November 29, 2010

"Goodbye pork-pie hat" - The Pentangle (Sweet child)
"Ascension ghost impression #2" - Exploding Star Orchestra (Stars have shapes)
"Lady in the yellow dress" - Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk (Stories from home)
"Suite cannon: Part 1: The king and I" - The Cannonball Adderley Quintet (Pyramid)
"They came and took away our kittens" - Aeroplane Trio (Naranja ha)
"Dakan" - Afrocubism (Afrocubism)
"Wonton" - Medeski, Martin, & Wood (Radiolarians III)
"Nardis" - Mario Romano Quartet (Valentina)
"Nine times blue" - Michael Nesmith (Rio: the best of Michael Nesmith)
"Full time" - Regina Carter (Reverse thread)
"The cat in the hat" - 'Bob Dylan' (Dylan hears a who)
"Standing on the highway" - Bob Dylan (The Whitmark demos: 1962-1964 (the bootleg series vol. 9))
"Shadow dance" - Dave Holland Octet (Pathways)
"Eclipse" - Easy Star All-Stars (Dubber side of the moon)
"Blowin' in the wind" - Leslie Pintchik (We're here to listen)
"The cure" - Trombone Shorty (Backatown)
"Overtones of China" - Jason Adasiewicz (Sun rooms)
"A trabager" - Chachon y la Nueva Crema (The roots of chica 2: psychedelic cumbias from Peru)
"Folk melody" - Ari Roland (New music)
"The Simpsons" - Powerglove (Saturday morning apocalypse)
"Infinity guitars" - Sleigh Bells (Treats)
"German haircut" - Flying Lotus (Cosmogramma)
"Meeting of the spirits" - Matt Haimovitz/Uccello (Meeting of the sprits)
"Discarded cut-off jeans and a pile of drug paraphernalia" - Natural/PolPOT (Natural/PolPOT)

This was a true wide-and-varied show, a lot of fun, at least from my perspective. Some highlights:

*Best titles: "Discarded cut-off jeans and a pile of drug paraphernalia" by Natural/PolPOT, "They came and took away our kittens" by Aeroplane Trio, and "Ascension ghost impression #2" by the Exploding Star Orchestra. Gotta love the titles of those experimental tracks.

*Winner of the People Like This A Lot Category: The metal version of the Simpsons theme by Powerglove.

*"Is that really Bob Dylan?": "The cat in the hat" by 'Bob Dylan'.

*A long-time fave of mine: Pentangle's version of Charles Mingus' "Goodbye pork-pie hat". A little different than many of the other (many) other covers of this tune but the first one that really jumped out at me. I may have even heard it before a version by Mingus.

Christmas is coming, of course, and, looking ahead, the "official" Christmas show for Breaking The Tethers will be December 27. I've often ignored Christmas-themed music in past years but I've decided to play some Christmas tunes both on the 27th and in the three programs leading up to that date. Don't expect anything too traditional!

One other thing that will be occuring soon is that the 5000th track will be played on Breaking The Tethers. This will happen sometime in the next few weeks, maybe on the 27th. After today's show, 4911 tracks have been played, leaving just 89 left before the 5000 mark is reached.

Andrew

November 22, 2010

"The paladin" - Wide Hive Players (Players II guitar)
"Variations on invitation (alt.)" - Pamela Hines Trio (Moon germs)
"Sixteen, fifteen, fourteen" - P.J. Harvey & John Parish (A woman a man walked by)
"It never moves" - Henry Threadgill Zooid (This brings us to: volume II)
"Lionsteeth" - Church of the Very Bright Lights (Gang crimes)
"Enshakoota" - Gordon Grdina Trio With Mats Gustafsson (Barrel fire)
"At daybreak the first greyness to emerge" - Somnabulists (At daybreak the first greyness to emerge)
"Epistrophy" - The Microscopic Septet (Friday the thirteenth: the Micros play Monk)
"Cold comfort" - Gerry Hebert Quartet (The Beat Niq sessions vol. 3 - conversations)
"Sing a song for you" - Anne Briggs (Sing a song for you)
"West of crash" - Mario Pavone (Orange double tenor)
"Songs without words I" - John Cale (Words for the dying)
"Albanico" - River City Big Band (Just friends)
"Sunny mission" - Hauschka (Foreign landscape)
"Songs without words II" - John Cale (Words for the dying)
"Twilight" - Luis Bonilla (Twilight)
"Huaca de la luna" - Jason Robinson (The two faces of Janus)
"Inside look" - Subtle Lip Can (Subtle Lip Can)
"Gabriel's horns" - The Don Berner Sextet (The Don Berner Sextet invades Calgary: live at the Beatniq)
"Everything is beautiful" - Mark McLean (Mark McLean's playground)
"Never giving up" - Polar Bear with Jyager (Common ground)
"Nobody's fault but my own" - Jazz Folk (Jazz in the stone age)
"Depression (loukhoum)" - Richard Pinhas (Metal/crystal)


Another jazz-orientated show accompanied by, again, another group of experimental material. Musically, this one really clicked with me though I was kinda clumsy on the board. Such is (my) life sometimes.

I had my first "news" interview on today's program. I talked with former University of Calgary Students' Union president Charlotte Kingston, who is now an intern at the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership. The Foundation has just released a report on the impact of the economy on Calgarians, particularly students and new canadians, entitled Wasted Wasted Potential: Students and New Canadians Talk Frankly About the Impact of the Economic Downturn, which Charlotte and I discussed.

Apologies for not getting the playlist up earlier. I had hoped to post this yesterday or on Monday but things were just a tad busier than expected (meetings, an hour-long wait for a C-Train in -30 degree temperature, etc.).

Andrew

November 15, 2010

"Get in there" - Jason Adasiewicz (Sun rooms)
"The ABCs of anarchism" - Chumbawamba
"Smash the state" - D.O.A. (Bloodied but unbowed: the damage to date: 1978-1983)
"Special sauce" - Ed Henderson (Intimate)
"Silbury sands" - Wolf People (Steeple)
"ChromoRocker" - Exploding Star Orchestra (Stars have shapes)
"W.R.U." - Matt Haimovitz/Uccello (Meeting of the sprits)
"God rest ye merry gentlemen" - Oliver Jones/Ranee Lee/Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir
(A celebration in time)
"Grinding dance" - Natural/PolPOT (Natural/PolPOT)
"How's never" - Dave Holland Octet (Pathways)
"Go let's go" - Hangedup (Clatter for control)
"Norwegian wood" - Mario Romano Quartet (Valentina)
unknown - Gmackrr (Avant plans et bruit de fond)
"Eastern echoes" - Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green (Apex)
"Whatever happened to the sand people" - Aeroplane Trio (Naranja ha)
"Be there" - Skyf (Next stop… Soweto, vol. 3: giants, ministers and makers: jazz in South Africa 1963-1980)
"Soupirs d'espace 1) soupirs d'espace" - The Oberon Guitar Trio (Music of our time)
"Esther's nose job" - Soft Machine (Backwards)
"(re)prise" - Dryft (Ventricle)
"Village green" - Joey DeFrancesco/Robi Botos/Vito Rezzo/Phil Dwyer (One take, volume four)
"Zuata zuata" - Puto Prata (The sound of Club Secousse vol. 1)
"Euclid ave" - Phil Hawkins (Sugarcane suite)
"The exploitation game" - Cymbl (Bronze nature)
"When the ground is numb" - William Ryan Fritch (Music for honey and bile)
"Being and becoming" - Charles Lloyd Quartet (Mirror)

Another jazz-slanted show, though with a foot in the experimental camp. And I snuck in another performance by Soft Machine, one of my all-time faves. Top title this week, IMHO: "Whatever happened to the sand people" by Aeroplane Trio.

Andrew

Funding Drive 2010 and Breaking The Tethers

Though I was not in attendance, I heard that the CJSW Funding Drive 2010 edition of Breaking The Tethers (Monday, October 25) went down very well. In terms of money pledged, the total amount pledged during the program by phone was $680. I was told that an additional $300 came in via the Web during the BTT time period. Many thanks to Andrew, Brian, Rob, Nicholas, Ken, Curtis, Veronica, and Natasha for their wonderful contributions! Thanks also to Myke Atkinson who did a great job filling in for me!

One more set of thanks: To Bryson Montgomery for covering Breaking The Tethers on November 1, when I was also away.

I'll be back on the air next Monday, November 15, 7 am. Please join me then.

Andrew

November 8, 2010

"Muskeg blues" - Gerry Hebert Quartet (The Beat Niq sessions vol. 3 - conversations)
"Tides of consciousness falling" - Jason Robinson (The two faces of Janus)
"Dancing mystic poets at twylight" - Geri Allen (Flying toward the sound)
"Psychedelic baby" - Fubura Sekibo (Nigeria special: volume 2: modern highlife, afro sounds & Nigerian blues)
"Silver lining" - The Nigel Kennedy Quintet (Shhh!)
"Fine bone salo" - New Channel (New Channel)
"Nothing but heartache in your social life" - Gordon Downie (Coke machine glow)
"Which way" - Mark McLean (Mark McLean's playground)
"Farewell to Nova Scotia" - The Sheridan Band (Running wild)
"Prairie" - Matthias Lupri (After hours: moonlamps & other ballads)
"Cold brains" - Jazz Folk (Jazz in the stone age)
"Rusty car" - Bucket Boys (Killing club)
"Passu torratu" - Hughes de Courson (Lux obscura)
"The adults" - Peripheral Vision (Peripheral Vision)
"Living with the crocodiles" - Doug Snyder and Bob Thompson (Daily dance)
"Metallic spheres" - The Orb Featuring David Gilmour (Metallic spheres)
"Teo" - The Microscopic Septet (Friday the thirteenth: the Micros play Monk)
"Don't give up" - Jeff King (Catalyst)
"Shadows II" - Ensemble Resonance (Electrospectives)
"Droplet" - Uz Jseme Doma (Caves)
"This brings us to" - Henry Threadgill Zooid (This brings us to: volume II)
"Mid code" - Mario Pavone (Orange double tenor)
"Fionnghuala" - The Bothy Band (Old hag you have killed me)
"The role I choose" - Polar Bear with Jyager (Common ground)
"Watt" - Floored By Four (Floored By Four)
"Surcharge" - Mike Pride's From Bacteria To Boys (Betweenwhile)
"La faulx" - Univers Zero (Heresie)

This was my first show for three weeks and it featured a big chunk of jazz (plus, interestingly, a celtic element). A fair amount of newly-released jazz crossed my path recently so I figured I would give it an airing on Breaking The Tethers. I've got leftovers, so to speak, so I suspect that the next show or two will be jazz-centred. Who knows what the program will be like after that? :-)

Andrew