Perhaps the only remarkable thing about the 2012 Oscars™ telecast was that it featured no ' Illuminati ' symbolism whatsover. Not that it didn't have a chance. With this year's passing of Elizabeth Taylor, we could have had Cirque de Soleil perform a tribute to the spectacular entrance of the screen goddess in Cleopatra , but instead they opted for pushups in front of the crop dust scene from North By Northwest. And when the annual death montage rolled by, Taylor was put on the same level as some guy from marketing. If [...]
Seriously, I was trying to think of what I wanted to say this week, but this animated gif is more eloquent than I could ever be. We're halfway through the WFMU marathon now and I felt I should take this opportunity to talk about how great FMU is, and how lucky I feel to play my small role in this cultural pirate utopia, but, you know...this guy is flying through the air riding a goddamn alligator. An alligator of all things! I had imagined this heartfelt post I was going to write about how FMU is [...]
By Tom Keiser Hyperland (Douglas Adams) What's on today on Network Awesome When did you first hear of the Internet? Was it when you were in college, and finally saw a way to connect with people without a huge long distance bill? Were you in high school, and found out you could skip hours of ungodly research at a library when you could look [...]
Kudos to Yvonne for filming. Shut Up Weirdo With Andy And Frangy with Co-host Michele WFMU 2012 Marathon Show from WFMU on Vimeo .
Homayun Sakhi, Mukhtor Muborakqadomov, Sirojiddin Juraev, Salar Nader, "Zuhal's Song," Music of Central Asia Vol. 9: In the Footsteps of Babur: Musical Encounters from the Lands of the Mughals From a region known for its virtuoso musicians, Homayun Sakhi stands out as the world's leading player of the Afghan rubâb. To listen to Sakhi play the rubâb results in near-hypnosis, and watching clips of his playing shows how charismatic and brilliant a performer he really is. The deftness with which he handles the rubâb makes it near impossible to detect where the player ends and the [...]
It's marathon time! I am not going to ask you for money, but when WFMU DJ's do, some special events are planned. Pseu Braun, with co-host Gaylord Fields, will have Yo La Tengo on Pseu's Thing With A Hook, tonight at nine. The band, long tome friends of WFMU, will play your requests as you pledge. Bob Brainen played the group performing "Mr Tough" live at the station in 2006. Monica talked about preparing for the marathon, and then played music by Harry "The Crown" Hosono, and Wendy Rene. [...]
I recently sang the praises of San Francisco's Burmese's grinding, ugly Lun Yurn album on this blog , but the band's continually underrated status in spite of their near 14-year existence means the call is out for some further celebration (the band's Facebook page includes an exhaustive history of the band's various, ever-changing formations). Burmese are a vicious, hideous band, in that there's nothing comforting or subtle about their attack. While the noise-rock tag has been thrown at any band with the slightest hint of fuzz or whatever constitutes "edge" these [...]
It's been over 30 years since Roy Montgomery's recorded debut -- the Pin Group's "Ambivalence" 45, issued as the first single on Flying Nun Records in 1981 -- and he remains as intriguing and understated a player as ever in New Zealand's subterranean avant-rock culture. With PG and subsequent outfits, like the Shallows and Dadamah, his guttural baritone and basic sturm-and-drang strum helped shape the inimitable post-punk of "the NZ sound," as popularized by Flying Nun and those associated with it. In the years since, he's collaborated with or released songs alongside noteworthy musicians and projects such as Bardo Pond [...]
It's true, pledgers to 7 Second Delay raised enough money last Wednesday to win an enviable prize - Andy will be crucified on a vinyl cross that's been kicking around the station, largely unused for years. More info here . Video by Yvonne. 7 Second Delay! WFMU Marathon! from WFMU on Vimeo .
Going back a bit, as we prepare the new E.S.P. TV episode #12 taped last week at Roulette in Brooklyn for their Xperimental Love Fest , to bring you this... E.S.P. TV #9 taped late last year at The Schoolhouse and featuring performances by Erica Magrey and Brooklyn synth duo YOU. Animations also by Clara Kim and Amy Lockhart courtesy of Aboveground Animation and video by Ania Diakoff .
- - - (Make sure to click images for larger versions) Marco [...]
Billy Strange passed away this morning. You might not know the name, but you certainly have heard his sound. He was one of the greatest session players of all time. Along with names like Carol Kaye, Jack Nitzche and Tommy Tedesco, Strange and his guitar appeared on thousands of hit records without credit. His strumming on Nancy Sinatra's version of Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) remains popular, as does his work on Pet Sounds, not to mention those horns he insisted swell at the end of These Boots Are Made For Walkin'. Unlike some [...]
Give the Drummer Some's Favorite Downloads from the MP3 Blogosphere Your faithful Miner is taking a couple of weeks off during the WFMU Marathon to hammer home that the Motherlode—and the blog that publishes it—are nonprofit, labors-of-love in need of your financial support. Take a moment and count up all the $$ this weekly offering has saved your music budget, then use the pledge widget below to make a small offering of your own to support WFMU, the radio station that makes this all possible. &a mp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a [...]
Tommy Graham - Ode To Spade (2:14) If you believe the Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture, pioneering western swing band leader Spade Cooley was born on this day in 1910. Plenty of other web sources list Cooley's birthdate as December 17, 1910, though, and I'm not sure who to believe. Regardless of exactly when his birthday is, it's a fine day to share with you this tribute 45. Cooley [...]
WFMU's 2012 Marathon is officially underway! Tune in now through March 4th to hear all your favorite DJs doing their thing to the utmost with special co-hosts, swag, and prizes galore. We've also put together a fine batch of DJ Premiums . Any of these handcrafted CDs are available for a pledge of $75 or more. Unlike in previous years, we won't be posting DJ Premium samples to this blog. Instead, you can sip on daily mp3 teasers at the shiny new WFMU [...]
I always thought it was a bit of a bummer that while I was enjoying myself at Hawkwind's Strange Daze festival somewhere on the other side of the ocean (well, Paris) Princess Diana was being hunted down by a pack of wild journalists. While at the fest I traded some high end beers to the guy that ran Ceres Records for a copy of Assassins of Silence, his Hawkwind tribute compilation. The most astounding piece of music on this disc was Puff Tube's version of Quark, Strangeness & Charm. Enjoy: Oh, btw, Puff [...]
People Of The North (Kid Millions and Bobby Matador of Oneida, with appearances by Shahin Motia and Barry London of the same fame) have taken the earthly delights of their first LP, "Deep Tissue", and launched it through the stratosphere and into the chaos of the outer reaches with "Steep Formations". POTN's previous LP, "Deep Tissue", is rooted in the sun, sea, earth, and sky, suggested particularly by "The Vastest Island" and "Summer Leaves", whereas "Steep Formations" fills the void of outer space with wind-swept organ and synth tones and drums that roll and pound like a meteor storm. The [...]
People Of The North (Kid Millions and Bobby Matador of Oneida, with appearances by Shahin Motia and Barry London of the same fame) have taken the earthly delights of their first LP, "Deep Tissue", and launched it through the stratosphere and into the chaos of the outer reaches with "Steep Formations". POTN's previous LP, "Deep Tissue", is rooted in the sun, sea, earth, and sky, suggested particularly by "The Vastest Island" and "Summer Leaves", whereas "Steep Formations" fills the void of outer space with wind-swept organ and synth tones and drums that roll and pound like a meteor storm. The [...]
After our post on Banda Music , Thunk Tank received an email from Listener Reeshard, directing us to a news story about the growing problem of California tuba raids. Banda relies on the tuba, and tubas cost, like, $2,000–$7,000 each. So thieves are breaking into high schools and stealing all the tubas and sousaphones from the band rooms, but leaving all the other brass instruments, the computers, electronics— they only want the tubas, because p laying the tuba is cool . If, you know, you're into banda. Thunk Tank supports the music, but not [...]
WFMU's Beware of the Blog
Sleigh Bells - Demons (Official Music Video)
The Rains of Castamere by The National
A-Trak & Dillon Francis - "Money Makin'" (Official Video)
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Nas - Daughters
Bison - Quill
Neutral Milk Hotel- Aeroplane Over the Sea
Shinichi Osawa – Big Beach Mix 2012
Mr Fogg - Eleven
