Harmony in My Head Broadcast Notes for 12-20-04

12-19-04: There’s nothing like enforced down time like sitting on a trans-Atlantic flight. I am on the last flight back to LA. I started several hours ago from Afghanistan and went to United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai to be exact, met a lot of troops and then started back here. So, I have a show tomorrow night. What will the concept be? What to play, what direction to take it. Rather than sleep, I can do that later on, I will start construction on Monday night’s Sonic Jihad now.
Awhile later: Still on this plane. I came up with about sixteen ideas for songs. I will let it go for now and see what occurs to me when I walk around the room. I have all my CDs in one room and sometimes when I am getting the set list ready, I walk in a circle around this table in the middle of the room and pull CDs from different sections. Some of the best sets I’ve made for this show were done that way. When I run out of ideas, I go to that room and in a few spins, I have too many songs to play. So for now, I’ll let the inspiration hit me when I get to the office later on today.
So, it was another interesting and inspiring trip with the USO I just finished. I got to go to some forward locations on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Those guys and gals are in a very unstable and volatile region and were glad for the brief distraction. I did a lot of flying in Chinooks, the big two propeller choppers you see. The rides back to the Baghram base in the evenings were very beautiful as the sun set over the Hindu Kush mountain range. Afghanistan is one intense place. I have been doing some reading up on the country and the history is insane. They have been invaded by everyone from Alexander to the Brits to the Russians and kicked their asses out every time.
Yesterday, I think it was yesterday, I went from Afghanistan to United Arab Emirates via a five hour C-130 ride to meet Air Force men and women at a base in Abu Dhabi. I was there for about three hours and by the end of the evening, I was pretty worn out. We went from there for a two hour drive to the airport in Dubai and started the long trip back to the USA.
It’s been a long year and I am tired. I am looking forward to a few days off. I always come back from these USO trips with a lot on my mind. Going to all these different places and seeing the US Military presence makes the world feel small and that America has shrunk it. Besides American retail outlets all over the world, our soldiers omnipresence might be thing one thing almost every country in the world has in common—a little slice of the USA. But I digress.
As always, the music is the star of the show during my two short hours a week and now that we are down to two shows, (that’s right dear listeners, December 27th is my last broadcast on the wonderful Indie 103.1. Will be signing off and handing in my keycard lest anyone think I am going to come back at another time to liberate some office supplies. What you say? How can I leave you? I know, I will miss you too but I have to be on the road soon and will not be able to do the show from Europe and when I come back, things will be busy. I do want to thank you for listening however.) Like I said, now that we are down to two shows, let’s make it good.
Post Show: Jetlagged? Sleep dep. addled? Wow, thanks for putting up with me. This is a strange part of the year for me at least. I hope you liked the music and tune in next week for the last show!


Public Enemy – Lost at Birth: From the Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black album, the follow up to Fear of a Black Planet. I love this album but think PE should have not followed up so fast with this release. Still, it’s a great one.

Alex Moore – Ice Pick Blues: I don’t know a great deal about this guy. I’ve had this record on Specialty for many years and it’s great. Here’s a little more about him:
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/MM/fmobh.html

Buzzcocks - Operator’s Manual: From the too often overlooked 2nd Buzzcocks album Love Bites. It’s a great one. If you like the band and have never checked this one out, you really should.

The Fall - Cheetham Hill: From the Light User Syndrome album. I think this came out in 1996. I have been working late at the company a lot since mid-November as I always do with all the mail order. When The Racket leaves and the place quiets down, I grab a stack of Fall CDs and get to work with Mark E in the background. It’s always a good time. I have been listening to this song a lot lately.

Atari Teenage Riot – Digital Hardcore: From 60 Second Wipe Out. I saw these guys live some years ago and it was just insane. Great room clearing stuff for the holidays.

Live is all you need to know: Ramones – Rockaway Beach: I have been reading a work in progress, an autobiography of Johnny Ramone. It’s what JR was working on right up until he died. I just re-read Chapter 7 and it’s really great. Talk about a guy who didn’t pull punches. Anyway, thinking of the great Johnny and the legendary Ramones, I figure we better play this version off the very fine It’s Alive album that features nonstop peak performances with Tommy on drums.

Hendrix – Voodoo Child: Version from Woodstock. Ultimate mind-shredding playing. What a riff. Ask Pearl Jam, it’s where they got Even Flow. Black Sabbath – Paranoid: Paris Theater Paranoid tour. This is what it’s all about. I can’t stand bands who can’t do it live. These bands delivered big time.

Gene Defcon – The Return of Gene: I got an e-mail from Gene today when I had a layover in Frankfurt. He says his new album will be finished next year. Looking forward to it as I am playing Party with Me 2000 all the time.

Damned – Smash It Up Pts. 1&2: From the brand spankin’ new 25th Anniversary edition of The Damned’s awesome third album, Machine Gun Etiquette. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I saw this on the release list for December. It’s one of my favorite records of all time and I still play it at least a few times a month, usually Friday when I get off work. It always sounds great. This edition has great extra tracks, sounds great. I can’t believe I have been listening to this record over half my life.

Heptones – Pretty Looks Isn’t All: From the Respect to Studio One 2CD set. I got this many years ago. It’s on Amazon showing it in print. We heard the first two cuts off disc one: Sound Of Young Jamaica Radio Show. Broadcast Saturday July 18th, 1970 - MC Winston 'The Whip' Williams, and the Heptones cut. It’s a worthwhile set. I have to think at this point, a lot of this stuff is on comps all over the place.

John Lee Hooker – Make It Funky: Off the Free Beer and Chicken album. This one’s in print right now. It’s not always easy to find and the LP version is really hard to locate.

King Crimson – 21st Century Schizoid Man: From the Earthbound album. Took Fripp a long time to finally release this one on CD. I got this in the early 80’s somewhere and it’s a monster. What a band. Another live album with no fixes.

Rhythm and Noise – Delirium Tremens: I remember now, I met Rhythm and Noise man Naut Humon via Diamanda Galas many years ago. She’s on the Chasms Accord album form where we got this track. He gave me an LP of this and I was an instant fan. The CD came out a few years ago. It’s on Asphodel Records and there’s some on Amazon cheap.

Elizabeth Cotton - Freight Train: Ian turned me onto her many years ago. She is a treasure. All her stuff’s in print. Here’s some info on her. http://www.geocities.co.jp/Hollywood/1061/cotten_bio.html

King Pleasure – Moody’s Mood for Love: Great singer. Checking him out brought me to Annie Ross who turns up in a few minutes.

Daniel Johnston – Danny Don’t Rapp: From the Yip/Jump Music CD. He’s like Roky Erickson, unique and brilliant. If you like what you heard, you might want to check out the Songs of Pain set that came out awhile ago. It’s good early stuff from Brian Wilson’s damaged love child. http://www.hihowareyou.com/

Annie Ross – Twisted: I first heard her by getting a King Pleasure album that she was on. She sings on the Short Cuts movie soundtrack that was put out by Imago, a label I was on at the time. So, for a second there, we were label mates. http://www.ddg.com/LIS/InfoDesignF96/Ismael/jazz/1960/Ross.html

Five Head – Can’t Sleep: From the Guests of a Nation CD on Tight Spot. Really cool band. I don’t know a lot about them but I like this CD a lot. Here’s some info: http://www.geocities.com/fivehead_music/

The Obsessed – Tombstone Highway: From the Obsessed album on Tolotta. I have known Scott the singer/guitar player/songwriter of this band for almost twenty-five years. You may have heard “Wino” in some other bands like Saint Vitus, Shine, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand. What a great musician he is. Talk about the real deal, Scott’s all that and a beat down.

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Thanks for listening.