What It Means To Go Home from an Evening: Transmission 38, 2013 June 12

Things had been going well in il mondo Bumbastico, so I guess I should feel "grateful" for the dose of humility that this program administered. Awkwardness and mistakes are plentiful. I played an extra song by Sugar; the segue from CLOSE to "Panama City Motel" was surprisingly nice, although the segue out of that unplanned Sugar song was a trainwreck. Also, I forgot Junior's short "Physical Evidence" intros on three of the Greg Foat tracks. Good thing there's quality music for you to hear. The program isn't nearly so bad when the songs are playing, and not nearly as bad as it felt in real time. There is a problem that has plagued me for as long as I can remember: what to do about other people. Not being John Galt, I depend on them. But I seldom enjoy myself around them. Frequently I must venture into the world and engage with them, but I treasure the times when I don't face that burden. It's no joke when I say on the program that I enjoy the separation between myself and my listeners. In the control room, I am comfortable flying solo much of the time, but during fundraising we are "encouraged" (not ironic quotation marks, just a literal quote) to request money on air with the aid of a co-pilot--because in someone's mind it "sounds better" when two people do it. Here's the thing, and I write this knowing my cyber-stalker is visiting, so I know I risk a lecture or something: things that "sound better" in someone's mind than the thing I would rather hear or do almost never deliver on their promises. If there's a thing I want to happen, and someone else says, "this other thing sounds better," I just know there's a letdown ahead. This particular thing--two hosts instead of one--is an aesthetic choice, and a subjective choice, sort of like saying "an accordion sounds better than a clarinet." I don't have a particular stand on these instruments, but I feel like I'm standing on pretty solid ground saying that a great clarinet player is going to produce better music than a lousy accordionist, and that asking the clarinettist to produce greatness from the accordion is a misplaced hope. Anyway, being a "team player," I put out a call for a cohost for this program, and "Deejay Saywhat," god bless her, responded. The results are in the sound file--at least for the first hour, before she had to catch her bus. Chemistry is a fickle thing, and I just don't have it with that many people. Most of them live far away, or already have programs at WRFI, and Lady Catharsis is only available once every few months. So it's no surprise that the first hour is pretty rough going. So much for polyphony. Nothing against Deejay Saywhat--it is hero's work to sit in the booth with me. To top off this story with an ironic cherry, not every host at the station heeded this call to team up with someone for fundraising. Some shows that are regularly solo affairs remained that way. So the evening's futility gains some underscoring as a bonus. We are still, albeit just barely, keeping score in our ongoing contest with iTunes, so "Girl and Robot with Flowers Remixed" makes it 5-0 to Bombast. Also, this show contains a personal highlight that might not be noticeable to others if I don't point it out. So here goes: I was very happy to discover Sir Basil Outernational, and to have spoken to him for an hour or so the day before this program. He is, of course, Gary Bromley of Dif Juz, who will be featured soon on an episode devoted entirely to their music. Stay tuned. BOMBAST playlist, 2013 June 12, 2100-2300:

1. Hreno: "Over My Head (She's Possessed Mix)" [Meander]
2. The Greg Foat Group: "Girl and Robot with Flowers, Part 5 (featuring Luminarja)" [Jazzman] / "Physical Evidence"
3. Simian Mobile Disco: "A Species Out of Control" [Delicacies]
4. Blackdown, Farrah, Dusk: "Lonely Moon (Android Heartbreak Drumz Remix)" [Keysound]
5. The Famous Nyahururu Boys: "Mwendwa" [Soundway]
6. Dub Spencer & Trance Hill: "The World Is Dub Enough" [Echo Beach]
7. Sugar: "Gee Angel" [Creation / Rykodisc] / "Listening Parlour"
8. Will Saul Presents CLOSE: "Future Love" [Studio K7]
9. Sugar: "Panama City Motel" [Creation / Rykodisc]
10. The Greg Foat Group: "Girl and Robot with Flowers, Part 4 (Cherrystone Remix)" [Jazzman] / "Physical Evidence"
11. GRMLN: "Teenage Rhythm" [Carpark]
12. The Greg Foat Group: "Clear Skies Select Stick (Vakula Remix)" [Jazzman] / "Physical Evidence"
13. Christian Vance: "Uneasy Me" [Art of Vengeance]
14. Sir Basil Outernational: "Flat Sun A" [self-released]
15. The Greg Foat Group: "For a Breath I Tarry (Francis Dosoo's Borrowed Breath Remix)" [Jazzman] / "Physical Evidence"
16. The Human League: "Crow and a Baby" [Caroline / Virgin] / "Listening Parlour"
17. Future Bible Heroes: "Don't You Want Me?" [Merge]
18. Jon Hopkins: "Breathe This Air" [Domino]
19. The Greg Foat Group: "Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Part 2 (Linkwood Remix)" [Jazzman] / "Physical Evidence"
20. The Weirdos: "Teenage (demo)" [Bomp]
21. Stimming: "When I'm Drunk" [DIYNamic]
22. The Black Lips: "Freakout" [Bomp]
23. Bleached: "Looking for a Fight" [Dead Oceans]
24. Heavy Stereo: "Sleep Freak (demo)" [Volume]

Next time: cleansing the palette, exhaustion, and Suze Orman. Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis