I was backstage at the Bottom of the Hill for the ipickmynose presents show with the Rural Alberta Advantage. It was just me, Nils and a guy named Travis from KALX–Amy and Paul had gone back to their hotel to change. Travis had asked Nils to do a quick acoustic song to accompany the interview they just did and after a brief misstart Nils stunned me with a version of “In the Summertime.” He finished and after a long pause I could barely choke out a compliment.
Starting with an impromptu invitation to John Vanderslice four years ago, I hosted a string of a dozen and an half bands on KZSU, including some of my favorite local bands. I’ve decided to compile some of my favorite songs from those sessions into a digital album that I’m offering here for free. I’m really excited about this and I hope you enjoy it half as much as I am.
The download includes mp3s of all the songs, the album art as a jpg and a special cut-out version of the album art* as a pdf that you can use to create your own album sleeve if you want to burn album to disc.
Winterbirds – Cold Hand Killer [recorded 8.20.2008]
Special thanks to: the bands, of course, for playing great sessions and creating some special music. To Smurph for engineering the sessions. To Andy and Dave for helping get together the album and make it much better than what it was in raw form.
* Astute observers will realize this album sleeve idea is influenced by the One AM Radio’s An Assembly CDr EP, which I recommend you download as well.
If you listened to my radio show you almost definitely heard me play soul and you probably heard me play some soul gospel. There’s so compelling about some of it–fervor mixed with hard soul. I’ve pulled out some my favorites to share here.
This one is so simple: guitar, steady rim hits and voice, but it also succeeds by making all those work together so well. Her voice has so much depth to it.
Who doesn’t love a real rouser? This is an soul song that’s been done by everyone from Diana Ross to Wilson Pickett to Creedence Clearwater Revival, but there’s something about the energy in this one.
I had to include a song that brought soul from the church context to the secular. “Touch the Hem of His Garment” is amazing, but this version of the traditional song can’t be missed. Sam’s voice is top notch here but so are the backup vocals.
There are so many good versions of People Get Ready. I love the original by Curtis Mayfield/ the Impressions and the live version by the Chamber Brothers is great too, but between the sweet production and Aretha’s unsurpassed voice on this one, I had to pick it.
Motown (often on their sub-labels) actually put out some gospel, including the Wright Specials track above and this one. This one is very straightforward, but it’s just a really good example of this style.
This is a great soul funk song with some sweet pop sensibilities that happens to be about Jesus. The music definitely reminds me of another song, but the vocals are all original.
I feel like no discussion of soul gospel would be complete without bringing up Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who mixes blues, driving guitar and distinctive vocals with gospel songs.
Joe Pug (myspace) whose 2008 release, the Nation of Heat EP, hit me quite hard has released the outtakes from that session as a new EP, In the Meantime and it’s free on his website.
You should check it out because, well, it’s free and Pug makes good music. Pug operates solidly within the framework of “folk” music but he makes brilliant and gorgeous songs within that. The EP includes the track “A Thousand Men”, which Joe did an amazing version of when he came to KZSU. Unfortunately the first bit of that live version of the track was lost in a glitch, but I’ve included a fragment of it that still manages to blow me away anyway.
The blogs have been abuzz with this next bit of info that you’ve probably already seen and you’ve probably seen me talk about Fanfarlo on this blog one or twenty-three times, so I’ll keep this short.
Fanfarlo (myspace) is offering their full-length debut Reservoir, which already plugged, for $1 through July 4. Not only that but that but it include 4 bonus tracks (one of which, the acoustic version of “Drowning Men”, is below) which aren’t even on the import version I bought from them. I’m a sucker for Fanfarlo’s nicely orchestrated, dramatic pop songs and this is a great way to get into them. Get it at their website while you can.
Just a reminder that my last radio show is this afternoon. I’m on the air on KZSU starting in a at 3pm PST doing my “I once was Canadian” radio show. I’m doing 3 hour of music, stories, special call-ins and more. Listen in from 3-6pm PST.
As I mentioned last week, I won’t be applying for a radio show next quarter or in the foreseeable future. Last week’s show was a special, as is this week’s and next week’s. The show, which is called “I Once Was Canadian”, on KZSU 90.1FM will runs on Tuesdays from 3-6pm PST. Listen on the “radio” (remember those?) or online.
Last two shows:
Today: African and old-timey music. I’ll shed some light on some of my other favorite music.
June 23: Retrospective. Stories, call-ins and some of my favorite songs in my almost seven years in college radio.
You can follow along today’s playlist online during the show.
With a bit of sadness, I won’t be applying for a radio show next quarter or in the foreseeable future. My last three shows will all be specials. The show, which is called “I Once Was Canadian”, on KZSU 90.1FM will runs on Tuesdays from 3-6pm PST. Listen on the “radio” (remember those?) or online.
Last three shows:
Today:All vinyl show. I’ll be playing indie rock and soul all off of 7″s, 12″s and at least one 10″. Hopefully better than my last attempt at this.
June 16: African and old-timey music. I’ll shed some light on some of my other favorite music.
June 23: Retrospective. Stories, call-ins and some of my favorite songs in my almost seven years in college radio.
You can follow along today’s playlist online during the show.
Update Here’s today show (well most of it–I went over about 10 minutes and the mp3s below don’t have that) and playlist. Click through to the playlist linked above to see what releases these tracks are off of. It wasn’t without mistakes, but it went pretty well.
After a week off, I’m back on the air. My radio show, which is called “I Once Was Canadian”, on KZSU 90.1FM will run until 6pm PST. Listen on the “radio” (remember those?) or online. Maybe you want to listen?
Baseball is shortening my show again this week, so I’ll be on till 4:50pm PST. My radio show, which is called “I Once Was Canadian”, on KZSU 90.1FM will run until 6pm PST (or, actually, just before due to baseball again). Listen on the “radio” (remember those?) or online.
After last week’s baseball-shortened show, I’ll be returning to (almost) a full three hours starting in a couple minutes here (3pm PST). My radio show, which is called “I Once Was Canadian”, on KZSU 90.1FM will run until 6pm PST (or, actually, just before due to baseball again). Listen on the “radio” (remember those?) or online.
Today marks the release of Magnolia by the Wooden Birds (myspace). As you may have learned from my post about the band, they’re the new band of Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set. It also has member of Ola Podrida and Lymbyc Systym in it. As I mentioned in that previous post, Magnolia is a really great record and I’d recommend it, especially if you like American Analog Set-like acoustic drone pop.
You can buy Magnolia from insound (or they have it on vinyl + mp3). Rumor has it that the first handful of CDs are autographed by Andrew Kenny himself.
Wooden Birds at SxSW
Two local bands are opening the show. The first of those is The Old Fashioned Way, a local, baritone-voiced indie pop band that’s been getting some good press in the area.
Rounding out the bill is Goh Nakamura (myspace), a local songwriter that I’m excited to see. His music reminds me at times of late-era Elliott Smith, though there are many influences that go into his music.
5/31 the Wooden Birds, the Old-Fashioned Way, Goh Nakamura @ Rickshaw Stop, 8pm, $10 (advance)/$12 (door), a/a
Buy tickets for the show. I’d like to point out that the Rickshaw Stop has been pretty rad and set up their own online ticketing service with $1.25 service fees, so it’s actually 75 cents cheaper to buy tickets ahead of time, even with the fee.
My show will be shortened by a Stanford baseball game today, so I’ll be on from 3pm till just before 5pm today doing my radio show, which is called “I Once Was Canadian”, on KZSU 90.1FM. Listen on the “radio” (remember those?) or online.
You can follow along with my playlist online. Next week I’ll return to my 3-6pm slot as usual.
While on a mid-afternoon jaunt down to Westlake–side note: I never knew that was there. Like the Bay Area’s own Levittown. It’s a little odd but I’d like to go back with my camera–and I was scanning through the AM band, trying to hear the the Pens turn the game around, when I heard an unmistakable sound. It was a song that could only be on an oldies station. Love the Pens, but the dial didn’t move for the rest of the afternoon. I heard the likes of the Supremes, the Boxtops, the Shangri-Las and so many others. I grew up on oldies radio and it just has so much of the best music made to date.
As much as I like listening to my fellow DJs, there’s been a small but significant hole in my life for the last few years. It’s a what-to-listen-to-in-the car hole and it’s oldies radio shaped. You may have heard me lament on this before.
It’s been there for a few years since KFRC-FM switched to classic rock. The new station is also KFRC but on the AM band at 1550. It’s broadcasting the “True Oldies” syndicated channel. I’d like to point out that it’s not really “true oldies”–I’d call that mid-’50s to the end of the ’60s rather than the ’60s and ’70s this channel plays. And I’d prefer something that is programmed locally than some syndicated program. But even for these faults, I’m happy that it’s around.
And, finally, I’d like to reiterate that I think I’d make a good oldies programming director if anyone out there is hiring. (I’d use a smiley emoticon here if I believed in emoticons.)
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