Altrok's Rantcast

Altrok Radio Music Update #200

2008-05-05T07:30:00.001-04:00

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...

Mondays at 11:30am Eastern (with a preview at 0730 GMT) 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:

- Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong
- The Ting Tings
- The Duke Spirit
- The B-52's
- Midnight Juggernauts
- Nine Inch Nails

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- Autons - Election Singer
- Blood Red Shoes - Doesn't Matter Much
- Coldplay - Violet Hill
- CSS - Rat Is Dead (Rage)
- Danny & Dusty - New York City Lullaby
- Foxboro Hot Tubs - The Pedestrian
- Gnarls Barkley - Charity Case
- Ladytron - Ghosts
- Lismore - More
- The Long Blondes - Century
- My Morning Jacket - Touch Me I'm Going To Scream
- Radiohead - Nude (Bathing In The Icefloe Mix by Thomas Dolby)
- Young Knives - Up All Night

Our Featured Classics:

- The Bongos - Skydiving
- Buzzcocks - Fiction Romance
- Killing Joke - Kings And Queens
- Stan Ridgway - Drive She Said
- The Specials - Ghost Town (12 inch version)
- Talking Heads - Life During Wartime
- Tears For Fears - The Hurting
- The Three O'Clock - Half the Way There
- Vicious Pink - Cccan't You See

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

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

Thomas Dolby's Golden Age Of Radio(head)

2008-05-02T14:56:00.003-04:00

It's hard for me not to want to keep an eye on Thomas Dolby. He kept making interesting records years after the mainstream industry wrote him off as a one-hit wonder, and then, when it became clear that making records was a sucker's game, he became part of the Web's fabric by becoming CEO of Beatnik, a Silicon Valley tech startup. Chances are, if you've got a ringtone on your cellphone, he was behind the technology that put it there.

So leave it to Dolby to turn something as mundane as wondering how far outside his house he could go before he lost his Internet connection, into art.

The story goes that, a few weeks ago, he wandered down to the beach behind his house (he has one - the whole technology thing was apparently very good to him) and sat down for a bit to check out the connection. Waves lapped against the beach, seagulls squawked at each other - generally, a pretty idyllic situation (except that it was pretty cold outside; he's brought a blanket to huddle up in.) While there, browsing the net randomly, he happened upon the news that Radiohead were making the component tracks for their song "Nude" available to the public, who were invited to submit their mixes. He grabbed a track and hit play, and the single track, which was silent for much of the time up until that instrument's part came up, wound up working so well in the environment he was in that he sampled the ambient audio and set to work on his own remix...then submitted it, pretty much the way anyone else would.

The thing I find most endearing about the story is that Dolby is clearly - and I mean this in the best possible, most empathetic way - a geek for the ages. Anyone who turns technology into art is aces in my book. So, as it turns out, are Radiohead, for having the foresight to offer the remix program in the first place.

Listen for yourself:

And that, by the way, is the other cool thing about it - I don't have to just rell you about it, I can post it myself and encourage you to vote. So yes, there's a bit of electioneering going on here...

[You'll be able to catch it tonight on the Altrok Radio FM Showcase, at 10pm Eastern at 90.5 The Night - do listen online if you can't tune in on FM.]

Altrok Radio Music Update #199

2008-04-28T07:59:00.001-04:00

Firstly, the important stuff:

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

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...

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

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

- British Sea Power
- Hot Chip
- The Breeders
- Does It Offend You Yeah
- The Mystery Jets
- Tokyo Police Club

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- Be Your Own Pet - Creepy Crawl
- Broken Records - If The News Makes You Sad Dont Watch It
- The Courteeners - Not Nineteen Forever
- Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Possess Your Heart
- Pat DiNizio - Any Other Day
- The Fall - Is This New
- Hadouken! - Get Smashed Gate Crash
- The LK - Stop Being Perfect
- Nine Inch Nails - Discipline
- Plugs - That Number
- The Presets - This Boy's In Love
- The Ting Tings - Fruit Machine
- Twisted Wheel - She's A Weapon
- XX Teens - How To Reduce The Chances Of Being A Terror Victim

Our Newly-Added Classics:

- Julian Cope - Me Singing
- Joe Jackson - Pretty Boys
- Japan - Quiet Life
- Meat Beat Manifesto - 10 X Faster Than The Speed Of Love
- New Order - Leave Me Alone
- Siouxsie And The Banshees - Israel
- The Sound - Wildest Dreams
- The The - My Heart Would Know
- The Wonder Stuff - Don't Let Me Down, Gently

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

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

What's On Where Now? (An Altrok Radio Station Primer)

2008-04-27T11:24:00.002-04:00

There's a lot of different flavors of Altrok Radio now. Here's what you have to choose from:

Our stereo station is the one with a new eight-hour long playlist that we upload every day. It's in 64k MP3Pro, which means that with the right decoder for WinAmp, or the right player for Windows or for Mac, it can be heard in CD Quality. Click here to start it.
Our mono station has the same daily playlist as the stereo station, but doesn't include specialty shows or other special events. It's there if you've got a slower connection (like dialup or old-school ISDN or DSL) but even though it's in mono, the decoder brings it to you in (mono) CD Quality. Click here to start it.
Our FM Showcase features all the new tracks we're adding to the playlists for the stations above; it airs every Friday at 10pm at 90.5 The Night, at (logically enough) 90.5 on your FM dial in central New Jersey. You can hit that link to listen to them live, or to play back the FM Showcase on demand (at relatively low quality.)
Our 128k FM Showcase station plays the latest FM Showcase (and most of the previous one) on a continuous loop, in the highest quality we can play on the Web. There's no special decoder needed, but you do need a really good connection; if you've got one, click here to start it.

To keep all this stuff alive, click here for details on how you can help.

For No Readily Explainable Reason, Here's Four Yorkshiremen

2008-04-25T14:46:00.003-04:00

Thought you might appreciate the original version of the classic Four Yorkshiremen sketch; it was originally performed on Rediffusion London's "At Last, The 1948 Show", and was covered (!) by Monty Python on their Live At The Hollywood Bowl concert film. (It's not often a comedy sketch merits a "cover version", but it's a really great sketch, and technically, Python had half the "original artists", so it's kind of like New Order covering Joy Division.)

The cast of "At Last, The 1948 Show": Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, and Marty Feldman.

(It appears that Barry Cryer pours the wine.)

It's Royalty Time For Altrok Radio...Care To Help?

2008-04-22T12:39:00.003-04:00

Every year, around this time, I renew my web radio account with Live365. That, you might suspect, costs money, and it does - about $400 for our main station (the one with the eight-hour playlist in 64k MP3 Pro) and about $250 total for our other two. Consequently, I'm coming to you for help.

Some of you have already helped by becoming VIPs, and in doing so you've shaved about $60 off our bill by joining up and listening. If you'd like to do that - and if commercials and advertisements annoy you, I do recommend it - there's a link below.

For those who haven't done the VIP thing, don't worry - I'm happy to have you as a listener, and want to keep you listening. The thing is, though, that because the record companies are raising our rates, there won't be as many free listener slots in the future.

So if you'd like to help keep free listenership available, or if you just think it's worth throwing a couple of bucks my way every now and again - whether you're a VIP or not - there's a way for you to help, too, and in a more direct fashion. (Short of just sending me money, which I'd feel kind of creepy about, because I'd like to be sure you know the money actually goes where I'm telling you it's going...)

Live365 has a gift certificate program that lets you buy a certificate and send it to the person of your choice...and if you appreciate what I've been doing at Altrok Radio the past few years and can spare some money to help make sure it stays alive and healthy, this would be a great way to help us keep it going directly.

Here's the link:

https://store.live365.com/orders/orderform-giftcert.live

They'll need an email address to send the gift certificate to, and you can use this:

pledgedrive -(at)- altrok -(dot)- com

(Remember, replace " -(at)- " with "@", and " -(dot)- " with "." and make sure there aren't any spaces.)

They have three price points and one area where you can fill in your own value - and $5 is as welcome as $100. We're not trying to scare you or gouge you, we just need (and truly appreciate) the help.

My goal is to cover next year's royalty fees on the main station - about $340. Anything above that would be used to either expand the station's capacity (more disk space for longer daily playlists at higher quality) or add to our side stations' capacity, or get applied to the following year's royalty. I'll keep you posted on progress here at the main Altrok Radio site (where, of course, you can check out our advertisers and tune in, both of which also help us.)

By the way, the link for becoming a VIP is:

http://www.live365.com/rewards/pm?tag=muddychannel

So, summarizing:

Buy us a gift certificate (any value will do):

https://store.live365.com/orders/orderform-giftcert.live
(use pledgedrive -(at)- altrok -(dot)- com for the recipient)

Become a VIP and remove ads from the station while helping us:

http://www.live365.com/rewards/pm?tag=muddychannel

Hope this explains what faces us, and helps you to help us. Thanks, and keep listening!

Music Update #198: Now With The FM Showcase In 128k MP3!

2008-04-22T07:01:00.001-04:00

Firstly, the important stuff:

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

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...

Every 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.)

NEW: The FM Showcase gets its own dedicated station! You can hear it anytime, in high-quality 128k MP3, here:

http://www.live365.com/stations/hubcity?site=live365

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

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

- Kaputt
- MEN
- The Fashion
- The Courteeners
- Sons And Daughters
- Foxboro Hot Tubs

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- B-52's - Pump
- Blood Red Shoes - You Bring Me Down
- Carbon-Silicon - The News
- Mike Doughty - I Just Want The Girl In The Blue Dress To Keep On Dancing
- The Duke Spirit - The Step And The Walk
- Factory Floor - Bipolar
- The Fletchers - Disorder
- Forward Russia! - We Are Grey Matter
- The Handcuffs - Mickey 66
- Hot Chip - One Pure Thought
- Jonjo Feather - I Suppose
- Ladytron - Black Cat
- My Device - Fountain Of Youth
- Chuck Prophet - Doubter Out Of Jesus (All Over You)

Our Newly-Added Classics:

- The Fall - Couldn't Get Ahead
- The Jam - Happy Together
- Love - A House Is Not A Motel
- R.E.M. - I Believe
- The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop
- The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
- Split Enz - History Never Repeats
- The Stranglers - Ice Queen
- Ultra Vivid Scene - Staring At The Sun

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

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

New Service! The FM Showcase At All Times, In High Quality!

2008-04-16T23:11:00.002-04:00

Each week, whenever we actually produce a new one, the Altrok Radio FM Showcase shows up on our main Web station on Mondays. But maybe that's not enough...

...so we've made up a new channel strictly to play it back in high quality 128k MP3. Here's the link to the page - press the big Play button, and enjoy.

Here's the catch: only five people can listen at a time, unless you become a VIP...but then you can listen to it, and to the main Altrok Radio stream, without having to endure commercials. Sorry, them's the rules. (There's only so much I can afford, y'know...)

Anyway, check it out, and let us know what you think.

In My Head: My Device, "Fountain Of Youth"

2008-04-15T21:54:00.002-04:00

So yeah, you're gonna hear this on the next new Altrok Radio FM Showcase, which may be this Friday. (We'll see.) But to save you the heartache of waiting, go listen to My Device's "Fountain Of Youth" at their MySpace page. You'll be glad, etc.

(Of course, we're playing lots of other great music, for connections fast and connections slow(er), all night long. Some things are just hard to give up.)

When We Say "Good Music", What Do We Mean? Today, It Means This...

2008-04-14T13:44:00.002-04:00

Every now and again, it makes sense for us to put out a list that shows, exactly, what you'll hear on today's eight-hour Altrok Radio playlist. We don't want to inundate you with it here (though we do post each day's list with fair regularity at our MySpace page) but figured you might appreciate the update every once in a while, and it's been a while, so...

A Flock Of Seagulls, The A Sides, Au Revoir Simone

The B-52's, Babyshambles, Barnacle Bill, Big Audio Dynamite, The Black Keys, Bombay Bicycle Club, David Bowie, The Breeders, British Sea Power, Buzzcocks

Carbon-Silicon, Cazals, The Charlatans UK, The Clash, The Comsat Angels, Elvis Costello, The Cure, Justin Currie, Cut Off Your Hands

Damn Shames, The Dead Milkmen, Death Cab For Cutie, Depeche Mode, Peter DiStefano, Yeah Does It Offend You, Dogs, David Dondero, Dr. & The Medics

Eliza Doolittle, Brian Eno, Eulogies

The Fall, Firewater, Flowers Forever, Friendly Fires, Frightened Rabbit, The Futureheads

Generation X

Hammer No More The Fingers, Harrisons, The Horrors, Hot Chip

Icehouse, Intaferon

Joy Division

The Killers, King Crimson, The Kooks, Kubichek!

Ladyhawk, Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong, Lemuria, Let's Active, The Libertines, Look See Proof, Louis XIV, Love Ends Disaster!

M83, The Maccabees, Made For TV, The Magic Numbers, Ida Maria, Maximo Park, Mekons, Mezzanine Owls, Midnight Juggernauts, Motel Creeps, Moving Units

Nada Surf, The National, The Never, New Musik, New Order, The New Violators, The Nice Outfit, Nine Inch Nails, No Age

Operator Please

Philpot, Plastiscines, Emma Pollock, The Presets

R.E.M., Radio 4, The Ramones, The Raveonettes, Red Vein, The Replacements, Romeo Void

The Shackeltons, The Shell, The Shins, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Sound, Sparks, Spoon, Stuffy & The Fuses, The Sun And The Moon, The Sunshine Underground

Talking Heads, Tapes 'n Tapes, Bram Tchaikovsky, The Teenagers, The Shaky Hands, These New Puritans, These United States, Those Dancing Days, The Ting Tings, To My Boy, Tokyo Police Club, Trash Yourself & The Toxic Avenger

Vive La F�te

The Waterboys, We Are Scientists, We Start Fires, West Indian Girl, Paul Westerberg, The Whip, Amy Winehouse, The Wonder Stuff, Roddy Woomble, The World Record

Yello

So whatd'ya think? Let us know.

(And if you do like what we're putting out for you, take a look at our advertisers on this page - they keep us running when you show 'em some interest.)

TUNE IN For Naughties Non-Friday...It's Like Eighties Friday, But Naughtier.

2008-04-14T11:04:00.001-04:00

We all live in the naughties.

(There's twisted logic here: "Naught" is a word for zero, and since every other decade in a century can have a good sounding name, the first decade should as well. "The Zeroes" and "The Oh-Ohs" might have their supporters, but for me, these are "The Naughties".)

So, as you well know, we do Eighties Friday every week, playing the best tracks in our library that the Eighties had to offer. Every non-Friday, we play the stuff we've got available right now, and we're trying to make it as good from today's perspective as Eighties Friday would have been from the perspective of those halcyon days.

"But, Sean," I hear you say (because of the voices I hear in my head,) "all of these new songs are weird and scary! How could I be comfortable listening to them?"

And the fact is, they *are* weird and scary. They're as weird and scary as the classic tracks we play all day every Friday were when they first came out...and you loved 'em then.

I see no issues here...(but then, I wouldn't)

Don't worry - every few songs, when you worry you'll never hear something you recognize, you will...'cause I think those classics still have a relevant place alongside the new stuff I've picked for Altrok Radio. That's always kind of been the point.

Maybe you'll hear a song that goes too far. Stick around anyway, 'cause the next one'll probably blow your socks off.

Stay tuned. See what's next. (That's why we're here.)

You know the place: http://www.altrokradio.com

-Sean

Video: R.E.M Cover Editors for BBC Radio 1

2008-03-29T09:10:00.002-04:00

The song in question is "Munich". Starts off a bit shaky, but it once again goes to show that legends have their preferences, too.

Another Piston Unsiezes: It's Eighties Friday

2008-03-28T13:45:00.002-04:00

For those who stopped by the station last week and found it oddly silent, there's a reason - here in the microeconomic petri dish that we know as "web radio", we ran out of the only currency that keeps things humming: free time. Or, more specifically, unbegrudged free time - the free time you've got available that you're not expected to be spending in another way.

So, um, we're here. With a new Eighties Friday playlist.

Let me try to explain what that means, at least in such a way that'll make you want to listen to it...

Consider the Eighties. If you were paying attention to most radio stations, you probably thought the Eighties were the beginning of the gradual slide in quality that swallowed Billy Joel and Phil Collins whole, and forced Air Supply down your throats, too.

Chilling.

Now consider the things those stations weren't playing, except as the occasional one-hit wonder. There were great records from The Clash, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Violent Femmes, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Smiths, R. E. M....all of which now get trotted out as "classics", but that mainstream radio back then would only touch (perhaps) as a novelty. We play them.

We also play the stuff that was underground then, and stayed that way, except for the bit where new bands today lean on them as influences. Gang Of Four, Hoodoo Gurus, Public Image Ltd, Bauhaus, Chameleons, The Fall, Killing Joke and Ministry are just a few of the bands that released tracks in that era that we still think are worthy of play.

And then, because we really want you to feel like you're in the eighties listening to a really great station (rather than here in the naughties listening to your computer) we play the seminal tracks that showed up in the seventies to get the ball rolling...Sex Pistols, Joy Division, Gary Numan, Ultravox (with John Foxx), Buzzcocks, The Ramones, Iggy Pop...

Every Friday, there's eight (almost nine) hours of a new Eighties Friday playlist, presented to you in CD Quality MP3 Pro.

And we need you to listen, and possibly check out our advertisers below, just to keep our effort healthy enough to keep it going, because in the end, you're what keeps us here. (Thanks!)

We're Back! (That's Good News, Right?)

2008-03-22T20:02:00.001-04:00

Hey there...

Altrok Radio is back on the air.

The smoke has cleared, the skies have parted, and as it turns out, we have a future.

What happened? A few things:

- Lots and LOTS of encouragement. I mean LOTS, and I thank everyone who sent a thoughtful message or two for taking the time to do it. It's very much appreciated.

- Some of the obstacles that seemed so insurmountable Wednesday night turned out to be less formidable than expected.

- I saw a future without Altrok Radio, and it wasn't pretty. I *had* to fix that...

What remains to be done?

- The station is pretty much what it was when it shut down, and there won't be any new playlist adds, or airings of the weekly show, for a couple of weeks. Finding new tracks and producing the show take up the lions share of the time I have to do the station, so this'll free up the time I need to fix things I think are broken.

So, we're not entirely out of the woods yet. But there's music coming from the station now, and a plan to go forward. We'll do what we can to keep that happening.

Of course, you can keep helping in all the ways I've mentioned previously: tune in and stay tuned in, use our link at AltrokRadio.com if and when you buy things from Amazon, and check out our advertisers at AltrokRadio.com, too. Your interest in them helps put money in our hands.

And if I wasn't emphatic enough before, thank you for sending a note or two about what you'd be missing without Altrok Radio. That helped a lot; it really did.

Thanks!

-Sean

This Is Why They Thought Up The Phrase "Oh, Snap!"

2008-03-21T23:09:00.002-04:00

Now I know what a world without Altrok Radio would sound like. It's as though the spirits all came to me in one night.

Alright, I have some tracks up on the server, I've turned it on again, it's playing...

(Maybe I'll even buy the biggest goose in the poultry shop and send it off to Bob Cratchit's house.)

Um, Sorry. Now What?

2008-03-21T10:16:00.000-04:00

I probably should remember not to trust my instincts, because they so very rarely turn out to be correct. Hard data's often hard to come by, and often, you're unaware of it until it smashes you in the head.

And so it was with Altrok's goodbye message yesterday. It could be read as blaming you for the station's failure, and that's not true. Please consider this an apology.

Truth is, Altrok was as good as it could be, given my limitations on doing what really needed to be done to make it viable. As the work of a hobbyist, it was stellar; when compared to a professional operation it was feeble. The music was always good, but all the fit and finish details around that were stale and getting staler, and we had no way to make sure it stayed fresh.

Strangely, the situation's a lot like the recent news about Bear Stearns, the huge bank that suddenly collapsed within a few hours last Sunday.

Also, it was always in a precarious position in terms of my scraping together the time necessary to keep it going and, in a Bear Stearns-like scenario, I looked into my reserves of goodwill - the only currency that was keeping Altrok afloat - on Wednesday and found them empty. A collapse quickly followed.

Continuing that metaphor, Bear Stearns would have been in a much better position if people had just paid their mortgages on time - but given that they had made sure their portfolio was full of people who weren't likely to do that, they bear the brunt of the responsibility (and of the result.) I was basing my success on something that I couldn't possibly count on, and the same downfall applied.

Should people pay their mortgages? Sure - unless they got suckered into procuring a bad one. Should people click on the ads at AltrokRadio.com? Sure - unless they don't quite get that ads pay for the service.

So I kind of failed in communicating the way I did; let me be clear that the failure is really due to my ineptitude, rather than your lack of commitment. I was committed all along, of course, but just to doing it wrong.

If I find a way to do it correctly, with some level of confidence, I could be back on the air with it, or at least with something like it. But first I have to figure out what lessons to learn from the high volumes of failure I've generated thus far. One good thing is that this did force a bit of a logjam break on one of the big constrictions I had - the one where a hobby shouldn't have the impact on my family that it had. It's now been redefined as something that'll take sacrifice to achieve, and everybody's pretty much okay with that. (Guess they also got tired of me glumly pacing around the house.)

That said, it's not as easy as plugging things back in and flicking the switch, because I really do have to figure out what was so dissatisfying about the original endeavor.

But I really hate having turned it off, and I really want to turn it back on. And, at least, I don't have to find a new transmitter.

Altrok Radio is on hiatus.

2008-03-19T22:26:00.000-04:00

It has been a privilege to bring you Altrok Radio.

Over the years, it's been fun trying to bring you the best in new music and relevant classics, but there comes a time when one must move on, and this is the time.

We know there's lots of other places where you can hear new music, and it may have been presumptuous of us to think, in today's world, that we could keep you interested to the point where you actually listened regularly, or told other folks to listen in as well.

And, apparently, clicking on advertisements at altrokradio.com was a bit of a stretch, too.

And God forbid you should actually come out to a club night we were sponsoring.

We tried to make a little money at this; we really did. But it was pretty much all for naught. We've finally come to the realization that, frankly, the audience for what we did at Altrok Radio was pretty much ourselves.

And for a while, that was okay; it was fun while it lasted. But nobody clapped loud enough or long enough for us to hear, and so now's the time to move on.

We're sorry we couldn't spend the time necessary to make it an actual contender for your attention.

Maybe we'll find a way to do it again in the future; while it's nice to think that's a possibility, it's unlikely. There's always hope, though.

But it's going to take some convincing, and probably a lot of effort on the part of someone who isn't me, 'cause I've done my best for seven years, first with the website, then the web station, and it hasn't worked. It's okay, I'm not holding my breath.

At any rate, time's a-wasting; we're outta here. Seeya 'round.

Music Update #197: Support Your Local Web Radio Station!

2008-03-17T07:50:00.001-04:00

Firstly, the important stuff:

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

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...

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

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

- The Black Keys
- The Kooks
- The Locarnos
- Look See Proof
- We Are Scientists
- The Blacks

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- The Breeders - Bang On
- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - We Call Upon The Author
- The Charlatans UK - Oh Vanity
- Does It Offend You Yeah - Being Bad Feels Pretty Good
- The Fashion - Like Knives
- Islands - The Arm
- Joe Jackson - King Pleasure Time
- Kara Keith - Kick This City
- Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong - Lonely Buoy
- The Mae-Shi - Young Marks
- Midnight Juggernauts - Shadows
- Reverend And The Makers - State Of Things
- Soundpool - Do What You Love
- The Whip - 'Trash'

Our Newly-Added Classics:

- ABC - That Was Then But This Is Now
- Blondie - Picture This
- Marshall Crenshaw - Little Wild One (No. 5)
- Dogs Die In Hot Cars - I Love You 'Cause I Have To
- Dramarama - Out In The Rain
- Electronic - Getting Away With It
- Fad Gadget - Collapsing New People
- Richard Hell & The Voidoids - (I Belong to The) Blank Generation
- Nick Lowe - Cruel To Be Kind
- Sparks - Music That You Can Dance To

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

Tonight: THE NEXT UNDERGROUND Downstairs At The Court Tavern

2008-03-13T14:20:00.000-04:00

The New Brunswick scene doesn't have a Melody Bar or a Roxy any more, but it does have a future...starting Thursday Night at The Next Underground. Be there to make it happen...details below.

Hosted By:
Altrok Radio's Sean Carolan, DJ Drew & DJ IronMike
e-mail

When:
Thursday Mar 13, 2008
at 9:00 PM

Where::
DOWNSTAIRS at The Court Tavern
124 Church St.
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901
United States

View Map

The Next Underground's debut party is coming up Thursday night, March 13, downstairs at The Court Tavern. Details are at myspace.com/nextunderground.

The Next Underground's three DJs draw on the rich musical history of New Brunswick's club scene of the 80s and 90s (think the Melody and the Roxy) and update it with a current mix of electrohouse, nu-rave, europop and altrock.

The Next Underground will *be* underground - downstairs at The Court Tavern, 124 Church St., downtown New Brunswick. This Thursday, March 13 - no cover before 10pm.

There's more info at myspace.com/nextunderground

Music Update #196: Support Your Local Web Radio Station!

2008-03-10T07:36:00.000-04:00

Firstly, the important stuff:

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

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...

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

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

- Bauhaus
- Foals
- Pete And The Pirates
- The Teenagers
- Lemuria
- The B-52's

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- British Sea Power - No Lucifer
- Crystal Castles - Vanished
- Justin Currie, - Out Of My Control
- Flowers Forever - Beach Bum
- Foxboro Hot Tubs - Mother Mary
- Friendly Fires - On Board
- The Kooks - Always Where I Need To Be
- MEN - Make It Reverse
- Mezzanine Owls - Snow Globe
- Miracle Fortress - Digital Love
- The Mystery Jets - Young Love (feat. Laura Marling)
- Panther - On the Lam (copy remix)
- These United States - First Sight
- Tokyo Police Club - In A Cave
- We Are Scientists - After Hours

Our Newly-Added Classics:

- The Clash - The Right Profile
- Esthero - That Girl
- Let's Active - Every Word Means No
- Nine Inch Nails - Down In It
- Oingo Boingo - Grey Matter
- Soft Cell - Chips On My Shoulder
- Matthew Sweet - Tonight We Ride
- They Might Be Giants - The Statue Got Me High
- The Vapors - Waiting For The Weekend
- XTC - Generals And Majors

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

This Thursday At The Court Tavern: The Next Underground

2008-03-07T16:39:00.002-05:00

Keeping it short, and it's gonna be sweet:

You're gonna want to be at New Brunswick's Court Tavern this Thursday for our new-look Next Underground night. Three DJs holding court below street level:

http://myspace.com/nextunderground

You're welcome to join the street team, too; go here and 'friend' us:

http://myspace.com/newbrunswicknext

Be a part of it, either building it or enjoying it.

Join in the chant.

Music Update #195: Support Your Local Web Radio Station!

2008-03-03T06:30:00.001-05:00

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

- Tapes 'n Tapes
- Red Vein
- Black Kids
- The Kills
- Forward Russia!
- The Presets

Firstly, the important stuff:

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

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...

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

Plus we've got newly-added music:

- The B-52's, - Funplex
- The Black Keys, - Strange Times
- The Courteeners, - What Took You So Long
- Dan Wilson - Baby Doll
- Does It Offend You Yeah - We Are Rockstars
- Flowers Forever - Black Rosary
- Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper
- Guillemots - Kriss Kross
- Look See Proof - Local Hero
- The Raveonettes, - Dead Sound
- Sons And Daughters - Darling
- The Teenagers, - Love No
- Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance
- Miss Alex White, & The Red Orchestra - Future Talk

Our Newly-Added Classics:

- Bjork - It's Oh So Quiet
- Ciccone Youth - Burnin' Up
- Front 242 - Welcome To Paradise
- Gene Loves Jezebel - The Motion Of Love
- Morrissey - Piccadilly Palare
- The Psychedelic Furs, - Heaven
- Public Image Ltd. - Seattle
- The Sisters Of Mercy, - Black Planet
- Squeeze - Slap & Tickle
- Wire - Ahead

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

The Melody is Where the Heart Is

2008-03-02T09:43:00.009-05:00

So we had our second annual Old School Melody Reunion on Saturday, February 16. While the last one was held way up north at the Loop Lounge in Passaic Park (thanks, Pat Pierson!), this one was a lot closer to home, right on Livingston Avenue in New Brunswick. And while I realize there is always a certain fear when you throw a party that no one will come (esp. in a risky weather month like February), both the weather and nostalgia gods did smile on us that night, and we had yet another packed house. And this time, we had the extra-added bonus of Matt Pinfield. Matt was so funny. . .after missing the last two parties (we did sneak an all-ages soiree into September at the Court Tavern), he did everything in his power to ensure he did NOT miss this one, including booking a room at the Hyatt the night before to make sure he would, indeed, be in town!

As others have already noted, the buzz at this reunion was palpable. It was practically crackling in the air. And as a person who's attended all three parties to date, I can tell you they just don't get old. First of all, the DJs are as energetic about their duties as they ever were. Ed Wong was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement, and he trucked all the way from Philly to be here. Sean Carolan was beaming from ear to ear, and with good reason since he is a key driver behind these things (and is trying very hard to keep it going with his monthly--for now--Running With Scissors nights at the Court). And of course, the aforementioned Mr. Pinfield, who, by the way, was looking fitter and sharper than I'd ever seen him, was having a blast greeting his peeps and generally schmoozing the room as the implied guest of honor until he took over the tables at 10PM.

You can see the playlist elsewhere on Altrok.com, and although I have been listening to many of these songs and artists in the years since the Mel shut down/I moved away, hearing many of them in this context brings back to mind long-ago scenes from THOSE days. I think my favorite memories of the Melody/Roxy scene were from 1985-6, before I was 21. If you showed up at the Mel before 10PM, you wouldn't get carded. Needless to say, I had no problem showing up early. Not only could I get in, but I could also find a close parking space if I got there early. And boy do I remember getting hammered. My friend Pete and I would order pitchers of Red Deaths all night and pretty much close the place. Fueled by booze, we'd practically never leave the dance floor, as Matt and the gang spun tunes from our favorite New Wave, Early Alternative, and Industrial bands like The Cure, New Order, Ministry, Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, Stone Roses, etc. etc. On Sunday and Wednesday nights, the only place to be was the Melody.

The Melody was probably the most unique nightclub I've ever frequented, and here's why. See if you can add to the list:

sheet music as wallpaper in the bathrooms
again, Matt Pinfield
the ever-changing art on the walls downstairs
ripping it up on the postage stamp-sized dance floor, All. Night. Long. (doesn't anybody dance anymore?)
oh, the cocktails!
the clubby Village vibe without the haul to Manhattan
the crowd's edgy style (I used to even spike my hair a bit, but only on the top, so it looked really silly because I had the rest of it french-braided; never had the nerve to cut it all short)
Greasy Tony's at 3:15AM
seeing Dramarama live in the "attic" room upstairs, as well as others: Kiaro Skuro, Bigger Thomas, Bouncing Souls. . .

Fortunately, we DO still have some places and bands dating from that prime-time in our young lives that still exist today, and I am very thankful for them:

The legendary Stone Pony
The Court Tavern (how on earth this place survived the wrecking ball I don't know, but they are now building condos up and around it, yet it's still there. . .go Court!!!)
The Count Basie Theatre
Vintage Vinyl
The Garden (need I write its full name?)
Bruce
90.5 The Night, a great little public radio station that's risen like a phoenix from the ashes of FM-106.3, boasting many of the same DJs that made that station what it was, right down to Loretta Windas on weekends
Everlounge, which has done the same thing and is essentially half of the Whirling Dervishes (who, by the way, are BACK and will be playing Asbury Park's Wave Gathering festival this spring!)
Naturally, I've saved the best for last. . .WE STILL HAVE DRAMARAMA!!

And now, we have these great reunion parties. Essentially, the only difference is that many of us are now wearing wedding rings and the party starts a little earlier. In fact, one of the DJs remarked, "This was supposed to be a 35-and-over event. NOT ONE of the women in here is over 35!!" I have to say, I agree. The women looked fabulous! See the pix on PhotoBucket for evidence of this. And by the way, guys. . .you were looking pretty good yourselves. It's gotta be the dancing; keeps ya young!! (Either that, or alcohol really does act as a preservative!)

Sure, we don't have our place any longer, but we still have our music, we still have each other, and if it's any indication from having attended all three of our post-demolition soirees to date, we still have the same joie-de-vivre we ever did. And if home is where the heart is, the same certainly applies here. The Melody Bar wasn't just a place: it was a spirit. And the crowd keeps proving over and over that we still have that in spades. Just then it hit me: I was in the Melody Bar. . .again!!

Justice's "DVNO" Is Logo-Riffic

2008-03-01T23:09:00.003-05:00

I know I played "guess the logo" while watching this one - try it!

TUNE IN ALL DAY for Altrok's Eighties Friday

2008-02-29T07:41:00.001-05:00

Here's what you need to know about Altrok's Eighties Friday:

- It's on every Friday

- It's eight hours long (no matter when you happen to tune in - looping playlists'll do that for you.)

- It's filled with the AlternaPostPunkPrePunkNewWaveIndie tracks we thought were interesting twenty-five years ago, and are still interesting now. (As opposed to the embarrassing stuff we're too embarrased to admit anyone we knew owned. Not us, though, no siree...)

Every week it's different, and every week it's worth your while.

Here's who we're playing today:

-----------------------------------

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

The B-52's, Bauhaus, The Beastie Boys, Big Audio Dynamite, Big Black, Blondie, The Bolshoi, The Bongos, Bow Wow Wow, David Bowie, The Buggles, Buzzcocks

Cabaret Voltaire, The Chameleons, China Crisis, The Clash, The Comsat Angels, Hugh Cornwell, The Cramps, The Creatures, Cult Hero, The Cult, The Cure

Dalek I Love You, The Damned, The Danse Society, The Dead Milkmen, Depeche Mode, Devo, Thomas Dolby, Dramarama, Ian Dury And The Blockheads

Easterhouse, Eat, Echo & The Bunnymen, The English Beat

The Fall, Fishbone, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Front 242

Gang Of Four, Gene Loves Jezebel, General Public, Generation X, Go-Gos, Peter Godwin

Heaven 17, The Hoodoo Gurus

The Icicle Works, Intaferon

Joe Jackson, The Jam, Japan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, JoBoxers, Grace Jones, Joy Division

Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Killing Joke, King Crimson

Let's Active, Love And Rockets, Lene Lovich, The Lyres

Madness, Magazine, Midnight Oil, Ministry, The Mission UK, Morrissey, Peter Murphy

New Musik, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, November Group

OMD, Oingo Boingo, Orbital

Plimsouls, Pop Will Eat Itself, The Pretenders, The Psychedelic Furs, Public Image Ltd.

The Ramones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Replacements, Stan Ridgeway, Romeo Void

Peter Schilling, The Screaming Blue Messiahs, Scritti Politti, Shriekback, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Sisters Of Mercy, Patti Smith, The Smithereens, The Smiths, Soft Cell, The Sound, Spandau Ballet, The Specials, Squeeze, Sting, The Stone Roses, Strawberry Switchblade, The Suburbs

Talk Talk, Talking Heads, Troy Tate, The Teardrop Explodes, That Petrol Emotion, The The, Time Zone, Translator

Ultravox!, The Undertones

The Vapors

Wire, The Woodentops

XTC

Yazoo, Yello

-----------------------------------

So tune in...we'll keep it relevant for you.

-Sean
Altrok Radio at http://www.altrokradio.com