My favorites for 2005. Enjoy. If you think you have my taste, then add these to your collection!

The Go! Team "Thunder Lightning Strike"
Dressy Bessy "Electrified"
The Raveonettes "Pretty in Black"
Diamond Nights "Popsicle"
Sleater-Kinney "The Woods"
The White Stripes "Get Behind Me Satan"
The Redwalls "De Nova"
Beck "Guero"
The Hold Steady "Separation Sunday"
Tracy Bonham "Blink the Brightest"
The Soviettes "LP III"
Jamiroquai "Dynamite"
30 Seconds to Mars "A Beautiful Lie"
Maximo Park "A Certain Trigger"
Langhorne Slim "When the Sun's Gone Done"
Low "The Great Destroyer"
My Morning Jacket "Z"
The Sights "The Sights"
Spoon "Gimme Fiction"
Inara George "All Rise"

Known as one of the godfathers of Detroit Techno he is actually from Windsor Ontario. Also works under the name Plastikman and has been working on a series of releases which explore the way that the art of DJing has progressed in the last 5 years, where a live DJ can use an enourmous array of EFX and samples triggered by computers to add to the beats produced by drum machines or recorded tracks. This is the 3rd in the series DE9 :Transitions.
As he says in the liner notes; "the exploration of the transition is not only limited to the X and Y (time and amplitude) planes of sound but also in the Z plane(depth) of space."
It is an amazlingly layered creation which takes minimal techno to a new frontier. The piece is actully 96 minutes long which can only fit on a DVD, but the set we played was from the CD version, tracks 16 thru 21. There are so many original tracks of music listed for every one track on this cd that it would take way too long to list the whole set!!
Check out; www.richiehawtin.com

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

Are you a regular anywhere?

The snow is perfect for making a snowman...err.. snowperson? Or for me I'd like to make a few snowballs and throw them at whatever neighbor left a note on my car telling me I don't know how to park. Ya, like I don't all ready know that.

How a safe New Year's celebration my friends! I'll be posting my top 20 favorite albums before 2005 ends. If I procrastinate anymore, I might just have to start working on my top 20 of 2006!

In case you missed me discussing resolutions with The Bad Plus on Tuesday night...well I couldn't talk jazz with them after all!?!?...I have made a definite decision to try to exercise at the gym at least twice a week, trying to lose at least 8lbs, and get in shape to play soccer for at least one more game/season.
I know this is not the most original resolution but for me it would be a first. I've never in my life gone to the gym regularly. I used to try to walk as much as possible, even to and from work until last year. Now I manage to walk up the 4 floors to our desk area and that's about all the exercise I get.
So now I've gone public, send your good gym vibes my way...but stay out of me way if you see me sweating on a weight machine!! I resolve NOT to enjoy it!

I was thinking for the new year I might take up smoking again. Just to mix it up and keep things interesting.

Some people get depressed during this post-Christmas time, owing I suppose to the general anomie inherent in the passing of the holiday and the overall suckiness of the whole New Years' Eve business. I've found ways to enjoy it over the years, however. It's serious down-time. Expectations are generally low. Nobody else really knows how to behave, much less work, so we're all in the same boat. Here's to the post-Christmas malaise! There will be plenty of time for stress and long-hours in the new year.

Every year I make resolutions and every year I seem to never follow through. So this year I'm going to make ones that are very easy to keep.

-Incorporate even more red meat into my diet.
-Take advice from Paula's Home Cooking and vow to add a stick of butter to all of my food.

Happy New Year!!
How do you spend it?
For most of my adult life it seems I have been working on it, as a waiter then as a DJ. For 3 years in a row I played the party at The Lounge, the highlight of my live DJ career and after that there's really nothing else, celebratory or party-wise that I want to do.
The pressure of being in the right place with the right people at EXACTLY the right time has always freaked me out!
Do you have a unique way to spend the night?

I'm doing my first of what we hope will be many live-remote broadcasts from Glueks Bar and Restaurant in downtown MPls. Thursday Jan 12 2006.
Let's get crackalacking on some possible guests or features you'd like to hear/see.

We've all talked about our favorite in-studio sessions from our first year here at The Current ... this list is not exactly that. I thought it'd be fun to recount some of my biggest memories, good, bad, ugly, quirky, and just funny from the past year. The top ten is below-the-fold.

What, in practical terms, is the real difference between "peel back corner to vent" and "cut slit in overwrap?"

Have you checked out our new playlist feature on the web yet, it's much more accurate and might answer some of those musical questions that your enquiring minds come up with. It stays as an eternal record of what we have played since Saturday when it began too. But if the DJ forgets to feed it info then it is still lacking in accuracy!
So if you were wondering what the big hole is at 7.30pm tonight, it was a live set by The Bad Plus. They are in town to play 3 sold out nights at the Dakota in support of the new cd "Suspicious Activity". They have a great website; thebadplus.com/ where you can read their 4 star reviews from Rolling Stone and tons of great press from the UK. They have recorded their last 3 cd's at RealWorld studios near Bath in England which was set up by Peter Gabriel and they enjoyed telling stories of bumping into him and have him stealing their food!
Here's what they played;
1. Rhinoceros is my profession
2. The Empire Strikes Backwards
3. Chariots of Fire (cover of the theme to the movie originally composed by Vangelis)

Remember you can hear the set in our archive of studio sessions.

I've gotten 3 different Birthday song requests today..I wonder if their gifts come wrapped in X-mas wrapping. Drag.

Character actor Vincent Schiavelli, known to me -- and possibly you and most everybody else as well -- as "that guy" from countless quirky supporting roles in the movies, has died. You'll know him when you see him.

Personal favorites of mine: his appearances in Buckaroo Bonzai, Better Off Dead ("Mr. Meyer, please join us at the blackboard and show us your solution to this paltry geometric dilemma"), and Amadeus.

Here's a very interesting discussion about Schiavelli and some of his less widely-known contributions on the community site Metafilter.

So every year I get asked what IS Boxing Day and I've told a story that has been ratified by Wikipedia, from which I quote...
In feudal times, Christmas was a reason for a gathering of extended families. All the serfs would gather their families in the manor of their lord, which makes it easier for the lord of the estate to hand out annual stipends to the serfs. After all the Christmas parties on December 25, the lord of the estate would give practical goods such as cloth, grains, and tools to the serfs who lived on his land. Each family would get a box full of such goods the day after Christmas. Under this explanation, there was nothing voluntary about this transaction; the lord of the manor was obligated to supply these goods. Because of the boxes being given out, the day was called Boxing Day.

So it's a class thing, and in deference to the poor, the Royal Family still don't open their pressies until today!! It always seemed like a good idea to me, when I was young we could visit one grandparents on Christmas Day and then the next on Boxing Day and years later, when my parents had split up, it helped in dealing with the pressure of being in both homes every year for at least part of the holiday!

Hope you had fun with your family and friends, we'll be back in the regular formation tomorrow, Danny is sitting in for me tonight.

Never write a gigantic, lengthy blog entry and then change the formatting of your page. You just might find yourself writing a blog entry like this one.

Happy Festivus. Air your grievances, engage in feats of strength and make a donation to the human fund in the name of someone you love. And don't forget the aluminum pole.

"I have a lot of problems with you people." -Frank Costanza

Just keep in mind as you gather with your family this holiday season, all of this is ultimately good material for your memoir.
So the bigger the wing nuts the better.

We're switching shifts around a little during the holiday weekend. I will be on Saturday and Monday afternoons 3-6pm, but taking the night off Friday.
Jill Riley will be sitting in for me and she's got a sweet DJset;
'Sounds of OM v.5' mixed by DJ Fluid...
Andy Caldwell "the waiting game"
Kaskade "i like the way"
Mark Farina "dream machine"
Colette "feelin hypnotized"
Rithma featuring Ryralio DJ's "the funk is still alive"

The first 3 artists have all been guest dj's of ours this year, so this is a nice combination of some of the styles that we have featured. omrecords.com for more info.

Happy Holidaze!!

These are not all new (some came out much earlier in the year) but are nonetheless songs that I will associate with Winter 2005.

1) Mobius Band, "Taxicab"

An absolutely lovely and simple evocation of watching snow-covered terrain pass by your passenger window, while simultaneously watching your own thoughts. And then at the end, it rocks out. The ne plus ultra winter song of '05.

2) Clearlake, "Wonder If The Snow Will Settle"

Actually, originally included on their 2003 disc Cedars, but remixed and reissued on their EP from this year, also entitled Wonder If The Snow Will Settle. Melancholy, wistful, and snow-themed.

3) Boom Bip, "The Matter of Our Discussion"

From March's Blue Eyed In The Red Room. Written and sung by NY singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia, with Boom Bip's electronic backing sounding like a frozen Great Lake stretching out to the horizon. Spooky and resigned, but simultaneously warm, thanks to Nastasia's haunting voice and lyrics.

4) Mercury Rev, "In A Funny Way"

Sounds like a marching band trapsing through a frozen forest. Also, the disembodied female opera-voice in the background reminds me of the ghost who finds the lost Arctic hikers in Akira Kurosawa's Dreams.

5) Sun Kil Moon, "Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes" (Modest Mouse cover)

From the band's stunning (or, if you hated it, infuriating) disc of all MM covers, also called Tiny Cities (and our CD Of The Week this week). I got the disc just in time for the first snowfall and it's been on endless loop in my car ever since.

I was Uptown today and this dude passing by plugged my meter before I got out of the car! Too cool whoever you are.
What's the last nice thing someone did for you?

Almost from the moment the president announced that he authorized spying on Americans’ phone calls and e-mail, I started getting suspicious messages in my electronic mailbox from an address called “cia dot gov.” They say:
“YOU HAVE VISITED MORE THAN 30 ILLEGAL WEBSITES! ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS!
And then the e-mail has an attachment.
It’s signed “Faithfully yours, Steven Allison”, who is identified as being with the CIA office of Public Affairs. This worried me for a moment, but it doesn’t take much looking around to discover that it's a scam – a technique that has been used for a long time by mischief makers to spread a computer virus. Any supposed CIA guy who sings his mail “Faithfully Yours” has got to be up to no good, right?
On the Morning Show today, we did a fake interview with “Steven Allison”, with Jim Ed doing an amazing job flipping back and forth between Steven’s cultured façade and his real personality – a grungy Arkansas spammer with too many dogs.

I'm a sucker for checking out end of year polls at all the different music and media sites. I have mentioned pitchfork.com before but I really like their charts and they asked a ton of artists what they liked and that's always interesting. I couldn't hang out listening to toons with James of lcd soundsystem, but Carl Newman of the New Pornographers has great taste(i.e...like mine!)
Last year a friend sent me a page that had ALL the end of year polls on one site, but I cannot remember where that was, anyone else know of that or am i tripping!?!?

Sometimes, there are things that are hooj musically that we just don't get. Actually, being the weirdo that I am, I am quite often a bit behind the curve and things that tons of people respond to. Examples: Eminem (have since come to really enjoy his stuff), Pearl Jam's "Ten" (still don't like it, after all these years).

This year's "I Just Don't Get It" award goes to: Tullycraft. Go ahead, shriek in disapproval, I know. I still play it, happily, because lots of people absolutely love it. But, that's music for ya: if we all liked the same thing, the world would stagnate and implode artistically. Anyway, that's my biggie for the year. Maybe by this time next year I'll be all over it!

Finally got to see "Walk the Line" today, matinee with the missus...a nice bonus of my schdule, we were alone in the cinema, felt like a private screening! Anyway I had a lot of calls and a few emails when it first came out saying how good it was but nothing prepared me for HOW good it was! Had tears streaming down my face at the end, what a love story!?!? But it was also a great movie showing how the private life of a performer plays into their performance, something that we can easily forget when going to see a show. Not many movies have rewarded a musichead like this one did, can you suggest any others? Santa's going to bring me a DVD player (i hope!)and I'd love to have some suggestions for good rock'n'roll movies or DVD's?
HAPPY SOLSTICE!!

Top 3 favorite lyrics from songs that came out in the past year:

3) John Doe, Highway 5: "You sound so sleepy in that jail."

2) Charlie Parr, Cheap Wine: "...I'm so tired of these labels ... why don't they just say it: Cheap Wine."

1) Andrew Bird, Tables and Chairs (reassuring us about conditions after the apocalypse): "There will be snacks."

HAPPY HOLIDAZE EVERYONE!!!
My fave day of the season is NEXT Monday, Boxing Day in the UK, which is a holiday every year there, but this year it might be for you too.
So perhaps we'll have a few festive tunes...but what SOUNDS festive to you, but might not be neccesarily thought of as "holiday music"?
Anything that has sleigh bells in it works, but some songs I have been noticing just have a celebratory feel that might fit into the mix for Monday next.
I'm doing 2pm-7pm that day so if you have any suggestions for what might make your Boxing Day more festive, leave them here at the Cue.

I have many causes I feel strongly about, some more politically charged than others (and thus not appropriate for this space, nor any other sponsored by my gracious employer). But one that's a bit less controversial is my conviction that the adoption of animals is something that shouldn't be done impulsively.

I bring this up because, with Christmas just days away, there will be the hard-to-resist urge in many households to get that puppy or kitten that your kids have been begging you for all year long. I guess the bottom line is this: I won't say don't do it (unlike some others who's opinions I strongly think you should read anyway), but please just be sure you have fully considered what adopting a pet means before you take that step.

I know my pal Lucia is quite sensitive to the plight of our furry friends, and I want to make it clear that I don't assume to speak for her specific beliefs here ... these are my own. There are thousands of animals waiting to be adopted around the Twin Cities every day, who deserve a caring household. Yours could be one. However, Christmas is a sketchy time to do this, because the urge to create that golden "dogfood-commercial-moment" in your household can overtake your abilities to determine whether or not this really is the right thing for your family at this time. And if your family is simply not up to the task of daily feeding, caring, walking, training, and all that stuff right now, well, you shouldn't adopt. Families that adopt carelessly are the reason many dogs wind up in need of "rescue," after all.

If you are ready, however -- you've done the research, know exactly what you're getting into with a rescue or have identified a reputable breeder -- then may your days be merry and bright with the new member of your family.

She was my instudio guest Saturday afternoon. She really got me groovin'. She's a vocalist from New York, and I don't even know if I can name all the folks she's recorded with...cause i don't have room. Needless to say, her credentials are quite impressive. She's in town to play at The Entry Sunday night. Groovin dance music, check her out if that's your flavor.

Important figure in the Detroit techno scene since the early days. Worked as an apprentice with the grandfather of that movement, Derrick May, then started to produce under the name Innerzone and recorded "Bugz in the Bassbin" which is widely recognised as the start of drum'n'bass. He has just done a collection, Fabric 25, this set is a radio exclusive that includes some of the tracks from that;

Tim Wright 'keep on searchin' (Luciano Remix)
Paperclip people 'jerry lewis' (Mayday Mix)
Tiger Stripes 'amphytrion'
Quenum 'oregon'
DJ Red (title unknown)
Ame 'rej'
Marc Holice 'borrowed gear' (Italian Red Zone edit)
Psychedelic Furs 'sleep comes dopwn'
Carl Craig 'darkness' (Max Mix)

More info at...fabriclondon.com

Had the pleasure of Brother Ali in studio with me tonight too. He talked about his early career and he did 3 tracks live for us including a new one that will be on a new cd out in the summer of '06;
Looking at me Sideways

Forrest Whitaker (from Shadows on the Sun cd of 03)

Rain Water (from Champion ep)

We draw names in my family for Christmas gifts.. I purchased quite possibily the most absurd gift for one of my family members. I wish I could spill the beans.
Dumbest gift recieved?

As you may have heard, The Honeydogs have had to cancel their appearances tonight and tomorrow night at The Entry. The shows themselves will still go on; more on that below.

Adam Levy, apparently, has had to have an emergency appendectomy! From what we hear, he's totally fine -- not to worry. But we do send our best to Adam for a speedy recovery.

Now then. As I said, the plan at press time is that the shows will still go on. According to First Ave, ticket prices will be reduced, and advance ticket buyers will get refunds for the difference at the door. The lineup (both shows The Entry, 8pm):

Tonight (Friday): Ellis, Rattletrap and Sirachas

Tomorrow (Saturday): Joann James, Coach Said Not To and Byzantine Generals Problem

Thanks to Solace for posting a line up of the band behind Mike Watt last night...perfect use of the Cue ol'chap!!
Got me thinking too, with Watt in the Stooges, which members would you put together to have a Fantasy Band?
Would you just pick your fave bass, guitar and drums or do they have to have some chemistry?
What about a power trio consisting of Keith Moon of The Who on drums, Talking Head Tina Weymouth on bass and Jon of Sigur Ros on guitar with bow and vox!?!? Would they go down well in Japan?!?! I think they'd be called The Right Ohs! Could we spin this off into a web based fantasy game?!?!

For years, I wore a size 13 shoe. This was hard enough during the 80s and 90s, when most shoe stores' inventory stopped at 12 (if that) for all the shoes you'd want to wear ... one could get a few 13s in Hush Puppies and riduculous Florsheim wing-tips in that horrid orange leather. Now with the advent of the internets, I can find plenty of 13s, and in some cases 14s. On rare occasion, 15s. But I seem to be in a 16 now. 16, for the love of Yaweh. I am almost 40.

They say your nose and your earlobes keep growing throughout your life (I'm not actually sure if this is true -- it might be a myth, but I'm willing to believe it, given the gigantic earlobes some elderly people have). It apparently has something to do with cartilage. So, it would seem that's the substance my toes are made of as well.

God is determined to get me into those Florsheims. He hates me.

We had a great time in the studio with Lindsay Mac. It sure is odd to see someone strap on the cello like a guitar, but she wears it well and works hard while playing it. We didn’t mention this in the interview, but she’s almost an honorary local musician, growing up in Iowa City and then heading east for college. Meanwhile, her parents migrated from Iowa City to Stillwater, MN, so she can expect a comfortable bed and hot meals whenever she comes to the Twin Cities area. I hope that means we’ll get to see her during major holidays, at least. Our interview is already posted. Check the link to “in studio appearances.”

I'm excited. Flogging Molly is coming to First Ave in Feb.!

Mike Watt was in town today to play at the big gig in the Avenue and this afteroon he stopped over at McNally Smith College of Music to give a seminar on playing the bass. He was gracious to allow me to slip into his busy schedule and chat with him for a short time, which I hope some of you heard at 9.30 tonight. You can catch up with him at...hootpage.com and he has a regular webradio show at...twfps.com
where he spins his record collection and talks to friends, who happen to include people like Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth.
He has also this year been on tour with Iggy playing in the reformed Stooges. He told me that Iggy wants to make another album with them before he turns 60 and if all goes well they will tour the USA next year.

A thick, messy, almost creamy concoction. Slathered all over everything. This morning my car looked like a celery stalk cradling a knife-full of cream cheese. Driving to work, I was one of those cars carrying the rectangular "mattress" of snow on top, slowly sluffing off onto the highway (and other cars) as I drove. If you were behind me, I apologize.

This summer is definitely the year to clean out the garage so it can actually be used.

At the end of the year I enjoy getting a stack of music mags and hunkering down, especially when we have a snow storm!! Luckily last weekend I scored a copy of Uncut which comes with an awesome CD.
It samples songs that were represented on John Peel's Festive Fifty, which was an end of year chart that he used to do, cool picture of him on the cover too. It has a few classics on there from Robert Wyatt, Billy Bragg and Pavement. But there are a few obscure gems too, like The Woodentops doing 'well well well' which has been ringing in my head for over 2 decades but I never had a copy until now! Also played an old Felt track with Liz Fraser on vocals tonight, she's one of the Cocteau Twins who dominated the Festive 50 for several years...it's a good stocking stuffer for the musichead on your list...happy snow day everyone!

This season is going to be good!
I only wish every reality tv show didn't feel compelled to coin a catch phrase when someone gets booted off.

How do rock stars not constantly lose their voices on tour?

This morning, I sat in with our engineer Mike DeMark listening to the mix of the Spoon show last Thursday at the 400 Bar (if all goes according to plan, we'll be airing that sometime in early Janurary). As Britt Daniel continued to croak out song after song -- singing in yet another prototypically emotive but decidedly un-healthy style that earnest rock singers have been utilizing for decades -- I wondered again how it is that singers do this night after night after night on tour without being utterly voice-less by the end of the first week. I talk, uh, excidedly for a couple of days, and I have essentially no voice left to speak of.

I know, sure, they get hoarse. They say Ozzy loses his voice at least once a tour, right? But hoarse is one thing. These guys and gals seem to be absolutely torturing their voices for a living, and yet, they keep them somehow.

Maybe it's just about proper hydration. Or, maybe: they're gods.

The "biggest snow storm of the season" is on the way tonight and tomorrow, they're telling us. Finally, for the first time ever, we're actually ready with a four-wheel-drive (note: not an SUV). Bring it on.

We had a fun moment this morning with our listener Travis, who needed to hear the Slaid Cleaves song “Breakfast in Hell” because it was repeating itself over and over in his brain, forming an immense logjam inside his head.
Jim Ed claims whistling the theme song to the Andy Griffith Show can obliterate any stubborn tune that might be plaguing you. True? We tried it and it worked for me, but now I have an urge to take off my shoes and go fishing.

Bill DeVille, Danny and I have had a bunch of fun the last couple of weeks putting together these little podcasts, called Musicheads. You can find them on the front page under the "short cuts" menu, we're talking about cd's that might make good gift ideas...if you have any opportunities to give the gift of music in the near future!

The video equivalent, a 'vlog' is a short film emailed to you or available on a site and they are growing quickly. there was a couple of articles in the NY Times this weekend, and both of them mentioned a local vlogger who is obviously a pioneer, Chuck Olsen, you can check his daily short films at...mnstories.com

There is something oddly comforting knowing that kids today are being raised by a whole generation of real music lovers.. that was evident yesterday at Rock the Cradle.
I had a chance to speak with so many cool people at yesterday's event.
Including a ten minute conversation with a 7 year old about our mutual love for The Libertines!

If you missed it, Brandi Carlile gave an absolutely spellbinding performance last week when she stopped by to play live for us in studio. When she ended with her cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," you could have heard a pin drop in here. I've gotten several e-mails from people saying she had them practically in tears. I was nearly there myself.

The thing was, people inspired by her performance to get tickets to her show that night (opening for Ray LaMontagne) couldn't, because it was sold out. Well, I just got word that she's coming back to town to play the 400 Bar on February 19th. That's great news for her new fans, like myself.

I was amazed at the number of families at “Rock the Cradle” yesterday at the Children’s Theater. It was a raucous good time, with lots of fumbled Cheerios underfoot. City building inspectors don’t let you remodel a Children’s Theater without using industrial strength carpet, right?
We had a great time and I’m sure many kids chugged their way home, inspired by Jim Ed’s amazing “Polar Express” steam train sound effects.
Speaking of trains, our friend John Gorka (who did a terrific job at our Holiday Pageant and Variety Show on Friday night) will be riding the Canadian Pacific Railroad’s Holiday Train through Minnesota and North Dakota this week, doing brief outdoor (!) performances in support of local food shelves. The shows in the Twin Cities area are today (Monday), from 4:50 to 5:40 in Hastings, 6 to 6:50 in Cottage Grove, 7:10 to 8 in St. Paul, and 9:10 to 9:50 in Minneapolis. There’s a full schedule at the Canadian Pacific’s website, www.cpr.ca.

No I'm not talking about a Jerry Springer episode.

Don't forget tonight at 7:30 at the Fitz in St. Paul. A Trashy Little Christmas with local favorites, Trailer Trash. Bring the kids out for some more family entertainment. Even if you hung out at the Children's Theatre for Rock the Cradle, you can stick in a little more family time tonight.

By the way, we've been getting calls at the station all day from folks who really enjoyed Rock the Cradle. Thanks for supporting your community and The Current today! Hope the kids had fun. I'm kind of jealous. I've never been to an instrument petting zoo! Sounded like fun, without the goat hair to rattle the allergies.

Lee Rous and Andy Gardener are the Plump DJ's. Ranked on the new DJ Mag Top 100 at #85, they're perhaps the leading exponents of the Breakbeat style in the UK right now. They are resident DJ's at Fabric in London, in fact they are playing there right NOW!
We played 6 tracks (6 thru 11) from their new mix "Saturday Night Lotion" which has 11 of their tracks and 6 from others.
If you like their style their label has a ton of good stuuf on them and like minded artists ...fingerlickin.co.uk

I was pleased to see that we have featured four out of the Top 10 DJ's on the new DJ Mag Poll in the first 7 months of this feature, including the top 2 Paul Van Dyk and Tiesto, the complete list is at...djmag.com

We've featured just as many local spinners and we're always looking for more. Send suggestions to...
mwheat@mpr.org

In preperation of Rock the Cradle I was looking through a book of fairy tales, this is some sinister-scare-the-hell-out-of-children stuff.
Rumplestiltskin? What were they smoking?

I think that promo is the first time in my life that I've ever been "scratched." (Thanks Derrick).

Anyway, hope to see you at Rock The Cradle this Sunday at the Children's Theatre. From what I'm hearing, it looks like a lot of people are planning to come out. It really should be a lot of fun ... especially when Dale & Jim Ed read "The Polar Express" complete with sound effects.

Today I had the urge to recite "The Wrestling Dog" from John Lennon's book In His Own Write.

Oddly my neighbor's dog started barking moments later.

when you heard about John Lennon dying?
I was sitting on a wall outside of the student union building at Leeds University in the UK, waiting in line to buy tickets to see Ian Dury and the Blockheads. At the time I must say that John didn't mean much to me, I sincerely think that his death struck me as a product of American society. I know that is harsh now, but at the time part of our 'punk philosophy' was to reject American culture that had dominated the TV and films throughout our childhood. The brutality and senselessness of his death was a sad example of what was wrong over here.

After hearing the great program we played tonight I realize how much I admire him.

It came like a punch in the gut to my 14-year-old soul that still hurts to some degree to this day.

The Christmas ornaments were up. It was night, and getting close to bedtime -- it was a school night, after all -- when my sister came running into the room to tell us the horrible, awful thing she'd just heard on television. It was the first time in my life I can remember not being able to believe a piece of news; it could not be true.

My mother, who was decidedly not a fan of this authority-disrespecting hippie, cried anyway. She still knew a sensless and heartbraking tragedy when she saw one.

"Nightline" that night had live footage of mourners holding candles in New York. People were in tears, some hysterical.

The next day, there were the kids who got it and the kids who didn't. The junior high burn-outs in the Blue Oyster Cult concert t-shirts were really, really freaked out. The jocks were decidedly not. The pious kids from Belle Shoals Southern Baptist Church were a little too self-satisfied (Lennon was, of course, plenty culpable himself in helping to create a sinful world where such things happen, it seems their parents had implied to them).

It was all so awful. But, curiously, as I recall it, one thing hurt that day more than anything else -- I was 14, remember. "Well," I thought, "now they'll definitely never, ever get back together."

I still miss you, John. We could have used you all these years, and we still could.

Being English, I'm not one to talk about the weather, much, but I must admit that I had a personal revelation at the weekend. We took a short trip to New Jersey and it was over 40 degrees the whole time, but it felt colder than it does here today...thirty degrees lower?!?
How does that work...I guess the phrase "it is a different kind of cold" has new meaning to me now. I never thought I would get used to it but I have and it has a strange beauty too. Yesterday morning the river had huge, high swaths of dry ice billowing off St.Anthony's Falls, Aerosmith would have been jealous!! The river rocks!!

COOLEST MAN EVER.

Finally got out to see "Walk The Line" this weekend. I thought it was pretty good; at first, it's tough to accept anybody as Johnny Cash other than Cash himself, but after a while, I settled in to watching Joaquin Phoenix in the role, and he did a pretty good job. Reese Witherspoon is really, really good as June Carter. There are some typical Hollywood moments where things just happen toooo smoothly and neatly from a storytelling standpoint, but overall ... kind of an exception to the usual "biopic" stuff, in that it focuses on the love between Cash and Carter -- a truly affecting story.

Anybody else see it and have an opinion?

As well as playing 3 of the remixes of Low's Monkey tonight
( I must admit I liked the Bob Mould one best! )
We had a bunch of great suggestions, and included these;
Chris Mars "Monkey Sees"
Gillian Welch "One Monkey"
Artic Monkeys "i bet you look good on the dancefloor"
The Kinks "Apeman"
Echo & the Bunnymen "Over the Wall"(lyric has monkey in it )
Smokey Robinson "Mickey's Monkey"
Louie Prima "Iwannabe like you " (Jungle Book soundtrack)
The Chameleons "Monkey land "
XTC " The Smartest Monkeys"
The Rolling Stones "Monkey Man"
Elvis Costello "Monkey to man"
The Pixies "Monkey's gone to Heaven"

Didn't get to all the suggestions but thanks for all the great feedback, feels good to get that monkey OFF my back...but really why is there so many tunes about the monkey?!?!

Finally, a perfect excuse to break out a bunch of those crazy songs about monkeys that I have been threatening to do for weeks now!
Low release a cd ep Tuesday, with 5 fresh remixes of their "Monkey" which is on the last cd "The Great Destroyer". Fog, Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields), Bob Mould, Crew Jones and The Count all do completely different versions and then there's one of them there new fangled DVD's on it too, made by locals HarderFuller Films.
To celebrate this release and Low's return to live action at First Ave on Friday, we'll play several of the remixes and create sets full of monkey tunz. Should be a swinging time!

"Vivian"- Himalayan Siamese mix.. delicate, princessy, petite flower, gorgeous and fully aware of it.
Born on a velvet pillow in a closet.
High tails it when she hears anyones voice she isn't familiar with.

"Satchmo"- approximate age unknown.. I've had her 10 years, She's a rescue Main Coone with 2 teeth.
She smells of waffles and fabric softener. The most consistant relationship I've ever had in my life.

"Graceland"-(Gracie, G-unit)- most recent adoptee.
Hearty, fearless, resilliant and hilarious, has a gut that swings like a pendulum. Had to shake a chipmunk from her mouth this past summer. Enjoys laying in the flower beds, I'm conviced she knows what a great photo-op that is.

If you're never been there before, I have to recommend local photographer Steven Cohen's website, showcasing tons of photos of shows taken here in the Twin Cities. The photo we used last week of Win Butler to promote our Arcade Fire broadcast here on The Current last night was one of his (cropped, though). You can see all of the uncropped shots of that show, plus greats shots of artists from The Pixies to Hot Tuna, on his site.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Wow, I might be getting out of the house 3 nights in a row this weekend! Last night I went to see a metal band, I can't hear today by the way. They were so-so. I think they relied on the notion if the volume is pumped up to the max, they might sound better. It didn't work, it just left me annoyed. And that's pretty bad. Cause I like it loud.

Tonight should be better though. A road trip to my old stomping grounds in St. Cloud is never really a disappointment for me. Mark Mallman is at The Rox in downtown St. Cloud. Good times are always to be had with Mallman. I even noticed a Current bumper sticker on the wall, near the stage at The Rox... and it wasn't me who put it there. Hope this snow quits though, I'd hate to get out the ol' chains for the tires (little farm humor for the city folk).

Sunday night make sure to catch the MN Rollergirls bout at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul. The action is at 7:30pm and I'll be hanging out, but for pete's sake go for the Rollergirl action, not the Riley action... haha. The gals are taking a break for a bit in the winter, so catch em' now! Atomic Bombshells vs. Dagger Dolls and The Garda Belts vs. The Rockits. Two sporting events get me on my feet and cheering. MN Timberwolves and MN Rollergirls. Speaking of the Wolves, did anyone see the game last night at LA? Holy cow. What a comeback! 113-108. The Dream, Wally Szcerbiak scored 34 points. If I wrote a fan letter to Szcerbiak it would go something like this. Dear Wally, Be mine. Love, Jill. :)

I might even be a non loser next weekend too. Low Friday night and Mason Jennings Saturday night at First Ave. Oofta.

-Jill

On monday I heard from one of my favorite regular listeners who was helping her friend do the hardest thing imaginable for pet owners.
What I read was this...

"We who choose to surround ourselves with lives more temporary than our own, live in a fragile circle easily and often breached.
Unable to accept it's awful gaps we still would live no other way.
We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan."

- Irving Townsend

Thanks to Bill for sitting in for on this Friday night and thanks to regular listener Brian! A few weeks ago he posted here on the Cue that he had heard some cool mixes that might work for us and this was one of them, and how right he is. Andy's from San Francisco and has garnered a world wide rep for mixing a silky smooth melange of soulful house with a slice of urban/electro sliced in too.
Here's the set list;

Andy Caldwell "the waiting game" (Ronan's Deep Moody Mix)
Scape feat; D'Empress "be my friend" (Michael Gray Remix)
Jaswho? "mash it up"
Rasmus Faber "get over here" (Axwell Remix)
S.U.M.O. "seducao"

More info is at...andycaldwell.com
or...swankrecordings.com

Have a great weekend!!

I wish that when I wake up tomorrow morning I could be Chaka Kahn for the day.

On our special The Twelve Discs Of Christmas, critics Kelefa Sanneh and Will Hermes talked with Mary about their picks for creative musical stocking-stuffers for the holidays. I'm no critic/expert of the caliber of those guys, but I can't resist getting in on the fun. So here's the first on my list: It's called New Waves -- 45 original 45s from the Post Punk Era, out on the Family Recordings label. "Oh c'mon Seel, not another New Wave collection!" You say. Uh, precisely -- it's not just "another" one. Nobody needs another CD including anything by the Thompson Twins or that infernal song by Peter Schilling. We're talking about the "New Wave" stuff back when that phrase actually meant something fresh and exciting. And in the process, there's several things that I don't even think have ever appeared on CD before, like "Back Of My Hand" by The Jags. Also, any collection that features Martha & The Muffins and Altered Images can't be half bad ("I Could Be Happy!" Cheers to that). Okay, it's got M's "Pop Music" and the obigatory "Video Killed The Radio Star" (a huge miscalculation in my opinion -- I mean, c'mon, aren't CDs like this a dime a dozen? Or, worse yet...), but overall, a cool collection.

My goal is to buy an ice scraper today. The CD case isn't doing the trick for me anymore.

I've been thinking about what some of my favorite releases were this past year. Our forum friends have been discussing some "best of 2005" picks, so that got me thinking. It's strange to think 2006 is right around the corner. I can't wait to see what the new year brings us musically.

What were your favorite albums of 2005? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours....