Saturday, January 08, 2011

Comfort Rock

 When life hands you crushing defeat, make defeat-ade.


Um, that doesn't make sense. How about this?:

When life sucks, rock out as hard as you can and try to enjoy the good stuff anyway. That's not really very cosmic, enlightened or  complicated, but it is the best non-axiom I have to offer right now. 


One of the things I enjoy most is doing live radio. Having two solid hours of music ready every week is a large task and I have several ways of preparing for it. If I have a lot of free time in the preceding days, I'll sometimes choose my songs over a course of days, putting half my choices on one CD and the other half of my list on another disc. Then I will cross-fade back and forth between the two CDs during my show, adding a few extra songs here and there from albums and websites.


When I'm in the mood, I will pre-record a series of  20-30 minute-long song collages, sometimes mixing 3 or 4 different songs together , bringing various elements of the songs up and down in the mix in a controlled, dynamic sense. I love recording these, but they are very  long tracks and I tend to get bored sitting in the studio while they play, me having nothing to do for twenty minutes except  drink coffee. And pee.


One of my favorite methods is just to pick five or ten songs that I really want to play and then grab 50-60 albums that might fit in with my choices. I toss them all in a large canvas bag and dash to the station,  making the bulk of my song selections on the fly while I'm on the air, sometimes cueing up the next song with scant seconds to spare. Somehow, it always seems to flow, each song striking a personal chord;  it is the coolest feeling, the musical touch of synchronicity and mystic insight.. 

 The New Breakfast Snob :Jan. 8 2011


(Intro w/mystery music

Marianne Faithfull- As Tears Go By

 
Damien Dempsey- Sing All Our Cares Away


Richard Thompson- Needle and Thread
 
Frank Black & the Catholics- Stupid Me

 
Al Stewart- Carole

 
Ten Years After- Bad Scene/Two-time Mama

 
The Kinks- Misery

 
The Kinks-Alcohol

 
Alan Parsons - I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You

 
Grandaddy- The Saddest Vacant Lot In All The World

 
Captain Beefheart- Where There's Woman

 
Jethro Tull- Living In The Past

 
Passport- Looking Through

 
Jefferson Airplane- Embryonic Journey

 
The Nirvana Sitar & String Group- The Letter

 
Frank Zappa- The Gumbo Variations

 
Allan Coberly- Untitled

This work-in-progress is me playing with myself alone in my bedroom for a few hours. It is kinda sloppy, but then again, that sort of thing usually is.


 
Roxy Music- Manifesto

 
The Strawbs- Round and Round

 
Emerson, Lake & Palmer-Living Sin

 
Jethro Tull- No Lullabye

 
Pretty Things- Old Man Going

 
Funkadelic- Better By The Pound

 
Cursive- Bloody Murderer

 
Neil Young- Fuel Line


As always, this week's show is available as a mp3 download or podcast which you can download from the bottom of the page linked here.

6 comments:

yellowdoggranny said...

wow, Allan ..some great movie there..but a little on the downer side..

Allan said...

Movie?

billy pilgrim said...

wow, a lot of old stuff. i recognize almost all of it.

i've been hooked on if i should fall from grace with god. there's just something about shane macgowan.

Allan said...

I find solace in the breezy, care-free music of yesteryear.

AngelConradie said...

Erm... you recorded yourself playing with yourself...!?!??
:P
I like how you choose your playlist!

Allan said...

Playing music by myself, I meant.