368 posts from 2008

Mike White decided on a theme for his Guest DJ set – songs that scared him when he was a kid. The “School of Rock” scribe has certainly grasped the life-changing power of music, but his hilarious guest DJ set looks at the dark side – from a 70’s sex symbol to a frightening musical and a couple other surprises.

RR

Eric J Lawrence hosted his annual holiday-themed show this past weekend and it is now available in the archives. This year marked the 8th edition of the holiday show. One of his collaborators is Jason Groman, a KCRW staff member responsible for loading in each and every band that plays at the station, among many other things. Groman searches record stores throughout the year to look for the quirkiest Christmas songs he can find. It’s a surprising mash up of holiday music that is good, hilariously bad and just plain out there!

RR

Eric J Lawrence hosted his annual holiday-themed show this past weekend and it is now available in the archives. This year marked the 8th edition of the holiday show. One of his collaborators is Jason Groman, a KCRW staff member responsible for loading in each and every band that plays at the station, among many other things. Groman searches record stores throughout the year to look for the quirkiest Christmas songs he can find. It’s a surprising mash up of holiday music that is good, hilariously bad and just plain out there!

RR

Jazz bassist and raconteur Charlie Haden shared anecdotes from the making of his latest release “Rambling Boy” on Morning Becomes Eclectic this morning. Charlie has a long history at the station – he performed at the inauguration of KCRW’s current location and two of his children, Rachel and Josh, worked as volunteers in KCRW’s music library. Petra and Josh have performed on the air here, and Rachel is currently touring with Todd Rundgren. They are quite the musical family!

Charlie was really getting into the music, pointing out riffs that gave him particular joy. You can enjoy his entire guest DJ set and interview here

RR  

We had a couple of guests in the studio for Mercury Rev’s performance last week. LA Weekly Music Editor Randall Roberts and photographer Tim Norris dropped by to document the performance – and a bit of new Morning Becomes Eclectic host Jason Bentley in action. You can check it out here

Here is a link to the performance in our archives.

RR

Earlier this year when Grizzly Bear debuted a new song during their Morning Becomes Eclectic performance, I knew it would be a big deal. Not only was the band garnering tons of critical acclaim and a growing fan base but they clearly had something special. Watching them perform this track live was one of the highlights of my year, musically speaking, and it turns out Spin Magazine feels the same way. They included the live track at #13 on their list of the 20 Best Songs of the Year.

See the full performance here

Spin's complete list is here

RR

After posting all the Top Ten Lists of the very talented KCRW music staff, I decided to throw my own into the mix. Thanks for reading the blog and all your support for KCRW – we couldn’t do any of it without you. Sincerely, RR 

1) Dr. Dog – Fate (I didn't think they could make a record better than their debut, Easy Beat, but they did)

2) Mates of State – Re-Arrange Us (This married duo infuses catchy pop songs with passion)

3) Helio Sequence – Keep your Eyes Ahead (As soon as I heard this album, I knew it would be on this list. I can listen to it over and over again)

4) Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (This album seemed to come out of nowhere with gorgeous harmonies that made my heart melt. It didn't leave my stereo for some time.)

5) Little Jackie – The Stoop (This was the soundtrack to many of my favorite moments this year. Well-produced soulful pop, Brooklyn's answer to Amy Winehouse)

6) Thao (and the Get Down Stay Down) – We Brave Bee Stings and All (While I loved this album, seeing Thao live catapulted her on this list. She's the real deal)

7) Black Keys – Attack and Release (This bluesy, dark and fierce music really stunned me when I first heard it. It only gets better over time)

8) Michael Franti & Spearhead – All Rebel Rockers (This is top of the list for albums to dance to that make me feel good.  I heard him sing "Say Hey" at a Bob Dylan tribute show and I knew it would be one of my favorite songs of the year.) 

9) Blind Pilot – 3 Rounds and a Sound (Superb folk rock from a band out of Portland, many gems on here.)
 
10) Santogold – Santogold (This album is simply infectious. I love her voice and her vibe.)

Runners up:

Herman Dune – Next Year in Zion
&
Estelle – Shine
&
Nada Surf – Lucky

RR

Little Joy

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I have a confession – I’m a die hard fan of The Strokes. I love every album they’ve put out and I’ve been anxiously waiting for another one. So when I heard Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti not only lived in LA but had started up another band, I was thrilled. Little Joy has a bit of magic to them and a lot of it stems from the nonchalant way the band got together. Fabrizio and Rodrigo Amarante (of Los Hermanos) met during a music festival in Lisbon, Portugal. They casually talked about making music together but it wasn’t until Binki Shapiro came in the picture that the talking became a reality. That laidback approach is totally apparent in their music, as is their Brazilian influences and a love for simplicity that makes their songs so easy on the ears.

This was a very special performance because they had only rehearsed the night before to translate their tracks into the stripped down acoustic versions heard this morning. There were a bit of nerves -- and a last minute call for a glockenspiel (thankfully McCabe’s Guitar Shop is right down the street!)  – but the end result was fantastic.

Check out their full set, including a song that did not make it on air, HERE

RR

A new Pavement double-CD set contains two live performances from the KCRW archives. "Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed." also contains the remastered original LP, all of the B-sides and compilation tracks from around the album's original release, and previously unreleased studio tracks.

The KCRW tracks – “Neil Hagerty Meets Jon Spencer in a Non-Alcoholic Bar” and “Maybe Maybe” were recorded in February 1997 and you can listen to it in the archives here

The full tracklisting is below.

Brighten the Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed.:

Disc 1:

01 Stereo
02 Shady Lane / J vs. S
03 Transport Is Arranged
04 Date w/ IKEA
05 Old to Begin
06 Type Slowly
07 Embassy Row
08 Blue Hawaiian
09 We Are Underused
10 Passat Dream
11 Starlings of the Slipstream
12 Fin
13 Westie Can Drum ["Stereo" B-side]
14 Winner of the... ["Stereo" B-side]
15 Birds in the Majic Industry [previously unreleased vocal version taking place of released instrumental "Stereo" B-side version]
16 Slowly Typed ["Shady Lane" B-side]
17 Cherry Area ["Shady Lane" B-side]
18 Wanna Mess You Around ["Shady Lane" B-side]
19 No Tan Lines ["Shady Lane" B-side]
20 And Then... [full seven-minute+ version of "Spit on a Stranger" B-side]
21 Harness Your Hopes ["Spit on a Stranger" B-side]
22 Roll With the Wind ["Spit on a Stranger" B-side]

Disc 2:

01 Then [BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997]
02 Harness Your Hopes [BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997]
03 The Killing Moon [BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997]
04 Winner of the... [BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997]
05 Embassy Row Psych Intro [previously unreleased intro, BTC sessions outtake]
06 Nigel [previously unreleased, BTC sessions outtake]
07 Chevy (Old to Begin) [previously unreleased version, BTC sessions]
08 Roll With the Wind (Roxy) [previously unreleased version, BTC sessions]
09 For Sale! The Preston School of Industry [previously unreleased, VPRO "Lola da Musica" TV show, April 4, 1997]
10 Oddity [from the God Save the Clean compilation]
11 Type Slowly (live) [from the Free Tibet compilation]
12 Neil Hagerty Meets Jon Spencer in a Non-Alcoholic Bar [previously unreleased, KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic", February 25, 1997]
13 Maybe Maybe [previously unreleased version, KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic", February 25, 1997]
14 Date w/ IKEA [BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session, August 21, 1997]
15 Fin [BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session, August 21, 1997]
16 Grave Architecture [BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session, August 21, 1997]
17 The Classical [BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session, August 21, 1997]
18 Space Ghost Theme I [previously unreleased, recorded live at WFNX, Boston, February 12, 1997]
19 Space Ghost Theme II [previously unreleased, recorded live at WFNX, Boston, February 12, 1997]
20 Beautiful as a Butterfly [previously unreleased, BTC sessions outtake]
21 Cataracts  [previously unreleased, BTC sessions outtake]

The last time I saw Juliette Commagere, she was on stage at the Viper Room with a platinum blond mohawk playing a keytar (a keyboard played like a guitar) with her indie rock band Hello Stranger. I was a little overwhelmed by how much “look” they had going on, but I liked the music a lot – and she certainly commanded my attention. It was the limited success of that band, after years of almost making it, that plunged her into a depression when they returned from a tour. But it also inspired her to record a solo album that caught Jason’s attention.

She made her MBE debut today with a big band behind her – strings, horns, back up singers – playing tracks off “Queens Die Proudly,” available on Aeronaut Records.  

Check it out here

RR