Mellow Down Easy

Indy radio rage in Texas

Man sets station on fire over playlist

AUSTIN, Texas - A volunteer at a community radio station set fire to the station because he was upset that his song selections for an overnight Internet broadcast were changed, police said.

Paul Webster Feinstein, 24, has been charged with second-degree felony arson for the Jan. 5 fire that caused $300,000 damage to the studios of 91.7 FM KOOP. He faces from two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Feinstein told investigators that he was “very unhappy” about the changes to his playlist, said Austin Fire Department Battalion Chief Greg Nye. The songs were intended for an Internet broadcast that occurs when the station is off the air.

“He had a dream of a career in radio and was very disappointed about where it had led him,” Nye said.

An attorney for Feinstein could not be reached for comment.

Must suck to be a listener sponsored radio listener in Texas.
Just this last August, KPFT in Houston had their front window shot out by someone with an assault weapon from a waiting car, nearly hitting a programmer:

Station manager Duane Bradley said the shooting might have been political. Bradley said “It’s highly likely that, at some point, someone may have heard something that offended them and they decided to do something about it.” KPFT has been the target of attacks before. Shortly after the Houston station went on the air, the Ku Klux Klan blew up the station’s transmitters with dynamite in 1970 and again in 1971.

The Most Unwanted Song

Being a frequent visitor to the indispensable UBU.COM, I’m surprised I didn’t come across this earlier:

Komar & Melamid and Dave Soldier “The People’s Choice Music” (1997) A poll, written by Dave Soldier, was conducted on The Dia Foundation’s web site in Spring 1996. Approximately 500 visitors took the survey. Solder used the survey results to write music and lyrics for the Most Wanted and Most Unwanted songs.

I naturally gravitated right to the Most Unwanted Song, either to see how out of touch I am with America’s musical zeitgeist, or to confirm some theories about the latter.

…The most unwanted music is over 25 minutes long, veers wildly between loud and quiet sections, between fast and slow tempos, and features timbres of extremely high and low pitch, with each dichotomy presented in abrupt transition. The most unwanted orchestra was determined to be large, and features the accordion and bagpipe (which tie at 13% as the most unwanted instrument), banjo, flute, tuba, harp, organ, synthesizer (the only instrument that appears in both the most wanted and most unwanted ensembles). An operatic soprano raps and sings atonal music, advertising jingles, political slogans, and “elevator” music, and a children’s choir sings jingles and holiday songs…

I found it absolutely hilarious. Beautifully unlistenable. It’s what your normal friends and coworkers think all your music sounds like. It reminds me of listening to an old advertising firm’s jingle demo reel; there’s so many representative styles present here and all executed with deliberate deviations in taste and musical convention. It has a veneer of timeless nostalgia from some indeterminate era.

Check it out here.

UPDATED:

Jima, from the lovely looking Empty-Handed brings us the following:

You might be interested in the episode of the radio program “This American Life” with interviews of Komar & Melamid talking about the process of making the most wanted and most unwanted song. More info on the program here:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=88

Kultur Shock

Amazing Balkan Gypsy Punk band from Seattle, Kultur Shock, captured live at the Doug Fir Lounge.
I was there and have the ringing ears and crushed insteps to prove it.

More here and here.

Thanks to uploader Mr. Toasty for putting these up.

I recommend their album We Came to Take Your Jobs Away.
They are not too dissimilar to Gogol Bordello, only much harder rocking, with dual guitars and electric violin.
Highly recommended for those who like their Yugo/Bulgarian/Russkie-punk straight up.

David Lynch on iPhone

UBU Hour Radio Programs

Radio supergenius Rolf Semprebon and his band of radio theater acrobats perform amazing feats of radio play daring-do once a month on The UBU Hour.

The productions are pretty amazing, with rich sound effects and editing and fine voice performances from the talented cast.

They’ve taken on no less than the Neo Con agenda, the second coming of Jesus and the Bush Family.

My favorite is The Man Who Didn’t Give a Shit, a dense, highly scatological saga about a man’s inner turmoil as to whether he sacrifice his values to rise to the top in his company, with shit.
It’s like a filthy The Fountainhead, as co-written by Franz Kafka on Ex-Lax.

I’ve run into Rolf at the station at odd hours, merrily cutting and pasting away and he promises more on the Moron Saga of Dubya Tush and the Tush family, and more filth.

Check out their nearly complete audio archives here.

The UBU Hour

The first Monday of the month, from 11 pm to Midnight.
Experimental radio theater with dada/surreal elements…

On KBOO, 90.7 FM in Portland OR