That's not what it means at nine

It's now post-Christmas. What did you get?
A nice warm sweater? A pair of socks?
Now we all face six months of debt,
But for tonight, we praise THE BOX!

Stay warm at nine

Had quite the event today
Got a new water heater
And I think I've got to say
My life could not be neater
'Cause this device, it has no tank
It just makes the flow hotter
And I've lovely plumbers to thank
For endless, steamy water.

It happens at nine

The music plays across the land
And though we gripe about it
Its meaning is not unclear
A time for gifts is soon at hand
Scowl as we may, we must admit
It really *is* that time of year.

A restorative at nine

So, now it is December. I feel less than enthused
No one is a winner: not the weather nor the news
The nights are long; the days are cold...
There's still bad stories to be told...
Is it just me? Do you feel old?
Hell, let's bring out the booze.

Yeah, rez-day at nine

I can't believe it's been NINE YEARS
Of virtual reality
Tonight, come down and feed your ears
With favorite tracks, all picked by me.

To the Americans, a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat.

Walk right in, it's around the back. Just a half a mile from the railroad tracks. 

If there is a Thanksgiving anthem, it's this. Enjoy!

A Big Basket of Funky Jazzy Things I Love

I'm filling in for Cajsa this Sunday morning. The fill-in request said "jazz," she didn't tell me I couldn't interpret that as "70s funky Jazz that makes you want to dance in your apartment." Sorry, not sorry.

Grab a coffee and join me at The Velvet, 9AM SLT, Sunday 11/23/2014 for a whole basket of funky jazzy things I love. I hope you do too.

• Herb Alpert - "Rise"
• Average White Band - " Work to Do"
• Ohio Players - "I'd better take a coffee break"
• Steely Dan - "Your Gold Teeth"
• Marvin Gaye - "Inner City Blues"
• Hot Chocolate - "The Street"
• Tom Waits - "The One That Got Away"
• Isaac Hayes - "Never Can Say Goodbye"
• Ohio Players - "Contradiction"
• Van Morrison - "Who Drove The Red Sports Car"
• Steely Dan - "Pretzel Logic"
• Commodores - "Funny Feelings"
• Rick James - "Cop 'n Blow"
• KC & The Sunshine Band - "I'm a Pushover"
• Parliament - "Theme From the Black Hole"
• Sly & The Family Stone - "I Ain't Got Nobody"
• Marvin Gaye - "Please Stay"
• Commodores - "Better Never Than Forever"
• Ohio Players - "Jive Turkey"
• KC & The Sunshine Band - "Ain't Nothin' Wrong"
• 10cc -"I'm Not In Love"
• Hot Chocolate -"I Want To Be Free"
• Wild Cherry - "What In The Funk Do You See"
• Van Morrison - "Astral Weeks"
• Rick James - "Mary Jane"

A lower register at nine.

Last week we heard from women
But the real truth all depends
On hearing things from both sides
So, tonight we get the mens.





Samuel Ramey played The Beast. He's terrifying!

Hittin' the high notes at nine

Tonight is female vocalists
And if that's not your thing
Well, that's just too goddamn bad.
Listen to that girl sing!





Deborah Voigt played the Queen of Cloudland. Go check it out!

Getting under the covers at nine

Now, my vacation nears its end
I've had some time to clear my head
Yet, when Monday comes, I won't pretend
You know I'll try to stay in bed.

Tip the club at nine!

Halloween is finally here!
My absolute favorite time of the year
With all sorts of things to see and do--
Oh crap. Tomorrow rent is due.

A fine man at nine

He was tall, he was thin, he was dark
His voice was incomparably smooth
He'd completely inhabit the part
How he talked, how he laughed, how he moved

When he was the villain, you cheered
You could tell that he always had fun
When he laughed or he smiled, you feared
All the terrible things he had done

And yet--or to spite it--he was awful nice
There's a hole in our hearts and it's named Vincent Price

Musical monsters at nine

When it comes to silver, I like forks and spoons
I like a nice fireplace, with a rug once a bear
I like running water, and still enjoy moons
Yes, I will drink wine. I like my steaks rare
There's so many things that a monster must fear
We certainly won't have those sorts of things here

A horrific quandary at nine

Could a ghost and a zombie
Be from the same person?
How many undead can you get
And what version?
(It can't get much better
But no way it could worsen.)

Show starts at nine

When you watch a movie,
There's so many sights and sounds.
But sometimes, it's just too much.
The scene only confounds
The audience from knowing
What story is given.
The only thing I ask tonight
Is just to sit and listen.

We're leaving at nine

Something's slightly out of place;
It all just feels uncanny.
Maybe songs about outer space
Will help restore my sanity.

Cover the earth at nine

I don't think it's democracy
But music that's our great export.
Tonight we'll see if we agree
With how it fared in the world court.

Count with me at nine.

Now that we're looking at the last of the heat,
I'm wondering just how well you kids know your beat.

The last days of summer at nine

Oh, but how I miss being twenty
Gasoline less than a dollar
Job galore, yes, jobs a plenty
Even if I lived in squalor

But there were easy remedies
And little that was not allowed
And there were so few enemies
And things were not as they are now

But come on down, I'll tell the truth
More songs from my misspent youth.

We're fine at nine

I hope you have good luck, eight-eight!
The tune tonight that I curate
Are from a rather special date
Back when we were defending Kuwait
And a low unemployment rate
Which we would like to recreate
But can't! And that infuriates
Those forced to leave their grand estates
And not like problems will abate
But instead they just lay in wait
But that's a story I'll relate
A little later.

Flashback at nine

I was on vacation
I hung out with old friends
I tidied up the house a bit
And tied up some loose ends
I got some projects finished
As one is wont to do
And now, tonight, I'm going to play
Some 90s tunes for you.

Take off your stockings at nine

The world is going insane
There's so much pain and fear
But I'm going to start a campaign
To spread a little cheer

The temperatures are soaring
But We are going to try
Before it gets to boring
To have Christmas in July

Everyone relax at nine

We're going to try to forget all this week
And listen to ladies sing jazz at its peak.

Stay cool at nine

Now, outside, it's getting hot
The temperature's nasty
But don't give that a second thought
We'll avoid those degrees
We've got ourselves a nice cool spot
And plenty of A/C.

Show June the door at nine

What a month this one has been!
Changes in family and a cats...
So come on down; we'll make a scene
And celebrate that it's a wrap.

We equinox at nine

Once again, the earth will turn
I does so without second thought
And once again, I'm going to burn
And once again, it's too damn hot.

Mods at eight

Look at the past with eyes well teared
Across the bloodied, mangled bods
And see what's left, once dust has cleared
Between the rockers and the mods

The Game of Thrones gets Ugly!

I started watching Game of Thrones last Sunday out of fear that my official nerd status would be revoked if I didn't see at least one episode.  By Thursday I had seen every episode, including the current season.  So today's set is a tribute to Game of Thrones!  Come to the Velvet tonight 5 pm to 7 pm SLT for some great music and some serious nerd talk!

Back in June

Due to events over here, I will be out the rest of May. I will return in June.

Call me at nine, OK?

My little phone isn't the state of the art.
I can't download any apps.
The poor piddly thing just isn't that smart
For any of that kind of crap.

But the reason I keep it, why it's best of all:
No matter where, I can still make a call.

Ugly Gets Cozy!

I'll be subbing for the lovely Mal tonight in the 5 pm to 7 pm SLT spot.  Come on over to the Velvet to hear 2014 musics from Hong Hong Kong Kong, La Sera, Lowell (video above) and a special premiere of the Puma Roger song by SL’s very own Cozy Lemon!

A hill to climb at nine

I know I should have worked on the set more. See,
I got distracted by turning forty.

A little more time at nine

Oh, but what a busy week!
It really was a bore.
There was so much I had to do
(So many little chores....)
But that's all done, and now some tunes
Are what I have in store.

Eggs and unleven bread at nine

If the last supper was during Passover
Then why was there bread on the table?
How could they have a trial that week?
At least no good Jew would be able.
I'm not going to say I'm an expert
But I'm starting to question this fable.

More world music at nine

Next in our musical encyclopedia
All of the musics that come out of India.

Into Africa at nine

They're not doing so hot right now,
I'm sure they will someday.
(That is, unless, someone sends in
The goddamned CIA.)

Here we go, at nine

This month, we're starting a little world tour.
South America's first in our brochure.

Hope you're prepared at nine

Boats will sink, despite our toil
Flood, drought, and disease
Fire burns. Blood will boil
And then it all will freeze.
Who knows what shall come thereafter?
I've got songs about disasters.

Be a good little mensch at nine.

I gathered all the tracks I could
And there were quite a few, at that,
But, not to be misunderstood
You all know where my heart's at
(Although, if we were any good,
We'd be in bed for Shabbat.)

Nonagenarian recordings at nine

Someone else can cover sports
It's really not my bag.
And while we wait for their reports
I'm going to play some rag.

New Year starts at nine

And so, we say good-bye to snake
And say hello to horse
We're going to dance and stay awake
And hear some tunes, of course!

Recommended Reading: Nick Hornby's Songbook

Nick Hornby wrote the music lover's book that was made into the music lover's film High Fidelity. Hornby wrote a collection of essays about 31 songs.

Songbook is not a critique of the songs, but a celebration. He writes about how they make him feel, what they inspire in him, or simply why he loves them. The writing is witty, sharp and so very enjoyable. I often laughed out loud. Sometimes I had to read a piece over again just because it was so much fun.

He takes on some of the sillier tropes in music criticism such as the idea that music must be "edgy" to be noteworthy. He defends pop music with humor, vigor and persuasiveness.

He also recommends several albums at the end and most of them are one's I love.

To celebrate this lovely book, I am going to play his 31 songs for my Monday set, so I will be starting a bit early - at 4:30 PM on Monday, January 27th.

Spanish Garage Bands at Nine

I hope you all brought your translator
For songs from south of the equator

More garage bands at nine!

We were doing a thing,
And then, last week, I said...
Well, we'll just go back to
Before we were interrupted.

Ugly Celebrates The Man in Pink!

It was The Man in Pink's birthday last week and today I am dedicating an entire set to him.  Expect an abundance of strangeness.  Here is one of the coolest artists he has introduced to me, Hugh Laurie.  Enjoy!

For absent friends, at nine.

Tonight remembers a DJ passed
One that I also called friend
Who had been away too long
Who left me with that doleful news.
Those who remember
have said that they wondered
and don't like the answer
but are thankful for closure.

I don't know what else I should do
But play, and say, "This one's for you."

An Evening of Classic Rock

7-9pm, Friday Jan 10th:

It's been a hard week. And when it's been a hard week, a really hard week, I need some hard rock. Hard rock, of the classic kind. Sure, a lot of this came out of the 1970s, but there'll be a dab or two from other decades as well. I haven't put the playlist together yet, but you can depend on hearing Alice Cooper, some Gong, some Deep Purple, Aerosmith, Van Halen, maybe some Rush, and absolutely Led Zeppelin will be included ... the music that makes this old dude feel good. So don your denim jacket and your best concert t-shirt, and head over to the V tonight for the stuff your dad used to listen to. When he was cool. And dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

Obligatory Best of 2013 Set!

Today I'm playing a 2013-heavy set with great songs from 2013, like this gem from the Kopecky Family Band from last year's Kids Raising Kids album.  Enjoy!

What is unlost is unfound at nine

Half the country's under snow
We've got a Herculean blizzard
So, to the 60s we will go!
Back when a guy could play a zither.
Though, why you can't now, I don't know.
I'm sure some bands would beg to differ.