Webcast info for January 28, 2017

I'm out of town this weekend, so this week you are treated to a classic episode from the archives, in particular the program from September 17th, 2016. It features some long pieces, as I was feeling lazy that week, and also some explorations of jazz and classical connections, with mixed success.

Anyway, see you next week.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for January 21, 2017

A bit of a grab-bag today. I had some things I was going to say, but then I didn't. I thought of some others and kinda babbled them out. Wait. I shouldn't be down on myself like this. This show is awesome! Be super cool like me and listen to it. You'll thank yourself later.

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See the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for January 14, 2017

Here's a pretty loosely assembled program for you this week. It was kind of a low energy week for me. I tried not to repeat too many albums from last week, but, you know how things are.

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Also, abrupt endings and tape hiss.

See for yourself after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for January 7, 2017

The first webcast of the new year finds us waiting for in a snowstorm with the now somewhat typical raucous first hour, contemplative, yet not, as I attempt to say, somnambulant second hour.

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See the playlist after the break...

webcast info for December 31, 2016

If all goes well, you'll be enjoying a rebroadcast of the program from November 7, 2015.

I forget whatever caused the crisis the destroyed my composure for the opening mic break, but I recall it all turning out alright.

If all continues to go well, we'll have a new show next Saturday.

Happy New Year!

webcast info for December 24, 2016

No live webcast today as the SCATV compound is closed, and I'm off to the homestead regardless.

If all systems go there will be a rebroadcast of the December 19, 2015, last year's Unpopular Christmas episode, which had some technical disasters issues resulting in (at least) the first mic break not getting recorded, and one selection I instantly regretted, so it is highly edited (as promised) with some bonus material at the end.

If that's not enough, there is also the Unpopular Christmas episode from December 20, 2014.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for December 17, 2016

A show for folks dressed up like Eskimos, about more or less half Christmas music (and that's if you count as Christmas songs certain songs that are not Christmas songs but are actually about winter, but are only ever to be played before Christmas, which is only around the fifth day of winter.)

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see the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for December 10, 2016

Holiday festivities in the SCATV compound provide some extra ambience, but they don't infiltrate the webcast (well, there's some of Messiaen's Christmas music, but you wouldn't know it without being told.) We've got some jazz and new music, and a couple of poppy thing, and we finally get around to memorializing Pauline Oliveros. (Nothing today for Greg Lake however, but possibly soon, and likely not the least jolly of Christmas songs.)

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See the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for December 3, 2016

A bleak early December afternoon, and hopefully the music doesn't match too closely. We hear more from albums we've previously recently sampled. I hope that's not too bothersome, but apparently, that's how this program works. It's a mostly jazzy show, with great variety within the"jazz" landscape. The second hour get a little quiet, but hopefully not bleak and/or ponderous.

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See the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for November 19, 2016

A program so last minute, I just finished typing this up.

A mostly jazz show with memorial tributes to Mose Allison and Boston Symphony cellist Jules Eskin, the latest in a series not only seemingly never ending, but one that doesn't even let you stop to catch your breath. The last half-hour, I'll admit, is a bit of a grab bag, but an appealing one.



See the playlist after the break

Duty Now for the Future

George Carlin once said "the revolution is about values, what you'll do for a buck, what you'll do with a buck."

In these orange times, it's going to be important for us to look out for each other, as our already threadbare safety net will be challenged. The good folks at Jezebel.com have offered up a list of reasonable and reputable options. I might also suggest your local foodbank and domestic abuse shelter.

You don't really care for music, do ya?

In light of what is for some reason one of my most popular blog posts, I must say I must say I respect Leonard Cohen greatly for doing this.

These days, folks not only do this at the beginning of songs, but will hoot at any proper noun they recognize, anything to mark themselves hipper than thou.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for November 12, 2016

Greetings from The Future, day 5.

No overt post-election content (there will be plenty of time for that later), save for the opening number, which was chosen before I learned that Leonard Cohen had died. He apparently got out through that crack that lets the light in.

He also have memorial segments for the Hungarian pianist Zoltán Kocsis, and jazz bassists Bob Cranshaw and Victor Bailey.

See the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for November 5, 2016

Unpopular Music's Election Special

Get out and vote on Tuesday!



I had an idea to do a program of political themed songs for the weekend before the election, and then just kind of let it sit there. A playlist was sporadically amended, I found an album of old campaign songs at Goodwill. I happened upon the German version of Peter Gabriel's third album so I could include the German version of Not One of Us. I could portray that sketch by the State as a precursor for today's CNN (seriously, replace "men can not grow beards in space" with "human activity does not cause global warming" and you'll get the idea.) Things were looking good. But, I became more and more tired of this campaign, I found a welcome distraction from reading about the election (hooray, Cubbies!), had a really nasty cold, and found myself with the idea not quite finished. But, it's here, although not quite as sharp as I was hoping.

Random You Tube find - John Tchicai with Strings

Extending my continuing fascination with one of the great underappreciated jazz musicians.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for October 29, 2016

Good music for bad weather (also bad mood) A couple of things for Hallowe'en, plus a couple that are just kind of spooky. Plus some of the usual jazz and etc. Also, apparently, some music from a film about cockfighting (not obvious from the music, though.)

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See the playlist after the break...

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for October 22, 2016

The first hour is the loud hour. The second hour is more suited to the rainy afternoon for which it was designed. Also, an epicly distracted mid-show mic break. Again, jazzy in the first hour (despite the introduction), freeform in the second with some moody 20th-century classical pieces.


See the playlist after the break...

The New York Times on Andrew Cyrille and Ecuadoran tape mystery

It's easy to be down on the New York Time's arts, and particularly, music coverage these days. With only a handful of tenured writers and a mishmash of freelancers, the coverage is a bit erratic and inconsistent.

Today, however, features two fine reads.

Playlist for the Unpopular Music Webcast for October 8, 2016

A kind of mishmash program, which almost didn't happen twice. More of a freeform program than the wall to wall jazz of the last few weeks. There's still a lot of of jazz, but we have some 20th century classical pieces and a rare dose of reggae.

 See the playlist after the break...

Tim Kaine and the album before Tim

Esquire's Dave Holmes reports that Vice Presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine is a fan of the Replacements' 1984 masterpiece Let It Be. I have often felt that the Senator takes the safe, central, crowd pleasing option, but we're in tight agreement here.

And I'm right on board with Holmes' assessment of the album as well. I'll expand on his point that a Replacements fan not only "understands the concerns of the American middle class", but those below as well. I grew up middle class in a largely working class town (though my dad was a working class kid made good), and everything here is familiar. This was a city where that had a record store which would close for two days whenever the Replacements played in Boston or Albany.