67 posts tagged “guest dj project”

Did you know Tim Robbins’ father was a singer in a popular folk group? Neither did I! The actor has music in his blood and dropped by our studios to talk about how much it has defined his life – from the song his mother sang to him as a child to a track about the stark realities of “adult” love. He also pays tribute to his time living in LA, where he founded one of the city’s most accomplished theatrical institutions, The Actor's Gang. They are currently hosting a series of both free and fundraising events called the WTF Festival.

Hear the full set here

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Norman Lear is a legend for revolutionizing TV with comedy hits like “All in The Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Good Times,” and many more. Norman has always been a passionate music lover, as you can tell from his selections which cover love, family, friendship, and even war.  But recently, he’s been overcome by the power of music thanks to a project called Playing For Change. Playing for Change is the brainchild of Grammy winning producer/engineer Mark Johnson, who brought together diverse musicians across the world in an effort to inspire peace through music. You can find out more about it here, but its pretty much given Lear a new way of looking at music and “how much it can work for good.”  It’s an inspirational project and his stories from throughout his life and career are classics.

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I’d been hearing lots of good things about Bobcat’s recent work as a filmmaker but my mind flashbacked to the ‘80’s immediately upon hearing his name. An image of a stand up comedian with a weird hat and an even weirder voice came to mind. I thought it was hilarious that he addressed those initial thoughts -- that seemingly everyone has -- right at the beginning of his Guest DJ set before diving into a wide variety of tracks. As expected, he is extremely funny and tells great stories. His latest film is World's Greatest Dad, starring Robin Williams and you can hear his full Guest DJ set here.

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Jimmy Gownley is the creator of the award-winning children's comic Amelia Rules!, which centers on the adventures of a whip-smart 4th grader. For his Guest DJ Project set, he explains how Elvis Costello makes him appreciate his “goofy talent” for comic books and cartooning, challenges anyone who questions the greatness of R.E.M. to a fistfight, and reveals why musician Liz Phair was the inspiration for one of his characters.  

The first ever Amelia Rules! holiday book, A Very Ninja Christmas is out now. Amelia Rules! Volume 3: Superheroes comes out in January.

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Actress Scarlett Johansson has two albums under her belt as a singer, so it’s obvious she’s a big music fan. She reminisced about her musical passions starting with her toddler years, from her obsession with Frank Sinatra to her love for the Beach Boys, crediting Brian Wilson as the first performer to make her sob at a concert.

Check out the full Guest DJ set here and listen to Morning Becomes Eclectic on October 7 when she performs songs from “The Break Up” with Pete Yorn.

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As a fan of HBO's hit vampire series “True Blood,” I was particularly excited about this Guest DJ taping. Most of all, I was curious about how tall Alex Skarsgard was since he seems to tower over everybody as the powerful vampire Eric on the show.  He was tall – that’s for sure – but what surprised me the most was how thoughtful he was in his music choices. He dedicated each of the five songs in his Guest DJ set to people that play or have played an important part in his life, including; a love from his past, his parents (including his famous actor dad Stellan Skarsgard), a childhood friend, and his adopted home of Los Angeles. The actor exposes his teenage punk past and didn’t skip a beat in responding a question about vampire Eric’s musical taste. The answer: Swedish death metal.

Check it out

p.s.: If you like the music you hear on "True Blood," you can thank KCRW's own Gary Calamar!

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Davis Guggenheim is an Academy Award-winning documentarian (“An Inconvenient Truth”) whose most recent work revolves entirely around music. “It Might Get Loud” is an affectionate tribute to rock's most distinctive instrument – the electric guitar – featuring  three musical masters: Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge. I was lucky enough to preview this film and any music lover who doesn’t get giddy watching Jimmy Page play air guitar or giggle watching Jack and The Edge look on in awe as he shreds, is simply made of ice! Funnily enough, Davis talks about a musical moment that makes HIM “melt” as part of his Guest DJ set. Here’s the exact quote – 1 million points if you can guess the song without cheating:

“If you listen carefully at the beginning when you hear that guitar and you hear that breath. I love that the engineer left that in. It just feels…I don't know why, I hear that and it makes me melt.”

Hint: it's from one of his movie's stars...

Check out his full set here

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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

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David Sedaris is beloved for his contributions to "This American Life" and his many humorous and thoughtful books.  He has so many fans here at the station that there was palpable excitement in the air about his arrival to tape his Guest DJ Project set. Little did they know I was about to whisk him away to our famed music library to search out the songs he wanted to talk about. I didn’t get David’s song list until the last minute, so together we started a search through the stacks, drawers and bins of jazz and pop music in our library until we found the EXACT versions he wanted. I learned very quickly David is very particular, something he also mentions during his Guest DJ set as he explains why he doesn’t see a lot of live music.

Not surprisingly, David was incredibly revealing and heartfelt in his music choices and the discussion about them. His fans should enjoy this Guest DJ set quite a bit!

Btw, his newest book is "When You Are Engulfed in Flames."

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We’re on hiatus for a week during the pledge drive, but I’d like to highlight some guests who are big fans of the station. I can tell you a lot of them were wide-eyed as they walked down the hallways of our basement studios and many were happy to get lost in KCRW’s music library and didn’t want to leave. Here are just a few:

 “500 Days of Summer” and “G.I. Joe” star Joseph Gordon Levitt is an LA native and a longtime listener.

Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira) returned with her teenage daughter a few days after taping her Guest DJ session to watch MGMT live in our studio

“Twilight” Director Catherine Hardwicke asked to be escorted into the membership department and renewed her membership on the spot!

Chef Sang Yoon heard many of the songs he chose right here on the station, including a track by local band Helen Stellar.

Actor Jason Schwartzman, who’s starring in the new HBO comedy series “Bored to Death,” was thrilled to sit down with Nic Harcourt and talk music. 

Comedian Andy Samberg apparently didn’t want to leave the station, he was having so much fun chatting about music with DJ Jason Eldredge.

See them all here

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