WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Sensei Rebel's Archive Picks of the Week (Dec. 24 - 30, 2007)

All RealAudio links are streaming links from the WFMU archives.

Rock And Roll
The Odyssey - "Little Girl, Little Boy" RealAudio from Choking On Cufflinks with Michael Goodstein (filling in for $mall Change)
Nightingales - "Eleven Fingers" RealAudio from Cherry Blossom Clinic with Terre T
The Black And Whites - "You're the Only Girl" RealAudio from Cherry Blossom Clinic with Terre T

International
Mariza Koh - "T Alonaki" RealAudio from Jason Elbogen's show (filling in for Scott Williams)
Chantal Goya - "Une Echarpe Une Rose" RealAudio from This Is the Modern World with Trouble

Experimental
Ohama - "T.V." RealAudio from Jason Elbogen's show (filling in for Scott Williams)

Dance
Kasso - "Walkman (Dance Mix)" RealAudio from Choking On Cufflinks with Michael Goodstein (filling in for $mall Change)
Hashim - "Al-Naayfiysh (The Soul)" RealAudio from Put the Needle On the Record with Billy Jam

Instrumental
Emil Richards - "Blue Monk" RealAudio from Evan Muse's show

Ambient
Pan Sonic - "Maa" RealAudio from Evan Muse's show

Fave Songs of the Week
The Pastels - "Cycle (My Bloody Valentine Remix)" RealAudio from (More Than A Few) Exciting Moments with Frank O'Toole (Web-only show)
Quiet Riot - "Metal Health (live)" RealAudio from Diane's Kamikaze Fun Machine

365 Days #365 - New Years Eve 1965-66 (mp3s)

New Years Eve 1965-66

"You know this is New Years, Jeff, when ya get a big smile on your face even when you don't feel like it!?"

MP3:
1 New Years Eve 1965-66 - Side 1 (31:43)
2 New Years Eve 1965-66 - Side 2 (29:46)

- Contributed by: Andrew Lander

Images: Box lid, Box bottom

Media: Open reel
Credits: Ron, Jeff, Bob, Kim
Date: 1965-66
Found: Thrift store

Bob Brainen - Favorites of 2007 (in no order)

"New New"
The Bird and the Bee - The Bird and the Bee  (Blue Note)
Innocence Mission - We Walked in Song (Badman)
Yesterdays New Quintet (aka Mad Lib) -Yesterdays Universe (Stones Throw)
Alec K . Redfearn and the Eyesores - The Blind Spot (Cunieform)
NRBQ - Live at the Calvin Theatre 4-28-07 (MP3 ONLY)
Bettye Lavette - The Scene of The Crime ( Anti)
Graham Haynes - Full Circle (RKM)
Nicole Willis and the Soul Investigators - Keep Reachin' Up (Light In The Attic)
Thelonious Moog - American Standard (Grown-Up Records)

Identify The MP3, Part 2

After last week's quiz turned out to be too easy (due to Gracenote MusicID), today's MP3 is slightly more obscure to foil the computers among our blog readers. Here is the song to ID for this week: Mystery MP3

The CD from which this track is taken might be too obscure for AMG and Gracenote, but it has been played on WFMU, according to the playlist search. Exactly once. And a different track. However, I am only asking that you find out who the artist is, and that you name it/him/her/them in the comments. The first one gets a prize in the mail. Good luck!

Ten More Top Ten Toppers

I hate Top 10 lists. And this year I got asked to do more than I ever had before. This magazine only wants jazz titles, that website wants singles. The Village Voice and Idolator are now both doing the Christgau Pazz & Jop styled lists, where you have 100 points to distribute among your top pics, which seems silly without Christgau's great, way verbose post-game analysis to go with it.

One problem with Top 10 lists is that the deadline is always before the end of the year, so anything that comes out during the second half of December (at best) doesn't stand a chance. Another problem is that I'm not organized enough to keep track of it all, so I end up forgetting things and feeling guilty. And then there's the other weights that hang on the list-makin - do I really want to put two records from the same label on, at the risk of ignoring something else? Was the new Prince record really that good, or am I just a sucker for anything he does?

The worst thing, of course is the whole horseraciness of it. I don't really know what were the best records of the year. There were just a lot of things I liked is all.

So here is my Top 10 Records That Didn't Make It On Any Other Lists list. They're no worse than the other records on my other lists. Some of them are even better. Or at least I guess maybe they are. This is just another list. Yeah. That's even better. My Ten More Records That Came Out in 2007 list, alphabetical by artist so as not to suggest any hierarchy of goodness.

Han Bennink - Amplified Trio (Treader)
Imagine being in a shoe box with mad Dutch drummer Han Bennink and the duo Spring Heel Jack. Now imagine it's a box for kid's shoes.

365 Days #364 - Sammy Hall - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Hell (I Got Saved, Saved, Saved) (mp3s)

MP3:
How Do You Spell Relief (J-E-S-U-S) (3:04)
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Hell (I Got Saved, Saved, Saved) (2:35)
Different World (3:18)

I bought this record mainly for the remarkable cover art: Sammy Hall, split seconds before his motorcycle plunges into a fiery pit of demons, is grabbed by Jesus, who dangles his new convert up by his armpits. You owe it to yourself to view this one at full size.

Sammy himself may not be damned, but some of his songs are damned catchy. If you care to sing and play along, download the songbook "The Best to You" from this page. It contains sheet music to all three songs featured here. Just one of the many treats awaiting you at sammyhall.com.

These songs were written and produced by Gary S. Paxton, who, in addition to many other things, produced the song "Monster Mash".

- Contributed by: Suzanne Baumann

Images: Front Cover, Back Cover

Media: LP
Album: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Hell (I Got Saved, Saved, Saved)
Label: NEWPAX
Catalog: NP33018
Date: 1976

Webhamster Henry's Top 10 Imaginary Sound Events of 2007

1. Cassarole : Mash Covers (Honor Among Thieves, 2007)
Another step in the mainstreaming of mash-up culture: karaoke and live covers of popular mashups, done with a backing band.

2. A Word With You  (Parent Helper, 1959)
A 7" record dressing down potential Juvenile Delinquents, with a Chubby Checker label as protective coloration.

3. A Bull in a China Shop 1-25 (Affected, 2007)
As hi-fi gets higher and higher, sound effects need to be more and more accurate. Here is the top of the line floating point 192kHz 5.1 series of sound effects, many of them  super hi-fi recreations of old cartoon studio effects (boings, screeches, water splashes, trumpet gobbles...), and many new effects (actually letting a bull loose in a china shop!) that are in themselves things of beauty.

4.  Bird's Ear View  (NYBC, 2007)
A short passionate plea in favor of pigeons, BY pigeons. Tiny radio mics strapped to the birds' bodies as the go though the day, revealing just how much they interact with humans and how we interact with them. Also, some interesting financial information overheard on Wall Street which may or may not still be useful.

5. The Nun Such: The Word You've Not Heard  (Yeesh, Eva! Records, 2007)
In the 50s, the Gibson Bible Institute undertook a massive project to record the entire Bible on LPs and the tapes never made it to the record pressers. But here they have been excerpted, just the weirdest parts of the Bible: giants, orgies, sacrifices, plagues, commandments you've never heeded before, all underscored with a Hammond organ by the somewhat obsessive audionauts the Nun Such.

365 Days #363 - Off The Peg ...and then some (mp3s)

Off The Peg - The ready to hear collection!

Doris Stokes was a British clairvoyant-medium who made a recording one of one of her meetings in 1984 and included a couple of songs and a poem set to music. The guitarist is Bert Weedon.

01. Doris Stokes - Welcome To My World (1:18)

The stereo test track is from a 1972 Russian album made by Rigonda although the commentary is in English.

02. Rigonda - How Stereo Works (1:58)

Rusty Goffe is a famous dwarf musician-actor (Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Willy Wonka) who plays all the instruments on this cute cover of the stage musical classic from circa 1970.

03. Rusty Goffe - The Music Man (3:24)

Larry and Shirley Petersen are a father and daughter singing duo from the Shetland Islands in Scotland. This dates from the early 1970s.

04. Larry and Shirley - The Cuckoo (1:44)

Me, Myself and Me Again is one man human brass band Vivian Fisher, the British Shooby Taylor!

05. Me Myself and Me Again - Blaze Away (2:35)

Fabio's Best (and the gone) of 2007

(In no particular order)
Films.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Director: Sidney Lumet
No Country for Old Men. Director: Coen Brothers
It is Fine! Everything is Fine. Crispin Hellion Glover (With Slide show presentation and Q&A) hear Crispin interviewed on WFMU by Clay Pigeon, and by Pseu Braun (also here)
There Will Be Blood. Paul Thomas Anderson
Eastern Promises. Director: David Cronenberg
World of Glory. Director: Roy Andersson (Sweden, 1991. Released on Cinema 16: European Short Films 2x dvd collection)
Brand Upon the Brain. Director: Guy Maddin (Performed with Live orator, orchestra and live foley crew).
Los Muertos. Director: Lisandro Alonso (Argentina)
The Films of Alejandro Jodorowski. DVD box collection check this link to hear soundtrack music splayed on FMU
The Fernando Arrabal Collection. DVD box set (featuring Viva La Muerte, I Will walk like a Crazy Horse, and The Guernica Tree) hear music from Viva La Muerte on FMU here
Mafioso. Director: Roberto Lattuada (1962, re-released. Italy)
The Lives of Others. Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Radio On. Director: Christopher Petit (DVD re-release, 1980)
The Assassination of Richard Nixon. Director: Niels Mueller (from 2004. Missed this the first time around).
3:10 to Yuma. Director: James Mangold
I'm Not There. Director: Todd Haynes hear soundtrack music on FMU here
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis. Director: Mary Jordan (Primarily for the incredible footage of Jack Smith himself)

Jump, for music, live-and-other-stuff, and R.I.P. lists

365 Days #362 - The Death Killers (mp3s)

MP3:
01 I'll Be Your Death (2:16)
02 Death Killers (2:18)
03 Yo Mama (0:27)
04 Your Mother is Dead (She Lives in Your Head) (1:00)
05 Homer Simpson (2:10)
06 Rocco's Modern Life (2:40)
07 If I Saw What You Saw (0:55)
08 There Ain't No Boogers (In This, Bud) (1:50)
09 I Do (2:31)
10 Why Does the Purple Dog Sing (2:20)
11 Why Do Kids Always Ask Those Stupid Questions (1:46)
12 I Hate When You Do This to Me (2:13)
13 Rockin' Rally (0:38)
14 You Always Walk Right Out That Door (2:24)
15 What Did the Purple Dog Say (2:01)
16 Walkie Talk Dog (1:16)
17 Junior John (1:42)

Hardly anything is known about this cassette except that it's rectangular. The Death Killers is a brother / sister duo. A six year old vocalist and lyricist, who also named the band, and her thirteen (?) year old brother providing the music. Thanks to Otis, WFMU, and Ubu for bringing us this year's 365 Days!

- Contributed by: Clayton Counts

Etant Donnes Says Soleil (mp3s)

A little adventure to the Vas Deferens Organization today, a 1981 C60 from Etant Donnes, La Vue.  Bain Total mostly released stuff by fellow gothic experimentalists Die Form, but were smart enough to put out a few early tapes by the Hurtado Brothers.  Like other tape traders, Etant Dannes' have a zillion releases out on labels like Staalplaat, ADN, Touch, Emil Beaulieau's RRRecords, even the eclectic Danceteria, and others from the nurse universe, although United Dairies never put the stamp on the band.  Eventually WFMU faves Genesis P'Orridge and Alan Vega collaborated but ED's earliest primitive experimentalism excites me the most: hack-and-paste editing techniques about as precise as my 6th grade fish dissection, crass tape-speed manipulation and low-fi, overdriven samplage make for a frustrating, confrontational listen. And I mean imprecise, crass, frustrating and confrontational in the best sense possible.

A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 | A5 | A6 | A7 | B1 | B2 | B3

The ADDified harsh noise of La Vue contrasts nicely with the natural sounds and minimal text-sound of this video from 1994, Bleu.  Just one section of the RVB Transfert DVD comp of 80s french experimentalists, also featuring Lucrate Milk, DDAA, Costes, X Ray Pop and Kas Products.  Oh, and I've counted - 101 times, 102 if you count spelling the word.

Doug Schulkind's Favorites of '07

Doug's original favorites page is here.

Moussa Doumbia
Keleya
(Oriki Music)

Godfather of Soul wannabes sprang up like kudzu in the 1960s and '70s, and, outside of Chicago and Detroit, the most badass Brown imitators per hectare came from the gritty urban centers of East and West Africa. Anwar Richard and Matata ruled Nairobi, Geraldo Pino & the Heartbeats concquered Lagos, but the heaviest of heavyweight Afrofunkateers may have been Mali's sax-playing, leather-lunged soul belter Moussa Doumbia, who toiled in semiobscurity in the nightclubs of Ivory Coast's capital city Abidjan. Doumbia was a cool cat but no copycat. While others merely reproduced the James Brown sound, Doumbia seemingly conjured, on a nightly basis, the very soul of Soul Brother No. 1 itself. His massive funk workouts featured all the withering, from-the-gut grunts and squeals, but they were layered over a dense thicket of his native Dioula rhythms—along with, of course, skronking horns and skanky guitars. This French compilation of Doumbia's rare singles and one album may be the greatest single-disc trove of African funk ever released.

Listen to: Keleya (extended lp version)
Listen to: Yeye Mousso

Various
Música Tradicional do Norte e Nordeste 1938
(SESCSP)

Give this astonishing collection seven hours and it'll give you the world of Northeastern Brazil as it sounded 70 years ago. Comprising six CDs presenting nearly 300 performances, this tour de force is a time-travel kit worthy of H.G. Wells. The brainchild of poet Mário de Andrade, São Paulo's municipal secretary of culture back in 1938, the Folklore Research Mission was a four-man team of music archeologists dispatched to record and preserve the incidental music of street peddlers, dockworkers, schoolchildren—virtually anyone they came across. It was a massive undertaking intended to document the region's culture just as Brazil was rapidly modernizing under the spell of radio and film. More than just a compilation of precious artifacts, this wondrous set captures the sound of the soul of a people.

Listen to: Boi Pai do Campo Teu Dia Chegou by José Antonio Castro and others
Listen to: an instrumental track by José Rocha (Zé Padre) and others
Listen to:  Aboios by José Gomes Pereira (Zé Gago) and others

Ernst Reijseger
Requiem for a Dying Planet
(Winter & Winter)

Laurie Hogin's Cranky Birds & Suspicious Animals

I don't have much to say about Laurie Hogin aside from the fact that I melt whenever I see her allegorical paintings of cranky birds and suspicious animals.

Her site is comprehensive and clean but unfortunately the images are a bit too small. There are plenty of gallery sites in which to view her work in a larger size- the best being at Little John Contemporary.

365 Days #361 - Toru & Kojima - Smiley / Pot Sounds (mp3s)

Ok, so here's my weird story behind this disc. Many years ago I was visting a friend in Japan and searching for rare records. This was during my obsession with the Beach Boy's Smile Sessions. I actually found a version of Smile Outtakes on vinyl, but the store keeper decided not to sell, since he wanted it to prove that he had rare records in his store.

At a completely different shop, I found this oddity on a shelf of completely Japanese CDs that I couldn't read accept for the spine "Smiley/Pot Sounds". I was like, "what the?" The original Smile cartoon cover was redrawn and altered.

Thinking I had found another Japanese bootleg, I put it in the player when I got home. I was so MAD! Lol! At the time, it just sounded like some Japanese guy singing Karaoke! It tossed it in my suitcase, feeling completely gypped.

MP3:
01 Meant For You (0:42)
02 Surfer Girl (2:23)
03 Little Saint Nick (2:04)
04 Don't Worry Baby (2:58)
05 Wonderful (2:09)
06 Surfer Moon (2:24)
07 I DO (2:02)
08 Please Let Me Wonder (2:49)
09 You're So Good To Me (2:22)
10 God Only Knows (2:53)
11 I Wanna Pick You Up (2:49)
12 I Just Wasn't Made For These Times (3:18)
13 Your Summer Dream (2:44)
14 Much Love (5:13)
15 By The Time it Changes to Memory (3:36)
16 Never Come Back Boys' Days (3:50)
17 Let The Wind Blow (2:58)
18 Yesterday's Promise (3:40)
19 Mysterious Night (5:34)
20 Surfing USSR (2:55)
21 For You, 100 Years Ago (2:40)
22 I Want To Eat Whale (3:49)
23 WOMAN (4:45)
24 Spirit Of Rock'n Roll (3:30)

Sometime later I came back to the mystery of this cd. And quickly realized that I had found something even more rare, before I even knew about the labeling of Outsider Music. I would often play tracks for friends during one of those, "Look what I found" occasions. I've grown to love it, though it's headache inducing at times. Looking at the photos on the back cover and the song credits, I think I've figured out that Toru & Kojima are the same person. It's just his first and last name.

Pot Sounds is also included, for the completist. Not as interesting to the English speaker, this album is full of some of Toru's originals and a couple cover songs. The best part about Pot Sounds is that amazing art work! lol

Happy Holidays!

- Contributed by: B.C. Sterrett (The Lost Media Archive)

Images: CD 2-Fold Cover, CD Back Cover, CD Liner Notes

Media: CD
Album: Smiley / Pot Sounds
Label: Sister Records
Catalog: BWTK-2683
Date: 1997

Benjamen Walker's 2007 TOP TENish

Music:

Klangmutationen - Weiße Messe (link)
Citay - Lttle Kingdom (link)
(D)ynamic (B)rown (H)ips - Wave The Old Wave (link)
Pulse Emitter - Progression To Desolation (link)
Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (link)
Various Artists - Summer Records Anthology 1974-1988 (link)
Blockhead - Uncle Tony's coloring book (link)
Focus Group - We Are All Pan's People (link)
Donnacha Costello - ColorSeries (link)
Witchcraft - The Alchemist (link)

Movies, Books follow

365 Days #360 - After Christmas Radio Spots & Songs (with an eye on the New Year) (mp3s)

"Is the tree down yet? Are the decorations packed away? ..." - Henry Fonda

Those are the first words spoken on Track 1 and it sets the tone for this day after Christmas. Most people are so finished with Christmas by December 26 that they begin looking forward to the next holiday (and despite some store displays already set, it's NOT Valentine's Day).

Compiled for your listening pleasure today are some after-Christmas radio spots that remind you that Christmas might be over but not forgotten, several celebrity New Year's greetings, and a majority of fun New Year's songs that will hopefully brighten this dead week inbetween holiday bashes and hangovers.

New Year's blues, comedy, novelty, blues, even disco are all represented here. You'll find something in this collection that will put a smile on your Christmas weary face.

- Contributed by: CaptainOT

01. Henry Fonda - Christmas Seals PSA (0:33)
02. Jerry Lewis - I've Had A Very Merry Christmas (2:33)
03. Ann-Margret - New Year's Greeting (0:05)
04. The Coolbreezers - Hello Mr. New Year (1:56)
05. Henry Mancini - New Year's Greeting (0:05)
06. The Glad Singers - Happy New Year (2:29)
07. Sam Cooke - New Year's Greeting (0:07)
08. Charles Brown - Bringin' In A Brand New Year (2:07)
09. Bill Cosby - Christmas Seals PSA (0:29)
10. Charley Weaver - Happy New Year, Happy New Year (Single version) (3:15)
11. Neil Sedaka - New Year's Greeting (0:05)
12. Jo Ann Campbell - Happy New Year Baby (2:39)
13. Debbie Reynolds - Christmas Seals PSA (0:18)
14. Johnny Otis & His Orchestra - Happy New Year, Baby (2:43)
15. Jan & Dean - New Year's Greeting (0:08)
16. Spike Jones & His City Slickers - Happy New Year (3:26)
17. Ruth Buzzi - Christmas Seals PSA (0:54)
18. The Creators - I'll Stay Home (New Year's Eve) (2:29)
19. Leonard Nimoy - Christmas Seals PSA (0:30)
20. Little Bobby Rey & His Band - Corrido de Auld Lang Syne (Dance Of The New Year) (2:01)
21. Cliff Robertson - Christmas Seals PSA (0:56)
22. The Salsoul Orchestra - New Year's - Americana Suite (6:36)
23. Various Artists - Side 1 - Track 2 - New Year's Wishes (0:30)
24. Gloria Estefan - Greeting #2 (0:04)
25. Unknown - Auld Lang Syne (in Hawaiian) (2:49)
26. Quiet Riot - Greeting #2 (0:12)
27. Jimi Hendrix - Auld Lang Syne (Live at the Fillmore - 1-1-70) (3:54)
28. Weird Al Yankovic - Greeting #2 (0:10)
29. Mae West - Mae West - My New Year's Resolutions (2:43)

Media: Various 45rpm 7" singles, 33 rpm 12" albums, and a few 78 rpm singles & MP3s
Album: Various
Label: Various
Catalog: Check the MP3 tags for specifics
Date: Ranging from 1947 to 1988
Credits: Thanks Otis for allowing me to contribute this year and special thanks to all of the 365 Days contributors!

Shilling with Santa

Just because it seemed like a great way to ring in the holiday, I went to a midnight movie on Christmas Eve. It was the new Alien vs Predator film, which I don't recommend in any way... And yet, I do recommend seeing it on Christmas Eve with a packed house of lunatics who scream with glee at each gory evisceration (and cheer especially loud when children die).

Before the film, during the 45 minutes of bad advertising, there was a pretty lame Coke commercial starring Santa. It was supposed to inspire nostalgia for old Coke ads, but really it just reminded me of all the better ways that Santa has been used to shill during the holidays. For instance:

And in case you don't want to buy an product from Santa, there's always cable access, where you can call for free and talk to him in person (from Dolton, Illinois cable TV circa 1989).

Videos via eyeh8cbs, RetroWinnipeg, ShiksaWithChutzpah, nudeviking, and other various YouTubers. And see more of the Santa call-in show here. Thanks all for sharing!

DJ Rix's Top Ten of 2007

The year according to Rix: click on the links to check out Real Audio samples or otherwise.

The All Ear Trio (with John Tchicai) - Boiler.  (CD, Ninth World Music).

Earle Brown - Tracer (CD, Mode)

Lara Downes - American Ballads. Lara Downes, piano. (CD, Arkadia)

Electronic Music from the University of Illinois - Gaburo/Hamm/Hiller. (LP, Heliodor)

George Enescu - Symphony No. 2., Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra; Cristian Mandeal, conductor. (CD,  Arte Nova)

Sol Hoopii - In Hollywood, His First Recordings 1925. (CD, Grass Skirt)

Charles Ives - Complete Works for Violin and Piano: Nobu Wakabayashi & Thomas Wise (CD, Arte  Nova)

Neil Rolnick - Shadow Quartet  (CD,  Innova)

Tim Dorsey - Hurricane Punch  (William Morrow, 2007).

Samuel G. Freedman -  Who She Was: My Search for My Mother's Life. (Simon & Schuster, 2005)

365 Days #359 - 1952 Christmas Greetings from the Vancouver Midmores to the Regina Midmores (mp3)

MP3:
1952 Christmas Greetings from the Vancouver Midmores to the Regina Midmores (3:41)

Here is a charming little Xmas message that dates back over half a century. Is it just me or do I hear a child ask, "What's Jesus daddy?"

- Contributed by: Michel LeGrisbi

Image: Vinyl

Media: 78rpm 12" (single sided)
Label: Audiodisc
Credits: CKWX Vancouver
Date: 1952

Sensei Rebel's Archive Picks of the Week (Dec. 17 - 23, 2007) And Year

No one does Christmas like WFMU, and they've always made my holidays all the better. I hope, and thank you, if you listen your Christmas will be more complete as mine has over the years.

All MP3 and RealAudio links are streaming links from the WFMU archives.

Rock And Roll
The Campbell Brothers - "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" RealAudio from Ken's show
Doomtree - "White Christmas" RealAudio from Pat Duncan's show
Die Roten Rosen - "Come All Ye Faithful" RealAudio from Pat Duncan's show

International
Petty Booka - "Rudolph The Red-Nose Reindeer (Japanese Version)" RealAudio from HotRod's show
Bernie Witkowski & His Silver Bell Orchestra - "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" RealAudio from Transpacific Sound Paradise with Rob Weisberg

Experimental
Klaus Nomi - "Silent Night" RealAudio from This Is the Modern World with Trouble
Jingle Cats - "Little Drummer Boy" RealAudio from Ken's show

Dance
Brave Combo - "Oh Hannukkah"  RealAudio from Zzzzzzero Hour with Bill Mac (filling in for Evan Muse)
The Jingle Cats - "Oh Holy Night" RealAudio from Ken's show

Humor
Tom Smith - "12 Days of Star Wars" RealAudio from Zzzzzzero Hour with Bill Mac (filling in for Evan Muse)

Instrumental
Gloria Parker & Her Singing Glasses - "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"  RealAudio from Ken's show

Fave Songs of the Week
Alan Mann Band - "Christmas On the Block" RealAudio from Zzzzzzero Hour with Bill Mac (filling in for Evan Muse)
Vashti Bunyan - "Coldest Night of the Year" RealAudio from Choking On Cufflinks with Michael Goodstein
Les Baxter - "Santa Claus' Party" RealAudio from Michael Shelley's show

Jump the flip for old Christmas favorites from the archives, and my favorite releases from 2007

The Gift That Keeps On Giving: Drive Someone Insane

My friends over at Culture Geeks just pointed me to what may, in fact, be my favorite example of how the internet and snail mail can work together to make pranks a regular part of your daily intake. I speak of this ebay auction item (excerpt):

DRIVE SOMEONE INSANE WITH POSTCARDS

You are bidding on a rare chance to traumatize a treasured friend or relative with baffling, mind-numbing, mystery correspondence from abroad. I will be spending the Christmas holiday in Poland in a tiny village that has one church with no bell because angry Germans stole it. Aside from vodka, there is not a lot for me to do. During the course of my holiday I will send three postcards to one person of your choosing.

These postcards will be rant-ravingly insane, yet they will be peppered with unmistakable personal details about the addressee. Details you will provide me. The postcards will not be coherently signed, leaving your mark confused, guessing wildly, crying out in anguish. "How do I know this person? And how does he know I had a ferret named Goliath?"

Your beloved friend or relative will try in vain to figure out who it is. Best of all, it can't possibly be you because you'll have the perfect alibi: you're not in Poland. You're home, wherever that is, doing whatever it is you do when not driving your friends loopy with international prankery. Your target will rack their brains in the shower. At dinner. During long drives. At work. On the golf course. "Who did I tell about the time I got fired by a note on my chair?" they'll ponder,  "And where the hell is Szczecinek?"

To add to the sheer confusion and genuine discomfort, one missive will be on an original promotional postcard announcing the 1995 television premiere of Central Park West on CBS. Another will be a postcard celebrating Atlanta's disastrous hosting of the 1996 summer Olympic games.

And the winning bid: $415.00!

You can thank comedy writer Brian Sack for the original prank (and for a hilarious Facebook Hitler profile also on his site), which may evolve into a "trend", because now there are seven "drive someone insane" offers on ebay. But none of them even remotely have the panache or innocence of the original, and they reek of opportunism (Sack wasn't really trying to make money, just have some silly fun).

But that doesn't mean it isn't a prank worth playing. So what are you waiting for? You are certainly more clever than some lame Glen Beck fan. If you live or are traveling somewhere a little bit odd (sorry Florida and NY copycats - that just does not cut the mustard for an "insane" postmark), jump on the bandwagon and offer to give the gift that keeps on giving. And you don't even have to ebay it. Offer to do it for free just for the love of the game.

Pictured above: Szczecinek Coat of Arms

Top CDs in "The Teenage Wasteland" for 2007

Fans of Bill Kelly's "Teenage Wasteland" radio program, prepare your clicking finger to pounce: the part-time King of Sunday Afternoon has prepared your winter listening list. 

(All links lead you straight to the gloriously lofi legion of WFMU's Realaudio archives)

#1 Mark & the Spies (eponymous) on Screaming Apple,
#2 Hell On Heels "Dogs, Records & Wine" on Dionysus,
#3 The Maharajas "In Pure Spite" on Low Impact,
#4 The Miracle Men "They're Coming..." on Teen Sound,
#5 Mickey & the Salty Seadogs "Salt Water And Whiskey" on Sympathy For The Record Industry,
#6 Southern Culture On The Skids "Countrypolitan Favorites" on Yep Roc,
#7 The Tol-Puddle Martyrs "Psych-Out USA" (self released),
#8 The Dee Rangers "Blue Swedes" on Screaming Apple,
#9 The Urges "Psych Ward" on both Screaming Apple and Off The Hip,
#10 The Manganzoides "El Entierro De Los Manganzoides" on Rastrillo,
#11 The Cynics "Here We Are" on Get Hip,
#12 The Len Price 3 "Rentacrowd" on Wicked Cool,
#13 The Chesterfield Kings "Psychedelic Sunrise" on Wicked Cool,
#14 The Kaiser Chiefs "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" on Universal/Polydor,
#15 The Royal Purple "Psychoacoustics" on Umbrella,
#16 The Midways "Manners Manners" on Screaming Apple,
#17 The Dollyrots "Because I'm Awesome" on Blackheart,
#18 The Satelliters "Where Do We Go" on Dionysus,
#19 The Sadies "New Seasons" on Yep Roc,
#20 The Gore Gore Girls "Get The Gore" on Bloodshot

365 Days #358 - MSR 265: 1978 Christmas Album (mp3s)

Up here in Canada, Songpoem albums are hard to come by. Either Canadians never took up the offer to 'become a star' as often as Americans did, or they just had relatives in the US who sent them copies. So whenever I find one, it's a momentous occasion.

Especially when the used record stores have no idea what they are and charge $1 for 'em!

Here's the tracklist for 13 Christmas-themed ditties (and a couple that are not) for your holiday pleasure:

MP3:
01 The Birthday Of Jesus Christ (Sione Lavemai Finau) (2:31)
02 Welcome The Lord (Sione Lavemai Finau) (3:21)
03 Merry Christmas From Tonga, The Friendly Island (Sione Lavemai Finau) (2:30)
04 Christmas Cheer (Joan Tomaini) (2:09)
05 Remember God (Joan Tomaini) (2:18)
06 A Prayer Of Thanks To God (Josephine Calcagno) (2:28)
07 Distant Dreams (Susan Johnson) (2:22)
08 God Cares (Joseph Pullum) (2:30)
09 Christmas Events (Joseph Pullum) (2:15)
10 Summer Breeze (Benoy Chowdhury) (2:26)
11 Repeat The Age Old Story (Mary E. Kindlein) (2:19)
12 How Long God (Fran Wood) (2:13)
13 God Bless Old Georgia (William B. Smith, Jr.) (3:04)

- Contributed by: Lee Rosevere

Media: LP
Album: Christmas Album
Label: MSR
Catalog: 265
Date: 1978

Identify The MP3, Part 1

Do you know obscure music? The stuff that is played on WFMU all the time, and is known among experts as hippie noise? Then you can surely identify the following song: Mystery MP3.

The first one to name the artist and title in the comments will get a prize in the mail (probably in mid-January, when I return from Europe). And if you don't win this time, look forward to next Sunday, when I will put up another MP3 to ID.

WFMU Homepage Redesigned

Nobody loved neon green, pink and orange more than me (probably true, actually), but all things good and gaudy must come to an end, and WFMU has redesigned its homepage for the first time in ten years. You can see the results here. Let us know what you think in the comments. (Actually, the homepage was re-designed briefly for four days in 2000 but let's not discuss that.)

Among the new features on wfmu.org: links to the most recent blog articles, expandable news items, better layout and organization overall, plus, a vomit-inducing background color which is completely Doron's fault. Also to blame: Kenzo, Marcus, Liz and Listener Scott Emmer. We all had a much nicer background color chosen, but Doron said: "No, something more... vomity."

Next on the redesign agenda: this very blog. And by "next," I mean: after the marathon (Feb 25 to March 9). Although you may notice a critical addition to this blog: at the bottom of the main page, there is now a link  that says: "Older Posts." What a concept, eh? Thanks to typepad for adding this feature five years too late!

You might notice a brand new array of WFMU homepage pictures on wfmu.org as well. We just retired about 400 of the images that once graced our homepage, but you can always keep up with every image we've ever had (past, present and future) at the top of wfmu.org with our WFMU Homepage Image Gallery.

Serious thanks to Doron, Kenzo, Marcus. Liz, and Scott E.

Happy holidays everybody. Put the Krampus back into Christmas.