Post-blogging Non-Descript 10/13 Show

I have decided to do a new Tuesday series. Yes, people, I know today is Thursday. But every Tuesday, our own Bryan D. Brown has a radio show on KCSB called "Nondescript." You can get the feed for the podcast here. Incidentally, how is it that I just recently, as in two months ago, caught onto this podcast thing? This American Life and NonDescript and Studio360 delivered to my Itunes player without me having to coordinate fireside chat dates (which I used to do in high school)? Oh, joy!

Anyway, for the past few shows, I've been "live-emailing" Bryan my silly thoughts on his picks, which is really fun. But I thought I'd start live-blogging it, although certainly I'll leave private thoughts on TD's tastes in music to myself (cough). Bryan, you are free to email or publicly comment. Yes people, I know that this is post-blogging.

So, here's this week's, collected (and edited and embellished) for public consumption. I urge you to follow along! It's really great. I really liked this week's (and the Canadian show) in particular, and have listened to this week's twice already. On Tuesday, as I was tidying up and live-emailing, and this morning, as I was making meatballs in preparation for tomorrow's "Welcome Home From Your Business Trip, TD, Even Though I Sometimes Hate Your Job for Sending You Work At Midnight and then Sending You on Business Trips" spaghetti and meatballs and tarte tatin dinner. No, not a coherent menu. But sometimes, menus, like playlists, should mix it up.

Anyway, this week's playlist:

Artist Song Album
The Coup 5 Million Ways to Kill A C.E.O. Party Music
Black Before Red Matagorda Belgrave to Kings Circle
BOAT 200 Days, 59 Ways Let’s Drag Our Feet
Sea Ray Lalaland Stars at Noon
Compulsive Gamblers Wait a Bit, Joe Crystal Gazing Luck Amazing
Dictators Who Will Save Rock And Roll? D.F.F.D.
Tom Waits Eggs And Sausage Nighthawks At The Diner
The Five Maseratis Everything The Five Maseratis - EP
The Gories Boogie Chillun I Know You Fine, But How You Doin’
Miwa Gemini Traveling Man This Is How I Found You
The Queers Surfin’ Bird Rocket to Russia
The Aluminum Group Lie Detector Test Pedals
Ra Ra Riot Oh, La The Rhumb Line
The Randies The Way It Goes At The Friendship Motor Inn
The Teeth Yellow You’re My Lover Now
Tom Lehrer Oedipus Rex An Evening Wasted with…


Live-Email Transcript:

1. 5 million ways to kill a CEO is catchy. It is weird typing that. I hope I get a shout out for your scary Halloween show, because Halloween is my birthday. Also, Nickelback is way scary. It's on my list of dealbreaker bands. I heard that one guy's was "Silverchair." But "This Is How You Remind Me" is just one of those horrid rock power ballads that enable emotionally stunted men to like, feel. So, fuck that.

2. Black Before Red is a revelation. I dig, I dig.

3. I love BOAT. "Come With Me, We'll Win" was on my birthday mix for TD, along with most of the music you recommended to me. So far, 3 for 3. Nice progression too.

4. Sea Ray is great. 4 for 4. OMG a SHOUTOUT! AAAAAH!!! I AM FAMOUS!!!

5. OMG "Who Will Save Rock and Roll" is great. Today's set is so far very accessible, but still challenging, which is hard to do.

Oooh, sneaking in "Busta Move." Right on. "She's dressed in yellow, she says "hello," come sit next to me you fine fellow" is one of my all time favorite lines for no apparent reason.

6. I distrust any man who doesn't like Tom Waits. Closing Time is one of my all-time favorite albums. Martha just fucking kills me. I was having brunch last weekend in a diner and they played Ol' 55 and it was awesome.

That said, when he talks, he sounds like Krusty the Clown after one too many, or like Phyllis Diller. Hehhhhh, in that gravelly sigh.

This song also reminds me of many a late night I spent in an LA diner like Mel's, Norms, or The Pantry, eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes and corn and pie after some concert. I miss Los Angeles, sometimes. Not much of it, but little experiences like that.

7. Five Maseratis are also very catchy. I appreciate this happy jangly rock. There is more to this world than Jimmy Eat World, children. Also, for some reason I am off of sad bastard music these days. I have not touched my Belle and Sebastien and Elliot Smith and Nick Drake for a while. It's like all that Tracy Chapman I listened to get over Heartbreak 2001. Sometimes, you need to move on, for a while. And the older I get, the less I want to be bummed out by my music, except when I'm really bummed out, in which case I just wallow until friends call to ask me if I'm still listening to Dusty Springfield and Phil Collins.

8. Ha! Surfin' Bird! I don't know how I know this song, but somehow it's a part of my musical lexicon. If it sneaked in there b/c of some commercial (likely), I will whup some ad exec's ass. I'm one of those people who didn't know about Nick Drake until that VW ad, and then those damn hipsters judge me for being all late on the bandwagon. Whev. It's like how I didn't discover Pavement or JAMC until just last year.

9. I dig Aluminum Group. Sound vaguely reminiscent of The Magnetic Fields mixed with like, Moby or Kings of Convenience or something. Are we back in the late '90s? Possibly. In any case, I am looking around for my pleather jacket and the jerk I was dating back then.

10. You da man! Ra Ra Riot are great! Nice segue from Aluminum Group. Also, I feel like I'm in the '80s new wave again. Did I ever tell you that when my family first came to the U.S., my sibs split up into Olivia Newton John and Richard Marx adult contemporary soft rock (the sisters) or New Wave (the brothers) camps? They all converged on Michael Jackson though. Everyone loved Michael back then. I love old Michael now. But he's like Tom Cruise. Just creeps the hell out of you, so you can't go back.

11. The Randies remind me of The Raveonettes. I dig these girl-lead rock bands. I don't like sweet-voiced girl bands as much (see, e.g. Rilo Kiley, The Cardigans), but this stuff is good. I forgot what the cultural consensus is on The Pretenders. I like The Pretenders. Are the haterz going to descend on me for that?

12. Last song is good too, in a weird way. It's like slam poetry, but with horns. I hate slam poetry. I hate horn rock (see, e.g. Chicago). But together, it's doable.

Very good set this week, maestro! I can't wait till next week's!