At Left: Something Beautiful. Just like...well, never mind...
Firstly, DJ Timothy apologizes for an entire sequence of RA's going down the "memory hole"; thru a combination of sloth, indolence and over-busyness, I haven't gotten around to doing a host of playlists, and, to be honest, I'm not even sure what was on the those shows anymore. There's a log I maintain, but that's a jumble too and...I'm just going to proceed right now the current show with the (now solemn) promise that henceforth the blog will match the show of that week and if it means losing sleep to accomplish this quotidian task then...so be it.
That being said...anyone who listened Saturday night will be aware that this was a very special show. I dedicated the entire evening to my Neighbor- a very special person- who now joins the ranks of Robert Fripp, Christian Vander, Brian Eno- as well as the nation of France- in having an entire evening of music dedicated to them. This is mighty company, I might add. I'm not implying the Neighbor should be unduly grateful for such encomiums and elevation to Empyrean realms in DJ Timothy's hauteur-laden estimation but...I do hope that person understands that- though consistently impecunious and therefore not able to offer much- I can do this for them, and that such a gift is about as sincere an offer of admiration as I can bestow. Along with chicken marsala and sandwiches from Esposito's pork store on Court St., you, Neighbor, are my favorite thing in the world. Now, let us discuss what we heard, shall we?
While RA swerved decidedly "Pop-ish" is this episode, I was placated by a friend who wrote that "only you could be worried about 'selling out' with a show where you played Joy Division and Brian Eno'". Pleased with this response to my constant worrying and jealous guarding of the good RA name, I said "Of course this is all fine" and played a set-list that- as it turns out- may be one of RA's best. Starting with a well-known favorite of your host- Alexander Sobolev's "Gidrophobia" from the just-splendid record Phobia, we established the Neighbor-friendly theme from the first seconds, as it just so happens said Neighbor loves this track. The Techno-friendly ambience of Sobolev segued nicely to a similar concept of Wolfgang Voigt and his Gas project, from the near-miraculous Konigsforst album, one so dense, hypnotic and lovely that you simply must relax whilst having your brain waves massaged by Herr Voigt. A wonderful start to the show, may I say.
From there, it was Neighbor-friendly music for over four hours. I don't think I've had the chance to play Mark Tucker on the show before, but I love his post-apocalyptic concept album about the US Postal Service (no lie) called In the Sack. We heard "Everywhere With Sally (Ride)" a curiously beautiful ballad recorded- as per Mark's bizarre tastes- backwards. Some excellent early solo Peter Gabriel and the deftly-narrated track of a lover's revenge by Peter Hammill- "Film Noir"- segued into a remarkably poignant performance by Scott Walker on the Jools Holland program where Scott's vulnarability and honesty is...painful to watch. It's one of my favorite performances ever, and there just isn't anyone quite like Scott. We also heard from Nino Ferrer...whom some have said I favor. I don't know about that (M. Ferrer is ridiculously handsome, you ask me) but I sure do love that song of his I play all the time. It's one of my very favorites ever.
Levity was provided by Klaus Nomi, the superbly silly V. Mescherin and his Soviet Sounds, the adorable Stella- long before she married Christian and helped to shape the Magma sound- and...oh so many wonderful things. While this was, indeed, a very special all-Neighbor edition...I hope this person doesn't mind if I do this again some time. And I promise not to let anyone know who you are. Until you tell me it's ok. - TKR
Setlist For RA#37 Dedicated To My Neighbor
1) Alexander Sobolev- "Gidrophobia"
2) Gas- "Konigsforst 5"
3) Knocking Bamboo- "Brittle Two"
4) Czar- "Cecilia"
5) David Bowie- "Fashion"
6) Joy Division- "Transmission"
7) Nino Ferrer- "Looking For You"
8) Thomas Dolby- "Airwaves"
9) Wire- "French Film Blurred"
10) Brian Eno- "Driving Me Backwards"
11) Mark Tucker- "Everywhere With Sally (Ride)"
12) Peter Gabriel- "One The Air" / "D.I.Y."
13) Peter Hammill- "Film Noir"
14) Silver Apples- "Oscillations"
15) Setna- "Intuition"
16) John Martyn & Beverly Martyn- "Stormbringer"
17) Fairfield Parlour- "Aries"
18) Scott Walker- "Rosary" (Live on Jools Holland)
19) Radiohead- "There There" (Live in Atlanta, 2003)
20) Freedom's Children- "The Homecoming"
21) Rust- "Come With Me" / "You Thought You Had It Made"
22) Peter Schilling- "Major Tom (Vollig losgelost)"
23) Pavillion 7b- "Overdose"
24) Flo & Andrew- "Japanese Girls"
25) Hans Edler- "Jag Sokte Efter Karlek"
26) V. Mescherin's Orchestra- "On The Way To School"
27) Klaus Nomi- "Simple Man"
28) J.J. Burnel- "Euroman"
29) Rita Mitsouko- "Jalousie"
30) Stella- "Le Vampire"
31) Les Problemes- "Je ne vois rien"
32) Delphine- "Le fermeture eclair"
33) Jacques Dutronc featuring Francoise Hardy- "Mini, Mini, Mini"
34) Jonesy- "Can You Get That Together"
35) Van der Graaf Generator- "Man Erg"
36) 3 Hur-El- "Sevenler Aglarmis"
37) The Churchills- "Subsequent Finale"
38) The Sea Of Wires- "An Endless Rainy Day"
39) Peter Scion- "The Devil Is A Watcher"
40) Continental Soul Searchers (Peter Scion)- "Ring Of Gold"
Download This Episode Here
