J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 23rd September 2009

[Welcome to another great edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. So much amazing music on the show tonight. I'm truly excited about it.

I want to go ahead and give a plug for the upcoming Save the Monkeywhale Festival coming up next Thursday through Saturday, October 1st - 3rd, here in Greensboro at a couple of venues. I'll be emceeing nights # 2 and 3 at the Blind Tiger (night # 1 is at Solaris). You might remember my interview in Monkeywhale's early days (read: last November) and if you haven't kept up with them, they're making some amazing work. The festival is a fundraiser for them and features a ton of great bands. Please make sure you come out to one or more of the nights and say hey if you see me as, undoubtedly, I'll be there all three nights.

Now, while I'm loaded and ready, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 23rd September 2009 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Langhorne Slim - "Say Yes" [from be set free. the lead track from his, honestly, very very good new album. i'd like to see him live again at some point since the last time i did - opening for avett brothers a number of years back - i had no idea who he was.]
Buffalo Tom - "Summer" [from sleepy eyed. this song feels strangely appropriate for the end of summer/beginning of fall for some reason. i do so love buffalo tom, though. so maybe i'm just telling myself that.]
St. Vincent - "Save Me From What I Want" [from actor. yeah, one of this year's best albums, without question. where will it end up on the list? time is coming soon!]
Ladyhawke - "My Delirium" [from her self-titled debut. this will end up on the j's indie/rock best singles of 2009 also. and not just because of the great video. it's just endlessly hooky. that chorus. man.]
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Arctic Monkeys - "Potion Approaching" [from humbug. josh homme really did bring out the darker side of the monkeys for this record - i'm still wrapping my head around what i think of it versus the first two albums, but so far, so good.]
Devin Davis - "Iron Woman" [from lonely people of the world, unite! one of my favorite singles of this decade. what a perfect pop song is what i'm saying.]
Obits - "Widow of My Dreams" [from i blame you. bitchin', bitchin' music. seriously. how can you not crank this on a warm fall afternoon with the windows down? answer: you can't not do it.]
Big Star - "Lovely Day" (demo) [one of the extras from the keep an eye on the sky boxset. there's so much good stuff packed into this thing for big star fans. oh, man. well worth the pick up price.]
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Paul Westerberg - "Dangerous Boys" [from the pw + the ghost gloves cat wing joy boys EP. stealthily released on tuesday without any fanfare really. it's a sharp six song collection and you can check out my review over at aquarium drunkard as well as sample another one of the songs.]
Band of Horses - "Islands on the Coast" [from cease to begin. ah, the album that made me actually like band of horses. i was really slow to warm up on their first album, but this one slew me. this song especially.]
Roadside Graves - "My Son's Home" [the title track from their excellent album out on autumn tone records. really one of the most affecting records i've heard all year.]
Shudder to Think - "X-French T-Shirt" (live) [from the new live from home LP that was recorded during their reunion tour last year. this is really one of those bands that has such a devoted cult following, but really may not make much sense outside of the 90s. but here they are anyway. nostalgia is big business, folks.]
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the Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Ramona" [from the young adult friction EP. they'll be playing at the local 506 in chapel hill next tuesday, september 29th. i'm super excited to see them again as they tore it up at pitchfork festival this summer.]
Kathleen Edwards - "Summerlong" [from back to me. oh, mercy, how i will forever love this song. it seems to fit into late summer/early fall as well and, honestly, makes me immediately go back in time. we're getting our best of the decade stuff together over at aquarium drunkard and i think i'll be writing about this album at some point.]
Megafaun - "The Fade" [from gather, form and fly. one of my favorite singles of this year. my boys in megafaun are awesome, aren't they?]
The Xx - "VCR" [from their self-titled debut. i'm still trying to figure out what is going on here. this is truly one of the more unique indie records to drop this year and it has me a bit confused. i just need to listen more, obviously.]
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Yo La Tengo - "Periodically Triple or Double" [from the new popular songs. i really wanted to play "autumn sweater" tonight and thought about making it a double bill with this new song, but eh, what'cha gonna do?]
Son Volt - "Bandages & Scars" [from okemah and the melody of riot. an album that has truly taken years to grow on me. i really didn't like it much when it first came out, but now i think it's really quite solid.]
Phoenix - "1901" [from wolfgang amadeus phoenix. gotta love that title. one of the best out and out pop records of this year, especially the first half. viva the french.]
Vic Chesnutt - "Philip Guston" [from at the cut which finally dropped this week. he's playing in wilmington, north carolina on halloween this year and i'm fairly sure i'm heading down that way to catch him and this really amazing band on tour.]
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Mission of Burma - "Forget Yourself" [from the sound the speed the light. the third in a line of really exciting reunion records. bless this band.]
Teenage Fanclub - "Everything Flows" [from their debut album a catholic education. the first track from their first album. can you imagine opening your career with a song like this?]
Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers - "Songs in the Night" [the title track from her debut album. a really strong songwriter and overall great musician. let's revisit those monkeywhale videos, shall we?]
J. Tillman - "Crosswinds" [fleet foxes member with his new solo album year in the kingdom. he was doing solo work before fleet foxes and his solo work is pretty uniformly beautiful. even if he did steal my first initial.]
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A.A. Bondy - "When the Devil's Loose" [the title track from his latest. bondy was seriously great at local 506 last week. make sure you catch him on tour 'cos this band he has out with him is seriously great.]
that dog. - "She Doesn't Know How" [from totally crushed out - one of my favorite records of the 90s and it's because of songs like this one. hauntingly gorgeous indie rock that they just don't make anymore.]
the Damnwells - "Like It Is" [from one last century. viva la damnwells. their golden days documentary is finally out on dvd. i can't wait to finally see it.]
Jim White - "Diamonds to Coal" [from last year's transnormal skiperoo. this song is everything that is really awesome about jim white's songwriting. truly.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back next week at the same time with, probably, some Monkeywhale Fest appropriate music. Until then, Go Panthers!, and take care.

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 16th September 2009

[Welcome to a very special edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. While the exact date is lost to the mists of time for me, this week is, more or less, the ten year anniversary at WQFS. It was in September of 1999 when I first came up into the studio and proceeded, along with then DJ cohort Jeremy Fischer, to do seven straight hours of programming as several DJs after us failed to show up into the wee hours of the night. Trial by fire. The ensuing ten years have been nothing short of a blessing and I feel even more energized and excited now to come up into the studio each week than I did back then. Having this show (and this blog, which is celebrating its six year anniversary this month) helped me get to experience a lot more in the musical world - a trip to South by Southwest, meeting some of my very favorite artists, getting the opportunity to write for the fantastic Aquarium Drunkard, and tons more. I also feel like I become a better DJ every week. It really is an art form and I am always striving to improve my craft from show to show.

I have you, readers and listeners, to thank for the feedback, suggestions, encouragement and support over the past ten years. So I want to indulge for a second and personally thank some people who have been great help and support in particular: my parents, Wayne and Martha Neas, for sending me to college somewhere so fantastic and for always supporting my musical endeavors; past WQFS general managers and management - especially Will Dodson, Tim LaFollette, James Fishwick, Michela Maxwell, Devender Sellars, Jeff Irving and Beth Bass; fellow current and former DJs - especially Kelly Davis, Moose, Marcus, The Rogue Squadron Hangar Bay, Wesley E., Jody Campagna, Lynn and her late husband, Ray, Mike Pettipas, Tom Ivey, Chuck Carroll, Mike Smith, Kathy Clark, Eugene Sims, David Butler, Steve Price, Elizabeth and Beyond, D.L., - all of you showed me what great dedication to craft could look like; long time and recent listeners - especially Cromer, the M.I.A. Stan (last bastion), Frank, Mark on the Blue Ridge, Heather - your feedback and calls always make the shows even better; and lastly, but so far from leastly, the incomparable Mad Dog, whose show has always made me work harder and made loving indie-rock seem like the most natural thing in the world - you've gone from being one of the DJs I enjoyed talking with about music the most to one of my absolute great friends - thank you for all the moments of the last ten years.

I'll be having some live music in studio next week as Scott Pryor stops by for a visit prior (no pun) to his playing at Guilford's Homecoming next weekend. He's a great songwriter, so make sure you tune in for that.

Now, while I collect myself, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 16th September 2009 Show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Arctic Monkeys - "Crying Lightning" [from humbug. i love this band, but i'd been behind on picking up their latest. the video for this song is pretty righteous though, i must say.]
Television - "See No Evil" [from marquee moon. is this album ever anything less than amazing? especially the remastered edition from a few years ago. the sound is so much better and the songs leap off the CD in new ways that make the songs even better.]
Brendan Benson - "Garbage Day" [from my old familiar friend. one of my absolute favorites from this album - great smacks of soul and r&b mixed with benson's sharp lyrics.]
Blitzen Trapper - "Black River Killer" [one of my favorite tracks from their furr album but now also the title track on their new seven song EP. we'll take a listen to some of the other songs in the coming weeks.]
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Birdmonster - "Yuma" [from blood memory. so far, this record is matching up well with their album from last year - quite a solid band.]
School of Fish - "King of the Dollar" [from their self-titled 1991 debut. i was wrong on the podcast and claimed this was school of fish's only album, but that's not true. they had a sophomore effort in 1993 before josh clayton-felt left the band. great song. seriously great song.]
the Antlers - "Bear" [by request - from their album hospice. accidentally played a song i wasn't supposed to play, but oh, well. not bad. interesting stuff.]
the Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Come Saturday" [from their self-titled debut LP. they'll be at the local 506 in chapel hill on tuesday, september 29th and i'm so incredibly excited to see them.]
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Polvo - "The Pedlar" [from in prism. can't stop talking about how great this polvo album is - the individual tracks are solid, but as one record, it's fantastic. get your ears on it.]
Jay Reatard - "My Reality" [from watch me fall. i honestly hadn't paid a ton of attention to reatard's rise into indie prominence, but this new record is super.]
J's Indie/Rock First Times - Jody Stephens - Click to listen [i did an interview with jody stephens of big star over at aquarium drunkard and it was a super pleasure talking with him. he was kind enough to share his first concert story and it's a humdinger - the rolling stones. with a sad follow up story that winds up with him never seeing the beatles live. alas.]
Big Star - "September Gurls" [from radio city. the new box set, keep your eye on the sky, has a bunch of awesome additional material, studio and live.]
Mos Def (feat. Slick Rick) - "Auditorium" [from the ecstatic. really one of my favorite singles of this year and a fantastic turn by slick rick in a really awesome return by mos def.]
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Vic Chesnutt - "Coward" [from at the cut. if you didn't catch my interview with him at aquarium drunkard, go get it. it's one of my most favorite interviews that i've ever done. seriously.]
Unwound - "Mile Me Deaf" [from the a single history collection of 12 and 7" singles. by request.]
Son Volt - "Methamphetamine" [from the search. this song was easily one of the highlights of the show at the cat's cradle sunday night and, in a lot of ways, the turning point, energy wise, of the show. it felt like it took awhile to warm up, but this song turned it on.]
the Raincoats - "Lola" [from their self-titled album which is gettin' all dudded up and reissued. my only exposure to the raincoats is through kurt cobain's liner notes to incesticide which mention them, but i've honestly never heard them. sounds like nico doing the kinks with beat happening as her back-up band.]
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Mission of Burma - "1, 2, 3 Partyy!!" [from the sound the speed the light. so, mission of burma has put out, what, double the amount of material they did in their first incarnation? and from what i can tell, the new stuff is just as good. craziness.]
Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Fly from Heaven" [from dulcinea. toad is a band i've listened to for ages and ages. and this was the album that introduced them to me. i've always loved this song in particular - its biblical story told from an all-too-human perspective. beautiful lyrics, too. ah, toad.]
Wye Oak - "I Want For Nothing" [from the knot. a sleeper record for the year's 25 best. seriously. and i never expected it from them. shows what i know. i love being surprised.]
Langhorne Slim - "Leavin' My Love" [from be set free. so far, every thing i've heard from this album is gold. i first saw langhorne live about 4 or 5 years ago, and i've been really surprised with the quality output since then.]
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A.A. Bondy - "Mightiest of Guns" [from when the devil's loose. saw bondy up at local 506 last night and he was, literally, the best i've ever seen him. i'm starting a movement to get him to actually come play greensboro. he said all i need is 50 people and he's in. who's game? go read my interview with him if you're not sure and then you'll be convinced.]
Wire - "Three Girl Rhumba" [from pink flag. i don't play wire as much as i ought to really. being as they're one of the most original bands in the annals of rock and roll. but anytime i play this song i have to play...]
Elastica - "Connection" [from their self-titled debut. the band that ripped a thousand bands and created, in my mind, one of the best albums of the 90s. who cares if half of it's plagiarized? it's amazing.]
Zero Boys - "Livin' in the 80s" [from vicious circle. 80s punk from indianapolis. name me another band i would know from indy. someone. quick.]
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the Feelies - "Fa Cé-La” [from crazy rhythms which, along with its follow-up, the good earth, got a much deserved re-issue this week. i always associate these guys with the embarrassment, mostly because they are two bands i was told about at similar times and told i should listen to them.]
Beth Orton - “I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine” [from trailer park. we talked the other week about the late ellie greenwich, a brill building songwriter who died the other week. this is another composition of hers and boy, it’s a beaut. reminds me of this ray bradbury story.]
the Low Anthem - “To Ohio” [from oh my god, charlie darwin. gorgeous, gorgeous music.
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the Replacements - “Here Comes a Regular” [from tim. there’s something about this song that always enters my mind when someone dies. and this past friday, with the passing of jim carroll, it came into my head again.]
the Jim Carroll Band - “People Who Died” [from catholic boy. carroll’s passing was sad, but what a dynamic and amazing life he lived. his art is amazing to say the least, and this song is a stone cold all time classic. the link above goes to our memorium post on AD which is a re-posting of my dissection of two versions of “people who died.” take a read. rest in peace, jim.]

That’ll do it for this week. I’ll be back next week with Scott Pryor and more next music. Until then, Go Panthers!, and take care.

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 2nd September 2009

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. We're in the middle of training schedule here at WQFS, so I was joined in-studio by trainee Parker. He took over the board during the second hour, but I was telling him everything to play because, yes, I'm controlling. He did a good job, so I'm sure you'll be hearing him on the air this fall.

I'm playing a set of my original music this Friday, September 4th, at the First Fridays Indie Market down on the corner of Elm St. and Martin Luther King (near the bust of MLK) downtown. I'll be playing from 5pm - 6pm, so come on down and say howdy and listen to some of my stuff. I might be playing again later in the evening, but that's not certain right now, so make sure you catch me at 5pm if you're planning on coming down.

Now, since my fantasy football draft is completed, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 2nd September 2009

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Polvo - "Right the Relation" [from in prism which finally came out this week. and yes, it's as good as they're saying. very, very good.]
Pulp - "The Night That Minnie Timperley Died" [from we love life, their last album before going on permanent hiatus. that's the nice way of avoiding breaking up properly, i suppose.]
Ladyhawke - "My Delirium" [from her self-titled album. this song is ridiculously catchy and may be one of my singles of the year - i'm certainly behind on getting on it. and i love the video. it's such a great update on such a classic 80s sound that it's brilliantly original.]
Obits - "Fake Kincade" [from i blame you. great, great song and really one of the best albums of this year, too.]
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the Mountain Goats - "Psalms 40:2" [from the forthcoming the life of the world to come. every song on the record is named after a biblical passage and is a lot more stripped down than the most recent mountain goats records. but it's really sharp.]
the Replacements - "Who's Gonna Take Us Alive" [a let it be-era track that was a favorite of mine from the cassette bootleg days. the internet has made it so much less..exciting..in certain ways, to find stuff like this.]
Art Brut - "The Replacements" [from art brut vs. satan. waxing self-detrimentally about only just now getting into the replacements. i was totally into them back in 1996. you know. five years after they'd broken up.]
the Minus 5 - "Scott Walker's Fault" [from killingsworth. excellent song from the new album, featuring colin meloy on vocals. the minus 5 and the steve wynn IV will be at the cat's cradle in carborro on saturday, september 26th. ought to be fun.]
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J's Indie/Rock First Times - Vic Chesnutt - Click to Listen [i did an interview with vic chesnutt that you can read over at aquarium drunkard and he was kind enough to do a my first time piece for me. ah, the power of rock and roll. and breasts. mostly breasts.]
Vic Chesnutt - "Philip Guston" [from the forthcoming at the cut. at the aquarium drunkard interview, you can get an exclusive download of this song. the new album is dynamite. seriously.]
Blur - "The Universal" [from the great escape. the first blur album i bought and still one of my favorite blur singles. great video, too.]
Decoration Ghost - "The Haze of Wine and Age" [one the demo recordings from their work with snuzz. if you didn't catch the live performance of the band on the show last week, well, it's not too late.]
Patterson Hood - "Back of a Bible" [from murdering oscar (and other love songs). threw this song on a mix CD this week for someone and was reminded just how good this solo record is.]
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Birdmonster - "Forever Gone" [from blood memory. new birdmonster! terribly exciting when unexpected things wind up in your inbox. look forward to hearing more.]
Steely Dan - "My Old School" [from countdown to ecstacy. this was easily one of the most fun songs i've ever played on rock band. seriously. play some steely dan on that game and see how much fun you have.]
Wye Oak - "For Prayer" [from the knot. more from their excellent sophomore album.]
the Roadside Graves - "Far and Wide" [from my son's home. as i said on the podcast, i've been reading tweet after tweet where people see these guys live and are completely converted into fans. i was the same way. although, honestly, the record did it for me pretty much first.]
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A.A. Bondy - "A Slow Parade" [from when the devil's loose. new bondy hit the stores yesterday and it's fantastic. my interview with him will be up later this week on drunkard, so keep an eye out.]
Track a Tiger - "Glad to Be Scattered" [from woke up early the day i died. my unofficial #1 single of 2006. what're these guys up to now-a-days? ]
the Delta Spirit - "Lovers' Waltz" [by request. from their daytrotter session. played this a couple of weeks ago and got a request for a replay last week. it's an excellent cover of an excellent song by an excellent band.]
The Xx - "Crystaline" [by request. from xx. gotta grab this album off of eMusic and see what all the fuss is about.]
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Yo La Tengo - "Here to Fall" [from popular songs. the lead track from their latest. i'll tell you - yo la tengo were great at pitchfork. they're playing at the carolina theatre in durham, north carolina in october. i'd bet it'll be a blast.]
Michael Penn - "Don't Let Me Go" [from mp4: days since a lost time accident. another song from this week's mix CD i was putting together. this is probably my all-time favorite penn song, though i'm not sure why. it's probably my favorite penn album, too, while we're at it.]
Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks" [from veckatimist. parker picked out the grizzly bear, so we went with it. i'm just not on the gb bandwagon. good music, but nothing i'm flipping over.]
Great Lake Swimmers - "Pulling on a Line" [from lost channels. this, however, is a great and lovely song. i really need to play more of them.]
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Citified - "Landlocked" [from absence. bound for this year's top 25, i'd wager.]
the Clean - "In the Dreamlife You Need a Rubber Soul" [from mr. pop. the title of this song is a little ham-handed in its allusion, but it's still really good.]
Blossom Dearie - "The Shadow of Your Smile" [from live in london. i only 'discovered' blossom dearie about a month or so ago when lee posted a video of her on facebook. she died in february of this year. just an amazing and unique voice. c'est la vie. but i threw this song on that mix CD also and it kind of makes me float off into some dimly lit autumn place when i listen to it. and that's a good thing.]

That'll do it for this week. Check back next week as I host some more trainees and tons more new music. Until then, Go Panthers!, and take care.