Daft Punk "Da Funk"

Here's another Weekend Post:

I read this week that MTV is bringing back the show "120 Minutes," which is great news for those who enjoy the offbeat and esoteric.

I remember happening upon this video just after it had started (I'd missed the beginning), so I had no idea what is was, who it was, or what the hell was going on. But I think it's one of the most oddly compelling music videos I've even seen (emphasis on "oddly").



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.

Velocity Girl "I Can't Stop Smiling"

Here's another Weekend Post:

It's been a long time since I lived the ups-and-downs of single life, but when I did (and when I lived among and with other young singles), this song was pulled out any time we'd met someone new that we were excited about . . .



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.

Fastball "Make Your Mama Proud"

What's the name of that popular "Black Ops" video game? * (answer at the bottom of the post)

My housemate Mandy and I used to play this game.

We'd spend hours and hours trying to trick each other, casually working questions into conversation. Questions like: "What was the name of that marionette that Buffalo Bob had?"

If I was sneaky and subtle enough, she'd slip up and say, "Howdy Doody."

And I'd gloat, "YOU SAID DOODY!" (as is, poop)

Juvenile, I know. But we would go to great lengths to trick the other into saying the word.

"What's the shop at the airport where you don't pay tax?"

"He got called up to the Army for another, uh, Tour Of, uh . . ."

"What's the light on the top of that Taxi say?"

Right around that time, Fastball had their first record out, with the punk-pop ditty called "Make Your Mama Proud," which contains the line:

Now you're pushing 31/Duty calls you cut and run.

We'd sing along, and every time it hit that line, Mandy and I would scream "DOODY!!!!!!"

How psyched were we that we were seeing them in concert, and would hear the word "Doody" blasted through Amphitheater stacks?

We got a good position in front of the stage just as Fastball's set started. And we waited. And waited. And waited.

Maybe they'll do it for an encore . . .

And waited.

And then it was over.

No "Make Your Mama Proud." No "Doody."

We were pissed!

All the way out to the parking lot, we complained. How could they not play that song?!

But as I pulled the Toyota out into traffic, I popped the Fastball CD into the car player, put on "Make Your Mama Proud," rolled down my window and turned the stereo up to full volume.

At the top of my lungs I sang, "Now you're pushing 31/DOODY calls you cut and run."

Mandy rolled down her windows too, letting the music spill out into the cool North Carolina night.

And when the song ended, I hit "Repeat."

We sang again. LOUDER.

"NOW YOUR PUSHING 31/DOODY CALLS YOU CUT AND RUN."

And when it was over, repeat again.

And again.

And again.

We probably sang it a dozen times in a row.

I should point out that Mandy and I weren't the only ones in the car. Fortunately, we were gently tolerated.

That show was one of the few concerts I'd ever been to, where the most memorable song of the night was the one the band didn't play.

To this day, I still don't know why they skipped it. It was the album's single. It was probably their most familiar song at the time. Fans were expecting to hear it.

You'd think they would have had to play it out of a sense of, you know . . . not obligation, but . . . a sense of . . . what's that word? *



* You said "Doody!"

Bell X1 "Velcro"

The number of songs on my "Going For Adds" iTunes playlist fluctuates from week to week, but is usually in 50 to 100 song range.

That's 50 to 100 recently released songs, in contention for the 2 or 3 new-song slots we have at mvyradio every week.

And while I will often listen to the tracks with the song list up (so I know who I'm listening to at any given moment, or I can jump around to songs I'm really curious to hear), sometimes I don't keep it up.

It's a good test of a song's potency to set the list to "random," minimize the screen and only look at the artist and title information if the song really grabs me.

Did you know The Cars (yes, The Cars!) have a new record? I put a couple of new Cars songs in the playlist, curious to hear what the surviving members are up to. I didn't know when they'd come up on the playlist, but I knew they'd come around at some point.

And when the song on today's post played, I wondered: Is that Ric Ocasek? Well then, The Cars have done a nice job of sounding a bit like themselves, but sounding modern, too.

Sufficiently grabbed, I pulled up the iTunes list, only to find that I was actually listening to Bell X1's new song "Velcro."

Does Bell X1 sound like The Cars? I wouldn't have said so. But listen to this track. Do you hear it?

(And hey! They're Irish! Happy Saint Patrick's Day!)



Here's one of the new Cars songs:

Eddie Rabbitt "Driving My Life Away"

Think of the Top 40 station in your neighborhood.

Can you imagine them playing a song like this? Ever?!

Top 40 has changed so much since I was a kid. Back when we were young, listening to Casey Kasem meant hearing not just Pop, but Country and Rock and Disco and whatever. It really was representative of America, without walls.

I remember sitting in the station wagon listening to American Top 40 while Mom ran errands. She'd go in a store, but leave the keys in the ignition so I could listen to the radio. And when this song came on, I tried to get the windshield wipers/slapping out a tempo/keeping perfect rhythm with the song on the radio.

Turning the intermittent speed up. Then down. Up a little more. Too much. Down a hair. I futzed with it and almost got it right, but by then the song was over.

Getting the wipers to be in sync with the music turned out to be harder than a country song suggests it would be.

Ben Harper "Rock N Roll Is Free"

While I was away, the mail piled up in my home mailbox. But what a nice surprise to dig through the pile and find that I had finally received this check that'd I'd been expecting for so long, I'd kinda forgotten it was coming at all.

While I was away, the mail piled up in my work mailbox. But what a nice surprise to dig through the pile and find that we'd received a new Ben Harper song. Not completely unexpected, but its not like I was looking for it either.

A great way to return from time off . . .

R.E.M. "Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight"

Over a couple of beers, I tried to explain "Interpolation" to two of my friends, to see if they could help me with a few examples that I could use on The Hot Seat.

Halfway through the conversation, I realized that, while I knew what it was when I heard it, I didn't have the language to properly explain it.

So maybe I should start there:

"Interpolation refers to using a melody, or portions of a melody (often with modified lyrics) from a previously recorded song, but replaying the melody instead of sampling it."

So samples don't count, because they use the original song. Just mentioning another song in the lyrics doesn't count. And we're not talking about a strict cover version either.

The best example I could come up with is "Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight," which uses the melody of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," as part of the song. But it's not a cover or a reworking of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." It's just got Michael Stipe singing that one part of the old song, incorporated into the new one.

Tonight I'm doing a Hot Seat on "Interpolation" and I'll be playing the original song, followed by a song that incorporates an element of the original tune. Hear it tonight at 9pm ET on the stream, or find it later in the archives.

And while I have your attention about this song, check out this old article about the origins of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." When I originally read it years ago, I thought it was one of the most interesting pieces of Rock journalism I'd ever read.

You'll never hear that song the same way again.

Sebadoh "Rebound"

Here's another Weekend Post:

Since I was on the Dinosaur Jr. yesterday, I had Sebadoh on the mind, too.

When this song came out, I had moved from Florida and life was much happier.



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.

Dinosaur Jr. "Start Choppin'"

I'm still on my Florida vacation, and I'm reminded of the brief, largely painful period that I lived here in the early 90s.

Though it wasn't the worst thing that happened to me, in a typically deflating young adult moment, I was totally rocking out to this Dinosaur Jr. song, and I got pulled over for speeding.

A $120 ticket. For going 37 Miles An Hour!

Girlyman "Tuning Songs Collection"

While PJ is on vacation, he's tossing out some improvised songs.

Ingrid Michaelson can make comedy out of in-between song banter. Girlyman is willing to make a whole album out of it.

While their harmonies and vocal interplay are so incredibly, beautifully precise as a rule, it also speaks to their artistry that there is genius in their spontaneity too.

And while the faux Record Collection video is a joke, this release really exists, and you can download and enjoy the songs they made up on the spot, between the song they had planned to play.