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Tuesday, December 26, 2006

2006's Biggest Impacts On Altrok Radio

Here's the bands that made the most impact in 2006 - because they got played more than anyone else - at AltrokRadio.com:

The most:
  • Graham Coxon
  • The Futureheads
  • The Long Blondes
  • The Pigeon Detectives
Followed by:
  • Arctic Monkeys
  • Bromheads Jacket
  • The Church
  • Duels
  • Forward Russia!
  • Little Man Tate
  • The Oohlas
  • The Pipettes
  • The Rifles
  • The Thermals
  • Tokyo Police Club
With an honorable mention for:
  • New Young Pony Club
(Because while they didn't get as much play, we did play everything they released.)

We're compiling the top 100 songs of the year - and it's pretty much a lock that you'll see something from each of these bands on it.

But who's #1? Watch this space...

And Christmas Is OVAH!

And so, starting today and continuing through January 9, we'll be free of our weekly dose of Grinders and playing eight hours each day of the best music we've got in our library, format be damned.

This is not to say we won't be busy, though. We've gotta get our Top Hundred finalized in time for Friday night's broadcast on 90.5 The Night...

All day Friday is Eighties Friday as always, with DJ Shred handling the mid-day festivities, and we'll see if we can coax Ferris O'Brien out on Thursday, too.

So much to do, so much to do...and lots to listen to, too. Take today, for instance...

The 22-20's

A Brand, Actualities, Adam and the Ants, Adam Ant, Joseph Arthur, Asobi Seksu, Autumdivers

Battle, Bauhaus, Big Audio Dynamite, Blondie, The Born Again Floozies, Broadcast, Bromheads Jacket

Camper Van Beethoven, Captain, Neal Casal, The Chemical Brothers, chowchow, The Church, Cold War Kids, Colourfast, Elvis Costello, Graham Coxon, Marshall Crenshaw, The Cure

De Novo Dahl, Dead Disco, The Decemberists, Depeche Mode, The Diggs, The Dresden Dolls, Duels, Dustin's Bar Mitzvah

Eagles Of Death Metal, Mitch Easter, Electrelane, Val Emmich, The English Beat

Faith No More, Fine Young Cannibals, Former Miss America, Forward Russia!

Gang Of Four, Garbage, Giant Sand, The Gossip

Hot Hot Heat, The House Of Love, The Human League

Jihad Jerry And The Evildoers

Tommy Keene, Kenna, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, King

Larrikin Love, The Lemonheads, Little Man Tate, The Long Blondes, The Longcut, The Loud Family And Anton Barbeau

Madness, The Magic Numbers, The Majestic Twelve, Mew, Middle Distance Runner, Mission Of Burma, Morrissey, Moving Units

New Musik, New Order, Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper, The Noisettes

OK Go, The One AM Radio, The Oohlas, The Ordinary Boys, The Organ

Pigeon Detectives, The Pipettes, Pony Up, The Postmarks, Protokoll, Public Image Ltd.

The Ramones, The Replacements, Robbers On High Street, The Roman Numerals

The Sharp Ease, Shut Your Eyes And You'll Burst Into Flames, Silversun Pickups, The Smithereens, Snowden, Something For Rockets, Soundpool, Spoon, Squeeze, The Stevenson Ranch Davidians, The Style Council, The Subjects, Sunnyvale Noise Sub-Element, The Sunshine Underground, Supercreep

Takka Takka, Talking Heads, The Tears, Trembling Blue Stars, Turin Brakes

U2, Ultravox

Vatican DC, Voxtrot

The Waitresses, Peter Walker, The Walkmen, Was (Not Was), We Are Scientists, White Rose Movement, Whitey, The Wonder Stuff, The Woodentops, Steve Wynn

X

The Young Knives, Youth Group

Saturday, December 23, 2006

Christmas Tunes Are In The House...

My house, anyway - perhaps yours as well, if you tune in.

We'll be featuring the positives, the negatives, and the truly sincere and the truly outlandish from the past hundred years of recorded history, with a nice long playlist that'll change each day this weekend.

Plus, on Christmas Day, we'll be running all the Altrok Radio FM Showcases that have run in celebration of Christmases past and present...starting with the latest at 11:30am.

Prepare to be challenged and delighted, as soon as you click the link to connect to Altrok Radio.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Today: Ferris Out Sick, But The Showcase Continues...

Send Ferris O'Brien your well-wishes; as of yesterday, his voice had disappeared (though it may come back in time for his SpyRadio gig tonight at KATT in Oklahoma City at Midnight Central US Time - keep sippin' the honeyed tea, Ferris...) Then I ran out of time to do a fill-in show - Christmas shows actually take a bit longer than planned when they're mostly-previously-unheard-on-Altrok-Radio enterprises.

Fear not, for the FM Showcase featuring this week's new picks is on at it's regular 1:30pm Eastern time slot. Tonight, however, it'll repeat a couple of hours earlier, at 11:00pm Eastern, so you can still have three hours of frothy newness by tuning in to the FM Showcase here on Altrok Radio and then switching over to SpyRadio at 1am Eastern (Midnight Central.)

And what other station ever did that for you?

Of course, tomorrow at 10PM Eastern at 90.5 The Night, we'll have the annual Christmas extravaganza, complete with a lot of the original Christmas tracks that are buzzing about blogland...oh, and Stan Freberg.

Oh, yeah: Happy solstice!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Had Your Reverie Haunted Lately?

No?

Then you're probably due ... especially if that note triggers feelings you first had from 1986 to 1992.

If that's you, clear your calendar for February 10, 2007, starting at 5PM.

And keep watching this space.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Altrok Radio Music Update #141

Altrok Radio is on the air right now, with a new eight-hour playlist every day at 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.

Now then, in addition to the outstanding Altrok Radio music mix that got us an Editor's Pick nod at Live365 and at About.com, we've added features we know you'll like...

Thursdays at 11:30am Eastern, Ferris O'Brien hops aboard the Altrok Radio signal to give you a taste of his approach to the world of alternativity. He's bringing you the overflow from his own SpyRadio showcase at Rock 100.5 The KATT in Oklahoma City, itself the lingering legacy of 105.3 The Spy, a legendary indie station in its own right that disappeared one night. No reason to quit just 'cause the station's gone, right?

Then at 1:30pm Thursday you get to hear me showcase the new stuff we've added this week on the Altrok Radio FM Showcase. New stuff, classic stuff, and Jeff Raspe with his Altrok Radio Underground Pick Of The Week...

And on Friday, it's Altrok's Eighties Friday: music from the eighties that mattered then AND now. An eight hour playlist that features some of the best that decade had to offer, drawing from all the music that was available at the time (yes, even from the seventies.)

As if that weren't enough, Fridays at 11:30am you'll find two hours from DJ Shred's collection of classics and rarities, often as spun live from the booth at Luke & Leroy in the West Village, NYC. You'll be able to join her as she creates her next one at the club:

DJ Shred at Luke & Leroy
Friday, December 29th
10pm-Midnight (maybe earlier if the stars align properly)
21 7th Avenue South (between Carmine & Leroy Sts)
West Village, NYC

But for now - we've got songs to let you know about.

This week, our Grinders (the stuff we play heavily) include music from:
  • chowchow
  • Blesk
  • Neal Casal
  • The Submarines
  • Whitey
  • The Thermals
Plus we've got newly-added music:
  • Babyshambles - The Blinding
  • Bromheads Jacket - Lesley Parlafitt
  • The Cinematics - Break
  • Dead Disco - The Treatment
  • Robyn Hitchcock - Underground Sun (with The Venus Three)
  • Little Thief - See No Light
  • The Maccabees - Precious Time
  • The Perfects - Shipwrecked
  • Phoenix - Consolation Prizes
  • Polytechnic - Fingertips
  • The Rifles - Peace & Quiet
  • The Slip - Children of December
  • Vatican DC - Side To Side
  • VietNam - Welcome To My Room
  • White Rose Movement - Testcard Girl
  • Youth Group - Sorry
This Week's Classic Highlights:
  • Bad Manners - That'll Do Nicely
  • Bow Wow Wow - Do You Wanna Hold Me
  • The Buggles - Clean, Clean
  • Cardigans - My Favorite Game
  • The Clash - Clampdown
  • Radiohead - Idioteque
  • The Replacements - Waitress In The Sky
  • Squirrel Nut Zippers - Put A Lid On It
  • The Stranglers - No More Heroes
  • The Teardrop Explodes - When I Dream
And by the way - Christmas music begins on 12/23! (We don't like to jump the gun 'round here, y'know...)

As always, thanks for listening!

Friday, December 15, 2006

On Eighties Friday: DJ Shred Presents Challenging Rarities

Coming up at 11:30am Eastern, and repeating at 11PM this evening, DJ Shred has pulled out every stop within reach.

Really. The Slits, Klaus Nomi, The Normal...even some jagged prototypical Human League.

This is your chance to enjoy some truly twisted tracks from the Eighties - some of which has yet to
be mined for its seminal goodness; it'll probably take another twenty-odd years.

Will there be any comfort zones? Could be - depends on what you call comfortable.

Tune in and enjoy the ride.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Pierson's Skewed Tube 12/12

no time for luv....

but i found some AMAZING stuff this week on youtube

I will be DJ-ing at The Loop Lounge on Thursday & at The Goldhawk on Friday
(w/ a special live show from The Lost Patrol)

YouTube picks:

1. GLEN CAMPBELL- Guess I'm Dumb

2. BRIAN WILSON- 1976 interview (on Mike Douglas pt 1 of 2)

3. BILL HICKS- Rarity

4. BOB DYLAN & JOHNNY CASH- "Girl From The North Country"

5. ANDY KAUFMAN- on "Fridays" (w/ Michael Richards)

6. JOHAN- "Oceans" (live 2006)

7. BEACH BOYS- "Cool Cool Water" (live 1971)

8. BILL HICKS- on Letterman

9. HAMELL ON TRIAL- "Blood Of The Wolf" (live @ Fez)

10. HAMELL ON TRIAL- "I Hate Your Kid" & "Halfway" (live in Chicago)

11. THE STOOGES- No Fun (Live In Detroit; recently)

Listen to Pat Pierson's "Radio Boy" program
Tuesday, December 12th (today)
east coast: 4pm-6pm
west coast: 1pm-3pm
WRSU-FM
airwaves: 88.7
live streaming: www.wrsu.org (click "listen")

Friday, December 08, 2006

Eighties Friday with More Picks From DJ Lisa Shred

Yep, 'tis that time once again. 11:30am and 11:00pm Eastern for Le Shred's chansons du jour, club-mixed for your partying pleasure, and all our other Eighties picks throughout the day...a total of ten hours of Eighties-fueled madness. For examples, check further down in the blog - busy day today...

You're connecting up, right? (Hint - it's the big Altrok Radio link to the right...)

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Showcase Thursday: Ferris And Sean Discover And Rediscover

Today's roundups are hot off the press; Ferris taps into some advance Bloc Party action, not to mention another fine tune from Rubicks, and Sean pulls up a fine Wombats track, along with something nice from Protokoll. And between us, a little Wire, a little Soft Cell...all at Altrok Radio in CD Quality MP3Pro...

...which'll start right up if you click here.

Listen in, starting with Ferris O'Brien at 11:30am Eastern for two hours, and the Altrok Radio FM Showcase at 1:30pm Eastern. We'll do it all over again at 11pm Eastern.

And if you tune in some other time, that's okay - there's eight other hours of great tracks on today's Altrok Playlist. (There always is - that's us, ol' reliable.)

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Radio Boy Blog: Pierson On Pernice, APB

MASSACHUSETTS SO MUCH TO ANSWER FOR

Soundscam(n) results be damned, but Joe Pernice is still growing and getting better with age. I know because I'm in love. (Or is it wrong-headed of me, being that judgment amongst the allure and seduction can be myopic, clouded, deluded and off target.) Oh dear, just f'n kill me now. That or go out and buy every Pernice Brothers CD and get back to me in a few weeks. Hopefully you'll fall as deep and madly as I did.

He's the little Scud Mountain Boy that could. (They, the Scud Mountain Boys, had a Sub Pop deal in the mid '90s; 'twas short-lived but it got it all started.) Since then Joe's progressed unlike any other artist in his field; Wilco and The Jayhawks have gone up and down whilst Elliott Smith did himself in. Ryan Adams was the diva who lost control--or took too much control. And who really wants to talk to him? Rhett Miller ain't even close.

JOE'S BLUES ("It's a Love Story")

Many pooh-poohed the morose and lumbering vignettes and still do (dumb f***s they are). And to those who can't deal with such things, granted, Joe can be a drag, especially early on with the Scud Mountain Boys and some of the earlier Pernice Brothers discs and the "lone" discs: 1999's Chappaquiddick Skyline and 2001's Joe Pernice's "Big Tobacco." Like Elliott Smith, it felt like the boy could use a little sunshine and a pep pill. Us devotees swallowed it whole, never once worrying about the deep end.

Somewhere along the way Joe found love (for real) and prevailed with stunning artistic verve. The songs (oh my, the songs) got better as did the production with Thom Monahan aiding and abetting like a dream. Joe's singing grew with each release; confident, warm and full of natural depth. A pleasure. The Mrs. was the cute to-die-for keyboardist Laura Stein who fell in naturally with the band, understanding with that 6th sense. (Her CD designs have made each release that much more important.)

What seems like an unspoken progression was/is pretty obvious. The not-so mad journey from the second Pernice Brothers disc ("The World Won't End") through to the current masterpiece, "Live A Little" is one of those insanely magical happenings in pop music most of us live for. Kinda reminds me of Big Star's run from 1972 to 1975 and the Badfinger stretch from 1970 to 1974. Inbetween, The Pernice Brothers took on some cool post-punk vibes (most notably on 2005's "Discover A Lovelier You" which out-Strokes'd The Strokes with the intoxicating "Snow") and made some of the decade's most gorgeous soundscapes (i.e., "Amazing Glow," "Red Desert," "The Weakest Shade Of Blue" and "Water Ban"). A small upswing of such brilliance came when Joe was invited for a cameo on "Gilmore Girls" last season.

THERE'S JUST TOO LITTLE TIME. AND NOW THERE'S EVEN LESS

"Live A Little" is my favorite album of the year without question, despite some stiff competition. As familiar as Joe Pernice's voice and songs seem, there's still this huge sense of something new and fresh coming out of him. Pouring out of him. It's the great sense one gets when they're in the presence of genius. And of course the "g" word gets thrown around by many who know not what they speak of, and I ain't claiming that I've got it mastered. I just know I can't live without this music now that it's made its way into my life. Like the GREAT stuff, it digs deep and holds on strong.

Robert Christgau thought I really overrated the Pernice Brothers. And each time I think about that thought, which I DON'T take lightly, I go back and listen to see if I'm wrong. Am I wrong? Not really, although I do know they hit me directly where I live, which does make it easier for me to get all weak in the knees. Would everyone be in agreement with me if they heard Joe's music? No way, although I'd give him better odds over anyone you care to challenge me with. I'll go to my grave with that promise.

The Pernice Brothers will be at The Mercury Lounge Friday, December 8th.
Check their site for more info.

A SORT OF HOMECOMING (APB @ The Loop Lounge 12.9.06)

Earlier this year when I ran into APB lead singer Iain Slater (he was doing live sound for Keane at The Bowery Ballroom) I asked what were the chances of APB getting back together for a reunion gig. His quick response was a defiant "no." Not that that there was any bad feelings towards the inquiry, but I did get the sense that the thought of the band playing anytime soon was as far off in his mind as it was for The Beatles and John Lennon in 1975.

Funny how the right offer can change one's opinion. Word came last month about a few select gigs around the NYC area. Of course, the idea of playing The Loop Lounge (where the Scottish band found a second home in the mid '80s) seemed a natural choice. And fate was on everyone's side. The band will make its US comeback debut at The Loop this Saturday night for an early show (at 10pm).

Since I'm a DJ on WRSU, the idea of not celebrating this return would be sacrilegious. Today's show will begin with a nod to the Pernice Brothers NYC gig on Friday and then turn left for a total full-on WRSU circa 1982-1984 homage for the return of APB.

Fun fun fun.

For more info on the APB show
check The Loop Lounge's site and their MySpace page.

Listen to Pat Pierson's "Radio Boy" program
Tuesday, December 5th (today)
east coast: 4pm-6pm
west coast: 1pm-3pm
WRSU-FM
airwaves: 88.7
online: go to www.wrsu.org and click "listen".

Monday, December 04, 2006

Altrok Radio Update #139

This week, our Grinders (the stuff we play heavily) include music from:
  • The Grates
  • Cold War Kids
  • Middle Distance Runner
  • The Magic Numbers
  • Yes Boss
  • David Vandervelde

Plus we've got newly-added music:
  • Neal Casal - Sleeping Pills In Stereo
  • Depeche Mode - Martyr
  • The Gossip - Listen Up [mstrkrft remix]
  • The Jealous Girlfriends - The Pink Wig To My Salieri
  • Little Man Tate - House Party At Boothy's
  • The Long Blondes - Once And Never Again
  • Milburn - Brewster (feat. Billy Bragg)
  • Mouthful Of Bees - The Now
  • The Ordinary Boys - Lonely At The Top
  • Protokoll - Sunken
  • Robbers On High Street - The Fatalist
  • The Shins - Phantom Limb
  • Whitey - Non Stop
  • The Wombats - Moving To New York

Our Newly-Added Classics:
  • The Bigger Lovers - Threadbare
  • The Lyres - I Want To Help You Ann
  • Madness - Embarrassment
  • The Pretenders - Precious (Demo)
  • Lou Reed - Dirty Blvd.
  • Siouxsie And The Banshees - Happy House
  • The Sound - Contact The Fact
  • Super Furry Animals - Hello Sunshine
  • Wire - Three Girl Rhumba

Friday, December 01, 2006

Eighties Friday...featuring DJ Shred!

Folks,

You might like this...it's in CD quality MP3Pro, it's full of the music we had available in the 80's, and it's on all day and through the night - just click on the Altrok Radio link to start listening.

Got a slow connection? We've put it up for you in glorious mono as well - check the "slower connections" link on the right of the page.

Plus, on the stereo station, you'll get to hear much of DJ Shred's set from Luke & Leroy last week, bless her and her mini-disc recorder...many of her tracks haven't been heard yet on Altrok Radio, and they're coming up at 11:30am and 11:00 pm Eastern. (She might sneak in something new, too...it's entirely up to her.)

December 29: If you're in the NYC area, you can be there while she constructs her next set for Altrok Radio, at Luke & Leroy. They're at 21 7th Avenue South in the West Village. She'll be spinning the wheels of steel that night from 10pm to Midnight (maybe even a bit earlier, too.)

The bands - not counting Shred's picks, for they're a closely-held secret - for today (12/1/2006) are:


A Flock Of Seagulls, ABC, Adam and the Ants, The Alarm, APB

The B-52's, B-Movie, Ballistic Kisses, Bauhaus, The Blasters, The Boomtown Rats, Bow Wow Wow

Cabaret Voltaire, Camouflage, The Chameleons, The Church, The Clash, The Colour Field, The Comsat Angels, Julian Cope, Hugh Cornwell, Elvis Costello, Josie Cotton, Crossfire Choir, The Cure

The dB's, The Dead Boys, The Dead Milkmen, Depeche Mode, Devo, Dexy's Midnight Runners, Dolby's Cube, Thomas Dolby, Dr. & The Medics, Dramarama, Bill Drummond

Easterhouse, Echo & The Bunnymen, The English Beat

The Fabulous Poodles, Marianne Faithful, The Fall, Fiction Factory, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Freur, Fun Boy Three, Fun Boy Three With Bananarama

Gang Of Four, Garbage, Gene Loves Jezebel, Go-Gos, The Godfathers

Heaven 17, Higsons, The Hoodoo Gurus, The House Of Love, Human Sexual Response, Hunters & Collectors

Icehouse

Joe Jackson, The Jam, The Jim Carroll Band, Joy Division

Killing Joke, King

The La's, Leisure Process, Liquid Liquid, Lene Lovich

Mad Daddys, Madness, Martha and The Muffins, Meat Beat Manifesto, Ministry, Moev, Peter Murphy

New Musik, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper

Oingo Boingo

Robert Palmer, Plastic Bertrand, Plimsouls, Polyrock, Pop Will Eat Itself, The Pretenders, The Psychedelic Furs, Public Image Ltd.

R.E.M., The Ramones, Red Box, The Replacements

Fred Schneider, The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Sex Pistols, Pete Shelley, Simple Minds, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Sisters Of Mercy, The Smiths, The Sound, Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Split Enz, Squeeze, The Stone Roses, Strawberry Switchblade, The Stray Cats, Sugarcubes

Talking Heads, The Teardrop Explodes, The The, They Might Be Giants

U2, Ultravox, The Undertones, The Untouchables

Violent Femmes, Visage

Whizz For Atoms, Wire, The Woodentops

XTC

Yazoo, Yello
 
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Welcome to Altrok.com, also available at AltrokRadio.com and AltrockRadio.com. Here's where the remaining listeners of several fine radio stations have retreated, regrouped, and built a replacement strong enough to stand on its own. It builds on the independent legacy of New Jersey's FM106.3, New York's WPIX and WLIR, Oklahoma's 105.3 The Spy, the pre-buyout mindset of KROQ, WBCN and WHFS and of every other alternative station that was destroyed at a moment's notice - not because they weren't making money, but because there was bigger money to be found elsewhere.
 
We've stood by as truly independent alternative rock radio died. Sure, something called "alternative" took its place, but we know for sure that anything that "tests well" with soccer moms just ain't alternative. (Even if some of us happen to be soccer moms.) So we've taken matters into our own hands.
 
This really is independent alternative rock radio, visible here at Altrok.com and audible at our web radio station. It has the classic music that fired our passions back in the day - or that we maybe only heard about from our elders - but it's mostly made of the new music that does precisely the same for us now. We're paying attention to scenes all over the world, watching the energy build, and waiting to see what it creates. Wherever it happens, we'll make sure you can hear about it here. We've been slowly building all this since 2001, and now that you've noticed us, we're glad you're here.
 
Of course, it's only here because you want it to be here, and it can only stay if you help it along - especially by checking out our advertisers (they support us) and by listening (the more that listen, the more visible we are.) Please use the "feedback" link above to let us know whether it works for you, and what you want it to be as the future unfolds. (And if you need help hearing it, let us know that, too.)