Jason Bentley is taking a much-deserved vacation this week and we have guest DJs filling in until Friday. Today, former Music Director Tom Schnabel took over Morning Becomes Eclectic, followed by Anne Litt tomorrow and Wednesday. Chris Douridas, who is curating KCRW’s new online music stream Eclectic24 launching on Labor Day, will host on Thursday.
RR
The Morning After Girls are Australia natives now based in New York City. I’ve been loving their track “Part of Your Nature” and I was intrigued by the album title “Alone.” I found out today they view being “alone” as something completely different from loneliness. As vocalist/guitarist Martin Sleeman says, “a feeling of aloneness is the most empowering thing that a person can actually feel, whereas loneliness is something completely different.” We learn the reason for their move to the States – “you “hit a brick wall pretty quickly” in Australia – and hear a great set of music.
RR
Upcoming Live Performances on MORNING BECOMES ECLECTIC with host JASON BENTLEY
Tuesday, September 8, Mayer Hawthorne is a surprisingly soulful singer from Ann Arbor, Michigan whose debut has been embraced across the board by KCRW DJs. He will bring his band to perform a set of love songs when he joins Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Wednesday, September 9, Dreamy folk trio Petracovich is getting great reviews for their new release, with the LA Weekly calling it “insightful, evocative” pop folk. Singer Jessica Peters draws from very personal material for her new songs, which strike close to the heart. Hear it live when they join Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session at 11:15am.
Thursday, September 10, English Electronic darlings Soulsavers bring ex-Screaming Trees vocalist Mark Lanegan to explore the dark side of rock with a live performance on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Friday, September 11, L.A.-based trio Pollyn mix disco beats into a frenzy and give us the lowdown on their high profile remixes for Gorillaz and Buffalo Daughter when they join Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Monday, September 14, Brendan Benson was masterful at creating power pop before he joined Jack White as a founding member of The Raconteurs. Now, a larger audience will get to hear his solo work. His 4th solo recording is getting critical acclaim and we’ll get a taste on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Tuesday, September 15, Annie Stela uses songwriting as a way to say things that would be difficult otherwise and that personal approach has made her an “artist to watch” according to music critics. The Hotel Café favorite will take a seat behind the piano to play a batch of new songs on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Wednesday, September 16, Adam Freeland is a DJ and producer who has remixed everyone from Sarah Vaughan to The Orb. He’s now heading up Freeland, a live band with a new release “Cope” that he’ll feature on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Thursday, September 17, London’s Fanfarlo are an up-and-coming indie pop band with lush orchestration. They’ll bring a set of stunningly beautiful songs to make their U.S. radio debut when they perform on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
Friday, September 18, Pink Martini return to KCRW to perform an intoxicating mix scanning the world of music from cabaret to classical. We catch up with these station favorites on Morning Becomes Eclectic at 11:15am.
KCRW PRESENTS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Fri, August 28, GLISS and THE MORNING AFTER GIRLS AT SPACELAND.
Fri, August 28, POLLYN AT THE MINT.
Sat, August 29, BAND OF HORSES with WILLOUGHBY AT THE FOX THEATRE IN POMONA.
Mon, August 31, BAT FOR LASHES AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Tues, September 1, THE DUKE SPIRIT with BAND OF SKULLS AT THE EL REY THEATRE.
Sat, September 5, AVETT BROTHERS AT THE ORPHEUM THEATRE.
Thurs, September 10, MAYER HAWTHORNE AT THE ROXY.
Thurs, September 10, SOULSAVERS (FEAT. MARK LANEGAN) AT THE TROUBADOUR.
Mon, September 14, SEA WOLF AT THE SOHO SANTA BARBARA.
Tues, September 15, FANFARLO AT THE TROUBADOUR.
Thurs, September 17, BAJOFONDO AT THE MAYAN.
Thurs, September 17, SEA WOLF AT THE TROUBADOUR.
Sun, Sept 20, KCRW's WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL presents INDIA CALING! Featuring MALKIT SINGH, ANOUSHKA SHANKAR, RAVI SHANKAR, KAILASA, and RHYTHM OF RAJASTHAN.
Tues, September 22, EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS AT THE EL REY THEATRE.
Wed, September 23- Fri, September 25, THE OOH LA L.A FESTIVAL (FEATURING PERFORMANCE BY SEBASTIEN TELLIER, GONZALES, EMILIE SIMON, YUKSEK AND MANY MORE) AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Fri, September 25, SONIC YOUTH AT THE FOX THEATRE IN POMONA.
Fri, September 25, BON IVER AT THE WILTERN.
Fri, September 25, RODRIGO Y GABRIELA AT THE ORPHEUM.
Sun, September 27, BON IVER (doors at midnight with performance at 6am on Sun morning) AT THE HOLLYWOOD FOREVER CEMETERY.
Tues, September 29, SONIC YOUTH AT THE WILTERN.
Thurs, October 1, THE HORRORS AT THE EL REY THEATRE.
Fri, October 2, THE HORRORS AT THE GLASS HOUSE IN POMONA .
Fri, October 2, AMADOU AND MARIAM AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Sat, October 3, THE SECOND ANNUAL MANIMAL FESTIVAL FEATURING: BAT FOR LASHES, OTHER LIVES, CHAIRLIFT, EDWARD SHARPE AND THE MAGNETIC ZEROS AND OTHERS AT PAPPY & HARRIETS IN PIONEERTOWN.
Sun, October 4, MIIKE SNOW WITH JACK PENATE AT THE ECHO.
Mon, October 5, SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS AT THE TROUBADOUR.
Tues, October 6, ROBYN HITCHCOCK AT SPACELAND.
Wed, October 7, MIIKE SNOW WITH JACK PENATE AT SPACELAND.
Wed, October 7, FEVER RAY AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Wed, October 14, MOBY AT THE WILTERN.
Fri, October 16 and Sat, October 17, (H)ITWEEK LA WITH FRANCO BATTIATO, NEGRITA, GIOVANNI ALLEVI, CALIBRO 35, BELLADONNA AND OTHERS AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA.
Sun, October 18, MONSTERS OF FOLK WITH CONNOR OBERST, M. WARD AND JIM JAMES OF MY MORNING JACKET AT THE GREEK THEATRE.
Mon, October 19, BRAZILIAN GIRLS AT THE AVALON.
Tues, October 20, GRIZZLY BEAR AT THE HOLLYWOOD PALLADIUM.
Thurs, October 22, MONSTERS OF FOLK WITH CONNOR OBERST, M. WARD AND JIM JAMES OF MY MORNING JACKET AT THE SANTA BARBARA BOWL.
Thurs, October 22, MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO AT THE EL REY THEATRE.
Wed, October 28, REGINA SPEKTOR AT THE GREEK THEATRE.
Thurs, November 5, MILTON NASCIMENTO AT THE CONGA ROOM.
Wed, November 18, SWELL SEASON AT THE WILTERN.
Wed, November 18, ROYKSOPP AT CLUB NOKIA.
Sat, November 21, PETER BJORN AND JOHN with FOOL'S GOLD AND EL PERRO DEL MAR AT CLUB NOKIA.
LA natives Princeton, led by brothers Jesse and Matt Kivel, will drop by the studio to talk about their new album with Chris Douridas. “Cocoon of Love” weaves through the trials and tribulations of young love through a lyrical Baroque pop landscape. Their track “Shout it Out” was a recent Today’s Top Tune selection and the band is about to hit the road on tour with Ra Ra Riot.
RR
I must start this blog with a disclaimer. Before settling in here at KCRW I used to work with bands, Gliss being one with them. As I told Jason this morning, they were one of very few bands I worked with that I NEVER got sick of seeing. Their shows were always exceptional – they would wrap the audience in a dark cocoon of dreamy shoegaze, fuzz, and garage rock that was always felt a little dangerous and very sexy (and not just because they have a gorgeous bandmate in Victoria Cecelia). The band is a three-piece and all of them play all the instruments – a little bit of musical chairs. Martin Klingman is the vocalist and David Reiss really holds it all together, even though Victoria teases him a lot. They were thrilled to be on MBE and turned in a stellar performance of songs off their new album, including “Morning Light” and “The Patrol,” a Garth Trinidad favorite that sounded great nestled up against Radiohead in his playlist on last night’s show, as well as one of my older favorites, the final track “Blue Sky.”
RR
Comedian and filmmaker Charlyne Yi's work is defined by her charming awkwardness and quirky behavior so I was curious as to whether it was a “character” she plays or actually HER. As far as I can tell (and as you can see from the photos below), what you see is what you get with Charlyne. She’s proven to be one funny gal – from her recent appearance on Conan O’Brien to her scene-stealing turn in “Knocked Up” -- and her Guest DJ set is no exception. Her song choices are as revealing as her comedy, from a movie score that inspires her to scream from the mountaintops to a sitcom soundtrack that never fails to make her smile.
Charlyne won the Waldo Salt screenwriting award at the Sundance Film Festival this year for her screenwriting debut, the romantic comedy Paper Heart.
Check out the songs she loves here
RR
KCRW TOP 50 FOR WEEK OF 08/24/2009
1 ZERO 7 == Yeah Ghost - Sampler >> [Atlantic]
2 BASEMENT JAXX == Scars >> [Ultra]
3 HAWTHORNE, MAYER == Strange Arrangement >> [Stones Throw]
4 XX == Xx >> [Xl]
5 BLANK, AMANDA == I Love You >> [Downtown]
6 LITTLE DRAGON == Machine Dreams >> [Peacefrog]
7 QUANTIC & HIS COMBO BARBARO == Tradition In Transition >> [Tru Thoughts]
8 RADIOHEAD == New Tracks >> [Ato]
9 FITZ & THE TANTRUMS == Songs For A Break Up Vol 1 >> [Self Release]
10 ALLEN, TONY == Secret Agent >> [World Circuit]
11 FLORENCE & THE MACHINE == Lungs >> [Universal Island]
12 MONSTERS OF FOLK == Monsters Of Folk - Sampler >> [Shangri-la]
13 WILCO == Wilco >> [Nonesuch]
14 CUBAN FUNK COMPILATION == Si Para Usted - Vol 2 >> [Waxing Deep]
15 HEAP, IMOGEN == Ellipse >> [Epic]
16 MADNESS == Liberty Of Norton Folgate >> [Yep Roc]
17 WYE OAK == Knot >> [Merge]
18 FELIX DA HOUSECAT == He Was King >> [Nettwerk]
19 MERRIWEATHER, DANIEL == Love & War >> [J]
20 MIIKE SNOW == Miike Snow >> [Downtown]
21 TUNE-YARDS == Bird-brains >> [4ad]
22 FOREIGN EXCHANGE == Leave It All Behind >> [Hall Of Justice]
23 BIG PINK == Brief History Of Love - Sampler >> [4ad]
24 24-CARAT BLACK == Gone - The Promises Of Yesterday >> [Numero Group]
25 FRUIT BATS == Ruminant Band >> [Sub Pop]
26 GOLDENROD == Paintings For Prophets >> [Beast's Content]
27 LA ROUX == La Roux >> [Polydor]
28 CEU == Vagarosa >> [Six Degrees Records]
29 GENERATIONALS == Con Law >> [Park The Van]
30 SA-RA CREATIVE PARTNERS == Nuclear Evolution - The Age Of Love >> [Ubiquity]
31 CONTE, NICOLA == Rituals >> [Emarcy]
32 PHOENIX == Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix >> [Glassnote]
33 PACHA MASSIVE == If You Want It >> [Nacional]
34 MORNING AFTER GIRLS == Alone >> [Self Release]
35 PRINCETON == Cocoon Of Love >> [Kanine]
36 AVETT BROTHERS == I & Love & You >> [Columbia]
37 JULIAN PLENTI == Is Skyscraper >> [Matador]
38 PENATE, JACK == Everything Is New >> [Xl]
39 TIMBER TIMBRE == Timber Timbre >> [Arts & Crafts]
40 ONE ESKIMO == One Eskimo >> [Shangri-la Music]
41 FLAMING LIPS == Embryonic Ep >> [Warner Bros.]
42 FAT FREDDY'S DROP == Dr Boondigga & The Big Bw >> [Drop]
43 NOVALIMA == Coba Coba - Remixed >> [Cumbancha]
44 MOSCHELLA, NINO == Boomshadow >> [Ubiquity]
45 OCOTE SOUL SOUNDS & ADRIAN QUESADA == Coconut Rock >> [Esl]
46 DANGER MOUSE & SPARKLEHORSE == Dark Night Of The Soul >> [Unreleased]
47 BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW == Eating Us >> [Graveface]
48 ZAP MAMA == Recreation >> [Heads Up]
49 OBERST, CONOR & THE MYSTIC VALLEY == Outer South >> [Merge]
50 AUERBACH, DAN == Keep It Hid >> [Nonesuch]
John Vanderslice played a set of melodic pop ditties, racing through 9 songs in about 30 minutes, this morning. The Bay Area-based artist founded an all-analog recording studio called Tiny Telephone in San Francisco’s Mission District that has hosted everyone from Death Cab for Cutie to Spoon. Apparently it has become the focal point of the local rock scene but, best of all, gives him the freedom to create his own work. John spent nine months on his most recent album, recording 24 songs that he whittled down to a final 12. Today, he played new compositions along with old favorites and talked to Jason about the pros and cons of growing as a songwriter, how “stumbling in the dark” can be a good thing because you lose elements of yourself if you get too clever.
Check it out here.
RR
Akron/Family’s live shows are apparently something to behold. This morning was the first time I’ve seen them, but our music librarian Eric J Lawrence was using words like “hippie craziness” and “rave” to describe the experience at their shows. To sum up, people go wild for this band. “Ed is a Portal” was a serious jam and gave me the best glimpse into what this band can do – especially with only three members! They explained during the interview that they started as a quartet but one longtime member of the band left before the recording of their most recent album. The guys even gave a shout out to Japan – apparently they really came together as a 3-piece while on tour in that country this past June, thanks to the “wonderfully attentive yet attentively partying audiences.”
RR
Dengue Fever is a local band with an international sound -- Cambodian psychedelic surf rock being the most common description of their music. They band recently made their Hollywood Bowl debut as part of KCRW’s World Festival and are touring in support of some new tunes and a film documenting their 2005 tour of major Cambodian cities, called “Sleepwakling Through the Mekong.”
The band played a very special set for us, including some debuts. “Uku” is a brand new song that have never been played before and “Genjer Genjer”has never been played live, only released on 7.” “Kiss Goodbye” has only been played live once and has never been recorded. If you missed the set, you can check out all the new tunes HERE!
RR
My Groups
-
Music News from KCRW.com Updated: Yesterday
-
the KCRW Music Library Updated: 7 days ago
-
This American Life® Group Updated: Nov 12, 2009
