Friday, September 1st, 2006 ... 3:00 p.m. - 5:50 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

The good: A relaxing afternoon before the long Labor Day weekend.

The bad: The first sports broadcast of the year, heralding the return of interrupted and pre-empted shows. Sigh. On the plus side, the sports schedule works in my favor during the fall, when my show usually gains another 45 minutes. (Although some years, sports or a talk-show DJ will ask to fill those 45 mins.)

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)

* Carnival Skin -- "Carnival Skin" -- Carnival Skin (Nemu, 2006)

Previously noted here.

* Steuart Liebig and The Mentones -- "The Single-Double Two-Step" -- Nowhere Calling (pfMentum, 2006)

* Heernt -- "Pi ~ 3.1415" -- Locked in a Basement (Sunnyside, 2006)

Noted here.

* Art Ensemble of Chicago -- "Song for Charles" -- Non-Cognitive Aspects of the City (Pi Recordings, 2006)

New stuff from the latest incarnation of AEC, with new players replacing the departed Malachi Favors and Lester Bowie. (Jaribu Shahid and Corey Wilkes, respectively, are the new players; both are mainstays of Chicago's scene).

Noted here.

* AnteNata -- "Sopravvissuta Alle Tue Flamme" - Ante Nata (Ambiances Magnetiques, 2006)

* Frank Gratkowsi, Thomas Lehn, Melvyn Poore -- "Umbrellas" -- Triskaidekaphonia (Leo Records, 2006)

Challengingly quiet and spare improv, heavy on the analog synth from Lehn, alongside Gratkowski's clarinets and Poore's tuba. Creates an eerie, still atmosphere that I suppose (?) could be compared to some of AMM's work. This particular track is the "radio-friendly" one, at only(!) 10 minutes and with a sustained level of low sound/activity throughout. The acoustic instruments provide mostly clicks and pops, while Lehn's synths blurt occasional noises in kind of a solo. Other tracks get louder and even ferocious, but only for moments, before descending back into the vacuum of silence. Contemplative stuff that succeeds in creating an atmosphere ... but long, quiet stuff isn't the greatest programming for radio. Speaking of which...

"Johnny One-Note," one of the classical-music magazines calls him. Scelsi creates long stretches of space that might be harmonically static but still have a sense of action to them. This particular track, for solo cello, features lots of swooping and buzzing, but other spots on this all-strings CD get into quieter or more monochrome territory. Nice stuff, and it's been well received during its first week in rotation here -- we've got quite a few folks interested in modern classical music.

A dose of mainstream jazz to break the quiet/eerie/still vibe of the past few tracks. This one's deceptively "nice," with a strong, mellow jazz backing but some madcap trumpeting from Goode.

*! Sparks -- "(Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country?" -- Hello Young Lovers (In the Red, 2006)

! Guided by Voices -- "Jane of the Waking Universe" -- Mag Earwhig! (Matador, 1997)

In honor of WOXY, the former on-air radio station turned Internet radio station. That link might be defunct by the time you read this; WOXY has posted a goodbye note on its front page, saying that barring a miracle, they'll have to shutter on Sept. 15. It's all part of the hard tranisition that's going on for radio and music, driven not by the Internet or file sharing, but by money. Corporate control of radio -- more specifically, the perception of radio as a commodity rather than an art form or community outlet -- has driven stations like WOXY off the air. WOXY tried to make it as an Internet radio station, but the finances stubbornly wouldn't work out. Hopefully WOXY will be just an intermediate step towards finding a way to make good radio -- with varied, interesting music not chosen by marketing experts and accountants -- into a viable Internet business. Hopefully WOXY's demise is not the endgame.

* Joshua Redman Elastic Band -- "Lonely Woman" -- Momentum (Nonesuch, 2006)

* John Brumit -- "Geography/Nowhere" [excerpt] -- Vendetta Retreat (Edgetone, 2006)

* Richard Carr, Mike Nord, Georg Hofmann, Art Maddox -- "Tornado Alley" -- Biosphere (Leo Records, 2006)

Previously mentioned here. See also here.

Previously mentioned here.

* The Industrial Jazz Group -- "Doo When?" -- Industrial Jazz a Go-Go (Evander, 2006)

Previously noted here.

* Robert Dick and Ursel Schlicht -- "Emergence" -- Photosphere (Nemu, 2006)

Previously noted here.

* = Item in KZSU rotation
! = Pop anomaly
? = Item not in KZSU library

-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.