A bi-weekly broadcast dedicated to the finest in shoegaze, dream pop, darkwave, ethereal, Britpop, and more, featuring new and classic bands. 9-11 pm EST every other Wednesday on Stranger Radio.
Prior to this set, I got to see Ride in Philadelphia for their Weather Diaries tour. Absolutely brilliant.
Japanese Breakfast - The Machinist - Soft Sounds from Another Planet - Dead Oceans
Slowdive - No Longer Making Time - Slowdive - Dead Oceans
Froth - New Machine - Outside (Briefly) - Wichita Recordings
Ride - Vapour Trail - Nowhere - Sire Records
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Spacemen 3 - Hypnotised - Recurring - Fire Records
The Jesus and Mary Chain - Always Sad - Damage and Joy - Artificial Plastic Records
The Pains of being Pure at Heart - Belong - Belong - Slumberland Records
Dead Leaf Echo - So.Wrong - True.Deep.Sleeper -Moon Sounds Records
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The Verve - On Your Own - A Northern Soul - Hut
Radiohead - Man of War - OKNOTOK - Capitol Records
Morrissey - My Love Life - single - HMV
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The Primitives - Hidden in the Shadows - Spin-O-Rama - Elefant Records
I was feeling some nostalgia for this set. Does it show?
Big ups to the Facebook dream pop/shoegaze group I'm in for offering suggestions of good dream pop.
Dead Can Dance - Yulunga - Into the Labyrinth - 4AD
The Cocteau Twins - Lorelei - Treasure - 4AD
Cranes - Shining Road - Loved - Dedicated
The Sugarcubes - Birthday - Life's Too Good - Elektra Records
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Lush - Lovelife - Split - 4AD
Catherine Wheel - Black Metallic - Ferment - Fontana Records
This Mortal Coil - Kangaroo - It'll End in Tears - 4AD
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The Cure - The Caterpillar - The Top - Elektra Records
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Shadowtime - Superstition - Geffen Records
Xymox - Imagination - Twist of Shadows - Wing
Peter Murphy - Indigo Eyes - Love Hysteria - Beggar's Banquet
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The Sundays - Here's Where the Story Ends - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic - DGC Records
It was suggested to me recently that I should put a bit more of myself in my shows, and talk more about my experiences having been a devoted music fan for far longer than I care to admit. And while my philosophy has always been that a good DJ lets the music do the talking, who am I to deny my audience?
I'm not sure this episode is quite what they had in mind, but it made for a good excuse to dig into the record collection (and keep myself from buying any new music - at least for one week). Plus, I finally found a place for that Teenage Fanclub song I've been sitting on for a while now.
While I try my hardest to eschew nostalgia, I do have to admit putting this show together brought back some fond memories: crossing the border from Detroit to Windsor every week to hit the Tuesday Britpop night at the Loop (back when you could cross the border that easily, and when I was in a position to make Tuesday night a regular club night), looking past the annoying ubiquity of Elastica's "Connection" (seriously, circa 1994-95 you couldn't get away from that song if you tried) because after a couple of drinks you could admit that it was really catchy, singing along with "Common People" even though it was the 456212754th time you heard it and it didn't matter because that song could, and would never get old (and truth be told, it still hasn't).
So as not to break the general tone of the show too much, the set's not a free-for-all dance party, but hopefully still enjoyable. Having only an hour meant a lot of groups couldn't get in, but all the majors were there (sorry, Menswear).
Blur - The Universal - The Great Escape - Virgin
Pulp - Help the Aged - This is Hardcore - Island
Elastica - Waking Up - Elastica - Geffen
Adorable - Sistine Chapel Ceiling - Against Perfection - Creation
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Echobelly - Insomniac - Everyone's Got One - Rhythm King
Curve - Horror Head - Doppelganger - Charisma Records
Suede w/ Raissa - Poor Little Rich Girl - 20th Century Blues: The Songs of Noel Coward - EMI
New Order - World (The Price of Love) - Republic - London Records
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Oasis - Talk Tonight - The Masterplan - Creation
The Charlatans UK - You're Not Very Well - Some Friendly - Beggars Banquet
James - Tomorrow - Whiplash - Mercury
The Courteeners - What Took You So Long? - St. Jude - Polydor
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Teenage Fanclub - Hold On - Here - Merge Records
And even though I know I've posted it before and it's horribly outdated at this point, I can't listen to "Help the Aged" without thinking of Jarvis on Da Ali G Show:
Sometimes, a set that doesn't fit one show becomes the axis of the next. I'd been wanting to play that Mark Lanegan for a while, ever since a friend let me hear what a monster that new album is, but I could never find the right place for it. I'd intended to have it in last week, but I think you'll agree that wouldn't fit in a show based on the new Ride. So, between the blank slate of a new show, and the Horrors' release of their new single, it all came together.
Speaking of that new single, the Horrors just keep getting better and better with each album. It's almost a shame that they released Strange House, if only because we'll never get to hear that band again, and it was a tease of what they could have done if they'd continued in that direction (for those of us who like the noisy rock 'n' roll). But everything from Primary Colours on has been increasingly brilliant, their sophistication and mastery of atmosphere growing with each release. I can not wait for this new one.
It seems like I've found a few shoegaze bands from Brazil recently. I'll have to do some digging, I think there could be a set or even possibly a show's worth there.
And speaking of the show:
The Horrors - Machine - V - Wolftone
The Black Angels - Currency - Death Song - Partisan Records
Helen - Dying All the Time - The Original Faces - Kranky
Ruina - Burn - In Venus
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Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Jubilee Street - Push the Sky Away - Bad Seed Ltd.
Mark Lanegan Band - Nocturne - Gargoyle - Heavenly
The Organ - Memorize the City - Grab That Gun - Mint Records
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Processions - Solopsist - Blush
No Joy - Hellhole - Creep EP - Grey Market
Taxes - City in My Head - Back of the Car Collection
Distant Creatures - Empire (acoustic) - A Friend's Halo single
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Beach House - Space Song - Depression Cherry - Sub Pop
The new Ride album came out June 16th, and to say there have been mixed reviews would be an understatement. It's easy for fans to forget that the band put anything out after Going Blank Again (especially those fans too young to remember when Tarantula came out), and nostalgia has always had a way of warping our collective recollections of what bands sounded like (or were supposed to sound like). But taken on its own merits, Weather Diaries is actually quite a solid album, blending the varied elements of the band's original development along with some new ones that expand the sound dynamic even further (keyboards!). As a whole, the album is a nice return to form, and has some top notch singles as well (two of which you'll hear on this show).
Putting this set together was a little difficult, until I realized that I should eschew my instinct to mix it up and go with a shoegaze/dreampop exclusive set (or close enough), to really keep with the vibe of the featured band. It was a good excuse to dig out some tracks I'd been trying to find a spot for since I started, so I think it all worked out well.
Anyhow, let's be on with it, shall we?
Ride -All I Want - Weather Diaries - Wichita Recordings
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Tenderness - On Echoing Green - Mexican Summer
The Daysleepers - Mesmerize - Hide Your Eyes EP - White Rabbit Music
The Legends - He Knows the Sun - Public Radio - Labrador Records
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Blouse - Into Black - Blouse - Captured Tracks
Paper Daggers - Between Moments - Paper Daggers - self-released
Ether Aura - One Hand Away From Out - Before We Could Sing - Analog Terror Music
Crocodiles - Telepathic Lover - Dreamless - Zero Music
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Midnight Faces - Blue Haze - Heavenly Bodies - Broken Factory
Flyying Colours - It's Tomorrow Now - Mindfulness - Club A
Beliefs - Leaper - Leaper - Hand Drawn Dracula
Japanese Breakfast - Everybody Wants to Love You - Psychopomp - Yellow K
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Ride - Weather Diaries - Weather Diaries - Wichita Recordings
And this is a couple of years old at this point, but still worth your time:
Well crap, looks like I forgot to post for a week. Well here it is, a mix of old and new, with at least a couple of deep dives in the crate. Gotta keep it interesting, no?
Chapterhouse - Pearl - Whirlpool - Dedicated
Glasvegas - Shine Like Stars - Euphoric Heartbreak - Columbia
the XX - Say Something Loving - I See You - Young Turks
Echo & the Bunnymen - The Game - Echo & the Bunnymen - Sire
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British Sea Power - The Lonely - The Decline of British Sea Power - Rough Trade America
Giungla - Sand - Camo - Factory Flaws
Chastity Belt - Caught in a Lie - I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone - Sub Pop
the Auteurs - Underground Movies - Now I'm a Cowboy - Hut Recordings
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Jay Som - 1 Billion Dogs - Everybody Works - Polyvinyl
Heavy Heart - Teenage Witch - Keepsake - Heavy Heart
Cigarettes After Sex - The Apocalypse - Cigarettes After Sex - Partisan
Bat for Lashes - Never Forgive the Angels - The Bride - Parlophone
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Passengers with Luciano Pavoratti - Miss Sarajevo - Original Soundtracks 1 - Island
Not much to say about this one, and due to another busy week am waaay late posting this, so here's the show. More on the week with the next episode.
Wild Nothing - TV Queen - Life of Pause - Captured Tracks
Camera Obscura - Troublemaker - Desire Lines - 4AD
Distant Creatures - A Friend's Halo - Snares in Safe Harbors - self released
Coloresantos - Esplendor - Zilla Records x Cohete Lunar -or- Tercer Paisaje - Zilla Records
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Planning for Burial - Threadbare - Below the House - The Flenser
A Place to Bury Strangers - In the Shadow - Batman: Arkham City Soundtrack (limited edition) - WaterTower Music
Sheer - Room - Psychic Quarry EP - The Native Sound
Kindling - Blinding Wave - Everywhere Else - No Idea Records
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Esben and the Witch - Deathwaltz - Wash the Sins Not Only the Face - Matador
Drab Majesty - Only a Mime - Who Taught You How to Love? - Dais Records
Black Tape for a Blue Girl - The Flow of Our Spirit - This Lush Garden Within - Projekt
Mira - Alone - Mira - Projekt
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Asobi Seksu - Trance Out - Fluorescence - Polyvinyl Records
Ringo Deathstarr - Stare at the Sun - Pure Mood - Vinyl Junkie
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Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La - I Will Be - HoZac Records
