The Chill Room

The Chill Room, 14 June 2013 at 11:00pm PST on killradio.org

128k, 2 hours, the story of Ian Curtis and Joy Division

It is music that is as overwhelming today as it ever was, and its power goes beyond the tragedy of one man unable to cope with the world. This is beauty fully realized and the fulfilment of what began as a punk DIY ideal but became so much more. Because of its incredible power and because they could go on, the story of Joy Division is ultimately a positive one.

Joy Division (1976-1980): Ian Curtis vocals, Bernard Sumner guitar, Peter Hook bass, Stephen Morris drums. Produced by Martin Hannett.

Set list, all music unless otherwise noted by Joy Division. A Means to an End / Digital / Exercise One (Peel Session 31 January 1979) / Auto-Suggestion / She's Lost Control / Transmission / Shadowplay / Day of the Lords / Atmosphere / Dead Souls / Love Will Tear Us Apart (Peel Session 26 November 1979) / She's Lost Control (12-inch version) / These Days / Isolation / Passover / The Eternal / Twenty-Four Hours / Digital (2 May 1980 Birmingham High Hall, Ian's last show) / Ceremony (14 May 1980 final Ian vox) / New Order-Ceremony (first single)

I had so many problems during the recording of this program I am amazed I got it done! The stream went down several times, but finally came back strong. As a result I was a bit stressed and I do overuse the word "extraordinary." But some of my listeners held on, so thanks, Dennis and Noel and everyone else. Special thanks to Scott Brandon Hutcherson. Also to killradio.org and radio4all.net. Feedback would be nice, comments are sought.

I never realized the lengths I'd have to go, all the darkest corners of a sense I didn't know just for one moment I heard somebody call. Looked beyond the day in hand, there's nothing there at all.

The Chill Room, 8 June 2013, 12:30am PST on killradio.org

128k, 2 hours 7 minutes, a romance of a radio play built with the sounds of the city

While this makes a fascinating radio narrative, I listen through it to hear the year 1973, because Marty's crew spent a week capturing wild ambient sound to mix into the soundtrack. You can't mask the reality coming through. Oh, we also get a thick dose of Little Italy atmosphere, what with the continual oldie pop songs and opera playing everywhere, and that beside the traffic, street noise, parties, bars, and dialogue. The people we get to know here are terrible. They're petty criminals and racists (they all seem to hate black people while doo wop serenades them), yet somehow we are drawn to them. We become witnesses. It's truly a parallel universe very like our own, whether we want to admit that or not. This show might even put you in a trance. (It happened to some live listeners.)

Set list and soundtracking (many tracks partial, incomplete list, film sound also includes field recordings of live musicians during the Feast of San Gennaro): Thunderstorm in Lawrence KS 2012 / The Carpenters-Rainy Day Traktor / Marjou's Icing Mix of Tori Amos-Sugar / Rolling Stones-Shattered / Walter Carlos-Summer (Sonic Seasonings) / The Ronettes-Be My Baby / Rolling Stones-Tell Me / Eric Clapton-I Looked Away / Rolling Stones-Jumpin' Jack Flash / Giuseppe Di Stefano-Addio Sogni di Gloria / The Star Spangled Banner / The Shirelles-I Met Him on a Sunday / Little Caesar and the Romans-Those Oldies But Goodies / The Marvelettes-Please Mr. Postman / Renato Carosone-Scapricciatiello / Jimmy Roselli-Malafemmina / The Aquatones-You / Betty Everett-The Shoop Shoop Song / The Chantels-I Love You So / The Paragons-Florence / The Chips-Rubber Biscuit / Johnny Ace-Pledging My Love / Ray Barretto-Ritmo Sabroso / The Charts-Desiree / The Miracles-Mickey's Monkey / Cream-Steppin' Out / Art Garfunkel-Always Look on the Bright Side of Life / Dicrylium-Superhero's Lullabye (soundcloud)

Mean Streets (1973). Produced by Martin Scorcese and Jonathan Taplin. Screenplay Martin Scorcese and Mardik Martin. Sound mixer Don Johnson. Directed by Martin Scorcese. With Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, David Proval, Amy Robinson, Richard Romanus and Cesare Danova. A Taplin-Perry-Scorcese Production released through Warner Bros.

With special thanks to killradio.org and radio4all.net, my live listeners, to Mike Schmitt, Louise, Dennis. Thanks to Jason Estes. Some of the opera titles in the set list are probably misidentified, help if you can. This program is presented for education and entertainment. Comments requested please.

I'm a mook? What's a mook? You can't call me a mook.

The Chill Room, 24 May 2013 at 10:00pm PST on killradio.org

128k, a tribute

Ray Manzarek was born in Chicago in 1939, played music from an early age, got an economics degree from DePaul University, and transferred to UCLA in 1962 for graduate work in cinematography. There he met Jim Morrison, and later, through a Maharishi lecture, he met Robbie Krieger and John Densmore. The Doors formed in the summer and fall of 1965. Tonight we will listen to Ray's own take on Doors history with some startling and cool outtakes and live music, as well as some of Ray's later production work, to tell the story of a fine musician and friend.

Set list: The spoken word material comes from Ray's CD The Doors Myth and Reality from 1997. All music by The Doors unless otherwise indicated. Introduction / Light My Fire / Film School with Jim / My Eyes Have Seen You (Aura Studio Demo) / Meeting Jim on the Beach / Moonlight Drive (10 March 1967 Matrix Club San Francisco) / Love Me Two Times (studio take 3) / Jim Morrison's Leather Pants and the Doors' uniforms / Roadhouse Blues (Madison Square Garden, NYC 17 January 1970) / (You Need Meat) Don't Go No Further (Love Her Madly b-side) / Riders on the Storm (alternate take with dubs January 1971) / The Paris Mystery / Tightrope Ride (single from Other Voices 1971) / Ray Manzarek-The Golden Scarab (Ray's first solo album 1973) / X-Nausea (Ray on keyboards) / X-Soul Kitchen (Doors cover, album produced by Ray 1980) / Weird Al Yankovic-Craigslist (2009, excerpt) / Why the Music Still Matters / Jim Morrison with the Doors-American Prayer / Bruce McCulloch-Doors Fan

Thanks to my live listeners on Friday nights. Grateful thanks to wfmu.org. Also to killradio.org and radio4all.net. Presented for education and entertainment. Comments requested.

Did you think we were all together? Did you think we were all the same? Did you think maybe I could help you remember your name, remember the game.
What's the name of the game?

The Chill Room, 8 March 2013, 10pm PST on killradio.org.

128k, 135 minutes, the Zappa set I've always wanted to hear

I can no longer keep this show up here on podomatic because of limited space. Go to http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/66904 for this Zappa Fanatic show and go to http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/67066 for the follow-up Zappa Too.

My special guest is H.T. (Tom) Brown, old friend and co-worker. Tom has been a major Frank Zappa fanatic since 1966. He compiled the Zappa Beat The Boots box sets for Rhino Records. His house in Venice was known for years as the Zappa Museum! And he has published Confessions of a Zappa Fanatic, his second book. I invited Tom to sit in with me and play his ultimate Zappa music set, and this is it. Arf! Includes tributes from Zappa musicians and friends, and some amazing music that has never even been booted. Over two hours of wonder from the guy who said he didn't want to be remembered. But it's not up to him.

Set list: All tracks by Frank Zappa and/or the Mothers of Invention unless otherwise noted. Frank's Introduction / It Can't Happen Here (Mothermania edit) / The Rudy Schwartz Project-Frank / Don Preston (with special guest Jimmy Carl Black) - What Was Zappa Really Like? / The Penguins-Memories of El Monte (written by Frank with Ray Collins) / Finnish TV interview from 1974 / Wipeout (6 Dec 1968 Shrine Exposition Hall, Los Angeles) / Help I'm a Rock (25 Oct 1968 Royal Albert Hall, London) / Arthur Barrow & Robert Williams-Trouble Every Day / Brown Shoes Don't Make It (Absolutely Free) / You're A Lonely Little Girl (45 mix 1967) / Dog Breath (45 mix 1969) / Village of the Sun_Echidna's Arf (Of You)_Don't You Ever Wash That Thing? (Roxy and Elsewhere, recorded Dec 1973) / Dumb All Over (You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 1) / Larry Fischer at the Movies / Any Downers (from the 75-76 band, unreleased) / Cruising for Burgers (alternate version 1977 unreleased) / Peaches En Regalia (Hot Rats) / Ensemble Modern-Hyperprism (Varese track produced July 1993 by Frank, his last production) / 1993 Today Show interview with Jamie Grangel / Strictly Genteel (Finale from 200 Motels)

Thanks to my listeners and Mr Zappa's fans. Thanks to Kill Ugly Radio! Thanks to Rae Lynn for Tom. Thanks to Reggie, Jason, Noel, Louise, Dennis, Robert, Michael, and the EPCHS Choir. Comments welcomed.

Get Tom's book here http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-ZAPPA-Fanatic-H-T-Brown/dp/1481122118/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360873753&sr=1-1&keywords=confessions+of+a+zappa+fanatic.

TV dinner by the pool, I'm so glad I finished school.
Be a loyal plastic robot for a world that doesn't care.

The Chill Room, 5 May 2012 at 00:00 PST on killradio.org

128k, 130 minutes, decoding and recoding reality with Carlos Castaneda

Another show no longer available on podomatic. You can still get it on the killradio archives http://www.killradio.org/podcast/index.php?id=821.

I admit to admiring Castaneda, even though I know his Ph.D. in Anthropology was in fact fraudulent and even though he appears to have been a manipulative guru type. His sorceror's concepts of stopping the world and seeing beyond consensus reality are still valuable to me and have informed the art I have made, the art that has meant the most to me, and the way I perceive the world.

This Chill Room collage uses Castaneda's own words and concepts to present a dense and moving soundscape for you to negotiate -- as a warrior. It is demanding, but it is also full of controlled folly that will provide a sort of slap back echo on what a "sham man" means in our kaleidoscopically runaway mad world of today. Have fun.

The Chill Room is a collage and contains overlapping audio, including readings by your dj of the lessons of Don Juan from the first three books by Carlos Castaneda, along with two narrative excerpts from Peter Coyote reading The Teachings of Don Juan. Radio interview with Carlos Castaneda broadcast on KPFA Jan 30, 1969 (edited). Several prepared mini collages were also used herein. Set list: Text 1 The Sorceror's Description / Gavin Bryars-Titanic (runs under first hour) / Electronics from Tony (collage) / Tindersticks-Frozen / The Doors-My Wild Love / Merzbow and Kapoote Muziek-Continuum / Emiliana Torrini-White Rabbit / Suzanne Ciani-Lixiviation / unknown-undetachable feeling / stAllio-bust a Groove / Dennis Oppenheim-Broken Records Blues / Peter Coyote reading from The Teachings of Don Juan (2 excerpts) / Creedence Clearwater Revival-Ramble Tamble / Text 2 But Nothing Matters / Pink Floyd-Lucifer Sam (Traktor mix) / Brothomstates-Qtio / The Glove-Like an Animal / Randy Grief-The Rift in the Earth / Kraftwerk-Von Himmel Hoch / The Doors-Shaman's Blues / Carlos Castaneda on Don Juan / Rollins Band-Liar / That's wrong . . . This is right (collage) / The Who-See Me, Feel Me (7" varispeed turntable) / Castle of Quiet-Rise William Rise / Frizzi& Tucci-Theme from Zombie OST / Squarepusher-Dark Steering / Lou Christie-Two Faces Have I (acapella) / Barbara Harris-It Don't Worry Me (Nashville) / The Books-Be Good to Them Always / Don Ellis-Star Children / Alice Cooper-Levity Ball / Strings of Consciousness-Sleepwalker / Text 3 The Warrior's Way

With special thanks to my listeners, to Michael, Noel, Thomas, to Jeremy Bate and Greg Bishop, to the Bodhi Tree, to Tim Lucas, to Jack Bush. Correction: Due to a misreading of the date, I refer to the KPFA Castaneda interview taking place in 1967, when it was in fact from early 1969. My mistake! The first book (The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge) was published in 1968. The second book (A Separate Reality) was published in 1971, and the third (Journey to Ixtlan) in 1972. The interview (with Theodore Roszak, though most of the questions have been edited out) took place before the second book was published. Comments about this program are requested!

The whole world's a savior, who could ever ask for more?

The Chill Room, 18 February 2012, at 00:00 PST on killradio.org

128k, 130 minutes, the sound of enlightenment

I consider this to be one of the best Chill Rooms ever, but due to podomatic's stinginess, this program can no longer be available here. Please go to http://www.killradio.org/podcast/index.php?id=748 to listen or download.

The goal of this program is to take you to sleep. The music leads from binaural pulse beats down to slow brainwaves, and flows through a night. The stream is a model for consciousness itself. You will hear music for sleeping, dream language from James Joyce, occasional rises to REM-like states, shattered dream music, late night chill outs and gentle lullabys, until we land in pure delta waves. Go with it.

Set list (overlapping, incomplete, does not list ambient rain, bird and train recordings): Bob Dylan-All the Tired Horses / White Noise, Heartbeat, Atmospherics / Music for Sleeping-Music to Watch Girls By / Fluke-Tosh (Gosh) / Stereolab-Blue Milk (vinyl version) / John Cage-Dream / David Ball with Genesis P'Orridge-The Man Inside the Man / Thick Pigeon-Silhouettes / The Beatles-I'm Only Sleeping (extended chill mix) / Jimmy Page & Robert Plant-City Don't Cry / Binaural Alpha to Delta Waves / James Joyce-Anna Livia Plurabelle (recorded in Paris 1929, from ubuweb) / Phineas Narco-Goodnight Irene / John Cage-The Williams Mix (1958) / Pink Floyd-Echoes / Santo & Johnny-Sleepwalk / Sweet Dreams / satanicpornocultshop-59,054,087 / What is An Object? / Emily Browning-Asleep / Sun Ra-Sleeping Beauty / Hafler Trio-Song 2 / Yoav-Where Is My Mind? / Stage 4 Deep Sleep / Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band-Now You're Asleep / Celletti Roedelius-By This River (vocal by Christine Roedelius from Sustanza di Cose Sperata) / Deep Delta Waves with thunderstorm and ocean

With thanks to my listeners, to Ubuweb, to Transparency, to killradio.org and radio4all.net. For more information on this program, see Sleeping Beauty under http://djbennettchillroom.blogspot.com/. I hope I get some comments. Be careful, not recommended for listening while driving.

It's churning chill. Der went is rising.

Fall 2010 on killradio.org.

Hi, late this summer and fall I got together with Domenic Priore, author of the marvelous L.A. musical history "Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock'n'Roll's Last Stand in Hollywood," with the subtitle "The Byrds, The Doors, The Beach Boys, Love, Frank Zappa, Buffalo Springfield, The Mamas and the Papas, The Turtles, and More" to discuss, play the music and do a deep listen to the band The Byrds. This is a six-hour program in three parts, with the music programmed by Domenic as a kind of alternative box set.

This program is not available on podomatic, but you can access it, play it or download it on the killradio site. Here is the link:
http://www.killradio.org/podcast/index.php?cat=The%20Byrds%20Show