Sunday, May 5, 2024

Session 0230 - Dreams Never End (Airdate: 5/5/24)

 



It's our final show! Special guest Joey DeCrescenzo joined us (when his microphone was working) as we played more old favorites and new discoveries. Gimmicks were well-represented, as we threw in a cover of one of our new-to-us favorites, The Moon Is Blue by Colourbox, as part of a double shot of one of our favorite bands, Future Islands. Towards the end, we played some songs about endings. It was a bittersweet sendoff.

Thanks so much to our listeners for joining us on this two-year adventure!


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Friday, May 3, 2024

Session 0229 - Up The Down Escalator (A Chameleons Primer) (Uploaded: 5/3/24)

 


The Chameleons were formed in Manchester, England in 1981, and while they failed to achieve the levels of industry success as many of their Mancunian colleagues of the era (see Joy Division/New Order, the Buzzcocks, etc.), they made up for it with a high-quality creative output.

The band: the dual leading guitars of Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and the strong rhythm section of bassist/vocalist Mark Burgess and drummer John Lever. Soaring guitar tones mix with atmospheric synthesizers, while Burgess' haunting vocals characterize the anxiety, alienation and loss of innocence experienced in the Thatcher-era.

While their first album, 1983's Script of the Bridge, failed to make a dent with the British press, it proved to be a dramatic statement for those who paid attention. The band continued to cultivate this cult following on their follow-up, 1985's What Does Anything Mean? Basically. It's Mike's favorite of their discography (though Script and 1986's Strange Times are in a tie for second).

Strange Times brought a move to Geffen Records, where the darkness and complexity of the album went basically unnoticed. The sudden death of their manager, Tony Fletcher, in 1987 left the band in disarray and led to their breakup. Spin-off bands were even less successful, and the band would briefly reform in 2000 to release the acoustic-rework album Strip, and an album of new material, Why Call It Anything. Following the release of another acoustic album, This Never Ending Now, the band once again imploded in 2003.

Burgess and Lever formed the offshoot band ChameleonsVox in 2009 for touring purposes, though Lever would later leave the band and pass away in 2017. Burgess and Smithies dusted off the Chameleons name in 2021, and are currently touring to this day.

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Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Session 0228 - The Gary Numan Experience (Uploaded: 5/1/24)

 


Gary Webb got his start fronting his very own punk band called Tubeway Army, but it wasn't until he was in the studio recording their first album - where he found and became enamored with a synthesizer left by the previous band renting the space - that Gary Numan was born. This chance encounter completely changed the direction of the band, and set the tone for the rest of his career.

Tubeway Army released two albums, a self-titled debut and the very successful follow-up Replicas. Being the creative heart of the band, Numan would release subsequent albums under his new name with essentially the same band. The first of these, The Pleasure Principle, introduced the essential track "Cars" and gave him musical immortality. The follow-up, Telekon, may have been less financially successful, but was a very strong album overall. Subsequent albums led to diminishing returns, and by the mid 80s Numan was utilizing a sax player and chasing trends instead of innovating them. This would precipitate a gear change in the 90s to an industrial sound inspired greatly by Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor himself had been hugely influenced by Numan's prime output), a musical direction he continues with to this day. However, he has been known to tour on his Tubeway Army and early Numan material on occasion, to great success.

Gary Numan is rightly hailed as a visionary and legend in the world of synth rock, post-punk, electro...all the Auto Reverse-approved genres. Below is a selection of some of what we feel to be some of his best work, and a few samples of his later output at the end of the playlist for context.

Tubeway Army - Listen To The Sirens
Tubeway Army - Something's In The House
Tubeway Army - Are You Real?
Tubeway Army - Me! I Disconnect From You
Tubeway Army - Are "Friends" Electric?
Tubeway Army - Down In The Park
Tubeway Army - You Are In My Vision
Tubeway Army - Replicas
Tubeway Army - It Must Have Been Years
Tubeway Army - Do You Need The Service?
Tubeway Army - We Have a Technical
Gary Numan - Metal
Gary Numan - Films
Gary Numan - M.E.
Gary Numan - Tracks
Gary Numan - Conversation
Gary Numan - Cars
Gary Numan - Engineers
Gary Numan - This Wreckage
Gary Numan - Telekon
Gary Numan - Remind Me To Smile
Gary Numan - Sleep By Windows
Gary Numan - We Are Glass
Gary Numan - I Dream of Wires
Gary Numan - The Joy Circuit
Gary Numan - I Die: You Die
Gary Numan - You Are, You Are
Gary Numan - White Boys and Heroes
Gary Numan - Music For Chameleons
Gary Numan - From Russia Infected
Gary Numan - Dominion Day
Gary Numan - Crazier
Gary Numan - I Sing Rain
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Monday, April 29, 2024

Session 0227 - Radiohead B-Sides (Uploaded: 4/29/24)

 


Radiohead is one of the greatest bands to come out of the 90s alternative scene. During the period after the success of their debut album Pablo Honey (led by their albatross of a hit single, "Creep"), the band had what is probably their most creatively productive era. However, the album that would come from this effort, The Bends, only had a handful of the almost 40 songs generated from those sessions. While a few would appear on their next album, the legendary OK Computer, many songs ended up as b-sides on singles and EPs throughout the mid to late 90s. 

B-sides have a long history in the music industry, but by the 90s they typically became a dumping ground for whatever songs rejected from the album a band would have lying around. But the situation with Radiohead was different - collected together, the b-sides in this era would have produced another album as strong or stronger than The Bends.

Collected here is a selection of b-sides and other non-album tracks from Radiohead's entire discography, in chronological order.


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Sunday, April 28, 2024

Session 0226 - The Edge of Forever (Airdate: 4/28/24)


 

For our penultimate episode, we started the show a bit early with a few instrumentals we never found a place for in any of our playlists. This night was a combination of old favorites we haven't played in a while and favorites we hadn't gotten around to before now. Our final show, next week, will be similarly themed (if that is even a theme).

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Friday, April 26, 2024

Session 0225 - The Spirit of Radio (Uploaded: 4/26/24)

 


A love letter to the medium. We will miss the format, but not the schedule :)


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Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Session 0224 - Soundtracks (Uploaded: 4/24/24)


Mike tasked Keith with curating a playlist of his own, and here it is! Some of your favorite songs from popular film soundtracks of the past. 


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Sunday, April 21, 2024

Session 0223 - Title Shots (Airdate: 4/21/24)

 


Special thanks to AntDog for helping Mike to compile this week's playlist. It's Title Shots - two vastly different songs that share a title. Fun stuff. Enjoy!

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Sunday, April 14, 2024

Session 0222 - Teddy's Jam (feat. Dan Keel) (Airdate: 4/14/24)

 

It's the long-delayed, much anticipated return of Dan Keel. Listen as he takes us on a journey through life in memories of song from Stevie Wonder to Radiohead, with stops in dancehall, 90s R&B, and Minneapolis. This playlist brought us some new-to-me favorites like Noel, Guy, and Chubb Rock. We had a lot of fun tonight, as always. Enjoy! 



Cut For Time:
Royksopp - Eple


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Sunday, April 7, 2024

Session 0221 - Reverse Covers (Airdate: 4/7/24)

 


We're back in the studio for what may be our most unique theme yet - what we're calling "reverse covers." Covers, as we know, are when an artist records a version of another artist's song. But what if that cover is more popular than the original? What if no one remembers the original version even existed?

These are those songs - reverse covers. Enjoy! (No recording this week, sorry!)


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Sunday, March 31, 2024

Session 0220 - ...and T.S. Eliot (Uploaded: 3/31/24)

 


It's the last of our site-exclusive episodes before we go back to the studio. Enjoy an organically-sourced, free-range playlist curated by Mike.


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Sunday, March 24, 2024

Session 0219 - On Hold (Uploaded: 3/24/24)


Experience A E S T H E T I C this week with our latest DJ-free playlist, an exploration of the music phenomenon known as vaporwave. Enjoy!

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Sunday, March 17, 2024

Session 0218 - Clawing Through the Record Crates (Uploaded: 3/17/24)

 


It's another DJ-free playlist! Enjoy with our compliments. Robert Hazard will return in a few weeks, in a surprising upcoming twist.



The Icicle Works - Whisper to a Scream (Birds Fly)
The Cranberries - Dreams
The Joy Formidable - The Leopard and the Lung
The Blue Aeroplanes - And Stones
Lifter Puller - Touch My Stuff
The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
Echo & the Bunnymen - Back of Love
Blondie - Atomic
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Spellbound
Prefab Sprout - Faron Young
Material Issue - Valerie Loves Me
Men At Work - Down Under
New Order - Temptation
Catherine Wheel - Black Metallic
Cocteau Twins - Pale Clouded White
Oingo Boingo - Stay
Steven A. Clark - Lonely Roller
Frazier Chorus - Dream Kitchen
Robert Hazard & The Heroes - Escalator of Life
Buke & Gase - Houdini Crush
The Walkmen - The Blizzard of '96
The Lemon Twigs - Any Time of Day
Michael Jackson - Love Never Felt So Good
U2 - Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Trembling Blue Stars - St. Paul's Cathedral at Night
Still Corners - The Trip
The Dears - This Is A Broadcast
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Sunday, March 10, 2024

Session 0217 - No Visible Means of Support (Uploaded: 3/10/24)

 


With spring break upon us, we're left without access to the radio station's studio. We're tired of being away from our listeners for weeks at a time, so please make do with this all-music, no-DJs playlist of some certified bangers.  

Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio
Tubeway Army - Are 'Friends' Electric
Van Halen - Jump
Robert Palmer - Looking For Clues
Magazine - The Light Pours Out Of Me
The World/Inferno Friendship Society - Ich Errinere Mich An Weimar
Veruca Salt - Seether
The Breeders - Cannonball
Talking Heads - Burning Down the House
Guided By Voices - Motor Away
Editors - Escape the Nest
The Chameleons - The Fan and the Bellows
The Waterboys - We Will Not Be Lovers
Dismemberment Plan - Superpowers
Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street
Funkadelic - Can You Get To That
Watson Beasley - Breakaway
U.S. Girls - 4 American Dollars
Wild Colonials - Charm
Zola Jesus - Dangerous Days
The Twilight Singers - Teenage Wristband
Saint Etienne - Nothing Can Stop Us
Portishead - It Could Be Sweet
Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night
Red House Painters - Mistress
The Velvet Teen - Around the Roller Rink
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LUXURY BONUS CONTENT: Golimaar!

Presented by the Jamaican Focus Group: an addendum to our foreign originals/covers show. A Telugu version of Michael Jackson's Thriller that must be seen to be believed.



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Sunday, March 3, 2024

Session 0216 - Foreign Covers & Originals (Airdate: 3/3/24)

 


This episode is full of songs in languages that aren't English. Some are sung by the original artists, some are fun covers, all of them are pretty interesting.


Blondie - Llamame (Spanish)
ABBA - La Reina Del Baile (Spanish)
Peter Gabriel - Schock Den Affen (German)
Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me (Japanese)
Roxette - No Se Si Es Amor (Spanish)
The Beatles - Kom Gib Mir Deine Hand (German)
David Bowie - Ragazzo Solo, Ragazza Sola (Italian)
David Bowie - Helden (German)
Seu Jorge - Rebel Rebel (Portuguese)
Faye Wong - Dream Lover (Dreams) (Chinese)
Danni Carlos - Não Leve a Mal (Portuguese)
Kelly Key - Sou a Barbie Girl (Portuguese)
Lissette - Eclipse Total Del Amor (Spanish)
Johnny Bustamante - Jamas Bailare (Spanish)
Caterina Caselli - Tutto Nero (Italian)
Raney Shockne & Elena Mendoza (feat. Giorgio Moroder) - Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Spanish)
Mayssa Karaa - White Rabbit (Arabic)
Yuri - Karma Kameleon (Spanish)
Johnny Hallyday - Hey Joe (French)
Proyecto Uno - Chica Bomba (Groove Is In The Heart) (Spanish)
Mexrissey - Cada Dia Es Domingo (Spanish)

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Sunday, February 25, 2024

Session 0215 - Money Only Pays the Rent (Airdate: 2/25/24)

 

Lots to talk about tonight, our first show with both of us back in the studio for quite a while, after our bouts with the dreaded lurgy. We also remember two underrated music legends who passed on in the last few weeks - Mojo Nixon and Dexter Romweber. But we start the show by introducing you, the listening audience, to the concept of listening to songs with lyrics in another language, in an effort to prepare you for next week's theme show - foreign language covers and originals (songs you may know - but in another language).



Bonus Flat Duo Jets tracks for your deeper diving pleasure:
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Wednesday, February 21, 2024

LUXURY BONUS CONTENT: Future Islands - Sydney Opera House

I just wish this was longer.

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Sunday, February 11, 2024

Session 0214 - The Alapalooza (Airdate: 2/11/24)

 


Mike flew solo yet again tonight, and was able to fulfill a lifetime dream of his - playing an exclusively "Weird Al" set on the radio. The playlist is largely chronological, and while it's chock full of parodies, we've also included a few indirect (or, "style") parodies, and Al originals. We love you, Al!


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Saturday, February 10, 2024

LUXURY BONUS CONTENT: A Band Called Death

 We spotlighted the great pioneering punk band Death not long ago, and here's a feature-length documentary all about them if you'd like to know more. Check it out!

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Thursday, February 8, 2024

LUXURY BONUS CONTENT: Eki Shola - Dreaming (NPR Tiny Desk 2018)

 We played the title track from Eki Shola's latest album, Kaeru, a few weeks back. On air, we also talked about her 2018 NPR Tiny Desk video...so here it is!

 Powerful stuff.

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Sunday, January 28, 2024

Session 0213 - Knee Deep In The Hoopla (Airdate: 1/28/24)

 


Tonight, circumstances conspired against us! Mike was left to his own devices in the studio, creating a nearly wall-to-wall sonic landscape. Enjoy?


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Sunday, January 21, 2024

Session 0212 - Crazy In The Coconut (Airdate: 1/21/24)

 


We're back from winter break with a great new mix! Thanks especially to Eki Shola for reaching out to us to play one of the songs from her great new album, Kaeru - please check it out. Also, check out Death! 



Cut for time (because you'd rather hear us talk, apparently):
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