Thursday, November 21, 2013
Ear Candle Productions: For all your Deep End needs!
The KSFS radio show continues, but I find myself less and less able to keep up to date on this blog. However, Ear Candle Productions continues to post all the Deep End podcasts, as well as news about J Neo Marvin's other radio show, Ear Candle Radio, and the other sounds and visions of Ear Candle Productions. Go deh, dear friends.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Show #2.4: September 30, 2013
Highlights of this week's show:
Are you ready to rock? "Yes." Outer space is a really nice place. You thought that I would need a crystal ball to see right through the haze. Poverty, poverty knock, oh how I wish I had wings. Open the box! When we kiss it feels like a flying saucer landing. On the day that I forget you, I hope my heart explodes. He took off his glasses and said, "that's the biggest load of rubbish I ever heard in my life!" When will they understand that we must be set out of the prison?
Are you ready to rock? "Yes." Outer space is a really nice place. You thought that I would need a crystal ball to see right through the haze. Poverty, poverty knock, oh how I wish I had wings. Open the box! When we kiss it feels like a flying saucer landing. On the day that I forget you, I hope my heart explodes. He took off his glasses and said, "that's the biggest load of rubbish I ever heard in my life!" When will they understand that we must be set out of the prison?
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Show #2.3: September 23, 2013
A wide-ranging, energetic show with everything from devoutly spiritual proto-punks to nine-minute atheist ballads. The Deep End on KSFS, where we stare into the void and wink, and the void winks back.
The Deep End - Show 2.3 - Sept. 23, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Show #2.2: Sept. 16, 2013
Had to overcome some technical difficulties to bring you this podcast (and the DJ banter has some audio glitches), but I could not bear the thought of allowing last night's great KSFS show to slip down the memory hole. We start with George Faith and Lee Scratch Perry and end with The Stooges featuring the mighty Steve Mackay, covering all manner of points in between. Dig it!
The Deep End - Show 2.2 - Sept. 16, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Show # 2.1: Sept. 9, 2013
My first solo show on KSFS. Songs about radio (activity), DJ-ing, and a roundup of alltime favorite artists.
The Deep End - Show 2.1 - Sept. 9, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
The Deep End returns!
Another semester at SF State brings us a whole new timeslot for The Deep End! Tune in every Monday evening at 8:00 PM, Pacific Time at KSFS radio. Got a special debut show planned for Sept. 9.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Show #13: March 24, 2013
In our last show for the semester, we celebrate the graduating BECA class with hosts J Neo Marvin and Davis Jones. Big Bad Benny stops by to say hello in his cap and gown.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The Missing Money Show
By Big Bad Benny
The Missing money show
Like a thief in the night or a robber in the day our money show disappeared from the confines of the hard drive. The show featured some great music by a group I like called Supertramp. The album is called "Crime of the Century".
I played the title cut song because it seems so relevant today with all the banking crisis going on. When you listen to the lyrics of the song it sings about what appears to be banking executives, or at least I interpret the lyrics as such. The song asks the question as to who are the men behind the mask and who are these men of lust, greed and glory. The song was written well before the recent banking crisis our country just under went. In my opinion it seems so fitting today. As they talk about the crime of the century.
I think the way the banking industry has been previously deregulated contributed to this financial mess the country is hanging over from. Look at the way college education is funded for example. Tuition increases because budgets are cut. Students receive financial aide, which in most cases is just a long term loan that will feed interest to the banking industry for decades and the cycle repeats. I heard this song one day and I thought how unusually familiar that it relates to people today.
Another song we played was a classic well known song called the "Taxman", by the Beatles. It always amazes me how desrcript the lyrics are in Beatles songs. The lyrics seem to walk through a visualization through the melody and beat as well. One line in the song says "There is one for you and nineteen for me". I think what the artist intention of the song is to compare the disparity of tax rates at that point in time for lets say a wealthy musician versus a common citizen. Today the reverse seems true as more and more wealthy people find loop holes to avoid paying there fair share of taxes. Today the working class seem to pay a greater portion of their income, as a percentage in taxes versus a large corporation. In some cases large corporations incorporate outside of California to save on taxes. Other corporations simply do not pay what they owe. According to a California website that tracks delinquent payers there is a company located here in the bay area that owes over 20 million dollars in taxes!
It seems that the crime of the century has been dumped on the working class to try and fix. College budgets are cut instead of cutting out the real problem of that is the crime of the century.
The Missing money show
Like a thief in the night or a robber in the day our money show disappeared from the confines of the hard drive. The show featured some great music by a group I like called Supertramp. The album is called "Crime of the Century".
I think the way the banking industry has been previously deregulated contributed to this financial mess the country is hanging over from. Look at the way college education is funded for example. Tuition increases because budgets are cut. Students receive financial aide, which in most cases is just a long term loan that will feed interest to the banking industry for decades and the cycle repeats. I heard this song one day and I thought how unusually familiar that it relates to people today.
Another song we played was a classic well known song called the "Taxman", by the Beatles. It always amazes me how desrcript the lyrics are in Beatles songs. The lyrics seem to walk through a visualization through the melody and beat as well. One line in the song says "There is one for you and nineteen for me". I think what the artist intention of the song is to compare the disparity of tax rates at that point in time for lets say a wealthy musician versus a common citizen. Today the reverse seems true as more and more wealthy people find loop holes to avoid paying there fair share of taxes. Today the working class seem to pay a greater portion of their income, as a percentage in taxes versus a large corporation. In some cases large corporations incorporate outside of California to save on taxes. Other corporations simply do not pay what they owe. According to a California website that tracks delinquent payers there is a company located here in the bay area that owes over 20 million dollars in taxes!
It seems that the crime of the century has been dumped on the working class to try and fix. College budgets are cut instead of cutting out the real problem of that is the crime of the century.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Show #12: March 10, 2013
As the semester winds to a close, we present the last Deep End featuring Big Bad Benny, Jumpin' Jeff Burns and J Neo Marvin together. Neo intends to take the helm and continue the Deep End in the future if all works out as planned. Tonight's show commemorates Mother's Day by emphasizing female artists. Any excuse to emphasize female artists is welcome, of course, but it's a good note to go out on. And congratulations to the Breeders for their appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show.
The Deep End - Show 12 - May 10, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Show #11: March 3, 2013
In our longest Deep End ever, Ben and Jeff turned the tables and interviewed their own cohost, J Neo Marvin, who expounded at length about his own musical career, and the music on his record label, Ear Candle Productions. It was a fun and insightful experience for everyone. Jeff also played a fistful of mashups, and Ben led the show with quite a few surprising finds of his own.
The Deep End - Show 11 - May 3, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Show #10: April 26, 2013
Jeff was away doing a voiceover gig, so Neo and Ben held the fort this week with a wide array of tunes, including a whirlwind tour of the career of the great Pacific Northwest band Sleater-Kinney and the diverse paths of their ex-members. We also played Prince, Nirvana, John Lennon, War, Stones, and an acoustic Bob Seger track where he sounds just like Dave Von Ronk. Words and guitar, we've got it!
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Our show Friday night, a crash course on guitar player Carrie Brownstein's from Sleater Kinney. Recognize the name? Portlandia ring a bell?
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Show #9: April 19, 2013
Podcast is back, better late than never!
All three amigos were present and rocking the microphone to send love and solidarity to all the suffering masses out there, especially the people of Boston. The human spirit cannot be squelched. As we said on the air, you change the world by standing together, not killing people. Let's remember that in other contexts.
All three amigos were present and rocking the microphone to send love and solidarity to all the suffering masses out there, especially the people of Boston. The human spirit cannot be squelched. As we said on the air, you change the world by standing together, not killing people. Let's remember that in other contexts.
The Deep End - Show 9 - April 19, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
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Our last show was a sensation we played music that honored the people of Boston and the life of Scott Miller.
— The Deep End (@deepend2013) April 24, 2013
Sweet Caroline-Boston In Our Thoughts
By Big Bad Benny
Our Deep End show was going to be a non themed show and I think we were planning on getting back to the roots of are show and digging up some hard to find, not so over played, classical rock tunes. As I was going through my collection of possible selections I could not help but reflect on the recent events of what was happening in Boston.
As much as I was thinking maybe we needed a break from the theme style of our show that we did on the last two shows. I thought our show should acknowledge what was going on in Boston as people all over the world were greatly being affected by it. I threw the idea of making a dedication show to the people of Boston and playing some love songs to kinda of change the mood of the events.
When we got into the studio we were still deciding the lineup. Scott Warren Miller a musician from the Loud Family had died suddenly on April 15, 2013. J Neo Marvin knew the music well and knew of Scott Miller and we all decided we wanted to also dedicate the show in Scott's memory.
Our show was a dual dedication for the late musician Scott Miller, and the Boston Marathon bombings.It just seemed like it was the right thing to do. Indeed it was a week that we all wanted to turn out differently when we walked into the studio Friday eve.
Regardless of the events the show must go on, and in this great nation the music is never silent.In fact people and organizations came together and before our show was out the remaining Boston Marathon bombing suspect had been captured. We played songs that had fun with our mood and had an undertone message of love.We were not going to the let horrible acts of others and the unfortunate events of the week distract from our core and predominately melody of love songs and fun songs on our show.
J Neo Marvin played an incredible song called "All around you". We closed the show with Shine a Light, for me a song of hope, by the Rolling Stones to kinda transition smoothly into the next show. I think if we knew now what we did not know Friday Eve we may have choose to close with Sweet Caroline. J Neo Marvin and myself were question why Jeff Burns selected Neil Diamonds "Sweet Caroline" as one of his songs. What was the connection we asked as we both were consumed in our own worlds and projects and not big sports fans.
Jeff educated us on the fact that the song is a Bostonian favorite and is sung at ball games at Boston's Fenway Park. In looking into this further, and feel so fortunate to be surrounded by such great and diverse talent on our show, the ball park started to play the song in 1997. The song has been played continuously during the eighth inning of every ball game at Fenway Park since 2002.
Neil Diamond wrote and released the song in 1969 as a single. According to wiki, Neil Diamond's inspiration for the song "Caroline" was inspired by the daughter of John F. Kennedy. Caroline Kennedy, was 11 at the time when the song was written and recorded.
After the Boston bombings Boston's rival, the The New York Yankees played the song in solidarity to remember the victims and observe a moment of silence. This gesture caught on and the song was played at ball games across the country. The next day after our show Neil Diamond himself sang the song at Fenway Park. I can only image the powerful song echoing through Fenway Park and across America being sung for hope and good times to follow.
And now you know the Deep End of the song.
Exactly What We Don't Want To Hear
For those of us who knew him even a little, the sudden, unexplained death of Scott Miller last Monday was a nasty punch to the gut. Scott may have been an obscure cult singer-songwriter whose career peaked in the 80s and 90s, but he had not been idle. His recent book, Music: What Happened?, combined music criticism with personal reminiscence, employing the same wit and charm that filled his quirky, infectious songs. And, saddest of all, it looks like he was on the verge of reuniting his early band Game Theory to record some new material when he was taken away.
Scott's music could be glibly classified as "power pop", but his bands would never be mistaken for the late 70s/early 80s wave of skinny-tie bands singing predictable songs about crushes on pretty girls to recycled British Invasion riffs. Every Game Theory or Loud Family album was stuffed with terse, complex, melodic songs that reveled in wordplay without losing their essential warmth. Not the stuff of top 40 hits, and strangely out of time with the aggression of punk or the smoothness of synth-pop, Scott could have ridden the coattails of bands like REM or the Smiths, but the timing wasn't right. (Who can predict these things? A lot of people pretend they can, but in the end all it amounts to is dumb luck, wild guesses and bullshit.) But even if the "heartland indie", "rock of the 80s", and "alternative rock" booms passed him by, Scott always had a hardcore fanbase who loved his unique gifts.
I was always dimly aware of Game Theory, but with so much to pay attention to during the independent music explosion of the 80s, I never made it a priority to check them out. I may have to chalk some of that up to an aversion to more pop-oriented music I had at the time. I felt a need for something more deep and powerful. (Less Beatles and Kinks, more Stones and Who, maybe.) I did finally see the light, though, when the Loud Family wound up on the same label (Alias) as my band X-tal, and put out the jaw-droppingly good album Plants And Birds And Rocks And Things. We played a label showcase gig together where I met him for the first time. I don't remember much of our conversation, except that he was an incredibly friendly, upbeat person with a way of putting you at ease. He was the same the other time I met him, when the Loud Family played Terrastock 2 in 1999. Just a genuine, sincere, very cool guy.
His personality came across in everything he did: the songs, the book, or in person. He left behind a wife and two children. He was 53. Strange how, in a week of tragedies and deaths his was the one that affected me most. This was personal. Scott Miller was one of the good ones, and I'm sorry to see him go.
Check out my all-time favorite Loud Family song here. Even with 75% of the lyrics delivered as a spoken-word piece, the tune is ridiculously catchy. The words themselves deserve to be quoted at length; it's the story of a character who spends his life striving to be the quintessential alpha male, only to realize his entire belief system is a ruse. I would love to do a video of this song using nothing but footage of Don Draper in Mad Men:
I used to go out with supermodels
But it didn't make my life okay
I used to be the cold stare, don't care
Stay fresh in the Frigidaire
I just assumed that was a moré*
I didn't spot the setup
I used to get A's in psychology class
But it didn't make my life okay
I used to be the point-blank think tank
What I say or daddy spank
I just assumed that would pay the way
I didn't spot the setup
And I could always be the judge
And bear the grudge
And tell you where you lost it
And I could always be the one
Shade your sun
And steal your fun away
But it didn't make my life okay
BY THE WAY: An untimely death has already garnered Scott some of the attention he deserved more of when he was alive. To catch up with a great artist you may have missed out on, the Loud Family website will get you off to a good start.
*OK, this is driving me slightly nuts. All the lyric websites think he said "amore", but I always assumed it was the singular of "mores" as in cultural values, as in "I just assumed that was the way it was supposed to be." Wordnik claims "the singular is rarely used", but it just seems more right somehow. If only Scott was around to straighten this out...
ALSO: A site has been set up to help out Scott's family. Click here for the Scott Miller Memorial Fund.
Scott's music could be glibly classified as "power pop", but his bands would never be mistaken for the late 70s/early 80s wave of skinny-tie bands singing predictable songs about crushes on pretty girls to recycled British Invasion riffs. Every Game Theory or Loud Family album was stuffed with terse, complex, melodic songs that reveled in wordplay without losing their essential warmth. Not the stuff of top 40 hits, and strangely out of time with the aggression of punk or the smoothness of synth-pop, Scott could have ridden the coattails of bands like REM or the Smiths, but the timing wasn't right. (Who can predict these things? A lot of people pretend they can, but in the end all it amounts to is dumb luck, wild guesses and bullshit.) But even if the "heartland indie", "rock of the 80s", and "alternative rock" booms passed him by, Scott always had a hardcore fanbase who loved his unique gifts.
I was always dimly aware of Game Theory, but with so much to pay attention to during the independent music explosion of the 80s, I never made it a priority to check them out. I may have to chalk some of that up to an aversion to more pop-oriented music I had at the time. I felt a need for something more deep and powerful. (Less Beatles and Kinks, more Stones and Who, maybe.) I did finally see the light, though, when the Loud Family wound up on the same label (Alias) as my band X-tal, and put out the jaw-droppingly good album Plants And Birds And Rocks And Things. We played a label showcase gig together where I met him for the first time. I don't remember much of our conversation, except that he was an incredibly friendly, upbeat person with a way of putting you at ease. He was the same the other time I met him, when the Loud Family played Terrastock 2 in 1999. Just a genuine, sincere, very cool guy.
His personality came across in everything he did: the songs, the book, or in person. He left behind a wife and two children. He was 53. Strange how, in a week of tragedies and deaths his was the one that affected me most. This was personal. Scott Miller was one of the good ones, and I'm sorry to see him go.
Check out my all-time favorite Loud Family song here. Even with 75% of the lyrics delivered as a spoken-word piece, the tune is ridiculously catchy. The words themselves deserve to be quoted at length; it's the story of a character who spends his life striving to be the quintessential alpha male, only to realize his entire belief system is a ruse. I would love to do a video of this song using nothing but footage of Don Draper in Mad Men:
I used to go out with supermodels
But it didn't make my life okay
I used to be the cold stare, don't care
Stay fresh in the Frigidaire
I just assumed that was a moré*
I didn't spot the setup
I used to get A's in psychology class
But it didn't make my life okay
I used to be the point-blank think tank
What I say or daddy spank
I just assumed that would pay the way
I didn't spot the setup
And I could always be the judge
And bear the grudge
And tell you where you lost it
And I could always be the one
Shade your sun
And steal your fun away
But it didn't make my life okay
BY THE WAY: An untimely death has already garnered Scott some of the attention he deserved more of when he was alive. To catch up with a great artist you may have missed out on, the Loud Family website will get you off to a good start.
*OK, this is driving me slightly nuts. All the lyric websites think he said "amore", but I always assumed it was the singular of "mores" as in cultural values, as in "I just assumed that was the way it was supposed to be." Wordnik claims "the singular is rarely used", but it just seems more right somehow. If only Scott was around to straighten this out...
ALSO: A site has been set up to help out Scott's family. Click here for the Scott Miller Memorial Fund.
Podcast ahoy!
Just got a heads up from my fellow radio personality Mitch that the weekend archives are finally up, which means that we'll have a Show #9 podcast for you very, very soon! It's good to be able to relive our radio show for you again. Let us rejoice!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Show #8: There will be no podcast this week.
The goddess of destruction wiped out this weekend's archive. We will be more careful in the future. (Or do our own backup recording, maybe.)
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Show #7: April 5, 2013
On the seventh installment of The Deep End, J Neo Marvin and Big Bad Benny lead you on an hour long trip that takes in O Lucky Man, Marat/Sade, a potent latter day anti-war song from the Rolling Stones, a beautifully twisted take on a Johnny Cash/June Carter classic, and more tremendous and often obscure music than you can shake a stick at.
It should be noted that around the 38 minute mark, it was necessary to do a little audio tweaking to eliminate some bad digital sounds that marred the original recording. As a result, it may sound like we are broadcasting from space. But then, it's all part of the fun.
Be sure to tune in next Friday when all three Deep End DJs will be rocking the mics together for the first time in a while. In the meantime, dig this:
It should be noted that around the 38 minute mark, it was necessary to do a little audio tweaking to eliminate some bad digital sounds that marred the original recording. As a result, it may sound like we are broadcasting from space. But then, it's all part of the fun.
Be sure to tune in next Friday when all three Deep End DJs will be rocking the mics together for the first time in a while. In the meantime, dig this:
The Deep End - Show 7 - April 5, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Friday, April 5, 2013
Rock Sugar: Mashups of the 80s with a dash of Voice Over
Lately over the last couple of shows I've been fascinated with finding Mashups of classic songs for the show because I find it a fascinating process to take one song and super-colide it with another, the results can be interesting sometimes if done well enough. On the show we've played mashups that fuse together songs such as Ozzy Osbourn's Crazy Train and A-ha's classic Take On Me which makes Take Me On The Crazy Train (as shown above and other things like Ghostbusters mashed together with AC/DC's Thunderstruck thus creating ThunderBusters. It takes a lot of elements of audio wizardry to make a mashup work such as matching up song tempo, finding compatible beats and many more.
One such band decided to do mashups in an unusual way and they made it their own gimmick, that band is known as Rock Sugar.Formed by noted Voice Actor Jess Harnell (famous for his role as Wacko Warner on hit animated show Animaniacs), Demo Producer Chuck Duran (who also does Voice Acting and hosts a weekly podcast on the subject). Rock Sugar's motif/gimmick as stated at the opening of their breakout hit, Don't Stop The Sandman is that they were stranded on an island with nothing but an iPod full of hits from the 1980s, upon their return they began fusing together some of the greatest hits of the 80s and the rest as they say is history.
Jess Harnell is one of the top Voice Actors in the field and like many voice actors he comes from a musical background so it's only natural he can rock these songs as the lead vocalist of Rock Sugar. Even on Animaniacs he was able to put his musical talents to great use such as on this little gem where Jess as Wacko names all 50 states and capitals.
It's even cooler to hear him do it in person and he can still do it without missing a beat as this next video shows. Speaking of which I'll end this blog with a plug towards an Animaniacs reunion happening in Los Angeles on April 12th featuring Jess Harnell alongside fellow cast members and cartoon siblings Rob Paulsen (he who put this whole event together as part of his podcast Talkin' Toons) and Tress MacNeille, this is a rare opportunity to see all three of these amazing actors together and having had the pleasure of meeting both Jess and Rob in the past, they are nothing short of a hoot and much laughter will be had if you find yourself in the same room as these people. More info on that can be found at this link below.
http://robpaulsenlive.com/animanics-live-41213/
Links of Interest:
Rock Sugar's official website: http://www.rocksugarband.com/
Jess Harnell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_Harnell
Chuck Duran: http://www.demosthatrock.com/
Chuck Duran's Voice Over Podcast: http://www.vobuzzweekly.com/
Rob Paulsen: http://robpaulsenlive.com
Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen: http://robpaulsenlive.com/category/podcasts/
Cool places to find more mashups:
Wax Audio: http://www.youtube.com/user/waxaudio
Leynar2204: http://www.youtube.com/user/Leyner2204?feature=watch
One such band decided to do mashups in an unusual way and they made it their own gimmick, that band is known as Rock Sugar.Formed by noted Voice Actor Jess Harnell (famous for his role as Wacko Warner on hit animated show Animaniacs), Demo Producer Chuck Duran (who also does Voice Acting and hosts a weekly podcast on the subject). Rock Sugar's motif/gimmick as stated at the opening of their breakout hit, Don't Stop The Sandman is that they were stranded on an island with nothing but an iPod full of hits from the 1980s, upon their return they began fusing together some of the greatest hits of the 80s and the rest as they say is history.
Jess Harnell is one of the top Voice Actors in the field and like many voice actors he comes from a musical background so it's only natural he can rock these songs as the lead vocalist of Rock Sugar. Even on Animaniacs he was able to put his musical talents to great use such as on this little gem where Jess as Wacko names all 50 states and capitals.
It's even cooler to hear him do it in person and he can still do it without missing a beat as this next video shows. Speaking of which I'll end this blog with a plug towards an Animaniacs reunion happening in Los Angeles on April 12th featuring Jess Harnell alongside fellow cast members and cartoon siblings Rob Paulsen (he who put this whole event together as part of his podcast Talkin' Toons) and Tress MacNeille, this is a rare opportunity to see all three of these amazing actors together and having had the pleasure of meeting both Jess and Rob in the past, they are nothing short of a hoot and much laughter will be had if you find yourself in the same room as these people. More info on that can be found at this link below.
http://robpaulsenlive.com/animanics-live-41213/
Links of Interest:
Rock Sugar's official website: http://www.rocksugarband.com/
Jess Harnell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_Harnell
Chuck Duran: http://www.demosthatrock.com/
Chuck Duran's Voice Over Podcast: http://www.vobuzzweekly.com/
Rob Paulsen: http://robpaulsenlive.com
Talkin' Toons with Rob Paulsen: http://robpaulsenlive.com/category/podcasts/
Cool places to find more mashups:
Wax Audio: http://www.youtube.com/user/waxaudio
Leynar2204: http://www.youtube.com/user/Leyner2204?feature=watch
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The Persecution and Assassination Of Classic Rock As Performed By The Inmates Of The Deep End Under The Direction Of J Neo Marvin And Big Bad Benny
On this Friday's Deep End, we'll be including a mini-set of songs from the 60s inspired by Marat/Sade, (full title: The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade), a deranged Brechtian satirical play that became an equally deranged movie that launched the career of Glenda Jackson. A piece taking in subjects like madness, revolution, authoritarianism and decadence was bound to resonate with a wide variety of characters on the 60s rock scene. First we have the classically trained folksinger Judy Collins with a medley of musical numbers from the play itself. The shocking, angry lyrics clash perfectly with the genteel chamber music accompanying them. Then comes "The Red Telephone", by the LA band Love, whose leader Arthur Lee seized on the chant of the mob in the mental hospital, "We're all normal and we want our freedom!" as the climax to his epic song of dread from the band's masterpiece, Forever Changes. Finally, the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band throw out their own soundcollage/anthem, "We Are Normal," which takes a completely different approach to the same quote.
Marat/Sade, worth seeing:
Judy's take on it, as relevant as ever:
Arthur Lee and Love, essential listening:
The Bonzos, the missing link between the Who and Monty Python:
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Show #6: March 22, 2013
The sixth episode of The Deep End, featuring the return of Big Bad Benny who shares the space with Jeff Burns while J Neo Marvin plays hooky. On the eve of spring break, Benny and Jeff find themselves feeling a little bit homesick...
The Deep End - Show 6 - March 22, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Show #5: March 15, 2013
With Big Bad Benny still in quarantine, Jumpin' Jeff Burns and J Neo Marvin keep the Deep End torch aloft for another show. Fear not, dear friends; Benny is winning his battle against malaria, and will be back, bigger and badder than ever, on next week's show.
This week, we learn that "Michael Jackson mashups" is not an easy phrase to say on the air. Also, we get some cool oddities from the early San Francisco scene, a classic Incredible String Band/Who/Faces/Velvet Underground supersession, and a taste of how Ozzy Osbourne would sound as a twee 80s synth-pop hitmaker.
Plus, we debut our first installment of PLAGIARISM OR COINCIDENCE? Give it a listen and judge for yourself.
This week, we learn that "Michael Jackson mashups" is not an easy phrase to say on the air. Also, we get some cool oddities from the early San Francisco scene, a classic Incredible String Band/Who/Faces/Velvet Underground supersession, and a taste of how Ozzy Osbourne would sound as a twee 80s synth-pop hitmaker.
Plus, we debut our first installment of PLAGIARISM OR COINCIDENCE? Give it a listen and judge for yourself.
The Deep End - Show 5 - March 15, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
More where that came from
On last Friday's show, we played "I Don't Need Help", a track by Johnny K. Killen and the Dynamics, from the marvelous compilation album, Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label. A man is talking to his oldest and closest friend who has helped him in times of need. Suddenly, his friend seems to be showing a little too much interest in our protagonist's sweetheart, and he needs to be set straight:
Of course, the music business is a ruthless world, and talent does not always equal success, even in the revolutionary years of the 60s and early 70s when anything seemed possible. People have been endlessly rediscovering, reassessing, and reissuing music from also-rans from various musical scenes who have turned out to have back catalogs that match or surpass any of the established acts of the canon. From the Velvet Underground to Rodriguez, artists who went nowhere in their time have eventually made their impact on the world. The whole phenomenon of Nuggets (and its even-more-obscure little brothers like Pebbles and Rubble), from the original double album compiled in the 70s to the Rhino series in the 80s to the various comprehensive box sets of the present day, has shined a light on the formerly-forgotten geniuses of garage-rock, a genre once thought of as horrid trash that had no place in a rapidly progressing musical world.
But what about soul? Where were the great lost artists and songs that couldn't compete with Otis, Aretha, Smokey or James Brown? In the last decade, a small reissue label called Numero has answered this question with the Eccentric Soul series, doing an astounding feat of research and recovery and gifting us with a staggering number of hits from an alternate universe's jukebox. Not everything on these albums hits the mark, but the ones that do will touch places in you you didn't even know were there. I can't recommend them more highly.
Here is Numero's Ken Shipley guesting on the Onion's AV Club, playing some of his personal Eccentric Soul favorites and telling some stories of his own about the project. Absolutely fascinating, and essential for anyone who loves great, passionate music.
We also played a track by the wonderful Lijadu Sisters, a phenomenal pair of identical twin sisters from Nigeria who combined close harmonies, sexy voices, funky African grooves and conscious lyrics. After putting out a series of albums, they resettled in Brooklyn, where they live today. What made them unique was their strong, assertive natures and unwillingness to be stopped by the patriarchial traditions of African society. Here they are, stealing the show in the fascinating Nigerian music documentary, Konkombe:
The sisters' career got a shot in the arm recently when their song "Life's Gone Down Low" was included in the compilation album The World Ends: Afro-Rock & Psychedelia In 1970s Nigeria, a mind-opening collection of stunning, funky music that shows how the cultures of the planet influence each other, and how we all recreate our own culture from exposure to others.
Here are the Lijadu Sisters in a more recent video, still as gorgeous and grounded as ever:
We played a classic track by the Pretty Things as well, but the band seems to have ensured that none of their YouTube videos can be embedded, so I'll be leaving them out of this post. Go get yourself some Pretty Things albums right now, though! I recommend S.F. Sorrow, Get The Picture?, and Emotions, in that order. Immerse yourself in the only band that has shared members with both the Rolling Stones and the Mekons! This is the sort of thing The Deep End is all about.
We've been buddies for a long long timeIt's classic soul, with a catchy tune, a ring of truth and a clever twist on some basic human emotions. How, you wonder, was this NOT a monster hit back in the 60s?
And you've always treated me kind
And whenever I was down and out
You were always there to help me out
But now I see you watching my baby
I see you giving her the eye
Well, let me tell you something:
WITH HER I DON'T NEED HELP
I CAN HANDLE HER ALL BY MYSELF!
Of course, the music business is a ruthless world, and talent does not always equal success, even in the revolutionary years of the 60s and early 70s when anything seemed possible. People have been endlessly rediscovering, reassessing, and reissuing music from also-rans from various musical scenes who have turned out to have back catalogs that match or surpass any of the established acts of the canon. From the Velvet Underground to Rodriguez, artists who went nowhere in their time have eventually made their impact on the world. The whole phenomenon of Nuggets (and its even-more-obscure little brothers like Pebbles and Rubble), from the original double album compiled in the 70s to the Rhino series in the 80s to the various comprehensive box sets of the present day, has shined a light on the formerly-forgotten geniuses of garage-rock, a genre once thought of as horrid trash that had no place in a rapidly progressing musical world.
But what about soul? Where were the great lost artists and songs that couldn't compete with Otis, Aretha, Smokey or James Brown? In the last decade, a small reissue label called Numero has answered this question with the Eccentric Soul series, doing an astounding feat of research and recovery and gifting us with a staggering number of hits from an alternate universe's jukebox. Not everything on these albums hits the mark, but the ones that do will touch places in you you didn't even know were there. I can't recommend them more highly.
Here is Numero's Ken Shipley guesting on the Onion's AV Club, playing some of his personal Eccentric Soul favorites and telling some stories of his own about the project. Absolutely fascinating, and essential for anyone who loves great, passionate music.
We also played a track by the wonderful Lijadu Sisters, a phenomenal pair of identical twin sisters from Nigeria who combined close harmonies, sexy voices, funky African grooves and conscious lyrics. After putting out a series of albums, they resettled in Brooklyn, where they live today. What made them unique was their strong, assertive natures and unwillingness to be stopped by the patriarchial traditions of African society. Here they are, stealing the show in the fascinating Nigerian music documentary, Konkombe:
The sisters' career got a shot in the arm recently when their song "Life's Gone Down Low" was included in the compilation album The World Ends: Afro-Rock & Psychedelia In 1970s Nigeria, a mind-opening collection of stunning, funky music that shows how the cultures of the planet influence each other, and how we all recreate our own culture from exposure to others.
Here are the Lijadu Sisters in a more recent video, still as gorgeous and grounded as ever:
We played a classic track by the Pretty Things as well, but the band seems to have ensured that none of their YouTube videos can be embedded, so I'll be leaving them out of this post. Go get yourself some Pretty Things albums right now, though! I recommend S.F. Sorrow, Get The Picture?, and Emotions, in that order. Immerse yourself in the only band that has shared members with both the Rolling Stones and the Mekons! This is the sort of thing The Deep End is all about.
Twilight - The Japanese Connection
Before we go any further a quick explanation of Japanese Anime/Otaku Culture is needed: Otaku are the equivalent of what might be considered Geeks/Nerds in western culture but they are people who are very knowledgeable on a certain subject which in this case would be Anime. Originally Otaku was considered a derogatory term but in recent years it's been looked at in a more positive light.
DaiCon was the name of a group of then amateur animators who would later go on to form a company named Gainax famous for hit titles such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Otaku No Video, Mahoromatic and many more.This opening sequence was made for a Science Fiction Convention known as Nihon SF Taikai in 1983 and is the second of two animations produced by Daicon with Daicon III being produced in 1981. These opening sequences are well known for featuring high quality animation for amateurs at the time, as well as various characters from both American and Japanese pop culture and the music they're set to which in the case of DaiCon IV features three songs from ELO and Twilight being the most well known piece, the other two being the intro of the album "Time" and "Hold On Tight".
Because of the issue of using licensed characters and music without permission of the respective parties, the DaiCon Animations were never officially released or marketed outside of Japan aside from some rare Laserdiscs that were packaged with an official artbook and both of these can fetch upwards of thousands of dollars on auction sites but thanks to video sharing sites like Youtube and homages in Japanese Anime, DaiCon lives on. When attempted to market DaiCon in the US, Playboy saw the Bunny Outfit and didn't want that used in any anime thus preventing DaiCon from entering the US.
In recent years many homages have been made to DaiCon IV, one in particular was used as the theme song for a Japanese Drama Show, Densha Otoko (better translated as Train Man). This opening sequence can be viewed below.
Links of Interest:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAICON_III_and_IV_Opening_Animations
http://www.cjas.org/~leng/daild.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Densha_Otoko_%28TV_series%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_%28Electric_Light_Orchestra_song%29
Monday, March 11, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Show #4: March 8, 2013
A half-hour of mashups and a half-hour of psychedelia and soul as Jumpin' Jeff Burns and J Neo Marvin hold down the fort while Big Bad Benny recuperates from a big bad virus. Get well, Benny!
The Deep End - Show 4 - March 8, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Show #3: March 1, 2013
Our best show yet! The segue from Leonard Cohen to Roy Orbison had us all slack-jawed with amazement and high-fiving in the studio.
The Deep End - Show 3 - March 1, 2013 by Thedeepend on Mixcloud
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Death Of A Ladies' Man
On our last show, we included a small tribute to the brilliant, reclusive British singer-songwriter Kevin Ayers, who left this world just last week. Kevin Ayers began his career with the legendary 60s psychedelic band The Soft Machine. (This clip here probably looked much better in color, but this version is all we have):
In this interview for Catalan TV, he recalls those heady days of the mid-to-late-60s:
More memories, from the 24 Hour Technicolor Dream documentary:
After two long, grueling US tours opening for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Kevin grew disgruntled with the Soft Machine's increasingly jazz-influenced direction and moved to Majorca. In November 1969, he released his first solo album, Joy Of A Toy, the first step in a long, fascinating solo career. He developed a songwriting voice that was both quirky and wise, rambling through a wide-ranging variety of musical styles courtesy of his wide circle of musician friends, topped by his deep, sonorous basso profundo. Some of his finest classics:
And from his great final album from 2008:
Farewell Kevin Ayers. You were one of a kind.
In this interview for Catalan TV, he recalls those heady days of the mid-to-late-60s:
More memories, from the 24 Hour Technicolor Dream documentary:
After two long, grueling US tours opening for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Kevin grew disgruntled with the Soft Machine's increasingly jazz-influenced direction and moved to Majorca. In November 1969, he released his first solo album, Joy Of A Toy, the first step in a long, fascinating solo career. He developed a songwriting voice that was both quirky and wise, rambling through a wide-ranging variety of musical styles courtesy of his wide circle of musician friends, topped by his deep, sonorous basso profundo. Some of his finest classics:
And from his great final album from 2008:
Farewell Kevin Ayers. You were one of a kind.
Big Bad Benny-Roaring on the mic
Hi Listeners and readers! My name is Big Bad Benny. I really am not big or bad but radio can kind of do that to you if you let it carry you away. And that is just what we want to do on our show Fridays from 7 PM to 8 PM. We would like to carry the music over the net to your ears, your eyes, your imagination and beyond. With the time we share, with you are audience, we hope to inspire deeper thoughts by some of the songs we select and the blogs we write and respond to.
We
go beyond what you may normally hear on a classical rock station and play some
of the other songs that are usually not the popular mainstream cuts. I personally like the story behind the song, or the
inspiration behind the lyrics. Each week we will comment on songs that we have some extended appreciation for either the artist or style that is unique to our genre.
The
Deep End is co-hosted with J Neo Marvin, who is also a very talented musical performer. Jeff
Burns also co-hosts our show and, can perform a variety of voice over
characters and plans to pursue voiceover work.
I am currently focusing on video editing and production work. I work mostly now on industrial videos. My outside likes are vegan food, classic cars, radios, cameras, animals, solar power, infrastructures and functionality in design.
My first experience with radio was in the AM format. I grew up listening to AM 920 KVEC, 93.3 KZOZ and 95.5 KLOS. As a young business owner I utilized radio through advertising and live remote radio broadcasts. My business created cross promotions with other business owners to increase sales. It would always amaze me the power of the radio and how many people listen. Although my passion is currently in video I think that radio is making a powerful and important comeback. I often recall the song "Video Killed the Radio Star", and I think that the net has reinvented radio into a very functional form of new media. I like to think the radio star is back in the studio and can now be heard across the world. I look forward to seeing radios on portable mobile devices and becoming a standard. Over the years my appreciation and interest for independent talk, news, sports and music via radio has deepened. I think the independent, free voice of the people should always be heard. Thanks for listening. What are your thoughts?
My first experience with radio was in the AM format. I grew up listening to AM 920 KVEC, 93.3 KZOZ and 95.5 KLOS. As a young business owner I utilized radio through advertising and live remote radio broadcasts. My business created cross promotions with other business owners to increase sales. It would always amaze me the power of the radio and how many people listen. Although my passion is currently in video I think that radio is making a powerful and important comeback. I often recall the song "Video Killed the Radio Star", and I think that the net has reinvented radio into a very functional form of new media. I like to think the radio star is back in the studio and can now be heard across the world. I look forward to seeing radios on portable mobile devices and becoming a standard. Over the years my appreciation and interest for independent talk, news, sports and music via radio has deepened. I think the independent, free voice of the people should always be heard. Thanks for listening. What are your thoughts?
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Space Age Love Song And Sym-Bionic Titan
Moving on to how I discovered "Space Age Love Song" for the show, back in 2010-2011 Cartoon Network was airing a then new series called Sym-Bionic Titan, the story revolves around the life of two teenage "aliens" trying to adjust to life on earth while on the run from an evil general, they possess unique robots that can combine into a giant "Titan" so to speak. Although it was considered an animated show for kids it possessed a lot of elements that made it have a much more mature tone plus it had deeper character development and relationships than a lot of other animated series airing at the time and it pays homage to a lot of elements from Science Fiction movies and John Hughes Comedies and sad to say only one season of 20 episodes was produced before it got canceled. The scene above is how I first heard "Space Age Love Song" and I absolutely loved how it was used as a way to convey one characters true feelings for another. It's a powerful scene and it goes to show that animation is not just kids stuff, it can just as effective towards an adult audience as well.
With that being said if you want to catch Sym-Bionic Titan, it is back on the air in reruns on Cartoon Network every Saturday Night at 2AM on Adult Swim's Toonami Block.
Further Reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sym-Bionic_Titan
Watch Sym-Bionic Titan here:
http://video.adultswim.com/sym-bionic-titan/
Jeff's Intro
I suppose now is a good time to introduce myself and give you readers/listeners out there a better perspective of who I am
I'm Jeff Burns, my role on the show is being the voice monkey on the show so occasionally you'll hear demonstrate some of my voice over skills throughout the show. The reason for this is because I am a Voice Actor and while I don't have any professional credits yet, I'm mostly taking classes at this point to improve my skills and become more competitive. One of the reasons I decided to branch out into radio was to get practice, in addition to staying sharp because radio can be very spontaneous just like a lot of different types of Voice Over where you have to be quick on your feet and able to improvise without relying on a script.
As for being on the deep end, despite being the youngest person on the show I have a very deep appreciation of classic rock music and being on the show with Benny and J Neo allows me to discover classic rock songs that I may have missed out on for years or even discovering new songs that rock so to speak. A lot of my favorite music derives from the 60s, 70s and 80s and occasionally from other genres as well. My setlists usually feature music that I've found primarily through Television or Film being a huge TV nut and film buff (with particular interest in Animation and Sci-Fi as well as a lot of media from Japan). Occasionally I may post trivia in relation to finding songs in animated shows and I do have an upcoming post that covers this with a song we featured on the show not that long ago.
Thanks for reading and I hope you like plunging into the Deep End with us.
Jeff
I'm Jeff Burns, my role on the show is being the voice monkey on the show so occasionally you'll hear demonstrate some of my voice over skills throughout the show. The reason for this is because I am a Voice Actor and while I don't have any professional credits yet, I'm mostly taking classes at this point to improve my skills and become more competitive. One of the reasons I decided to branch out into radio was to get practice, in addition to staying sharp because radio can be very spontaneous just like a lot of different types of Voice Over where you have to be quick on your feet and able to improvise without relying on a script.
As for being on the deep end, despite being the youngest person on the show I have a very deep appreciation of classic rock music and being on the show with Benny and J Neo allows me to discover classic rock songs that I may have missed out on for years or even discovering new songs that rock so to speak. A lot of my favorite music derives from the 60s, 70s and 80s and occasionally from other genres as well. My setlists usually feature music that I've found primarily through Television or Film being a huge TV nut and film buff (with particular interest in Animation and Sci-Fi as well as a lot of media from Japan). Occasionally I may post trivia in relation to finding songs in animated shows and I do have an upcoming post that covers this with a song we featured on the show not that long ago.
Thanks for reading and I hope you like plunging into the Deep End with us.
Jeff
Sunday, February 24, 2013
DJ Profile: J Neo Marvin
Welcome to The Deep End. It's time that each of us introduces himself. I'll start.
My first experience of college radio was at KZSC at UC Santa Cruz at the end of the 70s. It was the beginning of the punk scene, when the tools of rock and roll were suddenly accessible to anyone with the nerve to try using them, with wonderfully diverse and weird results. By 1980 I was involved in two radio shows (one punk/post-punk/indie, one reggae) and filling in for other DJs when needed. College radio had become one of the last bastions of the spirit of early-70s freeform FM radio, and it still is today. A good DJ is an artist, combining songs and sounds in a way that entertains, communicates, and surprises. Hits are fine, but if you are not exposing the audience to new experiences, you are not doing your job (in my not so humble opinion).
I also have my own online radio station, Ear Candle Radio, and make my own music which you can find on Ear Candle Productions, the label I run with my wife, Davis Jones. We also make videos, which you can find here and here.
So what about The Deep End? Well, in this show I work with two other DJs to create an hour each week of "classic rock" radio with a difference. Most classic rock stations will draw from the same small pool of songs from the same small pool of artists. Where's the fun in that? We are committed to finding the hidden corners in the catalog. I mean, yeah yeah, everybody likes the Beatles, but when was the last time you heard "The Inner Light" or "I'm Down" on the radio? Thus, The Deep End.
My role in this trio seems to have settled into being the wild card. I will throw in delightfully odd cover versions, dig up overlooked personal favorites, and dip occasionally into what's happening right now. I'm not particularly respectful of genre boundaries, either. You might hear soul, indie, Krautrock, or reggae on occasion because any of it is legitimately classic rock as far as I'm concerned. Add the aesthetics of my co-DJs to this mix and you have a tug-of-war worth tuning in to.
Join us every Friday, from 7 to 8PM Pacific Time at KSFS.
My first experience of college radio was at KZSC at UC Santa Cruz at the end of the 70s. It was the beginning of the punk scene, when the tools of rock and roll were suddenly accessible to anyone with the nerve to try using them, with wonderfully diverse and weird results. By 1980 I was involved in two radio shows (one punk/post-punk/indie, one reggae) and filling in for other DJs when needed. College radio had become one of the last bastions of the spirit of early-70s freeform FM radio, and it still is today. A good DJ is an artist, combining songs and sounds in a way that entertains, communicates, and surprises. Hits are fine, but if you are not exposing the audience to new experiences, you are not doing your job (in my not so humble opinion).
I also have my own online radio station, Ear Candle Radio, and make my own music which you can find on Ear Candle Productions, the label I run with my wife, Davis Jones. We also make videos, which you can find here and here.
So what about The Deep End? Well, in this show I work with two other DJs to create an hour each week of "classic rock" radio with a difference. Most classic rock stations will draw from the same small pool of songs from the same small pool of artists. Where's the fun in that? We are committed to finding the hidden corners in the catalog. I mean, yeah yeah, everybody likes the Beatles, but when was the last time you heard "The Inner Light" or "I'm Down" on the radio? Thus, The Deep End.
My role in this trio seems to have settled into being the wild card. I will throw in delightfully odd cover versions, dig up overlooked personal favorites, and dip occasionally into what's happening right now. I'm not particularly respectful of genre boundaries, either. You might hear soul, indie, Krautrock, or reggae on occasion because any of it is legitimately classic rock as far as I'm concerned. Add the aesthetics of my co-DJs to this mix and you have a tug-of-war worth tuning in to.
Join us every Friday, from 7 to 8PM Pacific Time at KSFS.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
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