Hurricane Sandy Threatens America's Greatest Radio Station

WFMU's Blast of Hot Air Newsletter October 31, 2012 Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

WFMU News: We Are Livin' a Dream. Unfortunately, it's not a Very Good One... Please Make a Disaster Recovery Pledge! Record Fair is Cancelled and it's all Sandy's Fault Due to the havoc, chaos, lack of electricity in NYC and general sludge based misery (who knew there was so much sludge in the world?) following Hurricane Sandy, we've had no choice but to call off the Record Fair. All dealers will be refunded their payments, and the Fair will return in the Fall of 2013. And this new 'Future Fair' will be even better, with flowing white robes, a teleportation booth and floating symetrical rings adorning everything. And a bonus performance from the recently cloned John Denver! We're very sorry about this, but the Metropolitan Pavilion has no power, mass transit in NYC is still not working and there are no estimates as to when electric or transit will return to normal and we don't want a whole Mad Max thing on our hands. We know you guys, give you half a chance and you'll go completely Road Warrior on us. Our apologies to anybody who is inconvenienced by this. You could replicate that Record Fair vibe at home by getting a stranger in a t-shirt that's too small for him to sit behind a table in your rumpus room and ignore you as you rifle through his Night Ranger out-takes. Try it, it's fun! All kidding aside, the cancellation of the record fair is a financial disaster for us: it turns an event that wouldve raised $70,000 into an event that loses almost that much. We've extended our silent fundraiser until November 17th in a valiant effort to remain solvent. Please make a disaster recovery pledge, the station has NEVER been in such a cash-poor state as it is now, due to the electrical damage we suffered from Sandy and the huge loss from the record fair:Pledge Here NOW. Please. Thank you. Hurricane Sandy Kicks WFMU's Ass! The aftermath of Frankenstorm (actually Frankenstorm was the name of the doctor, it really should be called Frankenstorm's Monster) left WFMU with no electricity in our Jersey City studios, and at BOTH of our FM transmitters (91.1 FM and 90.1 FM). We tried rubbing many balloons on our heads and holding it near the equipment, but no dice. For two days, we streamed WFMU in Exile from various DJs' homes, or the shanties and mini-vans that they call their 'homes'. Despite that shanty crack in the previous sentence, our DJ's are just the best and we perpetually salute their dedication. On Thursday morning, we resumed (semi-)normal programming after electricity was restored to our studios. And then reality started settling in, as we discovered tons of critical equipment that was fried by the electrical chaos that Sandy hurled our way. And both of our FM transmitters are still down. Fortunately, everybody from the WFMU staff is safe, and miraculously WFMU's basement did not flood, despit the Hudson River coming within 50 feet of our front door. We credit our lack of flooding to our slavish worship of Ahpuch and Thamuz, plus that carp we sacrificed (delicious). The photo above is Station Manager Ken attempting to get to WFMU via his bike during the end of the storm. Not seen in picture: tears. Meanwhile, the misery and desperation in our community is mind boggling. The environment around Hudson County, Staten Island,  Rockaway, lower Manhattan and Brooklyn is akin to the film The Road. Or The Walking Dead. No, it's Road Warrior.. Wait, it's actually a bit more like The Road. Nah, it really feels kind of like The Day After Tomorrow, but with the soundtrack to The Road. With the flashback sequences of Terminator 2. But with a fat governor instead of a killer liquid robot. But with your help, we will make it feel like Herbie Goes Bananas real soon. Please help! Silent Fundraiser Extended With all the damaged gear we're discovering, and with the cancellation of the Record Fair,WFMU desperately needs your support. Our silent fundraiser will be extended a few extra weeks, giving us more time to raise the funds we need to get through the next few months and to hopefully make up for lost income due to the Record Fair going kaput. Pledge now to help us get through this very difficult time. Money can't buy you love, but it can buy transmitter codecs, computer servers, and all the other stuff a radio station needs to regain (ab)normalcy. WFMU's RadioVision Festival was a success Enough bad news, let's talk about happier times. WFMU's 2012 RadioVision Festival was a huge success, thanks to Benjamen Walker and all of our panelists and special guests. The funnel cake in the shape of Art Bell was a roaring success and, despite rumors to the contrary, Bachman Turner Overdrive failed to perform. Heidi Madagame of WCBN wrote up some nice blog posts about the conference. We will be posting audio clips from the conference soon. Off-Mic DJ News Dave Mandl just had this article published in the Rumpus on the Ancient Tradition of the Sacrilegious Cover Song, from "The Beatles to Ol' Dirty Bastard" (that Beatles cover of Shimmy Shimmy Ya is particularly nasty). Also, section hog Dave Mandl, published a review of the Touch.30 festival at Issue Project Room (celebrating the 30th birthday of the Touch label), in the current issue of the Wire. It's not available online, unfortunately. Look for it at your local newsstand, if it isn't underwater. Kurt Gottschalk's latest production effort is a collaboration between guitarist Loren Connors, singer Suzanne Langille and painter MP Landis. Kurt selected paintings by Landis and projected them in the studio and Connors and Langille responded in sound. (Hence the title 'Four Dogs Playing Poker'. Note: This isn't true). The resulting recording is the pair's first duo recording in 14 years. CD and 7" single on colored vinyl available here. Sat Nov 3: Jesse Jarnow may speak at the Hoboken Historical Museum, (if it isnt underwater) reading from Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo & the Rise of Indie Rock and expanding on the unlikely parallels between McCarty's and Maxwell's, two Hoboken bars separated by two blocks (and 130 years) whose clienteles would trigger profound changes in American popular culture. 1301 Hudson Street, 4pm, free. Though as Hoboken currently resembles Aquaman's holiday home and the lost city of Atlantis combined, you might want to double check that it's still happening. Fri, Nov 9: Irwin Chusid will feature Raymond Scott recordings and discuss the life of the legendary composer as the guest of Brian Carpenter on WZBC, Boston College Radio, from 7-10pm. Chusid has managed the Scott Archives since 1991 and is the foremost authority on the great composer/inventor/genius/recreates the sound of an anvil being dropped on a cartoon horse-er. Gaylord Fields will be in London DJing, MCing, presenting a Fake Beatles lecture, and hosting a pop quiz as part of the Chickfactor 20: For the Love of Pop concerts on November 16-18. There will almost certainly be a riot of some sort as they love riots over there. It's like a religion to them. Take protection. Mr. Fine Wine's Fall 2012 Greasy Popcorn tour. Fri Nov 2,Munich, Deeper Shade @the Atomic Café, w/DJs Leo and Hannes. Sat Nov 3 : Berlin, At the Soul Inn @the Lido, 23hrs, 10 euros, w/Cody Chesnutt and DJs Christian Göbel andKristian Auth. Sun Nov 4: Leipzig, No Twistin on Sunday @Cafe Waldi with DJ Chris Redlich. Thurs Nov 8: Bruges, ’T Zwart Huis, Kuipersstraat 23, 22hrs, 8 euros with DJs Laurence B. (Slick Club) and Betty Ford (Moka Soul Collective).  Fri Nov 9: Brussels, Popcorn Oldies Night @Le Cercle Des Voyageurs, Rue Des Grands Carmes 18, 22hrs, 8 euros. With DJs Jr. the Canadian, Laurence B., and Raphi Scorcher. Sat  Nov 10:Manchester, UK, No Way Out @the Old Nags Head, 19 Jacksons Row. Again, the UK dates will almost certainly feature rioting of some description. And expect cheese in Bruges. Mr. Fine Wine will also DJ at Botanica every Wednesday except November 7th (when he will be somewhere between Leipzig and Bruges and will probably be eating something doughy), at theCommodore in Williamburg, Brooklyn on November 16th and at Home Sweet Home in Manhattan on the 30th of November. Dave the Spazz will spin at Union Pool every Sunday this month, as he does most Sundays. Dave is also starting a monthly series at Videology, the Dave the Spazz Movie Club, which will show the weirdest, wildest movies, short subjects, and forgotten ephemera with occasional guest hosts and various surprises. The series kicks off on Saturday, November 24th with a rare unspooling of Phil Tucker's1953 epic, Robot Monster in "Tru-Stereo Three Dimension Process" (crummy red and green 3-D glasses provided free). PLUS!--Voltaire the Chimp and Thinko the Robot tangle it up in the smutty European-only sequence from Sex Kittens Go To College (1960), the Marquis Chimps recount the tale of Cinderella, 1930's legend Mr. Jiggs caddies on a golf course, and select 16mm sound chimp movies direct from the Dave the Spazz archives. If you can find a more chimp-filled night of entertainment in the tri-state area, you'll win a prize! A chimp! Sites for Sore Eyes No one knows how much money musicians are making now Columbia Magazine has a nice article on Laura Cantrell Lamin Fofana's African Inspired Techno is Dutty "Guns and Roses" at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit recently Here is the first ever recording of a musical performance Or is it? The oldest recording of someone singing Or maybe it's this one Contender for the earliest known musical recording. Spherical Vinyl Record Keep WFMU's Rays from Penetrating Your Body Watch a guitarist quit his band while onstage Learning to Love Yoko Ono Turning Weapons into Instruments Fun Fake Facts About Science Giorgio Moroder posts remixes and rarities on Soundcloud Lou Reed's Radio Show on BBC Stacked Images from the International Space Station Pop Songs Funeral Favorites Dick Clark archives up on Youtube Documentary about the Icelandic Phallological Museum Steampunk Guitars Giant Cardboard Radio Neneh Cherry covers "Dream Baby Dream" to awesome effect Artist draws himself after taking almost every drug known to man Scientists Grow Bacon from Stem Cells (Contributors the the urls include Andrea Silenzi,Woody Sullender, Dan Bodah, Irene Trudel, Doug Schulkind, Benjamen Walker, Brian Turner, Kurt Gottschalk, Mike Lupica, Rich Hazelton, Evan "Funk" Davies, Chris T, Robin Edgarton, Irwin Chusid, Steinski)

Vinyl Night Cincinnati Will Be Live-Tweeting on Tuesday

Important Vinyl Night Announcement!

This Tuesday, Oct. 30, starting at 7:30 p.m., Vinyl  Night Cincinnati will be live-tweeting its October meeting -- due to overwhelming public demand.

 Just go to Twitter and sign up to follow VinylNightCincy. We may even take requests.

Thanks,

Steve and Neil

Elliott Murphy Receives Prestigious French Award

INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED MUSICIAN & AUTHOR ELLIOTT MURPHY IS AWARDED

THE MEDAILLE DE VERMEIL DE LA VILLE DE PARIS IN A GRAND CEREMONY AT HOTEL DE VILLE IN PARIS, FRANCE

October 5, 2012 -  NEW YORK - Internationally acclaimed American singer-songwriter and author Elliott Murphy was awarded the prestigious Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris in recognition of his outstanding career achievements in a formal ceremony on October 1st, at the Hotel de Ville (City Hall).  The ceremony was presided over by Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë.  Past recipients of the award have included Jane Fonda, Gianni Versace, Johnny Depp and Kevin Liles.

A Long Island native who has been living in Paris, France for over twenty years, Elliott began his career in New York City in 1974 with the release of his classic Polydor Records debut, Aquashow.  Murphy went on to release albums on RCA and Columbia before relocating to France where his career has flourished. 

Elliott has over 30 albums to his credit, 12 of which have received 4-stars from the All Music Guide, among much other critical acclaim. Guests on his albums have included Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Phil Collins.  In addition to his extensive music credits, Elliott has published a number of novels and short story collections, and has written for Rolling Stone, Spin and various European magazines.  

Elliott  continues to tour in Europe, Japan and the USA and has often joined his long time friend Bruce Springsteen on stage in Paris.  Elliott and his band The Normandy All Stars have an American tour planned for the East Coast in December 2012.

(Courtesy of a press release from Pamela Murphy PR. Photo is Murphy, left, with Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe.)

There's a new record store in Northside: Black Plastic

From the new series by the Kitchen Sisters: Submerged Turntable

ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO SURVEYS RECORDED MUSIC

CONCEPTUAL ARTIST ALLAN RUPPERSBERG EXPLORES 60 YEARS OF AMERICAN MUSIC IN SWEEPING MULTIMEDIA INSTALLATION AT ART INSTITUTE No Time Left to Start Again/The B and D of R 'n' R on View in the Modern Wing September 21, 2012 through January 6, 2013 The music of 20th-century America--folk, gospel, blues, and rock 'n' roll--can be seen, heard, and researched this fall in the Art Institute of Chicago's Modern Wing with an innovative installation by veteran artist Allen Ruppersberg, who has navigated a distinctive and singular path through contemporary art for more than four decades. No Time Left to Start Again/The B and D of R 'n' R is Ruppersberg's most complex work in nearly 20 years. Across 200 feet of pegboard hung with hundreds of photocopied snapshots, record covers, and other materials, the captivating survey--from blues singers of the early 1900s through guitarists of the 1960s--is presented in the Carolyn S. and Matthew Bucksbaum Gallery (Gallery 188) of the Modern Wing from September 21, 2012 through January 6, 2013. It is the first large-scale work by Ruppersberg ever to be seen in Chicago and a long overdue opportunity to encounter the work of one of the country's most influential artists. No Time Left to Start Again/The B and D of R 'n' R draws on Ruppersberg's career-long engagement with popular culture in books and magazines, photographs, and music. In a massive effort, the artist has spent more than three years collecting thousands of vinyl records and music-related amateur snapshots, adding these finds to a set of obituaries for musicians that he has been culling for more than 20 years. Scanned, printed out, and laminated, these nostalgia-laden materials are hung on pegboards arranged in five sections, each 32 feet long. The pegboards, and cardboard boxes that are dispersed in front of them on the floor, are all silkscreened in vibrant colors with either pennants or bulls-eyes, and marked with enigmatically arranged stock phrases, concluding with one that balances between cynicism and hope: "And the Race Goes On and On." Four of the five sections in No Time Left to Start Again treat music lyrics ("An Understanding And Appreciation of Poetry"); music in the home ("You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone") and church ("White As Snow"); and the rise of rock 'n' roll ("Fun, Fun, Fun"). The first, introductory section, located directly outside the space, contains elements of all the others. As Ruppersberg describes his vast work: "No Time Left to Start Again is a sort of giant, deluxe walk-in boxed set of one possible history of Rock and Roll. But, it could also be the museum exhibition of a passionate collector or some kind of expanded archival display...or many other possibilities, including a work of art." To facilitate an understanding of this archive, a couch and two reading stations hold binders with many of the laminated pages for individual perusal. An iPad, meanwhile, allows visitors to listen to any of the more than 125 songs remastered and re-recorded by Ruppersberg, in a set of eight albums that he has designed, produced, and also included in the installation. Raised in suburban Cleveland and enamored with animation and commercial art since a childhood visit to Disneyland, Allen Ruppersberg (born 1944) graduated from Chouinard Art Institute (now the California Institute of the Arts) in 1967. After a brief stint as a painter, Ruppersberg soon turned to the material of everyday commercial and vernacular life. A pioneer of Conceptual Art, Ruppersberg cooked food for visitors to his café (1969); rented and ran a hotel for one year (Al's Grand Hotel , 1971); and developed uses of text and recycled imagery in the 1970s that foretold the return of narrative in contemporary art, as well as the rise of appropriation and postmodernist strategies. As an artist and a teacher, Ruppersberg has influenced artists working with the American vernacular such as Mike Kelley, Jim Shaw, and Rachel Harrison. For many years an "artist's artist," Ruppersberg has gained renewed acclaim recently with his participation in museum exhibitions such as In and Out of Amsterdam (2009) and, earlier this year, Light Years: Conceptual Art and the Photograph, 1964-1977 , at the Art Institute. He is currently finishing a prestigious one-year term as United States Artist Fellow. This is his first solo museum exhibition since You and Me or the Art of Give and Take, at the Santa Monica Museum of Art (2009). Allen Ruppersberg: No Time Left to Start Again/The B and D of R 'n' R is organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and curated by Matthew S. Witkovsky, Richard and Ellen Sandor Chair and Curator, Department of Photography at the Art Institute. This exhibition is generously supported by the David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation and the Auxiliary Board of the Art Institute of Chicago. Image: Allen Ruppersberg. No Time Left to Start Again: The B and D of R 'n' R (detail showing one of five sections), 2010-2012. Courtesy of the artist and Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles

August Vinyl Night Playlist

1	Artist	Title	Album/45	Presenter	Notes
2	Esquerita	Get Back Baby / Hole in My Heart	Esquerita!	Polly Campbell	Who came first, Esquerita or Little Richard?
3	Mtume Umoja Ensemble	Baba Hengates (excerpt)	Alkebu-Lan, Land of the Blacks	Steve Kemme
4	Gary Bartz Ntu Troop	Uhuru Sasa	Harlem Bush Music/Uhuru	Steve Kemme
5	Joy of Cooking	Let Love Carry You Along / Home Town Man	Castles	Ray Owens	Terry Garthwaite & Toni Brown
6	Jim Pulte	I Remember You / Ten Miles East of Town	Shimmy She Roll, Shimmy She Shake	Jim McNair
7	Pointer Sisters	Fairytale	That's A Plenty	Gary Janssen	A country music hit for this group known for R&B and Jazz
8	Candi Staton	It's Not Easy Letting Go	His Hands	Gary Janssen
9	Albert Brooks	Rewriting the National Anthem	45	Steve Rosen
10	Nolan Strong & the Diablos	The Wind	45	Steve Rosen	Covered most famously by Laura Nyro & LaBelle
11	The Platters	Maggie Doesn't Work Here Anymore	Rhythm & Blues the Best Vocal Groups	Steve Rosen
12	Jennifer Warnes	Love Hurts	Jennifer Warnes	David Little
13	Keef Hartley Band	Just to Cry	Halfbreed	David Little
14	"Thumper" (George) Jones	Heartbreak Hotel / The Race is On	Country Rockers Vol. 4	Mary Henkener
15	Foreigner	I'll Get Even with You	Head Games	Brian Powers	Foreigner's Mick Jones is not related to Thumper Jones
16	The States	Cry if You Want To (Over the Edge)	The States	Brian Powers
17	The Youngbloods	It's a Lovely Day	Rock Festival	Dick Swaim
18	Willie Bobo	Sunshine Superman	Evil Ways	Dick Swaim	Afro-Cuban arrangement of the Donovan hit
19	Pat Paulsen	Two Cows / I Will Not Run / Simple Savior	Pat Paulsen for President	Neil Sharrow	Still surprisingly relevant, even though it was written in 1968
20	Brinsley Schwarz	Don't Lose Your Grip on Love	Nervous on the Road	Neil Sharrow	Nick Lowe's first group, 1972
21	Willie Bobo	Walk Away Renee	Evil Ways	Dick Swaim
22	Ella Fitzgerald	Little White Lies	Ella Swings Lightly	Gary Janssen