April 23, 2010 (Playlist)

April 23, 2010 (Playlist):
"Our Forty-Fifth Show!"

Phoenix – Lasso
Tegan & Sara – Don't Rush
Band Of Horses – Compliments
Josh Ritter – Rattling Locks
Goo Goo Dolls – We Are The Normal
The Mountain Goats – Palmcorder Yajna
New Order – Love Less
Pavement – Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence
*"Allen Reed Memorial Cover Of The Week": Echo & The Bunnymen – People Are Strange (The Doors Cover)
The Hold Steady – The Weekenders
Pearl Jam – Hail, Hail

*"The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tune": Bruce Springsteen – Sherry Darling (Live)
Stars – Fixed
Bloc Party – The Marshals Are Dead
*"Punk Trunk!": Joe Jackson – I'm The Man
*"Punk Trunk!": Blondie – Hanging On The Telephone
Imogen Heap – Tidal
Titus Andronicus – Richard II
Sonic Youth – Star Power
Radiohead – Optimistic
Modest Mouse – Paper Thin Walls

*Background music consisted of various tracks featured on the Fired Up! Ultimate Dance Collection compilation. They ranged from Amber to Rockell. Cheesy, 90s club jams and roller rink anthems alike.

Mark it down: 45 shows (total) in the book! Your hosts, Jim Adair and myself (Mike Pop) added to the greatness of Friday's sunny afternoon by bringing you a superb edition of Never Mind the Mindstream. With only a few shows left to go in NMTM's lifespan, we're pulling out all the stops and bringing you the greatest programming a college radio frequency has ever seen. This week featured a few shockers, even for our show: Goo Goo Dolls, (a Doors cover via) Echo & The Bunnymen, Joe Jackson, and Blondie. New music brought to you by Tegan & Sara, Band Of Horses, The Hold Steady, Stars, and Titus Andronicus. Jim pulled out his vinyl collection and it was an absolute thrill to play those records on our player for the first time in our show's illustrious history. Thanks to everyone who tuned in. We know the weather is beautiful and everyone wants to be outside, so why not turn us on outdoors? We sound better in nature, anyway. There's only two shows left and the final two are going to be awesome, so you do not want to miss a single note. Tune in next week for another great set.

Phoenix - "Lasso"


The Hold Steady - "The Weekenders"


Sonic Youth - "Star Power"

February 19, 2010 (Playlist)

February 19, 2010 (Playlist):
"Our Thirty-Eighth Show!"

Bon Iver – Blood Bank
Monsters Of Folk – Say Please
Morrissey – Suedehead
Editors – Papillon
Okkervil River – Unless It Kicks
The Whitest Boy Alive – 1517
St. Vincent – Your Lips Are Red
The Happy Hollows – Faces
R.E.M. – Driver 8
Sonic Youth – Pipeline/Kill Time
Harlem Shakes – Sunlight
The Hold Steady – Sequestered In Memphis

*"Punk Trunk!": The Thermals – Let Your Earth Quake, Baby
*"Punk Trunk!": Ian Dury – Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Fionn Regan – Protection Racket
*"The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tune": Bruce Springsteen – You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) (Live)
The Mountain Goats – The Oceanographer's Choice
*"Allen Reed Memorial Cover Of The Week": Nirvana – The Man Who Sold The World (David Bowie Cover) (Unplugged)
The Extraordinaires – The Ballad Of Janice Moone
Metric – Gimme Sympathy
Tokyo Police Club – Your English Is Good
The Rapture – House Of Jealous Lovers

*Background music consisted of various cult classic tunes from the 1980s. They ranged from A-ha to Violent Femmes, from cheesy to epic, covering multiple genres.

In what was described by a handful of our longtime, loyal listeners as "one of [our] most energetic shows", Jim Adair and myself presented the 38th installment of our college radio work of art: Never Mind the Mainstream. It's never a dull moment when the both of us get into that tiny studio and spin the best alternative and indie from yesterday, today, and tomorrow. This week we welcomed two former KUR members from years past onto the show: Manny and Cody. Both of these of two gentlemen have had large impacts on our time at KUR and we enjoyed having them talk on our show and through the airwaves to all of you. This week saw the NMTM crew playing some tunes we've been craving to spin for a while now, including a wintry gem from Bon Iver, a travelin' jingle from R.E.M., and a house jam from The Rapture. New music brought to you by Monsters Of Folk, Editors, The Happy Hollows, and Fionn Regan. Classics for all those old-timers out there presented via Morrissey, Sonic Youth, Ian Dury, and of course, Bruce Springsteen. We were both jacked up on coffee and treated the show like a circus, as it tends to get sometimes. Next week will be a show on the fly, as Jim may or may not go solo. I have to take a comprehensive exam to graduate from this crazy place, so we may be recording the gig and having it go off on Friday. Only time will tell. Regardless, as always, thanks for tuning in and participating by phoning in or messaging us. Tune in next week for another great set.

Bon Iver - "Blood Bank"


Sonic Youth - "Pipeline/Kill Time"


The Rapture - "House Of Jealous Lovers"

"New Shit, New Shit!" - Funkmaster Flex

Hey, we got some new music videos/live performance videos/TV appearance(s) videos in the world of indie and alternative rock. Some of your favorites are releasing these cinematic productions in rock 'n' roll fashion, so here they are, easily laid out for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy:

Basement Jaxx (Feat. Kelis) - "Scars"


The Flaming Lips - "Watching The Planets (Live On The Tonight Show)"


Sonic Youth - "Star Power (On Gossip Girl)"

All of this, plus more obscure videos (new Girls video for "Laura") and some new music (New Moon soundtrack has leaked! "ZOMG!") at Stereogum and/or Pitchfork. They are the grandaddys of music blogs, anyway.

Thurston Moore... Author?

Add that credential to his resume! Thurston Moore, lead singer/guitarist of Sonic Youth and publicly-expressed Gossip Girl fan, is contributing to a book all about grunge rock. He's doing the text for it, though pictures (which is what you really want to see anyway) are taken by Michael Lavens. According to Pitchfork, "This will be the fourth book that Moore has co-written, following No Wave, Punk House, and Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture." So the man's got some history with publications. And let me add that I'd love to apart of that rock star family he's got with band mate/wife Kim Gordon. Oh, also: tickets are sold out left and right for their tour with Dinosaur Jr. I'd give my right hand to be at the next show in New York City.

Sonic Youth - "Silver Rocket"

Grunge is due out on bookshelves on October 15th.

Never Mind is Back!

New year, new poster. Same rock 'n roll greatness.

It has been quite a while since we've reigned supreme on the airwaves of Kutztown University Radio. The summer was long, hot, and actually - mostly rainy - but now we're a week away from Autumn, we're back in school, and KUR student specialty shows have begun. And there's no show more special than Never Mind the Mainstream!

So mark your calendars: 88.3 FM's legit source for the best of yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's alternative and indie rock returns THIS FRIDAY, 6-8 PM. NMTM and it's hosts, Jim Adair and myself (Mike Pop), return for another semester of epic, awesome college radio. We've got a great show lined up for all our listeners: Check out new music all show long from Grizzly Bear, Neko Case, Phoenix, Sonic Youth, Wilco, and more. And what would the show be without paying tribute to the classics? So we're throwing in some Talking Heads and other genre-defining artists into the mix. And perhaps the most important aspect of the show - you get to hear Jim and I talk all about our summer adventures, concert trips, and more!

Tune in and feel free to either call into the studio (610)-683-4058 or IM us @ KURRequest. We're stoked. We hope you're stoked. It is going to be great.

Here are the many ways you can hear us:

88.3 FM, 1670 AM, Service Electric Channel 24, Hometown Utilicom Channel 28, and streaming online @ kur.kutztown.edu!

*NEW: on iPhones by searching for "Radiolicious" and downloading the free application. And as a live feed on any telephone by calling (610)-465-7860.

Sonic Youth - "Sacred Trickster"

Music For Airports. And Naps.

I nap. Do you nap? Why don't you nap more? I nap often. Sometimes I find sleep is actually better than reality. Sounds depressing, but I've had better dreams about free falling than actually taking the real-life plunge. I need my sleep, you guys. Close friends and family members think I sleep too much, but I don't think that's such a bad thing. I'd say I'm usually pretty healthy otherwise. Did you know: a recent study has found that the good nappers, men and women, who napped at least three times per week for an average of at least 30 minutes, had a 37% lower coronary mortality risk than those who took no naps. And get this: earlier, NASA sleep researchers have found that a nap of 26 minutes can boost performance by as much as 34%. Nice numbers. Something cool (and kind of more our thing) to try is listening to atmospheric music before you sleep, you know, like to try to trick your mind into developing a dream about the music in your subconscious state. It's worked before. The results are usually confusing, but interesting all the plenty. Here are some tunes that I like to listen to before I sleep, while I sleep, and right when I wake up (because that's when your really affected). And so I write this all because I am bored and there's no need to talk about the new Imogen Heap record because it's going to be awesome and I will mention it slightly below, via music video.

Brian Eno - "1/1"


Frou Frou - "Shh" (See?)

The Postal Service - "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight"
Sonic Youth - "Rain On Tin"
Tycho - "The Daydream"

Sweet dreams, now.

Sonic Youth Brings "No Way" To Late Night!

Folks, I'm cleaning out my iTunes. It's such a strenuous task. I've gone through 10,000 tunes and limited my library to 6,000, so that I can potentially save my very old laptop's feeble existence. During this process, I began wondering why I have such a headache, beyond the mission at hand. I realized that I got awful sleep last night and had to deal with the Spanish language this morning. Well after a nice afternoon nap, I have to admit, it was worth staying up late. This is because Sonic Youth brought "No Way" off their latest and 16th album The Eternal, to Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

What a dangerous group. So talented, even after all these years. Kim Gordon is still one of the sexiest women in rock 'n' roll and Thurston Moore can still captivate a crowd with a mighty and youthful fury. The way the band is able to distort their sound to make beautiful 21st century noise on their instruments is unparable by any other rock band today. This has prompted me to go pick up The Eternal at my local record store right away, which is out now via Matador Records. Last night's programming has also prompted me to add "7th Floor West", Fallon's own satire of reality television, to my favorite TV shows on Facebook.