WSND DJ set list – 3-for-Thursday Nocturne – December 28, 2023

Thanks to all who listened to 3-for-Thursday Nocturne on WSND with special guest DJ (and my daughter) Crystal. Here’s our set list:

  1. Robin Trower, Jack Bruce, and Gary Husband – Politician (live) (requested) (a trio covering a trio)
  2. Nirvana – About a Girl (live) (originally a trio and 3-word song title)
  3. Miss Red – Pull It Up (3rd song from the Murder album)
  4. Deeper – This Heat (3rd song from the Auto-Pain album)
  5. Three Dog Night – One (requested) (“Three” in the band’s name)
  6. King Buffalo – Locusts (trio and 3rd song from the The Burden of Restlessness album)
  7. Mondo Rock – Rule of Threes (“Three” in the song title)
  8. The Ramones – Pet Seminary (live) (three-peat)
  9. The Ramones – Sniffing Glue (live)
  10. The Ramones – Zero Zero UFO
  11. Stray Cats – Three Time’s a Charm (live) (requested) (trio and “three” in the song title)
  12. God Lives Underwater – Fool (three-word band name and 3rd song from the Empty album)
  13. MOTSUS – Freddy (3rd song from the Oumuamua album)
  14. Leslie West and Joe Bonamassa – Third Degree (requested) (“third” in the title)
  15. JEFF The Brotherhood – Health and Strength (three-word band name and song title)
  16. Maurice Barre – Lawrence of Arabia Overture (three-word film score title)
  17. Primus – My Name Is Mud (trio, song from 3rd album – Pork Soda – released in 1993)
  18. American Royalty – Mariah (3rd song from the Prismatic album)
  19. Radiohead – Decks Dark (3rd song from the A Moon Shaped Pool album)
  20. The Kills – Heart of a Dog (3rd song from the three-word titled Ash & Ice album)
  21. Interpol – Lief Erikson (currently a trio, 3rd song from the Turn on the Bright Lights album)
  22. AJR – Three-Thirty (3-letter band name, trio, three minutes-thirty seconds long, “330” in song title)
  23. Gary Wilson – The Sin Eater (three-word title)
  24. Jacques Greene – The Look (3rd song from the ANTH01 album)
  25. Gorillaz – Plastic Beach (from their 3rd album, Plastic Beach, released March 03, 2010)
  26. Death Valley Girls – Death Valley Boogie (3-word song tile and band name)
  27. Drenge – I Wanna Break You in Half (3rd song from their self-titled album)

I’m back on air January 01, 2024 at 7pm Eastern with “Mystery Monday” for three hours and then a two-hour “Best of 2023” set!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

WSND DJ set list – Throwback Thursday – December 28, 2023

Thanks to all who listened to the latest Throwback Thursday show on WSND with special guest DJ (and my daughter), Crystal. Here’s our set list:

  1. James Brown – Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (1970)
  2. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Travelin’ Band (1970)
  3. And Soon the Darkness radio ad (1970)
  4. Shaft radio ad (1971)
  5. Johnny Cash – Man in Black (1971)
  6. MC5 – Thunder Express (live) (1972)
  7. Stevie Wonder – Superstition (1972)
  8. Enter the Dragon Main Titles (1973)
  9. Thin Lizzy – Vagabond of the Western World (1973) (requested)
  10. Brothers and One – Hard On Me (1974)
  11. New York Dolls – Lone Star Queen (1974)
  12. Foxy Brown radio ad (1974)
  13. Starbuck – Moonlight Feels Right (1975)
  14. Heatwave – Boogie Nights (1976)
  15. Bee Gees – Jive Talkin’ (1977)
  16. Blondie – Heart of Glass (1978)
  17. Cheryl Ladd – Think It Over (1978)
  18. The Clash – The Magnificent Seven (1980)
  19. Echo and The Bunnymen – Do It Clean (1980)
  20. The Cars – Shake It Up (1981)
  21. Sun Country Wine Coolers commercial
  22. Michael Jackson – Rock with You (1980)
  23. Agent Orange – Pipeline (1981)
  24. Donald Fagen – I.G.Y. (1982)
  25. Mötley Crüe – Shout at the Devil (1983)
  26. Frosted Mini-Wheats commercial
  27. Julian Cope – Bill Drummond Said (1984)
  28. Motörhead – Killed By Death (1984)
  29. Hüsker Dü – New Day Rising (1985)
  30. WWE Superstars – Real American (1985)
  31. INXS – What You Need (1986)
  32. Dido – Thank You (1999)
  33. The Dickies – Attack of the Killer Clowns from Outer Space (live) (1990)
  34. Pixies – Velouria (1990)
  35. Blade Runner TV spot
  36. Dire Straits – Planet of New Orleans (1991) (requested)
  37. L7 – Suzy Is a Headbanger (1991)
  38. Lenny Kravitz – Always on the Run (1991)
  39. Danzig – Left Hand Black (1992)
  40. Lou Reed – What’s Good (1993)
  41. American Music Club – All Your Jeans Were Too Tight (1993)
  42. Bad Brains – Rise (1993)
  43. The Corrs – Dreams (1997)
  44. Bomb the Bass – One to One Religion (Skankapell mix) (1996)
  45. Bacon Popper – Free (1999)

Throwback Thursday returns January 04, 2024!

Keep your mind open.

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

Mac Sabbath announces early 2024 western U.S. tour with The Darts.

Drive-thru metal rockers Mac Sabbath are about to launch a short western U.S. tour with psych-rockers The Darts, starting at the legendary Pappy and Harriets in Pioneertown, California and ending at the wild Area 15 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Don’t miss them. Tickets are on sale now.

01/17/24 – Pioneertown, CA – MAC SABBATH – Pappy And Harriets

01/19/24 – Flagstaff, AZ – MAC SABBATH – Orpheum Theater 

01/20/24 – Tucson, AZ – MAC SABBATH – Rialto Theatre 

01/21/24 – Las Vegas, NV – MAC SABBATH – The Portal Inside AREA 15

Keep your mind open.

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

[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

TOOL announces 2024 European dates.

TOOL make their highly-anticipated return to Europe this Spring, with a month of dates slated for the 2024 trek, including outings at London’s The O2 Arena, Stockholm’s Tele2 Arena and Paris’ Accor Arena, as well as festival outings at Graspop Metal Meeting, Tons of Rock and CopenHell.

News of the band’s European tour follows a particularly busy time for the Los Angeles-based band, with the foursome featuring Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor, Adam Jones and Maynard James Keenan, currently in the midst of a North American tour that extends into February. Over the last five months, TOOL has headlined Aftershock, Welcome to Rockville, Louder Than Life and the Sonic Temple Arts & Music festivals, as well as a once-in-a-lifetime performance at Power Trip, which Metal Hammer described as “a mind-melting, triumphant showcase of just how singular their art is, a transcendental experience that surpasses genre boundaries.”

Tickets for all headlining dates are on-sale now.

TOOL European tour dates:

25 May Hannover, DE ZAG Arena

27 May  Amsterdam, NL Ziggo Dome

30 May Birmingham, UK Resorts World Arena

1 June Manchester, UK AO Arena

3 June London, UK The O2 Arena

5 June Paris, FR Accor Arena

8 June Berlin, DE Parkbühne Wuhlheide

10 June Wien, AT Wiener Stadthalle

11 June Kraków, PL Tauron Arena

13 June Budapest, HU BudapestAréna

18 June Köln, DE Lanxess Arena

20 June Dessel, BE Graspop Metal Meeting

22 June Copenhagen, DK CopenHell

25 June Stockholm, SE Tele2 Arena

27 June Oslo, NO Tons of Rock

TOOL North American tour dates:

10 January Baltimore, MD CFG Bank Arena

12 January New York, NY Madison Square Garden

13 January New York, NY Madison Square Garden

18 January Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood

19 January Hollywood, FL Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood

21 January Charlotte, NC Spectrum Center

23 January Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena

24 January Atlanta, GA State Farm Arena

26 January Birmingham, AL The Legacy Arena at The BJCC

27 January Biloxi, MS Mississippi Coast Coliseum

30 January Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center

31 January Austin, TX Moody Center

2 February Dallas, TX American Airlines Center

3 February Oklahoma City, OK Paycom Center

5 February Denver, CO Ball Arena

7 February El Paso, TX UTEP Don Haskins Center

9 February Phoenix, AZ Footprint Center

10 February Phoenix, AZ Footprint Center

12 February Fresno, CA Save Mart Center

14 February Los Angeles, CA Crypto.com Arena

15 February Los Angeles, CA Crypto.com Arena

17 February Ontario, CA Toyota Arena

18 February Las Vegas, NV T-Mobile Arena

Keep your mind open.

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

[Thanks to Monica at Speakeasy PR]

Ty Segall announces new album due January 26 – “Three Bells.”

Photo Credit – Denée Segall

Ty Segall returns with his most ambitious, elastic set of songs to date, Three Bells, to be released January 26th via Drag City. Following 2022’s acoustic introspection opus, “Hello, Hi,”Three Bells is a deeper, wilder journey to the center of the self, with Ty using his musical vocabulary with ever-increasing sophistication. In conjunction with today’s announcement, Tyunveils the new single/video, “My Room.”

Three Bells is an obsessive quest for expression. With much of the album being played by Ty in conversation with himself, a decision that further elevates the album’s conception, it answers back to the riptide always pulling Ty subconsciously into the depths. Questions we all ask in our own private mirrors are faced down here — and regardless of what the mysterious “Three Bells” mean in the context of the album’s libretto, you can be assured that Ty’s ringing them for himself, and for the rest of us in turn. With all fifteen songs brimming with perspectives, shape-shifting incessantly, Ty pushed them out farther and farther compositionally, challenging the way they’d be played. Each song moves through repetitive, thematic material in its own way, building a claustrophobic/paranoia vibe, cycling bold thrusts forward into ego deaths, the one-step-forward, two-steps-back patterns framing an overriding ask: what can we do to get past the back-and-forth conversation, to arrive at a place of acceptance?

On Three Bells, Ty and Denée Segall collaborated on five of the songs, including the previously released single, “Eggman.” Some of the songs needed the kind of playing Ty couldn’t get alone. Emmett Kelly’s bass parts not only addressed that need, but inspired the way the songs eventually went down. The remaining members of the Freedom Band were called in to play, transforming the material. Co-producer Cooper Crain, who deeply contributed to both Harmonizer and “Hello, Hi”, engineered and mixed most of the album.

With todays’ single, “My Room,” Ty rings the bell of the introvert who is empowered by the world inside his own room. The layers of acoustic and electric guitars dance around each other, quickening the already swinging tempo, while fuzz distortion blows the walls farther back as he takes us deeper. The accompanying music video was directed by longtime collaborators MattYoka and Ty, and features Ty steadfastly performing the song on stage as bananas are launched in his direction. He remains resolute in dedication to the craft, only to reveal a surreal dialogue between the dual facets of his own identity.

Three Bells takes Ty Segall’s trips so much deeper and farther than they’ve gone before — a masterpiece of personal expression, expressed through words, music and production, parabolically addressing malaise with compassion in a flowing, unstoppable hour-plus of intoxicating sound. Following the album’s release, Ty will tour throughout North America. Tickets are on sale now.
 

Pre-order Ty Segall’s Three Bells

Listen/Watch Ty Segall’s “My Room”

Listen/Watch Ty Segall’s “Void”

Listen/Watch Ty Segall’s “Eggman”

Three Bells Tracklisting:
1. The Bell
2. Void
3. I Hear
4. Hi Dee Dee
5. My Best Friend
6. Reflections
7. Move
8. Eggman
9. My Room
10. Watcher
11. Repetition
12. To You
13. Wait
14. Denée
15. What Can We Do

Ty Segall 2024 Tour Dates:
(new dates in bold)

Tue. Feb. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Wed. Feb. 21 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Fri. Feb. 23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern *
Sat. Feb. 24 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
Fri. Apr. 19 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
Sat. Apr. 20 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Mon. Apr. 22 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Outside) 
Tue. Apr. 23 – Jackson, MS @ Duling Hall
Wed. Apr. 24 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Fri. Apr. 26 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Sat. Apr. 27 –  Washington DC @ Lincoln Theatre 
Sun. Apr. 28 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Mon. Apr. 29 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Wed. May 1 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Thu. May 2 – Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Fri. May 3 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Sun. May 5 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Mon. May 6 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Tue. May 7 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
Thu. May 9 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre
Sat. May 11 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlow’s
Fri. June 28 – London, UK @ Roundhouse

# w/ Mike Donovan
* w/ White Fence

Keep your mind open.

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

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]

WSND DJ set list – Deep Dive of Christmas music – December 24, 2023

Thanks to all who listened to my Christmas Eve show on WSND. Here’s the playlist!

  1. CAN – Silent Night
  2. Disco Noel – Silver Bells
  3. Esquivel – Jingle Bells
  4. Wesley Willis – Merry Christmas
  5. Devo – Merry Something to You
  6. Johnny Cash – I Heard the Christmas Bells
  7. Freddie King – Christmas Tears (requested)
  8. Foghat – Run Run Rudolph
  9. Clarence Carter – Back Door Santa
  10. Run DMC – Christmas in Hollis
  11. Stevie Wonder – Someday at Christmas
  12. James Brown – Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto
  13. Luther Vandross – The Christmas Song
  14. Nat King Cole – O Holy Night
  15. Darlene Love – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
  16. Chris Isaak – Mele Kalikimaka (requested)
  17. The Vince Guaraldi Trio – What Child Is This?
  18. Judy Garland – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  19. Bing Crosby – White Christmas
  20. Marvin Gaye – I Want to Come Home for Christmas
  21. Pat Benatar – Please Come Home for Christmas
  22. Reel Big Fish – Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer (requested)
  23. The Andrews Sisters – Winter Wonderland
  24. Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra – A Marshmallow World (live)
  25. The Beach Boys – Little Saint Nick
  26. Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock
  27. Brenda Lee – Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
  28. The Ventures – Sleigh Ride
  29. The Sportsmen – Reindeer Rock
  30. Oscar McLollie and His Honey Jumpers – Dig That Crazy Santa Claus
  31. Ramsey Lewis Trio – Here Comes Santa Claus
  32. Burl Ives – Have a Holly Jolly Christmas
  33. The Raveonettes – The Christmas Song
  34. Low – Little Drummer Boy
  35. Elephant Stone – Christmas Time
  36. The Cosmonauts – It’s Christmas Day
  37. Dido – Christmas Day
  38. Enya – O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

I’m next on air December 28th at 7pm Eastern for “Throwback Thursday” and “3-for-Thursday” Nocturne.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Caroline Rose announces 2024 North American tour dates.

Photo Credit: CJ Harvey

Caroline Rose’s live show “explodes in color. Angry reds, deep blues, vibrant yellows, and every shade in-between flex and melt onstage in a dazzling light show dance that only grows in intensity as the set goes on” (NYLON). Today, Rose announces a 2024 North American tour in support of “their strongest and most resonant record yet” (Under The Radar), The Art of Forgetting, out now on New West Records. The Art of Forgetting was released earlier this year to a wealth of praise from the likes of The New York Times, NPR, and Document Journal, who hailed it as “a confessional, layered with personal anecdotes, Southern storytelling sensibilities, and unreserved exploration of the ever-evolving self.”

Rose’s 2024 tour includes stops in Chicago, Washington, DC, and Boulder, plus two-night stints in Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco. Metropolis Ensemble, founded by Grammy award nominated conductor Andrew Cyr, will join Rose in Brooklyn and Northampton for a special set-up featuring eight auxiliary players. Fans will also have the opportunity to attend VIP screenings of Rose’s The Art of Forgetting short film, taking place in many of the venues following soundcheck. The film has earned many accolades, including the title of Best Music Video at Hollywood Shorts Fest, New York Indie Shorts Awards, and ARFF Amsterdam, in addition to being a semifinalist at Indie Shorts Awards Cannes and an official selection at Hollyshorts Film Festival. A full list of tour dates are below, and tickets are on sale to the general public now.

Stream/Purchase The Art of Forgetting
Watch the “Miami” Video
Watch “Tell Me What You Want” Video
Watch the “The Doldrums” Visualizer

Caroline Rose 2024 Tour Dates
Sun. March 31 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
Tue. April 2 – Northampton, MA@ Bombyx
Wed. April 3 – Northampton, MA @ Bombyx
Fri. April 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Sat. April 6 – Fairfield, CT @ The Warehouse
Sun. April 7 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Tue. April 9 – Montreal, QC @ Studio TD
Wed. April 10 – Toronto, ON @ Concert Hall
Fri. April 12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Sat. April 13 – Washington, DC @ 930 Club
Sun. April 14 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
Tue. April 16 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Fri. April 19 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon
Sat. April 20 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave
Tue. April 23 – Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theatre
Wed. April 24 – Kansas City, MO @ RecordBar
Fri. April 26 – Fort Collins, CO @  Aggie Theatre
Sat. April 27 – Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
Sun. April 28 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Fri. May 3 – Tucson, AZ @ Congress Plaza
Sat. May 4 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
Mon. May 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
Tue. May 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
Fri. May 10 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Rio Theatre
Sat. May 11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Sun. May 12 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Tue. May 14 – Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu Barn
Thu. May 16 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Fri. May 17 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Sat. May 18 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
Sun. May 19 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox

Keep your mind open.

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

[Thanks to Ben at Pitch Perfect PR.]

WSND DJ set list: 3-for-Thursday Nocturne – December 21, 2023

The first 3-for-Thursday Nocturne show on WSND was a blast. Thanks to all who listened. Here’s the set list, and how each song relates to the number 3.

  1. Tinariwen – Atahoura Techragh D’Azaka Nin (3rd song on the Kel Tinariwen album)
  2. Khruangbin – A Hymn (trio)
  3. Elephant Stone – Cast the First Stone (3rd song on the Ship of Fools album)
  4. GOAT – Goatfuzz (from their 3rd album Requiem)
  5. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Open Water (3rd song on the Flying Microtonal Banana album)
  6. All Them Witches – Dirt Preachers (3-word band name, part-time trio, 3rd song on the Dying Surfer Meets His Maker album)
  7. Conception – Babylon (3 minutes long)
  8. The Sword – Arcane Montane (3rd song on the Apocryphon album)
  9. Primus – Greet the Sacred Cow (trio)
  10. The Police – Hole in My Life (live) (trio)
  11. The Clash – I’m Not Down (3-word song title and from their 3rd album London Calling)
  12. House of Large Sizes – I’m My Own Grandpa pt. 2 (trio)
  13. ZZ Top – Jesus Just Left Chicago (trio, song from the album Tres Hombres) (requested)
  14. Screaming Females – Crow’s Nest (trio)
  15. The Joy Formidable – Chapter 2 (trio)
  16. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Little Thing Gone Wild (trio)
  17. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Greyhound (trio)
  18. Earl Greyhound – Back and Forth (3-word song title and a trio)
  19. Screaming Blue Messiahs – Mega City 1 (3-word song title and band name, a trio, and from their third album Totally Religious)
  20. The White Stripes – The Big Three Killed My Baby (“Three” in the song title)
  21. Ladytron – Until the Fire (1st of a “three-peat” of the same artist)
  22. Ladytron – Black Cat (live) (2nd of a “three-peat” of the same artist)
  23. Ladytron – High Rise (3rd of a “three-peat” of the same artist)
  24. The Cure – Three Imaginary Boys (“Three” in the song title) (requested)
  25. Dum Dum Girls – Are You OK? ((3-word song title and band name, and from their third album Too True)
  26. Morphine – Sexy Christmas Baby Mine (trio)

The next 3-for-Thursday show will be December 28th at 10pm Eastern. Don’t miss it!

Keep your mind open.

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

WSND DJ set list: Throwback Thursday – December 21, 2023.

Thanks to everyone who tuned in for my first “Throwback Thursday” show (70s at 7, 80s at 8, 90s at 9) on WSND. Here’s the set list, and the years for each:

  1. Bitter Creek – Plastic Thunder (1970)
  2. Black Sabbath – Fairies Wear Boots (1970) (requested)
  3. Cat O’Nine Tails radio ad (1971)
  4. Steely Dan – Only a Fool Would Say That (1972)
  5. The Who – Join Together (1972)
  6. Asylum radio ad (1972)
  7. The Rolling Stones – Tumbling Dice (1972)
  8. Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein radio ad (1973)
  9. Queen – Seven Seas of Rhye (1973)
  10. Betty Davis – Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him (1974)
  11. Horror of the Zombies radio ad (1974)
  12. Bug radio ad (1975)
  13. The Staples Jr. Singers – I Got a New Home (1975)
  14. Blondie – X Offender (1976)
  15. Robin Trower – Roads to Freedom (1980) (requested)
  16. Adam and The Ants – Deutscher Girls (1977)
  17. Bauhaus – God in an Alcove (1980)
  18. The Last Four Digits – Leave Me Alone (1980)
  19. Oingo Boingo – Ain’t This the Life (1981)
  20. Wall of Voodoo – Mexican Radio (1982)
  21. Thomas Dolby – She Blinded Me with Science (1982)
  22. The Cramps – Thee Most Exalted Potentate of Love (1983) (live)
  23. R.E.M. – Orange Crush (1988) (requested)
  24. Depeche Mode – Lie to Me (1984)
  25. Public Image Ltd. – The Order of Death (1984)
  26. Big Audio Dynamite – Medicine Show (1985)
  27. Radio ad for Delco vehicle batteries (1987)
  28. The Smithereens – Blood and Roses (demo version) (1986)
  29. Radio ad for Bubbilicious “Paradise Punch” gum (1989)
  30. Devo – Some Things Never Change (1988)
  31. Fountains of Wayne – The Valley of Malls (1999)
  32. Radio ad for My Buddy and Kid Sister (1985)
  33. Alison Krauss – Stay (1999)
  34. Sonic Youth – Kool Thing (1990)
  35. Thunder – She’s So Fine (1990) (requested)
  36. Eric B. and Rakim – What’s On Your Mind (1991)
  37. Lisa Loeb – Waiting for Wednesday (1995) (requested)
  38. Two Little Boys – Stylophonia (1991)
  39. Channel X – A Million Colors (1992)
  40. The Flaming Lips – Turn It On (1993)
  41. Buzzcocks – Your Love (1996)
  42. Alice In Chains – Rotten Apple (1994)
  43. The The – Dogs of Lust (1993)
  44. Bad Religion – Silent Night (1993)

The next Throwback Thursday show will be December 28th starting at 7pm Eastern! I hope you give me a listen.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – The Silver Cord

One of the best things about King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is that you never know what you’re going to get from album to album with them. It could be alt-folk, a psychedelic freakout, microtonal shredding, thrash metal, or, in the case of The Silver Cord – an album of synth music.

The album has the band diving headlong into their not-so-secret love of synthwave, EDM, rap, and krautrock, starting with the uplifting “Theia” – a song about how we are drifting on silver cords that attach us to ethereal planes we can’t describe but sometimes catch glimpses of now and then. It’s instantly catchy and uplifting, with all the synths and electronic beats rising us up to the natural follow-up of the title track – a beautiful track about birth, death, and rebirth. “Set” is about the wicked Egyptian god (and Egyptology and mythology is all over this record, which delights me to no end) and has a cool rave beat throughout it.

“Chang’e” has the band singing about a goddess of dreams and builds from almost an ambient track into a full-blown dance cut in perhaps the loveliest moment on the record. “Gilgamesh” brings techno-Viking beats to the classic tale of the eternal hero. “Swan Song” uses industrial beats to encourage us to cut the cords that bind us to our attachments and egos and “Go explore. Be untethered. Be unequalled. Grab the sword. Be emperor. Be yourself. Be an orb. Be your spirit. Don’t fear it.”

The closing track, “Extinction,” tackles one of KGATLW’s favorite topics – the destruction of the Earth by mankind’s idiocy and greed. There are hints of “Crumbling Castle” in the beats and lyrics (“Castles crumble with a groan.”) as well. The album ends on an encouraging note, however, as they sing, “I can see everything. I can be in the music.”

So can all of us.

As if The Silver Cord isn’t good enough, and a cool enough project from KGATLW, the band also released an extended version of the record in which they explore long-form synth-jams and add further lyrics to delve further into the album’s themes of death, reincarnation, the afterlife, and enlightenment. The shortest track on the extended version is the ten-minute and eighteen-second-long version of “Set.” The longest is the extended mix of “Theia,” which is just over twenty minutes. All the extended mixes are excellent, and some could be dropped into a DJ set without trouble.

This makes the second excellent album KGATLW have released this year, the first being the epic thrash metal album PetroDragonic Apocalypse: or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation. To go from that to The Silver Cord is a stunning accomplishment that few other bands could pull off and make look easy.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]