WFMU's Beware of the Blog

WFMU's Myspace Band Buddies - vote for your favorites, FINAL ROUND!

Good morning people! 

This is it!  The last round of voting for your favorite randomly selected bands from WFMU's hefty list o' buddies at a certain social networking site of which you may have heard.  Thanks to everyone who's listened and voted so far.

Here's the deal, in case you missed earlier installments:  the band or bands who get the most "Pump it" votes each week will be forever exalted on my FIRST EVER MARATHON PREMIUM called "In MySpace, No One Can Hear You Scream" (you can still pledge to this year's marathon here). Last round's favorites were Satanicpornocultshop, Porest, Paid in Puke, For Esme, and Bonbomb! Congratulations, band buddies!! 

Who will be next? It's up to you!!!

The Feelies and the Hoboken Sound

In addition to the WFMU supported 4th of July concert (link) the Feelies are playing two shows at Maxwell's on July 1st and 2nd. Thanks to the time sensitive email from Brian Turner I was able to buy a pair of tickets before they sold out, in I think an hour. In anticipation of all this fantasticness I post an edited excerpt of something I found on the internets a few months back: A 1985 documentary on 'The Hoboken Sound.' (link)

WFMU's Myspace Band Friends, Vote for yer faves, Round 7!!!

Good morning people! Got some more music goodies this week for you to vote yay or nay to, courtesy of WFMU's hefty list o' buddies at a certain social networking site of which you may have heard. We've got Japanese collagists recycling Missy Eliot, The Ramones recycled by Christians, North American musicians named after recycled French Existentialism 101 exam terms, a track from the guy who put together the Sublime Frequencies "Choubi Choubi" compilation of folk and pop from Iraq, a song named after the capital of Iran, a New Jersey collagist named after a line from one of the greatest teen comedies ever, an atmospheric piece from Germany, and a straight out rocker, just for good measure. Consider it the Earth Day Special... or not....!!!

The band or bands who get the most "Pump it" votes each week will be forever exalted on my FIRST EVER MARATHON PREMIUM called "In MySpace, No One Can Hear You Scream" (you can still pledge to this year's marathon here). Last round's favorites were The Bran Flakes, Slasher Risk, and The Little League! Congratulations, band buddies!!

Who will be next? It's up to you!!!

The Married...With Children Theme Music is Wrong on Hulu

There I was just cruising Hulu to see how my dad's favorite television show holds up 15 years down the line.  Kelly is still hot, Bud is still a dick, Al is still stuck in the shoe store etc etc but THE FUCKING THEME MUSIC IS DIFFERENT!  It's supposed to be the VOCAL VERSION of "LOVE AND MARRIAGE" but now it's some goddamn terrible royalty-free bullshit MIDI instrumental impression of a song that might sound like "Love and Marriage" if you are Tiny James and had been stuck inside a Regular Size Vodka Peach for four days.

What the HELL??

When Mom Calls 911

Thanks to my simple gmail address I get a lot of mail sent to me on accident. My favorite unintentional correspondent is a juvenile correction officer from down south. He mistakenly sends me lots of pictures of juvenile young women posing in hotel rooms, with captions like "Buddy, isn't she hot!" Last night he fwded me an office thread containing an mp3 clip of a distraught mother calling 911. Of course the clip is totally amazing (mom is ready to kill her 15 year old son who is being disrespectful), but it is a bit surprising that the people in charge have no problem using their work email accounts to fwd this stuff around:

listen: (mp3)

update: turns out this mp3 is old, who knows who leaked it - sorry for insinuating that my email pal and his buddies were responsible

Danger! Canadians Ahead!

WARNING: These Canadian "Prevent It" Public Service Announcements are not for the squeamish:

WFMU's Myspace Band Friends, Pick your Faves, Round 6.

Hey, what's cookin', good lookin'? After the jump you'll find some mp3's for your listening pleasure, selected at random from WFMU's extensive MySpace friends list. We've got hip-hop for kids, Americana from Londoners, a healthy helping of Bran Flakes, and much more this week.

Here's the deal, in case you've missed earlier rounds: listen to the mp3, check the profile if you want, and then vote!

The band or bands who get the most "Pump it" votes each week will be forever exalted in the form of my FIRST EVER MARATHON PREMIUM called "In MySpace, No One Can Hear You Scream", offered for pledges of $75 or more to WFMU's 50th Anniversary Fundraising Marathon (you can still pledge here!) . Last round's favorites were Ultrabunny and The Hall Monitors. Congratulations, band buddies!

Who will be next? It's up to you!!

Beamz

U jam out on the beamz ;)

Play with your cat and stoned aunt ;) a little symphony.....a zymphony

Thanks Jake.

Born for Hard Luck

I'm happy to see more and more websites including video players (that actually work) on their pages that include all manner of things that aren't necessarily available on YouTube. I recently discovered the archives of FolkStreams.net, a fantastic site generally devoted to the American working class experience as it pertains to music. Here are some of the great documentaries you can view on their site for absolutely free. They are, for the most part, available in four different formats, making viewing easy to do.

Born for Hard Luck is a sensational little black and white documentary from 1976 profiling the life of a one legged blues man from North Carolina named Peg Leg Sam Jackson. Tom Davenport's gritty black and white look lends itself well to the subject matter. I believe a clip from this was used in the film Amelie (2001).

It Ain't City Music captures the spirit of a 1973 country and western festival held in a small rural community in Virginia and its ability to unite hillbillies and hippies alike.

The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago is another winner, this one from 1978. The documentary chronicles the extra-curricular musical activities of poor, working class Serbian-Americans.

There are close to forty more rarely seen documentaries following the lives of unsung Blues, Gospel, Country and Folk legends from around the USA. Most of the docs are from the sixties or seventies and several from the eighties. Here's the menu.

WFMU's MySpace Band Friends - Pick your Favorites, Round 5!!!

Good morning people! 

After a short marathon-induced break, we're back with more randomly selected morning maniac music, courtesy of WFMU's lengthy myspace friends list!  Here's the deal, in case you've missed earlier installments:  listen to the song, check the profile if you want, and then vote!    

The band or bands who get the most "Pump it" votes each week will be forever exalted in the form of my FIRST EVER MARATHON PREMIUM called "In MySpace, No One Can Hear You Scream", offered for pledges of $75 or more to WFMU's 50th Anniversary Fundraising Marathon (you can still pledge here!) .  With the artists' gracious permission, the winning tracks from the 1st portion of this year will be compiled onto one CD, packaged lovingly, and mailed to your home in exchange for some dosh for the station's perilously emaciated coffers.   Last episode's favorites include So Cow, Copydex, Holmes, The Soap, Irmãos Panarotto, and Magic Carpathians.  Congratulations, band buddies! 

Who will be next?  It's up to you!! 

Why Does Fugazi have a Myspace Page?

The sale of social networking site Bebo.com to AOL last week for $850 million prompted Billy Bragg to write an editorial in the New York Times about how artists are getting shafted out of royalty payments by web 2.0 websites who use their work to build their businesses. Though it's true that every artist that creates a profile on MySpace or any other social networking portal is legally waiving their right to royalty payments, he raises a good point: musicians and record labels using these sites to communicate to their fanbases are underselling their own worth.

I just spent a week in Austin, Texas for SXSW and I observed two completely different business cultures at work; first, the "interactive" (internet) dudes held court, then later in the week most left and the town gave way to the music fest folks. The vibe in the conference center spelled out the different trajectories of the two industries. Venture capital is currently pouring cash into every half-baked disemvoweled idea set to a powerpoint deck, so the internet guys are whooping it up. But as the music panels began the central theme congealed fairly swiftly: abject fiscal despair.

This much is clear: the retail market for music is drying up. But that doesn't mean it's time to fold in cards.

And There's Always Cap Corse

Hello, everybody. Nice seeing you again.

I was pretty sick during most of our recent fund-raising Marathon. I really can’t handle staying up all night and then going to my dayjob the next day like I used to. Stn. Mgr. Ken suggested I sleep on the floor of his office one night, and I was surprised to realize that I don’t do that kind of thing anymore. I’m a grown-up old lady now, I guess. So the only way I could get through the various shows and co-hosting slots and public singing humiliations I’d signed up for was to ingest massive amounts of cough syrup.

That’s probably why I noticed the little pamphlet at the drug store last Saturday. It’s a Parent’s Guide to Preventing Teen Cough Medicine Abuse, from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

Q: Where are teens finding information about cough medicine abuse.
A: There is little in current teen culture—music, movies, fashion, and entertainment—that promotes or even mentions cough medicine abuse. The one exception is the Internet. A number of disreputable web sites promote the abuse of cough medicine containing DXM.

I wanted to help, and I thought it would be good to make the FMU blog a reputable web site to promote the abuse of cough medicine. During the year he spent in a fancy, expensive, small liberal-arts college, my brother-in-law tried every cough syrup on the market and wrote up little reviews of each one, and I thought it would be nice to post those here, but he says he doesn’t have them anymore. Actually, he says he doesn’t even remember writing the reviews, and I’m not sure he remembers being in college, either.

Since my various WFMU shows have always been drug-free zones, I decided promoting cough syrup abuse was probably not such a great idea anyway. I have always promoted drinking, though, and I was pleased to find the recipe for a fine, fine superfine cocktail. You mix Lipton Raspberry White Iced Tea with Rumpleminz Schnapps, and it’s supposed to taste exactly like Robitussin. Like you drink that stuff for the flavor. But at least the toxic ingredient is alcohol, not dextromethorphan. The drink is called a “WannaTussin,” and I swear I am not making that up.

Thanks to Flakmag.com for the nifty photo. And here is a video of Japanese schoolgirls eating Finnish salt licorice. You’d think anyone who would eat those salt plums would be all over salmiakki, but I guess not.

Thanks for reading my blog post this time, and may God bless.

WFMU's MySpace Band Friends, Pick Your Favorites, Round 4!!!

Good morning everybody!  We're back with another healthy helping of mp3 treats courtesy of WFMU's lengthy myspace friends list!  The gist, in case you've missed the earlier installments:  listen to the song, check the profile if you want, and then vote!    

The band or bands who get the most "Pump it" votes each week will be forever exalted in the form of my FIRST EVER MARATHON PREMIUM called "In MySpace, No One Can Hear You Scream",   offered for pledges of $75 or more during WFMU's 50th Anniversary fundraising Marathon (going on now!!!).  With the artists' gracious permission, the winning tracks from the 1st portion of this year will be compiled onto one CD, packaged lovingly, and mailed to your home in exchange for some dosh for the station's perilously emaciated coffers.   Last week's faves included the Wobblies and Eleanor Roosevelt.  Congratulations, band buddies!  Who will be next?  It's up to you!!

A couple of notes to all you commenters out there:  first, this is a nice friendly contest!!! Last week, I had to take down an mp3 because a couple of people's not-so-nice comments made an 8-year-old girl cry her eyes out.  If you must criticize, please be constructive!  I can't take any more tears.  Secondly:  pledge! pledge! pledge!

Enough lecture!!! On to Music!! 

Funeral for a Friend

Last summer more than a hundred people attended the funeral of a young man from Dokkum in the Dutch province of Friesland and now you can too. His parents have posted a highlight video online. That this most private of moments from a far-off stranger's life could be put on display in such a manner may seem perverse, but for hundreds, maybe thousands of people around the world, watching this footage is a sweet and tearful conclusion to an odd sort of friendship made possible by the Internet and a shared love of music.

Dirk Sietse Gjaltema died last August 1 before reaching his 20th birthday. On a Thursday in late March 2006, he started a blog called Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll on which he posted downloads of his favorite albums paired with charming and impassioned descriptions of them. Though the majority of his posts presented Japanese music—in June '06, he added a download of Anthology of Japanese New Folk, a terrific marathon premium from WFMU's Janitor From Mars—his adventuresome taste led readers through the acid folk, garage rock and psychedelia of Turkey, Korea, Brazil, his native Holland and many other wide-ranging outposts of progressive sounds. In early September, Dirk promised to put up a download of the rarity Zeer Oude Klanken En Heel Nieuwe Geluiden by the Dutch three-string guitar masher Eddy van der Meer, but the following post instead contained this stunner:

dear music friends i wont be posting new music for at least two weeks because i am in the hospital , i need a operation for my legg , becauce it is very bad with my legg a car hit me, and hurt my legg very badly, it would be very nice iff you send me a postcard.

Back home a few days later, Dirk dutifully posted the album while also happening to mention that an MRI on his damaged leg revealed a tumor and he was due back in hospital for tests since "they don't know yet if its a good one or a bad one." Well, the tumor turned out to be Ewing's sarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer.

Dump it or Pump it? Round Three!!!

Good morning!  It's time again to turn our eyes and ears to a selection of bands from WFMU's gargantuan myspace friends list.  Here's the deal in case you missed the previous installments:  listen to the song, check the profile if you want, and then vote!   

The band or bands who get the most "Pump it" votes each week will be forever exalted in the form of my FIRST EVER MARATHON PREMIUM called "In MySpace, No One Can Hear You Scream", which will be offered during WFMU's 50th Anniversary fundraising Marathon (starting February 25th!!).  With the artists' gracious permission, the winning tracks from the 1st portion of this year will be compiled onto one CD, packaged lovingly, and mailed to your home in exchange for some dosh for the station's perilously emaciated coffers.   Last week's winners included The Steeds, The Wiggins and Hot Cha Cha - congratulations!

Who will be next?  It's up to you!!

Sensory Overload

This is what it must be like to live in Tokyo:
http://oamos.com

Type in any search term (like wfmu or taco), making sure you've swallowed your seizure meds and turned up your speakers before the fun begins.

I think my head just exploded. Either that, or I've become a cyborg.

Thanks Andy (I think). Image by RSMS Kopimi.

Weird World, Part Three: 90 Day Jane Comments

Comments from an entry on 90 Day Jane (note 2: site no longer exists, ), a blog with the tagline "I'm Going to Kill Myself in 90 Days."

You should put out too, because its not going to matter if you get pregnant or get aids.

You will be dead before either really matter anyway.

I was wondering if i could get an interview with you for my college newspaper, it would definitely leave us both annonymous but i would be extremely interested in getting a one on one chat with you.

roses are red violets are blue I want fuck you with a rake

Instead of blowing your brains out with a shotgun, blow your brains out with a Super Soaker loaded with gasoline as you hold a match in your mouth.

I am a cannibal living in the Steglitz region of Berlin. I want to know if you would like to join me on your day of 'no more'.

POST NUMBER 32 WHOOO!

I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with Jane...Who knows - I'm not Frasier Crane.

Why are you wating so long? Just kill yourself now. BTW, halo 3 was eazy EVEN ON LEGENDARY!

Everytime a laundry detergent or toiletpaper commercial comes on TV, I'm moved to transports of rage. Who are THEY to tell US what to do?

I think you should do it by cutting off your ugly head with a chainsaw.

I hope you get hit by a bus tomorrow, you attention seeking whore :)

Superglue your hands to your head (You'll understand later)

I live in Germany (as mentioned) and according to OUR law it is not a crime, nor an offence to give verbal help to someone who want to commmit a suicide if you don't assist the process...However, I need to go for 60 mins but I will be back.

Did you hear about the guy who died on youtube? Everybody's sad about that.

Canada, as Long Island Sees Her: Tony Sings Rush

I hope this'll tide you over til StSanders comes back.

This is me practicing voice and guitar parts for RUSH 2112, that I performed live through 2000, 2001. It is also one of my favourite CLASSIC ROCK albums, one that is greatly IGNORED by radio, and cable TV. We can CHANGE ALL THAT. RUSH is the best LIVE ACT currently playing , and no new band could hope to touch them. So I salute the ol' CANADIANS, their creativity and ingenuity, and STUBORNESS , they never gave in and" SOLD OUT " carry on guys...I love you

Tony sings lots of other things too - youtube.

Massive Subculture Reveal: Bemani

Sometimes you like to pat yourself on the back for having a fun idea like "Guitar Hero?  What about Techno Hero!!!!  That would be so much fun, like haha stupid what would you do, sit there and push play.....haha stupid idea."

Then someone from Japan blows your fucking brain away.

That person (female, I think, because of the spotty nail polish) is playing beatmania IIDX 15 DJ:Troopers.  As you might be able to tell from all the postfixes, it's the latest in a very long run of titles Konami's Bemani series.  It's included games like Guitar Freaks, that featured a guitar controller way before Guitar Hero came out, portable (!) rhythm games called Bemani Pocket, and most famously, Dance Dance Revolution.  The IIDX iteration, which has been around since 1999, features two one-octave keyboard pads and a turntable controller (yes, she's using it in the video - check the pinky).  Instead of a meager 50-someodd songs like Guitar Hero and Rock Band come with, they have...500 songs.  Blam!

In December, there was a gigantic "Bemani 10th anniversary Memorial Event" concert in Tokyo called Gitado Live:

How in the goddamn fucking hell had I not heard of this entire world before this morning?  It got me thinking.  Right now, video gaming - in the United States, at least - is a world of extremes.

Death of the presumed dead

When Suzanne Pleshette's demise was announced, you thought: who knew she was still alive?

Same for Netscape Navigator (1994-2008). Well, not dead, but not exactly on life support.

Who else is still alive we presume dead? (David Lee Roth's career doesn't count.) Deposit names in the Comments section.

Dump it or Pump it?? "WFMU Idols", Round Two

Good morning, people!  We're back with another savory gallimaufry of musical tidbits courtesy of WFMU's insanely long list of myspace music buddies.  If you missed the first post in this series, here's the basic gist:  Listen to the song.  Check out the profile, if you want.  Then vote! 

The band or bands who get the most "Pump it" votes each week will be forever exalted in the form of my FIRST EVER MARATHON PREMIUM called "In MySpace, No One Can Hear You Scream", which will be offered during WFMU's 50th Anniversary fundraising Marathon (starting February 25th!!).  With the artists' gracious permission, the winning tracks from the 1st portion of this year will be compiled onto one CD, packaged lovingly, and mailed to your home in exchange for some dosh for the station's perilously emaciated coffers.  So far we have The Toblerones, fronted by everyone's favorite WFMU prodigy (all growed up and channeling the Velvet Underground). 

Who will be next???  It's up to you!!!

Webisodes worth watching

"Webisode" is one of those 21st century future words that I still have a bit of trouble wrapping my head around. The phrase "video podcast" doesn't serve much better. But they are certainly their own creatures. These videos aren't long enough to be TV shows or even short films, and yet it isn't right to just call them clips, either. Heck, quite often they are professionally made and even have good editing and production values - but still with that backyard homemade feel.

Well, whatever the word, these streaming (and often downloadable) videos usually focus on one of three topics: comedy, music, and science. Well, that is a wild generalization, but I don't have time to explore the infinite amount of video out there. These categories just happen to help define the three web series that have grabbed my attention recently. And so I share them with you.

Comedy: YACHT ROCK   
Music: TAKE-AWAY SHOWS 
Science: THE MANPOLLO PROJECT

Follow the jump for details, links, and video samples.

The New English

There is an ethnic derivation of English mysteriously absent from the SIL International Ethnologue database: Schizophasia.  Mysterious because it is no longer only spoken by "Schizophrenics".  We have, among others, Paula Abdul and Shirley Phelps-Roper upon whom to heap eternal gratitude for that.  Each, upon returning from her own (ahem) "inward sabbatical", had been rigorously taught this hitherto non-indigenous language (by Walter Skinner, of course) and now wish to indoctrinate us in hopes of fostering deeper rapport and understanding between mainstream schizophrenics and the rest of us--who will become schizophrenics very soon if January 20th of next year doesn't hurry the fuck up and get here.

So, until the SIL International Ethnologue database at long last recognizes the legitimacy of Schizophasia as English's triumphant replacement, you can study up on common Schizophasic phrases for "Don't eat the chicken" or "Has anybody ever told you you look just like Amanda Plummer in "Freeway""? by these other native speakers:

Gerald (Pts. 1 & 2) / Heather / The real James Bond / Henry Wallace, artist (Pts. 1 & 2) / Unknown

Here are two speakers of a sub-IAL dialect first discovered in the 70's called Disassociative Pidgin English (formerly known by the peculiar designations "Multiple Personality Disorder" and "Disassociative Identity Disorder"):

Jaid / Some woman who calls herself "RainbowsBubble"

WFMU's Myspace Band Friends - Dump 'em or Pump 'em?

Good morning, citizen!  You've heard of this myspace thing, yes?  WFMU has had a little profile page set up there for a couple of years now.

Things being the way they are in the music world, scores and scores of bands request to be our virtual buddies there every week in the hopes of getting some Radio Airplay.  Music & Program Director Brian used to handle these requests, but he turned the job over to me in order to free up some more time for his Lasagna Cat addiction. 

Using a complicated algorithm based on factors such as whether one's profile picture shows them holding a guitar (out), or playing a guitar (in), I slog through all the requests and decide who's in and who's out.  Generally, I am a lazy bouncer and accept everyone, unless they are the young lady pictured to the right or other spammer types.   

The result of this quasi-calculus is that WFMU has a hefty friend list, over 10,000 so far. While the quantity may be impressive, that is no vouch for quality.  Digital recording is easily accomplished these days, and anyone can make a myspace page to promote their music. 

So, in an election year spirit of Democracy I put the decision to you, dear readers.  After the jump you'll find a random assortment of WFMU's band buddies  presented for your approval.  Take a listen to these bands and then please cast your votes... pump 'em... or dump 'em???

Garfield gets weird and Muppets get dirty

This is making the rounds of all the big bloggie-things today, so who am I to deny it's awesome power. Herewith, we have Garfield cartoon strips brought to life, and then remixed into trippy music videos. Ladies and Gentlemen, LasagnaCat, an idea so simply stupid that it is absolutely brilliant.

More details on the people behind this new viral craze here.

Here's another disturbing video update of a childhood character. This one is a lovely mash-up of two of my favorite comedy bits from when I was 13: Muppet cranks Statler and Waldrof with new dialogue from Derek and Clive.

NSFW - unless your workplace likes copious use of the word "cunt".

Related: Dead Garfield, Derek and Clive on MP3 (and more FMU Blue),  Derek meets Air Supply