Welcome to Shock and Awetober! WFMU began celebrating at Brooklyn's Atlantic Antic street fair yesterday, selling swag, handing out stickers, and collecting mailing-list names amid the festival's exciting multi-ethnic mix of food and music and knickknacks. This ended a busy week of volunteer work as Scott and a crew of FMU fans mailed notices about the event to all and sundry. The station will need your help all October long during this **off-air** fundraiser -- you can donate to your favorite shows by using the pledge forms on their playlists, or just use the form on the homepage.
Please also listen to station manager Ken's show this Wednesday from 11 AM to noon for his State of the Station address, wherein he'll detail more Shock and Awetober excitement. Email Ken with any questions or concerns about how things are going!
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On Monday, Liz Berg's show features a live set by Raf Spielman, who performs experimental pop as the Polyps. Over the weekend Raf also stopped in at Rad Town, the Brooklyn DIY venue curated by WFMU DJ Jason Sigal, for the beginning of the Polyps' tour with Lame Drivers. See Liz's archive here, for a program that also includes a great set by abstract Chicagoan rockers Bird Names.
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As other DJs prepare fun stuff for the next few weeks, Noah of Coffee Break for Heroes and Villains says goodbye to WFMU this Wednesday from midnight to 3. For the past seven years, Coffee Break has been bringing the best of underground hip-hop (along with a healthy dose of the best of hip-hop, period) to the greater-NYC-area airwaves. Ever-encouraging, Noah invited big names from the business, rising stars, and rap-happy hoi polloi into the studio each week for what often turned out to be a party -- the mood of which carried through to his dedicated community of listeners. In addition, Noah was a welcome sight around the streets and bodegas of downtown Jersey City, and will be missed as a neighbor when he moves out of town this week to pursue new opportunities. His complete archives are here and deserve a thorough once-over. In them you'll find special guest appearances by Bill Adler, Jean Grae, R.A. the Rugged Man, Tone Tank, Strictly Kev aka DJ Food, and many more. This is Noah's manifesto for the show, which should be read also.
As a non-bummer sidenote, and to underscore the cultural import of Shock and Awetober, note that Noah's farewell broadcast comes sandwiched between Evan's live set from Lazaruses of punk the Notekillers, and Mike Van Laar's set from Daniel Higgs, recorded at ATP in Minehead, UK.
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How do you call your loverboy? Monica's beautiful tribute to the departed Sylvia Robinson, a thorough and heartfelt overview of the singer/producer's long career, took place last night and is here. "Little Sylvia" Vanderpool, half of Mickey and Sylvia, was to be at the vanguard of musical genres from soul and R&B to early hip-hop, and co-founded Sugar Hill Records in the 1970s. The special show that Monica put together is a must-listen, with surprises for fans and newbies alike.
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Special programs will abound throughout the month, so check up on shows all over the schedule to see what exciting treats await you. You can also review WFMU's Upcoming Special Programs page at any time. Perfect!
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