WFMU's Beware of the Blog

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Beyond The Snowy Valley Of The Doomed Remix Planet

Here's an unusual DJ move: Monica used Nat Roe's 1958 Chart Sweep after Betty Logan's "I Got My Hot Pants On." Nat's composition of layered sound becomes a unified track in Monica's set. That's not the only example. Liz Berg played Joe McGasko's remix of Sun Ra's "The Planet Is Doomed."  Is the song the composition? The Remix? The set? Answer: If the sound delights the heart and ears, it doesn't matter.

Not unusual is a DJ grouping tracks with a similar sound. Duane did this with 1960's harmony pop, playing the Sandpipers theme to Russ Meyer's 1970 film, Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, Cyrcle, then Giant Jellybean Copout's "Look At The Girls," which is really the Critter's experimenting with light psychedelia."Look At The Girls" was the flip side to the Copout's only single "Awake In A Dream" played by Todd-O-Phonic Todd.

John Allen played jazz guitarist Howard Roberts from his 1975 Equinox Express Elevator, a very late issue from the ABC Impulse! label. There's no sturdy black and orange spine, which singles out 1960's Impulse! recordings, such as Albert Ayler's "New Grass/Message From Albert," played by Jesse on the Fro Show.

DJ Handi' Archive Picks: A Radio, A Groove, Seven Inches, And A Record Fair Comin' On.

On Surface Noise, Joe McGasko presented a show decked with soul. Listen to this New Birth. song. After annoucing, he continued with late 1970's Isaac Hayes. Compare the lush instrumentation to modern, mechanzed  grooves: Small Change returned to WFMU this month for several editions of Nickel And Dime Radio. Hear "Bach Goes Balie Funk" by Ophex, followed by two N-ron tracks.

Joe Belock on Three Card Monte played 1966's "Show Me The Way" by Great Scots, then "The Answer Was You" by Sloan. Both have a straight-foward rock vibe, but notice the Sloan selection is much more lush. Sloan continually mines Beatles/Small Faces layering.

You won't hear this in Sonny Sharrock, free jazz's most famous guitarist after Derek Baily. Hear his atonal six string shards on "Portrait Of Linda, All Three Colors." Sharrock probably offered his music's best description. "I'm a horn player with a really fucked up axe."

Finally, as this weekend's record fair approaches, WFMU began Singles Going Steady week. The station plays only 7" records. Irene Trudel ended this week's show sounding exactly like early 1970's FM radio, playing Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, The Lovin' Spoonful, and John Lennon,. If , like me, you weren't there in those days but wish you were, begin here!

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: What Did You Hear When You Woke? Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

Here's a great Monday morning eye opener. Liz Berg played "Saquito" by Diana Ureta, described by Liz as "out there and fun." Listen to how the whimsy of this track segues into the much rougher textures of Kraus. Not good enough? You can get Ureta's work on the WFMU Free Music Archive. '

If you woke earlier than me, you may have heard Frank O'Toole on More Exciting Moments playing "I''ve Been Trying," a track from DJ Shadow's new album, The Less You Know, The Better. The blues may not come to mind when you first hear the track, but Shadow's song takes on a blues essence when played by Frank next to "Black Girl," done here by Long John Baldry and Maggie Bell. This is a Leadbelly song passed down through generations, changing lyrics and titles. Nirvana covered the track under the name "Where Did You Sleep Last Night."

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Leaf Hound, Jansch, and Zzzzzzero Top 40, '68

On This Is The Modern World this week, Trouble's guest, record collector Pat Longo, DJ'd the second half of the show. Listen to this set, starting with Martha Whitney, and including Sharon Jones And The Dap Kings, and The New Jersey Kings Featuring Monica Vasconcelas. This sequence jumps out of its stable, maintaining a galloping, funky propulsion.

Brain Turner played the early 1970's blues-hard-rock grind of Leaf Hound, followed by the modern guitar acrobatics of Drakar. The two tracks have two very different production styles, but notice how the grinding, organic sound of the Leaf Hound track, "Stray," sets up the razor shined axes of Drakar's "Crazy Boy,"

While searching the archives this week, Bill Mac's Zzzzzzero Hour list made me do a double take. Bill played Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey," This 1968 #1 track, with its sappy strings and cuddly as a cocker spaniel puppy textures could be THE counterpoint to 1960's FM progressive radio.  But Bill used the track to launch a set that also included Brenton Wood, The Isley Brothers, and Scott Walker. Whatever you think of "Honey," you have to admire how Bill went to top forty extremes to launch a set that shows the eclecticism of old style top forty programming.

Finally, guitarist Bert Jansch died last week. Jansch was a founding member of Pentangle. His dexterous,  jazzy acoustic playing made Pentangle one of the most musically accomplished bands of the late 1960's. On Shrunken Planet, Jeffrey Davison played the group's "Bruton Town." John Allen played an entire set of Jansch's solo work, starting with "Strolling Down The Highway." R.I.P

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Listen To What The DJ Found

It's seldom I see pre-avant garde classical music on a WFMU playlist, so I look twice on spotting it. Bob Brainen played "Jeux" by Claude Debussy next to "Shadows Breaking Over My Head" by the Left Banke., Maybe my surprise is uncalled for. True, modernist influences flooded into 1960's rock (Varese-Zappa,  Stockhausen/Reich-Can.) But Bob's segue reminds us that bands like the Left Banke, Beatles, Beach Boys and Zombies built much of their music using the symmetrical, melodic structures of 18th and 19th century composers. Listen to Jesse on The Fro Show playing a Tim Smolen mix Brian Wilson's "Smile Part 1,"  stirring together Bach and Americana, from Wilson's 1966 sessions with Van Dyke Parks, not released until Wilson redid the project in 2004.

Does remixing a song make the remix the composition of the remixer? It's subjective, but on the Long Rally, Scott McDowell used "You're Nogood," a 1967 piece where Terry Riley manipulated tape loops of a Harvey Averne song. 1960's experimentation is modern practice. Buy records, chop and alter, and, many would argue, you have your own music. We can listen to Billy Jam on Put The Neddle On The Record playing DJ Shadow's "Number Song" which Shadow made by layering about a dozen records he found on vynal binges. Or! we can listen much closer to home--Wednesday morning, 3am, to hear Nat Roe. Here's his Tightknit R&B Cutups mix. DJ's use everything. Just watch one shop at the record fair later this month, and if he or she is buying a Disney record from 1962, you may hear a millisecond of it in a show or mix, coming soon.

 

Segueing, composing, some sets meld so well together as one piece, the line is blurred, On Nickel And Dime Radio, Small Change opened one with a set that started with Weldon Irvine and included Chris Joss, Lightenin' Hopkins, and Can. Small Change's trademark dance hall electronic siren, forward moving momentum, and thundering, noise-added transitions make this set dominate with amazing continuity,. Is it composition? Does it matter? This is a radio dance party for post graduate music heads, not an egghead seminar. You decide for yourself, but while doing so, don't forget to embrace visceral free form joy.

 

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Constructions

Let's give more time to how DJ's create their set's sound.

Duane opened his show with a set which included "My Country 'Tis Of Thee" by cross-dressing singer Sylvester, then the soul of Sandra Phillips, Monik, and Marc Eric. Notice how the sequence begins at a medium level of intensity, then is brought to quiet calm by Eric's mid-1960's beach sound.

Here's another way a DJ can smoothly change the feel of a set, mid-way: On More Than A Few Exciting Moments, Frank O'Toole played a mono mix of  "Savoy Truffle" by the Beatles, then audio from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, then modern electronic music by David Holmes. Without the spoken Birds audio, the shift from the Beatles organic sound to the mechinized sound of Holmes would be jarring, but this audio opens a gap into which Frank can effectively insert any texture he wants.

On Underwater Theme Park, Meghan used three songs with different sounds but the same name, "Palestine." Hear how the middle eastern tinge of Gokh-Bi-System transitions into the psychedelia of Gong, then the punk guitar roar of Autonumadic. The connection might not be instantly apparent to the ear, but listen with the shared title in mind, and the thread shines more brightly.

Listen to Stan's show, on in the middle of the night, and his selections are often geared to work on the half-awake subconscious. Here, he plays the quiet guitar sound of Just Others, followed by the even softer "Easy On Your Eyes," 1970's-like soft-pop given modern jazzy revision by the Aluminum Group. You can listen actively and dissect each detail, or let the music seep in with your mind on sleepy auto pilot. The tracks could work together any time of day, but the early morning still and dark lend a dreamy nuance to Stan's work.

Nat Roe's show is even more custom fit for it's 3-6am time slot. He spends this time mixing any music he pleases, such as this set of the Top 100 Of 1987 or his Smooth Jazz For Special Night Moods. His raw material is not the point. The shimmering layers here are the stuff of your most fluid dreams, a reality that is impossible in conventional song structure, or waking hours. Nat's work is as shape-shifting as the dark you sleep in, as surreal as the mind leaving the constraints of time and space.

 

 

 

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Pairs

This week I'll pair tracks from archives that work well together.

Daniel Blummin played "I Just Don't Know How To Say Goodbye." by Sandy Salisbury from 1969. The track was produced by Gary Usher, and mixes late-60's California pop with a cosmic cowboy, late Byrds feel. Listen to this next to Phil Ochs' "Pleasures of the Harbor" played by Irwin. Ochs' sad voice separates the track from Salisbury's--and is part of what made Ochs' a fixture on early FM radio. But both tracks combine the rustic with the baroque. 

Lanie Lane's cover of Willie Dixon's "Hoochie Coochie Man," made famous by Muddy Waters, was played on 100% Whatever by Mary Wing. Lane's performance, done only on a hollow-body guitar, is music stripped to essentials. "Radio," by Nick Drake, played on Shrunken Planet by Jeffrey Davison, has more dexterous picking, making the track almost jazzy, but has the same bare bones texture.

Here's a texture you rarely hear in jazz: Bagpipes!-- played by Rufus Harley on "Scotch And Soda," selected by Monica. You may think the static, nasal tone of the pipes wouldn't work in jazz, but Harley's soloing swings as hard as that of John Coltrane, Bud Powell, or Don Ellis. Now, listen to Harley's sandpaper texture next to the steely guitars of The Monk's "Love Came Tumblin Down", played by Scott Williams.-

On Mudd Up! DJ/Rupture played the Curtis Mayfield produced "Hard Times" by Baby Huey, which Rupture comments has been "sampled to death." True, but independently, it is fantastic soul blues. The tension it sets up can be relieved by a melodic track, such as Astrud Gilberto's take on Chicago Transit Authority's "Beginnings," recorded on September 17 1969, and played by Therese.

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Covers

Gaylord Fields played Witchi-Tai-To by Everything Is Everything, a jazz/funk/rock group sax player Jim Pepper formed in 1969 with guitarist Chris Hills. The track became well known the same year, covered by Brewer And Shipley, and played by Dan Bodah on Airborne Event, but was also revisited in 1970 by Pepper on Pepper's Pow Wow, chosen by John Allen.

WFMU often plays obscure cover versions of well known songs. Duane played "Light My Fire" and "God Only Knows" by Erma Thomas And Betty Evertt respectively. You are drawn in and grounded by the familiarity of the track, but hearing the familiar with a different treatment makes you listen for the changed details of the song, and you're more attuned to the next record the DJ plays. Hear how Bennentt4Senate, on Awesome New Place, uses Stardive's cover of "Strawberry Fields Forever" to segue into "Somewhere Out There" by Meow's Affectionate Century.

In the 1960's, an artist who didn't write his or her own material would cover huge hits. "You've Made Me So Very Happy" is from 1969, when Blood Sweat And Tears ruled the charts, providing an artistically viable but mainstream-safe alternative to counter culture rock. Hatch played Lou Rawls performing the track, while Meghan played an Alton Ellis' cover on Underwater Theme Park in a show about "being happy". I think these are good covers: you may disagree. But more interesting is imagining DJ's with freedom shopping in fifty cent bins, finding a record that is never played on commercial radio--and was counterpoint to progressive FM hipness when issued---and thinking "hummm....how can I make this sound good?" Thrift shop debris becomes an essential part of free-form radio gestalt.

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Junk?

Here is a question to remember for the WFMU record fair, next month: Do you buy that $100 record of quality end to end, or buy another person's "junk" if the price is right? On Coffee Break For Heroes And Villains, Noah played the New Seekers "Free To Be You, Free To Be Me," next to children's music from the Smurfs--yes, the cartoon, and then Millie Small. You would probably never play the Smurfs on its own, unless you have a tot in the house. But Noah uses the high voices to make a record most adult collectors would not touch work as music.

Conversely, some music written for kids works amazingly for adults. Listen to "Pinball Number Song" recorded by The Pointer Sisters for Sesame Street in the early 1970's. The piece, played by Small Change on Nickel And Dime Radio, is made to teach pre-schoolers to count, but is still top rate jazz-funk. "Inside Outside Upside Down" is from Josie And The Pussycats and was played by Joe McGasko on Surface Noise. The track is not as edgy as "Pinball Number Song," (but neither is most music) but works as well as any bubble gum, or even a girl group song of the era, and sheds light on how television was interpreting and packaging 1960's youth culture.  

Collectors often bypass the same dozen or so artists in every dollar bin search. On Toothpick Rhythm, Betsy Nichols played "The Blizzard" by Jim Reeves during the New Year's storm of 2010-11. An orphan record you would otherwise never hear is used for free form radio to react to an outside event. Evan "Funk" Davies played "I Was Made To Love Her" as sung by Tom Jones next to "Thunder Island" by Jay Ferguson. Dad's lounge music works as rock when played in this context. 

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Segues, Hurricanes, And Goodbyes

This week, Ken played the primitive blast of "Dies Iraea" by the Melvins, followed by the more structured sounds of Ennio Morricone, then "Father's Shout" from Pink Floyd's 1970 Atom Heart Mother suite. Ken's sequence builds from primal sounds to orchestral sweep. Listen to how the music becomes richer in detail as the set progresses.

A DJ can grab a listener with an authoritative texture shift. On Nickel And Dime Radio, Small Change went from the mid-tempo blues of "I'll Ride The Storm" (we'll get right to that) by Ludella Black with the Masonics, to the uptempo jam of Richie Havens' "Indian Rope Man,"  performed by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and the Trinity. Feel your visceral reaction when the drum beat starts the second track, double the tempo and intensity of the first.

Now let's dismiss segue school and get to this week's Hurricane Irene broadcasts. As we braced ourselves Saturday morning, Bob Brainen played "Undertow." by Big Tobacco, and "Safe In My Garden" by The Mamas And The Papas. Todd-O-Phonic Todd filled in for Micheal Shelly and opened his show with "Bad Moon Rising,"  performed by Pasteurized Ashtray, "There Is A Storm Comin' by The Striders, and Sir Douglas Quintet's "The Rains Came." On Cherry Blossom Clinic, Terre T. opened with many storm songs, including some from  "The Last Band," The Gories, and The Velvet Underground. At storm's climax, very early Sunday morning, Kelli played--in what was a topical show-"Hurricane" by Grace Jones on Beastin' The Airwaves. Kelli worked into the morning with Clay Pigeon as the storm passed.

Finally, the music world lost two artists. Jerry Leiber of the songwriting team of Leiber And Stoller died. They may be best known for songs they wrote for Elvis Presley, but David played their "Bossa Nova Baby" performed by Tippie And The Clovers on Inner Ear Detour. Eugene McDaniels also passed away. He made soul singles in the early 1960s like "A Hundred Pounds Of Clay," performed here with Kent Allyn in 2010 and played by Joe McGasko on Surface Noise. He also wrote "Feel Like Making Love," a hit for Roberta Flack. In 1971, McDaniels made Headless Heroes Of The Apocalypse, a highly political album on race relations Vice President Spiro Agnew tried to stop from being released. From this, Noah played the dark "Jagger The Dagger" on Coffee Break For Heroes And Villains. Small Change wrote the liner notes when Headless Heroes was reissued. R.I.P. to both artists.

 

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Music And Sound In The Land Of Grey And Pink

Saturday on Surface Noise, Joe McGasko had Jean and June Millington of the rock group Fanny on his show. Fanny was one of the first all female rock bands, formed in 1970. "I Love Your Hair" was one in a set of tracks the Millingtons played live during their visit. Listen to this next to their 1970 recording of "Charity Ball." Then listen to another female band from the era, The Deadly Nightshade, produced by the Rascal's Felix Cavaliere. On The Fro Show, Jesse played The Nightshade's "Nose Job."

Here is a mind greater than mine thinking in tandem with me. Last week I wrote about the Canterbury progressive bands, and the night before the column published, Stan played Caravan's 1971 "Nine Feet Underground." Of the Canterbury cluster, Caravan used melody most, almost as the Beatles may have if they had continued into the progressive era, making more Abbey Road side two-like suites. Listen to how each part of "Nine Feet Underground" could have made an amazing individual rock track. 

To hear far more obscure prog, listen to Scott Williams playing Spain's Absolute Fusioon, recently issued on Andy Votel's Finders Keepers label.

Marty McSorley played "Ritual Feast Of The Libido" by Cromagnon--a group who put out records of cave-man-like sounds in the late 1960's. You can take the side you wish in the music/sound debate (or, like me, decide the distinction doesn't matter, the visceral impact does), but hearing this completely primal work next to the art rock in the above archives puts both in stark perspective. Primal urges exorcised, Marty played the voodoo rock of Exuma, certainly more organized sound than the Cromagnon, but sound that absolutely does bawdy work on the senses.

Since I stuck my foot in the music/sound compost pile, let's end with Jeff M, playing Nurse With Wound's "Space Music" on Noise And Syrup. The piece starts with electronics, polished in stark contrast to Cromagnon's work, and ends with samples of early 1970's AM pop and modern rap. Music, sound, what is in a name when Nurse With Wound uses both without regard to the demarcation. If you still think about which is which, perhaps "Space Music" provides the answer.

Stay safe during this stormy weekend and I'll see you next week.  

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Eurounderground

This week I'll focus on underground bands from 1970's Europe.

When the Beatles were breaking up and "singer songwriters" like James Taylor were replacing acid rock,  bands from Germany developed darker, far riskier music, sometimes labeled "Krautrock". "Brainticket" was one, played on The Fro Show by Jessie next to a remix of Can, also German. The two tracks work with flat, repetitive progressions to allow for improvisation. Notice, though, how Can emphasized small shifts in instrumental texture, while Brainticket exploited bad--trip nuance expressed though the vocalist's spoken word.

Amon Duul II were also German, and specialized in polished, layered space rock. Mike Van Laar played their "A Short Stop At The Trans-Sylvania Brain-Surgery" Watch them play live below, then compare this to the driving approach of England's Hawkwind. Fabio played "Orgone Accumulator" from the live Space Ritual album on Strength Though Failure. This 1973 track was recorded before punk, and is layered with electronic effects. But played next to the studio sophistication of the Amon Duul II piece, "Orgone Accumulator's" grind and urgency takes on a punk feel.

 

England's Canterbury bands used far more formal structures, mixing classical composition with jazz improvising. Scott Williams played "Rivmic Melodies" by "Soft Machine" (see video below) from a side long suite from their 1969 second album, which placed jazz soloing into short pieces. (Bonus, Scott played some more Brainticket earlier in the set). Henry Cow emphasized complex composition over improvising. Listen to "Half Asleep, Half Awake" played on Dan Bodah's Airborne Event.

 

Glam, blues-rock, proto-ambient and many other movements thrived in Europe in the early 70's. This post mainly dealt with music bridging the end of psychedelia and the start of art rock. We'll deal with other styles of the period in future posts.

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Under The Influence

We all know imitation is flattery. Duane and guests, Phenomenal Handclap Band, played "You Know" by Stone Coal White, an early 1970's funk band reissued this year on Cali-Tex, DJ Shadow's label. My first thought was this was a demo tape of later, funkier Curtis Mayfield And The Impressions. Listen to the vocals and lo-fi recording quality, and you'll understand why. Since I mentioned Mayfield, here is Terre T. on Cherry Blossom Clinic playing 1970's "Miss Black America."
 

Influences among artists is an advantageous thread for DJs. Frank Zappa  bought Edgard Varese records in his early teens. On the Fro Show, Jesse played "Dog Breath, In the Year of the Plague" from Zappa's 1969 Uncle Meat next to Varese's "Intégrales" The tracks sound different on first listen. But soak in how the high voices and the instrumental second half of Zappa's track about "stealing hubcaps" sound like the orchestral abstractions in Varese' piece. Zappa, and by extension Jesse, meld the inane with high art until there is no line separating them.

John Allen sandwiched "My Friend Rain" by the Sun City Girls between "Clang Of The Yankee Reaper" by Van Dyke Parks and "P.F. Sloan" by Jimmy Webb. Both Parks and Webb were California songwriters in the 1960s and 1970s. The Sun City Girls track may have more raw production and much looser harmonics, but the song structure is a good match with the two other tracks. What jumps at the listener, though, is John's risk taking: by placing "My Friend Rain" between the Parks and Webb, he changes textures, then changes back. John risks cohesion for variation and gets both. 

Influences are sometimes covert. On Busy Doing Nothing, Charlie played "Message From Home"  by Broadcast after Sergio Mendes And Brazil '66's cover of the The Beatles' "Fool On The Hill." The moods are opposite--light and airy followed by dark and creepy. But consider that Broadcast soaked themselves in 1960s soundtrack and lounge music before darkening those sources with modern electronic hues. Charlie's thread might not be as glaring as those above, but is surely present.

Once you throw out genre labels, the connections in music are endless.

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: In It For The.........

Since many watched to see if America went into default this week, this post features songs about money.

I found three songs in the archives with the title "Easy Money." James O'Gwynn's track was selected by Michael Shelly, and could be played to a Martian to define early rock and roll. King Crimson's mellotron bathed improvisation with this title was played on Bill Mac's Zzzzzzero Hour  The track is from Larks Tongues In Aspic, which many consider a defining progressive rock album. Below is Crimson playing the song live on a 1973 NBC Midnight Special.  Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds' "Easy Money" was played during the marathon by Meghan on Underwater Theme Park.

 

 

A marathon edition of Bitslap With KBC opened with "It's A Money World" by Wild Man Fischer, followed by money related tracks by Steve Donn, Spinal Tap, and Crazy Mary. An edition of "Shut Up, Wierdo" with Frangry & Andy Cohen was titled "Money Mistakes."

In February, Daniel Blumin' played three tracks: "America" by Traffic Sound, "Silver And Gold" by Califone, and "Broke And Busted" by Chris Forsyth and Shawn Edward Hansen. Listen to how Daniel assembles songs about different topics to create one theme. Maria Lavitsky played "Broke Down And Busted" by Todd Rundgren on Day For Night. On This Is The Modern World, Trouble played "The Great Depression" by The Jam.

Last Monday, the House Of Representatives approved a compromise bill to prevent default. Frank O'Toole titled his show "Dysfunction Junction," and played "Thanks A Millon" by Awol One and Ecid. Liz Berg played "Gold Dime" by Talk Normal.

Now that we've all looked into the financial abyss and did not drop in, we can start counting our dimes for the record fair in October.

 

 

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Out With The Giant Dust Collectors.

Going record shopping? Have you played everything you have?!

Monica this week played "Further On Up The Road"  by James Brown. Notice how straight the track's rhythm is: surprising until you consider that "funk" is a label attached to this master's music. Masters don't work to adhere to a label, but do what they want, when they want.

Here's more proof. John Allen ended a show last month with "Mina Loy" by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. In one way, the acoustic guitar track is miles from Sonic Youth's electric six string assaults. But Moore's track shares the raw, minimally produced energy that is Sonic Youth's sound.

Paul McCartney has a more recognizable sound than anyone, but is more experimental than a superficial listen may reveal. On Surface Noise, Joe McGasko played a bonus track from his McCartney II album: hear the mix of sound collage and funk on "Check My Machine."

Duane played "The Night" by the Four Seasons after "Love Train" by The Third Wave, a Philippino vocal group George Duke produced in 1969. The harmonies are the obvious connection, but the Four Seasons non-hit track provides a surprising drive, different from their classic singles. 

On Kamikaze Fun Machine, Diane played "Gypsy Rider"  by Blue Cheer. Daniel Blumin played an alternate version of "Black Sabbath" from the band's first self-titled album. Brian Turner played the James Gang's "Women." Brian says the drum break here was sampled by Blues Control.

I often collect many obscure records by obscure artists, never getting to little known cuts by the giants. WFMU always reveals in-front-of-your-face material, collecting dust.

On an unrelated topic, singer Amy Winehouse died in London last weekend at 27-years-old. Her old school jazz and soul vocals proved an artist can succeed without freeze-dried, modern mainstream sounds.  On Cherry Blossom Clinic, Terre T. played "Love Is A Losing Game." Therese played "Tears Dry On Their Own."  R.I.P.

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: AM ON WFMU

The divide between top forty AM radio and free form FM broadcasting went out with the rotary phone. Old AM pop is now part of the mosaic at WFMU--one of the few remaining beacons of FM free form radio

The Partridge Family is quintessential early seventies AM pop. On Underwater Theme Park, Meghan played their theme song, "Come On, Get Happy," next to "Shiny, Happy People," by R.E.M.. The R.E.M. track became "classic rock" radio fare long after most AM radio became talk stations. It's unlikely you've heard these tracks juxtaposed. Meghan's segue works because it links the female vocal in the R.E.M. track to the Partridge's high harmonies.          

On 100% Whatever, Mary Wing played a track by the 5th Dimension that was not a hit, a cover of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love," next to the dark electronica of Broadcast. The tracks have a diametrically opposed energy, which gives the segue a strong surprise element. A set on Nazario Scenario grouped more closely related music: the scrappy garage pop of Paul Revere And The Raiders before hard rock by Skip Spence.

FM DJs have always done sets with thematic links. Joe Belock on Three Chord Monte taught AM songs FM tricks, grouping songs about the end of summer by Dusty Springfield, The Raspberries, Stevie Wonder and Johnny Rivers.

Rob Grill of The Grass Roots recently died. Bob Brainen played "Things I Should Have Said," to mark Grill's passing  The band used folk and pop and blue-eyed soul to create tracks tailored for 1960's AM radio. Diane played a set of their hits on Kamikaze Fun Machine, followed by The Minutemen.

I would never ambush you with an oldies hit parade post on the WFMU blog. But I hope these archives shine new light on some of the better top forty music that got dismissed in the heyday of free form FM radio, so long ago. 

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Recordheads With A Broadcasting Licence

On a basic level, WFMU is record heads playing music for other record heads. On My Castle Of Quiet, William Berger played Krautrock by Can, Amon Duul and Kraftwerk. Stan followed, saying Bill's set led him to play Golem from the set Krautrock Archive Volume One. DJs with freedom are like musicians--listening is as important as playing.

It's fascinating to hear a DJ join extremely natural sounds with spit-shined, modern production. Creative freedom allows experiments in sound texture. Irene Trudel this week played Amina Alaoui, Miriam Makeba, Rickie Lee Jones and Caetano Veloso, before the gleaming torch song of "I Confess" from the new k.d. Lang And The Sis Boom Bang album. Done wrong such segues can protrude like sore thumbs. But Irene used the mellow tones of all this music so the tracks complimented each other perfectly.

Therese made a similar move using soul: listen to the rich, organic harmonies of Labelle covering "Something In The Air/The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," next to the ultra modern sounds of  Beyonce's "Countdown." "Beyonce of WFMU?!!!" you shudder? Remember, music's sound is influenced by its context. Labelle's master vocals make you hear Beyonce's in a way you would never on a hits station.

 
But organizing music with obvious links can also create a rewarding set. Mike Van Laar's set from this week grouped British psychedelia and art rock, featuring Gong, Hawkwind, Tomorrow, and The Scaffold. On Dark Night Of The Soul, Julie ran the same play far more broadly--threading 1966 and 1972 music by The Kinks, and Ray Davies solo, with bands ranging from The Fall to The Jam to Herman's Hermits. Long and diverse, ambition can make such a set chaotic if the DJ is not careful. (Listen to how many well-intentioned mix tapes falter when there is all diversity but weak links.) But shrewd Julie uses the Kinks angle to weave her grouping tight. 

Free form DJs fly without a net--OR make their net as they go along.

 

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: The Blues

I've never dealt directly with the blues in this post. With so many musical sub-genres now, we forget what was gospel to artists a generation ago: rock, funk, and much jazz has a blues base. On More Exciting Moments, Frank O'Toole played "Rollin' and Tumblin'" performed by Muddy Waters. This rough, twelve bar Chicago style is what 1960s bands, like The Rolling Stones and Cream, based their music on.

Frank played another Chicago innovator, Howlin' Wolf. On 1969's "Who's Been Talkin'" from the London Sessions, the master recorded with Eric Clapton, Bill Wyman, Steve Winwood, and many other of his British students. Wolf proves the simplest blues changes will work in any style, in this case, Latin.

Al Kooper applied brass to a sophisticated blues style. Listen to him in Blood Sweat And Tears singing "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" played by Irwin. On Zzzzzzero Hour, Bill Mac played a Captain Beefheart take on the genre "Diddy Wha Diddy."  Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain", played by Sue P. on Solid Gold Hell, is not blues in the strict sense. But the far more important emotional essence of the music is viscerally evident.

In jazz, musicians often spice the traditional blues I IV V chord progression. Listen to Steve Krinsky playing "Blue Monk" by Thelonious Monk. Hear how many chords Monk weaves through, still maintaining a blues structure. Other times, such as on Miles Davis' "Blue In Green," played by Irwin, the chords are basic--even if substitutions are added--and the simple foundation launches brilliant soloing.

In 2011, many 15-year-olds with guitars don't understand who the Beatles were, much less rock's blues fatherhood. But dig through some of the WFMU archives: there is plenty of pure blues and blues-derived music. If you'd like to learn more about blues, start with this article.

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: Summer Madness

You probably read on the website or heard that WFMU has begun its summer schedule. Let's walk through some of the highlights of this week.

You can play with the inversion the sound of music, the music of sound. But most DJs use both interchangeably. (Read that as screw the academics and embrace aural delight!)  Duane got his hands on some 7"s used to promote black (2011: African-American) films in the 1970s. He used these to open his sets, playing Superfly radio spot, Detroit 9000 radio spot,  TNT Jackson radio spot , Black Shampoo radio spot, Dr.Black & Mr Hyde radio spot, and Coffy Radio Spot. With the internet-or amazing luck at thrift shops-sounds thought to be gone forever are available for those fortunate enough to identify and find them.

Of course sounds other than conventional songs have been long available. Listen to how Bob Brainen uses "Space Walk." by composer Nico Fidenco from the album Monster Movie Music Volume 4. When listening to music, we listen to composed or improvised sound--but it is still sound! (Notice how Bob's web page says "DJ has a fondness for sound.") Collectors spend their lives trying to obtain and hear every sound they can put on a stereo. DJs spend their lives trying to make these sounds work together.

Mike Van Laar played the title track from William S. Fischer's 1970 Circles next to jazz harp player Dorothy Ashbey. Fisher was a musical director who worked with a lot of Atlantic Records artists in the early 70's, such as Les McCann and Eugene McDaniels. The album, strangely, alternates between the psychedelic soul, the rock of the title track, and electronic experiments.

This week WFMU DJs had a real yen for soul and R&B--look at the playlists--so here is a counter punch. Evan "Funk" Davies went record collecting in Canada recently, and brought back goodies by, among many Kim Mitchell, and Sloan. It's ironic that the straight-ahead rock "Funk" specializes in is the antithesis of syncopated funk. Maybe the point is the uselessness of genre labels. Funk for Evan is more about the ever important musical attitude than the unimportant marketing category.

It'd be cruel to put words in your head without playing the song. Here is Noah on Coffee Break For Hereos And Villians playing Kool And The Gang's "Summer Madness." Enjoy and thanks for reading.

DJ Handi's Archive Picks: The Deep Caverns Of Free Form's Brain

Each WFMU DJ's show has a very specific sound. I often wonder how each DJ creates this.

Example: this week, Duane did a set composed mostly of soul. He used the band Odyssey  from the compilation Motown's Mowest Story 1971-1973, and included Ruth Brown and Willie Hutch. Soul sounds fresher than most "oldies" genres, and Duane's soul set particularly so: this music is not worn by decades of radio overkill.

But Mr. Finewine also uses soul on Downtown Soulville, as does Small Change on Nickel and Dime Radio. Why is each different? Well, listen to this Downtown Soulville Set of Frank Frost, Billy Watkins, and The Mixtures. Mr. Finewine uses 45s featuring stripped-to-essentials, gutbucket soul sound.

Small Change uses a far more eclectic approach on Nickel And Dime Radio. In this show-opening set, he starts with "Lesson 2" a mix of classic funk by James Brown and Sly And The Family Stone by Double Dee and Steinski . But he then uses 1960s psych-blues-rock by the Turtles, "Buzz Saw," and beautifully obnoxious 1970s hard rock, "Bad Talking Lady," by Left End. Why does it work? Any good set has to have a thread, and here, it is the driving tempos and rhythms.

Here is another way to unlock the mystery of what gives each WMFU DJ their sound. How is the same song used differently? Let's take what may be the first progressive rock song labeled as such, King Crimson's 1969 "21st Century Schizoid Man"  Hot Rod thematically linked it with Hawkwind's' Sonic Attack. The two tracks are very different, but are in the same British Rock Undergound ballpark. In a second archive, Hot Rod deconstructs the peice, editing the chorus into Kanye West's "Power." after playing Crimso's whole track. Against this modern backdrop, Crimson's early FM science fiction nightmare takes on a completely different aura. Mike Sin played a low-fi version of Crimson playing the song at a ''69 Filmore East show, contextualizing the track on Optical Sound as garage next to The Chocolete Watch Band. Scott Williams did the most risky deconstruction, playing the studio backing track as a bed for sped-up veteran radio announcer, Paul Harvey

When flying without the nets of playlists and formats, context and nuance are everything!  It teaches a lot about why each WFMU DJ's show is unique when hearing the archives with this in mind.