Radio

Lots of great music from around the world to kick off the fall season including Postcards (dreampop from Beirut), Mexican Institute of Sound (mid tempo pop from Mexico City), Nearfield (electronica from Lisbon), and Seva Kavalenka (subway sounds from Minsk).  There was also a bit of American music such as post rocking Old Canes from Lawrence, Kansas and some awesome punk pop courtesy of Syntax Valley (“a happy nihilist”) from Cape May.  

The heat wave continues inspiring a spate of “hot” songs on Bubble Wrap this week. Also, new songs by Chemtrails, the wryly cheery “Slag Heap Deity 1” (“we do our best we are unsuccessful!) as well as Fontaines D.C. with another slab of moody prose called “Televised Mind.” They remain a band to watch… Meanwhile, […]

As summer winds to a close and students across the country prepare with degrees of trepidation to return to school and work, writing and releasing new music doesn’t seem to have been a top priority. From the very few new tunes to choose from, we had a few faves this week on Bubble Wrap. Among […]

Code Red! that’s where we’re at right now. It’s summer and pandemic or no, the heat is getting to us and we want a vacation! Alas, we cannot. So we staged a trip to the beach right here on Bubble Wrap, and despite the absence of actual sun, surf, or for that matter, beach, it almost felt like being there…. All it takes is the magic of recording technology and a lot of imagination. Of course we brought some tunes with us, because what’s the beach without a soundtrack?

And what a soundtrack it was. Highlights: revolutionary fervor from Bristol UK’s IDLES (“Grounds”), fervent gospel-backed joy from Kendall Morgan (“Rescue Me”), and more delightful hippy rock from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (“Honey”).

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.