radiobombast

Keep Your Gifts and Keep Your Money: Transmission 443, 2019 January 9

"It's a very smooth evening," I suggest at one point in this broadcast. Compared to what? A porcupine's back, or sandpaper, or a loofa, perhaps.

My plan to play 36 songs on the night was probably ill-considered, and was quickly cut down to 35 (apologies to Gaye Su Akyol--is it my destiny always to be apologizing?) when all the computers in the room decided to freeze on me and I had to read public service announcements without underscoring to prevent dead air. There was a period in my life when people used to tell me I had a "good radio voice" but I don't hear it so much anymore. This endures for only about 3 minutes or so, but seems interminable to me. YMMV. I also worry about causing a food panic by biffing the opening hours of Loaves and Fishes, but I am probably kidding myself about the number of people listening.

Anyway, that's what I get, apparently, for being optimistic about this program beforehand. You can hear the audio software failing during the Fall track (sorry), the aux cord came dislodged from my laptop during my PSA adventure, ruining the first few seconds of the Hairbone track (sorry), and my playlist was set to "shuffle" so we accidentally hear the first few seconds of a Comet Gain track--which I call a "harbinger of something" (sorry)--so I guess apologies are my destiny. I sound like Radio Niger without the exoticism--I am just a local bumbler.

But in my defense, if you can make it through the first 10 minutes or so, by which point "the technology is working for us and not against us," this is a pretty rewarding mixtape. There is some head-nodding goodness around the time of Stereolab and Beaches, and for the most part I got out of my own way in the second hour (apologies--again!--if I have used that phrase before). Playing Ammar 808 immediately after the Budget Girls was probably not such a great idea, but I executed it with confidence, which seems to have made a difference there and elsewhere. I talked over Dominik Eulberg's excellent track--he always seems to provide such an opportunity--but it was so nice and long that I couldn't resist. I got Cee Bee Beaumont's name wrong no less than four times, but at least I played their track without screwing it up. You're welcome?

Alright, look, it wasn't a great night for music or talking, and what else is there, but there are at least a few things that came off properly. I ended the proceedings a little bit early, because why not quit while I am ahead?

BOMBAST playlist, 2019 January 9, 2100-2300:

1. "Overture from 'I Am Curious, Orange'" | The Fall | I Am Kurious Oranj | Beggars Banquet
2. "Phrygian Jelly" | Hairbone | Earth to Momma | Blank Forms
3. "Numbered Days" | Odd Beholder | All Reality Is Virtual | Sinnbus
4. "And Then Again - 12" Version" | A Certain Ratio | acr:set | Mute
5. "Distribution of Care" | Lotic | Power | Tri Angle
6. "P.H.U.K." | Orbital | P.H.U.K. | ACP
7. "Inertia" | All Is Well | Fragments - EP | Drumpoet Community
8. "Come on Get Happy" | Sun Kil Moon | This Is My Dinner | Caldo Verde
9. "Eagerly Hunting" | Rue Royale | In Parallel | Sinnbus
10. "The Harbour Master" | Cee Bee Beaumont | Damaged Goods (1988-2018) | Damaged Goods
11. "Maka Dub" | Errol Brown | Orthodox Dub | Dub Store
12. "Freiluft" | Thomas Fehlmann | Los Lagos | Kompakt
13. "Faraday Monument" | Oliver Coates | Shelley's on Zenn-La | Rvng Int'l
14. "Silent Hedges" | Bauhaus | The Sky's Gone Out [reissue] | Beggars Banquet
15. "Davey Crockett" | Thee Headcoatees | Damaged Goods (1988-2018) | Damaged Goods
16. "True Love" | The Legendary Pink Dots | Any Day Now [reissue] | Metropolis
17. "Reality World" | Pedrodollar | Studio Barnhus Volym 1 | Studio Barnhus
18. "We Are The Bees" | The Taki Twins | Old and New | self-released
19. "Rise Of The Bird" | Hot Hot Hawk | Legendary | Nang
20. "Unique Boutique" | Meat Beat Manifesto | Impossible Star | Flexidisc
21. "Farfisa" | Stereolab | Refried Ectoplasm [Switched On Volume 2] [reissue] | Duophonic
22. "Void" | Beaches | Second of Spring | Chapter Music
23. "You're So Sorry" | Budget Girls | Damaged Goods (1988-2018) | Damaged Goods
24. "Degdega" | AMMAR 808 | Maghreb United | Glitterbeat
25. "Slingshot" | The Senior Service | Damaged Goods (1988-2018) | Damaged Goods
26. "The God of Gaps" | The Galileo 7 | Tear Your Minds Wide Open! | Damaged Goods
27. "Cold Water People" | Ride | Tomorrow's Shore | Wichita
28. "Deadlock" | Objekt | Cocoon Crush | PAN
29. "She's Leaving" | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | Architecture and Morality [reissue] | Virgin
30. "Tintenfischpilz" | Dominik Eulberg | Roter Gitterling & Tintenfischpilz | Apus Apus
31. "At the Movies" | Valerie from the Galerie | Tape One | Whataboutnever
32. "What U Waiting For" | Heavee | WFM | Teklife
33. "Ventania Dub" | Bixiga 70 | The Copan Connection: Bixiga 70 Meets Victor Rice | Glitterbeat
34. "Eventually" | The Nightingales | Perish the Thought | Tiny Global Productions
35. "Infinite Pleasure, Pt. 2" | HALEY | Pleasureland | Memphis Industries

Burning the private paradise of dreams

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Sound Formed in a Vacuum May Seem a Waste of Time: Transmission 442, 2019 January 4

Before we get to the main subject of tonight's broadcast, let me apologize again for not observing the birthdays of Michael Stipe and Robin Guthrie. As I say to my co-pilot, Lady Catharsis, we certainly could have brought in a stack of Cocteau Twins or R.E.M. records and done two hours on either one. But that's not the way it worked out. Maybe she is right, and there will be other January 4 opportunities. But I have already done my thing on Cocteau Twins, I feel, and I would certainly need at least a year to work out whether an all-R.E.M. show would really be me, even though I am a 1980s "college radio" guy. At any rate, let's hope neither of them are the type to google themselves, or, if they are, they accept my apology. I have run into trouble with the self-googling thing before, though I won't name names.

We were here on this night to observe "the feast of (Saint) Bernard" Sumner, he of the voice that Lady Catharsis describes as "sweet." As I predict, we don't get to very many songs, but that is of course because New Order write such nice long ones, and we are very talkative. There is a lot to be said about our selection, but I don't feel like going into a lot of detail. Grievance night has passed, and we are playing what we like. I give my opinion on bad Eighties mixtapes, and this is not one. It's all quality. Somehow we got through two hours of New Order without even playing "Blue Monday!" (Or "Fine Time," the "newer" song that I couldn't work into a good segue. So be it).

Maybe our commentary will be more pointed when we observe Peter Hook's birthday on February 13 (a regular Wednesday night program). I don't know. In my old age the spiciness of my takes is decreasing, which is probably good for everyone.

That doesn't prevent a whole bunch of loose ends from the program, which seems to be par for the course. The xmas flexidisc doesn't have an "other side." It's single-sided. How did this fact manage to escape me, if we played "it" on the program? Radio magic! There is indeed a version of "Sub-culture" with Debora Iyall, and you can listen to it here. (Spicy take alert: it isn't the best work of anyone involved.) Turns out we do use the same piece of interstitial music for every talking break on the program, and it does seem to go wiith everything New Order does, though of course we'll have another opportunity to test this out soon.

Oh, finally--why does our intro music go on for so long before we speak? In our ongoing series, "early program disasters in 2019," the station's general manager calls me in the control room right at the beginning of the program, of course. We overcome it. This is a good show.

BOMBAST playlist, 2019 January 4, 2100-2300:

1. "Ceremony" | New Order | Substance | Factory - Qwest
2. "Temptation" | New Order | 1981-1982 | Factory - Polygram
3. "Chosen Time" | New Order | Movement | London - Rhino
4. "Too Late" | New Order | Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit
5. "The Village" / "5 8 6" | New Order | Power, Corruption & Lies | Factory - Qwest
6. "Confusion" | New Order | Confusion | Factory
7. "Sooner Than You Think" | New Order | Low-life | Factory - Qwest
8. "Sub-culture (remix)" | New Order | Sub-culture | Factory - Qwest
9. "All Day Long" | New Order | Brotherhood | Factory - Qwest
10. "Lonesome Tonight" | New Order | Substance | Factory - Qwest
11. "Hurt" | New Order | 1981-1982 | Factory - Polygram
12. "Rocking Carol" | New Order | Merry Xmas From The Haçienda And Factory Records | Factory
13. "Love Vigilantes" / "The Perfect Kiss" | New Order | Low-life | Factory - Qwest
14. "Your Silent Face" | New Order | Power, Corruption & Lies | Factory - Qwest
15. "Every Little Counts" | New Order | Brotherhood | Factory - Qwest

This is why events unnerve me

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How Long Have You Had This Plan: Transmission 441, 2019 January 2

2019 is off to a typical start. A couple of minutes into the Die Wilde Jagd tune, my hand slips and triggers a corny effect in our audio software. "I could talk myself into it being part of the track," says DJ Drew, helpfully--he is still hanging around the studio for some reason. Anyway, I can tell you that this is the first in a series of early-in-show disasters. This will be our thing for this year. Later on, my laptop decides that a an audio notification is just the thing to spice up "True Heart." I sometimes feel old when I am telling "the kids" about "the old days" of radio when we just played vinyl, but those computer-free days were objectively better.

At least this year is off to a better start than 2018. I am not sick, and this episode is not garbage. The segue into Bauhaus was maybe not great, but Causa Sui was sublime! I cannot say "Aloysius," but are my struggles with enunciation worse than Liz Fraser's gobbledygook? "Santa sashimi" is what Lady Catharsis thinks she is singing during that song, which, if true, would be among her best lyrics. It's just a smooth program without much incident, highly desirable after our terrible late summer / early autumn and our absolutely bonkers December. Happy new year!

BOMBAST playlist, 2019 January 2, 2100-2300:

1. "Gleiß K" | Die Wilde Jagd | Convenanza 2018 | Hoga Nord
2. "MeetMeAfter" | Seekers International | LoversDedicationStation | Bokeh Versions
3. "Tamale" | Mr Raoul K | African Paradigm EP I | Compost
4. "CRYSTAL" | Lawrence | ILLUSION | Dial
5. "Detector" | John Tejada | Kompakt: Total 18 | Kompakt
6. "Reciprocity" | Max Cooper | One Hundred Billion Sparks | Phases
7. "Into Bleeps" | Shed | Air Texture Vol. VI | Air Texture
8. "TRUE HEART" | David August | D'ANGELO | PIAS
9. "In the Night" | Bauhaus | The Sky's Gone Out [reissue] | Beggars Banquet
10. "Rip Tide" | Causa Sui | Live in Copenhagen | El Paraiso
11. "Aloysius" | Cocteau Twins | Treasure [reissue] | 4AD
12. "Light Out" | Basic Soul Unit | Air Texture Vol. VI | Air Texture
13. "UFO Paycheck" | The Brian Jonestown Massacre | Don't Get Lost | A Records
14. "Goblin Year" | G.S. Schray | Gabriel | Last Resort
15. "Vasco de Gama" | Felt | The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories [reissue] | Cherry Red
16. "Spangle" | The Wedding Present | Marc Riley Sessions Volume 2 | Hatch
17. "Going West" | FaltyDL | Air Texture Vol. VI | Air Texture
18. "Natural Playground" | Citizen Maze | Serenity in the Woods | Analogue Attic
19. "The Fullness of Years" | Documenta | Lady With The Ring | Touch Sensitive
20. "Sick" | Brian | Auto Da Fe | self-released
21. "Bohemian Grove" | Ipek Gorgun | Ecce Homo | Touch
22. "Kaieteur Falls" | Tracing Xircles | Air Texture Vol. VI | Air Texture
23. "Dilation" | Demdike Stare | Passion | Modern Love
24. "Like This" | Odd Beholder | All Reality Is Virtual | Sinnbus
25. "Unfolding" | Tangent | Approaching Complexity | N5MD

There's no chat, he's for show

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A Happier Planet Than This One: Transmission 440, 2018 December 26

Welcome to our final program of 2018, a "quiet" year in which, as I remark during this broadcast, we did "only" 52 episodes. In my defense, there was a year where we did, like, 91 or something. I really have slowed down in my old age and malaise. At any rate, Lady Catharsis rides shotgun here, and provides plenty of tunes and, uh, other qualities, if a certain listener is to be believed. She drops an Oswald the Octopus reference, is cracked up by Xmal Deutschland, and unironically extols the virtues of Mrs. Miller.

I am openly happy to be doing the last "themed" episode of this run, and to be "minimizing didacticism" in the near future; our rambling discussions here sparked a couple of disappointing internet research excursions. First, I can't find any evidence of a second volume of Hillbilly Music...Thank God! If you know of something, hit up Lady Catharsis on the bird-themed website. (Or better yet, alert me so I can buy it for her and score some much-needed points!). Second--were you aware that Nico was a horrible racist? Good lord, first Morrissey and now this. Simon Reynolds describing her death as "bathetic" is just about right. She is, as the kids say, cancelled.

On a lighter note, it's absolutely true that we have been watching a lot of Hallmark movies; for more in-depth commentary, you should listen to this, which is, like, the only other podcast I listen to.

Technically--the show did have only one bad segue, as I guess I was a little bit anxious to hear Sandie Shaw. Who wouldn't be? Content-wise, it doesn't feel very balanced to me--I never did get to dub music, with the exception of Scientist, and generally I'm probably overreacting to the "failed" techno set from last time out. But it seemed to go over really well with the station's resident drunk volunteer, who texted in to say that Lady Catharsis's presence improves my show IMMEASURABLY (all caps his, not mine), which is a left-handed compliment if I ever saw one. Elsewhere, someone (maybe the same person? IDK) seems to have taken offense to my Miss Rosie impersonation, remarking that Juke in the Back is one of the three best programs that WRFI airs (mine is apparently not in the top three).

Thanks for listening in 2018, everyone, and anytime you'd like to provide me with some constructive feedback, or, better yet, praise, hit me up somewhere.

BOMBAST playlist, 2018 December 26, 2100-2300:

1. "John, John, Put Your Trousers On" | Mr. Billy Williams | The Pig's Big 78s - A Beginner's Guide | Trikont
2. "Boxing Day" | AFX | Chosen Lords | Rephlex
3. "Snowfall" | Esquivel | merry xmas from the space-age bachelor pad | Bar/None
4. "You're For Me" | Buck Owens | Hillbilly Music... Thank God! Vol. 1 | Bug - Capitol
5. "Lit Up Like a Christmas Tree" | The Flaming Stars | The Six John Peel Sessions | Vinyl Japan
6. "Bye Bye Baby" | Wanda Jackson | There's a Party Goin' On | Rumble
7. "18 Drumalie Avenue Dub" | Scientist | In the Kingdom of Dub | Superior Viaduct
8. "There You Go" | Bongwater | Double Bummer | Shimmy Disc
9. "Incubus Succubus II" | Xmal Deutschland | Lilliput | 4AD
10. "All Tomorrow's Parties" | Nico | Live in Tokyo 1986 | Radiation Reissues
11. "Big Sex" | T.A.G. | Big Sex | Sweatbox
12. "Dance of Love" | Tom Jones | This Is Tom Jones | Parrot
13. "Alcoholiday" | Teenage Fanclub | Bandwagonesque | DGC
14. "I Like To Booze It" | Neal Merritt | UFO On Farm Road 318 | Trailer-Park
15. "Drugs" | Talking Heads | Fear of Music | Sire - Rhino
16. "Violence" | The Durutti Column | Tempus Fugit | Kooky
17. "I Hate Men" | Little Carolyn Sue | UFO On Farm Road 318 | Trailer-Park
18. "Hunk of a Punk" | Red Atkins | Presage(s) | 4AD
19. "Sweet Pea" | Mrs. Miller | Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller?! | Capitol
20. "Blue Tango" | Ray Martin & His Orchestra | The Pig's Big 78s - A Beginner's Guide | Trikont
21. "Stop Feeling Sorry For Yourself" | Sandie Shaw | Sandie Shaw | Reprise
22. "Nate Will Not Return" | The Fall | Ersatz GB | Cherry Red / MVD
23. "On a Bicycle Built for Two" | Merle Travis | Walkin' The Strings | Capitol
24. "(There Ought To Be) A Moonlight Savings Time" | Bob Richardson & His Orchestra | The Pig's Big 78s - A Beginner's Guide | Trikont
25. "Happy Holiday" | Hermine | It's A Crammed, Crammed, Crammed World! | Crammed Discs

You're gonna break another heart, you're gonna tell another lie

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We Met at a Ski Lodge: Transmission 439, 2018 December 23

Here is our closest approach to a "Christmas" episode but of course it is Festivus, or "holidays," or "vacation," or something non-demoninational with a couple of exceptions. "No Cocteau Twins," I promise, though the episode could have done with them. Mostly it's about grievances and foul moods, even though Lady Catharsis is riding along with me on this one. I mangle the segues involving Joan Jett and X-Ray Spex (for the purpose of posting I have cleaned up some of the carnage), and am secretly upset about this for the rest of the evening (though not-so-secretly terse about it immediately after it happened).

My mood must have improved at some point because I do say I am "in good form," but then, probably feeling that the program was a bit rockist for my taste, I attempted a techno block that just did not do anything for me. Is there something wrong with A.R.K. and System 7, or is it depression? These tunes used to make me so happy, and seemed so seasonally appropriate (late-year purchases, probably). Those Eddie Murphy samples, though--they are pretty dated, and I should probably have felt that way a long time ago. Am I just now waking up? At any rate, I would truly have been happy, as I suggested, to play the "interstitial" music until the end of the program. But it's probably better that we played the Velvet Underground and Jesu instead.

Things can only get better--can't they?

BOMBAST playlist, 2018 December 23, 2100-2300:

1. "Real Cool Time" | The Stooges | The Stooges | Elektra
2. "Happy Shopper" | Audio Active | Pay It All Back (Volume 5) | Restless
3. "Nature Story" | Kristin Hersh | Duchess of York UK Live 2009 | not on label
4. "Slippershell" | Kristin Hersh | Crooked Beginnings EP | Yes Dear Music
5. "Sam Hall" | Johnny Cash | American IV: The Man Comes Around | American Recordings - Lost Highway
6. "Wanted Man" | Marc Riley | 'Til Things Are Brighter...A Tribute To Johnny Cash | Red Rhino
7. "Bits and Pieces" | Joan Jett & The Blackhearts | I Love Rock 'N Roll | The Boardwalk Entertainment Co
8. "Warrior In Woolworths" | X-Ray Spex | Germfree Adolescents | Real Gone Music
9. "Drunk" | Vic Chesnutt | Drunk | New West
10. "Gammon People" | Brian Harris | A Question of Balance | self-released
11. "Arthur's Farm" / "All I Want for Christmas Is a Dukla Prague Away Kit" | Half Man Half Biscuit | The Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit
12. "Nine Little Reindeer" | Gene Autry | The Christmas Cowboy | Laserlight Digital
13. "Christmas Skies" | Thin White Rope | The Ruby Sea | Frontier
14. "New Saigon" | Pell Mell | Rhyming Guitars | SST
15. "You Sexy Thing" | Cud | The Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit
16. "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter" | Connie Francis | The Very Best of Connie Francis | Polydor
17. "Please Come Home for Christmas" | James Brown | Funky Christmas | Polydor
18. "XMAS_EVET10 [120][thanaton3 mix]" | Aphex Twin | Syro | WARP
19. "Listen Up! (Pulsar Mix)" | A.R.K | Listen Up! | Rough Trade
20. "Miracle (Orb Remix)" | System 7 | Volume Two | Volume
21. "Beginning To See the Light" | The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground | Verve
22. "Christmas" | Jesu / Yang Li | Christmas EP | Hospital Productions

The customer is always right

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Let Me Show You How Sweet It Could Be: Transmission 438, 2018 December 19

This episode finds me "by my own" for once, and I'm in a weird state. I looked forward to this "Bombastic Complication" as it had been fun the last time I tried it, which was (gulp) five years ago. I was flying solo then, too. But the thing about worsening depression is that you literally become numb, I guess, unable to experience joy. More on this in an upcoming diary entry. At any rate, I am audibly missing Lady Catharsis, moaning out loud about her absence. Elsewhere I am haunted by the ghosts of bad segues, and I lament mistakes that never happened. Apparently I need a caretaker.

Not to say that the episode was free from the usual errors--I biff the segue leading into "Float On," as apparently Alvin Lives (In Leeds) carries some kind of curse that acts upon me. I seem flabbergasted that 1998 was two decades ago, which could be an awakening, or just symptomatic of something. I credit Lux Interior for curating Beat from Badsville, but not Ivy Rorschach, which is a bad look. I could probably have chosen more "adventurous" tracks at the expense of some of the "sure things." Speaking about Bo Diddley in the present tense was intentional, though, because he does live forever.

Onward and upward!

BOMBAST playlist, 2018 December 19, 2100-2300:

1. "5-8-6" | New Order | The Peel Sessions - The Sampler | Strange Fruit
2. "Monkey Jazz" | Ian O'Brien | The Rebirth of Cool Seven | Island
3. "Straight A's In Love" | Peter Shelley | Til Things Are Brighter...A Tribute to Johnny Cash | Red Rhino
4. "Float On" | The Close Lobsters | Alvin Lives (in Leeds) | Midnight Music
5. "Service With a Smile" | The Kuf-Linx | Beat From Badsville Vol. 2 | Stag-O-Lee
6. "Bo Diddley Is A Lover" | The Liverbirds | Girls With Guitars | Ace
7. "Suki Sa Suki Sa Suki Sa" | Nana Kinomi and Leo Beats | Nippon Girls (Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1967-69) | Big Beat
8. "Road Close (Dance Dub)" | Tony Allen | Africafunk: The Original Sound Of 1970s Funky Africa | Harmless
9. "Polyacid Blue" | Cassegrain & Tin Man | Infrastructure Facticity | Infrastructure New York
10. "Praying for a Cheaper Christmas" | Swinging Buildings | Chantons Noël - Ghosts Of Christmas Past | Les Disques du Crepuscule
11. "Brand New Life" | Young Marble Giants | Winters Of Discontent - The Peel Sessions 77-83 | Strange Fruit
12. "Swamp Gas" | The Space Walkers | UFO on Farm Road 318 | Trailer-Park
13. "Your Jolly Giant" | Nubile G & The Spurious Wizz | Death of Vinyl | DOVe
14. "Agadez Fatimata" | Radio Niger | Sublime Frequencies
15. "Bina" | Os Jovens Do Prenda | Angola Soundtrack 2 - Hypnosis, Distortion & Other Innovations 1969 - 1978 | Analog Africa
16. "You Thought I Was Dead" | Lee Perry & Dub Syndicate | Pay It All Back Vol. 3 | On-U Sound
17. "Love & Fire" | Ruts DC / Mad Professor | dub or die vol:2 | ROIR Europe - Danceteria
18. "Leaves in the Wind" | The Project | The Zulu Compilation | Zulu
19. "Raindance" | The Past Seven Days | Natures Mortes - Still Lives | 4AD
20. "Baby Honey" | The Pastels | Different for Domeheads | Creation
21. "Crawdad" | The Colonials | Last of the Garage Punk Unknowns Volume 1 | Crypt
22. "Slaughter" | Mark Brodie and the Beaver Patrol | Hang 10: Volume One | Shredder
23. "Time's Up" | Buzzcocks | Short Circuit Live at the Electric Circus | Virgin

Justify the tears I've cried

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You Know That Time's Not Kind: Transmission 437, 2018 December 12

Is there a difference between "radio magic" and straight-up cheating? Thanks to the absence of a WRFI Studio Cam, you'll have to rely on your ears to discern it, if you can. That and many other topics get a robust airing on this haphazard, mostly enjoyable broadcast. We came to play the 12-inch single on this night, not to praise or bury it, and (thank goodness) not to discuss it a whole lot, as I was seemingly even worse than usual with facts.

It turns out that David Byrne did not "produce" the Fun Boy Three song that we played, though he is credited with "mixing" the flipside of that record. The OMD single we played (how OMD persists!) is not pristine, skipping at least twice, so I should not have agreed with Lady Catharsis's assessment there (though it looks to be in lovely shape). Most egregiously, I get the Negativland U2 story almost completely wrong, forgetting that they did at least one whole book about it. Not having visited their website in "god knows how many years" should have shut me up about it, but of course things transpired differently.

Venturing into the realm of opinion and feelings, I do somewhat better, but not much. 1980 and 2018 were bad years, and we were alive and aware for both. Bela Lugosi's Dead may be the "ultimate" 12-inch, "arguably," but I feel sorry for whoever is spending time on that argument. New Order's carrying on without Peter Hook--I do keep coming back to this, don't I? Are there not greater injustices in the world? By the end of the program I am somewhat incoherent, claiming to be "enjoying myself" but also expressing sadness about all the records we didn't get to. Or is that just "nuance" and "complexity?"

At least we found screeching (squealing?) tires, as we hoped to do, and I fulfilled a request for the first time in nearly a year (you're welcome, Keith!), so this was not a total bust.

BOMBAST playlist, 2018 December 12, 2100-2300:

1. "The Precinct of Sound" | The Dub Syndicate | Classic Selection Volume 2 | On-U Sound
2. "Say You" | Colourbox | Say You | 4AD
3. "Armageddon" | Culture | The Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit
4. "Harley Davidson (Francais / Deutsche)" | Gina X | Harley Davidson (100 M.P.H. Mix) | Statik
5. "Talking Loud and Clear - Extended Version" | Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark | Talking Loud and Clear | Virgin
6. "Don't Stop the Dance - Todd Terje Remix" | Bryan Ferry | Don't Stop the Dance | The Vinyl Factory
7. "The Perfect Kiss" | New Order | The Perfect Kiss | Base Record - Factory
8. "Don't Let Go" | Pink Industry | Don't Let Go | Cathexis
9. "Fizzing Human Bomb" | Danielle Dax | The BBC Sessions | Dutch East India Trading - Strange Fruit
10. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (1991 A Capella Mix)" | Negativland | U2 | SST
11. "Any Second Now" | Depeche Mode | Just Can't Get Enough (Schizo Mix) | Mute
12. "The Lunacy Legacy" | Fun Boy Three | The Tunnel of Love | Chrysalis
13. "The Prince" | Madness | The Peel Sessions | Dutch East India Trading
14. "Bela Lugosi's Dead" | Bauhaus | Bela Lugosi's Dead | Small Wonder
15. "Thoughtforms" | Lush | Mad Love | 4AD
16. "Waves" | Blancmange | Waves | London

Rock and roll still needs innovation

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Cruising Altitude Departure 30, 2018 December 8

[GUEST POST]

This is your Captain, Halcyon, here, with what is probably a less startling appearance than the last one. I appear "in the hour of need," and it would seem that in December the need is more likely to arise than in many other months. This was a crisp morning in late Autumn, which if I recall has been a favorable condition for me in the past, but this particular day was a bit overcast for my taste. Alas. This program was conceived in summer sunshine and is probably best suited for that time, and this particular broadcast seems dreary and "rubs me the wrong way" to an extent. It seems to me barely there until Cindytalk reminds us that indeed we are here.

To each their own, though, and this may give you the same pleasure that some listeners experienced at the time. Laraaji was especially popular, as is proper. I remember having a zither in the Halcyon household when I was a child, and the thought fills me with warmth. Having to talk about a chowder cook-off breaks the mood, such as it is, but we do what we must. And we had a bit of a clunky landing with "Boundless Informant," but you may feel differently.

Since this program is of the "pop-up" variety, I am "popping down" for the time being, but I suspect you have not heard the last from me.

CRUISING ALTITUDE playlist, 2018 December 8, 1000-1100:

1. "Aural Dawn" | Marco Shuttle | Tropicalia | Spazio Disponibile
2. "Introspection" | Laraaji | Bring On The Sun | All Saints
3. "Who Will Choose My Dress" | Cindytalk | The Labyrinth of the Straight Line | Editions Mego
4. "Banteay Srey" | Carl Stone | Electronic Music from the Eighties and Nineties | Unseen Worlds
5. "Panorama" | Wurden & Pfeiffer | Pop Ambient 2018 | Kompakt
6. "Doobieatics" | Magic Mountain High | Air Texture, Vol. V - selected by Spacetime Continuum and Juju & Jordash | Air Texture
7. "Boundless Informant" | Jasmine Guffond | Traced | Sonic Pieces

forgive

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Songs About Bad People: Transmission 436, 2018 December 5

Lady Catharsis (not pictured) joins me for a sloppy, sometimes dark evening of bad promo copy and decent music. For family reasons, we don't do shows on December 24 or 25, so Krampusnacht, Festivus, and Boxing Day seem to be the sacred observances for us. At least that is what the archives tell me. We were both in good spirits on this night, but the mood was dampened somewhat by (as always) error and chaos. If only I could learn to embrace these things, I would be so much more happy and relaxed!

It makes me shudder to listen to this and hear the former teacher in me, coming out to quiz Lady Catharsis relentlessly on a subject for which I had barely prepared and for which she didn't prepare at all. This did give us one of several opportunities for on-the-spot "research," which greatly enhanced the evening's banter. I do think someone should bankroll Lady C's proposed Krampus documentary, or whatever it turns out to be, not just because I am confident that it will be great, but because I like the idea of someone bankrolling us without my having to roll out a Patreon or something.

Musical notes: I think I probably played the wrong pair of Barry Adamson tunes. That's life. It was gratifying that people were listening in real time and pestering us to play murder ballads--good to see such curiosity! I'm not sure anyone was anxious to hear "Like a Possum," much less the final 8 minutes of it, though we might have gone ahead and separated "the wheat from the chaff" and played the entire thing had I not been chastened by having upset management a few weeks prior. I guess I'm not the rebel I once was, and I am grateful for my time slot.

As predicted, we would wake up the next morning to find that the bad people had not disappeared. But we are keeping the faith.

BOMBAST playlist, 2018 December 5, 2100-2300:

1. "The Man Comes Around" | Johnny Cash | American IV: The Man Comes Around | American Recordings - Lost Highway
2. "The Devil Is My Friend" | The Jazz Butcher | The Human Jungle | Glass
3. "St. Christopher" | 50footwave | Bath White | Happy Happy Birthday To Me
4. "Armagideon Time" | Willie Williams | Full Up: Best of Studio One Volume 2 | Heartbeat
5. "Round Up The Usual Suspects" / "Sounds From The Big House" | Barry Adamson | Moss Side Story | Restless - Mute
6. "Rotten Fodder" | The Wolfgang Press | Standing Up Straight | 4AD
7. "Kommienezuspadt" | Tom Waits | Alice | Anti-
8. "Razzle In My Pocket" | Ian Dury | New Boots and Panties!! | The Hit Label
9. "The Bunny Song" | King Missile | They | Shimmy Disc
10. "People Ain't No Good" | The Cramps | A Date With Elvis | New Rose
11. "They're Hanging Me Tonight" | Thin White Rope | Red Sun | Demon
12. "Knoxville Girl" | Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | B-Sides & Rarities | Mute
13. "Like a Possum" [excerpt] | Lou Reed | Ecstasy | Reprise
14. "The Bad Will Die" | Keith Mlevhu | The Bad Will Die (1976-1979) | Strawberry Rain
15. "Armagideon Time" | The Clash | Clash on Broadway | Epic - Legacy
16. "Margin Walker" | Fugazi | 13 Songs | Dischord
17. "The Hungry Wolf" | X | Under the Big Black Sun | Elektra - Rhino
18. "Lilli Schull" | Uncle Tupelo | March 16-20, 1992 | Rockville
19. "For Jackie M" | 400 Blows | The Good Clean English Fist | Dojo
20. "He's Biding His Time" | Danny Dill | Beating on the Bars | Trailer Park
21. "Darkest Dreams" | His Name Is Alive | Livonia | 4AD

He bought me fifteen rum-and-cokes and then he went too far

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C'mon Queenie, Let's Get With It: Transmission 435, 2018 December 1

It is true when I say at some point in this program that we don't normally sound like this. So--first time visitors and listeners, be warned. Normally our transmissions are filled with "many moods, styles, and atmospheres," or whatever it is I say, "sonic trail mix" doing the work of the dreaded word "eclectic." Not that Billy Childish isn't up to the task, and not that we haven't devoted an entire program to him before, but don't come to Bombast looking for reliable "garage rock" or whatever designation people apply to BC. Of course you're welcome to stay as long as you like.

This broadcast is the first from a very busy December in which we found ourselves abandoning novelty and playing a lot of familiar stuff, a good deal of which we'd played before. Oh well, it is "nostalgia season," as I like to say. Nevertheless, due to the brevity of the tunes here, I was resolved (or resigned) not to care about the raggedness of segues. But--maybe it is also miracle season!--some of them turned out quite well. Perhaps it is impossible for greatness not to get along with itself.

So much for "content"--w/r/t "technique," I've had better nights, though I suppose I should be grateful that this is the first time in over 400 episodes that I have referred to the program as "Bauhaus." "It's late for me in a lot of senses," I muse, and I think that is valid. Elsewhere, I wonder out loud if 16 is the age of consent "in English," before suggesting that maybe I should be put out of your misery and yanked off the air. Lady Catharsis is audibly exasperated with this train of thought, which is her way of having my back.

Thanks for listening!

BOMBAST playlist, 2018 December 1, 2000-2200:

1. "Wiley Coyote" | Thee Mighty Caesars | Caesar's Pleasure | Big Beat
2. "Don't Hold Me Back" | The Buff Medways | This Is This | Vinyl Japan
3. "Have Love, Will Travel" | Thee Headcoatees | Have Love, Will Travel | Vinyl Japan
4. "She's Fine, She's Mine" | Wild Billy Childish and the Blackhands | Live in the Netherlands | Hangman
5. "Strychnine" | Thee Headcoat Sect | Deerstalking Men | Hangman's Daughter
6. "We're Gonna Get Married" | Mickey & Ludella | Bedlam A' Go-Go! | Vinyl Japan
7. "I Can Tell" | The Milkshakes | After School Session | Hangman's Daughter
8. "Your Touch On Me" | The Fire Dept. | L'Oeuf D'Or | M'Lady's
9. "Run Cold" | Holly Golightly | Painted On | Sympathy for the Record Industry
10. "She's Got A Strange Attractor" | Thee Headcoats | Beached Earls | Crypt
11. "Temptress of Love" | The Delmonas | I Am The Billy Childish | Sub Pop
12. "Keep Your Man in Mind" | Wild Billy Childish | i remember... | M'Lady's
13. "Brimfull of Hate" | Jack Ketch and the Crowmen | Brimfull of Hate | M'Lady's
14. "Laughing Song" | Kyra | Here I Am, I Always Am | M'Lady's
15. "Kray Twins" | The Pop Rivets | I Am The Billy Childish | Sub Pop
16. "I Can't Seem To Love That Girl" | Thee Milkshakes | Thee Knights of Trashe | Hangman's Daughter
17. "Long Legged Baby" | Natural Born Lovers | The Medway Poets | Hangman
18. "Train Kept A Rollin" / "Fire" | Auntie Vegetable | Medway Powerhouse Vol. 1 | Hangman
19. "Have Love, Will Travel" | Taylor Meets Thee Headcoatees | Taylor Meets Thee Headcoatees | Lissy's
20. "Just 15" | The Buff Medways | 1914 | Transcopic
21. "Headstart" | Holly Golightly | The Good Things | Damaged Goods
22. "Miss Ludella Black" | Thee Mighty Caesars | Surely They Were The Sons of God | Crypt
23. "Ready Sect Go!" | Thee Headcoats Sect | Ready Sect Go! | Vinyl Japan
24. "Did I Tell You" / "Bill's Beat" / "Just Like You" | Thee Milkshakes | Medway Powerhouse Vol. 4 | Hangman
25. "Radio Dreggs" | Wild Billy Childish and the Spartan Dreggs | Coastal Command | Damaged Goods
26. "Dead Sea Fruit" | Miss Ludella Black | Till You Lie In Your Grave | Damaged Goods
27. "What About Brian - Alt. Version" | CTMF | What About Brian (Alt. Version) | Damaged Goods
28. "Ballad of the Insolent Pup" | Thee Headcoatees | Ballad of the Insolent Pup | Vinyl Japan
29. "Little Queenie" | The Billy Childish | The 1982 Cassetes | M'Lady's
30. "I Am The Object Of Your Desire" | Wild Billy Childish and His Famous Headcoats | I Am The Object Of Your Desire | Friends of the Buff Medway Fanciers Association
31. "Sally Go Round the Roses" | Holly Golightly | Laugh It All Up! | Vinyl Japan
32. "The Green Hornet" | The Milkshakes | 19th Nervous Shakedown | Big Beat

Broadcasting the future from the past

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