Dj Cat aka the coolest cat in the world

Thought I'd share this. It's sort of my dream to have a DJing cat now.

Freestailo #3 - June 19th

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #3 Here

Dear beautiful people,

I haven't slept much, and I've had a bit of a stressful week, but after my radio show I feel so much better. One moment in particular really kept me going.

During this show I got a call right after I read the Rainer Maria Rilke poetry, and he said that he just wanted to thank ME for reading such beautiful and romantic poetry. I though my heart was going to leap out of my chest. I've never felt so happy. To have a moment like that with a stranger doesn't happen often, and I feel so lucky. Not only that, but he called again later after I read the Adrienne Rich poetry, and thanked me for such a passionate performance. Once again, I thought my heart had stopped. So thank you, Mr. Caller, and thank you to everyone who listens to my show. You really have no idea how much it means to know that people I love and care about take the time to listen, as well as people I don't know at all. So thank you, listeners. Please keep listening, and give me feedback whenever possible, because that's what makes me the happiest, is knowing that you have something to say about what I play.

I read some poetry on the show today, so here's a playlist for the poetry:
Rainer Maria Rilke: For Hans Carossa, The Sonnets to Orpheus pt. 1 XI and pt. 2 I (from "Ahead of All Parting: Selected Poetry and Prose")
Adrienne Rich: Diving into the Wreck, For the Dead
Daphne Gottlieb: What mama bear said (from "Why Things Burn")

Anyway, I think the set list for today is pretty aweosme, and I actually had a WHOLE LOT more music I wanted to play, but realized that I ran out of time pretty quickly after playing a one-act opera.


[Artist: Song - Album]

  1. Cliff Edwards: Heigh-Ho - Disney's Happiest Songs
  2. Eels: Packing Blankets - Daisies of the Galaxy
  3. Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore: Dear Companion - Dear Companion
  4. Electric Masada: Yatzar - Electric Masada
  5. de Madagame Bolduc: Fetons le Mardi Gras - Les 100 ans
  6. Goldfrapp: Ooh La La - Tiefschwarz Remix - Ooh La La
  7. Cliff Edwards: When You Wish Upon A Star - Disney's Happiest Songs
  8. Joan Baez: Silver Dagger - Troubadours of the Folk Era
  9. Ming Principle: Movement - Dutch World 2005
  10. Die Toten Hosen: Liebesspieler (High-noon Mix) - Auf Dem Kreuzzuf Ins Glück
  11. Benny Goodman: Rocky Raccoon - Live at Carnegie Hall
  12. Saul Williams: Twice First Time - Eargasms
  13. Balkan Beat Box: Adir Adirim feat. Victoria Hanna - Balkan Beat Box
  14. Tatsu Aoki: Cape of Needles - Jarman
  15. Menotti: The Telephone - The Medium and the Telephone
  16. The Kyoto Nohgaku Kai: Hagoromo - Japanese Noh Music
  17. Hot Club of Cowtown: Tchavolo Swing - Dev'lish Mary
  18. Damned: Neverland - Grave Disorder
  19. Leonard Berstein, New York Philharmonic: Mars the Bringer of War - Holst: The Planets
  20. Ella Fitzgerald: Prelude to a Kiss - Duke Ellington Songbook
  21. Kid Koala: Slew Test 2/Mosquito vs. Water Buffalo/Slew Test 3 - Your Mom's Favorite DJ
  22. The Nels Cline Singers: Lucia - Instrumentals
  23. Ladytron: Destroy Everything You Touch - Witching Hour
  24. Baaba Mal: African Woman - African Woman
  25. Les Innocents: Cent Metres Au Paradis - Cent Metres Au Paradis
  26. The Reno Brothers: Time Changes Everything - Swing West
  27. Kitaro: Orochi - Selections from "Kojiki"
  28. Nat King Cole: Ramblin' Rose - Ramblin' Rose
  29. Canines: Canine Heart Sounds - Canine Heart Sounds
  30. Sick Bees: People are Nots of Wood - My Pleasure
  31. Don Tiki: Polyamoré - The Forbidden Sounds of Don Tiki
  32. Prurient: Apple Tree Victim - Pleasure Ground
  33. Birds: Birdsongs of Africa - Heartbeat of Africa
  34. Jackie Wilson: I Just Can't Help It - Jackie Wilson Story
  35. Jean-Michel Bernard: Golden the Pony Boy - The Science of Sleep Soundtrack
  36. Charlie Musselwhite: Pistol in Your Face - The Harmonica According to Charlie Musselwhite


Wow stuff: 

1.  The Planets and Ella Fitzgerald layering: I actually meant to read poetry over the Holst, but it was too intense, which worked out well. I don't think I could have planned a better juxtaposition of sounds and feelings than with these two pieces. Love and War mingling together. 
2. African Birdsongs: That was just a good idea to play that. Haha. It went VERY well with the Jackie Wilson track, even rhythmically and tempo wise.
3. Rocky Raccoon: I can't believe I found that track by Benny Goodman! That was a nice find.

Meh stuff:

1. Disney song miss-cue: Playing "Heigh-Ho" when I meant to play "When You Wish Upon A Star" right at the beginning.
2. Daphne Gottlieb poem: When I read the Daphne Gottlieb poem, I meant the transition into the songs more delicately, and I didn't know that there was going to be an announcer for the titles of the Canine heart sounds. It just felt a little sloppy.

Once again, let me know if you have ideas/suggestions/criticisms/hate mail for me!

Freestailo #2 - June 12th

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #2 Here

Hello beautiful wonderful listeners!

I didn't have any particular ideas for today's show before I got to the studio, but I really liked what it morphed into. Aaron had a request that I play the "Science and Sea" CDs before he left, so that really helped me start of a good set after the DeadMau5 fiasco at the end of his set.

I decided to try quite a bit more layering today, starting right off with the first few albums. I also experimented with using the same album to layer throughout (The New York Pro Musica madrigal vinyl) to create a bit of continuity, so if you hear strange classical music in the backdrop of ANYTHING, it's that. I've also been wanting to play the William S. Burroughs "Naked Lunch" excerpt CD from the Spoken Word section of the library, so I set aside a good 30-minute chunk for that, and layered it with wolves and Koji Asano music. But anyway, here's the list.

Playlist [Artist: Title - Album]:

1. Janelle Monae: Violet Stars Happy Hunting!!! - Metropolis (The Chase Suite)
2. Otis Clay: Hard Working Woman - Soul Man: Live in Japan 
3. Science and the Sea: Seal Talk/Mother Lagoon/Bioremediation - Science and the Sea
4. Time Berne: Shirley's Song - Songs and Rituals in Real Time
5. Calexico: Letter to Bowie Knife - Garden Ruin
6. Edith Piaf: Non, je ne regrette rien - The Very Best of Edith Piaf
7. The Budos Band: Black Venom - The Budos Band
8. Deltron: Virus - 3030
9. The Rogers Sisters: Five Months - Three Fingers
10. Frank Zappa: Cocaine Decisions - The Man From Utopia
11. Tom Waits: Alice - Alice
12. Magic Heart Genies: Royal Caravan - Heartifact
13. Vampyros Lesbos: The Lions and the Cucumber - Vampyros Lesbos
14. Aids Wolf: Ch Ch Ch Chatter - Cities of Glass
15. Bohannon: Let's Start the Dance - Summertime Groove
16. Ellen Weller: Unfinished Business - Spirits Dreams and Improvisations
17. New York Pro Musica: many songs - Medieval Court and Countryside
18. Julie London: Cry Me A River - V for Vendetta Soundtrack
19. Cat Power: I Found A Reason - V for Vendetta
20. Michael Jackson: Workin' Day and Night - Off the Wall
21. Paul Wing and James Stewart: Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore - Little Engine that Could and Winnie the Pooh Stories
22. Walter Carlos: Title Music from A Clockwork Orange - A Clockwork Orange Soundtrack
23. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver: Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - The News is Out!
24. Tetuzi Akiyama: Fireside - Pre-Existence
25. Guy Davis: If You Love Somebody - You Don't Know My Mind
26. School House Rock: Adjectives - Grammar House Rock
27. Marvin Gaye: Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - What's Going On
28. William S. Burroughs: Naked Lunch Excerpt - Naked Lunch
29. Wolves: The Language and Music of the Wolves - The Language and Music of the Wolves
30. Koji Asano: Rabbit Room Reservation Center I and III - Rabbit Reservation Center
31. The Martian Entropy Band: Cheese Frontier - Peace, Cheese, and Good Person
32. Sarah Vaughn: Say You'll Wait For Me - Favorites
33. Gary Wilson: Loneliness - You Think You Really Know Me
34. Tamara Obrovac: Tuca' La Louna - Women of the World Acoustic
35. The Kingsway Symphony Orchestra: Anvil Chorus (Il Trovatore) - Verdi Spectacular
36. Fats Waller: Deep River - Fine Arabian Stuff
37. The Budos Band: Nature's Wrath - The Budo's Band III
38. Tosca Tango Orchestra: Mi Otra MItad de Naranja - Waking LIfe Soundtrack

Uppers:

1.  Naked Lunch layering segment: Like I said, I really enjoyed being able to play that, and that was a nice find to get the wolf sound effects, because I think it added a lot more to the meaning of the text.
2.  Playing the madrigal vinyl backwards with Winnie the Pooh: I had a lot of fun doing that layering can make kids' stories/albums way scarier
3. The Budos Band stuff: I have nothing specific about this, I just really liked their stuff.
4. The Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver vinyl: I accidentally played that as a 45 instead of a 35, so it played QUITE a bit faster. Although I didn't mean to, I think I liked it a lot more. 

Downers:

1. The layering underneath Winnie the Pooh: I think I could have done a better job balancing the sound between the two vinyls, and I think I could have also picked a better-suited vinyl for that purpose.
2. Not layering the Akiyama song: I loved the Tetuzi Akiyama song, but I think that could have been a GREAT opportunity for layering that I sort of missed out on. It was SO sparse that it almost made me uncomfortable, but at the time I was also cuing a few other things, so I was distracted.
3. The Gary Wilson song: Not exactly what I thought it would be. I meant to have a chill but positive feeling going out of the set, and it sort of took a turn with that. 

Once again, I really hope you enjoyed the show, and stay tuned for more!

Subshow #1 - June 6th

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Subshow #1 Here

Something I realized that I should do more often is be a substitute DJ when people need it. I subbed for a Radio Rama Lama Fa fa fa or Booze Broads Boards and Rods yesterday night for a 50/60s soul, garage, and surf music set (none of which I know anything about), and had SO MUCH FUN.

I initially started with some suggestions from the original hosts of some compilations of psychedelic/surf music that would be easy to pull from, and I also grabbed some Marvin Gaye for myself because that's the only soul music I KNEW was 50/60s. After getting a feel for the compilations I decided to head to the soul vinyl and look at the dates on the back...but that took too long, so I ended up Googling 50/60s soul. Guess what I found: Aretha Franklin, Freddie Scott, Marvin Gaye, etc. I also had in the back of my mind that I wanted to play my favorite album in the library: Ike and Tina Turner Revue. Which miraculously was the right era.

Playlist [Artist: Track - Album]:

1.  Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: Mickey's Monkey - Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
2. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: Going to a Go-Go - (same as above)
3. Marvin Gaye: Main Theme from Trouble Man - Trouble Man Soundtrack
4. Michael and the Messengers: Romeo and Juliet - Nuggets 1
5. Marvin Gaye: Poor Abbey Walsh - Trouble Man
6. The Illusions: Jezabel - Cowabunga Big Waves
7. Chocolate Watch Band: Let's Talk About Girls - Nuggets 1
8. Marvin Gaye: It's a Desperate Situation - Love Starved Heart
9. The Blazers: Beaver Patrol - Cowabunga Big Waves
10. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: More Love - (same as above)
11. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles: We've Come Too Far To End It Now - (same as above)
12. Marvin Gaye: This Love Starved Heart is Killing Me - Love Starved Heart
13. The Lollipop Shoppe: You Must Be A Witch - Nuggets 3
14. Ike and Tina Turner with the Kings of Rhythm Orchestra: All I Could Do Was Cry/Please, Please, Please - Ike and Tina Turner Revue
15. Desi Arnaz: Babalu - Babalu
16. The Troubadors: My Isle of Golden Dreams - The Troubadors in Hawaii
17. Deep City Band: Masterpiece - Eccentric Soul #17
18. Mermen: Honeybomb (Live) - Cowabunga New Waves
19. Dyke & The Blazers: So Sharp - We Got More Soul
20. The Persuasions: Persuasions Theme - I Just Want to Sing With My Friends
21. The Persuasions: I Just Want To Sing With My Friends - (same as above)
22. Insect Surfers: Polaris - Cowabunga New Waves
23. The Troubadors: Beyond the Reef - The Troubadors in Hawaii
24. Aretha Franklin: ? - Queen of Soul
25. Freddie Scott: You Got What I Need - The Best of Freddie Scott
26. Aretha Franklin: ? - Queen of Soul
27. The Surf Raiders: Wave Walk'n - Cowabunga New Waves
28. Freddie Scott: Am I Grooving You? - The Best of Freddie Scott
29. The Troubadors: The One Rose/Pagan Love Song - The Troubadors in Hawaii
30. Ike and Tina Turner: Am I A Fool In Love - Ike and Tina Turner Revue
31. We The People: You Burn Me Up and Down - Nuggets 4
32. The Ventures: Batman Theme - The Ventures
33. James Brown: Make It Funky - Soul Brother no. 1
34. The Ventures: Secret Agent Man - The Ventures
35. James Brown: Super Bad - Soul Brother no. 1

Things I loved:

1. I loved the Aretha Franklin/Troubadors layering, and I got a text from a friend saying that he really liked it too. I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it sort of settled in I think.
2. I love being able to play that Ike and Tina Turner CD. It gets me every time. I also was talking over the CD a bit, which was just plain fun. 
3. I Got What You Need by Freddie Scott. 'Nuff said.

Things not so great:

1. The last song wasn't actually Dyke & The Blazers! It was actually James Brown, and I'm sort of sad I didn't get to play the song I wanted. 
2. I regret playing so many things from the same albums. I had too much Marvin Gaye, too much Smokey Robinson, and too much James Brown at the end. That definitely comes from not knowing a lot about the genres though, so hopefully I'll know better for next time.
3. When I went on the air I said too much of the same thing. I need to sort of vary it up. And as my roommate mentioned to me a few times, I need to stop saying "um" and "uh" so much.

Thanks to everyone who's listening to my shows. I've probably been a bit annoying talking and posting on Facebook about it so much, but I've gotten so much encouragement, and it really motivates me to play more music!

Freestailo #1 - June 5th

THIS IS MY FIRST RADIO SHOW GUYS! O_O I think it's pretty good as far as a first show is concerned, especially for how much sleep I got before. I'm also glad I got to play around with the library a bit, like layering tracks and whatnot. SO, I hope you enjoy it! This blog is not only for everyone to enjoy my sets, but also so that I can archive my shows, and sort of journal about what I liked and what I didn't like. I would also LOVE to hear what you think, so please comment/e-mail/etc. with suggestions/comments/hate mail. All is welcome.

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #1 Here

So you know what you're listening to, here's the playlist in [Artist: Song - Album] order:

1. Huun Huur Tu and Carmen Rizzo: Ancestor's Call - Eternal
   
2. Frederic François: Torna a Surriento - Les Plus Belles Chansons Napolitaines
3. Tito Paris: Poema Tropical - Acustico
4. Mahjongg: Kottbusser Torr - Kontpab
5. Carter Burwell: Lotte Makes Love - Being John Malkovich Soundtrack
6. Giacomo Puccini: Turandot - Torandot
7. Disney: Little Hiawatha - Little Hiawatha and his Friends
8. Klaus Schulze: Thor (Thunder) - Kontinuum
9. Black/Note: Dream of Elizabeth Brown - Jungle Music
10. George Benson: Body Talk - Body Talk
11. Gabor Csupo: Tarantula at Random Appointments - Zombient Music
12. Labtekwon: Bubble Bath - Song of the Sovereign
13. The Boggs: We Shall Meet Again - The Boggs
14. The Ruby Suns: Two Humans - Fightsoftly
15. Alessandra Belloni: Canto di Sant'Irene - Tarantata: Dance of the Ancient Spider
16. Lyrics Born: Cakewalk - Everywhere at Once
17. Marvin Gaye: What's Going On - What's Going On
18. Johann Ludwig Krebs: Fantasy in F Minor for Oboe and Organ - Organ and Oboe
19. Yamo: Time Pie/Mosquito/Stereomatic - Time Pie
20. Les Baxter: Que Mango! - Que Mango!
21. Kyle Bruckmann: Z - Entymology
22. Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo at Juliet's Before Parting - Romeo and Juliet
23. Yoshida Brothers: Canon - III
24. Anthony Braxton: Composition No. 131 - Five Compositions (Quartet) 1986
25. Barry Louis Polisar: When the House is Dark and Quiet - Captured "Live" and in the Act
26. Koji Asano: No. 1 - Takoyakikun
27. Randy Grief: Curiouser and Curiouser - Alice in Wonderland pt. 1
28. Unknown (in Greek, sorry): Temiko Mopaitiko (also in Greek, not sure) - Greek Sound
29. Pinetop Perkins: Nutcracker - Legends
30. Oi Va Voi: S'trent - Travelling the Face of the Globe
31. The Rustavi Choir: Mirangula (Lament for a Lost Son) - Georgian Voices
32. The Flying Lotus: Zodiac Shit - Comsogramma
33. Bobby Murray: Vicki - The Blues is Now
34. Tölzer Boys Choir, Tafelmusik, Bruno Weil: Dies Irae/Lacrimosa - Mozart Requiem
35. CocoRosie: The Moon Asked the Crow - Grey Oceans

Favorite Moments:

1. Johann Ludwig Krebs/Marvin Gaye mashup: I've always thought baroque had a lot of soul in it, so mixing baroque with some soul is good for...well...MY soul at least. Just a big 'ol eargasm for you there.
   
2. Little Hiawatha/Klaus Schulze mashup: I wasn't sure if this was going to work, but I love how primal the Schulze track was, to go with the Native theme.
3. Puccini-->Little Hiawatha transition: I didn't expect it, but both had a similar sound non-European sound, in their own ways.
4. The fact that I played Yamo for 3 tracks consecutively: Yamooooooo
5. Labtekwon/Polisar-reverse mashup: I think I really like playing records in reverse. Eeeeee!

Least Favorite Moments:

1. Playing a Yoshida Brothers YouTube Clip: I think I was just tired. -_-
2. Talking while trying to figure out how to play the Being John Malkovich CD in consecutive tracks: I really need to figure that out.
   

Welcome to Freestailo Freeform

Hey champs.

My name's Heidi, and I'm a new DJ at WCBN in Ann Arbor. To help document my shows, and to make it easier for my friends and family to listen to my shows, I'm making this blog! Yay! I'm also trying to make this into a podcast, so hopefully you'll be able to see me on iTunes or something crazy soon.

Wondering where the name came from? Well, I asked the internet/Facebook what the name of my show should be. These were some of the options:
- The Witching Hour
- Madgabbing with Madagame
- Don't get Glad. Get Madagame.
- Gladagame
- Lesbian of PURE MICHIGAN
- H&M
- Say Hi to Dee
- People on the Radio

And last but not least: Futfutfutfut Freestailo! as given to me by my lovely sister. Don't know what that means? Check out this video:


Fortunately for you I won't be playing this exclusively, and will be having a purely free-form show. I'm just going to play whatever the hell I want, so I hope you like it as much as I like playing it.