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16 Free songs from Spin Magazine

Spin Magazine is offering a free download of 16 songs by various artists including bands that we have featured here in the past, including The Drums, of Montreal, and Local Natives and new music from Candy Claws, Chief, Cotton Jones, The Goodnight Loving, High Places, Isobel Campbell, J Roddy Walston and the Business, Land of Talk, Phantogram, The Hundred in the Hands, Toadies, Wild Nothing and Zola Jesus. 16 tracks in all, free from iTunes until September 30. Get the code here and download away.

Arcade Fire: The Suburbs

Mine was a driving vacation, a chance to listen to music uninterrupted, enveloped in my moving audio bubble, along miles and miles of highways. I discovered numerous compelling songs that will be presented here in the weeks to come, but it was the album, The Suburbs, by Arcade Fire that I continually returned too. The disc explores the environs where many of us grew up in–and what much of this and many countries have become–the homogenized beige living space with little connection to space and time. The endless boredom, hours wandering, wasted time, a longing to escape and the realization that there will be nothing to return to.

“Now our loves are changing fast
Hope that something pure can last.”

There are so many good songs of differing styles that my faves change from day to day. Here is a punk rave-up called “Month of May” and a song of suburban sprawl (“Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”). The title track “The Suburbs” was heard here on this site in June, so I’ve included the beautiful coda to that song that ends the album. One of the albums of the year, these are the Songs of the Day.

“Month of May”
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“Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)”
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“The Suburbs (Continued)”
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Anberlin and Dylan Thomas

The alternative rock band Anberlin, hailing from the center of Florida, has just released a new song from their forthcoming Dark is the Way, Light is a Place produced by Brendan O’Brien. The title of the album comes from a poem by Dylan Thomas (October 27, 1914 – November 9, 1953). Bob Dylan took his name from this great Welsh poet, and if you have never heard Dylan Thomas’ voice you are in for a treat. “Impossible” by Anberlin is the Song of the Day and from the archives, Dylan Thomas reading my favorite poem of his, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”.

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Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas

From the Archives: Smashing Pumpkins

Yesterday we featured another track from the Smashing Pumpkins forthcoming album Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, the 44 songs of which are being released individually over the next year or so and for free. Eventually there will be a special box set of the entire album. In 1996, the Pumpkins issued a limited edition box set The Aeroplane Flies High, which included the 5 singles from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 28 B-sides, plus a booklet of photos, lyrics and writings by Billy Corgan. From my library, here is a photo of the box set signed by Billy and D’Arcy. Included here from the box set is the Smashing Pumpkins’ cover of The Cars classic “You’re All I’ve Got Tonight”.

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“You’re All I’ve Got Tonight” by Smashing Pumpkins

Thom Yorke predicts the imminent demise of the corporate music industry

In a rare interview, Thom Yorke of Radiohead warns young musicians not to tie themselves to the “sinking ship” of the music industry, suggesting it will soon collapse.
According to the BBC, Thom said: “When the corporate industry dies it will be no great loss to the world. So, I guess I would say, don’t tie yourself to the sinking ship because, believe me, it’s sinking.”
The songwriter made his comments in the Rax Active Citizenship Toolkit, to be published next month by New Internationalist magazine for students of GCSE Citizenship Studies (“Aimed at 14- to 16-year-olds, this resource is designed to accompany students through the key processes of the Citizenship Studies curriculum: critical thinking and enquiry, advocacy and representation and taking informed and responsible action.” Basically it’s to help young people to become more politically literate).
In the interview, carried out in February, Yorke said the fate of new artists was “an obsession” of bandmate Ed O’Brien, who is a leading member of lobby group the Featured Artists’ Coalition.
Yorke said: “When we discuss it, he says it’s simply a matter of time – months rather than years – before the music business establishment completely folds.
“He is involved in trying to build a world where artists would finally get paid. But we are up against the self-protecting interests of that industry.”

From In Rainbows, Radiohead‘s self-released, pay-what-you-want album, “All I Need” is the Song of the Day.

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“All I Need” by Radiohead

The World Cup (U2)

The World Cup is the greatest sporting event in the world. Soccer is a game that many Americans have yet to embrace, but if you have ever lived outside of our shores, you know that this sport, known as “football”, dominates. It’s a sport where all you need is a ball a bit of space. Less violent than most sport, just about anybody can play it. And you don’t have to be a physical mutant to play it well. American resistance is in part due to the pace of the game. But if you allow yourself to flow with the game, you will appreciate its subtleties, stamina and exhilaration. Too say that it is boring is to miss its essence. Soccer was not invented here and the 45 minute halves do not allow for commercial interruption, but so much the better as this sport can unite the world, if only for a month. Bono and U2 have never said it better, and this brief video is one of the best things that they have ever done. Enjoy!

U2

A friend recently sent me an old copy of the Boston Phoenix, a weekly in this town, from December 16, 1980. It’s the issue with the cover story “The Dream is Over”, which gives in-depth reporting and commentary on the assassination of John Lennon that took place on the 8th of that month. In that edition it chronicles that fateful night when I was on-the-air and had to make the announcement. (I will feature it in a future post.) While browsing through this now yellowed paper, I came upon an advertisement for a small club where a band called Barooga was playing and the band opening was an unknown U2. (My former radio station is credited with first playing and championing U2.) What struck me as ironic is that out of the tragedy of John Lennon’s death, a small band was just beginning to make itself heard that would someday give us hope. U2360° at the Rose Bowl is being released today on DVD and Blu-ray. From that DVD, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is the Song of the Day.

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“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2

Boycott Arizona

Boycott Arizona. Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine has organized The Sound Strike and I urge you to join. It’s a coalition of artists and friends who refuse to play or visit Arizona until the state repeals its egregious immigration law. In effect, if someone is stopped by the police for any reason in Arizona, they must prove that they are citizens of the United States. In principle it appears reasonable, but in reality it is racial profiling at its worst.

The federal government determines immigration policy, not individual states. And it is the job of the federal government to enforce it. Selective implementation of immigration laws by local law enforcement can only lead to abuse. Racial profiling has to rear its ugly head. White people will not have to prove that they are citizens. Only people of colour will have to suffer the indignity of proving their legality. If they cannot, they must be detained by the local police for federal authorities.

Worst case scenarios are obvious as we all have read and seen examples of racist cops in books and film. But let’s take a best case scenario. An Hispanic woman, a citizen of the United States, is stopped for a minor traffic violation. She has left her license in another purse. Instead of merely receiving a ticket for driving without a license, she will be subjugated to the humiliation of being detained or arrested if according to the statute “reasonable suspicion exits that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States”. In other words, her skin colour as she is “undocumented”. A white woman would only have received a citation.

The federal government must amend our current immigration policy to make it fair and unbiased. And then they must allocate the resources to enforce it. But in the meantime we cannot have individual states requiring local police to have citizens to “show me your papers”. The Arizona state law turns federal law into one of bigotry and racism. Although it is true that Arizona bares more of the brunt of undocumented people than most states, it does not give the state the right to selectively abuse people.

.

It is not for naught that this is happening in Arizona. One of the last states to approve Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it is another desperate gasp on the part of white people who cannot accept that soon they will not be in the majority. Senator John McCain voted against the creation of the holiday until he was forced to change his position. This is also the state where in the film Borat, citizens sang along to the song “Throw the Jew Down the Well.” We are a nation of colour and the laws must be fair and equitable to all. We are also a nation of immigrants and now most of our immigrants are non-white. Laws like this one are subtly but insidiously fascist and racist.

Arizona is one of my favorite states, from the Painted Desert to the Red Rocks. I have visited it frequently as I love the diversity of the terrain and its varied climate. It is a regular stop when we visit our wolf at the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary in New Mexico. Now we will no longer contribute to Arizona’s local economy. The last boycott of Arizona took place in 1990 when the state refused to acknowledge Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Even the National Football League participated in the boycott by moving the Super Bowl out of Arizona until the state honoured the holiday. Today many local United States cities, citizens, and organizations have joined in the boycott of Arizona. (It is worth noting that the Tea Party opposes the boycott and supports the Arizona law.) Please go to the website and sign the petition. The struggle for our civil rights has been too arduous to allow one state to begin to move us back into another century. To even allow for the potential of the rights of any minority to be violated is untenable. Boycott Arizona!

Letters from Sweden

Hello Oedipus!
We just found out that you’ve played our song “Hearts & Bones” in your first podcast at Oedipus1.com! We are honoured and proud, and since it’s our first air time ever in the states (that we know of), also very happy!

We are not a big band, and we haven’t got our break even in Sweden yet, so the fact that you both found us and liked us, came as a bit of a shock. We are also a bit curious about how you found us, how come you stumbled over our music?

At last, if you’ve got any tips on how or where we could try to send our music to in the states, we’d be overwhelmingly happy (can you even say it like that?)!

We wish you the best with your site, and hope you’re able to find a minute to spare, for a tiny trio from Sweden.

All the best!
/Hugo
of
Greta & The One Night Stands

—
Greta & The One Night Stands

myspace.com/gretaandtheonenightstands
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greta-The-One-Night-Stands/46925576781

I received this wonderful letter from Sweden. This is one of the reasons that this site exists. Less than 10 years ago, to hear new artists from around the world, you would have to tune into my Sunday evening program, Nocturnal Emissions. I found these new music gems by hunting through the import bins at the local record store or by listening to the countless CDs, records and tapes that were mailed to the radio station. But due to the demands of commercial radio, programs of new music were relegated to off-night, late-night programming. Although new undiscovered music could be heard on low-powered college stations, the presentation was generally in lengthy multiple song set segments with the songs and artists laundry-listed at the end. And like all radio, it was appointment listening.

Fortunately this has all changed. Now we can listen on-demand–when we want and how often we want. Also, digital delivery has supplanted much of the difficulty in obtaining new music. This particular song came from MPE, a music delivery service available to music programmers. Yes, I still have to listen to hundreds of songs weekly to separate the wheat from the chaff, but the speed of the net allows more time for research and discovery and communication. The future of radio is on the net and only bandwidth limitations and digital copyright laws will inhibit its exponential growth. But the net has shrunk the world and Sweden is right next door.

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“Hearts & Bones” by Greta and the One Night Stands

Marky Ramone

My friend, Harvey Leeds, who helped develop innumerable artists at Epic Records, and who is now a manager extraordinaire, sent me this delightful new addition for my collection. Marky Ramone, the second drummer for the Ramones, replaced Tommy Ramone in 1978. (Of note, only the two drummers of the Ramones have survived). Marky stills drums but recently launched his own line of pasta sauce! I just had to share this. When I obtain a 2nd jar, I’ll sample the contents. Until then, it will proudly be displayed on the mantle.

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“Suzy is a Headbanger” by The Ramones

Spit

In 1979 I created a punk rock dance club named Spit with Patrick Lyons, a local nightclub owner in Boston. Punk had grown beyond the live music venues and needed a place for like-minded people to gather and connect and dance. Initially open only on the weekend, I spun on Friday nights. On Saturday of this week there will be a Spit reunion and I will spin once again.
I have always had mixed emotions about reunions. Times once experienced cannot be recreated again. Plus, I live for new music and always have embraced the future. Yet, reunions do force one to pause and reflect. Punk revolutionized rock and influenced generations of musicians. Punk lived for the moment as there was “no future.” Well, the future is now and this will be some night! Preparing for my DJ shift this weekend, I have listened to volumes of songs from the day. Some have not stood the test of time, but others (though in some cases poorly recorded) still energize today. Here are a few that I will play at Spit.

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Magazine-“The Light Pours Out of Me”
Gang of Four-“I Love a Man in a Uniform”
The Clash-“I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.”

From the Archives: Julian Schnabel

Julian Schnabel is a world renown artist and filmmaker. His paintings are part of the collections of some of the great museums of the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney in New York, MOCA in LA and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. He directed such films as Basquiat, Before Night Falls, Lou Reed’s Berlin and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the latter for which he won Best Director at Cannes.
In 1995 he released his one and only album produced by him and Bill Laswell. Anton Fier, Nick Skopelitis, Buckethead, and Bernie Worrell are some of the musicians of note. Naturally he was responsible for the art direction and the cover of the album. From my archives, this is a photo of a rare poster/print of the cover signed by Schnabel. The song “Juan Belmonte” is from that album entitled Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud.

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“Juan Belmonte” by Julian Schnabel

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