We get so much email now at the station that it really is hard to keep up, let me apologise for my lack of speed getting back to you if you write. It is always fun to get an email from overseas from a local band touring. Zack is playing with Hockey Night who have had a few gigs with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in the UK and I quote...

"The club manager the other night at The Academy in Liverpool told me he generally doesn't even watch bands anymore, and enjoys even fewer (total Englishman), but the two shows this year he thoroughly enjoyed were The Arcade Fire and Hockey Night. " High praise indeed.
You can check out how good Arcade Fire are live this Sunday at 6pm.

Also picked up a copy of one of my fave mags that covers music and movies out of the UK called 'Word' and they had a cd on the cover that has a bunch of the bands that we play on it including Halloween Alaska!!

I played Neil Young's Harvest Moon this afternoon and realized all over again what a freakin' talent that dude is, not that he doesn't get his fair share of cred.. But it made me wonder if he sorta falls into the looming shadow cast by the Bob Dylan's and John Lennon's of the world.
I don't have a ton of his records, but it made me interested in digging a little deeper.

I always thought there was a connection ... now at least one band has gone and made it explicit.

Robert Longo is an artist who, back in the early 80s, created a series of lithographs called "Men In The Cities." Basically, it's a bunch of depictions of people looking like they're being shot. When I looked at them, though, I was always reminded of David Byrne in the "Once In A Lifetime" video. (Not to mention Devo). You know, that whole early-80s punk/new wave stage move that incorporates spasms, or looking like you're being electrocuted.

So, I always wondered if Byrne (and Mothersbaugh et. al.) were referencing Longo's works, or vice versa, or either. It seemed like a perfect comment on the times, really; what better way to comment on the alienation and weirdness of the modern world of 1980 than spastic convulsions?

Anyway, to make a long story short ... Maximo Park has gone and appropriated the Longo images themselves for their CDs and website (here's a good example). For a band who clearly has the jerky new-wave of the early 80s as a prime influence, it seems perfect. As I said, the connection made concrete.

Interesting stuff for an art-nerd like myself, at least.

Sorry I didn't mention this last night...I meant to I swear, not sure what i get up to in the studio all night but this blog slipped my mind, might try to make two entries tonight. But last night i played a set of Miles Davis, Blondie and the Sex Pistols to celebrate the fact that they are all now inducted in to the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. Now I know us musicheads like to hate the choices but i think this year they have done a good job, Black Sabbath and Lynyrd Skynrdare also in there, the show might be worth watching this year, hell i'd like to be there!
NOW it will be worth a visit...have you been? What did ya think?

This morning I was scraping my car off and I encountered a neighbor I'd never spoken to before.. all she said was "Isn't it beautiful out"?
It took me by surprise as I was fully expecting her to grouse about the snow and cold etc.
Made me realise that yes it sure is purdy here.

Newsflash for White Stripes fans ... apparently, Jack and Meg are set to appear on The Daily Show on Thursday and Conan on Friday.

The Daily Show?

I'm not a regular watcher (as much as I enjoy the show), but I didn't realize it ever featured musical guests. Anyway, I am merely the messenger here.

This weekend I started coming down with a little of the DE-pression.
When you are down do you go with it or try and resist in your own sometimes futile ways.
Loud Rock and Roll helps me sometimes.

For the past few weeks, it's been perhaps the "best kept secret" here at The Current. It's a little show called "Musicheads," which is not heard on the air, but, much like a hidden track at the end of a CD, has been there for the resourceful and clever to discover. Well now, we're making a little more noise about it.

"Musicheads" is our weekly ten-minute podcast, hosted by Bill DeVille, wherein Bill and two other Current DJs chat about CDs they've been listening to. It's like a little "bonus Current" for your mp3 player, on the go. If you enjoy hearing music freaks talk a little longer than usual about music, well then, check it out.

Now that Thanksgiving is past, we are in a “Christmas music eligible” zone. Like snow, it could happen at any time, but should it?
Holiday concerts are beginning and we have studio interviews this week with some of our favorite performers, Neal and Leandra, Peter Mayer and Katie McMahon, all of whom are doing Christmas concerts. By rights, we should have them play a Christmas tune or two – but is it too early? And if so, when is the right time? Would a good, lasting snowfall change things? If we do dip into the holiday collection, should we issue a warning first?
Am I asking too many questions?

Thanks to Mel our Assistant Music Director for twisting the arm of Stefano Ghittoni, one half of The Dining Rooms, he put together an exclusive radio mix for us incorporating some of their own tunes and classics like Art Blakey!!
Check out their website at...thediningrooms.org

here's the set list;
The Dining rooms - white riot (demo)
Art Blakey - cunbano chant
Nick Holder - no more dating DJ's (yam who remix)
The Dining Rooms - afrolicious
Ju Ju Orchestra - kind of latin rhythm
Beatfanatic - el pito
Gerardo Frisina - cohete
The Dining Rooms - diamonds & conforts (double beat remix)

Here’s an odd feeling for someone who normally drives to work at an early hour - searchlights crisscrossing the sky over Roseville at 3:30 am. I’m accustomed to having the road to myself in the middle of the night, but the hunt is on for Christmas gifts and the stores open extra early the day after Thanksgiving. News reports say 30% of the population will do some holiday shopping today, but how many are there when the doors open at 5 or 6am?

It gets an easy laugh to talk about desperate shoppers elbowing each other out of the way to get to the last Pink Princess Party Play Set (we toyed with that cliché this morning), but in reality, I suppose it would be depressing to find yourself in the middle of such an absurd scene. Anyone care to confess? And did you get what you were looking for?

Being a resident alien from another country where this holiday is NOT celebrated, this has always been a weird one for me. The missus,
who is also an alien, said it best... it is because we have not had a 'relationship' with the day since we were children. Those formative years really do program us for what to expect from a holiday.
It also seemed a little strange to celebrate with people who seemed to be sharing a tradition of celebrating the fact that they had 'escaped' my homeland?!?!
BUT then my beautiful and talented wife came up with another revelation after dinner today, she said that although we often complain about what is going on in the world in general, and that the world image of America has really changed perhaps for the worse since we came here 20 years ago, basically we have this country to thank for our success both personal and professional. The open and accepting nature of the majority of people here allows us to express ourselves in ways that we might not have been able to otherwise, if we had stayed in our country of birth.
There's a lot to be thankful for in this country and as you all sat around and said what you are thankful for today, you proved it!
Thanks for listening!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you all have a wonderful feast today.
This one feels a bit anti-climactic for me since we juggled the schedule at home and had our turkey dinner with the family this past Sunday instead of today. My son Gus had all four wisdom teeth removed on Monday and we thought it would be excessively cruel (and maybe actionable in a court of law) to force him to eat his Thanksgiving meal out of a blender. You want kids to have vivid memories of their holidays, and they don’t all have to be happy, but connecting the key elements of family and food with an extended episode of excruciating oral pain seemed like too much.
I’m thankful today for the comforts of home and healthy gums!

I've been having fun all week saying to my boss Steve Nelson, "You aren't going to be listening to me on Thanksgiving are you?" I've got him genuinely nervous.. All Fog Hat and Daniel Johnston A-Z All Day!!!!

So here's it's been in the 40s, and now that my Mom is coming to town tonight for the weekend (she who is freezing when it's 58 -- she lives in Tampa), it's going to be 15 degrees. It just bums me out, because ever since Dad passed away, we've wanted her to move north, but she won't because "it's just too cold." I've tried to convince her that "winter is just something that happens between your front door and your car," but she' not buying it.

Once again, we'll do our best to take her around town while she's here and show her all the things she's missing by continuing to live down there in Jimmy Buffet Land.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

The Turducken.

Who invented this idea anyway? I've only just discovered the idea of layering 3 different kinds of birds together making it look like one mutated bird, the Turducken. Are we that undecided on what bird to eat? I saw my first Turducken on Paula's Home Cooking show.

What if this leads to cross breeding the duck, chicken and turkey? Then it would be less work to prepare.

Or what if it doesn't stop at food?? "Hey kids, I can't decide what pet to buy you for Christmas. Little Billy, I know you want a dog and little Suzy I know you want a cat and can't forget you little Wendy, you want a hampster. I know, I'll just go out and get you kids one of those cogsters I saw on Animal Planet the other day!"

Deck the Halls.

Yes it was a special Current Community tonight to have the chance to speak with Steve about the new Bootlegs Vol 1 cd. I have always had fun talking to the man who personifies the energy, spirit and in-built contradictions that IS the local music scene.
He has been working at First Ave for over 30 years and now passes that experience on to students at McNally Smith College of Music.
He's always hard to hold on topic and so we had to edit his stories a little! But I hope you enjoy his reminising and his explanation of what DEMO is trying to do. It is a non-profit built around the club but now independet of it and part of the proceeds from the cd go towards helping it establish its self, it's a good deal just for that reason but the tracks are of a very high quality considering that they are all bootlegs!!

Also new this week;
Tristeza 'a colores' ; instrumental...dare I say prog rock?!? I have this theory developing that there is a big resurgence going on BUT that no one is actually going to call it that agian, as the genre has taken too much 'flak' over the past 3 decades!!

Jens Lekman 'oh you're so silent, Jens' ; fans of Morrissey and Magnetic Fields might really fall in love with this guy. He has the ironic semi-twee, delicate Bacharach pop thing going on, Swedish but immensely global in references and influences...he was even inspired by the movie "Mask", check out the references to Rocky Dennis!

Neil Diamond '12 songs' this is a repeat of the project that Rick Rubin undertook with Johnny Cash, Neil stripped bare singing his own songs with mostly just his guitar, which apparently he hasn't played much for 30 years!?!? I must say that I have been a closet admirer for years, the guy just has a great voice and I must say his writing is strong.

Thanks to Mark for the props regarding "The 12 Discs Of of Christmas." If you missed it, you can hear it again online here, and it's also going to be aired again this Sunday at 6 on KNOW, 91.1 here in the Twin Cities. It's really a fun hour of listening and conversation; check it out.

As I type this, I'm listening to yesterday's in-studio session with Super Furry Animals. My oh my, what a stupendously weird and wonderful experience that was. Missed that one? Not a problem. (Also, check out this nice article that MPR's Sally McGraw did on the Furries).

Did you guys hear the special we had on this Sunday? 12 Discs of Christmas? Mary hosted it and Seel produced it asking two of the nations best rock journalists to pick some of the best musical gifts they could think of, and they covered a very wide area and made some great choices! Listening to that right after the Local Show when Chris had poet Paul Dickenson on, was a very enjoyable early evening of radio, kudos to Chris, Steve and Mary.

Tomorrow I'm interviewing a doctor about Hypochondria! Hmmm... wonder why they thought of me?

Soma Records in Glasgow Scotland are one of the biggest dance and electronic labels in Britain and they just started this series of compilations called "Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi." and this set was taken from the first in that series released in October put together by Ewan Pearson.
Now resident in Berlin he tours the world as a live DJ and gets to remix the likes of Chemical Bros, Ladytron, and Brazilian Girls.
Here's the list of what we played tonight;

Clashing Egos 'aminjig nebere (i trusted you)' Joakim's Afrobot Mix
Lontano 'lovebass'
Feist 'inside and out' Pearson and Usher Elektronischer Dub
Husky Rescue 'summertime cowboy' Serge Santiago version
Dirt Crew 'largo' Dominik Eulberg Remix

Seamless, sweet and tweaky! These are the first tracks on the comp and I could have played it all, very strong start to an exciting series, I bet we play more of these. Check out...
somarecords.com

Sorry Seel!
Didn't mean for you to go down with the ship, though I know you ARE that kinda guy, so committed to your avid listeners.
You should bring that up at your next review.. "I stayed in the burning building, in order to maintain quality programming"

First a busted microphone for Annie Hayden in the studio (she and her band ended up crouching around a gooseneck stand connected to the desk -- it was all we could hookup in time), then, a FIRE. Not really, but the fire department was here. It seems some hot grease from the popcorn maker started making some smoke or something and set off the smoke alarms.

Popcorn maker?

Yes, this week, there is a popcorn maker sitting outside the studios. The big square glass kind, like in movie theaters. Management decided it would be fun to bring in one of those to make the week more "festive" as we all pack up and move our offices to the new wing that just opened here at MPR. (If you're saying, "why did they build a new wing?" you should probably come down here and see how crammed togehter we were before we did ... if you're curious about more, you can check this out). Anyhoo ... apparently, the dern popcorn thing started smoking or something. Next thing I know, there are firemen with axes walking down the hall on the other side of the glass from the Current booth. I then look around, and notice that it seems I'm the only guy left in the building. I guess it's a good thing that the fire alarm doesn't go off inside the booth (that would be kinda loud), but the downside is that I basically didn't know that the whole rest of the staff was outside on the street. At least (as Mary tells me), they were down there wondering if somebody should come back inside and tell me the building was burning down.

Anyway, it wasn't really. It turned out to be one of those situations where there's no real danger, but you're better safe than sorry. So we had five of St. Paul's finest standing around the popcorn maker, no doubt thinking, "you people can run mixing boards and microphones, but fer Pete's sake, stay away from the hot grease."

Maybe the broken microphone earlier was some kind of omen.

So, all's well that ends well, and all that. Eliza Gilkyson then came in and played an absolutely mesmerizing, bewilderingly gorgeous set. It was a nice capper to my Friday experience.

Good luck, Looch. You may need it today.

I just played a Golden Smog song. It made me think of how folks in the entertainment world come up with a fake name. I know a guy in radio land who took the name of his pet for his first name and his mother's maiden name for his last name. Isn't that how some "adult entertainers" pick their screen name? I don't know how I know that. And no I wasn't at the Minneapolis Convention Center this weekend...yet. Would a picture of me with Ron Jeremy be an inappropriate Christmas card? Picture above my fireplace mantle?

The name formula to find out your "Golden Smog" alias is take your middle name as your first name and the street you grew up on as your last name. What's yours?

There's been balloons and popcorn for all this week in the offices as we start to move into the new building that is attached to the old one here on the corner of Cedar and 7th in downtown St.Paul. For us at The Current it is especially exciting as we really haven't had enough room for all of us to even have even a proper cubicle!
The new space is amazing, beautifully designed and airy. We will not be broadcasting from there for a while, but the studios will be state of the art, probably the finest in the nation, a testament to how well the listeners have supported what we are doing here at MPR.
Thank you.

I can't tell you how many times a day I find myself saying..
What would Iggy Pop do?

Well, since we've gone straight past fall and into winter this week, I'm in the "winter music" mode. That's as good an excuse as any to play Mobius Band's "Taxicab" and Hayden's "Street Car" (funny that my two most winter-sounding songs today seem to be about public transportation). Hmmm ... maybe I'll play Hem's "Redwing" (I'll probably always associate that song with winter since it was one of our first discs here at The Current when we went on the air back in January).

It was a thrill to get Blueprint in to do a studio session while he is in town to play on the big Atmosphere sold out extravaganza. Originally from Columbus OH he was the first non TCer to be signed by RhymeSayers when they put out Soul Position which he's part of. His last release was his first solo, called "1988" it was a celebration of the era around that year when some of his biggest influences put out great albums. He does all his own production and raps and is looking to do another 'theme based' cd when he gets time off from touring. He performed three totally new songs that might end up on that work, they were;
Radio Inactive, True Vision and Move Back.

Chris from Minneapolis writes:

"I just moved here from Tampa, FL where radio blows, mostly (insert name of giant radio conglomerate here). The last concert I saw in Florida was Paul Westerberg and was amazing and a nice transition to my new life in Uptown. Never seen snow before today. Current is best station ever!"

Welcome, Chris. I've lived in Tampa, so I know exactly what you're talking about. I also know what it's like to discover snow as an adult. Welcome to your new hometown; hope you grow to love it as much as I have. I'm not leaving.

We were intrigued by an article in the NY Times about how the major drug companies are losing the confidence of the American Public.
That led to our interview this morning with Don Caplet, marketing director of Spende-Popper, one of the lesser known drug giants.
Don said our skepticism was actually an illness, and wouldn’t you know … Spende-Popper has a new drug to deal with it … a little orange pill called “Trustimax,” which promotes “unconditional trust.”

Personally, I think much of the power in these drugs rises out of the name and how convincing it is. Some of the other Spende-Popper drugs are:

Banflab - (it encourages you to talk to your doctor)
Neutra-Chump - (it neutralizes your inner chump)
Perplex - (it settles the queasy effects of conflicting news sources)
Spanpax. (it helps you feel better about absolutely everything).

The company doesn’t spend anything on research, so if you have an idea for a nifty drug, they might use it!

When I was a little Jill I listened to a lot of music from the 50's and 60's. A lot of my tastes were driven by what my parents were listening to (until I discovered hair bands thanks to my older sister). As a youngster I sat and listened to my mom's records and my dad's 8-tracks. My dad's hobby is restoring hot rods, so I found myself listening to a lot of cruisin' music at classic 50's car shows. I could probably sum it up with the American Graffiti soundtrack, with a little heavier dose of The Beach Boys.

My favorite part about 50's music is trying to guess what the backup singers were saying. My brother and I use to giggle and make up our our words. For example from 1956, a song by The Five Satins "In the Still of the Night." To my brother and I, the backing vocals sounded something like this... "Shut up, poopy loo." I have so many more, but I'm sure some would be quite inapppropriate...

I know everyone makes up their own words to songs they don't exactly know. Or maybe you know the song, but like to add a little humor. You can admit it here.

I must say I was excited for the big snow storm...that did not materialize! Nevermind I guess we only have to wait a little while.
For some reason I feel ready for it this year, been a beautiful Autumn hasn't it?

A few interesting new releases today...

Wilco "Kicking Television" Live in Chicago in May '05
- just the right time in their career for them to make an epic live recording and they might have done it. Some awesome moments that can only happen live and powerful renditions of their best work.

Lady Sovereign "Vertically Challenged"
-I'm a little disappointed with this first official US release, which doesn't contain '9 to 5' or 'tango' that we have been playing.

Askeleton "(happy) album"
-St.Paulite Knol Tate with the final part in his emotions trilogy, hopefully and optimistic ending!?

Dire Straits "best of..."
- Had a soft spot for these guys. In the early days of MTV I remember thinking that it was cool that a 'good band' was getting all the attention, got overplayed a bit of course but still quality and I could tell that this has been nicely re-mastered.

There was also a new Madonna cd today, Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" re-issued to celebrate it's 30th Anniversary?!?! And every Eurythmics album is re-issued.

Happy gift giving season everyone!!

So last night I'm flipping through "Jennifer Aniston Weekly" and I am STUNNED to see a blurb about a "MN news station" having broken the news about Sauerkraut being a possible anedote to bird flu!!!
Hello that was Bob freaking Collins on the afternoon drive show here at the Current.
Not only do we bring you dope music but we may also be providing you with the cure for the next pandemic plague!!

Thanks to Bill DeVille for filling in for me yesterday -- I was putting the finishing touches on a special we'll be airing this Sunday at 6pm. It's called "The 12 Discs Of Christmas:" Mary talks with two big music critics (Will Hermes and Kelefa Sanneh) about clever and creative gift-CD choices for the holidays. Yep, that's right: the holidays really are almost upon us, despite what all this warmish weather has been telling us. Maybe it'll actually feel like it later today with that snow they keep promising us ...

Also, I just played my first cut off the new Kate Bush record. I'm liking it, which is a relief for me -- a guy who used to love Kate's stuff but was pretty severely underwhelmed by The Red Shoes. I still haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing (it's long), but I'm liking the two or three things I've heard so far.

Jim Ed had an interesting idea this morning for Vikings Coach Mike Tice, who has an injured knee. Tice could prowl the sidelines on a Segway! Why not?
Then we started to wonder if there’s a chance to start an NFL Seniors League. Imagine it – bald, white haired former football greats, still at war, each of them standing on their own personal transport, decked out in team colors, clashing at a maximum 12.5 mph.
It’s NFL + NASCAR + AARP.
Could it work?

This week we are having an extra special guest DJ set ...
on a Tuesday?!?! Just when you think you have us figured out!
Hell we haven't even figured us out yet!~??!
Ohmega Watts will chatting with us and he and his buddy, DJ Bombay cut-up and mixed a sweet set of cuts from his new cd, "The Find". It's a testamount to his skill and diversity that when I first heard his cd I thought it was a compilation, beautifully executed and put together to create a moody celebration of the history of hiphop soul and R'n'B. He is an MC and an accomplished producer using a wide range of samples and playing his own instruments.
Tune in 10p.m. Tuesday night!

While scrolling down the list of in studio archives, I noticed we've had an inordinate amount of dudes with full beards come through here.
Weird no?
I know that while on tour it might be hard to keep up on the whole facial hair thing .. but a full beard?

What is the appropriate amount of alarm and hand-wringing to apply to a snowstorm in November? As disc jockeys, we’re responsible for getting the word out about a change in the weather, but is it any surprise that things are about to get a bit slippery?
Going overboard on our “coverage” of the storm opens us up to a charge that we’re engaging in Chicken Little Alarmist Forecasting, or worse, that we sound just like local TV.
Not saying enough about it feels like an abdication of our Commitment to Serve The Public.
What would you say if you were on the radio on the verge of the season’s first snowstorm?

Last night had me confused. Tornadoes in Iowa, winter storms in northern MN and a tornado watch in the Twin Cities. The whole atmosphere had me scratching my head... And now, a winter storm watch for Tuesday? I can understand the snow being on the way, but tornadoes in mid November? And then The Vikings winning again? I think I'm dizzy.

I used to watch a lot of pro wrestling with my brother. When we lived at home we wouldn't even take calls on Monday nights. Then a little later on in life I found a man with a "great passion" for WWE wrestling. It was a match made in Heaven! haha! Anyway, I was kind of bummed to find out pro wrestler Eddie Guerrero bit the dust while in town this weekend. So far the cause is unknown. My understanding was that in "real life" he had just celebrated 4 years of sobriety from substance abuse. It's not like he's the first WWE wrestler to die. I have a feeling the "wrestler lifestyle" is not so great for the body, ya know? Of course the amount of french fries I consume in a year is not very good either...

Kevin Beacham hosts our own show on Saturday at 11pm
"Redefinition Radio'. He plays around town as DJ Nikoless and has been helping the RhymeSayers crew take over the hiphop world nationwide! Here's what he mixed for us:

Edwin Starr-Easin' In '74
DJ Format-A Lil Bit Of Soul '03
Gumbo-A Free Soul [Marley Marl Remix] '93
Medusa-You Betta Be! '97
YZ-The Ghetto's Been Good To Me '93
Task Force-Brothers Mcbane '99
Mr Live & Tony Bones-Hunger Strike '96
Chief Kamachi w/The Last Emperor-Nile Nutrion '99
Double Edge-Larger Than Life '01
Insight-Timeframe '04
TLA Rock-It's Yours [Litterthugz Inst Rmx] '84/'05
Busdriver-Unemployed Black Astronaut '05
Disco Four-Throwdown '83
20th Century Steel Band-Heaven & Hell Is On Earth '75

If you know a veteran, or meet one today, make sure to shake their hand. Some of my favorite stories from my grandparents have to do with World War II and The Great Depression. My grandparents were sweethearts in the 40's and they were married the day before my gramps went off the fight in World War II. He was a tank driver. I've noticed with his age has come more and more stories about the war. I'm fortunate to be able to still talk with him in his ripe old age of 88. He really is a gruff and stubborn old man, but I must have some kind of affect on him that brings a smile to his face. Everytime I see him he has the same question for me. "Why aren't you married yet?" I'm his only unmarried grandchild. And I remind him that I'm also his youngest grandchild... My grandmother always rolls her eyes at that question and makes me promise I won't get married until I'm 40. I think she knows something he doesn't! :)

Had the pleasure of chatting with The Rosebuds today and we were talking about where they come from North Carolina,which also has a strong music scene built around the record label Merge.They suggested that the oral tradition of the area informs their work and affects what they sound like. Do you think it's possible to nail what quality MN musicians have that is unique to this region? Nothing is occurring to me immediately...but I'm not from around here!

I asked you today, "What song are Wilco quoting at the end of 'I'm Always In Love?' and I appreciate all the helpful responses. I think the person who called and said, "It's 'Whisper To A Scream' by Icicle Works" is probably correct, although it doesn't seem quite like the same melodic line that I have in my memory ... I could be wrong. (It's most certainly not "Playgound In My Mind" by Clint Holmes, although that's close too). E-mailer Jerry suggested The Carpenters "Hurting Each Other," and I don't think I know that one, so I can't say. So I think we're going with Icicle Works for the moment. If you have the song, listen to the little guitar line at the end and see what you think. We'll revisit this in the future.

In other news, I just wanna say thanks to The Post Tarts for their lovely tribute in the forum today. You guys are the bomb. (Collectively).

The food channel inspired me to do some cookin' before I came into work. Rachel Ray whipped up hot turkey sandwiches on 30 Minute Meals today. To a rural Minnesota girl like me, I call it a "turkey commercial." I've noticed a lot of city slickers I've met look at me funny when I talk about the "commerical." There are a number of varities- beef commerical, pork commercial, but the turkey commercial remains my favorite. A few folks have even cringed when I explain the ingredients. I think they get gravy shock. Basically, assemble a turkey sandwich. Cut it in half, plop a pile of mashed potatoes in the middle, and then top it off with a ridiculous amount of gravy. For the turkey commercial I like to add some stuffing and cranberry sauce. It's a good meal to get rid of all those Thanksgiving leftovers as well. It's not a good meal to rid the holiday pounds though. Or heartburn.

The little cafe in my hometown, where I also worked in high school, is famous for the "commercial." It makes my aorta hurt when I think about how much gravy I consumed there.

What are your favorite winter comfort foods?

Perhaps we should create a page somwhere that outlines all our collective knowledge and advice to young bands, especially local ones about how to go about approaching the process of being a band?
In my book;
Rule #1...don't send a photo to a radio station!
I cannot remember ever getting a photo in a press pack with a new cd and being MORE inclined to listen to it. They are only really needed for print media and sending it to radio station is a waste of your valuable time, resources and hairgel!
Rule #2...Don't ask all your friends and their families to swamp a radio station with email requests or deluge them with phone calls, especially if you know that they cannot possibly have the cd yet!! This has happened recently, believe me, but don't ask me to name names. Seriously, we want to help, but there's something artificial about such a write-in campaign or phone call blitz that can quickly backfire on you and make us suspect of ALL requests, especially for local bands, so don't spoil it for everyone else either.
Anyone else have any wisdom to pass on?

Monday and Tuesday I was DOWN for the count with a Migraine.
Today I feel as though I was in a car accident.. my neck, shoulders and head are stiff and sore.
I have a fairly high pain threshold. My question is this.. How do you know when a raging headache has now crossed over into brain tumor, aneurysm-get-to-a-Doctor-territory.
I tend to use the fools logic of reassuring myself, "If this was an Aneurysm, I'd totally be dead by now".

After that monstrosity yesterday, shorter is probably in order today. So, I'll just post this tantalizing news: we just learned that we have been cleared to broadcast a little concert we recorded back in late Septmeber at First Avenue ... one featuring many marching-drums, formal attire and the wearing of helmets. It will be The Current's first-ever full-length on-air concert show.

Hello everyone, this is Dale Connelly of the Morning Show.
I’d love to be able to tell you what a fantastic rock show I just saw at a local club, but the humdrum truth is that I spent a lovely afternoon last Sunday attending a High School Musical.
‘Tis the season. Since the beginning of school in early September, the Drama Departments have had just enough time to whip everyone into shape for a long weekend of jerky-dad-cammed adolescent song and dance. Look at the high school bulletin boards. Bye Bye Birdies and Hello Dolly’s are springing up like dandelions in June.
(I was a clandestine videotaper myself. In spite of the pre-show anti-taping warning, I captured some choice moments while holding the little camera discreetly on my lap.
Wrong, I know, but when I am dead and my son is the age I am today, my bad behavior means he will be able to watch his 16 year old self dance with his friends at a 45 degree angle across a wall-sized flat screen in his manse on a hill. An odd ambition, perhaps, but this is my dream.)

I was a High School hoofer myself – King Arthur in Camelot, General Bullmoose in Lil’ Abner, and a geeky sailor in South Pacific. (Sharon Craig’s pants almost fell off during the kissing scene – a memory maker for everyone!)

How about you? Any former (or current) musical thespians in the Current’s online audience?
And why is show music considered so uncool?

I am hyper tonight. Lots of yellow colored soda has been consumed, so that's probably why. I'm not much of a coffee person. I drank coffee on the last day of the membership drive and it gave me the shakes. Yes, I said the shakes... not the other one.

So I see my colleages have been discussing band names. My childhood friend and I had a fictionous band for awhile called "The Bloated Muskrats." It was pretty heavy... I think I was 11 or 12 maybe. We came up with the name when we were walking her dog and came across a dead animal on the road... and it was a very bloated muskrat. Plus, I was pretty into Stone Temple Pilots at the time and they had a song called Dead and Bloated. So maybe it was a bit of a rip off? I don't think so, maybe more of an influence. I'm starting to think I was a demented child. Wait, I still am.

The MN Rollergirls have let me choose a Rollergirl name. I've been blessed with the duty of announcing the half time bands at the bouts. Let me introduce you to "Jill Jaw Jacker." All though I've never really hit anyone in the jaw, I thought the alliteration was nice. The next bout is Friday, November 18th at Roy Wilkins. See you there! I've become a big fan of The Rockits.
-Jill

Strange that Steve Seel should bring up this subject, I'm sure you think that we collude in carrying on these threads but...I swear we don't!
Recently our Program Director Steve Nelson suggested that he wanted to take a word that I had made up in an email to him as his band name, he even googled it to check to see if anyone has used it. Of course I cannot tell you all what it is...sorry tabugya! But it got me thinking about it again.
Personally I think it is impossible for us to seperate the name of a band from what we think of their music, our fave band will NOT have a name we hate, gauranteed. But I have never been able to come up with one that I could live with. What would your band be called?

I sat around here yesterday making lists of band-names in various categories, and it got to be so self-indulgent (not to mention productivity-eating) that I'm having to force myself to stop. But, so that all my "work" doesn't go completely to waste, I offer it up here in the extended-entry.

Good Morning People - Jim Ed

Highlight music moment of the year for me..
When Tweedy brought his 8 year old son onstage to play drums with him last night.
Too cool.

The good, the bad, awesome and the awful. Since I've been in a list-making mood, today I'm thinkin' I just might have to make some lists to that effect ... and also, because I just got tipped off to an awesome band name: Healthy White Baby (a reference lifted from the movie Raising Arizona, and if you're a fan of that movie like I am, that's a band name that probably makes you crack up immediately). Kind of like Baby Fish Mouth (name that movie) ... that's a fave, too.

Okay, I'm now getting to work on the lists. More later.

From our very own show The Rhythm Lab, Saturdays at midnight

This is a great representation of the music that you might here on the show, uplifting, soulful and influenced by many styles of beats from all over the world.
This is what we heard;

Belladonna - "Ebatule"
Latin Projekt "Aganju"
Los Cabrones "Hola Que Tal"
Sin Palabras - "Yemaya"
Jazzanova "Atabaque"
Inner Sense "Bahiana/Batucada"

You can find out more about him and where he spins regularly in the Cities at...
www.djdoncuco.com

The new album, "The Weight Is A Gift," might qualify to go on both best of the year and "neglected/overlooked" lists. I know we haven't been neglecting it here on The Current, but c'mon, does anybody really think these guys are gonna get their due this year for this record? Part of the problem is that their particular brand of white-guys-with-guitars music is even more out-of-phase with current cultural trends than most white-guys-with-guitars music. Maybe they could get a special honorable mention as, "best CD of 2005 that represents a profoundly unhip genre of music."

You keep those votes coming for your fave releases of the year and I'll keep collating!

G Love is in town for a show tonight and I was reminded of the time I was interviewing him years ago and accidentally called him "Garret" his real name.. the look on his face was priceless.
I run into other weird instances of name issue when I interview people like DJ Spookey, Citizen Cope, Slug??
"Uhh What's up Citizen?"

... in the New York Times. And you don't have to subscribe to "Times Select" in order to read it. Nice piece.

listed out?!? I would hate this to be an internal conversation, we get enough time to talk and play what WE like, it would be great to hear what you the listeners, all have on your lists...or are lists just SO 20th Century? I must admit the music mags have pushed the concept over the edge a time or two. So what is our alternative?

Hey, I didn't know that agreeing on things was "scary," Mark. Ah well. Today I'm considering adding The Frames, "Burn The Maps" to the list. If it doesn't make it onto Best Of The Year, maybe it can be #1 on a different list called "Top Criminally Neglected Discs of 2005."

As the holiday season approaches the labels stop putting out NEW stuff, in affect, all the product that they want you to buy for presents is already out. The new Imogen Heap is the only cd that we have been playing for a while that comes out today. So I started thinking about making 'end of year lists'...before Steve Seel mentioned it earlier today I swear!!
Scarily enough however he and I agree on a couple.
Here's the first few that came to my mind ...
Sufjan Stevens
Sigur Ros
The Fall
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
and Gang of Four
who would qualify in my mind
especially with the addition of the remix cd.

Shall we make a list?

E-Bay is crack for me.
Are you addicted too?

Seel's list of "Best CDs of the Year" is coming together. Andrew Bird, Sufjan Stevens, and The Hold Steady are definitely on there. Possibly Gang Of Four ... I'm struggling with that one, given that it's not new material, but it's just so utterly amazing that it might make it onto the list nonetheless.

Are you a list-maker, a la High Fidelity? Could you pick a top five CDs of the year (so far) if you had to?

I'd also be curious to know your least favorite discs of the year. In the interest of remaining the "impartial-media-ombudsman-for-new-music" (such as we all are here at the Big C), I feel I should refrain from codifying mine onto a list, but if you have any that are burning a hole in your chest, please, feel free to share with the class.

One of the best things about having guest hosts come in is when they surprise you with the music they bring. This morning's guest, bassist Gary Raynor, told me he's mostly into jazz and classical. Then he brings in Derek and the Dominos! What a great track - Eric Clapton and Duane Allman on the same song. Hope you enjoyed it.

Mike Pengra