Sound Formed in a Vacuum May Seem a Waste of Time: Transmission 442, 2019 January 4

Before we get to the main subject of tonight's broadcast, let me apologize again for not observing the birthdays of Michael Stipe and Robin Guthrie. As I say to my co-pilot, Lady Catharsis, we certainly could have brought in a stack of Cocteau Twins or R.E.M. records and done two hours on either one. But that's not the way it worked out. Maybe she is right, and there will be other January 4 opportunities. But I have already done my thing on Cocteau Twins, I feel, and I would certainly need at least a year to work out whether an all-R.E.M. show would really be me, even though I am a 1980s "college radio" guy. At any rate, let's hope neither of them are the type to google themselves, or, if they are, they accept my apology. I have run into trouble with the self-googling thing before, though I won't name names.

We were here on this night to observe "the feast of (Saint) Bernard" Sumner, he of the voice that Lady Catharsis describes as "sweet." As I predict, we don't get to very many songs, but that is of course because New Order write such nice long ones, and we are very talkative. There is a lot to be said about our selection, but I don't feel like going into a lot of detail. Grievance night has passed, and we are playing what we like. I give my opinion on bad Eighties mixtapes, and this is not one. It's all quality. Somehow we got through two hours of New Order without even playing "Blue Monday!" (Or "Fine Time," the "newer" song that I couldn't work into a good segue. So be it).

Maybe our commentary will be more pointed when we observe Peter Hook's birthday on February 13 (a regular Wednesday night program). I don't know. In my old age the spiciness of my takes is decreasing, which is probably good for everyone.

That doesn't prevent a whole bunch of loose ends from the program, which seems to be par for the course. The xmas flexidisc doesn't have an "other side." It's single-sided. How did this fact manage to escape me, if we played "it" on the program? Radio magic! There is indeed a version of "Sub-culture" with Debora Iyall, and you can listen to it here. (Spicy take alert: it isn't the best work of anyone involved.) Turns out we do use the same piece of interstitial music for every talking break on the program, and it does seem to go wiith everything New Order does, though of course we'll have another opportunity to test this out soon.

Oh, finally--why does our intro music go on for so long before we speak? In our ongoing series, "early program disasters in 2019," the station's general manager calls me in the control room right at the beginning of the program, of course. We overcome it. This is a good show.

BOMBAST playlist, 2019 January 4, 2100-2300:

1. "Ceremony" | New Order | Substance | Factory - Qwest
2. "Temptation" | New Order | 1981-1982 | Factory - Polygram
3. "Chosen Time" | New Order | Movement | London - Rhino
4. "Too Late" | New Order | Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit
5. "The Village" / "5 8 6" | New Order | Power, Corruption & Lies | Factory - Qwest
6. "Confusion" | New Order | Confusion | Factory
7. "Sooner Than You Think" | New Order | Low-life | Factory - Qwest
8. "Sub-culture (remix)" | New Order | Sub-culture | Factory - Qwest
9. "All Day Long" | New Order | Brotherhood | Factory - Qwest
10. "Lonesome Tonight" | New Order | Substance | Factory - Qwest
11. "Hurt" | New Order | 1981-1982 | Factory - Polygram
12. "Rocking Carol" | New Order | Merry Xmas From The Haçienda And Factory Records | Factory
13. "Love Vigilantes" / "The Perfect Kiss" | New Order | Low-life | Factory - Qwest
14. "Your Silent Face" | New Order | Power, Corruption & Lies | Factory - Qwest
15. "Every Little Counts" | New Order | Brotherhood | Factory - Qwest

This is why events unnerve me

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