J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 17th September 2008

[Tonight marks another milestone in the story of this radio show. Tonight was the 9 year anniversary of the beginning of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. 9 years ago, in September of 1999, I first set foot (alongside then co-host Jeremy Fischer) inside WQFS to host a radio show. 9 years later, here I still am. And if you thought the cosmos didn't have a sense of humor, you were wrong. That first night 9 years ago ended seven hours later when dj after successive dj failed to show up for their slot. Jeremy and I, newbies and unsure of what to do at 4 am about such a fact, kept the music going until another dj finally came in at 9am.

Tonight, in a less severe but equally frustrating time, I had to cover the slot after me for a dj who didn't make it in. Sadly, the second two-hour set was really fun and involved a lot of great requests (Southern Culture on the Skids, Pulp, Buffalo Tom), but of course, wasn't recorded. The best shows often aren't.

I'll be covering for Tom on Tom's Diner this Saturday from 12 pm - 2pm, so if you're up and about, tune me in and make sure I do Tom's show justice. In the meantime, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 17th September 2008 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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CSS - "Give Up" [from donkey. one of the highlights of the monolith festival this past weekend was CSS. the brazillian band certainly made an impression on me after i had, yet again, let hype leave me generally indifferent. my formula is tom tom club + b52's + modernization = CSS.]
Fugazi - "Smallpox Champion" [from in on the kill taker. a truly remarkable album and probably my favorite fugazi album. 13 songs is full of some fine moments, but the people who argue that that's their best are just, well, wrong. the band only got better as time went on.]
the Fratellis - "A Heady Tale" [from here we stand. this band has never grown on me that much and their performance at monolith, while energetic and enjoyable, didn't do much to persuade me otherwise. i think they're doing okay without me.]
the Replacements - "Kids Don't Follow" [from stink. say, aren't the other replacements re-issues due out soon? ah, thank you, internets. next week - september 23rd.]
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the Broken West - "Elm City" [from now or heaven. i feel a bit foolish for having immediately been suspicious of this record. but can you blame me? after i went head over heels for "down in the valley," there is nothing even remotely like that song on this record. but that's a good thing because this album is fantastic.]
Ben Folds Five - "The Battle of Who Could Care Less" [from whatever and ever, amen. the one-time-only reunited five are playing tomorrow night in chapel hill, performing their the unauthorized biography of reinhold messner album in its entirety. tickets are long gone, but you could stand outside and pretend you hear it, i'm sure.]
J's Indie/Rock First Times - Rock Plaza Central - Click to listen. [scott maynard of rock plaza central talked to me at monolith about his first concert - a very, very canadian one at that. eat your heart out, hayden.]
Rock Plaza Central - "Are We Not Horses?" [the title track from last year's stellar album. they're in the studio working on the follow up and i'm definitely looking forward to it.]
Girls Against Boys - "Super-fire" [from house of gvsb. this was the first gvsb song i ever heard, and it's no wonder i became completely infatuated with them for a time. whenever i see a band employ two bass players, i automatically think of them. man they were good.]
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Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power and the Amorphus Strums - "And How" [from the forthcoming dark developments album. quite a powerhouse pairing. this song (and maybe the album) sound a lot more upbeat/uptempo than chesnutt's last affair, the brutally fantastic north star deserter. we'll see how they compare. and elf power? well, that's enough to sell me a record.]
the Modern Lovers - "Pablo Picasso" [from their self-titled debut. did a terrible job editing this, but it also serves to underscore the absurdity of editing radio sometimes. while it's legal for me to let mr. richman say 'ass,' it's not for me to let him say 'asshole.' but does anyone really not know what's being said in that blank space? hear no evil, see no evil.]
the Gaslight Anthem - "The '59 Sound" [the title track from their latest. people are flipping their wigs over this band - it sounds like a watered down version of springsteen to me, and while that's not necessarily bad, i don't know. anyone agree - gaslight anthem : springsteen :: flogging molly : the pogues. enjoyable, but not original.]
Tripping Daisy - "Piranha" [from i am an elastic firecracker. picked this up the other day after years of trying to decide whether i should. it's a pretty enjoyable record and i always liked this song a lot as a single.]
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Matthew Sweet - "Sunshine Lies" [the title track from his latest. the more i listen to this record, though, the more i realize that it really is just another matthew sweet album. great songwriter, but it's just not as exciting the nth time around.]
Pop Will Eat Itself - "Inject Me" [from this is the day..this is the hour..this is this! i think i inverted the title on the podcast. anyway, this song got stuck in my head the other day and, needless to say, it needed exercising. thus, voila. a seriously fun record.]
Giant Sand - "Well Enough Alone" [from provisions. more good stuff from howe gelb and company.]
M.I.A. - "Hussel" [from kala. my favorite part of this song is actually afrikan boy's verse. the way that his vocals were played with in production just kill me and build into the song's paranoid chant of money numbness. it's a great moment on a great album.]
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Jolie Holland - "Your Big Hands" [from the living and the dead. a pretty solid new record from a very reliable songwriter.]
the Stone Roses - "Driving South" [from second coming. i'll never not find hilarious the scene from shaun of the dead where shaun and ed debate over which records to throw at the zombies. when second coming comes up, shaun comes to its defense. at a boy!]
Benji Hughes - "You Stood Me Up" [from a love extreme. this guy's from charlotte, go figure. this song is hilarious and we'll definitely be hearing more.]
Dawn Chorus - "Freeing Feeling" (live) [from last week's interview on the show. click here to go check out the other live performances as well.]
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Blitzen Trapper - "Fire & Fast Bullets" [from furr. don't get me started on how i couldn't get in to see these guys at monolith.]
Erin Ivey - "Don't Fight" [from sweet little EP. erin is from austin, texas and she and i had a lovely conversation at monolith about various music. she does a right interesting cover of radiohead's "climbing up the walls" on this EP as well. check out her myspace.]
Okkervil River - "Starry Stairs" [from the stand-ins. a most tremendous album.]
the Hold Steady - "Sequestered in Memphis" [from stay positive. best single of the year? maybe. it's awfully good.]
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Simple Minds - "Speed My Love to You" [from sparkle in the rain. because you needed some 80s music - admit it.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back on Friday with Notes from Underground and until then, Go Panthers! (2-0!) and take care.