Blog: Who Needs Radio

I had never heard of them up until last night's Art Brut show at Bowery Ballroom. Why? I'm really not sure. One thing I do know, Gil Mantera's Party Dream know how to put on a show. Even as their equipment cut out on them a couple of times, Ultimate Donny knew how to take control on the stage with comedy antics that briefly reminded me of the style of Mitch Hedberg's delivery. "We built a bridge from Ohio to New York. A lot of other people have said that before, but we actually did it. Those other [...]

It's true. When I'm not weeding out old Lush 7" records on 4AD I love a good Soul record. Of course I love Motown and the whole Detroit sound but there were soooo many more labels and groups that were never as popular as Motown or anyone on the label. Strangely enough, my whole path down the undiscovered Soul road was spurred on by my trips to the UK. I'd always hear people refer to Northern Soul. I used to wonder what the hell are they talking about...then I found out. [...]

After an absolute hellish week of allergy suffering and my tribute to it I can almost half breath again. Folks, make a mental note not to live next to the things that you are most allergic to. It’s not a good idea…trust me. One allergy shot, THREE boxes of Claritin D, Clarinex, and Benadryl later and I'm back to post again. That brings us up to this post which really has no set theme. I’ve gone through the ol stacks again and picked five new songs and five classics for your downloading [...]

What? I couldn't think of any other images to post, okay? Okay, so the weekend is here (for everyone else but me), and we all need some new songs to annoy our neighbors with as we get ready to go out tonight. Hope today's selections find you well. Tigercity : Time to put aside your !!!, LCD Soundsystem and Juan Maclean albums as your secret livingroom dance party music... here comes Tigercity. Most would say that disco-punk was on overkill last year, but honestly? With me, it never gets old. You [...]

Thanks to Veritas Lux Mea , I finally got around to hearing some of the new Flaming Lips album. It's as quirky and interesting as their past releases, and my Wayne crush still prevails, but I haven't yet found the track that stands out for me personally. 'Vein of Stars' comes close, but not quite there. Perhaps when the album comes out and I get to wrap my ears around it, that will change. I am in love, however, with the Yeah Yeah Yeah Song Video . Just make sure you have something to [...]

As an adult, you would think you'd be able to handle certain information better than, say, when you were a kid. As it turns out, because your mind is more developed and knowledgable, it has a tendency to wrap itself around it. Last year, I was electronically reunited with my long lost half-sister who is just months shy of being the same age as me. As you can tell... somewhere in that equation, someone was unfaithful. This was known to me after the introduction of my sister 12 years ago, but in very recent times the amount [...]

The picture may be hard to recognize, but most may remember this month's guest contributor from the first and only film directed by the egotistical Troy Duffy, ' The Boondock Saints '. I had the pleasure of meeting him at a film wrap party for ' A Crime ' back in December, and was surprised to find that the actor was so laid back and down to earth. He also holds a strong appreciation for music, so he didn't hesitate one bit when I asked him to contribute a special playlist for WNR this month. I [...]

Oh springtime in Jacksonville. I hate it! When I lived in Miami life was easy. Because South Florida has no seasons nothing ever dies. In addition to that because South Florida was also sub tropical the vegetation is completely different from North Florida. No one has maple trees in their yard in Miami and Oak's are just as rare. Because of the all this, it meant that there was no pollen in the air. This my friends was a good thing. When I moved up here, I had no idea I [...]

So I lied. I'm not fully back on track yet. I haven't been feeling well the past week, and I'm still waiting on a track for this month's special contributor post. Since I can't hold off any longer for the other post, I thought I'd give a quick listen to some of the stuff that's hit the inbox and my myspace friend request list. I'm pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy it was to find enough good songs for today's post. Keep the submissions coming, kids. It makes my busy 7-day-work-week life so much easier. [...]

With my moving house and Paul's illness, we've been on a bit of a hiatus lately. But we're back, and hopefully more consistent. To be quite honest with you, I'm tired of staring at this screen day after day after day (it's what I do for work). But hey, music never quits... and neither can I. It's time to put myself back on the motivational pull of life. And since I'm feeling a bit folky/indie lately, I decided these were a good combination to call it a comeback. Today's theme: How folky is [...]

Ok...not really. I've just been really really really sick the past three weeks. I sort of disappeared during that time because in doing three Nyquil shots a day, one isn't likely to be too concious. But I'm back...and of course now I'm having to deal w/my allergies. I didn't even get a day reprieve. Mother Nature...I curse you. The good thing about all this is that I've been listening to music. LOTS of music. That benefits you...because now that I can actually read what I am typing I'll [...]

I just got a text message from a friend saying he walked by The Raven last night, and it was on fire. I was thinking maybe he meant it was packed, like on fire = hot. Then I checked my email and found this from the co-owner of the Raven, Harold. "At around 6:25 pm yesterday, Wednesday March 1st 2006, a fire broke out in the basement below Raven. The fire was first discovered by our manager, Paul, as he noticed smoke coming through the floor of our kitchen. Paul went down to the basement and witnessed flames [...]

I don't know if it's that our generation has become so infatuated with music, or just that I've had the rare opportunity to get to know so many musical minds... but everytime I turn around someone I know or have known is either touring or putting out an album. Crash the Satellites , an indie-rock group consisting of some old friends and acquaintances of mine, are coming all the way from Jacksonville, Florida, to share a beautiful aural experience with us and promote their new album, Learning [...]

Okay, it's time to finally take a break from my hectic life and update you on the goodies that have hit the WNR inbox. I always list my songs in the order I'd play them, so it helps if you have a few minutes to go through them track by track. To give you a heads up - the start of this list is a little more of an electronic jolt, the middle becomes foot-tapping and head-nodding goodness, and the end is soft and dreamy. It's just the way to live your day in music. [...]

You may recognize him from The Daily Show. You may have seen one of his comedy specials on HBO or Comedy Central Presents. You may have read his snarky yet heartfelt memoir, Nothing's Sacred . Hell, you may have even caught one of his segments on The Weather Channel. Who is he ? The fiercely hilarious political comedian/author/playwright/act or - Lewis Black . And he comes to us this month as a special contributor to show you his softer side... his love for what music once was. I'll let him do the talking: [...]

"Dear God, UPDATE already!" is probably what you're thinking. Well, we don't blame you. We're just a little slow right now, as the title of this post suggests. I'm sure that Paul's busy muddin' or cow tipping in Jacksonville, and I'm still sore from all that V-Day lovemaking. Just kidding. Currently, I'm doing an overhaul on my life while learning the ropes of my new job. Not only am I assisting with the maintenance of another site, I'm also trying to find a way to keep [...]