Radio Radio (#64)

Source here. Originally recoded on July 10th, 1997.

This is all about making radio while making radio. There is all sorts of radio theater gaggery going on here, with lots of audio sound effects and wonky juxtaposition. It strikes me now that we may be in the last days of live radio, or that live radio is really the only kind of radio left worth listening to.

With MP3 players / Last FM / Pandora on your phone / Satellite radio providing all sorts of different ways to listen to what you want to hear while getting introduced to new stuff you might want to hear; live radio, and possibly talk radio, are the only reasons one might spin the tuner dial and check out what's coming over the airwaves.

I've flirted with the idea of doing this sort of show again, except over the Internet, but the problem is the temporally shared experience lends its own energy (and I'm using this in the non-scientific way) to a performance such as this. I'm not saying we could tell if people were listening or not. It was more subtle than that, and losing that ineffableness is one of the things that keeps me awake at night. You can't measure it, but you know when it's gone.

1. Steve Allen's large salami
2. Come in, North Pole
3. Let's go back to the year 1942
   
4. Mexican Radio
5. Echo Sonata
6. Never Enough Loop
7. Never Enough Loop (reprise)
8. 1000 Vices
9. Minor Mellow Moment
10. I'm only getting noise
11. ORIGINAL CREAM
12. The Eagle Has Landed, Man
13. End Transmission
    

ROBOT RADIO (#59)

Source here. Originally recorded on June 5th, 1997.

First off I must profusely apologize for the missed weekend. I spent the whole weekend (and I mean the whole weekend and almost every bit of it. I just finished languishing laundry. That is how busy it is) at a computer security / hacker conference. The weather was wonderful and I saw not a bit of it (except when it was dark out).

THIS IS OUR ROBOT SHOW. Meaning we stick with music and sounds that either directly or indirectly reference robots. Lots of computer noise, mechanical noise, synthesizers of voice and music. A few robot/robot inspired bands. NO ACTUAL ROBOTS WERE IN THE STUDIO. We did get out the aluminum foil and make little hats, though.

The first 26 minutes are filled with a ping-pong noise that gets annoying even to me, which might have been the initial point. There is stuff that goes on around it, but after a while THAT IS ALL YOU HEAR. Then there is real ping-pong for 20 minutes or so later on.

1. Every Robot Show Must Start With Kraftwerk
2. Ping Pong or Radar?
3. A Murmur of Droids
4. Desperately trying to drown out the pinging with early synthesizer music
5. Starting to count in German now
6. Real actual ping pong now.
7. Do not tell me this real ping pong lasts the rest of the show
8. INCOMING ROBOT DATA TRANSMISSION
9. The grandfather clock is reporting in
10. Wait, Circus?
11. Mellow Lounge Robot Time Interrupted
12. The Big Arpeggiated Reveal
13. Ending with Disque 9
    

What Will They Try Next? (#47)

Source here. Originally recorded on March 20, 1997.

The first 15 minutes or so end up featuring some really aggravating squeaky distorted murmuring. I'm not sure if this was us or some found recording, but please do speed past that part into much more interesting stuff. Not so many vocals in this one, but a good mix of hi and lo fi awaits the intrepid listener.

1. Hipster or Eastern European?
2. Transmission from the planet dorkwad
3. Bells and Peals
4. We're in my house goofing on the four track come on over
5. A Confusing Wall
6. A very very white dub
7. Overwrought Synthesizer Theme
8. The numbing isn't working
9. The cartoon orchestra performs the hits
10. Burroughs and Clavinova
11. Shoot the piano player, please
12. Today is going to be the day for saxophones
    
13. Hands on the home row
    

Negativbustoplexicon (#44)

Source here. Originally recorded on February 27, 1997.

While this doesn't have a definite theme, it's pretty clear here that we're trying to do more with less. It's low density layering, focusing on the juxtaposition of two or three elements. It's good stuff, with storytelling, instructional, and singing examples with plenty of ambient background.

1. Thunder's just a lot of noise
2. Why is there always accordion? It makes the dogs upset
3. Large Bees/Dirt Bikes used for travel
4. Twitchy mice flee dogs via jet plane
5. Naturalment
6. Bad News Horse
7. BLAM
8. Sew What?
9. Beating on the Strings
10. Worst. Ballad. Ever.
11. Everything's going to be just smooth
12. A spooky pronunciation guide
13. I devour metal guitarists
    

Excerpts (#38)

Source here. Originally recorded on January 16th, 1997.

Too much typing today. I wanted to write up a review of the Bad Plus show last night (link, you are under no obligation to follow) before moving on to having collage pollute my brain by shoving my recollections elsewhere. Done and done.

Much longer passages with less layering define this piece as ideas are allowed to develop and either work or fail over time. As a result, I listened to this in real time (dirty little secret, I sometimes skip ahead since it would make the third time I've listened to something like this). We had what seems to be an inordinate amount of fun with slowly hand-turning turntables. This is not a bad thing.

1. The Flavor of an Indeterminate Old Country
2. Moving Northward into Wolf Country
   
3. Hand cranked creature comforts
4. Drug/Drugs across the strings
5. Gulls and Dogs do not like Electronica
6. Cartoonish concepts of a nation state
7. Quick jazz break
8. Preaching to the disco choir
9. Urgent message from the front lines
10. Rotary Kalimba
11. Accordion to you
12. I am desperately trying to be spooky here
13. Post Show Post Rock