Here in NYC (Fordham University in the Bronx to be more exact) WFUV (90.7-FM) Radio is the last station I know of to have a ‘progressive’ format. No, it’s not exactly anything goes programming 24/7-you’re not likely to hear a Mozart/Black Sabbath/Funkadelic/Radiohead sequence-but it’s close enough.
The programming is heavy on contemporary folk (Jayhawks, Belle & Sebastian, Rodney Crowell, etc.) with a spattering of jazz, blues and rock. The on air staff is comprised of a few NYC FM radio legends:
Dennis Elsas – Who’s on the air weekday afternoons Vin Scelsa – Who hosts a weekly free form show called Idiot’s Delight Pete Fotnatale – Who hosts a weekly institution entitled Mixed Bag
They occasionally do ‘Under the Covers’ days where you’ll hear Los Straightjackets doing their version of that Titanic song. Today’s program schedule is kind of unique. They’ve revived the old A to Z theme that AOR stations here used to do and put their spin on it. If you want to hear some of their segues, they stream => Here.
Being a ‘frustrated pirate radio host’ got me thinking – What would I play if I were allowed one buzz around the alphabet. It’d probably be something like this:
AGRANOFF (MIKE) Ballad of the Sandman
BALDRY (JOHN) Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll
COSTELLO (ELVIS) The Beat
DINK Green Mind
E L P Fanfare For The Common Man
FOGERTY (JOHN) Mr. Greed
GABRIEL (PETER) D I Y
HENDRIX Are You Experienced?
IRON BUTTERFLY Termination
JACKSON (JOE) Memphis
KBC BAND America
LUNA Anesthesia
MARK-ALMOND The City
NILSSON (HARRY) Jump Into The Fire
OCEAN COLOR SCENE Hundred Mile High City
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS I'm An Adult Now
QUEEN Innuendo
ROLLING STONES Stray Cat Blues
SWEET THURSDAY Gilbert Street
TWELFTH NIGHT The Collector
UTAH SAINTS Something Good
VIOLENT FEMMES Add It Up
WATT (MIKE) Against The 70's
X T C Generals & Majors
YOUNG (PAUL) I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
ZEVON (WARREN) Detox Mansion
That wasn’t easy. I purposely avoided the new stuff that gets overplayed on all the other stations I listen to as well as ‘popular standards’ that would make a PD proud. As I look over the songs – I now realize the listening public couldn’t stand me for a period that exceeded 5 minutes. But hey, we can all make believe, can’t we?
Anyone else up for compiling an alphabetic list of tracks you’d play if you were left to your own devices and had full access to a radio studio?
Animals - We gotta get outta this place
Buffalo Springfield - For what its worth
Cure - Lovecats
Doors - Riders on the Storm
Enya - Sail Away
Foo Fighters - Big Me
Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue
Hollies - He ain’t heavy…
Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep, Mountain High
Jimi Hendrix - Angel
Kinks - Lola
Led Zeppelin - Bron y’aur Stomp
Mamas & Papas - Cheque Alley
Nirvana - Smells like Teen Spirit
Otis Redding - Sittin’ on a dock of a bay
Pink Floyd - Great Gig in the Sky
Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Rolling Stones - Paint it black
Steppenwolf - Born to be Wild
Troggs - Wild Thing
Underworld - Born Slippy
Van Morrison - Brown Eyed Girl
Who - Pinball Wizard
Xerxes - Largo
Yardbirds - For your love
Zombies - She’s not there
…And Oceans - Acid Sex And Marble Teeth
Borknagar - Four Element Synchronicity
Clare Quilty - Secret Sharer
Darling Violetta - Candy Jones
Evergrey - I Lie Here Bleeding
Falconer - Stand In Veneration
Grave Digger - Tristan’s Fate
High On Fire - Eyes & Teeth
Inkubus Sukkubus - Vampyre Erotica
Jag Panzer - The Scarlet Letter
King’s X - Dreams
Lennon - Thank You
My Ruin - Horrible Pain (Within My Heart)
Nicodemus - Harlot
Onward - Eye Of The Nightmare
Pagan’s Mind - Dimensions Of Fire
Queen Adreena - Cold Fish
Rain Fell Within - In My Dreams
Spiral Architect - Adaptibility
Tiamat - The Scapegoat
Unseen - Greed Is A Disease
V For Vendetta - This Song Prefers To Not Be Labeled
Within Temptation - Deceiver Of Fools
Xero - Cutting Loose
Yattering - Eyes Can See
Zao - To Think Of You Is To Treasure An Absent Memory
Alizée : Moi...Lolita
Badly Drawn Boy : Another Pearl (*Broadcast Remix*)
The Charlatans : Then
The Doves : There Goes The Fear
The Eels : Mr E's Beautiful Blues
Furniture : Brilliant Mind
Goldfrapp : Lovely Head
The Herbaliser : Battle of Bongo Hill
Inspiral Carpets : This Is How It Feels
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion : Bellbottoms
Kristin Hersh : Your Ghost
Lemon Jelly : The Staunton Lick
MC Solaar : Nouveau Western (or, if you want a "proper" M, then 'Kid, You'll Move Mountains' by Manitoba, or 'Bliss' by Muse, or 'Last of the Famous International Playboys' by Morrissey)
Nico Gomez : Caballo Negro
The Only Ones : Another Girl, Another Planet
Pierre Henry : Psyche Rock (Fatboy Slim Malpaso Mix)
Queens of the Stone Age : Go With The Flow
Royksopp : Remind Me (Someone Else's Radio Remix)
The Stone Roses : Going Down
Tindersticks : Plus De Liaisons
Unsung Heroes : Daily Intake
The Verve : The Drugs Don't Work
The Wedding Present : Take Me!
Xavier Cugat : Jamay
Young MC : Know How
Zongamin : Serious Trouble
I made this list from cds that I own.
(No coding, I’m not cool enough for that.)
Adam Ant - Wonderful
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting
Del Amitri - Tell Her This
Eve 6 - Promise
Faith No More - Easy Like Sunday Morning
G-Love and Special Sauce - Baby’s Got Sauce
Huey Lewis & The News - If This Is It
Indigo Girls - Galileo
Jump, Little Children - Cathedrals
K’s Choice - Not an Addict
Luscious Jackson - Life of Leisure
Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved
No One is Innocent - Ne reste-t-il que la guerre pour tuer le silence
Our Lady Peace - 4 AM
Phantom Planet - California
Queen - Under Pressure
Ryan Adams - New York, New York
Save Ferris - Mistaken
Tenacious D - Wonderboy
Uncle Kracker - In A Little While
Vertical Horizon - Best I Ever Had
Weezer - Don’t Let Go
X - Soul Kitchen
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mystery Girl
Zwan - Honestly
AC/DC- Whole Lotta Rosie
Beatles- Hey Bulldog
Creedence Clearwater Revival- Ramble Tamble
Bob Dylan- Isis
Enya- Caribbean Blue
The Fixx- One THing Leads to Another
Genesis- Dancing With the Moonlit Knight
House of Pain- Shamrocks and Shenanigans
INXS- What You Need
Billy Joel- Leningrad
King Crimson- The Great Deceiver
Led Zeppelin- How Many More Times?
Paul McCartney- Junior’s Farm
Nazareth- Love Hurts
Ohio Players- Fire
Pink Floyd- Sheep
Queen- Tie Your Mother Down
Rush- Cut to the Chase
Sting- Little Wing
Temptations- Get Ready
U2- Gloria
Van Halen- Beautiful Girls
The Who-
X- nothing worth playing. I REFUSE to play X or XTC
Yes- Wondrous Stories
Zebra- Tell Me What You Want
At The Drive-In - Pickpocket
Built To Spill - Kicked It In The Sun
Cat Power - Nude As The News
Dinosaur Jr. - Freak Scene
Echo And The Bunnymen - Killing Moon
Fugazi - Smallpox Champion
Guided By Voices - Official Ironman Rally Song
Husker Du - Eight Miles High
Interpol - Leif Erikson
Jesus And The Mary Chain - Upside Down
Kraftwerk - The Model
Lightning Bolt - Thirteen Monsters
Mission of Burma - That’s When I Reach For My Revolver
Neutral Milk Hotel - Holland, 1945
Of Montreal - Everything Disapears When You Come Around
Pavement - In The Mouth Of A Desert
Queers, The - Ursula Finally Has Tits
Replacements, The - Left Of The Dial
Smiths, The - Hand In Glove
Talking Heads - Crosseyed And Painless
Uncle Tupelo - No Depression
Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
Wilco - Pot Kettle Black
Xiu Xiu - Sad Pony Guerilla Girl
Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater
Zombies, The - Tell her No
Whew, this was way easier than I thought it would be.
So I’m the DJ for the late night underground ROCK show
Anti Nowhere League-Streets Of London
Bauhaus-Stigmata Martyr
The Cramps-Elvis Fuckin Christ
Dead Boys-Hey Little Girl
Electric Frankenstein-Its All Moving Faster
The Fleshtones-Do You Swing
Generation X-King Rocker
Hawkwind-Hassan I Sabha
Iggy and The Stooges-I Got A Right
Jello Biafra and Nomeansno-Jesus Was A Terrorist
Killing Joke-The Gathering
Love-7 and 7 Is
Mission of Burma-Thats When I Reach For My Revolver
Nomeansno-Dad
Oblivions-Alone Again Or
The Pist-Great American Sportsman
The Queers-Ursula Finally Has Tits
Radio Birdman-Aloha Steve and Danno
Sloppy Seconds-Janie Is A Nazi
Turbonegro-Armed And Fairly Well Equiped
The Undead-We Don’t Want The Poor In NY City
Richard Hell and the VoiDoids-Blank Generation
Weirdos- We Got the Neutron Bomb
X-Soul Kitchen
Frank Zappa-It Just Might Be A One Shot Deal
Adam Ant-Stripped
Bjork-Human Behavior
Cocteau Twins- Pearly Dew Drops
Dead or Alive-I would do anything
Erasure-Breath of Life
Fiona Apple-Criminal
Garbage-Cherry Lips (Go, Baby Go)
The Hives-Hate to say I told you so
INXS-the One Thing
Journey-Lovin, Touchin, Ssqueezin
The Kinks-You really got me
Labelle-Lady Marmalade
Ministry-I wanted to tell her
Norah Jones-Come away with me
Otis Day and the Knights-Shout
Pet Shop Boys-Absolutely Fabulous
Queen-Love of my life
Roxy Music-More than this
Sean Paul-Get Busy
T-Rex-Ride a white Swan
U2-Dancing Barefoot
Van Morrison-Jackie Wilson Says
White Stripes- Fell in love with a girl
X- Wild Thing
Yaz- Goodbye Seventies
Zap Mama-Iko Iko
AC/DC - Back in Black
Beastie Boys - So Whatcha Want
Cracker - Low
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
ELO - Don’t Bring Me Down
The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another (sorry astorian, I love that song)
Arlo Guthrie - Alice’s Restaurant
Haddaway - What Is Love
INXS - Need You Tonight
Michael Jackson - Beat It
The KLF - 3 AM Eternal
Level 42 - Something About You
Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now?
Nine Inch Nails - The Day the World Went Away
Odds - Love of Minds
Peter Gabriel (yes, that’s a cheat) - Digging in the Dirt
Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
Sam Roberts - Brother Down
The Tragically Hip - Cordelia
U2 - Discotheque
Violent Femmes - Any one of a bunch of songs
Travelling Wilburys - Tweeter and the Monkey Man
X - Wild Thing (had to be)
Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart
Warren Zevon - Lawyers, Guns and Money
Autour de Lucie-Le Dernier Mot
Badu, Erykah-2000 AD
Coppola, Imani-All About Me
DiFranco, Ani-Shy
Echobelly-King of the Kerb
Furtado, Nelly-Shit On the Radio
Gabriel, Peter-Mercy Street
Husker Du-Hardly Getting Over It
Ivy-You Don’t Know Anything
Judybats-Convalescing in Spain
King, B.B.-Caledonia
Lush-Thoughtforms
Morcheeba-The Sea
Naked Mile-Epiphany
Outkast-B.O.B.
Phair, Liz-Mesmerizing
Quarterflash-Williams Avenue
RES-How I Do
Siberry, Jane-Love Is Everything
Ten Thousand Maniacs-Poor De Chirico
U2-Numb
Vega, Suzanne-Headshots
White, Jim-Christmas Day
X-A Drunk in My Past
Yankovic, Weird Al-One More Minute
Zevon, Warren-Accidently Like a Martyr
Hey Husker Dude…I didn’t look at the lists before I posted. It seems we like the same Burma and Queers songs (actually, I would have posted "Kicked Out Of The Weblos had I thought of it).
Air - Kelly Watch the Stars
Bush, Kate - Babooshka
Concrete Blonde - Joey
Doves - The Cedar Room
Eskimo Joe - Planet Earth
Fleetwood Mac - Rhiannon
Grandaddy - He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot
Harvey, PJ - A Place Called Home
INXS - Never Tear Us Apart
Janis Joplin - Piece of My Heart
King, Carole - It’s Too Late
Lambchop - Up With People!
Muse - Feelin’ Good
No Doubt - Sunday Morning
Oasis - Force of Nature
Pretty & Twisted - Souvenir
Queens of the Stoneage - The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
Radiohead - Just
Split Enz - Message to My Girl
The Tea Party - Correspondences
Underworld - Underneath the Radar
Voice of the Beehive - I Think I Love You
Whitlams - No Aphrodisiac
XTC - Harvest Festival
Yorn, Pete - For Nancy (Cos It Already Is)
Zombies - She’s Not There
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - Relative Ways
Blackalicious - Sky Is Falling
The Clash - Safe European Home
Drive-By Truckers - Zip City
Steve Earle - Jerusalem
Flaming Lips - Be My Head
Guided By Voices - Motor Away
Hayden - Bad As They Seem
Interpol - Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down
J-Live - Satisfied?
Robert Earl Keen - Hall Of Fame
Less Than Jake - Liquor Store
Bob Marley - Smile Jamaica
New Pornographers - The Slow Decent Into Alcoholism
OutKast - Spaghetti Junction
Pixies - Vamos
Queens of the Stone Age - Better Living Through Chemisty
Radiohead - Myxomatosis
Superchunk - Water Wings
Teenage Fanclub - The Concept
Uncle Tupelo - Grindstone
Velocity Girl - Pop Loser
Wilco - Dreamer In My Dreams
X - Sex and Dying In High Society
Neil Young - Like a Hurricane
Zen Guerilla - Ghetto City Version
Afro Celt Sound System, The - When You’re Falling (Featuring Peter Gabriel)
Big Audio Dynamite - The Globe
Elvis Costello - Less Than Zero
Dubliners, The - Finnegan’s Wake
Elastica - Vaseline
Fleetwood Mac - Song Bird
Peter Gabriel - Biko
PJ Harvey - Down By The Water
Janis Ian - At Seventeen
Gary Jules - Mad World
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Love and Rockets - No Big Deal
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - I Am A Rock
Nirvana - Something in the Way
Sinead O’Conner - The Last Day of Our Acquaintance
Pixies - Wave of Mutilation
Queen - Under Pressure
Otis Redding - I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
Steel Pulse - Worth His Weight in Gold (Rally Round)
Tegan & Sara - My Number
U2 - Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
Venus Hum - The Bells
Roger Waters - Watching TV
XTC - Dear God
Neil Young - The Needle and the Damage Done
ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man
A: Artificial Rhonda
B: Brown Moses
C: Cheepnis
D: Doreen
E: Electric Aunt Jemima
F: Frogs With Dirty Little Lips
G: G-Spot Tornado
H: Harder Than Your Husband
I: I’m The Slime
J: Joe’s Garage
K: King Kong I
L: Little House I Used to Live In
M: Muffin Man
N: Nig Biz
O: The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution
P: Pygmy Twylyte
R: RDNZL
S: Son of Mr. Green Genes
T: Tell Me You Love Me
U: Uncle Remus
V: Village of the Sun
W: WPLJ
Y: You Are What You Is
Z: Zomby Woof
Those being my favorite “radio friendly” Zappa songs. Though I might get thrown out of the studio when “Nig biz” came one…