WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Great Moments in WFMU History #27

Broken Windows and Bullet Holes - by Ken Freedman and Liz Berg

WFMU’s old house on Springdale Ave. was located in a crime-ridden sector of East Orange, NJ, adjacent to the Upsala College campus. WFMU was not immune to the area’s problems, which became evident after a visiting band’s van was stolen directly from the front driveway within a week of the station’s move from a basement dormitory on the Upsala campus.

This initial van theft foreshadowed countless staff muggings, a beating or two, and many vandalized vehicles. One time a police chase ended on WFMU’s front lawn, where a car thief bailed out of the stolen vehicle and the East Orange cops opened fire. Another time, gunshots rang out during an outdoor staff meeting. Staffers discovered that the East Orange police were engaged in some leisurely post-BBQ target practice on the abandoned Upsala soccer field just across the backyard fence.

Illustration by Edward Lasala

 

Revisionism Revisited (MP3s)

With the task of assembling a weekly radio show no longer a regular part of my life, my relationship with music has definitely shifted in some unexpected ways. I've been (happily) languishing in temporary-retirement mode from the WFMU airwaves since last summer, so instead of the constant off-air worries regarding which of a record's tracks could be used in a particular set of songs for the radio, I'm back to listening to albums in their entirety and digesting them as more singular works. Since signing off from my weekly airslot, I've enjoyed being able to listen more carefully through the zillions of sub- and counter- cultural artifacts I've acquired over the last twenty five years of adult life. I suspected there would be a lot of tracks I'd missed the first time around, and my suspicions seem to have been validated by the many great sounds I've blundered into lately. Most of them have been splendid reminders of why I ever sought reward in the realms of music and art in the first place, so for the purposes of supporting this rather ambitious claim, I'm including several MP3s at the end of this post.

First of all, I should warn everyone reading that I might have the crappiest record collection of any WFMU DJ in recent memory. And by "crappy", what I really mean is "most devoid of things that are very rare or cost me a lot of money." Perhaps shockingly, this is due more to my constant discarding of things I haven't listened to in a while than it is my arguably pedestrian musical tastes. As anyone who lives in a city will tell you, finding affordable apartments with enough room for an ample music collection isn't easy, and won't earn you any sympathy down at the Realtor's office or in the hinterlands of Craigslist. In my case, this ongoing dilemma resulted in the first of several materialist freakouts of my 30s in which I skimmed through thousands of records and applied the following criteria:

If-I-haven't-listened-to-it-or-played-it-on-the-radio-in-two-years-I'm-getting-rid-of-it.

Granted, this practice had been primed much earlier in my life. As a kid, I would routinely save money for new records, bring them home and tape them, and then return to the record store the next day to trade them in for still more new records. This was fairly common practice for people of my generation, and plenty of us still have boxes of rapidly decomposing cassettes in our closets right now to prove it. So before you get all bent out of shape and critical, let me assure you that I've regretted ever falling into this practice since my highly-coveted 7 Seconds / Prong cassette got eaten by the tape deck in my '81 VW Rabbit many years ago. Suffice it to say, malfunctioning equipment isn't the sole culprit in my long road towards a music collection that's almost completely devoid of nuance. Plenty of other good records that I did keep original copies of were lost along the way simply out of lapses in judgment, passing indifference, or during periods of financial duress. (The one and only time I resorted to selling records on eBay was to finance the purchase of a Hugo Boss suit for my wedding, and I would like to publicly thank Johnny Thunders, the 13th Floor Elevators, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, and the many other diamonds in the rough that I hawked on that particular occasion. I haven't looked back once, and the suit has repeatedly come in handy in ways that I'm pretty sure the first Pop Group LP never would have.)

Great Moments in WFMU History #26

Live Before the Acropolis - by Ken Freedman and Liz Berg

Back in the midst of WFMU’s halcyon prog years, DJ Richard Ginsburg went against the collective flow of airing 19-minute guitar journeys, hosting an electronic space jam show called “Synthetic Pleasure.” The program was wildly popular, as many New Jersey music fans had recently embraced the power of keytar, and it even went down in the books for being the first show on WFMU to play CDs. But perhaps Ginsburg’s most significant innovation was that he broke Yanni. Yes, that Yanni. In fact, Yanni used to visit WFMU fairly often to play his demo tapes and chat on-air. This was, of course, prior to his being widely recognized as an adult contemporary new age pimp.

Illustration by Matthew Thurber

How to Build and Design Microtonal and Electric Guitars (mp3s)

Uncle Woody Sullender checks in with this preview of his May 12th special, which airs Noon to 3pm:

Artist Paul Rubenstein has been teaching a class called "Building Music" at Franklin K. Lane and Wingate High Schools in Brooklyn.  Students learn to build their own guitars, from winding their own electric pickups to designing the guitar body to fretting the fingerboard (Paul has students utilizing a microtonal seven-tone equal temperament scale). After building the guitars, the class then creates original music with these instruments through amplifiers also of their own construction.   The students bring a sense of improvisational fun that would be expected from a class armed with homemade amplified electric instruments. 

Check out these MP3s to hear their music, vaguely reminiscent of early no wave:

Track 1 (Nick on square wave oscillator, Ayonde on guitar, Hector on electric saron, Rashid on claves, Vishal on guitar and Mr. R (Paul Rubenstein) on shaker)

Track 2 (Tyrone and Nick on the guitars they made, Ayonde on electric saron, Hector on claves, Angel on doumbek, Rashid on shaker and Mr. R (Paul Rubenstein)  on tambourine)

More tracks, photos, and videos are available on their website. This Monday, May 12th, some of Paul's students from Franklin K. Lane and Wingate High Schools will be showing off their amazing instruments on my show, noon-3pm on WFMU.

Great Moments in WFMU History #25

Wesley Willis Head-Butt - by Ken Freedman & Liz Berg

Late musician Wesley Willis dropped by WFMU to play live on the air in 1996. A sweet guy, Willis was plagued by schizophrenia and the voices inside his head, and would frequently scream out of fear. He was on tour with a Chicago metal band called The Fiasco, who were incredibly disrespectful to the tortured man. During his time at WFMU, Wesley took a liking to a young, attractive female volunteer, who had just started helping out at the station that very day. Willis repeatedly hugged his new muse, and was finally so enamored that he dealt her a hearty head-butt (a token of affection that he was well-known for offering fans, as evident by the unicorn bump on his forehead), which may have scared her away from the station for good.

Willis was very unsatisfied with his on-air performance, and actually wrote a self-deprecating song about the experience, called “I Fucked Up At WFMU,” which he performed the following night at a show in Washington, DC. The song title was later changed to “I Done A Poor Job” and appears on Wesley’s New York New York album.

Illustration by Dimitri Simakis

Recent Faves from the New Bin

This was a semi-regular post here on WFMU's BotB, but personal craziness leading up to the March fundraiser, working on assorted WFMU concerts, and being sidetracked by other things had me on the bench for a bit. So yes, you don't need me to tell you there are still a mess of very fine documents of recorded music worth seeking, hearing. Here's a few currently dripping some good grease into the station's new bin as we speak:

Warner Jepson's Totentanz was a gurgling slab of primal concrete in LP edition of 300 back in 1967; besides being the result of  hours of tooling around in the SF Tape Machine Center and Mills Collage labs, the record served its purpose well of alienating patrons at ballet performances it was featured at. I haven't seen a proper reissue (though a grey area CDR floated around last year or so), but thanks to Mitchell Brown (aka the excellent KXLU radio host Professor Canteloupe) and his Melon Expander label, Totentanz and more are back. Jepson's works represented here span the years 1958 through 1973 and range from skittery, echoplexed moon rumblings to flat out sinewave scorchings all finding their ways into various theater and ballet peformances, and later onto PBS itself when Jepson got interactive with experimental visual media. Real Audio: "Laughter After" (1958).

The Sic Alps (pictured above) came from another zone of California experimentalism. For the last half decade or so, the zonked atmosphere of pre-Virgin Royal Trux has gone face to face with Nuggets ideology to probably alienate your average bowl-cut Little Steven fan more than anything, yet ably carries the torch of the Elevators, Troggs and more into a cosmic cohesion of faithful rock fandom and flipped-out otherworldiness.  2007's Description of the Harbor is probably one of the most tuneful "out" records ever made in my opinion, and since that thing disappeared rather quickly out of sight (and up the Ebay mountain) it's nice to see it's reappeared courtesy Animal Disguise on CD with other assorted 7" and 12" EP, CDR and 7" tracks from 2006 and 2007 compiled neatly. We're bummed to hear the new tour has been sidelined though due to drummer Matt's broken arm. Get better, Matt! Real Audio: "Message From the Law". Live performance on WFMU 11/6/07.

And while the Alps' SF brethren the Hospitals (whose Adam Stonehouse spent time in the SA's) channel their single-output cavesound in a similar way, the Hospitals' flat out destructo-factor has continually clubbed its listeners in a less subtle (but still awesome) manner. I always still considered the Hospitals a garage punk band in its purest form even as leader Adam Stonehouse changed up personnel around him constantly, but the latest LP Hairdryer Peace shows loftier ambitions.

Sensei Rebel's Archive Picks of the Week (April 28 - May 4, 2008)

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

Rock And Roll
The Heads - "Television" MP3 | RealAudio from Scott Williams' show

International
Sounds of Taraab - "Daka Kozi Manowe" MP3 | RealAudio from Woody's show

Experimental
Woods - "Family" MP3 | RealAudio from Stochastic Hit Parade with Bethany Ryker

Dance
LFO - "Tan Ta Ra (Moby Remix)" MP3 | RealAudio from Sound And Safe with Trent

Instrumental
Uakti - "Arrumacao" MP3 | RealAudio from All Over the Map with PGB (filling in for Evan Muse)

Fave Songs of the Week
Capricorn - "20hz" MP3 | RealAudio from Sound And Safe with Trent
Arling & Cameron - "Herrmann" MP3 | RealAudio from All Over the Map with PGB (filling in for Evan Muse)

Great Moments in WFMU History #24

Burnt Orange - by Ken Freedman & Liz Berg

In 1998, a few years after Upsala College went completely bankrupt, closed its doors, and abandoned the East Orange, NJ campus, WFMU was on the brink of a move to its new home in Jersey City. During the final program on the final night of the last-ever WFMU fundraising Marathon held in the station’s Springdale Ave house next to the campus, a gratifying farewell symbol presented itself. The empty Upsala Business Office, a site of countless financial battles between the station and college administration, burst into flames and burnt to the ground. DJ Frank Balesteri (aka The Vanilla Bean) grabbed volunteer Phil Catalano’s cell phone, galloped toward the blazing inferno, and called in to the on-air line to give a play-by-play of the mayhem, even managing to interview a firefighter.

Art by Aaron Zimmerman

More Info on the Free Sonic Youth/Feelies July 4th Tickets

River To River, who in conjunction with Downtown Alliance are putting on the free July 4th Sonic Youth/Feelies concert at Battery Park (with special support from WFMU!) have now announced that you may sign up as of today for their email blasts on their R2R Wire page regarding all of their events. The bottom line, however, is that ticket reservations for this July 4th event are hitting on THURSDAY, JUNE 12th at 12:00 NOON at their site. Once your reservation is in, you'll be instructed on how to pick up your passes before July 4th. They are putting a limit of two tickets per person during this reservation process.

Great Moments in WFMU History #23

Making Old Ladies Cry Since 1995 - by Ken Freedman & Liz Berg

Fig. 1 - During an episode of talk show Seven Second Delay, callers provided hosts Andy Breckman and Ken Freedman with the name and number of someone who needed cheering up. A young woman called in and suggested that the hosts phone her Aunt Tess, who was living in a nursing home. Andy called up Aunt Tess, and when he explained that her niece had asked him to send her good cheer, the poor woman began to cry. Andy milked more tears by gushing about the thoughtfulness of the niece’s gesture. Sept. 25, 1995.

Fig. 2 - Two high school kids in a band called up during an episode when callers were asked to play their answering machine messages over the air. The band members played a message that another bandmate had left for them, in which he earnestly chatted about the group’s new songs and expressed excitement about their next practice. Trouble was, the callers wanted him out of the band. Andy jumped at this opportunity to call the unsuspecting teenager and kick him out of the band over the air.

Fig. 3 - On another occasion, Andy offered $50 to any kid who delivered their tooth to WFMU before the end of the hour instead of leaving it for the tooth fairy. A kid named Henry called in on a cell phone and his mother Wendy agreed to drive him to the station to trade the tooth for Andy’s money. The pair were stuck in traffic on the way, but upon reaching the station, the situation appeared favorable to Henry… until he and Wendy hopped into the station’s notoriously slow elevator. Still on the phone, Andy berated the mother and son, building the pressure and making it sound as though they were too late for the money. At this point, poor Henry lost it and broke into tears in the elevator. But in the end, Henry made it to the studio in time, and gladly took Andy’s $50. Listen to this archive in real audio here.

Illustration by Mark Kaufman

Another WFMU Free Music Series Concert! The Ex with Gétatchèw Mèkurya, Either/Orchestra with Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté, Extra Golden: August 20th

(photo left: Konstantin's Flickr page)

When WFMU was first presented with the ability to put on some free NYC concerts via the New York State Music Fund grant, the obvious first notion was "who would we like to see in NYC that has never played before?" So we wound up the ball and sent the pitch over to Lincoln Center's Bill Bragin: how about Holland's greatest punk exports the Ex coming over (which they have in the past on many occasions), but this time bringing over some of their great international musician friends? The ones only Europe usually gets to see (or Ethiopia, if you happen to be there when the Ex make their fabled stops). We passed contacts to Lincoln Center, Terrie Ex got in touch with his fellow travelers, and then the ball was knocked outta the park in a severe way. The result? Lincoln Center's Out of Doors series in collaboration with WFMU's grant giving you all the chance to see the US debut of a major international collaboration for free at Lincoln Center/Damrosch Park Bandshell on West 62nd Street at Amsterdam in Manhattan, Wednesday, August 20th from 6-10 PM. Yes, free. No advance ticketing. On the bill:

The Ex with Gétatchèw Mèkurya (renowned Ethiopian saxophone legend), and if that weren't enough, Lincoln Center added two amazing East African/American collaborations to the bill: Either/Orchestra with Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté, plus Extra Golden.

If you're a fan of these artists, or Ethiopian/African sounds in general, you know this show is the event you've been waiting for. We've already spoken at length on the joys of WFMU aligning with the Ex in the past; they are among the most freeform and inspiring musicians and people we've had the fortune to experience live and on record. To hear them in full steamroller twin-guitar attack joined by the 73-year old Lion of Ethiopian saxophone is going to be a musical experience we're all gonna remember. More below on the entire fantastic bill (and don't forget the July 4th free Sonic Youth/Feelies show at Battery Park  WFMU is lending support to Downtown Alliance/River to River for!):

Great Moments in WFMU History #22

Upsala Sells WFMU - by Ken Freedman & Liz Berg

In late 1993, it became clear that Upsala College, the university that owned WFMU’s broadcast license and housed its studios, was on the verge of implosion. Seeing Upsala’s financial demise as a golden opportunity rather than the end of WFMU as he knew it, Station Manager Ken Freedman offered to purchase the station’s license from a reluctant Upsala administration.

As the college’s financial problems escalated to desperate, Ken convinced them to sign an agreement stating that he would run the station on their behalf and Auricle Communications, a non-profit group made up of DJs, listeners, and volunteers, would manage the station.

Finally Ken received a call from Upsala’s Vice President of Finance, who asked him “How quickly could we sell the station to you?” “Right away,” was Ken’s reply, even though Auricle did not have enough money to do so. A generous listener-donor loaned us the funds, papers were signed, and a rush order was sent to the FCC. Upsala’s final payroll barely squeaked by on funds from Auricle’s purchase of WFMU, and the college declared bankruptcy 2 weeks later. June 22, 1994.

Illustration by Danny Hellman

Great Moments in WFMU History #21

Panties is Fundamental - by Amanda Barrett

Bronwyn C.'s "Read 'em and Weep" was a radio book club, and in 2003 her fundraising premium giveaway was a thong with a picture of a winking book and the slogan "Panties is Fundamental." Which they is.

During her Marathon show (listen), Bronwyn was diligently hustling pledges on mic when DJ Kenny G dropped trou and stuffed his mighty man-unit into a pair of the teeny girl-undies. The shocked volunteers let the phones ring as Kenny G panty-danced behind the momentarily unaware Bronwyn.

Suddenly, Kenny G released his big ol' bookworm and rested it on Bronwyn's shoulder. She was somehow able to soldier on until Kenny began whacking her cheek with the thing. Luckily, no permanent physical injuries were sustained. Following post-traumatic stress counseling, Bronwyn said, "I knew Kenny G was nuts, but that's when I realized he was completely out of his mind." March 5, 2003.

Illustration by Steve Hogan

Sensei Rebel's Archive Picks of the Week (April 14 - 20, 2008)

I don't think it's possible not to feel a bit more joy after listening to New Musik, who give us one of the most upbeat and uplifting songs I've heard this week.

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

Rock And Roll
Metal Urbain - "E202" MP3 | RealAudio from Brian Turner's show

International
Rip Slyme - "Nettaiya" MP3 | RealAudio from Ken's show

Experimental
Bostich & Fussible - "Akai 47" MP3 | RealAudio from Maria Levitsky's show
Yuka Honda - "Night Ripper" (a mash-up) MP3 | RealAudio from (More Than A Few) Exciting Moments with Frank O'Toole (Web-only show)

Dance
Westbam & Nena - "Oldschool, Baby (Piano Mix)" MP3 | RealAudio from Trent's show (filling in for $mall Change)
Ben Mono feat. Yo Majesty - "Hit the Bit (Lorenz Rhode Remix)" MP3 | RealAudio from Trent's show (filling in for $mall Change)
DJ Lombardo Vs. Bogyman - "Disturbed" MP3 | RealAudio from Put the Needle On the Record with Billy Jam

Jungle
mu-Ziq - "Brace Yourself Jason" MP3 | RealAudio from Trent's show (filling in for $mall Change)

Fave Songs of the Week
Shuggie Otis - "Strawberry Letter 23 (Groove Armada Remix)" MP3 | RealAudio from (More Than A Few) Exciting Moments with Frank O'Toole (Web-only show)
New Musik - "This World of Water" MP3 | RealAudio from Gaylord Fields' show

Great Moments in WFMU History #20

Sharing a Beer with Joe Strummer (This Gob's for You!) - by Hova Najarian

“Kill your idols” sounds nice in theory, but the fact is DJ Hova worshipped Joe Strummer. Hova was in complete awe when Strummer stopped by WFMU for a guest-DJ set in July 2001, but he wasn’t the only star-struck staffer either. A few light-headed WFMU DJs loitered in the studio after Joe had left, savoring the moment. Mike Lupica kept stealing sidelong glances at the unfinished black-and-tan in front of Joe’s chair, finally asking, “Is that... ?”

“Go on,” Hova said. “You know you want to.”

Mike took a swig - gingerly, reverently. Transubstantiation ensued.

Brian Turner (jokingly?) suggested giving the rest away during our fundraising marathon, so Hova took the bottle home to his fridge. Several months later, Terre T. was visiting Hova, and he brought it out to show off.

“Behold,” Hova bragged. “Essence of Strummer.”

“Gimmee!” Terre blurted, snatching the bottle and chugging like a frat boy. Eventually, Hova got it back, salvaging enough beer/backwash to fill 20 small vials, which, accompanied by a certified letter of authenticity, made for a fine marathon premium. One of which Hova drank.

Joe Strummer guest DJ show:  playlist  |   listen
Strummer’s beer giveaway Marathon show:  playlist  |  listen

Illustration by Abby Denson

WFMU's Kelly Jones and Bronwyn C. on film

All of you Tribeca Film Fest fans should be pleased to know that WFMU's own hilarious girlie talk duo, Kelly Jones and Bronwyn C., are featured in one of this year's flicks: Guest of Cindy Sherman.

Back in 2004, listener Paul H-O called into The Kelly Jones Show Starring Bronwyn Carlton, seeking advice on how to deal with dating someone famous (listen to the archive). Said famous person happened to be artiste magnifique, Cindy Sherman. Less than a year later, Paul decided to document his experiences, and asked Bronwyn and Kelly to participate in the film.

Fast forward to 2008, and Guest of Cindy Sherman is slated for Tribeca AND Sundance. Congrats to Paul! More info and showtimes for Tribeca screenings available here. Ok ok, now the exciting part... check out this clip, starring Kelly Jones and Bronwyn Carlton.

Great Moments in WFMU History #19

WFMU's Emergency Plan - by Mike Lupica

Given its proximity to downtown NYC, 9/11 was an especially lousy morning to wake up in Jersey City. With random road closures and a panicked citizenry all contributing to the general chaos, it took longer than usual for WFMU’s staff to arrive for work in JC that morning.

First onhand were JM in the AM’s Nachum Segal and freeform DJ Michael Goodstein, both of whom valiantly maintained the air signal during the crisis. Mike Lupica arrived next via mountain bike and was soon joined by Scott Williams, who’d sought emergency passage on public transit. DJs Rich and Tamar arrived later, and after watching the towers fall, it was universally decided that a visit to WFMU’s smelly but well-fortified basement was quite overdue.

As F-15s screamed overhead and social chaos reigned just beyond our foyer, no less a man than Bob Gruen (famed photographer who snapped the photo of John Lennon standing astride Lady Liberty) rang the doorbell and joined the fearful cellar-dwellers; earning his place as an honorary FMU staffer for the day. By mid-afternoon, overwhelmed with the dueling stenches of moldy records and raw sewage, the shaken group left the basement to seek the particular comforts that only aggressive drinking can afford. September 11, 2001.

Art by Robert Piersanti

People Like Us Retrospective Exhibition

WFMU's own sound/image/video collage mistress People Like Us (aka Vicki Bennett) is being featured in a gallery exhibition next month. In case you weren't already aware, People Like Us is an amazing artist, DJ, and podcaster, sampling and reappropriating audio, music, film, television, found footage, and anything else she can get her hands on, resulting in surreal and sublime juxtapositions that bend one's perception of culture.

We Edit Life: a retrospective exhibition
alt.gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Opening Night: 15 May 2008, 6 - 8pm
Exhibition: 16 May - 12 July 2008

The exhibition will focus on the concept of collage, showing an edited selection of Vicki's work, including twenty album releases, numerous singles and remixes, live sets, seven films and over a hundred and fifty radio shows. Dr. Drew Daniel of Matmos even composed an essay for the the exhibition! On top of that, We Edit Life also marks the launch of a new compilation CD, "Smiling Through My Teeth," curated by People Like Us for the Sonic Arts Network.

People Like Us has previously shown work at Tate Modern, Sydney Opera House, Pompidou Centre and Sonar, and performed radio sessions for John Peel and Mixing It, as well as WFMU. In 2006, she was the first artist to be given unrestricted access to the entire BBC Archive, no small feat.

Links:
Do or DIY radio archives on WFMU

Do or DIY Podcast

Codpaste (with Ergo Phizmiz) archives

People Like Us back catalogue

People Like Us homepage

WFMU Free Music Concert Series Continues: Sonic Youth + the Feelies at Battery Park July 4

We've been keeping it somewhat of a secret for a while, but you know, bloggers tend to get the scoop before anyone (even if they were off a couple miles by location), so the cat is out of the bag as of this week. Sonic Youth and the reunited Feelies are playing a free show in Battery Park on July 4th which is damn exciting alone, but also the show is being presented by the Downtown Alliance and River to River Festival, with special support from WFMU. We're totally psyched to be involved in this auspicious occasion (and especially glad that one of the bands on the bill happens to be one of the greatest New Jersey combos in history! Go New Jersey!) Besides having a set-up at the show, we'll also be giving away tickets (yeah we know it's free, but honestly, it's destined to be a capacity crowd) so tune in for further details. Our funding for WFMU's contribution towards this event has been culled from none other than the deposed Governor Spitzer himself, and this grant has not only paved the way for WFMU Free Music Archive project but also the two free-to-the-masses Southpaw shows we put on in 2007 (Major Stars / Flaming Fire / Jonathan Kane's February / DJ/Rupture, plus Oneida / Alan Vega  / Simply Saucer / Old Time Relijun). Right now, keep an eye on River To River's website, where you can sign up for R2R Wire ticket announcements (this sign up is supposed to be available to the public May 1st). This is our 2nd 50th Anniversary concert as well, with more in the works in 2008. Visual previews:

Sonic Youth "Incinerate" (live on Letterman)
The Feelies "Away" (live 1988 on Mouth To Mouth)

Citay Live on WFMU

San Francisco's Citay played a superb live set on my show a few weeks ago ( playlist  |  listen ), check out this video that Doron kindly shot (no small task considering the size of the band and the size of our live music studio).

Great Moments in WFMU History #18

The Misfits Take On Terrorists - by Mike Lupica

“This one goes out to Pat Duncan! It’s called ‘Dig up her Bones!!’”

Eternal bearers of teenage sleaze culture, the re-activated Misfits performed on Pat Duncan's show just weeks after 9/11. The band's lineup read like a roll call of intergalactic superheroes, with genuine Misfits Jerry Only and Robo donning leather trousers and devil locks, teaming up with drummer Marky Bell (whom one FMU staffer mistakenly called “Tommy” -- earning blank stared non-recognition from the erstwhile Ramone) and Black Flag's Dez Cadena. The oldies revival set list comprised a bevy of Ramones and Black Flag covers, plus all the expected Misfits tunes into one skateboard-wielding teenager’s aural wet dream.

During the on-air interview with Pat, things took an unexpected turn for the surreal when in regard to the 9/11 attacks, the affable but fast talking Jerry Only brought calm to our wounded spirits by reasoning that America, with help from the Misfits, would hunt down those responsible. And kill them. October 4, 2001.

Listen to the Misfits, as they admonish terrorists and perform a great live set (real audio).

Illustration by Diego Medina

Sensei Rebel's Archive Picks of the Week (March 31 - April 6, 2008)

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

Rock And Roll
World Domination Enterprises - "Funkytown" RealAudio from Jack Mello's show (filling in for Michael Goodstein)
Jeffrey Lewis - "Banned From the Roxy" RealAudio from Woody's show
Deep Purple - "Highway Star" RealAudio from The Glen Jones Radio Programme

International
Omar Khorshid And His Guitar - "Teleya Mahla Mourah" RealAudio from Woody's show
Chica Libre - "Hungry Song" RealAudio from Pseu Braun's show

Experimental
Susumu Yokota - "Purple Rose Minuet" RealAudio from Maria Levitsky's show

Dance
Malcolm Mclaren - "D'ya Like Scratchin'?" RealAudio from This Is the Modern World with Trouble
Mr. Fingers - "Can U Feel It" RealAudio from Nickel and Dime Radio with $mall Change

Hip-Hop
Mr. Ozwald - "Life (main)" RealAudio from Coffee Break For Heroes & Villains with Noah

Fave Songs of the Week
Illuminations - "Broadcast" RealAudio from (More Than A Few) Exciting Moments with Frank O'Toole (Web-only show)
Crystal Castles - "Crimewave (Crystal Castles Vs. Health)" RealAudio from This Is the Modern World with Trouble

Jowe Head, Renaissance Man

I still occasionally (well, very occasionally) step out of my role as cubicle drone and Suburban Dad to make an artistic contribution to the world, and I'm pleased and proud to say that I'll be playing guitar for a series of performances this week with the great Jowe Head.

I first met Jowe by way of a live interview on my WFMU show in 1993, where I gave lame, super-casual interview (as was my "style" in the day) and Jowe proceeded to capsize the station's little wheezing chord organ, then rendering an impromptu performance of the song "Shiny Black Shirt," later immortalized on the Upsalapalooza compilation CD.  Jowe's mid-90s tours with the Television Personalities provided sweet entertainment and some post- and pre-gig opportunities for further socialization.  When the call came out in early 1996 to play a series of NYC shows with Jowe, I was more than ready.  I am eternally indebted to Hamish Kilgour and Lisa Siegel for this opportunity; a chance meeting with Hamish at WFMU's last record fair led to the current arrangement.  My long-time association with the station strikes again!

Jowe, as many of you know, was a founding member of the legendary Swell Maps (along with the brothers Epic Soundtracks and Nikki Sudden, sadly both no longer with us, and Richard Earl aka Bgls), blazing icons of the UK post-punk era, a "cross between Can and T.Rex" put simply, who created 2 brilliant studio LPS, a double LP of live sessions and jams, and several dynamite singles, all originally for the Rough Trade label (reissues and compilations available on Secretly Canadian, Alive, Munster and Overground.)  Jowe has gone on to front or contribute to a great many projects (The Palookas, Televison Personalities and The Househunters, to name only a few; Jowe currently fronts Angel Racing Food), as well as squeeze out a few unforgettable solo LPs, in particular 1986's Strawberry Deutsche Mark (tracks available on the Unhinged CD on Overground.)

Jowe's band this time consists of myself, Hamish Kilgour, Lisa Siegel and Danny Tunick, though the lineup will vary a bit from show to show.  Here are the dates:  a studio session for WFMU (interview with Jowe to air this Saturday, 4/12, recorded set to air in about 2 weeks, both on Terre T.'s Cherry Blossom Clinic), two nights at Cake Shop NYC (this Friday and Saturday, 4/11 and 4/12, 8 p.m. shows), Sunday 4/13 at Eat Records, 124 Meserole Ave., Brooklyn NY (5 p.m. show), and Friday 4/18 at Claude's Bar in Phoenicia, NY.  Also at Cake Shop, and The Arts Upstairs in Phoenicia, an exhibit of Jowe's artwork will be on display and available for purchase.

To further dangle the carrot, here are a few tracks on mp3 that should provide enhanced enticement to savor this very rare musical experience in the flesh:

Baby Bounce  |  Merman Blues  |  Swiss Air  |  The Palookas - Virginia's Wolf

R. Stevie's It's My Life, 1988 [Video]

I recently found a video of one of my favorite R. Stevie Moore songs, an even more respectably adolescent cover of the Animals' It's My Life. It was shot at WFMU in 1988 during his tenure here on staff. Aside from glimpses of a bombed out proto-locale that a youngster like me will never know, you'll catch a few past WFMU luminaries, such as the late Frank Balesteri.

You'll find more of Stevie's video work on this YouTube page. I'm thinking of throwing down for the DVD.

Great Moments in WFMU History #17

World Record Broadcast - by Scott Williams

Glen Jones is WFMU's reigning bad boy. But in May 2001, he flirted with respectability when he reached for, and briefly held, the Guinness World Record for longest ever radio broadcast. A media blitz ensued, Katie Couric repeatedly checked on Jones' progress, and some began to worry: would all this attention mellow Our Jonesey? 100 hours and 42 seconds later, as Tom Waits's "You're Innocent When You Dream" spun on turntable #2, a haggard and exhausted Jones reflected on the 1,128 songs, dozens of guests, and several on-air massages. Witnesses to this feat look back fondly on one particular portion of the record-breaking broadcast: Jones’ phone interview on the Howard Stern show, where Jonesey told Howard "I don't respect you", right after saying "shit" -- on Stern's airwaves, and not WFMU's. May 25-29, 2001.

Real audio links to all 100+ hours of the Jones-a-Thon broadcast are available here.

Illustration by Lyman Dally