J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 18th April 2012

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem and the final episode recorded in our current studios at WQFS Greensboro. Mad Dog was good enough to join me on our last day on the air until August and the last day from our studio. Mad Dog has been on the air at WQFS since 1988 and he, too, has only ever broadcast from our hallowed hole in upstairs Founders Hall. It's been a bit emotional, in a way I hadn't anticipated, getting ready to leave the space that I've called home once a week for nearly 13 years. Our new studio is going to be awesome, no doubt, and long overdue in a lot of ways, but home is where your heart is and that has certainly been this studio. The sheer list of local and national artists I've had (let alone who all DJs have had) up in that room over the years is mind  boggling. It's going to be hard to leave it behind. But great to make new memories as well.

I'll be shooting to get the first summer podcast up around the first full week of May - so Wednesday, May 9th or thereabout - so keep an eye out for that and on my Twitter account for updates and details. I will also be putting up a 'best-of' live interviews and performances podcast in the next couple of weeks as well to tide things over. In a lot of ways, there is no better way to pay tribute to our now old studio than by looking back at some of the best performances from the show over the years. Keep an eye out for that as well.

Now, for the last time from the current studio - onward.]

J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 18th April 2012 show

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Delta Spirit - "Idaho" [from their new self-titled record. thought i'd start off tonight rockin' - as i often do - and this song was a good way to do it.]
Jim Carroll Band - "People Who Died" [from catholic boy. i'm admittedly often annoyed by songs that will, literally, just repeat the same lyrics over again to lengthen the song and that's more or less what "people who died does" after the first set of verses and choruses. but you know what? this song isn't long enough in some ways.]
Screaming Females - "High" [from ugly. i feel like the songs i've played off this record just keep getting better as i go.]
Matthew Sweet - "Divine Intervention" [from girlfriend. since mad dog was hanging out with me, certain artists were going to be necessary. this was one of them.]
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Lotus Plaza - "Monoliths" [from spooky action at a distance. this record is probably bound for my year-end best-of. for real.]
Uncle Tupelo - "Chickamauga" [from anodyne. i probably tell this story every time i play this song, but i saw son volt absolutely tear this song up the first time i saw them live. just stunning.]
Howler - "Wailing (Making Out)" [from america give up. this is a record that mad dog, especially, has been pushing me to listen to for some time, but i just haven't put my ears on. i dig this track, so maybe we'll hear more.]
A.C. Newman - "The Heartbreak Rides" [from get guilty. clearly i mis-remembered how much i liked this song at the time as i only ranked this my #8 single of 2009, but i tell you, this song still absolutely kills me.]
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Spiritualized - "Too Late" [from sweet heart sweet light. i wanted to play "hey jane" which is just endlessly good, but on my last regular show, a nine minute song wasn't going to cut it. i think i called "hey jane" "sweet jane" on the air. both great songs.]
the Libertines - "Horror Show" [from up the bracket. mad dog is more of a fan of the second libertines album than i am, but we both agree on how great this album is.]
La Sera - "Please Be My Third Eye" [from sees the light. this is the side project of vivian girls bassist katy goodman. this song is pretty sharp, so we'll hear more.]
the Cure - "Inbetween Days" [from the head on the door. i don't always play a ton of the cure on my show, but this song has made its way into regular rotation over the years.]
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Lower Dens - "Propogation" [from the forthcoming nootropics which will be out next month. this one is a slow burner, for sure, but really good.]
Guadalcanal Diary - "Always Saturday" [from flip-flop. another song that has become a standard of mine over the recent years. a band i feel bad for not loving sooner, but there you go.]
Monophonics - "All Together" [from in your brain. i got this track from over at aquarium drunkard and it absolutely kills. we'll hear more.]
the Flaming Lips - "Turn It On" [from transmissions from the satellite heart. this was probably the first flaming lips song i ever heard and it had a big effect on me. still my favorite era of the band, too.]
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Hospitality - "Friends of Friends" [from their self-titled record. probably time to retire this for the time being, but i'm sure we'll see them return for year-end time. really solid record.]
M. Ward - "Sweetheart" [from a wasteland companion. this one drags in zooey deschanel from their she & him side project and they make good use of it.]
Jim White - "Chase the Dark Away" [from where it hits you. i say on the podcast that jim is playing at the casbah in durham this monday, the 23rd, but that show has been canceled. here's hoping jim gets back our way soon.]
Drive-by Truckers - "A Ghost to Most" [from brighter than creation's dark. anyone go see these guys at the cat's cradle this week? hope it was as awesome as always.]
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Lightships - "Silver and Gold" [from electric cables. seriously, this is a gorgeous record that is growing on me very, very quickly. we'll hear more.]
Pulp - "Like a Friend" [by request. from this is hardcore, or at least, the american version. this originally appeared on the great expectations soundtrack if i remember correctly and it isn't part of the original u.k. release of the album, but it's tacked on as track 13 here in the states, so i ran with it. hope that's okay, justin.]
the Bayonets - "She's Not Failed Me Yet" [from driver. since caleb caudle of the bayonets was my all-time most frequent guest in my 12 and a half years in the now old studio (he was there four times), i couldn't go out without playing his band.]
St. Vincent - "Never Tear Us Apart" [probably my favorite inxs song of all time and annie clark does it justice here. reverent without being slavish. good combo.]
the Replacements - "Left of the Dial" [from tim. i always said that this would be the last song i play on wqfs whenever i retire from being a dj, but i also thought it would be entirely fitting for the last song in our studio. i'm really going to miss that place and i took my time leaving the other night, for sure.]

That'll do it for this week. I'll be back in early May with the summer podcast edition of the show. It ought to be fun and might even open up some room to make the show something a little bit different over the summer. I look forward to your feedback and to see what you think of some things I add or don't add - maybe some extended talking sections reviewing albums more regularly, interviews, reflections on scenes or historical things? I will have to be careful not to indulge my talking muse too much. I don't do that on radio because of running off the listening audience in cars and such, but I'm sure it's just as likely to happen on podcast. Still, we'll see.

So, until the first week of May, take care. And thanks.