radio boise playlist for week of 03/26/07 - NOTE: APRIL 1st HAS BEEN CANCELLED THIS YEAR!!

It's a good thing I happened to glance ahead on my calendar and just happened to notice there's no April 1st this year.

Nobody told me - - did you know this?!?
Something to do with rectifying the discrepancies that occur in our calendar over time. I guess it must also tie in somehow with next year being a DOUBLE leap year - - ? (Whatever that means. I'm still trying to figure out why the 21st century started in 2001 - - !)

Anyway. Long story short, I'm glad I noticed, so I could use this show for a traditional April 1st tribute:

'THE "IN" CROWD VERSUS PUPPET ON A STRING WITH A SIDE ORDER OF POPCORN'

So - - "What the @$#% was going on here, anyway?!" I hear you ask.

'Popcorn' was composed by electronic music pioneer/innovator Gershon Kingsley, and was perhaps the first significant piece of pop music to feature electronic instruments such as the Moog synthesizer. Why anyone would see fit to add lyrics to it remains a mystery, at least to me.

'The "In" Crowd' was composed around 1965 by Billy Page. It's been covered in a plethora of arrangements over the years, versions both instrumental (originally, The Ramsey Lewis Trio) and vocal (originally, Dobie Gray). I've been using it as a theme song for quite a while now. On the radio airwaves since 1993 when I adopted the name (as something of a joke) to be my on-air persona , and prior to that starting in 1985 in a series of mixtapes distributed amongst an 'inner crowd' of friends.

My personal history with 'Puppet On A String' goes back to poring over my Dad's LP collection when I was a kid. Paul Mauriat's 'Blooming Hits' LP was certainly a stand-out, not just for the saucy cover art (as a tyke I was convinced that the lady on the cover was Rita, my Dad's secretary), but for the catchy music.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, 'Puppet On A String' had gained it's notoriety as a prize-winner in 1967's Eurovision Song Contest, as performed by Sandie Shaw.

Growing up in the U.S., I had almost no exposure to the Eurovision phenomena, mostly hearing reference to it as something of a punchline in British humor, notably Monty Python. (If you are similarly afflicted, imagine if 'American Idol' was a global craze going back to the 1950's, celebrated most everywhere on the globe EXCEPT the U.S.)

Having swept the planet via Eurovision, the song was subsequently covered by dozens of artists in as many languages. Curiously, many of them adhered to something close to the original arrangement.

HUGE thanks are due to the amazing Eurocovers blog for doing such a fabulous and painstaking job in documenting this fascinating occurence!

Such is the way of labors of Love.

As always of course: Any questions, comments about the music, hellos, whatever - - please click on that 'email me' link. Thanks!


TITLE / ARTIST / ALBUM (or source)


Popcorn / Hot Butter / Best Of Moog: Electronic Pop Hits From The 60's And 70's

Marionetas En La Cuerda / Alfredo Domenech / Exitos del 67

The "In" Crowd / Petula Clark / I Know A Place

Un tout petit pantin (French) / Marianne Mille / Marianne Mille

The "In" Crowd / The Village Stompers / A Taste Of Honey and Other Goodies

Marioneta (Serbo-Croat/Yugoslavia) / Sanjalice / Lutka na koncu

The "In" Crowd / Karl Swoboda / Dancing Zither

Estou Feliz (Brasil/Portuguese) / Ed Carlos / Ed Carlos

The "In" Crowd / Jack Jones / For The "In" Crowd

Puppet On A String / Sandie Shaw / Simply the best of the 60s

The "In" Crowd / Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra / Today's Great Hits

Loutka (Czech) / Yvonne Přenosilová / Boots!

Pop Corn (English vocal version) / Anarchic System / Anarchic System

In Crowd / The Mamas and The Papas / If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears

Marionetas En La Cuerda (Spanish) / Gloria Lasso / Las Mejores Canciones

The "In" Crowd / Larry Nelson / The "In" Harmonica

Sprellemann (Norwegian) / Benthe Aaseth / Puppet on a string

The In Crowd / Little Bob & The Lollipops / I Got Loaded

Puppet on a String (Jamaican Rock Steady) / Ken Boothe / Mr. Rock Steady

The "In" Crowd / Johnny 'Hammond' Smith / The Soulful Blues

Txoriburuak Sokan (Basque) / Irune ta Andoni Arcoitia / Irune ta Andoni Arcoitia

The "In" Crowd / The Pair / Live! at the Ice House

Puppet On A String (UK Novelty Version) / Cocktail Cabinet / Cocktail Cabinet 45

(I'm In With) The Out Crowd / Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs / The Best Of Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs

Paprikajansci (Hungarian) / Koncz Zsuzsa / Koncz Zsuzsa

Popcorn / Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet / Star Power

Puppet On A String (Mandarin/Singapore) / Lara and the Trailers / EP

The "In" Crowd / Pete Fountain / A Taste Of Honey

Puppet On A String / Sounds Orchestral / Sounds Chartbound

Il giro / Gemelle Kessler / In Crowd

Jodell On A String (Tirol, Austria) / Sepp Viellechner / Jodell

Pop Corn (German vocal version) / Antoine / Antoine 45

Hüpiknukk (Estonian) / Heli Lääts / Eesti Kullafond

The "In" Crowd / Dick Hyman & Harpsichord / Happening!

Boneca Articulada (Portuguese) / Florbela Queiros / Boneca Articulada

The "In" Crowd / Mel Taylor And The Magics / In Action

Fiú Kyssir Mig (Icelandic) / Helena Eyjólfsdóttir / Hvítu Mávar

The "In" Crowd / The Chipmunks / Chipmunks à Go-Go

Ben Senin Kuklan Degilim (Turkish) / Suna Artun / Ben Senin Kuklan Degilim

Popcorn / Crazy Frog / Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits

Lille Marionet (Danish) / Grethe Sønck / Grand Prix Vinder 1967

The "In" Crowd / Jack Fina / More Great Hits In Boogie Woogie

April Fool / Brave Combo / Holidays!

Puppet On A String / Big Hair / Big Hair 45

The In Crowd / Tar / Tar 45

radio boise playlist for week of 03/19/07

Reach for some music and see where it takes you.

Spring is here officially, but the feeling that it's arrived hasn't quite settled in. The weather is nicer and things are just starting to get green, and so the mood has moments of bouncy celebratory goofiness.

But it seems that Winter and it's heavy coat of blues can be hard to shake off all in one go, so the result seems to be a vague, bipolar essence of... what- -

- - Spirited melancholia, perhaps? A hesitant rebirth?

- - Ahh, skip it. Whatever it was, as usual some of it rubbed off onto the musical selections for this show. Hope you enjoyed.

My directive remains the same:
Any questions or comments or suggestions, please feel no hesitation to click that 'Email me' link over to the right, and thanks again for your time and indulgence...



TITLE / ARTIST / ALBUM (or source)


Do The Dirt / The Meters / Cabbage Alley

Obscene & Pornographic Art / Bongwater / Power Of Pussy

Guess Who This Is / Ed's Redeeming Qualities / Big Grapefruit Clean-Up Job

Breaking Stuff / James Kochalka Superstar / Our Most Beloved

Kiss You Again / Melanie Horsnell / Melanie Horsnell

Marlene / Kevin Coyne / Marjory Razorblade

You Don't Know My Mind / Guy Davis / Mali To Memphis

On A Monday / Ry Cooder / Into The Purple Valley

Two Trains / Little Feat / Dixie Chicken

Outlaw / Eugene McDaniels / Outlaw

Meanest Woman / Geoff Muldaur / Blues Boy

Don't Want To Make It Too Funky / Roy Head / White Texas Soul Shouter

Jodie / Rod Stewart / The Mercury Anthology

Grand Ennui / Michael Nesmith & The First National Band / Complete

Hard Lovin' Loser / Judy Collins / In My Life

Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most / Bob Dorough / Right On My Way Home

A Nice Day For Something / Charlie Musselwhite / Tennessee Woman

Song For My Father / Johnny 'Hammond' Smith / The Soulful Blues

Close, No Cigar / Little Jack Melody And His Young Turks / My Charmed Life

Everybody Cryin' Mercy / Mose Allison / Allison Wonderland: Anthology

Laissez-Faire / David Ackles / Another Time, Another Place

What is This Darkness? / Brave Combo / A Night on Earth

La Paloma / The Dead Brothers / Day Of The Dead

Way Down In The Hole / Tom Waits / Franks Wild Years

Glass, Concrete & Stone / David Byrne / Grown Backwards

Der Alte Mercedes (The Old Mercedes) / Jürgen Knieper / Wings Of Desire: Original Soundtrack

Lastima Grande / Glover Gill & Tosca Tango Orchestra / Waking Life

Damn Shame / Jolie Holland / Escondida

My Love For You / The Dirtbombs / If You Don't Already Have A Look

Egg Cream / Lou Reed / Set The Twilight Reeling

McElligot's Pool / Dylan Hears a Who / Dylan Hears a Who

radio boise playlist for week of 03/12/07

Once again I strayed from my usual meanderings to devote an entire show to a single theme.

Last week all the music I programmed was raucous and full of piss and vinegar. Pop music that went against the grain, something more unruly that the norm of the era in which it was produced.

The same was true of the show this week, perhaps the only significant difference being that the music selected was recorded between the years 1928 and 1932.
(Give or take a year or two in a few cases. And okay - - just for giggles, the last 3 tracks are contemporary, recorded by modern bands who've adopted a vintage style)

I suppose it's pretty tame by modern standards, but within the context of the period, if you take, say, Cab Calloway and his orchestra, or Duke Ellington's Jungle Band - - The performances are every bit as frenzied, intense, and innovative as your favorite notorious Garage/Punk/Alt/Psyche/Funk/Grunge combo was in theirs.

Hope you enjoyed it.
Questions, comments, suggestions, etceteras; Don't hesitate to click that 'Email me' link over to the right.
Thanks again!


TITLE / ARTIST / ALBUM (or source)



Kansas City Stomps / Jelly Roll Morton & His Red Hot Peppers / R. Crumb's Heroes Of Blues, Jazz & Country

Memphis Kick-Up / Slim Lamar & His Southerners / Classic Ragtime: Roots And Offshoots

Hum & Strum / "Doc" Cook & His 14 Doctors of Syncopation (vocal by unknown trio) / That's What I Call Sweet Music: American Dance Orchestras of the 1920s

Everybody Loves My Baby / Taylor's Dixie Serenaders / Jazz The World Forgot Volume 1

How Could Red Riding Hood / The Yacht Club Boys / Roaring Twenties

She's Got "It" / Six Jumping Jacks / Volume 2-The Old Masters

Half-Way To Heaven / Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards / Singin' in the Rain

Chasing A Buck / Dick McDonough / Pioneers of the Jazz Guitar

Hell's Bell's And Hallelujah / Joe Venuti And His Blue Four / Jazz In The Thirties

Clowin' The Frets / Los Angeles Biltmore Hotel Trio / Sliding On The Frets

Coffee In The Morning and Kisses at Night / Jim & Bob (The Genial Hawaiians) / Honolulu to Hollywood

Let's Get It / Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra / Squeeze Me: 1929-40 The Jazz and Swing Accordion Story

Then I'll Be Happy / Joséphine Baker / Joséphine Baker

Rhymes / Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians / Fred Waring - Vol 2: The Broadway Years

Crazy Words Crazy Tune / Vaughn DeLeath / Wonderful Nonsense

He's So Unusual / Fred Rich And His Orchestra (with vocal by The Rollickers) / Art Deco: Can't Help Lovin' That Man

Delirium / Red & Miff's Stompers / The Jazz Age: New York In The Twenties

Wall Street Wail / Duke Ellington / The Jungle Band - The Brunswick Era Vol 2 (1929-31)

Come On, Baby / Fred Hall & His Sugar Babies / Fred Hall & His Sugar Babies

Masculine Women! Femine Men! / Irving Kaufman / Wonderful Nonsense

There's A Wah-Wah Girl In Agua Caliente / Isham Jones Orchestra / Volume 1

Honeysuckle Rose / Mildred Bailey And her Alley Cats / The Rockin' Chair Lady (1931 - 1950)

After You've Gone / The California Ramblers / Lost Chords: White Musicians And Their Contribution To Jazz

Etiquette Blues / Mona Motor Oil Twins / Roaring Twenties

Blue Devil Blues / Walter Page's Blue Devils (vocal by Jimmy Rushing) / The Real Kansas City Of The '20s '30s & '40s

Tight Like This / Louis Armstrong / The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings

Makin' Friends / Eddie Condon / 1927-1938

St. James Infirmary / Cab Calloway / 1930-1931

Have To Change Keys To Play These Blues / Lonnie Johnson & Eddie Lang / Pioneers of the Jazz Guitar

Crackerjack / Harry Reser / Banjo Crackerjax 1922-1930

I Got Rhythm / Harold Lem & His Orchestra (with vocal by Smith Ballew) / Art Deco: Can't Help Lovin' That Man

Shuffle Off To Buffalo / The Boswell Sisters with the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra / That's How Rhythm Was Born

Riddle Me This / Abe Lyman / Brother Can You Spare A Dime: Songs Of The Depression

We'll All Go Riding On A Rainbow / Jay Wilbur And His Band / Songs The Bonzo Dog Band Taught Us

White Jazz / Casa Loma Orchestra / Lost Chords: White Musicians And Their Contribution To Jazz

Do Something / Beau Hunks / Saxophone Soctette

There, There, There / Kevin O'Donnell's Quality Six / Heretic Blues

Dora Goes To Town / Andrew Bird's Bowl Of Fire / Oh! The Grandeur!

radio boise playlist for week of 03/05/07

I'm so fortunate: My little show is the perfect place for me to indulge my musical whims.
(maybe you've noticed?)

I get into a variety of moods, wanting to share interesting sounds with all of you. Maybe turn you on to something new, something old you've not yet encountered, or something you didn't remember you remembered.

Sometimes I want to share lovely lilting melodies, or compelling instrumentation, music from different genres, eras, parts of the planet - - all strung together by some common theme or a stream of ideas.

- - And then sometimes I just feel the urge to quickly haul off and blow out a bunch of snot.

This was one of those shows, intended for high volume and plenty of attitude in your demeanor. Hope you enjoyed it!

Remember: Any time you might have a question, comment, or suggestion for an upcoming show, please go ahead and click on the 'email me' link just over to the right. Thanks!



TITLE / ARTIST / ALBUM (or source)


Brazil / Die Zorros / History Of Rock Vol. 7

Hang It Up / BBQ / Tie Your Noose

No Fun / The Black Keys / The Moan [EP]

What Do You Look Like? / Hipbone Slim & The Knee Tremblers / Have Knees Will Tremble

Bomb The Twist / The 5.6.7.8's / Bomb The Twist

Goose-Step Mama / The Rutles / The Rutles

Rompi La Television / Doctor Explosion / El Loco Mundo De Los Jovenes

Rock & Roll / Subincision / Berkeley's Newest Hitmakers

Why / Riviera Playboys / Greatest Hits

How Is The Air Up There? / The La De Da's / How Is The Air Up There? 1966-1967

Light Bulb Blues / Shadows Of Knight / Gloria

Veruca Salt / The Cutters / Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Another Day / Nagg / Nagg

Lipstick / Suzi Quatro / The Wild One: Classic Quatro

Melvin / The Belles / Girls in the Garage Vol. 1

Louie Louie / The Sonics / Here Are The Ultimate Sonics

Rebel Girl / Bikini Kill / The C.D. Version Of The First Two Records

No Dice / Fu Manchu / King Of The Road

Sunshine Superman / Alice Donut / Donut Comes Alive

Just What I Needed / Replicants / Replicants

Jesus Never Lived On Mars / Lee Harvey Oswald Band / A Taste Of Prison

I'm So Free / Lou Reed / Transformer

Wrap It Up / Romeo Void / Warm, In Your Coat

Good Weekend / Art Brut / Bang Bang Rock & Roll

Getting Me Down / Rezillos / Can't Stand the Rezillos: The (Almost) Complete Rezillos

T.V. Light / FM Knives / Useless And Modern

Private Affair / The Saints / Eternally Yours

I've Got Gingivitis / Show Business Giants / Let's Have A Talk With The Dead

I'm Against It / The Ramones / Loud Fast

Fire on the Moon / The BellRays / Grand Fury

Raw Power / The Stooges / Raw Power

Weatherman / Raging Slab / Dynamite Monster Boogie Concert

Grace Alley / Ride The Blinds / Ride The Blinds

Crash Course In Brain Surgery / Budgie / In For The Kill

Garbageman / The Cramps / Off The Bone

Waitress Problem / King Automatic / Automatic Ray

Sugar Buzz / Electrocute / A Tribute To Your Taste

Go! Cool Cat / Pharaoh / Live To Rock

Another Day / The Muffs / The Muffs

Beyond Belief / Elvis Costello & The Attractions / Imperial Bedroom

radio boise playlist for week of 02/26/07

Amongst the other bits and pieces that were floating around within this show, there was a slab of songs that conjured up the image of a bold and foxy woman, large and in charge, alluring and strong.

- - And so it seems only fitting to have dedicated this show to the lovely Pam Grier...

If you have any questions about the music, any suggestions or just a hello, please move your cursor on over to the 'email me' link lurking somewhere to the right-hand side of this page.

Thanks for your time! Thanks for listening!



TITLE / ARTIST / ALBUM (or source)

Front And Center / John Kirby / More 1940-1941

Why Must We Keep On Working ? / Leslie Sarony & Leslie Holmes / The Two Leslies

Forty-Seven Ginger-Headed Sailors / Jack Hylton and His Orchestra with Jack Jackson, Billy Ternent, Chappie d'Amato / 21/09/28

Scented Soap / Gracie Fields / A Hot Pot Party

Skirts / Billy Cotton & His Band / Songs The Bonzo Dog Band Taught Us

It's Only A Paper Moon / The Kenny Drew Trio / Kenny Drew Trio

You Can Count On Me To Do My Part / Mose Allison / Anthology

You Win, I Lose / Little Johnny Taylor / Mo' Mod Jazz

For Mods Only / Chico Hamilton / The Dealer

Yeh-Yeh / Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan (with Coleman Hawkins & Clark Terry) / Live At Newport '63

Diablo's Dance / Shorty Rogers & His Giants / Short Stops

Ye Hypocrite Ye Beelzebub / George Russell Smalltet / Jazz Workshop

Mama Soul / Harold Alexander / Sunshine Man

Hikky-Burr Pt. 1 / Bill Cosby / The Reel Quincy Jones

Sure 'Nuff, Sure 'Nuff / Sonny Philips / The Best Of Acid Jazz

Baby That's What I Need (Walk Tall) / Esther Marrow / Flying Groove

Foxy Girls In Oakland / Rodger Collins / Bay Area Funk

Skinny Legs And All / Tony Joe White / The Complete Monument Recordings

Country Girl / Johnny Otis Show / Cold Shot

Hi-Heel Sneakers/Everybody Needs Somebody to Love / The Faces / Five Guys Walk Into a Bar...

Check Me Out / Little Denise / Bay Area Funk

She May Be White (But She Be Funky) / Howard Tate / Rediscovered

Talkin' 'Bout Me / Moose John / The Legendary DIG Masters - Dig These Blues

In The Open / Freddie King / Hide Away: The Best Of Freddie King

She's Tough / Jerry McCain / Tuff Enuff - The ACE Blues Masters Vol. 3

Sugar Coated Love / Lazy Lester / I'm A Lover Not A Fighter

She Moves Me / Johnny "Guitar" Watson / 3 Hours Past Midnight

This Is All / Screamin' Jay Hawkins / Spellbound! 1955-1974

I Had a Notion / Ike & Tina Turner / The Soul Of Ike And Tina + Dynamite

Shake Your Rump / The Beastie Boys / Paul's Boutique

The Wrong Guide / Spring Heel Jack / Busy Curious Thirsty

Viking 1 / Moondog / The Viking Of Sixth Avenue