Along the American roadside.

For the last six years, I’ve travelled around the Mid-Atlantic States in order to do my job. A few years ago, I got a digital camera and began taking pictures along the way. I began noticing odd shops and signs along the road and began capturing these with the camera. My avatar is one of those signs. Here’s another sign I found on a closed retail store near Dayton, Ohio. I have no idea what this place sold, but I would guess it was knick-knacks of some sort. I spent thirteen years running my own retail store and have spent much of my current job in marketing and sales. I have always wondered who thought this would be a good name for a store. It would not be my first choice.

Doing a Radio Shift

Once or twice a year, I have the good fortune to enter a college radio station and be the DJ for an air shift. I’ve documented a few shows I’ve done here on this blog. If you get the chance to spend some time on the air, and you get to call your own shots with the tunes, I recommend taking some time to prepare for your adventure. In fact, I recommend taking about an hour or so a day for the previous week to really prepare. That’s pretty much what I did for a recent shift that is documented in the playlist below this post. I spent time thinking about what I wanted to play, then I compiled several CDs of music to make the work less hectic. Here’s how to start.

First, what do you want to do on the air? Most folks want to play the tunes they like. Guess what? Many of those songs may not be easy to find at the radio station you visit. In fact, they may not even be on hand at all. A week before your on-air moment, start compiling band names, album names and “must play” song titles. On my recent shift, I was inspired to have some sort of theme. That morphed into a show featuring three hours of power pop. You can’t play everything, so concentrating on a style or era can help you focus on doing a smooth show.

After compiling that list of bands and albums, start jotting down song titles that you want to play. Review the list to determine if a theme is already apparent, then start tossing those songs that just don’t fit. Keep adding, reviewing and deciding on what can fit. Once you have a decent size list, start collecting these tunes together so they are handy to play in the air studio.

I have a large collection of CDs and LPs, and about 12,000 songs as MP3 files. It is easy to compile playlists on your computer then burn these to a CD for the show. If you go this route, make sure you use decent quality MP3 files. I rip my CDs at 256 kbps and have many other files that are a variable bit rate (VBR). These can be a decent quality for on-air. I compile a group of tunes to burn onto a CD as audio files, which can be key factor in the success of your shift. Not all radio stations have compact disc players that can play MP3 files. The DJ that followed me recently came in with a bunch of MP3 files on CD, but no way to put those files through the audio board and over the airwaves. So take the time to make audio CDs of the songs you want to play. Choose a burn rate that is slow as some CD players can be finicky in playing home CDs that have been burned quickly. Lastly, assemble more music than what you have time to play. This can give you more latitude when you get in the studio and go on-air. For my most recent shift, I burned four CDs of material covering almost five hours of time for a three hour show. It is always better to have more than what you need in radio.

Once you have made your audio discs, don’t forget to print out a list of the contents. This will really help when you are trying to find those songs. When the big day arrives, go a little early so you can spend some time to search out a few songs in the radio station archives that you didn’t have in the home collection. At this point, you will be very comfortable walking into the air studio with your handy library of tunes. It will be easy to augment your shift with other music on hand, but the songs you brought will make your shift much easier and more enjoyable.

I recall toting a box of vinyl and CDs to spin for a radio shift many years ago. Sure, it may have been more spontaneous, but the amount of effort getting the stuff there and back home was draining. Making that handful of homemade audio CDs with track listings simplifies the process and gives you some new discs to play in the car of give family and friends.

Have fun on your next air shift!

A Power Pop Morning on U92 FM

I was able to pull a shift on the local college radio station today. I decided on a Power Pop theme and spent most of the day before in preparation. It all paid off on a smooth show. Here's the playlist. Gaps are for the stopsets.

9:00 am
Ramones – Rock & Roll Radio
Windbreakers – Time Machine

Elton Motello - Get The Guy
The Producers – What’s He Got?
Fingerprintz - Close Circuit Connection
the Flamin' Groovies - Gonna Rock Tonite

The Wonders – That Thing You Do
Fountains Of Wayne - Survival Car
Speedies – Time
The Hoodoo Gurus - (Let's All) Turn On
XTC – Ten Feet Tall

Blotto - I Wanna Be a Lifeguard
Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World
Brian Stevens – Comets

The Creation - How Does It Feel To Feel
Sloan - Step On It, Jean
Redd Kross - Pretty Please Me

10:00 AM
Off Broadway - Stay In Time
Cheap Trick - On the Radio

Elvis Brothers - Santa Fe
Material Issue - She's Going Through My Head
Velvet Crush - Hold Me Up
Brendan Benson – Metarie

Brinsley Schwarz - (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding
Dave Edmunds - I Got The Will
Rockpile - If Sugar Was as Sweet as You
Nick Lowe - So It Goes

Bram Tchaikovsky - Girl of My Dreams
The Records - Starry Eyes
The 101ers - Keys To Your Heart

The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
Marc Bolan & T. Rex - Metal Guru
The Rezillos - Flying Saucer Attack
Sweet – Action

11:00 am
The Nerves - Hanging On The Telephone
The Plimsouls - Everywhere at Once
The Beat - Rock & Roll Girl

The Detroit Cobras - Right Around The Corner
Jason Falkner – Miss Understanding
The Green Pajamas - Kim The Waitress
Shake Some Action! - Sound Of Your Mind

The dB's - I'm in Love
Sneakers - S'il Vous Plait
Mitch Easter - Time Warping

The Individuals - My Three Sons (Revolve Around The Earth)
The Bongos - In the Congo
Chris Mars – Popular Creeps

The Members - Working Girl
Dirty Looks - Let Go The Police - It's Alright for You

The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon

A Busy Summer Winding Down

I can't believe Labor Day 2008 is just ahead. This summer has been a whirlwind of activity. I made a CD comp for a friend the other day and have become attached to it for road tunes so I will need to burn him another. Here's the song line-up:

Andy Partridge - My Train Is Coming
Fetchin’ Bones - Chicken Truck
Reckless Sleepers - It Came Quick (And It Didn’t Stay Long)
Elton Motello - Get the Guy
The Flys - Love and a Molotov Cocktail
Graham Parker & the Rumour - Saturday Night Is Dead
Dave Edmunds - The Claw
The Health & Happiness Show - Engine Engine
Rank & File - The Conductor Wore Black
Tenpole Tudor - Throwing My Baby Out With the Bathwater
Jason Falkner - The Neighbor
Jona Lewie – (You’ll Always Find Me) In the Kitchen at Parties
Pylon - M-Train
Wild Tchoupitoulas - Meet the Boys on the Battlefront
The Beat - The Kids Are the Same
Rocket From The Tombs - Sonic Reducer
Squeeze - Out Of Control
Shake Some Action! - Sound of Your Mind
The Oranges Band - My Street
Translator - Un-Alone
Ultravox - Young Savage (Live)

Some old stuff, some new stuff, and quite a bit of obscure stuff. It's all fun and it rocks! Which makes it great for the road.

Playlists for CDs

I've been messing around with a bunch of old tunes recently. I've enjoyed making a few mix CDs. I know it's not really 'cool' to restrict a playlist to 70-some minutes of music in this iPod day, but what the hell. I'm a retro kind of guy as it is. To prove this, just take a look at the following playlist I've burned to play in my car. I did my very first radio shift back in January 1980. This CD reflects what was available back then.

January 1980: I Am a DJ, I Am What I Play

1. The Damned - New Rose
2. The Dickies – You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla)
3. The Soft Boys – (I Want to Be An) Anglepoise Lamp
4. The Revillos – Someone’s Gonna Get Their Had Kicked In Tonight
5. Roxy Music – Amazona
6. Fingerprintz – Hey Mr. Smith
7. XTC - Statue of Liberty
8. Sparks - Amateur Hour
9. Peter Gabriel - On The Air
10. Buzzcocks – Autonomy
11. Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers - Born to Loose
12. Clash – Career Opportunities
13. Iggy Pop – Success
14. Modern Lovers - I'm Straight
15. Pere Ubu - Ubu Dance Party
16. Bill Nelson’s Red Noise - Revolt Into Style
17. MC5 - the American Ruse
18. Flamin' Groovies - Teenage Head
19. Wire - I Feel Mysterious Today?
20. 801 – Third Uncle
21. Ultravox - Young Savage
22. Eddie Cochran - Somethin' Else
23. T. Rex – Ride A White Swan
24. The Jam – Down in the Tube Station at Midnight

It all fits with eight seconds to spare!

Boy does this music bring back great memories!

Wow....

I guess it's been a few months since I've done anything here. I've got something brewing, so this should change soon.

Thoughts on the Neon Bible, and other delights.

I've given the new Arcade Fire several spins in the last week and have been pretty impressed. Several reviews have keyed in on some vocal comparisions with Bruce Springsteen and his Born to Run era. There is one cut in particular where the vocals are reminiscent of Springsteen. "(Antichrist Television Blues)" may evoke the Boss, but it goes back further than that. During his Born To Run days, let's remember that Springsteen was hailed as a new Bob Dylan. When you consider that, I hear some "Subterranean Homesick Blues" influence to this Arcade Fire cut. Of course, Dylan had his influences, chiefly Woody Guthrie. Woody picked up much of his style from travels across the country listening to the songs of displaced Oklahoma farmers and blues belters in small honky-tonks out near the crossroads. Guess what? That is rock and roll folks. The past is redone and renewed to present a new sound for the present that will someday be redone in the future.

"(Antichrist Television Blues)" is but one cut of eleven on the Arcade Fire album. I hear the tones of Ian McCullough of Echo & the Bunnymen on several cuts more so than the Boss. I also hear a familiar bass sound on "No Cars Go" that reminds me of Joy Division. Two cuts feature pipe organ, which is not typical of a rock album. I think it is done quite well on both and is especially exemplary on "Intervention". There are times when the album does get overblown and a bit heavy. I especially like the last cut, "My Body is a Cage", but I have tired of the arrangement. Now when it plays, I imagine an acoustic blues guitar weeping in the background and the sound of a Tom Waits-ian pump organ burbling like someone is playing the hell out of it in the basement of a house four doors down the street.

I like this album. There is a lot to it and I pick up something else almost every time I listen. The songs are pretty well crafted and while the production does goes over the top a bit, it doesn't collapse under it's own weight. It's pretty decent and worth the investment. I got mine from eMusic for about $4.40 (20 cents a tune).

I also got another new album from eMusic when I downloaded the Arcade Fire album. Persuaded by a few posts by a friend and buoyed by interesting reviews, I picked up the latest from Field Music. I've spun this about as many times as the Arcade Fire album and am equally impressed, if not more so. This is a well honed and crafted album of pop gems. I was seriously impressed and the album has kept my interest in the car and at work. There are elements of many bands you may be familiar with. XTC comes to mind easily, but I hear some of the La's, Squeeze, and many other college rock classics.

As good as both of these albums are, I keep returning to one I got in January. On a recent trip to Akron I was spinning this in the car and the lyrics hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been sucked in by the catchy tunes and sing-along choruses, but now I listened to the lyrics more closely than I had. Wow. Now I was completely blown away.
The sixth cut is what did it. Here's what popped out at me and made me focus on the rest of the lyrics::

I've been cast away,
Lost and friendless today.
I made a name for myself when one could do such a thing.
A reputation that's held together by a string.
And so I chose to cherish those who think there is some purity,
To fading in to obscurity.

That would be "Fading into Obscurity" by Sloan from their latest album, Never Hear the End of It. Good God, this is an incredible album. There are many fine cuts sprinkled across the thirty songs packed into this album. As good as Arcade Fire and Field Music are, I think Sloan beats the duo by a long shot. They have been around for a while now and have really grown in their collective songwriting talents. If you have an appreciation for college rock of the last couple of decades, then you really need to check out this album. This is a rare moment of a band at or near the peak of their talents. They could well be gone in a few years, so hop on board the Sloan wagon and let this thing rock your world.