Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The EP Show, Show # 168

This week my show consisted of me playing some of my favourite EP's in full. I played seven in total, I will talk about each of them briefly.

Spiral Scratch was a four song EP released by the Manchester band Buzzcocks in 1976. This was the original line up of the band featuring Howard Devoto on vocals. He would leave shortly after this EP and eventually lead the band Magazine. Spiral Scratch was also one of the first independently financed releases without the help of an official record company. In turn it influenced thousands of bands to make the their own music, bringing the punk do-it-yourself motto to different levels.



Undertones released the Teenage Kicks EP in 1978. The Irish, Derry band did it initially hoping to release nothing else, emulating the Buzzcocks to a degree. The EP did so well they were offered to record further albums, which they did. It contained four fast energetic compositions, including "Teenage Kicks" which can be called their own version of "Blitzkrieg Bop".



The Demics were a band from London, Ontario. In 1979 the Talk's Cheap EP was released containing five songs including, "New York City" one of the their signature songs and voted as one of the best Canadian songs of all time. Invasion of the Tribbles came from the Calgary band, The Hot Nasties in 1980. The band split in 1981. Warren Kinsella (one of the members) is now a politician.



The Cost of Living EP was produced and recorded by Bill Price and The Clash in 1979. The 7" EP came in between the US release of their first self titled album, and London Calling. It featured "I Fought the Law" (a cover song), "Groovy Times" (an acoustic track), "Gates of the West" ( a song originally written by Mick Jones, but the lyrics were re-written by Joe Strummer), and "Capital Radio Two (a re-recording of the song "Capital Radio"). It showed a direction the band would be going into, a more American rock oriented one.


The Yellow EP was released by the new wave/post-punk British band, Gang of Four. Coming out in 1980, the songs were politically charged and some of them would appear re-recorded for their next full length album Solid Gold. The last track on the EP was a B-side to the single "Damaged Goods". The album had no name, but since it was yellow, it became known as the Yellow EP. The D4 EP was originally released in 1999 by the New Zealand band The D4. It featured four high-energy rock and roll numbers ("Come On!"would appear on the first full length album, 6twenty). The EP also featured drummer Rich Mixture, who would leave shortly after this release to be in the band the Rock and Roll Machine; Vaughn Williams would be his replacement for the remainder of the bands career. The band went on hiatus in June of 2006, it is a shame that band this good is no longer around.


Next week I will be doing a show dedicated entirely to the Swedish punk outfit, The Hives. I plan on playing songs from every album, B-sides and rare Hives stuff. Also, I plan on playing some new tracks from their newest release The Black and White Album. If you are a Hives fan, leave a comment and make a request, I will play it.

The Play List:

1. Buzzcocks – Breakdown (Spiral Scratch 1976)
2. Buzzcocks – Time’s Up (Spiral Scratch 1976)
3. Buzzcocks – Boredom (Spiral Scratch 1976)
4. Buzzcocks – Friends of Mine (Spiral Scratch 1976)
5. Undertones - Teenage Kicks (Teenage Kicks EP 1978)
6. Undertones - Smarter Than U (Teenage Kicks EP 1978)
7. Undertones - True Confessions (Teenage Kicks EP 1978)
8. Undertones - Emergency Cases (Teenage Kicks EP 1978)
9. The Demics – I Wanna Know (Talk's Cheap 1979)
10. The Demics - You Tell Me (Talk's Cheap 1979)
11. The Demics - Talk’s Cheap (Talk's Cheap 1979)
12. The Demics - New York City (Talk's Cheap 1979)
13. The Demics - Oh Well (Talk's Cheap 1979)
14. The Clash - I Fought the Law (Cost of Living EP 1979)
15. The Clash – Groovy Times (Cost of Living EP 1979)
16. The Clash - Gates of the West (Cost of Living EP 1979)
17. The Clash – Capital Radio (Cost of Living EP 1979)
18. Hot Nasties – I Am a Confused Teenager (Invasion of the Tribbles 1980)
19. Hot Nasties – Invasion of the Tribbles (Invasion of the Tribbles 1980)
20. Hot Nasties – the Secret of Immortality (Invasion of the Tribbles 1980)
21. Gang of Four – Outside the Trains Don’t Run On Time (Yellow EP 1980)
22. Gang of Four – He’d Send in the Army (Yellow EP 1980)
23. Gang of Four – It’s Her Factory (Yellow EP 1980)
24. Gang of Four – Armalite Rifle (Yellow EP 1980)
25. The D4 – Girl (The D4 EP 1999)
26. The D4 – Come On! (The D4 EP 1999)
27. The D4 – Outta Blues (The D4 EP 1999)
28. The D4 – What U Want (The D4 EP 1999)

Some Videos:

Buzzcocks - Breakdown 1976
Undertones - Teenage Kicks
The Clash - I Fought the Law (Live 1979)
Gang of Four - To Hell With Poverty (1983)
The D4 - Out of Control

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Album Enders Show # 167 & CJAM Pledge Drive Show

Hey this week is CJAM's annual pledge drive. As for my show I gave it a theme, album enders. I intended every song played to be one that ended an album, but I actually played one song that didn't end an album by mistake, but it all worked out pretty good. The next couple of shows will all have themes as well. Next week I will be doing what I'm calling an EP show. I will be playing some of my favourite EP's in full.

Back to the CJAM pledge drive. CJAM does a pledge drive to raise money for the station, because it is a non-profit radio station. We are calling this years pledge drive the "drive for hard drives". CJAM needs to upgrade their out of date computers, so it will benefit you the listener, especially if you listen online it will be to your benefit. I managed to raise $150 for my show last night!, but you can still make a donation, it would benefit the station greatly (until October, 29th 2007). Also, in return for your donation you will receive a variety of incentives such as CD'S, mugs, T-shirts, toques, and more. You can call us at (519) 971-3630 (in Windsor) or Toll Free (313) 963-6112 ext.3630 (in Detroit) or you can donate online. For more info on how you can donate visit CJAM's website.

The Play List:

1. Ride Theory – hey sugar (In This City 2005)
2. Buzzcocks – moving away from the pulsebeat (Another Music in a Different Kitchen 1978)
3. Radio Birdman – hit them again (Radio's Appear 1978)
4. Buzzcocks - orgasm addict
5. Damned – smash it up pts 1 & 2 (Machine Gun Etiquette 1979)
6. Queens Of The Stone Age – run, pig, run (Era Vulgaris 2007)
7. Iggy Pop – Billy is a runaway (New Values 1979)


Since I really didn't have any music related history this week, I updated two of my older posts. You can check them out here:

White Stripes Update
Stooges Update
Generation X Update

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Paranoid Androids...The Radiohead Story & Show # 166


Coming from Oxford in England, Radiohead formed in 1986/87 and were originally known as On A Friday. The band was a band of friends that formed while students in school. Tom Yorke would serve as the vocalist/guitarist, Jonny Greenwood on the guitar (also a multi-talented instrumentalist), Colin Greenwood took on the bass, Ed O'Brien on guitar as well, and finally Phil Selway provides the drums. Various members of the band would attend University and upon completion they would get more involved into their music. In 1992, the band released the Drill EP. The four track EP was their first major release for EMI; Also the band would change their name to Radiohead, which came from the title of a Talking Heads song of the same name. Two of the songs from the Drill EP were re-recorded for the bands first album Pablo Honey.

In late 1992, the group released the single "Creep" which would be found on their first full length album Pablo Honey. Written while at University by Thom Yorke, the song tells the story of a man who follows a woman around and then thinks he is her. The actual song would become a huge hit for the band in America, but was initially not favoured in the UK (it was removed from BBC 1's play list twice; they said it was too depressing). The song would help make the album Pablo Honey a success. Coming out in 1993, the album itself was a heavy rock album with lots of distortion. It came off sounding like a mix of the Pixies, REM, and The Smiths. The success of "Creep" caused some critics to label Radiohead as another one hit wonder. They would also write a reaction to this in song form for their next album, the song would be called "My Iron Lung". For a while, the band would refuse to play the song at their live, shows, they begin to play it again starting in 2001.

In 1995, The Bends was released. This album saw the band reinventing their sound, but still keeping its edge. This time the band would draw in further influences such as Pink Floyd and U2. The band would bring in more acoustic guitar and keyboards. The album at first, did poorly but would pick up after the video for the single "Just" was released. The song was seen as a tribute to the post-punk band Magazine who the band was largely influenced by at the time. The album also showed off the bands experimental side (which would be a taste of the direction the band would lead in the future) with songs such as "Planet Telex"(originally titled "Planet Xerox"), "High and Dry" (originally recorded during the Pablo Honey sessions, but wasn't used), and "Street Spirit (fade out) (inspired by the novel The Famished Road)". The actual album titled The Bends, is reference to a form of depression sickness. It would be a theme prevalent on the album, and pertaining to the bands career at the time. A B-side recorded during the session for the song "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", is regarded as one of the best B-sides ever released by the band. "Talk Show Host" was Radiohead experimenting and being produced by Nigel Godrich, someone who would take on producing duties for the rest of the bands albums. After touring, the band would enter the studio to record OK Computer, which is regarded by many as the best album from the band.


Ok Computer debuted at # 1 in the UK and # 21 in the US in 1997. The album would be produced by Nigel Godrich and was recorded in Oxford away from the city. The album showed yet another direction for the band one they would continue to build on and it would also give them a more unique sound. Musically the band stripped down their rock sound and experimented with weird atonal, and electronic textures, that can be compared to the likes of the strange material found on Beach Boys Pet Sounds and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and post-punk music. Songs such as "Paranoid Android" which was influenced by The Beatles "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and DJ Shadow, showed the bands new innovative style. Other great tracks include "Karma Police" which came from a inside joke within the band, "Electioneering" influenced by the writings of Noam Chomsky, and "Airbag". The album was a stand out album in the 90's and still is today.

The band would then take a little break in 1998, and regroup in 1999 to begin work on their next album. During this time Yorke would go through writers block and the band and him would argue over the direction to take the band in next. During the sessions the band came up with 30 songs, which would be spread out over two albums and through B-sides. Musically the band would reinvent themselves jumping in the experimental ambient electronic direction and not sounding rock at all really; The band would cite influences such as Can, Miles Davis, and Remain in Light era Talking Heads. The album Kid A debuted at # 1 in the US and had no singles or videos. Some of the interesting tracks included "How to Completely Disappear" about the struggles of the acclaim that came with OK Computer, "National Anthem" an electronic and jazz influenced track, the ambient and jazz themed "Everything is in the Right Place", and "In Limbo" which makes reference to the writings of Dante, while featuring complex guitar rhythms and textures.



In 2001 Amnesiac was released. Debuting at #1 in Canada/USA and # 2 in the UK, Amnesiac contained tracks that were created at the same time as Kid A. Some initially mistake the album as leftover outtakes or B-sides from Kid A, but as the band stressed, it was a different album. Amnesiac featured the same strange ambient electronic influence of Kid A, but also brought in more guitar on the songs and featured more of a jazz influence. The band released a single this time, "Pyramid Song". The song was a piano ballad seemingly influenced by the Charles Mingus song "Freedom". "I Might Be Wrong" was a more guitar oriented track in drop D tuning, and was released as a radio only single before the album was released (it was also recorded live and released with other songs on the I Might Be Wrong EP in 2001). "Knives Out" was more pop oriented and said to be influenced by The Smiths. Other interesting tracks include "Dollars & Cents" which makes reference to the Seattle protest against the World Trade Organization, and "Life in a Glasshouse".

After embarking on a tour, in 2003 Hail To The Thief was released. This album was a mix of the electronic influences of the band with the more rock influences creating a unique album. Months before its release it leaked onto the Internet, but when it was released in stores people noticed differences in the songs. For example, "I Will" featuring no introduction and "The Gloaming" was shorter than the leaked version. Many confused the title of the album to be a political knock at the George W. Bush campaign, but in fact made reference to John Quincy Adams which was heard in a discussion on BBC Radio 4 by Yorke. "2 + 2 = 5" is obviously a reference to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the actual music builds up to an excellent rock fury. The album's first single was the Can influenced "There There" that lyrically was inspired by the kids TV show Bagpuss, as was it's music video. "Go To Sleep" was an acoustic track that was influenced by Talking Heads, while "Myxomatosis" was a heavy distorted track that breaks off and slows down with the drum beats. The lyrical reference of the song is about a disease that was introduced to help control the rabbit population in Britain. Hail To The Thief turned out to be mixing the old with the new, while Yorke sang with the fury and anger of a British punk.


n 2005, the band began work on a new album even playing a large majority of the new songs at live shows in 2006, but they no longer had a record contract with EMI. Initially starting with producer Mark Stent, the band would switch to their usual producer Nigel Godrich in late 2006. The band took their time recording this album, they had no contractual obligations to worry about. On October 10th, 2007 the band released the album digitally via their website and nowhere else. Also fans could pay whatever they wanted for it, even if the price was nothing. In December of 2007 fans can get what is known as a discbox which features a CD and vinyl version of the album as well as a CD and vinyl version of a collection of bonus tracks. Known as In Rainbows, the album is an experimental album that sounds like a mix of Kid A with OK Computer at times.

The album starts off with "15 Step" a song that has a dancy drumbeat, but guitar work that sounds like it is from OK Computer. "Bodysnatchers" is a rock track that sounds like it could be from The Bends era Radiohead. Other cool tracks include the odd "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" which features backwards harp, "Jigsaw Falling into Place" an acoustic "Paranoid Android" type song, and the piano ballad "Videotape" which ends the album. Radiohead have come a long way from being an alternative British band that sounded grungy, they have become a unique sparse sounding group who have kept all original members since starting out. The bands influences range from Elvis Costello, The Smiths, Joy Division, Magazine, The Pixies, REM, Miles Davis, Public Image Limited, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys to name a few.

Next week CJAM will be doing it's annual Pledge Drive. For more info please visit the CJAM website.

The Play List:

1. Cheap Trick – he’s a whore
2. Diodes – red rubber ball
3. Young Canadians – where were you?
4. Crash 80's - waiting for the heat
5. The Dogs – john rock n’ roll Sinclair
6. Stooges – I’m fried
7. Sex Pistols – did you no wrong
8. Collectors – we can make it
9. Northwest Company – hard to cry
10. Lou Reed – I’m so free
11. Gun Club – she’s like heroin to me
12. Unknowns – teenage terrorist
13. Gentlemen of Horror – overhead projector
14. Skids – the saints are coming
15. The Clash – pressure drop (alternate version)
16. Pointed Sticks – waiting for the real thing
17. Subway Sect – ambition
18. Stranglers – sometimes
19. XTC – science friction
20. Talking Heads – psycho killer (take 1)/can’t you hear my heartbeat )
21. Radiohead – bodysnatchers
22. The Hives - square one here I come
23. The Hives – fall is just something that grownups invented

Radiohead Videos:

High and Dry (2 Meter Session)
Just (Music Video)
Street Spirit (Fade Out)(Music Video)
Airbag (Live Jools Holland 1997)
Paranoid Android (Later with Jools Holland Live 1997)
Paranoid Android (Music Video)
Karma Police (Music Video)
2+2=5 (Live on Letterman)
Go To Sleep (MTV 2 Dollar Bill)
There There (Live Jools Holland)
Bangers n' Mash (Live Amsterdam 2006)
Down is the New Up

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Radiohives...Radiohead In Rainbows and The Hives Singles Collection



As mentioned last week, my show was pre-empted this week due to extended Canadian election coverage at CJAM. Musically this week I have been highly anticipating the release of music from two bands The Hives and Radiohead. On Tuesday October 9th, the Hives made six tracks available via itunes. The album titled The Black and White Album, is set to be released on October 15th in the UK and November 13th in the US/Canada. The songs are available for 99 cents on itunes now. It is known as the Singles Collection. The songs are really good and exciting, next week I will be playing some new hives material on my show.

Singles Collection track listing:

1. Tick Tick Boom
2. Try It Again
3. You Got It All...Wrong
4. Well Alright!
5. Won't Be Long
6. Fall is just Something that Grownups Invented

As for Radiohead, In Rainbows was made available digitally via the bands website (www.inrainbows.com) today October 10th. The album contains ten tracks that sound like a mix of Kid A, OK Computer and Hail To the Thief at times. The album contains many great songs one being the rocker "Bodysnatchers" and others such as "Jigsaw Falling Into Place" which sounds like "Paranoid Android", and "Videotape" which sounds similar to "Pyramid Song" from Amnesiac. The album is set to be released in CD form in December. I also plan on playing new Radiohead material on next weeks show, so don't forget to tune in Wednesday October 17th at 9PM.

Also, if you like the music support the artists, I can't stress that enough.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Too Much Too Soon...Show # 165




This post used to contain information on The New York Dolls.  For other New York Dolls related information please visit:

Take A Chance With Me: An Article About Jerry Nolan's 1982 Single

Next week, my show will be pre-empted by extended election coverage from CJAM News. I will return the following Wednesday (October 17th). I will still update this site next week though.

The Play List:

1. New York Dolls – trash
2. Jerry Nolan – take a chance with me
3. Blam Blam Blam – motivation
4. Gruesomes – leave my kitten alone
5. The Jam – to be someone
6. Lime Spiders – 1 2 5
7. Metros – mission
8. The Vapids – dead letter department
9. Neighbourhood Noise – face in the crowd
10. Young Rival – authentic child (demo)
11. Wire - 12 X U
12. Television – venus de milo (74 demo)
13. The Fall – bingo master
14. Gang of Four – guns before butter (alternate version)
15. Dead 60s – bolt of steel
16. Marble Index – all that I know
17. Odds – say you mean it
18. Sloan – ready for you
19. The Checks – what you heard
20. Air Traffic Control - heart attack
21. Subways – I wanna hear what you got to say
22. Arctic Monkeys – temptation greets you like your naughty friend
23. Fire Engines - hungry beat
24. Devo – freedom of choice
25. The Hives – try it again (xfm session)

NY Dolls Vids:

Personality Crisis
Lookin' For a Kiss
Jet Boy (Old Grey Whistle Test 1973)
Chatterbox

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

In Rainbows...


Radiohead is finally releasing their next album titled In Rainbows, on October 10th. The band is said to have no record label and it can be ordered off of their website. You have a choice between a box set containing the album on CD and vinyl and also a bonus disc on CD and vinyl. Also if you want, you can order the album digitally and pay whatever you want for it. Quite interesting, look for a big post on the band Radiohead soon on this blog (probably in the next few weeks). You can also visit the bands other website Dead Air Space for more radiohead related info.

The tracklisting is as follows:

CD 1 : IN RAINBOWS

15 STEP
BODYSNATCHERS
NUDE
WEIRD FISHES/ARPEGGI
ALL I NEED
FAUST ARP
RECKONER
HOUSE OF CARDS
JIGSAW FALLING INTO PLACE
VIDEOTAPE

CD 2 : BONUS DISC

MK 1
DOWN IS THE NEW UP
GO SLOWLY
MK 2
LAST FLOWERS
UP ON THE LADDER
BANGERS AND MASH
4 MINUTE WARNING

Some Videos:

Videotape (Thom Yorke on a piano)
Preview of tracks from the new album