Halloween Music Starts At 6PM Tonight!

Need a few tracks for your Halloween?

We'll be running a collection of our favorite Halloween tracks starting at 6PM Eastern tonight, and continuing through to 8AM Sunday (Eastern Daylight Time - we're ignoring the time change...)

Saturday's Shows That Matter

Saturday, October 31, 2009

• Capitol Steps at Count Basie Theatre
• Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams at Gramercy Theatre
• Misfits at BB King's
• Get Up Kids and Kevin Devine at Irving Plaza
• World Inferno Friendship Society and O'Death at Grand Ballroom/Manhattan Center
• Robert Earl Keen at Wellmont Theatre
• Thievery Corporation at Terminal 5
• Senses Fail at Starland Ballroom
• Weezer, Matt & Kim and PT Walkley at Hammerstein Ballroom
• Juggling Suns at The Saint
• Amboys (do Neil Young's "Harvest") at Old Man Rafferty's
• Figgs at Kinitting Factory, Bklyn
• Wild Deer at Arlene Grocery
• Karl Denson's Tiny Universe at Bowery Ballroom
• Doughboys at Wild West City, Stanhope (50 Lackawanna Dr)

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Let the Dead Rest in Peace

Stiffy Biceptz is disgusted, has had enough, and must speak out on a topic that has burned me up for awhile now.

Some bands are completely defined by their key members. If that key member leaves the band or dies, the band dies with them. That's not an opinion, it's an immutable fact, like gravity, or death. Whether or not the other members of the band want to continue on or not is irrelevant. The band as it was known, the synthesis of all the parts that made the band what it was is dead and gone forever and cannot be reproduced; to try to do so is a complete fraud and a complete disgrace. Any true fans of the real band, the original, one and only authentic incarnation would NEVER accept a cheap imitation of something they professed to love so much.

Yet people are weak. Nostalgia for the past, and the desire to recapture long gone glory days makes ex-band mates do awful things. They compromise their souls for some money and recycled fame. And fans, desperate to see something they loved once again, convince themselves that they new guy is the original. And the art is tarnished.


There have been a number of band resurrections in the last few years that defy good taste, logic or reality. In each case, a band whose soul, sound and reason to be was in fact because of the dead performer is revamped with a replacement and passed off as the original. But it does not live. In most cases there has been an attempt to replace the voice of the band, the one part that can never be replaced, because that voice defines the heart and soul of the band.

Imagine the Beatles deciding to reform, with someone standing in for John Lennon and George Harrison. Paul McCartney strutting around singing those holy harmonies with--Joe the Plumber.

The latest offenders are the surviving band members of Sublime. Sublime. This band was solely defined by the voice and presence of Bradley Nowell,whether or not the "other" two guys like it or not. Bradley Nowell is dead. He was Sublime, even though he wasn't the band. Perhaps it's not fair to the two other guys, neither of which anyone knows, but it is what it is. Art is not linear, it's not logical, it is art. No Bradley, no Sublime.

Another recent stomach turner is the "New" Alice In Chains. Again, the iconic and defining lead singer of the band was, is and will always ONLY be the very dead and gone Lane Staley.

Journey without Steve Perry? Come on. I never cared much for Journey, but there is no question his presence made Journey what it was. And yet the other members of Journey continue to go out and fake it with some doppelganger. I don't know what's more pathetic, the band pretending to be something it isn't, or the fans who pay good money to see a fake.

Top of the offender list? How about the nauseating Frankenstein that has called itself the Beach Boys for the last thirty years. Read my lips, no Brian Wilson, no Beach Boys.

Van Halen without David Lee Roth is pretty close. Van Hagar never fooled anyone.

On second thought, the fake Queen with what's his face replacing Freddie Mercury is pretty distasteful.

The one band that could have gone on with a replacement in the original line-up but didn't was Led Zeppelin. At the time of the death of John Bohnam, Led Zep was arguably the biggest, most powerful band in the world. But when asked whether they would continue on, the remaining members said simply," You don't replace anyone. Led Zeppelin existed only with John Bohnam, and without him there is no Led Zep."

Pete Townshend should have pulled the plug on the Who when Moon died. They didn't last long afterwards anyway.

I can understand that musicians/artists want to continue on making music. But they have to have the good sense to realize that something they were a part of is gone forever, and that they were not the defining part. They have to have the courage to create something new, with a new soul and let the past go, because it's gone forever.

Imagine Dave Grohl deciding to go on with Nirvana. How ridiculous does that sound? He was wise enough to see that without Kurt there was no Nirvana. Kurt WAS Nirvana. So Dave went out and became the soul of a new band called the Foo Fighters.

Now it is certainly true that some parts of a band can be replaced without the living essence of the band being compromised--too much. The Ramones were still the Ramones after Tommy left, but much less so after Dee Dee quit in 1989. After all, he wrote most of the classic songs. Had Joey left, it would never have worked. For the Chili Peppers, the loss of Hillel Slovak wasn't terminal because the energy of the band was with Anthony and Flea. But when Frusciante left, it was shaky, as he had been their when the band was born into it's identity. No Anthony, no RHCP.

The Pretenders lost two of the original members, yet the Pretenders still lived because of Chrissie Hynde, though a bit diminished I'll admit.

The Stones were still largely the Stones after the death of Brian Jones, but I know some will argue that point, and I agree it's debatable. But without Mick Jagger? Forget it.

Sometimes musicians come together and magic happens. The right people at the right time in history cross paths and they create something above and beyond the sum of their parts at a time the public is ready to embrace it. We've all seen it and heard it and loved it many, many times. But it's not explainable and can't be calculated. It just happens. And without the special ingredients coming together at the right time, it's just a lame cover band. Some of those parts are very special, and cannot be replaced. And shouldn't.

Art is creation, art is magic. Art is born from struggle and suffering. When your band dies, mourn it and bury it. Then go out and start a new band, with a NEW name and a new soul and make magic happen again.

Friday's Shows That Matter

Friday, October 30, 2009

• Living Colour at Highline Ballroom
• Dethklok, Mastodon, Converge and High On Fire at Hammerstein Ballroom
• Steven Wright at Wellmont Theatre
• Cypress Hill at Nokia Theatre
• Get Up Kids and Kevin Devine at Gramercy Theatre
• Pinback and Obits at Irving Plaza
• Misfits at Starland Ballroom
• Robert Earl Keen, Todd Snider and Bruce Robison at Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown NY
• Splintered Sunlight and Newton Crosby at Stone Pony
• Stringbean & The Stalkers at Old Man Rafferty's
• A Fine Frenzy at World Cafe Live, Philly
• Pat Dinizio (of The Smithereens) Halloween Bash at Strand Theatre
• Doughboys at Watchung Arts Center, Watchung (18 Stirling Rd)

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Thursday's Shows That Matter

Thursday, October 29, 2009

• Keb Mo and Kristina Train at Count Basie Theatre
• Hooters at BB King's
• Robert Earl Keen, Todd Snider and Bruce Robison at Town Hall
• Blackmore's Night at Irving Plaza
• Hollywood Undead, Atreyu, Escape The Fate and Sleeping at Roseland Ballroom
• Snoop Dogg and Method Man & Redman at Nokia Theatre

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Wednesday's Shows That Matter

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

• Chad & Jeremy at BB King's
• Julio Iglesias at Count Basie Theatre
• Raise The Roof: A Benefit For The Northside Town Community & Cultural Center w, Charles Bissell (of The Wrens), They Might Be Giants and Nada Surf (acoustic) at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Bklyn
• Snoop Dogg and Method Man & Redman at Starland Ballroom
• A Fine Frenzy and Among The Oak And Ash at Gramercy Theatre
• Jay Farrar (of Son Volt) and Benjamin Gibbard (of Death Cab For Cutie) at Webster Hall
• Sunday Blues, No Wine For Kittens and more at The Saint
• Today The Moon, Tommorow The Sun, No Wine For Kittens, Sunday Blues, Alana Amram and Anjelia & The Boy at The Saint
• Lenny Kravitz at Irving Plaza (RESCHEDULED FROM OCT 15)

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Tuesday's Shows That Matter

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

• Guy Clark and Elizabeth Cook at BB King's
• Vic Chesnutt Band (feat Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion), Godspeed you! black emperor, Witchies and Clare & The Reasons at Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Bklyn
• Cartel and Roadrunner at Gramercy Theatre
• Australian Pink Floyd at Hammerstein Ballroom
• Used and Almost at Roseland Ballroom
• Krashkarma at The Saint

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Monday's Shows That Matter

Monday, October 26, 2009

• Brian Wilson at Count Basie Theatre
• Vic Chesnutt Band (feat Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion), Godspeed you! black emperor, Witchies and Clare & The Reasons at Bowery Ballroom
• Steve Morse Band at BB King's

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

20th Anniversary: Nirvana's "Bleach"

I can say I played Nirvana before "Smells Like Teen Spirit", but honestly not by much - I managed to completely miss the boat on "Bleach", but played the hell out of the "Sliver" single when it came out. Even so, sales of 40,000 on "Bleach"'s original release is nothing to sneeze at; it's almost certainly what made Geffen Records stand up, take notice, and sign those callow lads. They probably also didn't realize they were signing two geniuses (Cobain was a savant; Grohl clearly wound up far more in control of his destiny.)

All of this is prelude to the PR boilerplate for the release of the 20th Anniversary edition, featuring (as you might suspect) some never-before-heard things. Sub Pop's putting this puppy out on white vinyl, just like the original first pressing, and as you know, I'm a sucker for classic vinyl. Here's the scoop:

Marking the 20th Anniversary of Nirvana?s debut album, Sub Pop will re-issue the Platinum Certified Bleach on November 3, 2009. This expanded CD/double-LP will include a never-before-released live performance, special packaging and the first run of the double-LP will be on 180g white vinyl (the first run of the original LP was also on white vinyl).

Originally recorded over three sessions with producer Jack Endino at Seattle?s Reciprocal Recording Studios in December 1988 and January 1989, Bleach was released in June of ?89 and remains unequivocally/unsurprisingly Sub Pop?s very favorite Nirvana full-length. The album initially sold 40,000 copies, but was brought into the international spotlight following the release and worldwide success of their 1991 sophomore effort, Nevermind. Subsequently Bleach went on to sell 1.7 million copies in the US alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan. This 20th Anniversary Edition has been re-mastered from the original tapes at Sterling Sound in a session overseen by producer Jack Endino.

This edition will include an unreleased live recording of a complete February 9th, 1990 show at the Pine Street Theatre in Portland, Oregon. The show features performances of ?Love Buzz,? ?About a Girl? and a cover of The Vaselines? song ?Molly?s Lips? and has been re-mixed from the original tapes by Endino (complete track listing below). A 52-page CD /16-page LP booklet which includes candid photos of the band not previously released to the public will also be included in this deluxe edition.

So there you have it - interested parties may want to take advantage of these links for the 2-LP Vinyl and the standard CD release (both of which lead to Amazon.com, and for which they kick us back a bit, so go for it...)

Altrok Radio Music Update #244

Firstly, the important stuff:

Altrok Radio is at http://www.altrokradio.com

Please remember to tune in whenever you can - every hour you listen turns into more visibility for the station; we show up higher in search listings, and such like that. And if you'd like to help us keep the stream running, check out the advertisers here on our page if they appeal to you; your interest actually helps fund us.

And in the interest of keeping you interested...well, you *do* know about our daily retro feature, right? No? Well...

ALTROK'S DAILY RETRO

Two Hours of Classic Alternative

WEEKDAYS, 11:30a-1:30p EASTERN

Now then, we've got songs to let you know about...

This week, our Grinders (the stuff we play heavily) include music from:

• Nouvelle Vague
• Sky Larkin
• Metronomy
• Screaming Lights
• White Belt Yellow Tag
• Kasabian

Plus we've got newly-added music:

• Ian Brown - Stellify
• Dinosaur Pile-Up - Summer Hit Single
• Editors - Papillon
• The Enemy - Be Somebody
• Enter Shikari - No Sleep Tonight
• Esben And The Witch - Marching Song
• Exlovers - You Forget So Easily
• LoveLikeFire - Boredom
• The Phenomenal Handclap Band - You'll Disappear (Munk Remix)
• Teitur - The Girl I Don't Know
• The Twang - Barney Rubble
• Vampire Weekend - Horchata
• The Very Best - Warm Heart Of Africa
• Weezer - (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
• The Xx - Basic Space

Our Featured Classics:

• Balaam And The Angel - I'll Show You Something Special
• Big Audio Dynamite - The Bottom Line
• The Dream Syndicate - Tell Me When It's Over
• Gang Of Four - Not Great Men
• The Gun Club - Sex Beat
• Jesus Jones - Info-Freako
• Tommy Keene - Back to Zero Now
• The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
  
• Shriekback - Lined Up

And don't forget the New Brunswick Underground night, every Saturday at The Corner Tavern in New Brunswick, where Drew and IronMike keep you dancing with the most advanced playlist this side of the Atlantic (and where, occasionally, yours truly might show up and spin a coupla tracks...ya never know.)

Sean Carolan
Altrok Radio
On your computer now at http://www.altrokradio.com
On the radio Fridays at 10pm, at 90.5 The Night

Monday's Shows That Matter

Monday, October 19, 2009

• Bob Weir & Ratdog at Grand Ballroom/Manhattan Center
• Soulfly, Prong and Cattle Decapitation at Gramercy Theatre

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Oh, Yeah - PLEDGE!

90.5 The Night makes lots of good things happen musically for the folks who'd otherwise have no use for their radios...so why not help them make their pledge goals?

Head on over to their site and become a member, fork over a donation, get a nice tcotchke, and reap the tangible benefits of having good radio in a terrible radio world.

Altrok's FM Showcase #244 Preview

The Altrok Radio FM Showcase once again holds forth tonight at 11pm Eastern (remember, that's a new time) at 90.5 The Night.

There's an Editors track that will refuse to let you go, Ian Brown (who some might remember from a little band called The Stone Roses), and Esben And The Witch (who are exactly perfect for the time of year.) Plus new Vampire Weekend, Weezer, and the last band Factory's Tony Wilson ever signed.

There's also classic tracks...after all, who else is playing Balaam & The Angel these days? Plus Dream Syndicate, The Only Ones and Tommy Keene, and the 2003 permutation of Gang Of Four (hope to hear more from them again soon) and Jesus Jones...no, not that song, something different.

Tune in and get an update of your own...

The Altrok Radio FM Showcase
Fridays, 11PM-1AM Eastern
90.5 FM in Central NJ
90.5thenight.org worldwide

Friday's Shows That Matter

Friday, October 16, 2009

• Al Green at BB King's
• America at Nokia Theatre
• Horrors at Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Bklyn
• God Dethroned at Gramercy Theatre
• Bob Weir & Ratdog at Tower Theater, Philly
• Chromeo at Irving Plaza
• Airborne Toxic Event at Webster Hall
• Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers and Carbon Leaf at World Cafe Live, Philly
• Galactic at Brooklyn Bowl
• Colbie Caillat and Howie Day at Roseland Ballroom
• Sunset Rubdown at Grand Ballroom/Manhatta Center
• Sea Wolf at Union Hall, Bklyn
• Paramore at Wellmont Theatre
• Jersey Shore Rock-N-Soul Revue: "One Hit Wonders" at Count Basie Theatre
• Type O Negative at Starland Ballroom
• Steve Morse Band, Mike Montrey Band and more at Stone Pony
• Gaslight Anthem and Jesse Malin at Brooklyn Bowl
• Steve Reilly at Old Man Rafferty's
• Winterpills at Record Collector, Bordentown
• Moonalice at Sullivan Hall
• Bonerama at Sullivan Hall

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Thursday's Shows That Matter

Thursday, October 15, 2009

• Bacon Brothers at BB King's
• Airborne Toxic Event at Webster Hall
• Soulive at Bowery Ballroom
• Built To Spill at Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Bklyn
• Galactic at Brooklyn Bowl
• Gaslight Anthem, Jesse Malin and Broadway Calls at Terminal 5
• Minus The Bear at Gramercy Theatre
• Them Crooked Vultures at Roseland Ballroom
• Lenny Kravitz at Irving Plaza
• Melody Gardot at Highline Ballroom
• Langhorne Slim at Bell House, Bklyn
• Galactic at Brooklyn Bowl

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Wednesday's Shows That Matter

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

• Daniel Johnston at Highline Ballroom
• Built To Spill at Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Bklyn
• Raveonettes and Black Angles at Webster Hall
• Regina Spektor and Jupiter One at Radio City Music Hall
• Nick Lowe at City Winery
• Zap Mama at Hiro Ballroom
• Chris Barron & friends at Sullivan Hall
• Erin McKeown and Jill Sobule at Union Hall, Bklyn
• Blood Sweat & Tears at Tarrytown Music Hall, Tarrytown NY
• Lenny Kravitz at Irving Plaza

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

102.7 HD2 Is Now "Last.fm Discover"

CBS Radio bought Last.fm a while back; I figured it was only a matter of time before they attempted to turn the brand into something that makes sense on radio.

Well, that time has come...while the WNEW.com automated stream continues on the Internet, the Last.fm Discover station has found a home at 102.7 HD2 in New York.

Okay, it's interesting. Join the group, make suggestions, the station grows. Except this particular stream goes out over the radio.

So far, the remix of Franz Ferdinand's "Lucid Dreams" made my head turn, and they're playing some Muse now (which makes some folks happy, I suppose.)

Better than K-Rock at 92.3 HD2, so far...I'll keep you posted. (Let's see if I add anything to the mix when I join the group...)

Today's Shows That Matter

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

• Ian Anderson plays the acoustic Jethro Tull at Beacon Theatre
• Kylie Minogue at Hammerstein Ballroom
• Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at Wachovia Spectrum, Philly
• Built To Spill at Webster Hall
• Nick Lowe at City Winery
• Clem Snide at Mercury Lounge
• Krashkarma at The Saint

For more on the next four weeks of shows:

• Click here for the list of shows
• or here for the artists that are playing
• or here for all the venues that are doing shows.

Get Yer Mojo Free!

Normally, I point you at Amazon.com because I want you to buy something there - this website, after all, benefits a bit from the meager amounts of filthy lucre that generates.

But today, I'm not doing that. Today, I'm pointing you there because you can get something for free.

A whole lot of something.

Everything Mojo Nixon ever recorded.

For free.

Through that link.

Go there. Get that.

(...and thanks to Boing Boing for bringing it to my attention.)

UPDATE: Yes, it includes his stuff with Skid Roper.

Altrok Radio Music Update #243

Firstly, the important stuff:

Altrok Radio is at http://www.altrokradio.com

Please remember to tune in whenever you can - every hour you listen turns into more visibility for the station; we show up higher in search listings, and such like that. And if you'd like to help us keep the stream running, check out the advertisers if they appeal to you; your interest actually helps fund us.

And in the interest of keeping you interested...well, you *do* know about our daily retro feature, right? No? Well...

ALTROK'S DAILY RETRO

WEEKDAYS, 11:30a-1:30p EASTERN

Now then, we've got songs to let you know about.

This week, our Grinders (the stuff we play heavily) include music from:

- Spiral Stairs, The
- Boxer Rebellion, The
- Joy Formidable, The
- Casablancas, Julian
- HEALTH
- Zero 7

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- Answering Machine, The - Oklahoma - Another City, Another Sorry
- Bat For Lashes - Sleep Alone - Two Suns
- Bombay Bicycle Club - Magnet - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
- Bravery, The - Slow Poison - Stir The Blood
- Burn The Negative - Low - In The Atmosphere
- Gent, Mike - Feeling Sound Yet - The Name Of This Record Is Mike Gent
- Haunts - Love Is Blind - Haunts
- Kasabian - Underdog - The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum
- Middleton, Malcolm - Zero - Waxing Gibbous
- Music Go Music - Warm In The Shadows - Warm In The Shadows [EP]
- Rumble Strips. The - Daniel - Welcome To The Walk Alone
- Springsteen, Bruce - State Trooper (Trentemøller Mix) - Downloadable Track
- Tigers That Talked - Black Heart, Blue Eyes - Black Heart, Blue Eyes [EP]
- White Belt Yellow Tag - Tell Your Friends (It All Worked Out) - Single

Our Newly-Added Classics:

- Blondie - Atomic - Eat To The Beat
- Bow Wow Wow - C30, C60, C90, Go! - Twelve Original Recordings
- Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Born To Run - Welcome To The Pleasuredome
- Happy Mondays - Step On - Pills, Thrills & Bellyaches
- Havana 3AM - Reach The Rock - Havana 3AM
- New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle - (the best of) New Order
- Richman, Jonathan & The Modern Lovers - Government Center - Roadrunner
- White Stripes, The - Fell In Love With A Girl - White Blood Cells
- Young, Neil - Mr. Soul - Trans

And don't forget the R/SYN Underground night, every Saturday at the Corner Tavern in New Brunswick, where Drew and IronMike keep you dancing with the most advanced playlist this side of the Atlantic (and where, occasionally, yours truly might show up and spin a coupla tracks...ya never know.)

- Sean Carolan
Altrok Radio
On your computer now at http://www.altrokradio.com
On the radio Fridays at 10pm, at 90.5 The Night

Altrok's FM Showcase #243 Preview

The Altrok Radio FM Showcase once again holds forth tonight at 11pm Eastern (remember, that's a new time) at 90.5 The Night.

Bombay Bicycle Club is represented tonight, as are The Bravery and Malcolm Midleton, plus new Kasabian and The Answering Machine. There's also a rather long, interesting and danceable track from Music Go Music that isn't all that far a stretch from Blondie (who, yes, you'll also hear.)

There's also classic tracks from Happy Mondays, New Order and Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers, and the earliest example of a song about music piracy that I know of (and considering it's by Bow Wow Wow, it shouldn't be a surprise that it comes out squarely in favor of it.) You'll even hear some Bruce Springsteen...recontextualized, of course.

Tune in and fill yer ears...

The Altrok Radio FM Showcase
Fridays, 11PM-1AM Eastern
90.5 FM in Central NJ
90.5thenight.org worldwide

"URGH! A Music War" DVD!

Yeah, you kinda need this. "URGH! A Music War" is a rosetta stone for the turn-of-the-Eighties crash of the New Wave, and if you don't already know everyone on it, you should. Since the disc isn't so much "being released" as "escaping" courtesy of the manufactured-on-the-fly Warner Archives project (in which Warner Bros. actually does the right thing in making things in their vault available on disc that they couldn't put out otherwise) it could wind up getting pulled at any time, so it makes sense to pony up your twenty smackers now.

Here's a taste...



And now some updates:

Actually, it's about 27 dollars. Forgot about tax and shipping.

Jim Skafish had to pay that 27 dollars, too, which points up an apparent inequity that he highlights at his blog. There's thirty-three bands who appear on the disc, and it appears not a one of them had an inkling this was coming out when it did, nor is there likely any plan for them to get paid for appearing. Which sounds like the standard "artists get the short end of the stick" story.

That said, I think this might be easier to unravel than most. Since Warner Archives is a made-to-order operation where orders are placed through a single website, it's fairly easy (conceptually, at least) to determine exactly how much money this endeavor has made. That pile of money can do two things: it can suggest to artists that weren't interested in signing off on a new release that there's a bit of money to be had if they do, and it can suggest to some itinerant home video producer that there's a bit of money to be had in doing a proper release...especially since Miles Copeland (former IRS Records head and a producer of the original film who also was caught unawares by this DVD release) knows that there's another four-to-five hours of footage from those shows that could be plopped into a very appealing box set.

And between paying some bootlegger $80 and paying WB $20, I'm thinking the latter is the better idea, all things held equal. The latter's cheaper and, while Warner's is pretty big and corporate, the lawyers ultimately know upon whose door to knock. I'll continue to assert my "buy" recommendation.

Video Of The "Touch Yello" Premiere

I'm looking forward to the new Yello album, and it's a kick seeing the Yelloids talking about their work, if for only a couple of minutes...

Altrok Radio Music Update #242

Firstly, the important stuff:

Altrok Radio is at http://www.altrokradio.com

Please remember to tune in whenever you can - every hour you listen turns into more visibility for the station; we show up higher in search listings, and such like that. And if you'd like to help us keep the stream running, check out the advertisers here on our page if they appeal to you; your interest actually helps fund us.

And in the interest of keeping you interested...well, you *do* know about our daily retro feature, right? No? Well...

ALTROK'S DAILY RETRO

Two Hours of Classic Alternative

WEEKDAYS, 11:30a-1:30p EASTERN

Now then, we've got songs to let you know about...and if you should happen to want to buy them, just follow the link (because when you do, it helps us keep Altrok running.)

This week, our Grinders (the stuff we play heavily) include music from:

• Visqueen
• Everything Everything
• Delphic
• The Cribs
• Animal Kingdom
• Echo & The Bunnymen

Plus we've got newly-added music:

• The Big Pink - Too Young to Love
• Cavalier Rose - Tidal Crusher (Free Download!)
  
• The Golden Filter - Thunderbird
• The Joy Formidable - Greyhounds In The Slips (Free Download!)
  
• Metronomy - Do The Right Thing
• Midnight Juggernauts - This New Technology
• Nouvelle Vague - Master And Servant (with Martin Gore)
• The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - Higher Than The Stars
• Sky Larkin - Smarts (Free Download!)
  
• The Spiral Stairs - Maltese T
• The Sweet Serenades - On My Way
• They Came From The Stars (I Saw Them) - Rabbit Seal Monkey
• Zero 7 - Pop Art Blue

Our Newly-Added Classics:

• Beck - Jack-Ass
• Blue Aeroplanes - ...And Stones
• Jesus Jones - Real, Real, Real
• Northside - Take 5
• The Psychedelic Furs - Goodbye
• The Shining - Quicksilver
  
• Talking Heads - Puzzlin' Evidence
• The Woodentops - Good Thing
• Yes - No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed

And don't forget the New Brunswick Underground night, every Saturday at The Corner Tavern in New Brunswick, where Drew and IronMike keep you dancing with the most advanced playlist this side of the Atlantic (and where, occasionally, yours truly might show up and spin a coupla tracks...ya never know.)

Sean Carolan
Altrok Radio
On your computer now at http://www.altrokradio.com
On the radio Fridays at 10pm, at 90.5 The Night

Altrok's FM Showcase #242 Preview

There's much to listen to once again on The Altrok Radio FM Showcase tonight at 11pm Eastern (remember, that's a new time) at 90.5 The Night.

We've pulled a couple of excellent new singles from The Joy Formidable and Sky Larkin, and the nice part is, they can be yours for free from each of the bands' websites. Plus, new Zero 7 and They Came From The Stars (I Saw Them). Not to mention a very interesting special guest with Nouvelle Vague.

There's also classic tracks from The Woodentops, Blue Aeroplanes and Talking Heads, and one track from 2002 by The Shining (an amalgam of ex-patriates from The Verve and The Stone Roses) that flew completely under the radar at that point, but deserves a second listen.

Tune in and fill yer ears...

The Altrok Radio FM Showcase
Fridays, 11PM-1AM Eastern
90.5 FM in Central NJ
90.5thenight.org worldwide

From New York's Streets To The World, Musically

No, I'm not talking about West Side Story...

Tony Fletcher is no stranger to the New Brunswick scene; after all, he and his wife met at the Melody Bar. New Brunswick's scenesters know he's also no stranger to the New York scene, but Tony's inquisitive bent has lead him to wonder about other scenes that have occurred in New York throughout the 20th century, and (what with Tony being an excellent writer and all, certainly when considered in context with his other work, and especially when considered in comparison to my own) how they might be researched and chronicled...

...and that lead to the birth of his formidable book, All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927-77. Tony regards his nearly 500-page work thusly:

"I wanted to write a history of New York City?s many important music scenes, showing not only how they went on to have an effect around the world, but how they related to each other, and how they were each the result of the city?s uniquely shifting demographics. The reality was that it became the most thoroughly detailed, heavily researched, painstakingly written and meticulously edited book I?ve ever penned."

He has rather thoughtfully posted the introduction and an online appendix (what, you just want to read about this stuff? Why not see and hear it, too?) at his iJamming! site (which is otherwise a great place to spend a while, too.)

Yours truly is picking it up; how about you?