Wilco "Sunloathe"

Here's another "I Looked At The Internet Today So You Don't Have To" feature.

Oftentimes, only one or two singles from an album will come to radio.  But with the ease of video distribution via Youtube, bands are making videos for songs even if they aren't the single (which was an unthinkable practice in the heyday of MTV, unless you were a) super-rich or b) pretentious).

Anyway, enjoy this crazy impressionistic animated clip!


Hear the song on Youtube.

Paul Westerberg "My Road Now"

A good day, is any day Paul Westerberg releases a song.  And it's been 5 years since we've had a good day.

Thankfully, I Looked At The Internet Today So You Don't Have To.

Westerberg has posted this piano ballad on his website for free download.

(Be forewarned, though it is a sweet piano ballad, he does lead off by dropping an F-bomb.  Try headphones if the kiddies---or the bosses---are within earshot)


Hear the song on Youtube.

The Lemonheads "Great Big No"

"The new phone book's here! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people.  Things are going to start happening to me now!"  --- Steve Martin in "The Jerk"

I don't exactly know what I was thinking was going to happen, but that wasn't stopping me.

They'd just announced that they'd be shooting scenes for a new music video during the next song.  So I was going to be in it.

Fortunately, it was 1993, I was young, the crowd was young, and pushing your way toward the front wasn't a faux pas at a Lemonheads club show, in the same way it might be at, say, Symphony Hall.

We were in Atlanta for a Redd Kross/Lemonheads double-bill, and I was determined to have my presence recorded.  I wormed my way as far forward as I could, right in front of Evan Dando and hoped for the best.

And I waited.

Well, I mean, I jumped around up front for that song, then retreated back to where my friends were and enjoyed the rest of the night out in Atlanta.  Then I went home and kept my eye on MTV.

I used to watch "120 Minutes" religiously.  I'd tape it even, if I thought I was going to miss it.  But I definitely taped it when I heard that The Lemonheads label was finally getting around to releasing "Great Big No" as a single.

So here's the thing . . . I am in the video, but you really need a good pause button to find me.  You can't really do it on Youtube.

Right around the 1:22 mark, there's a shot where the camera looks over Evan Dando's shoulders, into the crowd.  I'm there!  I swear I am.

Surprisingly, my phone did not ring.  No agent called because they had "discovered" me in a crowd shot that lasts for 2/10ths of a second in a video shown after midnight on a Sunday night by a band releasing its fourth single off a record.

Despite Navin's promise, things did not start happening to me.

But it's still pretty cool.  Look Ma, I'm on the internet!


See the video on Youtube.

Youtube Orchestra "Somebody That I Used To Know"

I remember this interview with actor Mark Hamill, who talked about the two roads he could have taken.

One way to was do everything in his power to distance himself from "Star Wars."  He could stay away from any and all Sci-Fi roles.  He could avoid the Comic-Cons of the world.  He could walk around like his co-star Harrison Ford, with a shirt like this --->>>

The other way was something he had seen Janet Leigh do.

Leigh, an accomplished actress who appeared in dozens of films (including notable ones like "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Touch Of Evil") is mostly remembered for three harrowing minutes in a shower in the movie "Psycho."

He noted that she could have just stopped giving interviews on the subject of "Psycho" and the shower scene, but instead she embraced it.  She became an expert on it.  She did not fight against her own public image.

Similarly, Hamill embraced the fact that he is seen by most as Luke Skywalker, and will do "Star Wars things" (like show up at Comic-Con or spoof himself on shows like "The Simpsons").

I thought of this when I saw this mega-mix of "Somebody That I Used To Know."

If a million Youtubers are going to cover your song, why not embrace it?

Gotye grafts together portions of dozens of homemade covers to create something as fun and as viral as any of the overly sincere or gimmicky cover versions out there.

If you're going to be known for one song, don't be afraid to embrace it.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Garbage "I'm Only Happy When It Rains"

I'm going to make a terrible, shocking professional admission.  One I have never uttered outside the walls of a sound-proof studio.

I DETEST playing requests.

Really.

I'm not saying I won't do it.  If you call up and want to hear something, there is a chance I'll play it.

But there is also a chance that I won't play it.

Now to be clear, even though I am the Program Director, this is not mvyradio policy.

In fact some of the DJ's, like Laurel, enjoy requests.  Jess actively seeks requests.

But not me.  I think requests are fascist.

Seriously.

"I want to hear this song, so everyone now has to hear this song."

Some people call up and request some deep album track.  And while the requester might be totally excited that we are playing some song that was the b-side to an import-only single . . . most of the listening audience is sitting with a question mark above their head wondering what the hell we are playing.

You really, really want to hear Dave Matthews "Ants Marching"?  Well, we played it two hours ago.  I know you missed it, but everyone else who's listening doesn't want to hear it twice.

Then there are the people who call every day and request the same song.  Same song, every day.  Listeners would think I was nutty if, every day, I played "Treetop Flyer" at 2pm.  Every day.

It doesn't help that it seems like an unusually large percentage of the folks who call in requests, are either drunk or off their meds.

At some point on my old radio station, I just stopped playing this damn song by Garbage.  Not because I disliked it.  But because there was this guy who'd always call and request it.  And not only would he request the same song every time we had bad weather, he'd say the same creepy thing in the same creepy way.

"Can I make a request?"

"Sure.  What would you like to hear?"

"Well . . . you know . . . I'm enjoying the storm tonight . . . " he'd say in a low mumble-y gravel, "and I'm only happy when it rains . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.

Aimee Mann "Labrador"

Here's another "I Looked At The Internet Today So You Don't Have To" feature.

On top of being a brilliant craftsperson and razor-sharp songwriter, Aimee Mann is a) hilarious and b) beloved by some pretty hilarious folks.

Enjoy the official video for "Labrador," which is a shot-for-shot remake of the video for "Voices Carry"!!

And while you're at it, see Laura Linney in the role of the Aimee Mann-bot in the video for "Charmer," her guest shot on "Portlandia" and some clips from a Christmas video she did a few years ago.



Hear "Labrador" on Youtube.


Compare the Til Tuesday on Youtube.


See the Aimee-bot on Youtube.


See Aimee Mann on "Portlandia" on Youtube.


See Part One of Aimee Mann's "Christmas Carol" on Youtube.

Smashing Pumpkins "Disarm"

There are songs that influenced my life, and there are songs that are a part of great memories, and there are songs that evoke emotions, but very, very few songs can be credited with changing the course of my life.

"What is this station?" I asked, surprised to hear a band like this on local radio.

"It's WABN."

"Man, if I ever worked in radio, it would be for a station like this."

Two years prior, in 1991, my college girlfriend and I graduated, and we ran off to Florida to start our lives.  I pursued a career in TV production, making low-budget TV commercials.  That turned out to be a flame-out for me.  The girl and I broke up.  I was unhappy.  Lonely.  Hated Florida.  I was this close to moving back home with my family---I had a job lined up and everything---when I received a offer to join the creative services department of an NBC affiliate in Bristol Virginia.  I took it. 

Where is Bristol Virginia?  I had no idea.

Bristol is in the most Western part of the state of Virginia.  NASCAR is big.  It is the birthplace of country music.  It is far, far, far from any major city.  Growing up in New England, having Boston within our reach, I was used to certain kinds of cultural access that did not exist in this part of the world

No Professional sports teams.  No Dunkin' Donuts.  And no modern rock radio.

I was riding with Brian, one of the NBC-TV station's salespeople.  We'd just gone to meet with a client, and were cruising back to the office.

He was flipping through the dial when Smashing Pumpkins "Disarm" came on.

"What is this station?" I asked, surprised to hear a band like this on local radio.  I'd been in Bristol for several months, and had only found Country, Classic Rock and Gospel on the airwaves.

"It's WABN."

"Man, if I ever worked in radio, it would be for a station like this."

"Huh.  You know, they are one of my clients.  And I know they need some part-time help."

In a few short days, I was in the office of WABN, a family-owned, independent AM/FM combo.  They were looking for someone to host their 2 hour Request Radio program, 4 nights a week.  I asked them if they had any interest in having me create a modern rock radio show---as this burgeoning genre (it was 1994) seemed to be gaining traction with young folks ever since Nirvana arrived.  They were open to the idea, if I was willing to take on Request Radio.

I had never done radio before, but they were warm and welcoming and encouraging.  I said Yes.

I'll write another post about the beginnings of my on-air career, but let's cut to a few days later.

At the TV station, my manager had poked his head in my office to ask me something, and before he left I said, "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I picked up a part-time job for a few hours a week."

"Okay," he smiled.  "I'll let the boss know."

The GM of the TV station was notoriously unpopular with the staff, but I hadn't had any run-ins with him in the 6 months I was on the job.

Until the next day.

He was passing me in the hall when he said brightly, "Hey, I heard you picked up a part-time job! What'cha doing?"

"Oh, I'm going to do airshifts a couple nights a week on WABN."

"Oh . . ." His mood turned instantly dark, and he walked away.

Later that day, my manager called me in to his office, to tell me that the GM did not approve of my new job and that I would have to quit.

"He thought you'd be doing some weekend work.  He doesn't want you working on weeknights.  He feels that you'd be wearing yourself out, and would be tired when you came to work here."

I calmly but quickly rattled off a bunch of reasons why this was ridiculous.  Most notably, that adding 8 hours to my work week would still mean I was working fewer hours than the GM normally did---and I was half his age.  But I was also accommodating.  I said that I would we willing to do a 3 month trial---if my television work faltered due to my part-time job, I would quit.

The manager took this to the GM.  The answer came back with another, No.

I asked for a meeting with the GM.  I was told to come to his office at 3pm.

I walked into his office, promptly at 3.  He acted surprised to see me, and said he didn't know I was coming.  He asked me to wait outside his office.  He kept me waiting for a while.  I was young, but smart enough to know this was a bullshit power move.

We had a brief but friendly conversation where I reiterated my arguments, and my offer of a review.  I told him it wasn't really his business what I did with my off-work time, as long as it did my work, and that I had respected the company enough to tell them about the job---something that deserved respect in return.  He was resistant, but finally, he said he'd think about it.

I knew how this was going to go.

The next day I waited in my office.  My manager came in.  Not the GM.  He said the GM had decided, I couldn't work both jobs and I would have to quit.

And that's what I did.

"Here's my key."

I had already cleaned out my desk and had my office key off its chain.  If they were making me choose, I was not going to be bullied into that choice.

Was I nuts to quit a full-time, stepping stone job, with a national company, so I could make minimum wage for 8 hours a week?

Yes.

But I felt like I was in a power struggle where the struggle wasn't over the thing (meaning, could I have the job or not), but over who got to decided.  The GM felt like he was in the ultimate power position, because he controlled my salary and my livelihood, and considered that his "checkmate."  What he didn't count on, was that the ultimate checkmate move is to walk away from the game.

At 25 I was wise enough to know that there are only a few times in your life where you are offered the opportunity to make such a statement, to make such a stand.  Today, at 43, there is absolutely no way I could do the same thing, because of the responsibility I have to my family, my mortgage, my creditors, etc.

That moment formed much of who I became.  That choice to make a stand.  To do the stupid thing, because I thought it was the right thing.

And it set the stage for the next 6 years.

All because I heard a song on the radio.

To be continued . . ."Disarm" Part 2 and what happened next, coming soon.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Dan Zanes "Rough Spot"

Here's another Weekend Post:

I know that for parents out there, when you hear the name Dan Zanes, you think about music for kids---and you have a positive or negative reaction based on that image.

But his first release after the Del Fuegos broke up, was a really great, rocking-rootsy solo effort under his own name featuring this tune, which I always loved to play on WABN and we still spike in on mvyradio.

Dan Zanes And Friends plays the Kids Stage at Life Is Good this weekend.  Follow our coverage on the mvyradio Facebook page.


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.

Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy "Television Drug Of The Nation"

Here's another Weekend Post:

Looking at the Life Is Good line-up, I realized that a number of the artists on the bill are folks I've been following for a long, long time.

My first awareness of Michael Franti came through this tune, with his early 90s, pre-Spearhead group, Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy.

Michael Franti plays the main stage tonight at Life Is Good this weekend.  Follow our coverage on the mvyradio Facebook page.


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.

R.E.M. "World Leader Pretend"

When I realized what was happening this weekend (that is, the Life Is Good Festival), I immediately went to look at Bob Dylan's tour schedule.

Not because I expect Mr. Dylan to be at the Festival.

No, I was checking to make sure that he was not out with The Never Ending Tour right now.

And while checking, I started humming R.E.M.'s "World Leader Pretend."

Dylan IS on the road next month, but right now he's not touring.

And that means I'll get to see Ben-Ben!

Brendan was my next door neighbor for the first two years of college at UMass.  Our gang of friends spent many many night (and let's face it, days and weekends and dinners and dawns) listening to and talking about music.

And while I spent my time at UMass exploring the media end of the business, Brendan (or Ben-Ben, as his roommate called him) got involved with the University productions, which put on a slate of amazing shows all year long, that culminated in a big Spring concert.  At every concert, while we'd be wandering through the crowd (most likely drunk) he'd have the thrill of working behind the scenes, as part of Load-In/Load-Out or Stage managing and such.

Brendan and I lost touch not long after college, but the advent of Facebook put us back into each other's orbit.  And two years ago, I saw him post a status about being in Canton, Massachusetts on a mid-September weekend.

I wrote him.  "Are you working at Life Is Good?"

He was!

We made a plan to meet, to see each other for the first time in about 17 years.

After college, Brendan continued to pursue a career in the touring business.  And---as these things work---he had a combination of talent, good fortune and timing, to land a gig with none other than Bob Dylan.

You can say what you want about Mr. Dylan being inscrutable and mercurial and whatever, but if you've been paying attention, in the last 20 years, he's become remarkably consistent about who he works with.  His touring band has changed very little, and, unlike much of the 70s and 80s, his touring band is largely the group of musicians that play on his records. 

Apparently, this extends to the people Dylan employs on The Never Ending Tour.  Ben-Ben and much of the core crew have been with Dylan for many, many years.

So that's Ben-Ben's life.  If Dylan is on the road, then so is Ben-Ben.

It's quite a thrill to live vicariously through Facebook and see Brendan post pictures from far-flung places around the world.

And it's nice that Mr. Dylan has happened to be off the road for the weekend of the Life Is Good Festival in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

When Ben-Ben is not on the road with Dylan, he's with his family in Massachusetts, and will pick up a job here and there if it won't interfere with the start of the next tour.  So he's picked up a gig running Good Vibes side stage at Life Is Good.

And while he grew up to be a roadie, I grew up to be a disc jockey, who gets assigned to introduce a few of the acts at the Festival.  So for the last couple of years, I've been sent to introduce some of the acts on the Good Vibes stage. 

It's pretty funny, and wonderful, to know someone from when you were practically a kid, and get the opportunity to work with them as a professional.

Saturday at 2:15, I'll be standing in the wings waiting to introduce Katie Herzig.  Ben-Ben will have given me the standard speech he has to deliver to misbehaving DJs, about keeping my shtick short and sweet and getting the hell out of the way.  And when he's ready, he'll give me the cue to send me out to center stage.  We'll be interacting as the professionals we work hard every day to be---He's touring with perhaps the greatest musician that has ever lived; I am running a beloved, heritage, independent radio station. 

This is hardly the kind of thing we could have imagined 20 years ago, when we were sitting around a UMass lounge, eating Bruno's pizza and listening to R.E.M., thinking we were terribly clever to change the words of the song so that we were singing, "I am, World Leader Ben-Ben . . ."



Hear the song on Youtube.