't much for us to do back then, so when we weren't partying with each other we diverted ourselves by screaming ideology at each other. God I miss that time.

I was only 19, and it was my first year at the station, so I observed this raging colloquium without participating, but I did know two things. I liked the vocal, and I had always felt [as did the singer, though I wouldn't discover this for a long time] that machines were soothing and musical. I didn't know at the time who this "Annie" person was, but I was on her side then and have been ever since. It is a good place to be.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 August 21, 2100-2300:

format = "Song Title" [Artist, Album, Label]

1. "Sit on Down" [Little Annie, Songs from the Coal Mine Canary, Durtro / Jnana]
2. "Everything and More" [Little Annie, Volume 4, Volume]
3. "As I Lie in Your Arms" [Annie Anxiety Bandez, As I Lie in Your Arms, One Little Indian] / "Physical Evidence"
4. "Le Mangers Heureux" [Little Annie, In Dread with Little Annie, On-U Sound]
5. "Gown of Tears" [Little Annie & Baby Dee, State of Grace, Tin Angel]
6. "Third Gear Kills" [Annie Anxiety, Soul Possession, Southern]
7. "Down by the Station" [Annie Anxiety Bandez, As I Lie in Your Arms, One Little Indian] / "Physical Evidence"
8. "Smile" [Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch, Peace (for Mom), Brainwashed]
9. "Thirteen Things I Did Today" [Little Annie, Interiors, Invisible]
10. "Chicken Delight" [Little Annie & The Legally Jammin', Little Annie & The Legally Jammin', Italic]
11. "I Think of You" [Little Annie, Short and Sweet, On-U Sound]
12. "Rise" [Annie Anxiety Bandez, As I Lie in Your Arms, One Little Indian] / "Physical Evidence"
13. "The Birdie Song" / "Dreams and Light" [The Wolfgang Press, Queer, 4AD]
14. "Private Dancer" [Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch, When Good Things Happen to Bad Pianos, Durtro / Jnana]
15. "Hello Horror" [Annie Anxiety, Barbed Wire Halo, Crass]
16. "Lullaby" [Little Annie, Brain in the Wire, Brainwashed]
17. "Hier Encore" [Annie Anxiety Bandez, Jackamo, Southern]
18. "Bless Those (Little Annie's Prayer)" [Little Annie, Short and Sweet, On-U Sound]

next time: dare we hope for another induction?

Small Mammal With Whom I Live A Lie: Transmission 53, 2013 August 14

We travel far and wide, and sometimes use magic, to bring you the best tunes here at Bombast. This week we feature Sound d'Afrique, one from the vaults, "literally"--as well as some internet treasures and illicit gems. Things turned out to be less musically "weird" than emotionally so. I just can't work up any feelings about the experience--I couldn't when it was happening, and I can't now! "Shallowness of affect," I'm telling you. There is this Kids in the Hall monologue / short in which Bruce McCulloch talks about "a dog for whom I feel nothing." To me this show is that dog. But it is a really cute dog, you guys:

Maybe someday this program and I will have a moment. That'd be nice! I'm not up to it right now. I'm just having a week. The music is good, though; I wouldn't lie to you about that. That Toiling Midgets bandcamp site is something everyone should visit, as is the Osaka Music Concern soundcloud. [thx Brian!] Finally, the "other" b-side of The Julia Sound's new single is available here. Apparently they are trying to set up a show in Ithaca--again, that'd be nice! As for A.R.Kane, whose song TJS covers, they will have their moment, sooner or later.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 August 14, 2100-2300:

1. DJ Hell and Klaus Nomi: "Cold Song 2013 - DJ Hell Official Remix" [International Deejay Gigolo]
2. Pablo: "Bo Mbanda" [Mango] / "Physical Evidence"
3. Jaw & Kevork Keshishian: "Hazihi Laylaty - Soul Clap Remix" [Circus Company]
4. Asia Argento & Tim Burgess: "Ours" [Nuun]
5. Hooded Fang: "Trasher" [Full Time Hobby]
6. Sampleman: "Meadow Meal" [Soundcloud self-release]
7. UNER: "Bonheur, Pt. 1" [Cadenza]
8. Kambou Clement: "Dounougnan" [Mango] / "Physical Evidence"
9. Jay Farrar: "Damn Shame" [Artemis / Sheridan Square] / "Listening Parlour"
10. Jeri-Jeri with Ale & Khadim Mboup: "Casamance" [Ndagga]
11. Camera: "Meteor" [8MM Musik]
12. Toiling Midgets: "Snothead Goonsquad" [Bandcamp self-release]
13. Julia Holter: "Horns Surrounding Me" [Domino]
14. Etoile de Dakar: "Jalo" [Mango] / "Physical Evidence"
15. The Human League: "Being Boiled" [Caroline / Virgin] / "Listening Parlour"
16. Section 25: "Bad News Week" [Factory Benelux]
17. Tijuana Panthers: "Forbidden Fruit" [Innovative Leisure]
18. Mount Kimbie: "You Took Your Time" [Warp]
19. The Charlatans: "Over Rising" [Volume]
20. The Julia Sound: "When You're Sad" [Bandcamp self-release]

p.s. I wasn't aware of it when I was on the air--bad news travelling slowly, I guess--but Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes passed on this Tuesday. May he rest in peace.

Hey Lawdy! Transmission 51, 2013 August 7

We followed a tough act this evening--the preceding program, the always good "Humming Wires," was in rare form. I just hope we made it worthwhile to stick around. We just might have. It was a mix of conceptual stuff and je m'en foutisme that, typically, came together at the last minute. I'm not sure how well that segue going from Ken Camden to The Denists worked, in retrospect, but if that's your worst experience of the week, you are having a pretty good week.

You might have noticed that we have jumped from Transmission 49 to trans. 51. I provided an explanation here, and we'll have to wait for the end of the month to see if there's room to upload any of these "overflow" broadcasts (#52 will also be waiting patiently). They have been good shows, I assure you, and for now the only way to hear a "special" or "impromptu" or "emergency" Bombast is to pay attention to Facebook and to listen live.

In this episode we learn what Kid Catharsis thinks of "blues purists." In reality that goes for purists in general, much of the time. Sometimes, though, straying too far from origins can lead to awful things. Hall of Legends inductee Billy Childish once said of the Rolling Stones that "they stopped being fans of Bo Diddley and became fans of themselves," and I don't feel a need to elaborate on the "London band" whose songs appear here and there in tonight's program, except to say that "Child of the Moon," performed here by Band of Susans, is merely the weakest part of that band's stellar contribution to this program. exempli gratia.

On a totally unrelated note, I do enjoy the way my muffled, post-bedtime baritone renders that Mark Lanegan album title as "The Whining Sheet," which sounds about right! Though we appreciate Mark Lanegan at the Catharsis compound.

Speaking of bands, and fandom, we hope that special things are going to happen very soon; we are working on them. Specific promises would of course jinx all of our plans. Nevertheless, the August 14 transmission will be the last "current music" episode for the next couple of weeks as we will spend the last part of the month trying to address some glaring omissions and old loves.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 August 7, 2100-2300:

1. Muddy Waters, "Let's Spend the Night Together" [Chess]
2. Downtown Party Network: "Owls Don't Cry" [Best Kept Secret]
3. Bibio: "Look at Orion!" [Warp]
4. Band of Susans: "Which Dream Came True" [Dutch East India Trading] / "Physical Evidence"
5. Ken Camden: "Spectacle" [Kranky]
6. The Dentists: "I Had An Excellent Dream" [Trouble in Mind]
7. Pure X: "Written in the Slime" [Acephale]
8. The Jesters: "Peter Gunn Twist" [TT Shaker]
9. Boozoo Bajou: "Kodiak" [R & S / Apollo]
10. Tijuana Panthers: "Baby I'm Bored" [Innovative Leisure]
11. Mark Lanegan: "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" [Sub Pop] / "Listening Parlour"
12. Psychic TV: "Godstar - Hyperdelic Mix" [Temple]
13. Band of Susans: "Child of the Moon" [Dutch East India Trading] / "Physical Evidence"
14. Tom Waits: "Goodnight Irene" [ANTI-] / "Listening Parlour"
15. The Orb featuring Lee "Scratch" Perry: "Golden Clouds - Blue Space White Cloud 81neutrons rmx" [Cooking Vinyl]
16. Survival: "Triumph of the Good" [Thrill Jockey]
17. Beaches: "Dune" [Chapter]
18. Peter Gordon & Factory Floor: "C Side" [Optimo]
19. Band of Susans: "I Found That Essence Rare" [Dutch East India Trading] / "Physical Evidence"
20. The Genteels: "Take It Off" [TT Shaker]
21. Band of Susans: "Throne of Blood" [Dutch East India Trading] / "Physical Evidence"
22. Swamp Dogg: "Honky Tonk Woman" [Alive]
23. Thomas Dinger: "Für Euch" [Bureau B]

next time: depends on which "episode" we're talking about, but most likely some fun with Bandcamp and Soundcloud, in the absence of actual hard media during this summer lull. Enjoy the music! --kid Catharsis

Shut Up And Give Me What I Want: Transmission 49, 2013 July 31

Lady Catharsis makes a special live-in-studio appearance this evening, bringing with her the opening track by X and an excellent piece of "Physical Evidence," the Mark Eitzel / Toiling Midgets collaboration Son. Disc rot and all, we play about half of that thing, which was indeed the soundtrack to our days of limerance, make of that what you will. This episode strikes me as one of the better transmissions--it's always nice when a good-chemistry guest pops in.

Before distraction gets the better of me, I want to alert you that Toiling Midgets are still doin' things, and you can listen to them here. Boom, errand run.

Radio summers were not always as chaotic as this one has turned out to be--at least I don't remember them being this way when I was 19! [But then again, I have confessed to having memory problems with that time, so there is that.] Anyway, you guys, I have been doing lots of programs, so many that even with my newly-expanded monthly storage here at the site [sincere thanks to Podbean], I may not be able to upload everything until things settle down, hopefully next month, when I am back down to 1 show per week. Usually. BUT the regular weekly program will appear without fail--by "without fail" I mean "with the usual delay caused by business and sloth, but eventually."

Thanks for your patience.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 July 31, 2100-2300:

1. X: "I'm Comin' Over" [Rhino]
2. Toiling Midgets: "Faux Pony" [Matador] / "Physical Evidence"
3. 17 Pygmies: "By the Sea" [Les Temps Modernes]
4. Public Service Broadcasting: "ROYGBIV" [Test Card]
5. Bomb the Bass: "Just This Universe?" [O Solo]
6. Thee Headcoat Sect: "Strychnine" [Hangman's Daughter]
7. College: "Teenage Color" [Invada]
8. Wild Nothing: "Hachiko" [Captured Tracks]
9. Beachwood Sparks: "Sleeping Butterfly" [Bomp]
10. The Fall: "Strychnine" [Secret]
11. Toiling Midgets: "Process Words" [Matador] / "Physical Evidence"
12. Ryan Davis & Pan/Tone: "Bandits" [Areal]
13. Ritornell: "Urban Heartware" [Karaoke Kalk]
14. Virginia Wing: "Creation" [Critical Heights]
15. Toiling Midgets: "Fabric" [Matador] / "Physical Evidence"
16. AM & Shawn Lee: "Special Disco" [Park the Van]
17. The Sonics: "Strychnine" [Mojo Magazine]
18. Valentin Stip: "Hiathaikm" [Clown & Sunset]
19. Toiling Midgets: "Clinging Fire / Clams" [Matador] / "Physical Evidence"
20. John Hughes Daydream: "Thriller" [Cut Mistake]
21. The Grips: "Tennessee Strut" [G.E.D. Soul]
22. Toiling Midgets: "Listen" [Matador] / "Physical Evidence"
23. Otis G Johnson featuring Jan Milledge: "Lord Make Me Over" [Numero]

next time, songs by "some London band or other." Enjoy the music! --kid Catharsis

Thick and Freaky: Transmission 48, 2013 July 27

Tonight's program was planned, in the sense that I intended to spring upon my brother the "opportunity" to do radio with me while he was visiting; it was unplanned in the sense that we thought we were going on air later in the evening until DJ Helen Stride called in sick. So this tag-team extravaganza turned out to be more "prime time" than I thought.

Anyway, did you know DJ Segundo was a former radio president? Neither did I! Not until the day of the program. I'm not lying when I say that my brain has blocked out a chunk of the late 1980s. I hope I didn't miss much else!

Both doing this program, and listening to it afterwards, were a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Oh, in keeping with the usual mistakes I always make, Hot Buttered Soul was actually the second LP by Isaac Hayes. And they do pronounce the title in the song. That's what I get for not listening to Isaac Hayes since this happened. Anyway.

BOMBAST PLAYLIST, 2013 July 27, 2100-2300:

1. Blackalicious: "A to G" [Quannum]
2. Boom Bip & Charlie White: "Baylee" [Lex]
3. The Flaming Lips: "She Don't Use Jelly" [Warner Bros.]
4. Cabaret Voltaire: "Do Right" [Some Bizarre / Virgin] / "Physical Evidence"
5. Crystal Castles: "Vanished" [Last Gang]
6. Swamp Dogg: "Sal-A-Faster" [Alive]
7. The Black Keys: "No Trust" [Fat Possum]
8. Felt: "Space Blues" [Creation]
9. Gary Clark Jr.: "Don't Owe You a Thang" [Warner Bros.]
10. Cold Showers: "The Fire" [Dais]
11. Shitmat: "Argos" [Planet Mu]
12. DJ Krush: "Beyond Raging Waves (feat. Shin'ichi Kinoshita) [Sony]
13. Cabaret Voltaire: "Spies in the Wires" / "Theme from Earthshaker" [Some Bizarre / Virgin] / "Physical Evidence"
14. Giant Panda: "Classic Rock" [Tres]
15. Isaac Hayes: "Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic" [Enterprise]
16. Gyedu-Blay Ambolley: "Kwaakwaa" [Academy]
17. Mos Def: "Quiet Dog" [Downtown]
18. Cabaret Voltaire: "Sensoria" [Some Bizarre / Virgin] / "Physical Evidence"
19. Gorillaz: "All Alone" [EMI]

next time: she's coming over. Enjoy the music! --kid Catharsis

Spit Over Your Left Shoulder: Transmission 47, 2013 July 24

A sad thing happened this week. I lost an old friend and colleague. So, in the spirit of "doing the best I can," even if it amounts to little, I pay tribute to the spirit of Bill Smith with music that reminds me of the "geographic/temporal nexus" that we shared.

I had actually forgotten that Bill dragged me out of music-critic retirement by persuading me to write some pieces for his zine, Hot Spit. I had given that up several years earlier, but like the rest of us at KDVS, I would have done just about anything that Bill asked. He was that kind of human.

That time was interesting for alternative music, college rock, or whatever you want to call it. By 1992 Nirvana had altered the landscape of mainstream music and Pavement was, in a way, generating an "equal and opposite" reaction in the indie scene. Things were contested and confused, and as I've written before, there were tribal debates from the 1980s that weren't yet resolved either.

Bill didn't care about any of that, or at least his zine didn't. I spent a lot of time at KDVS feeling like I needed to fight my corner, and I'm not sure that Bill even enjoyed the stuff I played, but he never questioned my license to play it and always provided encouragement and counsel. Even better, he did that for everyone. When I'm forced to think about what the spirit of freeform radio is, or ought to be, "Bill" is simply one of the first answers that comes to mind. It's getting dusty in the room as I write this; I'm really feeling loss.

Anyway, as I say during the broadcast, Hot Spit didn't come with a record or cd, and lacked only that. So what better piece of "Physical Evidence" than a record that came with a zine? I've written previously about my love for Sweatbox Records, which is based largely on the releases that accompanied Abstract Magazine. Tonight's record, Issue 5, is straight-up vintage.

It's not a great pressing, but that doesn't matter much. Either that Wolfgang Press track is a weirder, rougher mix than I remember or there's something wrong with our turntable channels in the studio! The track by And Also the Trees has crazy dynamics seldom seen in "rock" music. And there are a couple of tracks that remind me very much of "Friend of Bombast" Jeremy--The Jazz Butcher is a love we share, and he used to call me up during some of those 3-to-6 A.M. shows back in the day and demand that I play Cindytalk--more than once it was this one [NSFW]. Always special.

Let's talk sausage for a minute: is that Fuzztones / Screamin' Jay Hawkins record "of the period?" Sure. Did I have it in mind for this program? Never crossed my mind! Not until I heard the new recording by Joalz, on which they cover "Alligator Wine." That's an example of how things usually come together, and usually at the last minute.

Did I play the Fuzztones in my previous life? Not much, and only if I was subbing for another DJ. Did I play Screamin' Jay Hawkins? Possibly, even though he would have fallen outside my stylistic territory. I did become a fan when I saw him play for free in Central Park, 1990 [do you remember this, "Friend of Bombast" Jen?]--a show which most onlookers Did Not Get At All but nevertheless one of the best ever.

So: a "mix tape" of bittersweet nostalgia, but one for the pantheon, I feel. I wish you could hear this one, Bill.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 July 24, 2100-2300:

1. Le Dust Sucker: "Everybody Used To" [Boxer]
2. The Wolfgang Press: "Fire-eater (remix)" [Sweatbox] / "Physical Evidence"
3. Talking Heads: "Heaven" [Sire / Rhino]
4. Kiratu and His Group: "Yanagiria Kayo" [Soundway]
5. Cab Kaye: "Everything Is Go" [Honest Jon's]
6. Thee Mighty Caesars: "Cyclonic" [Damaged Goods]
7. Joalz: "Alligator Wine" [Many Scribes]
8. New Gatanga Sound: "Thoni Na Caki" [Soundway]
9. And Also the Trees: "Maps in Her Wrists and Arms" [Sweatbox] / "Physical Evidence"
10. Screamin' Jay Hawkins and The Fuzztones: "Alligator Wine" [Midnight]
11. West African Rhythm Brothers: "Mofi Ajobi Seyin" [Honest Jon's]
12. Shortcircles: "Tunnels" [Plug Research]
13. Big Star: "Big Black Car - Rough Mix/1974" [Omnivore]
14. The Jazz Butcher: "Leaving It Up to You" [Sweatbox] / "Physical Evidence"
15. Lee "Scratch" Perry: "Butterfly" [M.O.D. Technologies]
16. Extrawelt: "Vorsprung durch Hektik - Dominik Eulberg Mix" [Boxer]
17. The Loi-Toki-Tok: "Ware Wa" [Soundway]
18. 17 Pygmies: "Last Grave at Dimbaza" [Les Temps Modernes]
19. Ndalani 77 Brothers: "Nzaumi" [Soundway]
20. Section 25: "Crazy Wisdom" [Factory Benelux]
21. Cindytalk: "Playtime" [Sweatbox] / "Physical Evidence"
22. Kraftwerk: "Dentaku" [Toshiba EMI]
23. Do 7 Band: "H.o. Ongili" [Soundway]
24. The Durutti Column: "The Magic Theatre" [Factory Benelux]

next time: Segundo in da hizzy. Enjoy the music! --kid Catharsis

To Please Is a Curse: Transmission 46, 2013 July 18

Hall of Legends inductees The Fall make their first appearance in the "Physical Evidence" segment with an EP that serves no apparent purpose. Elsewhere, I get the Kenyan stuff out of my system. Almost. Anyway, there is a lot of that. In other words, we are all over the map, if "being mostly in two places" is an acceptable meaning of that phrase.

I should have known better than to take on a program hard on the heels of my regular show, but there I was, at the controls, a mere 24 hours later. Not that this show was less than good--it turned out, on review, better than I remembered it--but (a) I got really tired in the last half-hour and (b) I'm starting to have dreams about doing radio, you guys. This latter development is not good.

The stack of "mix tapes" is growing, which I suppose is a benefit, but radio is giving me feelings, you guys, which are not so great. I will have to find a balance between "doing as much as I can while I can" and actually appreciating each program. Experience tells me that I won't, but that doesn't mean I don't have to. Anything is better than letting my mouth run during the voiceovers and saying ominous things like "it's alright when the records are spinning," or whatever Pagliaci-like statement I let slip. Yikes!

At any rate, this show does answer a pressing question: Does vintage Fall make for a good segue into and out of African music? No, not exactly! As Don Miguel Ruiz would say, everyone is doing their best all the time.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 July 18-19, 2300-0100:

1. Four Tet: "Pinnacles" [Text]
2. Ambrose Campbell: "Ashiko Rhythm" [Honest Jon's]
3. Russ Henderson: "West Indian Drums" [Honest Jon's]
4. The Fall: "Kimble" [Strange Fruit] / "Physical Evidence"
5. The Mombasa Vikings: "Mama Matotoya" [Soundway]
6. Springintgut: "Incentive Pizzicato - Icarus Remix" [Pingipung]
7. Mbiri Young Stars: "Ndiri Ndanogio Niwe" [Soundway]
8. Mount Kimbie: "Break Well" [Warp]
9. Estrangers: "Hold Me Close (l'Inverno)" [Phuzz]
10. Orchestre Veve Star: "Nitarudia" [Soundway]
11. Nairobi Matata Jazz: "Tamba Tamba" [Soundway]
12. The Fall: "C'n'C Hassle Schmuk" [Strange Fruit] / "Physical Evidence"
13. Gatanga Boys Band: "Tiga Kudenga - Hide & Smile Edit" [Soundway]
14. Kalambya Boys: "Kivelenge - Busy Twist Remix" [Soundway]
15. Enoch & Christy Mensah: "Daikuku Dum" [Honest Jon's]
16. The Fall: "Words of Expectation" [Strange Fruit] / "Physical Evidence"
17. Slim Ali and The Famous Hodi Boys: "Watoto Nyara" [Soundway]
18. The Fall: "Spoilt Victorian Child" [Strange Fruit] / "Physical Evidence"
19. Bibio: "Mirroring All" [Warp]
20. Alessandro Cortini: "Gloria" [Important]

next time: we are merely fortunate there is a next time. Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis