Despite Snow, NMTM Is Go!

The roads may be icy, classes may be canceled, and most university buildings may be closed, but that is not going to prevent Big Jim Adair and Mike Pop from bringing you the 39th edition of 88.3 FM KUR's Never Mind the Mainstream. We arm ourselves with vinyl records and switchboards and laugh in Mother Nature's face. This week we're breaking out some newbies, including The Soft Pack, Beach House, Vampire Weekend, and Shout Out Louds. We'll also be spinning vintage tracks from Yo La Tengo, The Smiths, Bad Brains, and Talking Heads. A quick reminder: this will be our last show before we leave for Spring Break. The vacation is very exciting, though we will miss the show to a degree. This means you must to tune in tonight, 6-8 PM ET, for your weekly dose of awesome college rock. Studio line: (610)-683-4058. AOL Instant Messenger: KURRequest. See you to the left of the dial.

Julian Casablancas - "Out Of The Blue"

Post-"Snowmageddon"/Thursday Night Notes

Snow sucks.

Friday night into Saturday midday was bad enough, but on top of that snow, we folks in Kutztown received a fresh blanket Tuesday night into Wednesday midday. 28 inches total? I've seen enough snow. I'm moving to Florida. Perhaps the only thing good to come from the "Snowmageddon" was the outlandish and totally welcomed two full school days canceled. This kind of thing never happens, especially here in Pennsylvania. Whatever, no complaints from me about that. However, digging my jeep out the street sure wasn't fun earlier tonight. Sorry to the community of Kutztown for pushing my snow back out into the street. I had to get to the Student Union building to plan our show for tomorrow night. Oh, and while we were buffeted with white powder, my housemates and I built an epic snow fort and invited all our friends up to christen it. We also drank excessively and threw our empties in the woods. College kids will be college kids. Okay, onto the notes:

+ Holy Spring tours!: Arctic Monkeys, Juilan Casablancas, Phoenix, and The Tallest Man On Earth.

+ New Japandroids tune: "Art Czars".

+ New live She & Him track. It was played on the radio. How fun.

+ Yeasayer played Jim's favorite tune of 2009 on Fallon last night. Behold "Ambling Alp".

+ Thom Yorke is going to remix Major Lazer?

+ Bonnaroo line-up looks great so far.

+ Grizzly Bear and Arcade Fire found their way into the ears of Super Bowl viewers. Google had a sick ad, too.

Merry X-Mas From NMTM!

Merry Christmas to all and happy birthday to Jesus. Bring on the booze, discomfited family parties, and warm clothes that finally fit my awkward, lanky frame. Thanks, Santa!

Julian Casablancas - "I Wish It Was Christmas Today"

November 20, 2009 (Playlist)

November 20, 2009 (Playlist):
"Our Thirty-Second Show!"

The Delta Spirit – People Come On
MGMT – Kids
Vampire Weekend – Cousins
Hard Fi – Stars Of CCTV
The Replacements – I’ll Be You
Audioslave – Doesn’t Remind Me
Yeasayer – Ambling Alp
Neko Case –I’m An Animal
*"Allen Reed Memorial Cover Of The Week": TV On The Radio – Mr. Grieves (Pixies Cover) (Live)
Pinback – Concrete Seconds
The Mountain Goats – Going To Georgia

The Flaming Lips – Silver Trembling Hands
*"Punk Trunk!": Hüsker Dü – Don’t Want To Know If You Are Lonely
*"Punk Trunk!": New York Dolls – Trash
Discovery – Osaka Loop Line
Julian Casablancas – 11th Dimension
Big Star – Thirteen
*"The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tune": Bruce Springsteen – Atlantic City
Big Country – In A Big Country
Colin Hay – It’s A Mistake

*Background music consisted of various dance and electronica tunes from the 2000s. They ranged from Annie to Junior Senior. Tunes to make you move your feet.

After being absent from our show last week (pre-recording, computer-fritz fiasco), Jim Adair, myself Mike Pop, and KUR newbie/shadower Melissa brought you the 32nd installment of Never Mind the Mainstream. It was done live, the way radio should be. We had great callers, who did not hesitate to give our newcomer a piece of their minds. But she hung tough, answered their ridiculous questions, and learned a little bit about controlling a radio show. And oh yes - the music! New music this week via Yeasayer, Neko Case, The Flaming Lips, Discovery, and Julian Casablancas. We also premiered the latest from Vampire Weekend: "Cousins". And of course, we had our usual segments and specials. It was a great show and if you missed out, fear not, because someday soon we'll put up our podcast/recorded shows on our blog. We're off next week, due to the Thanksgiving Break. But in two weeks, expect more great alternative music and non-stop radio fun on 88.3 KUR. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Neko Case - "I'm An Animal"


Julian Casablancas - "11th Dimension"


Big Country - "In A Big Country"

Casablancas, Editors Got Some New Tunes

Yes. Yes they do. And they both sound futuristic. Julian Casablancas was the frontman of The Strokes until that ship sank (I'm not optimistic about a fourth record). His new song, "11th Dimension" is receiving a barrage of negative comments on YouTube. And I may have to agree with the community; it's going to take a while for this one to grow on me, if it ever does. But how typical is this? A band like The Strokes made similar music and similar-sounding records for most of the early half of the decade, so it seems natural that Mr. Casablancas would want to try and be creative with his first solo effort. You be the judge:

Julian Casablancas - "11th Dimension"

Phrazes For The Young is out October 19th, via RCA.

And then we have Editors. Great to hear from them again. They've got a new record coming out in a little while and we, the fans, have been introduced to their latest: "Papillon". YouTube comments range from "New Order!" to "New Order?" and many more of that sort. The video itself is something I love because it's just people running! And I am a fan of the epic sport known as foot-racing. However, this seems more like a guy frantically running across town to erase a voicemail on his girlfriend's answering machine, because just his luck, his car's engine is shot. I like this one right off the bat. I'm interested in seeing what else the new record can offer.

Editors - "Papillon"

In This Light And On This Evening is out October 12th, via Kitchenware Records.