Wednesday MidDay Medley
TEN to NOON Wednesdays – Streaming at KKFI.org
90.1 FM KKFI – Kansas City Community Radio
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Kaite Mediatore Stover & “True Grit”
+ Guest Producer Matt Kesler

1. John Vanderslice – “Juvenile Success”
from: Vanderslice Plays Diamond Dogs / Tiny Telephone / June 11, 2013
[John Vanderslice launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the recording and distribution of his 9th full length recording of original songs: Dagger Beach, released June 11, 2013 on his own label, Tiny Telephone. For Kickstarter donors he also recorded a limited edition vinyl recording: Vanderslice Plays Diamond Dogs. We will bring you some of these tracks on vinyl on future WMM shows.]

[John Vanderslice plays Czar Bar, on Friday, October 25]

2. Mat Shoare – “Keeping Everyone Happy”
from: Domestic Partnership / Golden Sound Records / December 11, 2013
[All songs by Mat Shoare. Made by Mat Shoare and Ross Brown. Most parts of this album were recorded by Mat Shoare in multiple bedrooms, basements, and offices from winter 2011 till fall 2012. It was finally focused into something cohesive by Ross Brown at The Reservation in Kansas City, MO.]

[The Mat Shoare band plays recordBar TONIGHT at 10:00 pm w/ Schwervon and Proletariat Chariot.]

3. Elliott Smith – “Twilight”
from: From a Basement on the Hill / ANTI- / Oct. 19, 2004
[6th and final studio album by the late American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003). Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, the area in which he first gained popularity. Recorded from between 2002 to 2003, it was released posthumously. The album was incomplete at the time of Smith’s death. Many of the songs Smith intended for the album remained unfinished, in some cases only lacking vocals. Smith’s family hired his former producer Rob Schnapf and ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme to sort through and put the finishing touches on the batch of over thirty songs that were recorded for the album. The album was initially planned as a double album, due to contractual obligations with the DreamWorks label (now Interscope). Thus, a fifteen-track album was assembled and released. This became Smith’s highest-charting album in the US to date and was praised by critics, with reviewers complimenting the album’s attempts to expand Smith’s sound, such as the incorporation of instrumental passages as well as heavier, guitar-based material.]

[Thommy Vincent Hoskins, Cody Wyoming, Nick Davis, Andrew Ashby & Elizabeth Bohannon (of The CAVES), Richard Gintowt (of Hidden Pictures), Ben Summers (of The Grisly Hand) and Brent Windler (of Sons Of Great Dane) will be featured in the Elliott Smith Memorial Tribute, Sunday, October 20, at 8:00 pm, at The Brick, a benefit for Synergy Youth Resiliency Center, a Drop-In Center For Ages 12-20 with: Recording Studio, Basketball Court, Computer Lab, Free Laundry, TV Lounge, Exercise Room, Dental/Health Clinic and basic case management and counseling for youth who might be going through some kind of family or personal crisis.]

10:16 – Underwriting

10:17

4. Hidden Pictures – “Where Does The Story Go”
from: Where Does The Story Go [EP] / Golden Sound Records / 2013
[Engineered by Joel Nanos at Element Recording Richard Gintowt – vox, guitar; Claire Adams – vox, electric uke axe; Chad Toney – bass; Nate Holt – keys; Cameron Hawk – drums. Richard Gintowt who was formerly in the the band OK Jones, has been a frequent music writer and reviewer for The Pitch and other publications.]

[Richard Gintowt is moving to San Francisco and Hidden Pictures will play one of heir last shows at Czar Bar Friday, October 18 with label mates Fullbloods, Skypiper, and Kickback.]

5. Krystle Warren & The Faculty – “Five Minutes Late”
from: Love Songs: A Time You May Embrace / Parlour Door Music / April 9, 2012 UK]
[ Paseo Arts Academy Graduate was signed to a French label, Because Music and then created her own label: Parlour Door Music. Krystle has been touring Europe opening for Rufus Wainwright, Nick Cave, Norah Jones, and Joan As Police Woman. Krystle Warren’s new album came from a 13 day recording session in Brooklyn, where she recorded the songs live with 28 musicians including her band, The Faculty, alongside choirs, horn and string sections. Krystle wrote the songs, and is releasing the music in 2 separate releases. Krystle recently played KC on Sun, Oct 6. Our recent interview with Krystle will be broadcast as part of next week’s WMM.]

6. Pokey LaFarge – “Central Time”
from: Pokey LaFarge / Third Man Records / June 4, 2013
[30 year old LaFarge was born Andrew Heissler in Bloomington, Illinois. It has also been noted that the nickname “Pokey” was coined by his mother, who would scold him to hurry when he was a child. This is his 7th full length release as leader of a band. It is his second with Jack Whites label Third man Records. two of his releases were on Free Dirt Records, the same label as our friend Betse Ellis.]

[Pokey LaFarge plays recordbar, tomorrow night, Oct. 17, with Victor & Penny]

7. Jeff Harshbarger and the Revisionists – “How Come That Blood on your Coat Sleeve”
from: The Sound of True Grit / Independent / Recorded live, Oct. 2, at The Plaza Branch.
[The revisionists: Mike Stover, Brad Cox, Betse Ellis & Kasey Rausch.]

10:30 – Interview with Kaite Mediatore Stover

Kaite Mediatore Stover – Director of Readers’ Services at The Kansas City Public Library, Author at ALA Editions, and Readers’ Services Manager at The Kansas City Public Library. Kaite joined us to discuss The Kansas City Public Library’s Big Read: “True Grit” by Charles Portis. More info on the Big Read at http://www.kclibrary.org

For the fifth time in six years The Big Read returns to Kansas City. “The Big Read,” was created by the National Endowment for the Arts to revitalize the role of literary reading in American popular culture.

True Grit is a 1968 novel by Charles Portis that was first published as a 1968 serial in The Saturday Evening Post. The novel is told from the perspective of a woman named Mattie Ross who recounts the time when she was 14 years old and sought retribution for the murder of her father by a scoundrel named Tom Chaney. It is considered by some critics to be “one of the great American novels”.

In 1969, it was adapted for the screen as a Western film True Grit starring John Wayne as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (a role that won John Wayne Best Actor at the Academy Awards) and Kim Darby as Mattie Ross. Wayne would reprise the role in Rooster Cogburn (1975) with an original screenplay. The sequel was not well received, and the plot was considered a needless reworking of the plot of True Grit combined with elements of The African Queen.

In 2010, Joel and Ethan Coen wrote & directed another film adaption also called True Grit, which starred Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross & Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn. The film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director(s) (The Coen Brothers), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jeff Bridges), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Hailee Steinfeld), and Best Adapted Screenplay (The Coen Brothers).

Narrated by Mattie Ross, a thrifty, churchgoing elderly spinster distinguished by intelligence, independence and strength of mind. She recounts the story of her adventures many years earlier, when, at the age of fourteen, she undertook a quest to avenge her father’s death at the hands of a drifter named Tom Chaney. She is joined on her quest by Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, & a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (“La-beef”).

As Mattie’s tale begins, Chaney is employed on the Ross’s family farm in west central Arkansas, near the town of Dardanelle in Yell County. Chaney is not adept as a farmhand, and Mattie has only scorn for him, referring to him as “trash”, and noting that her kind-hearted father, Frank, only hired him out of pity. One day, Frank Ross and Chaney go to Fort Smith to buy some horses. Ross takes $250 with him to pay for the horses, along with two gold pieces he always carried. He ends up spending only $100 on the horses. When Ross tries to intervene in a barroom confrontation involving Chaney, Chaney kills him, robs the body of the remaining $150 and two gold pieces, and flees into Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) on his horse.

Hearing that Chaney has joined an outlaw gang led by the infamous “Lucky” Ned Pepper, Mattie wishes to track down the killer, and upon arriving at Fort Smith she looks for the toughest deputy U.S. Marshal in the district. That man turns out to be Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, and although he is an aging, one-eyed, overweight, trigger-happy, hard-drinking man, Mattie is convinced that he has “grit”, and that he is best suited for the job due to his reputation for violence.

Playing on Cogburn’s need for money, Mattie persuades him to take on the job, insisting that, as part of the bargain, she accompany him. During their preparation, a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf appears. He too is tracking Chaney, and has been for four months, for killing a senator and his dog in Texas, with the hopes of bringing him back to Texas dead or alive for a cash reward. Cogburn and LaBoeuf take a dislike to each other, but after some haggling, they agree to join forces in the hunt realizing that they can both benefit from each other’s respective talents and knowledge. Once they reach a deal the two men attempt to leave Mattie behind, but she proves more tenacious than they had expected. They repeatedly try to lose her, but she persists in following them and seeing her transaction with Marshal Cogburn through to the end. Eventually she is jumped by Cogburn and LaBoeuf, who had hid themselves from view and LaBoeuf begins to spank Mattie. Mattie appeals to Cogburn and he orders LaBoeuf to stop. At this point Mattie is allowed to join.

Together, but with very different motivations, the three ride into the wilderness to confront Ned Pepper’s gang. Along the way, they develop an appreciation for one another.

Readers will be able to connect with True Grit through a wide range of free public events, programs, book discussions, and a special exhibit at the Central Library.

True Life, True Grit: Achieve the Honorable – Ike Skelton
Tues. October 8, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. – Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Meet the Past with Crosby Kemper III: A Conversation with Tom Bass
Thurs. October 10, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. – Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

What True Grit (Might Have) Looked Like: The Photographs of F.M. Steele – Jim Hoy
Sun. October 20, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. – Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Mattie Ross: A Portrait of Feminist Heroism or Traditional Masculinity? – Jane Wood, Brenda Bethman, Crystal Gorham Doss & Adrianne Russell
Thurs. October 24, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. – Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St.

The U.S. Marshals: A Popular History of the Nation’s Oldest Law Enforcement Agency – Anthony Gasaway – Wed. October 30, 2013 at 6:30 p.m. – Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

True Grit Film Screenings of the 1969 and 2010 Film Adaptations

True Grit (2010; PG-13)

Wed. October 16, 2013 | 7 p.m. – Sugar Creek Branch, 102 S. Sterling

Fri. October 25, 2013 | 1 p.m. – Westport Branch, 118 Westport Rd.

Sat. October 26, 2013 | 2 p.m. – Trails West Branch, 1141 E. 23rd St.

True Grit (1969; M)

Fri. October 4, 2013 | 2 p.m. – Waldo Branch, 201 E. 75th St.

Sun. October 6, 2013 | 2 p.m. – L. H. Bluford Branch, 3050 Prospect

Thurs. October 17, 2013 | 10 a.m. – North-East Branch, 6000 Wilson Rd.

Sat., October 19, 2013 | 5 p.m. – Sugar Creek Branch, 102 S. Sterling

10:40

8. Jeff Harshbarger and the Revisionists – “Beulah LAND”
from: The Sound of True Grit / Independent / Recorded live, Oct. 2, at The Plaza Branch.
[The revisionists: Mike Stover, Brad Cox, Betse Ellis & Kasey Rausch.]

10:45

Charles Portis was born in El Dorado, AR, The United States December 28, 1933 in El Dorado, Arkansas and was raised in various towns in southern Arkansas. He served in the Marine Corps during the Korean war and after his discharge in 1955 attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He graduated with a degree in journalism in 1958.

His journalistic career included work at the Arkansas Gazette before he moved to NYC to work for The New York Herald Tribune. After serving as the London bureau chief for the The New York Herald Tribune, he left journalism in 1964 and returned to Arkansas.

He currently lives in Little Rock, Arkansas.

True Grit by Charles Portis — published 1968 — 72 editions

The Dog of the South by Charles Portis — published 1979 — 14 editions

Norwood by Charles Portis — published 1966 — 14 editions

Masters of Atlantis by Charles Portis — published 1985 — 11 editions

Gringos by Charles Portis — published 1990 — 7 editions

Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany by Charles Portis, Jay Jennings (Editor) — published 2012 — 4 editions

The 50 Funniest American Writers: According to Andy Borowitz
by Andy Borowitz (Editor), Mark Twain, S.J. Perelman

More information on the Big Read at http://www.kclibrary.org also kcbigbead.org

11:00 – Station ID

11:00 – Matt Kesler – “Guest Producer”

Matt Kesler is owner of The Midwestern Musical Co. at 1830 Locust, in the Crossroads District of Kansas City, Missouri. Matt is also a member of several legendary KC based bands: The Doo-Dads, Midtown Quartet and Pedaljets. Matt is the youngest of five siblings who all had their own musical loves. His parents took him to see Sonny & Cher, Doc Severinsen, Issac Hayes with Dion Warwick, and Elvis, all before he was ten. By the time he was 14 his brother and sisters had taken him to see Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Spinners, the Four Tops, and The Temptations. Matt started playing bass at the age of 15, and soon discovered Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Neil Young and The Stones.

9. Bunny Berigan – “I Can’t Get Started”
from: Charleston / ZYX Music / 2011
[Matt Kesler’s first instrument was the trumpet. His father was also a music enthusiast and one of his favorite performers was Bunny” Berigan. Roland Bernard “Bunny” Berigan (November 2, 1908 – June 2, 1942) was an American jazz trumpeter who rose to fame during the swing era, but whose career and influence were shortened by a losing battle with alcoholism that ended with his early death at age 33 from cirrhosis. Although he composed some jazz instrumentals like “Chicken and Waffles” and “Blues”, Berigan was best known for his virtuoso jazz trumpeting. His 1937 classic recording “I Can’t Get Started” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1975.]

10. Dinah Washington – “What A Diff’ence A Day Makes”
from: Verve Introducing Jazz Masters / Polygram / April 19, 1994
[Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones (August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963), was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as “the most popular black female recording artist of the ’50s”. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music, and gave herself the title of “Queen of the Blues”. She is a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Washington was married seven times. Her husbands were John Young (1942–43), George Jenkins (1946), Robert Grayson (1947), bassist and bandleader Walter Buchanan (1950), saxophonist Eddie Chamblee (1957), Rafael Campos (1961), and pro-football player Dick “Night Train” Lane (1963). She had two sons: George Kenneth Jenkins and Robert Grayson. Washington was an outspoken unapologetic liberal Democrat. She once said, “I am who I am and I know what I know. I’m a Democrat plain and simple, always have been. I’d never vote for a Republican because in my opinion they don’t have what it takes to run any kind of private or public office. That’s all.”Early on the morning of December 14, 1963, Washington’s seventh husband Lane went to sleep with his wife, and awoke later to find her slumped over and not responsive. An autopsy later showed a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, which contributed to her death at the age of 39. She is buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.]

11. Ella Fitzgerald – “Cow Cow Boogie”
from: Ella: The Legendary Decca Recordings / UMG Recordings / Aug. 29, 1995
[“Cow Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)” is a “country-boogie” style blues song utilizing the folklore of the singing cowboy in the American West. In the lyrics, the cowboy is from the city and tells his “dogies” (motherless calves)[1] to “get hip.” The music was written by Don Raye, and lyrics were written by Benny Carter and Gene De Paul. The song was written for the 1942 Abbott & Costello film Ride ‘Em Cowboy, which included Ella Fitzgerald as a cast member. The first recording was by Freddie Slack & his Orchestra, featuring vocalist Ella Mae Morse in 1942. The record was the first release by Capitol Records and their first million seller. The 1944 collaboration between The Ink Spots and Ella Fitzgerald in resulted in a number-one hit on the Harlem Hit Parade and a number-ten hit on the pop chart.]

12. David McCallum – “Batman Theme”
from: Ultra-Lounge Vol. 13 – TV Town / Capital Records / Oct. 14, 1997
[This version is from actor/musician David McCallum. His cover of the original. “Batman Theme”, the title song of the 1966 Batman TV series, was composed by Neal Hefti. This song is built around a guitar hook reminiscent of spy film scores and surf music. It has a twelve bar blues progression, using only three chords until the coda. In the original version, the eleven cries of “Batman!” are sung by a chorus of four tenors and four sopranos (performed by The Ron Hicklin Singers). A long held myth purports that the chorus is actually a group of horns. Adam West’s book Back to the Batcave also fuels this rumor by claiming the chorus is instrumental, not vocal. However, Neal Hefti, the writer of the theme, stated that the chorus was made up of eight singers, one of whom jokingly wrote on his part, “word and music by Neal Hefti”. TV’s Biggest Hits by Jon Burlingame, published in 1996, focuses exclusively on TV theme songs, and includes an interview with Hefti about the creation of the Batman theme song. According to Burlingame, the song consisted of “bass guitar, low brass and percussion to create a driving rhythm, while an eight-voice chorus sings ‘Batman!’ in harmony with the trumpets.”In addition to Neal Hefti’s original version, and the television soundtrack version by Nelson Riddle, versions were covered by The Marketts (single “Batman Theme” and album The Batman Theme by The Marketts), The Ventures (The Ventures Play the “Batman” Theme, Dolton BST8042, 3/1966), Al Hirt, The Standells and Iggy Pop. The song has been widely parodied in the decades since its debut. The theme has been re-recorded by dozens of artists, including Link Wray, Voivod, The Jam, and The Who.]

13. Elvis Presley – “A Big Hunk O’ Love”
from: 30 #1 Hits / Sony Music / Sept. 23, 2002 [RCA Victor Single release June 23, 1959]
[Written by Aaron Schroeder and Sid Wyche, aka Sid Jaxon. The latter is best known for writing the jazz standard “Okay, Alright, You Win”, whereas Aaron Schroeder co-wrote a whole bunch of hits from the rock`n`roll area, from “Fools Hall of Fame” (Pat Boone) to “Because They’re Young” (Duane Eddy). In an interview conducted by Jan-Erik Kjeseth, he also revealed that in fact he worked with his partner Wally Gold in order to improve a song submitted by another writer, and the end result was “It’s my party”, a big hit for Lesley Gore. Schroeder and Gold tossed a coin as to whose name should go on the record, and Gold “won”. Other titles written by the duo include “It’s Now or Never” and “Good Luck Charm”; both of which – like “A Big Hunk o’ Love” – were originally recorded by American rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. “A Big Hunk o’Love” was released as a single on June 23, 1959, by RCA Victor and later topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks. The song was revived by Presley in 1972 during his engagements at the Las Vegas Hilton in February 1972 and was used in his live shows until mid-1973. It was performed live for the last time on January 26, 1974. The song is included in the 1972 documentary Elvis On Tour and his 1973 show broadcast via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii. During this time period, it was played by the Elvis’ TCB Band, and featured Glen D. Hardin and James Burton.]

14. Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers – “Born To Lose”
from: L.A.M.F. / Jungle Records / October 3, 1977
[The only studio album by The Heartbreakers, which included Johnny Thunders, Jerry Nolan, Walter Lure and Billy Rath. The music is a mixture of punk, R&B and rock and roll. The band played a seminal role in the formation of early punk. Thunders and Nolan were previously in the New York Dolls, an important protopunk band. Biographer Nina Antonia states in the L.A.M.F. liner notes that “Johnny and his wise-guys were not a punk band, in the 1976 application of the term, they were N.Y. street punks playing rock n’ roll but the kids still pogoed.” The acronym “L.A.M.F.” stands for “Like A Mother Fucker”, in a 1977 interview in the UK monthly magazine Zigzag Thunders said this originated from New York gang graffiti. Thunders claimed the gangs would add the LAMF tag after writing their gang name. However if they were on another gang’s territory they would write “D.T.K.L.A.M.F” (Down To Kill Like A Mother Fucker).]

15. The Ramones – “I Wanna Be Sedated”
from: Hey! Ho! Let’s Go: The Anthology / Rhino – Sire / July 20, 1999
[One of the band’s best known songs. It was originally released on their fourth album, Road to Ruin, in September 1978 and was the b-side of the UK single “She’s the One” released on January 10, 1979. The song was later released as a single in the Netherlands in 1979, then in the U.S. in 1980 by RSO Records from the Times Square soundtrack album.]

16. True Believers – “Rebel Kind”
from: Hard Road / Rykodisc / June 6, 1994 [Reissue]
[Principally recorded at Arlyn Studios, Europa Sound Centre and Austin’s Riverside Sound, Austin, Texas; Axis Studio, Atlanta, Georgia. Includes liner notes by Jody Denberg. TRUE BELIEVERS (1st LP) was originally released in 1986. HARD ROAD contains the True Believers’ self-titled 1st LP, plus their previously unreleased follow-up. In Austin, TX, a town where great roots rock bands grow like crabgrass in suburbia, the True Believers gained a reputation as something very special right off the bat, and their blazing live shows earned them a rabid following long before they cut their first record. Unfortunately, they also became the classic example of a fine band brought down by their own record company; their first album was cut on the cheap for an independent label (and often sounds like it), and after a major label bought out their contract and paid for a significantly more polished and powerful second album, the band was dropped following a corporate reorganization, and a potential breakthrough album was left collecting dust in the vault. Hard Road finally gives this great band their due, bringing together the True Believers’ self-titled debut and their previously unreleased follow-up on one compact disc. While the self-titled first album’s low-budget production (especially the out-of-balance snare sound) makes it sound more like a demo than a polished final product, the performances are game, the triple-guitar lineup kicks pretty hard, and the songs are great, especially “The Rain Won’t Help You When It’s Over,” “Tell Her,” and a rollicking cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Train Round the Bend.” The unreleased album’s production is a bit more boomy and bombastic than it needs to be, but it certainly gets the band’s wall of guitars on tape with a lot more authority and force (especially Jon Dee Graham’s slide work), and while the new rhythm section imposed on the band by producer Jeff Glixman doesn’t sound all that different than the band’s original timekeepers, the True Believers do sound a lot tighter and strike with greater impact on these songs, whether they’re rockers like “She’s Got” or introspective mid-tempo tunes such as “One Moment to Another.” And while these two albums were where Alejandro Escovedo first began to gain his reputation as one of America’s great songwriters, his brother, Javier Escovedo, and Jon Dee Graham make it clear he wasn’t the only fine songwriter in the group, and their tightly interlocked guitars are a wonder to behold. The True Believers deserved better than the hand they were dealt, and one listen to Hard Road provides all the proof you need.] ~ Mark Deming (Cd Universe)

[Producers: Jim Dickinson, Mike Stewart, Jeff Glixman. Engineers: Mike Stewart, Stuart Sullivan, George Pappas. True Believers: Alejandro Escovedo, Javier Escovedo (guitar, vocals); John Dee Graham (guitar, lap steel, vocals); Denny DeGorio (bass, harmonica); Gordon Copley (bass); Mark Shaffer, Kevin Foley (drums). Additional personnnel: David Hidalgo (vocals); Jim Dickinson (piano). Rolling Stone (5/19/94, p.102) – “…vividly documents the boys’ budding songwriting skills…”]

17. Alejandro Escovedo – “Diana”
from: More Oar: A Tribute To The Skip Spenser / Birdman / July 6, 1999
[More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album is a 1999 tribute album completed shortly before and released shortly after the death of Moby Grape founding member Skip Spence. The album contains cover versions by various artists of Spence’s music from his Oar album, released in 1969, presented in the same order as on the original album. On More Oar, Escovedo contributes his version of Spence’s “Diana”. Critic Rob Brunner commented, “The best contributions come from artists who realize that Spence’s work is as much about atmosphere as words and chords. …Alejandro Escovedo offers an appropriately bleary ‘Diana’, Spence’s darkest song. Matt Kesler plays bass on the track.]

18. The Paladins – “Re’jive’inated”
from: Ticket Home / Foil Records / 1999
[The Paladins are a roots rock/rockabilly band from San Diego, California. Founded in the early 1980s by guitarist Dave Gonzalez and his high school friend and double bass player Thomas Yearsley, they have recorded nine studio albums and built a reputation as one of America’s hardest-working live bands.]

19. Calexico – “Alone Again Or”
from: Convict Pool / Quarterstick Records / April 6, 2004
[Tucson, Arizona-based Americana / Tex-Mex / indie rock band. The band’s two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand. They have recorded a number of albums on Quarterstick Records, while their 2005 EP In the Reins recorded with Iron & Wine has reached the Billboard 200 album charts. Their musical style is influenced by traditional Latin sounds of mariachi / conjunto / cumbia / Tejano music and also the Southwestern United States country music as well as ’50s-’60s jazz and ’90s-’00s post-rock, and they have been described by some as “desert noir” or indie rock. The band is named for the border town of Calexico, California.]

20. Bob Mould – “Star Machine”
from: Silver Age (Bonus Track Version) / Merge / Sept. 4, 2012
[Robert Arthur “Bob” Mould (born October 16, 1960) is principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s. Born in Malone, New York, Mould lived in several places, including the Minneapolis – St. Paul area where he then attended Macalester College. There, he formed Hüsker Dü in the late 1970s, with drummer/singer Grant Hart and bass guitarist Greg Norton. Mould’s song “Dog on Fire” is the theme song for The Daily Show. They Might Be Giants perform the current version. On December 19, 1996, Mould made a cameo appearance on The Daily Show Holiday Spectacular in an homage duet of “The Little Drummer Boy” with Mould playing the part of David Bowie to Craig Kilborn’s “Bing Crosby”. In 2001, Mould played lead guitar in the house band for the film of John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and on the film’s soundtrack. In 2003, Mould also participated in a Hedwig tribute album, Wig in a Box, on which he covered the song “Nailed.”]

21. PedalJets – “Terra Nova”
from: What’s In Between / Electric Moth Records / June 25, 2013
[This song was released last Dec. as a 7′ green vinyl single. Now included on The Pedaljets first album of new material in 23 years. Paul Malinowski (Vocals, Guitar), Rob Morrow (Drums, Vocals), Mike Allmayer (Guitar, Vocals), Matt Kesler (Bass, Vocals). Produced by The Pedaljets and Paul Malinoski. The albums photos & design are from artist Archer Prewitt of the bands: the Sea and Cake and The Coctails. More info: thepedaljets.com]

22. Noel Coward – “The Party’s Over Now”
from: Noel Coward in New York / drg / 2003 [orig. 1957]

Sources for notes on tracks and interview segments come from: artist’s websites and wikipedia.org and where noted.

Wednesday MidDay Medley in on the web:
http://www.WednesdayMidDayMedley.org
http://www.facebook.com/WednesdayMidDayMedleyon90.1FM
http://www.kkfi.org

Show #495