Radio Show Playlist: 5/21/08

Audiversity's reign on 88.7 WLUW-FM Chicago is coming to a close -- with June 25th being the last possible show date, though it could very well come sooner with the way the situation is developing. On July 1st, WLUW will no longer be listener-supported community radio; instead it is reverting back to Loyola's student-run station, and most likely with it, all of the downfalls and short-sightedness of college radio. As solely a community member, I will no longer be welcome to contribute. There is no animosity, it's just the reality of the situation, and I am ready to move on to bigger and better things. What exactly is this bigger and better thing? It is the Chicago Independent Radio Project! A brand new station is in the works that will be potentially launching this summer on the web. This will be Audiversity's new home, and I hope all of you will follow us there. The show will be new and improved and hopefully taken to brand new levels. Thanks for listening for the last 2-and-a-half years if you are a WLUW listener, and I'm looking forward to developing this idea even further. Cheers.

Also, I will be taking a break from reviewing CDs here on the site for a little while as I put my full concentration on developing the new music library for the CHIRP station. However, I am still writing for Dusted Magazine and Stop Smiling, so you can find my words and opinions there if interested. Don't read this as the end of Audiversity.com though: my last few radio show playlists will be posted here, Patrick and Ronnie may still be posting, and we will be back phoenix-like by the end of the summer.

Love, Michael.

6a:
1. Galaxie 500 - When Will You Come Home - On Fire (Rykodisc 1989)
2. Swervedriver - Duel - Mezcal Head (A&M 1993)
3. Spiritualized - Baby I'm Just a Fool - Songs in A & E (Fontana International 2008)
4. Adem - Gamera (Tortoise cover) - Takes (Domino 2008)
5. Glorytellers - Exclusive Hurricanes - Glorytellers (Southern 2008)
6. Jim O'Rourke - Prelude to 110 or 220/Women of the World - Eureka (Drag City 1999)
7. Bear in Heaven - My Chair - Tunes Next Door to Songs EP (Eastern Developments 2003)
8. Boxhead Ensemble - Coastal Border - The Last Place to Go (Atavistic 1998)
9. Terminal 4 - Pompino - When I'm Falling (Truckstop 2003)

7a:
1. Ornette Coleman Trio - European Echoes - At the Golden Circle, Vol. 1 (Blue Note 1965)
2. Eric Dolphy - Mandrake - Jitterbug Waltz (Douglas 1963)
3. Josh Abrams - Space Modulator - Cipher (Delmark 2003)
4. Matana Roberts Quartet - Thrills - The Chicago Project (Central Control 2008)
5. Dorothy Ashby - Life Has Its Trials - Afro-Harping (Chess 1968)
6. Gabor Szabo - Witchcraft - Spellbinder (Impulse! 1966)
7. Jorge Lopez Ruiz - Relatos - Amor Buenos Aires (Catalyst 1977)
8. Jackson Conti - Sao Paulo Nights - Sujinho (Kindred Spirits 2008)
9. Artanker Convoy - Backfire - Ocean Parkway EP (Social Registry 2004)

8a:
1. Scientist - Cloning Process - Scientist Meets the Space Invaders (Greensleeves 1981)
2. King Tubby - Dub Magnificent - Roots of Dub (Moll-Selekta 2003, recorded 1973)
3. The Eternals - Etaucave - Where Will We Live Now 12" (Thrill Jockey 1999)
4. Kode9 & the Spaceape - Backward - Memories of the Future (Hyperdub 2006)
5. RZA - Opening Theme (Raise Your Sword Instrumental) - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (JVC Japan 2001)
6. Matmos - The Struggles Against Unrealities - The Civil War (Matador 2003)
7. DJ Krush - Duality feat. DJ Shadow - Meiso (Mo' Wax 1996)
8. cLOUDDEAD - Rifle Eyes - Ten (Mush 2004)
9. Autechre - Rpeg - EP 7.1 (WARP 1999)
10. Odd Nosdam - Freedom Remix (originally by Thee More Shallows) - Pretty Swell Explode (Anticon 2008)

Radio Show Playlist: 5/14/08

Audiversity's reign on 88.7 WLUW-FM Chicago is coming to a close -- with June 25th being the last possible show date, though it could very well come sooner with the way the situation is developing. On July 1st, WLUW will no longer be listener-supported community radio; instead it is reverting back to Loyola's student-run station, and most likely with it, all of the downfalls and short-sightedness of college radio. As solely a community member, I will no longer be welcome to contribute. There is no animosity, it's just the reality of the situation, and I am ready to move on to bigger and better things. What exactly is this bigger and better thing? It is the Chicago Independent Radio Project! A brand new station is in the works that will be potentially launching this summer on the web. This will be Audiversity's new home, and I hope all of you will follow us there. The show will be new and improved and hopefully taken to brand new levels. Thanks for listening for the last 2-and-a-half years if you are a WLUW listener, and I'm looking forward to developing this idea even further. Cheers.

Also, I will be taking a break from reviewing CDs here on the site for a little while as I put my full concentration on developing the new music library for the CHIRP station. However, I am still writing for Dusted Magazine and Stop Smiling, so you can find my words and opinions there if interested. Don't read this as the end of Audiversity.com though: my last few radio show playlists will be posted here, Patrick and Ronnie may still be posting, and we will be back phoenix-like by the end of the summer.

Love, Michael.

6a:
1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Albert Goes West - Dig Lazarus, Dig!!! (Anti- 2008)
2. Meat Puppets - We're Here - II (SST 1984)
3. Rick Hayward - Light in the Sky - Rick Hayward (Blue Horizon 1971)
4. Scott Tuma - Noboby (River of Tin) - Not For Nobody (Digitalis 2008)
5. Tom Carter & Robert Horton - Tapebugs Remember - Monsters of Felt (Preservation 2007)
6. Ulaan Khol - Untitled 3 - I (Soft Abuse 2008)
7. Valet - Blood is Clean - Blood is Clean (Kranky 2007)
8. The Black Angels - Science Killer - Directions to See a Ghost (Light in the Attic 2008)
9. Clinic - Corpus Christi - Do It! (Domino 2008)
10. Glenn Jones - Heartbreak Hill - Against Which the Sea Continually Beats (Strange Attractors 2007)

7a:
1. Henry Flynt & Nova'Billy - Amphetamine Rhapsody - Nova'Billy 1975 (Locust 2007, recorded 1975)
2. Ennio Morricone - Barbablu' (Titoli) - Barbablu' (Soundtrack) (Dagored 2003, recorded 1941)
3. Fred Lonberg-Holm Trio - Winter in America - Other Valentines (Atavistic 2005)
4. Chicago Underground Duo - Labyrinth - Synesthesia (Thrill Jockey 2000)
5. Sticks and Stones - Colonial Mentality - Shed Grace (Thrill Jockey 2004)
6. Clifford Jordan and John Gilmore - Blue Lights - Blowing in from Chicago (Blue Note 1957)
7. Modern Jazz Quartet - Django - Django (Prestige 1953)
8. Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Moanin' - Moanin' (Blue Note 1958)

8a:
1. Kassin+2 - Tranquilo (Super Stereo Sound System) - Futurismo (Luaka Bop 2008)
2. Caetano Veloso - A Little More Blue - Caetano Veloso (A Little More Blue) (Philips 1971)
3. Gilberto Gil - Cerebro Eletronico - GiL Luminoso (Biscoito Fino 2006)
4. Chief Checker - Africa Irie - Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump (Strut 2008, recorded 197?)
5. Jay-U Experience - Some More - Nigeria Disco Funk Special (Soundway 2008, recorded 1977)
6. Four Tet - Ribbons - Ringer (Domino 2008)
7. Radius - Bucktown (Fuckwork) - Neighborhood Suicide (Secret Life of Sound 2008)
8. Double Dee & Steinski - Lesson 3 (History of Hip-Hop) - What Does It All Mean?: 1983-2006 Retrospective (Illegal Art 2008, originally Tommy Boy 1986)
9. Portishead - Machine Gun - Third (Mercury 2008)

Devotion #21

I would like to be posting more, but recently, I’ve been doing more plugging of events where I’m DJing. I can’t continue to do that in good faith, however, especially as Michael and Patrick are still valiantly carrying the mighty Audiversity torch. So today I’m going to plug another event and offer up some music, because 1) I have another set to promote, and 2) something’s been bugging me about this Jackson Conti collaboration between Madlib and Brazilian drummer and percussionist Ivan “Mamao” Conti of Azymuth.

In a recent piece for Wax Poetics, I alluded to how much the song “Papaya” from Jackson Conti’s Sujinho reminded me of Player’s “Baby Come Back.” Not that it is anything out of the ordinary for songs from divergent origins to be similar. “Breathe” (Pink Floyd) and “Down by the River” (Neil Young) have a bass line so similar that I’ve been obsessed for years with finding out who either party stole it from. But in the case of Jackson Conti and Player, this is straight up apples and oranges – or more like apples and feta cheese. “Baby Come Back” is among the pinnacle of 1970s White Boy Soul, and with the wealth of musical knowledge that Madlib has, I’m sure he’s familiar, but to hear hints of it in the Jackson Conti was both a shock and a very pleasant surprise. I could just be crazy, though. The Ronnie never knows for sure. Check the track and the video and decide for yourself.

Jackson Conti – “Papaya” – Sujinho (Kindred Spirits 2008)

Anyway, that’s all I have to say about that. If you’re in Chicago and free tonight, come check this event at the Hyde Park Art Center. I’m becoming something of a regular there, which isn’t a bad thing, I guess. A little culture ain’t never hurt nobody.

Here’s some randomness from the office hard drive…

Blade Spade – “To Serve With Love” intro – To Serve With Love (OM 2008)

I’ve been meaning to post this Black Spade for months, but you know how that goes. If you’ve read any of my previous writings here, you would know that I’m fairly disenchanted with contemporary hip-hop, but To Serve With Love is the first project in a long while that I’m putting 100% support behind. It’s just good music, which I’m not denying the existence of – I’m no rap agnostic – as much as I’m finding it harder and harder to come up on. Perhaps this has more to do with the state of the industry and the adjustments that artists have to make than the music itself, but that’s a conversation for another day. This right here, though? It’s the slickness.

Nas – “Surviving the Times” – Greatest Hits (Sony 2007)

For some reason I can’t recall, I recently got into a discussion with my girl about est. I was trying to think of the artist who was a proponent of the self-help movement, and after minutes of racking my brain and a little Internet research, I remembered that it was Diana Ross. Then I remembered I first learned of Ross’ involvement with est after hearing this Nas track – which flips Nipsey Russell singing “What Would I Do if I Could Feel” as the Tin Man in the film version of “The Wiz” – and getting caught in a Wikipedia maze. According to Wiki, “The Wiz” screenwriter Joel Schumacher was also an est devotee, and his presence and Ross’ influence resulted in “an est-ian fable full of est buzzwords about knowing who you are and sharing and all that,” in the words of producer Rob Cohen, who admittedly “hated the script a lot.” “The Wiz” turned out to be a critical and commercial failure for a number of reasons, but I loved it when I saw it as a shorty. It had Richard Pryor and Raj and Dee’s mama from What’s Happening!! in it, plus “You Can’t Win,” a severely underrated solo Michael Jackson jam. How bad could it have really been? I’ll have to revisit it at some point.

Gnarls Barkley – “Blind Mary” – The Odd Couple (Atlantic 2008)

If you can’t get to this, then I weep for you and I weep for the children.

Radio Show Playlist: 5/7/08

Audiversity's reign on 88.7 WLUW-FM Chicago is coming to a close -- with June 25th being the last possible show date, though it could very well come sooner with the way the situation is developing. On July 1st, WLUW will no longer be listener-supported community radio; instead it is reverting back to Loyola's student-run station, and most likely with it, all of the downfalls and short-sightedness of college radio. As solely a community member, I will no longer be welcome to contribute. There is no animosity, it's just the reality of the situation, and I am ready to move on to bigger and better things. What exactly is this bigger and better thing? It is the Chicago Independent Radio Project! A brand new station is in the works that will be potentially launching this summer on the web. This will be Audiversity's new home, and I hope all of you will follow us there. The show will be new and improved and hopefully taken to brand new levels. Thanks for listening for the last 2-and-a-half years if you are a WLUW listener, and I'm looking forward to developing this idea even further. Cheers.

6a:
1. Boards of Canada - An Eagle in Your Mind - Music has the Right to Children (WARP 1998)
2. Plaid - Diddy Mouse Did - P-Brane EP (WARP 2002)
3. Aphex Twin - Green Calx - Selected Ambient Works 1985-92 (R&S 1993)
4. Autechre - Simmm - Quaristice (WARP 2008)
5. Boom Bip - Third Stream (Four Tet Remix) - Corymb (Lex 2004)
6. Lucky Dragons - Givers - Dream Island Laughing Language (Marriage 2008)
7. The Eternals - This Mix is So Bizarre - Heavy International (Aesthetics 2007)
8. Konono No.1 - Masikulu - Congotronics (Crammed 2004)
9. Chief Checker - Africa Irie - Nigeria 70: Lagos Jump (Strut 2008)

7a:
1. King Tubby meets Roots Radics - Country Gal Dub - Dangerous Dub (Greensleeves 1981)
2. Watty Burnett - Rainy Night in Portland - A Live Injection: Lee Perry Anthology 1968-75 (Trojan 2001)
3. Congos - Congoman - Heart of the Congos (Blood & Fire 1977)
4. Tom Ze - Mulher Navio Negerio - Estudande O Pagode (Luaka Bop 2006)
5. MoMo - Tao Feliz - A Estetica do Rabisco (Dubas Musica 2007)
6. Gilberto Gil - Pega a Voga, Cabeludo - 1968 (Mercury 1968)
7. Eddie Palmieri - Una Rosa Espanola - The Sun of Latin Music (Musical Productions 1973)
8. Tito Puente - Que Sensacion - Sensacion (Concord Picante 1987)
9. Mongo Santamaria - Para Ti - Up from the Roots (Atlantic 1972)
10. Unknown - Erhu Solo - Streets of Lhasa (Sublime Frequencies 2005)

8a:
1. Sandy Bull - Memphis, Tennessee - Inventions (Vanguard 1964)
2. Debashish Bhattacharya - Gypsy Anandi - Calcutta Chronicles: Indian Slide Guitar Odyssey (Riverboat 2008)
3. John Coltrane - Peace on Earth - Infinity (Impulse! 1972)
4. Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake - For Brother Thompson - From the River to the Ocean (Thrill Jockey 2007)
5. Van Morrison - Purple Heather - Hard Nose the Highway (Mercury 1973)
6. Chris Connelly - Mirror Lips - The Episodes (Durto Jnana 2007)
7. Joan of Arc - The Surrender #2 - Boo Human (Polyvinyl 2008)
8. J. Spaceman - Musicbox Underwater - Mister Lonely: Music from a Film by Harmony Kornie (Drag City 2008)

Singleversity #56

Audiversity’s weekly column on music we stumble across during our sonic adventures. No random numbers, just straight audio goodness.

MA:



“In the beginning there was nothing,
but it was kind of fun to watch nothing grow.
You came walking
into my life
carrying your own dreams.
You could have been,
yeah, you could have been good,
then why were you so goddamn mean?
But til you I never had any fun.
But I’m sure glad I never,
ain’t you glad I never,
be glad I never owned a gun.”
-Lee Hazlewood, “I’m Glad I Never…:”

I’ve gotten in the habit of listening to the Jesus Lizard in the 6am hour. Just, you know, because nothing goes better with the sunrise than a little atonal upchuck and chafed ass-shaking. Of course, that was only until I stumbled across Lee Hazlewood’s Requiem for an Almost Lady (released exclusively in Sweden) from 1971. Now instead of dewdrops and pseudo-industrial noise, it’s bird tweets and swinging country-pop grooves. Don’t mistake that for a loss of volatility though – see above transcription from the opening track. "I'll Live Yesterdays" is my personal favorite. “Seems we’re always doing something to hurt each other, but you know you never really hurt me until the fourth verse of this song.” Oh yeah? “Knives that have cut you when others have touched you have taken our children away. If there is no tomorrow for us, then I’ll live yesterdays.”

PM:



I recently got mixed up in this Indian kick for Netflix. We hit a groove for a few weeks where it just seemed like it was one after another - "The Namesake," "The Darjeeling Unlimited," and then most recently "Monsoon Wedding." Other than a comical subplot involving the wedding planner and the servant girl (who, it turns out, is the best looking actress in the movie), the latter isn't worth enduring unless you just really love Indian bickering. But hey, there's even a pot of gold at the end of this dusty rainbow: Stay tuned for the credits, because the best part of the movie plays right over them. Sukhwinder Singh is one of India's more recognizable Bollywood singers and is currently working on his own private studio in Mumbai. From a less complicated time when bleached out jean jackets were, um, all the rage (Revisionist history alert!), 2001's "Aaj Mera Jee Karda" has some great percussion and an instantly memorable melody. Put it this way: I enjoyed the credits more than the movie.