such a fun show today! amy is visiting from chicago and wanted to check out the princeton record exchange, so she came to WPRB with me. i have noted her contributions to the show below in italics. amy is special — she’s the first person i’ve seen to nap through a killdozer song.

anyway, *LOTS of callers today*. lots of creepy dude callers, but well, as you know from reading this it’s par for course. on the upside there were a slew of cool callers, like the dude who requested the jimmy castor bunch’s “its just begun,” a song you may recognize as the background music i use whenever i’m on air.

fans of the indie rock genre, be sure to check out *the soft drugs* & *victoria lucas* records. they are totally solid. i am not certain, but the song i played by the victoria lucas might be inspired by the pete seeger tune, “where the old allegheny and the monongahela flow,” which was played on last week’s show coincedentally enough. [editors note: the VL stopped by this here blog and let me know there is no connection. thanks juan!]

closing note: i am genuinely in can’t-live-without-it, head-over-heels love with *jennifer o’connor’s* records. i havent run the numbers all official stylee but im pretty certain she’s the most played artist on my show this summer! that said, if loving her music is wrong, then i don’t wanna be right.

smart went crazy - null set - now we’re even
thatcher on acid - yo yo man - 7″
finn’s motel - of cycles and engines - 4 songs from escape velocity - N
afghan whigs - summer’s kiss - black love
relay - driver - type/void - N
suni paz - casi casi - bandera mia: songs of argentina - N
marvelettes - dont mess with bill - greatest hits

the sea & cake - jacking the ball - s/t
m ward - chinese translation - post war - N R
king kong ding dong - heya - s/t - N R
the red krayola - another song another satan - hazel
neef - wanda - 23 7″
bardo pond - endurance - ticket crystals - N
spinanes - eleganza - arches & aisles
pretenders - stop your sobbing - s/t - R

prince - when u were mine - dirty mind
otis redding - open the door - the dock of the bay
the tiger - money is king - politics, intrigue & violence: calypsos from trinidad
anquette - janet reno - 12″
jennifer o connor - exeter, rhode island - over the mountain, across the valley and back to the stars - N
zumpano - wraparound shades - 7″
the long blondes - autonomy boy - giddy stratospheres 12″ - N

jimmy castor bunch - its just begun - hip hop roots - R
spoon - take the fifth - girls can tell

eric bachmann - carrboro woman - to the races - N
rock * a * teens - could have just died - baby a little rain must fall
the heads - earth / sun - under the stress of a headlong dive - N
human hands - i got mad - s/t

killdozer - slackjaw - burl
the styrenes - green lamp - we care so you dont have to
the soft drugs - defending the paint - in moderation - N
pinback - bbtone - blue screen life
the smiths - how soon is now? - 12″ - R
the thin man - an undertaker muses… - greasy heart - N
sea saw - stereo - magnetophone

rondelles - like a prayer - shined nickels & loose change
okay paddy - gas money - the cactus has a point - N
the victoria lucas - allegheny / monongahela - hit the ground running fast - N
hockey night - grim break - keep guessin
cordalene - this city is a catalyst - the star ledger - N

Between work, Plain Parade and other stuff, I need to take a little breather right now. I know when I don’t post you start thinking horrible things have happened to me. Now, I don’t want to be complicit in your mom-like worrywart behavior, so I figure it’s better to upfront about needing some R & R.

See you in a couple days!

ever have one of those days where you wish your show was two hours and not three? yeah, thats kind of how i felt. but hey, lets look on the bright side, everyone got to check out that 30+ minute acid mothers temple track.

8/23/06

delta 5 - shadow - singles & sessions 79-81
les folkloristas - flor de metal - mexico-2 - N
mucho macho machito & his afro cuban salseros - un poquito de tu amor - s/t
psapp - tricycle - the only thing i ever wanted - N
lovechild - six of one - witchcraft
lung leg - maid to minx - maid to minx
battleship - you could feel - presents princess - N

thunderbirds are now! - bodies ADJust - justamoustache
pony pants - pony train - til death do us party - N
volcano! - easy does it - s/t
the motells - its happening again - 7″
chitlin fooks - one week later - s/t
ricky skaggs - crying my heart out over you - the essential ricky skaggs
buffy sainte marie - better find out for yourself - illuminations
kinky - monday killer - reina - N

cause co-motion - falling again - 7″ - N
pointed sticks - no use for u - perfect youth
the method actors - big red brain - 7″
main - valency - deliquesence
the thermals - capture with a magnet - s/t
epsilons - gonna give it to me - s/t - N

code of honor - beware the savage jaw - complete studio recordings - N
tom ze - defect 14: xiquexique - fabrication defect
elf power - king of earth - back to the web - N
velocity girl - labrador - simpatico
mighty mighty - throwaway - 7″
geraldine fibbers - birthday boy - 7
suntan - i can only give you everything - send you home
pink mountaintops - how we can get free - axis of evol - N
pete seeger - where the old allegheny and the mononghahela flow - american favorite ballads - N

the dentists - outside your inside - speak no evil 7″
they shoot horses dont they? - seeds - boo hoo hoo boo - N
sonic youth - jams run free - rather ripped - N - R
we quit - bones - zum audio vol 3 - N
unwound - demolished - the future of what
gal costa - pais tropical - s/t
trouble funk - drop the bomb - say what

delta 5 - mind your own business - singles & sessions 79-81

acid mothers temple & the melting paraiso UFO - the tales of the solar sail - dark stars in the dazzling sky - have you seen the other side of the sky? - N

From the August 24-30, 2006 issue of the _ Philadelphia City Paper_

When I saw the open letter to Luke Wilson on Steely Dan’s Web site, all I could think was “This is a Yacht Rock episode waiting to happen.” Over the course of its 10 episodes for “untelevised TV network” Channel101.com, Yacht Rock captured my heart and made me laugh with its combination of strange-but-true music trivia and low-budget lampooning of soft rock’s biggest stars (Kenny Loggins [pictured], Hall & Oates, Toto, the Doobie Brothers, the Eagles and Michael McDonald), each episode narrated by All Music Guide critic “Hollywood” Steve Huey. Where else can you watch an aggro John Oates (a fictionalized version, natch) call someone a “California vagina sailor”? Word on the street is that more episodes are due soon, so stay smooth.

—Maria Tessa Sciarrino
_Promoter, Plain Parade; DJ, WPRB_

» The MTS party train continues with a “Culture Shock” contribution in the City Paper this week on Yacht Rock. Before you roll your eyes and tell me thats so last season, don’t forget who was responsible for telling your sorry ass in the first place [yours truly]. I take what I can get — I’ll never be able to write for the CP otherwise.

» Rifle Nice are yesterday’s Fluxblog pick! Pitchfork notoriety must be only a few clicks away. Well, maybe — Matt didn’t exactly pick a song that’s really indicative of their style.

» My friends and yours the Oxford Collapse make it onto the Pfork newswire with news about their upcoming album _Remember the Night Parties_ [for which I wrote the one-sheet]. As luck would have it, their only show happens to be when I’m out in Chicago for the Touch & Go festival. Anyway, it’s the perfect excuse to run the above photo again.

Go to Plain Parade for more info, sound samples, etc etc. It’s one of our few all-ages shows, so don’t miss out.

» i hate going out on fridays. im usually most content to stay at home, but this friday night i had to get out of my apartment. so i went to the khyber where the dj’s played “sexyback” followed by “promiscuous girl”, prompting me to leave within minutes. i thought id find something more interesting at the 700 club but it was a bunch of olde city knuckleheads dancing to “common people”. again, exit stage right; minutes later to LAVA space for the king kong ding dong show, which was pretty much over. so basically, i just drove around philadelphia with the roof off the car, blasting the oldies — could have been worse?

» saturday it was off to the east river music project’s concert. overall solid, but i gotta say blues control disappointed me greatly whenever they exhibited kitaro-like tendencies. listen, if i wanna bust out “tenku”, ill do it in the privacy of my own home. personal highlight were the toddlers who bumrushed the stage during magik markers set. speaking of, mm slayed, playing an irrepressibly murky set that complemented the impending inclement weather.

» got back into town in time for the aforementioned TRB finale, where the band was kind enough to let me play emily haines/leslie feist to their broken social scene on a song or two. big thanks to jay barnes for the photo!

This Radiant Boy, in one of their many configurations.
© 2003, Maria Tessa Sciarrino

_It feels like the end of an era. I can’t believe the show is over._ If you were at the Khyber Saturday night to send off This Radiant Boy as they sailed into the sunset, you would have heard variations upon these phrases throughout the night.

Here’s the thing: TRB did not define the first decade of my adulthood. They never wrote my anthems. I didn’t attend every single one of their shows with a religious fervor. For at least half of their existence it was a pretty well-known fact that I regarded them as the worst band in Philadelphia.

However, TRB _did_ define many aspects of my twenties, whether I realized it or not. I learned to love them through their good and bad times. They reciprocated unconditionally when I was in my so-called Dark Ages, living here nor there [in lots of ways, it was better than anywhere]. They even learned to love me when I shittalked them on the internet. In the end, they wound up not writing my anthem, but creating a truism I often live by — if everybody hates it, then it must be cool.

This Radiant Boy will never go down in rock history annals like a Superchunk or Pavement, nor would they make footnote status in a musical history of Philadelphia — it’s not like TRB bore any influence upon the indie masses here, besides being the punchline to jokes. And because they never mattered, they went on their own, wrangling notes and words into something unlike anything else in Philadelphia’s music scene.

From the GBV-heavy _Proud to Be A Chemist_ to _Shakedown At the Russian Disco’s_ New Pornographer’s slant to the loopy metallic nature of _Feelin’ It On a Motorcycle_, TRB was a band that wore their influences on sleeve and each time attempting to wrest themselves always from their heroes, resulting in record that either paid off or didn’t — but that was the appeal all along. If anyone lived up to Robert Pollard’s mythic couplet (”I am a scientist / I seek to understand me”), it was them.

Goodbye, assholes. I love you.

» Stream their newest (and final) record, _Feelin’ It On a Motorcycle_, here.

Hello friends and fellow humans,
You’ve probably heard of random flash mobs happening around the country by now - masses of people suddenly, unexpectedly showing up at a public space, doing something marginally absurd, such as pillowfighting in Love Park, or 5-minute mega dance parties in a plaza, etc. Well, here’s another one coming up you can be a part of! Please forward it along to your friends if you think it’s interesting.

Imagine this scenario:
Hundreds of people lining up to order cheese steaks at Geno’s. Nothing unusual, right? Right. That’s the usual scene there anyways. However, here’s the twist: everybody lined up, one after another, will be ordering in any language besides English! Don’t be surprised if none of those people get served. They probably won’t be. Imagine the confusion!

Where:
Geno’s Steaks
S. 9th & E. Passyunk, between Federal and Wharton

When:
Saturday September 9, 2006
5 PM sharp
**show up between 4:30pm and 4:50pm or so, hang around the area, in the park, etc, and at exactly 5pm, everybody ‘in on it’ will start lining up.**

What:
Going to Geno’s for the specific purpose of ordering in non-English. Come equipped with a couple of lines in another language to order cheese steaks, fries, anything really. They probably won’t serve you, and if they do and you don’t want to buy it, just say, “Sorry, no thanks,” or, “Sorry, I changed my mind,” in your other language.

Remember:
You may sincerely want to buy a cheese steak/fries/soda/etc. For this purpose, we will try to be as polite as possible. However, you are not obliged to buy anything.

Here are some examples. Feel free to add sentences in other languages and forward the email along:

1. How much is a cheese steak/cheese fries?
2. May I please have one cheese steak/cheese fries?
3. With onions please.
4. With mushrooms please.
5. Thank you.
6. No thank you.
7. Sorry, I have no money. I’ll come back.

Spanish
1. cuánto cuesta un bistek/papas fritas con queso por favor
2. dame un bistek/papas fritas con queso por favor
3. con cebolla por favor.
4. con championes por favor.
5. gracias.
6. no, gracias.
7. lo siento, pero no tengo dinero. me volveré.

French
1. combien ca coute le biftek avec fromage/pommes de frites avec
fromage si vous plait?
2. je vous prende un biftek avec fromage/pommes de frites si vous plait?
3. Avec des oignions si vous plait.
4. Avec les champignions si vous plait.
5. Merci!
6. Non, merci!
7. Excusez moi, je n’ai pas de l’argent! Je reviendrai!

Japanese
1. Cheezusteaki wa ikura desu ka?
2. Cheeszusteaki/ farenchi fariezu o kudasai.
3. Issho ni tamanegi o kudasai
4. issho ni kinoko o kudasai
5. origato gozaimasu!
6. iie, origato gozaimasu
7. Sumimasen, watashi ga okane nai. Chotto matte, kudasai, watashi ga kaiteru.

Bengali
1. ekta cheese steak/ alu bhaji coto dam?
2. doya ko-re ekta cheese steak/ alu bhaji den.
3. tar shat-e peeyaj den.
4. tar shat-e bang-er chata den.
5. dhonnobadh.
6. na, dhonnobadh.
7. dukhito, amar kono taka ney. ami firot ashbo.

Portugese
1. Quanto e um sanduiche da carne con queso?
2.Eu gostaria um sanduíche da carne/fritadas francesas con queso por favor.
3.con cebolas
4.con cogumelos
5.obrigado/a
6.non obrigado/a
7.desculpe , eu nao tenho deniero, mas eu voltarei mais tarde.

Pig Latin
1. Owhay uchmay siay ayay eesesteakchay/ eesechay riesfay eeseplay?
2. Aymay aiay avehay unway eesesteakchay/ eesechay riesfay eeseplay?
3. Ithway nions-uh-ay eeseplay.
4. ithway ushroomsmay eeseplay.
5. ankthay ouyay.
6. Onay, anksthay.
7. Orrysay, aiay avehay onay oneymay. aiay illway omecay ackbay aterlay.

Gibberish
1. Hidigow midiguch idigis idiga chidigeese stidigake?
2. midigay idigai hidigave widigun plidigeez?
3. widigith udigun idigi odigons plidigeez.
4. widigith midigush ridigooms plidigeez.
5. thidigank yidigoo.
6. nidigo thidigank yidigoo.
7. sidigaw ridigee, idigai hidigave nidigo midiguh nidigee. idigai widigill cidigome bidigack.

Elvish
1. sut sai tyuru sarpsa?
2. amin ve’ tyuru sarpsa.

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I am not one for conspiracies but is this whole JonBenet Ramsey resurgence just a fancy tie-in to the new movie _Little Miss Sunshine_? No, wait, maybe it’s a way to make us forget about the war in Iraq/Lebanon, Hurricane Katrina’s impending anniversary [and the aftermath/inefficacy of our government], terror threats and Interpol getting signed to Matador?

» JonBenet Ramsey, the beverage: ginger ale, Stoli vanilla and a _crushed_ cherry. Tasteless, I don’t think so!