Saturday, June 30, 2012

Freestailo #39 - 6/29/12

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #39 Here

Top o' the mornin' to yeh, me bright eyed lis'ners!

Today's show was a bit rough for me, for the plain and simple fact that I was feeling rather ill while I was DJing. That's how much I love you though, and it's totally worth it. The show was still pretty solid, and my lovely roommate Kara came and visited me at the station, and even made me eggy-toast and brought it to the station! Later Robster made some coffee, which totally made my morning as well, and I think thoroughly improved the final hour of the show.

Anyway, the main thing I want to talk about today is the layering that happened about half way through with Jack and the Beanstalk and LCD Soundsystem. I am a little haunted by it, both because I really enjoyed it, and because many things went wrong. The way that the two tracks meshed together was pretty astounding, and even small things like the rate of an actor's speech, or the scratches on the vinyl seemed to go along with the beat of the LCD Soundsystem record. Unfortunately, the Jack and the Beanstalk record was pretty damaged, and kept skipping without me noticing. Yes, I should have been paying attention, but sometimes it's unavoidable. On the other side though, the skipping was kind of interesting, and I don't necessarily regret that it happened. I neither like nor dislike this layering, but admire it in a very objective way.

How did you feel about it? What did you like?

[Artist: Song - Album]
  1. Alfred Newman: 20th Century Fox Fanfare - Star Wars IV
  2. The Meters: Groovy Lady - Jam
  3. Herbie Hancock: Honey From The Jar - Feets Don't Fail Me Now
  4. Crystal Castles: Magic Spells - Crystal Castles
  5. John Williams: Cantina Band - Star Wars IV
  6. The Capricorns: End of the World Love Song - Pure Magical Love
  7. Joan Baez: Crack In The Mirror - Gone From Danger
  8. John Williams: Cantina Band #2 - Star Wars IV
  9. Buddy Holly: Brown Eyed Handsome Man - The Crickets 20 Golden Greats
  10. Ella Fitzgerald: That Old Black Magic - Ella In Rome
  11. Oojami: Sitare - Bellydancing Breakbeats
  12. Rinken Band: Kansha Sabira - Japan Not For Sale Vol. 2
  13. Anne Queffélec: Jeux d'eau - Ravel: Piano Works
  14. Arif Sag: Su diyari Gurbet Elde - Insan Olmaya Geldim
  15. Various: Khangayn Magtaal - Mongolie
  16. Asobi Seksu: Strawberries - Citrus
  17. Lead Belly: Good Morning Blues - Where Did You Sleep Last Night
  18. Various: Jack and the Beanstalk - Let's Pretend
  19. LCD Soundsystem: aa onastic dub - north american scum
  20. Gotan Project: Confianzas - Inspiración-Espiración
  21. The Funkees: Ole - Dancing Time
  22. Louise Attaque: Toute cette histoire - Louise Attaque
  23. Donna Summers: Journey To The Centre Of Your Heart - Bad Girls
  24. Chiwoniso: Nhemamusasa - Ancient Voices
  25. Black Moth Super Rainbow: Tooth Decay - Eating Us
  26. The Botho Lucas Choir: Sei Lieb Zu Mir - From Germany With Love
  27. Sarolta Zalatnay: Itt A Nyár (with Locomotiv GT) - Sarolta Zalatnay
  28. Geckoturner: Limón En La Cabeza - Guapapasea!
  29. Galliano: Believe - The Plot Thickens
  30. Darkthrone: Det Svartner Nå - Hate Them
  31. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam: Dil Deewana - Hindi Film Hits
  32. D'arcangelo: n-tower - Broken Toys' Corner
  33. Yolanda Kondonassis: La Cathédrale engloutie - Debussy's Harp
  34. Clarence Reid: No Way Out - Eccentric Soul 17
  35. Electroputas 3: AA - Electroputas 3
  36. Dan Del Santo: No More - Off Your Nyash
  37. Alan Dargin with Michael Atherton: Fantastic Plastic - Bloodwood
  38. Fantastic Plastic Machine: Fantastic Plastic World - Fantastic Plastic Machine
Love Them:
  1. Star Wars IV: Anything to do with this CD went well on the show. The beginning with the fanfare completely made my week, and both of the Cantina Band tracks were totally stellar. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as me, but even if you didn't...I don't really care. Hahaha. 
  2. The Funkees: A Nigerian funk band?! Hell yes! This was an awesome surprise to find in the new soul stuff against the wall! 
  3. Fantastic Plastic End: I felt really satisfied with the end of my show, linking together the ideas and sounds so well. Also, I love the Fantastic Plastic World album. 
Have Them:
  1. Skipping/Neglect: As I was chatting with my roommate, and sipping coffee, I realized I should check on the turntables just to be safe, and luckily Rob got to them a bit earlier and saved them from skipping for eternity. Apparently the Jack and the Beanstalk record was very scratched, and it also skipped when the LCD Soundsystem record stopped, which is not a very interesting sound, I tell you what. That'll teach me to socialize ever. 
  2. Debussy on Harp: This was just too quiet to hear. I ended up having to turn it all the way up, which caused kind of a weird buzzing noise. Silly classical CDs. Y U NO LOUDER?!
  3. Tooth Decay: This sounded all right, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Felt a little low energy. 
Thanks for reading/listening! 

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Freestailo #38 - 6/22/12

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #38 Here

Why I want it to rain
I woke up this morning, and for once in my life, I wasn't totally stoked to go to the station and play you some tunes. We've all had that morning: you wake up, stare at the ceiling, realize you got up earlier than your alarm, lie in bed some more, realize you need to DJ, put on some pants, and grab some records. If it hadn't been for a small theme of "rain" I found between two records I had, I probably wouldn't have had so much fun. 

All right, now let's talk about my experience with the long layer that I did for this show. There were a lot of things I liked, but also a lot of things I didn't like. My thought process for it was to start soft with the guitar, and use the Robert Lax recording to slowly layer, but I accidentally put in the wrong CD, which was a dumb mistake. I think that might have gotten me in a weird groove, despite fixing it immediately. After that, I layered the "Istomonography" track, which perhaps just added a lot of white noise to the equation, along with the jungle sounds, which was more white noise, in a sense. As I listened back to this, it was almost annoying, until the Carpet Musics track came in, which I simply put on repeat for the duration of the layering. I think that this gave a lot of stability to the layering. It had the same calming sound like Robert Lax, but brought together the noise to make aural sense. The Ravi Shankar track was next, which was an interesting balance for the layering, because at times it went together well with the Carpet Musics track, and at times it went together with the noise tracks.

A little infographic I modded for y'all. You're welcome.
Throughout the track, I found myself really focusing on Robert Lax and Carpet Musics, and grouping the others together in a separate track completely, as if the layering was composed of only 2--maybe 3--parts. This brought me to a small revelation about freeform, and the layering technique: it must be aurally comprehensible. I don't know about all of you, but for me, my brain can only take so much of a "noise" soundscape before my ears shut down from listening critically, and therefore must have something to separate. Instead of having 6 things to try to understand, my brain split it into 2 or 3. To successfully layer something, I've concluded that the listener must be able to divide and comprehend it aurally, and that for a long layering, it's best to add things one at a time, with a good solid space in between.

Robert Lax
My favorite thing about the layering piece was the moment when the tracks slowly started ending, but Robert Lax was still talking. I could feel my body relax more and more, especially after such tension throughout the piece, and when it came down to just 1 track (still Robert Lax), my brain had no choice but to focus itself completely, almost like meditation. Like I said before though, I definitely have mixed feelings about how it actually sounded, but the fact that I strandled the line of failure helped me really understand more about how I create more interesting pieces for you guys. 

Let me know what you thought of the show, and especially the layering! 

[Artist: Song - Album]
  1. Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Rain, Rain, Beautiful Rain - Shaka Zulu
  2. Hugh Masekela: Motlalepula (The Rainmaker) - Techno Bush
  3. Edith Piaf: D'Accordéoniste - Disque D'or de Edith Piaf
  4. Kohwi: Rem - Hidden Trees
  5. Moe Tucker: Hey, Mr. Rain - Moe Tucker
  6. Mira: Don't - Mira
  7. The Marcels: Blue Moon - The Best of Doo Wop Uptempo
  8. Los Marimbas Caliente: Macarenas - The Gaiety and Romance of a Holiday in Mexico
  9. Kid Loco: (track 1) - The Graffiti Artist
  10. Julius Katchen: Variations & Fugue on a Theme by Handel - Brahms: Complete Piano Works
  11. Whale: Deliver The Juice - All Disco Dance Must End In Broken Bones
  12. Bob Dylan: Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - The Essential Bob Dylan
  13. Coco Rosie: Trinity's Crying - Grey Oceans
  14. Mo Kenney: Eden - Eden/Great Escape
  15. Tabla Beat Science: Triangular Objects - Tala Matrix
  16. Billie Holiday: Stormy Weather - The Unique Billie Holiday
  17. Ed Sullivan: How Are Things In Glocca Morra? (From "Finian's Rainbow") - Songs of Ireland
  18. Daedelus: Fair Weather Friends - Love To Make Music To
  19. Bobby Darin: Mack The Knife - Beyond The Sea/Mack The Knife
  20. The White Stripes: Red Rain - Get Behind Me Satan
  21. Amon Amarth: Across The Rainbow Bridge - Versus The World
  22. Kazumi Totaka: Rainy Day - Animal Crossing GC OST
  23. Santiago Navascues: Gaspar Sanz: Twelve Dances from "Instrucción de Música Sobre la Guitarra Española" - Music For The Spanish Guitar
  24. Robert Lax: Various - Wake up re:lax
  25. Nautical Almanac: Istomonography - Cisum
  26. Rainy Season Sounds - Sounds of a Tropical Rain Forest in America
  27. Carpet Musics: Hail Storm - Weekday
  28. Ravi Shankar: Raga Kaushi Kanhara: Gat in Dhamar - Full Circle Carnegie Hall 2000
  29. Bonnie Pink: It's gonna rain! - Rurouni Kenshin Themes
  30. Red Sea Pedestrians: Golden Apple - The Electromagnetic Escape
  31. Osibisa: Seaside Meditation - Welcome Home
  32. The Andrews Sisters: Rum & Coca-Cola - Rum & Coca-Cola/Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy
  33. The Supremes: The Lady Is A Tramp - The Supremes Sing Rodgers & Hart
  34. Rafael Mendez: The Little Russian Donkey - Magnificent Mendez
  35. Madeleine Peyroux: California Rain - Half The Perfect World
  36. The Carpenters: Superstar - Superstar/Beasts & Children
  37. Himadari: Lucid Lure + Ah, Elektra - Himadari
  38. Trio Mediaeval: Nu solen går ned (The sun is setting) - Folk Songs
  39. Faze Action: Là-bas c'est naturel - I <3 Serge
  40. Regina Spektor: Raindrops - (unreleased demo)
  41. Cookie Monster and the Girls: Me Lost Me Cookie At The Disco - Sesame Disco
  42. E. Koestyara and Group Gapura: Sangkala - Sangkala
Good things:
  1. Rum & Coca-Cola: I bought this gem at the NXNE Record Fair, and I hadn't listened to it before bringing it to you guys, so this was as much a surprise for me as (possibly) you. Can't wait to play Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy sometime.
  2. Cookie Monster: I think this was a pretty nice way to wrap up the show. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for die Discothek now. 
  3. Ladysmith Black Mambazo: I've been listening to this record for the past week quite a lot, and I keep falling in love with it. I'm really happy I got to share it with you guys. You'll probably hear it again. 
Bad things: 
  1. Pauses: I don't think they were tooo long, but there were a few pauses that I didn't have a handle on because I was previewing the next song to play, and just lost my head. That'll teach me not to drink coffee before coming to the station.
  2. Yawning: Sorry about this. Maybe you don't care, but if we were having a conversation and I kept yawning like I was, that would just be flat-out rude, and not my style. Was this distracting for you?
  3. Trio Mediaeval: I just wasn't digging this. The recording was too quiet, and it was just a bit languid for where this was in the set. 
Thanks a lot for listening, and please give me some feedback if you have any! Or even just say hey. Until next week! 

Monday, June 18, 2012

Freestailo #37 - 6/8/12

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #37 Here

Hey gang.

This show had its ups and downs, I'm not going to lie. There were moments where I was screaming in the studio because I thought that the Hellmouth had opened up to swallow my radio show.

The real story of why WCBN is in the basement of the Student Activities building.
Anyway, despite all of that, I ended up really enjoying my show. I had a couple of really encouraging callers, and especially towards the end of the show I started to really get into a groove.

[Artist: Song - Album]
  1. Jody Miller: Under Your Spell Again - Sings the great hits of Buck Owens
  2. Claude Nougaro: Le Gardien de Phare - Nougayork
  3. The Macpodz: 9 Lives - The Truth EP
  4. Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Band: Venzinatiko - Alkohol
  5. Flaco Jimenez: Por Una Mujer Bonita - Flaco Jimenez
  6. The Chemical Brothers: A Modern Midnight Conversation - We Are The Night
  7. Bernard Herrmann: Twisted Nerve - Kill Bill Vol. 1
  8. Radiohead: Motion Picture Soundtrack - Kid A
  9. Hajime Wakai, etc.: Theme of Skyward Sword ~Ballad of the Goddess~ - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
  10. DJ Spooky: Ibid, désmarches, ibid - Optometry
  11. Messer Chups: Satan Jeans - Crazy Price
  12. Laximikant Pyarelal: Aa Jaane Jaan - Bollywood Bloodbath
  13. Mortician: Zombie Apocalypse - Zombie Apocalypse
  14. Vladimir Horowitz: Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 1 - Horowitz Plays Chopin
  15. The Button Pushers: Music To Shoot People To - Music For 8-Bit Video Games
  16. Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Mvt. 1: Rêveries, Passions - Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
  17. Caspian: Ghost of the Garden City - Tertia
  18. Emeralds: Diotima - Emeralds
  19. Pentangle: Meat On The Bone - Think Of Tomorrow
  20. The Terraplanes: She Loves Me - Peak Performance
  21. The Klezmatics: Ergets Shtil/Baym Taykh (Softly Somewhere/At The River) - The Well
  22. Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra: Three Orchestral Pieces: Präludium - Berg: Violin Concerto, etc.
  23. Billie Holiday: I love you Porgy - Greatest Hits Vol. 1
  24. Single Cell Orchestra: Heaven Knows (Twitch Mix) - The Liberated EP
  25. Ralph Thamar: Les enfants du soleil - Ralph Thamar
  26. Rasputina: 1816, The Year Without A Summer - Oh Perilous World
  27. Cinematic Orchestra: Brotherhood - The Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble
  28. Radiohead: Lozenge of Love - Lost Treasures 1993-1997
  29. The Mabuses: Tiger Lilies - Mabused!
  30. Coppé: Watch Radio - Mercury
  31. Goblin: Suspiria - Suspiria
  32. Mark Kirschenmann: SilverSkyScape - The Bionic Trumpet
  33. Klaus Schultze: Irrlicht, I. Satz: Ebene - The Essential
  34. Nawal: Salama (Peace) - Aman
  35. Cat Power: He Turns Down - Moon Pix
  36. Cat Scientist: Cicada - Cicada
  37. Solvent: Mitgang Audio Remix - Radio Ga Ga Pt. 2
He Turns Up:
  1.  Suspiria: I had no idea what to expect with this (as with 70% of the soundtrack section), and I think this was probably the highlight of the show for me. I can't wait to listen to the rest of the soundtrack, and I really want to watch the movie now. 
  2.  Twisted Nerve: This is always good, and always makes me want to watch Kill Bill. 
  3. The Mabuses: I pulled this at random because of the cool cover, and I liked it way more than I thought! Will be playing this again. All of the tracks sound really different, and are all a lot of fun. 
He Turns Down:
  1. Radiohead debacle: Yeah I'm so sorry about that. *shrugs* Oh well. 
  2. My way of words: I have no idea what I was saying tonight guys. Apparently I was a huge mess. Haha. I don't think it was too terrible, but definitely not my best composure on a show. 
 See you next week.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Freestailo #36 - 6/1/12

Right Click/Ctrl-Click to Download Freestailo #36 Here

Guten Tag, meine Freude! Wie geht's?

So I was looking up pictures for this blog post, and because I few songs were German, and I've been wanting to go to Heidelberg here in Ann Arbor, I decided to give you many pictures of German bar maids carrying copious amounts of Bier. Magst du das? Auch, wer will trinken viel Bier mit mir am Donnerstag? Vielleicht nicht.

This show (despite being only slightly German), was pretty dark, compared to my usual shows. I blame it on the rain, and honestly, I think it was pretty perfect for a rainy day. I even had a caller affirm my feelings, so thanks dude. There was lots of German schtuff, metal, and lots of weird ambient music, and I had a pretty good time of it. What do you think?

This show was one of those days where I realized when radio is truly relevant in my life, because when you're listening to internet radio, or a CD you like, you can only get a certain feeling. When you're listening to the radio, the DJ can change how they feel at any second, and often will be feeling similar things to what you are feeling, especially in lieu of shitty weather.

Anyway, onto the playlist!

[Artist: Song - Album]
  1. Aretha Franklin: Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning - Aretha Sings The Blues
  2. Les Satellites: La Basse L'a Rendu Fou - Riches Et Célebres 
  3. Gipsy Kings: Canto A Brazil - Compas
  4. Freeze Puppy: June On TV - Animation
  5. Kill Memory Crash: Crash V8 - Kill Memory Crash
  6. Kassav': Bolero - Kassav'
  7. Benny Goodman: Oh, Lady Be Good! - The Complete Small Combinations
  8. IAYD: Red Giants (Pts I & II) + Like A Phoenix - Like A Phoenix
  9. Hanzel und Gretyl: ich bin über alles - über alles
  10. Rammstein: Sonne - Sonne EP
  11. Carpet Musics: sleeping (on trains) - Weekday
  12. Taraf de Haïdouks: Bartok: Ostinato & Romanian Dance - Maskarada
  13. Sigur Rós: Dögun - Von
  14. Anthony and the Camp: How Many Lovers (a capella) - How Many Lovers
  15. Zach Hill & Mick Barr: Lakes in Space - Shred Earthship
  16. Sigur Rós: Hafssól - Von
  17. Radioinactive: Pyramidi - Mush filmstrip (frame 1)
  18. Gotan Project: triptico - la revancha del tango
  19. Stevie Wonder: Happy Birthday - Hotter Than July
  20. Ruth Wallis: My Children Are My Treasure - Love Is For The Birds
  21. Jean-Jacques Goldman: C'est ta chance - Traces
  22. Baloji w/Konono No. 1: Karibu Ya Bintou - Kinshasa Succursale
  23. Rare Air: Treebranch - Space Piper
  24. Mariza: Boa Noite Solidão - Fado Tradicional
  25. Black Joe Lewis: Please Pt. Two - Tell 'Em What Your Name Is
  26. Coldcut: Just For The Kick - Sound Mirrors
  27. Maya Angelou: Sepia Fashion Show - Black Pearls
  28. Mamud Band: Zombie - Opposite People the Music of Fela Kuti
  29. J Dilla: Body Movin' - The Shining
  30. Fra Fra Sound: Mampira - Dutch World 2005
  31. Yma Sumac: Chuncho - Yma Sumac Recital
  32. Terrorizer: Dead Shall Rise '06 - Darker Days Ahead
  33. The Scammers: Sally's Walk - All System Are Go Go
  34. Takako Minekawa: Never/More - Roomic Cube
  35. Towa Tei: Technova - Future Listening!
  36. Smoke City: O Cara Lindo (Mr. Gorgeous) - Onda Sonora
Lady Be Good:
  1.  Dögun/Lovers/Lakes Layer/Hafssól: This was probably one of the darkest pieces I've done in a long time, and definitely the noisiest. And when I mean noise, I do not mean that negatively. There was a whole lot of stimulation in this, and I did a lot of playing with the turntable as well, going fast and slow and backwards, etc.
  2. Kill Memory Crash: Wow I didn't know I would like this so much. This is beautiful. I want all of it.
  3. Rammstein: I love me some Rammstein. This takes me back to high school. I'll have you know I had the speakers turned up as loud as I could stand in the station. 
Lady Be Bad:
  1. Goldman: I'm sorry for anyone who liked this, but this is really not my bag. I also think it kind of put the show in a weird lull. What do you think?
  2.  Towa Tei: Eh. This was OK. I have a fairly neutral opinion of Towa Tei after I grabbed a bargain CD at the WFMU Record Fair, so maybe I need to reassess my opinions to be unbiased...
  3. Freeze Puppy: This wasn't as good as the cover led me to believe, with it's cartoon boy and cartoon boy with a cartoon frisbee playing outside. 
See you next week!