04: Another green world
Hey friends,
My radio show tonight is going to feature songs that make me feel like spring, as the green and blooms have really burst out in Portland and the temperatures have climbed up to the low 80s // high 20s if you are rad. The set will lean heavily on some of my favorite late '90s/early '00s indie & alt rock, but I'm sure I'll carve out some time for new & old favorites. I'm definitely going to play the new single by Chanti Darling with a feature from the Last Artful, Dodgr, and I bet I'll play the original (recently unearthed) original version of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U."
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LAST WEEK'S SHOW
FIRST HOUR
SECOND HOUR
PLAYLIST
COMMENTS: I have to apologize for a few things. One, I didn't anticipate that Kanye would dominate the tweeter to the extent he has in the past week, and leading off a show with my favorite song of his was likely the quickest way to encourage you to close your tab/delete your download. I should have just played the song he samples (Ponderosa Twins Plus One's "Bound," just reissued by the excellent Numero Group label as a part of their Eccentric Soul: The Saru Label collection). Second, one of the turntables was incorrectly balanced/weighted, so the tonearm took of like a rocket and landed on a different groove during both "Within Your Reach" and "Romeo and Juliet." Two of my ding-dang favorites! Finally, I intended to play Kate Bush's "Watching You Without Me" but instead played "Jig of Life" like it was St. Patrick's Day or something. Nonetheless, I hope the show entertains.
APRIL 18, 2018
WE ALWAYS WORK IT OUT SOMEHOW
David Bowie "A New Career in a New Town" [Low]
Kanye West "Bound 2" [Yeezus]
Jermaine Stewart "The Word Is Out - Extended Mix" [The Word is Out 12"]
Janet Jackson "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" [Rhythm Nation 1814]
Television "Ain't That Nothin'" [Adventure]
Kendrick Lamar "GOD." [DAMN.]
Lion "You've Got a Woman" [You've Got a Woman]
Frank Ocean "Commes Des Garçones" [endless]
Bill Callahan "Drover" [Apocalypse]
Loretta Lynn "If Teardrops Were Pennies" [I Like 'Em Country]
The Last Artful, Dodgr "Caverns" [Bone Music]
Sade "Never as Good as the First Time" [Promise]
Frédéric Chopin "No. 6 In G Minor, Op. 15, No. 3" [Eugene Istomin - Chopin's Nocturnes]
The Replacements "Within Your Reach" [Hootenanny]
Stevie Wonder "All I Do" [Hotter Than July]
Dire Straits "Romeo And Juliet" [Making Movies]
Kate Bush "Jig Of Life" [Hounds Of Love]
Blood Orange "You're Not Good Enough" [Cupid Deluxe]
The Jam "Man In The Corner Shop" [Sound Affects]
Irma Thomas "Take A Look" [Take A Look]
Mongo Santamaria "Watermelon Man" [Watermelon Man]
Funky 4+1 "That's The Joint" [The Sugar Hill Records Story]
Orquestra Pacifico Tropical "Sueño" [El Tren]
The Byrds "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" [Turn! Turn! Turn!]
Minnie Riperton "Only When I'm Dreaming" [Come To My Garden]
Open Mike Eagle "Daydreaming in the Projects" [Brick Body Kids Still Daydream]
H.C. McEntire "Wild Dogs" [LIONHEART]
Special Ed "I Got It Made" [Youngest in Charge]
Jackie Shane "Don't Play That Song (You Lied) - Live" [Any Other Way]
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Next week, instead of hosting my show on Freeform, I'll be DJ'ing at Tannery Bar with my friend DJ Muntz. He and I have DJ'ed together three or four times in the last year, and we always have a good time together (even if we are playing for ourselves and the house staff). DJ Muntz made a passing comment about DJ'ing songs that were a part of the Grand Theft Auto video game series soundtracks, so I may be busting out Roxy Music's "More Than Words." I love the very laid-back vibe at Tannery, so feel free to swing by if you'd like to spend an evening being serenaded by my pal and I singing "West End Girls."
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A few random things:
Here's a great piece about John Cale written by my current favorite blog (Passion of the Weiss, edited by the fabulous Jeff Weiss, formerly a music columnist for the L.A. Weekly). The upshot of the piece is that we shouldn't wait to show our love for amazing musicians & artists until they die. I love John Cale's contribution to the Velvet Underground & his great record Paris 1919, but I'm not familiar with the rest of his discography. I was in Rainy Day Records in Olympia recently, and the clerk was playing Cale's Vintage Violence, which sounded perfect to my ears in the way that a record can while one browses. The clerk and I had a funny exchange where we professed our love of specific records of Cale's while admitting to an embarrassing lack of knowledge regarding the rest of his work.
If you are a friend of mine, and you are interested in celebrating my 40th birthday, please plan on being in or near Portland on Saturday, July 28th. We are cooking up something that I think will be pretty special.
Two fall shows on my radar: the incomparable Ms. Lauryn Hill is playing Veterans Memorial Stadium on September 12, celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Miseductation of Lauryn Hill. I'm definitely buying tickets this week to see Blood Orange (Devonté Hynes) play in Portland at the Roseland Ballroom on September 16. I haven't had a chance to see him perform yet, but his music continues to grow on me with every spin.
We're planning on setting Little Wings at Bunk Bar on Friday April 27. I haven't seen Kyle play in at least 15 years. I will flip my wig if he plays any songs about the mythical Shredder.
I was able to see my favorite local Hip-Hop MC, a fella who goes by the name Fountaine, play the biggest show of his life thus far at Crystal Ballroom last Friday. I've been a monomaniac for his music lately, and I've seen him play a handful of times this winter and fall, so it was pretty special to see him open for the largest crowd he's ever played to and be instantly adored. If you dig intelligent, left field Hip-Hop/Funk/R&B/Music, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend his album H.F.I.L. (Hell For Infinite Losers) that came out last year. Don't be shy about paying for a download on Bandcamp rather than streaming.
Fountaine at the Crystal, photo from Vortex Mag
I'm super disappointed that my Trail Blazers fandom this year ended in a crash-and-burn sweep in the first round of the playoffs. I went to more pro games this year than I have since the halcyon days of Ray Allen & Luke Ridnour playing for the Sonics in the early '00s. My sports fandom has shrunk down to enjoying Blazer basketball and Mariner baseball, and a life of rooting for PNW squads has prepared me for disappointment, but dang this one hurt. I really thought they had solved the conundrum of having two smallish, ball-dominant guards in the backcourt, only to watch them wilt in their ignominious first round exit. I really dug this squad; I wanted Mo Harkless and Chief Aminu to be the answer, but I wasn't expecting Lillard and McCollum to fall apart. Silly me.
My annual custom of skipping Record Store Day was a huge success yet again this year. I'm saving my overcrowded retail holiday for the holiest of days, Free Comic Book Day (May 5th). It's a great excuse to swing by a local comic shop and get free comics that represent the spectrum of publishers, including capes & superheroes, horror, sci-fi, and awesome kids books. It's kind of the anti-Record Store Day; no limited edition, overpriced, reissued stuff sought by collectors to be flipped online. I definitely love Floating World Comics downtown on 4th & Couch as well as my local, Things From Another World in Hollywood.
Much love to you all,
Andy // DJ Mr. Mom
Portland, OR
April 25