#freeform radio

[weneverlearn]

We Never Learn is now on the air! Or internet, or world wide web, or whatever...

The over-arching great news is that East Village Radio is back, and I've got a show on it!

East Village Radio (EVR) began in a small studio on 1st Avenue in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 2003 as a freeform terrestrial station. It sadly had to shutter in 2014. But thanks to the hard work of Owner Frank Prisinzano, Station Manager Brian Turner, and loads of other brainy tech heads and solid peeps, it's back as an internet station -- as freeform as ever, and right back in the same cool lil' station spot on 1st Ave.!!

My show -- We Never Learn -- is on every other Wednesday (starting this Wed., 8/21) from 2-4 p.m. ET.

As an audio spin-off of my book, We Never Learn, I'll be focusing on songs from the vast oily drainage of 1990s underground garage punk; but as I'm wont to do when I DJ at bars and such, I'll pepper in the trashiest of kindred noise from previous eras. All taken from humanity's perfect music format, the 7-inch vinyl single!

So dial us up on your laptop knob or whatever, and check out all the other wild, diverse, and unending sounds of East Village Radio right there below!!!

And the website will be adding original editorial content too, and you can bet your's truly will be scribbling some of that.

So check out East Village radio for your daily fix of outre music and more!

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[still-single]

HEATHEN DISCO BEST OF 2023 SHOWS

They're in the can, check 'em out.

For those still wondering, the Ryan Davis record is the best release of 2023.

Set 1: Reissues/Archival + 20 Tracks from 2023

Arthur Russell – In the Light of a Miracle

Dorothy Carter – Autumn Song

Laurie Styvers – Imagine the Lights Have Gone Out

PG Six – Unteleported Man

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 – Flames Up Yours

The Dark – Resurrection 

Fury – Circle of Lies

INU – Don’t Eat Food!

Las Mordidas – Surrounded

Spike in Vain – Opus I & II

Africa Corps (Savage Republic) – Real Men (live)

Sonic Youth – I Love Her All the Time (live)

Masayuki Takayanagi – Mass Hysterism Part II

Milford Graves with Hugh Glover – March 11, 1976 III

Les Rallizes Denudes – Eternally Now (live CITTA ’93) 

Maxx Traxx – Reachin’ For It

High Rise – Sadducces Faith

Wolf Eyes W/ Spykes – 4

Tolerance – Sacrifice

Shizuka – 6 Gram Star

Rubber Blanket – Gandy Dancer

Khanate – It Wants to Fly (excerpt)

S*GLASS – Sorry About the False Bounce

Föllakzoid – V-III 

Monocot – The Voice Came

Daniel Villarreal – Chicali Outpost

Equipment Pointed Ankh – Late Night A.I.

Witness K – How Do We Count Your Poses

Coffin Prick – Town Without Pity 2

Olimpia Splendid – Jacksonin Paita

Terry – Jane Roe

Nusidm – Arm Unemployed

Dippers – Encouragement in Brackets 

Guardian Singles – Com Trans

Civic – Born in the Heat 

Married FM – I’m Gonna Find It 

Connections – Bird Has Flown

Son of Dribble – Shed

The Serfs – Club Deuce

Corker – Edge of Teeth

Set 2: 39 Songs from 2023

Stella Kola – November

Wheatie Mattiasch – Not the Angels

Maxine Funke – River Said

Suishou no Fune – A Rainbow Is Floating

Jana Horn – Love in Return

V.I.P.P. – Dancing

Famous Mammals – Like a Shadow

Non Plus Temps – Hide Away

Now – Rattray

Spiral Dub – High as Fuck

Violent Change – Whipping Boy 

Disintegration – Time Moves for Me

Home Front – Nation

Lifeguard – Alarm

The Toads – Nationalsville

Ulrika Spacek - Diskbänksrealism

Retirement – No Refund

Mother’s Milk – Xerox Cloak 

Glittering Insects – Remote Viewed Orgasm

FACS – Class Spectre

Skull Practitioners – Intruder

Los Mundos – Luz Perversa (en vivo)

Cheater Slicks – Fear

Emily Robb – Solo in A

The Sundae Painters – Thin Air

Animal Piss, It’s Everywhere – Pink Dolphin

Sparks – Nothing Is As Good As They Say It Is

The Clientele – Garden Eye Mantra

Lewsberg – Debbie

Usurabi – Even If It’s a Lie

Luxor Rentals – A Hallway

Drop Nineteens – T

Melenas – K2

Exek – On the Ground Floor

Silicone Prairie – Mirror on the Wall

Feeling Figures – Movement

The Smashing Times – Tuesday, Coming into Time

Colleen – Les parenthèses enchantées (Movement III)

Jaimie Branch – Take Over the World

Set 3: The Last 41 Best of 2023

Chi To Shizuku – Kawaki

The Lewers – O Karina

The Native Cats – Suplex

Cuticles – Know Not What

En Attendant Ana – Wonder

Tirzah – 2 D I C U V

Seekersinternational – Caught Up (Heart Breaks)

Ron Morelli – Gun Smoke

Leda – 2

Zuli – Bussra

Smirk – Polyrhythmic Ticks

The Dissidents – Patronized

Consensus Madness – Animosity

Stress Positions – Flaming Sword

Life Expectancy – Land Worm

Collate – Guilty Collector

Blue Dolphin – Docile Jannette

Flat Worms – Orion’s Belt

Los Llamarada – Waiting For Your Eyes

Dion Lunadon – Diamond Sea

Natural Information Society – Immemorial

Quade – Measure

The Split Bell Chime – You Can Tell Me Anything

Matmos – Why?

GUB – 4

DJ Manny – Ooh Baby

Tyvek – What It’s For

Gaadge – Candy Colored

Surveillance – Obvious

Miss Espana – Lirio Blanco

Axis: Sova – Join a Cult

Al Karpenter & CIA Debutante – Fuck You All to Fade No More

Beau Wanzer – Warm Waterboarding

Thee Retail Simps – Wrong Direction

Wireheads – Persistent Resistance

Adulkt Life – Blackout

Sharp Pins – Bye Bye Basil

The Tubs – Sniveler

Meg Baird – Star Hill Road

Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band – Flashes of Orange

Water Damage – FUCK THAT (Reel 13)

[miragestation]

Mirage Station playlist for September 20th, 2023

Amephone “言わないで Iwanaide” Esquisse ⅔

2. Shela “Viagem a Granada” from TV Songs (Discrepant 2023)

3. Brian Harnetty “Where Are You Going, Pretty Bird?” “Rawhead & Bloodybones (Instrumental Version)” from Rawhead & Bloodybones

4. Umeko Ando “Iuta Upopo (イウタ ウポポ)” from Upopo Sanke (Pingipung 2023)

5. Jon Iverson Meets Prins Emanuel, Golden Ivy & Inre Kretsen Grupp “Alternesian” from Jon Iverson meets Prins Emanuel, Golden Ivy & Inre Kretsen Grupp (Séance Centre 2023)

6. Steve Roden “when stars become words”

7. Thomas "Fats" Waller “All God's Chillun Got Wings” from The London Suite and Assorted Rarities

[snackpointcharlie]

Snackpoint Charlie, for that nagging feeling that there’s gotta be more out there, there just has to be. Spoiler alert: there is, and it’s more alluring and mysterious music from elsewhere and beyond. 10pm to midnight Wednesday August 16 on WGXC 90.7-FM / WGXC.org / the Wave Farm smartphone app / and podcast NOW at https://wavefarm.org/wf/archive/fhwfsn

Snackpoint Charlie - Transmission 121 - 2023.08.16 https://wavefarm.org/wf/archive/fhwfsn [ ^ click for download ^ ]

PLAYLIST

1) Altai music - T. Chinjin (Throat Singing and Topshur lute) - “Karkira” from VOYAGE EN URSS – N° 10 SIBÉRIE/EXTRÊME ORIENT/EXTRÊME NORD – ANTHOLOGIE DE LA MUSIQUE INSTRUMENTALE ET VOCALE DES PEUPLES DE L'URSS https://www.discogs.com/release/1253115-Various-Siberie-Extreme-Orient-Extreme-Nord https://music-republic-world-traditional.blogspot.com/2018/12/siberia-siberie-voyage-en-urss-n-10.html

2) Ustad Noor Bakhsh - “Des” from JINGUL https://hivemindrecords.bandcamp.com/artists https://honiunhoni.bandcamp.com/

3) Ferka Jilaliya & Zine Mohamed / الفرقة الجيلالية : الزين محمد - “Sidi Mbarek” from TANGEPHONE TAN 480 https://music-republic-world-traditional.blogspot.com/2023/03/morocco-ferka-jilaliya-zine-mohamed.html

4) Faizal Mostrixx - “Loosely (ft. Morena Leraba)” from MUTATIONS https://faizalmostrixx.bandcamp.com/album/mutations

(underbed throught:) Tuluum Shimmering - “Tamalpais (at about 6)” from TAMALPAIS (AT ABOUT 6) https://tuluumshimmering.bandcamp.com/album/tamalpais-at-about-6

plus - Pinchas Gurevich - “Klaus Barbie and Q”

5) ELECTRONICOS FANTASTICOS! - “Dian Ci Long (feat. Namichie & Submarine)” from ELECTROMAGNETIC MATSURI BAYASHI IN NEO TOKYO https://www.electronicosfantasticos.com/news/230620/ https://www.instagram.com/electronicosfantasticos/

6) VAGABOND cpa - “Manhattan Minuet” from RAYMOND SCOTT SONGBOOK http://raymondscott.jp/ https://www.discogs.com/release/5554447-Various-Raymond-Scott-Songbook

7) Son Thoeung - “Damrey Cheung Buon (The Four Feet of the Elephant)” from CAMBODIAN CASSETTE ARCHIVES: KHMER FOLK & POP MUSIC VOL. 1 https://sublime-frequencies.bandcamp.com/album/cambodian-cassette-archives-khmer-folk-pop-music-vol-1

8) Ryuichi Sakamoto - “Replica” from ONGAKU ZUKAN https://www.wewantsounds.com/?lightbox=dataItem-ljdbjhi2

9) ESP Summer - “Land of 102°” from MARS IS A TEN https://hisnameisalive.bandcamp.com/album/mars-is-a-ten

10) Steven Ruppenthal & Gary R. Weisberg - “Post-Apocalyptic Biscuit” from STRANGE TIMES https://importantrecords.com/ https://meterpool.bandcamp.com/

11) Diah Iskandar Dan Jopie's Band - “In My Room” from DIJATI KEKASIH https://www.discogs.com/release/12068152-Diah-Iskandar-Dan-Jopies-Band-Dihati-Kekasih https://madrotter-treasure-hunt.blogspot.com/2020/01/diah-iskandar-jopies-band-dihati-kekasih.html

12) John Cale - “Terry's Cha-Cha” from NEW YORK IN THE 1960S https://www.discogs.com/master/175544-John-Cale-New-York-In-The-1960s https://www.tableoftheelements.org/all-releases https://www.withinthings.com/

13) Alan Courtis & David Grubbs - “Song of a Fence Grown through a Tree” from BRAINTRUST OF FIENDS AND WEREWOLVES https://huskypantsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/braintrust-of-fiends-and-werewolves

14) Hali Palombo - “Voice Scrambler” from RADIO & MY VOICE https://halipalombo.bandcamp.com/album/radio-my-voice

15) Graeme Jefferies - “Brand New Start” from CANARY IN A COALMINE https://allyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/canary-in-a-coalmine

16) Don Van Vliet - “Pork Chop Blue Around the Rind” from GARY LUCAS' SOUNDCLOUD https://soundcloud.com/garylucas/pork-chop-blue-around-the-rind-don-van-vliet-nyc-7-83 https://www.discogs.com/release/2042457-Don-Van-Vliet-Riding-Some-Kind-Of-Unusual-Skull-Sleigh

17) Robert Wilson & Christopher Knowles - “Excerpt from ‘A Letter To Queen Victoria: The Sundance Kid Is Beautiful’” from BIG EGO https://ubu.com/sound/big_ego.html https://store.giornofoundation.org/products/the-dial-a-poem-poets-big-ego

18) Orkes Aneka Warna - “Lontong Balap” from ORKES ANEKA WARNA https://madrotter-treasure-hunt.blogspot.com/2020/04/orkes-aneka-warna.html https://www.discogs.com/artist/6759840-Orkes-Krontjong-Aneka-Warna

[mrbopst]

Good News: The Bopst Show airs today (4/7/23) at 4 & 10 PM (EST-USA) with encore presentations this weekend on WRWK 93.9 The Work FM. Listen online: theworkfm.org

[netgf]

a dj set of mine from months ago

we stayed in the studio broadcasting for 48 hours straight and this was hour 28; I was sleep deprived and really sad because my special guests had no-showed like 7 hours prior

[sohannabarberaesque]

Overheard via Honey and Sis' surprise shortwave worldcaster recently

SIS, discussing recent QSL reportage: One of our listeners up in the proverbial wilds of Canada, in sharing a reception report with us (and for which we thank you), added some comments wondering just how exactly it was that we could manage to run a shortwave station like ours without any semblance of scheduling during what passes for our broadcasting day.

HONEY, wisecracking somewhat: More like in the nights, come to think of it. You have to take advantage of the ideal ionospheric conditions to broadcast on shortwave, and it's best done at night, for the most part.

SIS: I'll try to answer this question as best as feasable.

HONEY: Nothing's going to stop you, gal.

SIS: For some reason, fellow shortwave heads, this station of Honey and Sis operates as it does, without any sort of set programme, for the sake of just imagining how you'd react to what we may be doing on the shortwaves. Even if it's bound to be conversation over our own blend of the best Puerto Rican and Hawai'ian coffees brewed by the pourover method.

HONEY: And maybe some cake and pastries.

SIS: Hopefully, this will have answered that Rather Nagging Question many of you listeners were harbouring all this time ... and Honey, what would you say to the idea of us killing some time in the lake wearing mermaid tail costumes and just imagining the feeling of being mermaids, to begin with?

HONEY: You caught me by surprise there, Sis ... but I'd be game to consider the prospect, especially where such can translate into having such explained on shortwave.

SIS: Yet which of our experiences couldn't quite be translatable into digression on shortwave later, come to think of it?

[thekristen999]

Whose Attention?

Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Tommy Kinard Characters: Tommy Kinard, Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley, Howie "Chimney" Han Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, POV Tommy Kinard, Minor Evan "Buck" Buckley/Tommy Kinard, Oblivious Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Jealous Evan "Buck" Buckley, Eddie Diaz & Tommy Kinard - Freeform, Tommy's POV of s07e04, Tommy Was Totally Into Eddie, Eddie was very Clueless, buck has a lot of feelings, Humor, Light Angst, Conversations, Bisexual Evan "Buck" Buckley, First Kiss, Episode: s07e04 Buck Bothered and Bewildered (9-1-1 TV) Summary:

Most first responders were cut from the same cloth, filled with passion and dedication with a side of insanity. Diaz and Buckley did not disappoint in that department, both volunteering to repel down to a capsized ship in hurricane winds to save their captain.

"Are you sure about this?" Tommy asked over the coms.

"Seen and done crazier," Diaz said over the radio.

Oh, really? He could visualize the cocky self-assured grin from his pilot’s seat.

And when he pushed his bird to the limit, Diaz and Buckley returned triumphant with their Captain in hand. Tommy vowed to get to know them both better.

When Diaz texted him the next day, Tommy knew he was in for a wild time.

(Tommy's pursuit of Eddie and the craziness that ensures whenever they're around his best friend.)

Read on Ao3

..

[miya-eulik]

Hello there, I've started a new fanfiction. As always, there is a cover:

And a part of the picture that can't really be seen in the cover because of the effects:

Fake Atlantis

Chapters: 1/???

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Angel Dust/Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie Magne | Morningstar/Vaggie

Characters: Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Charlie Magne | Morningstar, Vaggie (Hazbin Hotel), Valentino (Hazbin Hotel), Original Hazbin Hotel Character(s)

Additional Tags: Overlord Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Former Overlord Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Dark Overlord Husk, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-typical swearing, Canon-Typical Violence, casino – freeform, Gambling, Angel Dust Being Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Husk is an Overlord for a Reason, Valentino Being a Jerk (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor is in Hell for a Reason (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor Being a Jerk (Hazbin Hotel), Alastor Being Alastor (Hazbin Hotel), Power Dynamics, Demonic Contracts, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Drug Addiction, Implied / Referenced Gambling Addiction, Sexual Harassment, it’s Valentino, Lovers to one-sided enemies to tentative friends to lovers, Smut, Porn With Plot, Dubious Consent, but only because Husk owns Angel's soul otherwise everything happens consensually, Anal Sex, Gay Sex, Top Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Service Top Husk (Hazbin Hotel), Bottom Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Power Bottom Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel), Aftercare, Consent is Huk’s Kink, Author just wanted to write smut but ended up with a whole story, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Summery: Angel Dust doesn't believe in redemption. Why should he? The path to hell is a one-way road and there was little point in hoping for something that will never happen. And yet the Hazbin Hotel is the only way to put at least some distance between himself and his abusive boss Valentino. And maybe, maybe this hotel might one day become his Atlantis…at least that was until the radio demon shows up at the hotel and brings Husk, the former gambling overlord, along with him. The man who seventeen years ago won Angel's soul from Valentino in a poker game, only to gamble it away alongside his own dragging him down into the abyss along with him. And so Angel has no choice but to live under the same roof as him, remembering those two best years of his life and hoping his anger and hatred will not turn into affection and love again, as they once did.

Chapter excerpt:

 […]Angel almost didn't recognize Husker, he looked so different today. Gone were the tailored suits and gold cuff links. Instead, he wore only scuffed trousers with suspenders over his shoulders and a worn top hat on his head. He wore neither shirt nor shoes. His dark fur was disheveled and no longer neatly groomed. The feathers of his wings were dull and Angel could see some of them missing, whether torn out or otherwise lost, Angel was unable to tell. And he looked tired, tired like a man who lost everything he ever owned, and for a moment, Angel felt corrosive, malevolent satisfaction in himself. Husk had deserved to lose everything, he had brought it on himself after all. He would have felt sorry for him if he had not dragged Angel into the abyss with him. And yet, Angel's traitorous heart skipped a beat when Husk snapped at Alastor in that familiar deep baritone, as if he had a choice to be here. And Alastor played along, bribing him with cheap booze, whether it was a sick joke or meant to manipulate Charlie, the spider was unable to tell. And Husk went along with it, of course he did. What other choice could he have?

Husk's golden gaze finally swept across the room as he brought the bottle to his mouth and Angel was able to pinpoint the exact moment his former overlord recognized him. His eyes widened slightly, the bottle almost slipped from his grasp and he opened and closed his mouth as if to say something. Angel clenched his fists. Everything inside of him was screaming to take out one of his guns and blow the cat's head off his shoulders. Fuck Charlie, fuck Vaggie, fuck Alastor. Husk deserved it after what happened. Husk more than deserved it, and yet a tiny, little, traitorous part of Angel longed to throw himself around his neck and beg him to make all the way it used to be. Husk had never hurt him physically, never left bruises or scrapes, and the rest…He had always been so tender, Angel had never met a man who had been so tender not only before and during sex, but after as well. But then he remembered what happened, and he turned his head away hastily, breaking eye contact before he could lose himself in that gold again and clenching his fists to keep from reaching for his weapons. Once upon a time, Angel had thought he would never be able to love and hate someone as much as Valentino. Then Husker, the gambling overlord, had won his soul in a poker game.[...]

[thesobsister]

If you haven’t checked out NTS, run, do not walk. Mixtapes to fit every mood, smart programming, great DJs, an encyclopedic sweep of music genres.

Basically, freeform radio like you might’ve heard about from the late ‘60s and ‘70s, playing music most of which you’ve never heard by artists most of whom you’ve never heard about, and awesome.

NTS has a sweet app and a good website:

[wingsyouburn]

Fic: Come On, Get Higher (MCU, Steve/Darcy)

Title:Come On, Get Higher Fandoms: MCU, Captain America (movies) Characters: Darcy Lewis, Steve Rogers Pairing: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers Rating: Explicit AO3 Tags: Post-Movie: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Established Relationship, Smut, Public Sex, Public Blow Jobs, Ferris Wheel Sex. ShieldShock - Freeform, Not Canon Compliant Summary: Darcy convinces Steve to come with her to the fair. Shenanigans ensue. Notes: Originally, this oneshot was meant to be part of a longer series that I've long lost the inspiration (and notes) for. A friend reminded me of this and I realized I never posted this officially, and what good is it sitting on my computer? So here you go.

Written for the prompt: That’s not what I had in mind, but okay. I no longer remember what prompt meme it came from :/

The Ferris wheel jerked. Darcy looked down to see the attendant flailing, talking into his radio. “Looks like it’s stuck,” she said, the other riders noticing it, too. “At least we’re at the top.” “We might be here a while, though.” His brow furrowed, jaw straightening. Steve studied the machinery keeping them in the air. For half a second, she worried he’d jump from the gondola to fix things himself. But not on Darcy’s watch. She smoothed a hand over his arm. “Relax, Steve. I’m sure they can handle it.” “I might be able to—” “The only thing you should be concerned with is me.” His eyebrow went up and her hand slid down, skating over his chest and along his abs. “Why is that?” Darcy grinned. “Who knows how long repairs will take.” Without breaking his gaze, she unbuttoned his jeans. “We might as well make the best of it.”

Read more at AO3!

[d-criss-news]

Review: A VERY DARREN CRISSMAS Tour Brings Music and Fun to Emerson Colonial Theatre

Making his way to the stage of the Emerson Colonial Theatre on the recent Boston stop on his “A Very Darren Crissmas!” tour – by going up, down, and around the sold-out venue – Darren Criss transported his eager audience from their seats to the palm of his hand.

And the popular performer, accompanied by a tight five-piece band, kept them there with a buoyant, tune-filled, nearly two-hour show, which featured everything from holiday favorites, from his 2021 debut CD that shares its name with the tour, to pop music covers and more.

The Emmy-winning actor and singer – famed for Fox-TV’s “Glee,” FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” and “Hollywood,” and Broadway shows including  the 2011 revival of “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying,” 2014’s “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” and the 2022 revival of “American Buffalo” – opened with what he called “a winter love song,” John Mayer’s holiday-themed “St. Patrick’s Day.”

Criss’s voice was richly expressive on that and other songs, including jazz-infused renditions of “Winter Wonderland,” “(Everybody’s Waiting for) The Man with the Bag,” and a gorgeous “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” the Mel Tormé classic Criss calls his “very favorite Christmas song.”

He also offered up wonderful covers of Regina Spektor’s contemplative ballad “New Year,” and, in one of the evening’s most impressive vocal moments, the 2004 Keane hit, “Somewhere Only We Know,” performed without mic to showcase the superb acoustics of the spectacular Colonial.

The legendary try-out house also provided the perfect setting for Criss to sing “Welcome Home,” first performed by opera singer Enzio Pinza in the 1954 Broadway musical “Fanny,” with music and lyrics by Harold Rome.

The San Francisco native’s good humor was sprinkled throughout the show. Apparently, whenever John Rox’s novelty song “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” a hit for 10-year-old Gayla Peevey in 1953, played on the radio in Criss’s childhood home, everything came to a halt so his mother could sing along. In Boston, her now-adult son’s version of the song had him, and his rapt audience, bopping along.

Weaving in plenty of colorful patter between the songs – which also included a light and lovely “When You Wish Upon a Star” – Criss shared freeform musings on the mood of the day, defined the musical term “imperfect rhyme,” and humorously lamented the takeover of the Billboard charts at this time of year by Burl Ives, with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and now Brenda Lee, with her current number one, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” first recorded 62 years ago.

At the close, Criss strapped on a guitar for his hip-swiveling “Christmas Dance,” a rollicking tune he not only wrote but also customized with song requests shouted out by his swooning Boston audience. It was “A Very Darren Crissmas” indeed.

[still-single]

DISCOS HEATHEN: NEW SHOWS

Been a minute since I dropped in here, Tumbles. Please check out these new sets, made by me, at home. No more community radio station getting in the way of my ambitions. Enjoy these.

Ep. 360 (it killed Kissinger) 29 November 2023

Kleeer - Tonight

Seekersinternational - 2 Gold Chain (Drive U Crazy)

Cherrystones - Robot’s Kin

Komare - untitled

Identified Patient - Nog Steeds High Van De Lak

Kirlian - Pulsingers Dream

Run DMC - Rock the House

NYCC - I’ll Keep a Light In My Window

ALXAMBRA — arabic

Dow Jones and the Industrials - Never Too Stoned to Disco

Gerycz Powers Rolin - Activator

Venus Club - 14

Bar Italia - Hi Fiver

Violent Change - McCartney the Fox

Mike Donovan - Sadfinger Meets the Mighty Flash

Papa Yankson - Dodo Bi Afre

The Embrooks - I’m Coming Home

Eastlink - Blood Money

Tara Clerkin Trio — Brigstow

Andre Ethier — On Lies

Chi to Shizuku — Yoru no Kono Sora Toi

Empire — All These Things

Embrace — Money

England’s Glory — City of Fun

The Sundae Painters — Sweet Dreams

Bear Bones, Lay Low — Historia Microscopica

Bobby Jimmy and the Critters — Roaches (instr.)

Central Line — Walking into Sunshine

Ep. 359 (broke my shit) 19 November 2023

Third World War — Preaching Violence

Circus Lupus — I Always Thought You Were An Asshole

Shabba Ranks — Dem Bow

Gang of Four — Ether (Peel Session)

Collate — Disassociative Ritual

Erotic Drum Band — Plug Me to Death

Thorne — Face 2 Face

Flex TMG — Come On Over (Bebe)

Country Teasers — Please Stop Fucking Each Other

Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band — Junk Drawer Heart

Section 25 — Sutra

Finnoguns Wake — Blue Skies

The Native Cats — Small Town Cop Override

My Heart, An Inverted Flame — Pollen Blacked Out the Sky

Mutant Strain — Knuckle Dragger

Circle Jerks — Red Tape

Excelsior — Hot Shit Sandwich

Ooga Boogas — The Octopus Is Back

Cherubs — Carjack Fairy

Steel Pole Bath Tub — The Scarlet

Protomartyr — Want Remover

Hans-Joachim Roedelius — Durch Die Wüste

Huerco S. — Plonk VI

Nine Dog Dick — I Bought a Suicide for the Holidays

[downwithpeople]

Big fan of your rpg actual play opinions :) do you have any favorite series you'd recommend?

i've listened to a bunch of these now and tbh i'm not the biggest fan of the format. they always feel like they're caught on an awkward place between let's play and radio drama. ultimately most of the big ones have gone all in on the latter but i actually enjoy seeing mechanics play out because i think games are interesting and they create interesting stimuli for the players. here's the ones i've listened to and enjoyed:

adventure zone: self explanatory. first two seasons only.

dimension 20: pretty good despite my griping. starstruck odyssey was the best season. fantasy high s1 is probably a must-listen for anyone who remotely enjoys dnd actual plays.

neoscum: stopped listening around the patrick rothfuss ep. constantly caught between maudlin melodrama, puerile improv and the kind of comically bad pacing that was previously seen only in shonen manga. surprisingly dogged focus on the mechanics of the hilariously bad shadowrun 5e system. worth checking out because when it's funny it's extremely funny. patreon eps are well worth the money if you enjoy the main campaign even remotely

rude tales of magic: stopped listening around ruleshaven. branson reese is a comic genius and everyone in the cast is extremely funny. it has the same issues with focus and pacing that neoscum has. it may as well be completely freeform for how often the mechanics are invoked by either the players or the GM. it's also worth a listen.

RPPR delta green eps specifically: these are guys playing the game, like playing playing the game. ross payton's scenarios are good enough that they're getting the official publication treatment; he has a few too many latino gangsters springing out of hedgerows for my taste but the god's teeth episodes aren't bad at all.

red moon roleplaying unknown armies eps specifically: great introduction to what unknown armies is all about. you get to hear greg stole's remarkably sleazy voice and the funniest NPC reaction to they/them pronouns i've ever heard.

mage: the awakening - broken diamond: dave brookshaw became line developer for mage partially off the strength of his actual plays. broken diamond is your one-stop shop for learning what mage is all about and how it looks in play. soul cage is probably even better but i never finished reading it.

unknown armies - DO WHAT YOU WANT 'CAUSE A PIRATE IS FREE: mellonbread writes extremely good scenarios. it is unsurprising that his unknown armies campaign is also extremely good. this is an actual play about a gang of magical food truck operators in a setting where wizards have infiltrated and control the largest fast food chains for their own nefarious purposes. it's twelve posts on blogspot. go read now.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

The Frow Show's Bob Dylan Spectacular

May you build a ladder to the stars and climb on every rung — and may you celebrate Bob Dylan's birthday by listening to three hours of the Frow Show on WFMU! As usual, your friend and mine Jesse Jarnow has pulled out all the stops, presenting a wild/wooly trek through the Dylan multiverse. Rarities, oddities, curiosities and beyond. I recommend not gazing at the tracklist beforehand for maximum surprise, delight and confusion. Thanks, JJ — this is some good freeform radio.

I mentioned it last week, but now you can dig into my little Bob tribute over on Aquarium Drunkard (with some added links for more) or on the Dublab archive — an hour's worth of highlights from the Bootleg Series. What can I say, I love this shit! Also on AD, you could also dig into the ongoing/excellent Diamonds From The Deepest Ocean column, exploring classic Bob Dylan bootlegs from the CD era. Or you could listen to 24 different covers of "One Too Many Mornings"! Or dig into a selection of vintage Dylan covers with lyrics translated into Greek, Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish and more!!! So many choices. Strike another match, go start anew, my friends!

[mrbopst]

Good News: Ring in the New Year on the radio with the Bopst Show this weekend on WRWK 93.9 FM

Listen on web at theworkfm.org