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Entries associated with the tag "Wfmu":October 22nd - 5:32 p.m.
This weekend I was clobbered by the same nasty cold that's victimized many of my friends and coworkers over the past few weeks. As the pile of used Kleenex grows and grows and I look forward to my next dose of decongestant, few ideas for blog posts can penetrate my clogged cerebellum. But I did have one: Yesterday I was all set to link to a stream of Sonic Youth's July 4 concert at Battery Park in New York, hosted by WFMU's wonderful blog, but when I tested the stream myself I got nothing. Today the station explained that a technical glitch intervened, but they assure us that the stream will be available soon. If you get it to work before I do, let me know. I'll be the guy who's all dazed. Today's playlist: Pixinguinha, O Jovem Pixinguinha—Gravações de 1919 a 1920 (EMI, Brasil) September 18th - 9:45 a.m.
America’s greatest radio station, WFMU, will be broadcasting much of the action this weekend at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in the Catskills, curated by My Bloody Valentine. Among the acts scheduled to be broadcast (and streamed via 'FMU’s Web site) are Harmonia, Yo La Tengo, Polvo, Lightning Bolt, Om, and Thee Silver Mt. Zion Orchestra (alas, the hotly anticipated MBV set isn’t on the list). Check out the station’s invaluable Beware of the Blog for schedule information. Today’s playlist: August 18th - 6:20 p.m.
If you didn’t catch one of the two Chicago performances by the Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria with the Ex—last night’s gig at the Logan Square Auditorium was really something else—you've got one more chance, sorta. On Wednesday the free-form New Jersey radio station WFMU will broadcast the band’s concert at Damrosch Park in New York live. Even better, the bill also includes Extra Golden and legendary Ethiopian singers Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete performing with the Boston jazz group Either/Orchestra, which has folded Ethiopian gems into its repertoire over the years and is the only American group to have a release in the mighty Ethiopiques series. The show starts at 6 PM EST, which means if you want to listen via the station’s high-quality web stream things get started at 5 PM Chicago time. Go to wfmu.org. Today’s (guest) playlist: This morning I had minor wrist surgery, and my recuperation has been accompanied by sounds chosen by my girlfriend, Michelle. Here’s what we listened to: Caetano Veloso, Singles (Philips, Japan) Emil Zrihan, Askhelon (Piranha) Gary Numan, The Pleasure Principle (Atco) Various Artists, Artifacts of Australian Experimental Music 1930–1973 (Shame File) January 23rd - 6:38 p.m.
Lou Reed’s lack of humility and predilection for pomposity are well-known, so even though I can't say whether he hatched the idea for the collaboration captured in this 2001 video clip--courtesy of the always entertaining WFMU blog--I feel fine blaming him for agreeing to participate in such an overblown travesty. It’s a trudge though his tune “Perfect Day” with some subtle harmonizing from Luciano Pavarotti. Today’s playlist: Russell Malone, Live at the Jazz Standard, Volume Two (MaxJazz) September 11th - 5:37 p.m.
With the spate of reunions these days--including the nostalgia fest last weekend at the Hideout Block Party, which our friend Jessica Hopper nicely reduced to "I would guess the average age of the concert goer was 35-45 years old and wearing their keys on the outside of their pants"--and the ongoing celebration of vintage American hardcore, I shouldn't have been surprised to learn that San Francisco's Flipper is still kicking around. In reconstitued form, that is--original bassist Will Shatter died of a heroin overdose back in 1987. Although Brian Turner of WFMU claims he wasn't disappointed by them at a recent New York gig, seeing those droney misanthropes all droopy and paunchy isn't something I personally want to experience. Still, the group's 1982 debut, Generic Flipper, remains one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll albums of all time. Back in 1995 I wrote about the singles collection Sex Bomb Baby, but these words certainly apply to this album, which also includes the song "Sex Bomb": “’Sex Bomb Baby’ handily asserts the misguided San Francisco foursome's unalloyed power and innovation. "Sex Bomb" was the quintessential Flipper song--a brilliant reduction of rock 'n' roll's sex-obsessed nihilism. With seven words--"She's a sex bomb, my baby yeah"--they conveyed the delirious drama of one last-ditch bender, a Dionysian celebration of self-destruction through careless carnal pleasure, booze, and fast cars; the song's climax--dead silence--is preceded by the screeching sounds of an auto wreck.”
July 31st - 8:21 a.m.
I don’t think there’s a more entertaining blog out there than the one published by WFMU, the fantastic free-form radio station based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It’s amazing enough that the station allows anyone outside of listening range to receive a high-quality stream—and then leaves its shows on the server in perpetuity—but its MP3-heavy blog is something else altogether. There’s an astonishing mix of aural oddities—some for laughs, some for provocative listening. Recent highlights include songs about squirrels, a weird video mash-up of Primus and Bollywood legend Mohd Rafi, and strange Jew’s harp songs from an obscure album recorded by notorious McCarthy-era snitch Harvey Matusow. There are also plenty of videos and crazy links offered. Many of the station’s excellent DJs contribute to the site, so there’s always a diverse array of stuff getting uploaded. It’s a great way to waste an hour or ten. [Editor's note: the station's location has been corrected.]
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