Got to apprentice DJ with Sue Dise on Monday morning.

Here’s the mp3 archive:

Depending on your browser configuration, it may or may not stream. I start talking/playing tracks/having tracks played for me around minute 14.

Here’s the track list for my segment:

11:44 AM – Elvis Costello – The Other Side of Summer
11:40 AM – Bill Hilly Band – Begin the Beguine
11:38 AM – Sloan – Deeper Than Beauty
11:35 AM – Willie Nelson – Bue Eyes Crying in the Rain
11:29 AM – Beck – Shake Shake Tambourine – Guerolito
11:28 AM – Joni Mitchell – A Case of You
11:28 AM – Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon – Lets Go Burn Old Nashville Down

And I started with the Mountain Goats, ‘The Pigs that Ran Straightaway Into the Water’. But I forgot to type that into the playlist system. But that’s because I’m just a starting DJ.

Almost done the training now. I’ve written my dumb broadcast test, made my demo tape done a bunch of apprencticeships, etc. I think I can apply for a show now. And start subbing for other DJs anytime. Maybe I’ll go do that now.

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As predicted, hanging out with Kristin on her radio show was a blast. There’s a certain meditative abandon to wandering the record stacks, half-dancing to the music, trying to think what would be good next? Of course, I don’t know a damn thing about the WCBN record library and came up almost totally cold, but Kristin reliably spins a mean set with no encouragement so I was loving it regardless. My own favourite pick was ‘Every Day’ from Count Basie and Joe Williams. That came to me on a mix tape long ago and I hadn’t thought of it in years.

Somebody requested “some fast Zeppelin”. Tight Pants isn’t the kind of show where you ask for classic rock hits (I got busted just for laying Revolver on the record pile) and so sorry to that guy, but Living Loving actually does sound pretty good at 45rpm.

Monday morning I’m taking my “level 2 training” (knife fighting, hostage negotiation and cake piping) with Sue, who is my other favourite WCBN dj. Looking forward to that too.

5:31 PM – The Great Gaylord – Monkey
5:24 PM – Blind Willie Johnson – Dark Was the Night – Cold Was the Ground
5:20 PM – Silver Jews – Smith and Jones Forever
5:18 PM – Count Basie and Joe Williams – Every Day
5:14 PM – Uncle Tupelo – Now I Want to Be Your Dog
5:10 PM – Led Zeppelin – Living Loving
5:09 PM – Morphine – Top Floor Bottom Buzzer
4:57 PM – James Brown – I Want you so bad
4:55 PM – George McCrae – I Get Lifted
4:51 PM – Hank Ballard & the Midnighters – I’m Gonna Miss You
4:49 PM – Bobby and the Heabyweights – Soul Train
4:46 PM – The Anything People – Goin’ for a Ride
4:44 PM – Hasil Adkins – Banana Boat Song
4:42 PM – Baldhead Growler – The Sausage
4:40 PM – Sam Cooke – The Coffee Song
4:36 PM – Wicked Pickett – Sin Was the Blame
4:36 PM – Tom Waits – Step Right Up
4:24 PM – The Fuzztones – Green Slime
4:21 PM – Adam Ant – Beat my Guest
4:18 PM – Jim Nabors – *Hot Dog Heart
4:15 PM – Gwar – Meat Sandwich
4:15 PM – Queers – This Place Sucks
4:09 PM – Stooges – I’m Sick of You
4:09 PM – Flipper – Ever
4:01 PM – Ruins – Macalon Iyaike Catastrophe
3:57 PM – Dead Kennedys – *Trust Your Mechanic
3:53 PM – Boredoms – Special Punk Knig
3:51 PM – Chrome – ST3
3:48 PM – DEVO – 37
3:43 PM – Captain Beefheart – When I See Mommy I Feel Like a Mummy
3:38 PM – Lee Hazlewood & Ann Margret – Walk on Out of my Mind
3:35 PM – Old 97s – *Victoria
3:32 PM – Johnny Cash – *Get Rhythm
3:31 PM – Elvis – I’ll be back
3:28 PM – Spuddnicks – Tom Cat Boogie
3:26 PM – Stray Cats – *Stray Cat Strut
3:19 PM – The Supremes – Get Ready
3:15 PM – Stones – Bitch
3:12 PM – Tina & Ike – Chopper
3:09 PM – Lord Creator – Big Bamboo
3:07 PM – The Coasters – Hog Baby
3:04 PM – Eddie Harris – That is why you are overweight

I’m going to be hanging out in the studio tomorrow for the Tight Pants show (“if it’s too lound, your pants aren’t tight enough”) with Kristin, one of my favourite WCBN djs. This is nominally a mandated part of my journey towards my own dj-ship (my second “apprenticeship”) but mostly if it’s anything like my first, it will be just good fun. Don’t know how much music I’ll be playing myself, I may mostly just lurk, but you will somehow be able to sense my presence should you listen in by radio or webcast, I promise. I’m on an alt-country kick, so if any of that gets played, it may be my fault.

Tomorrow i.e. Friday 16th at 3:00pm till the next lazy drunken dj decides to show up. Yee hah.

So that was a dream come true.

Here’s our official playlist as reported to the CMJ. You can mostly tell which ones were my picks and which were Bertrand’s because he’s the kind of old school vinyl scavenger who cares about what label you need to special order from, but is a lazy french cur who can’t be bothered to type in the album name.

Time > Track > Artist > Album > Label
11:09 PM > Cinematic Orchestra > Flite > Every Day >
11:15 PM > Hastings Street Experience > Yes Lord > > Midnite
11:21 PM > Gordon Lightfoot > Sundown > >
11:24 PM > Keith Hudson > I Shall be Released > > Atra
11:28 PM > Jean LeLoup > Balade a Toronto > >
11:31 PM > The Congos > Don’t Blame it on I > > Trojan
11:35 PM > C.R. Avery > Big in Japan > Just Passing Through >
11:41 PM > Morphine > Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer > >
11:46 PM > Gary McFarland > If I’m Elected > >
11:57 PM > Frank Zappa > Willie the Pimp > > Ryko
12:11 AM > Frank Zappa > Peaches en Regalia > >
12:11 AM > Paul McCartney > Temporary Secretary > McCartney II >
12:17 AM > Ben Allison > Across the Universe > Buzz >
12:20 AM > Pink Floyd > The Gnome > > EMI
12:20 AM > Gary McFarland > Satisfaction > > Verve
12:25 AM > Blockhead > Insomniac Olympics > >
12:31 AM > Tim Maia > Padre Cicero > >
12:33 AM > Charlie Slick > futuredemo > his myspace site or something >
12:41 AM > Cecil McBee > Tulsa Black > >
12:43 AM > Drop Thumb Medley > Steve Martin > Comedy is Not Pretty >
12:46 AM > MC Paul Barman > Anarchist Bookstore Part 1 > >
12:48 AM > Loretta Lynn > Portland Oregon > Van Lear Rose >
12:54 AM > Bruce Springsteen > Open All Night > Nebraska >
12:55 AM > Crickhead > radio monkey > >

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Making my debut behind the mic tonight 11 to 2. It’s going to flat out rock. No compromises, no capitulations, no nods to decency or moderation. My vinylspinning cigarette chain smoking depressive parisian flatmate will also be at the console (it’s his show).

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