Foxygen "No Destruction"

Several years ago, while doing a periodic look at the gaps in some of our "library" stuff, we decided to put a couple of Velvet Underground songs into rotation at MVY.

Of course, we'd had a number of Lou Reed songs in rotation for years, including his more contemporary work.  (His visit to the station in the 90s is a great slice of MVY lore).  But adding Velvet Underground served the dual purpose of beefing up our representation of the late 60s and 70s without resorting to any worn-out classic rock, and it was an important nod to some of the roots of what MVY is.

We've always prided ourselves on playing bands that no one else plays, or songs that no one else plays.  And in particular, we want to show the blueprint.

There's a reason we play a lot of Bob Dylan.  It's because his stamp is directly on many, many of the artists and songs that followed, and that we play today.

And that was part of the reason I felt strongly that we should include some Velvet Underground tracks.

Last week, I heard "Pale Blues Eyes" on the station, and I had this thought:  Where are the Velvet Underground influenced bands?

I mean, there are guys out there who are cribbing straight from Dylan (Jake Bugg, Tallest Man On Earth).  There are bands who are direct descendents of R.E.M. and Talking Heads (Decemberists and Bell X1).  And folks drawing influence straight from The Grateful Dead ("Queen Of California" and The Chris Robinson Brotherhood's "Rosalee").

To be sure, The Velvet Underground's influence is within many, many current bands.  But its an influence that's two or three steps removed.

Not long after having this thought, I heard Foxygen's "No Destruction."  And there it is.

Straight out of the Lou Reed school of vocal delivery, complete with New York City images, here's a band that directly references The Velvet Underground, instead doing it of by way of R.E.M. or Talking Heads or any other Lou Reed/VU acolytes.

What do you think?  Does this track have a place on MVY?


Hear the song on Youtube.

Delta Spirit "Tear It Up"

I had this funny aural experience listening to some new music with Barbara on Monday.

I was playing her a batch of tracks that I felt merited some discussion as to whether mvy should add them to rotation or not.  Some I liked, others I didn't care for but for various reasons (national popularity, loyalty to the artist, etc) deserved consideration.

So I was getting ready to play the new Delta Spirit single for her, and I said that I didn't think this record sounded like something we'd add.

We listened for a minute, and I pointed out that it DID have a Talking Heads vibe.

And that's a plus when considering a new-ish band---do they have a straight-line connection to a core artist/sound for the station?

Then Barbara pointed out that the little guitar figure that repeats is VERY Lindsay Buckingham---another core artist/sound for mvyradio.

I realized that I sorta heard other things in this song, including the African influenced guitar of a Peter Gabriel song and the drums from Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill."

But the funny thing is, all those touchstones didn't seem to add up.

Yes, each individual part sounds like something you'd hear on mvy.  But the sum of its parts didn't magically retain that quality.

At least to my ears, it didn't.  What do you think?  Is this an mvy song?


Hear the song on Youtube.

Living Colour "Memories Can't Wait"

Here's another Weekend Post:

I'm pulling out "memory" songs ahead of Memorial Day.

I knew a few Talking Heads songs, but hadn't fully explored the band, when I bought the first Living Colour record, and was surprised to find that this hard rock band, was into David Byrne's lyrics.


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 wonderful to revisit.

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

Leonard Cohen "Bird On A Wire"

Not all the notes I get at my mvyradio email box are as lovely as the one I wrote about yesterday.

We certainly receive a good portion of criticism and complaints too. And it's my job to answer them.

Last week I got a note from a listener who wondered why we don't play Leonard Cohen in regular rotation. Or, to more accurately reflect the tone of the note, a listener who wondered Why Do You Hate Leonard Cohen?

We definitely don't hate Leonard Cohen. In fact, Barbara Dacey's blog is named after one of his songs. And the day I got the note, she was featuring music from Leonard's son Adam!

But here's the thing . . . a great artist and a great song, doesn't necessarily translate to a great RADIO artist and a great RADIO song.

Jeff Buckley is one of my favorite artists. But most of his songs don't really fit comfortably outside of the confines of his album, instead sandwiched between two other songs.

Gram Parsons is an artist we've tried to put into regular rotation. His music is hugely influential and his songs are timeless, but on the air, they don't seem to fit into the mix of the radio station.

And Tom Waits has fit into this category too. His vocal style is off-putting to some, and often the atmospherics of his music are a little to avant garde for mass consumption.

Then again, a few years ago we scoured Waits' catalog and DID find a handful of songs where he had scaled back his full blown Waits-yness. "Shiver Me Timbers" fits beautifully into the mvyradio mix.

So I wrote back to our Leonard lover, saying that we could do the same scouring of Cohen's catalog.

She gave me a few suggestions, as did Barbara.

What do you think?

Check out the songs below. Don't judge them as stand-alone pieces of art. Ask yourself, would they sound good, or weird, when played in a mix between two typical mvyradio songs, like, say, "Girlfriend Is Better" and "Black Horse And The Cherry Tree"?


Hear "Bird On A Wire" on Youtube.


Hear "Dance Me To The End Of Love" on Youtube.


Hear "I'm Your Man" on Youtube.


Hear "Suzanne" on Youtube.


Hear "Girlfriend Is Better" on Youtube.


Hear "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree" on Youtube.

The Fools "Psycho Chicken"

With Halloween coming, I'll use this weekend slot to post some Old School fun . . .


See the video on Youtube.

Talking Heads "Road To Nowhere"

David Byrne must appreciate the irony. And perhaps the cash, too.

Following up last Friday's post about Patty Griffin's possible payday, David Byrne may have had an inadvertently fruitful last week, too.

It seems that Florida Governor Charlie Crist used the Talking Heads song "Road To Nowhere" in an attack ad against Marco Rubio, that aired online.

Because Byrne is the songwriter, he is due compensation for the use. Or at the very least, he must grant permission if anyone---be it a political candidate, a cable channel or a new brand of soap---wants to use his song in their ad.

Crist did not ask, so Byrne is suing him for one million dollars.

(A brief editorial: Wouldn't it be great if lawmakers knew enough about copyright law so as not to flagrantly break it?)

Here's the best part. Byrne is suing, because he deserves to be paid if someone is using his song in their broadcast of a message. Because of the players involved (famous singer, well known candidate, contentious election race, political party that has recently run afoul of copyright law and promised to never do it again) this story has made national news.

So when ABC Nightly News runs the story, they play a clip of "Road To Nowhere." And they have to report that they did. And Byrne gets paid.

When NPR runs the story, they play a clip of "Road To Nowhere." And Byrne gets paid.

When your local Fox affiliate runs the story, they play a clip of "Road To Nowhere." And Byrne gets paid.

And so on and so on, until the news cycle ends.

Byrne's lawsuit may never come to court. He may never get the one million dollars from Crist. But because this song will appear in the National media more frequently than a 20 year old song would on any average day, Byrne's next royalty check is likely to be quite a bit fatter.

"Rich with irony" was never so accurate.