j's indie/rock mayhem - 23rd november 2005

[ah, thanksgiving. a time for reflection about the things we are most grateful for in our lives. and i thought, why not reflect on what i'm most grateful for as a radio dj? so every set tonight had a theme of thankfulness. i also decided, what better night to bring a rafter or gang of turkeys into the station with me? so if you listened tonight, you heard them gobbling away anytime i was talking. those loveable poults. i'll introduce the theme at the head of each block and a brief explanation will follow. please check the blog out over the thanksgiving weekend as i'm going to request some listener and reader help with a project i'm planning. also, don't forget to be putting in your votes for the best albums of 2005. only a few weeks left. onward.]

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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[Thankful Theme: New Music]
Ryan Adams - "Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part" [i'm thankful for the new music i get to hear every week. thus, this set. brand new off the forthcoming, not-yet-released album 29 which is due out on december 20th. i really like this song a lot. click here to download the song.]
Supergrass - "St. Petersberg" [from the excellent road to rouen which is slowly making its way up the top 25 of 2005 list.]
Dirty Three - "Doris" [from the new album cinder. i've never listened to a lot of dirty three, but frankly, this song was great.]
Ris Paul Ric - "Purple Blaze" [the title track from his debut solo album. good d.c. post-punk gone soft.]
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[Thankful Theme: North Carolina Music]
Tiger Bear Wolf - "I Think I Heard Her Body Sing" [i'm thankful for the bevy of wonderful north carolina bands. this band is definitely on the top 25 of 2005 list with their self-titled album. they'll be playing this saturday, november 26th at college hill sundries here in greensboro.]
the Finks - "Wake Up" [from winston-salem, all the comparisons to X are fairly dead on, but damn if they're not just themselves. from their excellent sophomore album more songs about robots and black things.]
the Avett Brothers - "Pretty Girl at the Airport" [i knew one of the avetts when i was in high school and it's such a joy to see them growing nationally. this song is probably my favorite of theirs. from the excellent mignonette.]
Dawn Chorus - "City Lines" [one of my favorite songs by this greensboro outfit. from their debut the disappearing. this song was actually originally written by member zach's former band the dirty version. dawn chorus really does it justice.]
Little Brother - "Cheatin'" [this song is far too funny for words as pure parody goes. ignore the cheesy music and just listen. in fact, do so on me: click here to download the song.]
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[Thankful Theme: Blatantly Political Music]
the Decemberists - "16 Military Wives" [i'm thankful for politically minded artists. thus, this set. i had kind of recoiled from the decemberists despite really enjoying their first album simply because of hype. that'll teach me. picaresque is a great record.]
the Perceptionists - "Memorial Day" [one of my top singles of the year. topical. catchy. everything you need. from the excellent black dialogue.]
Propaghandi - "Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes" [propaghandi has a new album out (huzzah!) but i dug up this old favorite. the title track from their previous album.]
Public Enemy - "Louder than a Bomb" [by request! i had meant to play some public enemy anyhow, so i put on this, one of my absolute favorites from it takes a nation of millions to hold us back.]
Bruce Springsteen - "American Skin (41 Shots)" (live) [from the live reunion album put out a few years back. this song is mesmerizing. the case of amadou diallo was a tragedy and this song nailed it.]
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[Thankful Theme: MP3 Blogs]
Devin Davis - "When I'm Ninety-Nine" [mp3 blogs are something i've discovered recently. despite having been a blogger for 4+ years, i never knew that people devoted entire blogs to posting mp3s. so these are all artists i discovered via those blogs this year. devin davis i got into via coke machine glow which isn't a blog as much as a music mag, but internet none the less. click here to download.]
Bloodkin - "Tennessee Williams" [wonderful band i was tipped off to via the fantastic aquarium drunkard blog. deep southern rock and roll that is undeniably good. click here to download it.]
Sera Cahoone - "Couch Song" [this woman i just heard last night for the first time via the songs:illinois blog. this woman has an album in the can, ready to go, but no label. any label people reading, sign her! this song is fantastic. click here to download it.]
Rangeboy - "Sounds Like Summer" [wonderful project out of virginia. the main songwriter is super nice and actually has another wonderful project called tea in the lobby. this song is incredibly infectious, so be forewarned. click here to download.]
Drive-by Truckers - "Keep On Smilin'" (live) [and now a plug for my own blog, though if you're reading this it's obviously not necessary. a song i recorded myself last saturday night during the encore of the trucker's performance. my review has a few more details about the show, but this live cover of wet willie's sole top 10 hit didn't turn out too bad. click here to download.]
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[Thankful Theme: Backwoods Boredom or Midwestern Malaise]
Dead Boys - "Sonic Reducer" [thank goodness for the utter boredom of the midwest. without it, how many of these artists would've ever picked up a guitar? the dead boys were (mostly) originally from ohio, so this song off their young loud and snotty album is a must.]
Mathtew Sweet - "Girlfriend" [hailing from nebraska comes one of the reigning kings of american pop music. the title track from his 1991 album.]
Josh Rouse - "Sad Eyes" (Bedroom Classics version) [also hailing from nebaska. this song showed up again on this year's nashville album, so i thought i'd play the original from the bedroom classics EP that was sold as a limited edition back in 2001. lovely song.]
the Replacements - "Bastards of Young" [and if ever a more perfect picture of midwestern boredom was made, i haven't seen it. hailing from minnesota, the song that sums it up more than anything (yes, even more than "treatment bound" off of hootenanny) is this single off of their 1985 album tim. if you've never seen the video, you're in for a treat. click here.]
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[Thankful Theme: Being a QFS DJ]
the Emergency - "Breakdown a Go-Go" [with a little over 6 years as a dj on this station, i've had the opportunity to explore quite a bit of music. i'm still doing it. but these are just a handful of the wonderful bands i discovered because of being a part of this station. this band hails out of west virginia and blew me away last year with their album how do you move? it's a power-pop dream.]
the Church - "Under the Milky Way" [i heard the church for the first cogniscent time (i realized i'd heard them before, but just hadn't paid attention) on chuck carroll's show on QFS (thursdays, 6pm - 8pm). i heard him play "reptile" and i was hooked. but this song brings me back more than anything. from their 1990 album starfish.]
Kathleen Edwards - "Six O'Clock News" [i was the head music director of QFS during the 02-03 school year and when this album came through, i was blown away. the first track on her failer album, i literally had to start the cd over and listen to this song again. i listened to the album 5 times through. i haven't turned back.]
the Dream Syndicate - "That's What You Always Say" [this was a genre exercise discovery. i thought 'paisley underground' sounded like a great name for a genre, so i thought i'd explore. i dug into the vinyl and found this band's debut album the days of wine and roses and was hooked. i really wanted to play the title track, but i ran out of time. alas.]
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Link Wray - "Rumble" [finally, link wray, guitar legend, passed away this week and one of our wonderful listeners reminded me of the fact. i playd wray's classic debut hit. the instrumental so 'provocative' that it was banned in boston simply because it's title hinted at gang fights. the song still rumbles. and so do you, link. we'll miss you.]

That's going to do it for this Thanksgiving show. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Leave some of the things you're thankful for (whether it's about music or not) in the comments so all the Thanksgiving can be shared around the readers of this blog. I'm thankful for each and every one of you who take the time to visit each week. Safe holidays to you all. Take care.