Pig Roast Cancelled

Here, faster than you can set a nervous pig free, are playlists from today's and last week's shows:





Log for first part of November 15th, 2007 show

Log for second part of November 15th, 2007 show


Log for first part of November 8th, 2007 show

Log for second part of November 8th, 2007 show


You might remember the above sign and building from a post at around this time last year. I've driven by it a few times lately and didn't notice a pig roast scheduled, so I was surprised to see that it had been cancelled. I've never been to one. What causes people to have a pig roast? What causes them to cancel it?

In other news, I'm sleepy.

Elijah Foxface Maxwell

This cartoon from The New Yorker is one of my favorites. All hail Bruce Eric Kaplan for coming up with what I feel should have been the vanguard of pretentious baby names.

Sadly, I keep forgetting to scan in last week's playlist. I'll have to scan them both in after tomorrow's show. I can tell you this, though: I plan to play more of OK Jones and will revisit a few songs from Rilo Kiley's newest album.

Now, onto one of my obsessions. The Making of Aja by Steely Dan is one of the most fascinating music documentaries you can own, especially if you really like Steely Dan. If you merely respect them, but don't particularly love them, you'll still love this DVD. I was blabbering about my love for Bernard "Pretty" Purdie in this video earlier today.

One of my favorite parts of the DVD is when Purdie demonstrates the Purdie Shuffle (which he used when playing drums on the song "Home at Last"). I've found a video of him demonstrating it on YouTube here. Find me a cooler man. Go ahead. Try. "Don't worry about those ghost notes! Ain't nothin but rebound. Ta make it sound... and feel... good."

My other favorite part of the video is when Donald Fagan and Walter Becker discuss and deconstruct "Peg." See the video below or click here to see the Peg deconstruction on YouTube. At about 4 minutes and 55 seconds, you'll hear the guitar solos that they rejected for Peg (played by musicians other than Jay Graydon, who ultimately did the solo used on the recording).



This same Peg YouTube video [above] will also remove any possible lingering doubt that Michael McDonald is, in fact, a shiny, glistening robot with razor-sharp mandible pincers and a neck filled with buzzing, sparking electricity where vocal cords should be. Listen to his hauntingly lovely and undeniably eery backing vocals on the above Peg video at about 6 minutes and 20 seconds in. Again, one of my favorite car-trip pastimes is trying to imitate Michael McDonald's singing voice. "Minute by Minute" by The Doobie Brothers is my favorite and I'm not bad at doing it. Of course, it makes sparks shoot out of my throat, but it reduces me to giggles shortly thereafter.

Darnit, I have to rush off to a meeting. Oh, WVUD.

Don't Call it a Comeback

Here, significantly more slow than a one-two punch, are playlists from my last three shows:


Log for first part of
November 1st, 2007 show

Log for second part of
November 1st, 2007 show


Log for first part of
October 25th, 2007 show

Log for second part of
October 25th, 2007 show


Log for first part of
September 27th, 2007 show

Log for second part of
September 27th, 2007 show


That's right, listeners. I've been back on the air for a few weeks, after a few weeks off. My triumphant return last week was marked by the laziest playlist I've ever compiled. On yesterday's and last week's shows, I played a lot of CDs from my home collection. I figured I'd take it easy and give myself a chance to do less running back and forth to the library. A few listeners called in to say they liked the shows, which was wonderful. I'll admit, I loved them because I got to play songs that I've loved for years and not played for a while. I usually try to avoid my own collection because it's comprised of so much of the music I've played at WVUD over the years. You've all already heard a lot of it if you've listened to the show much.

But for the folks who don't get to listen regularly, and for me, it was a nice diversion. I even played Haircut One Hundred, a favorite band of mine from when I was a kid and put my Walkman to good use on the school bus every day. I distinctly remember Brian Turpin asking me why I listened to jazz on the way home from school (he could hear only the distant shriek of the brass section from his seat near mine). But who doesn't enjoy a little new pop in the afternoons?


In other news, it's marathon season in many cities. I'm pleased
to say that, though I am back on track with my workout routine, I am also participating in a sleep marathon, every night, in my bed. After a solid eight to nine hours of sleep, the world is a pretty simple place. I recommend this strategy to all people. Running actual marathons can flat-out kill you. Instead, break the tape reaching for the snooze button, then exercise in a way that won't make your heart explode. These and other tips for maintaining your health available in my new book, Please Keep in Mind That I Hold a B.A. in Communications.