radiobombast

Croix de Bombast: Transmission 15, 2013 February 6

It was our quinceañera, and we were wearing our prettiest dress. The Durutti Column's "LC," side two this time [plus a little extra!] served as our "Physical Evidence" for the week. There were two visits to the "Listening Parlour," as usual. Life was good. On the show, I did have what I've been thinking of as a "Cokie Roberts moment," for lack of a better reference. You can figure out what that is by listening. I can't do all your homework for you. But it does prompt me to discuss how the sausage is made. Most radio stations that play music, especially those that have done so for decades, have music libraries. While never an absolute necessity, even in the pre-digital era--hosts could always bring in their own records--a library is a tremendous resource. One thing a library makes possible, or at least easy, is the "request." You call up the station, ask the host if s/he can play something, and it probably happens. Unless your chosen piece of music isn't in the library. Or the host is being a douche. Another, somewhat related, thing a library makes possible is improvisation. You are playing a piece of music on the air and a sudden whim strikes you, or you suddenly sense a connection to another piece of music that you hadn't considered until this moment--you can pull that record or cd from the library and play it. [The bad thing a library makes possible is laziness, to which I was certainly prone in my past life. When you reach a certain level of experience and expertise, you can get cocky, and feel that you don't need to think very hard about what you are doing. You don't "plan" your show in any meaningful sense of the word, and you just stroll into the station, like a rock star, 2 minutes before air time, lacking only a satin jacket and a suspicious case of the sniffles to complete the sorry picture.] Anyway, at WRFI we don't have a music library to speak of. We do have maybe 30 or so CDs, with Putumayo compilations being of particular interest to somebody--but nothing that would make BOMBAST possible even as a one-time thing. So the show, haphazard as it sometimes sounds, is "planned," and I do have to "bring in" music to play. Now. Some of it is tangible stuff from my personal collection, or that of Lady Catharsis, and some of it is, let us say, "acquired" from "places." But--let's just use a recent example--Factory Benelux, let us say, does not freely send us new records and cds on the off chance that we, a low-power FM station in the middle of nowhere, might play them. [Believe it or not, in the hard-copy-only era, this was a thing that would happen, and it was wonderful, oh my god.] That is our hard truth for the week. Sorry if I have shattered any illusions. But like I said at the outset, I'm all grown up now, and so are you. If not, don't worry, the Easter Bunny is coming in about 7 weeks. BOMBAST playlist, 2013 February 6, 8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

1. Fai Baba: "Sail Away" [A Tree in a Field]
2. Fanga and Maalem Abdallah Guinea: "Gnawi" [Strut]
3. Rone: "King of Batoofam" [Infine]
4. Lee Hazlewood: "We All Make the Flowers Grow" [LHI] / "Listening Parlour"
5. Swindle: "Forest Funk" [Deep Medi Musik]
6. Christiaan Virant: "Monkey Mind" [CVMK]
7. Starkey: "Command" [Civil Music]
8. Kiki Gyan: "Sexy Dancer" [Soundway]
9. Abba: "Voulez-Vous" [Polar]
10. The Durutti Column: "Never Known" [Factory Benelux] / "Physical Evidence"
11. The Durutti Column: "The Act Committed" [Factory Benelux] / "Physical Evidence"
12. The Durutti Column: "Detail for Paul" [Factory Benelux] / "Physical Evidence"
13. The Durutti Column: "The Missing Boy" [Factory Benelux] / "Physical Evidence"
14. The Durutti Column: "The Sweet Cheat Gone" [Factory Benelux] / "Physical Evidence"
15. Mark Lanegan: "Stay" [Sub Pop] / "Listening Parlour"
16. Emilia Amper: "Vals fran Valsebo" [Bis]
17. The Ordinaires: "Kashmir" [One Little Indian]
18. Pinkie Maclure: "Horns Off" [One Little Indian]
19. Ham: "Voulez Vous" [One Little Indian]
20. Sam Willis: "Foxglissandro" [Half Machine]
21. Dakota Suite: "Lumen" [Glitterhouse]

Next time: Lady Catharsis, live! Enjoy. --kid catharsis

Physical Evidence: Transmission 14, 2013 January 30

[ORIGINALLY POSTED 2013 January 31] [UPDATE: images, audio added 2013 February 4] It was a night of reissues and revisions.  I finally wrangled Catharsis Junior into "the studio" and coaxed a new program introduction out of her, as well as an opening to the newly rechristened "Physical Evidence" feature.  And "Factory Benelux" [in quotes because I suspect it is merely invoked rather than revived] weighs in with an assortment of post-punk classics retrieved from the memory hole. Working out my "issues" through these posts is something from which I will try to take a break this week.  Fear not; old habits die hard, and the odds favor a relapse.  But for this week the program can speak for itself. I would rather talk about other stuff, and give you some links and pictures. A cloud of melancholy seems to hang over Factory Benelux, not simply because of the challenging, alienated sounds they released, but because of their rumored status as the "graveyard" for those recordings that didn't "make the cut" at Factory HQ in Manchester.  Whether this was true, and how consistently it was true, is strangely difficult to nail down.  And also its loose connection with the last days of Joy Division and the sordid demise of Ian Curtis, what with FBN being the result of an "arrangement" between Factory and Les Disques du Crépuscule, a label co-managed by Annik Honoré, the exotic Belgian diplomat--perhaps the only one of her kind--who was Ian Curtis's mistress. It is a good week for melancholy, as our local weather has turned from a peaceful, photogenic deep freeze into a turgid "wintry mix" of rain and ice. And there is something strangely contemporary about these 30-year old records--not just that their under-exposure prevents them from evoking a specific past but also that I hear these sounds reflected in many current releases. Frank Brinkhuis and James Nice have tirelessly kept the torch lit in the Internet era, publishing histories, images, and discographies, and most importantly reissuing the music.  One good use of this site is that I can exploit it to make the "calls to action" WRFI's license prohibits us from making on air, so I call on you to at least investigate. Your curiosity will be rewarded. Often overlooked but central to the history in its own way is the work of Vini Reilly, a.k.a. The Durutti Column, whose "L.C." serves as this week's "Slipped Disc" piece of "Physical Evidence." I suspect that seldom will a brand new [re-] release also qualify for the "Physical Evidence" feature, since it is meant to celebrate music that doesn't appear in cyberspace, so we already have a special occasion on our hands. And then there are the tunes. The Durutti Column is a shoe-in for the Bombast Hall of Legends, although the Committee has been out to lunch of late. The time will come for a full induction. For now, the "Lack of Appreciation" clause underwrites all of tonight's bother. Somehow "L.C." has slipped in and out of print, and online and off, several times over the years. Were it not for things like systemic poverty, sex slavery, and drone-bombings, we might figuratively call something like this a "crime." Let's just think of it as a "puzzlement." This is a special record, containing as it does the bubbly "Jacqueline," which would have made a decent single, and the haunting "Never Known," perhaps the seven minutes without which one's experience of The Durutti Column could never be complete [but that is for next week]. Without any context, "L.C." is a great listen. But context matters. It matters that this record is the dreaded sophomore effort and not the revelatory debut. It matters that it features a goofy painting harmless watercolor on the cover instead of sandpaper. It matters that Martin Hannett doesn't occupy the producer's chair.  It matters that Reilly doesn't team up with Donald Johnson from A Certain Ratio and chooses a drummer from a parody-rock band instead. By just about any measure, "L.C." is much "less cool" than "The Return of the Durutti Column." Reilly even sings on the record, something Factory would try [and fail] to stop him from doing again. So "L.C." is a defiant album, which makes this the perfect time for a reissue. Right now we don't know if any more new material from the Durutti Column will ever emerge. There have been rumors, but it seems more appropriate just to hope that Reilly can one day get back to living a normal life, after a series of strokes he has suffered since 2010, and do basic things like use his left hand. By the way, on a not-unrelated note, the actual significance of "L.C." is a bit of Italian slang: "Lotta Continua" [The Struggle Continues]. Reilly's financial troubles, brought on by his health issues, have been fairly well documented--much to his humiliation. Since I'm all about "calls to action" right now, why not consider adding this to your collection? It is less an act of charity than a gift to yourself. Go ahead. You deserve it. BOMBAST playlist, 2013 January 30, 8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

1. The Names: "Nightshift" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes]
2. Crispy Ambulance: "Concorde Square" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes]
3. Dominik Eulberg: "Als Er Den Gleißenden Rand Seines Schattens Sah" [Traum]
4. Emilia Amper: "Polska Fra Hoffsmyran" [Bis]
5. Other Lives: "Take Us Alive" [TBD]
6. Pere Ubu: "Musicians are Scum" [Fire]
7. Blurt: "Get" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes]
8. Steve Moore: "Feel the Difference" [Dangerous Age]
9. Debruit: "Zef (Fulgeance Remix)" [Civil Music]
10. Happy Mondays: "Hallelujah (Club Mix)" [Factory / Elektra] ***"Listening Parlour"
11. John Talabot: "Last Land (Kenton Slash Demon Remix)" [Permanent Vacation]
12. The Durutti Column: "Sketch for Dawn (1)" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes] ***"Physical Evidence"
13. The Durutti Column: "Portrait for Frazer" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes] ***"Physical Evidence"
14. The Durutti Column: "Jacqueline" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes] ***"Physical Evidence"
15. The Durutti Column: "Messidor" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes] ***"Physical Evidence"
16. The Durutti Column: "Sketch for Dawn (2)" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes] ***"Physical Evidence"
17. Ohio Players: "Skin Tight" [Mercury]
18. Soundgarden: "Fopp" [A & M]
19. Born Losers: "Funnel of Love" [Mean Disposition]
20. Mogwai: "Soup" [Rock Action]
21. The Wake: "Judas" [Factory Benelux / Les Temps Modernes]
22. Leslie Winer: "John Says" [The Wormhole]
23. Wooden Wand: "Outsider Blues" [Fire]
24. Sugar: "Man on the Moon" [Creation / Rykodisc] ***"Listening Parlour"

next time: Side 2. Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

“A Work of (Pretty Close to) Genius”: Transmission 12, 2013 January 16

If I should ever do a "perfect" show, meaning one in which factual errors and malapropisms don't spill out of my mouth, and in which every track I play is the intended one, properly cued, I will be at a loss for a "topic" of weekly commentary. As you might guess, that hasn't happened yet. I will let you listen to this week's episode and see what happens, as I do realize I give too much away in these notes of apology. My tribute to John Peel was intended as a one-time thing back in December, not an ongoing weekly genuflection, but "fortune presents gifts not according to the book." Hey--if I might make a request--and I might--if you're visiting this page but don't happen to be a "friend" of the show on Facebook, would you consider "liking" us? We're vain that way. Also, there's this, which is well worth "liking" too. You could also, oh, I don't know, write a "comment" to someone telling them how much you like the show, or something like that. The past two weeks have blended together somewhat, with repeat appearances by Konkoma, Chico Mann, Debruit, Kelpe, et. al.  What can I say?  These are terrific records.  "Grail overfloweth." Konkoma, in particular, is generating much positive feedback. Nevertheless, in what seems to be an ongoing dialectic of style, the electronica's been predominant lately, and I've flown solo for three weeks in a row, which, amazingly, hasn't happened before on WRFI. To address these myriad issues we hope to have a co-host next week, so stay tuned, literally. BOMBAST playlist, 2013 January 16, 8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

1. Lapalux: "Forgetting and Learning Again" [Brainfeeder]
2. Magit Cacoon: "Show Up Show Down (LaFleur Remix)" [Whatpeopleplay]
3. Felipe Venegas: "Sueno Lucido" [Cadenza]
4. SCNTST: "Rhythm Sticks" [Boysnoize]
5. Joy Division: "Warsaw" [London Records Japan]
6. Fun Boy Three / Bananarama: "It Ain't What You Do" [Chrysalis] ***"Listening Parlour"
7. DeRobert and the Half-Truths: "Nashville Country Bump" [G.E.D. Soul]
8. Kelpe: "City" [Svetlana Industries]
9. Debruit: "Cri (Kelpe Remix)" [Civil Music]
10. Konkoma: "Sibashaya Woza" [Soundway]
11. Other Lives: "Dead Can" [TBD]
12. Dan Friel: "Exoskeleton" [Thrill Jockey]
13. Kumbia Queers: "Tropikalipsis" [Comfortzone]
14. Terakaft: "Awa Adounia" [World Village]
15. Joanna Newsom: "Emily" [Drag City] ***"Listening Parlour"
16. The Perfect Disaster: "Where Will You Go With Me" [Fire]
17. Moreno and L'Orch First Moja-One: "Aoko (Danger Girl)" [Stern's]
18. Konkoma: "Sibashaya Woza (Chico Mann Remix)" [Soundway]
19. Chico Mann: "Dilo Como Yo - Te Estan Llamando" [Soundway]
20. Monokle: "Swan (Daisuke Tanabe Remix)" [Ki]
21. Godspeed You Black Emperor!: "Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable" [Constellation]
22. Boris Noiz: "Aurora" [Yellow Machines]

next week: more talking, probably, but less of it by me--kid catharsis

“I Gave You the Good Side”: Transmission 11, 2013 January 9

This week's commentary will take the form of a list of confessions.  You have to go where the information takes you.

• I think Catharsis Junior might have more discerning taste than mine.
• Phone calls unnerve me when I am on the air.
• I goofed on the label that released the Jodis record; it is Hydra Head, not Hyper Head.  Hyperhead was the name of a band that, if I recall correctly, rose from the wreckage of Gaye Bikers on Acid, whose music somehow eluded me in its time, but--let's be honest--would probably have piqued the interest of Young Master Catharsis when he was expending too much effort on alternative cool.  I more or less enjoy the one Hyperhead song that I have heard, which features this guy on drums.
• I feel no shame about the length or run-on quality of my sentences.
• It gives me great pleasure to write "TT Shakin" no less than three times, that being this week's "label that we dare not announce."  Technically that probably does not qualify as obscenity, but who wants to argue that in court?  Not us.
• I too enjoyed the Partridge Family.  When I was about six years old.  And we had that record in my house.  This song was a personal favorite.
• A more substantive explication of the New Order thing must wait, as I don't currently have the energy.  When I do, it will probably be ad hoc anyway.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 January 9, 8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

1. Zombie Nation: "Schoove" [Turbo]
2. Xinobi: "(I Hate the Sound of) Guitars" [Discotexas]
3. Debruit: "Ouest Wind's Seagulls (Mweslee Remix)" [Civil Music]
4. Alex Gopher: "Hello Inc. (DJ Falcon Remix)" [GO4 Music]
5. Kelpe: "Bags of Time" [Svetlana Industries]
6. Vatican Shadow: "Peace Rage" [Hospital Productions]
7. Konkoma: "Kpanlogo (Debruit Remix)" [Soundway]
8. Talking Heads: "And She Was" [Sire] ***"Listening Parlour"
9. Leslie Winer: "He Was" [The Wormhole]
10. J. C. Davis: "The Splib, pt. 1" [TT Shakin]
11. Jodis: "Corridor" [Hydra Head]
12. Blind Idiot God: "Wise Man Dub" [SST]
13. The Originals: "The Whip" [TT Shakin]
14. Lincoln Chase: "Miss Orangatang" [Jazzman]
15. Chico Mann: "Luz" [Soundway]
16. Fela Kuti: "Zombie" [Celluloid]
17. The Partridge Family: "Bandala" [Bell] ***"Listening Parlour"
18. Yma Sumac: "Five Bottles Mambo" [Capitol]
19. Sven Kacirek: "Narratives (Opiate Rework)" [Pingipung]
20. The Frantics: "The Whip" [TT Shakin]
21. Deetron: "Crave (Dub Mix)" [Music Man]
22. Morgan Zarate: "BHC" [Hyperdub]
23. Frikstailers: "Guacha (Los Reyes de la Milanga Remix)" [ZZK]
24. Deux: "Everybody's Night" [Minimal Wave]
25. Brassica: "Modern Magic" [Civil Music]
26. New Order: "Ecstasy" [Factory / Qwest]

next time: epic durations. --kid catharsis

“It’s My Thing?”: Transmission 10, 2013 January 2

[UPDATE: audio restored 2014.08.07.] Most Light in the Attic releases, except for those by The Black Angels, don't sound "like BOMBAST" to my ear, idiosyncratic though they may be.  I said as much to Lady Catharsis after the program--"it didn't sound like me"--despite feeling that it was a good show. Shades of "I Feel Merely Marvelous" by Esquivel! As Dale the Exterminator says on a King of the Hill episode, sometimes things are done through you and not by you.  It was that kind of week.  That 10th-anniversary series of 7-inch singles is quite good, even though I elected to play a mere 9 out of the 10 sides.  Speaking of "10s" and orders of magnitude, this week marked a couple of BOMBAST milestones.  This was our 10th program, a point I thought I might not reach, and somehow this website has cracked the "1000 visitors" mark.  Thanks to all who listen and visit: who are you?  Sometimes, as when I play Magnetophone for 17 minutes and no one calls to complain, I wonder whether anyone is paying attention at all.  Internet counters wouldn't lie, though, would they? BOMBAST playlist, 2013 January 2, 8:00 - 10:00 p.m.

1. The Breeders: "New Year" [4AD / Elektra]
2. Betty Davis: "If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up" [Light in the Attic]
3. Hortense Ellis: "Mark My Words" [Attack]
4. Iggy Pop and Zig Zags: "If I'm in Luck I Might Get Picked Up" [Light in the Attic]
5. DeRobert and the Half-Truths: "I Got Burned" [G.E.D. Soul]
6. Town Hall: "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" [Mason Jar]
7. The Black Angels: "You on the Run" [Light in the Attic]
8. Ernest Wilson: "I Know Myself" [Digikiller]
9. Sweet Tea: "After Laughter Comes Tears" [Light in the Attic]
10. Wendy Rene: "After Laughter Comes Tears" [Light in the Attic]
11. No Regular Play: "Birdfeathers" [Wolf and Lamb]
12. Donnie & Joe Emerson: "Baby" [Light in the Attic]
13. Elmore Judd: "Wires 2" [Honest Jon's]
14. Propaganda: "Femme Fatale - The Woman with the Orchid" [ZTT] ***"Listening Parlour"
15. The Invisible: "LDN GRL" [Ninja Tune]
16. Karen Dalton: "Same Old Man" [Light in the Attic]
17. Sam Willis: "Twirled with Your Slight Fingers" [Half Machine]
18. Mark Lanegan: "Same Old Man" [Light in the Attic]
19. Spacemen 3: "Repeater" [Munster]
20. Magnetophone: "Benny's Trip [A Sonic Boom Remix]" [4AD]
21. Uncle Tupelo: "No Depression" [Rockville] ***"Listening Parlour"
22. Lucius: "Wayfaring Stranger" [Mason Jar]
23. Rodriguez: "I'll Slip Away" [Light in the Attic]
24. Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band: "I'll Slip Away" [Light in the Attic]
25. Marva Whitney: "It's My Thing" [Polygram]
26. Lightnin' Hopkins: "Happy New Year" [Rhino]

Next time we will require more electronics. --kid catharsis

“I Always Come Back”: Transmission 8, 2012 December 19

On a night when we "celebrate" the Winter Solstice and the upcoming "Mayan Apocalypse," who better to serve as co-host than Persephone "Goddess of the Underworld" Doliner?  Nobody, that's who.  So glad to have her intelligence and wit livening up the broadcast again. The good thing about guests is that they take the show to unexpected places.  I would never play the Rolling Stones under normal circumstances--see the "Under-Exposure Policy" for details--but the opening of "Gimme Shelter" is a sublime passage of music, and perfect for this show on this night.  The Dropkick Murphys--again, not really on my radar--bumped a similar-sounding recent tune from Half Man Half Biscuit, which I hope to play very soon. We herewith [begin to] induct the departed Coil into the Bombast Hall of Legends, where they join The Fall, Stereolab, and Billy Childish.  We have heard quite a bit from them at this point, so we'll put them aside until the Spring Equinox rolls around.  Since "modesty is a virtue, but honesty is [my] policy," I will say that the segue between the Current 93 piece and Coil's "Magnetic North" and the one going from "Christmas is Now Drawing Near" into "Crashing Sphere" are two of my finest moments in radio.  Coil!  Your difficult music lends itself to beautiful transitions!  Salut! If you want to hear those last few moments of David Tibet's voice in their original isolation, "I Have a Special Plan for This World" is available on Youtube. BOMBAST playlist, 2012 December 19, 8:00-10:00 p.m.

1. Gabriel Ananda / Alice Rose: "Struck by Light" [Basmati]
2. Magnetophone: "And May Your Last Words Be a Chance to Make Things Better" [4AD]
3. Prefuse 73: "The Only Recollection of Where Life Stopped" [Warp]
4. Coil: "A White Rainbow" [Eskaton]
5. Esquivel: "I Feel Merely Marvelous" [Bar/None]
6. Thee Headcoats: "John the Revelator" [Damaged Goods]
7. Willie Williams: "Armagideon Time" [Heartbeat]
8. Johnny Cash: "I See a Darkness" [American] ***"Listening Parlour"
9. Los Saicos: "Demoler" [Munster]
10. The Flaming Stars: "Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree" [Vinyl Japan]
11. The Rolling Stones: "Gimme Shelter" [ABKCO]--Persephone's selection
12. Coil: "North" [Eskaton]
13. Orbital: "Where Is It Going?" [ACP]
14. Current 93: "I Have a Special Plan for This World" [Durtro]
15. Coil: "Magnetic North" [Eskaton]
16. Kristin Hersh: "Can the Circle Be Unbroken" [4AD] ***"Listening Parlour"
17. The Dropkick Murphys: "The Season's Upon Us" [Born & Bred]--JD's selection
18. Fai Baba: "In My Time of Dying" [A Tree in a Field]
19. Coil: "Christmas Is Now Drawing Near" [Eskaton]
20. Starkey: "Crashing Sphere" [Civil Music]
21. The Clash: "Armagideon Time" [Epic / Legacy]
22. The Specials: "You're Wondering Now" [EMI]

Next time: the Catharsis Family Circus, en vivo.  Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

Inching Away from Competence: Transmission 7, 2012 Dec. 12

[UPDATE: Audio file restored 2014 July 31.]

According to some rough math, my storage capacity at this website allows for 8 or 9 "Bombast" programs to be available here at a given time.  Assuming that I have a regular show for the foreseeable future, that means that an individual podcast can be found here for about two months before it is relegated to the archives.  So for the next two months, I'm going to feel like I've got my pants down, on account of this broadcast right here. [UPDATE: now that the storage deal has changed, I can keep this here "forever" and be permanently embarrassed.]

"Performers" will tell you there are nights when things just aren't working.  Sometimes circumstances conspire against them, sometimes the energy is just "different" somehow than their other, better performances, sometimes they can't find focus, sometimes they really need to root down and bring it but can't.  I don't know which of these factors were in play on the night of December 12, but I strongly feel at least one of them was. Lady Catharsis assured me after the show that it didn't sound bad on air--at least no worse than normal!  And I did receive a couple of compliments on the music.  Which goes to show that what is happening inside my head as the show is being broadcast is much different than what goes out on air. 

Still, I'm not at my best.  The usual errors are there, plus some interesting new ones.  I'll let you figure those out for yourself. My co-hosts, Allison Kitchener and Josh Dolan, were superb, and without them, this show really would have sucked.  So thanks to them.  It was a bit much, taking on this all-vinyl extravaganza just because it was 12.12.12, and trying to perform amateur psychology on Allison as well as show Josh some of the workings of the board.  Multi-tasking is not my thing.  "Neither is teaching," I hear some of you saying.  Whatever.

Some genius thought it would be noble to adopt a documentary policy with regard to these recordings, and I have tried to adhere to that as best I could.  This time out, the inconsistencies of the turntables and the mixing board got the best of me.  I have added dynamic range compression in order to smooth out what would otherwise be an [even more] irritating listen.  Which reminds me--I should also thank Rene Borgella, who went above and beyond the call of duty in getting the turntables in functional shape, pretty much exclusively for this program.  It's not his fault the levels were so weird.

Themed programs are a bit like theme parties--one, every once in a while, might be enjoyable.  Five in a row is mentally and spiritually exhausting, which perhaps accounts for my subjective impressions of this particular show.  I'm looking forward to "retreating" into the usual BOMBAST all-over-the-mapness, which we will do December 19 [which, as I write this, is "tomorrow."]  While that program is nominally inspired by the Winter Solstice and the upcoming "Mayan Apocalypse," it is lending itself well to the usual free-form randomness.  A surprisingly large and diverse group of musicians seem to take inspiration from doomsday scenarios both global and personal. BOMBAST playlist, 2012 December 12, 8 to 10 p.m.

1. Pixies: "Gigantic / River Euphrates" [4AD]
2. Four Tet: "Pinnacles" [Text]
3. Soft Cell: "Bedsitter" [Some Bizarre] ***"Listening Parlour"
4. Thin White Rope: "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" [Zippo]
5. Bauhaus: "She's in Parties" [Beggars Banquet]
6. The Darkness vs SFB: "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" [SFB Remix Series]
7. The Dub Syndicate: "Night Train" [Industrie Discografiche Lacerba]
8. Burial / Four Tet / Thom Yorke: "Ego" [Text]
9. A.R. Kane: "When You're Sad" [One Little Indian]
10. Rowland S. Howard / Lydia Lunch: "Some Velvet Morning" [4AD]
11. The Residents: "Hit The Road Jack" [Ralph]
12. O.M.D.: "Tesla Girls" [A&M] ***"Listening Parlour"
13. Biting Tongues: "Compressor" [Factory]
14. 23 Skidoo: "Language" [Illuminated]
15. The Dub Syndicate: "Ravi Shankar Pt. 1" [On-U Sound]

Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

The Hall of Legends: Transmission 6, 2012 December 9

[UPDATE 2015 January 2]
The Hall of Legends continues to grow, slowly. There are now 15 inductees:

The Fall [charter members, explained below]
Stereolab [charter members, explained below]
Billy Childish [inducted 2012 December 9, audio below]
Coil [seasonal inductions--Winter Solstice 2012; Spring Equinox 2013; Summer Solstice 2013; Autumn Equinox 2013]
Prince Far-I [inducted 2013 April 13]
Dif Juz [inducted 2013 June 26; Gary Bromley interview; Richie Thomas interview]
Little Annie [inducted 2013 August 21; interview]
A.R.Kane [inducted 2013 August 28; Rudy Tambala interview part 1 and part 2]
The Dub Syndicate [inducted 2013 October 19]
The Wolfgang Press [inducted 2014 May 14; Mark Cox interview; Andrew Gray interview; Michael Allen interview]
Ivo Watts-Russell [inducted 2014 June 4; interview]
Breathless [inducted 2014 August 19; Ari Neufeld interview; Dominic Appleton interview]
John Peel [inducted 2014 August 30]
The Durutti Column [inducted 2014 November 25; Vini Reilly interview]
Heidi Berry [induction 2015 January 6]

We herewith induct Billy Childish into the Bombast Hall of Legends.  The Hall, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is a sparsely-populated place.  There are only three members.  [UPDATE: see above.] First of all, I chose the word "legends" as opposed to "fame" because the show tends to celebrate music that is mostly un-celebrated by the larger world.  Second, as you might guess, I have some weird standards in place to assess candidates and determine membership. One door to the Hall of Legends is marked "utility."  No, it is not a closet, but instead a recognition that the show "uses" someone's music or ideas on a regular basis.  In fact the two existing "members" of the Hall of Legends entered through this door.  I don't have the time to give induction speeches here, but I will explain how they "got in." (1) The Fall: "Bombast" is the Fall song that you hear as the usual introduction to the broadcast [when the show is not specifically-themed].  That song, especially the phrase, "feel the wrath of my bombast," works in the same way that the show tries to--you can read it according to its contemporary meaning, that is, "expression too pompous, inflated, or pretentious for the occasion," or its archaic meaning, the stuffing or padding that filled out a garment, i.e. superfluous fluff not meant to be seen directly.  Is that enough to justify inclusion?  Hell to the yes, but were it not for this, they could easily have entered the Hall through its other door, probably as the first inductee. (2) Stereolab: I mentioned this earlier, but they provide the usual underscoring to Lady Catharsis's introduction to the "Listening Parlour" segments.  Is this enough?  Unlike the Fall, they just provide underscoring rather than an enduring concept for the program.  But they, too, would probably have entered through the other door, sooner or later. What is that other door?  "Sustained Extreme Genius Without Much Appreciation," through which our third inductee strolls on this podcast.  "Wait," I hear you saying.  "Aren't those first two bands--as well as Billy Childish--pretty well appreciated?" No.  I mean, sure, their fans are devoted, but feel free to PM me when any of them turn up in a Victoria's Secret holiday special, or a hurricane relief concert.  Or when Coachella offers them seven figures to reunite and headline, instead of relegating them to this or that tent. What is "Sustained Extreme Genius?"  Okay, here's where I admit I just make this stuff up as I go. How about this for a totally subjective litmus test: a 2-hour [or thereabouts] program entirely devoted to this artist's music is just enough to barely scratch the surface of the awesome stuff.  How about--instead of picking ten albums* by 10 different artists that would make an extended stranding on a desert island** bearable, I would feel totally complete being stuck with just about any ten records by this one act? *the exact number isn't important. **I never understood this tired hypothetical exercise--if your iPod doesn't run out of power, is that a long enough stay for you to call it "being stranded?"  If it does lose its charge, what does it matter what you've loaded onto it?  Or--if we substitute a device that won't run out of power--why would I have been traveling near this remote place with a wind-up gramophone?  What was my destination?  What was my agenda?  Wouldn't those circumstances have determined what music I was carrying with me? Anyway.  There are other totally subjective litmus tests in play, but those are the two that came to mind most readily.  Childish aces them both.  Also, anyone with the authority to send Jack White to the dunce's corner has to at least make the Hall of Legends ballot.  "Momentary Extreme Genius at a Time When Someone Needed to Display It" might be a third door to the Hall, but I fear that it would become more of a floodgate. Anyway, friends, I present to you Billy Childish, Legend. As expected, the follies continue.  I refer to Childish the painter as "William Hamper" instead of "Steven Hamper," his given name, although I would hope to be forgiven for this since Billy has used several noms de guerre over the years, and "William Hamper" does appear here and there in the discourse.  Also, I narrowly avoid "striking out" in my attempts to play my first vinyl records at the station.  I get nervous and say stupid things like "I'm lowering the needle onto the stylus" or whatever it was.  ["You're a nervous host," Lady Catharsis tells me.]  "Strike 1" and "Strike 2" provide some lengthy bits of dead air before I finally bloop a base hit with "Headcoats On."  This leads me to think I'm Rod Carew or something, giving me enough false confidence to plow forward with ambitious plans for the subsequent program.  But that is a discussion for next time. BOMBAST playlist, 2012 December 9, 2-ish-4 p.m.

1. Thee Mighty Caesars: "Wiley Coyote" [Big Beat]
2. The Buff Medways: "Troubled Mind" [Transcopic]
3. Thee Milkshakes: "I Can Tell" [Hangman's Daughter]
4. Holly Golightly: "Virtually Happy" [Damaged Goods]
5. Thee Headcoats: "Pocca Hontas Was Her Name" [Damaged Goods] ***"Listening Parlour"
6. Mickey and Ludella: "Stop and Listen" [Vinyl Japan]
7. Thee Headcoatees: "Louis Riel" [Vinyl Japan]
8. The Pop Rivits: "Laughing at You" [Sub Pop]
9. The Pop Rivits: "Kray Twins" [Sub Pop]
10. Thee Headcoat Sect: "Headcoats On" [Hangman]
11. Thee Mighty Caesars: "Strange Words" [Crypt]
12. The Buff Medways: "Don't Hold Me Back" [Vinyl Japan]
13. Thee Milkshakes: "I'll Use Evil" [Hangman's Daughter]
14. Thee Milkshakes: "Can't Seem to Love That Girl" [Hangman's Daughter]
15. The Delmonas: "Temptress of Love" [Sub Pop]
16. Thee Headcoats: "My Dear Watson" [Estrus]
17. Mickey and Ludella: "Do I Expect Too Much" [Vinyl Japan]
18. Thee Headcoat Sect: "Deerstalking Man" [Hangman's Daughter]
19. Holly Golightly: "Head Start" [Damaged Goods] ***"Listening Parlour"
20. Thee Mighty Caesars: "Death of a Mighty Caesar" [Big Beat]
21. The Buff Medways: "Mons Quiff" [Transcopic]
22. Thee Milkshakes: "Seven Days" [Big Beat]
23. Thee Headcoatees: "Ballad of the Insolent Pup" [Vinyl Japan]
24. Thee Headcoats: "All My Feelings Denied" [Crypt]
25. Mickey and Ludella: "That Look You Gave to Me" [Vinyl Japan]
26. Thee Mighty Caesars: "Don't Break My Laws" [Crypt]
27. Holly Golightly: "Look for Me Baby" [Vinyl Japan]
28. Thee Headcoats Sect: "Ready Sect Go" [Vinyl Japan]

next time: hopefully we do more good than harm.  Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

Keeping It Peel: Transmission 5, 2012 December 8

This show pays tribute to legendary BBC 1 host John Peel, who died eight years ago.  There were many words written at the time of his passing, from some of those who have made a big difference in the world of music, and the BBC even retains its tribute webpage, "Keeping it Peel," to this day.  To get a comprehensive bio, or an account of just how much he meant to musicians and other people in radio, sites like this are the best resources. I can only tell you a personal story, in two parts. THE BEGINNING: In a previous life, I had a weekly radio program on a college station.  I began volunteering there in the fall of 1986.  That term, New Order, one of my favorite acts, had released their Brotherhood album, a record which disappointed me at the time [but, in retrospect, one that I think many bands would kill to make].  It is silly to invest so much emotion as to be "disappointed" by these wonderful things called "records" that drop into our lives from time to time, but that was one of the least silly things about the person I was back then. Anyway, in the "Currents" bin at the station there appeared that October another record by New Order.  This one did not have the usual Factory / Qwest imprint but was instead the first release [cat. # SFPS 001] on a brand-new label called "Strange Fruit."  The four songs had been recorded four years earlier, and only for radio broadcast.  All of our records at the station had stickers on the cover so that DJs could comment on the contents.  [Related anecdotes will follow, I'm sure.]  This sticker bore just five six words: "the way things used to be." And those contents?  New Order's cover of Keith Hudson's "Turn the Heater On" was a boundary-stretching reggae excursion that quickly got my mind off Brotherhood-- but more importantly that record started a life-long obsession with the "Peel Sessions" series of recordings made specifically for John Peel's BBC show.  Not living in the UK, this was the closest I could hope to get to this greatness, ironically inspired by England's restrictive "needle time" laws mandating that most music on the radio be performed "live."  I could not have the same experiences that Her Majesty's subjects of all ages have testified to, listening avidly to John Peel several times a week, having their lives changed by his stunningly broad taste in new music, his charmingly haphazard delivery of the music, and the freedom and comfort that artists felt when recording for him.  But I could at least listen to the records, without which my life would be much shabbier. THE END: By October of 2004, the BBC had been streaming online for about 3 or 4 years, during which time I had finally been able to experience the John Peel "wingding" in its full context.  The "needle time" regulations had been relaxed, but Peel was still inviting bands to Maida Vale, still the finest studio environment that some of those bands ever experienced.  I finally got to hear my share of segments like "Pig's Big 78" and the legendary "Festive Fifty" yuletide countdown.  On a nightly basis, Peel, by now in his sixties, was outpacing his younger Radio One colleagues in taste and innovation.  It was the best of times. That fall I was especially busy for whatever reason and had neglected the program's streams and archives for several weeks.  I tuned into the stream one night and heard unfamiliar voices on the air.  I immediately wondered whether Peel had been let go, or quit--his slot had recently been moved to a later hour, and I seem to remember reading that he wasn't very happy about it, what with it screwing up his nightly commute from London to his house in East Anglia. Soon, it struck me that something much worse could have happened to him, so I did a quick news search to see if my fears had any foundation.  I was relieved to discover that he was simply on vacation in Peru, and that the guest hosts that week--I don't remember whether it was Siouxsie or the guys from Orbital on this particular night--were totally planned.  I went on with my day, thinking that I would catch up with John Peel when he was back from vacation. A few hours later that evening, I was doing a news search for something totally unrelated, and saw the headline: "John Peel Dies." Sometimes the circumstances in which you are struck by loss compound the loss itself and become inextricable from the actual event.  I don't know how things would have been different had I heard the news in some other way and not experienced the brutally random stomach-punch of this bizarre evening.  But I do know that it somehow gets a little dusty in the room every single time I think about this, even eight years later.  And as much as I treasure my personal collection of Peel Sessions recordings, I would trade the whole thing in exchange for still having John Peel around. If any of my programs approach a fraction of the quality that Peel delivered on a routine basis, I will consider that a life goal: met. ANYWAY-- I do feel very good about this particular show, in large part due to the companionship of a fellow volunteer at WRFI, Persephone ["Goddess of the Underworld"] Doliner [thanks for that, Catharsis Junior!].  Persephone, as you will hear, is a natural for radio and her commentary on the music is a delight.  I know you will agree with me on this.  I begged her to come visit me again during the normal Bombast show, and I am happy to report that she will return.  I need to take advantage of the free time she has before she [hopefully] gets her own program, tentatively named (I hope I have this right) "Gran-ola's Variety Hour." Of course the show could not pass without a grievous error, and I called it beforehand, but we still repeated it three times: Amayenge are of course from Zambia, not Zimbabwe.  Also, I'd forgotten to bring my Cure cd, so I was playing that track off my laptop, which accounts for the momentary craziness of the levels and the fact that the next track starts playing through the station ID at the end.  Some would call it slapstick.  There will come a time when you will consider that a tame example. Notable omissions: I should really have played Peel favorites PJ Harvey and The Wedding Present, and planned to, but it is a habit of mine to ramble in my shows, guest or no guest, to the point where I must skip some items in my intended playlist.  No doubt "Jeremy," friend of Bombast, will be disappointed that the David Gedge Experience didn't get a deserved airing.  Jeremy: if you ever find yourself in the Ithaca area, I'm hoping you will make an appearance on the program so that we can properly induct them into the Bombast Hall of Legends.  I can't give them the pomp they deserve all by myself. BOMBAST playlist, 2012 December 8, 7-9:30 p.m.

1. The Specials: "Longshot Kick de Bucket / Liquidator / Skinhead Moonstomp" [EMI]
2. The Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Day Tripper" [Experience Hendrix / MCA]
3. Orbital: "Lush [Euro Tunnel Disaster] / Walkabout" [Internal]
4. Robert Wyatt: "I'm a Believer" [Strange Fruit / NME]
5. Young Marble Giants: "Brand New Life" [Strange Fruit]
6. George Lewis & His New Orleans Music: "Yaaka Hula Hickey Dula" [Trikont] ***"Listening Parlour"
7. Plaid: "Eph" [Warp]
8. Eat Static: "Area 51" [Strange Fruit]
9. The Flaming Stars: "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" [Vinyl Japan]
10. Billy Bragg: "This Guitar Says Sorry" [Dutch East India]
11. Nico: "Secret Side" [Strange Fruit] ***"Listening Parlour"
12. mum: "Awake on a Train" [Fatcat]
13. Culture: "Lion Rock" [Strange Fruit]
14. Amayenge: "Munise Munise" [Strange Fruit]
15. Timeshard: "Oracle" [Strange Fruit]
16. Olly Oakley: "The Jovial Huntsman" [Trikont] ***"Listening Parlour"
17. Stereolab: "Difficult Fourth Title" [Strange Fruit]
18. The Fall: "Theme from Sparta F.C." [Castle]
19. Pixies: "Wild Honey Pie" [4AD]
20. Gang of Four: "At Home He's a Tourist" [Strange Fruit]
21. Gallon Drunk: "Drag '91" [Strange Fruit]
22. The Cure: "10:15 Saturday Night" [Strange Fruit]

Next time: Put on your headcoat.  Strap that thing upon your head.  For now, enjoy the music and banter! --kid catharsis

Bombast debuts, part 2 [transmission 1, 2012 Nov 21]

[UPDATE, 2014 May 31: Audio file has been restored.] Here is the second hour of the first broadcast on WRFI, 21 Nov 2012, 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.  We start things off with our inaugural visit to the "Listening Parlour" with Lady Catharsis, which is sure to be the most liked thing we do on the show. For technical details, please read the notes to Part 1 below. BOMBAST Playlist, 2012 Nov 21, 9 p.m.-10 p.m.

1. The Knitters: "Poor Little Critter on the Road" [Slash / Rhino] ***"Listening Parlour"
2. Uncle Tupelo: "Sauget Wind" [Dutch East India Trading]
3. Clear Horizon: "For Days" [Kranky]
4. Futureheads: "First Day" [Sire]
5. The Dub Syndicate: "Je T'aime" [On-U Sound]
6. The Inflatable Sideshow: "Bone Frequency" [Chalice]
7. Coil: "First Dark Ride" [Threshold House]
8. Konono No. 1: "Paradiso" [Crammed Discs]
9. Suns of Arqa: "Snelson's Last Stand" [Arka Sound / EMI]
10. People Like Us: "Guide to Broadcasting" / "Smash and Grab" [Mess Media]
11. U Roy: "Wear You to the Ball" [Virgin / Frontline]
12. The Fall: "Over! Over!" [Slogan]

enjoy!