Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Correction

Alas, my brain wasn't functioning at it's optimum capability when I posted yesterday's bit about the changes at XM. For some reason I had it in my mind that The Torch was getting completely booted from XM, but having re-visited XM's website I found that it was still going to be available as an Online-Only feature.
That still sucks, cuz i rarely listen to XM Online, but it's better than no Torch at all.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

XM Radio: New Channels and Bad News

A couple of new channels already added to the XM line-up and 8 more coming on April 17, in case you haven't heard.
The ones currently on the air are XM49 (I think) Big Tracks, which is sort of a late-period version of Top Tracks. Classic rock for people born after 1970, I suppose would be one way to look at it. I ran across it the other day and it wasn't too bad, although I am definately of the older demographic that would prefer Top Tracks, if I hadn't already been burned out on EVERYTHING they play there.
Then there's XM84, The Chill, which the website describes as "the smooth side of electronica"... I've listened to a few songs there in the last 30 minutes and basically it sounds like a full channel of what XM77 AudioVisions' Star Streams plays. That's okay, I guess, ifn' they'll take Star Streams off of AudioVisions and replace it with more new age or space music. That chill-out stuff never really fit in the XM77 format, IMO, and it's better to have a channel devoted to it for the rare occassions when I'm in the mood. If they don't axe Star Streams from XM77 I may just write a letter urging them to do so.
And I would have been a LOT happier if they had made a channel of IDM, ambient and non-trance cutting-edge electronic music instead of playing it safe and going with a chill-out channel. Maybe it will evolve into that when people start falling asleep to all the chill. :)
As for the 8 other channels, I'm most excited about XM34 EnLighten, the Southern Gospel channel moving from Online-Only status to regular XM. Call me corny, I love that stuff.
Liquid Metal is coming back to the regular line-up after having been in Online-Only limbo for the past year. That's probably a good thing, because one can only tolerate so many hair bands on the Boneyard before craving some REAL metal (and Squizz sure doesn't fit the bill).
The bad news...and IMO this is REAL bad news...XM51, the Music Lab is being shuffled off to Online-Only status. :( How can they do this to me? I LOVE the progressive stuff there. They say they're going to move what they call "the ethereal side of progressive" to XM76 Fine Tuning, and that'll be fine and dandy as long as they get rid of the superabundance of celtic music currently in vogue there (nothing against celtic music, but a little bit goes a long way). The "harder" progressive is going to Deep Tracks, so who knows how that will affect that channel...could be an improvement, IMO, but it's bound to tick a few people off.
Other new channels...
.S. Country - XM 17 - Country Superstars of the 80s and 90s
Flight 26 - XM 26 - Modern Hits 90s & Now
XM Hitlist - XM 30 - Today's Hit Music
enLighten - XM 34 - Southern Gospel
XM Liquid Metal - XM 42 - Heavy Metal XL
The Heat - XM 68 - Rhythmic Hits
Escape - XM 78 - Easy Listening
Viva - XM 91 - Latin Pop Hits

That new country channel looks to be replacing XM11 Nashville, which is still gonna be around, but it's been co-opted by Clear Channel and will have commercials, so that kinda defeats the purpose of satellite radio in a way, don't ya think? I'll never listen to Nashville again, I can tell you that, nor will I bother with the other Clear Channel stations, Kiss - XM 21, Mix - XM 22, Sunny - XM 24, or WSIX - XM 161 (note that the first 3 on that list used to be commercial free XM channels...oh well, I never listened to 'em anyway).
Another sad aspect to the new line-up, at least as far as I'm concerned, is the complete removal of The Torch from both regular and Online-Only XM. That was good stuff most of the time. That REALLY sucks.
The Fish has changed to The Message, and one can only hope that it will lose some of the more "pop hit" type stuff that drags it down. I would be very pleased to see a much more hardcore spiritual basis employed on that channel, with more praise/worship and more solid, unmistakeably CHRISTIAN music...If I never hear another secular hit dressed up with a few mentions of Jesus name on that channel it will not be soon enough for me.
The more I listen to this Chill channel the more convinced I am that I will probably never listen to it again. Big disappointment that they went this route.

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Buck Owens, R.I.P.

Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens, Jr. 1929-2006


One of the most treasured memories I have is of my father and I watching the Buck Owens show every Sunday afternoon when I was a young child. Dad was a huge fan of Owens, and he was one of my favorites in the days before I discovered rock 'n' roll. Even then I counted myself a fan...after all, the Beatles were, right? Though I had come to a point where I believed the Fab Four could do no wrong, I still acknowledged that Owens' version of "Act Naturally" was superior to theirs.
And I even remember being asked to sing "Tiger By the Tail" at family gatherings when I couldn't have been much older than 5. As such, that may be the earliest memory I can recall...
Without a doubt Buck Owens' music, his charisma, his performing ability and his unmistakeable voice were a big part of what initially turned me on to music.
And so it is with a heavy heart that I now listen to my copy of his Greatest Hits, having just learned of his passing away at the ripe age of 76 earlier today.
I couldn't even begin to count all the smiles that he's responsible for with his charming sense of humour (sample lyric: "I got the hungries for your love and I'm waiting in your welfare line", not to mention all the corny jokes he told on Hee Haw). And he has touched my heart deeply with his more serious music ("Together Again" will remain a country and western classic for all time).
He was one-of-a-kind and will be missed dearly.

Friday, March 24, 2006

CMJ Keepers

At last, I have finally completed my project of going through 65 CMJ sampler CDs from between Dec 94 and Feb 02, scouring them for ONLY the best (or at least the songs that I liked best). LOTS of dreck in the bargain, but I came out with 149 songs that I really liked. You may see a few names you recognize and probably a few you don't. I didn't choose by anything BUT the song itself...in fact, I didn't even look at the CD labels for info before scanning them.
Anyhoo, here's the list and the floor is open for discussion about my taste or lack of taste in choosing these particular songs:

CMJ KEEPERS

1. Asian Dub Foundation..."Buzzin'"
2. Fear of Pop..."In Love"
3. Josh Rouse..."Dressed Up Like Nebraska"
4. Matthew Good Band..."Load Me Up"
5. Silver Scooter..."Goodbye"
6. Cracker..."Shake Some Action"
7. Blue Mountain..."Soul Sister"
8. Innocence Mission..."Bright as Yellow"
9. Popa Chubby..."Palace of the King"
10. Foo Fighters..."My Hero"
11. Jane's Addiction..."Jane Says (live)"
12. Spider Virus..."Werewolf Ears"
13. Bill Fox..."Over and Away She Goes"
14. Underworld..."Push Upstairs"
15. Houndog..."No Chance"
16. Latin Playboys..."Mustard"
17. Sparklehorse..."Pig"
18. Coldplay..."Trouble (live at KCRW)"
19. BR-549..."Me 'n' Opie"
20. Bang On a Can All-Stars..."The Manufacture of Tangled Ivory"
21. Primitive Radio Gods..."Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth..."
22. Cocteau Twins..."Tishbite"
23. Sixteen Horsepower..."For Heaven's Sake"
24. The Derailers..."One More Time"
25. Rammstein..."Du Hast (English version)
26. The Cranes...Shining Road"
27. Bryan Ferry..."Mamouna"
28. American Football..."Never Meant"
29. Scotty Hard..."Days and Nights of Wine and Roses"
30. Ravi Shankar..."Mongalem"
31. Lusk..."Backworld"
32. Bela Fleck & the Flecktones..."Zona Mona"
33. Velvet Underground..."Ocean"
34. David Bowie..."The Heart's Filthy Lesson"
35. The Ramones..."Spider Man"
36. Lotion..."Marijuana Vietnam"
37. For Squirrels..."8:02 PM"
38. Capsize 7..."The Safe"
39. Superchunk..."Hyper Enough"
40. The Promise Ring..."Stop Playing Guitar"
41. Craig Armstrong/Evan Dando..."Wake Up In New York"
42. The Melvins..."The Brain Center at Whipples"
43. Wallflowers..."6th Avenue Heartache"
44. Mark Eitzel..."Southend On Sea"
45. Guided By Voices..."The Official Ironman Rally Song"
46. P.O.D. ..."Hollywood"
47. Steve Earle..."Transcendental Blues"
48. The Jayhawks..."I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"
49. Brak..."I Like Hubcaps"
50. Teenage Fanclub..."About You"
51. Silverchair..."Tomorrow"
52. Badly Drawn Boy..."Once Around the Block"
53. Mudvayne..."Dig"
54. Pele..."The Mind of Minolta"
55. Mary Lou Lord..."Lights are Changing"
56. Stereolab..."Captain Easychord"
57. Dog's Eye View..."Everything Falls Apart"
58. emmet swimming..."Jump Into the Water"
59. For Squirrels..."Mighty KC"
60. Ken Nordine..."Olive"
61. Ditch Croaker..."Meat Grinder"
62. Bally Sagoo..."Tum Bin Jiya"
63. Roy Montgomery..."Just Melancholy"
64. Thurston Moore..."Ono Soul"
65. Low..."Shame"
66. Satchel..."Suffering"
67. Moonwash..."Cold"
68. Matt Pond PA..."Canadian Song"
69. Chris Lee..."In Yellow Moonlight"
70. Teenage Fanclub..."Take the Long Way 'Round"
71. Reef..."Consideration"
72. Barry Black..."Tropical Fish Revival"
73. Miles Davis/John Coltrane..."'Round Midnight"
74. Unamerican..."Mary's Song"
75. Chemical Brothers..."Let Forever Be"
76. Three Fish..."Tremor Void"
77. Big Star..."September Gurls (live)"
78. Juno..."All Your Friends are Comedians"
79. Water..."Thoughts"
80. Armand Van Helden's Sampleslaya..."Ultrafunkula"
81. Red House Painters..."Byrd Joel"
82. Underworld..."Confusion the Waitress"
83. Joe Henry..."Trampoline"
84. Joel R. L. Phelps..."Ave Patricia"
85. The Clash..."Complete Control (live)"
86. Mahavishnu Orchestra..."John's Song"
87. Matthew Sweet..."Sick of Myself"
88. Jimi Hendrix..."Message of Love"
89. Joan Osbourne..."St. Theresa"
90. Underground Lovers...Dream It Down"
91. Bodeco..."Crazy Sexy Baby"
92. Garden Variety..."Binder"
93. Guided By Voices..."Squirmish Frontal Room"
94. Kings of Convenience..."Weight of My Words"
95. Cassandra Wilson..."Until"
96. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan..."My Comfort Remains"
97. Combine..."Know Regrets"
98. Desmond Simmons..."Counterpane"
99. Wood..."Stay You"
100. Sin Ropas..."Daddy's Lamp"
101. Meat Beat Manifesto..."It's the Music"
102. Tanya Donelly..."Pretty Deep"
103. Stereolab..."Miss Modular"
104. Cornershop..."Brimful of Asha"
105. Toenut..."Test Anxiety"
106. Ani DiFranco..."Fire Door"
107. Citizen's Utilities..."Northern Lights"
108. Boom Boom Satellites..."Push Eject"
109. Tom Waits..."Big In Japan"
110. Mitchell Froom..."Wave"
111. Versus..."Underground"
112. Parlor James..."House of Flesh and Bone"
113. Sun 60..."C'mon and Kiss Me"
114. Ani DiFranco..."Not a Pretty Girl"
115. Mogwai..."Sine Wave"
116. Buddy Guy..."Baby Please Don't Leave Me"
117. Sigur Ros..."Staralfur"
118. Deftones..."Rx Queen"
119. Jeff Buckley..."Last Goodbye"
120. Stillsuit..."Ring and Run"
121. Bjork..."The Hidden Place"
122. Gillian Welch..."April the 14th Part 1"
123. Sonic Youth..."The Diamond Sea"
124. Schtum..."Skydiver"
125. Ben Harper..."Ground On Down"
126. Radiohead..."Optimistic (live)"
127. Rainer Maria..."Artificial Light"
128. Merle Haggard..."Wishing All These Old Things Were New"
129. J Mascis & the Fog..."Where'd You Go?"
130. Paul Schultze..."Tears"
131. Illyah Karyahkin..."Crow"
132. Witness UK..."Scars"
133. Radiohead..."No Surprises (live)"
134. Swervedriver..."99th Dream"
135. Craig Armstrong/Liz Fraser..."This Love"
136. William Orbit..."Adagio"
137. Cypress Hill..."(Rock) Superstar"
138. DJ Food..."The Aging Young Rebel"
139. Del Amitri..."Not Where It's At"
140. Spiritualized..."Electricity"
141. Isley Brothers..."Fight the Powers (Parts 1 & 2)"
142. Goldie..."Temper, Temper"
143. Bruce Cockburn..."Call It Democracy (live)"
144. The Verve..."Lucky Man"
145. Jen Wood..."Q is for Question"
146. Gomez..."Bring It On"
147. Delirious?..."Gravity"
148. Tuatara..."Smuggler's Cove"
149. Hayden..."The Hazards of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees"

Monday, March 20, 2006

"I fancied meself Walt Whitman..."

I fancied meself Walt Whitman
I fancied meself a better man than e'er I was
I fantasized a nature to be a part of
The rails led straight out of this town
I'd ride 'em like Guthrie
If I had a fascist killin' machine like his
And a calloused thumb to strum for hours
Knockin' 'em down
Watchin' 'em fall
Fascists dropp-opp-oppin' like flies

I fancied meself a theologian
I fancied meself a priest of the Aaronic order
I fantasized a heaven to be part of
A stairway straight outta this world
I'd climb until I was tired then I'd climb some more
If I had a leg to stand on
Watch Him knock me back down
Watch Him watch me fall
The center of His attention

I fancied meself a friend to one in need
I fancied meself a martyr to good deeds
I fantasized a bonus could be had
A cash cow that I could bow to
With numbers and dollar signs in my eyes
Cruel reality replacing me fancy
Grovel. Crawl.
Depraved, all.
Buried in sand, forgotten.

Also Sprach Zanabanana

Fire breathing gorgons
Consume radical liquids
Fall into poetry repetition
Also sprach Zanabanana
Centered and pressurized
Back-up pushes against
Sphincter.

Antibiotic shortage
Carefully planned
Lower intestinal numbness
Head in the clouds
Ass on the ground
I'm right
It hurts.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Pandora

CHECK THIS OUT! Pandora customizes a personal radio station for you based upon an artist or song you supply. Then it offers up other songs/artist based upon positive or negative feedback you provide about each track as they are played.
So far I've created "Sigur Ros Radio" and "Red House Painters Radio" and the stuff they've offered is pretty decent (for instance, I got some Elliot Smith, Black Swans and Luka Bloom from the RHP station and a Bill Laswell track from the Sigur Ros station).
It's one of the coolest things I've come across on the internet.

Friday, March 10, 2006

A Blast From the Past!

Well, we finally got a new computer...nice little Dell number.
Finally have a CD burner...wow, I had no idea what I was missing (LimeWire *wink wink**nudge nudge*).
So I'm logging onto Blogger for the first time on this new computer and I guess I accidentally typed in my username without the large case letters..much to my surprise I was directed to my first attempt at blogging, a short-lived epic entitled Adventures In Retail Music Sales.
It was written during the time when I worked at a local CD Warehouse, and it's actually got some interesting stuff. I'll probably re-post some of it here in the near future, but if you just can't wait (and I know you can't), feel free to click HERE and witness it for yourself, in all it's antique templated glory.