WSND DJ set list: Manic Monday – August 04, 2025

Thanks to all who listened and gave suggestions for my latest all-80s music show on WSND. Here’s the set list:

  1. When in Rome – The Promise (1987)
  2. The Sound – I Can’t Escape Myself (1980)
  3. Joy Division – Dead Souls (1981)
  4. Ivan – Fotonovela (12″ maxi single) (1984)
  5. Dead or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (requested) (1985)
  6. Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World (alternate mix) (1985)
  7. The Doobie Brothers – South Bay Strut (1980)
  8. Michael McDonald – I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near) (1985)
  9. Frank Zappa – Valley Girl (1982)
  10. Johnny Clegg – Dela (requested) (1989)
  11. 10,000 Maniacs – Like the Weather (1987)
  12. The Clash – London Calling (live) (1982)
  13. HĆ¼sker DĆ¼ – Call on Me (live) (1980)
  14. HĆ¼sker DĆ¼ – What Do I Want? (live) (1982)
  15. 38 Special – Chain Lightnin’ (1982)
  16. Ratt – Lay It Down (1985)
  17. A-ha – I’ve Been Losing You (extended mix) (1986)
  18. The Silencers – Shiver and Shake (1980)
  19. Ambrosia – Biggest Part of Me (1980)
  20. Gladys Knight & The Pips – Landlord (1980)
  21. Rick Pinette & Oak – King of the Hill (1980)
  22. Rockie Robbins – You and Me (1980)
  23. Ted Nugent – Wango Tango (1980)
  24. The J. Geils Band – Just Can’t Wait (1980)
  25. The Kingbees – My Mistake (1980)
  26. Paul Davis – Cry Just a Little (1980)
  27. Average White Band – Let’s Go ‘Round Again (1980)
  28. Bananarama – Cruel Summer (requested) (1984)
  29. Julian Cope – World Shut Your Mouth (1986)
  30. Yaz – Situation (12″ dance mix) (1988)
  31. The Rolling Stones – Rock and a Hard Place (requested) (1989)
  32. The Rolling Stones – Sad Sad Sad (requested) (1989)
  33. Prince – Purple Rain (1984)
  34. The Who – Eminence Front (1982)
  35. Scorpions – Rock You Like a Hurricane (1984)
  36. Autograph – Send Her to Me (1984)
  37. Judas Priest – Breaking the Law (1980)
  38. Giuffria – Call to the Heart (requested) (1984)
  39. EZO – Flashback Heart Attack (requested) (1987)
  40. Mai Yamane – Tasogari (1980)
  41. Bruce Springsteen – Hungry Heart (1980)
  42. Modern Talking – You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul (1985)
  43. Madonna – Lucky Star (new mix) (1983)
  44. Depeche Mode – Behind the Wheel (1987)
  45. Howard Jones – What Is Love (1984)
  46. Devo – Theme from Doctor Detroit (requested) (1983)
  47. Talking Heads – Girlfriend Is Better (live) (1984)
  48. Irene Cara – Flashdance…What a Feeling (1983)
  49. Dave Grusin – Theme from The Goonies (1985)
  50. Gerhard Heinz – Verfolgung am Strand (1981)
  51. Larry Carlton – Theme from Magnum P.I. (1980)
  52. Beastie Boys – Brass Monkey (1986)
  53. Cameo – Word Up (1986)

Be sure to tune in for my next show!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Review: King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – Phantom Island

By now, if you were to hear “King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard is releasing a new album they recorded with a full orchestra,” you’d think, “Yeah, of course they are.”

KGATLW don’t shy away from pursuing new ways to bring their ideas to life, and Phantom Island is another example of this. The cover has weird Lovecraftian elements (the weird fish-men) and scenes of an anthropomorphic band playing as their ancient temple / city / house burns and crumbles above them. Is “Beauty can be found in chaos” the album’s theme?

It certainly sounds like that in the title track opening song, with fun beats, lush strings, and Stu Mackenzie singing about losing and finding sanity. The second half of the song takes off into fast rock with Ambrose Kenny-Smith taking on the urgency of the charging horses on the album’s cover. “Deadstick” is a wild jazz-rock blend.

“Lonely Cosmos” is a tale of a wandering astronaut, ending in string arrangements that sound like the astronaut’s craft is either falling back to Earth or drifting around the edge of a black hole. “Eternal Return” has the band confronting the idea of reincarnation and wondering about their place in the universe in a funky jam-rocker. The groove of “Panpsych” is a lot of fun, reminding me of some Allman Brothers songs at first and then turning up the psychedelic touches.

“Spacesick” has our astronaut feeling sick and tired of being sick and tired in the vast emptiness of space. The guitars crunch and the strings highlight the astronaut’s tension, but you can’t help thinking the explorer will get home and taste real food and soon smell sea air. “Aerodynamic” follows this theme as the astronaut follows a siren-like being and wonders, “I have always wondered if I could step out of my body. Would I be like a fish out of water?”

“Sea of Doubt” might reflect the band’s process of recording and performing their songs with an orchestra behind them, as it was yet another challenge (i.e., “Let’s make a thrash metal album!”, “Let’s make an album only using microtonal instruments!”, “”Let’s make an album that can be played on a continuous loop!”, Let’s make an album that’s entirely in seven-four time signature!”, “Let’s put out five albums in one year!”) they’d accepted and weren’t sure how it was going to sound in the end. It’s a catchy tune, with a subtle guitar solo hidden in it.

The closing track, “Grow Wings and Fly,” calls for us to “Get real high…Transcend this life.” “I want to drift from the beehive.” is a great lyric, encouraging us to stop being drones and go play in the fields. It follows up on a theme brought up in “Aerodynamic,” in which the band explore the idea of shedding the ego and engaging in the moment.

A lot of KGATLW records are like this. They’re not so much albums as they are experiences. They’re currently touring a lot of cities and playing with full orchestras, which is a must-see event if you ask me, and this is yet another must-hear album from them.

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe today?]

[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR!]

No Joy announces new album out August 08, 2025 – “Bugland.”

No Joy is the project of Jasamine White-Gluz. First coming to wide attention as a three piece band around the release of their 2011 debut LP Ghost Blonde, the project has morphed into Jasamine’s solo project, and she has consistently evolved in unexpected ways over 4 LPs and a handful of EPs. Her most recent LP, 2020’s Motherhood, which featured Tara McLeod of the prominent early ‘oughts nu metal band Kittie, was perhaps the most critically-acclaimed of No Joy’s career, receiving an 8.0 from Pitchfork who described it as “a shoegaze album with a rare scope and an even rarer sense of fun and imagination.“

Today, No Joy is back with another re-invention and another unexpected collaborator, as she announces her follow up to her 2020 LP. Produced with the much buzzed about Chicago experimental artistĀ Fire-Toolz,Ā No Joy’s latest album is entitledĀ BuglandĀ and will be released onĀ Hand Drawn DraculaĀ andĀ Sonic CathedralĀ onĀ August 8th. To mark the announce No Joy is sharing the album’s titled track “Bugland.”Ā 

In some ways, Bugland feels more like a collaborative album than a producer/artist relationship, with both Jasamine and Fire-Toolz pushing each other to find new horizons within the other’s sonic world. It takes the adventurous genre mashing of No Joy’s previous album as a starting point, but pushes so far beyond any genre’s accepted confines, and in such imaginative ways, that it feels like it creates something entirely new.

“The collaboration really felt limitless,” says Fire-Toolz (aka Angel Marcloid). “I didn’t have to adhere to a certain vision in a way that made me feel like I couldn’t be Fire-Toolz. I could easily relate to this album because Jasamine and I liked a lot of the same music, and I was able to be creative in ways that were freeing as if I was making my own album.ā€œ

The album’s title track was also the genesis of their collaboration, and neatly encapsulates the way their styles have melded. Some of the heavy elements of Motherhood remain, but are tempered by a tapestry of glitchy electronics that make up the track’s constantly shifting arrangement.

White-Gluz says of the track:

This was the first song Fire-Toolz & No Joy produced together, initially without any plan to ever release it. Our production styles melded so well together on this track that we decided we should make a whole album. The song came together super organically, from the Korn-esque bass lines to the earworm vocal, it’s the welcome sign of the album letting you know you’ve officially entered our world.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Tom at Terrorbird Media.]

Review: GoGo Penguin – Necessary Fictions

Part-classical, part-jazz, part-krautrock, part-techno, and part-funk, GoGo Penguin‘s newest album, Necessary Fictions, is a neat blend of styles that’s difficult to pin down, but an enjoyable listen. The band (Nick Blacka – bass, Chris Illingworth – piano, and Jon Scott – drums) explore some new territory on their seventh record, mainly synthesizers.

“Umbra” is a bumping track with rich bass and subtle synths to evoke a slight sense of darkness, but not skimping on creativity. Illingworth’s piano on “Fallowfield Loops” is a delight to hear, as it sounds like he was having a fun time playing it. “Luminous Giants” features a rarity on a GoGo Penguin album – vocals. They’re provided by singer-songwriter Daudi Matsiko.

“What We Are and What We Are Meant to Be” is a standout, with the band embracing synths and creating neat textures suitable for a new Blade Runner movie. Blacka’s bass almost becomes vocals on “The Turn Within.” Apart from having a cool name, “Living Bricks in Dead Mortar” has some of Scott’s hardest drumming on the record, swelling up with the synths to create a brief industrial riff. “Naga Ghost” refers to a pepper that builds in heat when you eat it, and the track builds in speed and intensity as it goes along.

Rakhi Singh‘s guest violin on “Luminous Giants” is beautiful. “Float (Loi Krathong, 2003)” is a bass-led track about Blacka attending a floating lantern festival in Bangkok. The eight-piece string ensemble Manchester Collective joins the band on “State of Flux” – a cool, sharp track in which GGP rocks out a bit while the strings dance around them. The closing track, “Silence Speaks,” takes the band, and the album, from electronica to acoustic and brings everything to a nice close.

It’s a lovely record, and I hope GGP continues this trend of blending jazz with electronics. It’s a good mix.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to George at Terrorbird Media!]

Wrecka Stow: Le Laboratoire – Toulouse, France

Don’t pass up this place if you’re ever in Toulouse.

Located at 9 Rue de la Bourse in Toulouse, France, Le Laboratoire Vinyles is a must-stop in France’s fourth-largest city if you’re a music fan and looking to add to your collection. The selection is enormous, and I knew I was going to like the place when I walked in and heard them playing this.

The place is full of great new and used vinyl, and from a wide variety of genres and countries.

All four KISS solo albums next to Daft Punk.

Looking for jazz? They have it. They have blues, electro, punk, you name it.

Adrock and MCA check out the cool jazz collection.
Hawkwind on the left, David Guetta on the right.

Of course, they have a great selection of French artists. I probably would’ve dumped most of my cash in this section if I were a vinyl collector.

Another favorite section of the store was this stunning selection of soundtracks and other film music.

I mean, good heavens, look at that. There’s even a Smurf record on the bottom right. I would’ve been broke between this and the “French New Wave” section.

I walked out of there with two CD compilations: Rockabilly Psychosis & The Garage Disease (featuring artists from Hasil Adkins to Link Wray) and the double-CD collection of The Curtom Story: Curtis Mayfield’s School of 20th Century Soul (featuring not only Curtis Mayfield, but also legends like Jesse Anderson and Fred Wesley). My wallet is lucky that’s all I scored.

Again, don’t skip this place. You’ll love it.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you go.]

WSND DJ set list: Manic Monday – July 28, 2025

Thanks to all who listened to and participated in my latest all-80s music show on WSND. Here’s the set list!

  1. Donald Fagen – I.G.Y. (1982)
  2. Alphaville – Dance with Me (1982)
  3. Simple Minds – Don’t You (Forget About Me) (original 12″ version) (1985)
  4. The Rolling Stones – One Hit (to the Body) (requested) (1986)
  5. The Rolling Stones – Cook Cook Blues (requested) (1989)
  6. Van Halen – Everybody Wants Some (1980)
  7. David Lee Roth – Yankee Rose (1986)
  8. Van Halen – Summer Nights (1986)
  9. Paul Engemann – Push It to the Limit (requested) (1983)
  10. Mickey & Sylvia – Love Is Strange (requested) (1956)
  11. The Pointer Sisters – I Feel for You (1982)
  12. INXS – Never Tear Us Apart (1987)
  13. Altar Ego – War (1983)
  14. Revenge of the Dead radio spot (1983)
  15. Nuclear Assault – Critical Mass (requested) (1989)
  16. Anthrax – Antisocial (requested) (1989)
  17. Fire on Blonde – Bounce Back (12″ version) (1987)
  18. Q-Feel – Dancing in Heaven (Orbital Be-Bop) (1983)
  19. The Jets – You Better Dance (1989)
  20. Tom Petty – Runnin’ Down a Dream (1989)
  21. Cinderella – Coming Home (1988)
  22. Waterfront – Nature of Love (1989)
  23. Stage Dolls – Love Cries (1989)
  24. Guns ‘n’ Roses – Nightrain (1989)
  25. Waterfront – Cry (1989)
  26. Erasure – Stop! (1989)
  27. Bon Jovi – I’ll Be There for You (1988)
  28. Thomas Dolby – She Blinded Me with Science (1982)
  29. Yes – Owner of a Lonely Heart (extended mix) (1983)
  30. Alison Krauss – Too Late to Cry (1987)
  31. Alison Krauss and Union Station – Two Highways (1989)
  32. Dolly Parton – Detroit City (1980)
  33. R.E.M. – Superman (1986)
  34. UB40 – Tell It Like It Is (1986)
  35. Queen – Another Bites the Dust (1980)
  36. Beauty and the Beast TV ad (1987)
  37. Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is a Place on Earth (1987)
  38. Pixies – Here Comes Your Man (1986)
  39. After the Fire – Der Commissar (1982)
  40. Xmal Deutschland – Blut Liebe (1982)
  41. Virgin Prunes – Decline and Fall (1982)
  42. The Cure – Just Like Heaven (1987)
  43. Level 42 – Something About You (1985)
  44. Huey Lewis & The News – Hip to Be Square (dance remix) (1986)
  45. In the Heat of the Night TV show theme (1988)
  46. Heathcliff and Dingbat Show TV show theme (1980)
  47. Jerry Goldsmith – The Calling / The Neighborhood from Poltergeist (1982)
  48. Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight (requested) (1981)
  49. Box of Frogs – Back Where I Started (requested) (1984)
  50. The Dead Milkmen – Punk Rock Girl (requested) (1988)
  51. Flesh for Lulu – I Go Crazy (requested) (1988)
  52. Sigue Sigue Sputnik – Love Missile F1-11 (requested) (1986)
  53. House of Large Sizes – Man Overboard (1989)
  54. The Romantics – One in a Million (1983)
  55. Billy Idol – Eyes Without a Face (1983)

Tune in next Monday, August 04th, for four more hours of 80s music mania!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Rewind Review: Menace – Punk Singles Collection (2005)

I discovered Menace while attending an Osees show at the 2024 Levitation Music Festival. The venue, Hotel Vegas, was playing Menace tracks during a break after Grocery Bag opened the show. I heard Menace’s classic “Carry No Banners” and thought, “How have I never heard this?”

Lo and behold, I went to End of an Ear Records in Austin that same weekend and found this Menace collection within moments after walking in the door. It’s a great collection of twenty-five tracks of classic British punk that barely takes a breath between songs. The mainstays of the band have always been the rhythm section of Charlie Casey on bass and Noel Martin on drums. The first eleven songs feature the “classic” lineup of Casey and Martin with Morgan Webster on vocals and Steve Tannett on guitars.

The first two songs, “Screwed Up” and “Insane Society,” pretty much sum up Britain and the world in general in 1977 with sharp lyrics like “If we’re the working class, why ain’t we got jobs?” “G.L.C.” (Greater London Council) is a vicious takedown of said body (“You’re full of shit!”), while “I’m Civilised” is a takedown of working stiffs who look down upon poor people (“Don’t you want to be civilised, too?”).

“I Need Nothing” and Casey’s bass-led “Electrocutioner” were produced by John Cale, no less. “I Need Nothing” is another direct rebuke to upper crusts telling oi punks and other youth they need to join the rat race and achieve certain status to be considered a success. It’s the same today as it was in 1977. “Last Year’s Youth” flips the idea that younger generations are lost onto its head and makes it to fingers up to those who believe it. “Carry No Banners” is a classic call to not make allegiances to causes that would just as soon kick you to the curb after you’ve served their purpose (and Tannett’s solo on it is a bit of fun).

Their cover of Cliff Richard and The Shadows‘ “The Young Ones” is perfect for them, turning the classic early 60s pop-rock tune into a snarling garage rocker. “Tomorrow’s World” “…is just around the corner,” so you’d better “Live for Today” – both songs being sage advice for any generation.

The rest of the compilation features the second lineup of Menace with John Lacey on lead vocals and Andrew Tweedie on guitar. Lacey’s vocal style is immediately different, and not in a bad way. It’s a bit more frantic, it seems. After all, they came back in 1999, nineteen years after Menace’s last album, and rightly proclaimed “Society Still Insane.” Next up are new versions of “G.L.C.,” “Insane Society,” and “The Young Ones.”

“Punk Rocker” has the band encouraging all of us to embrace our inner rebel. “I don’t give a toss if inflation is up or down,” Lacey sings on “C&A” – slapping people who pursue comfort while ignoring others’ suffering. The 1999 version of “Last Year’s Youth” stomps the gas and was important then and now (and in 1979). Their cover of “It’s Not Unusual” is a blast, with Casey’s bass going bonkers the whole time.

Another good cover is their version of “Oi! That’s Yer Lot,” originally done by German punk band Loikaemie. It’s a perfect one for them, as it’s about so many people being told (often by those better off than them) they’re stuck in their bad situation and nothing can be done about it since that’s just the way it is. “Bad Cards” is an embracing of that bad situation and rising above it.

2002’s “In Gods We Trust” is almost a grunge track as Tweedie’s guitar takes on a different kind of distortion. A different version of “C&A” follows, and Martin’s drums on “35 Bus” will start a mosh pit anytime you play the track, and Tweedie’s solo is like police sirens flying by you in a high-speed pursuit that’s probably going to end in a crash. The compilation ends with a good cover of The Ruts‘ “Babylon’s Burning.”

This stuff is essential if you’re a fan of punk, oi, or any music that makes you want to tell your boss to stick it or to stand up for the weak.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Review: Coral Grief – Air Between Us

Coral Grief‘s debut album, Air Between Us, isn’t quite shoegaze, and it isn’t quite dream pop, but it’s somehow both at the same time…and it’s lovely.

Opening track “Starboard” is a rush of fuzzy guitars from Sam Fason and dreamy vocals from Lena Farr-Morrissey. “Rockhounds” is a much-needed song in this day and age, as it’s about finding beauty in the simplest things (like rocks along a beach). The title track floats around, over, and below you much like the cover image. “Latitude” has the band taking its time over the next four minutes to consider how we all need to change perspective now and then (“I go behind the door to change my mind.” – a quote from Fason’s grandmother).

“Avenue You” is a song about missing childhood places that no longer exist. Cam Hancock‘s drumming almost breaks into full-on rock mode at times on it, but he keeps it subtle as Fason’s guitar echoes around his bandmates. “The Landfall” is lovely and light. “Paint By Number” is led by Hancock’s snappy drums, with Fason’s jangly guitar having a fun time keeping up with him as Farr-Morrissey brings light to gray skies with her happy bass and optimistic vocals.

“Mutual Wish” reminds me of some of The Beths‘ dreamier cuts, and “Outback” almost has a goth tinge to it, but it never becomes maudlin. “Late Bloomer” is an acoustic track that would fit into a Twin Peaks episode, and the closer, “Almost Everyday” is an ode to Seattle’s Everyday Music record store, where Farr-Morrissey worked until it closed four years ago.

It, like much of the album, is a reflection on things that were and what they (and we) have become now. The reflection is often beautiful and shimmering, like light reflected on water. Those memories, those places and moments, are often just like the air between us…ephemeral yet present, dream-like yet solid…like this record.

Keep your mind open.

[Why not subscribe?]

[Thanks to Andi at Terrorbird Media.]

WSND DJ set list: Nocturne – July 27, 2025

Thanks to all who listened to my latest Nocturne show on WSND. It was a fun time. Here’s the set list:

  1. Mars Red Sky – Break Even
  2. Rubber Memory – All Together
  3. Meatbodies – The Burning Fields
  4. The Death Wheelers – Hella Hammered
  5. The Well – Cup of Peace
  6. Glass Beams – Mahal
  7. Frankie and The Witch Fingers – Can You Hear Me Now? (live)
  8. Frankie and The Witch Fingers – Simulator (live)
  9. Mavis Staples – We’re Gonna Make It (live)
  10. Nina Simone – Trouble in Mind (live) (requested)
  11. Rita Marley – Keep on Pushing
  12. The Jesus and Mary Chain – New Kind of Kick (live)
  13. The Smiths – Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
  14. The Police – Driven to Tears
  15. Jack-in-the-Box 1960s radio ad
  16. The LimiƱanas – Spirale
  17. Cuffed Up – Bonnie
  18. Sleater-Kinney – Prisstina
  19. Damaged Bug – In My Heart
  20. M.A.K.U. Soundsystem – Canto Nega
  21. Moby – Honey
  22. Primer – Warning
  23. Here Lies Man – Summon Fire
  24. On – C’mon Collapse
  25. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – Candles
  26. Sade – Love Is Stronger Than Pride

Come back next week for more Nocturne madness!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

WSND DJ set list: Deep Dive of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath

Thanks who all who listened to my deep dive of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. Here’s the metal-heavy set list:

  1. Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
  2. The Beatles – She Loves You
  3. The Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil
  4. Earth – When I Came Down
  5. Black Sabbath radio spot
  6. Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath
  7. Crow – Evil Woman
  8. Black Sabbath – Behind the Wall of Sleep (live)
  9. Brown Sabbath – The Wizard
  10. The Flaming Lips – War Pigs
  11. Black Sabbath – Electric Funeral
  12. Mexico City Blondes – Planet Caravan
  13. Black Sabbath – Children of the Grave
  14. Mac Sabbath – Sweet Beef
  15. Black Sabbath – Snowblind (live)
  16. Charles Bradley – Changes
  17. Black Sabbath – Sabbra Cadabra
  18. Black Sabbath – Am I Going Insane?
  19. Helmet – Symptom of the Universe
  20. Black Sabbath – Gypsy
  21. Black Sabbath – Never Say Die!
  22. Necromandus – Nightjar
  23. Ozzy Osbourne – Dee (requested)
  24. Ozzy Osbourne – Goodbye to Romance
  25. Ozzy Osbourne – Over the Mountain
  26. Ozzy Osbourne – Iron Man (live)
  27. Was (Not Was) – Shake Your Head
  28. Ozzy Osbourne – Rock ‘n’ Roll Rebel
  29. Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Babies (requested)
  30. Lita Ford & Ozzy Osbourne – Close My Eyes Forever
  31. Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears
  32. Ozzy Osbourne – Dreamer (acoustic version)

The Deep Dive returns next week!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]