Playlist for Breakfast of Champions on February 22, 2007

(8:00am - an attempt at a perfect show)
1. The Divine Comedy - "Perfect Lovesong"
2. Eggstone - "She's Perfect"
3. Leslies - "My Perfect Pearl"
4. The Hurricane Lamps - "Perfect Taco #1" (background music)

(8:15 - at least more perfect than the Pontoon Palace)
5. New Order - "The Perfect Kiss"
6. Stella - "OK Tomorrow I'll Be Perfect"
7. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - "Perfect Skin"
8. Sneakers - "The Perfect Stranger"
9. Parlour - "Mperfect" (background music)

(8:30 - band of the week time)
10. Comet Gain - "Say Yes"
11. Comet Gain - "Ripped-Up Suit"
12. Moonbabies - "A Perfect Passenger" (background music)

(8:45 - striving for perfection)
13. Arco - "Perfect World"
14. The Softies - "Perfect Afternoon"
15. R.E.M. - "Perfect Circle"
16. The Orchids - "Striving For The Lazy Perfection"

(9:00 - segue into the new music hour)
17. The One AM Radio - "Mercury"
18. Peter Bjorn & John - "Amsterdam"
19. Space Machine - "Modular Series" (concert report music)

(9:20 - more new music)
20. Wild Carnation - "Cricket"
21. Albert Hammond Jr. - " 101"
22. The High Llamas - "Winter's Day"
23. Bikeride - "Your Lips and You Trouble"

(9:40 - new stuff, best of the rest)
24. The Dexateens - "Fyffe"
25. Mouthful of Bees - "Old Gold"
26. The Mitchells - "Darts In The Phone"

(9:55 - how can I annoy Joanie today?)
27. Dalminjo - "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"

thanks for listening ... or if you missed it just check the archives

Here's another edition of the New Music Sampler, where I go through some of the promising releases that have just come in at WMBR. As I've mentioned before, I burn one track from each disc that I think bears further investigation, usually about 25% of our total new rack.

1. A Sunny Day In Glasgow - "5:15 Train"
We recieved a promising self-releasted ep from these shoegazers last year, now they've backed it up with a more eclectic offering that still harkens back to the days of My Bloody Valentine but definitely finds it's own personality. Pretty, but not predictable. Played on 2/8/07.

2. Christ. - "Ganky"
Yes, the period is part of the band name. Concert report music for 2/15/07. Pleasantly fun electronic instrumentals with a bit of drift.

3. Do Make Say Think - "Her Story of Glory"
Quite possibly the best release by this Godspeed related project, some really strong instrumental rock that enter into the Mogwai realm without going overboard on the multi-layered instruments. Much more cohesive than previous releases. Perhaps a future concert report selection, or perhaps foreground.

4. Peter Bjorn & John - "Self-Pity"
The best album of the year so far gets its US release with a 2nd CD of rather inessential b-sides and alternate takes. I'll be sticking with the fantastically simple yet addictive disc 1, but took this tune for the compilation since my Swedish copy doesn't have disc 2.

5. The Western States Motel - "Row of Homes"
Nice indie-pop record out of LA that straddles the line between an early 90's and light new wave influence. Played a different cut on 2/8/07 though there are several fine selections here. Nice bassline.

6. Le Peuple De L'Herbe - "Sexual Attraction"

From the Normal series of HeavyBreathing compilations comes this French techno confection with sampled moans n groans. Played on 2/15/07. HeavyBreathing deals with overt sexual content in music, this volume contained all sampled sounds of coitus.

7. Nurse & Soldier - "Bought Up Too Soon"
Onieda side project sounds like an early 70's psych-pop confection and not much like its paternal lineage. A driving little number that will certainly make the cut, especially like the vocal reach on the chorus.

8. The Slip - "The Soft Machine"

Don't know if I'll get to this one, sounds like they're trying to meld the normal side of an Olivia Tremor Control release with something more contemporary.

9. The Brothers Martin - "The Behavior Explains"

Yes, they're actually brothers - one from Starflyer 59 and one from Joy Electric. Which makes me assume shoegazery new wave, not far off actually. This is retro new wave with a commercial flair, no post-punk affliction here. Played a different song on 2/15/07 but all cuts are strong, reminds me of the early 90's Romania record on Teenbeat.

10. Primitive Calculators - "Do That Dance"

Pulled this off a station purchase of a 2001 compilation of late 70's/early 80's aussie post-punk called Inner City Sound. Looks like they've just released an import collection of their stuff overseas, I'll have to try and track it down.

11. Audionom - "Kristall"

This should be huge at WMBR, BoC/LRC crossover hit potential. Kemado collection of a late-90's Stockholm band with definite no-wave flair, these guys hit hard with powerful instrumentals and some occasional shouted vocals. We'll see how many others discover its charms. Played on 2/15/07.

12. The Noisettes - "IWE"

Import is already out for this art-punk band, US gets the full length in two months. Two months! Makes me wonder why Universal bothered to send it out so early. In any case I played a different (and methinks better) cut on 2/15/07. Powerful female vocals behind some stammering punk-blues backing.

13. The Elastik Band - "Spazz"

US late 60's psych-rock band gets its own career retrospective. This one's the hit and pretty much the only one note in my book, the lead vocal has a crazy-guy-on-the-street kinda quality held together with a fuzzy guitar lead.

14. The Hero Cycle - "Lovers Crime"

Well, the fact that I just listened to it again and can't quite remember what the heck it is doesn't bode well for its chances on the show. Plus I think my favorite song off the record cursed.

15. Bob Parins and True Love Always - "Mr. Face"

Other than this first track it sounds almost nothing like the lovely indie-pop that we've come to expect from TLA. This tune is an ebullient 70's power pop throwback (this Jellyfish) that unfortunately drops an f-bomb. The rest of the album also harkens back to the 70's, but the influences are a bit dirtier and not as impeccibly carried out. Played one of them on 2/15/07.

16. Lavendar Diamond

Matador signs itself and faux-folk-a-go-go band, this one is far more palatable than Brightblack Morning Light's faux-authentic new age hippiesms. Delicate folk which occasionally layers a little sparkly dust on the proceedings.

17. The Finches - "Nightswimming, AR"

Liked the first album of introspective boy/girl plucking a bit better than this one, which strays slightly from the pop blueprint and into folkish territory. Quotes "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste" which made me save the track, unlikely to make the show though.

18. The Last Town Chorus - "It's Not Over"

I like the obsessive on the verge of a mental breakdown feel of this sweetly flowing pop tune, especially the repetition of the chorus as if she's willing herself to believe it's true. The cover of Bowie's "Modern Love" is appreciated as well for cover-show possibilities. Played on 2/15/07.

19. The National Lights - "The Dead Will Walk"

Played a different song on 2/15/07, mainly because that one was shorter. Quiet indie pop on the low end of the scale, using spare instrumentation and hushed vocals to create a feeling of rainy days and mondays.

20. Loney, Dear - "I Will Call You Lover Again"

Sub Pop's attempt to save indie-pop from complete irrelevancy. Played this repetitive (chorusless?) tune on 2/1/07. I do like how the song layers upon itself as it builds, but I'm not banking on a fervent conversion to their church on my part.

21. Avenue D - "2d2f"
Not a new release, instead from Erlend Oye's DJ-Kicks session. An incredibly smutty electro dance tune helmed by a pair of women admonishing their boyfriends for liquoring up during the night on the town. Can't help but laugh. Good pick, Erlend.

Playlist for Breakfast of Champions on February 15, 2007

(8:00 - shhh, they're telling secrets)
The Primitives - "Secrets"
Snowpony - "3 Can Keep a Secret (If 2 Are Dead)"
The Dismemberment Plan - "Secret Curse"
AM Stereo - "Secret's Safe"
Soul Asylum - "Secret No More"
The Coach and Four - "Secret Bell" (background music)

(8:15 - our little secrets)
Brendan Benson - "Got No Secrets"
The Cakekitchen - "Witness To Your Secrets"
The Green Pajamas - "Secret Day"
Bright - "Secret Form of Time" (background music)

(8:30 - band of the week)
The Descendents - "Clean Sheets"
The Descendents - "Cheer"
The Descendents - "I Don't Want To Grow Up"
The Descendents - "Suburban Home"
John Barry - "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (background music)

(8:45 - the last of the secrets come out)
Ghost Orchids - "Keep Your Secrets"
Soft Cell - "Secret Life"
Strawberry Switchblade - "Secrets"
The National - "Secret Making"
Purple Confusion - "Secret Tragedy" (background music)

(9:00 - say it loud, the start of the new music hour)
Audionom - "Spindlar"
Shellito - "Downtown"
Le Peuple De L'Herbe - "Sexual Attraction"
Christ. - "Ganky" (concert report music)

(9:20 - more new music)
The Noisettes - "Bridge To Canada"
The Faintest Ideas - "All Stars"
The Brothers Martin - "The Plot That Weaves"
Bob Parins and True Love Always - "I'm Dancing"

(9:40 - picking through the new music)
The Shins - "Spilt Needles"
The Secret Ink - "Boomerang"
The Last Town Chorus - "It's Not Over"
The National Lights - "Riverbed"
Julie Doiron - "No More"

(9:55 - handoff to Will)
Aqueduct - "Keep It Together"

thanks for listening ... or if you missed it check the archive!

Playlist for Breakfast of Champions on February 8, 2007

(8:00 am - gimme some music!)
Pezband - "Gimme Gimme"
The Donnas - "Gimme A Ride"
Nikki and the Corvettes - "Gimme, Gimme"
Miss Mary - "Gimme, Gimme"
Ohio Express - "Gimme Gimme"

(8:15 - gimme some more!)
Dogmatics - "Gimme The Shakes"
Angry Samoans - "Gimme Sopor"
Sloan - "Gimme That"
Blake Babies - "Gimme Some Mirth"
Gories - "Gimme Some Money"

(8:30 - band of the week)
Brainiac - "Cultural Zero"
Brainiac - "Hands of the Genius"
Brainiac - "This Little Piggy"
Celadon - "Lie With Me" (background music)

(8:45 - a final plea)
Ramones - "Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment"
TurboNegro - "Gimme Some"
Tight Bro's From Way Back When - "Gimme The Key"
The Stooges - "Gimme Danger"

(9:00 - new music hour commences)
Peter Bjorn and John - "Paris 2004"
Fujiya and Miyagi - "Transparent Things"
The Western States Motel - "The Restless Sea"
Myo - "Infinite Complexity" (concert report music)

(9:20 - more new music)
The Caution Curves - "Malgorzata"
Deerhoof - "The Perfect Me"
Emily Grogan - "Restless Souls"
Lovers - "Perpetual Motion, Perpetual Sound"

(9:40 - new stuff continues)
A Sunny Day In Glasgow - "5:15 Train"
Relay - "Driver"
The Early Years - "Song for Elizabeth"

(9:55 - closing out the show)
The Planetakis - "World Without Love"

thanks for listening ... or if you missed it check the archives!

Rounding up the last of the January releases ... not by released date but by the date they entered WMBR's music library. This sampler turned out quite well, I especially enjoy it in the car.

1. Lily Allen - "Everything's Just Wonderful"
UK hitmaker finally lands on our shores. Upbeat but cynical tune doesn't provide much of a worldview but then again I wasn't exactly exepecting much beyond some catchy narcissistic introspection. Played 2/3/07.

2. Apples In Stereo - "Same Old Drag"
The multiple mentions of Joanie make this a must on the show. Played on 2/3/07, expect it to be used as a closer. For a comeback album they're in top form, as addictive as Fun Trick Noisemaker.

3. The Channels - "Through Your Teeth"
The local band with the "The" not the DC band without. Some reasonably interesting lo-fi pop here. Played 2/3/07.

4. Fujiya & Miyagi - "Transparent Things"
The latest in the blips and chirps division of indie pop. They're from the UK not Japan and there's 3 of them not 2. This stuff can get very samey on a full-length.

5. New Young Pony Club - "Ice Cream"
Another solid release on Modular, dance-pop/electro all the way with some dispassionate female vocals making double-entrendre sexual come-ons. Needless to say it works well for me. Played 1/25/07.

6. Maps of Norway - "Traffic"
Doing the 80's retro-rock thing but not very new-wavey - thicker and darker but not very gothy either. Arena indie-rock perhaps? Spun something by them on 1/25/07, doubt I'll get back to it again.

7. The Faintest Ideas - "Dexter's Got A Sinister Heart"
Melding some pop-punk idears with early 90's indie-pop for a fun pastiche that may have made the K or Kill Rock Stars roster back in the late 90's. Instead it's from Sweden and for the Magic Marker of today! Spun on 1/25/07.

8. Bloodthirsty Butchers - "Waking Up Is Hard To Do"
From a split ep on Teenbeat with +/- covering this Japanese band and the Butchers returning the favor. As much as I adore +/- I'd say they got the worst of the matchup.

9. Dr. Dog - "Old News"
Philly beard and wooly hat band shed some of the jam leanings on their first and throw in some very solid production. Strongly reminiscent of early 70's country rock with some soul leanings in there as well. Played this on 2/3/07, fit in well on Christopher Vyce's Lost & Found the same day.

10. Backyard Tire Fire - "Don't Know What To Do"
Alt-country, that moodier Richmond Fontaine vein of the genre. Production was a little listless for my tastes. I believe Bernhardt spun these guys 2/4/07, as for me ... I might & I might not.

11. The Woods - "Night Creature"
The only tune I really liked on this one, though repeated exposure has increased my affection. A lo-fi folk-as-in-new-folk-not-the-BUR-stuff duo that definitely sounds like a basement confection, spare yet cohesive.

12. Winterpills - "Handkerchiefs"
Local indie-pop band whose late-05 release made my best of disc last year. Their songs take a little time to build but really grab once they get some momentum. Nothing as spectacular as the last one but still quite lovely. Played on 2/3/07.

13. Lovers - "Perpentual Motion, Perpetual Sound"
Hey, they're back! This is not as sweetly pop as their previous releases, almost sounding like a solo release for the singer. Similar to the Emily Haynes solo disc but not as strong vocally and quite a bit more despondent.

14. Catherine Howe - "On A Misty Morning"
Re-issue of an early 70's short-run LP, her label sank before full distribution commenced. Young British actress doing the emotional folk with full-strings thing, dated but several songs still pack the punch.

15. Warm In The Wake - "Good King"
Mining that early 70's soft-rock sound with a bale of hay thrown in for a slightly country-leaning sound. This tune is the most authentic sounding of the bunch, we'll see if it finds its way on the air.

16. The Frames - "The Side You Never Get To See"
Ireland's favourite sons with a new one, much slicker production that previous efforts. Sounding very emotional now, though it was never a problem for them before I admit. Quite captivating at times. Aired this on 1/25/07.

17. Emily Grogan - "Restless Souls"
Local singer who doesn't really fit into the BoC program as it's going for a more AAA old school Carole King sound. I'm still diggin it quite a bit and will probably find a way to fit it in.

18. The Three Bells - "Over And Over Again"
From a station purchase of a RPM girl groups comp. Great little do-I-or-don't-I-love-him 60's tune, sounding as if the fate of the world rests on her decision.

19. The Caution Curves - "Malgorzata"
Heard Patrick spin this on Subject to Change 1/27/07 and was immediately taken. Not standard BoC fare, lead singer sounds like a less coherent Life Without Buildings as she screeches and stutters her way through the song. I believe she's alternately attempting to say "Yes" and "no" in a rapid fire staccato fashion while instruments collide behind her. Will definitely play.

20. Big Sir - "Saxophone"
M83 side project that has a few reasonable tunes in the electropop vein, played a different song on 2/3/07.

21. Rosyvelt - "Hook"
Straight up and down indie rock that is unlikely to get spun as the production gives it very little weight.

22. Central Services - "Fun (While It Lasted)"
A song about November, how can I resist? Seattle WA pop group with some jangly thoughts in their genes. Played on 2/3/07.

23. Bishop Allen - "Clementines"
The monthly ep's keep arriving, so far there's only been one duff month which is a huge credit to these guys. I bet by the end they were severly doubting themselves and the whole idea, but I applaud. Closed the 1/25/07 show with this tune, one of their more sweeping and dramatic songs.

24. The Good, The Bad & The Queen - "Nature Springs"
Latest supergroup from the UK, members of Blur & The Clash and others I forget here. Despite the pedigree this is a rather quiet and moody release, the songs wash rather than rinse.

Playlist for Breakfast of Champions Thursday, February 1st

(8:00am - let the bomb scare commence)
Tsar - "Kathy Fong Is The Bomb"
The Format - "Time Bomb"
Old 97s - "Timebomb"
Chrome - "Firebomb"

(8:15am - still learning to love the bomb)
Dogbowl - "Love Bomb"
Elk City - "Love's Like A Bomb"
David Bowie - "Bombers"
Madder Rose - "Drop A Bomb"

(8:30 - band of the week)
Scruffy The Cat - "40 Days & 40 Nights"
Scruffy The Cat - "Places"
Scruffy The Cat - "Thomas Doubter"
Kashmere Stage Band - "Scorpio" (background music)

(8:45 - a slight case of overbombing)
The Weirdos - "We Got The Neutron Bomb"
Flipper - "Sex Bomb"
Public Enemy - "Louder Than A Bomb"

(9:00 - start of the new music hour)
Apples In Stereo - "Same Old Drag"
The Channels - "Through Your Teeth"
The Shins - "Spilt Needles"
Six Parts Seven - "Falling Over Evening" (concert report music)

(9:20 - new music continues)
Winterpills - "Handkerchiefs"
Julie Doiron - "No More"
Loney, Dear - "I Will Call You Lover Again"
Central Services - "Fun (While It Lasted)"
The Ghosts - "Go Out In The Streets"

(9:40 - excavation of new music part 3)
Dr. Dog - "Old News"
The Broken West - "On The Bubble"
Field Music - "Tones Of Town"
Big Sir - "Get Off The B"
Swan Lake - "All Fires"
Lily Allen - "Everything's Just Wonderful"

(9:55 - a quick send-off)
hollAnd - "Boolean Misery Index"

Thanks for listening ... or if you didn't listen visit WMBR's website for archived content.