Bristol Trip-Hop

I once heard Trip-Hop described as being somewhat like an abstract painting. In a normal painting there are recognizable objects such as a person, a table, and a chair. This is like hip hop where you can hear a drum, bass, and possibly someone rapping. But in trip hop, that all blends together – like an abstract painting. You never really know what you looking at, or listening to, but you know you're absorbing something - you're just not sure what.

Trip-Hop is one of those things that once you've heard it you know what it is. So, this week we will talk a little about this underground scene from Bristol, England, but more importantly play some examples from key groups like Massive Attack, Portishead, and Marxman. As always, you can listen to Real College Radio, Radio K at 770 AM/100.7/106.5 FM in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area or anywhere in the world at www.radiok.org.




Playlist
Massive Attack - Be Thankful For What You Got
Marxman - Sad Affair
Quantic - Prelude To Happening

Shoegaze

Triggered by bands like the Chameleons, The Cocteau Twins, and most of all the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Shoegaze movement of late 1980's and early 90's merged noise rock with pop music. Led by My Bloody Valentine, shoegazers created huge wave-like sounds with their guitars and laid them over breathy vocals and heavy drums. Grab a spot next to your favorite ocean side cliff and listen to the crashing waves of shoegazers tomorrow on the Friday Focus.

As always you can tune in to Real College Radio, Radio K at 770 AM/106.5/100.7 FM or www.radiok.org to hear more poorly crated metaphors and some of the best music around.



Playlist
My Bloody Valentine - Loomer
Chapterhouse - Treasure
Ride - Sight Of You

The Moog Synthesizer

It's often considered by many, that the most frequently mispronounced word in Pop Culture is the brand name of a particular synthesizer - Moog. This Friday we'll not only learn how to pronounce this strange little name, but discuss the history of the synthesizer, how the Moog fits into the world of electronic music, and as always play some music.

If you want to get a head start on this week's topic, check out the Moog documentary that came out in 2005. Loosely, but tastefully done the film follows Moog Music founder, Robert Moog around as he talks to various artists and how they use the instrument he invented.






Playlist
Stereolab - Variation 1
Meat Beat Manifesto - Unavailable Memory
Bootsy Collins & Bernie Worrell - When Bernie Speaks

The Winter Slow Down

Well, if you live anywhere in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, chances are your life came to complete halt this weekend as temperatures hovered around -10 degrees with wind chills around -30. I decided to take shelter from the storm and hide out in the Dylan exhibit at the Weisman Art Museum. After getting through about half of it (before the museum closed), I came across some really intriguing things - my favorite being a recording of young Dylan and his friend playing guitar and piano in his parent's living room. There's tons of pictures as well as a stash of fun facts hidden throughout the exhibit that will draw attention to even the most devoted fans. Since the weather was perfect for a nice walk, I headed over to 14th Ave. and 4th St. Here is picture of an alley just west of that intersection. One of the four windows shown belonged to Dylan's old apartment.

Fairly soon I should have audio up from most if not all the past shows. I will also provide playlist info so you can track down all the things you've heard.

One last thing. I'd like to make a correction regarding last week's show. I stated that both Bay Area Funk compilations were released on Ubiquity. However, they were released on Luv 'N Haight, a subset of Ubiquity. I mentioned this correctly in a previous post, but did not during the airing of the show (Andrew was quick to correct me!).

Dylan Exhibit

Today the new Bob Dylan exhibit at the Weisman Art Museum opens. Bob Dylan's American Journey: 1956-1966 will run through April 29 and will document the time from Dylan's youth in Hibbing, MN to his emergence in the Greenich folk scene. Coinciding with the exhibit are numerous events around Minneapolis. The Weisman will be doing everthing from screening documentaries on the folk trubador to hosting songwriting classes for all levels of musicians. Check out the the schedule for more info on the exhibit!

And yes, even the Focus will be caught up in the Dylan Fever. This week we will focus on the recording of Dylan's Blood On the Tracks album and its Minneapolis connection. Also up for discussion will be Minnesota's facination with Bob Dylan and the psychology behind it.





Playlist
Bob Dylan - Call Letter Blues
Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue (NYC Version)