Today’s show is dedicated to the 80s new wave scene from Georgia and the South of the USA. Everything is peculiar in the South, so is the new wave scene. The direct inspiration for today’s show is the LP called Jericho Go, a compilation record that was put together jointly by The DB Records in the US and the Stiff Records in UK. Now, it can only be found in rare used records bins in these two countries, and it’s probably not an easy task. Still, it’s an obscure, but a cherished item in my record collection. This show brings every single song from that LP and the rest of the time is filled with some other related tunes either by other Southern new wave bands or related acts from a different era. I hope you will enjoy the second installment of the Vinyl Junkyard.
Zeitgeist – Blue Eyes;
Guadalcanal Diary – Ghost on The Road;
Guadalcanal Diary – Carying The Torch;
Love Tractor – Neon Lights;
The Buzz of Delight – In Summer;
Matthew Sweet – Superdeformed;
Oh Ok – Choukoutien;
Pylon – Percaution;
REM – Crazy;
Kevin Dunn – 20000 Years In Singh Singh;
The Windbreakers – Nation of Two;
Tim Lee 3 – Bullets in the Barn;
Bobby Sutliff – Time Machine;
The Swimming Pool Q’s – Overheated;
Fetchin Bones – So Brilliant.
A few new records premier in today’s show. R. Stevie Moore has a new album called Advanced and it’s as fresh and as exciting as we got used from Stevie. Hipbone Slim who collaborated with Mama Rosin earlier this year, also has an album on his own with his Kneetremblers. Cody Chesnutt who you may remember as a guest on Phrenology by the Roots, is back this year with a new EP called Black Skin No Value, somewhat more ambitious project than his first album Headphone Masterpiece. Calexico are back with a compilation record that contains the best tracks from their tour only discs. The only new name today is the New Orleans street band Washboard Chaz Blues Trio.
The first block in today’s show is dedicated to the three (fake) brothers – Eric, Greg and Jack Oblivian. We know Jack has a new album Rat City, but the other two brothers are shaking the rock’n’roll scene with new records as well. Greg’s Reigning Sound has a new digital record called Abdication For Your Love and Eric has a really exceptional new record with his band True Sons of Thunder. Their older colleague from Memphis, legendary Steve Cropper has a tribute record, dedicated to Lowman Pete Pauling of The “5” Royales fame. New Jersey singer songwriter Neal Casal is back also with the new record. Canadian lady Kathleen Edwards is a new name for us, but we really like what she’s doing.
We have some new names today. Kitten is a new band, lead by Chloe Chaidez, consisting mainly of teenagers and very young people. They are picked by a big label and sound really great live. Us older folks in the audience were taken by their faithful covers of Joy Division and Stooges. The Spits come from Seattle, they have this classic Ramones sound and they have several records out already. Their fifth LP just came out. Jamie McLean is a guitarist from New Orleans. He was associated with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and now he has his own band and a new record called Time of My Life. We have another new singer songwriter in our show today, his name is Israel Nash Gripka. Although he is from New York City, his sound is very traditionally oriented. We also have Thee Oh Sees and Ian Moore with new releases. Nick Lowe is back with a new album and his old band Rockpile released some live recordings from 1980 on a new CD.
So, Beach Boys finished Smile… I don’t know exactly what to think of it. This album probably never even had a clear vision, and it’s unclear how you can complete it with chaotic pieces that the Boys recorded back in the day. Still, the concept behind it is so intriguing that it will hunt the rock’n’roll forever. It hunts me too. In this show, a portion of the playlist is delivered in Smile format, with a lot of cutting and pasting. Check it out from 14:28 to 28:16 in part 1. The rest of the show brings you new tunes from King Khan and Electric Six. We also have new names Jerusalem and the Starbaskets, Barrarecudas, and The Excitements. Giant Sand has a reissue of Chore of Enchantment and there’s a tribute out there for Ian Dury.
Today’s show is filled with new records from the garage rock scene. Mark Sultan has two new records out Whatever I Want and Whenever I Want. King Louie is back after three years of silence with the new band called Missing Monuments. Rain Bonnets have yet another EP out. Indie legend from London Nick Saloman is back with another Bevis Frond record, his 23rd since 1987, but the first one since 2004. His longest break yet. The Bats from New Zealand are back as well. But the most anticipated return this year is definitely Tom Waits…
Today is the 10 year anniversary of what I think was probably the best show I ever put on air. That Saturday morning, as a tip of my friend Badger, we had a singer songwriter from Hammon, LA Damien Youth who is a local and underground legend who is putting out self released tapes and cd-rs since the 80s. He played a live set and also selected a number of songs from his musical collection. Today we revisit parts of that show and also check up with Damien and hear his two fresh songs that he sent to us. As a bonus, we also have a brand new song for Zane Armstrong, Damien’s songwriting partner.
Ladies night today! First 40 minutes is nothing but ladies… Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss from Sleater Kinney have a fresh, new band called Wild Flag. Self title album is out on Merge. Singer songwriters Pieta Brown and Ana Egge are also here with interesting albums. Egge’s new record is called Bad Blood and it’s apparently based around the mental problems that run in her family. The Walkabouts are also back after six years with the new record which they call Travels In The Dustland. Chris Eckman lives in Slovenia these days and he organized a very interesting tribute to Bob Dylan together with a group of local musicians. We represent this album today with Severa Gjurin and her version of Not Dark Yet from Bob’s later period. The show closes with two boys from across the pond. The new name for us is Danny George Wilson and his band The Champions of The World. Springsteen fans should pay attention. Laz McCluskey from Bubblegum Lemonade is working on the new record and testing the pulse of the audience by sharing some early demos. We check out one of those demos today.
Today we have a large block dedicated to Ty Segall and Mikal Cronin. We know Ty from our earlier shows. Mikal is in his band, and also has a solo record which offers a new standard for the snot punk scene. It’s a wonderful result that showcases a new, yet fully mature songwriter. We also have a new album for The Bangles and their producer, Matthew Sweet. Glossary are back with the new record Long Live All of Us. John Doe tours USA with X, they were in Cleveland on Tuesday, but he also has a solo record out called Keeper. Tommy Keene is back with Behind The Parade. We dedicate today’s show to Jerry Leiber, one half of the songwriting tandem Leiber and Stoller, who passed away on August 22 this year.
And… we’re back from our usual Summer break. The break was long, but without huge shakes in musical world. Also, not too many great records happened in the past two months while we were gone. My favorite record this summer is definitely Rainer Ptacek session with Calexico members that came out now, but it was recorded way back in 1997, mere months before Rainer passed away. The cd is called Roll Back The Years, and I really wish I could. We lost a lot when Rainer left 14 years ago. From Austin, we have new records for The Krayolas and John Wesley Coleman. From Memphis, we have new records for Jack Oblivian and Bo-Keys. We also have new Brian Wilson, whose new record is centered around Disney movies.