punky reggae pilot show ep. 2
Another Pilot Show, come and gone. Back whenever it was that I agreed to host the show on the 24th, it didn’t occur to me that it would be during membership drive, oops. I think we managed to be entertaining enough that the shilling was mostly tolerable, or at least, only slightly obnoxious. The show managed to raise a little over $200, and only one of those donations was from a friend (thanks, Gina!). So we did pretty well, though I’ve got no idea how much the show normally brings in.
Technically speaking, the show was my best yet. I managed to go a full hour without any fuck ups and there wasn’t much in the way of dead air. I recorded this episode using a MD player rather than a tape, which was much less of a hassle since I just turned it on and forgot about it, but I think the recording was a bit lower quality than the last.
Enjoy.
Punky Reggae Pilot Show (2007-09-24)
Playlist:
Echo Base Soundsystem - Dem Have
Scientist - Dance of the Vampires
Don Carlos - 400 [Dubs]
Junior Byles - Hail to Power
*Pocket FishRmen - The Leader is Burning
Seein’ Red - Hometown Blues
Bury the Living - Sugar Free Kool Aid
*The Ritchie Whites - The Color of Blood
Necros - Youth Camp
Peligro Social - Dominarte
Bad Brains - Banned in D.C.
Bad Brains - Roll On
Dadawah - Run Come Rally
*Pedestrians - Future Shock
Feederz - 1984
* denotes vinyl, yay!
punky reggae pilot show (delivered)
Almost two months after first mentioning it, I’ve finally made a digital copy of my episode of The Pilot Show. This is pretty embarrassing for me to listen to now, but I never fail to deliver. I started the tape late, and I had to switch sides near the end, so the tracks Dansez Les Mortes and Fast Cars are from MP3s, while Police & Thieves and Murder City Nights contain MP3 filler. Hopefully it’s not too jarring.
Punky Reggae Pilot Show (2007-07-02)
On September 24th I’ll be hosting another pilot show, most likely using the same format. If anyone would like to hear something in particular, leave a request in the comments or e-mail me.
punky reggae pilot show
On July 2nd, I hosted The Pilot Show (one hour of radio magic from new, up & coming programmers) on KOOP Radio. I’d seen Gina Pina host it twice in the studio, and by that point I’d also apprenticed with John in the studio three times, so going in I felt fairly confident in running the board, watching the levels and cuing up the turntables and CD players. Sitting down and actually executing all this however was chaotic and terrifying. I was so nervous in the beginning of the hour that my hands were shaking pretty badly which made it rather difficult to cue my first two records, but I managed to calm down near the end of the show. All in all it went pretty well I think, and I certainly had fun. I can only remember making two mistakes, which isn’t bad that bad I suppose:
1) When I cued up Fascist Cops, I forgot to give the turntable a ½ spin backwards before the start of the song, the result of which was you could hear the record spinning up. Technically, I guess this isn’t really my fault, because the track before it leads directly into them counting into the song.
2) I saw both turntables had their levels up, and I accidentally turned down the wrong one. The result was Pressure drop fading out then in over the air. Oops. In hindsight, a better way to handle that would have been to start up the next song and sacrificing the last minute or so of that song.
Doing the show certainly made me appreciate the effort that a lot of the programmers at KOOP put into their shows, especially ones like Stronger than Dirt where the DJ plays several seven inches in a row. On the other hand though, I can certainly see the appeal of playing most of a show off a CD or laptop like other DJs do.
In the next few months, KOOP members who have completed the apprenticeship program, FCC training and studio training will be eligible to pitch their shows to the Programming Committee. I haven’t decided whether I’ll actually apply for a show or not. I’d like to have one, playing the same sort of stuff I did on The Pilot Show, but I think I’d have a hard time making a case for it (How would it benefit the community?) when they already have an excellent reggae show and another show covering a good variety of punky stuff.
Eventually, I’ll make a digital copy of the recording of the show and host it here. In the meantime, here’s the playlist:
La Fraction - Dansez Les Mortes
The Buzzcocks - Fast Cars
*The Clash - Police and Thieves
*The Kids - Fascist Cops
Ronnie Davis - False Leaders
*Johnny Clarke - Simmer Down
Peter Tosh - Stepping Razor
*Toots & The Maytals - Pressure Drop
Dandy Livingston - Trouble In The Town
Don Carlos - Lazer Beam
Cornel Campbell - Fight Against Corruption
The Selecter - Too Much Pressure (Live)
The Specials - Skinhead Girl
*The Jam - In The City
*Radio Birdman - Murder City Nights
Teen Cool - Partners In Crime
Les Calamites - Toutes Les Nuits
* denotes vinyl, yay!
gypsy punks
Thanks to the recommendation of several friends, I had the immense pleasure of witnessing the spectacle that is Gogol Bordello. A schizophrenic mix of punk, east European folk, dub and hip-hop, it was without a doubt the most enjoyable show I’ve seen this year¹. Trying to convey the energy and intensity they brought on stage leaves me at a loss for words, but others far more qualified for such endeavors could probably manage.
As to be expected, their studio recordings do little justice to their live act, but at this point I’ll take what I can get.
Immigrant Punk
Think Locally, Fuck Globally
Not A Crime
Also of semi-related interest is the mention of two Romani-centric directors on the Gogol Tour Bus Music Collection page. Emir Kusturica and Tony Gatlif. I was having trouble recalling films with any Romani characters, stereotypical or otherwise, so I think this warrants at least one trip to I Love Video.
¹ With of course the exception of the legendary Desmond Dekker, but that was in San Francisco, and until that show I was under the impression he was dead. So I’m not so sure that it counts.
brevity
There’s a lot to be said for it.