Webcast info for August 18, 2018

I will be out of town this weekend, so in my absence we will present a rerun of my tribute to the heat from August 1, 2015. This was a pretty eclectic program with every thing from usual suspects like Monk and Coltrane to some Janáček from the then recently departed Ivan Moravec to some film noir music to a bunch of pop songs to a jazz cover of Led Zeppelin.

Stay cool.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for August 11, 2018

Another rainy day here in Somerville. This show is also livened up a live event happening just outside the window, overheard during the first two mic breaks.

Musically, we have a bit less jazzy show than the last two or three. We dip back in to a few albums that have been recently featured, and another couple of items from that box over by the window I've been sorting through the last month.

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See the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for August 4, 2018

Pretty much a jazz show for this hot, rain-soaked summer day. Playing a few items, if not necessarily new, new to the Unpopular Music library. (and a couple of things from albums I may go back to too often.) Also, live Googling (at least, acknowledged live Googling,)

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see the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for July 28, 2018

Some music for a beautiful summer's day (at least where I was.)

The usual jazzy/freeform mix. A couple of Latin and Afro bits. A jazzy trombone concerto. Punk/jazz/disco. A variety show perhaps.





See the playlist after the break...

Hal Willner talks about the variety show

On last night's episode of Morricone Island on WFMU, noted hero of the blog Hal Willner used the term "variety show" while speaking with host Devon E. Levins about the "extravagant, cross-genre" tribute albums he's produced over the last four decades or so, as well as the episodes of "Night Music" he produced around 1990.¹ I may start using that term to describe the webcast, as they are directly influenced by these albums.

Willner was promoting a live presentation of the first of those albums, "Amarcord Nino Rota," which is happening in New York this week, but also talked about his entry into his unique spot in the music biz, as well as some of the other albums he's produced. All around an interesting program.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for July 21, 2018

Pretty much a jazz show this week, with much of the variety that word contains. There are a couple of poppy things, and a little piano strumming from when that sort of thing was new.

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See the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for July 14, 2018

Today we return to the studio with the usual mish-mash of things jazzy and not. A tune is played after being referenced in another. An artist gets played after another group plays one of his tunes. A plea is made to support Cuneiform Records in their time of need. The microphone is bumped into on more than one occasion. Composed/conductor Oliver Knussen is remembered. A song from over thirty years ago describes the week's news. Something for everyone.

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See the playlist after the break...

Webcast info for July 7, 2018

not a recent photo from Boston

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I'm called out of town this weekend, so today we will be presenting an encore presentation of the episode from August 26, 2017.

If you recall (and I'm sure you do), I was feeling a bit lazy and uninspired, partly because of the hot weather of that week, which, after this week's clock melting weather, I would surely laugh at now.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for June 30, 2018

Today it music for people who think it's too hot to go outside and would rather stay in and listen to the internet. We have a typically jazzy first hour which includes two tenor sax-piano-drums trios from differing vintages. The  second hour becomes a bit percussion dominated, but moves toward some summertime sounds.

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Check it out after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for June 23, 2018

Today we try to break the usual rhythm with a program with basically two second hours. (I'm still a little low-energy.) Both sets are relatively jazzy with a couple of invocations of summer thrown in. Many tracks are kind of long (you've been warned.)

Unintentional connecting thread - groups with multiples of the same instruments.

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See for yourself after the break,,,

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for June 16, 2018

My somewhat triumphant return to the studio after a holiday/medically inspired absence.

The ususal jazzy first hour, with a grab-bag second hour which starts with a marking of Bloomsday for all you James Joyce fans.

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See for yourself after the break...

Webcast info for June 2, 2018 and June 9, 2018

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 Um, hello.

I don't know if anyone noticed, but I missed last week's program because I was in the emergency room. The June 24, 2017 episode was played instead.

I'll have to miss this week's program as I am recovering from surgery (nothing too bad, I assure.) The October 31, 2015 will be rebroadcast. Of course I hesitated a bit before choosing it, but as I recall, there aren't too many actual Hallowe'en references, otherwise there were some interesting selections on order. Plus, I like messing with people's senses of time.

I'm putting myself at 50/50 for next week. Watch this space.

Webcast info for May 26, 2018

The Somerville Media Center is closed for Memorial Day Weekend and I'm not around anyway, so today Boston Free Radio will rebroadcast the September 30, 2017 episode of Unpopular Music which I feel like I've replayed before, but I can't prove it.

If that's not enough, there's also the old Memorial Day episode from 2014 (plus profanity laden Sun Ra centennial set)

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for May 19, 2018

Who else brings you Sly Stone and Darius Milhaud?

We have our usual jazzy first hour/freeform second. We get nostalgic for 18 hours ago with some of the tunes played by Broken Shadows at the Regattabar last night. There's also a pair of selections written by Ennio Morricone along with some long pieces by David Lang and the aforementioned M. Milhaud, plus a bunch of this and that.

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Check out the playlist after the break...

webcast info for May 12, 2018

Off to visit Mom this weekend, so will be presenting the April 16, 2016 episode.

This was a pretty eclectic program, and includes one fantastically eclectic piece of music in particular which helped set me down this eclectic music listening path which led me to you.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for May 5, 2018

Today we do our usual jazzy/freeform configuration. We have a couple of selections from the late Bob Dorough (neither scholastic nor rockin') plus something you may consider a Cinco de Mayo Set, but you don't really have to.)

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See the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for April 28, 2018

I feel pretty good about this week's program, much more than last week. We have the usual first hour/second hour jazzy/freeform divide. I advocate for the alto-with-two-tenor sax line-up. There's even some new releases. The second hour has contrast with continuity and a couple of tracks from albums I hadn't listened to in years that were as good as I remember them.

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See for yourself after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for April 21, 2018

A workable program for a week where I was short of inspiration. jazzy and a bit noisy in the first hour, a little bit electronic and (perhaps a little too) subdued in the second

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See for yourself after the break

The Pulitzer Prize crosses the Rubicon (and I feel fine)

Hmmm, so the Pulitzer Prize is not just for unpopular music anymore.

I must say I'm not all that familiar with Mr. Lamar's music¹, and the little I've heard hasn't really piqued my curiosity. Should I feel obliged to listen further? We'll see.

I must say, though, that I am glad to see the committee continue their trek away from the Ivory Tower over the last decade or so. Since they've been giving awards to jazz musicians lately, I'm glad to see recognition spread to other new areas. And I suppose it's good that the Pulitzers can relate to African-American culture other than through honoring newspaper coverage of horrible things that happen there.

(Also, unlike my beef when Henry Threadgill won about giving the award to the record, not the composition itself, I'm confident that DAMN. was conceived as a piece of recorded music.)

At least they know better than to give an award to Bon Jovi.<sup>2

1</sup>Yes, I pretty much do live under a rock these days.
²We do however congratulate Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe on their induction to that dubious institution.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for April 14, 2018

We spend today's webcast not overly contemplating the brief appearance of spring (this Friday and Saturday ONLY!!!! (Update: not only did the temperature drop as Saturday went along, it was snowing for a while as I was editing the archive version on Sunday morning)), but paying tribute to pianist/composer/poet/dancer/philosopher of music/other Cecil Taylor, who died in time for me to pay tribute to him last week had I heard the news in time (ie. before the webcast.) (Here's Ethan Iverson's tribute.) Stretching the limits of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (and being fairly certain he won't show up on Geek Love) we'll have a Cecil track in each half hour.



Otherwise, we have a jazzy show, some so-called "desert blues," some jazzy new music, a leftover from the Rite of Spring show a few weeks back, and more.

See the playlist (plus some notes, and some more thoughts on Cecil Taylor) after the break...