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:
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