There is something about the dog days of summer, that time of lassitude, torpor, and ennui, that brings to mind that briefest of musical episodes, the story song. We featured a bunch of them on Bubble Wrap this week, dated as hell but still entertaining. “Ode to Billie Joe” was especially poignant, but there’s still […]
What can we say? It’s July, it’s still hot, it’s humid and sticky and dare we say? a bit depressing. But that does not stop us, no! Bubble Wrap continues to cheer itself up, along with our small company of supportive fans, to whom we say Thank You! for hanging out with us every Wednesday night from 7 to 9.
This week, we explored the inner recesses of Bandcamp’s lesser known luminaries among the NYP set. We found many worthy and intriguing artists including Louie Zong (“Photosynaestesia”), U-Turn Collective (“The Last Dime”), Public Practice (“Compromise”) and Wingtip Sloat (“Sabaretro”). The beauty of this kind of music is that it’s both diverse and utterly original.
Midsummer is either behind us or just ahead, depending on your method of calculation. Beached in greater Brattleboro, we at Bubble Wrap are doing what we do best — carrying on. Fortunately, the music has been good lately. High points of this week’s show are so numerous, it would be easier to list the low points (were there any?). Perhaps but here are the top 5:
Once a year we do a July 4 show on Bubble Wrap, despite how corny that is and the fact that we have grave misgivings about the direction our country is going. But be that as it may, and it certainly is this year, we nevertheless trotted out the patriotic tunes from turn-of-last-century marches and […]
This week on Bubble Wrap, we settled on BandCamp’s NYP releases as our primary source, and what a fascinating mix it dished up. We could start anywhere but what about Bloom.exe’s rant about everything on “Repetition, Repetition.” Surely there is no better place. Angelica Garcia’s “Lucifer Waiting” is the best thing I’ve heard out of LA in what seems like years. English Summer channel Morrissey (and a host of his contemporaries). We especially like the name of their record which is It’s Miserable But We Carry On.
In an atmosphere of unrest in a time of pandemic with little sign of help on the horizon, we trudge on through this thing called life. Bubble Wrap Radio continues to fulfill its mission of entertaining the listening public of Greater Brattleboro and Beyond! every Wednesday night from 7 to 9. This week, the revolution continues, leavened with introspection and a love subtheme. Not to neglect the new, we selected a few noteworthy Bandcamp NYP releases to feature: Tim Spacey‘s Junkolectric Mycatisgreen’s pandemic release Cat Means Four (get it?) were this week’s honorees.
During turbulent times, music can be just the balm we need whether it’s angry, joyous, or sad. Mix and match to fit your mood. This week, Bubble Wrap featured more protest-inspired music including some new tracks just released in the last week. Among the standouts was K!MMORTAL’s “Breathe” which is about taking time to breathe so you can remember that you’re going to be all right. It’s a beautiful song with a message that works right as you’re listening to it. We also liked Peter CottonTale’s “Pray for Real” which is a quietly cheerful song about thankfulness and and a kind heart. “I pray for y’all” he sings, which says it all.
George Floyd Protest Against Police Brutality in Dallas / Matthew T Rader / CC BY-SA Periodically, the people of the world get riled. Now is one of those times, and not a minute too soon. To celebrate the new revolutionary fervor, we stuffed Bubble Wrap with a lot of songs on that theme. Certain years […]
It’s been two days since George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis. The streets are filled with protestors. Covid-19 is still lurking about. It’s been hot — noticeably warm for this early in the season. It’s against this backdrop that we attempt to “cheer up” our compatriots in Radioland. A lot of older songs this time, which have the reassuring quality of being already lived through. Highlights: We found a cache of old Rhythm Scholar remixes, several of which we shared with y’all tonight. My fave was the happy version of “Can I Kick It?” by Tribe Called Quest. Also checked out a new label comp from Rare Drugs records in Toronto. This new disc, entitled Interiors, features 14 artists, all interesting in their way.
On this most auspicious of days both numerically (20 – 20 – 20) and anniversarily (it’s my birthday), we inserted a party theme to this week’s Bubble Wrap show. “Lifeboat Party,” “Time To Party,” “Party Girl,” and more! In between, some 2020 releases including Caribou, Waxahatchee, Coriky, and Charlie XCX. For those who are tired […]
This week on Bubble Wrap, we revisited May 2010 to supplement the meager offerings of May 2020. What a difference a decade makes! Faves from 2010: New Orleans group Galactic with “Heart of Steel” (killer track featuring Irma Thomas’ powerful vocal) and “Galaxies” by Let’s Say We Did, a now defunct band from Gothenberg, Sweden. Favorite new track was DJ Houseplants’ “Just Don’t Know” — who knew anyone was still doing disco? Also liked William McCarthy’s “Ballad for the Unemployed,” a talky folk number that directs its plaint to motivational speaker Tony Robbins.
Bubble Wrap continues on WVEW FM in Brattleboro and the process of broadcasting from home gets a little easier each week. This show featured almost no dead air! Instead, we did a brief tribute to Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk who died the day before we aired, focusing on songs that had a big effect on hip hop.
Coronavirus has taken its toll on music — there seems to be less of it coming out these days than previously. That would explain why we’re playing so much old stuff on Bubble Wrap these days. Of the newer stuff, our track of the week was Yirim Seck’s “Click” with a musical message about racism (“They ain’t winning of we click.”) We also enjoyed the pop stylings of Shane Tutmarc with “Brave New World” and the funky groove of “Mind Up” by J-Felix. As for the Kitsch Award, that goes to the Greene County Boys, a singing group consisting solely of doctors, for their song “It Must Be A Virus.”
A magic number, 22, and then you add the two 2’s in 2020, and you get the idea that it’s a very double day. Not that we took advantage of that phenomenon, as we stuck to singles pretty much throughout this week’s edition of Bubble Wrap Radio. Highlights right out of the gate with Fiona Apple’s “Ladies” — such gentle exasperation! and Molly Maher’s “Run Run Run.” Ice Age gave us a lockdown song that was actually good: “Lockdown Blues.” Irish poet Sinead O’Brien proved that poetry reading to music can sound cool, rare though that might be.