As many of you know, I host the Top Ten show. When Pop Recon isn’t running, there’s a blank hour on the schedule that I fill with random music. Sometimes I’ll play records that are brand new to WPRB that week, sometimes I’ll do label tributes, etc. They’re not the best playlists, but it is a time for me to stretch out and do something fun that might not necessarily fit with Her Jazz. So enjoy.

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Leaving the office. July 24, 2008.

Technology is occasionally astounding. We are living in the age of Moore’s Law, indeed, and then some. It took me a year, one Hasselblad, lots of money and patience to do my Untitled Stills from New Jersey series. With one iPhone I can nearly replicate the same look and feel I was attempting to achieve.

Vacation, all I ever wanted! Yes, sometimes a little break can change things around for the better. I definitely felt back in the swing of things after. Big thanks to Mike Lupica (of WFMU) for coverin’ on my 7/10 show!

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After Motherwell. July 21, 2008.

It’s my birthday. A number that Counts. I strive to keep this blog free of personal business, which probably explains why I write less and less here. The problem isn’t that I don’t have much to say about music, technology, and so forth — otherwise I wouldn’t be a graduate student in this field — the problem is moreso that I wanted to steer clear of the ensuing drama. Let’s face it: you can’t have an opinion in this city without someone turning into a giant baby. And while I have been truly busy with work and school, a bunch of dumb motherfuckers have bullied me into writing less here. Such is the folly of a networked, globalized society — only some can dominate.

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» I am still reeling from two incredible interviews I taped with No Age and the Breeders this past week, to be featured on an upcoming epsiode of Pop Recon. Both bands couldn’t have been better people to simply talk with. And if I told my teenage self that I’d get to sit in a huddle with the Breeders, she would flip. (OMG, I remember staying up to watch this!) I think I’m taping something with Broken Social Scene and/or the Duchess & the Duke this week too. So busy! The most recent Pop Recon is online for your listening pleasure, BTW.

» Attended the Independents Day Conference hosted by the Philly chapter of the Recording Academy, and as mentioned before, spoke on a panel about radio. I felt like a fish out of water because unlike most places, I get to play whatever I want when I want. I can only hope that I offered up some useful advice. Places like WPRB, WXPN, WFMU and the like remind us that radio isn’t “dead”; most of what happens at radio stations is that a lot of (well, nearly all) energies are misdirected. I have many more things to say about this, but perhaps I’ll talk about ‘em another time.

I can’t lie: I was troubled by the digital panel. Was it about blogging, PR in the Age of the Internet or digital distribution? Wait, it was all three. The moderator did quite good job at trying to straddle all three and made some really good links, but IMHO all three topics deserve their own respective panels. Anyway, gotta mention at how wowed I was by everything Stephanie Renee had to say. Amazing on top of amazing.

» I definitely noticed that many of the questions asked up by the audience in the stuff I attended were of the “How do I do x?” nature. Though panels and breakout groups are designed to address these kinds of situations, is there anything else to help disseminate basic information, and to make sure that people aren’t rewriting the wheel each time around?

» I was bummed that I missed out on the legal and more business/financial panels — they’re always incredibly useful. Also, it’s nice to get out of the clusterfucky world of new/old/mass media. (Maybe that’s why I found Bruce Pavitt’s portion of the Sub Pop PF piece was so satisfying?)

Due to that ol’ chestnut, “Apple bricked my iPhone while I was trying to update the firmware to 2.0,” I can’t make any phone calls.

Until this is corrected, the ONLY way you can reach me is via email or feel free to leave a comment on this blog.

» In other news, I interviewed No Age for WPRB yesterday. They are super nice dudes.

I cannot lie: I have been kinda sorta phoning it in on my radio program the past couple of weeks. Between covering for Jon (which has been a joy), my own program, the Top Ten show, Pop Recon, and my daily duties, I am more than a little fried.

Have I ever told y’all about my sinuses before? I never had a problem with them until a couple of years ago; now I have this terrible blockage on the right side of my face. I find that my flare-ups happen when it’s just about to rain. So it’s sort of like my own excruitiatingly painful version of The Weather Channel, except that I’d happy take TWC and its terrible smooth jazz over feeling like I’ve been hungover for twenty years.

Yes, I know about the neti pot. Sometimes it works, other times it doesnt. I know that when sinus infections are left untreated they can cause blindness (as someone who enjoys seeing, taking pictures, watching TV, etc, it’s safe to say I want to keep my vision), which is exactly why I have surgery scheduled for the end of the summer.

OK, so the whole point to this TMI digression is that on Thursday a massive, world-engulfing flare-up of my sinuses made me feel like dying and nearly caused me to throw up, on-air. (Apparently, this is not an entirely new experience for me.)

Actually, the 6/26 show is not too bad, in retrospect, so I am unfairly lumping it in with the phoning-it-in-ness. Still, not my finest hour. I’m getting to the point in the summer where I feel like I’ve played all of WPRB’s records (though I know I haven’t), and the new stuff we’ve got in feels a bit old and lame to me.

Let’s hope this week I can turn it arou — oh yeah, I’m not on this Thursday. Mike Lupica is filling in for me, while I interview No Age for Pop Recon. Not sure who’s getting the better end of the stick here, you or me. ML is a LEGEND. Legendary, even. It’s like Beyonce is “Upgrading U” to a way better DJ.

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Lower Manhattan, Jul 4 2008.

Hey folks, I have two public appearances in the coming weeks. I’m speaking on a panel this weekend about radio & webcasting, sponsored by the Philadelphia chapter of the National Recording Academy (a.k.a., the GRAMMYs). Second, I’ll be DJing a benefit for the East River Music Project the weekend after. Full details are behind the cut!

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PWRFL Power at the Popped! Music Festival.

Do you ever have moments where you feel like you’re living someone else’s life? Ever since I got this new job that’s basically all I ever feel.

Case in point: last night I had to photograph Pearl Jam & Ted Leo at Madison Square Garden for Stereogum. No, that’s not the weird part (but, yeah, it is a total OppositeLand moment). Anyway, press photographers have to enter at a different entrance, and they are led through the concrete maze/bunker that is MSG. You ride up the same giant freight elevator they use for elephants in the circus, and they lead you through to the stage area, right past the VIP green rooms and all. You kind of feel like a rock star until someone hisses to another, “That’s the paparazzi,” and when you walk out the crowd boos you because you’re not the band. Did Robert Capa ever have to put up with this?

Last week I taped two interviews for Pop Recon — one with patternismovement that will air on Friday, another with Love Is All for a future episode. PIM were probably one of the best interviews I’ve taped. Dudes were funny, talkative and smart. More bands should follow their lead.

Those that know me well know I don’t like to dine out, but I recently went to the new Eric Ripert restaurant, 10 Arts. (I grew up in a restaurant, so the thought of having to pay someone to cook my food seems totally preposterous.) But if I’m going to dine, I will do it right — and 10 Arts is definitely a good way to go. The combination of local and upscale stuff was just right. I was amazed at the grand size of the portion; I typically don’t expect it at these kinds of places. I felt full after the wild boar prosciutto appetizer, and by the time my main course was done, I couldn’t do dessert at all. (I tried a bit of my friend’s, and the mini beignets were delish.) Moreover, and more importantly, the service was top-notch. We were seated promptly at our reservation time and our servers were totally attentive. If I have that sort of cash to drop again (hello early birthday present!), I’d totally do it again.

Alright, that’s it for this episode of Watch the Names Drop! I’ve been your host, Maria T.

I had a blast with this show. It flew by way too fast! I am happy to report that The Black Angels stopped fetishizing Vietnam in an embarrassing manner and are writing some pretty great space-rock-meets-Nuggets tunes.

06-19-2008 | WPRB 103.3 FM | 1800-2000
———————————–
chuck wilder - the clown - eccentric soul: the tragar & note labels - N
vivian girls - wild eyes - 7″ - N
spinanes - fame & fortune - sunday ep
robyn - bum like you - robyn - N
fink - blueberry pancakes - distance and time - N
gogogoairheart - hypnotized - 90 day men / gogogoairheart split ep
dos - heartbeat - numero do ep
holy rollers - in the here - cringer / holy rollers split 7″
the nervebreakers - my girlfriend is a rock - we want everything!
———————————–
ESG - dance - come away with…
solex - randy costanza - pick up
sons & daughters - johnny cash - love the cup
the black angels - deer-ree-shee - directions to see a ghost - N
helium - love $$$ - pirate prude
———————————–
tickley feather - fancy walking - tickley feather - N
crystal stilts - crippled croon - crystal stilts
spoon - believing is art - girls can tell
the lines - nerve pylon - memory span - N
durutti column - sketch for summer - valuable passages
blonde redhead - spring & summer by fall - 23 - R
les savy fav - bloom on demand - go forth - R
———————————–
the 3Ds - beautiful things - 7″
long blondes - the couples - couples - N R
kitty wells - your wild life’s gonna get you down - golden favorites
the white animals - seasons change - 7″
the replacements - kiss me on the bus - tim
avengers - american in me - the american in me
mingering mike - gotta get back to the real thing - super gold greatest hits - N