Freestailo #8 - 9/25/11

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #8 Here 

Hello dashing humans.

This was a great show guys. I'm not even going to pretend it wasn't, because it was really awesome. I felt great about what I did, and I felt great about the choices I made, and the variety of selections I had. I do have to say that I had a little help from a friend for a few track choices though, and I think that really helped me get my show on the right foot. 

Something I'm particularly proud of is that I paid a lot more attention to the content of what I was layering, rather than flying by the seat of my pants. I usually think about it as far as, "Well, I shouldn't layer this with that, because it would clash too much." I've gotten to the point where now I can start thinking like, "I should layer this with that, because of xyz."I never thought there was a different way of thinking about layering, but I think I understand now. 

I've also been thinking lately that I might like to record some stories/interviews/whatever that I can share on the radio. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and two of my favorites are This American Life and Radiolab. Both of these shows focus on stories that they enhance with sounds, music, narration, and other kinds of layering, similar to the kind of thing that I do on my show, but much more carefully constructed. Although I probably don't have the time to do a full set every week, and although it won't be to the caliber of these shows, I think I would like to try creating something a bit more polished. It would also give me a good chance to learn how to use the production studio. 

On another note, in this show I read some flash fiction by the author Josh Olsen, who I met at the Kerrytown Bookfest a few weeks ago. I'm so glad I got the chance to talk to him, because he is part of a cool project called Zygote in my Coffee. This is a poetry and short fiction collaboration site that publishes seasonal collections. The whole site reminds me of neo-pulp fiction, or poetry in the style of a raw film noir. Definitely check it out. 

[Artist: Song - Album]

1. Bobby Womack: Sweet Caroline - Greatest Hits
2. Andrew Bird: Not a Robot, But a Ghost - Noble Beast
3. Gotan Project: Rayuela - Tango 3.0
4. Serge Gainsbourg: L'hotel particulier - histoire de melody nelson
5. Fleet Foxes: Cascades - Helplessness Blues
6. Yoko Ono & John Lennon: Sleepless Night - Milk and Honey
7. Toulouse Chamber Orchestra: Concerto in G Major for 2 Mandolins - V by Vivaldi
8. Ustad Vilayat Khan: Alap - Raga Khamaj
9. Miranda July: Medical Wonder - The Binet-Simon Test
10. Juiceboxx+Dre Skull: Sweat - Sweat
11. Elk City: Turpentine - The Sea is Fierce
12. Bio Ritmo: Bionic Boogaloo - Biónico
13. Amandine: Firefly - This Is Where Our Hearts Collide
14. Duke Ellington: Under Paris Skies - Ellington Fantasies
15. The Chicken Chokers: Shoot Your Radio - Shoot Your Radio
16. Dwayne Leftridge: The Majestic Hermit - Coming Out Of The Hermit's Cave
17. Various: Hassapikos - Greek Folk Songs and Dances
18. Captain Kangaroo and Friends: Getting the Treasure House Ready - Captain Kangaroo and his Friends Sing Songs of the Treasure House
19. Pekka Savijoki: Hindemith: Sonate - The Virtuoso Saxophone
20. The Mountain Goats: Song for Cleomenes - Beautiful Rat Sunset
21. Alif Tree: L'Amor Nunca Muere - French Cuisine
22. Huun Huur: The Orphan's Lament - The Orphan's Lament
23. Bilie Holiday: Stormy Blues - Stormy Blues
24. Bullfrog/Kid Koala: Bullfrog Theme - Bullfrog
25. Halo: Deprivation - Degree Zero Point of Implosion
26. Marcel the Shell: Marcel the Shell with Shoes - YouTube
27. Kenny Neal: Lightning's Gonna Strike - Bayou Blood
28. Jackson Coni: xibaba - Sujinho
29. Dino Felipe: A Peach Bump With Friends - I'm You
30. Samuel B. Charters: Maple Leaf Rag - Birth of Jazz
31. Times New Viking: Side A - ??
32. Encore: Love & Hate (Album Version) - Love & Hate (The Mellow Drama)
33. Richard Buckner: hoping wishers never lose - Impasse
34. Hardo Budoyo Ensemble: Ada-ada Srambahan, Srepegan nem - Shadow Music of Java
35. Audion: I Gave You Away - Death Is Nothing To Fear
36. Fishtank Ensemble: Pena Andaluz - Woman in Sin
37. Animal Collective: Bluish - Merriweather Post Pavilion
38. Fleet Foxes: Meadowlarks - Fleet Foxes
39. Sea Wolf: You're A Wolf - You're A Wolf

Why you may love me:

1. Fleet Foxes+Serge Gainsbourg: This was a particularly amazing layering, and I thank a friend for suggesting I layer "Cascades" with something. I was really happy with the groove that it achieved, and I also added a field recording that my same friend sent to me while I was DJing, which added a lot of depth to the sound I think. 
2. Miranda July+Raga Khamaj: This was an example of layering where it happens to sound completely natural that these two things might go together. No fighting. No extra tension. Just a melting of sound. 
3. Ghostly International: I really don't know why I haven't played more Ghostly, because I absolutely love everything that comes out of them. The Audion LP that I found was like aural gold. 

Why you may hate me:

1. Two folk songs: I didn't mean to play Dwayne Leftridge right after The Chicken Chokers. Or rather, I DID intend that, but I didn't realize that they both sounded pretty folky. Not a big deal, but I generally try to keep a nice variety of genre in my show. 
2. Talking too fast: I actually had a caller--another DJ I think--call in to tell me she liked my set, but had a lot of trouble understanding me when I read the events/concert information. I've been known to speak pretty quickly when I announce myself for auditions as well, so reminders are always welcome. 
3. Deliver of fiction: I took far too many pauses while deciding what to read, and if I had only prepared a bit better and marked exactly which pieces I wanted to read on-air, then I wouldn't have to search for appropriate ones. 

Stay tuned guys. I love to know that people are listening. 

Freestailo #7 - 9/18/11

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #7 Here

What's the up, hot stuffs?

Somehow I got an adequate amount of sleep before my radio show (impromptu 3-hour nap huzzah) and was in some sort of sane state of mind to host this show. It turned out better than I thought it would be, partially because I really restrained myself from doing too much layering, which forced me to think a little more critically as to the kinds of selections I put together, so that when I DID layer, it was a little bit more meaningful, I hope. In another sense, this may be against the nature of total freeform and total experimentation, but for this show I think it was a good way to go for the way I was feeling.

Something interesting that I've never done before is to use 7" singles LPs for the first time! I'm a little appalled I didn't think of using them before, but I think simply because they use a different setting on the turntable, and because I don't know that section very well, I stayed away. Tonight though, I thought, "To hell with it," and went ahead and grabbed a few, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Our 7" LP section is really diverse, and it's such an easy way to play singles, rather than searching on a larger record. 

I feel really happy about the variety of the set, and I tried to minimize my talking time. How did I do?

[Artist: Song - Album]

1. Hot Club of Cowtown: Mission to Moscow - Hot Jazz, Hot Swing, Hot Club
2. My Dear Disco/Ella Riot: All I Do - Dancethink LP
3. Poulenc: Cello Sonata: Cavatine, mvt. 2 - Violin/Clarinet/Cello Sonata
4. Cat Power: The Sleepwalker - Dear Sir
5. Frog Pocket: Séa Angel Lament - Gonglot
6. Akiko Yano: Out of the Grey - Piano Nightly
7. Xeno & Oaklander: 4th Wall - Sentinelle
8. John Lewis and Svend Asmussen: Winter's Tale - European Encounter
9. Angelique Kidjo: Tatchédogbè - Ayé
10. Danny Cohen: Astral Rag - Museum of Dannys
11. Four Tops: Reach Out I'll Be There - Tour Tops' Greatest Hits
12. Helge Schneider: Eine rose ist eine rose ist eine rose... - und meine kleine band hardcore
13. Dalal: Sigalia - Al Ol
14. Kassav': Rosa - Vini Pou
15. Dinah Washington: Stardust - For Lonely Lovers
16. Ed Kenney: Wind, Sea, and Stars - Adventures in Paradise
17. Tom Waits: Invitation to Blues - Small Change
18. mtn. high: Witch Hunting Memoirs - wicked wanderer
19. Randy Grief: A Very Difficult Game, Indeed - Alice in Wonderland pt. 4
20. Marilyn Manson: 15 - The High End of Low
21. April in the Orange: Crystal Rose - Siva Casting Dust
22. Kronic: Summertime (album version) - Summertime
23. Heartsrevolution: wolves+libertines - Switchblade EP
24. Chirglich: Teve-Khaya (Camel Rock) - The Wolf and The Kid
25. Paul Hersch and Laurette Goldberg: Sonata no. 2 - The Leipzig Sonatas
26. Tim Berne: The Shell Game - The sublime and sciencefriction live
27. Eddy Clearwater: Very Good Condition - Cool Blues Walk
28. Russ Morgan: Red Roses for a Blue Lady - Red Roses for a Blue Lady
29. Kraftwerk: The Robots - The Man Machine
30. Prehensile Monkeytailed Skink: I Hate You - Skink
31. Solomon Burke: These Arms of Mine - The Bishop Runs South
32. Elf Power: The New Mythology - In A Cave
33. Jim Hall/Roland Hanna/Ron Carter/Steve Gadd/Chet Baker/Paul Desmond - You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To - Concierto
34. Peter Garland: Dance no. 4 - Matachin Dances
35. Yann Tiersen: La Valse d'Amelie - music box
36. Erkin Koray: Krallar (Kings) - Devlerin Nefesi (Breath of Giants)
37. Alloy: Underground - Alloy
38. Cirque de Soleil: Carrousel - Quidam
39. LeRoy Larson and the Minnesota Scandinavian Ensemble: Nidelven - Saturday Night Old Time
40. Dr. Dog: the girl (beck remix) - Dr. Dog
41. Messer für Frau Müller: Intimate Service Cosmique - Triangle, Dot, & Devil
42. Jeff Sharel: tribute final (original mix) - tribute final
43. Deltron: Battlesong - 3030
44. The Strange Boys: You Can't Only Love When You Want To - Be Brave
45. Tom Weisgerber: Clarinet Polka - COTFA
46. Jiminy Cricket: When You Wish Upon A Star - Pinocchio
47. The Vampires of Dartmoore: Hallo, Mister Hitchcock - Dracula's Music Cabinet
48. Boiled in Lead: The Gypsy - Music from The Gypsy

The Good:

1. Using singles LPs: Definitely doing that again, for multiple reasons, 1) they're interesting and always different, a lot of times local, 2) they're easy to grab from the soundboard, 3) they're cute.
2. J.S. Bach+Tim Berne Layering: This was my favorite layering of the night, and it was satisfying to do as well, because while the Bach had been playing for awhile, I was very, VERY slowly raising the volume of the Berne, until it integrated into an uncomfortable, unsettling feeling. 
3. Music box: I bought a music box that plays "La Valse d'Amelie" from the movie 'Amelie', so I brought it in case I was inspired, which I was. It was a bit hard to time, and to maneuver between the 2 or 3 things I had been playing, but I loved the minimalism in comparison with the noise that I had before. 

The Bad:

1. Transitions: I'm still working on really tightening up my transitions, and today they were a bit lazy, with a bit too much space in between tracks, especially near the end of my set. 
2. Dinah Washington on Helium: Even though it always sounds INTERESTING when I put a 33 LP on a 45 setting, I definitely didn't plan for that to happen, and it's a good lesson for me to check the settings on the turntables before I play anything.
3. Last track: It was a good track, but I didn't feel great ending with it for some reason. C'est la vie. 

 Glad to be back in the swing of things, and I hope to learn a lot over the next semester so that you all can really enjoy my show as much as possible. As usual, please feel free to leave comments/questions/suggestions/etc.

Freestailo #6 - 9/10/11

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #6 Here

Dearly loved listeners, welcome! This week was an interesting show for these reasons:

1. It was not my normal time! Instead of 3-6am, I got to DJ from 9pm-12am, which was a very nice change for both my creativity and for my sleep schedule.
2. I had a guest! Although she was silent, my sister's good friend Mariel came to check out the radio station and listen to my DJ, since she happens to work for NPR. It was great to have some insight from her about the kind of job that she does, and how me DJing at WCBN both applies directly and is very different from the kind of work that she does and that NPR does. I also got to pick her brain about the kinds of satisfaction she gets doing radio, and how I might be able to achieve that DJing at WCBN. Recently I've been thinking a lot about doing a radio internship, and she gave me some tips on how I can achieve that as well. It was absolutely enlightening, and I'm so thankful that Mariel was so honest and willing to help me. 
3. Everything seemed to go wrong! No joke, every possible thing that could happen to me did: I couldn't find the program that plays the promos/PSAs, my entrance was a little weird, I didn't prepare as much music as usual, phones going off while I read poetry, etc. The list goes on. 
4. I read a lot of Rainer Maria Rilke poems today, both in English and in German. This was especially exciting for me, because I love speaking in German, even though I'm not fluent. It's a beautiful language, and Rilke is a genius. I also read an Erika Meitner poem, whom I've gotten to like the more I read. 

The poems that I read:

• Rainer Maria Rilke (from Ahead of All Parting)
• The Magician (Der Magier)
• Sonnets to Orpheus XXIX
• Sonnets to Orpheus XXII
• Erika Meiner (from Ideal Citites)
• January

[Album: Song - Album]

  1. Pinetop Perkins: Got My Mojo Workin' - After Hours
  2. Original Chorus of the Cossacks of the Volga: Nights of Moscow - Cossacks of the Volga
  3. Ella Fitzgerald: How High The Moon - Ella In Berlin
  4. Tarantella: Mexican Wine - Esqueletos
  5. Celestial Navigations: Arrangar V - Chapter V The Connection
  6. Ane Brun: Armour - Changing of the Seasons
  7. Sexmob: Come Sunday - Din of Inequity
  8. Leonard Bernstein: Prokofiev: Symphony no. 5 - Symphony no. 5
  9. Igor Stravinsky: The Clock That Went Backwards - The Clock That Went Backwards
  10. Ticklah: Pain of Loving You - Polydemic
  11. The Papercuts: Summer Long - Can't Go Back
  12. Whales: Whale Sounds - Deep Voices
  13. Tony Bennet: Indian Summer - Perfectly Frank
  14. Kid Koala: Slew test 3B etc. - Your Mom's Favorite DJ
  15. JP Ghosh: MRIDANGAM - Rhythm on Indian Drums
  16. Ike and Tina Turner: It's All Gonna Work Out Fine - Ike and TIna Turner Revue
  17. Maxime Le Forestier: Frisson d'avril - Maxime Le Forestier
  18. Hiromi: Keytalk - Brain
  19. Shigeto: Brown Eyed Girl, French Kiss Power Up, Ann Arbor pt. 2, Children at Midnight - Full Circle
  20. Ella Fitzgerald: Sophisticated Lady - Duke Ellington Songbook
  21. Ken Nordine: The Whistler - Best of Word Jazz
  22. Glenn Gould: Best of Glenn Gould's Bach - Best of Glenn Gould's Bach
  23. Bubby Krane: Stompin' at the Savoy - Teen Age Dance Party
  24. Glen Gould: (more of above)
  25. Phon.O: The Weird Soap - Mokkastübchen EP
  26. Kickball: Polarbears - Everything is a miracle nothing is a miracle everything is
  27. Happy: Thoughts from the grey - Kiss. Bang
  28. Sathima Bea Benjamin: Winnie Mandela-Beloved Heroine - Lovelight
  29. John Legend and The Roots: Wholy Holy - Wake Up!
  30. New York Pro Musica and Noah Greenberg: The Play of Daniel - The Play of Daniel
  31. Myra Melford: Some Kind of Blues - Alive in the House of Saints
  32. Jan DeGaitani: Pierrot Lunaire op. 21 - Schönberg: Pierrot Lunaire op. 21
  33. Owusu and Hannibal: Lonnie's Secret - Living With...
  34. Fred Hersch Quintet: Cat's Paws - Point in Time
  35. Zeti Müren: asf

Thing I would like to repeat perhaps:

1. Whistling+Bach: This was probably the most appropriate and smoothly integrated layering that I have ever done. I did not know that the spoken track would reference Bach, and I had only by coincidence grabbed a Bach piano CD.
2. Phon.O: All of this album was really great for many reasons. It was great for layering, it was great to just listen to, it had interesting sounds...everything. This was a gem. 
3. Shigeto+German poetry: Mmmm, I just really love Shigeto, and I'm glad I had it to layer under the Rainer Maria Rilke poems I was reading. 

Things I would never want to repeat:

1. Losing the promos/PSAs: I have no idea why those weren't already opened, and I don't know why I couldn't open any of the files to view them normally, but I think I need to figure that out for future reference. 
2. Layering Two Classical Pieces: I really did not mean to layer Prokofiev and Stravinsky together...and just writing this I realized that I not only layed two classical pieces, but two RUSSIAN classical pieces. I need to be more careful.
3. Skipping LPs: There was probably a 3-5 minute period where the Phon.O album was skipping. Luckily, the music is such that it sounded normal for awhile, but it took waaaaay longer than it should have for me to realize what was happening. 

Keep listening guys, and feel free to leave comments/suggestions/criticisms/whatever for me. I would love some feedback. 

Freestailo #5 - 9/4/11 - The Lost Show

Greetings to all of you who have gathered here today.

Rooftop view of Perigueux, FR

I have some bad news guys. A lot of you might already know this, but this particular show will not be available for download because of extenuating circumstances. There was a storm the night of my show--a show which I had been planning for a few weeks in my mind--and the power went out at WCBN. Luckily, it came back on by the time that I came to DJ, and I performed one of my best sets yet...but unfortunately when I went back to download and edit the files, they were no where to be found on the archive server. A major chunk of time was missing from the database, which included this show.

Let me sum up this show's vision for you: this entire show was planned as a tribute to the friends and musicians that I met in France while I was living there for 1.5 months. There were a lot of inside jokes, a lot of French music, and a lot of the music that we had worked on ourselves there from 'La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein'. Another important point to make is that throughout almost the entire show I was layering field recordings that I had made while I was in France. I recorded almost 15 tracks, and I think used nearly 11 of them at some point or another. There were too many special moments during this set to count, and I thought my heart was going to burst.

[Artist: Song - Album]

1. Michel Legrand: 1ere Gymnopedie - Erik Satie
2. Ella Fitzgerald: April in Paris - Ella and Oscar
3. Dakha Brakha: Nad Dunaem - Na Mezhi
4. Dolly Parton: 9 to 5 - YouTube
5. Serge Gainsbourg: Aéroplanes - Love and the Beat 2
6. General Elektriks: La Carousel Cosmique - Cliquety Kliqk
7. Edith Piaf: La Vie en Rose - The Best of Edith Piaf
8. Dakha Brakha: Vals - Na Mezhi
9. Girl Talk: Bodies Hit the Floor - Unstoppable
10. Offenbach: Couplets du sabre - La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein
11. Ella Fitzgerald: Dream A Little Dream Of Me - Ella and Basie! On the Sunny Side of the Street
12. La Haine: Sacrifice du Poulets - La Haine
13. Yann Tiersen: Comptine d'un Autre Été: L'aprés midi - Amelie
14. The Budos Band: Monkey See, Monkey Do - The Budos Band
15. Wizard of Oz: Over the Rainbow - Wizard of Oz
16. Serge Gainsbourg: L'abominable strip-tease - Je t'aime moi non plus
17. Edith Piaf: Bravo pour le clown! - The Best of Edith Piaf
18. Yann Tiersen: La Valse des Monstres - Amelie
19. Marilyn Horne: O ma lyre immortelle - Gounod: Sapho
20. Animal Crossing: 3AM - Animal Crossing GC
21. Joyce di Donato: Faites-lui mes aveux - Gounod: Faust
22. Offenbach: Ah! Que j'aime militaires - La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein
23. Daft Punk: Revolution 909 - Homework
24. Offenbach: A cheval! - La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein
25. Choir of New College, Oxford: Faure: Cantique de Jean Racine - Agnus Dei
26. Feist: Tout Doucement - Let It Die
27. Karl Richter: Brandenberg Concerto No. 5 - Bach: 6 Brandenburgische Konzerte
28. Lost in the Trees: Time Taunts Me - Time Taunts Me
29. Erik Satie: 3eme Gymnopedie - Erik Satie
30. My Dear Disco/That1Guy: Mustaches Remix - The Remixes
31. Frederic Paris: various - Rue de l'oiseau
32. Moliere: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
33. Dakha Brakha: Oi Za Lisochkom - Na Mezhi
34. Amanda Palmer: Exit Music For a Film - Amanda Palmer and Her Magical Ukulele

I normally critique myself and cite the good and bad things that happened to me during the show, but I honestly can't remember a bad moment in the show, and I don't have a record of it to check anyway, so I'll let you listen to it without any criticism on my own behalf.

P.S. Oh, and my FAVA-mily? COTFA. Right here.

Subshow #4 - 8/26/11 - BIRTHDAY SPECIAL!

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So guys. Here's the deal. This show is all about me today, because this show was on MY birthday!

COTFA

This show was a lot of fun for multiple reasons:

1. It was my birthday
2. My inhibitions were down
3. I played a lot of video game music and I liked it. 

I should probably do all of these more often...or at least the latter two. Being able to relax and do whatever I wanted for a show without care for anyone else but me turned out to be a really great show. Maybe not the mentality I want to have all the times, but sometimes you have to throw caution to the wind and do what you're feeling in the moment to get a good performance, which I've learned through singing.

I really don't have much else to say about this except that I got to use some field recordings during the show that I recorded in France, which I think added a lot, and I think that I will repeat in the future. I will need to make more recordings for that methinks. Anyway, onto the set!

[Artist: Song - Album]

1. Sesame Street: Happy Birthday from Sesame Street - Happy Birthday!
2. Serge Gainsbourg: Bonnie and Clyde (avec Brigitte Bardot) - A Gainsbarre
3. Various: Hurricane - The Hurricane
4. Ella Fitzgerald: Indian Summer - Live at Carnegie Hall
5. Toxic Lipstick: Thunderdome - Poopin
6. Cookie and the Cupcakes: Got You On My Mind - By Request
7. D.A.F.: Mein Herz Macht Bum - Alles Ist Gut
8. Richard Strauss/Philedelphia Orchestra: A Hero's Life (Ein Heldenleben) - A Hero's Life
9. Philip Glass: Two Pages - Two Pages etc. 
10. The Irish Rovers: Cold Winter Shadows - All Hung Up
11. Tatsu Aoki: Eye to Eye - Trio
12. CocoRosie: Here I Come - Grey Oceans
13. Sesame Street: A Cat Had a Birthday - Happy Birthday!
14. Junko: ?? - Sings Japanese Nursery Rhymes
15. Bonga, Marisa Monte, Carlinhas Brown: Mulemba xangóla - Onda Sonora
16. Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 18 - Piano Concerto no. 2
17. IAM: Libére Mon Imagination - L'ecole du Micro D'argent
18. Tartanic: Ringworm - uncivilized
19. Akakage: She is a pretty girl - Ursula 1000
20. Anamanaguchi: Fast Turtle - Power Supply
21. Otis Clay: Love Don't Love Nobody - Soul Man: Live in Japan
22. Mireille Mathieu: Pourquoi le monde est sans amour - Grand Succés de Mireille Mathieu
23. Nico Muhly: Mothertongue, archive - Mothertongue
24. Nine Inch Nails: Even Deeper - The Fragile
25. Hot Club of Cowtown: More Than A Dream - Dev'lish Mary
26. Animal Crossing: 5AM - Animal Crossing OST
27. Kleenex: Hedi's Head - YouTube
28. Henri Salvador: Jardin d'Hiver - Chambre Avec Vue
29. Carlos Giffoni: Comfort and Pleasure - Adult Life
30. Nintendo: The End - Super Mario RPG
31. Nintendo: Mario and Peach's Theme - Paper Mario OST
32. Nintendo: Graaaaandma - The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker OST
33. The Baby Namboos: Late Night Antics - Ancoats2zambia
34. Telemann: Concerto in B Major - Baroque Masterpieces for Violin

Birthdays:

1. Video game music: It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I really love video game music. I have lots of soundtracks on my computer, and I'm constantly finding more from other friends. Being able to share it was such a fun experience, and I'm thinking I should do it more often. 
2. Birthday songs!: I'm happy I got to play some birthday songs from an actual ALBUM of birthday songs. Yay!
3. Field recording layering: I loved using my field recording of the bells of the Perigueux cathedral, and I love even more that they were layered with something as elegant and beautiful as the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 2. Major eargasm for me. 

Unbirthdays:

1. Carlos Giffoni: I'm so sorry for that. Even though it was my birthday, I didn't mean to play a purely noise piece like that. Thankfully it righted itself, but I should preview tracks more often when I pick out CDs.
2. Even Deeper by NIN: Although a good friend of mine requested this, it kind of broke up my set weirdly because I knew the track so well, and I think it was one of their singles. I usually try to stay away from really popular tracks.
3. 'Poopin' by Toxic Lipstick: That was a weird track. It looked really cute, but was not quite. Oh well!

I really hope you liked the set, and please feel free to leave comments/complaints/suggestions/etc. for my future shows! 

Subshow #3 - 6/26/11

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

Welcome to Part Trois of my crazy adventures in DJing for 9 hours in a single day. On this particular day, I DJed from 3-6am, 6-9am, and THOUGHT that I was DJing from 11am-1pm. Guess what though, folks? In my zealousness, I accidentally signed up for the 11pm-1am slot instead! Because of my early morning excursions, I was also so tired that I decided it was a good idea to take a nap right before my show so I would be chipper. This is what I have learned: don't do that, you will oversleep and be MORE tired rather than LESS tired. Thus I don't actually know the track to the first song I played because I threw it in the CD tray to find other songs.

Despite this hiccup, I quite liked this set of songs, and I had a few requests from friends I was intermittently chatting with online, so it was interesting for me. Rarely do I get requests, but I think it always throws something extra into the show, because then it's almost like a collaborative work. Anyway, here's the set:

[Artist: Song - Album]

1. Flying Lotus: ? - Cosmogramma
2. Lucky Peterson: Pounding of My Heart - Lucky Strikes
3. Guy Davis: Long Train - Call Down the Thunder
4. Ella Fitzgerald and the Tommy Flanagan Trio: One Note Samba - Montreux '77
5. The Cleveland Orchestra: O Fortuna - Carl Orff: Carmina Burana
6. Cat Power: I Can't Get No Satisfaction - The Covers Record
7. The Beatles: From Me to You Fantasy - Help! Soundtrack
8. Tetuzi Akiyama: Ascension - Proletarian Drift
9. Exit 245: Fix You - YouTube
10. Ben Folds Five: Julianne - Ben Folds Five
11. Peggy Lee: Black Coffee - Black Coffee
12. Vienna Philharmonic Quartet: Quartet in D Minor "Death and the Maiden" - Schubert Quartets
13. Geographer: Kites - Kites
14. The Smiths: Frankly, Mr. Shankly - The Queen is Dead
15. Cardinal: If You Believe in Christmas Trees - Cardinal
16. Carrigan: The Flood - Carrigan
17. John Coltrane: Ascension - Ascension
18. Laurie Anderson: The Geographic North Pole - The Ugly One With Jewels
19. Bratko Bibic: Sackamra - Rough Guide to the Music of the Alps
20. Rilo Kiley: Science vs. Romance - Take Offs and Landings

Goodies:

1.  Black Coffee by Peggy Lee: I LOVE this song, and her version of it is absolutely sex. 
2. Carmina Burana + Ella: Somehow adding Ella to the mix always makes things better...or at least more interesting. 
3. The Queen is Dead by The Smiths: I haven't listened to The Smiths much, which is kind of a tragedy, so I figured I'd grab something. This turned out to be one of my favorite tracks, so I think I'll revisit the rock section more to play them.

Baddies:

1. Coming late: I've only done this once and I don't think I'll ever do it again. It's real bad to put your fellow DJ in that position where they have to wait, because they have stuff to do. They're tired. They're ready to go home. 
2. Not knowing the first track I played: It's kind of sad that that track is lost in space and time now. I really like Flying Lotus though, so I don't doubt I'll revisit that album again.
3. Fix You by Exit 245: I had this as a request from a friend, and it was a good sounding track, but it sounded a bit too much like the original for my taste, and it broke up the set strangely.

Subshow #2 - 6/26/11

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Subshow #2 Here
Howdy y'all. 

This post represents the second half of the longest night/morning of my life, but also one of the most fun and testing nights/mornings I've had DJing. The show started at 6am, when I had already done 3 hours of DJing at my normal slot. The transition between the two shows was actually really smooth, and I think Mic (the DJ I subbed for) for that, because he requested I start it with gospel, which really threw me full on into the next show. 

My favorite thing about this show, and what really makes it special to me, is that I had my friends Chris Dupont, Katie Van Dusen, and Betsy King come in and perform some stuff from Chris's album, "Lay No Claim," which you can find on Bandcamp. You can also check out his MySpace page here. I've never had a live band come in before, and I hope I can have them again sometime. It was really valuable to have people to talk to on the show also, so hopefully I'll incorporate some interviews/chats/whatever into my show soon. Anyway, enjoy the show!

[Artist: Song - Album]

1. The Voices Supreme: Walk and Talk With Jesus - Brand New
2. Cat Power: Moon Shiner - Moon Pix
3. Revolution 9: Compuer Girl - Lo-fi Glamour
4. Celicion/Nastacio/Johnson: Zuni Pueblo Rainbow Dance Song - Music of New Mexico Native American Traditions
5. Benny Goodman: You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To - Happy Session
6. cEvin Key with subconscious orchestra: musik für cats - Music for Cats
7. Edith PIaf: Non, je ne regrette rien - Hymne a l'amour
8. Philharmonia Orchestra: Symphony in C major K. 551 "Jupiter" - Mozart: Symphony 201 and 551
9. Les Djinns Singers: Songs from Moulin Rouge - 60 French Girls Sing Encore
10. Chris Dupont Trio: Various Selections - Lay No Claim
11. Brian Eno: Events in Dense Fog - Music for Films
12. Meryl Streep and George Winston: The Velveteen Rabbit - The Velveteen Rabit
13. Panthers: Panthers! Pow! Pow! Pow! - Are You Down??
14. Bombshell: Magic In The Night - White Knuckle Scorin'
15. Billie Holiday: Strange Fruit - The Best of Billie Holiday
16. Gang of Four: Damaged Goods - 100 Flowers Bloom
17. Tony Williams: Neptune: Fear Not - The Story of Neptune
18. Fanfare Savale: Hora Lu'Nea Mihai - Speed Brass of the Gypsies
19. Andrew Hill: Retrospect - Verona Rag
20. Bugs Bunny: What's Opera, Doc? - That's All Folks!
21. Old Crow Medicine Show: We're all in this together - Transamerica Soundtrack
22. Byron Lee & The Dragonaires: Sunday Coming - The Man and His Music
23. The Pogues: The Wild Rover - Sally Maclennane
24. Panda: Cloudy Pillow - 10% By Volume
25. Northwoods Improsivers: Escarpment - Branches

The Good Stuff

1. Chris Dupont Trio: I was so excited to have live music on my show, and I'm so lucky that I have friends that were so excited to perform live. It was a great experience, and I hope I get to repeat it many times. 
2. Velveteen Rabbit: I really loved this track, and I think it was a great way to mellow out the morning music to its fullest. 
3. Wild Rover by The Pogues: Loved this because I accidentally had it set on 45in rather than 33in, so it played WAY slower than it should have. I liked it though. Sounded like a band of giant Irishmen.

Could Be Better Stuff

1. Keeping focused: I think I either needed food or coffee, or maybe just a little more energy from inside, because then I think I would have a better handle on everything I was doing, as far as having a live group come in.
2. Experimenting: Could have experimented more, but I also like the minimalism of this show, especially with the live band coming in. 

Thanks for sticking with me guys. You can download this show and share it with everyone you know, and also make sure to check out their site/download their album, because they are so so good. 

Freestailo #4 - 6/26/11

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #4 Here

Bonjour, Listeneurs.

This show represents the first half of a very, very, VERY long night for me. It was right before I left for France and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to DJ for a long time, so I signed up for 3. Count 'em: THREE slots with a 24-hour period. Not one of my better ideas. BUT, I ended up learning a lot, playing some cool music, and finding out how long I can function without sleep.

Something oddly interesting about this show is how little I layered anything throughout it. I was completely content to play exactly the songs that I had found, and trying to transition between them as smoothly as possible. The variety was balanced, and I tried to pick things that I felt a little uncomfortable with sometimes, purely because I was unfamiliar with them. Lesson learned: unfamiliar things are probably more interesting for both you and your audience.

Anyway, here's the playlist, folks: 
[Artist: Song - Album]

1. Hot Club of Cowtown: It Stops With Me - Ghost Train
2. Erich Kunzel and King's Singers: Let It Be - Music of the Beatles
3. King Missle: Nietsche Sneezes - Happy 14 1/2
4. Inle Myint Maung and Yi Yi Thant: A Huntsman Enchanted - Mahagità: Harp and Vocal Music of Burma
5. Kyrgyzstan Superstar: Futfutfutfut Freestailo! - YouTube
6. George Benson: Cast Your Fate to the Wind - Good King Bad
7. End: World Went Down - Sounds of Disaster
8. Slasher Risk: Mastering - Obsolete
9. Mary Martin: Lonely Goatherd - The Sound of Music
10. Arthur Lyman: Moon Over A Ruined Castle - Taboo
11. Time Berne: Manatee Woman - Science Fiction
12. Smith/Bradley/Hughes: Great Speckled Bird - Tone Poems III
13. The Irish Rovers: The Unicorn - The Unicorn
14. Cat Power: Werewolf - You Are Free
15. Louise Attaque: Toute cette histoire - Louise Attaque
16. Bell: Rhythm Machine - Seven Types of Six
17. Randy Grief: You Shan't Be Beheaded - Alice in Wonderland pt. 4
18. Citizen Cope: The Rackett - Citizen Cope
19. Memphis Slim: Sassy Mae - USA
20. Lalo Schifrin: Blues in the Bassment - Jazz Meets the Symphony
21. Cabbageboy: Mod You - Bento/Box
22. Man or Astro_Man?: After ALl The Prosaic Waiting...The Sun Finally Crashes into the Earth - A Spectrum of Finite Scale
23. Yann Tiersen: La Valse d'Amélie (piano) & La Dispute - Amelie Soundtrack
24. Zakir Hussain: Tabla solo in Jhaptal (10 beats) - Master Drummers of India
25. Natalia Dudkina: Doktor Olya - The Rough Guide to the Music of Russia
26. Caterpillars: The Buddy Ballantine - "a thousand million micronauts" 
27. Food For Animal: Grapes - Food For Animal
28. Mika Miko: Zombies Take One - 666!
29. Chris Proctor: October's Window - Only Now
30. Antoine Roney: Blues for Leslie - Whirling
31. Dizzee Rascal feat. Calvin Harris and Chrome: DJ Rap Remix - Dizzee Rascal Dance Wiv Me
32. Müncher Bach-Orchester: Brandenburgische Konzerte no. 5 - Bach: 6 Brandenburgische Konzerte
33. b.fleishmann: pass by - Welcome Tourist
34. Zeena Parkins: Monestary of Kenadsa - Isabelle
35. Kiila: Fireburnfoot - Heartcore
36. Simbi: Pwazon Rat - Vodou Beat
37. L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande: Ritual Dance - Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps
38. JWagosi Wa Kaya f/ The First Mack: Wauguzi - Bongo Flava: Swahili Rap from Tanzania

Chill stuff I did:

1. 'The Unicorn' by The Irish Rovers: This LP was a great find, and I was so excited to find 'The Unicorn' on there. That's my childhood right there guys. Now I know that they're in the lounge/ukulele section and NOT the folk section.
2. Futfutfutfut Freestailo! by Kyrgyzstan Superstar: I have been wanting to play this song for sooooo long. This is essentially the theme song to my show. This is the namesake of my show. This is what cheers me up when I'm down. Glad we get to share this thing.
3. Letting songs play out: I'm really glad that I did minimal layering during this show, because it reminded me that music I play over the airwaves will be beautiful no matter what. I need to appreciate the natural state of a CD sometimes, and listen to it more closely so that when I DO layer, it's important. 

Not so chill stuff I did:

1. 'Let It Be' by the King's Singers: Yeaaaaaaaah, not my proudest moment. Despite my instinct telling me that it was going to be truly awful, I decided to jump on it anyway. Honestly though, it made me laugh pretty hard, so maybe it wasn't such a bad decision after all. 
2. Playing a song before playing the promo/PSA: I need to quit doing that. I come into the station early to make sure I can grab lots of records and CDs, and then I get all flustered once I sit down and just put on a CD, when really I should play a promo and PSA right away. Maybe it doesn't bother anyone else, but I think it would really clean up my show, and would stabilize me mentally. 

Thanks again for listening/reading. Keep checking back because I'll have a bunch of posts ready for you soon.

Long Time No Post

Hey guys.

I have a lot of updates that are a long time in coming, and I'm terrible for not being more attentive. I went to France for a few months, so my 4th Freestailo has yet to be uploaded. Since then I have also done two more Freestailo and a sub-show. Unfortunately, my August 26th--aka my birthday--Freestailo is lost in space, because the archiving system at my station went down because of power. I was still able to do a show, but you will not get to hear it.

I'm also in the process of hosting my audio files through Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service)--which if you're looking for a good place to host audio files, this is it. A friend of mine who worked at Amazon over the summer told me about it, and so far I think it's pretty fantastic. You can upload as much as you want, link it wherever you want, and you only get charged for what people actually download. It's incredibly inexpensive too. End advertisement.

The WCBN mass meeting was tonight as well, so I'm very excited to say that I'm still DJing, and at my same time-slot from 3-6am on Sunday mornings! As I well know, most people can't listen at that time, so I will still be updating my blog regularly. Another piece of news is that I will soon be heading the WCBN blog, which sorely needs updating.

Worth mentioning is that I recently discovered that I can upload all of my shows to a Spotify playlist, so that anyone can listen to them that has Spotify. SO, click the link on the right side of the blog, and add me on Spotify!

Can't wait to be back in the game, folks. I really appreciate the constant support.