We live in times of GREAT UNCERTAINTY. Who can say, for instance, if the charade we call democracy will even maintain the pretense for another 12 months? If you’re lucky enough to afford to climb aboard an airplane, what guarantee is there you won’t smash into another? Will anyone, besides the uber wealthy, be capable of feeding their families or availing themselves of health care? The answer to these questions, much like “should anyone pay for a premium ...

good morning friends, and as deeply encouraged many of us might be following last night’s mayoral election results in New York City, I remain cautiously hopeful that some day in the future there will be a major candidate for high office willing to address the needless, senseless proliferation of hot takes. I don’t wanna hear your reasoned argument that a hot dog is not a sandwich. I don’t wanna hear some self-styled artist/bozo in pajamas taking about which Seals & Crofts albu...

with all due respect to my many friends and loved ones who deeply enjoy the occasion, this week’s program will not include a Halloween theme, Halloween music or any other sort of pandering, infantile bullshit designed to distract from the ongoing tire fire we’re engulfed in. By all means, have a great time with your Halloween parties and however you choose to disguise yourselves. Sexy science denialist. Sexy utility infielder. Sexy sex worker. Sexy drum tech for Dream Theater (admittedly, an ...

to quote Charlotte Caffey and Kathy Valentine, I am certain there are moments “"head over heels, to time to think / Looks like the whole world's out of sync” resonates deeply with each and every one of you. And that’s why I do this program each and every week, to try and help you make sense of the senseless. I’ll admit that I’ve not done a particularly good job in the regard — I tend to get sidetracked with a particular musical theme and completely disregard whatever larger point I’d so...

so none of my so-called friends thought it was worth mentioning that the National Crime Prevention Council’s ill-advised 1988 cassette, ‘McGruff’s Smart Kids Album’ had recently been reissued on multiple formats by some enterprising record label and all available copies are G O N E. On the endless list of things going wrong near and far, this probably ranks rather low when it comes to issues to be massively upset over. But as you have probably learned by now, with the possible exception of Pa...

if you’re like me (and I suspect a few of you are), you were surprised but hardly outraged at the NFL’s recent announcement that Bun E. Carlos would be headlining the Super Bowl halftime show next February. Granted, a 15 minute drum solo is not everyone’s brand of entertainment (and technically, since this is an instrumental performance, no one will be singing in English) but given Cheap Trick’s election to tour without Bun E. for several years now, this is a unique opportunity to remin...

greetings friends, I nearly wasn’t able to complete this week’s episode after being diagnosed with a case of minor men’s whiplash acquired while reading the New York Times’ recent, “Is It OK To Use Your Phone On The Toilet?” article. Weirdly enough, I was not reading said think (?) piece on the toilet but instead an airport monorail that made an abrupt stop, hence the Joel Gertner signature neck brace that I’ll be sporting for the foreseeable future. On the bright side, this does open the doo...

this week’s planned Goner Fest preview was scrapped at the last minute in favor of a two hour roundtable (pizza) discussion concerning the mooted mid 1990’s merger of eco-cult Zendik Farm with purveyor of delicious (albeit highly processed) baked goods Pepperidge Farm. Did it fall apart when the former’s patriarch, the late Wulf Zendik (above) learned the latter’s vaunted cheddar cheese goldfish in fact, contained no fish whatsoever? Or was the issue Pepperidge Farms upper management taking u...

i’ve looked forward to the day I’d be able to do this program live from East Village Radio’s lovely 1st Avenue booth, however in light of recent events in the USA, I have implored station management for INCREASED SECURITY. Not for everyone, necessarily, primarily for me. I’ve come to understand that despite this show’s wild popularity, some of the views I routinely espouse (ie. liquor and cabaret licenses should be revoked for failure to post set times, the Dandy Warhols should be...

this week’s program comes to you from Wood Green where following a fascinating guided tour of guitarist Barry D'Amery’s birthplace/museum, we’ll discuss the disappointing, nah, shocking paucity of details on INFA RIOT’s wikipedia. How can an ensemble with such a rich and colorful historybe summed up in a mere two paragraphs? Is there really nothing to be said of the band’s ill-advised decision in 1984 to change their name to The Infas? Are there no details — say, for instance, calls for...

he accompanying photograph is from an aborted IG account called ShaneandKaneOuttaContext. The problem is, I cannot possibly share such an arresting visual without providing some context. For the crap politician on the right, this is maybe the most (only?) relatable thing he’s ever done. For the Bill Simmons lookalike on the left, a man whose only marketable skill is his ability to fall from great heights, this was a grim reminder that running wild on the mean streets of Greenwich, CT wi...

The other day, an East Village Radio colleague played a new recording by a band so derivative, so feckless, so utterly craven, so thoroughly lacking any musical or lyrical creativity that I knew I had to do something about it. Except of course, there’s nothing I can do about it. Where I to name and shame this particular ensemble, I would almost certainly subject myself to accusation of bullying, or even worse, “gate-keeping”. Putting aside how I’ve kept MANY rec...

like many of you, I was confused, befuddled, even, when the Kennedy Centers Honors list was released earlier this month and BRAINBOMBS were included. I mean, they’re Swedish. OTOH, much of their subject matter would be right in line with the administration’s general worldview . As it turns out, I, like many of you, had presumed these presentations were under the auspices of the John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts, but in fact, this was for the OTHER Kennedy Cente...

i hate to get personal on mornings it’s time to promote the radio show, but I received a rather devastating health diagnosis last week. My doctor says if i do ONE MORE FAVOR for someone I barely know, I’m probably going to expire. As it happens, I did just agree to do another favor and that’s writing the liner notes to the long-mooted SLAMBODIANS box set. Trouble is, I did not read the fine print in my agreement with Light In The Car Sick Records and it seems I also have to...

the recent Sydney Sweeney / eugenics dog whistling campaign is not only deeply stupid, but sadly, brought to mind my ill-fated attempt several years ago to revive Sears Roebuck’s once-vaunted Toughskins brand. An expensive-to-produce television commercial featuring adolescents declaring “we’ve got really average to below average jeans” had to be scrapped following legal action from Kent, OH Oi revivalists who’d since claimed the Toughskins name. Though this was not the first or last time I’ve...

i am presuming you are all caught up in the sorry tale of police harassment / judicial overreach that has seen a beloved american icon (ok, Chuck E. Cheese) hauled away on the most specious of charges. who amongst us at one time or another not inadvertently borrowed a credit card and run up some miscellaneous charges at a local smoke shop or tavern? Are these not-quite capital crimes justification for zip ties and shaming on the grandest of stages (ok, Daily Mail dot com)? I think not. instea...

greetings and welcome to episode 269. There were some last minute edits to today's episode --- i took a call on-air last night from an agitated individual who took great umbrage at Drake acknowledging Ozzy Osbourne's passing yet having nothing to say about the death of fellow Canadian Bill Exley (Nihilist Spasm Band). Though this caller sounded suspiciously like the same person who used to harangue Rudy Giuliani about the latter's views on ferrets, I can't prove it and besides, he...

Over the past several weeks I feel as though I’ve inundated with unreasonable requests, many of them coming from persons I have no relationship with, personally or professionally. I’ll grant that my reactions to such demands are a tad on the sensitive side , but in the interests of separating the kellogg’s mini-wheats from the chaff, going forward I’ve established a price list that will hopefully save everyone some time (and help pay for the powerful anti-depressants I require to deal w...

earlier this week, a (very funny) social media post by David Stubbs extensively cataloged the myriad ways Oasis suck-like-crazy, laying waste to the revisionist history these dopes had any redeeming values, musical or otherwise. As this post was timed to coincide with the (less interesting) Bruddas’ reunion stadium tour — not titled “Triumph Of The Norms & Normettes”, but perhaps it should’ve been — it’s been circulated far and wide. The thing is, you don’t need Stubbs’ permission to con...

KEEP HONKING if you’re in any way complicit (hey there fellow tax payers) in neighbors, friends, trusted colleagues and people who love their families so-very-much being hauled off U.S. streets and detained under brutal condition. Honest, kind, hard working people just like you (presuming you’re all of these things and if you’re not, that’s another subject). WOAH, that’s too much honking. I mean, I cannot hear myself think over all the fucking honking. Maybe raise your hands...