December 12, 2005

Sushi-Ya Etiquette

TunersThe Japanese Tradition:  Sushi   [31 MB, QuickTime]

In the mid-80's, sushi bars first appeared on most Americans' cultural radar as a novel backdrop to the greedy power lunches of snow vacuums.  No longer just a food fad, sushi is now easily found in most large cities, and the idea of raw fish is traumatizing to fewer and fewer.

Japan is famous for its punctilious observance of formality, and the sushi shop is no exception.  But Americans typically struggle with the sometimes counterintuitive intricacies of Japanese protocol and are often seen as big huge loud stupid rude people.  Which couldn't be farther from the truth.  Even if you're not traveling, this kind of stuff's always interesting.  To appreciate the differences among cultures is truly to appreciate the richness of the human spirit.

December 11, 2005

Germs in NYC Live, Actor From E.R. on Vocals! Don't Have a Cow!

Germs_1205_021_1 It's just about 25 years to the day since they last played, as well as the anniversary week of Darby Crash's OD, but lo and behold, news hit last week that LA's legendary Germs were reuniting for two sets at Continental on December 10th (with appropriate openers the Magik Markers, whom we've extolled about in the past). Almost everyone I mentioned this to bristled in horror when it was revealed that joining Lorna Doom, Don Bolles and Pat Smear would be actor Shane West, of ER TV show fame, and also the guy who happens to be playing Darby in the forthcoming Germs biopic What We Do Is Secret. West, who looks like a young, even more All-American version of Tim Robbins, had his hands full to be sure, I mean, considering Darby was a speed-times-heroin-times-alcohol-drenched trainwreck on stage, barely coherent through the band's chaotic assault, and, needless to say, an extremely huge reason the Germs were the Germs. Live, West threw himself into the role and had a fairly good invocation of Darby, though a somewhat straight Darby. Smear's guitar (which had been keeping busy in the 90's with Nirvana and Foo Fighters) sounded awesome, slicing, buzzing and riffing his way through a big chunk of the Germs' catalog, Bolles pounded away on twin kick in his SS hat and platform shoes, and Lorna (who, by the way, was SO incredibly nice when I met her!) held down the steady, yet weird and woozy basslines that were a huge trademark of their songs. Throughout, Smear, Bolles and Doom were smiling incessantly like lunatics; this was the first time they had played as the Germs in New York, and they couldn't have looked happier.

Continue reading "Germs in NYC Live, Actor From E.R. on Vocals! Don't Have a Cow!" »

December 10, 2005

WFMU Homepage Image Gallery

Homepage_galleryWFMU webhamster Henry Lowengard has taken all the images that have ever appeared on our homepage and has made a gallery out of them. They're all there - all the sloths, chimps, Old Codgers, dubyas, DJs, radio images - even the images that I was shamed into removing after ten minutes by our own internal Parent's Radio Council. Here's the gallery.

And let me now take a moment to thank and acknowledge Henry for founding the WFMU website back before there even was a world wide web! Henry set up a WFMU gopherspace (old-timers may remember that term...) on Echo NYC. That was the site that evolved into wfmu.org, which launched in October, 1993. Thanks Henry!

December 09, 2005

Laura Veirs on WFMU

Veirs_1Just confirmed! Laura Veirs! On WFMU! This Monday, December 12th, the ecclectic singer/songwriter will make a pitstop from her busy touring schedule for a live session on Irene Trudel's show. Expect songs from her fantastic "Year of Meteors" album, as well as her Nonesuch Records debut, "Carbon Glacier". Too bad this didn't happen last week when we got late word that Lady Sovereign was here, as I sense the two of them could've spun together a killer duet.
No matter -- When showtime rolls around, you can tune in live on any of WFMU's webstreams, or catch it on Irene's archive page whenever you'd like. In the meatime, here are a couple songs from the WFMU archives to get you primed for the performance: "Secret Someones" ++ "Cool Water" ++ "Galaxies". You can hear more on Laura's page on the Nonesuch Records website, and check tourdates on this page.


Battle of the Rubber Bands (mp3s)

RubberbandThe Christmas records were recently forklifted out of the WFMU pit and put into the record library. Well, not that recently - they've actually been out since last July. (Program Director Brian is on the Committee to Reclaim Ownership of Christmas.) Fortunately, most of our DJs are able to resist the powerfull pull of Christmas music until the blessed day is a little closer. But there's one Xmas CD that's become close to my heart, if ony because I love office supplies so damn much - A Rubber Band Christmas. Perhaps by posting these here, I'll be better able to resist the urge to play them on the air.

Rubber Bells  |  Rudolph The Rubber Nosed Reindeer  |  Ring Rubber Bells
Little Rubber Boy  |  Deck The Halls With Rubber  |  Feliz Rubberdad 
Rubber Oh Rubber Tree  |  God Rest Ye Merry Rubbermen  |  Rubber Ride
Rubber Clause is Coming To Town  |  Rubber To the World  |  Rubber Bell Rock  |  Rubber Night

This Week in Sex: Cut and Paste

I just got home from my company non-denominational winter holiday you-have-to-go-unless-you're-dead-or-dying party. Here's the dirt:

  • The fiance of someone I work with was just circumcised so they can have a good old-fashioned Jewish wedding (complete with panty check--I didn't know that was part of it, but I'm Catholic). I wouldn't tell the whole world about his penis, except I also found out it will be covered in our local paper, so you can read all about it yourself in the wedding section in March. At the party, a friend and I realized that this fiance could answer the question we were debating: who has more sexual pleasure, the cut guy or the uncut guy? Also, I admire the fiance, but if someone said "let's get married, but before we do that, let's cut the tips of your tits off," well, I don't know if I have the capacity to love that much.
  • A guy I work with was circumcised at age 11. His parents said, "Hey, let's go to the doctor's office and just talk to him about it." When they got there, they said, "Hey, while we're here, let's have the doctor have a look." When the kid's pants were down, they said, "Hey, let's chop off the top of your penis." Then they injected his little boy penis with two needles full of anesthetic, pulled the foreskin out, clamped it, and sliced it off while he watched. He hollered during that last part.
  • The parents of a guy I work with want him to try to convince his younger brother to get circumcised. The brother is sixteen.
  • I think circumcision is barbaric. Don't tell me it's hygienic, like your thingy is gonna fester and fall off because you can't wash under a little flap of skin. Lady junk is all flaps of skin and we do ok.
  • It's not so easy to enjoy your meal while talking about genital mutilation. But great party!

Vasectomypic11_3Turns out getting a vasectomy looks like a worm being yanked out of the ground by a bird, if that bird had a long, pointy, silver tweezer-beak.

Jewelry made of bits of Barbies means a Barbie butt bracelet.

Furniture made like body parts means fugly-ass furniture. via metafilter.com/tags/sex

Statue with business end exposed in shop window is means bad art with lots of talk about it. P.S. Statue is a table pedestal. Please stop doing that with the naked bodies and the furniture and all.

Continue reading "This Week in Sex: Cut and Paste" »

Ed Shepp Podcast In Effect

62981405_0b1298fcff_1Just added to our growing roster of podcasts: The Ed Shepp Radio Experiment! Have the podcast version of Ed's weekly thematic misadventures, glitched-out interviews, and A.D.D.-ridden pop euphoria automatically zapped to your MP3 player by visiting our recently revamped podcast page.

Special thanks to Volunteer Ed Word for p-castifizing the show!

All the Presidents' Words

Reagan_with_hands_1Since my edit of Dubya's "Night Before Christmas" got included in this month's Download Dinner Bell, I thought I'd point out a site where listeners can download plenty more political edit pieces: the "Truthful Translations" section of DIYmedia.net, which has collected more than 400 audio collages of not just the current occupant of the White House, but of plenty of other politicians. You'll find corrections of the speeches of Bill Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Richard Nixon, Tony Blair, and of course Ronald Reagan, who is the subject of two of the best cut-up pieces you can find on the site: Doug Kahn's "Reagan Speaks For Himself" and Cliff Roth's "The Reagans Speak Out on Drugs" (an excerpt of the video is available for downloading). Kenny G linked to the Reagan MP3s back in February, but there's so many more politicians to explore.

Don't neglect the other areas of the DIYmedia site, though. They've been keeping tabs on the FCC's crackdowns on unlicensed radio broadcasters and the struggles of low-powered FM stations. Check out the site's homepage for their news archives, as well as links to the other collage-laden sections of the site.

My personal favorite political cut-up of the moment, not currently on the DIYmedia site, would be Jonathan Coulton's "W's Duty", which I first heard on Irwin's program. An MP3 of the song is downloadable from Jonathan's site. Also of note for Reaganologists: Ken's Reagan memorial broadcast from last year, which featured more Reagan-themed songs than you can shake a can of poisoned meat at.

December 08, 2005

Live At The Stork Club: Quintron, The Frogs and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci

The_storkFor a brief but delirious spell way back in the 1990s, The Stork haunted our halls.  That's him on the left.  Stork hosted a must-listen program called Live At The Stork Club, mostly on Sunday nights, if memory serves.  As the name might imply, mostly Stork hosted live musical guests, in his own impeccably gracious manner. 

I bet somewhere on The Internet there exists a full list of all the bands who served time in Stork's "Moose Room".  Unfortunately, most of this stuff happened during the last Stone Age, just before we began archiving all our programming.  Happily, many of these shows do exist, someplace, in some form or another; and where time, technology and endurance permit, we'll make the archives available to you.  Here's three vintage shows to get you started:

  • Christmas With Quintron - Mr. Quintron, Miss Pussycat and Flossie & The Unicorns joined Stork on Xmas Eve, 1995 for a uniquely warped evening of organs, drum buddies & puppet shows.  Listen here (mp3 stream).
  • The Frogs - Wisconsin's legendary Flemion brothers celebrate their newfound 90s celebrity among the era's alt-rock elite; spin records by Wesley Willis, Beck and Jewel; and perform an acoustic set of music positively guaranteed to get us some major FCC finery were this show to be aired today.  From July 20, 1997.  Listen here (mp3 stream)
  • Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - On July 16, 1998, WFMU consummated its love affair with these Welsh psych-folk imps.   And Stork was there.  Gorky's would visit us three more times over the years, visiting Irene's show and my own show (twice, in fact).  Listen here for their first appearance, with Stork.

I was fortunate enough to attend these last 2 sessions - jump the flip if you're interested in my fuzzy recollections.

Continue reading "Live At The Stork Club: Quintron, The Frogs and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci" »

WFMU Listener Art

Dec05shirt_1A few months ago, WFMU was lost in a dark wooded forest of creative blockage, with nary a flashlight or compass to guide us back to the path of artistic awareness. We sent out a desperate cry for help, beseeching listners to submit their t-shirt and sticker designs for us to have our way with, and o, were we led back to the light!

This year's Logo-Rama contest elicited the largest number of artistic submissions on record, and they were all so good that we can't help but share them with you. Take a gander at the myriad of listener art submissions right here.

Wfmu_dancetteThe decision was tough, but we could only select 2 winners: Gregory Jacobsen's "Creepy Meatball" design (left) is featured on our December t-shirt giveaway (snag one for yourself by donating $45 or more to the freeform cause), and Nick Dewar's "Dancette" design (mock-up on the right) will be featured on a sticker to be given out during WFMU's 2006 on-air fundraising Marathon.

A big thanks to all of our artistically-endowed listeners who participated!

NYC Radio The Night John Lennon Died (mp3)

Here's a dial scan of New York City's FM band from 25 years ago (MP3). It was recorded shortly after the news of John Lennon's murder broke. The recording was made by an unknown listener, and it was included on our CD compilation, Radio Archival Oddities, Vol. 2.

Benjamin, Wild Man of Hypnosis (mp3)

BenjaminHere's an audio letter from Benjamin, Wild Man of Hypnosis to his friend Don, trying to convince Don to book his X-Rated Hypnosis act into his Las Vegas club (MP3). It appears that Benjamin never got that gig, as he subsequently followed the career path of all failed Vegas hypnotists, growing a goatee, and reinventing himself as Kevin Stone, Hypnotist to the Stars. All that remains online of Benjamin's failed career as a Vegas entertainer is this website, and memories of a magical evening at the Vegas Ho-Jos, with Benjamin and his trusty sidekick Trixie, spewing confetti from her nether regions. Ah, the memories. At least we can all have our collective asses back now. Thanks, Irwin!

"You Shouldn't Have!", Pt. 1

Buckcent200804175klWith Christmas fast approaching (just 14 shopping days left!) I thought I'd help out a bit by suggesting gifts sure to induce jaw-drop in your recipients. Let's start with fake animals...

This year's Talking Billy Bass is Buck The Animated Stag. Click here for a video of Buck in action.

If Buck is a little cheesy by your standards, check out Animal Makers, creators of David Letterman's Late Show Bear. They design and build animatronic critters for Hollywood - and maybe that special someone on your gift list!

The King of Marvin Gardens

In my world, it's almost never a bad time to watch a bleak, neo-realistic 70s Hollywood drama.  These were often simple human stories, told in a sometimes opaque and slowly evolving fashion, populated by complex, layered characters.  Remember when movies didn't need to spell everything out for the dimwitted, AND carry a 30-minute epilogue?  Well I do.  Keep your Spielberg blockbusters, Sundance channel indie charmers, your Harry Potter movies and your Lord Of The Rings trilogy.  Give me Electra Glide in Blue, The Panic In Needle Park or Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.

Kingofmarvingardens_4_4The other night I sat down to re-watch an old favorite, The King of Marvin Gardens, from 1972.  King... is especially relevant here, as the principal character, David Staebler (played by Jack Nicholson), is a free-form DJ of sorts, a morose autobiographical storyteller, representative of a style prevalent on the FM band during the late 60s and early 70s, though barely present today.  Staebler's stories are told in a slow, patient style that would never stand amongst modern computer-ordained commercial FM formats.  The character's closest modern equivalent might be public radio storytelling giant Joe Frank.

David, a doleful loner, is called away from his nighttime air slot and grim 2-story Philadelphia flat to Atlantic City, by his troublesome wheeler-dealer brother Jason, played by Bruce Dern.  In recent years, Dern had performed memorable turns as a psychotic guardian of Earth's last botanical garden in the moody Sci-Fi thriller Silent Running (1972), and as the last guy you'd want as an LSD-tour companion in Roger Corman's The Trip (1967), the latter written by Nicholson.  Dern and Nicholson had already worked together on several films, including Drive, He Said, Jack's directorial debut from the previous year.  The wonderful Ellen Burstyn (see Alice... above) also stars as the sweet nut-job Jason's been shacking up with.

Continue reading "The King of Marvin Gardens" »

December 07, 2005

Brandon's WFMU Diaries

MakeitstopI'm always fascinated by stories of how WFMU's listeners came to be so. It's like wistfully recalling losing one's virginity which, from what I understand, has happened to some of our audience already. The rest believe sex is overrated compared to the euphoric heights achieved hearing Kenny G singing Wittgenstein, or Mark Allen's Commercial Interruption episode.

New listener Brandon, a librarian from Atlanta e-mailed Station Manager Ken with a link to a site detailing his week of ravaging by the brusque and musky-smelling wfmu.org. (Hey, I just think it reads a little like the Story of O or something) He writes:

I haven't proofread lately for any embarassing comments I might have made in there, since this was just intended as a private email series... but now that it's on the web anyway, I thought some of you might be interested to read it. Loved what I heard that week, and I've become a regular listener. 
Just sent another donation, since you'd said in the "state of the station" program that
this is a slow time of the year for cash flow.  Thanks for helping maintain such a high quality station.

Thanks, Brandon!

From the WFMU News Vault: Local Coverage

Newsboy3_3This week:  Local news coverage from past and present.

Recent coverage:  The December 4, 2005 Bergen Record featured WFMU in "the third of a 5-part series looking at people who help shape alternative culture".  Music & Program Director Brian talks about his favorite music, including Sun City Girls, Jason Forrest, and Southeast Asian Blink 182 wannabes:  "To me, it's interesting to hear a band from Southeast Asia try to be like Blink 182. I don't know why. I don't even have any Blink 182 records."  The complete article can be read here.

Past coverage: Thanks to Listener Ed for sending this article from the Newark News of September 13, 1969.  It is about the closing of WFMU in 1969, as mentioned earlier in this blog, "following a conflict between the school and station personnel".   

December 06, 2005

Still More Nazi Swing Music (MP3s)

Goebbels_1Last March, I posted what I thought was the first volume of music by Charlie and His Orchestra, a Nazi big band assembled by Hitler's minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels. You can find that post and all 22 tracks from it here. It turns out that what I posted was actually the second volume of this material, so here are the 22 tracks from volume one.

Charlie and His Orchestra was led by Karl Schwendler, an English speaking German who broadcast Nazi-themed swing and big-band hits every night on the medium-wave and short-wave bands throughout the 1930s to Canada, the US and Britain. Leave it to Goebbels to take the music of The Andrews Sisters, Paul Whiteman and Irving Berlin and fill it with venomous rants against Jews, America and the British. The man took his propaganda seriously. But at least he admitted it was propaganda, unlike the current crop of spin-meisters.

In a 1928 speech, Goebbels expounded on his then-radical theories of manipulation. What he said then seems today to be cutting edge meme-ology, and provides an insight into why he favored using the most popular music of the day to spread his message of hate:

"An idea always lives in individuals. It seeks an individual to transmit its great intellectual force. It becomes alive in a brain, and seeks escape through the mouth. The idea is preached by individuals, individuals who will never be satisfied to have the knowledge remain theirs alone. You know that from experience. When one knows something one does not keep it hidden like a buried treasure, rather one seeks to tell others. One looks for people who should know it. One feels that everyone else should know to, for one feels alone when no one else knows. For example, if I see a beautiful painting in an art gallery, I have the need to tell others. I meet a good friend and say to him: "I have found a wonderful picture. I have to show it to you." The same is true of ideas. If an idea lives in an individual, he has the urge to tell others. There is some mysterious force in us that drives us to tell others. The greater and simpler the idea is, the more it relates to daily life, the more one has the desire to tell everyone about it."

The full text of this speech is here. Follow the link below for the MP3s of Charlie and His Orchestra.

Continue reading "Still More Nazi Swing Music (MP3s)" »

Devo to Spain: do you copy?

Aviador1In 1976 the Mongoloid single escaped from Akron, a transmission which promptly made its way to kindred spirits across the Atlantic. A parallel set of futurist/science-fiction geeks were lurking in the halls of a Madrid high school, first unleashing their dadaist fury under the guises of Alex y Los Drugos and Holoplástico. Nerd-angst turned into a full-fledged counter-movement, complete with code-names, manifestos, and an electric organ as the group finally settled on the name El Aviador Dro Y Sus Obreros Especializados.

Aviador2Armed with radiation suits, safety goggles, synthesizers, and the signature Spanish lisp, Aviador Dro made spastic new wave combining their love for Tubeway Army, The Residents, and Kraftwerk. Check out this amazing video for the song "Laser" (mov, 40MB): if these dance moves don't win you over, it's time to switch your meds. I'm guessing the piece was made around '79 or '80, when the song appeared on their album Vano Temporal.

A few of the band's core members left in 1980, forming the group Esplendor Geométrico: take a listen to "Moscu Esta Helado" (real audio, from an archive of Michael Goodstein's show). Remaining members of Aviador Dro continued making music, though with the growing success of their own independent label, DRO, little time was left for practice. The band recorded albums through the 90's and an incarnation of the group is still active today. Here are some sites for more info on Aviador Dro: English | Official AD Site (Spanish only) | another Spanish site, most up-to-date.

Thanks to Zoms Frenchman of Zom Zoms for the video nugget!

December 05, 2005

What Would Jesus Really Do?

Far be it from me to speculate on the inner motives and desires of the Son of God. Leave that to the internet. Here are the google results for variations on the phrase "What Would Jesus Do" which, as befits a proto-slogan, leads the pack with 427,000 google results. A recent check proves that my initial results are already outdated, as Jesus moves faster than the average cable modem.

Jesus_skiMusic

What Would Jesus Spin? 1,350

What Would Jesus Have On His iPod? 67

What Would Jesus Listen To? 334

What Would Jesus Burn? 113

What Would Jesus Rip? 7

What Would Jesus Scratch? 6

What Would Jesus Podcast? 3

Jesus_judoLove and Death

Who Would Jesus Hate? 272

Who Would Jesus Love? 76

Who Would Jesus Kill? 501

Who Would Jesus Whack? 583

What Would Jesus Suck? 21

What Would Jesus Lick? 46

Continue reading "What Would Jesus Really Do?" »

Townes Van Zandt Documentary

BeheretolovemeDespite Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Emmylou Harris achieving #1 hit success with his songwriting, Townes Van Zandt never ascended to the upper eschelon of celebrity bestowed upon so many of his peers, no matter how lauded he was. The reason was clear: Van Zandt never settled into the familiar promotional avenues that so many others who did achieve success traveled, and instead chose an endless loop of travelling, playing his songs, and racking up more experiences to put into them. Plus, he wasn't easy to categorize: folk, blues, country were all factors in what he did, but he'd be a marketing man's nightmare, even despite a growing reputation. Hence, he relied on a good friend to put out his records and do what he could to spread the word, while Townes did what he only knew best.

Margaret Brown's documentary, Be Here To Love Me (premiered at Angelika here in NYC December 2nd) is a long overdue look at his music and life, which was ceaslessly tempestuous. In his 20's he was administered shock treatment after being committed for falling from a four story window willingly ("to see what it felt like"), and the result erased much of his childhood memories. This inability to cement connections in his life led to a continual wandering, and the film takes a very intimate look at the people, friends, and family who all were affected by this. In Townes' own words, his own sanity and life itself depended on the ability to "blow off everything and go." Despite this, Brown's interviews with Townes' children and ex-wives reveal a true reverence towards him despite the darkness of their relationships; his little daughter sings his songs, his sons even reckon that their personal relationships may have not been able to happen any other way and not lessen the impact of what he did musically. Sadly, hard living drained him by the 1990's, though his fervor to create never lessoned. Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley, who was set to record Van Zandt at Easley Studios in Memphis after a label deal was struck with DGC, recounts the tragedy of the aborted 1997 session which happened right before the man's demise, despite his insistency to crank out one more record.

The film is a well-done telling of his story, there's some great live clips and TV interviews, and riveting testimony from the likes of Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark and others. Our own Hatch interviewed director Brown on his show last night, and you can check it out here. (real audio). You can also check out a trailer of the film here. 

Adventures In Amplitude Modulation - Part 1

This is the first post in a series inspired by my personal radio listening habits. However, you can relax. I won’t be offering up a “connoisseur’s” list of my favorite radio stations or bragging about my personal taste in music. At least, not exactly. Often I listen to radio as an explorer of sorts. and occasionally I record some of these aural ventures. In this post (and others that may follow) I’ll offer a taste of where I go and what I hear on these radio hikes, such as they are.

Sony_icf7600a_2 Other than the Internet and my occasional purchases of the New York Times, my main source of information & entertainment comes from radio. However, what makes my media intake more esoteric than most is that I exclusively listen to AM radio and shortwave broadcasts. I don’t watch television and almost never listen to the FM band. Generally, the TV content I do take in, I now gather from the Internet. And to be honest, I occasionally do hear WFMU in the car, but at home I pick up WFMU on the computer. With 128K MP3 stereo streaming, it’s far better than the reception I muster with my radios here in north Brooklyn.

I suppose if I didn’t have all these albums, CD’s and cassettes laying around I might listen to FM more often, or even subscribe to (god forbid) satellite radio. For now, when I want music I listen to my own. When I turn on a radio I want something else. I want novelty, mystery, and most importantly something human. Every commercial music station on FM feels like it’s programmed by a committee of consultants. And even NPR sounds safe and tested these days. On AM and shortwave you're more likely to hear ad libs, idiosyncrasies, mistakes and raw conspiracy & rumor that isn’t always processed for pure potential profit. Oh sure, there ARE agendas and ulterior motives everywhere, probably just like where you work. Bottom line, most of U.S. FM radio is all about mindless listening and shameless profiteering, (Oh, and there's usually a few interesting non-profit stations at the end of the dial.) But AM and shortwave is about power, language, and cultural & ethnic identity. The “word,” whatever that’s worth these days still holds power on the traditional static-ridden bands that carry signals far distances. I like that.

Continue reading "Adventures In Amplitude Modulation - Part 1" »

*

 

*

Continue reading "*" »

December 04, 2005

Factum Non Fabula: Julie Andrews/Adolf Hitler - Bastards & Blood

Mjj_2Can the mere appearance of schizophrenic tendencies in an individual be endearing? Can an aura of scariness in a person ever be considered sweet? The fact that these questions don't really need to be asked does not erase the fact that I ponder them daily... preferably from a distance. The value of human nuttiness and the value of the internet are two great tastes that go great together. The experience of dipping into other people's inner worlds is a sport that thrives on the internet... with it's endless, almost zoo-like hallways of human exhibits held safely behind cathode-ray glass walls... allowing one to privately sift through and gawk at a leisurely pace without the aid of a tour guide.
    Ahhh... World Wide Web, you are such a sweet and endless pie... what's that? Why yes, I would love another crunchy slice of you! Why, thank you so much... mmmm... oh wait, what are you doing? Put down that gun! OH MY GOD NO!!!
    Anyway, in the grand and esteemed tradition of web masterpieces like Timecube, American Spy Cow, Toothphone, Mucus Fat, Santa = SATAN?!, Baron Von Volsung, George Dahl, Elizabeth Brady Cabot Winslow, Francis E. Dec, and Theodore Kaczynski... comes Mikko (Michael) Juhani (John) Jack, who is apparently the first born son of actress Julie Andrews.
    Mr. Jack, it appears, is yet another sibling-of-the-famous oddity. He list a few of his favorite things in his rather remarkable, rather fascinating, ode-to-mom web page "Factum Non Fabula: Julie Andrews/Adolf Hitler - Bastards & Blood," and respectfully gives us a very sweet slice of his own mind, to ponder and pick at from behind the cathode-ray glass exhibit wall (which is there for your protection ladies and gentlemen... please do not tap on the glass).
    (via BoingBoing!)

December 03, 2005

Work Song From Postal Employees in Ghana (MP3)

Ghana2Here's a beautiful little work song created by four postal employees who were recorded as they canceled stamps at the University of Ghana post office in 1975 (MP3). Their whistle-and-stamp song was recorded by James Koetting and appeared in the book/CD-Rom Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples. For more information on the recording, check out Elise's homework assignment on the recording. I hope she got a good grade. Ain't the internet grand? Thanks to listener Nick for sending this in; he's already booked the next flight to Ghana. If you want to see some of the stamps these postal workers might've been canceling, check here.

Einstürzende Dead Mosquitos

Bb_81I hear the Germans have a good chuckle at the American tendency to view Blixa Bargeld as some mysterious, dark and dangerous creature.  The man we know best as the firestarting sledgehammer-wielding Einstürzende Neubauten shriek'n howling Bad Seed with S&M themed performance & fashion aesthetic is better known to his country volks as a national institution: Movie Star, Urbane Gentleman, Celebrity Chef, and now, the face of the German equivalent of Home Depot.

Fabio Roberti, aka Our Fobsie, host of Strength Through Failure, shows us the following award-winning German television commercials, starring our hero:

You're invited to further nosh on Neubauten.  Herewith, my interview with Blixa (RM link) on April 28, 2000.  I was scared shitless.  It was my first radio interview ever, I was intimidated, and it was my birthday.  I desperately needed to smoke cigarettes and drink beer. We did, and it went fine, though I'm sure I'd be humiliated to hear it now.

And here once again is Our Fobsie, hosting (RM link) another Neubauten, Alexander Haacke.

And finally, here's an mp3 download of the song you hear playing in all those commercials --
12305 Te Nacht (5.7m), from the album Tabula Rasa.  Yippee ya-ya yippee yippee yay.

Logo-Rama 2005

  • Winner (T-shirt): Gregory Jacobsen
    We received such an outpouring of extraordinary listener artwork submissions for our recent logo design contest that we just couldn't keep it all to ourselves.

    Hold your champagne glass high, extend your pinky, turn up your nose, and take a stroll through this gallery of WFMU-centric works from the modern era.