Joan Osborne

Quotation of the day ~ Lester Bangs: The first mistake of art is to assume that it's serious.

We were talking on the radio a few weeks ago about our favourite female singers. There i go with the radio again.  Anyway, i have quite a few, but my immediate answer was Kate Bush.  In retrospect, however, i started to think that maybe, just maybe, it is in fact Joan Osborne.



This video is for "Cathedrals," a song from Joan's 2008 album "Little Wild One."  (I didn't know until today that a video existed for this.)  The song's chorus was the "quotation of the day" on a post a little while ago, it's a highlight of the CD and for reasons unknown it makes me cry. ("It's because you're a wuss" says Cate. Bitch.)

I don't know if the tears well up because of the sentiment, the attempt to find "home" when home no longer exists or never did; or just because her voice is just so damn' beautiful and powerful and emotive.

There are lots of female voices that wreck me: Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, Judy Collins, Maddy Prior, Dusty Springfield, Kathy Mattea, Agnetha & Frida from ABBA, Sandy Denny Dagmar Krause, Ofra Haza, the list goes on ....  But Joan's music breaks my spine. 

Here's the playlist since, er, the last playlist:

Billy Talent -- III
Van Halen -- 5150
Dagmar Krause & Marie Goyette -- A Scientific Dream And A French Kiss
Peter Hammill -- Fool's Mate
Tim Renwick -- Privateer
Sky -- Five Live
Kathy Mattea -- Coal


 

Radio Radio

Comic strip of the day © Stephan Pastis:

 

G' Day, all ~

At the risk of boring you all even further on this subject, my radio station situation has settled down after several upsetting weeks.   The changes that took place at 94.9 The Rock recently had me really upset, which is probably pretty foolish  ("probably?" says Cate) (who only ever listens to CatsongRadio.com anyway).

But i've pretty much found a new routine and i'm a slave to my routines.  So here 'tis:

I'm still listening to 94.9 The Rock, but only to the morning programme, weekdays

 If i'm listening at bedtime, in need of something very light that will ease my chronic insomnia, i'll stream 97.7 The Beach, from Wasaga Beach.  Honestly, there are a million easy listening stations around the world that would do the same job; i have opted for The Beach because Rod West -- who was ousted from The Rock when their changes began -- works there now.

At any other time, it's Hauraki for me. http://www.hauraki.co.nz/  A fabulous selection of music, rock both classic and new.  As they broadcast from Auckland New Zealand  (pictured right) they're not much good for local news 'n' weather, but other sources for that sort of quotidian info are legion.

 Oh, and as i know your interest is boundless, here's the Playlist:

Soft Machine -- Third
Yes -- The Yes Album
Ofra Haza -- Miscellaneous Songs
Sparks -- Kimono My House
Peter Hammill -- Consequences
Jane Siberry -- Maria
Mike Rutherford -- Smallcreep's Day
Wishbone Ash -- Winterland 1976
The Band -- Music From Big Pink
Kim Mitchell -- Greatest Hits
Steve Howe -- The Steve Howe Album
Humble Pie -- Performance: Rockin' The Fillmore
Freddie King -- Live at Fillmore West
Jethro Tull -- A Passion Play
John Miles -- Stranger In The City
Seether -- One Cold Night
City Boy -- Book Early
Martin Carthy -- Sweet Wivelsfield
Florence & The Machine -- Ceremonials 

It Just Gets Worse (Radio Again)

Quotation of the day ~ Bob Dylan: The radio makes hideous sounds.

I'm lamenting the demise of 94.9 The Rock, once upon a time my favourite radio station.  I used to love the Craig & Rita program in the mornings, but when i connected to the audio stream on Monday..... No Rita.  All references to her had been expunged from the website, too.  And on Tuesday, Craig had a new "partner," someone called Wendy Boomer.  Possibly not her real name.  I haven't figured her out yet. 

Really, this is very sad.  I like Craig, i'll continue to listen when he's on (although for some reason i couldn't connect to the audio stream this morning and wound up listening to Q107).

My favourite station is now www.hauraki.co.nz  So be it. Life is all about change.  Adapt or die.

And the playlist?

Roy Wood -- Music Book, disc 2
Sky -- 4 Forthcoming
Keane -- Strangeland
City Boy -- The Day The Earth Caught Fire
Roy Wood -- Music Book, disc 1
Rory Gallagher -- Top Priority
Mike Oldfield -- Songs Of Distant Earth
Collective Soul -- Afterwords
City Boy -- Book Early
Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous & Jack DeJohnette -- To Be Continued
Colin James -- Fifteen
Keane -- Strangeland
The Who -- Odds 'n' Sods
Lais -- Dorothea
Jon Lord -- Before I Forget
Jethro Tull -- Songs From The Wooden Gramophone (bootleg)
Joe Bonamassa -- Driving Towards The Daylight

Radio Again

Quotation Of The Day ~ Peter Hammill: The crucial question one comes back to is the examination; without that experience is meaningless. And I think it's true that society is becoming more and more passive, less and less fired up with enthusiasm, in many spheres.

I've been thinking a lot about radio stations lately. As i wrote yesterday, my former favourite radio station (94.9 The Rock) has deteriorated recently -- to the point where i haven't listened to it all week.

Now, although i am (IMFFHO) unique (along with everyone else) you may know this feeling.  You have a fave station and you listen every morning.  The djs become almost like friends, you get to know them, what they do in their spare time, what they like, their quirks and idiosyncracies....

In the case of The Rock, two of the djs -- Rockin' Rod & Craig Robertson -- and i, are now friends on Facebook. Doesn't mean we're real friends, of course, but it's an attachment. And there's affection. And contact.

So, when the radio station changes dramatically for the worse, as The Rock has done (for reasons unknown), one feels a little bit lost.

The first indication that there might be trouble ahead was when Rod was let go, a few weeks ago.

Craig is on holiday this week.  When he returns, i will listen to The Rock again.  Just to listen to him, he's a nice guy.  And a Facebook friend.

But until then, i'm lost in space.

Oh, oops, almost forgot the playlist:

The Allman Brothers Band - A & R Studios, New York 26th August 1971
Blind Lemon Jefferson -- The Best Of....
Christine Collister -- Songbird
Roy Wood -- Music Book

 

 

What On Earth Has Happened To 94.9 The Rock?!?

Quotation Of The Day: Jay Clifford ~ In the cathedrals of New York and Rome / There is a feeling that you should just go home / And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is.

I'm still trying to find out.  It's baffling me, maybe it doesn't exist? Dunno.  Not happy these days, though, feeling nostalgia for something that maybe never existed. That lyric, btw, is from a song Joan Osborne recorded on her album "Little Wild One."  Great album, great singer.


















Anyway, to the point of this post.

About three years ago (and i wrote about it at the time: http://spriggsblog.blogspot.ca/2009/01/radio-part-ii.html) i discovered a fabtastic radio station, broadcasting from Oshawa, Ontario, 94.9 The Rock, and listened online every day.  They were great!  The first time i connected via the Internet they were playing something by Cheech & Chong and i thought, whew, wow, gimme more, i love this!  They had a vast playlist, they played classic rock i hadn't heard in yonks plus loads of brilliant new rock.  (They were, for example, the first place i ever heard The Arkells and Billy Talent.)

But, hey, life is all about change and a wee while ago 94.9 changed drastically.  They fired one of my favourite djs, Rockin' Rod (now Rod West at http://www.977thebeach.ca/ -- music for dentists' offices, bleccch) and drastically reduced their playlist.  (And another of my fave djs, Vanessa Murphy, seems to be on permanent maternity leave....) One of their plugs used to be "I haven't heard that song since...." Meaning that that they played stuff i hadn't heard in years.  Nowadays it should be " i haven't heard that song since a couple of hours ago."

I intend to keep listening.  I like Craig &  Rita (hosts of the morning show).  But Craig is on holidays this week and i haven't listened at all.  Instead, i've been listening to:

http://www.edge.ca/ -- modern rock, it's okay but i don't like the morning guy.  I won't listen often. Plus it's corporate

http://www.kociradio.com/home-page.html -- it's from somewhere on Southern California -- Orange County. Usually great, and they play a lot of blues, but occasionally really wimpy.

http://www.q107.com/ -- all classic rock.   I like the morning show and i've been listening daily, but i don't really want corporate media.

I've been listening here more than anywhere else: http://www.hauraki.co.nz/  Excellent music, although, as they're from Auckland, not much good for local news and weather.

And since the radio is crapola, i have a huge playlist:


Marc Bonilla -- EE Ticket
Caravan -- In The Land Of Grey And Pink
Joe Walsh -- Analog Man
Colin James -- Fifteen
Various Artists -- The Roots Of Rock 'n' Roll, disc 3
The Rolling Stones -- Forty Licks, disc 1
Gentle Giant -- Free Hand
Radiohead -- Kid A
Donnie Munro -- From The West Side
Lais -- Dorothea
The Grateful Dead -- Aoxomoxoa
John Mayer Trio -- Try!
Calum & Rory MacDonald -- The Band From Rockall
chantal Kreviazuk -- What If It All Means Something
Richard Thompson -- Henry The Humnan Fly
Joni Mitchell -- Hejira
Kim Mitchell -- Rockland
Peter Hammill -- And Close As This
Thin Lizzy -- Renegade
Keane -- Strangeland
Joe Bonamassa -- Driving Towards The Daylight
Ashley Hutchings -- The Compleat Dancing Master
Calum & Rory MacDonald -- The Band From Rockall
Asia -- XXX
Peter Hammill -- Consequences
Ian Anderson -- Thick As A Brick 2
The Move -- Movements, disc 1
Marillion -- This Strange Engine
City Boy -- The Day The Earth Caught Fire
Various Artists -- "Yellow Submarine" Resurfaces
Sky - 4 Forthcoming
Muzsikás & Márta Sebestyén - Morning Star
Joan Osborne -- Little Wild One
Jane Siberry -- Meschach Dreams Back
Joan Osborne -- Breakfast In Bed
Genesis -- ABACAB
Keane -- Strangeland
Brian Plummer -- No Questions
Richard Thompson -- 1000 Years Of Popular Music
Runrig -- Transmitting