Things that Are Square

Playlist for 5-10-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:50:00 +0000

Hey folks!

I did a radio show! I had an intern! We played music! The music consisted of these songs!:

Things that Are Square 5-10-12

(*) = New release

The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio - High Violet

The Wedding Present - Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft - George Best Plus

When I Was 12 - Explicit Content - Dear Eskimo

Woods - Military Madness - Songs of Shame

(*) Allo Darlin' - Tallulah - Europe

(*) Evans The Death - A Small Child Punched Me in the Face - Evans the Death

Brian Eno - King's Lead Hat - Before and After Science

(*) Grimes - Genesis - Visions (For April and Diana in Irvine, CA)

Khaira Arby - Sourgou - Live on KEXP

(*) OFF! - King Kong Brigade - Off!

Shannon and The Clams - Toxic Revenge - Sleep Talk

Sex Bob-Omb - We Are Sex Bob-Omb - Scott Pilgrim vs the World (For Todd in Tustin, CA)

(*) Guantanamo Baywatch - Boomerenga - Chest Crawl

(*) Advance Base - My Sister's Birthday - A Shut-In's Prayer

(*) Spiritualized - Too Late - Sweet Heart, Sweet Light

****Intern Michael Takes Over****

Foot Foot - Trumpet - Trumpet

Japanther - 1-10 - Wolfenswan

Jason Webley - Icarus - Only Just Beginning

Old Monk - Skullsplitter - Birds of Belize

These New Puritans - Attack Music - Hidden

The Deep Dark Woods - The Place I Left Behind - The Place I left Behind

Black Moth Super Rainbow Black Moth Super Rainbow - Sun Lips - Dandelion Gum

The Blue Van - Love Shot - Love shot

The Open House Collective - Chars and Cinders - Calavaras

South Sea Island Magic - Waves Will Crash - Death To Winter

Voltaire Twins - Animalia - Animalia

I Like Japanese Hardcore- Do Do Do - Live

Playlist for 5-2-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 04 May 2012 16:28:00 +0000

Hey folks,

Thanks to everyone who donated during the Fund Drive this year. If you still want to float us a couple bucks in order to keep a non-commercial, volunteer-run station going, call 949-824-5824 sometime before May 6th to donate. We'd appreciate it.

Here's the kind of music you'd be supporting:

Things that Are Square 5-3-12

(*) = New release

(*) Spiritualized - Get What You Deserve - Sweet Heart, Sweet Light

(*) Xiu Xiu - Honey-Suckle - Always
(*) Perfume Genius - Dark Parts - Put Your Back N 2 It
(*) Advance Base - Summer Music - A Shut-In's Prayer

Tom Waits - Last Leaf - Bad As Me
Emperor X - Sig Alert - Western Teleport
(*) Allo Darlin' - Wonderland - Europe

(*) Best Coast - The Only Place - The Only Place
Shannon and The Clams - You Will Always Bring Me Flowers - Sleep Talk
3 1/2 - Green Leaf - First Recordings

(*) Blasted Canyons - Holy Geometry - 2nd Place
Mi Ami - Echonoecho - Watersports
Fugazi - Cashout - The Argument

Silver Jews - Friday Night Fever - Bright Flight
The Louvin Brothers - The River of Jordon - Satan Is Real
Yo La Tengo - Griselda - Fakebook
This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb - A Hundred Dollars - Front Seat Solidarity

Big Black - Heartbeat - The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape
Half Japanese - Stripping for Cash - Greatest Hits
The Sonics - Money - Here Are the Sonics!!!
Dios - Fifty Cents - dios

Jens Lekman - Pocketful of Money - Oh You're So Silent Jens
Gang Gang Dance - God's Money V - God's Money

Chain and the Gang - What Is a Dollar? - Down with Liberty...Up with Chains!

And just as a bit of self-promotion, our band Moon Pearl is playing a show on Saturday at Pehrspace with Heller Keller, 3 1/2, and Le Cos. Come get sweaty with us on Cinco de Mayo.

Playlist for 4-26-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:07:00 +0000

Hey folks!

I hope you were able to tune in last night and participate in our fund drive, which helps keep KUCI commercial-free, uncorrupted by business interests, and community-minded. If you would like to support independent radio, you can go to KUCI.ORG and donate with your credit card (securely) on-line, or call 949-824-5824 sometime before May 4th to donate. Any amount helps. Really. We have modest fund-raising targets. We are a simple people with simple goals.

You'd be supporting music that sounds like this:

Things that Are Square 4-26-12

(*) = New release

(*) Allo Darlin' - Capricornia - Europe

Woods - Rain On - Songs of Shame
Pavement - Spit on a Stranger - Terror Twilight
Bill Callahan - Drover - Apocalypse

(*) Spiritualized - I Am What I Am - Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
(*) La Sera - Please Be My Third Eye - Sees the Light
(*) Grimes - Oblivion - Visions

(*) Zammuto - Idiom Wind - Zammuto
Manitoba - I've Lived on a Dirt Road All My Life - Up in Flames
(*) Moonface with Siinai - Yesterday's Fire - Heartbreaking Bravery

Thee Oh Sees - The Dream - Carrion Crawler/The Dream EP

Black Eyes - Someone Has His Fingers Broken - Black Eyes

The Blood Brothers - Crimes - Crimes

(*) Perfume Genius - Normal Song - Put Your Back N 2 It
(*) Xiu Xiu - Always - Xiu Xiu/Dirty Beaches 7"
Evangelicals - You've Been Flirting Again - Enjoy: A Tribute to Björk's "Post"

(*) AU - Solid Gold - Both Lights
Liars - We Fenced Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own - They Were Wrong So We Drowned
The Microphones - The Glow, Pt 2 - The Glow, Pt 2

Big Black - Kerosene - The Rich Man's Eight Track Tape

The dream, it seems, is peeking

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:19:00 +0000

This song is my single favorite piece of music to be released in 2011. On their most recent album, "Carrion Crawler/The Dream EP," Thee Oh Sees finally managed to find a way to encapsulate their sweat-drenched live show onto tape, and this song is the ultimate documentation of that success. "The Dream" is the perfect melding of garage rock intensity and krautrock drive, creating a perfect trancelike space where all that exists is full energy rocking out, and for seven minutes there is only jostling with your fellow concert-goers, lost in a euphoric, perspiring abandon. This song will be on repeat in my apartment for years to come.

Playlist for 4-19-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:54:00 +0000

Happy Friday, folks,

It's 10:45, and I've already done all the work I needed to do today. Now I'm just going to kick back and read in my office until 5. Truly we live in the best of all possible worlds. And here is the soundtrack to this bold new utopia. The music I played on my show last night:

Things that Are Square 4-19-12

(*) = New release

Dirty Projectors - Two Doves - Bitte Orca

Dear Nora - Second Hand - Three States
Camera Obscura - I Need all the Friends I Can Get - Let's Get Out of This Country
Television Personalities - Geoffrey Ingram - ...And Don't the Kids Just Love It
Los Campesinos! - By Your Hand - Hello Sadness

(*) Spiritualized - Hey Jane - Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
Essential Logic - Collecting Dust - Beat Rhythm News (For Ivy in Westminster, CA)
Stereolab - Pack Yr Romantic Mind - Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements

(*) Zammuto - F U C-3PO - Zammuto
Holy Fuck - Echo Sam - LP
Mi Ami - Latin Lover - Steal Your Face
Oneida - People of the North - Anthem of the Moon

Religious Girls - OG - Midnight Realms
(*) Ed Schrader's Music Beat - Rats - Jazz Mind
mclusky - To Hell with Good Intentions - mclusky Do Dallas
(*) Xiu Xiu - Smear the Queen - Always

(*) Ufomammut - Empireum - Oro: Opus Primum
(*) Willis Earl Beal - Away My Silent Lover - Acousmatic Sorcery

(*) Perfume Genius - Sister Song - Put Your Back N 2 It
Girls - Forgiveness - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Owen Pallett - Lewis Takes Off His Shirt - Heartland

Ask yourself if you could do better

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:32:00 +0000

After I saw Shellac live in LA a couple months ago, my mind had been so thoroughly blown by the live show that I needed some type of documentation of the evening. I figured a Peel Session, gold standard of the recorded live experience, would fill that need handedly.

But while this Peel Session had a much different setlist than what I had experienced, tracks like "Billiard Player Song" are no less....harrowing. The intensity that Albini delivers near the end of this song is enough to make you physically uncomfortable. Thankfully, live, they have Q+A breaks between songs, and the band's wit and levity help to break what could be a very tense evening. Also, you can ask Steve Albini how to cook things and he is very helpful about it.

Playlist for 4-12-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:28:00 +0000

Hey folks!

I missed you guys so much last week. The infernal forces of COLLEGIATE SPORTS conspired to keep us apart with their devious pre-emption powers. But I was back last night, and we embraced like lovers after the war. And what says "lovers embrace" like playing Faust? Here's the other stuff I played:

Things that Are Square 4-12-12

(*) = New release

Best Friends Forever - Eisenhower Is the Father - Romance Conflict Adventure

Nose Bleed Island - When We Won the War - More Tales from Blood Island
The Mae Shi - Run to Your Grave - Hlllyh
The Clean - Anything Could Happen - Anthology
The Field Mice - Coach Station Reunion - For Keeps

(*) La Sera - Please Be My Third Eye - Sees the Light
The Pastels - Nothing to Be Done - Truckload of Trouble
The Modern Lovers - Someone I Care About - The Modern Lovers
The Jesus and Mary Chain - My Little Underground - Psychocandy

(*) Part Time - She's Playing with Your Mind - What Would You Say
Wild Beasts - The Fun Powder Plot - Two Dancers
Kazino - Binary - Disco Not Disco (For Ivy in Westminster, CA)
(*) Zammuto - Zebra Butt - Zammuto

(*) Xiu Xiu - Born to Suffer - Always
Deerhoof - Panda Panda Panda - Apple O'
Chain and the Gang - (I've Got) Privilege - Music's Not for Everyone
Emperor X - Allahu Akbar - Western Teleport

(*) Willis Earl Beal - Monotony - Acousmatic Sorcery
(*) Perfume Genius - Take Me Home - Put Your Back N 2 It
Jeffrey Lewis - So What If I Couldn't Take It - A Turn in the Dream-Songs
Rocketship - Kisses Are Always Promises - A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness

Les Savy Fav - Raging in the Plague Age - Let's Stay Friends
The King Khan & BBQ Show - I'll Be Loving You - Invisible Girl
The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck - Psychedelic Jungle
Blood On The Wall - Dead Edge of Town - Awesomer

Can - Paperhouse - Tago Mago
Spacemen 3 - Take Me to the Other Side - The Perfect Prescription

Faust - Jennifer - Faust IV

There's a 3.6 - of course it must be from Pitchfork

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:15:00 +0000

On his most recent album, "A Turn in the Dream-Songs," Jeffrey Lewis continues his pattern of putting out fair-to-middling albums with one of two solid, solid songs on them. Mr. Lewis is capable of writing some fantastic songs, but his albums tend to be so-so affairs (I'm sorry Jeffrey. I love your music but I have to be honest with you). After he passes away (God forbid), they're going to put out one of the greatest best-of albums ever, culling all the amazing songs strewn across all of his releases.

Unfortunately, the new album is weaker than most, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a couple really decent tunes on it. The above song, a five-minute anti-folk list of failed suicide attempts delivered in wry, black humor, is a clear stand-out. Let it never be said that Jeffrey Lewis cannot write lyrics. His ability to spin ryhming narrative is almost peerless in current independent music. And even if his songs are occasionally less-than, his albums are always going to speak to me in a very real way. The sentiments and wit will always have a space in my album library.

You can pick up the new album (or any of his other albums) at his web page or at Amazon.

Don't think of her porous membrane

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:10:00 +0000

I'm so happy that Emperor X got signed to Bar None Records. He (Chad Matheny) is a guy I have gotten several chances to hang out/talk/play with, and he's an incredibly intelligent, hardworking, sweetheart of a man. I am thrilled for every success that comes his way.

His debut album on a big ol' real-time label, "Western Teleport," is more of his signature witty and heartfelt singer-songwriter jams, packed solid with tiny DIY electronic embellishments and little nuggets of hooks buried everywhere like treasures dotting the landscape. Lyrically, apolocalypse imagery cozies up next to the mundalities of compressor repair. And while writing on things like IEDs and floods sounds like it could get heavy, the tone is less one of doom and gloom and rather one of a great, Lost Boys-like adventure where we'll all be stripped of the confines of society and find out what we're really made of as we fashion our own utopia together.

Playlist for 3-29-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:36:00 +0000

Hey!

First and foremost, I'd like to take a moment to thank Cesar Chavez for the important humanitarian work he did. He was a great man. I'd the like to take a second moment for having the day off in his honor. It's a doubly good day.

Also, I played songs on my radio show last night. They were these songs:

Things that Are Square 3-29-12

(*) = New release

Big Mama Thornton - Life Goes On - ...with the Muddy Waters Blues Band

The Specials - Too Much Too Young (Live) - The Singles Collection
tUnE-yArDs - Gangsta - Whokill
Fela Kuti - He Miss Road - Expensive Shit/He Miss Road

Mi Ami - Dreamers - Steal Your Face
(*) Jon Porras - Blue Crescent Vision - Black Mesa

Comet Gain - Don't Fall in Love if You Want to Die in Peace - Réalistes
Sigur Rós - Hoppípolla - Takk...
The Books - Thirty Incoming - The Way Out
(*) Tanlines - All of Me - Mixed Emotions

(*) Hunx - Always Forever - Hairdresser Blues
Thee Oh Sees - Ruby Go Home - Help
(*) Cloud Nothings - Wasted Days - Attack on Memory
Dead Kennedys - Take This Job and Shove It - Bedtime for Democracy

Subhumans - Mickey Mouse Is Dead - The Day the Country Died
King Khan & The Shrines - Welfare Bread - The Supreme Genius Of...
(*) Xiu Xiu - Hi - Always
(*) Perfume Genius - Take Me Home - Put Your Back N 2 It

(*) Sentridoh - Brand New Love - Weed Forestin
Six Organs Of Admittance - Home - School of the Flower
Sir Richard Bishop - Rasheed - Salvador Kali

Ugly Casanova - Cat Faces - Sharpen Your Teeth

Astral blood pours forth from their grevious wounds

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:37:00 +0000

I am a huge fan of Wolves in the Throne Room's aesthetic. The ever-present nature imagery, combined with interludes of ambient, hazy white noise admidst the black metal torrent works for me. The whole package reminds me of the book "The World Without Us." In it, the author theorizes what would happen to our remains if, all of a sudden, every person on earth simply vanished. Almost immediately, nature begins to take over, destroying buildings, and ripping to shreds every trace that we were ever here, portraying our society as...a disruptive cancer. I feel like Wolves in the Throne Room would be at peace with that message: the all-destroying power of nature claiming what rightfully belongs to it.

You can pick up the album on the band's webpage, or at Amazon.

And the kids stare at the screen...

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:11:00 +0000

I have no idea what took me so long to check out Subhumans. Lord knows I saw the name on the jackets of every 13 year old crust punk at the outdoor mall I used to work at. Part of that Subhumans/Crass/Addicts trifecta. At any rate, fast forward several years and I've been listening to "The Day the Country Died" on repeat for days now. The news cycle was bumming me out, and I wanted an album of anrcho-punk that would put a fire in my gut. This one does it. Plenty of vitriol with some wit and solid (as far as punk goes) songwriting. Lord knows anything with as blackly comic a title as "Zyklon-B-Movie" will get a nod of appreciation from this dude. But that could be my soft spot for wordplay, flicks like "Slumber Party Massacre," and any TV show about WW2.

For festivals end as festivals must

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 04:04:00 +0000

This is about as goth as I get, folks. We'll return you to your normal programming of twee pop and folk-punk shortly.

Sometimes, sad songs about broken hearts won't do. Sometimes, sad songs about broken...society need to fill that emotional void. Thankfully, Death In June will always be there with a ton of apocalyptic imagery to suit your "what's the worst thing I can think of" moods. Set those genocide/war lyrics to a dark, neo-folk guitar arrangement and throw that thing in the ol' ear. See if that doesn't hit the shady parts of your heart. "Enjoy."

March Madness!

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Good people of the internet,

Our fair station, KUCI, is in a March Madness competition with the other 63 best non-commercial stations on earth on the website Soundtap.com. Go to their site, sign up, and listen to KUCI up to 90 minutes a day to help us advance.

At least give us a chance to get to the third round where KCRW will stomp our fucking throats.

Playlist for 3-15-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:54:00 +0000

Happy Friday, folks,

Hope you enjoyed the show last night. I think it went pretty well. No major injuries, nothing caught fire, and only a small amount of unprofessional dead air. Just the kind of expert radio you'd expect after nearly a decade of experience. Things that Are Square: the mark of quality in amateur radio.At least the music ruled.

Things that Are Square 3-15-12

(*) = New release

Brian Eno - King's Lead Hat - Before and After Science

(*) Hunx - Private Room - Hairdresser Blues
The Cramps - Goo Goo Muck - Psychedelic Blues
Beat Happening - Hangman - Jamboree
The Raincoats - Fairytale in the Supermarket - The Raincoats

The Strange Boys - Poem Party - Strange Boys and Girls Club (For Aimee in Irvine, CA)
King Khan & The Shrines - Burnin' Inside - The Supreme Genius of...
The Mummies - Stronger Than Dirt - Never Been Caught
Les Savy Fav - Raging in the Plague Age - Let's Stay Friends

(*) Terry Malts - Tumble Down - Killing Time
The Dismemberment Plan - Girl O'Clock - Emergency & I
(*) Prinzhorn Dance School - Seed, Crop, Harvest - Clay Class
(*) Cloud Nothings - No Sentiment - Attack on Memory

St. Vincent - The Apocalypse Song - Marry Me
(*) Xiu Xiu - Honey-Suckle - Always
The Antlers - I Don't Want Love - Burst Apart
(*) Perfume Genius - AWOL Marine - Put Your Back N2 It

Joanna Newsom - Jackrabbits - Have One on Me
Blood On The Wall - Going to Heaven - Awesomer
Arab Strap - (Afternoon) Soaps - (Afternoon) Soaps
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Killers - Vs. Children

Allo Darlin' - Kiss Your Lips - Allo Darlin'
Dent May - You Can't Force a Dance Party - The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
Belle and Sebastian - Legal Man - Push Barman to Open Old Wounds
Paul Baribeau And Ginger Alford - Born to Run - Darkness on the Edge of Your Town

Defiance, Ohio - Oh, Susquehanna! - The Great Depression
This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb - Trains and Cops - Front Seat Solidarity
Tiger Trap - My Broken Heart - Tiger Trap
Black Flag - Thirsty and Miserable - Damaged
OFF! - Poison City - First Four EP's

Fucked Up - Queen of Hearts - David Comes to Life

Strap your hands 'cross my engines

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:23:00 +0000

My love of Paul Baribeau has already been discussed both on this blog and on my radio show. So, when my friend Emily told me about an album's worth of Bruce Springsteen covers that he did with Good Luck's Ginger Alford, I was immediately sold. That's a definite "chocolate in my peanut butter" type situation. Bruce Springsteen writes a fantastic tune, combined with the DIY fun/urgency of folk-punk. That's my steez.

Sorry for the quality of the video, the album this is off of was tour-only, so its kind of #rare/#based. You can pick it up from the folks at No Idea, though.

But the receptionist said I was drunk and asked me to leave

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:14:00 +0000

God damn it I love Jens Lekman. That mixture of catchy pop songwriting, storytelling, humor, and emotion is simply a perfect storm of aural pleasure for me. And every time I see him live, it's just....this joyous musical experience. A couple years ago, I got into a free show at SkyBar, of all places, where Mr. Lekman played to a smaller crowd on the other side of a pool. It was a weird, weird setup, the performer being 20 feet from the nearest spectator. And you just knew that if you got into the pool, they would have thrown you out. Anyway.

Jens had just written this song, and it was definitely one of the night's highlights. He explained how Kirsten Dunst had mentioned him in a Swedish interview while discussing what she was currently listening to, and how flabbergasted he was by that. Since she was in his home-town, he found out where she was staying, and tried to track her down. This song is the result. The catchy, charming-as-shit result. It's on Mr. Lekman's most recent EP, "An Argument with Myself," which is available at Jens' store, the record label page, or on Amazon.

Playlist for 3-8-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:46:00 +0000

Folks!

I did my first two-hour radio show in a good, long while last night. I had forgotten how hard that is. Thankfully, folks were kind enough to make requests and help me fill the time. Good things happen when we help each other. I am trying not to abuse this new "I ask my listeners for things and they give them to me" power. I really can't be trusted with that.

But here's the music I played!

Things that Are Square 3-8-12

(*) = New release

(*) Disappears - Replicate - Pre Language

Guided By Voices - My Valuable Hunting Knife - Alien Lanes
Why? - Dumb Hummer - Rubber Traits
Fog - Cockeyed Cookie Pusher - Hummer
The Head And The Heart - Rivers and Roads - The Head and the Heart (For Nina in Irvine, CA)

Phil Ochs - Cops of the World - Phil Ochs In Concert
Kimya Dawson - The Competition - Remember that I Love You
Billy Bragg - Richard - Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy
(*) The Magnetic Fields - All She Cares About Is Mariachi - Love at the Bottom of the Sea

Gwar - Sadam a Go-Go - This Toilet Earth (For Andy in Orange, CA)
Shannon and The Clams - The Warlock in the Woods - I Wanna Go Home
Times New Viking - Move to California - Born Again Revisited (For Tina in Newark, NJ)
(*) Ceremony - Adult - Zoo

(*) Xiu Xiu - Born to Suffer - Always
Sunset Rubdown - Winged/Wicked Things - Random Spirit Lover
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Into My Arms - The Boatman's Call
The Pack A.D. - Take - Unpersons (For Anthony in Irvine, CA)

(*) Perfume Genius - Dark Parts - Put Your Back N 2 It
Einstürzende Neubauten - Zampano - Silence Is Sexy
Kraftwerk - Pocket Calculator - Computer World
Belle and Sebastian - Electric Renaissance - Tigermilk

Jonathan Coulton - Still Alive - Portal (For Alex in Irvine, CA)
Jens Lekman - Waiting for Kirsten - An Argument with Myself
(*) Sentridoh - Jealous of Jesus - Weed Forestin'
The Tallest Man on Earth - Troubles Will Be Gone - The Wild Hunt (For Perry in Irvine, CA)

The War On Drugs - Baby Missiles - Salve Ambient
Pere Ubu - Nonalignment Pact - The Modern Dance

The Pogues - A Pair of Brown Eyes - Rum, Sodomy & The Lash

Is it wrong to wish on space hardware?

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Been listening to Billy Bragg's "Life's a Riot with Spy vs. Spy" and adoring it. Not quite folk, not rock and roll, just this comfortable little middle ground of doing his own thing with beautiful lyrics and a fantastic knack for melodic songwriting. And with quite a few above-average songs on the EP, the fact that "A New England" is so huge a standout is a testament to just how big a song it is. If you listen to it and it does nothing for you, you probably just aren't a fan of well-written songs, because that is the jam. That's right. I just made the claim that if you don't agree with me you don't like good things. This IS the internet, after all, right?

Playlist for 3-1-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 16:19:00 +0000

Internet!

What a great show last night. Lots of good listeners and good times and fun songs. It put me in such a good mood. It's like musical Wellbutrin. Or aural coke. Yeah, let's call it coke. The playlist looked like this:

Things that Are Square 3-1-12

(*) = New release

The Mountain Goats - Song for the Julian Calendar - Full Force Galesburg

(*) Perfume Genius - Hood - Put Your Back N 2 It
Xiu Xiu - Sad Pony Guerilla Girl - A Promise
Final Fantasy - Adventure.exe - Has a Good Home
cLOUDDEAD - Dead Dogs Two - Ten

(*) Prinzhorn Dance School - I Want You - Clay Class
(*) Black Bananas - Rad Times - Rad Times Xpress IV
The Modern Lovers - Someone I Care About - The Modern Lovers
(*) Bad Weather California - I'll Reach Out My Hand - Sunkissed

(*) Cloud Nothings - No Future/No Past - Attack on Memory
Beat Happening - Bad Seeds - 1983-85
The Blood Brothers - Crimes - Crimes

Plan to cry

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:50:00 +0000

There is literally no chance you're reading this and are not aware of the Magnetic Fields/Stephin Merritt. It is an impossibility in the world of college radio. Though, perhaps you are unfamiliar with just how prolific the fellow is. In addition to the Magnetic Fields, he writes/wrote music for the 6ths, the Gothic Archies, the Future Bible Heroes, and has done soundtrack/musical work under the name his mama gave him. And when you have your finger in that many pies (sexy, sexy pies), stuff is going to fall through the cracks. Hence, Merritt's "Obscurities" album: a collection of unreleased/alternate/etc tracks from a host of his musical acts.

For this writer the clear album highlight is the sole track from Buffalo Rome, the name Merritt originally used for his bedroom pop project with fellow Mag.Fielder Claudia Gonson. "Plant White Roses" later became a Magnetic Fields song, but I think I prefer this quicker, tighter version. The country-goth vibe is still there ("plant white roses/I wanna die..."), but it's quite nice stripped down.

Unsurprisingly, though, the album is uneven. "Unreleased" collections usually are, since many of these songs are unreleased for some reason, right? But that's not say there aren't some hits on here. Merritt's somber chamber-pop sits next to old Mag Fields songs in their casio-blasting glory and the 6th's weirdly sunny vibe, but all showcase his extremely capable songwriting. The collection is defintely a fans-only affair, but it will remind you just what you love about the man's work. I would die a happy dude if I ever wrote anything nearly as good as his lyric from "I Don't Believe You":

I had a dream and you were in it
The blue of your eyes was infinite
You seemed to be
In love with me
Which isn't very realistic

Playlist for 2-23-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:04:00 +0000

People!

Friday! Party! Yesssssssss! I'm so stoked to get in on this hot weekend action. Gonna sleep in, go jogging, cook some tlayuda, watch Episode 1 at my friend Brian's house while we listen to a Red Letter Media commentary track making fun of it, drink a beer or two, and WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE! It's the weekend. The possibilities are endless! Live the dream! And let the songs I played last night be your soundtrack:

Things that Are Square 2-23-12

(*) = New release

The Mae Shi - Run to Your Grave - Hlllyh

(*) Hunx - Always Forever - Hairdresser Blues
Cars Can Be Blue - I Like - All the Stuff We Do
Talulah Gosh - Steaming Train - Backwash
(*) Terry Malts - Tumble Down - Killing Time

(*) Cloud Nothings - Cut You - Attack on Memory
Archers of Loaf - Web in Front - Icky Mettle
Superchunk - Skip Steps 1 & 3 - No Pocky for Kitty
Brian Eno - Third Uncle - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

(*) Prinzhorn Dance School - Happy in Bits - Clay Class
The Dismemberment Plan - The Face of the Earth - Change
Built to Spill - Velvet Waltz - Perfect From Now On

The Clean - Tally Ho - Anthology
Beat Happening - Fortune Cookie Prize - Dreamy
Seapony - Go Away - Go With Me
(*) Frankie Rose - Gospel/Grace - Interstellar

Akron/Family - Silly Bears - S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT
Matmos - The Struggle Against Unreality Begins - The Civil War
Black Dice - Gore - Load Blown
Destroyer - Watercolours Into the Ocean - Destroyer's Rubies

Another Sunny Day - You Should All Be Murdered - London Weekend
Grinderman - Mickey Mouse and the Goodbye Man - Grinderman 2
Thee Oh Sees - The Dream - Carrion Crawler/The Dream EP
(*) The Underground Railroad to Candyland - That I Dunno - Knows Your Sins
Black Eyes - Letter to Raoul Peck - Black Eyes

The Blood Brothers - Set Fire to the Face on Fire - Young Machetes

My heart will always break in two

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:05:00 +0000

As much as I'm a dude who owns his fair share of punk albums, in my heart I'm a pop-kid. I'm way more doo-wop than DGAF. And even though I want to be tough and cool, I'm always gonna be a sucker for 3 minute songs about love, for better or worse. And Seattle's Seapony is a band that has really locked down that surf-pop sound. Of course, they're not breaking any new ground. In fact, one of the songs on this album almost sounds exactly like Real Estate covering Beat Happening. But, it's pop music. It's going to get a pass to my black little heart. And it's definitely solid enough to make its way into playlists, despite its not-going-down-in-history status.

Playlist for 2-16-12

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Hey folks,
Another one from the record books. And now I'm just chilling at work, watching old Parks and Rec episodes, looking up recipes for what to bring to a potluck tonight, and trying to be patient until my chance to finally drink Pliny the Younger at the UCI pub tomorrow. If you're unfamiliar with the rare beer Pliny the Younger, it's basically the Mew of beers. That MAY be the first beer-pokemon joke ever. You're welcome.

Things that Are Square
(*) = New release
Jonathan Richman - Hello from Cupid - I'm So Confused

Calvin Johnson - Ode to St. Valentine - What Was Me
(*) Hospitality - Friends of Friends - Hospitality
Seapony - Dreaming - Go With Me
Stephen Malkmus - Jenny & The Ess-Dog - Stephen Malkmus

Tom Waits - I Wish I Was In New Orleans (In the Ninth Ward) - Small Change
(*) Shearwater - You As You Were - Animal Joy
Jawbox - Motorist - For Your Own Special Sweetheart
Fugazi - Instrument - In on the Killtaker

(*) Cloud Nothings - Stay Useless - Attack on Memory
Black Flag - TV Party - Damaged
Dead Kennedys - I Kill Children - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Descendents - Suburban Home - Milo Goes to College

If you want to actually listen to this show, you can download it here for a limited time: http://www.mediafire.com/?j79500aj4v399sp

Full disclosure about errors in this show:
1. The background music wasn't set up during first speaking break
2. The background music only played through the left channel during second speaking break
3. Accidentally started playing another Malkmus song when I started the Tom Waits song.

Professionalism!

I'm tracing pentragrams in chalk onto my floor

noreply@blogger.com (Kyle!) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:21:00 +0000

Every time I hear more Ghost Mice material, I seem to become even more into what they're doing. Folk-punk's energetic positivity and DIY ethos are things that already resonate really strongly with me, and Ghost Mice's lyrics always seem to incorporate comic-book nerdiness and elements of the supernatural, furthering my appreciation. Their song "Critical Hit" is the best example of this. Nominally a song about Dungeons & Dragons, a past-time I dove head-first into during junior high and later, the real meaning of the song is about truly working towards the things you want, despite the odds being against you.

This song, off of their 7" split with Brook Pridemore, has plenty of lyrics about dark arts and the occult, but is about the struggle to improve the place you live. As a resident of Orange County, this is something I can relate to. So many "cool" people born here move to LA, NY, etc. But if no one stays to help make the place better by starting bands and booking shows and voting for progressive causes, how is this place ever going to improve?