Saturday, August 31, 2013

Reggie's Ear Candy: Indie Musician Kael Janson Weis AKA Everywhere Danger!

Right, so in my last post on music, I talked about what I thought might be wrong with music, at least pop music (the stuff with a far reach) in 2013 as indicated by the VMAs.

So, I thought it might be a good idea to talk about what's RIGHT about it.

One thing that the interweb gives us is the ability to find and enjoy musical projects that might not otherwise find an audience outside of the musicians' locality. This is a very cool thing.

On a personal note, it enables me to listen to the work of some of my far flung friends, people who I know whose work I admire that I have no other way of accessing. It is particularly satisfying when the work of these friends succeeds in making me squee.

Kael's music is one of those things. Delicately wrought, haunting and sometimes surprisingly hard-hitting, his music is very much worth paying attention to, particularly for those of us who recall the indie of the 90s and long for something evocative of that. Don't misunderstand me, the sound is uniquely his own, but it has that feeling. Full of sadness and possibilities and quirky humor, the music has a way of following you around throughout the day, teasing at the edges of everything else that happens.

Check him out on Soundcloud.

And http://www.reverbnation.com/EverywhereDanger.







Wednesday, August 28, 2013

WRKC: The Not-So-Hectic-Eclectic Playlist 8/28/13

Okay, so this week's show marks the last Reggie-land Radio day of the summer.

*sniffles*

But I'll be back, gosh darn it.

This was a lot of fun for me. I got to dust off some radio skillz and you, dear audience, were awesome. I found some great music because of things you asked me to play over the past three months and that is priceless. So thanks for that. And thanks for listening. I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Without further ado...

The Playlist



Chuck E. Weis - Devil With the Blue Suede Shoes
Tom Waits - Sixteen Shells From A Thirty Ought Six
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Wail
Gil Scott Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
Fiona Apple - Hot Knife
Death In Vegas - All That Glitters
Buzzcocks - A Different Kind of Tension
Franz Ferdinand - Right Action
Plastilina Mosh - Mr. P Mosh
The Smiths - Stop Me If You Heard This One Before
Hefner - The Hymn For The Cigarettes
New York Dolls - Personality Crisis
Eleanor Friedberger - She's a Mirror



Folk Implosion - Natural One
The Love Language - Calm Down
Morrissey - We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful
Cornershop - Brimful of Asha
Built to Spill - Car
Moxy Fruvous - King of Spain
Eilen Jewell - Bang Bang Bang
Jean Roman - Pleasure All The Time
Kris Kher - Dear Stephanie
Sneaker Pimps - Post-modern Sleeze
Rogue Wave - College
Pavement - Stereo
Elastica - Stutter
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life
Polyphonic Spree - Popular By Design
Ted McCloskey - Just Wanna Disappear
Pixies - Broken Face



Bjork - Joga
Propellerheads - History Repeating
Luscious Jackson - Mood Swing
Charles Ramsey - The See and Be Seen Scene
Jason Isbell - Grown
Whale - Kickin'
Bob Mould - New #1
Elevator Drops - Sentimental Love
Replacements - Busted Up
Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealin'
Marah - Faraway You
Ruby - Tiny Meat
Beta Band - Round the Bend
Vampire Weekend - Step
Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
Fastbacks - K Street
Widowspeak- Locusts
Robyn Hitchcock - Devil's Radio
Morphine - Honey White
Jake Bugg - Two Fingers
Ani DiFranco - Out of Range

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

WRKC: The Not-So-Hectic-Eclectic Playlist 8/21/13

Well, this week I attempted to populate the playlist with as many requests as possible. It's a mighty fine thing that you guys have good taste.

I've got one more week on the air for the summer. I am soooo going to miss this. I may not corporeally be there, however... I will be leaving something behind.

In the form of liners.

There may also be an embarrassing level check thingy wherein I yell something... profane.

*sniffles*

Damn, that was fun.

*wipes eyes*

*plays some more music and presents...

The Playlist



Hour 1

Berlin - No More Words
Air- Kelly Watch the Stars
Ted Leo - Army Bound
David Garza - Discoball World
Mountain Goats - Until I Am Whole
Rogue Wave - College
Built To Spill - Car
Alabama Shakes - Hang Loose
Concrete Blonde - Everybody Knows
Wilco - Burned
Magnetic Fields - Quick!
Folk Implosion - Natural One
Your New Crush - Bright Stars
Bat For Lashes - Laura
Robyn Hitchcock - The Cheese Alarm
Justin Townes Earle - Nothing's Going To Change the Way You Feel About Me Now
Tom Waits - Get Behind the Mule
The Love Language - Calm Down
A3 - Woke Up This Morning
Illinois - Nosebleed
Neko Case - Man

Hour 2



Eilen Jewell - Queen of the Minor Key
Southern Culture on the Skids - Nitty Gritty
The New Morty Show - Unskinny Bop
Space - Mr. Psycho
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito
Jessca Hoop - Four Dreams
Jason Isbell - Grown
Ted Mcloskey - I Just Wanna Disappear
Marah - Point Breeze
Talking Heads - Swamp
Polyphonic Spree - Popular By Design
Apples In Stereo - The Bird That You Can't See
Ani Difranco - Angry Anymore
King Missile - Cheesecake Truck
Bear McCreary- Battlestar Galactica Main Title (U.S)

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Random Thoughts: Bear Hair and Observations about (gasp) Entertainment Marketing

Hello, dear readers!

It has been a while. August is pretty busy which is why I haven't blogged in a while. But more about the busy later.

So, while my brain has been largely engaged in multiple creative projects, it continues thinking about stuff during other daily tasks, like eating, animal maintenance, and that day job thingy.

There hasn't been a Round Up in a while. I have been reading, I can assure you, but the last batch of books I have read haven't been so squeeworthy. (I won't name names, because one person's "Meh" is another person's "Holy Awesomesauce!") The same is true of things I've watched over the past few weeks. I am sure that soon, I will have a batch of things to rave about ... but... this experience has lead me back to a comparison I have been making between the music industry and the publishing industry.

Sometime in the 90s, the music industry's indie labels became as distinguishable to listeners as bands themselves. The first notable label to market themselves as a label as well as promoting artists was Sub Pop. (Fact checks are welcome here. One might argue that well before this different labels were marketing themselves through their catalogues etc... but the Sub Pop sticker became a ubiquitous thing for a while and music lovers paid as much attention to what labels were releasing as to the specific bands they loved, but I digress. Kill Rock Stars in another indie that fits the bill for that time period.)

It occurs to me that indie publishing is doing the same thing. A certain aesthetic accretes around the output of some publishers, creating a kind of brand. Much of this may have to do with chosen genre focus, but it also has to do with other, less easily pinned down qualities.

In music right now, almost everything Merge Records does tickles my ear-holes.

In publishing, it seems to be Angry Robot Books that gives me the narrative happy-pants. I come to this realization after looking at past Round-Ups on the Spotty Blog. When it comes to my personal tastes, they have never produced a miss. For what that's worth.

This is not to suggest that other indies don't hold sway, or offer other things that make me squee. It's just a trend I've noticed in my own reading.

Panverse Publishing is another one. Of course, there is a bit of bias there, I must say in the interests of full disclosure. I've been published through Panverse. This tends to encourage a person to pay attention to the other things happening with a publisher. It is a publisher, however, that has never let me down for a solid read. The hallmark here is Dario's eye for unique, diverse narrative voice in storytelling, which is most strongly evidenced in the anthologies.

When it comes to watching film, I don't have quite the same experience in regards to branding, yet. This may be unique to me, I tend not to pay attention to the production companies that produce movies I like. This may be because my tastes are all over the place and I don't remember, or it could be that I am not as diligent in paying attention to those details. But I don't see branding happening with production companies for film in the way it happens (for me) for books and music.

To be fair, this probably has something to do with my own personal experiences of work. I was in radio for a long time and have a heightened awareness of things like record labels. I write fiction have been published a few times so I pay attention to publishing companies as a matter of course. I've never worked in film, but I have begun writing scripts so this is probably a thing that will change. As I pay more attention, it is possible that a sense of "brand" here will accrete.

I have some serious movie buff friends that would probably argue the point that there is most definitely a sense of brand with production companies, but I'm really just talking about my experience as a consumer. It's all part of the random stuff that has been floating around in my head lately.

(Can you tell I've been reading over at hopeforfilm.com ?)

Anyway, bringing it back around to the music industry, my point about the Sub Pop stickers is that I was aware of them as a label before I started working in radio. I think that's all I will say there because this chick right here is no marketing expert.

Right, so, next thing. What can you do with bear hair? Seriously. Not too long ago, a bear came through the yard. Probably because I dumped something in the compost pile that smelled super-yummy. I know this because the composter was torn down and its contents scattered. Also, our visitor bent a shepherd's hook which held suet for the birds and made off with the suet. In addition, he found a can full of birdseed, crushed it ate half and dug a hole in the dirt, then left a bunch of hair clumps. One might think this is distressing. Mmmm. Not so much. At least to me. (But then, I did, once upon a time chase a bear across the yard because I wanted a picture. Not exactly the normal reaction... but digression again, so...)

I kept the bear hair, because my inner 9 year old is all like, "Coolest thing EVER!"

There is not enough of it to make a sweater, or use in the vegetable garden as a deterrent to other small critters. So what do I do with it?

These are the kinds of burning questions that take space in my head when I'm not editing a finished novel, working on the new one (there are some thorny issues re: diplomatic relations between dragons and humans), waiting for submission responses, seeking a workshop venue for the play, working on the new play, trying to build amazingpants playlists for my last two radio broadcasts of the summer and... and... and... well, there are a bunch of things I am leaving out, I'm sure, but there's the short version of the busy.

So, for the next two weeks, the playlists will be up. My regular blogging irregularity will likely begin again in September.

Until then, dear readers, I am curious about you! Leave a note! Leave a note particularly if you have any good ideas about bear hair.










Wednesday, August 14, 2013

WRKC: The Not-So-Hectic-Eclectic Playlist 8/14/13

So, here we go, this week's playlist... Due to an early social media campaign for requests, this one may be more eclectic than usual... hmmmm.....

Cowboy Junkies- Ooh Las Vegas
Jill Sobule - The Jig Is Up
Tom Waits - Big In Japan
Jerry Miller featuring Eilen Jewell - What A Little Moonlight Can Do
Squirrel Nut Zippers - The Suits Are Picking Up The Bill
Polyphonic Spree - Popular By Design
Jane's Addiction - Stop
Adam and the Ants - Stand and Deliver
Rogue Wave - College
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Grown
Marah - Valley Farm Song
Superchunk - Void
Matthew Sweet - Evangeline
Eleanor Friedberger - She's A Mirror
Yaz - Nobody's Diary
Ted Mcloskey - The Last of the Pin-Up Girls
Morphine - Honey White
Vampire Weekend - Step
Luscious Jackson - Naked Eye
Ted Leo - Army Bound
Roxy Music - Virginia Plain
Crispin Glover - These Boots
Your New Crush - Bright Stars
Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up
PJ Harvey featuring Thom Yorke - This Mess We're In
Lorde - Royals
Elastica - Stutter
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito
Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Wail
Tori Amos - Talula
Mudhoney - Touch Me I'm Sick
Dr. Dog - Do the Trick
Moxy Fruvous - You Will Go To The Moon


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

WRKC The Not-So-Hectic-Eclectic Playlist 8/7/13

This was an interesting week on the Not-So Hectic-Eclectic.

I was joined in the first hour by WRKC's Dirty Hipster and we discussed, among other things, her armpit orchestra. I don't think I could even begin to reconstruct that conversation if I tried because sooo much awesome in two hours. But I do have a question. How could one achieve a crescendo with an armpit orchestra?

In the second hour, fellow radio diva from the beforetimes, Mel, joined me and we had a blast. (Viva la Revolution!

Without further ado...

Playlist:

Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealin'
Eilen Jewell - Bang Bang Bang
Marah- My Heart Is the Bums on the Street
Dr. Dog - These Days
Ted McCloskey - Just Want To Disappear
Vampire Weekend - Step
B-52's - Planet Claire
Tuscadero - Paper Doll
Artificial Joy Club - Sick and Beautiful
Joydrop - Beautiful
Fiona Apple - Hot Knife
Widowspeak - So Close
Jessca Hoop - Whispering Light
Rogue Wave- College
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - One Love To Another
Lorde - Royals
Pavement - Shady Lane
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito
Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
Polyphonic Spree - You Don't Know Me
Imperial Teen - You're One
Concrete Blonde- God Is A Bullet
Martha Wainwright - Proserpina
Ruby - Tiny Meat
Propellerheads - History Repeating
Your New Crush - Bright Stars
Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up
Robyn Hitchcock - I Feel Beautiful
Bettie Serveert - Rudder