Love at First Listen


One thing I've learned from being a radio DJ is how to tell if a song is good or right or appropriate after listening to it for 10 seconds or less. (I can say for sure that if a track sounds like Bob Dylan or Tori Amos in the first few seconds I'm not going to like it. However if it sounds heavily electronic and/or possibly danceable I will probably bite. Also, it doesn't have to be 10 seconds in a row. Try 5 seconds at the beginning, then drag the play-head to the middle of the song and listen again.) This skill has been very handy when wading through free mp3's that come to my feed reader. (Translation for my mom: I find a blog about music that I like, and I type the name into Google Reader as a subscription. Then every time the blog gets updated, the new post gets collected in the Reader. I can go to that one place and read through all the collected posts whenever I want. They often contain promotional audio files of songs. I try to listen to as many as I can to find new and interesting things for my radio show.) Here are some notes on recent stuff I've found:

From north of the border: The song "Tom Cruz" by Montreal outfit Plants and Animals from their La La Land is quite excellent. It's clearly indie pop and yet there is something a little Southern-fried about it, like it would be a good soundtrack to a montage scene from Friday Night Lights, or it would be good on a mixtape that also contains the Allman Brothers, the Doors and the New Pornographers. That sounds terrible--it is a great song and please check them out.

Also cool and Canadian are Woodhands. Their new Remorsecapade has the awesomest album art, tiny version below. "Dissembler" is satisfying mellowish synth-pop (though with break-up-y lyrics). (Their earlier "I Wasn't Made for Fighting" is a satisfying workout/banger--visit it at their Myspace page.)


Twin Sister has been a heavy rotation phenomenon at my house, especially since they gave away their EP for free at their attractive website, twinsistermusic.com. Also a good place to visit if you would like a 41 minute mix of Indian film music from the 70s. (Which I do, thank you Twin Sister.)

Happy Birthday is burning up the Internets and they're, like, from THE TOWN WHERE I LIVE! And signed to Sub-Pop, playing SXSW, doing studio appearances and online videos, and generally being fêted and attended to by the music industry types just like any other great band. And they are great. I was excited to have "Subliminal Message" stuck in my head the other day, it gave me a thrill of hometown pride. Nice job Brattleboro peoples.

Here is a fantastic album name: Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates. The interpreters are The Bird and the Bee and I must say their take on "Private Eyes" is both nostalgic and refreshing. It is about time we started properly revering Hall & Oates. I also like that Inara George has been performing lately while hugely pregnant, and why the heck not.

Below are radio playlists from the last few weeks. Please tune in every Weds. nite from 7-8 pm, wvew.org, when it's Beef Jerky Time on Brattleboro Community Radio!

3*24*10
  • Minus 1: Timecard
  • I am the Tide, the Rise and the Fall: Older than Hours
  • Cigarette Hands: Graph
  • Calculators Won't Hit the Mark: Older than Hours
  • Cosmic Door: Crystal Skulls
  • Operational: Older than Hours
  • Red, White & Blonde: Subtle
  • Choco Flight: Deerhoof
  • Dissembler: Woodhands
  • Manupahk Outrage: Older than Hours
  • Palin Comparison: Jesus Year
  • Tom Cruz: Plants & Animals

3*31*10

4*7*10

4*14*10 This is the show where I played "Imagine We're at Coachella" and played all songs by artists who would be appearing at the 3-day Cali music fest that upcoming weekend.
  • You've Changed: Sia
  • The Reeling: Passion Pit
  • Norway: Beach House
  • Turnpike Ghost: Steel Train
  • Drunk Girls: LCD Soundsystem
  • Answer to Yourself: The Soft Pack
  • Stillness is the Move: Dirty Projectors
  • Percussion Gun: White Rabbits
  • Congratulations: MGMT
  • White Sky: Vampire Weekend
  • Last Dance: Raveonettes
  • Blood: The Middle East
  • Through Being Cool: Devo

4*21*10
  • Stay Close: Delorean
  • June Avenue: The Tins
  • Independence Day: David Byrne
  • I Wish You'd Stay: Club 8
  • Marlene: Lightspeed Champion
  • When the Lights Went Dim: The Rosebuds
  • Need You Tonight: INXS
  • Fixed: Stars
  • Reunion: Stars
  • Count Your Blessings: Guru
  • Perfect Day: Lou Reed
  • Bicycle: Memory Tapes
Posted by "Prof. Kitty" on 4/25/2010
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