j's indie/rock mayhem - 7th february 2007

[another edition of j's indie/rock mayhem in the books. a pretty good night all in all. tonight marked the beginning of a weekly giveaway on the show. j's indie/rock and WQFS have teamed up with B.B.'s new and used CDs and DVDs to hand out $15 gift certificates each week to the winner in my weekly trivia contest. tonight's winner was martin jones who won by answering the question: what band was jesse sykes and the sweet hereafter member phil wandscher a member of before playing with jesse? i dropped a few hints: he co-wrote "drank like a river" from their first album, faithless street. martin was sharp enough to know i was talking about the one, the only whiskeytown. so he gets his just rewards. we'll be giving out another next week, so make sure you tune in.

2007 is also the 30 year anniversary of the 'year punk broke.' 1977 was a pretty gigantic year for American (and yeah, British) punk rock. so i'll be figuring out some way to celebrate that. stay tuned.

in the meantime, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 7th February 2007 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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the Good, the Bad and the Queen - "Herculean" [from their self-titled debut. super groups have so much going against them. the sheer weight of the people in this group (blur? the clash? the verve? fela kuti? dangermouse?!?!) way more than threatened to sink it. and the results are...good, but not fantastic. the record's a sleeper actually. it grows on me a bit each time, but it's still a bit less than..herculean.]
Nicolai Dunger - "Something New" [from the absolutely transcendent soul rush. there's a reason it graced my top 25 list back in 2002. if you're new to mr. dunger, it's a great starting place and very rewarding. you'll think 'van morrison,' but let it go a little further. there you go.]
Placebo - "Nancy Boy" [i've been toying with playing this for weeks, but it never felt right. but since the show got off to a slower start than normal, it was time to turn up the volume a bit. from their self-titled 1996 debut. dirty, fizzy glam rock for the ages.]
Mary Lou Lord - "Some Jingle Jangle Morning" [this song has been stuck in my head for days - playing it on the air is exercising it like nothing else. it's just not as cleansing when i just play it at home or in my car. i'm a really big fan of this record, got no shadow. her covers are absolutely gorgeous and her originals shine. i've avoided her more recent LP just because of how much i love this one.]
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the Emergency - "Hey Whoopy Cat" [the ridiculous song title from the amazing record doo-lang, doo-lang. morgantown, west virginia's finest power-pop export. you can stream the song at their myspace site. so go do it and let the good times roll.]
the Church - "Spark" [from their wonderful starfish album. after playing them so much in the lead-up to my interview with them last summer, i kind of stayed away from playing them for awhile. but now i feel better. back to regular rotation for one of my favorite bands.]
Matthew Sweet - "Superdeformed" [originally appearing on a girlfriend-era EP, and then in a live version on the son of altered beast EP, "superdeformed" is one of those quasi-rare tracks that is still famous. this version, the original studio one, is from the no alternative compilation put out by the red hot organization back in 1993. it's a pretty amazing collection of some major-indie forces of the time period. and some not so indie. well worth picking up used if you can find it.]
Arctic Monkeys - "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" [from their debut, whatever people say i am.... the american release date for their forthcoming sophomore effort has been announced: April 24th. so mark your calendars.]
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Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter - "LLL" [from the just released like, love, lust and the open halls of the soul. haven't heard the full album yet, but you can bet i'll be picking it up pronto.]
the Replacements - "Talent Show" [from 1989's don't tell a soul. this song never gets old, and i always think of it as one of westerberg's best. the live versions of it are especially fun and nice. the image of the 'mats at a talent show is a hoot.]
the Shins - "Spilt Needles" [by request. from their latest wincing the night away. am i wrong to still sort of be non-plussed by the shins?]
Felt - "Rain of Crystal Spires" [from 1986's forever breathes the lonely word. this is a band i stumbled onto randomly. i think i read the phrase 'tom verlaine-like vocals' and so i was immediately intrigued. and sure 'nuff. someone was studying their television. we'll be hearing more.]
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Arcade Fire - "Black Mirror" [from their forthcoming album neon bible.]
John Prine - "Lake Marie" [from lost dogs and mixed blessings. i used to love playing this song when i would play guitar in coffee shops. it was one of the first john prine songs i ever heard, seeing him perform it live on the sorely-missed PBS program sessions at west 54th.]
R.E.M. - "Carnival of Sorts (Boxcar)" [originally from their debut EP, chronictown, but it is available on CD one place: the IRS release dead letter office which collects a lot of worthwhile b-sides and such.]
Prince - "When You Were Mine" [from 1983's dirty mind. did you see prince at the super bowl? best. halftime. show. in. ages. his solo in the middle of "purple rain" (in the rain!) was pure dynamite. "can i play this guitar?!" prince, you can do whatever the hell you want, buddy.]
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Track a Tiger - "Saint About to Fall" [woo-hoo! new track a tiger from their forthcoming second album. they're shopping the album to labels at the moment, but if you scoot over to their website, you can snatch up this and another mp3 from the new album. this song, especially, is killer. awesome job, guys.]
10,000 Maniacs - "Scorpio Rising" [from the fantastic the wishing chair. this song never gets old. ah, when most indie-rock sounded like this.]
Pulp - "Do You Remember the First Time?" [from the blooming his 'n' hers. good news. jarvis cocker's eponymous debut solo record has received an american release date for april 3rd. just for kicks, go check out the video for jarvis single "don't let him waste your time." not only is the song great, the video is a hoot as well. i miss how polite london taxi drivers are.]
Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Is It For Me?" [from 1991's fear. toad has always been a band i really, really love. though i've never loved fear's production. it's too produced as opposed to their earlier records. but, it's still great.]
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Bloc Party - "I Still Remember" [from their newest a weekend in the city. am i wrong to be non-plussed by bloc party also? i just never got it.]
Bob Mould - "Can't Fight It" [the only appearance of this studio track is on the no alternative compilation. its only other appearance is on the calm before the storm bootleg EP released in the mid-90s. it's a gorgeous and heartbreaking song. just the kind of thing mould is so good at writing.]
Fugazi - "Five Corporations" [by request. from 1998's end hits. five corporations refers to the total number of companies that own pretty much the entire music industry. of course, now it's more like 3 1/2 corporations. but that's nitpicking.]
Merle Haggard - "Mama Tried" [stuck in my head all week. and wonderful.]
Blondie - "Hanging on the Telephone" [the lead track from parallel lines. there are few blondie songs i like more, which is a shame given they didn't write this one. still, it's brilliant.]
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the Feelies - "Fa Ci-La" [from their 1980 debut, crazy rhythms. the feelies are their own, weird brand of music. you either like it, or you don't. take a listen and love it.]
Hank Williams Sr. - "Thy Burdens Are Greater Than Mine" [a haunting version of the classic williams song from a fantastic collection, alone with his guitar, which collects a whole heaping of tracks of williams with only his guitar for accompaniment. a really great collection.]

That'll do it for this week. Tune in next week for more goodness, more gift certificate giveaways and, most importantly, some soft gloating over Carolina beating Duke. Woo-woo! Until then, take care.