Category: Weekly Mix

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Weekly Mix 28: July 16, 2017

A lot of new listeners tuned in to last week’s show and one of them was Jon Fine, who played with David Grubbs in the band Bitch Magnet. Jon was really excited to hear Loving Six on last week’s mix. He had heard about Loving Six and had been waiting to hear their music for almost 30 years. We got to talking and it turns out that Jon has also written a book called Your Band Sucks: What I Saw at Indie Rock’s Failed Revolution (But Can No Longer Hear), which has been described as a cult favorite musician’s memoir. Jon said his book touches on some of the things Chip and I talked about on last weeks show. You should go buy it because I’m going to read the Your Band Sucksand have Jon on the show in a couple of weeks to talk about his book.

On last week’s show I also played a song that was a collaboration between The Bug and Earth. I’ve known about Earth for at least 20 years but had never listened to their music before. I went on Twitter and asked what songs or albums I should listen to and I got a lot of excellent suggestions. Ben Burnham said I should start off with Earth’s album, Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method.Corey Brewer suggested I listen to their songs ”Ouroboros is Broken” or “Old Black” and Holly Carson said I should listen to their Pentastar: In the Style of Demons album. Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll be listening to Earth for the next few weeks and will play them on a future Weekly Mix.

Okay, let’s get to today’s show. See you next week!

  1. Dawg Yawp “I’ll Quit Tomorrow”
  2. Reddish Blu “When I Get Too Sad”
  3. L8LOOMER “Right Side (feat. Doja Cat)”
  4. Kevin Abstract “American Boyfriend”
  5. Devoted To God “Hidden Track”
  6. Kamasi Washington “Truth”
  7. Robert Turman “Veiling Reflections – excerpt”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017

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Weekly Mix 27: July 9, 2017

Last night my girlfriend watched I T2 Trainspotting. I haven’t seen Trainspotting since it was released back in 1996 and I thought it’d be fun to revisit those lovable junkies and hooligans from the first movie. And it was fun. The dialogue was whip-smart and the cinematography was was breathtaking and the actors were fantastic. But it was fun in a Trainspotting sort of way because it you remember the first movie it was about a bunch of Gen X kids who use heroin because they’re lives have been hallowed out by Thatcherism, consumerism and boredom. In T2 Trainspotting we get to revisit those characters except this time they’re older, a little thicker in the middle and they’re nostalgic while at the same time they’re considering they’re mortality.

I’m a Gen X kid. I’m older. I’m a little thicker in the middle. I think about my mortality. But I’m not nostalgic. The 90s were just another decade for me and then I moved on. Each decade had it’s peaks and valleys and some friends dropped out of my life but they were replaced by new friends. But the 90s were special, special to me, anyway, because I was a young man with a bright future ahead of me and my life was so vivid because I was experiencing everything for the first time. I got to fall in love as an adult for the first time. I also got to experience my first heartbreak as an adult. I got to meet friends for the first time that I’ll probably know until the day I die. Or until they die. Hopefully they go first.

And I was always listening to music and the first five songs you’ll hear on today’s show were part of the soundtrack to my life at that time. The stuff is heavy. As usual, I listened to a lot of different kinds of music back in the 90s, everything from hip hop to avant-garde jazz, but hardcore and industrial was the music that I really responded to. Can you blame me? America was fighting in the first Gulf War and it was clear that it was going to come back and bite us in the ass further down the road. The Republican and Democratic parties were just starting to become recalcitrant and hyper-consumerism was becoming a cultural value.

I’ll see you again next week. I promise it won’t be as heavy as today’s show. See you then!

  1. Godflesh “Love Is A Dog From Hell”
  2. Bastro “(I’ve) Ben Brown”
  3. Loving Six “U.S. World”
  4. Gore “Mean Man’s Dream”
  5. Head of David “Dog Day Sunrise”
  6. The Bug & Earth “Dog (feat. JK Flesh)”
  7. Pale Sketcher “Plans That Fade (Faded Dub)”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017

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Weekly Mix 26: July 2, 2017

I subscribe to several newsletters but I usually delete them as soon as they hit my inbox because they’re uninteresting or sharing links to other articles. The only newsletter I read from start to finish is Bob Lefsetz‘s newsletter. Lefsetz is a music industry analyst and critic and the reason I read his newsletter while I delete the rest is because he always has a fresh take on things, whether it’s music, politic or sports or just talking about his life.

Recently Lefsetz wrote a response to an article on the Washington Post about the decline of electric guitar sales. In short, rock is dead. Or on life support. As Lefsetz pointed out, rock is still around but it has all the relevancy of jazz or folk music. Why? Because rock has been so thoroughly corporatized that rock has been de-fanged. It’s no longer dangerous. Songs are no longer crafted, they’re manufactured on spreadsheets and ProTools and and any spontaneity left over is autotuned out. Not only that, rock has nothing new to say. It’s an exhausted genre. Furthermore, rock is reductive. It simplifies more complex music like blues or folk or Cajun music, etc. But now rock is reductive of rock music. It’s become pablum.

The only thing fresh and exciting happening in music today is hip hop and electronic music. It’s taking chances. It’s experimenting. Even the stuff you hear on the radio (who even listens to radio these days?) is more inventive than what passes for rock these days.

The electric guitar is dead. I mourn it’s passing. But to put things in perspective, there was a time when the accordion was huge. Now it’s an instrument regarded as hokey and old-timey.

  1. Oumou Sangaré “Kamelemba”
  2. Gordi “Heaven I Know”
  3. Crooked Man “Coming Up for Air”
  4. John Moreland “Sallisaw Blue”
  5. Amelia Payne “Down”
  6. Army of Lovers “Crucified”
  7. DJ Cummerbund “Earth, Wind & Ozzys”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017

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Weekly Mix 25: June 25, 2017

Before we get to today’s show I wanted to tell you about a game I just started playing called Vampire: The Masquerade. It’s a role playing game like Dungeons & Dragons but instead of warriors and wizards it’s based on vampires. And we’re playing the game with dice and paper and not on a laptop.

I confess, vampires aren’t really my thing but I’ve been having a blast. It’s been ages since I’ve been part of a role playing game and usually I’m the person running the game, so it’s fun to be a player character. I’m also tickled that my girlfriend is playing, too. When I tell her that she is my dream girl I don’t think she understands how much I mean that.

I won’t go into the game too much because I don’t know too much about it myself aside from what I’ve read on Wikipedia. But I’m really digging how the game incorporates the mythology of vampires and also how morality and humanity is also a very important part of the game. What I can tell you is that there are a bunch of clans of vampires and each clan has their strengths and weaknesses. There’s been a murder within the clans that could possibly throw everything into turmoil and me and my fellow players have been tasked to get to the bottom of things. Pretty dramatic, huh?

There are four of us. My girlfriend is playing a Nosferatu-like vampire who is also a hacker. Our friend Becky is playing a corporate-raider type on vampire and our friend Glenn is a biker vampire. Me? I’m playing an effete, club-footed vampire from the 19th century who is a cross between Oscar Wilde and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

I’ll tell you more about the game as we go along. And if you’re listening to today’s show and you also play role playing games I’d love to hear about your own experiences.

  1. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody (Played by 100+ year old fairground organ)”
  2. Golden Vessel “Shoulders (ft. Elkkle & Mallrat)”
  3. Wolf Alice “Yuk Foo”
  4. Ex Eye “Opposition/Perihelion; the Coil”
  5. Be the Bear “Erupt”
  6. Terror Jr “Come First”
  7. Mary J. Blige “Strength Of A Woman”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017

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Weekly Mix 24: June 18, 2017

I’m going to keep the introduction to today’s show short because I only have a little time to record this before we head out to see The LEGO Batman Movie at the nearby park. The kids and I have already seen it but my girl hasn’t. She’s not the comic book nerd that I am but she likes those kinds things well enough and indulges me in my nerdy. We’re also going to meet up with my new friend Blanca, and her family. So let’s get to today’s show before I have to leave.

  1. ANIMA! “Blood”
  2. Trapo “Hello”
  3. The Beta Band “Dry The Rain”
  4. Elohim “Hallucinating (Mariachi Version)”
  5. Mondo Cozmo “Automatic”
  6. Boyfriend “Fun Shit (feat. Cindy Wilson)”
  7. Swell “I’m Sorry (feat. Shiloh)”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017

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Weekly Mix 16: April 23, 2017

On today’s show we’ll chat with Ned Raggett about the art of writing album reviews. Ned has been published in AllMusic, The Quietus, Pitchfork and many other fine publications. While I’ve been a deejay and a podcaster for several decades, I’ve only done the odd album review. If I’m going to do The Weekly Mix properly, I need to hone my skills at album reviews and who better to learn from than a master like Ned Raggett?

I’ve known Ned online for quiet a while and discovered him through my friend Steve Howard’s Facebook feed. I’ve always been impressed with his insightful album reviews as well as his political commentary. When I launched the Pop Culture Intelligentsia podcast I invited him to become a co-host because I respect his skill as a wordsmith and I knew he’d really add to the roundtable. Due to Ned’s busy schedule he rarely appears on the show but when he does he delivers the goods. The best example I can give was when Ned came on Pop Culture Intelligentsia to review Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly album.

I’m out of here. See you next week!

  1. Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy “INS Greencard A-19 191 500”
  2. Kendrick Lamar “DNA.”
  3. Beyoncé “Formation”
  4. Ravyn Lenae “Free Room (feat. Appleby)”
  5. 18scales “Wayout”
  6. Lizzo “Coconut Oil”
  7. Kadhja Bonet “Fairweather Friend”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017

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Weekly Mix 15: April 16, 2017

Before we get to today’s show I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I’m not a religious guy myself but any chance to spend a day with the people I love is okay by me. This Easter we had lunch with our friends Alex and Thelma. We get together with them on a regular basis for outdoor movie nights, Halloween parties and trips to wineries in Ensenada. This time Alex and Thelma had us over for barbecue and it was delicious! With summer around the corner I really need to step up my grill game. Fortunately, I have my Patio Daddy-O cookbook my friend Diana gave me for a birthday present oh, a couple of decades ago. I’m going to pay it forward and give a copy to our oldest for his birthday. Cooking on a grill is a rite of passage for men and having a recipes like Cracklin’ Sugar-Charred Cowboy Steak or Dragonbreath Corn on the Cob in your back pocket is a necessity.

I ate too much at Alex and Thelma’s because later we went to our friends Jason and Tawnya’s for Easter and dinner and I barely had room for another meal. That’s a damn shame because Jason is a chef and he had cooked up some smoked ham; a salad of mint, peas and and beets; and another salad with black carrots. Black carrots, who knew there was such a thing. And Tawnya made a cheesecake dessert that was half lemon meringue. So good! Oh, yeah, and they were plying us with ice tea made with homemade limoncello! I was uncomfortably full and wished I hadn’t eaten so much earlier.

At least I could eat. Our boy Townes had a bout of food poisoning and threw up almost a dozen times during the night. Poor boy! Between me and you, I suspect when my boy throws he calculates how much collateral damage he can do because he seems to throw up everywhere. His bed, the sheets, the floor… I was up at three in the morning mopping up his vomit and washing his sheets.

Anyway, Townes felt terrible and wasn’t up for barbecue or smoked ham or chocolate eggs or jelly beans.

So that was my Easter.

  1. Bernie Worrell “At Mos’Spheres”
  2. Mylene Cruz (Herizen Guardiola) & The Soul Madonnas “Keep A Light In My Window”
  3. Organized Confusion “Open Your Eyes”
  4. Quindon Tarver “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)”
  5. Rotary Connection & Minnie Riperton “I Am the Black Gold of the Sun”
  6. David Axelrod “The Human Abstract”
  7. Solange “Cranes in the Sky”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017

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Weekly Mix 14: April 9, 2017

I’m really excited about today’s show because it’s a great way wind down after a busy week. As I mentioned on the last show, last week my girl friend and I drove up to Los Angeles from San Diego to catch a rare performance by The Firesign Theater. A few days later I drove back up to Los Angeles to get fitted for a tailor made suit from Indochino for my brother’s wedding next month. There’s a good chance you heard about Indohchino on another podcast. At least that’s how I heard about them. I could have given Indohchino my measurements online but I wanted to be measured by an actual human being. I have to admit, I was impressed by Indohchino and now that they have my measurements I’ll order more clothing from them in the future. I’ll post a photo of the suit in a couple of weeks on my blog.

Last night my girl friend and my boy drove back up to Los Angeles again for the opening of a friend Mark Casillas’ new office. The name of his studio is Warm & Fuzzy and he and his partners do visual effects and animation for commericals, TV shows and movies like The Avengers and Star Wars. The party was great! There were food trucks, a bouncy castle, a deejay and lot of fun and interesting people to meet. You know, I used to hate Los Angeles but the more I go there the more I love. Except the traffic. I hate the traffic.

And today we took the kids to the Fleet Science Center in San Diego and then I took the kids and our dog to the beach. So, yeah, a busy weekend.

Click the links below to purchase and download the songs you liked from today’s show. You can spare a few dollars and you’ll be helping out the bands and musicians who are pouring out their hearts to touch you.

If you enjoy The Weekly Mix, share it with a friend. I’m looking at you, Ben. I know you like last week’s show.

Okay, time for me to amscray. Enjoy the show. I’ll see you next week!

  1. Swet Shop Boys “T5”
  2. Futuro Pelo “Swamp”
  3. Frankie Reyes “Noche de Ronda”
  4. Sampha “Plastic 100°C”
  5. Yoni & Geti “Lunchline”
  6. Little Scream “Love as a Weapon”
  7. Hite “Light”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017mix

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Weekly Mix 13: April 2, 2017

Before we got to today’s show I want to welcome Blumenkraft from the pnut social media platform to the show. I actually know Blumenkraft from App.Net, which was a great social media platform that was ad free but unforutnately shut down last month. Anyway, I promoted my recent show on Pnut and Blumenkraft really enjoyed it and went back to download prevous episodes of The Weekly Mix. Blumenkraft, if you’re listening, welcome aboard and I hope you dig today’s show.

The other thing I wanted to chat about is the trip my girlfriend and I made to Los Angeles last Thursday to see The Firesign Theatre. You probably don’t know who they are but they are extremely important to me. The Firesign Theatre was a comedy group from the 60s who recorded these really complex concept albums. When I was a boy, about four years old, my dad would play them all the time. The Firesign Theatre had a lot of TV and radio commercial skits that confused me because at that age I was still struggling to distinguish reality from fantasy. They sounded like commercials but I knew something was not quite right. The Firesign Theatre shaped my own sense of humor and when I got into radio I would insert bits from their albums into my shows.

Last Wednesday I was talking to my friend Taylor about working on another show I produce called Pop Culture Intelligentsia. We were catching up with each other when he mentioned that he was going to provide sound effect for a life performance from The Firesign Theatre. Taylor only had a vague idea who they were and cetainly had no idea how important those guys are to me. I asked Taylor if he could get me into the show because those guys are senior citizens now, in fact, there are only two members still alive. I’d regret it if I didn’t see them. Taylor was kind enough to get me into the show and I even got to ask Phil Proctor, one of the founding members a question!

Okay, enough out of me. Enjoy today’s show.

  1. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweat “I Need Never Get Old”
  2. Shirley Bassey “Spinning Wheel”
  3. Portugal. The Man “Feel It Still”
  4. Lauren Sanderson “Alotta Me”
  5. Yaeji “New York 93”
  6. Naadei “Not Nice”
  7. o k h o “Hey The House Is On Fire”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017mix

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Weekly Mix 12: March 26, 2017

A couple of weeks ago I nerded out about the social bookmarking service Pinboard, which I use to help produce each episode of The Weekly Mix. I hope you’ll contirnue to indulge me becasue today I’m going to rap with you about how I create the album art that accompanies each show.

One of the things that tickles me about producing The Weekly Mix is how much work I am able to do just using my iPhone. To build the album art that I insert into each podcast and to each blog post I start with the illustraiton of the headphone wearing girl that Geneva B has so graciously let me use for the show. I also use a graphic for the number of the show that I’ve created in Adobe Illustrator (I hope to some day build this graphic on my phone as well). To gather the album art from the bands and musicians that are featured on any episode that I add to my own album art I use workflow from my Workflow app that saves the album art from whatever song I’m listening to on Apple Music to my photos folder. From there I’ll use Instagram’s Layout app to organize all the graphics just the way I want. And that’s how I build the album art for each show.

To build the videos of the album art that I share on Instagram I import the album art I just created in my Glitch Wizard app. Once I’ve glitched the hell out of it I’ll take the video I’ve created and import it into Hyperspektiv to modify further. Once that’s done I’ll take the video and import it Apple’s iMovie app and add audio clips from the show I’m currently promoting.

I hope you got a kick out of all that. I sure do have a lot of fun creating the album art for each show.

Okay, enough out of me. Go listen to today’s show. It’s pretty awesome!

  1. Ibibio Sound System “Give Me a Reason”
  2. Dele Sosimi “E Go Betta”
  3. Topaz Jones “Powerball (feat. Leven Kali)”
  4. Superorganism “Something for Your M.I.N.D.”
  5. Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording “Satisfied”
  6. Grover Washington, Jr. “Just the Two of Us (feat. Bill Withers)”
  7. DeVotchKa “Dearly Departed”

Illustration: GDBee ©2017