WXYC has been nominated for a Woodie Award

WXYC has received a nomination in the category of Best Campus Radio Station from MTVu. More info:

Best Campus Radio Station

For the first time ever, mtvU is honoring 20 pioneering college campus radio stations committed to bringing students the latest indie and emerging music. Lauded for championing artists before they achieve mainstream success, these student-run radio stations represent the new music vanguard long since abandoned by traditional FM radio. The top stations were chosen based off accolades from CMJ College Radio Awards, Princeton Review Nominations, and independent questionnaires completed by a cross-section of record labels. One station will bring home the inaugural Woodie for Best Campus Radio Station, as voted on by their peers.

Radio Woodie - (Best Campus Radio Station)

For the station out there breaking the latest, emerging music, acting as pioneers in the industry.

Nominees:

KALX, University of California, Berkeley

KZSC, University of California, Santa Cruz

KSSU, Sacramento State University

KZSU, Stanford University

KCSU, Colorado State University, Fort Collins

WSOU, Seton Hall University

WERS, Emerson College

WICB Ithaca College

WBSR Brown University

WUSB Stony Brook University

WUTK University of Tennessee

WRAS Georgia State University

WEGL Auburn University

WWVU West Virginia University

WXYC University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

KSLU St. Louis University

KUOM University of Minnesota

WGRE DePauw University

WDBM Michigan State

WITR Rochester Institute of Technology

Copied from http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/whos-getting-a-chunk-of,550523.shtml

The winner is selected by online voting on the MTVu website. Finalists are selected by a week-long regional vote. The blog will be updated with more information once full voting procedure and info is revealed.

Founding Pink Floyd Member, Richard Wright, Dead at 65

Founding member and keyboardist for Pink Floyd, Richard Wright, died today at the age of 65 after a long battle of cancer. Be sure to pull out that old vinyl or play some Pink Floyd on your ipod in memory of a true innovator.

Source:
http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hWIGm5l-yoyRo6pTklrXqJB3BnmA

Speaking of Poetry...

People tune in to WXYC and don't necessarily realize that the DJs they hear have talent that goes beyond merely spinning records.

Take DJ Kevin Clark, for example.

Perhaps a lucky few of you heard his live, free-stylin' rap a few weeks ago. If you did, I'm sure you were impressed. He did a dam fine job impromptu and under pressure.

If you missed his performance, no problem. Simply click here (3MB MP3) to hear. Enjoy. WXYC DJs are encouraged to play this on the air. Often.

Iambic Pentameter, etc

The Feedback Farmers tried to get all high-brow last week but instead got in over their heads. They don't know much when it comes to the finer things, and they sure don't know nothin' about POETRY. And anyway, I thought it was a MAN from Nantucket. I don't even know what the next line would be if it was a GIRL from Nantucket.

Hear with your own ear here (29MB MP3).



PS I vaguely remember deleting a file from my hard drive I didn't think I needed. I am coming to the realization that that file was the Feedback Farm Back to School Special. It's never a great loss when a Feedback Farm episode is lost to the aether. This programme was no exception.

Going for Gold

Posting in world record time, here's a recap of the Feedback Farm programme from mere hours ago.

Filling in for Bret D (who recently relocated to Chicago or San Francisco), the Feedback Farmers guest-hosted a special edition of SportsRap by covering the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, live from Beijing. With in-depth, behind-the-scenes looks at the athletes, the events, and all the scuttlebutt from the Olympic Village, the Farmers' insightful commentary made clear the reason they were chosen to take the helm of SportsRap full-time beginning this fall.

Click here (30MB MP3) to hear.

PJ wanted me to add the following: Sorry Bret, somehow the interview with you was completely blank! And sorry Steve, the phones wouldn't work so we couldn't get you on the air to talk about your experience training the US Olympic field hockey team!

Trippy Autechre Vid Delivers

Rabid Autechre fans have always described the venerable duo as composing "architecture for sound," roughly. It sounds pretentious, but the title track video to the group's 2002 EP "Gantz Graf" nailed the synesthetic fix perfectly: Alex Rutterford, the video's director, admitted swallowing a hard dose of hallucinogenics before starting work. If you don't believe me, see for yourself:

And if you're left pining for more delicious sound squiggles, director Lucio Arese gives us possibly Gantz Graf's direct followup, though he has no official ties to the band or their label. A sound production all around:

Happy Hour

This past Wednesday, the Feedback Farmers gave us an intoxicating 60 minutes of radio.

No, actually, this past Wednesday, the Feedback Farmers stumbled and slurred through an hour on the air that would have been best experienced while inebriated. That's more accurate.

The topic was alcohol, and you know what they say about drunks: they flock to inane radio programmes. I hope this is true, at least, because then we'd finally have some explanation for the idiocy that seizes WXYC every other Wednesday at 9pm.

You'd have to be completely wasted to click here (29MB MP3).

Free Club Tix

It's practically a breeze to socially engineer your way into any club by pretending you're the DJ. Observe.

Learn how to hack at 5min.com

We Pledge Allegiance

The Feedback Farmers and John Wayne pledged their allegiance to the U S of A on the last episode of the Farm. Also making cameo appearances were a gazillion residents of the Triangle who chimed in about what they like and, gasp!, what they don't exactly care for about this country.

WXYC was contacted by the Department of Homeland Security following the airing of this program. The nice people wanted to know the names of the people who were interviewed for the show. If you contributed, fear not--the station refused to turn over the names. However, we have decided to comply with Viacom's request to turn over the names and IP addresses of anyone who downloads the archive of this show. Click here (29MB MP3) at your own risk.

Farced in Flight

The Feedback Farmers soared through the last episode with samples, interviews, and songs about flying. Yes, flying. As in airplanes, airports, airlines. All in all it was, according to PJ's mom, "an interesting choice of topics" and, according to Dale, "Pretty good--it didn't blow me away, but it was pretty good."

As an added bonus, Cole drove through town on his way back to DC from Myrtle Beach and paid the Farm an in-studio visit. Cole has never flown in an airplane. Could not have picked a better episode to crash?

Hear it for yourself here (29MB MP3).

Public Service Announcement from WXYC

Just a timely reminder,

FOUCAULT
is
A UFO CULT

Fill 'Er Up

The Feedback Farmers (sans Bryson) explored the rising cost of gasoline on their most recent radio programme. The entire country is in a transportation crisis with the steady increase in the cost of a barrel of oil. At this writing, oil is $130 a barrel and gasoline is nearly $4 per gallon nationwide. By the time you read this it might be $6 or $8 a gallon. Is that a good thing? How will rising fuel prices affect our lives? Listen to the show here to find out all this and more.

Oh, Bryson couldn't make it because he couldn't afford the gas to get to Chapel Hill from Charlotte.

Recipe for Disaster

1 cup samples
1/4 oz. effects pedals
2 cups commentary
5 lbs. (dry) technical difficulties
1 pinch of credibility (optional, to taste)

Pre-heat your favorite audio software to 89.3 FM. Then be sure to get out your deluxe whisk set and pick a monosyllabic spice-throwing mantra in anticipation of this week's Feedback Farm!

Last night, with help from professional and (many more) amateur foodsmiths alike, the Farmers whipped up a batch of audio delights and helpful(?) guidance on the subject of COOKING. Click here (28MB MP3) to begin.

(Thanks for the text, KC.)

XL

Now I suppose one doesn't tune in to the Feedback Farm in hopes of hearing "good radio," but the Farmers took radio to a new nadir with the most recent episode. Personally, I suspect they weren't actually prepared for the promised show about cooking, so they spent 60 minutes yammering about 40 years in the life of Farmer PJ, who apparently had a birthday recently. Well whoop-dee-doo.

And while PJ repudiates accusations that he was behind it all (listen to his feeble exclamation of surprise toward the end of the programme), he sure played along quite happily at his fete, didn't he?

Really, if these folks can't get their act together and responsibly use the invaluable outlet they have at their fingertips, they should be tossed out on their ears. Somebody else would put the airwaves to better use. The Feedback Farm is a Radio SHOW, not a birthday PARTY.

If you missed the nonsense, you were lucky. If you click here (28MB MP3), your luck will shortly run out.

Political Party Hardy

There's nothing like a presidential election to remind you that America is doomed, but last night the Feedback Farmers got mildly political anyway, taking stabs at both sides as well as some innocent Young Democrats, callers, and historic recordings in their typical endearing way. Since the North Carolina Democratic primary arrives May 6, along with a barrage of advertising and mediocre bands, the nomination war between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was the main topic of discussion, though McCain and his alleged "chipmunk cheeks" cropped up, too.

If you missed the programme, it's available in one whopping nugget of an MP3 file, downloadable here. (26 MB)

DJ Wicky Wick was not in attendance during the show, and thusly I blog-post this episode instead.

Buchla Buchla Boo

If the folks behind My First Sony truly had any interest in holding my attention past age 7, they would have done everything in their power to slap their name on the Buchla Music Easel and maybe I wouldn't be the schlub I am today.



The Music Easel was one of the many brainchildren of Don Buchla. It combines nearly every sound generating element found on a synth: a keyboard, multiple oscillators, cartridges, reverberation, envelope filters, as well as a variety of modular components. In fact, a majority of its charm stems from its interconnectivity. The only way he could have made it more over the top would be to graft on a baboon's heinie.

I stumbled across a great video of Charles Cohen going to town on the music easel. If the video is any indication of the Music Easel in raw form, it's even somehow producing sound in stereo. Here's the blib from the site and then the video:

/ / / / / Viewing with headphones or a stereo source is highly recommended / / / / /


This colorful video features sound artist Charles Cohen improvising on a 1970's Buchla Music Easel. This extremely rare instrument is one of Don Buchla's 200 series. Buchla (a pioneer of audio synthesis) only manufactured 14 of these units. The entire film was edited from an hour-long set of free improvisation, with audio was taken directly from Charles' mixing board.All of the photography and editing was produced by Alex Tyson, a sound and video artist from Pennsylvania. The film was shot in 16:9 720p High Definition format, using a 35mm LensBaby 3GPL




CHARLES COHEN AT THE BUCHLA MUSIC EASEL from Alex on Vimeo.

Feedback Fashionistas

Does your closet contain anything you should really just throw away? Are outmoded styles keeping you from getting that promotion at work? Do you just plain need fashion advice?

This week the Feedback Farmers (in their expanded form) welcomed spring with a look at this season's hottest new fashions. Yellow is in, leggings are out. Waists are going higher, pant legs are wider. Strap on your gladiator sandals and click here (28MB MP3) to listen to the latest episode of the Feedback Farm!

Hot Diggity Dog!

Frankly, hot dogs are a pretty curious food. Thusly inspired, the most recent
episode of the Feedback Farm was about all things wiener. By the end of the hour, the Farmers managed to encase their listeners in an array of collage and discussion that can only be described as intestinal and dubiously sourced, albeit protein-rich. New Farmers Steph, Andy, and Bryson joined the posse.

Download the programme here (28MB MP3).

This blog-entry guest written by Feedback Farmer/wanted criminal Kevin Clark.

Recurring Dreams

The Feedback Farmers revisited one of their favorite topics last week: Dreams.

The third installment in the series again featured dreams collected in the Chapel Hill area. The Farmers accosted people on the UNC campus, at the Weaver Street Market, and at a local bike shop.

The maximum-density collage may not have quite worked out the way the Farmers (Kevin, in particular) envisioned, but all in all it was a pretty good show. If you sometimes find the Feedback Farm hard to take, this show was one of the more listenable, actually.

Many thanks to all the dreamers who helped make this show a reality!

Click here to download the March 12, 2008 Feedback Farm Dream programme (44MB MP3).

=====================

As a special bonus, click here to read about and download the dream collage that aired on the March 17, 2005 Thursday Night Feature on WXYC (a 40MB MP3 awaits you).

As an extra-special bonus, click here to download the dream collage that started it all, broadcast on WXYC March 29, 2004 (20MB MP3).

Hot Topic

The Feedback Farmers had a heated discussion about all things flammable and inflammable on the programme last week. Fire safety, forest fire suppresion (thanks to special guest via telephone Charles Hill), burning Beatles albums, and the burning of the Reichstag were all at least mentioned.

Lest we forget our ABCS, a big thanks for the contributions to this show made by Andrew, Bryson, Chris, and Steph.

If you have a burning desire to hear the show, click here to download (27MB MP3).

Farm Aid '08

It doesn't happen often on WXYC, but when it does happen, the outpouring of love from our listeners is nearly overwhelming. Yes, last night WXYC held its pledge drive, and, thanks to you our loyal listeners, we reached the mark we needed to stay on the air. Many thanks and a big Valentine's Day kiss to the 30 of you who gave us pledges of your money, souls, cat pelts, exotic birds, and half-eaten sandwiches.

Of course, if you didn't pledge during the on-air drive, it's not to late to show your support for the unique personalities and programming that WXYC offers. It's as easy as sending an email with your pledge to wxycfeedbackfarm at gmail dot com. And remember, we don't want your money, we just want you to pledge your money.

We know how much everyone loves to turn on their favorite public radio station to discover that a pledge drive is in progress. And so we know that if you didn't tune in to the 2008 Pledge Drive on WXYC, you will wish you hadn't missed it. If you did miss the pledge drive, don't despair! You can download the entirety of the programme here (29MB MP3) and listen to it now! And if the show motivates you to pledge, send an email to wxycfeedbackfarm at gmail dot com with your pledge! It may be too late to win the trip to Paris, but it's never too late to support WXYC!

As a special thanks to you our loyal listeners, we also present to you a special Bonus MP3 (2MB MP3) that unfortunately wasn't played on the air but which (as you will hear) should have been the first item in the broadcast.

K-Rox on the New Science Experience

Hailing from NYC and residing in Durham, K-Rox has been rocking house music in all it's various forms for close to 15 years. K-Rox hosts deep, a night devoted to underground house music at Sirens Lounge in Durham.

Go to the New Science Experience Site for track listing and my mix from the second half of the show.

Download: K-Rox on nse radio 2.3.08

New music at the Station!

Check out these new albums at the station!



Hugh Masekela: The Chisa Years 1965-1976 (rare and unreleased) (Africa Vinyl MA 12/8)
This compilation caught me by surprise with its pure greatness. These tracks were recorded for his Chisa label, and are often way better than his hits. Most sung in a South African language. I expected these to be would-be pop songs that failed, but damn I was wrong. These are hot hot hot African soul songs that are always being awesome, never just trying. (thats right bitches, African vinyl. aww yea)

Oneness of Juju: African Rhythms (Africa Vinyl ON 2/1)
Oneness of Juju: Space Jungle Love (Africa Vinyl ON 2/2)
From 1975 and 1976 respectively.
This group headed by James Plunky Branch was all over the New York loft scene in the early 70s. They took the style and feel of Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders and gave funky R&B rhythms. Both fine albums, never yet played on our radio station.


Tony Allen - Jealousy Progress (cd Africa AL1/4)
Tony Allen - No Accommodation for Lagos - No Discrimination (cd Africa 1/3)
Tony Allen is the drummer for Fela Kuti through so many years and albums. These albums were recorded directly after Tony's peak years with Fela and are in the same league as Fela's best. The songs are long and heavy on the bass with horns punctuating and soloing into the sunset.


V/A African Disco: Deep Disco from 1970's Africa (Africa cd V/A 153)
This is the only hit or miss in the bunch. Some pretty cheesy stuff here, although that seems to be coming back in style. There are some hot spots though; the best track (in my humble opinion) is Afro Disco by tony allen, which is on one of the above mentioned tony allen records.


Reece

You've Come A Long Way. Baby.

After over a month of well-deserved R&R, the Feedback Farmers lit up the airwaves last night with a smoking return to their bi-weekly broadcast. Inspired by the newly implemented UNC campus ban on smoking within 100 feet of any building, cigarette smoking was the topic of discussion.

Missed it? Drag your mouse here (29MB MP3) to download and give the show a listen.

Global Music Show

Specialty shows are controversial on a free format radio station, so they need to be good as hell to justify their existence. Lord knows we've tried. So, instead of letting the global music radio waves disintegrate into nothingness somewhere over Durham, they've been meticulously recorded. They're all archived in chronological order and labeled with region, DJ, and guest Professor name. Give a little listen, and feed back to me if you'd like.

http://www.unc.edu/areastudies/publicprograms/global-music-audio.html

This show is one of the more overtly educational broadcasts on xyc, and I'm interested to know: has anyone learned anything? Have we promoted intercultural understanding? Or provided some context to music that was otherwise simply "foreign"?

The purpose of the show is to educate and entertain, but I think its real value is allowing interaction between xyc and the professors of our university. When profs come to the station, they aren't selling their knowledge like they do in class, they're sharing it. I know I'm sounding a little lovey dovey here, but xyc might be the only place on campus where students and professors interact on equal ground, and I like that.
Thanks for reading,
Reece

Femme French Pop?

Recently came across a blogspot devoted to 60s French Language Femme Pop Music, plus some other stuff - http://dansmoncafe.blogspot.com/

I haven't had a chance to really dig in, but this is a taste of the offerings:

Rogue Bloggers Unite

In the spirit of meta-blogging, I must remark that as a WXYC DJ we have both the privilege and the expectation to post entirely nonsensical or otherwise random content to the blog out of hazy motive voids.

I just watched my friend's dog eat some leaves off of a plant. Then she walked over behind the couch and vomited up the leaves, along with some green bile. Then she made another puke on the floor next to that spot. Then she went back and licked up the goop, but not the partially chewed hunks of leaves, which are still on the floor. Thus I am reminded of that age-old rhyme "fatty fatty two by four" - you know how it goes .. .

The Jig is Up, 2007 ...

The dwindling days of December are no laughing matter for the music geek. It's time to cut the bullshit, roll up the sleeves and get down to business sculpting an unnecessarily obsessive "Best of ---- List" for no reason in particular, other than a self-affirming display of "how I spent my spare time this year." So here's a compilation of my 100 favorite albums from '07 (give or take one or two), starting with a numerically ranked Top 20, followed by an arbitrarily-ordered list of 80 other records well-deserving of recognition. I already wrote out a more descriptive list over at Dusted; you can check that out here. Of course, I had to add several releases that previously slipped my mind or just arrived in the mail, so here's a more comprehensive, "final" version. Most of these filtered through the playbox at WXYC, and we were thrilled to broadcast such goodness over our frequency. We've got big plans for '08 at our station, so keep listening and thanks for reading. Onward!

1. Ohsees - Sucks Blood (Castle Face)
2. Devin the Dude - Waitin To Inhale (Rap-A-Lot)
3. Pumice - Pebbles (Soft ABuse)
4. David Watson - Fingering An Idea (XI) / Throats (Ecstatic Peace)
5. Group Inerane/Group Doueh (Sublime Frequencies)
6. Pole - Steingarten (~scape)
7. Las Malas Amistades - Patio Bonito (Honest Jon's)
8. Burning Star Core - Operator Dead, Post Abandoned (No Quarter)
9. DJ Jazzy Jeff - Return of the Magnificent (Rapster)
10. Uncle Woody Sullender and Kevin Davis - The Tempest is Over (Dead CEO)
11. Dielectric Field Recording All-Stars - RE: Record (Dielectric)
12. Authenticite: The Syliphone Years (Stern's Africa)
13. Panda Bear - Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
14. Psychedelic Horseshit - Magic Flowers Droned (Siltbreeze)
15. Voice of the Seven Woods - s/t (Twisted Nerve/B-Music)
16. Stephen Vitiello - Listening to Donald Judd (Sub Rosa)
17. Phosphorescent - Pride (Dead Oceans)
18. Shackleton/Applebim - Soundboy Punishments (Skull Disco)
19. Susan Howe and David Grubbs - The Souls of the Labadie Tract (Blue Chopsticks)
20. Art of Field Recording Vol. 1 (Dust-to-Digital)

I get tired of ranking after 20, so these probably aren't in any particular order:

MF Grimm - The Hunt For the Gingerbread Man (Class A)
No Age - Weirdo Rippers (Fat Cat)
People Like Us/Ergo Phizmiz - Perpetuum Mobile (Soleilmoon)
Theo Angell - Auraplinth (Digitalis)
DJ Elephant Power - Scratch the Hulu (Sonig)
La Drivers Union Por Por Group - Por Por: Honk Horn Music of Ghana (Smithsonian Folkways)
Brian Harnetty - American Winter (Atavistic)
UGK - Underground Kingz (Jive)
Oren Ambarchi - In the Pendulum's Warm Embrace (Touch)
Noah Creshevsky - To Know and Not to Know (Tzadik)
Wooden Shjips - s/t (Holy Mountain)
Kemialliset Ystavat - untitled (Fonal)
Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36 (Fabric)
Toby Dammit - The Legend of Apple Jack (Hit Thing)
Pan Sonic - Katadiviohe (Blast First)
Army of the Pharaohs - Ritual Battle (Babygrande)
Vibracathedral Orchestra - Wisdom Thunderbolt (VHF)
American Band - American Band's First Album (Blossoming Noise)
Dalek - Abandoned Language (Ipecac)
Disrupt - Foundation Bit (Werk)
Omar Souleyman - Highway To Hassake (Sublime Frequencies)
Tinariwen - Aman Iman (World Village)
Ov - Noctilucent Valleys (Soft Abuse)
Boxcutter - Glyphic (Planet Mu)
Demons - Evocation (No Fun)
Raccoo-oo-oon - Behold the Secret Kingdom (Release the Bats)
Robert Wyatt - Comicopera (Domino)
Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro Alabama - Singing Songs of Praise (Casequarter)
Flaming Fire - When the High Bell Rings (Silly Bird)
Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions (Domino)
Circle - Katapult (No Quarter)
Akron/Family - Love Is Simple (Young Gods)
Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings (Carpark)
M.I.A. - Kala (XL)
Deerhunter - Cryptograms (Kranky)
Keith Rowe - The Room (Erstwhile)
Mohammed "Jimmy" Mohammed - Hulgizey (Terp)
Mudboy - Hungry Ghosts! These Songs Are Doors (Digitalis)
Axolotl - Memory Theatre (Important)
Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores - The Blind Spot (Cuneiform)
Tujiko Noriko - Solo (Editions Mego)
High on Fire - Death Is This Communion (Relapse)
Ginaluca Becuzzi and Fabio Orsi - The Stones Know Everything (Digitalis)
Wzt Hearts - Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones (Carpark)
Henry Flynt and Nova’Billy - s/t (Locust)
Jeru the Damaja - Still Rising (Ashenafi)
Michael Hurley - Ancestral Swamp (Gnomonsong)
Carl Stone - Al-Noor (In Tone)
Sir Richard Bishop - While My Guitar Violently Bleeds (Locust)
Samara Lubelski - Parallel Suns (Social Registry)
Turf Talk - West Coast Vaccine (Sick Wid It)
Infinite Livez vs. Stade - Art Brut Fe De Yoot (Big Dada)
Wiley - Playtime Is Over (Big Dada)
Magik Markers - Boss (Ecstatic Peace)
Black Milk - Popular Demand (Fatbeats)
Area C - Haunt (Last Visible Dog)
Richard Youngs - Autumn Response (Jagjaguwar)
Standing Nudes - Ghost Story (True Panther)
Pig Destroyer - Phantomb Limb (Relapse)
Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (XL)
Uke of Spaces Corners County -So Far on the Way (Corleone)
Flat Earth Society - Psycho Scout (Crammed)
Jazzkammer/Howard Stelzer - Tomorrow No One is Safe (Troniks/PacRec)
Yellow Swans - At All Ends (Load)
Burial - Untrue (Hyperdub)
Eats Tapes - Dos Mutantes (Tigerbeat6)
Babils - The Joint Between (Stilll)
V/A - I Belong To This Band (Dust to Digital)
Cadaver in Drag - Raw Child (Animal Disguise)
Jeff Rehnlund - Our Thin Mercy of Error (Hymns)
Exploding Customer - At Your Service (Ayler)
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (Domino)
Lubos Fiser - Valerie and Her Week of Wonders OST (Finders Keepers)
Tom Recchion - Sweetly Doing Nothing (Schoolmap)
Megafaun - Bury the Square (Burly Time)
Religious Knives - Remains (No Fun)
MV & EE with the Bummer Road - Green Blues (Ecstatic Peace)
Shape of Broad Minds - Craft of the Lost Art (Lex)
DJ Scotch Egg - Scotchhausen (ADAADAT)

And since I already had these mapped out:

Compilations:
-Dust to Digital records in general
-Authenticite: The Syliphone Years (Stern's Africa)
-The Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru (Barbes)
-Carolina Funk (Jazzman)
-Songs of the African Coast: Cafe Music of Liberia (Yarngo)
-Everything Is a Theory (Cephia's Treat)
-La Kodi Ya City Council (Mississippi)
-Cult Cargo: Grand Bahama Goombay (Numero Group)
-Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub (Soul Jazz)
-Awon Ojise Olorun: Popular Music of Yorubaland 1931-1952 (Savannaphone)

Reissues:
-Prince Jammy - Prince Jammy Destroy
-Ju Suk Reet Meate - Solo 78/79 or Do Unseen Hands Keep You Dumb? (De Stijl)
-Orlando Julius - Super Afro Soul (VampiSoul)
-Don Cherry/Jon Appleton - Human Music (Water)
-Tim Hecker - Radio Amor (Alien8/Mille Plateaux)
-Lee Rockey - Lee Rockey Music (De Stijl)
-Terry Riley - Music For the Gift (Ellison Fields)
-Noah Howard - Black Ark (Bo'Weavil)
-Dorothy Ashby - The Rubiyat of Dorothy Ashby (Dusty Groove America/Cadet)
-Annea Lockwood - Early Works 1967-82 (EM)

7", 12", Singles, EPs:
-The Bug feat. Killa P and Flow Dan - "Skeng"/"Skeng (Kode9 Remix)" (Hyperdub)
-Yikes - Whoa Comas/Blood Bombs (Kill Shaman)
-El Jesus De Magico 7" (Columbus Discount)
-Cloudland Canyon - Silver-Tongued Sisyphus (Kranky)
-Parts and Labor - Escapers One 12" (Broklyn Beats)
-Ariel Pink - My Molly (Tiny Creatures)
-Bass Invadurrz (frequeNC)
-Duran Duran Duran - Face Blast 12" (Planet Mu)
-Gorge Trio/Uske Orchestra - Divorce6 split 7" (Ache)
-Gaybomb/Ironing split LP (Hymns)

I feel much better now, thanks for your time. I hope you all have a very happy New Year ...

yrs,

-Cole-
cole@wxyc.org

The Simpsons! Radiohead!

There, that should just about cover all my bases, audiencewise. But yes, they are related! How does he do it?

Check out Making the Case for Fanboyism, a music-nerdy op-ed by me (an WXYC alum) in The Morning News (a Brooklyn-based online magazine). It's an essay about music criticism that somehow includes Radiohead, R. Kelly, Jens Lekman, and The Simpsons. Also, maybe you, and this guy:

Cheers.

A Comedy of Errors

The Feedback Farm has disappointed yet again. After promising that they were organized and ready to put on a great show, in their most recent episode the Farmers came across as unprepared and unprofessional as the show was seemingly plagued by technical difficulties and short tempers. After 60 minutes they still hadn't explored--or revealed!--the topic they came "prepared" to discuss!

How much longer will WXYC management continue to allow this sort of absurdity to occupy prime listening hours?

If you didn't hear what I am describing above, I recommend you download the programme here (29MB MP3), listen to it, take notes, and lodge your complaints with the Feedback Farmers to see if they will mend their ways. Email them at wxycfeedbackfarm at gmail dot com.

Bonus MP3

Happy Turkey Day

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving, so what else could the boys talk about? The Feedback Farmers sat down at the table and had a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving show last time out. You can hear it for yourself here (30MB MP3).

Word on the street is that the Farmers are more organized than ever for their next programme. Usually the show is haphazardly patched together, and even then things work out OK 15% of the time. There's no telling what heights they can reach when they actually prepare, and this might be the week we all find out.

You won't want to miss the next exciting episode of the Feedback Farm! Tune in Wednesday at 9pm WXYC time (North Carolina, USA) at 89.3FM in the Chapel Hill area or wxyc.org!

My Semi-Scathing Review

On my trip to California, which occured in early October, I was in attendance at a Magik Markers show at the Hemlock in San Francisco. It was through the wonder of coincidence and the magic of traveler's bones that I ran into David Harper and Nicole Bogas inside the stinky poo-poo Hemlock, which I left feeling rather doody. For a full account, see my snarky and jaded appraisal of the whole affair at Tiny Mix Tapes.

Love Ya-

CHI$$

Pet Sounds Remixed

I just stumbled upon a great remix album of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. It's crafted by a British artist by the name of Bullion, who really appears to be just a bedroom producer. Anyway, the album is entitled 'Pet Sounds: In the Key of Dee' because it emulates, and pays tribute to, the late J Dilla. Initially I was under the impression that the whole thing was a mash-up but according to Bullion "NO DILLA DRUMS USED." I'm a tad suspect because it really does sound like something that Dilla produced himself- it's uncanny.

Bullion provides the whole thing (mp3s at 320 kb/s!) for free. Download it here.



ps. Couldn't make it out friday night. To those who went, how was the Carolina Funk release party at Hell?

Daedelus and Busdriver

I caught the Daedelus/Busdriver show this past friday at the local 506 and it was amazing. Daedulus was decked out in almost full conductor's attire (except for his jungle spotted new balances) and he prefaced his set by saying that he wanted to keep things more "up tempo" and that we (the audience) should let him know if we didn't like his direction. Daedelus kept his word; and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance despite the fact he ventured close to heavy-techno territory. Here's a very short clip of the show that I captured with my outdated Canon:



it looked and sounded much better live. Also, that box that he's playing is a version of this cool little contraption:



Busdriver went on last and was intense as usual. He was backed by Anti-mc (who provided the beats for Busdriver earlier in the year when he opened for RJD2 at the cradle) and another dj named Desert Eagle. Their standout song was a remix of Kill Your Employer, which had one of the hottest beats that I have ever heard (sorry, no vid for that). And to top things off, as soon as Busdriver left the stage there was an impromptu dance party which was still going on when I left at 2am.

good times.

Must Don't Whip 'Um

Hey folks! WXYC is cosponsoring a performance of Cynthia Hopkins and the Gloria Deluxe's Must Don't Whip 'Um tomorrow night at 8:00 pm in Memorial Hall. Hopkins stopped by the studio yesterday evening for an interview and in studio session with our very own Maxwell Supercool. Check out the media.

Robot Attack!

Robots took over the WXYC airwaves last night on the Feedback Farm. Are robots benevolent helpers of humanity or sinister machines plotting to overthrow their creators? There was a little of each on last night's programme, which, in terms of the Feedback Farm oeuvre, wasn't half bad.

Two ways in which the show have been better:
-Kevin* could have remembered to bring the vocoder, or
-Kevin could have given an on-air apology in a robot voice for not remembering to bring the vocoder.

If you want to hear about robot exoskeletons, ethical issues surrounding robot technology, underwater robot seals, and a debate over the relative merits of two robot songs ("Mr Roboto" and "Iron Man"), download the programme here (25MB MP3).

Oh, coincidentally, Captured! By Robots plays tonight at the Local 506.

============

*Kevin being Kevin Clark, wanted in both Arizona and North Carolina for unspecified crimes not involving robots.

Feedback Farm: Fun For The Entire Family

The Feedback Farmers visited the North Carolina State Fair with stolen press passes and filed this report (25MB MP3).

Tune in tonight (9pm WXYC time) for another episode of the Feedback Farm!

NEW MUSIC SHOW PLAYLISTS

The WXYC Music Dept has been flooded with great new stuff lately, making our bi-weekly program dedicated to fantastic & fresh releases radiate with aural goodness. The past two installments have been especially exciting, with a nice mish mash of genre and style. I was even decked out in my Johnny Ca$h costume for last week's show (black suit and thick gold chain with dollar sign). Check out the playlists!

New Music Show: Oct. 17, 2007

New Music Show: Oct. 31, 2007

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this--I've had SO MUCH WORK that I didn't have time to upload this recording.

Last time on the Feedback Farm, the Farmers dedicated the night to the working class. Isn't it touching that they thought of us? Well, give it a listen by clicking here (29MB MP3).

And then be sure to tune in TONIGHT (89.3FM in the Chapel Hill area or wxyc.org, don'cha know) at 9pm WXYC time for an exciting new episode of THE FEEDBACK FARM!

Desert Blues - The Sounds of Tuareg Rebellion

Two exciting additions to WXYC playbox feature releases focusing on guitar music from the Western Sahara, each representing opposite ends of the recording spectrum and providing a window into the volatile political climate of the area. They both embody the sound of Tuareg unrest that is once again intensifying in the region, since rebel Tuaregs began another uprising against the Nigerian government earlier this year. You can read about the conflict on the following links taken from Tinariwen's Web site (they're in French though, so get Google to translate 'em):

www.tamtaminfo.com
www.agadez-niger.com
www.republicain-niger.com

Group Inerane is the newer of the two releases, presented in the lo-fi Sublime Frequencies style and recorded live in Algeria. Tinariwen's record was released in March, and showcases the group's efforts in the studio after evolving their sound for over two decades and two prior full-lengths. Individual reviews with more details below:

Artist: Group Inerane
Album: Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger)
Label: Sublime Frequencies

The second vinyl release from Sublime Frequencies continues to document Western Saharan guitar music (the first LP was Group Doueh, released earlier in the year), this time showcasing Bibi Ahmed and his Group Inerane.

Hailing from the currently tumultuous city of Agadez, Niger, the group exhibits a sound steeped in snaking, blues-rock influences and infused with Saharan folk, involving two electric guitars, a small drum kit and a chorus of vocalists. Recorded live by SF workhouse Hisham Mayet, the quality varies from track to track, but maintains a certain gritty charm that adds to the ecstasy of the group's performance.

The tracks range from psychedelic burnouts to plodding claps and soaring voices, bobbing rhythmically like a camel ride and inducing states of sandy trance. Their music is encompassed in the revolutionary rock of the Tuareg people, a sound that developed in the 1980s and 90s during the First Tuareg Rebellion as a political weapon for the rebels and an outlet of communication from Libyan refugee camps. The Nigerian government's failure to concede more political representation and economic compensation from the country's uranium deposits to the Tuareg since 1995 has led to a second uprising initiated by rebel Tuaregs earlier in the year, and is currently raging strong.

With music as captivating as this, Sublime Frequencies deserves applause once again for highlighting a region currently torn by conflict and deserving of attention from the outside world.

Artist: Tinariwen
Album: Aman Iman: Water is Life
Label: World Village

This group of nomads/soldiers/musicians from Mali has quite a backstory. The founding members of Tinariwen first met each other in the 1980s after being recruited to military camps in Libya, where they began fighting for the autonomy of their Tuareg people against the Malian and Nigerian government.

They began writing songs with their electric guitars, singing of their exile and struggle among the war-torn desert, drawing influence from the likes of Led Zeppelin and Hendrix. They've since given up their guns for guitars (though they once carried the two together), enjoying a fair amount of exposure since the late 90s from the likes of Robert Plant and Carlos Santanta, two of the musicians that originally inspired their desert trance-blues sound.

This is their third album proper, recorded in Bamako, Mali, and produced by Plant's guitarist Justin Adams to a finish that's a bit slick, but goes just far enough not to completely strip the music of its rustic mystique. Fronted by lead songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Ibrahim Ag Alhabib, the group usually contains around six guitarists and an equivalent amount of male and female vocalists and percussionists, delivering an entrancing brand of slippery guitar riffs and passionate campfire ballads in their native Tamashek tongue.

The group's droning desert sound might get a little too familiar after sitting through the album's entirety, but the music itself is performed with enough conviction to make this a compelling record, highlighted by the voice it gives to the hardships of the Tuareg and their fight for independence.

NEW MUSIC SHOW PLAYLIST: OCT. 3. 2007

After a several weeks of lonely hosting, the New Music Show finally featured two of two WXYC Music Directors on last week's show, sharing the mic, collaborating on the picks of the week, and geeking over the piano work of Michael Harrison. The mail bins have been quite full lately, so there was a lot to choose from. Those curious in what was featured on last week's NMS can find a playlist here.

In case you didn't know, the New Music Show happens every other Wednesday at 9pm on WXYC. Did you know you can listen live at wxyc.org?

This week's 9-10pm Wednesday slot is occupied by the Feedback Farm though, who are offering their salute to the working class! Tune in and detune...

SEPTEMBER PLAYBOX HIGHLIGHTS

The playbox at WXYC is currently bursting with quality new stuff, making the slow descent into Fall just a bit more tolerable. Little Howlin' Wolf made it all the way to #1 on our charts last week, how about that? Here's some highlights from the latest batch of rotation cuts, complete with short DJ-friendly reviews I wrote for the station. Stay tuned, October is coming.

Artist: Little Howlin' Wolf
Album: Cool Truth
Label: Heresee
South-Chicago street musician and outsider blues deconstructionist Little Howlin' Wolf (aka James Pobiega) released quite a few 7" singles back in the '70s and '80s, leaving behind an obscure trail of records just waiting to be re-released by some hip label. Leave it to Nautical Almanac owned and operated Heresee records to do the deed, reissuing Cool Truth - his first full-length record originally put out in 1985 and available here for the first time on CD. Recorded solo between 1979 and 1983, the tracks here resemble something like ragtime ran through a blender, garbled into junkyard blues and bouncing down the street like an over-packed cargo truck. His gravelly voice conjures Beefheart broken in half, spilled on the floor amongst a multi-tracked mix of sax, drums, guitar and harmonica. Pobiega's pained growls and shambling free-blues style are a perfect fit for the Heresee catalog - distorted lullabies from the deranged uncle you never knew.

Artist: Voice of the Seven Woods
Album: s/t
Label: Twisted Nerve / B-Music
The ever-reliable Finders Keepers/B-Music label/collective keeps the timeless tunes coming with some newly recorded jams by British psych-folk enthusiast Rick Tomlinson and his solo project, Voice of the Seven Woods. Tomlinson has been touring around the European underground for several years, self-releasing an array of CD-Rs, 7"s and cassettes that have long been out of print. Since Finders Keepers get their kicks from re-releasing criminally unavailable gems from music's mystical underbelly, it seems fitting for them to issue Tomlinson's first widely-distributed full-length - a splendid amalgamation of acoustic psych and Middle Eastern funk. He exhibits some damn fine chops on his acoustic guitar, weaving riffs that revolve on rollicking themes, picking up the oud and sitar to give the tracks more depth. A couple tunes even showcase Turkish funk breakdowns, livening up the lilt with trembling guitar and booty-shaking grooves. Despite the obvious care that was put into the records, an ancient haze lingers throughout; it sounds like it could be right out of 1972, but delivered with a fresh new smell. One of the most compelling releases steeped in the acoustic guitar to come along in some time, and with the bevy of finger-picking revivalists and folks-drone aficionados that currently clutter the music underground, that's saying something.

Artist: Shape of Broad Minds
Album: Craft of the Lost Art
Label: Lex
In true Madlib style, emcee/prodcucer Jneiro Jarel unveils his Shape of Broad Minds project, boasting contributions from four alter egos that reflect the various cities he's called home over the past 15 years: Brooklyn, Georgia, and his current residence in Philly. Jarel emphasizes the jazz kick like the aformentioned producer, paying homage to his blue note faves with recontexualized rhythms and space-station liftoff. His abstract hooks, inventive production and forward-thinking bumps shine, collapsing Jarel's various side projects into an impressive meld of hip hop for the new millennium (be-bop of the future past?). The personalities incorporated in the SOBM ensemble include: Jawaad (raps), Roque Wun (singing), Panama Black (raps), and Dr. Who Dat (production). A few guest MC spots are sprinkled in, most notably MF Doom's contribution to the "Let's Go" single. The concept may not be particularly new to the hip hop formula, but Craft of the Lost Art has enough unique cool to pull off inventive, even if gets a little too nostalgic for its own good at times. Still, Jarel's style is intelligent, bizarre, and a breath of fresh air from most of today's hip hop underground.

Artist: V/A
Album: Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub
Label: Soul Jazz
For a label that's made its name with a massive catalog of dub, reggae and a variety of other danceable musics, it makes sense for London-based Soul Jazz to dip their hands into the dubstep sound that's been brewing in the southern part of the city for several years. This compilation basically sums up the heavy hitters in the scene, showcasing its bassy brand of club-ready dub. All these tracks are freshly produced for this release, with cuts by all the big boys; Digital Mystikz, Burial, Skream, Kode9 - along with some stand-up tracks by other producers like Scuba, Sub Version and King Midas Sound. The artists here display several different variations on dubstep's framework, skulking though delay-drenched soul samples, wobbly kneed low-end, and the cold sweat of urbanized London wasteland. Some of the samples and effects treatment come off a bit cheezy, but these fellows know what they're doing - delivering a head-nodding blend of throbbing bass caked in digital warmth. Whether it be a steady, dance-ready thump or a sparse buildup with subsequent explosion, the tracks here can get addictive. Hopefully, this won't be the last dubstep effort from Soul Jazz - with any luck, they'll keep up with the scene as it continues to evolve.

Artist: People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz
Album: Perpetuum Mobile
Label: Soleilmoon
Through a self-proclaimed "schizophrenic open source compositional process," like-minded plunderphonic all-stars and UK residents People Like Us (aka Vicki Bennett) and Ergo Phizmiz team up in a vortex of zany audio snippets, looped jingle jangle and ridiculous recontextualizations. Over the course of a year, the two used a shared server to upload and download files to and from one another, editing and amalgamating the stolen sources with frequent regurgitation. The album isn't completely lifted however, as both Phizmiz and Bennett dubbed in vocal accompaniments here and there to augment their loony concoctions. Everything seems rosy on the surface, but the layering and sampling depth are quite disorienting and clinically deranged, as is most of their work. You can download the dubplates that they made for the record on PLU's site, so why not try your luck at a remix?

The Feedback Farm Travels Abroad

On a "normal" day it's hard to understand what those Feedback Farmers are saying and doing, but this past week they were definitely speaking a foreign language.

In celebration of the European Day of Languages--September 26th every year--the Farmers explored language, European Languages in particular. The goals of the European Day of Languages are three-fold:

1) Alert the public to the importance of language learning and diversify the range of languages learned in order to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding.
2) Promote the rich linguistic and cultural diversity of Europe.
3) Encourage lifelong language learning in and out of school.

It's debatable whether the Farmers furthered any of these lofty aims. You can decide for yourself by clicking here (25MB MP3).

Interview w/ DJ C

Boston's DJ C has been steady killin it for years now. As the head of the Mashit imprint, he's put out some of the most noteworthy ragga jungle tunes in recent memory, earning praises from the late great John Peel and countless others. As of late, DJ C has been busy developing a new club sound termed Boston Bounce, along with releasing two albums of forward thinking beats. The most recent of these lps - Sonic Weapons - is in heavy rotation right now, so should be coming through your stereo in the very near future. DJ C was good enough to chat it up with me from his new base camp in Chicago.

As part of the Toneburst Collective, you helped put together numerous events that fell outside the boundaries of rock, hip- hop or rave scenes of late '90s Boston. How did that come about?

I was attending the Massachusetts College of Art at the time and was producing music in the Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM) department. My professors there got me thinking about what context I'd like to see/hear my music in.

SIM is the department you go into if you feel too restricted by, or don't fit into the other departments at MassArt, so people are presenting works in many media; performance, film/video, sound, photography, sculpture etc. on any given week. We students were responsible for producing the studio class each week, where other students would present their work for critique. So event production was a big part of what we learned. Producing a class might involve setting up sound-systems, video projection, hanging art, stage management, lighting etc.

Meanwhile, the fact of the matter is that I wanted my music to be seen/heard at parties and in clubs. Unfortunately I didn't have connections in the clubs, and my music was kind of left-field-dub, jungle, instrumental-hip-hop-as opposed to the house and techno that was big in Boston clubs at the time.

The obvious decision: produce my own parties. I began producing small parties at MassArt for and with students, after-hours. I also got involved in some events that one of the SIM grad-students was doing at her loft in South Boston. She had been a student at Harvard and had a network of folks from there, some of whom became founding members of Toneburst with me.

DJ /rupture was doing a radio show at the MIT station at the time and I was introduced to him by some of these Harvard folks. Eventually I threw my first party in Glochester, MA with /rupture, Embryo(Splice and Raffi from Harvard), some video/instalation peeps from MassArt, and some DJs from the Boston College radio station. The party went well. /rupture, Splice and I decided we should try to do it monthly. The next month we did it again under the name Toneburst and that was the first of many Toneburst parties in locations that ranged from out-doors on the street, to the Boston Childrens Museum.

Your production seems to reflect a similar heedlessness for sticking to one genre of electronic music. How does this impact your approach to live performance? Put another way, are there restrictions to being "DJ" C?

Heedlessness is a great word! One of the nuns in the Montessori pre- school I went to told my mom I was heedless. So you can see it goes way back.

I don't have many restrictions. I just play what I like. I don't ignore the audience though. I work together with them to achieve the feedback loop that occurs when things work right. If I can craft a good mix, and the crowd is responsive then the mix gets better and the response gets better and so on.

One common thread through most of your tunes (regardless of tempo or genre) is polyrhythmic - and what I can only describe as 'dirty' - drumkits. What led you to develop that sort of sound?

That's very observant. I don't know that I would have put my finger on that myself. I just happen to like polyrhythms, or at least syncopation. There's a kind of tension that's created when rhythms stray outside a strict/simple frame. That's the tension that makes me move. Some people prefer the strict frame, I like my beats outside the lines. Same goes for the dirtyness. Music needs imperfection, and rawness for me to truly enjoy it. Not too much though. My favorite music stratals the line between formulaic pop and experimental, underground sound.

Jungle(and now to some degree dubstep) artists have developed a sort of canon for the way tracks are produced. This often influences the arrangement of the track in order to cater to DJs, and also narrows the range of samples used in otherwise instrumental tunes. As a producer, how do you view these sort of conventions?

I think you've touched on the reason why I always feel like an outsider from every scene. I'm never willing to conform to the rules that become established once the scene emerges. I think those frameworks can be valuable, and inspiring at times. I just can't stick to them. I also think they are the inevitable downfall of a scene. Unless rules are broken and changed movements become stale. All new and exciting genres come out of combining other genres.

You've recently produced a number of tracks with (vocalists) Zulu & Quality Diamond, some of which have seen numerous voicings over the same riddim. Can we expect more of this sort of collaboration? Do you foresee more American producers using what has traditionally been a Jamaican approach to releasing multiple vocalists on a track?

I do plan to do more of that. Now that I'm in Chicago, in close proximity to Zulu, he and I will certainly do more work together. I like the various vocalists on a riddim thing, and I'm also a fan of the mashup, so sometimes I just lay acapellas over beats I've made. I don't really understand why more american producers don't do the riddim thing. It's so jamaican.

What can we expect from Mashit and Beat Research in the future?

Beat Research continues as weekly party in Cambridge, MA with residents Wayne&Wax and DJ Flack. Mashit.com recently launched a blog/podcast and will be launching a download store soon. Lots of good free downloads are already available: http://Mashit.com

When are we gonna hear more melodica?

Good point! I'll get on that.

Audio archive of DJ C's live performance at Local 506 in April 2006 is available here. In addition to Sonic Weapons being in the WXYC playbox right now, you can hear plenty of DJ C's tunes Sunday evenings 10-midnite(or anytime) on WXYC's New Science Experience mix show.

Shameless, Shameless, Self, Promotion

Another one of my pieces got published by Mr P and the fine folx at Tiny Mix Tapes. Thanks to the editor. Its an interview with Pterodactyl. ENJOY.

??????

In the interest of nothing in particular, I share with you readers a review I did for Tiny Mix Tapes of a Dark Meat show from the 506 that happened about a month ago. Help yourselves. It was published today.

Be good, y'all

Blows Or Blows Away?

At the height of Hurricane Season the Feedback Farmers hit an all-time low. Or did they? You be the judge. Download the hurricane party here (28 MB MP3).

Listen as the Farmers struggle to stay on topic, then blow off-course. Experience the stormy temperaments that could only be born of disorganization, a lack of communication, and surface water temperatures exceeding 27 degrees Celsius. Bring children and animals inside! Take shelter, the Feedback Farm is coming!

Oral Hygiene / Aural Hi-Jinks

In case you didn't hear the most recent Feedback Farm programme, you can download it here (32MB MP3). In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first dentist, the topic was TEETH. Two out of four Feedback Farmers recommend that you listen to this show to put you on the path to excellent dental hygiene. The other two recommend against it. The choice is yours.

Be sure to tune in to the Feedback Farm this Wednesday (9/12) at 9pm EDT, and prepare to be blown away!

PS You can email the Feedback Farm! The email address is wxycfeedbackfarm at gmail dot com.

--------XX Cross Posting XX---------

This image is a link to my first article ever published at Tiny Mix Tapes dot com. It is an interview with the band No Doctors of the Bay Area in California. We talk about their new album, chaos, clarity, food, song, and many other universally appreciated topics of mental import. Just click on the picture.

The Feedback Farm Makes Contact

30 years to the day since the receipt of the Wow! Signal the Feedback Farmers took on the topic of Making Contact, with a heavy focus on UFOs.

Are we alone in the universe? Are the aliens already among us? Controversial but compelling, listen as the Farmers investigate. Many many thanks to the gracious and eloquent Terrell Copeland who joined the program by telephone to talk about his UFO sightings and theories.

If you missed the show, download it here (28MB MP3).

Oh, there's a ton of stuff out there on the Web, but Terrell suggested you can learn more from Dr Steven Greer.

The End

The seventh part of the Feedback Farm's Life Cycle Trilogy took place last Wednesday. The topic was a serious one--one nobody likes to think about--death. Why is death such a dicey subject? What happens after you die? Do you know any famous people who died on August 5th? Listen as the Farmers broach the taboo topic and answer all of these questions and more by downloading the programme here (31MB MP3).

Ah, Youth!

Although the Feedback Farmers themselves will probably never grow up, that is precisely the topic they tackled in Part II of their "life cycle" series.

To hear what they had to say on the topic, click here (32MB MP3).

To hear what they have to say on the topic of death (Part III of III in the series), tune in to WXYC (89.3FM in the Chapel Hill area, wxyc.org on the Internet) at 9pm EDT on Wednesday, August 1st.

Review: Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores

I'm always excited for some new Eyesores output. Providence mainstay Alec K. Redfearn and his ever-growing ensemble recently released The Blind Spot - their sixth full-length overall and second for Cuneiform records. We've been spinning it quite a bit at WXYC lately, and the album reached #5 on our charts last week. Check out Dusted today for a full-length review, which can be read here.

Blog Renewal Project

To spare the blog an untimely demise, at some point we must envision a turn of fate, a delirium of keyboard strokes to no end other than a self-serving smattering of tapping shittering letter storm. To that end, perhaps this blog shall mutate itself into something utterly transitory - perhaps a repository for pictures of nude men, or a collection of poetry. What say you, faithful readers? Should you exist, the time is nigh for participation, illumination. Sitting on your hands yields naught but empty electronic space, an absence of electricity, neither ones nor zeros. And so it goes that dis blog is a children's blog.

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

• ass (1x)

Does my Three Musketeers style speech bother you? It sure as hell bothers me, but somehow, in the course of meta-blog discussin' a lot of cussin gets lost and instead we're left with bloo-ba and poo-poo. Fer shame.
All I'm saying is BRING ON THE X-RATED CONTENT!!

WXYC'S NEW MUSIC SHOW! NOW WITH PLAYLISTS!

Every other Wednesday from 9pm-10pm, the WXYC Music Dept takes the time to dump out the mail bin, sift through our personal purchases and play the highlights from the pile. Just as our station's free-format implies, there is no particular genre or style that is emphasized - just a new music grab bag of things that we're enjoying at the moment. Last week's show was a good one, view the Playlist here.

The Feedback Farm will be on the air this Wednesday though, continuing their three-part series on the life cycle with part two - YOUTH.

Last time's Farm topic dealt with "Birth." Check out an mp3 of my favorite segment here:
Feedback Farm: BIRTH - June 20, 2007
*Edited for maximum tolerance.

Or you can download the whole friggin show a couple posts down.

Wednesdays, 9pm-10pm. You probably have something better to do, but the radio loves you more.

Review: Thee Ohsees

San Francisco outfit Thee Ohsees have been getting lots of play on WXYC lately, charting within our top 5 two weeks in a row and generally kicking ass with their new album on Castle Face, Sucks Blood. The release is already on my best of '07 list, simply addictive with its oh-so-cool garage clatter and charming little pop tunes. I wrote a full-on review that was published in Dusted today, read it here.

Ubu: Web King of the Weird

If you're not familiar with the true Internet treasure that is UbuWeb, you should really go spend a couple hours browsing the vast collection of poetry, experimental video, text and music that are housed within. Since 1996, the site has been a constantly growing resource for all walks of avant-garde art, offering everything up for free download, completely devoid of advertising and operating without commercial motivations.

WFMU Blog alerted me to an awesome interview that Archinect conducted with UbuWeb founder Kenneth Goldsmith, which you can read here.

Much thanks to Ubu for providing such an amazing resource for the obscure and otherwise inaccessible art forms that are available in convenient abundance within the site's pages. This is what the Internet is all about.

Rebirth of the Feedback Farm

The Feedback Farm is back in full effect. Or something. The Farmers actually had an organizational meeting prior to their show this week, and that meeting gave birth to new ideas. They talked about all things babies last night. To hear their delivery, click here (30MB MP3).

PS The Feedback Farmers have asked me to pass along their new email address. If you'd like to contact them, write to wxycfeedbackfarm at gmail dot com.

The Heat Is On

The Feedback Farmers welcomed Al Gore to the programme on June 6th to talk about Global Warming. Yes, that Al Gore. Yes, Global Warming is for real. Hear it for yourself--download the show (30MB MP3). Thanks for dropping by, Mr Gore!

Review: Rameses III

via.


Artist: Ramses III
Album: Matanuska/Honey Rose EP
Label: Music Fellowship/Important

Dr. Leary may have originally introduced the concept of "set and setting" in regards to psychoactive indulgence, but the advice holds relevance far past its psychedelic roots. For the highest level of personal reward in any given situation, both the individual's specific mindframe (the "set") and the surrounding physical environment ("setting") must operate in a certain state of harmony. Such a successful marriage takes precedent in the elegant folk drones of London-based trio Rameses III. The groups glistening soundscapes of guitar and keyboard splendor work to fuse the individual pleasantly within the natural environment, away from big city bustle and floating somewhere between sun-drenched fields and shaded habitations.

The recent output of Spencer Grady (also a regular Dusted contributor), Steve Lewis and Daniel Freeman focuses on squeezing as much beauty out of a given setting as possible. Matanuska, their first proper full-length (released in 2006 along with their acclaimed collaboration with the North Sea), is dominated by images of a towering forest densely populated with ancient trees - inspired by the beams of sunlight that managed to penetrate the overgrowth. The first chords of the album's opener, "Before the Rains Fall (For Ed Cooke)," creep out of rumbling thunder, incorporating the natural sound into a tug-of-war of light and darkness, reconciling the two with grace. Each guitar pluck, each keyboard addition, each ghostly vocal is approached with a contemplated gentility, restraining the swells and constructing a musical pillow of shifting harmony. The drones come in deep pulses, augmented by ever-present bird-calls that place the listener in the cultivated sylvan scene. Fragile harmonies grow steadily into malleable matter and sink slowly into the background as the tones take shape, simply existing as a meaningful and meaningless part of everything.

The setting for the groups latest EP is a film set, appropriately enough. Honey Rose serves as the soundtrack to Jon Spiras short film "Suityman," images from which don the albums cover, placing the music in a golden field of tall weeds and slow-motion breezes. A repeating guitar theme unifies the album's six tracks, popping in and out through three different incarnations over the course of a fleeting 23-minutes. The overall brevity of the pieces is the major downside to Honey Rose, which would benefit from some time to expand and settle into the sonic introductions. But given its function as a short film soundtrack, the more concise approach taken here can be forgiven. The sparkling tones within provide a fitting backdrop for peaceful isolation and a glimpse of lazy nirvana achieved among swaying cattails.

It is the groups emphasis on allowing the music to weave itself into the surrounding atmosphere that succeeds the most. Set and setting combine, guitar resonance blends with thoughts, and, for a moment, the seam between physical and non-physical becomes too small to see. Or even matter at all. I'm sure Leary would approve.