The Best of 2003
according to...

Bronwyn C.
Vicki Bennett
Laura Cantrell
Pseu Braun
Brian Turner
Terre T
R. Lim
Monica
David Suisman
Donna Summer
Douglas Wolk
Doug Schulkind
Dan Mackta
Bill Kelly
Charlie
Professor Dum Dum
Bob Rixon
Chris T.
Steinski
Diane Kamikaze
Mike Lupica
Rich Hazelton
Stefan
Fabio
Dave the Spazz
Rob Weisberg
Megan Murphy
Kenny G
Joe Belock
Bethany Ryker
Michael Goodstein
Henry Lowengard
Dan Bodah

BRONWYN C. - The Kelly Jones Show Starring Bronwyn Carlton (Tuesdays at 6pm)
  1. boy-leg briefs
  2. tap pants
  3. hipster
  4. string bikini
  5. high-cut briefs
  6. classic bikini
  7. g-string
  8. crotchless
  9. battel thong
  10. commando



VICKI BENNETT/PEOPLE LIKE US - Do or DIY (Wednesdays at 6pm)

Getting a show on WFMU
Rediscovering a certain Hotline server for the best music I can find
Meeting Kenny G, about time too
Sean Landers - The Man Within
Doing a John Peel session/meeting John Peel
Tatu - How Soon Is Now?
Ergo Phizmiz
Wing - Sings The Carpenters
Acquiring The People's Choice CD by Dave Soldier at last
Working with Rick Prelinger
Getting around to making some changes in my life (oh, that's 11)



 LAURA CANTRELL - Radio Thrift Shop (Saturdays Noon-3pm)

1. Linda Thompson (Joe's Pub, New York, May 20) Sharing the stage with her son Teddy, Thompson faltered and blossomed with heart and nerve. The audience remained rapt from the "Banks of the Clyde" to the inevitable "Dimming of the Day."

2. June Carter Cash, Wildwood Flower (Dualtone) The autobiography and family album of a true Appalachian-American princess, completed just before her death in May.

3. Kate Rusby, Underneath The Stars (Pure) British folk buoyed by Rusby's warm voice and sweetly steely presence.

4. Steve Earle, Just An American Boy, The Audio Documentary (Artemis) In this sound track to his Jerusalem tour documentary, Earle rocks, rants, and otherwise expresses his patriotic urge to disagree.

5. Paul Burch, Fool for Love (Bloodshot) Burch delivers lush and literate country songs for late-night listening. Big dumb twang this ain't.

6. 39th Charles Wells Cambridge Folk Festival (Cambridge, England, July 31-Aug. 3) An unexpected heat wave made for sweaty sets by Robert Randolph, Roseanne Cash, John McCusker and Phil Cunningham, and the Waifs. Several thousand capered and grooved, combating the dry weather with warm lager.

7. Ray Price, Touch My Heart/Burning Memories (Audium Entertainment) Two 1960s albums reissued together show Price making the turn from master of the Texas shuffle to crooner extraordinaire.

8. Teenage Fanclub, Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Six Seconds: A Short Cut To Teenage Fanclub (Jet Set) Sunnier than Glasgow in August, sweet guitar pop from these Scottish gentleman rockers.

9. Shelby Lynne, Identity Crisis (Capitol/EMI) A grand tour of Lynne's frame of mind via unleashed voice and guitar.

10. Gillian Welch, Soul Journey (Acony) Welch finds poetry in the old songs and makes some high lonesome verse of her own.



PSEU BRAUN (Fridays 8-11p)

Year-End top ten
  1. the capture
  2. the kiss
  3. the tape
  4. the accusations
  5. the physical evidence
  6. the charges
  7. the release
  8. the routine
  9. the resolution



BRIAN TURNER - WFMU Music/Program Director (Tuesdays 3-6pm)

musical, in no particular order:

ARBETE OCH FRITID / s/t (MNW)
CIRCLE / Raunio (Squealer)
REV. CHARLIE JACKSON / God's Got It (Case Quarter)
MOE! STAIANO'S MOE!KESTRA / Two Forms of Multitude (Pax/Edgetone)
THE FALL / Country On the Click (Action)
Belinda's "Institutionalized", Hoof N' Mouth Performance, 3/03
LED ZEPPELIN / How the West Was Won (Atlantic) + DVD
SPARKS / Li'l Beethoven (Palm)
DIAMATREGON / Blasphemy For Satan (Tumult)
Nonesuch 13CD Explorer series, Indonesia/Pacific batch
HARVEY MILK / Singles (Relapse)
DEERHOOF / Apple O (Kill Rock Stars)
KELLEY STOLTZ / Antique Glow (Jackpine Social Club) + Crockodials CDR
THE BUG / Pressure (Tigerbeat 6)
GETATCHEW MEKURYA / The Negus of Ethiopian Sax (Buda Musique)
THE SPEAKING CANARIES / Get Out Alive: The Last Type Story (Scat)
ALVARIUS B: In general. "Ding" w/Cerberus Shoal, the song burned into my cranium this year, the Javanese/Sumatran/Bali discs, the Bali/Morocco DVDs, doing the Sun City Girls WFMU broadcast (coming out as a 2CD Carnival Folklore disc next year, a beautiful thing indeed!)
  • The Stooges: TOTALLY DESTROYED at Jones Beach.

  • The pleasure of getting to host some of my favorite live music on the air: Rocket From the Tombs, Comets On Fire, Deerhoof, Kinski, Scorces, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Michael Yonkers Band, The Ex, Alvaro, Noxagt, Kelley Stoltz & Spiral Stairs, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Sunroof, Matmos with tap dancer.

  • Getting to play guitar with Yo La Tengo at Maxwells during their Hannukah shows with Gaylord on vox and Todd Barry in Peter Criss makeup on drums. Unfortunately, the Kiss covers Ira told me to learn in advance I learned from the studio albums, while the band leaned theirs from Kiss Alive in a different key.
miscellaneous:
  • Seldon Hunt: Australian artist/graphic designer I was turned onto by Stephen O'Malley whose work is a total knockout. Brain-bending, dense, linear-based imagery with microscopic detail and total soul.

  • The Office: Seasons 1 & 2

  • Knowing Me Knowing You/I Am Alan Partridge DVDs (season 2 worth it alone for the main menu screen loop of Alan in his trailer playing air bass to Level 42 with total abandon.)

  • Scuba Diving in Provo, Turks & Caicos in March: save the money on Rallizes boots and Acid Mothers releases, this is better. Despite the boats always being littered with NRA-cardcarrying types, Parrotheads and New Agers, within an hour I got to drop through a cave tunnel at 110 feet to see a 1000' dropoff ledge, got bumped by a turtle the size of a Yugo, saw sharks and had to wait 20 minutes 20' down to get back on the boat because a bunch of barracuda decided to freeze under the ladder and stare me down. The tour operators even videotaped the whole thing, edited together with the worst Enya music imaginable in the background and charge $40 for a VHS copy (I bought one).

  • Stan Brakhage compilation DVD

  • UK in October: Tate Modern / meeting the excellent David Tibet / stones and burial mounds of Wiltshire / people egging David Blaine / Edinburgh and Scotland / Darkness tribute bands in every bar.

  • Fernando Meirelles' City of God

  • Nihilist Spasm Band documentary movie at the Horse Hospital in London

  • Christian Marclay exhibit at the Hammer Museum, UCLA this summer

  • The hope of hope that we never have to look at the deer-in-headlights expression of a certain Texan-bred lunatic after next year.



 TERRE T. - Cherry Blossom Clinic (Saturdays 3-6pm)
  1. The Dirtbombs - Dangerous Magical Noise-ITR
  2. Little Killers-s/t-Crypt
  3. Erase Errata - At Crystal Palace -TMU
  4. Functional Blackouts-s/t- www.criminaliq.com
  5. Melt Banana-Cellscape- A-ZAP
  6. Trost - s/t- Strunz
  7. Fiery Furnaces-Gallowsbird Bark-Rough Trade
  8. Bell Rays-Red White and Black-Vital Gesture
  9. Amber Smith- From Upper Lip to Lower Hip EP-Version City
  10. Cobra Verde - Easy Listening-Muscle tone (I actually had this in my top 10 last year as a demo)
Check out an expanded list of Terre's faves of 2003 at  wfmu.org/tt/yummy.html !!!



R. LIM - The Janitor From Mars (Sundays 6-9am)

Nine (9) musical highlights of 2003, in no order (cos ten would mean it's over):

Le Weekend 2003 festival in Stirling- impeccably curated with at least a half dozen musicians who would have merited the trip on their own.

Seeing Miminokoto perform the same set two nights in a row in a completely different manner and being blown away each time.

Being driven into a frenzy along with the rest of the Optimo crowd by LCD Soundsystem on a bank holiday weekend in Glasgow.

Box sets from Kazuki Tomokawa and the Golden Cups, plus (finally) a reissue of the Gen'ya '71 2LP.

The bagload of UK Garage/2-Step white labels and promos that Ms. R. collected in London this summer.

The re-emergence of Hiroyuki Usui and revived availability of his L Holy Letters CD + 7" (one of the all-time great recorded statements of personal expression).

Speaking of which, the reissue of Bruce Palmer's The Cycle Is Complete

The Rapture at NYU in February

All of the musicians and DJs gracious enough to stop by the station to play and/or chat.



 MONICA (Fridays 12-3pm)

Event: The Great Blackout
People: Listeners and staff of WFMU, Olive (the dog)
Film: Drumline
Singer: Rose "Chee Chee" Murphy
Songs: "Sweet Black Angel" by Earl Hooker, "Windows Of The World" by Dionne Warwick
Label: Rosetta, Funky Delicacies/Night Train
DJ Theme: "Rosko's Theme" by Rosko from Rosko's Evergreens
Funk reissue: South Dallas All Stars Live At The Dallas Pop Festival 1970 (Now-Again)
Give the gift of music: "The Hustle" by Rutland Junior High School
Ensemble (gift from John Allen) and "My Confession Of Love" by Frankie Crocker (gift from Mr. Fine Wine)

Twelve compilations of note:
  • Poly High: School Bands Play The Classics (Amalgamated Inc.)
  • R. Crumb Presents Hot Women: Women Singers From The Torrid Region (Kein & Aber)
  • Midwest Funk: Funk 45s From Tornado Alley (Jazzman)
  • Flowers In The Wildwood: Women In Early Country Music 1923-1939 (Trikont)
  • The Wild Bunch - Story Of A Sound System Mixed By DJ Milo (Strut)
  • Disco Boogie Volume Two: Selected And Mixed By Walter Gibbons (Salsoul)
  • Will There Be Yodeling In Heaven? (no label, CD companion to Bart Plantenga's new book of the same name)
  • Chains And Black Exhaust (Memphix)
  • Back To Peru: The Most Complete Compilation Of Peruvian Underground 64-74 (Vampi Soul)
  • Tahiti - The Gauguin Years: Songs And Dances (Nonesuch)
  • Creative Musicians - A Collection Of Highly Underrated Gems From 1963-1976 (Groove Attack)
  • Egon/Curse Of The Evil Badger (Stones Throw)



 DAVID SUISMAN - Inner Ear Detour (Thursdays 9-Noon)
  1. RHYS CHATHAM - An Angel Moves Too Fast To See
  2. OUTKAST - The Love Below / Speakerboxxx
  3. MOONDOG & HIS HONKING GEESE - Play Moondog's Music
  4. EVOLUTION CONTROL COMMITTEE - "I Want a Cookie"
  5. VARIOUS - Sounds of the Northeastern Freeform DJ
  6. DIZZEE RASCAL - Boy in Da Corner
  7. SLEATER-KINNEY & FRED SCHNEIDER - "Angry Inch"
  8. TERRY CALLIER - The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier (reissue)
  9. KAADA - Thank You For Giving Me Your Valuable Time
  10. DIE BLUTLEUCHTE - Rus



DONNA SUMMER - Advanced D&D; (Wednesdays 11p-2am)
  1. CDR demos by: Dev/null, Termianl11, Drop the lime, FRX, Ove Naxx, Sickboy, Duran Duran Duran, Xanopticon, Wild Flower Systematica, and everyone else who has sent stuff in!
  2. Circle - Sunrise-Ektro
  3. END- Erratta 12"/ Georgio Marauder 7"
  4. Nathan Michel- Dear Bicycle- Tigerbeat6
  5. Maja Ratjke- Voice - Rune Grammonphon
  6. The Love Below- Andre 3000/Outkast- Emi
  7. Emotional Joystick- Bellicose Pacific- Zod
  8. Ekkehard Ehlers - Plays CD Compendium (Staubgold)
  9. Knifehandchop- Bling the noise- Irritant
  10. Odd Nosdam- No Wig For Ohio-Anticon



 DOUGLAS WOLK (fill-in DJ)
  1. William Vollmann, "Rising Up and Rising Down"
  2. "The Apple" and its soundtrack
  3. www.worldchanging.com
  4. Melt-Banana, Cell-Scape
  5. Brian Michael Bendis & Michael Gaydos, the "Purple" storyline in Alias
  6. The Thermals, More Parts Per Million
  7. The New Pornographers, The Electric Version
  8. Various artists, Velvet Tinmine
  9. The pirate supply store on Valencia St. in San Francisco
  10. rathergood.com (plus the "suppressed" Viking Kittens video for "Immigrant Song")



DOUG SCHULKIND - Give the Drummer Some (Fridays 9am-Noon)
Here's a more detailed look at Doug Schulkind's favorites of '03

Favorite of the year:
  • Laura Veirs - "Troubled by the Fire" (Bella Union)
    Favorite album of the past year. Maybe the past five. As deep and moving as you need it to be.
Ten more in no particular order:
  • Various - "Waza: Music of the Berta from the Blue Nile" (Wergo)
    Killer trumpet choirs from the Sudan.

  • Clarence Garlow - "Clarence Garlow" (La Cienega)
    Houston-area radio jock was actually an early Zydeco pioneer.

  • Roswell Rudd w/ Toumani Diabate - "Malicool" (Sunnyside)
    Unrelentingly gorgeous trombone matched with griot troupe from Mali.

  • Willie Nelson - "Crazy: The Demo Sessions" (Sugar Hill)
    Unreleased heartbreakers from the '60s.

  • Cedric Im Brooks - "Cedric Im Brooks & the Light of Saba" (Honest Jon's)
    Jamaican sax colossus provides bridge from Ethiopian mystics through Fela Kuti to Sun Ra. And beyond.

  • Rev. Charlie Jackson - "God's Got It" (Case Quarter)
    First-ever CD compilation of legendary sides from Baton Rouge-based gospel guitarist.

  • Roxy Gordon - "Crazy Horse Never Died" (Wowapi)
    Devastating and haunting spoken words set to music by West Texas outlaw poet. Tracks released posthumously by Roxy's widow.

  • Getachew Mekurya - "Ethiopiques Volume 15: Negus of Ethiopian Sax" (Buda Musique)
    The best release so far in this must-have-them-all series of Ethiopian soul/jazz comps.

  • Baby Dodds - "Talking and Drum Solos (& Country Brass Bands)" (Atavistic)
    Phenomenal reissue of legendary Folkways studio demonstrations from early New Orleans pot banger.

  • Tom Brosseau - "Tom Brosseau" (Bed Pan)
    Imagine Jeff Buckley reincarnated as a sweet North Dakota kid.



DAN MACKTA (fill-in DJ)
  • A Frames - 2 (S-S)
  • Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress (Rough Trade)
  • Cobra Verde - Easy Listening (Muscletone)
  • Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird Bark (Rough Trade)
  • Jay-Z - The Black Album (Roc-a-fella)
  • Krakatoa - We Are the Rowboats (Cuneiform)
  • Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below (Arista)
  • The Darkness - Permission to Land (Atlantic)
  • The National - Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers (Brassland)
  • Wire - Send (Pink Flag)



 BILL KELLY - Teenage Wasteland (Sundays 3-5pm)

Bill Kelly's Dirty Dozen (favorite releases):
  1. "39 Minutes Of Bliss (In An Otherwise Meaningless World)" THE CAESARS
  2. "61/49" THE ROMANTICS
  3. "Do You Swing" THE FLESHTONES
  4. "The Mindbending Sounds Of..." THE CHESTERFIELD KINGS
  5. "Skull Ring" IGGY POP
  6. "Elephant" THE WHITE STRIPES
  7. "I See Dead People" THE MONSTERS
  8. "Money For Soul" BABY WOODROSE
  9. "16 Songs Of The Chosen Surfers" MESHUGGA BEACH PARTY
  10. "Salt For Zombies" THE FUZZTONES
  11. "Coming Now" THE FONDAS
  12. "Butterfly Mountain" THE PETALS




CHARLIE (Mondays 9am - 12 Noon)

Maesri brand Red Curry Paste.
- My current fave, a perfect combination of chili, garlic, lemongrass, and Thai spices. I put this in everything but ice cream (note to myself: try with ice cream) -- soups, stews, sauces for noodles (in coconut milk, or, for something a little lighter, soy milk), miso-tahini sauce. Available in that little Thai food store on Mosco Street, in Chinatown.

Matouk's West Indian Hot Sauce
- Fruity, fiery, fun and feisty. I like it mixed with mayonnaise in sandwiches. Good with fried foods, Indian food, potatoes, meat (and fake meat) dishes. Available in Indian food stores on Lexington Avenue in the 20s.

Patak's Mango Pickle, Hot
- Good with Indian food, also in sandwiches, or mashed into mayonnaise or yogurt for a dip. Very strong spices and sour/sweet/hot flavor combo; might take some getting used to if you're not accustomed to it. Also available on Lex.

Chef Chow's Szechuan Hot Bean Paste
- Great with chow fun, other noodle dishes, in sandwiches and bean dips.

Chinese hot mustard
- I just get containers of it (not the packets!) from Chinese take-outs. Good in soups, noodles, rice dishes, with crackers and cheese (and beer). Great for clearing the sinuses. (Coleman's powdered mustard also good in a pinch.)

wasabi (Japanese hot mustard)
- A must with sushi, diluted with a little soy sauce. Good for marinating and broiling. Also a good head-clearer. (Don't exhale through your nose!) Anything sold with wasabi on it is ok by me: dried peas, chips, etc.

kimchee (hot Korean pickles; I like cabbage)
- There's a good brand available in health food stores that's low in sodium, but I forget the name, and I'm out of it right now. Otherwise, any kind avialable in Korean groceries. Good in soups, with grilled meats or other protein foods.

pickled jalapeno peppers
- Get extra containers when ordering Mexican take-out. Good in everything: eggs, salad spreads, soups, sandwiches, rice dishes.

cayenne powder
- Sprinkle into soups, eggs, dressings, on orange wedges, etc.

Frank's Red Hot
- Readily available, cheap; good on tacos, splashed into tomato sauce.
PROFESSOR DUM DUM (Saturdays 11pm-Midnacht)

1) Favorite Quote: "How well we know what a profitable superstition this fable of Christ has been for us." - Pope Leo X

2) Favorite Quote when I cannot recall my really favorite Quote: "It is an act of virtue to deceive and lie, when by such means the interest of the church might be promoted." - Bishop Eusebius

3) Favorite suggestion from a listener as to what to write on Jesus if he were to appear and be crucified: "I got nailed at the crucifixion." (another listener said that he would write between one outstretched arm and the other: "I llove you this much.")

4) Favorite words a listener would say if Jesus were to incarnate in a NY alley and get raped: "Don't take a shower because you want to preserve the evidence."

5) Favorite gift that a listener would bring to baby Jesus if he were one of the three wise-asses: "Communist ideas."

6) Favorite words that a listener would carve into the belly of baby Jesus right before Santa Claus would throw him overboard the sleigh while in the sky: "Infidel" (and the target would be Professor Dum Dum - the baby bomb would seek out its taget like a smart bomb, but it is a dum dum bomb)

7) Favorite thing a listener would throw at a crucified Pope John Paul: a hammer, while yelling "Catch!"

8) Favorite description of the boyfriend of Jesus during the Second Coming Out of the Closet: "Rugged and mean, because opposites attract."

9) Favorite pesticide or similar elimination method of ridding the earth of Jesus if he were to incarnate, invented by a listener: "A giant mouse trap - probably a big glue trap because he could walk on water but he can't walk on glue."

10) Favorite answer to the most challenging question: It was asked of the listeners if they could find a passage in the Bible that explained the boy-raping behavior of priests. It seems that such behavior is almost a requirement. As with other perversions, there is a loophole in the Bible that allows maladjusted people to feel no guilt about their deeds. What is the quote? Casey in Rutherford unearthed the passage: 'Bring the children unto me, that I might touch them, and the disciples were dismayed....





BOB RIXON/ RIX (An Ancient DJ)

GUSTAV HOLST / Savitri: Based on an episode from the Mahabharata / City of London Sinfonia conducted by Richard Hickox / Helios.

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH / Complete (15) Symphonies / WDR Sinfonieorchester conducted by Rudolf Barshai / Brilliant Classics.

YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA / High Tech - No Crime: YMO Remixed / Moonshine Music.

DVORAK, JANACEK, ENESCU / Music for Wind Ensemble / Oslo Philharmonic Wind Soloists / Naxos.

JACKIE McLEAN / Hipnosis (With Grachan Moncur III / Blue Note Jazz Classic Series.

DAME MARGARET PRICE / Schubert Lieder / EMI.

STEVE REICH / Tehillim & The Desert Music / Ossia, Alarm Will Sound / Cantaloupe

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN / Variations & Vignettes / Alfred Brendel, piano / Vox Box.

SPIDER COMPASS GOOD CRIME BAND / Callopian Fallopian Cotter Tube Organ / Crippled Intelligence (7").

JOHANNES BRAHMS / Serenades No. 1 & No. 2 / Westdeutche Sinfonia conducted by Dirk Joeres / IMP.

HERRMANN, WAXMAN, SCHIFRIN / Masters of Mayhem / San Diego Symphony/ Orchestra conducted by Lalo Schifrin / Intersound.

JIM COHN / The Golden Body: Meditations on the Essence of Disability / Museum of American Poetics Publications (book).

SAM ABRAMS / Old Pothead Poems / Creative Arts (book).

Bonus: My brother moving out of his crappy apartment in Paterson.



 CHRIS T. - Aerial View (Fridays 6-7pm)
This is a very personal, very eclectic list & ranges all over the map:

10. My new iMac. Finally, I can actually burn CDs & DVDs!
9. Giving my old iMac to my Dad. At 71, he's surfing the net & sending e-mail.
8. Iggy & the Stooges at Jones Beach. A perfect day & a great show.
7. Getting a piece published in a book all about poker.
6. Buying a new (used) car after 14 years with my (tired) Jeep.
5. Meeting William H. Macy. It's true: the bigger they are, the nicer they are.
4. Co-hosting the Radio Thriftshop live at the Museum of TV & Radio.
3. Singing "16 Tons" with the Hoof & Mouth Sinfonia, last day of the 2Ò03 Marathon.
2. Due to Internet listening, getting more & more calls from across the nation on Aerial View.
1. Aerial View: still going strong after 14 years & still my favorite hour of the week.



 STEINSKI (WFMU pal and former DJ)
Top 10 for 2003, in no particular order:
  • Fate
  • Happenstance
  • Unexpected phone calls
  • Realizing at last
  • Wildlife
  • People who come through
  • The suburbs
  • Enormous changes
  • Good credit
  • Dumb luck



DIANE KAMIKAZE - Kamikaze Fun Machine (Thursdays 3-6pm)

Personal highlights:
   My stay on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) - studying archaeology & getting tattooed there
   Touring with 999
   Shrimp Muzzle

New discoveries, or bands that STILL kick ass live:
   Watch Them Die, Death Angel, The Darkness, Amon Amarth, Behemoth, Mastodon, Alice Cooper, Kreator, Subhumans, Skinless, Dysrythmia

Engineering for:
   Noxagt, the Cynics, Measles Mumps Rubella

Special Treats on DKFM:
   TV Smith
   Meatjack

Book:
   Sound of The Beast, the Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal by Ian Christe.



 MIKE LUPICA - WFMU Special Events Coordinator (Tuesdays 9-Noon)

Mike Lupica's thoughtlessly ranked top ten of 2003:
  1. Chinatown. The best neighborhood in the city!

  2. "City of God" -- The film that brought the phrase, "What's it gonna be, the hand or the foot?" to all new levels of cultural discomfort. Also Spike Lee's "25th Hour" -- featuring one of history's more effecting scenes of a man talking to his reflection in the mirror.

  3. Spending a week on the French countryside. It afforded me a chance to do some serious perspectivizin', while simultaneously providing the best time I've had in years. Beware the "French Perrier," and those who would offer to pour you a glass of it.

  4. Amazing records by Flaskkvartetten, Nas, Speaking Canaries, Dizzee Rascal, Reese Chatham, Spectre, Bob Logg, Panjabi MC, Ralph Myerz, Black Keys, Lydia Lunch, Soundmurderer, The Gotan Project, Wire, Sole, The Cuts, Flaming Fire, The Bug, Curse ov Dialect, Michael Yonkers, Matmos, Beth Orton, Six Eye Columbia, DJ Brokenwindow, and Fannypack!

  5. Karaoke night with WFMU compatriots featuring Vicki Bennett and Pseu Braun doing "Bohemian Rhapsody", Ken Freedman slaughtering "We Are the World", Monica's tearjerking rendition of "I've Never Been to Me", and Megan Murphy doing an unforgettable butcher-job on "Bust a Move."

  6. "The Law of Averages" by Frederick Barthelme (reminded me to fear the sausage people), "The War Against Cliche" by Martin Amis (reminded me that I'm an uncultured dork), "Fifth Business" by Robertson Davies (reminded me that engaging fiction doesn't come any better), and "Back in the Days" by Jamel Shabazz and Fab 5 Freddie (reminded me of my adolescent fantasies of The Big Apple.)

  7. Mudhoney, live at the Northsix. The old timers rolled back into New York for the first time in years and restored my dwindling faith in any number of dying art forms with a drop-dead-amazing performance. My current hope is that they will evolve into my generation's Rolling Stones and adopt a classy old man shtick, a la "Some Girls" or "Emotional Rescue."

  8. Spending at least 1/3 of the summer on my bike. Journal Square, Union City, Battery Park, the trail along East River Park, 2nd Avenue on Sunday morning... Low point: getting doored by a taxi on 14th Street. Wear your helmet.

  9. Finally coming to terms with and accepting my long-developing opinion that sleeping late is for lightweights and amateurs. I probably wake up before you even start dreaming.

  10. My trips to San Francisco and Cleveland. Because it's just as important to fly across the country and remind yourself why you decided not to move someplace as it is to drive 10 hours through a blizzard for a friend's bachelor party.



 RICH HAZELTON - Inflatable Squirrel Carcass (Saturdays at Midnight)

10. Pearl-Harvest - When (Jester)

9. The Frank Book - Jim Woodring (Fantagraphics)

8. Thank You For Giving Me Your Valuable Time - Kaada (Ipecac)

7. Send - Wire (Pink Flag)

6. A Woman Is A Woman - Jean-Luc Godard (rerelease at Film Forum).
Easily the best strip scenes and arguments I've ever seen in a film.

5. 5 Is The Perfect Number - Igort (Drawn & Quarterly).
Heavily influenced by Johnny Craig, Bernard Krigstein, Will Eisner and Seth.

4. Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home - Angels of Light (Young God)

3. Lil' Beethoven - Sparks (Palm)

2. John Hampson's bug art at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury, Vt.
The nine complete works of a native of Newark, NJ, who used the bodies and parts of dead insects to portray his vision of America.

1. Life with Tamar



 STEFAN - Spiral Sun Plan (Late night Thursdays 2-6am)
  • Dokaka - internet releases: awesome layered vocals-only covers of king crimson, slayer, etc.
  • Trost - "Tattoo My Name On Your Ass": sexy and silly
  • Necrophagist - Onset of Putrefaction: insane intense jazzy death metal
  • Freddy Fresh - The Trainspotters Dream Mastermix Vol. 2: ahh, nice relaxing old school hip hop
  • Breast-Fed Yak - Get Your Greasy Hands off the Sham: noisy wigged out prog improv
  • Bali - Music from the Morning of the World: wonderful uplifting indonesian gamela
  • Anaal Nathrakh - The Codex Necro: intense black metal mental enema
  • Messer Chups - Black Black Magic: hot russian surf
  • Opeth - Damnation: warm fuzzy relaxing rock 'n' roll
  • Nervous Cop - Nervous Cop: p-p-p-ppercussssion (x 2)
  • Rhapsody - Power of the Dragonflame: over the top cinematic power metal plus dungeous and dragons
Almost made the top 10, but the competition was too tough:
  • Animal Collective
  • Evolution Control Committee
  • Hella
  • Hopewell
  • Le Scrawl
  • Next Life
  • Sleep
  • Vader
  • Wesley Willis
  • William Basinski



 FABIO - Strength Through Failure (Thursdays Noon-3pm)

The music part of the "top ten"....

Sunroof - Cloudz CD (VHF)
Fennesz - Live in japan CD (DAT-1/Headz)
Language Removal Services - Ecstatic Opera vol. 1: The 100 Headless Diva, CDr (Language Removal Services)
Gordon Monahan - New & Used Furniture Music, CDr (Unreleased)
Supersilent - 6, LP (RUNE GRAMMOFON)
V/A- Music From The ONCE Festival 1961-1966, 5CD box (NEW WORLD RECORDS)
Basil Kirchin - Quantum: A Journey Through Sound in Two Parts, LP (Truck)
Ekkehard Ehlers - Politik Braucht Keinen Feind, CD (STAUBGOLD)
Rune Lindblad - Die Stille Liebe 2xCD, (Fylkingen)
Jacob Kirkegaard - 01.02, CD, (B-boy)
Davis Redford Triad - Blue Cloud CD (Holy Mountain)

Plus:
  • "City of God" by Fernando Meirelles. This actually came here in late 2002, but became a hit in 2003 in the US. The best film of the year.
  • Berlin - Still a fun town. If visiting, check out: White Trash (Restaurant & Bar) and The Eschschloraque Rmschrmp (night club) among all the other stuff you need to see and do.
  • Salvia Divinorum - a magic herb, get it while it's still possible.
  • "21 Grams" by Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu. One of the saddest and beautiful films I saw all year.
  • "Decasia" by Bill Morrison. A collage/experimental film that takes off and keeps on floating. screened at Anthology Film Archives last winter.
  • "Elephant" by Gus Van Sant
  • Butch Morris Orchestra Conduction at the Bowery Poetry Club last February.
  • "Starkiss" - by Chris Relleke & Jascha de Wilde. A documentary about very young girls sold to a circus in India; really painful to watch at times, but worth the effort.
  • "Dog Days" by Ulrich Seidl. made in Austria in 2001, but released here only this year. A weird little film that's by turns funny, sad and shocking.
  • The Bresson Retrospective at Anthology Film Archives. One masterpiece after another.
  • The works of American painter/sculptor Lee Bontecou.
  • "American Splendor" by Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini. About the life of the comic book storyteller Harvey Pekar.
  • "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" by Elio Petri. Italian Film re-release at Film Forum.


 DAVE THE SPAZZ - Music To Spazz By (Thursdays 8-11pm)

  1. Phil Phillips singing Sea of Love at the Rock 'n' Bowl in New Orleans
  2. The Stooges at Roseland
  3. Jungle Frenzy night at Wowsville
  4. King Coleman comp It's Dance Time
  5. 5678's in Kill Bill
  6. Nathaniel Mayer at Sin-e
  7. Halloween at Wowsville
  8. Any new Flakes 45s
  9. Little Killers debut LP
  10. Andre Williams, King Coleman, The Mighty Hannibal, Dolemite, Nathaniel Mayer, Gino Washington, Lonnie Youngblood and The Great Gaylord at Southpaw in Brooklyn (OK- it hasn't happened yet, but how can it NOT be one of the top ten events of the year???)



ROB WEISBERG - Transpacific Sound Paradise (Sundays 8-10pm)
Personal top ten cds, 2003 (no particular order):
  • Amadou and Mariam: Wati / Circular Moves
  • Bebo Valdes and Diego El Cigala: Lagrimas Negras / Ariola
  • Kristi Stassinopoulou: The Secrets of the Rocks / Tinder
  • Ojos de Brujo: Bari / Satelite K
  • Susheela Raman: Love Trap / Narada
  • Yerba Buena: President Alien / Razor and Tie
  • Various Artists: Globalista Import-Export / Trikont
  • Various Artists (Colombia): Champeta Criolla 2 / Palenque
  • Various Artists: Drop the Debt / World Village
  • Various Artists: Rough Guide to the music of Thailand / World Music Network
Miscellaneous faves, 2003:

Reissue cd: Guitar and the Gun (Various Artists, Ghana) / Sterns

Soundtrack cd: City of Ghosts / Lakeshore

Hit singles: Tribalistas: Passe em Casa from Tribalistas on Metro Blue and Juan Pena "El Lebrijano": Que Bonita from Yo Me Llamo Juan on Discos Senador

Best Cover: Sekouba Bambino: It's a Man's World (James Brown) - on compilation World 2003 / Narada

New grassroots indie label: Jumbie Records (jumbierecords.com)

New band discovery: Think of One (Antwerp) and Ojos de Brujo (Barcelona)

Mainstream breakthrough: Punjabi MC

Best live show in New York: The highly charismatic Mestre Ambrosio at Lincoln Center Brazil Beyond Bossa festival; Enrique Morente with Lagartija Nick at BAM Next Wave gets special mention for most interesting collaboration and dramatic stage show

Best music trips: Smithsonian Folkways festival in Washington DC especially for Malian bands; WOMEX world music trade fair and Feria de Flamenco in Sevilla Spain

Best record store newly discovered: Libreria Don Cecilio, Triana (Sevilla), Spain




 MEGAN MURPHY (at your service Monday through Friday)

Good things, MMIII
  1. Three words: Gay Bar Remixathon
  2. Live performances in the WFMU studios by, among others, Holly Golightly, Oranges Band, Meatjack, Trad Gras Och Stenar, The Bellrays, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Comets on Fire, Rocket from the Tombs, and Jennifer Gentle, also, the interviews with Nancy Sinatra and Seymour Stein
  3. Metal Urbain/ Flaming Fire at the Record Fair and Dan Deacon/ Donna Summer/ People Like Us/ Matmos at the OCDJ benefit
  4. The South Park "J-Lo" episode
  5. The surprise party my sisters and I threw for our parents' 40th anniversary
  6. "Sister Christian", karaoke-style
  7. Insulting Haikus
  8. That "Under Pressure/ Human Nature" mash-up
  9. Best word I looked up in the dictionary this year: fey.
  10. I'll be spending the winter in an apartment with heat and windows, for a change.



KENNY G - Anal Magic (Wednesdays 3-6pm)

Kenny G's Top 10 Favorite Numbers
  1. 3
  2. 5
  3. 4
  4. 7
  5. 6
  6. 8
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 6
  10. 10



JOE BELOCK - Three Chord Monte (Tuesdays 12-3pm)
  1. Cobra Verde - Easy Listening
  2. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Greendale
  3. The Woggles - Ragged But Right
  4. Preacher's Kids - Wild Emotions
  5. The Cuts - 2 Over Ten
  6. Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3 - Static Transmission
  7. Sally Crewe & the Sudden Moves - Drive It Like You Stole It
  8. Boss Martians - The Set-Up
  9. The Little Killers - s/t
  10. The Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
20 more Top 10 albums from 2003:
  1. Chesterfield Kings - The Mindbending Sounds Of ... (Sundazed)
  2. Black Lipstick - Converted Thieves (Peek-A-Boo)
  3. Tie Reds - Holy Crap It's the Tie Reds (no label)
  4. Outrageous Cherry - Supernatural Equinox (Rainbow Quartz)
  5. Dirtbombs - Dangerous Magical Noise (In the Red)
  6. Fleshtones - Do You Swing? (Yep Roc)
  7. Subsonics - A Lot to Forget (Slovenly)
  8. True Love - I Was Accident (Not Lame)
  9. Clone Defects - Shapes of Venus (In the Red)
  10. Minus 5 - Down With Wilco (Yep Roc)
  11. Supersuckers - Motherfuckers Be Trippin' (Mid-Fi)
  12. Romantics - 61/49 (Web)
  13. Zodiac Killers - Society's Offenders (Rip Off)
  14. Tears - self-titled (Trick Knee)
  15. Crackpipes - Snakes In My Veins (Emperor Jones)
  16. Leghounds - Ready To Go! (Bulge)
  17. Oranges Band - All Around (Lookout)
  18. Dave Derby - Even Further Behind (Badman)
  19. High Dials - A New Devotion (Rainbow Quartz)
  20. Warren Zanes - Memory Girls (Dualtone)
Top 5 Singles:
  1. Bamboo Kids - Suck The Life Out Of Me b/w Right On (Pro-Vel)
  2. ? & the Mysterians - Empty Heart b/w Dexter Romweber Duo - Heart of Stone (Norton)
  3. Sleazies - Gonna Operate On Myself b/w Airpockets in My Brain (Rapid Pulse)
  4. FM Knives - Estrogen +3 (Smart Guy)
  5. Creatures of the Golden Dawn - Blood From a Stone +3 (Butterfly)
Top 5 Reissues:
  1. King Coleman - It's Dance Time! (Norton)
  2. Lost Legends of Surf Guitar Vol. 1-3 (Sundazed)
  3. The Cyrkle - The Minx soundtrack (Sundazed)
  4. Swamp Rats - Disco Still Sucks (Get Hip)
  5. Grip Weeds - The Sound Is In You (Rainbow Quartz)
See artwork at: wfmu.org/joeb/best2003.html



BETHANY RYKER - Stochastic Hit Parade (Sundays 10p-Midnight)

So much spam, so little time. So many ways to enlarge a penis, so seemingly little I can do without one. Thankfully the spammers know how to quench my thirst for porn and diet pills, so, umm, Happy Holidays!

Check www.stochastic.tv for the REAL subjects and contents of these spam specimens.

7. From: Annette Long Subject:
10. From: bryonacebedo Subject: Service Interruption
9. From: Mathew Richardson Subject: Someone has a secret crush on you - find out who
2. From: diana graham Subject: 6,000" Game Cheats
0. From: "Frederick D. Hankins" Subject: â?ú;Loo*se *weight or mon_eyback* â?ú
6. From: Lonnie Mendez Subject: Overnight Delivery of L]evitra, Viagr[a, Phentermine
3. From: xochitlbibby Subject: Hi
7. From: Ã^éÃ^îÃ^áÃ^èÃ^áÃ^éË^Ü Subject: â?úÃ^çÃ^áÃ^éÃ^ìÃ^ÃÂ¥Ã^ú â?ºÃ^ÃÂ¥Ã^ôÃ^éË^Æ Ã^îÃ^ôâ?ºÃ^÷Ã^ÃÂ¥Ã^ú Ã^áÃ^ñÃ^éâ?ºÃ^é Ã^ðÃ^ËÃ^çÃ^îÃ^éÃ^îÃ^ðÃ^Ëâ?Ã?
1. From: Gregorio McNamara Subject: You will add inches with this amazing patch oq80ac1h
5. From: "Cesar J. Enriquez" Subject: do you use this?
8. From: Corinne Starks Subject: Why did you forget?
4. From: June N. John Subject: Enjoy it



MICHAEL GOODSTEIN (Monday 12 Midnight to 3am)

Teaching Girls With Hungarian Last Names How To Cook
Specifically how to cook vegan Thai dishes, and to make sundred tomato dip. Though the later is really food preparation, not cooking.

"Crazy in Love" - Beyonce
If your friends argue that "Hey Ya" by Outkast is better, I suggest negation of friendship status.

The Ssion
"Who's Your Favorite Baby" was the most often played song in my car this year. Particularly noteworthy live shows included May at Pianos, June at Lit and October at North Sixth.

Parties at Echo's Apartment
Home to a limitless array of alcohol ,and sound system components, all of which seemed to break immediately after being plugged in, or touching my hand.

Hypnotiq
"A blend of exotic fruit juices, cognac and premium vodka." I like to pronounce the q and make it sound French.

The Rapture - 12/12/03- Making Time/24 Club/Philadelphia
The only show I've seen this year, Rapture or otherwise, nearly as good as the Rapture show in December of 2002 at the Bowery Ballroom.

The sweet & sour sauce at Grasshopper - Alston/Brighton , MA
The word "sauce," despite it's labeling as such on the menu is completely false. It's a soup. It's worth starving your friends and taking them on a road trip for.

Rye Playland Opening Day, May 2003
Hungover friends at a suburban amusement park.

Tiga - Burning Down
12" of the year.

Bernadette
The fish at the Coral Room (512, W 29th Street, New York) i'm most likely to steal.

Note: I have never watched the O.C., which probably would otherwise be on this list.



 DAN BODAH (Saturday 3am - 6am)

Dan Bodah's Best of 2003 in no particular order (except the first)

1. The baby gestating in my girlfriend's womb!

2. Nonesuch Explorer CD reissues - especially the gamelan albums and the stunning oud album by Hamza El Din - Escalay (The Water Wheel).

3. Cordelia's Dad - Jane 3" CD (part of Dark Beloved Cloud's Singles Club). Also, the live set at WFMU by Cordelia's Dad member Tim Eriksen.

4. Jimmy Breslin writing in Newsday about the coming Republican convention, to occur in Manhattan: "Bush and his religious right wing congregations despise New York and Bush never came to the city after the attack [9/11/01] except to pose for a fraudulent picture. Whatever amount the city gets from the convention, it is the most tarnished since Judas." AMEN!

5. Asa-Chang and Junray - Tsuginepu. Best moment: when they turn Star Trek background sounds into birds on "Toremoro."

6. Ratto Ja Lehtisalo - Kopernikus Hortoilee Nakinkengassa. Hot new drone-pop from Finland.

7. Sainkho Namtchylak - Aura" 3xCD. Underappreciated Tuvan improviser in solo, duo and trio settings.

8. New releases from Skullflower (Exquisite Fucking Boredom) and Sunroof! (Cloudz). Plus the Sunroof!/Vibracathedral Orchestra live set at WFMU and their tour CD Wings Over America.

9. Fellow DJ Belinda's cover of the Suicidal Tendencies tune "Institutionalized" with the Hoof and Mouth Orchestra during the WFMU Marathon Finale.

10. livejournal.com



 HENRY LOWENGARD (Webhamster)

Webhamster Henry's Top 10 Imaginary Recordings of 2003

1. Roots of Mash (Potatoe 2003)
Bootleg - Mashups are no new phenomenon: not only is the classic "Norwegian Wood/Mission Impossible Theme" here (Alan Copeland Singers, Grammy 1968, Best Contemporary Pop Performance, Chorus), also the exceedingly rare cult hit "Macbeth's Blues (L. Bernstein)", making use of the fact that blank verse in iambic pentameter meshes perfectly with the standard blues rhythm of, in this case, "St. Louis Blues".

2. JewWop (Chaiway 2003)
Doo-wop was derived from this, more primitive street corner klezmer/neopolitan street singing, where errant Yeshiva boys met up with truant altar boys from the catholic school around the corner.

3. Pride In Progress! (Recycled 2003)
Not an industrial musical, but a 15 minute Public Service Announcement whitewashing Belox Corporation's massive radium-226 pollution of the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada watershed. Original, upbeat music underscores the distinctly Canadian voice.

4. Tuning Your Orchestron (Found in a piano bench I bought)
The Orchestron was a very large mechanical musical instrument, and this helpful recording plays every string, pipe, bar, cymbal, drum, bell, chime and effect clearly and repeatedly. Side two plays Lady of Spain, one rank at a time! Samples a plenty!

5. Word Bird! (Plantango, 2003)
Teach your parakeet to speak Hip-Hop and yodel.

6. I AM BATMAN! (private tape, 2003)
5-year old Lily O'Day debates gender issues with Billy Parrish, 6 years old.

7. The Alternate Lyrics Project (2003)
Great research project turns up dummy lyrics, encore verses, film verses and more for many Broadway hits. tastefully arranged for piano and sung.

8. Never A Dull Moment (2002)
Time-Compressed Hour of audio from a checkout counter at Wal-Mart. Accompanying DVD video shows the security camera screen.

9. The Minute Minuets (2003)
70 (70!) minuets composed by aspiring punk and rock bands. All under 60 seconds long.

10. Punkerella (Popera 2003/1996)
Cinderella set in a gentrified Loisada squat.
Cinderella: Maggie Estep
Fairy Godmother: Guest star Harvey Fierstein.
Listen on the Internet  |  Contact Us  |  Music & Programs  |  LCD  |  Support Us  |  FAQ

20k Real Stream  |  20k Windows Stream  |  128k MP3 Stream  |  32k MP3 Stream

Search this site


art/ design - Megan M. © 2003 WFMU.
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of WFMU is prohibited.