Dear friends,
My roommate has been putting his sprawling music library on shuffle as of late just to see what pops up, and this week I took to the practice too. It’s not a bad exercise for those of us who once frequented torrent havens, Soulseek, and free mp3 blogs, hoarding more music than we’d ever listen to before mass streaming made the pursuit seem quaint. When you have over a year’s worth of music sitting on a hard drive it’s easy to lose sight of almost all of it.
Still, it’s worth remembering that when I hit those overlapping arrows I’m still the curator, just not the DJ. The music is not being put in front of me because someone with deep pockets paid extra for it to be there, but because some me at some point liked it, or in some cases thought some future me might want to hear it. Back in my late teens and early twenties, before I’d really reckoned with the gratuitousness of my downloading habits, if I was convinced of an artist or album’s significance—say, for their inclusion on the Nurse With Wound list—I’d often download even if I wasn’t feeling the music, banking on a future when I’d be weirder and more open-minded. By and large this speculation has paid off… or maybe it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I guess we’ll never know for sure, but the important thing is just how wide a net was cast, wider than I even recognized at the time, and it was done without any governing intention beyond thinking “This seems interesting.”
I’ve thought about why I devoted so much time to seeking out obscure music when there are innumerable “certified classics” out there that I have not and will never listen to. The most affirming answer* I’ve come to is that musicians release their music to be heard and I genuinely enjoy fulfilling that goal for artists whose audience size is near zero far more than for those with a massive listenership already and forever in their pocket. It’s more a humanistic interest than it is a value judgement about one being better or more virtuous than the other (per se). It’s ironic then that all this shuffling has made clear just how many long-sought rarities in my archive remain unplayed. Take it as a humbling reminder that adventurous listening interests and habits are not synonymous, so it never hurts to shake things up, even in the simplest of ways.
Yours,
Hugh (and Adam and Kevin)
*I’ll leave the less affirming answers for you to speculate
SCHEDULE
all times EST, tune in at https://mixlr.com/real_deep_radio/
Monday, 3/1
7-8PM – Only Bad Music with DJ Trash Bag
This past week's weather portends the rites of spring and that thawing out means Only Bad Music is cracking its bones and balling out to classic punk. It's time to strap on yer boots and go nuts.
Tuesday, 3/2
8:30-10PM – Mondo Alienation: 🔀️ Edition with Hugh Wilikofsky
That’s right: ~10,000 albums are going on shuffle and we’re going to try and make sense of whatever rises to the surface. It’s all in the machine’s hands, the rest of us are just along for the ride.
Wednesday, 3/3
8-10PM – Nearer/Clearer with Kevin McKinney
Each installment of Nearer/Clearer will be different, but its spirit lives in the idea that we listen better when we listen together. Nearer/Clearer is devoted to approachability without predictability. This week, I want to kick off the month listening to a whole bunch of my favorite jazz with all of you. There’s sure to be something for everyone here!
Thursday, 3/4
8-9PM – EARTH 2: EARTH'S RE-DEARTH with Walter Michalski
A new mix for radio featuring both robotic and human interludes. There will be an eclectic selection of tracks throughout, ranging from techno to DIY rock to harsh noise to footwork and beyond. We hope you will join Walter and friends for a sonic rebirth of the
Friday, 3/5
9-11PM – PROM 2021 with DJ PARTY PETE
The junior and senior class of DJ Party Pete Memorial High School cordially invites you to PROM 2021. Whether you’re going stag or bringing your girlfriend who you’ll maintain a dubious long-term relationship with during your first semester of college, we’ll be playing classic high school bangers and bops that will take you back to your glory years. From Hey Ya to the Cha Cha Slide, to Hollaback Girl and The Boys of Fall, this set has something for everyone. I hope you all get laid at prom this Friday from 8-10PM CST/9-11PM EST.
Saturday, 3/6
8-10AM – Hypnopompia Morning Show with Michael Cormier
Music to soundtrack the fragile moments right before reaching for your phone and realizing the world has gone on without you while you slept.
RECOMMENDED
ADAM: In the least likely of circumstances, I’ve gotten into Steely Dan. Of course, Aja is the classic, but this week, I’ve been drawn to Gaucho. Their final album before a 20 year hiatus, Gaucho sounds withered and down to earth but still maintains the band’s classic jazzy cocktail party grooves. I also listened to Laura Nyro for the first time and was delighted by her amazing, unique, and soulful album Eli & the Thirteenth Confession. I’ve also been revisiting an old favorite in Dust to Digital’s revelatory box set Goodbye Babylon. If you want a little taste of what amazing gospel deep cuts are in there, look no further than one of my favorites, James and Martha Carson’s “I’ll Fly Away.”
KEVIN: This video of a Han Bennink percussion solo means the world to me right now. Bennink’s music encapsulates everything I love in music and, honestly, everything I love in life. This performance is so playful, explorative, and brimming with joy. I don’t want to kill the surprise by describing too much, so I hope you take ten minutes out of your day to watch.
I’ve also been listening nearly constantly to Full Wack No Brakes, the debut album by Bad Boy Chiller Crew. This is incredibly fun British bassline house, with bars on bars about riding dirtbikes, speeding down country roads, running from the cops, and simply having a good time with your buds. Videos like the one for “450” or the new single “Don’t You Worry About Me” feel frankly aspirational for post-COVID life in their celebration of reckless and rowdy togetherness