Top 5 Songs found in mvyradio’s online auction . . .
“I think the past, the past is behind us, be real confusing if not, but anyway.”
This is one of those lyrics that says something so complicated, in such a simple way.
And when I try to tell people how amazing it is, that something so complicated and be rendered in such a pithy manner, so hilariously, I inevitably prove the opposite.
Maybe it’s because the folks I hang around with only understand time as a linear concept.
But then yes, those who only view time in a line would be confused, if the past were not behind us. Right?
But anyway . . . here’s something less confusing, and linear-time-sensitive:
The mvyradio Online Auction ends today at 1pm ET. And we have a John Popper autographed harmonica, plus a copy of a Muddy Waters authorized bootleg, and copies for 4 friends. If you want it, you’re going to have to bid on it now! (Unless you’re reading this later than 1pm on Friday February 12th, 2010. In that case, it’s too bad that past isn’t in front of you)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
The Beatles “Norwegian Wood”
Top 5 Songs found in mvyradio’s online auction . . .
Somewhere early-on in my Beatles learnin’ (about the time when I graduated from using my own Mickey Mouse record player to being able to use Dad’s turntable), I remember reading that the big deal about “Norwegian Wood” was that it featured the sitar, and was evidence of the Beatles being influenced by Eastern Philosophy and Indian music.
So can I be forgiven for going a good decade beyond that, not realizing that Norwegians are Scandinavian, not Indian? Why is the song not called “Darjeeling Wood”?
If you want to never falter in your Beatles knowledge, you can bid on the voluminous, exhaustive Beatles biography by Bob Spitz, get it in both hardcover and audiobook form, plus get some rare Beatles t-shirt and McCartney backstage passes from the mvyradio online auction, which ends Friday 2/12 at 1pm ET.
Somewhere early-on in my Beatles learnin’ (about the time when I graduated from using my own Mickey Mouse record player to being able to use Dad’s turntable), I remember reading that the big deal about “Norwegian Wood” was that it featured the sitar, and was evidence of the Beatles being influenced by Eastern Philosophy and Indian music.
So can I be forgiven for going a good decade beyond that, not realizing that Norwegians are Scandinavian, not Indian? Why is the song not called “Darjeeling Wood”?
If you want to never falter in your Beatles knowledge, you can bid on the voluminous, exhaustive Beatles biography by Bob Spitz, get it in both hardcover and audiobook form, plus get some rare Beatles t-shirt and McCartney backstage passes from the mvyradio online auction, which ends Friday 2/12 at 1pm ET.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Vapors “Turning Japanese”
Top 5 Songs found in mvyradio’s online auction . . .
If you’re married/in a long term partnership, you probably had that Right Thing moment some time early in your relationship.
It’s after you’ve gotten past the first couple of dates, so it’s not exactly a new relationship. But there’s still so much you don’t know about each other.
And you, unwittingly, innocently, say The Right Thing. You weren’t trying to impress or schmooze or suck up. You just happened to say The Right Thing.
They look at you, and they smile. And you know you’ve just passed some test, and you’re In.
This can happen at a job, too. You’re new, and you do the right thing, and your boss notices, and wordlessly indicates that your hiring has just been justified.
It happened to me in the November 2000. I’d been at mvyradio only a short time.
Barbara, who was the Program Director, had picked up the listener phone line, and had a furrowed brow.
“Who sang ‘Turning Japanese’? Hmm. Turning. Japanese. Um . . .”
The little rolodex in my brain flip, flip, flipped through the mental database taking only a microsecond to land on:
“It was The Vapors."
She smiled. I was there with the Right (meaning “obscure”) knowledge, at the Right time.
I’d said The Right Thing.
If you can’t remember all those cool, underground songs from the 80s---or if you DO remember, but don’t have them on disc---bid on the 80s bundle at our Friends of mvyradio eBay auction, which ends Friday at 1pm ET. There’s the 4 disc “Left Of The Dial” boxed set (description here), which is this amazing compilation of the alternative 80s, plus a David Byrne DVD and a David Bowie CD/DVD set.
If you’re married/in a long term partnership, you probably had that Right Thing moment some time early in your relationship.
It’s after you’ve gotten past the first couple of dates, so it’s not exactly a new relationship. But there’s still so much you don’t know about each other.
And you, unwittingly, innocently, say The Right Thing. You weren’t trying to impress or schmooze or suck up. You just happened to say The Right Thing.
They look at you, and they smile. And you know you’ve just passed some test, and you’re In.
This can happen at a job, too. You’re new, and you do the right thing, and your boss notices, and wordlessly indicates that your hiring has just been justified.
It happened to me in the November 2000. I’d been at mvyradio only a short time.
Barbara, who was the Program Director, had picked up the listener phone line, and had a furrowed brow.
“Who sang ‘Turning Japanese’? Hmm. Turning. Japanese. Um . . .”
The little rolodex in my brain flip, flip, flipped through the mental database taking only a microsecond to land on:
“It was The Vapors."
She smiled. I was there with the Right (meaning “obscure”) knowledge, at the Right time.
I’d said The Right Thing.
If you can’t remember all those cool, underground songs from the 80s---or if you DO remember, but don’t have them on disc---bid on the 80s bundle at our Friends of mvyradio eBay auction, which ends Friday at 1pm ET. There’s the 4 disc “Left Of The Dial” boxed set (description here), which is this amazing compilation of the alternative 80s, plus a David Byrne DVD and a David Bowie CD/DVD set.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tom Petty “Green Onions”
Top 5 Songs found in mvyradio’s online auction . . .
We had just spent the last four days, working out butts off to cover Merlefest. It was one of the biggest On The Road excursions we’d had up to that point, and we were dead dog tired.
But even though it was 2am, you can’t just switch off from four days of “GO-GO-GO-GO!” so we were all hanging out in Gary’s hotel room, having a few well-earned beers.
Larry was flipping through the cable channels, looking for something to have on the in the background, as we rehashed our weekend war stories. He came across a Tom Petty Concert on one of the premium channels.
“Is this okay?”
Nick responded, “Yeah. Everybody loves Tom Petty, right?”
Gary burst into deep belly laughter, and reached for the phone, quickly dialing.
“Honey? It’s your Dad. Hang on a second.”
Gary handed the phone to Nick and said, “Repeat what you just said!”
Nick, confused, stammered, “Uh, everybody loves Tom Petty . . . “
“Okay,” said Gary, to his daughter on the other end of the line, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Apparently, “everybody loves Tom Petty” is a long-standing in-joke for Gary’s family. Tom Petty being a symbol for something everyone can agree on. So he just had to share that Nick's spontaneous confirmation of that universal truth:
Everybody Loves Tom Petty.
If you love Tom Petty—and you must, because everybody loves Tom Petty---we have the Tom Petty Live Anthology boxed set up for grabs in this week’s mvyradio auction. Make a bid and support free streaming.
We had just spent the last four days, working out butts off to cover Merlefest. It was one of the biggest On The Road excursions we’d had up to that point, and we were dead dog tired.
But even though it was 2am, you can’t just switch off from four days of “GO-GO-GO-GO!” so we were all hanging out in Gary’s hotel room, having a few well-earned beers.
Larry was flipping through the cable channels, looking for something to have on the in the background, as we rehashed our weekend war stories. He came across a Tom Petty Concert on one of the premium channels.
“Is this okay?”
Nick responded, “Yeah. Everybody loves Tom Petty, right?”
Gary burst into deep belly laughter, and reached for the phone, quickly dialing.
“Honey? It’s your Dad. Hang on a second.”
Gary handed the phone to Nick and said, “Repeat what you just said!”
Nick, confused, stammered, “Uh, everybody loves Tom Petty . . . “
“Okay,” said Gary, to his daughter on the other end of the line, “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Apparently, “everybody loves Tom Petty” is a long-standing in-joke for Gary’s family. Tom Petty being a symbol for something everyone can agree on. So he just had to share that Nick's spontaneous confirmation of that universal truth:
Everybody Loves Tom Petty.
If you love Tom Petty—and you must, because everybody loves Tom Petty---we have the Tom Petty Live Anthology boxed set up for grabs in this week’s mvyradio auction. Make a bid and support free streaming.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Bruce Springsteen “Jungleland”
Top 5 Songs found in mvyradio’s online auction . . .
With age comes perspective. You can see a moment of your past in a wide context, fit it in to a broader vision of yourself, and make some peace with it.
But with age and perspective, also comes a certain amount of forgetting.
I got the Bruce Springsteen “Born To Run” anniversary edition when it came out, and dove right into the accompanying DVD that provided some great behind the scenes, making of footage.
In one of the many remarkable sequences, the band members talked about the making of the epic, “Jungleland.” Much to the various musicians dismay, Bruce could not be satisified with an exact version of the song. Lyrics and solos and bridges were written, arranged, excised, rewritten, rearranged, built up and stripped down. At one point, a labored over musical intro was fully scrapped by Bruce, over protestations of the band.
Now in their 50s, the band members talk on the DVD about the making of the song. And Bruce himself hears the alternate, scrapped intro. And he kind of smiles and says that for the life of him, even HE doesn’t know what he thought was wrong with it.
The 30th Anniversary Package, which includes “Born To Run,” the making of DVD and a concert DVD from 1975, plus an autographed copy of Clarence Clemons new book are up for grabs in the Friends of mvyradio auction. Make a bid and support free streaming.
With age comes perspective. You can see a moment of your past in a wide context, fit it in to a broader vision of yourself, and make some peace with it.
But with age and perspective, also comes a certain amount of forgetting.
I got the Bruce Springsteen “Born To Run” anniversary edition when it came out, and dove right into the accompanying DVD that provided some great behind the scenes, making of footage.
In one of the many remarkable sequences, the band members talked about the making of the epic, “Jungleland.” Much to the various musicians dismay, Bruce could not be satisified with an exact version of the song. Lyrics and solos and bridges were written, arranged, excised, rewritten, rearranged, built up and stripped down. At one point, a labored over musical intro was fully scrapped by Bruce, over protestations of the band.
Now in their 50s, the band members talk on the DVD about the making of the song. And Bruce himself hears the alternate, scrapped intro. And he kind of smiles and says that for the life of him, even HE doesn’t know what he thought was wrong with it.
The 30th Anniversary Package, which includes “Born To Run,” the making of DVD and a concert DVD from 1975, plus an autographed copy of Clarence Clemons new book are up for grabs in the Friends of mvyradio auction. Make a bid and support free streaming.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Fiona Apple "Sleep To Dream"
Remember back in the day, when you'd get a box of Cap't Crunch, and mow your way through bowl after bowl to get to the prize at the bottom?
I think record promoters sometimes think they can appeal to a programmer's, 10-year-old saturday-morning-cartoon-watching self. Because sometimes (if the budget allows) you can get some pretty funny things in the mail, along with a CD.
Sure, there's the standard bumper stickers and posters, but the tchochkes can get quite elaborate.
For the "Up In The Air" soundtrack, they sent a T-shirt, and a toy plane--the little kind the pilot might give you on your first flight.
For an up-and-coming artist, who's first single had "salt" in the title, they sent the CD in a round metal case, that can be used as a margarita rim salter.
Once, I even got an actual bologna sandwich on Wonderbread, from a band trying to market themselves as "white trash rappers."
Much of this stuff goes directly in the garbage (especially an unwrapped sandwich), but occasionally we get something that proves itself useful and interesting.
In the production studio, sits our Fiona Apple alarm clock, with a snooze button that says "Sleep To Dream." Clever. And when I look at the time, I think of Fiona Apple. Now that's marketing!
I think record promoters sometimes think they can appeal to a programmer's, 10-year-old saturday-morning-cartoon-watching self. Because sometimes (if the budget allows) you can get some pretty funny things in the mail, along with a CD.
Sure, there's the standard bumper stickers and posters, but the tchochkes can get quite elaborate.
For the "Up In The Air" soundtrack, they sent a T-shirt, and a toy plane--the little kind the pilot might give you on your first flight.
For an up-and-coming artist, who's first single had "salt" in the title, they sent the CD in a round metal case, that can be used as a margarita rim salter.
Once, I even got an actual bologna sandwich on Wonderbread, from a band trying to market themselves as "white trash rappers."
Much of this stuff goes directly in the garbage (especially an unwrapped sandwich), but occasionally we get something that proves itself useful and interesting.
In the production studio, sits our Fiona Apple alarm clock, with a snooze button that says "Sleep To Dream." Clever. And when I look at the time, I think of Fiona Apple. Now that's marketing!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Coldplay “Lost!”
Lost! with an exclamation point!
Every time I've heard this song, over the course of the last 9 months, I’d lament:
“I’ve got to wait until February!” with an exclamation point.
Lost, the TV show takes long hiatuses, at least for a broadcast TV show. And it’s a show that asks a lot of questions, leaving too many unanswered, but with a promise that there will be a conclusion. You just have to wait for it.
And wait.
And wait.
And the wait is finally over.
I ran my kid up and down the halls of the house, for an hour on Tuesday late afternoon, to make sure she went straight to bed. Poured myself a drink. Put the snacks on the side table and I watched the Season premiere.
And now I wait. Until next Tuesday.
And every time I hear this song, I’m reminded that the waiting is the hardest part. But that’s another song.
Every time I've heard this song, over the course of the last 9 months, I’d lament:
“I’ve got to wait until February!” with an exclamation point.
Lost, the TV show takes long hiatuses, at least for a broadcast TV show. And it’s a show that asks a lot of questions, leaving too many unanswered, but with a promise that there will be a conclusion. You just have to wait for it.
And wait.
And wait.
And the wait is finally over.
I ran my kid up and down the halls of the house, for an hour on Tuesday late afternoon, to make sure she went straight to bed. Poured myself a drink. Put the snacks on the side table and I watched the Season premiere.
And now I wait. Until next Tuesday.
And every time I hear this song, I’m reminded that the waiting is the hardest part. But that’s another song.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Ryan Adams “Tina Toledo’s Street Walkin’ Blues”
I really thought that this was the direction Ryan Adams was going to go.
In 2001, he had put out “Gold,” seemly to leave behind the more straightforward Americana of his band Whiskeytown, and his first solo record “Heartbreaker.”
“Gold” hinted at his ability to work in familiar styles, sound like Van Morrison, Neil Young, or in this case, The Rolling Stones.
It’s got all the things that make a song “Stonesy,” including the riffy guitar part, the New York City references, the promiscuous lead character, the cocksure vocal delivery, the African-American female back-up singer vocal solo.
Garage rock was “in” around that time. The Strokes, The Hives, etc. But Ryan Adams could really write, and could do more than just the guitar swagger. He could craft the solid tunes the way The Glimmer Twins did.
He even did a cover of “Dead Flowers” with Willie Nelson around this time.
So who would’ve thunk that he’d end up embracing The Dead, instead, as he has done on his last several albums.
I’m ready for the Rock N Roll from Ryan, because I think he does it better than most.
In 2001, he had put out “Gold,” seemly to leave behind the more straightforward Americana of his band Whiskeytown, and his first solo record “Heartbreaker.”
“Gold” hinted at his ability to work in familiar styles, sound like Van Morrison, Neil Young, or in this case, The Rolling Stones.
It’s got all the things that make a song “Stonesy,” including the riffy guitar part, the New York City references, the promiscuous lead character, the cocksure vocal delivery, the African-American female back-up singer vocal solo.
Garage rock was “in” around that time. The Strokes, The Hives, etc. But Ryan Adams could really write, and could do more than just the guitar swagger. He could craft the solid tunes the way The Glimmer Twins did.
He even did a cover of “Dead Flowers” with Willie Nelson around this time.
So who would’ve thunk that he’d end up embracing The Dead, instead, as he has done on his last several albums.
I’m ready for the Rock N Roll from Ryan, because I think he does it better than most.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Vampire Weekend “White Sky”
Often, when we’re considering songs for rotation at mvyradio, we’ll talk about the artist’s story.
Is there something that will give the record context, or make it interesting to talk about on the air?
“What’s this band’s story?” This question might have any of these answers:
a) The artist has an interesting backstory. Like, “Carla Bruni? She took the lyrics from the poems of people like Yeats and Dickenson. Oh, and she’s was the mistress and is now the wife of the Prime Minister of France”
b) Something interesting/important/tragic/fortunate happened to the band while they were making the record. Like “Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King” was made in the wake of Leroi Moore’s passing, and has his spirit all over the record
c) There are interesting intra-artist connections: “It was produced by T Bone Burnett!” “John Mayer wrote a glowing record review of this in Rolling Stone!” “They were invited by Martin Sexton to be his touring band!”
Often, these stories are part of the narrative of the band.
But of all the stories attached, rightly or wrongly, to a band, I don’t think I’ve ever had a story like Vampire Weekend’s. Strangely, the prevailing story about this band has to do with how much some people hate this band.
From NME: Lord knows they have their detractors, but whatever you might think of them, the simple fact is Vampire Weekend are now one of the most unique bands on the planet.
From The Boston Globe: An unabashed pleasure and then just as quickly bashed for its hipster cachet, Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut touched down like a Texas tornado in 2008.
From The Chicago Tribune: Only in the file-sharing era could a band suffer a backlash before its first album even came out.
From Pitchfork: Considering the ferocious objections to Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut, "Horchata", and the rest of Contra, is brave music.
And these are the professional reviewers, who have to present some level of objectivity and decorum. Delve into Blog-world, and the word “ferocious” only scratches the surface of the level of distaste some have for the band.
Can you hear this song, without hearing the story in your head? Is it something we should be playing?
See this previous post, for details on how a song gets into rotation on mvyradio, then let me know what you think.
Is there something that will give the record context, or make it interesting to talk about on the air?
“What’s this band’s story?” This question might have any of these answers:
a) The artist has an interesting backstory. Like, “Carla Bruni? She took the lyrics from the poems of people like Yeats and Dickenson. Oh, and she’s was the mistress and is now the wife of the Prime Minister of France”
b) Something interesting/important/tragic/fortunate happened to the band while they were making the record. Like “Big Whiskey And The Groogrux King” was made in the wake of Leroi Moore’s passing, and has his spirit all over the record
c) There are interesting intra-artist connections: “It was produced by T Bone Burnett!” “John Mayer wrote a glowing record review of this in Rolling Stone!” “They were invited by Martin Sexton to be his touring band!”
Often, these stories are part of the narrative of the band.
But of all the stories attached, rightly or wrongly, to a band, I don’t think I’ve ever had a story like Vampire Weekend’s. Strangely, the prevailing story about this band has to do with how much some people hate this band.
From NME: Lord knows they have their detractors, but whatever you might think of them, the simple fact is Vampire Weekend are now one of the most unique bands on the planet.
From The Boston Globe: An unabashed pleasure and then just as quickly bashed for its hipster cachet, Vampire Weekend’s self-titled debut touched down like a Texas tornado in 2008.
From The Chicago Tribune: Only in the file-sharing era could a band suffer a backlash before its first album even came out.
From Pitchfork: Considering the ferocious objections to Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut, "Horchata", and the rest of Contra, is brave music.
And these are the professional reviewers, who have to present some level of objectivity and decorum. Delve into Blog-world, and the word “ferocious” only scratches the surface of the level of distaste some have for the band.
Can you hear this song, without hearing the story in your head? Is it something we should be playing?
See this previous post, for details on how a song gets into rotation on mvyradio, then let me know what you think.
Monday, February 1, 2010
John Mayer "Heartbreak Warfare"
I've always made it a point to try to separate the artist from the art.
I don't want to like a song, just because the person singing it seems nice (or IS nice, if I happen to know that because I've had first person contact).
And I don't want to hate a song, just because the person singing seems like a jerk (or IS a jerk, if I happen to know that because I've had first person contact).
But that's just so hard to achieve, when the singer in question seems to either a) have lost control of how he appears in public, or b) gets caught up in his own ego.
I want to like John Mayer. I think he's a very talented, hardworking entertainer. The one, very, very brief interaction I had with him (we shook hands and said a Hi Howya Doing? in the mvyradio lobby in 2001) was very pleasant.
But in my stack of new songs to consider added to mvyradio rotation, is "Heartbreak Warfare." And I keep hesitating to listen to it, because every time I do, I see this Rolling Stone magazine cover in my head, and hear his words about how lonely he is. And it makes me barf just a little in the back of my throat.
I am trying to separate the artist from the art, John, but you're not helping.
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