David Lee Roth "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody"

It's probably been a long time since you've seen the video for David Lee Roth's "Just A Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody."  You might as well watch it first, since it's certainly going to be the most entertaining part of this otherwise shaggy dog post:


See the video on Youtube.

If you remember the video, you probably remember the busty girls or the celebrity impersonators or Dave's particular, peculiar dance moves.

But I wanted to focus on the preamble scene.  The one that takes place on the set of the Cable Channel that "Dave" is the host of.

As Dave is approached by a collection of very, very surreal character actors, one of them (at the :45 mark) says, "You've got charaassma!"

He doesn't pronounce it correctly.

CharISma.

He makes it rhyme with the respiratory condition, asthma.

CharASma.

This song and video came out in 1985, which means I was 16 at the time.  Basically, I was the target audience of this video.

And I loved it.  All of it.

But for some reason, I really thought "CharASma" was hilarious.  So much so, that I started saying it myself.

At first, I'd just use it the way you'd use any movie quote.  The video was ubiquitous enough at the time, that peers would know the reference.

Then I started saying it any time the word "charisma" would happen into a sentence.  I'd just substitute "charASma" in, but I'd say it in a BIG way.  You know, to be ironic.

Then I just started pronoucing the word "charASma."  I mean, even when I wasn't trying to be funny or weird or pop-culturally clever.

To the point where I kinda forgot that the word was actually pronouced "charISma."

This transformation took place over the course of a couple of years, so it had reached the point where mispronouncing "charisma" was a habit I had to break.

I finally did get a handle on it, and after a few months of consciously thinking about it, I no longer had to pause and try to remember, "What's the correct way to say it?  CharISma or CharASma?"

And thus concludes the longest, lamest and least boob-related story about how a David Lee Roth video warped a teenagers brain.

Joseph Arthur "Saint Of Impossible Causes"

One of those behind the scenes things that you may or may not realize about MVY, or really, pretty much any radio station you listen to, is that most of the music that you hear on the air, is being played as an MP3.

I know, I know, you probably picture us playing song after song from CD.  Or even from vinyl.

And yes, that does happen.  But for so many reasons, anything we play regularly, we convert to MP3.  That way, it doesn't get lost, cds don't end up in the wrong jacket or filed out of alphabetical order, and nothing skips or gets scratched.

One side effect of this system, is that it controls/limits some information.

If I had the CD in front of me when I played a certain track, I might go through the liner notes and tell the listeners something I've read in there.

We do keep all the CDs and their liner notes in the library, but unless the DJ is looking for some specific info, they don't usually pull it out.

So the information the DJs have about a certain song, is laid out in front of them, as part of the MP3 library.

The DJs can easily see the basics in the digital information:

Artist Name
Song Title
Album Title
Year Of Release
Song Length

If there's a pronunciation question, there's a place to post that information, too.

So here's a Program Director dilemma/ethical question that I face from time to time.

Should I leave a certain field blank?

For instance, a few years ago, Blues Traveler put out an album called "Bastardos!"

Now I'd like to think that the air staff could restrain themselves from wanting to shout "Bastardos!" into an open mic.  But c'mon, let's face it---that's an opportunity that few of us could resist.

Unfortunately, part of my job as the PD, is to be the On-Air Cop, meting out citations to the DJs when necessary.

I think the staff knows that you can't say "Bastards!" on the air.  Or even come close to it.  But why tempt fate by putting it right in front of their eyes in bold letters?

A case of a thornier sort presented itself last week when we decided to add the Joseph Arthur song "Saint Of Impossible Causes."

The name of Arthur's album is "The Ballad Of Boogie Christ."

Am I offended by this name?  No.  Not particularly.

But can I see how another reasonable person might be?  Yes, I suppose.

Can I see how, by just delivering with a glib, or flippant, or sarcastic inflection, an MVY DJ could take the simple act of reading an album title and turn it into a situation where the Program Director has to dig deep into the Mea Culpa bag and write a letter of apology to someone who's miffed at the inappropriate use of the Son Of God's name?

Uh, yeah.  I could see how that could happen.

So, if you are an MVY DJ, and you play the Joseph Arthur track in your show, under Album Title it will only read "The Ballad."  And most likely, the DJs will refer to it as just that.  If at all.

Of course, any staff members who read this blog will know the truth, and may be tempted to say the whole name on the air.  In which case I'll have to instruct them to use the information gently and appropriately, while secretly being pleased that they actually read this far into this post.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Fleetwood Mac "Without You"

Which would you consider to have "more," something that was "long" or something that's "extended."

To me, extended suggests some kind of superlative.   Like it would be "longer" than "long."

So I've always found LPs and EPs confusing.

LP stands for Long Play.  EP stands for Extended Play.

To my mind, the EP should be have more music on it, because it's "extended" beyond the usual length.

But that's not the way it is.  An LP is a record with two full side, with maybe 2 minutes of content on each side.  An EP is usually only 4 songs or so.

I'd complain about it being confusing, except that here in the digital age there are fewer and fewer albums, there are no "a sides" and "b sides" and most kids today wouldn't know how to drop a needle onto a vinyl album.

So I'll just make this post Extended, as opposed to Long.

(It still doesn't make sense to me)


Hear the whole EP on Youtube.

The Ass Ponys "Little Bastard"

Here's another Weekend Post:

After yesterday's post filled with inappropriate language, I figured I'd go for two in a row.  This, with the added benefit of not only have inappropriate language in the song, but also in the name of the band.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

The Murmurs "You Suck"

Here's another Weekend Post:

I always thought this song would last and last as an ever useful novelty.  But it appears to be too much of its era to have lived on to insult future deadbeat exes.


Hear the song on Youtube.


Weekend posts are a chance to revisit songs that have happy memories, not of anything in particular, other than just hearing the tunes.

Many of these songs were tracks that I played during my 90s stint as an Alternative/Modern Rock radio show.  They're tunes that I hardly hear these days, but are fun to revisit.

Click on the "Weekend Posts" label below, to see other posts like this.

Morphine "Bought Myself A Steak"

For the last month or so, my Mother-In-Law has been ever-so-kind enough to pick up my two kids from their pre-school/daycare on Thursdays, and keep them for an overnight.

It's hugely fun for the kids, as they are often joined by other cousins, uncles and members of our extended/modern family.

And it's been lovely for my wife and I, because it has provided a little bit of space.  For one night a week, we're not rushing home to get dinner on the table.  Or fighting the long set of skirmishes that must be waged in the battle of "It's Time For Bed."  Or plowing through all that to remember there is still housework or work-work to get through before bed.

Last night, I reealllly got a taste of space, when my wife spent the night visiting her cousin.

I was home alone.

So what did I do?  I bought myself a steak.

My wife loves steak.  And over the course of our marriage (with some key instruction from Alton Brown), she has learned how to make a steak better than any restaurant I've ever been in.

But she hates London Broil.

Too tough, she says.

But the flavor, I say.

I never win that argument.

But last night, I didn't have to argue.  Not with my son about why he can't wear his Monkey pajamas, since they are inside the washing machine.  Not with my daughter about how the cat will not eat corn, so please stop trying to take it off your plate and throw it under the table.  And not with my wife about the pros and cons of London Broil.  (Not even with Mark Sandman---I don't like mushrooms on my steak)

I bought myself a steak and ate it in silence.

And that's as good as it gets sometimes.

The Civil Wars "The One That Got Away"

I was going to write a bit about how the new Civil Wars track was an "automatic add," meaning we'd play it (almost) no matter what, not unlike the Fleetwood Mac song I wrote about a few weeks back.

Something kinda shocking crossed my mind.

Of course, heritage artists with a major history on MVY are automatic adds.  But it was only 2 1/2 years ago that this unknown band was cycling through my iTunes playlist and I thought they were compelling enough to give them a shot.

But with the story that has unfolded over the last 30 months (success; Grammys; collaborations with Taylor Swift, Emmylou Harris and The Chieftains; an abrupt break up; a surprise 2nd album) has made their new song a Must Listen.

So yes, expect to hear this on MVY.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Schtum "Skydiver"

I was at an event last night and got to chat with Les Sampou, the real rock n roller next door to my wife's cousin.

Even with today's super-interconnected society, social media, Googling abilities and such, you sometimes never know who's right in your midst.

Tonight, for the mvyradio Album Of The Week, we're playing Christian McNeill & The Seamonsters' record, "Everything's Up For Grabs."

I had seen McNeill a bunch of years ago at Johnny D's, opening for Sarah Borges.  And last year, I was happy to hear that he had relocated to The Vineyard and was playing regular gigs around the Island.  He even joined us for our "Thank You For Saving mvyradio" Party.

Earlier this week, I was scheduling some posts on the mvyradio Bloggers page, including one about the Album Of The Week.  I was trolling Youtube for interesting McNeill items when I came across a video of Christian being interviewed while standing outside of Johnny D's.  Cool!

I took notice of the suggested videos that appear on the right side of the screen on Youtube.

Hey! Schtum!

Schtum is this band that had crossed my brain a number of times, to use as a weekend post.  On the weekends, instead of writing a full blog entry, I like to just post some great, obscure tune that I would have been playing during my 90s Alternative show when I lived in Virginia.

Schtum, an Irish, hard-rocking outfit, fit into that category really well, because they had a minor Alternative hit with "Skydiver."  But it wasn't a tune that seemed to survive beyond the era.  I can't say that I've heard the song since the 90s, but I have good memories of absolutely cranking this song in the WABN studios.

I went back to watching the McNeill interview.

Then I noticed that there were actually several Schtum videos.  And I scrolled down to see even more.

Wait a minute.  Why did so many Schtum videos come up when I had searched for Christian McNeill?

Well, it turns out that McNeill was the lead singer of Schtum.  He relocated to Boston and started a solo career, and is now part of the Vineyard music community.

How cool is that?  Another real rock n roller next door?!?





Hear "Skydiver" on Grooveshark.

Hear Christian McNeill on Youtube.

KT Tunstall "Feel It All"

We've played KT Tunstall's records from the beginning.  It was hard to deny a hit like "Black Horse And The Cherry Tree."  Hard to deny her talent.

But as she has progressed through her first three albums I was becoming less and less excited about her.

Increasingly, the records were relying on production for their strength.  The singles were slicker and decidedly more commercial, but felt less and less appropriate for the general sound of our station.  Tunes like "Hold On" and  particularly "Fade Like A Shadow" were surprisingly hard to place within an hour, too often sounding like they belonged on some Hot AC Hits station, not ours.

I got deeply disappointed, and at the same time increasingly hopeful, the day I came across some pretty amazing Youtube videos.

There are a ton of live-concert-setting videos of Tunstall performing as she must have when she was an unknown, busking on the streets.  It's her and her guitar and sometimes a sample/tape loop track.

Stripped of all the production, her natural charisma and deep well of talent rises straight to the front.

"Can she please make an album that strips away the bullshit?"

It sounds like she has.

We've been sent only a couple of tracks from "Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon," but this record seems to be a clear departure.  Hell, it practically sounds like a different artist.

Even the folks promoting the record to me, are expressing a bit of surprise at the leap forward in maturity Tunstall has made with her songwriting and presentation.  None of the four tracks find her presence overwhelmed by their setting, and on the whole, it seems like she's created something that puts the onus squarely on herself.

Which, in her case, is a very good thing.


Hear "Feel It All" on Youtube.


Hear "Fade Like A Shadow" on Youtube.


Hear an acoustic version of the song on Youtube.

Tracy Chapman "Give Me One Reason"

This is for any of you who've said, "That radio station plays too much (insert artist name)."

Somewhere very early in my tenure with MVY, I took a call on the request line from someone who said:

"I hate to complain.  But I'm calling with a complaint."

"Okay."

"You guys play too much Tracy Chapman."

"You think so?"

"Definitely.  I feel like she's on every other hour.  You gotta start playing her less."

Now, I know the statistical reality of just how much we play Tracy Chapman.  It's not every few hours.  But (at the time of this call, probably a decade ago) we played a couple of songs by her each day.  So I had to ask:

"Do you like Tracy Chapman?"

"Ugh.  No."

"Not at all?"

"No, she's terrible."

"Well, then how much Tracy Chapman is too much Tracy Chapman."

He laughed, seeing what I was getting at.

"One song by Tracy Chapman is one song too many."

We laughed together and I thanked him for his input, but noted that there were listeners who liked Tracy Chapman, so we probably had to continue to play her some, even if we started to play her less.

Occasionally, we do get calls from folks who say "You play this band too much.  I love them, but please stop playing them so much."

But most of the time, when someone tells us we're playing it too much, what they really mean is that they don't want to hear it at all.  Ever.


Hear the song on Youtube.