WFMU's Beware of the Blog

Excavated Shellac: Guest DJ Set & "Africa at 78 RPM" Box

Now available as a podcast: Jonathan Ward of of Excavated Shellac swung by Talk's Cheap / WFMU to share gems from his personal collection of international 78 RPM records.

The 90-min guest DJ set features tracks that have never been posted online, and also debuts selections from Opika Pende: Africa at 78 RPM. Compiled and edited by Jonathan Ward, the 4-disc set of 100+ previously unissued recordings also includes a 112-page softcover book.

Opika Pende will be released next week by Dust-to-Digital, just in time to stock the label's booth at WFMU's Record Fair, Oct 28th-30th.

WFMU's Free Music Archive presents Grey Area with Jason Sigal from 10/17/2011

>> playlist / mp3 / iTunes / xml/rss

originally aired on Talk's Cheap // Support Talk's Cheap on WFMU!!

RADIOVISION: Tom Scharpling, Marc Maron, and Ira Glass

The best comic book superheroes all have great origin stories. In fact you could make the case that characters like Batman, Spiderman, and Wolverine are great because they have origin stories that go beyond a lab accident or a secret formula (although this certainly works for Bouncing Boy).

On October 28th - 30th, WFMU is holding its first ever Radiovision festival. And on Saturday the 29th (Symposium Saturday) we are kicking things off with a discussion about Origin Stories with three radio superheroes: Ira Glass, Marc Maron and Tom Scharpling.

If you are a regular listener of these three you might be familiar with bits and pieces of their stories. Before Ira Glass founded This American Life, the show that forever changed the face of public radio (a show NPR actually passed on!) he was Joe Frank's intern, Marc Maron was one of Air America's founding hosts and after his show was cancelled he started using their studios at night to make WTF (today one of the most popular podcasts). And while Tom Scharpling's callers now line up to get banned (or unbanned) during his weekly three hour standard-setting comedy program, in the beginning they would call in to complain about the mayhem and the mirth!

Maybe we should be pitching this as "the League of Superheroes" because these three have never shared a stage before. It's going to be an amazing hour-long conversation with three of radio's best storytellers. You don't want to miss this one - plus WFMU's Therese Mahler is moderating this panel discussion.  Tickets are on sale, and they are going fast.

We already sold out the Radiovision Opening Night performance with Joe Frank! Don't wait till the last minute.

Cruel Calculus

There's been some coverage here on B of The B about the corporate takeover of station KUSF, in San Francisco. While that battle still rages, WFMU has come up with a brilliant, incredibly generous solution: hosting the "KUSF in Exile" stream. Your favorite KUSF deejays are still on the air, still putting out the freeform mixes you love out there on the West Coast. Tune in here. 

Brick & mortar containers for out-music are doing just as poorly in the Bay Area. It's a story that cycles and re-cycles through everyplace that is home to a music "scene" of whatever stripe you care to paint. What's left to say about the latest venue closing? Well, this one's more impactful than the average. 21 Grand, after ten+ years of art and music, closed in January, and local musicians are still wondering what the hell happened. This time it wasn't an evil landlord that done the deed, but an indifferent city council, aided and abetted by buncha nimrods in big rubber boots and slickers. Ironically, while the City of Oakland Fire Department was making it impossible for the gallery to keep its doors open through fire-code upgrade ransoms, the City Arts Council was tossing money at them, to fund programs. Eventually, burnout took its toll. The calculus ceased to add up to a future. But what a history!

Amateur Cylinder Recordings: experimental sounds from over a century ago [mp3]

The largest online collection of historic sound recordings, UCSB's Cylinder Preservation & Digitization Project, is a new Curator on the Free Music Archive sharing Creative Commons selections from their  ~10,000 recordings. Today's feature is by Berto Solis, the UCSB digitization lab's team leader:

Brown wax cylinders, the primary medium for commercial recordings between 1895 and 1901, were in circulation much longer as wax “blanks”—to be recorded on and "shaved" (erasing the old grooves) and recorded on again.

The following is a selection from our minor collection of these. Each recording is a small wonder, for it is highly doubtful that their creators would ever have imagined that they would be heard so many years later.

A boy recites a psalm in the sober, headlong fashion of a child. How old is he? Men sing to the tune of “John Brown’s Body.”  Have they had too much to drink?  The vocal duet of Suwanee River—is that a husband and wife, brother and sister, friends? And then there are the animal noises--is that a real cat or someone imitating a cat? We hope it is the latter...

These few minutes of sound give us an aural snapshot of the lives of people from a previously silent era. This glimpse into the quiet past has its complications though. Since amateur recording practices weren't standardized at this time, level discrepancies, speed fluctuations, and unintended noise were recurring issues that we have to deal with while preserving and digitizing these cylinders today. In spite of these engineering problems, the essence of the past remains. It is this, more than anything, that keeps us listening.  [Berto Solis @ Free Music Archive]

A couple weeks back, Berto Solis and David Seubert called in to my WFMU program to talk about the Cylinder Preservation & Digitization Project and DJ some selections -- download the podcast here and check out CPDP on the FMA and at cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/

Special Coffee 2 Go Hip-Hop Podcast

This week on Noah's Coffee 2 Go underground hip-hop podcast: Baje One of Junk Science!

Baje One of Brooklyn rap duo Junk Science recently launched his own label for his projects and his friends called Modern Shark. He came down to WFMU and treated the Coffee 2 Go podcast to some goodies and Brooklyn bagels! Be sure to download part one of a one part mini series of tunes from the Modern Shark label.

Click here to subscribe to the Coffee 2 Go podcast via iTunes.

New Podcast from the Free Music Archive: Grey Area

I'm spinning off the podsafe portion of my regular ol' WFMU radio show into a Free Culture-themed podcast called Grey Area. Each week I'll deliver "all the hits that fit" straight outta the Free Music Archive, plus conversations with guests about the grey area surrounding music and free culture in digital era.

The first episode features Eric Steuer from Creative Commons (also of Wired Magazine and the electronic/hip-hop group Meanest Man Contest). We talk about the licenses that facilitate sharing, openness and innovation everywhere from The White House to Al Jazeera to the Free Music Archive to this very podcast.  We also talk about CBC Radio's recent decision to stop using Creative Commons music -- once a prominent feature of programs like Spark -- due to the usage restrictions of CC's more popular noncommercial licenses. To gain a better understanding of the situation, we crack open CC's recent Study of How the Online Population Understands “Noncommercial Use” and discuss how this might play into the future of Creative Commons. And speaking of The Future, the nonprofit organization is currently in the midst of their Superhero campaign, so we talk about some of the exciting things on the horizon.

Next week, we'll talk with Sam Brylawski, the co-author of The State of Recorded Sound Preservation in the United States. It's a new congressionally-mandated study, and it's subtitled "A National Legacy at Risk in the Digital Age"...but wait, wasn't the digital revolution supposed to solve this problem? The former executive director of the National Recording Preservation Board will outline some of the hurdles that stand in the way of our utopian digital archive.

This podcast is shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license, and features selected sounds from the ~25,000+ high-quality pod-safe mp3's available at http://freemusicarchive.org. The artwork remixes some sweet Greg Harrison designs.

  << subscribe!

Clay Pigeon / Dusty Show animation by Greg Harrison (video)

"Street conversation, soundbyte insertion, vinyl exhumation, observation..." That'd be The Dusty Show, a WFMU radio program and podcast hosted by journeyman broadcaster Clay Pigeon. And there's nothing quite like it here on WFMU or anywhere else.  I want to tell you more about this amazingly tape-spliced mix of music, real talk, and fictional narratives, like about how the show used to be mailed in via cassettes that'd stretch over into the next show or end early depending on the warpedness of the tape. But I think this new animation by Greg Harrison goes a long way to illustrate Clay's jam-packed truth-coaxing interview style

You might recognize Greg Harrison's visual style from the Seven Second Delay banner, the Free Music Archive pre-launch sampler CDs [v1, v2], and also the concert posters he's designed for some of the finest musicians from his/our homestate of NJ (Ted Leo, The Black Hollies) and beyond...and speaking of Jersey -- freeze that frame 4 seconds in!

New and returning podcasts

Announcing some great new and returning podcasts on WFMU this summer:

• Thunk Tank with Bronwyn & Jay: Listener call-ins, reviews, sportsy talk, interviews, News of the Dead, Douche of the Week, and inevitable disintegration into scatological cacophony as Bronwyn and Jay get acquainted, in public, on the radio. | subscribe
  
• Do or DIY with People Like Us: Surreal, arty sound collage incorporating music, found audio, and pop culture relics, glued together by People Like Us. | subscribe
  
• Kenny G's Hour of Pain: we apologize in advance, it's only an hour | subscribe
  
• Aerial View with Chris T.: Aerial View II: Host Chris T. says, "I hope, like Godfather II, Aerial View II is even better than the original. And - unlike the Bronco II - that it doesn't roll over easily." AV2 features the patented "Instant Answers Lightning Round" and the "Dang Ol' Dilemma" segment where YOU the listener get to vote on what Chris T. should do. | subscribe

If that ain't enough, check out WFMU's full bounty of podcastery for more downloadable fun.

New Podcasts and a Play

WFMU has 2 new podcasts:

Too Much Information with Benjamen Walker (click here to subscribe via iTunes) - On TMi everyone is invited to the oversharing party! Gurus, Crackpots, Hucksters, Ordinary Folks, and your host Benjamen Walker tell tall tales and share intimate stories about a world where nothing seems real and everything is downloadable. Information Overload - Every Week. (Benjamen's podcast got some major love in the iTunes store this week, see red circle to the right!)

Liz Berg (aka me, click here to subscribe via iTunes) - Caffeinated rock, experimental pop, oddball beats, and more stuffed into a chewy, bite-sized, downloadable snack. A quick rundown of my faves from the Free Music Archive, including many tunes from my weekly radio show, plus a few special treats that are too hot for airplay.

Check out our full listing of podcasts here.

One more bit of news: Andy Theodorou of Night People (also a podcast, subscribe here) is producing the play "Safe Home" at Women's Interart Center (500 West 52nd Street) in Manhattan. It runs through January. Find more information about it here.

New Podcast: Choking on Cufflinks

Introducing a new podcast: Choking on Cufflinks with Michael Goodstein!

Michael is taking a break from the air schedule, but he's still delivering the goods: DIY pop, shitalo, & the other "fun" stuff from Brooklyn, Jersey City, Manchester circa 1980, and everywhere else the DIY impulse took root.

Click here to subscribe to the Choking on Cufflinks podcast via iTunes, or visit our podcast page for more options.

New Podcast: The Eternal Now with Andy Ortmann

Andy Ortmann is not only the mastermind behind Nihilist Records, but is also a member of Plastic Crimewave Sound and Panicsville, with a number of excellent noise/experimental releases under his own name. Andy had a brief on-air stint here at WFMU a few years back and we still have (and use) the air raid siren he left behind.

Any person who has an air raid siren at their disposal is exactly the type of person we want hosting a new WFMU podcast that focuses on contemporary experimental, psychedelic, noise & other obscure music.

Introducing... The Eternal Now podcast with Andy Ortmann!

Click here to subscribe via iTunes, or visit our podcast page for more options.

New Podcast: The Rampler with Frank Edward Nora

WFMU has just added yet another podcast to our growing roster...

The Rampler with Frank Edward Nora

From the streets of NYC and also in-studio, a unique, pleasantly insane talk show about pop culture, food, technology, the mysteries of the universe, and a whole lot more. Subscribe to The Rampler podcast via iTunes by clicking here (or visit WFMU's podcast page for more options).

New podcast: Noise and Syrup with Jeff M.

Hook yourself up to the freeform feeding tube! WFMU is pleased to present a brand new podcast: Noise and Syrup with Jeff M.

Fill-in DJ Jeff takes his show Noise & Syrup on a stroll through the park with the Free Music Archive to enjoy the company of the odd, the noisy and the beautiful.

Click here to subscribe to the Noise and Syrup podcast via iTunes, or visit WFMU's podcast page for more options and for a full listing of our 21 podcasts.

Kurt Gottschalk's Brother Lucy Podshow

Kurt Gottschalk, the esteemed host of WFMU's The Brother Lucy Show, is taking a break from his Thursday morning web-only slot and will instead deliver the goods directly to your MP3 player.

The Brother Lucy Podshow premieres today with what might be seen as a desperate bid for popularity. But the Fiery Furnaces aren't just really, really hip. For the first of a summer of free concerts delivered to your computer or MP3 player, The Brother Lucy Podshow with Kurt Gottschalk presents The Fiery Furnaces, recorded live at Socrates Sculpture Park on August 26, 2007.

Click here to subscribe to the Brother Lucy Podshow in iTunes or hit WFMU's podcast page for more options.

Free Music Archive (in the) news (MP3s)

The Free Music Archive, a new collaborative project from WFMU and friends, has almost doubled in size since launching in beta this April. With nearly 10,000 curated mp3s, there's a lot to scope out, which is one reason I've been relatively absent from Beware of the Blog recently. Well, I'm back with this weekly feature that aims to highlight some "hot new added". Of course I'd rather just highlight everything, but you can keep tabs on that yourself by subscribing to the FMA's Recently Added RSS feed. Or follow us on twitter. Anyway, let's see...

Fellow curator KEXP is adding new tracks as I type, and I just had to re-post this, from Portugal's progressive kuduro group Buraka Som Sistema: Sound Of Kuduro/Luanda-Lisboa (Live at KEXP) (mp3)

Climax Golden Twins stopped by ISSUE Project Room last week, and brought some Sublime Frequencies videos with them to boot. If you're kicking yourself for missing out on the show, at least there's this archive of the CGT set (follow the link for the mp3).

The world's greatest insurgent country label, Bloodshot Records, shares promo tracks from the likes of Andre Williams, Dex Romweber Duo, and Jon Langford/Sadies/Waco Brothers. They've also curated a selection of archival recordings from their Bloodshot Revival series, like this 1960 song by The Sundowners - It's My Way (mp3)

Doncbruital did an excellent write-up of Montreal's Grand Trine, who originally released the warped anthem "Monochromatic Youth" (mp3), on cassette. Read more about them via the FMA here.

Podcaster Macedonia spotlights a world of hip-hop and electronic goodies from California to Budapest. Check out "With Or Without You" (mp3) from a free EP by Opio of Souls of MIschief, and "Funny" (mp3) by Hungarian artist Suhov via the BudaBeats label.

..and hey! The FMA was recently covered in The Wire, and in Billboard Magazine (where Vivian Girls were featured alongside Mudboy!?!?). Here are some other nice write ups that you can read on the internet:
The Portland Mercury called the FMA "incredibly awesome". Portland OR is also home to curator KBOO
CNET | Paid Content | Pitchfork | The Daily Swarm | and an in-depth g-chat interview by Rhizome Magazine

Truckers Shuckers Freeks & Geeks

Since keeping track of all the millions of podcasts out there is a hopeless task, I thought I'd put together a post hyping an outstanding show that might otherwise escape your attention.

For quite some time I've been immensely enjoying Truckers Shuckers Freeks & Geeks, produced and hosted by a hardcore record maniac named Mark Lee Allen (not to be confused with Beware Of The Blog contributor Mark Allen).  Over on his myspace page, Mark Lee Allen describes himself as a "record collector, idiot, DJ, and all-around geek" and he's certainly got discs to prove it.  His massive collection of original issue rockabilly, hillbilly, rhythm and blues, and doo-wop 45s and 78s, seems pretty close to endless.

Originally from Portsmouth, England and now living in Oregon, Mark's been in the US only about 5 years.  Unfortunately for the rest of us record hunters here in America, it seems he's wasting no time in his efforts to acquire every cool disc ever waxed.  Listening to his show is always a blast.  On mic, his between song ramblings absolutely brim with enthusiasm, humor and arcane record collecting details that invariably ring true.

The shows themselves usually (but not always) have themes, frequently centering on a specific record label or topical theme. 

His "record label" shows usually involve diving incredibly deeply (really, where does he find these discs?) into the hillbilly-flavored obscurities released by a given label.  Examples include, but aren't strictly limited to, Columbia, Starday, Mercury, Coral, Goldband, and King.

His topically-themed shows are all over the place and have included subjects like truck driving, guitar blues, Johnny Cash soundalikes, and Elvis Presley tribute records.  And any show with "Trailer Park" in the title is sure to be a winner as that's where Mark spins some of his most deranged discs covering subjects like hippies, beatniks, gambling, oddball trucker songs, murder, suicide, alcoholism, all-purpose oddities,  assorted parodies and demented novelties. I'm told that tomorrow he'll be uploading a show called Garage Sale At The Trailer Park.  I'm there.

Don't know where to start?  You could always check out his January 8, 2009 show, which kicks off with Pee Wee King's soaring version of Dragnet, recorded in 1955.  That's right, Dragnet - with steel guitars,  fiddles and cowboy hats!  And for some additional fun, hang in there until at least 47 minutes in (or cheat and move the positioning bar) and listen in as Mark gleefully mangles his repeated attempts to pronounce Nuevo Laredo when back-announcing an Elton Britt recording by that name.

New Podcast: Bitslap with KBC

Those of you who have been loitering in our hallways for a decade or so might remember an ex-WFMU DJ with a penchant for x-mas mixtapes who went by the name KBC. More recent FMU fans who frequent our record fair may have come into contact with this jolly creature generously foisting x-mas CDs upon the masses. Some of you blog folks may recall the fine day we offered up 101 versions of "Stairway to Heaven" (partial responsibility can be pegged upon KBC).

WFMU is happy to announce the return of KBC with a new podcast called Bitslap!

Subscribe via iTunes  |  Archives  |  Other subscription options

Bitslap features "old crazy music," silly comedy bits, lobsters, antiques, and probably some x-mas faves. Get up on it, and be sure to check out WFMU's full selection o' great podcasts on this page.

New Podcast: The Media Squat with Douglas Rushkoff

WFMU is pleased to welcome a new member of the freeform family, Douglas Rushkoff! Mr. Rushkoff's program, The Media Squat, can be heard live on our airwaves and webstreams every Monday at 7pm EDT, and streaming archives are available here.

The Media Squat is freeform, bottom-up, open source radio looking towards similarly open source, bottom-up solutions to some of the problems engendered by our relentlessly top-down society.

It isn't pure '60s or Whole Earth radicalism and self-sufficiency (though it's certainly related) but a 21st Century, cyberpunk reclamation of all technologies and social contracts as essentially open source, up for discussion, and open to modification. It's an application of the hacker ethic and net collectivism to everything, done in the spirit of fun and adventure.

The Media Squat is also now available as a podcast: click here to subscribe via iTunes or hit WFMU's podcast page for more options.

If you're not familiar with Douglas Rushkoff's work, dive in by reading his excellent analysis of the economic downturn for a refreshing view.

WFMU: Now With More Video

Hello, please enjoy WFMU's first VIDEO PODCAST, VIDEO QUEST.

Subscribe to the feed here, watch it up there, or download it and put it in your pod.

Watch this space for more info, next episode coming mid-April.

iTunes Store Love

WFMU Podcasts: right up there with fantasy baseball and Adam Carolla! Check out our page in the iTunes Store.