J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 25th August 2010

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. Tonight's show got off a little late due to me running late and horrendous parking on campus, so the podcast is about five minutes shorter than normal. I tried to make up for it; honest, I did.

Next week on the show I'll have members of the Alcazar Hotel up on the show. They're playing a show on Saturday, September 4th at the Flatiron here in Greensboro and they're going to come talk new music, play some for us and just have a good time. They're a fun live band, so I can't wait to talk with them.

I also neglected to play some Filthybird tonight, but they're playing at the Green Bean this Friday, August 27th. I'll be there and you ought to be as well. Great Greensboro rock and roll.

Now, while the moustache wax hasn't melted, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 25th August 2010 show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Teenage Fanclub - "Sometimes I Don't Need to Believe in Anything" [from shadows. i really hope i end up going to catch them at the 930 club in d.c. with the vaselines in october. i should be very excited if i do.]
the La's - "There She Goes" [from their self-titled debut. one of the most perfect pop songs ever written and if you don't think so, well, we have different opinions. that and you're wrong.]
Best Coast - "Boyfriend" [from crazy for you. another of this year's best power pop songs. pretty note perfect. by the way, i'm big on the phrase lately for describing good songs. it's a bit punny and i think i like that.]
the New York Dolls - "Chatterbox" [from too much too soon. seemed like an odd, yet somehow appropriate, companion to "boyfriend."]
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Black Mountain - "Old Fangs" [from the forthcoming wilderness heart. have these guys ever played a show in black mountain, NC? i sure hope so. i'm pretty sure a vortex would open up or something.]
the High-Back Chairs - "Share" [from the curiosity and relief EP. featuring minor threat's jeff nelson on drums, this was probably one of the last dischord records power pop bands and, hey, they were great.]
Admiral Radley - "I Heart California" [the title track from their newest, featuring members of grandaddy and earlimart. you can check out the aquarium drunkard live session with the band over at aquarium drunkard. good stuff.]
Verbena - "Baby Got Shot" [from into the pink. after playing verbena last week, i think i got a lot of their stuff stuck in my head. so here's the first song i ever heard by them. great rock and roll.]
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Dead Confederate - "Run from the Gun" [from their new album sugar which got its release this week. this record doesn't seem nearly as murky or, even, quite as heavy as the last, but not in a bad way either way. great stuff from a great band.]
Frightened Rabbit - "Nothing Like You" [from the winter of mixed-drinks. i'll probably be retiring this song until the end of the year show, but rest assured it will pop back up then. boy howdy, will it.]
the Suburbs - "Love is the Law" [the title track from their 1983 album. one of the great overlooked bands of the Minneapolis scene of the late 70s/early 80s. this is one of the slicker sounding songs of their career, but man is it good.]
the Seahorses - "Love is the Law" [and then, just for fun, from do it yourself, an identically titled song! something fun i read and had never realized: the seahorses are, of course, john squire's first post-stone roses band and if you re-arrange the name of this new band, you get "he hates roses." hah.]
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Secret Message Machine - "Orphanville" [the title track from their new album. great, great greensboro rock and roll. we'll be hearing more.]
Blur - "Death of a Party" [from their self-titled album. this album has done nothing but grow on me over the years. i wish i'd realized how awesome it was when it originally came out and not had my teenage-music-listener-knee-jerk reaction to it.]
Conrad Plymouth - "Here to There" [from their astounding self-titled EP. there's an awesome video for this song, too, that i got to sneak preview. can't wait to be able to link it for y'all. it's public now. check it out.]
Guadalcanal Diary - "Always Saturday" [from flip-flop. this is a pretty amazing song and was included on a list of art items that celebrate the suburbs this week over at the AV club. i was reminded of it when i read that list and just had to play it.]
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Lower Dens - "Hospice Gates" [from twin-hand movement. an awesome band that is going to be playing here at guilford college on september 17th. stay tuned for more details.]
Veruca Salt - "All Hail Me" [by twitter request from brad215. from american thighs. i heard that veruca salt, in their day, were a torrentially loud live band. any one experience that?]
Arcade Fire - "Month of May" [from the suburbs. more goodness from this honestly great album. how's everyone else's experience with it been?]
Brendan Benson - "Garbage Day" [from my old familiar friend. going to be co-headlining a show with the posies at the cat's cradle in carborro on thursday, november 18th. can't wait to hear the new posies album.]
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the Rosebuds - "Secret Life of the Rosebuds" [from a pair of songs the band recorded to help promote the upcoming hopscotch festival in raleigh. it's only a few weeks away!]
Wipers - "Romeo" [from over the edge. one of the best deals out there is available at wipers' founder greg sage's website. you can get the first three wipers records, classics all, in a box set with bonus tracks for $17. amazing. probably just giving money back to fans via the money he saves by not hiring web designers competent in the post-geocities internet.]
Sonic Youth - "Junkie's Promise" [from washing machine. my preference for later-period sonic youth albums boils down to the fact that this album was my introduction to the band. it's still among my favorite and it has colored my appreciation for them in general.]
Jim White - "Jailbird" [from transnormal skiperoo. this song got stuck in my head at some point this week, so here it becomes exorcised. i do so love jim's music. this song, especially.]
Sleater-Kinney - "Ironclad" [from all hands on the bad one. one of my favorite shorter s-k songs - thus why i squeezed it in here at the end.]

That'll do it for this week. Make sure you tune in next week for my interview with the Alcazar Hotel and their live stuff as well. Ought to be an awesome show. Until then, Go Panthers! and take care.

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 18th August 2010

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. This is my annual birthday show. My birthday is this Saturday, August 21st, so since this will be the show closest to my birthday, I'll celebrate by being a bit more self-indulgent than normal with my playlist, though there are some things that I really wanted to play that I didn't get to - they'll be on the show next week, no doubt.

Let's keep it short and sweet. Onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 18th August 2010

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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the Vaselines - "Sex with an X" [the title track from their forthcoming second LP. it's been a long time, and this song bodes very well. can't wait to catch them on tour either. they're going to be in chapel hill in october.]
Big Star - "When My Baby's Beside Me" [from #1 record. since i'm playing indulgent birthday boy, i had to play some big star. this music just never gets old. ever.]
Yeasayer - "Madder Red" [from odd blood. i tweeted about the incredibly odd and weirdly moving video for this song earlier this week. well worth seeing and this song is stellar. seriously.]
Verbena - "White Grrls" [from la musica negra. this was their final album before lead singer a.a. bondy went off on his solo career. there's no guarantee that bondy fans would love verbena or vice versa, but i certainly do and this is my favorite album of theirs.]
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Superchunk - "Digging for Something" [from the forthcoming majesty shredding, their first new LP in nine years! i'm so ridiculously excited and this song sounds so stupidly good. ahhh, north cackalack!]
the National - "Lit Up" [from alligator. probably in my top three favorite national songs (and usually number one, honestly). still haven't seen them play it live though. frustrating.]
Versus - "Invincible Hero" [from on the ones and threes which is quite a solid album, no joke. i've heard of these guys quite a bit, but this is my first listen to them with this album. good stuff.]
Shakin' Stevens - "Green Door" [i think i play this ever year, but this is the song that was #1 on the singles charts in the UK on the day I was born in 1981. it's a fun cover of an old classic.]
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Menomena - "TAOS" [from mines. need to get my hands on the rest of this album, but this song is a winner through and through. good job, guys.]
Art Brut - "Pump Up the Volume" [from it's a bit complicated. next week, hopefully i'll play a song from art brut front-man eddie argos' new side project, spoiler alert. they have a new EP with 3 songs, each one about a different comic book character. i love the one about batman, so that's what i'm going to try and play. meanwhile, this stone cold classic.]
Bear in Heaven - "Wholehearted Mess" [from beast rest forth mouth. going to be at hopscotch festival in a few weeks and i'm so excited to see them again. one of the best live shows i've seen this year.]
Rachel Bloom - "Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury" [i don't rightly know who this lady is, but the video for this song is so full of awesomeness, i'm just really not sure what to say. i do agree with her thoughts about bradbury's writing skills though. not so much about the sex.]
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the Love Language - "This Blood is Our Own" [from libraries. i did an interview with the love language's stu mclamb and it's up at aquarium drunkard. they'll be playing at hopscotch as well and it'll be a grand time, no doubt.]
the Velvet Crush - "One Hundred Years From Now" [from the hold me up 12" single. this is a vinyl single i bought the last time i was in london - one of the band's creation records singles. love this b-side cover of the gram parsons classic.]
Arcade Fire - "Empty Room" [from the suburbs. last week it was the number one album in the land - this week number two. the hot streak keeps running for the arcade fire.]
R.E.M. - "E-Bow the Letter" [by request via twitter. from new adventures in hi-fi. @chubbyjogger wanted to hear something from automatic for the people, but sadly, my copy wasn't around and neither was one in the station. so i went with later period REM and one of my favorite albums and songs.]
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Autolux - "Supertoys" [from transit transit. their first new album since their 2004 debut is about to drop and from the sound of this single, it's going to be every bit as good as their first album.]
The The - "The Beat(en) Generation" [from mind bomb. this song leaped into my head today. i know why - mentioned the beat generation in class. so immediately this song starts playing in my head. so had to drag it out.]
Jens Lekman - "The End of the World is Bigger Than Love" [i normally don't play a new song, the same song, on back to back weeks like this, but this song has gotten deeper and deeper into my head. if his new album is as strong as this song, i'm done for.]
Flesh for Lulu - "Postcards from Paradise" [from long live the new flesh. i first heard this song via paul westerberg's cover, but i do so enjoy the original as well.]
the Morning Benders - "I Won't Share You" [a cover of a song by the smith's. picked this up by request from the internets.]
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Conrad Plymouth - "Metamora" [from their self-titled EP. this awesome band is having the release show for the vinyl version of this EP this week. it's being put out by the new label run by the awesome muzzle of bees blog.]
X-Ray Spex - "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!" [from anthology. my friend sarah woodward put this song on a .wav file for me back in the BBS days of my internet existence and sent it to me. needless to see, it got stuck in my head.]
Robert Earl Keen - "Corpus Christi Bay" [from a bigger piece of sky. one of my all time favorite songs. it's sad and ridiculously lonely. especially in the final verse's final line. "he says he finally gave up drinking / and then he ordered me a beer" belongs in some sort of pantheon of great, solitary final lines in songs. just amazing.]
the Replacements - "Gimme Noise" [from stink. one of the 'mats' best pedal-to-the-metal songs. just blisteringly great.]
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Delta Spirit - "Golden State" [from history from below. one of my favorite singles of the year so far.]
Swirlies - "Jeremy Parker" [from blonder tongue audio baton. and what's a celebration of my birthday without some swirlies? this band is so like a secret handshake. if you run into someone who knows them, prepare to have a new musical brother or sister.]
Vic Chesnutt - "Degenerate" [from about to choke. this song also randomly landed in my head this week, so onto the show it went. vic's one of my all time favorite song writers, so he belongs on the show frequently.]
Lyle Lovett - "Flyswatter / Ice Water Blues (Monty Trenckmann's Blues)" [from joshua judges ruth. and this is from my favorite lyle lovett album and is one of his most simple and beautiful moments. a great close for the show.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back next week with more new music and a new age. Until then, take care.

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 11th August 2010

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands have rescheduled their appearance on the show until October, but their CD release show is still this Friday, so make sure that you go check it out. I look forward to having them on the show later this fall.

Going to make this short and sweet tonight. A great show, but I'm tired. Onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 11th August 2010 show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Drive-by Truckers - "Birthday Boy" [from the big to-do. one of my favorite songs of 2010 and, really, i had put a personal moratorium on playing anything off this album for awhile, but i got sidetracked in conversation and had to grab something good. so, there you go.]
Daisy Chainsaw - "Love Your Money" [from eleventeen. another something i'd played recently enough to put a delay on playing it again, but conversations. thanks, john hatch.]
the Roots - "Dear God 2.0" [from how i got over. their album is one of my favorites of this year, no question.]
Illicitizen - "Second Best" [from their self-titled album. again, a total accidental play, but it's a great song, so more exposure for this charlotte band is not a bad thing. plus saying their name on the show is fun.]
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the Black Keys - "Everlasting Light" [from brothers. now we're on track and this song is probably bound for my best singles of '10 show. so good.]
the Velvet Crush - "My Blank Pages" [from teenage symphonies to god. aside from the album title's brian wilson reference, this album is chock full of classicist goodness. a seminal album in power pop.]
Wavves - "King of the Beach" [the title track from their latest. i had a discussion last week with one of caleb caudle's bayonets (sam? chad? can't remember which) about this album and we both decided that we like it more than the self-titled. yeah, i still think that.]
Wilco - "I'm the Man Who Loves You" [from yankee hotel foxtrot. a friend who was in town played "i am trying to break your heart" on the jukebox at NYP the other night, so i was inspired, what can i say?]
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Stornoway - "Chasing Birds" [from beachcomber's windowsill. one of my favorite albums of this year, still.]
Fountains of Wayne - "Hackensack" [from welcome interstate managers. i know i say this every time i play this song of late, but if you haven't heard/seen katy perry's cover of it from her unplugged performance, it's really quite good.]
Wild Nothing - "Your Rabbit Feet" [from gemini. this is bound for my best singles show as well. seriously, this band is awesome.]
the Replacements - "I'll Buy" [by request. from tim. from long time listener frank. i still remember one of the first convos i had with him. he called to request the 'mats and i said "hey, anytime you request the replacements, i'll play them." he has made liberal use of that promise as i hoped he would.]
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Corin Tucker - "Doubt" [from the forthcoming 1,000 years. it's seemed like ages since sleater-kinney released their swan song album. so it's nice to hear the main voice of the band back. i'm salivating for the full length.]
X - "Los Angeles" [the title track from their debut. when i go back and listen to songs like this, it just comes upon me all again what an amazing band they were/are, especially in the vocals department. love hearing john and exene together.]
Lazerbeak - "Salt and Sea" [from legend recognize legend. this landed in my lap this week: music from a producer in the doomtree family who has worked on stuff by p.o.s. and dessa. pretty righteous song, honestly.]
Haiz Rail - "(Midnight) Angel of Sin" [by request from DJ moose from their album hang on to the rails and ride. moose and QPC were heading over to see haiz rail open for cinderella at the millenium center in winston-salem and raise some mayhem. so, for them, some metal.]
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Arcade Fire - "Ready to Start" [from the suburbs. congratulations to the band and to merge records for their first billboard #1 album. good music triumphs.]
that dog. - "She Doesn't Know How" [from totally crushed out. got some awesome responses on twitter about this song. i love that dog and i will probably rave about them until my dying days.]
Versus - "Scientists" [from on the ones and threes. great new album from this band, also out on merge, we'll be hearing a lot more.]
Twilight Singers - "Teenage Wristband" [from blackberry belle. i love this set. my crown jewel of the night in terms of how the songs run together.]
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Jens Lekman - "The End of the World is Bigger Than Love" [a new single released last week. new music from jens. it's been three years since his last album, so this released song is good. i'm digging it.]
the Beta Band - "Dry the Rain" [from the three EPs. a great song used perfectly in a great film that i haven't watched in awhile. need to remedy that.]
Megafaun - "Carolina Days" [from heretofore. their new EP is so good that it makes me ache. can't wait for it to drop.]
Oakley Hall - "Second Guessing" [the title track from their second album. man, speaking of bands that need to release new music, oakley hall, where are you at?]
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Antony and the Johnsons - "Thank You For Your Love" [the title track from his new EP which is, itself, a teaser for his forthcoming album. he does a cover of dylan's "pressing on" on this EP which i can't wait to hear. antony, will you please do an album of dyaln covers already? they're always so good.]
Futurebirds - "Ski Chalet" [from hampton's lullabye. great athens rock and roll. they're hopefully going to be playing a show in greensboro in november. stay tuned.]
Liz Phair - "Strange Loop" [from exile in guyville. ah, liz. i still love you, even if i don't really stick up for anything past your third album. this song is too brilliant. you get a pass.]
Ron Wood - "Mystifies Me" [from i've got my own record to make. learned of this song through son volt's cover, but the original is fantastic as well. a good finish to the show.]

That'll do it for this week. Next week will be my birthday show. My birthday is the following Saturday, but this'll be the official radio show extravaganza. Tune in for awesomeness. Until then, take care.

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 4th August 2010

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem on WQFS. A great show, without a doubt, tonight, with lots of new stuff and some classics.

Next week on the show, Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands will be stopping by to talk about their upcoming CD release show, their new album and to play some live tracks for us. Ought to be a pretty great interview. Crystal has been on the show before with her previous band, Albina Savoy, and this promises to be just as interesting.

First Friday with the Arts is this Friday, August 6th, in downtown Greensboro. I'll be busking again down at the First Friday Indie Market at the public parking lot at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and Elm Street. Come down, hang out, leave me some monetary love and listen to me play some originals and covers. I'll be there from about 5 PM until 8:30 or 9 PM.

Now, while the going's good, onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 4th August 2010 show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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the Thermals - "I Don't Believe You" [from their forthcoming personal life. i don't know why it took me a while to get the thermals, but i'm glad i finally did. this song bodes well for the new LP.]
the Modern Lovers - "Government Center" [from their self-titled debut. i was torn between this and "roadrunner" to follow up the opener tonight. i would've been good either way, but oh well.]
Free Electric State - "Six is One" [from caress. fantastic rock and roll from durham, north carolina. super nice folks, too. catch them live when and if you can.]
Guided by Voices - "Bulldog Skin" [from mag earwhig! one of my personal favorite guided by voices records. i've always been more partial to the latter-day, more hi-fi version of the band. i just think bob's songs sound better that way, but to each their own.]
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the Vaselines - "Sex with an X" [the title track from their forthcoming album, their first in a bunch of years. you can catch the track for download over at pitchfork and get a taste of the twee pop goodness.]
Elastica - "Waking Up" [from their self-titled debut, still one of my favorite albums of the 90s. i think it's held up remarkably well. i just wish they hadn't taken forever to create the follow-up, stalling their momentum. i think the album suffered as a result. wow, elastica and the stone roses had a pretty similar trajectory now that i think of it.]
Local Natives - "Careful" [their cover of the television classic from the aquarium drunkard curated l'aventure tribute album to telelvision's 1978 classic, adventure. grab it over at aquarium drunkard.]
Tom Waits - "Martha" [by request via twitter. from his debut, closing time. martha is my mother's name and she sent me an email when she heard this. she'd tuned in just in time. good request, chubbyjogger.]
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Black Mountain - "Old Fangs" [from their forthcoming album wilderness heart. got exciting news this week that black mountain and the black angels are going out on tour together. a match made in heaven. sadly, the closest they're coming is asheville on a wednesday.]
the Black Angels - "You on the Run" [from directions to see a ghost, their most recent LP. can't wait to hear the new album they are dropping as well.]
illicitizen - "Second Best" [from their self-titled album. crazy and atmospheric music from charlotte, north carolina. cackalack, represent.]
Bow Wow Wow - "Go Wild in the Country" [from their debut, see jungle! see jungle! go join your gang, yeah, city all over! go ape crazy! man, if only purposefully constructed pop music was this interesting to begin with. i don't know. i guess you could argue some modern pop constructions are, it's just the tastes that have shifted and i'm behind it all.]
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the Radio Dept. - "Heaven's On Fire" [from clinging to a scheme, this scandanavian band has released quite a soaring, lovely album. i've heard their previous stuff is boss, too. true?]
El-P - "Flyentology" [from i'll sleep when you're dead. ever since seeing el-p at the pitchfork festival, i've been devouring my favorite of his albums over and over again. prepare to hear more.]
Best Coast - "Boyfriend" [from crazy for you. still one of my favorite singles of this year, without question. so summery and perfect.]
Kraftwerk - "Pocket Calculator" [from computer world. i don't know if i could say enough wonderful things about this song. it never ceases to make me smile and get really excited listening to it.]
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the Love Language - "Summer Dust" [from libraries. a lovely ditty from one of the better albums i've heard this year. cackalack, represent, one more time.]
Blur - "Entertain Me" [from the great escape. this was the first blur album i ever owned, and over time i think i've come to let parklife usurp it in my eyes. it seems like a more consistent, better written record. but man, when the great escape hits - like it does here - it's every bit its predecessor's equal.]
Mountain Man - "Animal Tracks" [from made the harbor. this was one of the handful of songs that actually did include accompaniment when i saw the band live. gorgeous stuff.]
Brian Eno - "Baby's on Fire" [from here come the warm jets. i saw a copy of roxy music's second album in a vinyl store the other week and i've been on an eno jones ever since. when i stumbled on my misplaced copy of this album, it was all over.]
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Dead Confederate - "Giving It All Away" [from the forthcoming sugar. j. mascis plays on this song, though it's not immediately apparent the way it is whenever he guests normally on a track. that's good, though.]
Luna - "Moon Palace" [from penthouse. gorgeous, gorgeous song that reminded me of why i love this album so much.]
Teenage Fanclub - "Into the City" [from shadows. one of the many really solid songs from their latest. can't wait to hopefully see them in D.C. in october.]
the Tragically Hip - "Escape is at Hand for the Travelling Man" [from phantom power. this got stuck in my head sometime in the past week - it's a well written song, lyrical and clever - but the music is hypnotic in a way as well.]
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Conrad Plymouth - "Fergus Falls" [from their self-titled EP. a seriously gorgeous EP from a band that, if they keep making music like this, is bound to catch a lot of people's ears.]
Fugazi - "Five Corporations" [from end hits. i really ought to play this back to back with p.o.s.'s "savion glover," which references it, but this is also one of my favorite fugazi songs of all time.]
Dwight Yoakam - "Guitars, Cadillacs" [from guitars, cadillacs, etc. etc. i picked up a copy of this album on vinyl recently and i was quite excited. makes the third copy of it i've bought in my time of loving it.]
Boots Randolph - "Yackety Sax" [from boots randolph's yackety sax. if you don't already know this song by name, you probably know it as the benny hill show theme or simply 'that song they play when everyone moves in fast motion.' it's really rather brilliant. a good end to the show.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back next week with Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands live in studio along with some great new music. Don't forget to come say hi at the First Friday Indie Market this Friday, August 6th. I'll be playing between 5 PM and 8:30PM, so come say hello. Until then, take care.