Hey, folks. After making my rounds through the web's most prestigious web sites recently (news-related and music-related), I found some pretty unique links that I'd like to share. This could be a new segment, but it may not be. Things are getting a little wild here in Kutztown as I begin to wrap up my college career, so you'll have to excuse me for my lack of posting. I generalize a lot of things here nowadays. The show posts are still pretty tight, though. Anyway, here's what I found.
Beloved frontman of underrated post-punk, Gang Of Four-revival band known fondly as Bloc Party, Kele Orekeke may be doing his own thing for a little bit. And by own thing, I mean, a potential collaboration with Spank Rock. But no Bloc Party, I repeat, no Bloc. Which is sad, but understandable. The band has been going at it all decade, putting on fantastic live shows and tours and dropping albums (if you recall, they went all Radiohead on their last release; not sound-wise, but with the unexpected release on the web). Kele is a workhorse, that's a known fact. I know he was somewhat of a mastermind when it came to Bloc Party's evolving sound into more of a dance band. I'm excited though. We'll see how this turns out. And it's not like Bloc is done forever. If so I'd currently be sobbing like a 10-year-old girl in a corner for having just lost her puppy. Bloc will return whenever they are all rested and ready. Let's hope Kele's side project goes well. And that it's not over-the-top synthy, like Julian Casablancas. It's 2009 - what happened to the rock? Trading in those black, leather jackets for light up belts and glow sticks...
October 30, 2009 (Playlist): "Our Thirtieth Show: 2009 Halloween Edition!"
Beck – Devil's Haircut Another Sunny Day – You Should All Be Murdered *"Allen Reed Memorial Cover Of The Week": Magnolia Electric Company – Werewolves Of London (Warren Zevon Cover) Wolfmother – Back Round The Magnetic Fields – Zombie Boy Gnarls Barkley – The Boogie Monster Tegan & Sara – Hell Coheed & Cambria – Three Evils (Embodied In Love & Shadow) Bloc Party – Skeleton The Who – Boris The Spider Neutral Milk Hotel – Two-Headed Boy
The Specials – Ghost Town Wilco – Hell Is Chrome (Live) *"The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tune": Bruce Springsteen – Brilliant Disguise Morrissey – Everyday Is Like Sunday Interpol – No I In Threesome *"Punk Trunk!": The Thermals – Born Dead *"Punk Trunk!": Television – See No Evil Say Hi To Your Mom – Blah, Blah, Blah Echo & The Bunnymen – My Kingdom
*Background music consisted of various Halloween-themed songs from various artists and bands (spanning the terrifying genre from The Church to Ray Parker Jr.).
Our 2009 Halloween edition of NMTM was faced with some minor technical difficulties in the early-going (as we always say, "it wouldn't be college radio if things worked right all the time"), but we used our quick wit to turn out a haunting show. Because this was a Holiday edition, we played a lot of classics from artists and bands who made Halloween and other dark days something to groove to back in the day: Another Sunny Day, The Who, The Specials, Morrissey, Television, and Echo & The Bunnymen. But don't rule our younger, trick-or-treating artists out. Beck, Wolfmother, Gnarls Barkley, Wilco, Interpol, and Say Hi To Your Mom, came out to play on Mischief Night. Even our special segments were spooky ("The Punk Trunk!" was quivering in the attic and "The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tune" came dressed to impress with its best "disguise"). We conversed over childhood Mischief Night/Halloween tales, caller Steve Barnes won our Halloween costume idea contest (Operation Man), and our shadower for the night, Natalie, got some harassing questions her way via the NMTM hell-raiser, Redneck Jeff. All in all, it was a great special and we loved doing it. We hope you had a safe and happy Halloween. Tune in next week for another great set.
Hey guys, just two quick notes here that are buzz-worthy and deserving of a post. I've been awake for too long so I'm making this quick. (Update on college life: senior year is ROUGH).
Note #1:Death Cab For Cutie is doing a song for the new film in the Twilight saga, New Moon, which we've briefly covered here before. Are vampires uncool yet? Anyway, you can preview the song for 40 seconds at the soundtrack's website, here. Likes this! Enjoy.
Clip from South Park
Note #2:Johnny Lydon/Johnny Rotten/ex-Sex Pistols front man/hater of Kele (Bloc Party) has revived Pubic Image Limited, with some new members (apparently), for a number of Christmas shows in jolly, old England. They had a popular run in the early 80's post-punk scene, so I guess it makes sense for the band to come back into the lime light after 17 years of not performing... I wonder how this will play out. Bullocks.
I'm not going to lie here, folks, I'm still trying to figure this one out. And it's become quite apparent that Bloc Party has developed into an extremely experimental/dance/post-punk quartet keen on the element of surprise. Last week, the boys dropped their latest single "One More Chance" on BBC Radio. If you missed the blog post, check it out here. The song itself incorporates some intriguing piano liners and definitely one of Kele's most effective and poignant vocals on a dance track. Well, low and behold: the music video is out. Another shocker (but then again, we have to begin expecting these things from now on, if the band is going to come out with surprise singles).
Check out the video below. The meaning is up for interpretation. I like to think that the guys are mere side-players, or "good friends", to the other characters (as kooky as they may seem) and their situations/struggles: whether it be overly ecstatic about playing keyboards, getting ready for an old person date, training to be like Billy Elliot, or becoming possessed by a ouija board.
Bloc Party - "One More Chance"
The ending provokes a sad truth: maybe one more chance is not enough to save a failing relationship. Although I have to admit, I miss the animated music videos during the Silent Alarm era. Still, they're cool enough to let the video be embedded on YouTube for all of us to enjoy and post on our blogs. It's a solid tune. More to come? We'll see. Enjoy.
Okay, it's Friday, and I have a few things to cover before I begin to booze, so let's get this rollin'.
I read my Yahoo! e-mail inbox messages for the first time in a few weeks this morning and I got some great news about our tiny, little station in K-Town. Seems like we're getting a lot of good press lately. Turns out more and more people are beginning to discover us. The only downside is that a lot of the coverage is about how we have a jazz format during the daytime. And that's really our manager's forte. I really wish we'd just switch to an indie/alternative rock station like 99% of all college radio stations. But beggers can't be choosers, I guess. Check out this article in the Reading Eagle:
"A jazz format for a college radio station?? Somehow i don't see many college students spending their days listening to jazz.. Perhaps if they did a rock or top 40 format they'd get a better response from their target listeners."
"I've heard the station and it sounds good. Kutztown actually has a very decent jazz program. I know people in the program, so I can see it fitting and working for the school. They seem to be targeting the community."
The second comment was posted by "Mr. Uppity". I guarantee that's our manager. Actually, I'm almost positive.
Another tidbit of info about our station, we recently began broadcasting over the phone. It's pretty unique, not many stations have this option. You basically call this number:(610)-465-7860; and you can hear our station right on your phone. See, we've got all these fancy ways of hearing us and still not FCC license. Come on, congress! Notice us! Anyway, apparently we broke some kind of record. Here's the e-mail I received from my manager.
"Just got word from Audio Now that our dial in phone # received hundreds of people dialing in at one time yesterday obviously in response to the big article that ran in the Reading newspaper. The e-mails and phones have been ringing off the hook all day here at the KUR offices from hundreds of new listeners who found out about us through the article and are now new listeners. James Kastle's show can hardly handle the multitude of calls coming in this afternoon with comments like "love the jazz," "thank God for jazz on the radio," "we love KUR," "you guys have come such a long way.""
Cool stuff. These kind of news updates raises my faith in our station. Way to go, crew.
Also, make sure to tune into Jim's summer showtonight. It's an hour long of great music and great commentary. 6-7 PM @ kur.kutztown.edu. Stream it, hear it, love it. Comment and let us know what you think!
Moving on: Anyone who knows me, knows that my favorite late night talk program(s) include The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Funny, 30-minutes, directed towards young people, and the list goes on and on. Anyway, returning from commericial, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show was blatantly singing "Use Somebody" by Kings Of Leon. What a bump! I wonder if anyone else caught that. It's was a pretty cool two seconds.
Lastly: Bloc Party premiered their new single, "One More Chance" last night on BBC 2's Zan Lowe's Radio 1 program. I got around to hearing it this morning via the band's website. Blog Party had this to say about the tune:
"First thoughts? Old skool piano...yay or nay? Anyone else hear shades of 'Your Visits Are Getting Shorter' in the verse? Stay tuned for the video!"
I, for one, enjoyed it. I like the piano. The lyrics aren't too shabby either. I hope it grows on me like "Mercury" did. Bloc Party is definitely one of my favorite bands and they've been constantly changing their direction in alternative music since their first record, Silent Alarm, dropped in 2005. They have a tendency of putting out these singles in between full-length records, so maybe we can expect a new record in the fall? Kepe those fingers crossed.
Enjoy the weekend and (hopefully) get some sunshine! God knows we've had enough rain in the tri-state for one summer already...
Bloc Party will release a brand new single 'One More Chance' on the 10th of August through Wichita Recordings. The new track was recorded in April with Jacknife Lee and mixed with Phillipe Zdar. 'One More Chance' will be aired for the first time on Zane Lowe's Radio One show this Thursday 18th June.
This is great news. Nothing like summer Bloc! These guys put out Intimacy last summer and Intimacy Remixed in November. Both terrific works of art. Keep it here for more updates on this new single!
Hey - new Bloc Party video for "Ares" (remixed, of course, thanks to Villains)! And it proves how mobile phones are the greatest invention since sliced bread.
Intimacy Remixed is out now. Go pick it up. Or download it illegally. I don't think it matters anymore. Just go see them in concert. Terrific live set.
(I keep trying to look for myself in this footage somewhere. So far - no luck.)
Though I can predict that MGMT's shows are pretty psychedelic, futuristic, and mind-melting, these indie "hippies" would falter to Bloc's almighty rock 'n' roll. They're not the fighting types, but I'm sure it would help if they knew a little self defense (here's looking at you Kele; Johnny Rotten's calling for another round).
Also, so Gordy's the lead guitarist now? I want my Bloc Party interviews full and specific!
Bloc Party took over the last five minutes of The Late Show with David Letterman last night. In fact, I had no idea they were going to be on. I thought I had my Bloc fill, until Jim texted me and told me to tune it. So I did, and I hoped to hear "Signs". Instead, I got "One Month Off". Fair trade. Anyway, I miss the days when the bands were interviewed. I don't care how shy they are - Russel, you best speak when spoken to! So their version last night was what one can honestly expect in front of a crowd that doesn't know the music or moves around at all. Kele's vocals were clear; though I sensed some strain. Everyone else was at their peak. Kele also went into some gross, girly-high pitched voice during the "Lies, lies, lies!" part, like he did at the live show in Philly. I'm not so thrilled about that, but you know what, it's something new. And here's something that's not new: Stereogum beat us to the punch, although they're pretty much raving over the fact that Bloc's "Intimacy" is going to be remixed, like "Silent Alarm" was a few years back. Promising development. Here's the video. Peace.
I'm still iffy about the album art. I miss the woods!
The official video:
P.S. Apparently Morrissey was on Jimmy Fallon's show. I could not stay up late enough, nor get through the awkward monologue in the beginning, to see it.
Photos by Jim Adair. Most of them are sick, just like this one.
Well indie-lovers, Bloc Party played a live show, with openers Longwave, Saturday nightatThe Electric Factory in Philadelphia. Months of anticipation boiled down to one epic experience: our third Bloc encounter in three years (pretty impressive streak if I do say so myself). Instead of a writing a huge review, Jim and I decided it'd be good to just import our AIM conversation about the show onto the blog. Innovators - just like Kele and Co. Here's what we came up with (and we're giving out our real screen names! Above and beyond, we go): truthoradair88: hi sir mpops88: word up mpops88: lets talk bloc truthoradair88: sounds good mpops88: hold on, i'm putting "letter to my son" on right now truthoradair88: first off before we start mpops88: oh, we've already begun truthoradair88: lady from pela management said shes gonna set up an interview and will get back to me with a day and time truthoradair88: and we have begun mpops88: sick as hell mpops88: good shit truthoradair88: since im sitting here rockin a KIR mpops88: haha mpops88: okay, so the show, it was pretty fucking sweet. 3rd time bloc's played in philly...that we've attended truthoradair88: yessir, and i agree it was sweet, though i wish we got tulips and once and future like DC mpops88: yeah man, i'm a little jealous truthoradair88: i def am truthoradair88: especially since that happens every time mpops88: how many times did we scream once and future king? so many times mpops88: they were not having it truthoradair88: the first time we saw them, they deputed once and future the show after that, and last time, intimacy came out like 2 weeks later truthoradair88: debuted* truthoradair88: i dont know what deputed is mpops88: haha me neither mpops88: yeah, it was great seeing the intimacy tracks live mpops88: what was your favorite intimacy song that they played? truthoradair88: ares was especially amazing truthoradair88: ares truthoradair88: well i dont know actually mpops88: the lighting for that was insane. felt like the band was being abducted by a ufo truthoradair88: halo was sick, but ares, with the location it was in the setlist and how they brought it up an extra notch at the end was perfect truthoradair88: and with kele coming right next to me in the crowd during the bridge was amazing mpops88: haha i knew he was gonna come out sometime truthoradair88: what was your favorite weekend in the city track they played mpops88: hunting for witches always sells it for me. so much energy. but waiting for the 7.18 was nuts. thats actually when i crowd surfed and did a backflip onto security. the next time i tried that it would end up with me in a headlock from one of those big dudes truthoradair88: yea he was not having it mpops88: haha "take it easy bro" truthoradair88: yea hunting for witches was epic as always truthoradair88: song for clay was great as well truthoradair88: i like it more as a mid-set song than an opener mpops88: i'm never usually too high on that one mpops88: yeah true truthoradair88: the "east london" part does it for me every time mpops88: kele's dance moves during mercury was memorable. had a lot of fun with that one. mer-mer-mer-mercuy's in retrograde truthoradair88: yea, he was breaking it down during ares too, but mercury was great. especially when he wrapped up the dude in the smoosh shirt who looked like bob mould mpops88: hahaha mpops88: the softer tunes were really great. signs, so here we are, and this modern love. perfect truthoradair88: yea, tml was great as a closer too truthoradair88: although i gotta say, even more so than letter to my son, where is home got the majority of the audience's "huh?" vote for the night truthoradair88: i was surprised at how many people just had no clue what it was mpops88: haha agreed man. where is home gave me a chance to catch my breath, even though i was pretty much wiped up and covered in sweat after the first 3 songs. plus longwave was a good opener and i was pumped for them too truthoradair88: yea longwave shocked me, but we've had a streak of some amazing openers mpops88: true, macabees and noisettes in '07, does it offend you yeah in '08, and now longwave truthoradair88: and just in general.....smoosh, meligrove band, mobius band, a.a. bondy mpops88: pissed they wouldn't play "there's a fire". haha except they did say "not a good thing to be said in a large crowd" mpops88: yeah man mpops88: bloc eletrified philly. hands down. the crowd came ready to dance and the band came ready to jam truthoradair88: yea, they were just not about that at all truthoradair88: true, and kele and matt really seemed to enjoy themselves, even as russel and gordon were as stoic as ever mpops88: true, russel's a robot. no smile. no talking. nothing. damn mpops88: glad to see gordon again; he brings alot to the group. saw it most in the prayer truthoradair88: but gordon is a stoicly awesome handsome man mpops88: haha mpops88: ok, so if you had one dissapointment, if any, what was it truthoradair88: yea and ares and positive tension truthoradair88: that ion square, though on the setlist, was not played mpops88: ah! i was just thinking that mpops88: i always get my hopes for a rarite, but i try to be realistic. i think one of mine was not even with the band itself. i think some people in the crowd were real douchebags and some of the chicks didn't know how to act. such a sad sight. you come to a bloc show, expect to get pushed mpops88: *rarity truthoradair88: exactly, especially if you are up against the rail mpops88: alright, so to sum it up, give your favorite moment, and on a scale from 1 to 10, how was the show truthoradair88: twas an 8.5 just because i have seen better in past years, it comes close to the last time we saw bloc which i would give a nine mpops88: very nice. yeah last time was a little bit better. better setlist, at least. dude, i'll give the show an 8. and the best part was the beginning of helicopter. i had never seen a crowd so alive. also after helicopter, i had never heard such a loud applaus. i felt like they had to turn down the sound of the entire place. fucking insane. truthoradair88: and my favorite moment was easily ares mpops88: very good mpops88: and its always good to see a good band, good show with multiple buds. just made it better. now i need to wash my sweaty t&e shirt. it is still stanky. truthoradair88: yea it exploded mpops88: god bless bloc party truthoradair88: and that is all that needs to be said truthoradair88: haha
So there you have it. A great conversation about a great experience. For pictures, check out Jim's Facebook photoshere. (Hope that's cool, man, Ha-ha). And thanks to Blog Party, we got the setlist, and we'll use their video, too!:
1. One Month Off 2. Trojan Horse 3. Hunting For Witches 4. Positive Tension 5. Signs 6. Waiting For The 7.18 7. Song For Clay (Disappear Here) 8. Banquet 9. Where Is Home? 10. Letter To My Son 11. Mercury 12. So Here We Are 13. The Prayer
This here be the "introduction post" for our new radio show that airs exclusively on Kutztown University Radio (KUR). Here's a bunch of different ways you can hear us:
88.3 FM & 1670 AM (If you're in the Kutztown, PA area; otherwise, you can't hear shit.) Service Electric Channel 24 (Kutztown, PA) Hometown Utilicom Channel 41 (Kutztown, PA) On The Web (via our web stream) @ http://kur.kutztown.edu
Eventually, we will get going on a Podcast. So look forward to that.
A little about us? Ok. Well, we are both students at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (middle of nowhere, but so what?) Jim is a sophomore and myself (Mike Pop) am a junior. We both met and got to know each other through the radio station here and realized our similar tastes in alternative and indie rock (as well as other interesting genres of mainly rock music). This blog was created to give our audience some insight on our show, post our own opinions/thoughts/feelings on radio, music, people, places, events, life, (whatever, etc.) and to give us something constructive to do when we feel the need to blog. This should be pretty fun.
We look forward to starting up our show (dates and times to come on an upcoming post) and hopefully taking this blog to a really cool and potentially popular level. So join us!
Before I save this post and publish it as our very first, here is a video of my buddy Jim and I (among a few other KU friends) at a recent Bloc Party show in Philadelphia. They played at the TLA in front of a smaller crowd and completely blew everyone away. We are big fans of these UK
P.S. I am seen at 3:09 stretching to the height of the Statue of Liberty on top of some fellow Bloc Heads, while Jim is seen crowd-surfing at 4:10. Keep watching: you'll see more of our friends dancing, surfing, and going nuts to the greatness that is Bloc Party. post-punk/dance shy-guys and have seen them twice. This song in particular "The Pioneers" is a fan favorite and album closer on their first LP "Silent Alarm" in 2005. Enjoy.
Kutztown University Radio (and your hosts) present: "Never Mind theMainstream", Fridays, 6-8 PM. Tune in locally to 88.3 FM or 1670 AM; also on Service Electric TV Channel 24, Hometown Utilicom TV Channel 28; or hear it from anywhere around the world on the Web via our web stream at kur.kutztown.edu. Dial (610)-683-4058 for our studio line or talk to us on AOL Instant Messenger: KURRequest.
"Never Mind"is everything college radio should be: under the radar music, criticism, experience, exploration and much more. The show features the best of yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's alternative and indie rock 'n' roll. It's here, it's loud, and it's ready to take over. Fridays at 6 PM, Only on Kutztown University Radio (KUR).
You can listen to the show worldwide every Friday 6-8 PMHERE!
(Photo taken from MySpace.com)
