RIP MRR

In January, Maximum Rocknroll announced they were calling it quits on the  legendary punk magazine. That is heartbreaking news to the worldwide punk community. Once upon a time before BBS and the Internet, MRR was a lifeline to even the most remote of punk scenes, uniting, inciting, informing, inspiring.

The good news is that MRR will still maintain the archive, likely the largest and most diverse punk audio library on Earth, and the radio show which is still in syndication since Tim's day in the late 1970s and also available as a podcast (subscribe).

More good news is that the Internet Archive hosts a nice collection of about 300 issues of the famous zine—scanned and searchable!

Go now and you can still get the final issues and back issues from Maximum Rocknroll's store to have, hold, and cherish. I have years of my MRRs and still adore and enjoy them. Cheers to all my MRR friends. MRR is dead, long live MRR.

— Katya Oddio

Unlocked Recordings

Revisiting the fun Unlocked Recordings collection at the Internet Archive. The current Music Modernization Act was passed into US law on October 11, 2018. This law helps to preserve and increase public access to early sound recordings.

For more information on this change, see these posts by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Internet Archive, two leading champions of the Internet and information availability for all.

At this time, there are 750 albums from before 1972 in the Unlocked Recordings collection, including artists like Mrs. Miller and Orson Welles, and covering classic pop, old time radio, traditional folk music, and classical performances.

Enjoy spinning some of these classic records you might never have otherwise heard! Cheers to the Internet Archive for bringing these recordings to new ears!

Donate to the EFF and Internet Archive for the good of the whole world and to be one of the cool kids.

You can click this collage to see a full-size image of covers of all 750 current albums in Unlocked Recordings collection.

Field Trip to Atlanta

Y'all wanna roll wit me down to Hotlanta?  Pop in Life In Technicolor Vol. 1 by Spree Wilson and The Flush (Grammy nominated producers for Outkast, Janelle Monae, Little Dragon, RaeKwon, Phantogram, etc.) and you will find yourself immersed in Atlanta, Georgia, USA culture. This concept album recorded at renowned Stankonia Recording Studios is a fun slice of "blazin' hot hip hop and R&B" with crazy Atlanta radio segments leading you from song to song.

Life In Technicolor Vol. 1 liner notes explain that it is inspired by "vivid and feel-good memories of young love and carefree summers during the 'Golden Days' of Atlanta’s bass music scene.... Drawing inspiration from the sounds of legendary bass music pioneers from Kilo Ali, KP & Envy, So So Def Bass All-Stars to Raheem The Dream. This project, self-proclaimed as 'audio artwork' clearly embodies the true essence of fun times and summer love growing up in the city of Atlanta."

Spree Wilson writes, "The reason we started working on this is because we wanted to make a fun project that was influenced by being young in the summer and falling in love. A lot of these ideals stem from my childhood and spending my summers in Atlanta living with my grandmother. This EP owes as much to the city of Atlanta as it does to the people who impacted my life there musically during that time."

The Flush adds, "Crafting the musical soundtrack for the Life In Technicolor EP was nothing short of amazing. Embarking upon this musical journey with Spree Wilson taught us so much about our city (Atlanta), it's culture, and our role in continuing the musical legacy that inspired the creation of this project. We found a great team mate in Spree, and thankfully we were able to successfully articulate his music vision as the sole producers of the Life In Technicolor EP."

The Life In Technicolor EP will transport you to summer days in the South and make you crave soul food! A free fun vacation thanks to Spree Wilson, The Flush, and the whole cast of performers.

Spree Wilson Twitter - Tumbler - Facebook | The Flush Music

Download at AudioMack

Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Music License: assumed all rights reserved

The Trypshop

You probably know Mark Vidler as mashup master "Go Home Productions." He gained a deal of notoriety with those early days of mashups, but Vidler is also a producer, remixer, A/V artist, songwriter, and disc jockey. Here's a snippet from his bio:

Using the thriving UK bootleg scene of 2001 as a starting block, has since gone on to officially produce tracks for all manner of 'legends' in the music business including David Bowie, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Blondie, The Sex Pistols and diverse artists like Gang Of Four, Malcolm Mclaren, Ruts DC, Alicia Keys, Siobhan Fahey, Kasabian, Martha and The Muffins, Plaid and Max Sedgley amongst others

Produced the single "Rebel Never Gets Old" for David Bowie in 2004 - UK Top 45 Singles Chart

Produced Blondie vs The Doors "Rapture Riders" single released in on EMI 2007 - Top 20 Chart hits in Europe / #1 Club Chart US

Produced the first officially cleared and released 'Mash-Up' album "Mashed" for EMI Records in 2007 - UK Top Ten Album Chart

Has produced radio sessions broadcast by Radio 1 / XFM / BBC 6 Music / BBC Radio 4 / BBC Asian Network / Jazz FM / WFMU (NYC) / K-Rock (NYC) / Indie 103 (LA) / Live 105 (SF) / OUI FM (FR)

We finally caught up on listening to one of his projects, Trypshop, a radio program of psychedelia. What a fun trip with the knowledgeable, friendly, and humorous host!

Mark Vidler's Trypshop Radio Show is now back after almost 5 years spent in a Psychedelic haze somewhere between Watford, Northampton and Mars. Visit the new website / facebook page. All new shows will be posted to Soundcloud then archived on the website.

Location: Watford, Hertfordshire, UK

Explore Opera With An Opera Singer

Opera singer Richard Scott explores opera "through the prism of various themes - politics, power, greed, the abominable, magic, lust, comedy" in the Resonance FM radio program (Thursday at 4pm, repeated Friday at 8am) and archived podcast, The Opera Hour.

Resonance104.4 FM is London, England's art radio station.

A platform for sound and radio art, experimental art practice, specialist musics, free speech and deep thought, we broadcast original content from musicians, artists, scientists, instigators, critics and thinkers from London's kaleidoscopic communities. Resonance FM is a challenging model of community media hailed as "the best radio station in the world".

Sample show (seems to be the only one hosted on SoundCloud)

SXSW Comp from NPR

It's SXSW time again, and the web is buzzing with the annual collections promoting the performers appearing at this year's festival, March 8-17.

National Public Radio (NPR) is in on the act this year. Steven Thompson announced this morning:

The Mix: The Austin 100

100 Songs By Artists To Discover At SXSW 2013

It says a lot about SXSW's size and scope that this "sampler" of the annual music festival spans six and a half hours, but here we are: 100 songs by 100 artists worth discovering at this year's big event.

Handpicked from among thousands of artists, this genre-traversing playlist picks highlights, discoveries and future thrills from this year's festival — and, for the next 30 days, it's available for free download in its entirety, as one 813 MB zip file, right here. Of course, for those without that much hard-drive space, you can download each song individually, as well as stream The Austin 100 on this page and through NPR Music's various mobile devices.

Come back to NPR.org/SXSW for live showcases, photos, videos and podcasts from this year's festival. On March 13, starting at 8:45 p.m. ET, we'll present a live broadcast from Stubb's in Austin, featuring Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Cafe Tacvba, Alt-J, Youth Lagoon, Waxahatchee and Le1f. Information on how to enter for tickets is at SXSW.com. On March 14, NPR's Alt.Latino presents a free SXSW showcase at Auditorium Shores with Cafe Tacvba, Molotov and Bajofondo. Doors are at 5 p.m. ET. We'll be recording the show, so check for highlights later.

We still have more SXSW coverage to announce. Follow @nprmusic for details and updates.

Paper Tape Archives

Vince Long in Montana owns the Paper Tape Archives, a collection of radio program recordings created by a Montana man from the late '40s into the '50s. It was a time when big band performances were broadcast across the country on long waves from swanky hotels, night clubs, dance halls, restaurants, and even skyscraper rooftops. Paper Tape Archives shares those recordings, and Mr. Long writes:

Just as the amateur photographer uses the camera to capture that visual moment in time which holds a special meaning, the home recorder has used various audio devices to grab audible slices of history for repeated listenings. While many home recorders did not look at preservation as their mission, some of their work has outlived them and makes up an interesting tapestry of sounds depicting American life in ways only audio recordings can.

      The recordings featured on this web page originated in Billings, Montana and were made by a gentleman who started his fascination with sound recording using a Webster Chicago Model 80 wire recorder. In 1947-48 he acquired the first commercially available tape recorder, the Brush BK-401, and filled several hundred reels of tape with the sounds of family, friends, and radio broadcasts.

      While the family recordings will remain in private hands, tapes of over-the-air broadcasts and a few non-broadcast recordings from local events are included in this collection. For many of the recordings, the original dates are included, however, many are undated. The bulk of these tapes were made between 1947 and 1953.

WFMU After the Storm

Frankenstorm knocked out both WFMU transmitters. The station is streaming online again, but there is studio damage. The storm also knocked a strong source of revenue for the station off the calendar, The WFMU Record Fair*. The station stands to lose a huge amount of money that it has already invested in and would have earned through the fair. These and additional damages will hurt the world's greatest freeform radio station. Please help.

Latest news as of this post:

"WFMU is streaming online from our damaged studios in Jersey City! Both our transmitters are still of the air, but our streams, our website, archives and silent fundraiser are all up and working double. The Storm took out power at our studios and BOTH our 91.1 and 90.1 FM transmitters, and thankfully electricity was recently restored to our Jersey City studio, where large amounts of electrical damage took place. As soon as power is restored and damage can be ascertained at 91.1 & 90.1 FM we will be back on the air as well. We are trying to locate all of our staff members, some of whom suffered substantial damage and dislocation but all of whom are safe."

The autumn fundraiser fell short this year, too, so please protect this important leader in independent, freeform radio. Thank you.



* The WFMU Record Fair is cancelled, because the Metropolitan Pavilion has no power and does not expect any until Saturday at best. The trans-Hudson PATH will be closed, and MTA and the Holland Tunnel are also not expected to be fully operational this weekend.

Creative Commons Music Podcasts

We have shared our favorite podcast manager and about 120 of our favorite podcasts. Here now are some music podcasts featuring Creative Commons licensed music in a list compiled by the Creative Commons. Asterisks indicate those we love and know well.

Original photo by D Sharon Pruitt, modified by Katya Oddio, license: CC by 2.0, and used for the Ten Tracks to Sync // Oddio Overplay mixes

gPodder Is a Life Changer

gPodder downloads and manages free audio and video content, also known as podcasts, on any subject you can imagine. When subject experts share their years of acquired knowledge in a book or an interview, you gain some of that hard-earned knowledge in only the time it takes to read, watch, or listen. That can be a real life changer!

Using gPodder, you can find, download, and then listen or watch directly on your computer or on your mobile devices. gPodder supports RSS, Atom, YouTube, Soundcloud, Vimeo, and XSPF feeds. gPodder can also import your existing subscriptions from iTunes or from an OPML file.

gPodder is available for Linux, FreeBSD, Windows, Mac OS X and mobile devices, like the Nokia N810, N900 and N9.

The Oddio Team have used gPodder for six years, and have only the best reviews. 

• We love how it can be set to automatically download new audio books, radio shows, and lectures. Then after we have listened to them, gPodder can mark them as old or delete them. 

• We love the episode details window that gives synopses of audio and video content.

• We love how gPodder lets us set up custom file names, like Name of Show - Episode Number - Title - Broadcast Date. This makes browsing files on devices much more convenient.

• We love that we can stream shows we are not sure about to preview them before downloading.

• We love how gPodder syncs up with mobile devices, replacing old content with new content. We always have fresh content!

We just love gPodder! It is free, open source, and works in most operating systems, so give it a go and feed your brain!

Download gPodder for Various Devices and Operating Systems

Next week, the Oddbots will share some of the audiobooks and podcasts they enjoy.

Free Music in Exchange for a Good Deed

America’s unique public broadcasting system, PBS, is a collaboration of 1,300 local non-commercial radio and television stations across the nation. These stations meet the standards of and are supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Working together and with hundreds of national and local content producers (like PRI, Pacifica, NPR) and community partners, they ensure that Americans have universal access to high-quality, non-commercial programming.

PBS is broadcasting BY the people FOR the people without commercial backing, so Americans have their own voice.

In the United States, public broadcasting is decentralized and is not government operated, but does receive some government support. Thanks to Americans who communicated with their Congressional representatives, the majority of federal funding for public broadcasting was preserved during the 2011 budget debate.

American PBS is:

Public broadcasting is local. Stations are locally licensed and governed, locally programmed, and locally staffed. In many rural areas, public broadcasting is the only source of free local, national and international news, public affairs, and cultural programming.

Public broadcasting supports lifelong learning for all Americans. Investments in children’s educational, cultural, public affairs and news programming, digital classroom resources, teacher training, and distance learning have made public broadcasting a leader in lifelong learning.

Public broadcasting engages more than half of all Americans every month. 170 million Americans connect through 368 public television stations, 934 public radio stations, hundreds of online services, and in-person events and activities(1).

Public broadcasting is a great investment. Unlike public broadcasting systems throughout the world, America’s public broadcasters do not rely upon the government as their primary source of funding(2). On average, federal funding amounts to less than 14 percent of a station’s budget, with the remaining 86 percent coming from local sources(3).

Public broadcasting is one of the most effective public/private partnerships in America. Annual federal funding amounts to only $1.35 per American and is leveraged by local stations to raise six times that amount from other sources.

Public broadcasting reflects the values of viewers and listeners, not advertisers. America has tremendous diversity of broadcasting outlets, but only public broadcasting is commercial free. This is one reason why public broadcasting is so highly trusted by the American people.

Public broadcasting is more important than ever: The rapidly changing media environment is making public broadcasting more and more vital as a source of unbiased news, local cultural programming, and non-commercial educational programs designed to enhance the quality of life of our local communities. Public broadcasting is a source of children’s programming, public affairs, music, and culture information that is often not provided by other sources.

Public broadcasting strengthens our democratic republic. The free flow of ideas and debate helps us participate in the political process as informed citizens.

Public broadcasting provides vital programming for parents and children. While certainly there are other media options for parents and children, only public broadcasting offers children’s programming free from commercial considerations. Public broadcasting has the best interests of children as its sole objective. This is one reason why parents and teachers trust public broadcasting, and why maintaining our public broadcasting system is so important.

Public Media Embraces the Digital Future. Public broadcasting content is now available through broadcast, cable, satellite, satellite radio, the Internet, and wireless devices. Public broadcasting is committed to a multi-platform presence, to be available anywhere at anytime to the public it serves. Local stations partner with museums, libraries and other community organizations to make great content available to the public for free on mobile devices and online. They are teaming up with start-ups and innovators to break new ground in educational and informational materials.

(1) SOURCE: http://170millionamericans.org/numbers

(2) However, this federal support is critical seed money for local stations which leverage each federal dollar to raise over six more dollars from local sources in order to provide the American public with the highest quality programming and services.

(3) SOURCE: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting Revenue, September 2009

As a token of gratitude for participating in the 2011 campaign, 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting and Anti- Records have released RAISE YOUR VOICE!, 16 free tracks from great musicians – available only to advocates for public broadcasting for a limited time.

RAISE YOUR VOICE! features artists who love public broadcasting and want to give back, including: Tom Waits, Wilco, Neko Case, Booker T. Jones, Man Man, Frank Turner, Mavis Staples, Jolie Holland, William Elliott Whitmore, Tinariwen, Lost in the Trees, Sean Rowe, Dr. Dog, Joe Henry, Marketa Irglova and Devotchka.

PLEASE JOIN ODDIO OVERPLAY IN SUPPORTING THIS IMPORTANT CAUSE!
How to Download the Album:

1. Join the campaign and take action online at 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting.


2. Then visit RYVoice.org and enter your contact information – then follow the downloading instructions on your screen.


3. Invite your friends through Facebook and Twitter to join our campaign and download their free album as well! The 2012 budget debate in Washington will be a tough fight, and we need as many advocates to join us in support of public broadcasting.

Please take a few minutes from your day to be a part of the 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting campaign to support a strong public media in America. Thank you.

Legends at 90

Two remarkable gentleman have turned 90 this year. Both are recording artists, both are longtime radio hosts. Both are legends.

OSCAR BRAND. Folk music legend Oscar Brand turned 90 in February. He has written more than 300 songs, recorded 90 albums, composed for broadway and film, is a musicologist, playwright, best-selling author, and teacher. Brand is also a founder and curator of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Brand has hosted the "Folksong Festival" program for 65 years, an incredible run that has put him in the Guinness Book of World Records. The show has made him one of the most beloved figures in folk music in North America. February 7th, it was Oscar Brand's 90th birthday. He joined Michael Wright of the CBC Radio program "The Sunday Edition" from their New York studio.

Enjoy the interview here. Oscar Brand appears in the intro and then the interview begins at 9 minutes.

KEN NORDINE. Beat jazz voice legend Ken Nordine reached his own 90th birthday milestone on April 13th. The man behind the Word Jazz albums and radio program and countless commercials, he has an unmistakable, instantly recognizable voice. Nordine has been a radio personality since the 1940s and a recording artist and distinctive voiceover artist since the 1950s.

WBEZ’s Steve Edwards visited Ken Nordine's studio to speak with him about his life and career. Enjoy the video here and download an audio excerpt here with segments not in the video, such as how his mother's religion led him to performing in radio.

These men are actively recording and performing and have lost none of their relevance and charm. You will want to add their radio shows to your regular listening. Brand and Nordine are still at the top of their game. All the better for us!

Happy Birthday!

Charlie Lewis Returns Today Only

Katya here with some fun news! Charlie Lewis, one of my all-time favorite WFMU DJs, returns to WFMU for one show this morning. He is filling in for Ken from 9 AM to noon (EST). This is Charlie's first time back on the air at WFMU since leaving the NYC metro area over two and a half years ago.

You can listen live through WFMU. The show will also be archived in both Charlie's WFMU show archives and in his Being Slowly Nowhere archives. [You can bet that I'll be there chatting, so please do say hello!]

There will be no "Busy Doing Nothing" show this Thursday on his current station WVEW.

Some of you in the know will remember Charlie and pal Todd's childhood antics with a tape recorder on Comfort Stand Recordings. If you haven't heard those gems, give yourself a treat and a giggle by streaming or downloading Party Fun With Recorders. (more from Charlie at Comfort Stand)

UPDATE: THAT WAS A FUN SHOW!! Enjoy it again here:
http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/36106

An Afternoon of Blossom

Spent a lovely afternoon listing to Blossom Dearie. Here is Monica's tribute show to Blossom.

Audio Letters from the Remote Operator

The Remote Operator (of Shirley and Spinoza Radio, The Royal Oculus and Gramophone Company, and other mindblowers) has sent audio letters from eastern China where he has been operating for a few years. Originally returning to his location in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China in 2006, he has since moved east into China proper. His letters/ broadcasts reflect the "East Side" relocation.

As ever, his letter home broadcasts are true audio field trips. Put yourself on location, escape, let the audio take you there. Enjoy!

Highly recommended.

Radio News

Busy Doing Nothing radio program has a new timeslot, and here are two more shows you won't want to miss!





Busy Doing Nothing
Host: Charlie Lewis, WFMU veteran DJ
Genre: freeform
Time: Thursdays 6-8PM EST (3-5PM PST)
Station: WVEW-LP 107.7 FM, Brattleboro, Vermont
Listen Live - Playlists and Download Archives

The Sugar Shack
Host: the stylin' DJ Jimmy Bee
Genre: classic soul
Time: Sundays 10AM-Noon EST (7-9AM PST)
Station: Vibe 105.3 FM, Boston, Mass.
Listen Live - MySpace

Surface Noise
Host: the glamourous DJ Lounge Laura
Genre: 1980s punk and new wave classics
Time: Wednesdays 11PM-1AM EST (8-10PM PST)
Station: WMNF 88.5 FM, Florida
Listen Live - Playlists and Archives - MySpace




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Charie Returns, Busy Doing Nothing

UPDATE: New day and time for show:

Busy Doing Nothing
Host: Charlie Lewis, WFMU veteran DJ
Genre: freeform ecstasy
Time: Thursdays 6-8PM EST (3-5PM PST)
Station: WVEW-LP 107.7 FM, Brattleboro, Vermont
Listen Live - Playlists and Download Archives

As of April 2008, freeform DJ Charlie (veteran WFMU DJ, member of Chuck and Danny, Comfortstand contributor and so on) is hosting a weekly radio show, entitled Busy Doing Nothing, Fridays from 2 to 4 pm (Eastern Time) on WVEW-LP, Brattleboro, Vermont -- 107.7 on the FM radio dial, and streaming online (link is good for Winamp and iTunes). He writes:

"If you were familiar with my radio show on WFMU, you can expect more of the same: a freeform conglomeration of sounds, songs, and digressions.... The title of the program comes from a song by the Beach Boys (really just Brian Wilson) called 'Busy Doin' Nothin'.'"

Happy 50th Birthday, WFMU!

"Hands down, WFMU is the greatest radio station on the planet."
--Jim Jarmusch, American filmmaker

listen now!

from the station manager...

WFMU a remarkable, unique institution that reminds people why they loved radio in the first place. As we approach the 50th anniversary of our first broadcast (April 24, 1958), we're most excited about the next fifty years, and especially about the next five.

That's why I'm writing to ask you to support WFMU's 50th Anniversary Fundraising Marathon with a tax deductible contribution. A lot hangs in the balance for us this year, including two incredible opportunities which I hope you'll help us fulfill.
First, the FCC, in its divine wisdom has granted WFMU permission to build a booster FM antenna in Manhattan. This could finally give WFMU the coverage that our broadcast license has long promised but which local geography and buildings have always denied us. The booster antenna could greatly improve FM reception in all of New York City, as well as Hudson County. But the booster will cost us over $100,000, and this tantalizing possibility comes at a time when our finances are falling short of covering our present operations.
Our second project for 2008 concerns the growing problem of exorbitant music industry royalties for playing music on the web. To address this issue, we're spending more time getting permission from independent artists and labels for the right to broadcast their material without risking bankruptcy. Later this year, WFMU will launch a new website called the Free Music Archive which will act as an unrestricted online goldmine of music, and also as a licensing collective to combat recent efforts by the record industry to tax webcasters (and eventually broadcasters) dry.
These are both ambitious ideas, but they're also essential to WFMU's long term health. Whether we can carry them out is up to you, and will be decided by the outcome of our 2008 Marathon, our annual fundraising festival that will not only help us realize these opportunities, but also fund the station for another year.
That's why we have a lofty goal for our Golden Anniversary Marathon--raising One Million Dollars (as measured in Australian Dollars, or Aussies).
If you're new to our unique brand of fundraising, these pages lays it all out, where you'll find info on this year's swag, our 2008 DJ tag-teams, and the return of the WFMU Marathon Map! You'll also find the various ways to pledge, special appeals to our most dedicated listeners, and this year's line of handcrafted DJ premiums.
... Check out the available items and fixtures awaiting your generous attention at wfmu.org/adopt. Early pledges really help, especially now when our financial engine is running on fumes.
So please join us from from February 25th to March 9th, either by making a donation online, or by giving us a call during the Marathon at 800-989-9368.
Don't forget--donations made to WFMU are not only tax deductible (in the U.S.), but any time spent listening to WFMU is redeemable at the end of your life, and that's an offer that's good worldwide.
Hope we'll hear from you during our 50th Anniversary Marathon!

-- Ken Freedman
(Send e-mail)

The Sugar Shack

The Sugar Shack re-opens on Vibe 105.3FM

Boston on Sundays
10AM - 12 Noon EST

Sweet Symphonic Soul
1968 - 1982 (+ or -)

On the web at http://www.vibe1053.com

Break-Up Song Contest Winners

The Chicago Public Radio's THIS AMERICAN LIFE program ran a song contest about breaking up.

Check out the Break-Up Song Contest winners.

For "Episode 339: Break-Up," TAL contributor Starlee Kine, along with musicians Joe McGinty and Julia Greenberg, wrote their own break-up song, "The Three of Us." The song changed dramatically depending on how it was mixed. Witness: the slower, sparer version we played in the show vs. a happier, poppier version. Julia's vocals are the same in both versions; it's just Joe's arrangement that changed.

So we thought it'd be cool to have a remix contest to see what you would do with the song. We also thought we'd be lucky to get a handful of entries. We got 129.

We'll post all 129 entries soon, and thanks to everyone who entered. You all rock!

photo: © P.Winberg

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