The British Invasion

Little Radio Playlist 6/29/2006 - Scott Ford edition!

Today on Little radio, I had a Very Special Guest. His name is Scott Ford, and he's this English guy who plays bass with the Twilight Singers. He does lots of other things too, like get tattoos, do awesome web design, take great photos and make out with his hot girlfriend, but today, we just focused on the music thing. Scott ambled in with his favorite songs on a CD, so we popped it into the player, and off we went! After a few technical glitches, we were smooth sailing. Here's what we played:

Live With Me - Twilight Singers w/Mark Lanegan (Live, Massive Attack cover)
Bonnie Brae - Twilight Singers
Redemption Song - Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer
Bring It Back - Mates of State
Permanent Solution - Pleasure Club
Hyperballad - Bjork (live)
Velouria - Pixies
Eton Rifles - The Jam
Hide & Seek - Imogen Heap
Sublime - Twilight Singers (w/Joe Arthur, unreleased track)
Suzanne - Jeff Klein
Hit the City - Mark Lanegan (w/ PJ Harvey)
? (Scott couldn't remember) - Afterhours
Obsession (?) - John Frusciante
Pussywillow - Greg Dulli
Hurt - Johnny Cash
Since You Been Gone - Rainbow
Let It Be - Nick Cave
Neat Neat Neat - The Damned
Poison - Rancid
New England - Billy Bragg
Some Cities - The Doves
Destination Diamond - Diamond Nights
Czar - Frank Black
(?) - Gadjits
We Are Not the Losers Anymore - Actionslacks
Sister Surround - Soundtrack to Our Lives
God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

Thanks for tuning in!

Totally true

Totally stole this from my BFF... Thanks Steve!

Overheard at lunch today:

Cool Guy In The Know: "I can't wait to see "Idyllwild"

Dumb Girl He's Banging: "What's that?"

Cool Guy: "The Outkast movie."

Dumb Girl: "What's it about?"

Cool Guy: "Prohibition..."

Dumb Girl: "OH!...You mean civil rights!..awesome!"

Cool Guy: -blank stare-


I almost spit out my koo koo roo... (that's chicken, for all you non-LA peeps)

Isn't LA awesome?

My Big Fat Gay Weekend

I’m a total fag hag. Have I ever mentioned this? Well, I am. But not as much as I used to be. (Hell, my mom’s a fag hag too. These things run in the family, it seems.) I used to be at gay clubs every weekend, but now I have more gay friends who like to see bands and stuff. Essentially, I don’t find myself in the clubs so much.

Last weekend was Pride LA, however, when all the gays gather in one 6 block area of roped off street in West Hollywood. But that’s not where we start this… I wasn’t at Pride on Saturday night, when bands like Animotion (oh my, yes! Animotion!) and the Bangles were tearin’ it up.

I was at a warehouse in what I like to call “the rotten food district” of downtown LA. Peaches was playing. It was a private party to showcase her new band, because…well… she never had a band before. Now she’s on that Bauhaus / Nine Inch Nails tour, and decided she should have a band. And they ROCKED! Samantha Maloney on drums (she’s played with Hole AND Motley Crue and was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen with sticks), JD from Le Tigre, and that Radio chick who has played with every hot indie lesbian group ever, and I can’t think of the name of a single one.

Anyway, it was crazy fun. Tons of gay boys crammed up against the stage yelling stuff like “shake yer dix shake yer tits” and “come diddle my skittle” and such. Girls were headbanging girls. I think half the actresses from “The L Word” were there. By the end of the show (after a couple costume changes) she was wearing a black cape with a hot pink “XXX” emblazoned across the back. Hmmm… what else is in the teaches of Peaches? All… right.

The next day was Pride, and BOY, was it boring!

My friends were entertaining. There were three stages… the one for all the pretty circuit boys to dance at (which we started to refer to as Waxlandia) which was blaring the mindless house music, one that featured the worst live music ever collected in one place, and one that was, essentially, the gay Mexican cowboy stage. Drag queens done up like Celia Cruz and singing Madonna to line dancing crowds dominated this scene, and it kinda ruled.

By the time Bow Wow Wow was creaking out a tragic version of “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” I decided to cab it home. I had a real show to get to… Spank Rock at Spaceland.

The set was opened by Low Budget from Hollertronix, and immediately made me and my friend hyper. How awesome is that? My tired, jaded ass got up to dance. Now, I’m always one to dance at shows, but this was practically REAL dancing. It was an excellent warmup for the main act, who tore it up, real nasty electronica hip hop style. Does that make sense?

Spank Rock has lots of lyrics like ‘tap that ass” and “funky ass titties” and “hump back tramp” and stuff. So I supposed my weekend was filled with squelchy electronic beats and raunchy lowest common denominator lyrics. But so what? It was fun. It had a good beat and you could dance to it. A lot.

Afterwards, my friend and I were outside talking to some other folks when someone noticed Dave Chapelle was standing by the side walk. Turns out that his best friend, Mos Def, was also nearby. I actually got to meet Mos about a month ago, and he was a sweetheart and just the nicest guy, so I decided to say hi.
Luckily, he remembered who the hell I was , and was again, the nicest guy. We talked about Spank Rock, who he had been talking to when I approached, and was so excited about the show he was sort of hopping around. Then he said, “You know, I meant to tell you when I was at your office, but you have amazing teeth.” This made me laugh out loud, because my fangs (they are in the wrong place so I can sometimes look a bit like a vampire) are a tricky subject in my household, but most people don’t even notice. Except Mos Def, and he thinks they are amazing.

Sigh.

And that was the weekend of June 10th – 11th. It is now officially summer, so let’s see what else comes up…

Hey Mr. (Ms.) DJ...

Today was nice and fun and scary all at the same time. How? Oh, you know!

Little Radio Playlist 6/15/2006

Nothing Natural - Lush
Panic Attack At Breakfast - Hellen Stellar
Colourblind - The Clouds
Soul Soldier - Throwing Muses
Beautiful Things - The 3Ds
Ghosts - Lewis Taylor
Nightporter - Japan
Japanese Queen - Tigarah
Sunshine (remix) - Nicolette
Johnny Barleycorn - Frank Black
Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys
Ever Thought of Coming Back - Kelley Stoltz
And I'm Thinking - The Sneetches
I Wanna Be With You - The Raspberries
Doctor Funk - Smiley introducing Karen Taylor
Girls - Inspector Double Negative & the Equal Positives
Sharks - Cadence Weapon
Fuck the Pain Away - Peaches
Leaving For Good - Moving Picture Show
Masoko Tanga - The Police
Tom Drunk - U Roy
I Know He'll Be Back Someday - Jeanie Reynolds
One Hundred Years - The Cure
I'm Ready - The Twilight Singers
Trouble - Elliott Smith
Portland is Leaving - Rocky Votolato
Cactus Cat - Look Blue Go Purple
Love Me Like You - The Magic Numbers

Next week I'll be in NYC, so if you tune in, you may hear a repeat of a show I did in 2004. Yowza!

Cat Power

To all the non-believers...

WEST MILFORD, N.J. - A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree — twice.

Jack, a 15-pound orange and white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, often chasing small animals, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising.

"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear," owner Donna Dickey told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's editions.

Neighbor Suzanne Giovanetti first spotted Jack's accomplishment after her husband saw a bear climb a tree on the edge of their northern New Jersey property on Sunday. Giovanetti thought Jack was simply looking up at the bear, but soon realized the much larger animal was afraid of the hissing cat.

After about 15 minutes, the bear descended and tried to run away, but Jack chased it up another tree.



Now, THAT'S a cat!

Ladykiller

So the deal is... Many years ago I dated this guy. We had a good time, and some troubles, like all couples do. Regardless, it ended badly, VERY badly. As time went by, we slowly got to be friends again as I forgave him for the ghastly wrongs he did. However, recent actions have caused me to retract said friendship and proclaim him a "Total Fucking Scumbag."

So this show was the special "My Ex Boyfriend Rik Sanchez Is A Total Fucking Scumbag" edition. And boy, did it feel good. Sorry to anyone who was offended... but boy, I kinda deserved this.

Little Radio Playlist 6/8/2006 "Fucking Scumbag" edition

Outside of Town - The Geraldine Fibbers
There Goes My Gun - The Pixies
Running With the Devil - Van Halen
Early Today (and Later That Night) - Greg Dulli
Drop Dead - Siouxsie & the Banshees
Negative Creep - Nirvana
Coney Island Whitefish (Scumbag!) - Joan Jett
Stone Cold Dead in the Market - Ella Fitzgerald
Just Go Away - Blondie
Stutter - Elastica
Acid in My Heart - Sleepy Jackson
Epitaph For My Heart - The Magnetic Fields
Shake the Disease - Depeche Mode
Boys Keep Swinging - David Bowie
Nasty - Janet Jackson
Listen Up - The Gossip
Deceptacon - Le Tigre
Pearls At Swine - The Lovedolls
Gutless - Hole
Snake - PJ Harvey
Rid of Me - PJ Harvey
Momma's Boy - Sonic Youth w/Nancy Sinatra
Anthrax - Gang of 4
You Give Love A Bad Name - Bon Jovi
Smoke Rings - The Shocker
Given the Dog A Bone - ACDC
Close Your Eyes - Kristin Hersh
6'1 - Liz Phair
Johnny Hit & Run Pauline - X
Touch Me I'm Sick - Mudhoney
Die Die My Darling - The Misfits

Next week will be all sweetness and roses again, I swear.

Away From the Waves

It was last Saturday, the first Saturday in June, and it was really crazy hot. One of those dry Los Angeles one-hundred-degrees-in-the-shade hot. The sky was piercingly blue, because it hadn't quite been hot enough for it to be brown, and it was just rainy recently, so things were still a bit... clean. No June gloom yet.

I was leaving Los Feliz, having finished up with some errands (more like shopping and fondling kittens for far too long - they were sooooo cute!) and was cruising down Hillhurst to Sunset. I was, of course, listening to Powder Burns by the Twilight Singers, which has hardly left my car stereo since March. Majestic. "Underneath the Waves" came on as I made that left onto Sunset, and the sundown absolutely blazed in through my rear window. It was that "brightest before the dark" thing, when sunglasses aren't really all that much help. "Underneath the Waves" is not my number one song on the album, but at that particular moment, it was the only song that could even possibly have worked, especially as I cruised back up my street and towards my place. It was like there was nothing else except for that light and that song.

It would have been sooooooo much better if my sunroof wasn't busted, because then everyone else would have heard it too. But that's something I keep meaning to fix.

In the meantime, go get that album.

The Bitterest Pill

Sadly, this is something that I, and too many other women I know, have had to deal with in our short lifespans - the threat of cervical cancer. So this is welcome news (and something that has been coming down the pike for a few years now):

If the Food and Drug Administration rules as expected on a new vaccine next month, cancer of the cervix could be prevented by a vaccine. Last week, an F.D.A. advisory board unanimously endorsed the vaccine, which protects against infection with human papillomavirus or HPV.

There have been only a few times in my life as a physician when I've been able to say (at least to myself), "This is truly big news." My colleagues are saying the same thing. But they are also asking how this promising new treatment will be made available to women and girls worldwide.

In the 30 years since I saw my patient, HPV has been demonstrated to be the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world and the cause of almost all cervical cancers.

(Read the entire article here.)

There is also a vaccine against herpes, which has already been proven to work in women, but not men. So what? If the girls can't catch it. the guys can't spread it. It goes extinct. Same with HPV.

So what is the hesitation with these vaccines? Number one: cost. If all girls are vaccinated around the age of 12, hopefully before they become sexually active, it will cost between $300 and $500 for each girl. And there are a lot of girls in this country.

And the second problem is... Promiscuity. What? Huh? Well, all those super hardcore Christian types are arguing that if girls get this vaccine at such a young age, it will lead them down the road to ruin because they will think they are invincible. I'm not kidding. The future health of our world's women, and the potential eradication of not one, BUT TWO diseases... ONE OF WHICH IS CANCER... is being held back due to morality issues stemming from the conservatives.

I really can't say anything more about it. I just wish this vaccine was around when I was younger, so that my sister and myself, and countless other friends, did not have to go through the fear, pain, and medical procedures brought on by chasing off this cancer in its early stages. Because we got lucky.

If we had been around 30 years earlier, we would have died. Just a thought.

I Am What I Play

My return to Little Radio! Thanks to Jimmy and Dave and the crew for inviting me back... it was A BLAST! It was also the first time I hit the freeways of LA smack at 5pm, going from Bundy on the I-10 east to downtown LA. Um... yuck. I was sort of driving by Braille... My car is small, and I was constantly surrounded by Fed Ex trucks, SUVs and moving vans, which meant I could hardly ever see anything in front of me. Good thing I know the buildings cuz I couldn't see any freeways signs. Lovely.

So here's what I played!

Little Radio Playlist 6/1/2006
















Strawberry Letter # 23 - The Brothers Johnson
Supahero - Aceyalone
Born Into the World - Supersystem
Retreat (Phones remix) - The Rakes
Hex - Neko Case
Driver's Seat - Sniff 'n' the Tears
Everywhere That I'm Not - Translator
Lives of Crime - Fruit Bats
I Don't Care - Teenage Fanclub
Freedom Park - Marah
I Hear a Symphony - The Supremes
Now Dig This! - The CReeps
Mr. Kicks - Oscar Brown Jr.
The Mating Game - Bitter Sweet
Dialing A Prayer - Straightjacket Fits
Powder Burns - Twilight Singers
Hand Me Downs - Soul Position
Smiling Faces Sometimes - The Undisputed Truth
Stax (Strings) - Madlib
Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing - Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell
I Could Be Cruel - The Slender Means
Martha My Dear - The Beatles
Wraith Pinned to the Mist & Other Games - Of Montreal
A Minha Meinina - Os Mutantes
It Ain't What You Do It's the Way That You Do It - Fun Boy Three w/ Bananarama
Don't Save Us From the Flames - M83
Selina's Melodie Fountain - Serena-Maneesh
Good Times - The Easybeats

Every Thursday from 6-8pm, PST. Swing by and give it a listen!