download this for once, someone
Friday, January 24th, 2003for once, someone talks about what digital music does to the experience of music, as opposed to the [necessary but long-winded] debates about legal mumbo jumbo.
Archive for January, 2003
the season of rock lotto
Thursday, January 23rd, 2003THE ORIGIN OF SLANG, PART
Wednesday, January 15th, 2003THE ORIGIN OF SLANG, PART ONE
ever wonder where the phrase “fucking a” came from? WPRB!
“It happened sometime in 1961, maybe 1962, but no later than that I am sure. I defy anyone to find an earlier use of that lyrical profanity (don’t confuse the phrase with ‘A-okay’ made so popular by the astronauts). It was all due to Studio A. In those days, everything at WPRB was broadcast out of Studio B, an intimate glassed-in box only large enough to hold a DJ and a few sycophants. Studio A was larger, but its console never worked. If it weren’t for the fact that the large conference table in Studio A was a perfect place to set down those big boxes that pizza come in (even then!), Studio A would have been of no use whatsoever.
Two members of the engineering staff, Minet and Auslander, decided to change this, though I’m not sure why. They espoused the Che Guevara school of electronics. Their modus operandi was to plug in anything on the fritz and hope that it exploded, because the sparks would pinpoint the problem. (They applied this principle to my roommate’s malfunctioning stereo and in 30 minutes transformed it into scrap metal.) That’s why the console in Studio A was so fascinating to them. It exploded with the persistence of a Mexican fiesta, which may have explained their predilection for working at it late at night with a case of cheap beer at hand. During one of these late night escapades, Minet was on his back under the console monkeying with some wires, while Auslander was standing up, hovering over the monster with his eyeglasses way down on the tip of his pimply nose, hoping to see the damn thing pop. I could see them through the window out of Studio B while I was on the air. I’m not sure exactly what happened next.
Whatever it was, the lights flickered momentarily and Minet screamed ‘FUCKING A!!!’ so loudly that even with my earphones on I could hear him. And he continued yelling the words over and over, while he hopped around holding his right hand. So, when Auslander, who now was totally cracking up over his buddy’s misfortune, pushed open the door to Studio B to share the merriment with me, those fateful words went out ever so clearly over the air, making my engineer blanch. And, as Minet continued to yell and Auslander continued to prop open the studio door with his doubled-over body, those words continued to go out over the air, until the engineer came to his senses and flipped the switch. Of course, we never heard a word of complaint, proving that no one, not even the FCC, was listening. I don’t think Minet, after his pain subsided, ever used the words again. But Auslander did, all the time, and so did everybody else, me included.
Soon, it was all over campus. From there, it conquered the nation. Tomorrow, the world, as they say. Of course, nobody knew what the ‘A’ was, except for the few of us there that night. But it didn’t matter what ‘A’ was. It really had nothing to do with any ‘A’ in particular. The phrase lassoed the Zeitgeist; ‘A’ really stood for everything so maddening and so frustrating that it couldn’t be put into words. What happened to Minet that day was just a happy accident, something like Newton and the apple. I mean, if he had yelled ‘Fucking B,’ who would have noticed? —- Stephen Pribula, Princeton Class of ‘63
source: WPRB@everything2.com
WPRB today! 7 -10PM (recap)
Tuesday, January 14th, 2003WPRB today! 7 -10PM (recap)
Since I decided to sabotage my club set on friday night (a long story for later, kids) it was a pleasant change of pace to be on the radio. I remember how it used to frustrate me that I was stuck in a dank basement and never was sure who I was playing music for, but I think thats beginning to change.
Anyway, today’s setlist - 01 13 02
HUGGY BEAR “her jazz” taking the rough with the smooch
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POLVO “bombs that fall from your eyes” this eclipse
SUICIDE “misery train” american supreme
FC/KAHUNA “machine says yes”
VERTEBRAE “winter songs all sound the same” pinafore
DURUTTI COLUMN “belgian friends” v/a: and here is the young man
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SIGUR ROS “track 7″ ()
LET’S ACTIVE “every word means no” afoot
LEE “bring it back” demo
THE HOLY GHOST “color sympathy”
UNREST “june” imperial ffrr
TSUNAMI “valentine” deep end
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THE COLOR GUARD “not my valentine” speech for heated hearts
SMART WENT CRAZY “sugar in your gas tank” now we’re even
SAHARA HOTNIGHTS “on top of your world” jennie bomb
SKULL KONTROL “live bait” deviate beyond all means necessary
WINTER CAROUSEL “meateater” v/a: no tribute: the music of the nihilist spasm band
OH-OK “such’n’such” the complete recordings
APB “talk to me” s/t
PALAIS SCHAUMBURG “madonna” s/t
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NEW WET KOJAK “do the math” no 4 ep
THE RAPTURE “echoes” v/a: insound tour support series
DSICO “its getting hot in here” internet only release
XANADU & SWEET LADY “rapper’s delight” v/a: hustle!
E.C.C. “rocked by rape”
GZA/GENIUS “fame”
FEMININE COMPLEX “run that through your mind” livin’ love
LAURA NYRO “nowhere to run” gonna take a miracle
DAWN EDEN “they dont know about us” v/a: the stiff generation
LEW LEWIS & THE REFORMERS “win or lose” v/a: the last stiff compilation…
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THE CARIBBEAN “annunicator zone” history’s first know it all
THE SHINS “caring is creepy” oh inverted world
BILL FOX “ill give it away” transit byzantium
EDITH FROST “walk on the fire” telescopic
MADDER ROSE “car song” panic on
RIDE “vapour trail” no where
SPOON “loss leader” soft effects
RUIN “hero” fiat lux
WE RAGAZZI “why does the world have to modernize?” suicide sound system
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THEORETICAL GIRLS “theoretical girls”
throw me a frickin’ bone
Saturday, January 11th, 2003throw me a frickin’ bone here people…
why is it so difficult to find a band who wants to open up for the 90 Day Men / Boas show on 1/30?
i have asked about eight billion bands and none of them can do it. i mean, come on! high profile show! another chance to play! what more could you possibly want?
so.
if you have a band, and you think you fit on this bill [musically, ethically, fashionably], please send an email to booking@plainparade.org, explaining in 100 words or less, why we should book you. if you have a press kit, it would be a good idea to send us that. if you have a website, send us the URL.
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