The Ballad of Ronnie Drew

A who’s who of Irish musicians including U2 (Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, & The Edge, The Corrs (Andrea Corrs), Sinead O’Connor, The Pogues (Shane MacGowan), The Dubliners, Hothouse Flowers (Liam O Maoniai), and others.

The Song in the Macbook Air Commercial

Apple always seems to pick catchy and relatively unknown artists for their commercials. The current Macbook Air (love the laptop) commercial is no exception. The song is called “New Soul” and it’s sung by Yael Naim.

Griffin House

Griffin House is a new artist from Nashville definitely worth checking out.  His new “CD” Flying Upside Down” is available for only $7.99 on iTunes and definitely worth every cent!!

Downtown Line

I Remember (It’s Happening Again)

Leftover Lunch – WFNX Boston

Probably the best hour on local Boston radio comes from Julie Kramer’s Leftover Lunch.  Playing only the best classic alternative tunes from the 80s and early 90s!

http://wfnx.com/shows/juliekramer/default.aspx 

http://www.juliekramer.com/Home.html 

Now Playing on XM’s Fred

How good is this station!?!? How good is this song!?!?

birds fly (whisper to a scream ) – icicle works

WBOS Boston Is Now Radio 92.9

So a very popular radio station in Boston formerly called WBOS has recently changed its name to Radio 92.9. The former WBOS was geared more towards a 30 and above crowd that had a lighter mix of tunes. They didn’t play the heavy alternative songs like WBCN 104.1 or the “tad bit” more obscure stuff like WFNX. WBOS focused on the safe hits of the 80s, 90s, and today!

Well without warning WBOS changed its name & brand to Radio 92.9 while at the same time firing all of its DJs, cutting back on commercials and even more dramatically focusing on that younger pop alternative, made to look alternative clones that the music business have been shelling out. They are obviously targeting a younger audience but I have yet to hear anyone praise the new format (unless you read their testimonials) but rather I know a few who have taken them off their presets.

First off, the move to limited commercials and no talk is very interesting since it sounds very familiar to the XM and Sirius model which I love. 20 years ago the radio could dish out anything they wanted and you were forced to listen to them since that’s all there was. Today we have iTunes, downloaded music, XM Radio, YouTube (which is great for music videos) and a host of other competitors. Even though I really liked the WBOS DJs (especially Morse on Music) they are adapting to the times. This I like, however, the problem with Radio 92.9 is that they can’t seem to find their voice. They play a lot of crap that’s a cross between alternative and pop. A mix of WBCN, WFNX, Kiss 108 and Mix 98.5. Just because you throw in a mix doesn’t mean people will like it. How about some groundbreaking music that’s NOT alternative pop that the music industry wants you to hear. The man reason I like the River (92.5) is because they play good music no matter where it’s from – independent or major label. I would imagine (AND HOPE) that The River extends their reach deeper into Boston – I mean it is a bigger market than metro west. It would be nice if the radio business actually acknowledged that Damien Rice and Ray Lamantagne are amazing artists even though they don’t sell as many albums as Maroon 5 – who are very weak by the way!

The new Radio 92.9 appears to be straddling the fence, not quite sure what kind of tunes to play. Pick a genre and go with it! WFNX is not necessarily my favorite station but take a listen to Julie Kramer’s Leftover Lunch or XM’s Fred to hear what good programming sounds like. Thank goodness for the Internet, iTunes (which is huge for independent artists) , YouTube, Julie Kramer & XM Radio!!!

Update 2/27/08:  Is it just me or does it sound like Radio 92.9 listened to the feedback and changed their play list back to sound more like WBOS?  Please feel free to leave your comments below.  For their last 100 songs see:  http://rockphoria.com/2008/02/28/radio-929/   

Disintegration

I recently met a girl who was a HUGE Cure fan yet she never heard of Disintegration.  How could you be a Cure fan and not know Disintegration?  This is like being a vegetarian but never eating vegetables.  Disintegration is Robert Smith’s masterpiece and one of the greatest CDs of all time.  Definitely my desert island CD for those dreary days.

For Squirrels – Mighty K.C.

Until recently (thanks to XM Radio’s Fred) I had forgotten all about this classic from For Squirrels. I don’t believe they had much more than this song but what a good one it is! You can’t help but sing to the uplifting chorus – sounds a lot like REM!

Current Events & Music

Sometimes it takes music to really drive home the state of world affairs. 

Click on World Politics for lyrics

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah

Since I mentioned Jeff Buckley in my Kate Walsh post I had to listen to one of the most beautiful voices of all time.  Jeff Buckley’s untimely death is one of the greatest losses to the future of music that we’ve ever seen.  This includes Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and I believe even Jimi Hendrix.  Looking at his spot in a local Boston CD store it’s sad to know that nothing “new” will ever fill that space.