May 5, 2010 (Playlist)

May 5, 2010 (Playlist):
"Our Forty-Seventh Show: Never Mind the Mainstream: The Final Show!"

R.E.M. – Pop Song 89
Big Star – Thank You Friends
The Alarm – Spirit Of '76
Pela – Cavalry
*"Punk Trunk!": Sex Pistols – The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle
*"Punk Trunk!": The Dead Milkmen – Punk Rock Girl
The Godfathers – Birth, School, Work, Death
Built To Spill – Big Dipper
Dire Straits – Money For Nothing
*"The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tune": Bruce Springsteen – Growin' Up (Live)
*"Allen Reed Memorial Cover Of The Week": The Kingsmen – Louie, Louie (Richard Berry Cover)

Los Campesinos – It Started With A Mixx
Spoon – Written In Reverse
The National – All The Wine
The Doors – Light My Fire
*"Allen Reed Memorial Cover Of The Week": Band Of Horses – The End's Not Near (The New Year Cover)
Bloc Party – The Once And Future King
Morrissey – There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Live)
The Who – Baba O'Riley
The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset
Siouxsie & The Banshees – Kiss Them For Me
The Mountain Goats – Sax Rohmer #1
The Beatles – I Saw Her Standing There
The Replacements – Left Of The Dial

*Background music consisted of various songs we featured on the very first edition of Never Mind the Mainstream, way back on September 12, 2008. Talk about a blast from the past.

So ends Never Mind the Mainstream, the tiny college radio station show that blew up to capture the attention of so many people around the world (that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but hey, I'm on a roll). It's all over. Kaput. Done. D-d-d-done. I apologize for posting this almost two weeks after the show originally aired, but believe me, my post-college life has been just as intense as my college career was, only now I have to worry about my two jobs. Not fun. Enough about me, let's dive into the music. Just look at that playlist. If you've been an avid follower of NMTM since it's beginning, then there is no way in hell you would have expected us to choose and play the tunes that we did. There's a lot of classic rock, mixed in with some legendary alternative rock anthems and indie rock gems. It truly was a great "mixx". Being that it may have been my final radio gig ever (God, I really hope not), I decided to pull the plug on our normal format, and play what many people may or may not have expect from me: some of my favorite songs of all time. "Spirit Of '76," "Money For Nothing," "Light My Fire," and "I Saw Her Standing There". I could not survive without those hits. They mean the world to me and each one is backed with a compelling story. Jim matched up my choices with some solid picks of his own, and together, like always, we put out a terrific broadcast. Our callers were ecstatic to be on the air for the grand finale and we thank them more than they will ever know. We also want to thank those who stopped in (all our fellow on-air personalities and close friends) and those who messaged us on AOL Instant Messenger. As we've been saying since day one, our fans make our show the great product that it truly is. Jim, the new president of the station, will be on the airwaves with 88.3 FM KUR this summer, so make sure you check out the website for his dates and times. I will be working my tail off, trying to make it as a professional somewhere in the real world. "This one's optimistic." Jim and I would like to thank every single person, from the bottom of our hearts, who ever listened to our show, promoted our show, and/or believed in us. I can honestly say that college radio was the greatest part of my college tenor. A bigger and more emotional essay is still to come here on our blog: nevermindmainstream.blogspot.com, as soon as I get a chance to write everything down. Thank you all so, so much. Keep discovering new and interesting music, and we'll catch you, "left of the dial."

R.E.M. - "Pop Song 89"


Spoon - "Written In Reverse"


Morrissey - "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"

March 26, 2010 (Playlist)

March 26, 2010 (Playlist):
"Our Forty-First Show!"

The Stars Of Track And Field – The Breaking Of Waves
Radiohead – Electioneering
OK Go – This Too Shall Pass
The Hold Steady – Hurricane J
Jane's Addiction – Stop
Tokyo Police Club – Breakneck Speed
Polaris – She Is Staggering
Rilo Kiley – With Arms Outstretched
Broken Social Scene – World Sick
The Good Life – I Am An Island
Fever Ray – When I Grow Up
*"Allen Reed Memorial Cover Of The Week": The Fruit Bats – Never Tear Us Apart (INXS Cover)

The Vaselines – Son Of A Gun
Weezer – Why Bother?
*"Punk Trunk!": Nick Lowe – Heart Of The City
*"Punk Trunk!": The Clash – The Guns Of Brixton
The Radio Dept. – Heaven's On Fire
The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio
Screaming Trees – Nearly Lost You
*"The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tune": Bruce Springsteen – Adam Raised A Cain (Live)
Spoon – The Mystery Zone
Beat Happening – Indian Summer
The Smiths – Rubber Ring/What She Said (Live).

*Background music consisted of various instrumental alternative rock tunes from the 1980s and 1990s. The list features acts the likes of The Meat Puppets, New Order, Pixies, R.E.M., and Sonic Youth.

Old dogs can learn new tricks. This old saying could be said for Big Jim and myself, as our mighty tandem radio force took an unorthodox approach to our forty-first installment of NMTM. The approach: we planned nothing in advance. This is because of a few reasons. One being that we simply could not settle on a time and date earlier in the week to put the show together. Another being that I was too focused on comprehensive exams to give the show a fair amount of my week's attention. And last, we wanted to test ourselves, to see how we could manage a spur-of-the-moment playlist. Jim said it right when we were flying by the seat of our pants. The show, however, was stellar. It also started on time with the both of us ready for action (unlike an hour later, as predicted earlier in the week). Check out that list. We couldn't have added more variety, new music, and risky numbers if we had tried (Beat Happening isn't entirely radio friendly, but hey, that's why we're college radio). We spoke about how excited we are for the Spring because some of the biggest names in the world of independent music are releasing new material. That being said, we sampled some of that music this week: The Hold Steady, Tokyo Police Club, Broken Social Scene, and The National all shined on our program. We also spun a breed of alt-rock classics: Jane's Addiction, The Vaselines, Screaming Trees, The Smiths, and more. We also threw in some live tracks. And as always, our special segments were important in their own way. Thanks again for tuning in to most random show ever. Tune in next week for another great set.

Radiohead - "Electioneering"


Broken Social Scene - "World Sick"


Spoon - "The Mystery Zone"

VW, Spoon Rock Late Night

Earlier this week, late night TV got a dose of indie rock. Conan was treated to Spoon. Ferguson was introduced to Vampire Weekend. Both performances showcased the best bands to release the best albums of the month, in my opinion. What a start to 2010. Late night wars aside, I think we can all agree that it's awesome to see bands like these appear on late night talk shows. These videos are proof of that awesomeness.

Spoon - "Written In Reverse"

Vampire Weekend - "Horchata"

Both albums are out now. Vampire Weekend's Contra via XL and Spoon's Transference via Merge.

Back @ KU! (For The Last Time With Feeling)

Finally, the Pop has come back! … to Kutztown! Jim, too. The Natural arrived about a week and maybe more before classes started. I arrived Sunday evening. Classes started yesterday. We are taking KU’s first ever Pop Music Journalism course on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, so I’m sure that’ll be an exciting platform to own our peers on subjects involving pop music and … journalism. Our professor is actually pretty sweet. He was a fellow judge alongside myself and this great gal named Kristina for our Battle of the Bands last April. His name is Tony Bleach and I have him in the class prior to Pop Music Journalism (Literature & Film). So it’s safe to say I’ll be learning a lot from him this semester. My FINAL semester. Strange. Very strange. I’m getting so old.

Other notes since I’ve returned from the heartland (Whippany, NJ): Alcohol. My housemates and our close-knit college cronies did a swell job of consuming mass quantities of booze Sunday night into Tuesday morning. We celebrated some birthdays, epic returns, and the burglary of a 12-ft sign that we took turns carrying a mile back to our apartment. Free warehouse FTW!

Music-wise, my listening has been dominated by a slue of new releases from some of my favorite artists. Firstly, Vampire Weekend’s Contra is an album I listen to pretty much everyday, from start to finish. Granted January is only half over and the year is just starting, I must say that Contra is my favorite album of the year so far. Look to see both Jim and myself playing a couple tracks off that record when the show returns. I’m also really digging the new Eels record. End Times is the first Eels album I’m really getting into and it features some great storytelling/songwriting. Other albums are Motion City Soundtrack’s My Dinosaur Life, Spoon’s Transference, and The Thermals’ Now We Can See. The latter of those three isn’t so fresh, but I’m excited to announce that Jim, myself, and a handful of others are hopefully purchasing tickets to see them play at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, sometime mid-April. That place is a great venue for live rock bands. We are veterans.

Finally, 88.3 KUR is pretty much in full-swing from the get-go. We had a wonderful turn-out at our first general member’s meeting yesterday morning and we even have one new member. I’ve been talking to my manager about starting student shows as early as next week. That would be killer. I’ve been itching to get back on the radio after my extraordinary learning experience over winter break at 101.9 RXP with DJ Rich Russo on his show Anything, Anything. Along with starting earlier than usual, KUR is going to feature some new talk shows, new DJs, and a new show genre: country. It’s going to be hosted by one of our shadowers from last semester, Natalie. Now, I’m not a huge country fan by any means, but I do love to see the diversity. I’m very much looking forward to this semester.

As my housemate Brandon continues to inform me: “This is it. The farewell tour.” We’re starting out the semester strong on all levels and won’t calm it down until it’s all over in May. So much more information on KUR, NMTM, and the usual alternative and indie rock music news to come on this blog!

Motion City Soundtrack - "History Lesson"

Post-Turkey Weekend News/Hello December

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Weekend, because you know, like the turkey itself, the festivities last much longer than Thursday. It all pretty much goes down on Wednesday night (let's not go there for this blogger; I don't think I can show my face in Morristown, New Jersey again). Did any of you go shopping on Black Friday? I'm sure it must've been a zoo at Best Buy. Well, I hope you got the gifts you wanted for your family, friends, or yourself. I, on the other end, slept. And worked a few days, too. I'm thankful for much needed sleep, money for nothing, and new music. This leads perfectly into...

Spoon has a new record coming out. It's called Transference and it's due out in the middle of January (the 19th, to be exact, via Merge). It seems like we're giving up on December entirely and focusing on January here in the music community. But anyway, besides "Got Nuffin", which has been around since the summer and we played on the show, we're being treated to a new one. Unsure if this will be a single, but get a load of "Written In Reverse". People are saying its the kind of music you can expect at a bar. Really? "I don't know about that, Clark." But it is good. And just when you think it's over - surprise. It goes on.

Spoon - "Written In Reverse"

In more S-related news, The Strokes are coming back! "Gonna be a bright - bright - bright - sun shinin' day!" KUR's own Andy Pal would love to hear this. They are getting back into the swing of actually being with one another in January, for possible recordings and live shows. The big news is that they will be headlining England's Ise Of Wight Festival on June 12th. It'll be the first live show the band's done since October 2006 (if they don't play anywhere before then). That's a pretty distance away. But if they do get back into the studio sometime soon, I hope we hear something like this.

The Strokes - "Soma"

Finally, in NMTM news, the end is near, my friends. The show is coming to screeching halt in 2 weeks and we're preparing for it with our "best of" lists. We'll also throw together our NMTMies for this year, which, if you remember from last year's award show, it's a lot of fun. So keep it here for constant updates as 2009 packs up its bags and moves out of its parent's house.