An old-fashioned New Year’s Holiday Program from me, in that it’s the way I used to do them, 10 years ago. Join us for a Supernatural, Time Traveling New Year’s story, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of drinking too much.
Enjoy!
New Year’s Nightmare
Featuring cut ups of “New Year’s Nightmare,” an episode of The Mysterious Traveler from 5 January 1947, and the KMART Christmas Tape.
Part I:
01.) Drink! * They Might Be Giants * Mink Car
02.) Look Around You * The Resistance * The Resistance
03.) Jagged Time Lapse * John’s Children * A Midsummer Night’s Scene
Part II:
04.) Another Name * The Miss * The Ride
05.) You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory * Ronnie Spector * Jackson’s Jukebox
06.) I Want To Tell You * The Rockers * Teenline Vol. 1
07.) Something I’ve Got To Tell You * Glenda Collins * It’s Hard To Believe It: The Amazing World of Joe Meek
08.) Over Now * The Tools * Teenline Vol. 2
Part III:
09.) Love’s Gone Bad * Chris Clark * Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found: One Kiss Can Lead To Another
10.) I Wanna Be Free * The Rings * Once Upon A Time Vol. 04: UK April to July 1977
11.) Aba Daba Honeymoon * Debbie Reynolds & Carleton Carpenter * 50’s Love Songs
12.) Murderer’s Night * Sun City Girls * 330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond The Rig Veda Can’t Be Wrong
Part IV:
13.) Headache * Frank Black * Teenager of The Year
14.) I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You * Klaus Nomi * Eclipsed: The Best of Klaus Nomi
15.) New Year’s Eve * Tom Waits * Bad As Me
Part V:
16.) Visible Alex * Moth Hunter * Visible Alex
17.) Subterranean Waterway Barge Conveyance * Hal McGee * Battery Operated
An old-fashioned Holiday Program from me, in that it’s the way I used to do them, 10 years ago.
Enjoy!
Dancing Dan’s Christmas
Featuring cut ups of “Dancing Dan’s Christmas,” and episode of The Damon Runyon Theater from 13 March 1949, and the KMART Christmas Tape.
Part I:
01.) American Story * Cult Heroes * Killed By Death Vol. 12
02.) (I Should Better Be Lookin’ For) Dangerman * The Mummies * Death By Unga Bunga!!
03.) Searchin’ * The Coasters * The Coasters
Part II:
04.) A Change At Christmas (Say It Isn’t So) * The Flaming Lips * Ego Tripping At The Gates of Hell EP
05.) One Christmas At A Time * Jonathan Coulton & John Roderick * One Christmas At A Time
06.) Mr. Santa Claus * Nathaniel Mayer * Village of Love
07.) Santa’s Beard * They Might Be Giants * Lincoln
Part III:
08.) Follow Blind * The Wipers * Follow Blind
09.) Christmas In The Congo * Marquees * Jeezus Fuck, It’s Christmas!
10.) Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto * James Brown * Jeezus Fuck, It’s Christmas!
Part IV:
11.) (It’s Gonna Be A) Punk Rock Christmas * The Ravers * Once Upon A Time Vol. 13: California & Pacific Northwest 1977
12.) It Came Upon A Midnight Clear * Eban Schletter * Eban Schletter’s Cosmic Christmas
13.) Christmas Blues * Washboard Pete * Jeezus Fuck, It’s Christmas!
14.) Christmas In Jail * The Youngsters * Black Christmas
15.) Yulesville * Edward ‘Kookie’ Byrnes * Jeezus Fuck, It’s Christmas!
16.) C’mon Santa! * Mach Bell & His Elves * Xmas Snertz: Have A Very Gulcher Christmas!
Part V:
17.) I Am A Human Recording * Hal McGee * Battery Operated
This is sort of a grab-bag program, in many ways. There’s some live Mini-Mutations, what I’m calling Futuristic Christmas Carols, as I pontificate on the holiday season.
Then, there’s a quartet of Holiday Episodes from Calling All Detectives, with Jerry Browning.
Then we close with another installment of Hal McGee’s Holiday Audio Assemblage from last year, “Battery Operated,” with the second track from that disc.
Enjoy!
Christmas Shopping In The Future With Jerry Browning
Part I:
01.) Santa Claus Is Murdered * Calling All Detectives * 7 December 1948
Part II:
02.) Too Many Santas * Calling All Detectives * 24 December 1948
Part III:
03.) A Case While Shopping * Calling All Detectives * 31 December 1948
Part IV:
04.) A Christmas Ornament Is A Valuable Clue * Calling All Detectives * 5 January 1949
Part V: battery operated
05.) a dream from which I just awoke * Hal McGee * battery operated * Self-Released (2020)
Part VI:
06.) High Pressure * The Adventures of Rocky Jordan * 27 November 1949
Here’s a jukebox show, of some stuff that is new-ish to me, but I haven’t had a chance to listen to.
Enjoy!
I Want To Do Your Laundry
Part I: Erratic Warrior
01.) Erratic Warrior * Dylan Houser * EC Split 3 * HalTapes (2020)
02.) Durante y después de la exposición al sol * Rafael González * EC Split 8
Part II: springs and gears
03.) Only from the Heart Can You Touch the Sky * Space Gambus Experiment * Into The Light * Self-Released (2014)
04.) 23 July 2012 No. 6 * Tom Furgas * OneOfAKind Disc 23 July 2012 * Self-Released (2012)
05.) The Watchmaker, struck a mortal blow, is surprised to find he is only springs and gears inside [Exceprt] * Tower Sisters * Tower Sisters * What is the Response Threshold and How Does it Work? * Naked Raabbit
Part III: Unproductive Thinking
06.) Strange and Unproductive Thinking * David Lynch * Crazy Clown Time * Pias America (2011)
07.) I Want to do Your Laundry * Fate vs. Free Will Turn Signals * Wolf In A Pulpit * Self-Released (1987)
08.) Sister Schizo * Walls of Genius * Before …and After * Self-Released (1984)
Part IV: battery operated
09.) My doppelgänger is naughty * Hal McGee * battery operated * Self-Released (2020)
Since big things are frowned upon this Thanksgiving, we are relying on a much smaller form of entertainment to keep in step with the need this year. All 3″ discs are on the menu.
Enjoy!
Keeping Things Small For The Holidays: 3″ of Pure Pleasure
Part I: Blood of the Land
01.) Blood of the Land * Daniel Menche * Blood of the Land * ferns_rhizome (2010)
Part II: Childhood And Sudden Memories
02.) 1031 * endometrium cuntplow * endometrium cuntplow / dogprodz split * Love Torture Records (2009)
03.) Childhood And Sudden Memories * Boar * endometrium cuntplow / boar split * Love Torture Records (2009)
04.) unsustainable growth * Chefkirk + Carl Kruger * designer consciousness * bicephalic records (2018)
05.) 34275 * dogprodz * endometrium cuntplow / dogprodz split * Love Torture Records (2009)
Part III: Object Lesssening
06.) Human vs. Mechanical Turtle Part IV * DJ EmbryonicPetitSac * Sac + Tinklepotty * Sweat Band Records (2012)
07.) Impact Melt Pools * Styrofoam Sanchez * Crank Sturgeon / Styrofoam Sanchez Split * Lewcid Joosebox Recordings
08.) [untitled] * JUICE MACHINE * [peach dot sticker] * Self-Released
09.) Object Lessening * Crank Sturgeon * Crank Sturgeon / Styrofoam Sanchez Split * Lewcid Joosebox Recordings
10.) Mantra No.55 [Excerpt] * Durastatic * Mantra No.55 * Self-Released
Part IV: Dimestore Radio Theater
11.) The Strange Death of Van Dorn * The Adventures of Rocky Jordan * 13 November 1949
A little DJ show to feature some of the new stuff that has come my way recently. Lots of new stuff!
Enjoy!
The Body & The Mind: Blood & The Fading Light
Part I: The Visitor
01.) Vast * Brad Anderson * Darwinian Playground * Brad Anderson Music (2020)
02.) Create The Visitor (Live in Glasgow) * Negativland * LIVE BRAIN Eurotour 2019 * Seeland Records (2020)
Part II: Exposed
03.) Blood On My Craft Table * Leporidae * Klowd / Leporidae / Audioemetic – Split * Skeletonhand Records (2006)
04.) Out Kew * KR Seward * EC Split 5: bless with Boss? * HalTapes (2020)
05.) Exposed In The Fading Light * Scot Jenerik 8 * MEAT * Auscultare Research (1999)
Part III: Misdirection
06.) Side of Orca * Spiral Tanks * November Postcard * Spiral Tanks Music (2020)
07.) Models of Misdirection I I * Vasectomy Party * EC Split 6 * HalTapes (2020)
08.) Dying For Cigarettes * Greaathumor * Crowd Pleasers * Industrial Sentiment (2020)
09.) The Blood Ov (Excerpt) * Instagon * Thee Most Creative Thing I’ve Ever Seen In A Slight English Accent * Thee Instagon Foundation (1994)
Part IV: Dimestore Radio Theater
10.) The Black Ball * The Adventures of Rocky Jordan * 6 November 1949
Somehow I have would up in Florida, but my good friend Bill Martin happens to own a boat there. Maybe he can help me get home, somehow, on his way to Horror Island?
Enjoy!
A Night On Horror Island
01. ) Horror Island * George Waggner
02.) Quest For The Traneeneh * The Adventures of Rocky Jordan * 16 October 1949
I continue my way home, through an awfully creepy forest, I stumble upon a very strange house on a Haunted Hill, where some unusual characters are having what they call a “party.”
Enjoy!
A Night On Haunted Hill
01. ) A Night On Haunted Hill * William Castle
02.) Occasional Organ * Mini-Mutations
03.) The Man With No Name * The Adventures of Rocky Jordan * 9 October 1949
As at the smokey chokey Pacific Northwest continues to experience the worst from fires, my mind turns to rain and the healing effects it can have on us.. if it will only come.
Enjoy!
Happy When It Rains
HOUR 1
Part I: He Begins
01. ) He Begins * Jeremy Hight / Read by Austin Rich * 15 September 2020
Part II: Happy When It Rains
02.) Rainbirds * Tom Waits * Swordfishtrombones * Island Records
03.) Rain * Charles Bukowski
04.) Happy When It Rains * The Jesus & Mary Chain * Darklands (1987)
Part III: Acid Rain
05.) Acid Rain * Grails * Doomsdayer’s Holiday (2008)
06.) Rain * Sailboats * Adrift
07.) Rain * Guyve * Live 9-27-06 Valentines
08.) Sandoz in the Rain * Amon Duul I * Yeti
09.) Rain Roots * King Tubby * King Tubby Meets The Upsetter
HOUR 2
Part IV: Windowpane Rain
10.) Didn’t It Rain * The Golden Gate Quartet * Radio Transcriptions 1941 – 1944
11.) Windowpane Rain * George & Caplin * Things Past (2006)
12.) Rainforest Version 1, 1968, performed 1990 * David Tudor * OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music (2000)
13.) Brown Rain * Christian Marclay * Records (1982)
Part V: Singin’ In The Rain
14.) aleanRainsong * devilsclub
15.) Jade Planet Rain * Knuckle Children
16.) We Ain’t Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain * Charles Bukowski
17.) Singin’ In The Rain * Gene Kelly
Part VI: Dimestore Radio Theater
18.) Adventure With Andrea * The Adventures of Rocky Jordan * 11 September 1949
As 2016 rolls to a close, any reasonable assessment of the last 12 months has left all of us a little worse for wear. As I try to re-focus my efforts for 2017, Mid-Valley Mutations is taking a few weeks off for the holidays, to recuperate and prepare for what will be a much better year, no matter how you slice it.
But we don’t want to leave you hanging, as you have come to expect weekly entertainment, and weekly entertainment you shall receive. So we’re still bringing you some good old fashioned holiday programming, just in time for the Christmas Season. We are featuring two Old Time Radio Classics, stories that involve detectives solving Yule Tide mysteries that play themselves out over two half-hour blocks. But that’s not all! We found shows where the leads are played by two stalwart performers of the Golden Age of Radio: Vincent Price and Frank Sinatra!
First, Vincent brings you a tale of The Saint, a character that he portrayed on the radio from 1947 until the end of the radio run in 1951. Vincent is a fantastic actor, and his style and sophistication come through in his portrayal of The Saint, who is as concerned with being a gentleman as much as he is concerned with solving the case. It is worth it to hear Vincent perform the character of Simon Templar, an actual saint in world where crime may strike at any moment. The Saint is often – as he is in this story – accompanied by a cab driver named Louie, expertly played by Lawrence Dobkin, no stranger to Detective Radio Programs. (He played Archie in the radio adaptations of the Nero Wolf stories, and guest starred in The Adventures of Philip Marlowe, Jeff Regan and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar.) This story is sort of typical of what you would find of The Saint. A little action, a little comedy, and plenty of chances for Vincent and Lawrence to spar, verbally. The recipie continues to work, even 60 years later, and it is a great addition to our Holiday Programming.
Second, Frank Sinatra plays a lesser known character from the world of noir fiction: Rocky Fortune. This makes perfect sense, as Sinatra was experiencing extreme popularity in post-war America, and he was the kind f personality that radio usually enjoyed. To top it off, it seemed to have the right juice behind the show, as the creator was none other that Dimension X series creator George Lefferts. There was also a certain amount of fourth wall breaking that happened on the show; Rocky references Dimension X, in one episode, sings lines from the Sinatra catalog, and would throw in references to From Here To Eternity as often as possible. Perhaps that was the nail in the coffin for the program, or perhaps it was Sinatra, who was never the greatest actor, in spite of his incredible voice. The show only lasted 25 episodes, and strangely, the final broadcast was less than a week after he won the Academy Award for acting, solidifying his career in film, making his radio career merely a footnote. Still, this holiday installment of his program is not only a great way to close this particular episode, but is a perfectly holiday tale, best told on the radio.
It’s just one of the many ways we like to celebrate the holidays, on Mid-Valley Mutations, and we hope you enjoy listening to Old Time Radio the way we do. And, stay tuned! There’s all sorts of podcast-only treats, and further Old Time Radio goodies that will hit the airwaves in the coming weeks. Get into the Yule Tide Spirit, with plenty of radio for your ears.
Detectives For Christmas w/ Vincent Price & Frank Sinatra!
Part I: The Saint!
01.) Austin FM Theme * Paco Jones * Austin FM Theme * Self-Released (2016)
02.) See How Pretty, See How Smart [Excerpt] * Melvins * The Maggot * Ipecac Records (1999)
03.) Nineteen Santa Clauses * The Saint * 24 December 1947 Broadcast * NBC Radio (1947)
Part II: Rocky Fortune!
04.) The Plot To Murder Santa Claus * Rocky Fortune * 22 December 1953 Broadcast * NBC Radio (1953)