April 10, 2010 (Playlist)

April 10, 2010 (Playlist)
"Our Forty-Third Show!"

Belle & Sebastian – Another Sunny Day
Death Cab For Cutie – Photobooth
The New Pornographers – Your Hands (Together)
Bloc Party – Rhododendrons
*"Punk Trunk!": Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers – Chinese Rocks
*"Punk Trunk!": Hüsker Dü – Celebrated Summer
R.E.M. – So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)
Modest Mouse – Breakthrough
The Boat People – Born In The 80s
Dr. Dog – Unbearable Why

*"Allen Reed Memorial Cover Of The Week": Nada Surf – Electrocution (Bill Fox Cover)
*"The Mighty Mighty Boss-Tune": Bruce Springsteen – Crush On You
Doves – There Goes The Fear
The Elected – Would You Come With Me?
The Strange Boys – Be Brave
Harlem – Gay Human Bones
Local Natives – Sun Hands
Manchester Orchestra – I've Got Friends
Vampire Weekend – Holiday
Pixies – Debaser

*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.

This weekend marked the first ever Never Mind the Mainstream Saturday edition and Jim and I could not have been more pleased with how this landmark show turned out. The reason this was held on Saturday from 2-4 PM ET was because Friday night from 4-9:30 PM was 88.3 FM KUR's 5th Anniversary Party, in which alumni, young and old, came together to celebrate KUR's success. It was a great experience and we want to personally thank all of those who came out to support us. The cake was delicious, by the way. Onto the show. This week featured a handful of new tunes from the likes of The New Pornographers, The Boat People, Dr. Dog, The Strange Boys, and more. The "Punk Trunk!" came in early with The Heartbreakers and Hüsker Dü and two of their greatest tunes ever. "Boss-Tune" crushed it and "The Cover" showcased Nada Surf's ability to create epic covers. Jim and I were graced with some of our closest friends who were eager to get on the airwaves and talk about anything and everything from obtaining teaching degrees to bar advice. And we closed out the show with a scrambled sing-a-long to "Debaser" and left the station with a great feeling of accomplishment. A big thanks to all our listeners, callers, and messengers. Our fans make the show what it is. Tune in next week as we'll be back on Friday nights (6-8 PM ET). Tune in next week for another great set (and a report on the live The Thermals concert the preceding night in Philadelphia!).

Death Cab For Cutie - "Photobooth"


R.E.M. - "So. Central Rain"


Local Natives - "Sun Hands"

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"

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"

Our 38th Show Airs TOMORROW!

Tomorrow night. Friday. 6-8 PM ET. There's only one station to tune into to hear the best of yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's alternative and indie rock: 88.3 FM KUR for the Philadelphia AIR award-nominated Never Mind the Mainstream. This week is our 38th show and we've got a great line-up in store for you. We'll be spinning new tracks from Monsters Of Folk, Editors, The Happy Hollows, Metric and more. We're also featuring some of the greatest under-the-radar acts of all time, the likes of Morrissey, R.E.M., Sonic Youth, and The Specials. Plus, don't forget our hourly special segments and skits. You can always expect a ton of surprises and a great two hours of college radio programming from Jim Adair and Mike Pop. We stream live at 6 PM ET on the web @ kur.kutztown.edu. Call into our studio at (610)-683-4058 or IM us on AOL Instant Messenger, screen name KURRequest. Hope to hear from all of you. Enjoy the show!

The Hold Steady - "Sequestered In Memphis"

Dirty Projectors Feast On Letterman

Not literally. There was no dining involved. It wasn't like that show where an indie rock band and the host make breakfast and then do an interview (I'm blanking out on the name; any help?). Letterman stated that this was their network, prime-time debut and then let band take over. Right off the bat, I can understand the web hype for a group like this: pretty, young girls and what some would consider, the next Talking Heads. Perhaps that's why David Byrne joined them on "Knotty Pine" track for one of the most critically acclaimed combilation albums of the year, Dark Was The Night. Talent knows talent. But last night, it was just the Projectors - no Byrne, no internet hype to live up to - just the young group doing their thing. And if you ask me, I think they did it pretty damn well. Here's the clip; the band plays "Cannibal Resource". Now do you get the title?

The Dirty Projectors - "Cannibal Resource"

Bitte Orca is out now, via Domino.

Here's a list of tour dates, via Paste:

October
20 - Baltimore, Md. @ Ottobar
21 - Philadelphia, Pa. @ Trocodero
22 - Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
24 - Atlanta, Ga. @ Masquerade
25 - Lafayette, La. @ Nitetown
26 - Austin, Tex. @ Antones
28 - Phoenix, Ariz. @ Rhythm Room
30 - San Diego, Calif. @ North Park Theatre

November
1 - San Francisco, Calif. @ Bimbo's
3 - Portlant, Ore. @ Aladdin
4 - Seattle, Wash. @ Neumo's
7 - Salt Lake City, Utah @ In The Venue
8 - Denver, Colo. @ Bluebird
9 - Lawrence, Kan. @ Granada
11 - Minneapolis, Minn. @ Cedar Cultural Center
13 - Chicago, Ill. @ Bottom Lounge
14 - Toronto, Ont. @ Opera House
15 - Montreal, P.Q. @ National
17 - Boston, Mass. @ Paradise
18 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom
19/21 - Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall
22 - New York, N.Y. @ Bowery Ballroom

St. Antlers Real Estate

That was my attempt at a clever title for this post.

Anyway, this is my first real music post in forever, and I am writing about three things I am VERY excited about.

St. Vincent aka Annie Clark aka the Love of My Life (she'll find out soon enough). The thing about Annie is that she performed a song on Letterman last night. Said song is "Marrow" off her new album. Said album is "Actor" and is currently number one on my Album of the Year so far list (it's even ahead of Dark Was The Night). Also, she can play a damn good guitar, she can sing, and she is absolutely gorgeous. I'm sending her flowers as we speak (no I'm not). Thanks to Videogum for the video.

Secondly is The Antlers, a Brooklyn (of course) band who are about to put out one of the best albums of the year in September, "Hospice" I can only describe them as Okkervil River meets Sigur Ros meets Say Hi meets Dntel meets Awesome. They performed the two stand-out tracks from "Hospice" live on NPR. Check the video here.

Lastly, but most importantly, one of the best bands to ever influence shitty bands is reuniting in their original lineup for the first time since 1995. Sunny Day Real Estate's original lineup (Jeremy Enigk, Dan Hoerner, William Goldsmith, and Nate Mendel) put our one perfect album (1994's "Diary") and one unfinished one (1995's LP2). They're embarking on a nation-wide reunion tour, and it seems that I cannot attend due to transportation issues. But if you can, please go, you wont regret it. All dates are posted at sunnydayrealestate.fm.

Thanks to Mike at gnarlysaucemusic for getting me into The Antlers.

Enjoy Every Sandwich.

Warren Zevon died 5 years ago today.

Other than "Werewolves of London" I didn't know much of Warren Zevon when he died. Having grown up on a heavy diet of mainly Bruce Springsteen, you'd have though Mr. Zevon's records and I would've crossed paths, but it just didn't happen. Now I would like to remedy that for anyone who is possibly reading this.

Warren Zevon was brilliant. His songs are what you can call "classic rock" at its best, and he even threw some serious dark humor into a bunch of his songs, a sense of humor he honed over years of alcohol abuse and rough times. He also spent some time in my hometown, Philadelphia, engaged to a DJ at local rock station WYSP. However his drinking was out of control and he eventually left Philly for the west coast once again. It was inoperable cancer however, and the same cancer that killed Steve McQueen, that eventually took his life. When it came down to the end, he knew his cancer was inoperable, and he knew he would die. Knowing this, he refused treatment to ease his pain and instead spent his last months recording his final album, The Wind, that would be released two weeks before his death.

On October 30, 2002 Zevon made his last final appearance in public as the only guest on the entire hour of The Late Show with David Letterman. Letterman, who Zevon called "the best friend my music's ever had", had been a huge fan of Zevon for years, and knowing he was dying dedicated the entire hour long program to him. Zevon played three songs and spoke about his illness.

When asked by Letterman if there's anything he should know about life and death, Zevon responded "you're supposed to enjoy every sandwich."

Here is Warren Zevon's last public appearance and performance, playing my favorite song of his and Letterman's as well, "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner"