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Sunday, August 31, 2014

No. 1 for August 31, 2014

tUnE-yArDs In Concert

From NPR's Front Row series, Merrill Garbus and her current associates recorded at June 13, 2014 Washington DC's 9:30 club. A fine performance, mostly drawn from her new album Nikki Nack. It made me wish we wish I was there.

Check it out here. 

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Webcast info for August 30, 2014

Since the SCATV building is closed and I'll be doing some traveling, today's webcast will be a rerun of the June 7th program. You can find the playlist here. This program apparently ran a little bit short, so I was able to squeeze in a Labor Day bonus track from Billy Bragg, There Is Power in a Union from the mystery live set that replaces the DVD's when you download the Billy Bragg Vol. 1 box set from emusic.

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Labor Day Weekend preview

Market Basket on Somerville Ave, at 2:30, Saturday afternoon August 9, 2014
Labor Day has a bona fide labor victory to celebrate this year. Lost in coverage of the seeming cult of personality around "Artie T." was that one of the things apparently at stake here is a good old-fashioned defined benefits pension program. So congratulations are in order to the workers and also the store-level management (who, let's face it, probably have a better shot at said pensions) for standing up to the corporate greed mongers. The picture above is one result of their action, the much-beloved Somerville Ave Market Basket, that on a Saturday afternoon would normally be overflowing with cars and shoppers. looking pretty much barren.

UPDATE - This, of course, doesn't mean they get to take Labor Day off.

The larger point being, Boston Free Radio's home base, Somerville Community Access Television, closes up shop for the holiday weekend, so this Saturday, no live show, and this time no pre-recorded show either but a rerun of the June 7th episode.

Top 6 for August 28, 2014

Don't know how long I can keep this up, but here goes...

Dvorák's Slavonic Dance Op. 46 No. 1 played by Rafael Kubelik and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks

I've often referred to this very vigorous performance of these Romantic Era chestnuts as "the Slavonic Slamdances". A good way to get the blood pumping early in the morning, I tells ya.

Lula - Barney Brigard, Benny Carter and Ben Webster

From BBB, this group of 30's jazz legends recorded in the 60's, playing in the past and present tenses simultaneously, that is, playing old school without nostalgia.

Jodi by The Dodos

A rockin' little tune I downloaded off a free sampler somewhere.

Dart Night at the Willow by the Charlie Kohlhase Quintet

Commemorating the loss of their weekly gig at the Willow Jazz Club to said activity, some furious blowing by the horns in the band - Matt Langley on alto, John Carlson on trumpet and the leader on baritone.

Semi-Simple Variations by the Bad Plus

A knotty piano piece by Milton Babbitt (although far from his knottiest) arranged for jazz piano trio. From the album For All I Care. There's a video, too!



The Rock Concert: Madison WI, April 9, 2005 by the Jazz Passengers

Sponsored by  the University of Wisconsin-Madison Geology Museum to celebrate the Univeristy's possesion of one of the oldest pieces of rock known to exist, this hour long works tells a very shaggy-dog story about the rock's origins in 1950's Brooklyn. A randomly found edition of WFMU's Miniature Minotaurs program. Check it out here.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Top 3 for August 27, 2014

Again today, because consist... oh shut up about that.

Bud Powell  - Chick Corea and Gary Burton

From In Concert - Zurich, October 28, 1979. Recorded, oh... right
Chick's knotty little tune to one of bebop's greats gets a cool but swinging performance in cool but swinging Zurich.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Top 5 for August 26, 2014

Haven't done this in a while, but, you know, ... last refuge, blah, blah, blah.

Red Planet  - Eric Dolphy 

from The Illinois Concert, 1963  with a young Herbie Hancock on piano and an Africa Brass type brass ensemble.

Abe Lincoln - Best Friends Forever

from their self titled album. Always intrigued by this band's naive and rough vocals (some dawgs would call it pitchy), but really tight instrumental skills and arrangements.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Playlist for the Unpopular Music web cast for August 23, 2014

I once heard the pianist Larry Willis make a zen-like remark about how when you are playing jazz, you are playing a song, but also not playing it at the same time. Think of that while listening to the second hour of the program.



If you want the playlist, you can find it after the break...

liner note nostalgia

While making an mp3 from this record for today's show, I reread the liner notes for Branford Marsalis' Random Abstract written by his younger brother, album producer, and one-time down-the-hall-neighbor of the blog Delfayo Marsalis, and was reminded, not without nostalgia I'll admit, of the self-confident bullshit one can pour out regarding a subject one feels strongly about when one is in his or her early twenties. (not that he's wrong, necessarily, about any of this.) The paragraph below is a typical example of an attitude common around Famous Music College (site of said hallway) at this time (the late 80's). (At that time your opinion on fusion could either bond or antagonize people the way your opinion on, say, Obamacare for example, will today.)

Friday, August 22, 2014

preview for Saturday's webcast


Oscar Wilde once said "Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative." Will tomorrow's webcast be more consistent than its usual ad hoc nature? Possibly yes, possibly no.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Playlist for the Unpopular Music webcast for August 16, 2014

Bum a ride on the omnibus of art with today's playlist.

Today's opening is taken from Roger Corman's beatnik murder tale A Bucket of Blood. It's a hoot and a holler daddy-o, like wow you know. Here's the complete film. It's barely over an hour long and makes for good rainy-day entertainment.



The show ends with a remembrance of Robin Williams. Despite some of his corny, hammy and maudlin performances, I always remained a fan (I went as Mork for Halloween in 1979, or so, after all).



Become closer to immortality after the break...

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Playlist for the Unpopular Music webcast for August 9, 2014

Hello,

I should blog more. I know.



There is, however, a playlist beyond the break...


Find another playlist to be part of

 
 I saw a link this morning to this article at Esquire.com called "10 Protest Songs to Remember Richard Nixon", marking the 40th anniversary of his resignation. It starts out well with an overlooked Stevie Wonder song and the obvious Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young one before going off the rails with Elton John's nostalgia piece for his early career and a love song to George Wallace which happens to mention Watergate in passing. (I'll even admit the James Taylor one isn't half bad).

Friday, August 1, 2014

Webcast info for August 2, 2014

Since I am out of town for most of this week we're playing a rerun of the April 26 webcast.

For whatever reason, this program has accumulated more views than any other playlist, so to satiate whoever is checking this out, here's a chance to listen.

On a similar note, I've been going through the previous programs, preparing them for archiving on the the site. Hopefully they'll start showing up in a week or two.

Thanks for listening.