The Morning After The Morning Before

I should know better than to plan anything, ever.
It never works out the way I intend.

I have a weekly radio show on Sunday mornings, and I'm pretty much dependent on music to fill the two hours alotted to me...I mean I could talk for two hours with no problem, but who'd listen? I think music is a more listener-friendly approach.

Thirty minutes before my show, I was standing on my porch, preparing to go the station when a thought crossed my mind:

"My CDs and my car keys are inside my apartment. My LOCKED apartment."

Now, I'm not going to blog the details of how I was able to enter my LOCKED apartment in just under thirty seconds without smashing anything, but I managed to do it and make it look easy.
(disconcertingly easy, it was)

I got my CD stash and my keys, still had time to hit 7-11 for two 24 oz. coffees before arriving at the station at 6:50 am.

Ten minutes to spare- I usually try for twenty...ten is OK...

The show that precedes mine is a modern Gospel Christian r&b kinda thing, real heavy with the "Praise!" and "God Loves You " stuffs and things, which I am learning, with great difficulty, to ignore.
(The reason it's so hard to ignore is that the person spouting it is eighteen inches away from my ear as I cue up songs...)

My show is much different.
For Christmas Eve I've assembled a not-so motley assortment of not-so Christmas music- in fact , I've gone out of my way to find songs with themes of nature, pagan spiritualism and goddess worship- and of course, I've already been touched by the Hand of Chaos, being locked out and musicless just scant minutes before and all...
hey, buddy, Chaos ain't done yet...lookie here:
One of my carefully labelled 'mix' CDs has suddenly added 76 random blank tracks to itself...76 tracks of 0:00. Nothing matches what I have written down.

Loki smiles on me today, I mumble to myself, I shoulda known this would happen.

I have about two minutes to find the real songs and do my top-of-the-hour announcements.
Oops. I step on the headphone cable, unplugging the headphones.
Good. That racket was distracting me...uh...I can't hear anything...fuckity...*tangle*...egh.

I got it worked out with eight seconds to spare. Eight seconds is a long time in DJ terms.

I play:

1- Track 5 of a 1993 Point Records promo CD- the CD is of Phillip Glass conducting Eno/Bowie tunes, but I really like the 'anonymous' bonus tracks which are not Glass. There is no clue on the sleeve or CD as to who it is. It's track 5 and all I know is I like the bells. A lot.

2-Midnight Syndicate- Black Woods: This track sounds like a Glass adaption of the theme from Hitchcock's Psycho. I like it. It's what you might expect to hear shortly before a werewolf mauls you- other than the howls, that is... the Christmas/Lycanthropy connection is often overlooked, but not by me, no sir.

3-Track 6, see #1.

4- Loreena McKennitt- Hearts in Space: I found McKennitt whilst browsing the web. I love her music, I could listen to it all day- if I had some CD's. I've already asked. Familiar but different and quite haunting.

5- Anuna- Winter , Fire and Snow: I've been a fan of this choral group for a long time and finally had a chance to play them on air. This is one of the prettiest songs I've ever heard; based on a poem by MacDara Woods

6- Angela Baldwin- The Faery Queen: As the last notes of this elegant piano piece faded away I found myself completely transfixed- I was supposed to talk but I was speechless, so I played another song instead...

7- ????- Found on internet , labeled 'Circle'. Rockin' jig in odd time, gave me a few minutes to sweep my heart under the rug.

8-Eleanor McEvoy- Whisper a Prayer to the Moon: Gut-wrenching and timely ballad of unrequited love, another internet discovery for me- turns out she's pretty well-known.
When I grow up I want to play in her band. It could happen.

9- Hot Tuna- Watch the North Wind Rise: When I was a teen I had sexy dreams about Grace Slick- now, thanks to the updated Hot Tuna website, those days are over. Jorma is still on my top 10 guitarist list though...dude can play. Jack's no slouch either, for an embalmed guy.
My Jefferson Airplane vinyl still gets airtime when the mood strikes- a great branch of American rock, that crew.

Runnin' out of steam...here's the rest

10- Steeleye Span- Blacksmith
11-The Who- The Rock
12-Stranglers- Always the Sun: I knew it.
13-Clannad- theHunter
14-Pentangle- Light Flight
15-Angela Baldwin- Troubador: Again with the speechless thing
16-Damien Dempsey-Celtic Tiger
17-West of Eden- Where the Ivy Grows
18-Pentangle-The Storyteller: Another oldie fave
19-Anuna-Eiri Na Griene
20-Celtic Women- Wealthy Widow
21 Tuxedomoon- Holiday for Plywood/In a Manner of Speaking: Don't ask me how I learned how to do that- just be glad that I do.
22-Clannad- oops, wrong song....
23-Anuna- Siul a Ruin
24-Siobhan Skates-Cornwall
25-Billie Holliday- Come Rain or Come Shine/Don't Explain

And Brian Eno-Some Faraway Beach: I love ya Brian, but I'm not re-numbering my entire list just 'cos I fergot ya.