Monday 25 June 2018

KSHE Klassics Show, June 24th, 2018


Quotation du jour: Frank Zappa ~ Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.

[As you may or may not know, i live in Canada, and for some reason KSHE doesn't stream their audio to here. I have to connect to a VPN to spoof a non-Canadian address. This week, according to https://whatismyipaddress.com/, i was listening not from somewhere in the USA as usual, but from Assam, India. Gosh, it was hot there, and the curry was excellent. But, what, really? They stream their audio to India but not to Canada? That's curious.]

It's difficult to know what to say about this week's program. It was definitely the highlight of my week (especially as i've been unable to get to my favourite pub in a while) and it remains the best radio show that i'm aware of, but, after last Sunday's brilliant edition, this was just the slightliest teeniest bit of a disappointment. It was all great music to be sure, and there was nothing whatsoever that made me want to adjust my speakers' settings with a hammer, and quite a few songs that i loved, but, far fewer than last week. Never mind. I still want to have its babies.

















Ian McLagan – Little Troublemaker
Bob Dylan – Tangled Up In Blue
Santana – Dance Sister Dance
Fleetwood Mac – Oh Well (live)
Tom Petty – Listen To Her Heart
Nantucket – California
The Stabilizers – One Simple Thing
Jackson Browne – Fountain Of Sorrow
Eric Clapton – Blues Power
Pink Floyd – Free Four
Little Feat – Feets Don't Fail Me Now
The Band – The Weight
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Knife Edge
Krokus – Screaming In The Night
Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne
David Bowie – The Jean Genie
The Steve Miller Band – The Stake
The Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays
Steve Winwood – Arc Of A Diver
Leon Russell – Tightrope
Genesis – I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
Robin Trower – Little Bit Of Sympathy
Climax Blues Band – Mighty Fire
Mason Proffit – Two Hangmen
Frank Zappa – Joe's Garage
Chris Rea – Working On It
Touch – Don't You Know What Love Is
George Harrison – What Is Life
Rare Bird – Beautiful Scarlet
UFO – Lights Out
Chuck Francour – Under The Boulevard Lights
Van Morrison – Wild Night
Triumvirat – Spartacus
The Allman Brothers Band – Wasted Words
The Grateful Dead – Uncle John's Band
The James Gang – Alexis

As i mentioned above, i haven't been able to get to my favourite pub in a while. This is what we played here at World Headquarters as the aural equivalent of a few pints:

Talk Talk – Spirit Of Eden
Davy Spillane – Atlantic Bridge
Brand X – Unorthodox Behaviour
The Bee Gees – Odessa
Barbra Streisand – The Broadway Album
Siouxsie & The Banshees – Superstition
Camel – I Can See Your House From Here
Bruce Hornsby & The Range – The Way It Is
Sparks – Kimono My House
The Beatles – Past Masters, Volume 1
Rory Gallagher – Fresh Evidence
Pyewackett – Pyewackett
Ashley Hutchings et al. – Son Of Morris On
Runrig – Heartland
Robin Trower – Truce
Fairport Convention – Full House
Genesis – Abacab
Joan Osborne – How Sweet It Is
Peter Hammill – In Camera
Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic
Mike Oldfield – Music Of The Spheres
Roxy Music – The Best Of Roxy Music
Dick Gaughan – Gaughan
Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe – Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe
Hothouse Flowers –Songs From The Rain
Ashley Hutchings et al. – Rattlebone And Ploughjack
The Kinks – Low Budget
Mott The Hoople – Mott
Yes – Fragile
Marillion – Somewhere Else
Dan Fogelberg – Live At Carnegie Hall
Capercaillie – Sidewaulk

Sunday 17 June 2018

KSHE Klassics Show, June 17th, 2018



Quotation du jour: Abraham Lincoln ~ All it takes for evil men to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.

[As you may or may not know, i live in Canada, and for some reason KSHE doesn't stream their audio to here. I have to connect to a VPN to spoof a non-Canadian address. This week, according to https://whatismyipaddress.com/, i was listening from San Francisco. I haven't listened from there very often.]

O, wow, o, WOW! What an exceptionally good show today. So much music that i love and only one thing that i hated: the REO Speedwagon. It was almost like listening to my own record collection, without the hassle of having to get up and go over to the turntable to change the record every four minutes (and, at my age, getting up from my desk at all, is becoming a bit of an exertion....).

It's very difficult to choose a highlight – just look at that list! -- but i think i'll go with the Rockpile track.



Elton John – Grey Seal
J. Geils Band – First I Look At The Purse
Canned Heat – Going Up The Country
Journey – The Girl Can't Help It
Strawbs – Autumn
Jethro Tull – Nothing Is Easy
Robin Trower – Day Of The Eagle
Alice Cooper – Under My Wheels
Marillion – Kayleigh
Steve Winwood – While You See A Chance
Brownsville Station – Smokin' In The Boys' Room
Shoot – Sepia Sister
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Sweet Hitch-Hiker
Uriah Heep – Stealin'
David Bowie – Golden Years
Jackson Browne – In The Shape Of A Heart
Marshall Tucker Band – Searchin' For A Rainbow
Icehouse – Electric Blue
Andy Pratt – Avenging Annie
Mama's Pride – She's A Stranger To Me Now
Loverboy – Hot Girls In Love
Rainbow – Stone Cold
Jefferson Starship – Miracles
Marshall Tucker Band – Blue Ridge Mountain Sky
Crosby, Stills & Nash – Marrakesh Express
Roger Daltrey – One Man Band
Rockpile – Teacher Teacher
The Steve Miller Band – Space Cowboy
Dire Straits – Skateaway
Fleetwood Mac – Heroes Are Hard To Find
The Tubes – Talk To Ya Later
REO Speedwagon – Only The Strong Survive
Martin Briley – Salt In My Tears
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Don't Ask Me No Questions
The Doors – The Wasp (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)
The Fixx – Stand Or Fall
Good Rats – Injun Joe

The following albums found their way onto my personal playlist this week:

Fairport Convention – Gladys' Leap
The Albion Band – Demi Paradise
Rush – Power Windows
Billy Joel – The Essential Billy Joel
Santana – Supernatural
Siouxsie & The Banshees – A Kiss In The Dreamhouse
Mama's Pride – Mama's Pride
Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic
Poco – Crazy Loving: The Best Of Poco 1975-1982
Runrig – Heartland
Kim Mitchell – Aural Fixations
Richard Thompson – Acoustic Classics 2
Spirit – Clear
Linkin Park – Meteora
Tim Hart & Maddy Prior – Summer Solstice
Eliza Carthy – Heat, Light And Sound
Bruce Guthro – Guthro
The Rankin Family – Grey Dusk Of Eve
Mike Oldfield – Return To Ommadawn
Renaissance – Scheherazade And Other Stories
Kensington Market – Avenue Road
Jefferson Airplane – The Worst Of Jefferson Airplane
Alanis Morissette – Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Dire Straits – Love Over Gold
Davy Spillane Band – Out Of The Air
The John Kirkpatrick Band – Welcome To Hell
Kiri Te Kanawa – French Opera Arias
The Who – Endless Wire
June Tabor – Against The Streams
Joni Mitchell – Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
Patti Smith – Outside Society

Monday 11 June 2018

KSHE Klassics Show, June 10th, 2018




Quotation du jour: P.G. Wodehouse ~ I can detach myself from the world. If there is a better world to detach oneself from than the one functioning at the moment I have yet to hear of it.

[As you may or may not know, i live in Canada, and for some reason KSHE doesn't stream their audio to here. I have to connect to a VPN to spoof a non-Canadian address. This week, according to https://whatismyipaddress.com/, i was listening from Clifton, New Jersey. I've listened from there before!]

Oh, Jaysus, Ulett played REO Speedwagon today, a group i cannot abide. Their playing and their arrangements are a mess and their singer, Kevin Cronin is obnoxious. (Today's song, "157 Riverside Avenue," includes a lengthy spoken section and i just know that Mr Cronin is someone i would wind up punching in the throat should we ever spend any time together.) I understand that they are very popular in St Louis, and in The States in general, but rock radio in Canada generally derides them. Quite right, IMO! (Well, i love the USA but things are different there.) But that was the nadir of this morning's show. There was literally nothing else that i disliked and quite a lot that i love. It's difficult to choose one single highlight but i think i'll go for Buffalo Springfield.

I really have nothing else to add to this post. (My regular reader breathes a sigh of relief.) My Internet connection was solid; i had no BSODs; there were no fires, tornados or plagues of locusts to interrupt the listening experience. It was, as usual, the highlight of my week.

Look! Here's a photograph of a cute li'l bunny rabbit. Oh, no, wait, it's a hydra.... (Painting by Yoso.)



Hydra – Feel Like Running
The Who – The Kids Are Alright
Santana – All I Ever Wanted
Electric Light Orchestra – Mr Blue Sky
Dickie Betts – Hand Picked
The Greg Kihn Band – The Breakup Song
Sad Café – Black Rose
Utopia – Love In Action
Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited
The Clash – Train In Vain (Stand By Me)
Robin Trower – Sweet Wine Of Love
Steve Winwood – Time Is Running Out
Rod Stewart – Mandolin Wind
Slade – Get Down, Get With It
Rare Bird – As Your Mind Flies
Tony Carey – A Fine, Fine Day
Elvin Bishop – Travelin' Shoes
Blue Öyster Cult – Godzilla
David & David – Welcome To The Boomtown
Buffalo Springfield – Rock 'N' Roll Woman
REO Speedwagon – 157 Riverside Avenue
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River
Heart – Dreamboat Annie
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Dark Star
Tommy Bolin – Post Toastee
Joe Cocker – She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Fleetwood Mac – Bare Trees
Kenny Loggins – Love Has Come Of Age
Prism – Spaceship Superstar
The Kinks – Tired Of Waiting For You
Cheryl Dilcher – High
Marshall Tucker Band – This Ol' Cowboy
Sammy Hagar – (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

And this was my aural medication for the week:

Various Artists – “Patch Adams” (O.S.T.)
Afrocelt Sound System – Volume 3: Further In Time
Paul Simon – Songs From The Capeman
Zap Mama – Sabsylma
Wood Wilson Carthy – Wood Wilson Carthy
Skywhale – The World At Mind's End
T. Rex – The Slider
Spirit – Clear
Terje Rypdal – Q.E.D.
Bonnie Raitt – Fundamental
Pink Floyd – A Saucerful Of Secrets
Marillion – Brave
Melissa Etheridge – Your Little Secret
Donna Summer – Live And More
Garfield – Out There Tonight
The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour
The Allman Brothers Band – Beginnings
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River
Barbra Streisand – The Broadway Album
Rory Gallagher – Fresh Evidence
Robert Plant – Dreamland
Oysterband – Deserters
James – Whiplash
Stéphane Grappelli – Afternoon In Paris
Highly Strung – When The Winds Begin To Sing
Caro Emerald – The Shocking Miss Emerald Acoustic Sessions (EP)
Fish – Raingods With Zippos
Joni Mitchell – Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
Robin Trower – Truce
Van der Graaf Generator – Do Not Disturb
Yes – Relayer
Al Stewart – Year Of The Cat

Sunday 3 June 2018

KSHE Klassics Show, June 3rd, 2018



Quotation du jour: Kingsley Amis ~ Only a world without love strikes me as instantly and decisively more terrible than one without music.

I was listening from San Francisco this morning, according to https://whatismyipaddress.com/ -- cool, i've never been there before.

As my regular reader will have noticed, there was no blogpost last week – for the second time in the merry month of May. That's because there was no Klassics Show last week. It was the Memorial Day weekend in the States, and KSHE always pre-empts regular programming for a "Top 500" countdown.

I spend most of my free time online, so when my Internet connection goes down, it really leaves me at a loss to know what to do with myself. I do everything online: listen to the radio (obviously!), watch TV shows, do all of my banking, annoy all of my friends (via Facebook), etc. On Saturday, my Internet connection didn't just go down, it crashed magnificently. I did all i could think of at my end, to no avail, and then called tech support and a very harassed-sounding young man called Mark said that they were aware of the problem and were working on it, but he was unable to give me an E.T.A. for a resolution.

I was dead worried that i wouldn't be able to listen to the Klassics Show! And then there wasn't one. My connection was fine by Sunday but my Saturday afternoon was pretty much devastated.

Anyway, enough of that. This morning's show was ... disappointingly okay. It's usually great. Oh, of course there were more than a few songs i love and lots that i like, but a lot that didn't do anything for me and a few that bored the kecks off me. And isn't Clapton's "I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart" one of the least rock 'n' roll songs he ever did (and he did some pretty wimpy schtuff in the seventies)? And there was one song, i couldn't figure out what it was, although i've heard it before. KSHE didn't post the artist & title to their web page (which happens occasionally). I think it was Jefferson Starship – Grace Slick was definitely one of the singers – but i was unable to Google the song by using its lyrics, as they were mostly incomprehensible. Sigh...

And here's Planet P. Pluto, that is. If Pluto is still considered a planet, i don't know – i'm behind on my reading of Astronomy Today.



Planet P – Why Me
It's A Beautiful Day – A Hot Summer Day
Bob Welch – Ebony Eyes
Jethro Tull – Bungle In The Jungle
Little Feat – Dixie Chicken
Bob Dylan – Just Like A Woman
Procol Harum – Conquistador
Eric Clapton – I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart
Loggins & Messina – Vahevala
Foreigner – Starrider
The Good Rats – Back To My Music
Steely Dan – Doctor Wu
The Bliss Band – Doctor
The Grateful Dead – One More Saturday Night
Stanley Clarke – School Days
Jefferson Starship (?) -- ??????
Spooky Tooth – Cotton Growin' Man
Michael Murphey – Wildfire
Charlie – Killer Cut
Electric Light Orchestra – Roll Over Beethoven
Dr Hook & The Medicine Show – The Cover Of The Rolling Stone
Steve Hackett – Narnia
Mama's Pride – In The Morning
Chicago – Make Me Smile
Grinderswitch – Pickin' The Blues
Peter Gabriel – Solsbury Hill
Pete Townshend – Pure And Easy
Journey – Of A Lifetime
The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – Fire
Head East – Love Me Tonight
Z.Z. Top – Arrested For Driving While Blind
Kansas – It Takes A Woman's Love (To Make A Man)
Elton John – Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
Roxy Music – Love Is The Drug
Sammy Hagar – The Ice Man
Supertramp – Bloody Well Right
The Babys – Looking For Love

I had a pretty stressful week at work. I didn't have any bubblewrap, so I listened to these albums as my anxiety-relievers:

The Hollies – 20 Golden Greats
Dan Fogelberg – Home Free
Genesis – ...And Then There Were Three...
Pink Floyd – The Endless River
King Crimson – Thrak
Loggins & Messina – On Stage
Caro Emerald – Live From Emerald Island
Peter Gabriel – So
Jack Bruce – Harmony Row
Mark Knopfler – Sailing To Philadelphia
Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV
The Beatles – Rubber Soul
The Tea Party – Seven Circles
Sandy Denny – The North Star Grassman And The Ravens
Runrig – Heartland
Dick Gaughan – The Definitive Collection
Emerson, Lake & Palmer – In The Hot Seat
The Rascals – Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits
Stone The Crows – Live In Montreux 1972
Maddy Prior – Arthur The King
Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Heartbeats Accelerating
Chicago – Chicago V
The Band From Rockall – The Band From Rockall
Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman
Various Artists – Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute To Carole King
Siouxsie & The Banshees – A Kiss In The Dreamhouse
Indigo Girls – Indigo Girls
Blodwyn Pig – Ahead Rings Out
Fairport Convention – A Fairport History
Donovan – A Gift From A Flower To A Garden
Jan Akkerman – Tabernakel
King Crimson – Islands
Joni Mitchell – Don Juan's Reckless Daughter
Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill
Jeff Beck – Who Else!
ABBA – The Visitors