radiobombast

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

A Guy Called Destruction: Transmission 45, 2013 July 17

Our return to Wednesday night is marked by the first appearance of Biff Bang Pow! on the program. Also, Lady Catharsis re-enters the picture, bringing with her a couple of "latin" -eqsue -ish tunes, sort of. Elsewhere, there's a bunch of Kenyan stuff--I told you that Kenya Special was great--as well as new tunes by Franck Roger, Part Time, H-SIK, and the "criminally underplayed" Survival.

It felt a little old-school as I botched a bunch of things--totally blanking on DJ Sean's name, identifying the band behind "So Many Times, So Many Ways" as "Mount Kimble," and mistaking "Thriller," a mere song on that John Hughes Daydream record, for the album title. At least I confessed to some "lazy research" on Cheick Hamala Diabate, so my incompetence is honest in spirit. Oh, and the 13 seconds of dead air prior to that Biff Bang Pow! track? Just a side-effect of how I earned my nickname for the evening. Nothing to see here.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 July 17, 2100-2300:

1. Franck Roger: "Calixto" [Circus Company]
2. Biff Bang Pow!: "In a Mourning Town" [Creation] / "Physical Evidence"
3. Nairobi Matata Jazz: Mapenzi Hayana Daktari - Frankie Francis Edit" [Soundway]
4. Halo Halo: "Wooden Box" [Upset the Rhythm]
5. Burial + Four Tet: "Moth" [Text]
6. Rans Bol's Ghana Highlife Band: "Gbonimawo" [Honest Jon's]
7. Bomba Estero: "Pa' Respirar" [Soundway]
8. Mariachi El Bronx: "Everything Dies" [ATO] / "Listening Parlour"
9. Sweet Breeze: "Miss Patience (Without Patience)" [Tembo]
10. Biff Bang Pow!: "7 Seconds" [Creation] / "Physical Evidence"
11. H-SIK: "No Promises" [Black Acre]
12. Marty Robbins: "El Paso" [Columbia] / "Listening Parlour"
13. Biff Bang Pow!: "A Girl Called Destruction" [Creation] / "Physical Evidence"
14. Sophia Ben & The Eagles Lupopo: "See Serere" [Soundway]
15. Sagat: "Port" [Vlek]
16. The Rift Valley Brothers: "Mu Africa" [Soundway]
17. Survival: "Original Pain" [Thrill Jockey]
18. Biff Bang Pow!: "Baby Sister" [Creation] / "Physical Evidence"
19. Slava: "Crazy Bout U" [Software]
20. Cheick Hamala Diabate: "Fatou Kounkoun Sissoko (Sol Power All Stars Mix)" [Electric Cowbell]
21. Andy Cato: " Palermo By Night" [R & S / Apollo]
22. John Hughes Daydream: "7th Wave" [Cut Mistake]
23. Mount Kimbie: "So Many Times, So Many Ways" [Warp]
24. Biff Bang Pow!: "I'm Still Waiting for My Time" [Creation] / "Physical Evidence"
25. Part Time: "I Want to Go" [Mexican Summer]

next time: if we carry on like this, we'll end up like King Crimson. Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

I Know You Can See My Real Thoughts*: Transmission 44, 2013 July 13

This is the program that was supposed to air on Wednesday the 10th, but was cancelled at the last minute. I don't think many changes were made, and if they were, I don't remember what they were. It was a "terrible evening" due to the George Zimmerman verdict, the news of which came in less than an hour before showtime if I remember correctly. "How do I deal with this," I wondered. The same way Bombast deals with everything--by remembering it's not a show about anything generally regarded as important.



It is uncanny how a couple of songs seem to speak to the moment, but that's purely accidental.

This program strikes me as one of the better shows I've done, a delicious mint after an awful meal of a week.

BOMBAST PLAYLIST, 2013 JULY 13-14, 2300-0100:

1. Traams: "Sit Up" [self-released]
2. Bibio: "Business Park" [Warp]
3. Clouds: "Roche Lobe (System)" [Turbo]
4. The Loi-Toki-Tok: "Leta Ngoma" [Soundway]
5. Dead Confederate: "Bleed-Through" [Spiderbomb]
6. Der Dritte Raum: "Morgenland" [Der Dritte Raum]
7. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: "City of Refuge (acoustic)" [Mute] / "Listening Parlour"
8. Elvis Costello & The Imposters: "The Monkey" [Lost Highway]
9. Clue Kid: "Rainy Street Light" [Box Clever]
10. Springintgut: "Bangalore Kids" [Pingipung]
11. Daphne: "Ye Ye" [Text]
12. Peter Buck: "You Must Fight to Live on the Planet of the Apes" [Mississippi / Change] / "Physical Evidence"
13. Nashil Pichen & The Eagles Lupopo: "Ng'ong'a Wa Mwanjalo" [Soundway]
14. TG Mauss: "Welcome" [Karaoke Kalk]
15. Vikki Carr: "It Must Be Him" [United Artists] / "Listening Parlour"
16. Hafusa Abasi & Slim Ali with the Yahoos Band: "Sina Raha" [Soundway]
17. Claudio Fabrianesi: "Cosmic Kabul" [Wonder Wet]
18. Coliseum: "They Call Her One Eye" [No Idea]
19. Housemeister: "Paris" [Boysnoize]
20. Melvins: "Best Friend" [Ipecac]
21. Sky Hi: "Funk Til Dawn" [G.E.D. Soul]
22. Meridian Brothers: "Niebla Morada - Purple Haze" [Soundway]
23. Simian Mobile Disco: "Interference (live)" [Delicacies]
24. Snow Ghosts: "Ropery" [Houndstooth]
25. Peter Buck: "The Monkey Speaks His Mind" [Mississippi / Change] / "Physical Evidence"
26. Shortcircles: "You Will Carry This With You Forever (reprise)" [Plug Research]

next time: I've seen destruction from here to there. Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

*meow, meow, meow, meow.

I Was Born on My Way to the Sun: Transmission 43, 2013 July 6

I don't even remember why this particular program happened, but it did. Another "Test Pattern" provides another opportunity to play out my hypothesis that most Cabaret Voltaire music works best around midnight or later. I am so excited to play them that I almost slip in an extra track at the end.

Something was wrong with our studio mic channels for about 3 days, this being one of them. Fortunately, distortion is a kind of compression, so that cut down on the amount of editing I had to do! I am hoping you will find the results "artistic" and in perfect keeping with the drum sound on those Bass Drum of Death and Cabaret Voltaire records.

So, you are thinking--who am I kidding, you are not thinking this--what took him so long to post this if he didn't even have to work on the file? It's been a week full of problems, yo! We had to miss our time slot on Wednesday the 10th, for reasons that have fortunately resolved themselves, and a whole bunch of other stuff happened.

Among the "other stuff" were three "moments of clarity" I had--one was actually Saturday evening, prior to this broadcast, when I found myself wondering why I was going to the trouble of putting a show together. I think maybe I am doing too much radio and it is producing a diminishing return of enjoyment. Seems early to be feeling this, but it is a real thing that happened.

Another came on Monday when I realized that I'd more or less blown up the Internet by talking to Dif Juz and, through the magic of "Six Degrees" and hyperlinks, managed to generate some time-delayed negativity for a third party--I know, right? Drama? Me? That again made me wonder where all of this was going.

Finally, when I had to cancel Wednesday night's show and the world didn't stop spinning, I sort of put these three moments together, feeling that this project is of dubious, limited benefit and, because of the person running it, always a step away from potential harm.

I'll let you in on something. Early on I discovered that, aside from being a kind of therapy, this radio/blog project could help me learn things about human interaction that I'd never figured out [for whatever reason--laziness, Asperger's, misanthropy, etc.]. COULD. It's not working out quite that way, perhaps because I am too lazy to put the work in, perhaps because I am a bad learner, perhaps because they are not "things" to be "learned." I don't know.

I hope everyone realizes that these posts are mostly for me, one way or another--either they serve as a journal of something nice that happened for me, or they serve as a reminder of me after I'm gone. It's nice that a couple of people have read one or two of these along the way. I'm grateful for the attention because I'm needy like that. But ultimately it doesn't matter. It's great that you're here, it's cool that you're reading this, but you can always just "PageDn" until you hit the sound file, or subscribe on iTunes where you don't have to read a thing, if you prefer. I don't want to impose.

Existential crises aside, I don't feel like this is finished, even if "this" is just a stupid music program. It keeps rolling on, which is alright for now. I don't want to jinx it, so I will accept it as a gift. I am not sure what else to do. Maybe endeavor to be more careful with words. Or maybe use fewer. I know, I know.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 July 6-7, 2300-0100

1. Twin Tigers: "Blackmail" [Old Flame]
2. Semi-Colon: "Ebenebe" [Comb & Razor]
3. Pantaleimon: "Morning Star" [Grass Girl]
4. Dub Spencer & Trance Hill: "Goboi" [Echo Beach]
5. Huruma Boys Band: "Teresia" [Soundway]
6. Cabaret Voltaire: "Hells Home" [Some Bizarre / Virgin] / "Physical Evidence"
7. Nadine Shah: "Cry Me a River" [R & S / Apollo]
8. Gatanga Boys Band: "Wendo Ti Mbia" [Soundway]
9. Cabaret Voltaire: "Whip Blow" [Some Bizarre / Virgin] / "Physical Evidence"
10. Kinski: "Conflict Free Diamonds" [Kill Rock Stars]
11. Bass Drum of Death: "Shattered Me" [Innovative Leisure]
12. The Chameleons: "Nathan's Phase" [Blue Apple]
13. Siriusmo: "Itchy" [Monkeytown]
14. Ripperton: "No More Airplanes" [Green]
15. David August: "Watch Your Step" [DIYNamic]
16. Boom Bip & Charlie White: "Georgia" [Lex]
17. Cabaret Voltaire: "Golden Halos" [Some Bizarre / Virgin] / "Physical Evidence"
18. Big Star: "Kanga Roo - Rough Mix/1974" [Omnivore]
19. This Mortal Coil: "Kangaroo (7 inch)" [4AD]
20. Thee Spivs: "Social Network" [Damaged Goods]
21. The Lulus Band: "Nana" [Soundway]
22. Cyanide Pills: "Johnny Thunders Lived in Leeds" [Damaged Goods]
23. Winston Edwards, Blackbeard: "Airport Smuggling" [Studio 16]
24. Morphosis: "Music for Vampyr: (iii) Finale" [Honest Jon's]
25. Cabaret Voltaire: "The Arm of the Lord" [Some Bizarre / Virgin] / "Physical Evidence"
26. oOoOO: "5:51 AM" [Nihjgt Feelings]

next time: you must fight to live. Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

p.s. Hey Yo--I had meant to say something about how incredible Nadine Shah's music is, but there was no context for such a statement. Here it is. It's incredible. Pay attention.

Nostalgia for What's Happening Now: Transmission 42, 2013 July 3

While every Bombast episode is a special snowflake, it is back to "normal" this week as I don't have a Hall of Legends induction or a celebrity interview to offer. This program features the usual assortment of tunes, plus a couple of tributes to people who will be missed, musically speaking and otherwise. Also, Lady Catharsis returns with a couple of "Listening Parlour" selections.

As summer rolls on, I am trying to schedule and work on some other "special" things for the program. I have verbal commitments from a couple of local bands to come on the program and perform live, and I have a few more Hall inductions in the proverbial pipeline. Scheduling the bands is proving to be a challenge--these people have the gall to invoke their "actual lives" as reasons not to come on the show at the drop of a hat.

Are you in the listening area for our terrestrial transmitters? Do you make music? Would your music "make sense" on Bombast? Are you not in possession of a life, and therefore reasonably available? Get in touch with me. You can write me a message here, at this site, or on Facebook, or through regular email at utz@ithacaradio.org. Synth duos especially welcome! Our control room is small and can't reasonably fit more than three persons with instruments. So drum machines, samplers, keyboards, and laptops are, as always, highly desirable.

BOMBAST playlist, 2013 July 3, 2100-2300:

1. Twin Tigers: "Opana" [Old Flame]
2. Hobo: "Incise" [Minus]
3. Pulshar: "Different Drum" [Desolat]
4. Amayenge: "Chibuyubuyu" [Strange Fruit] / "Physical Evidence"
5. Ejeca: "Acrobat - Eric Volta Does His Own Thing Remix" [Lokee]
6. Roedelius Schneider: "Frankly" [Bureau B]
7. The Purrs: "Cemetery Johnny" [Fin]
8. The Monkees: "Zilch / No Time" [Colgems] / "Listening Parlour"
9. Cyanide Pills: "Lock Up Dub" [Damaged Goods]
10. Lansing-Dreiden: "II" [Mexican Summer]
11. Bo Diddley: "Pills" [Chess / MCA]
12. The Mantles: "Shadow of Your Step" [Slumberland]
13. Amayenge: "Filiukotuleya" [Strange Fruit] / "Physical Evidence"
14. Kölsch: "Wasserschutz" [Kompakt]
15. Beach Day: "Trip Trap Attack" [Kanine]
16. Devo: "Uncontrollable Urge (live)" [A & M]
17. The Lurkers: "Pills" [Beggars Banquet]
18. Wild Billy Chyldish / CTMF: "Musical Tribalist" [Damaged Goods]
19. Airhead: "Lightmeters" [R & S]
20. Lemuria: "Clay Baby" [Bridge Nine]
21. OMD: "Genetic Engineering" [Virgin] / "Listening Parlour"
22. Scarper!: "Surfing the Cosmic Belt" [Plexus]
23. Natasha Kmeto: "Buried" [Dropping Gems]
24. Amayenge: "Free Nelson Mandela" [Strange Fruit] / "Physical Evidence"
25. The Mole: "Interlude to Love" [Maybe Tomorrow]
26. David August: "Voices from the Dust" [DIYNamic]
27. The Grips: "Fancy Roll" [G.E.D. Soul]
28. Franck Roger: "This World Don't Go Round" [Circus Company]

next time: another "Test Pattern." Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis

Richie Thomas of Dif Juz: Full Interview

Here is the full conversation I had with Richie Thomas of Dif Juz on June 26, 2013. This was a very spur-of-the-moment interview about 5 hours before the show was to air, and I recorded it directly from Skype using the "recommended" Amolto software download. Portions of the conversation were aired in the Dif Juz special later that night.

While the recording software worked "fine" in testing, the actual sound levels during the conversation were crazily different, so I have basically compressed the hell out of this and made it "dynamic-free." We do lose the nuances of vocal intensity, but this has turned into an interview you can enjoy while mowing the lawn, making a smoothie, or launching a missile.

I was strangely less anxious during this conversation than the one I had with Gary Bromley a couple of weeks prior--I think it was because that other conversation was planned and I had a lot of time to get nervous about it. This interview was something I didn't think was going to happen at all, until Richie got in touch with me a couple of hours beforehand. I had to scramble to figure out Skype, which I'd used maybe 4 or 5 times in my life, and the recording software.

Anyway, I have annotated this conversation as I did the other one. Hope you find this amusing, or at least helpful.

0:02:56 - I "knew" about this from Wikipedia but hadn't planned to ask about it; just another piece of trivia, or so I thought.

0:03:05 - Remember that this is a Skype conversation and a lot of reactions, chuckles, etc. are based on facial expressions. Wish you could have seen this one!

0:10:40 - !!!

0:17:00 - Here I go, banging on abt. the "4AD sound" again.

0:18:30 - He brought it up, not me! [But I have kind of come to feel this way about Extractions, love those songs though I do.]

0:20:30 - would have played "MI" if I'd had time; if you've never heard it, it's here.

0:21:30 - I did play it; it's at about the 1:46:00 mark in the program.

0:27:00 - I learn something about Skype--I feel about 80 years old at this moment.

0:31:20 - The Murphy Federation record can be yours, if you have 5000 Euros. [to be fair, the seller does have a 100% rating, so "buy with confidence!"]

0:35:00 - "Crosswinds", from Extractions--another song I really should have played on the program, esp. as it's one of the less "treacly" numbers on that record.

0:35:25 - Haven't had time to listen to the entire YouTube playlist, but could this be the film score?

0:39:20 - Dif Juz & Mad Professor - another lost recording to track down!

0:53:00 - Since there's really no existing press on Dif Juz, the Television references aren't there, although they make sense. There is sort of a "twin lead" guitar thing going in a lot of Dif Juz tracks.

0:58:55 - this track appears at the 1:55:00 mark of the program.

0:59:00 - I'm so star-struck, and so panicked about how I'm going to edit this down for the program, that I've forgotten how Skype works and that Richie just did this same thing half an hour ago.

Many thanks, again, to Richie and Gary for their time and their stories.