Online radio sampler highlights LXXV

Seven standout tracks heard this afternoon:

KRUI (Iowa City, IA)

• New Rock-Buffalo Daughter (This energetic, mostly instrumental groove, in which the guitar and bass dominate, could segue with "Shattered" by The Rolling Stones.)

WBGO (Newark, NJ)

• Maker's Marc-Ken Fowser (Fine uptempo saxophone and impressive ensemble precision stand out in this highlight of Fowser's February release, "Don't Look Down."  Josh Bruneau's trumpet playing brings Lee Morgan to mind.)
• Where Are You?-Christian McBride & Inside Straight (Elegantly bowed bass and sublime piano make this an excellent tribute to McBride on his 46th birthday today.)

WSUM (Madison, WI)

• Hey, Sophie-Gold-Bears (A glad-to-be alive instrumental undercurrent permeates this fine slice of indie rock.  Conceivably, this could segue with a Scottish bagpipes instrumental.)

WUSC (Columbia, SC) 

• Fotzepolitic-Cocteau Twins (The band's arrangement and tempo here make me think they'd do a strong cover of "2000 Miles" by The Pretenders.  That's not a stretch, given that they've already recorded a solid cover of "Frosty The Snowman."  Elizabeth Fraser's ethereal soprano vocals float above the instrumentation, as usual.)
• Can't Say Goodbye To Yesterday-Carla White (Vocally and instrumentally, this is an appropriate tune for wallowing in sorrow.  I'm surprised that I've never heard any jazz station play this.)

WXLV (Schnecksville, PA)

• Spooky-Andy Williams (If you've listened to oldies stations with any frequency over the past 40 years, you've heard this hit by The Classics IV featuring Dennis Yost.  Williams covered it in 1968, the same year The Classics IV hit the charts with it; if you've never heard it but are generally familiar with the way Williams sings pop hits, you already know how this sounds.  I wish I'd thought to play it on WEW.  Surprisingly, I don't think I'd heard it on any lounge music show or streaming service prior to today.)
  

Familiar? Yes, but...

A DJ from a smooth jazz station asked his program director why Bruce Hornsby And The Range's "The Valley Road" was on the playlist.  The program director's response: "Familiarity...Without it, you're dead."  After I mentioned this to a co-worker at another job, the co-worker responded, "John Denver's 'Thank God I'm A Country Boy' is a familiar song to most people, but you wouldn't expect to hear it on a smooth jazz station."

I couldn't argue with that.

Persistent earworm alert XCVI

Lately, whenever I see road construction, people shopping, and heaver-than-usual traffic happening at the same time, The Police's "Canary In A Coalmine" comes to mind.  The frenetic buzz of that tune just fits a busy day.

Two options: Serious or frivolous

If you'd prefer to read something that's appropriate for Memorial Day, please read my post, "Two favorite songs about nostalgia," and take in my observations about Al Stewart's "Time Passages."

If you'd rather read something lighter, please join in me wondering how a CD distributor managed to confuse what was supposed to be a disc of Johann Strauss pieces with Nana Mouskouri's "At Her Very Best" CD.  Instead of the "Hurrah For The Hungarian! Polka," and "The Blue Danube Waltz," I opened the CD case to find "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Morning Has Broken," and "Amazing Grace," as sung by Mouskouri.  Years later, I still wonder if this happened to anyone else. 

At least the incorrect disc was a tasteful one.

When the thrill of victory is enough

I always think fate smiled upon the wrong person whenever a radio station contest winner says on-air, "Alright!  Yeah!  What did I win again?"  It reminds me of shoppers who are invariably quoted in Thanksgiving and Christmas sale articles, saying things like, "I don't know what this router is or what it does, but it was cheap, so I figured I'd buy it."

A proper sense of scale

When doing overnight shifts on a smooth jazz station, I would usually say, "This is Drew, welcoming you into the dawn," at least once during the early morning.  I sometimes reminded myself, "If I'm going to keep saying that, it's best to say it with the attitude of 'We're all in this life together, so here's some soothing music to make it go by easier,' instead of 'Here is the planet I've created.  You're welcome.'"  It wasn't as though I'd just created Earth; I was introducing music to make life a little more relaxing.

Difficult to be tardy in this case

By the time everyone had gotten their instruments, tuned up prior to the actual class tuning, and spoken with the high school orchestra director about a piece they'd heard, what they expect college life might be like, or a piece of art they'd seen at a museum, it often seemed as though at least 10 minutes had elapsed.  I always liked that aspect of orchestra class.  You knew class would start eventually but not within a nanosecond of the bell ringing, as in other classes.

A linguistic irritant IV

I don't hear this as often as I once did, but I always think it's silly when anyone at a radio station praises or criticizes a meteorologist for the weather.  (i.e.  "Five days of sunshine in a row!  Good job!" or "What's with all this rain you've given us lately?")  Has any meteorologist snapped and responded honestly, "I just predict the weather; I don't control it?"

Online radio sampler highlights LXXIV

Standout tracks heard today:

KUNV (Las Vegas, NV)

• Smile Like That-Esperanza Spalding (Warm, honest lyrics about a reaction people like to elicit from their significant others.)

KUSF (San Francisco, CA)

• It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)-Peggy Gou (A dance groove that sustains itself well for over six minutes; when I heard the intro, I half-expected Deee-Lite's Lady Miss Kier to start singing.)

WBER (Rochester, NY)

• Toast-Streetband (If Sons Of The Never Wrong's tune of the same name just isn't quirky enough for you, and you prefer observations about toast in a talk-sing format, here you go.)

WFDU (Teaneck, NJ)

• To Be Invisible-Curtis Mayfield (Moving lyrics about the injustice of being marginalized unjustifiably.)

WTMD (Towson, MD)

• The Joke-Brandi Carlile (Lyrically, this is an appropriate companion piece with Curtis Mayfield's "To Be Invisible.")

Persistent earworm alert XCV

With a hook reminiscent of late '70s Bee Gees tunes and Luscious Jackson's "Here," "High Horse" by Kacey Musgraves doesn't leave a listener's mind easily.  That hook, combined with direct lyrics about someone who has an inflated opinion of himself, make this one of 2018's standouts.  It's one of the most tuneful ways of conveying that you can't stand someone that I've ever heard.  Turning such irritation into a groove this danceable warrants respect.

Wouldn't say that now

After a high school jazz band concert, I was angry.  It was irritating to have my amplifier squealing and then shorting out.  Someone I knew from another class congratulated me and told me how much she'd enjoyed the concert. 

"Thank you, but I didn't," I said.  "It's so irritating when the amplifier feeds back, and then it goes out, and then I have to play louder, and still, no one can hear me," I started ranting.  To her credit, when I finished my rant, she responded, "Have a nice weekend."

I never ranted to that degree after a concert again.  In fact, if I were in that situation today, I'd like to think I would just respond, "Thank you," and leave it at that.

Cryptic song selections

On two occasions, I remember an announcer who was usually meticulous about back announcing skip over the titles and artists of two songs.  One was "Hold Me Tight" by The Beatles, which was at odds with the music usually played on the program.  The other song not mentioned on air was Patty Larkin's "Rear View Mirror."  I know it isn't for me to know if those songs were directed at someone.  Still, the hidden-in-plain-sight aspect of the DJ's programming and the polar opposite extremes of the lyrics, played several months apart, make me wonder if both songs were directed at the same person.

Only in college XLVI

What do you do when your college orchestra has played its last concert of the school year, but rehearsals are still scheduled until the end of the semester?  If you're the director, you have your orchestra play potential pieces for next year or pieces that student conductors direct.  If you're a student, you play some pieces you might never play again, while feeling relaxed because the pressure of the semester is largely off.  What you don't do, according to my former college orchestra director, is call in sick.  One year, near the end of the semester, the director posted a note on the music department bulletin board, "To the eight people who called in sick to Tuesday's rehearsal: Make sure you are in perfect health on May (such-and-such) for our last rehearsal of the semester."

If common courtesy toward the music, the director, and the rest of the orchestra wasn't enough of an incentive, there was another reason to show up: One unexcused absence in a semester lowered a student's orchestra grade to a D.  Two unexcused absences resulted in an F.

As I recall, there was perfect attendance at that semester's last rehearsal.

A linguistic irritant III

It's irritating to hear a radio newscaster whose station doesn't have any reporters say, "(Name of station) has learned..."  I always want to ask, "Where did you learn this?  You weren't on the scene. You didn't contact anyone, nor did anyone else at your station.  Obviously, you learned it from an article online.  Those reporters did the research."

On-air eye roll equivalents

One difficult aspect of being a radio talk show host must be refraining from asking a caller whose opinion on a topic is heavily flawed, "Are you out of your mind?"  The universal ways of wrapping up a call with an out-to-lunch listener are usually "You're entitled to your opinion, I guess," or "That's a subject of much debate."  When a host says that, I always wonder if (s)he's thinking, "I could've been a forest ranger," as "WKRP In Cincinnati" program director Andy Travis did.

FM dial scan highlights XCVII

Eight of the better selections I've heard in April and May:

KDHX 88.1 FM

• Spring-Cheryl Wheeler (Wheeler's vocal octave leaps serve the tune well and convey the exuberance of Spring's awakening.)
• Chase Wild Horses-Kim Richey (We all slow down as we age.  That's not always a bad thing, as we have the wisdom we've accumulated.  Musically, The Bob Riedy Blues Band's "Just Off Halsted" sounds right before this.)
• Make Me A Song-Eleanor Friedberger (Fleetwood Mac's "Dissatisfied" sounds appropriate before or after this new song about self-improvement with a hopeful outlook.)
• You Caught Me Smilin' Again-The Nineteenth Whole (Released in 1972, one year after Sly & The Family Stone's version, the expansive, jazzy organ and group vocals make this as good or even more appealing than the original.  Not every ensemble can pull off this type of instrumental-with-one-recurring-vocal phrase, the way The Crusaders do on "Keep That Same Old Feeling."  The Nineteeth Whole does, however.)

WSIE 88.7 FM

• Cafe Regio's-Isaac Hayes (This "Shaft" soundtrack highlight could pass for a modern smooth jazz instrumental.)

K297BI 107.3 FM, a.k.a. KNOU-HD2 

• Gustav Holst: The Planets; "Venus, The Bringer Of Peace" (BBC Philharmonic/Sir Andrew Davis, conductor) (Although this isn't one of the flashier movements from "The Planets," it's an appropriately celestial-sounding, lyrical part of the whole.)
• Luigi Boccherini: Guitar Quintet No. 3 in B-flat, G.447 (Academy Of St. Martin In The Fields Chamber Ensemble; Pepe Romero, guitar) (If you like the triumphant-sounding aspects of Felix Mendelssohn's Italian symphony, this quintet might also appeal to you.  I saw people jogging on the sidewalk while the Allegro Moderato movement played in my car; that movement's tempo and energy synced up perfectly with them.)
• Percy Grainger: Molly On The Shore (Eastman-Rochester Pops Orchestra/Frederick Fennell, conductor) (Another spirited piece fit for a jog, especially if you're picking up speed as you go or have a reward waiting at a finish line.)
  

Stingray Music highlights LVIII

Recent highlights:

Baroque

• Antonio Caldara: Trio Sonata in F major, Op. 1, No. 1 (Parnassi musici) (Alternately tender and vigorous; I wish I could have played this on the cello.)

Easy Listening

• Yellow Bird-Arthur Lyman & Taboo ("Yellow Bird" brings the melody of Harry Belafonte's "Don't Ever Love Me" to mind.)

Jazz Masters

• A House Is Not A Home-Bill Evans Trio (Possibly the best version of this I've ever heard; Evans plays the piano with his customary depth of feeling.  I'd like to believe that if he were playing this in an elegant restaurant, every customer would stop talking, put down their utensils and phones, and listen out of respect.)

Kids' Stuff

• The Lion Sleeps Tonight-Ladysmith Black Mambazo (The spoken word section and vocals are so effective in this cover version that I could picture an actual lion sleeping near the recording studio.)

Latin Lounge

• Que Sepan Todos-Las Hermanas Garcia (This could segue with Maria Creuza's "Algo Contigo.")

Nature

• A Murmur Of A Brook-Letnie Glosy Ptakow (Appealing bird songs and gurgling streams.)

Revival--'60s & '70s

• Love And Affection-Joan Armatrading (It's unfortunate that there aren't many outlets on commercial radio for such quality, introspective singer-songwriter material.)

Setting the tone?

Although the tune's title contains the name of an animal, hearing Prince's "When Doves Cry" at my veterinarian's office recently conveyed an odd ambience.

SiriusXM highlights XC

Saturday and Sunday highlights:

Bluegrass Junction

• Rattlesnake-Tony Rice (This guitar-and-fiddle instrumental could segue with "A Waltz For Mairead" by Solas.)

Chill

• Slide (Instrumental)-Calvin Harris (A steady, midtempo keyboards-and-bass groove suitable for a rainy night playlist.)

Fleetwood Mac Channel

• Caught In The Rain-Fleetwood Mac (This atypical contemplative instrumental with vocal punctuation segues well with "Finale" by The Waking Hours.)

Real Jazz

• Blue 'N' Boogie-Wes Montgomery/Johnny Griffin (Any ensemble that can sizzle at this rapid tempo for over nine minutes deserves the listener's respect.)
• Put On A Happy Face-Mike LeDonne (The coolest version of this tune I've heard; LeDonne slows the tempo way down and leaves plenty of room for improvisation on the Hammond B3 organ.  I could imagine Jimmy Smith approaching the tune similarly.)

Soul Town

• Grazing In The Grass-The Friends Of Distinction (On a day when everything is going right, I'm always glad to hear this overtly sunny oldie with its slang from 1969.)

Stingray Music highlights LVII

Standout selections heard on Thursday:

Classic Masters

• Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 (New Philharmonia Orchestra/Leopold Stokowski, conductor) (A captivating reading of a majestic, lyrical showcase for brass and winds.)

Classic R&B And Soul

• Up On The Roof-The Drifters (Still one of the most deservedly played oldies; who can't relate to getting away from it all this way, at least metaphorically?)

Cool Jazz

• Gorgeous-Gary Burton & Bob James (A dreamy vibraphone melody, ideal for a late night playlist.)

Easy Listening

• Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars-Percy Faith (This Antonio Carlos Jobim tune lends itself easily to an orchestral arrangement.  Also recommended: Queen's Latifah's vocal rendition.)

Folk Roots

• All The Stars-Rose Cousins (Thoughtful lyrics about wondering if someone shares your sensibilities, with engaging violin and guitar accompaniment.) 

Jazz Masters

• Blue Monk-Al Cohn (A smooth sax rendering of one of jazz's more recognizable film noir-sounding melodies.)

Revival--'60s & '70s

• Rainy Days And Mondays-The Carpenters (Possibly the group's best hit, in my opinion; Karen Carpenter was masterful at conveying the emotion behind any lyrics, regardless of who wrote them.  I heard a Vietnamese version of this on KDHX years ago, and the feeling behind the tune was just as heartfelt.)

A linguistic irritant II

More and more, I read that an artist's new release will "drop" on a particular date.  Why not just say, "Its release date is..." or "It will be available on (its release date?)"

You've got rhythm if...

...you can clap on the beat with "Conversation Off Floral Street" by The Zombies and The Dave Brubeck Quartet's "Unsquare Dance."  Neither instrumental is especially easy to master if you're rhythmically challenged.

SiriusXM highlights LXXXIX

Wednesday afternoon highlights:

'50s On 5

• Enchanted-The Platters (It takes less than three minutes for The Platters to move the hearts of their listeners with sincere lead and backing vocals in this slow dance number.)

'60s On 6

• Lazy Day-Spanky & Our Gang (I've always liked the strolling-through-the-park idealism in the lyrics.  If this doesn't perk you up at least a smidgen, I can't help you.)

Chill

• Be With You-Nora Van Elken (Sultry, distorted vocals set to a somewhat sinister beat.)

Escape

• Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue-Michael Stanton (Crystal Gayle's "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" transforms easily into a smooth jazz saxophone instrumental.)

The Groove

• Call Me-Skyy (Although this is far from the only song to incorporate a dialed and ringing phone, both effects are well-placed here.)

Soul Town

• I Do Love You-Billy Stewart (This is how you sing an immediately accessible R&B ballad.)

The Spectrum

• Hunger-Florence + The Machine (Appropriately, Florence Welch doesn't skimp on the emotive vocals here.)

Only in college XLV

Even the most cursory reading of this blog should convince anyone that I really enjoyed being on the air and choosing my own music at KCOU.  Remembering that station and all of its interesting people made me forget about incidents like those I wrote about on November 6, 1991:

"I was miffed at the disconnected microphone over which I had to lean while holding the copy book off to one side when reading copy on the air.  There was also no log for Monday; I became suspicious when the promos advertised only Sunday night shows."

So, it wasn't always a well-oiled machine...Nevertheless, it was still the most fun I've ever had in radio.

"This'll be good bass playing. Trust me."

The high school jazz band director had given me a good plug.  "Watch Andrew, our bass player," he said.  "Be prepared to hear some bass playing which you've never heard before."  Then, my amplifier went out, through no fault of my own.  I consoled myself by thinking, "Well, the director already primed the crowd to be on my side, and it should be obvious that this piece is difficult to play, considering how fast the tempo is and how much shifting a bass player has to do..."

...Too bad that no one past the third row likely heard it, though.

Persistent earworm alert XCIV

I understand why its primed-for-karaoke backing vocals and quirky lead vocals made it a hit, but it's still one of the peskiest earworms.  It, in this case, is "Love Shack" by The B-52s.  I remember this song being played incessantly on the radio in late 1989 and early 1990.  Whenever it springs to mind these days, I can count on it staying in my mind repeatedly for at least 24 hours.  "Hurry up and bring (my) jukebox money?"  No, thank you.

Context? XXXVII

Heard one recent morning on a Classical station: "That rascal, Don Juan, takes over the airwaves for a few minutes."

Fortunately, it wasn't a radio therapist using that name to dole out misogynistic advice.  It was the piece by Richard Strauss.

When multitasking isn't necessary

This afternoon, I almost turned on my cell phone to check for messages.  Then, I thought, "No.  That's disrespectful to the music."  I wasn't in a concert hall.  I was listening to a CD while sitting on the sofa at home.  Nevertheless, I didn't want to disrespect composer Alan Hovhaness or the Seattle Symphony.  I also decided to stop reading while I listened.  Instead, I focused on the piece, "And God Created Great Whales."  I observed my cat's quizzical reaction to the whale sounds and then her eventual purring.  After listening to that piece and others, I was satisfied that I'd given the music my full attention.

Only in college XLIV

My college orchestra director, unhappy with the way a rehearsal had gone, warned the musicians who had music scholarships.

"If your playing isn't up to par, you can be returned to the factory!" he said.

How does a musician recall work?  Is the musician pulled out of orchestra class and escorted to his or her advisor's office to look for other scholarship options?  Or, is it like "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" when a spelling bee contestant spells a word incorrectly?  Does the musician disappear after a cross offstage voice says, "Wah?!!"  That's awfully draconian, so I hope that's not the procedure.

Respecting your fellow musicians

If you're a string orchestra student, respect your fellow musicians.  Don't offer a piece of rosin to another player and tell her it's candy.  I saw one girl do this to another girl in the middle school orchestra and thought, "Good grief...If you don't like her, just don't speak to her.  No one should be lured into eating rosin."

KCOU playlist flashback: 7-10 p.m., 5/1/93

The music I chose to play on the air 25 years ago tonight:

   1.  Drivin' Music-The Rubinoos
(I liked starting a shift with this type of uptempo power pop.  It started things off on a positive note and gave me so many potential segue options.  I could have segued it with Nilsson's "Driving Along," Head East's "Since You Been Gone," "Drivin' Around" by The Raspberries, or "Back On My Feet Again" by The Babys, among others...)
   2.  20 Questions-The Posies
(...I'm still happy I chose this segue, though.  This tune was new at the time, and its hook still appeals to me just as much.  This is why people form bands, to gather around the mic and sing a hook such as, "She's got 20 questions, and sooooo do I-i-I-Iiiiii.")
  3.  All Day Afternoon-Judybats
(Continuing with a power pop flavor...The production values, particularly the echo and instruments approaching sounding like they're far off, enhance an already solid tune.)
  4.  Still Can't...-The Cranberries
(Another track that was new then...Dolores O'Riordan takes the power pop vibe of the previous three songs and turns it into something unnerving with more downcast lyrics.)
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  5.  Seven Summers-The Cruzados
  6.  2,000 Miles-The Pretenders (*)
  7.  Sugarburn-Penelope Houston
  8.  Sleep-Sweetwater
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  9.  Bullet-Reverend Horton Heat
10.  Big Mistake-Royal Crescent Mob
11.  Break The Chain-Gene Loves Jezebel
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12.  English Diplomancy-The Mighty Sparrow
13.  Mantombazane-Soul Brothers
14.  Catch Me If You Can (Jazz Mambo)-Bobby Watson
15.  It's Not Unusual-New Duncan Imperials
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16.  Lucille-Little Richard
17.  He Will Break Your Heart-Delbert McClinton
18.  Ready For Dem-Naughty By Nature
19.  All We Got Left Is The Beat-LL Cool J
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20.  Whatever Makes You Happy-Ten City
(A sensible "Live and let live" message, set to a beat.)
21.  Immigrant Song-Infectious Grooves
22.  Take Me Down-The Loud Family
23.  Stretch-Curved Air
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24.  Down The Line-Big Wheel
(I'd like to think that the song's overall sentiment, "...Down the line, we'll all meet and listen to the songs we used to listen to," is an element of Heaven or at least a really great reunion.)
25.  The Coupling-Candy Machine
26.  Waiting-Miracle Workers
27.  Here Comes The Judge-The Magistrates
28.  Children Of The Revolution-T. Rex
29.  No Trespassing-The Roaches
30.  Change In The Weather-Buddy Guy featuring Travis Tritt
(This uptempo groove should be played on WSIE, if it isn't already in their playlist.  I also recommend the title track from Guy's "Feels Like Rain" album, as it's one of my favorite contemplative blues tunes.  And yes, I had a "Don't disturb this groove" moment and played an unusually long set of music.  That was just how rebellious and unhinged I had become near the end of my time at KCOU.  It's a wonder I didn't start a motorcycle gang or end my sentences with prepositions.)
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31.  Mama Told Me Not To Come-The Wolfgang Press (*)
(The Three Dog night hit, covered with an imaginative techno bent.)
32.  Who's Been Talkin'-Screamin' Jay Hawkins
33.  Happyman-Room Full Of Walters
34.  Submariner-New Radiant Storm Kings
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35.  Theme From "The Young And The Restless"-Roger Williams
(I know...It's such a cliche for a KCOU playlist...) :-)
36.  Strollin'-Gene Harris Quartet
(Classy, elegant piano--and one of just a few songs I was able to make work at KCOU and WEW.)
37.  Sure Shot-Polvo (*)
(I'm sure I must have played a "This is a KCOU request" breaker before this; if not, this was one warped segue.)
38.  That's The Point-Eleventh Dream Day
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39.  Pocket Fulla Medicine-Madder Rose (*)
40.  Come Down Here-Chris Connelly (*)
41.  American Eyes-The Lilac Time
(In retrospect, this would have segued well with songs 1-4.  It has some of the most immediately accessible jangly guitar licks, lyrics, and vocals of any song on this playlist.  Conceivably, it could even segue with Joey Scarbury's theme from "The Greatest American Hero.")
42.  Be My Baby-Mini Skirt Mob
43.  Hold On, I'm Comin'-Sam & Dave
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44.  Oh Yeah Alright-Napalm Sunday
45.  You Move Me Like A Slug-The Boorays
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46.  Do Anything-Pete Shelley
47.  Cruel Crazy Beautiful World-Johnny Clegg & Savuka
(Thematically, this would have segued well with Ten City's "Whatever Makes You Happy."  Considering the range of experiences the world throws at you, I thought this was a good, all-encompassing note on which to end the shift.)

(*) indicates a listener's request.
--- indicates a station break between songs.