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Thursday, August 30, 2007

Saturday: A New Brunswick Melody Reunion

Those who went know, and those who heard from those who went also know, that the shindig we had back in February to celebrate The Melody Bar's existence (and really not to mourn its passing) was a smashing success. No superlative was good enough to capture what happened there, and much of the success can be shared by The Loop Lounge, a perfect venue for such an endeavor.

No, really. It was that good.

And so, inevitably, there was really only one question left unanswered:

"Why wasn't it in New Brunswick?"

Well, to a certain degree, we all know why - there aren't any clubs in New Brunswick that even aspire to do what The Melody Bar did, much less succeed at it. There's quite a few watering holes of one sort or another, with varying degrees of success, but nothing summarizes the package of ingredients that formed The Melody in any way that comes close to The Melody itself.

There is one other place in New Brunswick, however, that is the ultimate manifestation of its particular collection of ingredients - those that make an indie live venue great - and that's The Court Tavern. It remains what it is, and it is what it has been for over a quarter century.

And it has graciously invited The Melody Bar into its domain for a reunion that'll take place where a Melody Bar Reunion should, this Saturday, September 1. The night begins at 6PM, and it continues until they kick us out.

Will the stars align again? Drop in and find out! (I'll see you there.)

Monday, August 27, 2007

Altrok Radio Music Update #170, plus Mel Night At The Court Saturday

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.

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 (and repeated at 9:00pm), you get to hear Sean Carolan (often referred to in these dispatches as "me") showcase the new music 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.)

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


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

- Editors
- Hadouken!
- The Valley Arena
- Dogs
- Digitalism
- New Young Pony Club

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- Bat For Lashes - Horse & I
- Brakes - Beatific Vision
- Amy Cooper - Come Alive
- The Dodos - The Ball
- Glen Hansard - Leave
- Calvin Harris - Merrymaking At My Place
- The Hours - Ali In The Jungle
- Kaiser Chiefs - The Angry Mob
- The Pigeon Detectives - Take Her Back
- The Spencer McGarry Season - Leader Of The Chain Gang
- Stereophonics - Bank Holiday Monday
- The Thrills - Nothing Changes Round Here
- The Weakerthans - Night Windows

Our Newly-Added Classics:

- Big Audio Dynamite - Contact
- The Clash - Clash City Rockers
- The Detroit Cobras - Cha Cha Twist
- Kraftwerk - The Model
- New Order - Dreams Never End
- Pizzicato Five - Twiggy Twiggy
- Simple Minds - Up On The Catwalk
- The Smiths - Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
- Matthew Sweet - The Ocean In-Between
- XTC - Living Through Another Cuba

And don't forget - the New Brunswick Melody Reunion happens Satuday at The Court Tavern. 6PM. Buncha Mel DJs on hand. Do not miss.

As always, thanks for listening!

- Sean Carolan
Altrok Radio
On your computer right now at http://www.altrokradio.com

On the radio Fridays at 10pm, at 90.5 The Night

Monday, August 20, 2007

Altrok Radio Music Update #169

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.

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 (and repeated at 9:00pm), you get to hear Sean Carolan (often referred to in these dispatches as "me") showcase the new music 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.)

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

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

- Harrisons
- Modest Mouse
- Chow Chow
- Pete And The Pirates
- IO Perry
- Art Brut

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- Athlete - Hurricane
- Battle - The Longest Time
- The Checks - Take Me There
- Dead Disco - You're Out
- Dogs - Dirty Little Shop
- The Envy Corps - Wire & Wool [EFC]
- Debbie Harry - Two Times Blue
- Jacknife Lee - Making Me Money
- Los Campesinos! - It Started With A Mixx
- Mohawk Lodge - Wear 'Em Out
- Muscles - Ice Cream
- New Young Pony Club - Get Lucky
- Operator Please - Just a Song About Ping-Pong
- The Rumble Strips - Girls And Boys In Love
- Saw Doctors - Out For A Smoke
- Super Furry Animals - Show Your Hand
- The Twang - Two Lovers
- Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Down Boy

Our Featured Classics:

- Buzzcocks - Sick City Sometimes
- The Church - Dropping Names
- Josie Cotton - He Could Be The One
- The English Beat - Save It For Later
- Gang Of Four - Natural's Not In It
- The Jam - Beat Surrender
- Joy Division - Dead Souls
- R.E.M. - Catapult
- The Smithereens - Alone At Midnight
- Sparks - I Predict

As always, thanks for listening!

- Sean Carolan
Altrok Radio
On your computer right now at http://www.altrokradio.com

On the radio Fridays at 10pm, at 90.5 The Night

Saturday, August 18, 2007

This Weekend: Last Chance For The FM Showcase Marathon

Yep, our mid-summer FM Showcase Marathon is coming to an end...

The last four months were pretty great on Altrok Radio, and to prove it (and to give ourselves a little breather before diving into the next four months) we've been running a marathon of all of our FM Showcases since April.

That's about 30 hours of FM Showcase goodness, full of our newest tracks and featured classics, with the seemingly tireless (but actually pre-recorded) Sean Carolan as your guide.

Our standard rotation, featuring a juicy set of new Grinders, will begin early Monday morning, so you've only got a little more time to catch up on the best that the middle third of 2007 had to offer. With both business and academia getting ready to get back into full swing in September, what better way to be all caught up when you get there?

Tune in through the Altrok Radio Click2Listen link at www.altrokradio.com, and just keep it locked in - we aim to surprise and delight (musically, anyway.)

See you there. And when we do, we'll have the following artists on tap:

-------
!!!

120 Days

A Blind Dog Stares, Adam and the Ants, Air, Air Traffic, Altered Images, An Angle, The Answering Machine, The Apples in Stereo, The Arcade Fire, Architecture In Helsinki, Arctic Monkeys, Art Brut, Joseph Arthur And The Lonely Astronauts, Autokat, Aztec Camera

The B-52's, B-Movie, The Bangles, Chris Barron, Bauhaus, Beat Radio, The Bees, Best Fwends, The Bird And The Bee, Bjork, Black Kites, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Frank Black, Blancmange, Bloc Party, Blondie, Blood Red Shoes, The Bluebells, The Bluetones, Blur, Bockman, The Bongos, David Bowie, Bromheads Jacket, Buzzcocks

CSS, Cabaret Voltaire, Cajun Dance Party, Cake, Camouflage, The Cat Empire, The Chameleons, Chemical Brothers, The Chemical Brothers, The Chiara L's, Chow Chow, The Church, The Clash, Cloud Cult, Club 8, Jarvis Cocker, Lloyd Cole, The Comsat Angels, The Concretes, Bobby Cook, Julian Cope, Elvis Costello, The Cribs, The Cure

The Dance Party, Dave Dark & The Sharks, Datarock, Department S, Depeche Mode, The Descendents, The Detroit Cobras, Devo, Digitalism, Dirty On Purpose, Dogs, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Thomas Dolby, Doves

Earlimart, Echo & The Bunnymen, Editors, Electrelane, The Electric Soft Parade, Val Emmich, The Enemy, Esiotrot

The Fall, Arlan Feiles, Feist, Field Music, Fields, Flesh For Lulu, Fountains Of Wayne, The Fountains Of Wayne, John Foxx, Frank Smith, Adam Franklin, Franz Ferdinand, The Front

Charlotte Gainsbourg, The Gas, The Go! Team, Ben Godwin, Good Shoes, GoodBooks, Martin Gore, Grammatics, Grinderman

Hadouken!, Calvin Harris, Harrisons, Billy Harvey, Juliana Hatfield, Health, Help She Can't Swim, John Hiatt, Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians, The Hold Steady, Holloways, The Hoodoo Gurus, Hot Hot Heat, The Hours, The House Of Love, Husker Du

IO Perry, Idlewild, Interpol, Isa And The Filthy Tongues, Islands Lost At Sea, Its A Buffalo

Joe Jackson, The Jam, James, Japan, Joy Division

Kaiser Chiefs, Tommy Keene, Paul Kelly, Killing Joke, Klaxons

LCD Soundsystem, The Law, Peggy Lee Vs. Iggy Pop, Left Right + Centre, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, Let's Active, Letters & Colours, The Lightning Seeds, Lismore, The Long Blondes, The Longcut, The Lords Of The New Church, Los Campesinos!, The Loungs, Love & Rockets, Love Of Diagrams, Nick Lowe

The Maccabees, Madness, Maldroid, Manic, Maritime, Maximo Park, Medium Medium, Malcolm Middleton, Midnight Oil, The Mighty Lemon Drops, Minipop, Ministry, Mission Of Burma, Modest Mouse, The Monolators, Morrissey, Mr Derry, Mr. Hudson & The Library, Peter Murphy, My Federation, Mystery Jets

Kate Nash, The National, The Needles, New Musik, New Order, The New Pornographers, Nine Inch Nails, Noisettes

Brendan O'Shea, The Octopus Project, Of Montreal, The Outside

Graham Parker, Parts & Labor, Passion Puppets, Candie Payne, Peelgreems, Jack Penate, Pete And The Pirates, The Pigeon Detectives, The Pixies, Poison Control Center, The Police, The Polyphonic Spree, Polytechnic, The Ponys, Pop Will Eat Itself, Popup, Pray For Hayden, Primal Scream, The Psychedelic Furs, Pull Tiger Tail, Josh Pyke

The Rakes, The Ramones, The Rapture, The Replacements, Reverend And The Makers, Stan Ridgway, Robbers On High Street, Mark Ronson, Roxy Music, The Rumble Strips

Sahara Hotnights, The Sammies, Satellite Party, Saturna, Scissors For Lefty, Sea Wolf, Seems So Bright, The Selecter, Sex Pistols, The She Beats, Pete Shelley, The Shins, The Shout Out Louds, Silversun Pickups, Simian Mobile Disco, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Sir Salvatore, The Sisters Of Mercy, Skidmore Fountain, Sky Parade, The Slickee Boys, The Smithereens, The Smiths, Sonic Youth, The Sound, Soup Dragons, The Specials, Split Enz, Spoiler NYC, Spoon, Squeeze, St. Vincent, Stiff Little Fingers, The Stone Roses, The Stranglers, The Suburbs, Sunscreem

Talking Heads, The Teardrop Explodes, Telograph, The The, They Might Be Giants, The Three O'Clock, Tilly & The Wall, Tones On Tail, Too Much Joy, Translator, The Transmissions, Travis, Trembling Blue Stars, The Trudy, The Twilight Sad

U2, UNKLE

VHS or Beta, Ed Vallance, The Valley Arena, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, The Vapors, Laura Veirs, The View, Vincent Vincent & The Villains, Violent Femmes, Visage, Viva Voce, Voltage Union, Von Sudenfed

Wait Think Fast, Washington Social Club, We've Got A Fuzzbox And We're Gonna Use It, The Wedding Present, White Rabbits, The White Stripes, Wild Carnation, The Wild Deer, Amy Winehouse, Wire, The Wombats

X, XTC

Yazoo, Yello, You Say Party! We Say Die!
-------

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Four Months Of The FM Showcase, Plus Some News

Incidentally, you may have been wondering what's been going on with our webcast - and if not, you might want to tune in and see what the fuss is about.

Y'see, last week, this site's proprietor (e.g. me) went on vacation, and it's generally considered a bad idea to announce your forthcoming vacation to the general public, lest you return to a ransacked home. (This did, in fact, happen to a friend of mine who made the mistake on radio. And yes, Disney World was nice.)

I did, however, return to face the reality of hobbled net access, courtesy my pliestocine-era cable modem. (Year 2000 was a long time ago in broadband years.) Luckily, I set up the web radio station with thirty hours of the Altrok Radio FM Showcase, and that's what's been in rotation for the past ten or so days. Since most people don't listen to the station for more than eight hours on end, I figured that'd suffice for a while, though it is up a while longer than I intended.

So if you haven't taken advantage of it yet, go for it - it's been a pretty fertile four months for the show, and for our particular brand of music in general, and you'll be completely up to date in time for a looming September. Look for it to continue through this Sunday; we'll start updating with daily playlists again early Monday morning.

And by the way: Melody Reunion, September 1, 2007. Court Tavern. How's that for news?

A Bit More In Regard To Mr. Wilson...

Here's a bit more on the passing of Tony Wilson - YouTube has become quite the treasure trove. Check these two parts of BBC2's Newsnight for a good ol' roundtable discussion...

A Scramble For The Essence Of Tony Wilson

This probably isn't quite it, but it's well reported that he approved of it nonetheless. (It's also the first movie to have portrayed Joy Division dramatically, and apparently won't be the last.)

So what can you say? When you've managed to create Factory Records and release records by Joy Division/New Order and Happy Mondays, and then sell the label without mentioning the detail that there never really were any contracts signed with those bands per se, your cojones credentials are well in order. And that apparently only scratches the surface.

Rest well, Tony.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

An Uncomfortable Truth and an Unanswered Question Part II

The real question is, what is the link between reality altering substances and artistic expression? Or creative genius? Do the drugs make the artist so great or do culture shifting artists unleash so much energy that only drug use enables those who brought it forth to survive it's impact?

When you read a book like Scar Tissue, it's easy to see that Anthony Kiedis' structureless, depraved childhood led him to his lifelong problems with drugs, and left him without any ability to form a healthy relationship with women.

But it's also obvious that the same neglect filled, drug filled pornographic youth that has left him so scarred and damaged in many ways also produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There's little chance that the Anthony Kiedis we all know and love and worship to some degree could have come from an ordinary childhood. That beautiful, uninhibited, wild animal we call the Red Hot Chili Peppers, that band that has sounded so different for over 20 years, that has endured far longer than most bands owes it's very existence to the largely screwed up, drug filled lives known as Anthony Kiedis and Flea.

In other words, the suffering and misery of four knuckleheads has ultimately produced a thing called the Red Hot Chili Peppers that we love, that we worship in a rock n' roll sort of way. The death of Hillel Slovac, the result of heroin, produced my favorite Chili Pepper song, Knock Me Down. My life is better, more enjoyable because Anthony wrote that song because Hillel destroyed himself because of HEROIN. No heroin, Hillel lives, and no song. No heroin and cocaine, and Anthony's life is much healthier with much less pain and struggle, and he doesn't write most of the band's greatest songs. No drugs, no suffering, no great songs, no Chili Peppers.

Does anyone believe that Kurt Cobain writes Nevermind as a happy healthy kid from Seattle? No alienation, no depression, no anger, no heroin, no Smells Like Teen Spirit. Dee Dee Ramone grows up in New Jersey in a family like mine? No drug abuse, no mental imbalances, no depression, no Blitzkrieg Bop. No Ramones.

However uncomfortable it may be to accept, the truth is a lot of the greatest art that has impacted our lives and shaped our culture was a product of chemical excess, whether alcohol or heroin or whatever. The use and abuse of these substances did in fact directly produce so much good for the rest of us, while destroying the artist.

Society has always been drawn to and moved by self sacrifice, and it makes sense to me that we should think of Anthony and Kurt as examples of cultural martyrs. Perhaps without really trying to, they have made us all happier and wiser while killing or nearly killing themselves.

The best art has always been to some degree a product of pain, misery and suffering, simultaneously healing the fan and consuming the artist. It's just the way it is, however uncomfortable that truth may be.
 
Please Look At Our Advertisers (Or The Website Gets It)
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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.)