Tag: the smiths

#0098 IRON DJ: 1984

An impenetrable, majestic fortress of some of the best songs, samples, and sounds from 1984.

As I started looking at songs, I realized that there was a ton of great music released in 1984, when I graduated high school. So much of it, though, falls into that category of “80s music.”  We hear it in elevators, barber shops, or shopping malls on any given day….all those songs that are compiled on hundreds of “Best of the 80s” CD compilations. So, I eliminated any of those right off the bat, with perhaps one or two exceptions, but exceptions that are so good, they justify their own existence on this mix. Many of the songs I listened to back then, but I heard a lot of them later in the 80s too. All songs were released in 1984. Besides too many big hits, I also kept away from some heavy favorites like Iron Maiden, Accept, and Priest and tried to include some different things (so that eliminated Aces High, Losing More Than You’ve Ever Had, and Jawbreaker).

At first I was trying to cram the songs I wanted into an hour long package. But then I thought about old cassette mix tapes. The ones that really sucked were the tapes that were 30 minutes on each side, or one hour mixes. 90 minute mix tapes were okay, but I really  liked 100 minute cassette mix tapes, which is the length that I ended up settling into over time. And so that’s what I made here. The longer format works for some mixes, and I think it works for this one too.

Hope you like it.

1. *Repo Man Theme (Instrumental) – Iggy Pop
2.  Death Ship – Hoodoo Gurus
3.   Wonderin’ – Neil Young**
4.  Wait – Wang Chung
5.  A Friend I Call Desire – Ultravox
6.  Got Me Under Pressure – ZZ Top ***
7.  Priestess – Wendy O. Williams
8.  Master and Servant – Depeche Mode
9.  Handsome Devil – The Smiths
10. Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell
11. Pink Turns to Blue – Husker Du
12. Jam On It – Newcleus
13. Ivo – Cocteau Twins ****
14. Mama’s Boy – Ramones
15. It’s My Life – Talk Talk
16. Realization – The Art of Noise
17. Nobody’s Home – Deep Purple
18. I Would Die 4 U – Prince
19.  Stay the Night – Chicago
20. Snaggletooth – Motorhead
21. 88 Lines About 44 Women – The Nails*****
22. Maybe Partying Will Help – Minutemen
23. 99 Red Balloons – Nena
24.  Show Me – The Pretenders
25. Slippery People – Talking Heads******
26. Fight Fire With Fire – Metallica

*          Repo Man
**        Ghostbusters
***      Spinal Tap
****    Making the Grade
*****  The Man with Two Brains
****** Red Dawn

The Weightless Mix

Yepper, so I took 6 days last month to head down to a free place to stay in Lake Tahoe NV/CA, and spent 4 of the 6 days driving through parts of  northern CA into the Sierras, and out into central-western Nevada. Driving out west, or pretty much anyplace new, for me, removes most of the worries and responsibilities from my head for a short time. Out west, I tend to get a weightless feeling, which, after a few days, makes me want to buy an old 4×4 and some camping equipment and drive up into the hills for about a month, grow a beard, eat wild game and berries, and shoot at things with a rifle. Maybe next year.

Anyway there’s not too much that’s Earth-shattering on this mix. There’s some new stuff, but I tend to get down to tried-and-true songs on the road, because I don’t want my time wasted with a bunch of songs I’ve never heard of in the hopes that maybe I’ll hear something new and good. Time on the road is limited; this is not the time to try something new. It always takes me a while to warm up to new songs and bands anyway. I reserve that for when I’m sitting in front of a computer 8 hours a day.  But I will do extensive radio scans in the hopes of hitting some offbeat talk show, an animated preacher/religious drama, or some old songs that I haven’t heard in a long while, and some of that is reflected in this mix via radio scans and some older tunes. Listening to this mix is just like you were sitting in my car for 40 hours straight, only condensed into a little over an hour without you actually getting into my vehicle. I like this mix. But don’t take my word for it, just listen to these powerful testimonials:

“Incredible. Just incredible. I mean, I hate every song on here and I can’t stop listening to this mix.” Quen Britmore, Time Magazine Music Review Team

“There are times in each of our lives where we have to ask ourselves if we really are who we think we are. This mix forces you to do that. It grabs you by the nape of the neck and says, ‘Who are you?” Josh Starbrew, Nuclear Engineer, Brunswick, NC

“I’ve always had a thing about birds. I just don’t like them. But this mix, well, that’s a different story.” Sarah-Ann Zicker, Web Application Designer, Knoxville, TN

“I’ve never even been to Nevada. But it’s as if Kevin has captured the very essence of driving through a western state, except there’s no country music on it. I’m a little sweaty just thinking about it. I mean, that’s how good it is.” Tex Muffin, Utah State Patrol

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  1. One Be Lo – Smash
  2. Yes – Hold On
  3. Judas Priest – All the Way
  4. Peter Murphy – All Night Long
  5. The Psychedelic Furs – There’s a World Outside
  6. The Sisters of Mercy w/Terri Nunn – Under the Gun
  7. Bad Religion – Lost Pilgrim
  8. Soulfly – The Beautiful People
  9. Pro-pain – All for King George
  10. The Bee Gees – Jive Talkin’
  11. The Who – Join Together
  12. Ministry – The Last Sucker
  13. Covenant – Leviathon
  14. The Smiths – Rusholme Ruffians
  15. ZZ Top – Jesus just left Chicago
  16. Sammy Hagar – I’ll Fall in Love Again

Put On Your Happy Face!

In his first Fireside Chat, FDR closed his remarks on the Banking Crisis in 1933 with this:

“…there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. You people must have faith; you must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear. We have provided the machinery to restore our financial system; it is up to you to support and make it work.

It is your problem no less than it is mine. Together we cannot fail.”

To hear FDR actually deliver it, check it out here. Otherwise, buck up, campers. Radio Gen1us is back. We’re not going anywhere and together, rocking out, mano in mano, we’ll get through this shitty shitstorm of shit. So let’s rock out a bit.

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  • Dollars and Sesne – Bob Dorough & Friends
  • I Don’t Feel Like Dancing – Scissor Sisters
  • Step On – Happy Mondays
  • Blue Jean – David Bowie
  • Baby, Hold On – Eddie Money
  • For a Few Dollars More – Ennio Morricone & Terranova
  • Newjack – Justice
  • Forever – Walter Meego
  • El Movimiento – Alla
  • Money (In God We Trust) – Extreme
  • Big Fat Money – Van Halen
  • Faith – Limp Bizkit
  • Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love) – The Ramones
  • Halloween Parade – Sleep Out
  • William, It Was Really Nothing – The Smiths
  • Transmission – Joy Division
  • With Plenty of Money and You – Tony Bennett & Count Basie
  • Mo Money Mo Problems – The Notorious B.I.G.
  • Straight Out the Jungle – Jungle Brothers
  • Debra – Beck

#0062 – File under: Know Bo

Confession:  Since around 1987 with the whole Bo Jackson/Bo Diddley campaign, I’ve been pretty fascinated with Bo Diddley.  When The Man passed away about two months back, I spent a good several weeks playing through a wide collection of material that he either wrote, played or helped inspire. 

Much like how Funk will probably forever be defined by the strong downbeat on the “1” as exemplified by everyone ripping off James Brown, the beat of a freight train rolling unstoppably through the heart of rock and blues will forever be tied to Bo Diddley.

In this mix, I’ll take you chronologically through music that the man himself wrote, played and inspired.  And… since this is taking place almost two months after his passing, it’s not even hip and trendy to do so, yet I do it anyway.

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This tribute includes…

  1. “Bo Diddley” – Art Neville & The Meters
  2. “I’m a Man” – Bo Diddley
  3. “Not Fade Away” – Buddy Holly
  4. “(Marie’s the Name of) His Latest Flame” – Elvis Presley
  5. “Cannonball” – Duane Eddy
  6. “Willie and the Hand Jive” – Shuggie Otis
  7. “I’m Crying” – The Animals
  8. “I Want Candy” – The Strangeloves
  9. “Magic Bus” – The Who
  10. “1969” – Iggy Pop & the Stooges
  11. “Pills” – New York Dolls
  12. “She’s the One” – Bruce Springsteen
  13. “Don’t Let Him Go” – REO Speedwagon
  14. “Who Do You Love” – George Thorogood
  15. “I Want Candy” – Bow Wow Wow
  16. “How Soon is Now?” – The Smiths
  17. “Mr. Brownstone” – Guns N’ Roses
  18. “Faith” – George Michael
  19. “Desire” – U2

#0031 – File under: Misanthropes United

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Welcome back, friends and loyal listeners. Apologies for the delay. Today we bring you a solid hour of hits by bitter, drunken slobs — which would’ve made sense had it come out when you were all hungover on New Year’s Day. Music provided to you by the talents of Kaiser Chiefs, The Smiths, New Order, Lou Reed, Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., Meat Loaf, The Pixies, The New Pornographers, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Motorhead and Eminem. You guys enjoy this bouncy mix about miserable souls.

By the way, if you notice the audio quality is better, please give me a shout out. I’ve spent some time over this break experimenting with Audacity and Audio Hijack Pro to improve the voiceover and the music mastering for the mix down.

  1. Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict a Riot
  2. The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again
  3. New Order – Love Vigilantes
  4. Lou Reed – Satellite of Love
  5. Kid Rock – Drunk in the Morning
  6. Hank Williams, Jr. – Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound
  7. Meat Loaf – Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad
  8. The Pixies – Here Comes Your Man
  9. The New Pornographers – All the Old Showstoppers
  10. Van Halen – Take Your Whiskey Home
  11. The Rolling Stones – Street Fighting Man
  12. Led Zeppelin – Your Time is Gonna Come
  13. Motörhead – Ace of Spades
  14. Supersuckers – Jailbreak (live)
  15. Eminem – Kill You