Obadiah & The Grumpy Punk (#159)

It is no secret that my friends and I usually get together and… listen to music. It’s a nice chance of pace from going on the radio and listening to music, or going to a show to see some live music. What I’m getting at is: would you like to listen to some music? Because we have two hours of a new show for you this week, where my friend Obadiah and I get together and enjoy some of the finer selections from our collections.

Aside from about three selections that we included in this program – and excluding the commercials and voice-overs – every bit of this program came from 7″ records. Doing a show like this is a bit of an endurance challenge; you don’t really get to take a break, and the whole show is spent on your feet, flipping records and cueing up the next thing. No time to chat. No time to check if you have the speed set right. No time to get everything set at the right level. These are loud and fast rock and roll records, and we need to go go go!

Technical issues aside, we blast through a massive slice of our record collections, bringing you choice records with our favorite tunes. The weather computer chimes in a few times with notes about his taste, and on the whole, we have an excellent time.

You don’t really get to know either of us outside of our selections during this show. We talk a little, but we usually just get to the next song. This is about rocking out, and hopefully it comes through. Who says you have to be overly strange in everything you do? There’s plenty of strange lyrics and odd bits and bobs as we wend are way through the vinyl stacks.

Hopefully you find the path we took pretty excellent,, too.

Enjoy!

Obadiah & The Grumpy Punk

HOUR 1:

Part I: 

01.) Love Song * The Damned
02.) Pathos * Moral Crux
03.) Ralph Reed * Brother Inferior
04.) Life of Crime * The Weirdos *
05.) I’m A Confused Man * The Headcoats *
06.) Out of Sight * Teengenerate

Part II: 

07.) Sad Girl Por Vida * Pretty Girls Make Graves
08.) You Won’t See Me Anymore * The Nice Boys *
09.) Androgynous * The Replacements
10.) Good Sculptures * The Rezillos
11.) Turnaround * Devo
12.) Bricks * Crimpshrine

Part III: 

13.) Frequency Sequence * Man… Or Astro-Man?
14.) Fire In The Western World * Dead Moon
15.) Boodstains * Agent Orange
16.) Do The Crash! Crash! * The Agenda
17.) Have You Heard The Music? * Behead The Prophet No Lord Shall Live *
18.) Trunkload of Satanized Luggage * Arcweld
19.) Jesus Was A Vato * Chicano-Christ

HOUR 2:

Part IV: 

20.) Ciao Bella * Marc Ribot & Tom Waits
21.) Rebel Girl * Bikini Kill
22.) Left Out Now * The Gossip
23.) Kick Out The Jams * MC5
24.) No Time To Be 21 * The Adverts
25.) Automatic * Scared of Chaka

Part V: 

26.) Dramatic History of a Boring Town * J Church
27.) Dumb Radio * Dimestore Haloes
28.) Shield Your Eyes * Jawbreaker
29.) The Sound of Jazz to Come / N.O.U.S.P.T.D.A. * The Nation of Ulysses
30.) Johnny Thunders * Murder City Devils
31.) Question And Answer Session * The Miss
32.) On The Avenue * The Potatomen
33.) 65 Miles * The Jimmies *
34.) Dutch Courage * The Armitage Shanks *

Part VI: 

35.) Youth of America * The Wipers

Consonants & Vowels (A Vinyl Solution) (#45)

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but the schedule lately has gotten crazy, and with good reason.  A lot of people want to play on the show, and I LOVE having guests, so the combination of the two has lead to a healthy calendar with a ton of amazing artists making a lot of noise on the radio.  I love it, of course.  But for some reason, no one was interested in today’s date.  What with a bunch of public shows too, this one really snuck up on me.  The only solution, as I saw it, was to bust out another Vinyl Solution.

The timing is sort of perfect.  Or, at least, worked out anyway.  My co-host and bandmate got sick during our last gig on Wednesday, and it was still lingering today.  But after I went through my records again and started thinking about what I wanted to play, it all worked out.  Humorously enough, I originally intended to mix up the vinyl with all sorts of other stuff, but when I got to the station, something about the vibe of the night left me to only play the records.  It figures.  That’s just how I am.

Of course, horridus decided to call in anyway, so up front we jam via the phone for a spell, and it actually sounded pretty good.  (He sent a photo of his “sick” rick that he put together for this, that you can see above.  And, I should mention, I mis-identify this item as the “newest” member of our group, and it is not.  But it still sounds good.)  Aside from his call, the rest of this show was pure vinyl, and that’s the way I like it.

There’s a whole lot more live music on the show coming up soon, just the way we like it, so consider this a little breather before we dive back into the mosh pit.  I, for one, cannot way.

Enjoy.

Spinitron Playlist

Consonants & Vowels

HOUR 1

Part I: Consonants & Vowels

01.) Austin FM Theme * Paco Jones * Austin FM Theme * Self-Released (2016)
02.)
03.) Cutter Magnolias * Blood Rhythms * Assembly * No Part Of It Records (2015)
04.) Theme From Consonants & Vowels * MKUltramegaphone * 31 March 2017 * Mid-Valley Mutations (2017)

Part II: You’re Welcome To Play

05.) Fete De La Patience / You’re Welcome To Play * Derek M Johnson * FKXMS * Aphonia Records (2011)
06.) Walking Through The Upside Down / She’ll Kill You * Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein * Stranger Things Volume One (A Netflix Original Series) * Lakeshore Records (2016)
07.) Abraxis Atticus * ARU * DPV3.5 * Captcha Records (2013)

Part III: Truth In Advertising

08.) Shitfaced Reynolds * Guyve * Delaying The Inevitable * Self-Released (2012)
09.) Don Haugen Lathe
10.) Truth In Advertising * Negativland * Truth In Advertising EP * Eerie Materials (1997)

HOUR 2

Part IV: The Smell of Burning Wires (Every Astronaut Fears)

11.) [Various Selections From Both Records Mashed-Up] * Paul Beaver & Bernard L. Krause * The Nonesuch Guide To Electronic Music * Nonsuch Records (1968)
12.) The Smell of Burning Wires Every Astronaut Fears * Men’s Recovery Project * Thank You For Killing Me EP * Paralogy Records (1997)
13.) [Various Selections] * Igor Stravinsky * The Rite of Spring * Nonesuch Records (1966) * Mashed-Up w/
14.) [Various Selections] * Bela Bartók * Divertimento For String Orchestra * Epic Records (1959) * Mashed-Up w/
15.) [Various Selections] * Gustav Holst * The Planets * RCA Records (1976) * Mashed-Up w/
16.) [Various Selections] * George Gershwin * The Gershwin Album * Columbia Recors (1973) * Mashed-Up w/
17.) [Various Selections] * Ornette Coleman * The Best of Ornette Coleman * Atlantic Records (1970)

Part V: Re-Volution (or, “The College Rock Block”)

18.) Revolution Part 1 / Revolution Part 2 * Butthole Surfers * Piouhgd * Rough Trade Records (1991)
19.) Sex Bomb * Flipper * Generic * Subterranean Records (1981)
20.) [Various Selections] * Don L. Hunter * OP&E 19 * Emerald Custom Sound Recording (1970)
21.) Christianity Is Stupid * Negativland * Escape From Noise * SST Records (1987)
22.) Kerosene * Big Black * Atomizer * Homestead Records (1986)

Part VI: Starting Over

23.) [Various Selections] * Don L. Hunter * OP&E 19 * Emerald Custom Sound Recording (1970) Mashed-Up w/
24.) Test And Balance Section * John Hall * Sounds Out Of This World * Omega Disc (1960)
25.) Day One * Enemymine * The Ice In Me * Up Records (2000)

Part VII: Dimestore Radio Theater Pilot

26.) The Orange Dog * The Adventures of Philip Marlowe * 22 January 1949 * NBC Radio (1949)

The Speckled Band (A Vinyl Solution) (#5)

If you were born in 1975 – like I was – then you have seen a number of new media get developed, put on the market, be declared obsolete when the new format comes around, and within 10 years after that, becomes cool and retro so that all the hipsters have something to obsess over.  Growing up, my parents had thousands of records, and eventually, bought a reel-to-reel player / recorder, a dual cassette deck, and by the time I was in High School, a CD Player.  I learned how to handled records and tapes early; how to clean the discs and the stylus, and how to store them.  I was never very great with my own stuff over the years, but these formative experiences turned me into the record collector I became when I took the four LPs I had with me to Eugene, met The Ramen City Kid, and began searching through record stores looking for something that I could never adequately describe to others.

In the time since I’ve acquired a few thousand records, not to mention a ridiculous number of tapes and CDs, too.  But the LPs have been the primary focus, a place I’ve sunk a ton of money and energy into, and place that gives me happiness and excitement.  I love sitting around listening to records, and if I could, I would probably just do that and read comics all day, every day, and find myself a fairly happy man.

Since the beginning I’ve incorporated actual records into my shows, and in 1998, it didn’t seem that odd that you would mix your show between whatever available formats you had.  But as the years went on, I found that the radio booths I would enter had fewer and fewer records in them, and eventually I got to the point where I had to bring my own needles – and, in some cases, turntables – if I wanted to play records.  As is often the case, the younger generations don’t realize the value of the older technologies until they experience them first-hand themselves, and I was often the person that had to remind people that there were a few of us that love music, in all its forms.

While it was not my first all-vinyl show, the first time I did A Vinyl Solution was in the Summer of 2009, and ever since I try to fit one in from time to time, to offer listeners a chance to hear some of the records that might get lost behind the iPod and the general disconnection we have between the music we enjoy and the physical world around us.  That isn’t to say that you can’t have a meaningful experience with digital music, or even music that you hear “over the air.”  But there is something about the physical origins of the media that adds a little something special to the blend, and gives these shows a presence that isn’t the same as when I prepare everything on the computer in advance.

The biggest challenge with doing these all-vinyl shows is, of course, logistics.  While I brought in a third record player to help offset the limitations of two turntables, there were still a few hair-raising moments as I’m trying to balance the mix, fidelity, and the next track all while trying not to sweat too badly.  Please forgive a few skips and imperfections.  It is, of course, the way you can tell that these shows are live.

Basil Rathbone’s performances as Sherlock Holmes has cemented him as one of the actors associated with that character, and the LPs he made with Caedmon Records reveals what a fantastic voice this incredible performer had.  His voice not only lends itself to the radio quite well, but delivers a great story in a form that is largely lost to modern audiences.  It makes sense to mix this with plenty of other records, as he is not only a great fixture in my record collection, but a great cultural figure, too.

Enjoy!

Spinitron Playlist

The Speckled Band
(A Sherlock Holmes Story, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & read by Basil Rathbone)

Part I: “There seemed to be no obstacle to our happiness.”

01.) Heaven And Hell (Part 2) [Excerpt 5] * Vangelis * Heaven And Hell * RCA (1975)
02.) The Adventure of The Speckled Band * Basil Rathbone * Stories of Sherlock Holmes Vol. 1  * Caedmon Records
03.) metalized excitements of our shared dreams of technology [Excerpt] * Tärr * Tärr / Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III split * oms-b.org (2010)
04.) nine thousand and second amaranth shower [Excerpt] * Yellow Crystal Star * Rainbow Bridge to Nonlocality: Myriad Forms of You * oms-b.org (2010)

Part II: “A low, clear whistle.”

05.) Live At Café Oto [Excerpt] * Souls On Board * Meltaot / Souls On Board Split * Ash International (2010)
06.) Leading the Deer and Monoceros Through the Disintegrating Forest Mriga Marga [Excerpt] * Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III * Tärr / Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III split * oms-b.org (2010)
07.) Piece 7 (Excerpt) * ALTO! * ALTO! * Raheem Records (2012)
08.) Cocoon [Exerpt] * Brown * Lepidoptera * Anarchymoon Recordings (2010)

Part III: “I should be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket.”

09.) The Fallow Field of Vision [Exerpt] * Dull Knife * Dull Knife * Debacle Records (2011)
10.) Invisible Limits [Excerpt] * Tangerine Dream * Stratosfear * CBS Records (1976)