Beth and I sat down earlier this week to talk progressive rock. As WGTB’s eminent scholar on all things prog, she shared the scoop on what the draw is, where it comes from, and where it is today. She fully acknowledges the humor and goofiness in it all, but just as any true love affair its all about seeing the stunning beauty in its quirks. Like all admiral musical tastes, hers doesn’t fall far from the tree, coming directly from her father–although this apple is falling from a 3000 year old tree in mythical forest with elves and gnomes and epic pan flutes.

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For a second it seems Heavenly States’ “Berlin Wall” is only as good as it seems because of the borrowed pipes of none other than Britt Daniel. But the triumphant close washes away that sentiment just as forcefully as it does the simple fingerpicked intro, with drums explosive enough to tear down that wall itself. The rest of Oui Camera Ou falls short of this EP’s highlight, although the comic closer “Careful With That Review, Eugene” gives it all a new perspective. Enlisting Eugene Mirman of Flight of the Concords fame, some of the bands most negative reviews garnered from their first full length are delivered with attempted sincerity to mock the contrived self-importance blotting the blogosphere. So I suppose at the risk of being featured in their next epilogue I’ll just say “you guys rule” and step off the internet pulpit.

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Attn. Summer skoolers, office plebians, DC residents, Georgetown bums, rockstars:
As this beautiful semester comes to a peaceful and/or tumultuous close, our Georgetown Radio programming charges on through the summer swelter. For everyone interested in maintaining their fan base or starting brand new with WGTB, you can blast your tunes and your thoughts over picnics, under tents, around the pool, inside sweet july trysts and most importantly outside of the doldrums of academic slavery. So grab your coolers, your shades and your radio personas and apply for a slot in the summer schedule! Applications are HERE . Don’t procrastinate, as we’ll be putting together the summer schedule by May 5. Read More »

Perhaps Bono has mastered/dominated the benefit concert scene in recent decades, but musically-devoted philanthropists need not join the mobs, hand holding, and heartfelt amplified speeches to take part in the movement. Recently Alela Diane played a benefit show in New York City on behalf of Housing Works, an organization “renowned for addressing the needs of people living with AIDS that other organizations deem ‘too challenging to serve’”. By offering a wide spectrum of services on wide-reaching fronts, Housing Works seeks to provide health care, legal services, housing, and AIDS prevention services to help those battling HIV/AIDS who are excluded from such help. Alela Diane, who recently released her third album on April 5, brought her warm folk to the challenge of fighting for the cause. Her increased activism comes with a stylistic shift, matching tender charity with a soulful croon rooted more deeply in dusty country tunes than anything else, and lyrics that empathize with pain and loneliness in brief timid bouts before scattering on. But where other benefit shows last a night, this takes an imaginative turn to increase participation.

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Mike McClain gives you a brief introduction to three new tracks for your spinning pleasure. This week, hear new music from Dirty Beaches, Hunx and His Punx and Crystal Stilts.

Dirty Beaches taps into inspirations not often heard in today’s scenes (besides beaches, of course…), filtering rock and roll before it knew what it was through psychobilly. Mimicking the haunted off-kilter warble of Gun Club or The Cramps, Zhang Hungtai achieves some kind of sleazy delight through twisted haze. “Lord Knows Best” is carried by a repetitive piano line, dancing between his  murmurs of infatuation: “Lord knows best that I don’t give a damn about anyone but you.”

♫ Dirty Beaches – Lord Knows Best

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