Transmusic Airwaves

This week on TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #444) Ill pay tribute to the new BEATLES documentary, honor the legacy of STEPHEN SONDHEIM, play a series of songs about love and office work, and add music with themes about space and having the blues all assembled into my usual three hour free form adventure. DEERHOOF, PAVEMENT, CRACKER, and PALBERTA all get installed around other music from JUKKA TOLONE...

Today’s TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #443) happens to fall on the busiest shopping day of the year, ‘Black Friday,’ although marketing geniuses over the past decade have morphed that day into nearly a week by adding ‘Small Business Saturday,’ ‘Cyber-Monday’ and ‘Giving Tuesday’ in an attempt to relieve all of you of any remaining cash you’ve been struggling to hold on to for the past year.  And do...

What’s in store this week on TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #442) you ask? For starters, I’ve got a couple of new tracks from ALLEN RAVENSTINE’S just released album, ‘Nautilus,’ the MONKS OF DOOM covering the Soft Machine’s ‘Moon in June’ and ORNETTE COLEMAN & CHARLIE HADEN’S take on the theme from ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,’ PATRICK CARNEY & RALPH CARNEY’S work on ‘Bojack’s Theme,’ and se...

Each week I look for an event or milestone to initially jump start my artistic process in creating another episode of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES. This week two posts on social media served that purpose; JONI MITCHELL (turning 78 years old ) and the 50th anniversary of JOHN MARTYN’S ‘Bless The Weather’ album both gave the show (Episode #441) it’s initial spark. Next I began to compile more tracks from new...

This week’s TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #440) begins with a track from DEERHOOF’S latest release, ‘Actually, You Can’ followed by another piece from the new JOHN ZORN album, ‘Nostradamus, The Death Of Satan.’ Now that the tone has been set, I’ll honor the late founder of THE CHIEFTAINS, Paddy Maloney, with the song ‘Dunmore Lassies’ (which also features RY COODER), then offer your ears music from...

Midnight IS ‘the bewitching hour’ so to mark this years 10th anniversary HALLOWEEN SPECIAL on TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #439) I’ve released the program at 12:01 am. Friday, October 29, 2021.  Getting the show started is the main title to ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’ followed by NORMA TANEGA’S ‘You’re Dead,’ the theme to TV’s vampire mockumentary, ‘What We Do In The Shadows.’ Following that is PE...

Transmusic Airwaves Presents:  The 4th Annual Halloween Special  originally broadcast on October30, 2015 over SFCR, San Francisco Community Radio, KUSF-In-Exile.  Here The brief synopsis, and complete playlist for this program listed below.  Death, Voodoo, Lucifer, and your “ex”...Those subjects can mean only one thing, IT’S HALLOWEEN!!!    Welcome to the TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES’ 4th Annual “Halloween...

Nearly every week for nine years I’ve assembled an episode of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (this week it’s Episode #437) and each week I attempt to describe to you what you’ll hear for that show in hopes of enticing you to listen. Sounds relatively easy doesn’t it? Actually, some days it’s harder than actually assembling the show itself and my formula always seems to return to giving you a list of new rele...

 ‘To boldly go where no man has gone before’ is the phrase that for many ‘boomers’ recalls a childhood memory of 60’s television that can only mean one thing, WILLIAM SHATNER’S iconic portrayal of Captain Kirk in the groundbreaking sci-fi series, ‘Star Trek.’  This week the ninety year old TV star made history by becoming the oldest person ever to go into space so on this edition of TRANSMUSIC AIR...

Part of what makes creating this program each week over the past nine years such a joy is that I always seem to surprise myself with the things I come up with while assembling each show and on this edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #436), there’s a treasure trove of ah-ha moments after several days of brain fog had me wondering if I’d even be able to complete the process. The musical equival...

It’s hard to believe that we’ve arrived at the beginning of October already as temperatures are getting cooler, the sunsets are earlier each day, and the foliage slowly starts a transition to vibrant colors. On this week’s TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #435), there’s plenty of cool ‘musical’ colours in the mix as well beginning with MILES DAVIS’S ‘Electric Red’ to start everything off (thirty years...

Fall arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and as if on cue, the temperature plummeted, the heaven’s opened up, and another deluge of water cascaded from the skies signaling our farewell to summer. All is not as bleak as it seems because on this weeks TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #434) I’ve got plenty of great sets to warm your ears and get your feet moving.  MODEST MOUSE starts it off with another trac...

Yesterday marked the end of Yom Kippur (the Jewish ‘Day of Atonement’) so during today’s third set on TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #433) I’ll celebrate musically with Klezmer inspired pieces and include three interpretations of JOHN ZORN’S ‘Masada’ songbook from Akron’s own GOLEMS OF THE RED PLANET. You’ll also hear music from THE KLEZMATICS, ROTONDI, BRAVE COMBO, the NEW ORLEANS KLEZMER ALL STARS...

This week marks the 20th anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history so on today's edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #432) I'll remember that day through music during this program's first set as well as my recollection of a concert that same evening by LAURIE ANDERSON that allowed me cope with the tragedy of that day. Surrounding Laurie's song 'Oh Superman (for Massenet)' will...

The best made plans of mice and men..'  is the phrase that came to mind while assembling this week's TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #431) as another series of events lead to my postponing of this episode which was scheduled for broadcast last week.  No matter, it's 'water under the bridge' as another phrase goes, so here's part of what the original plans were. The first set has songs about war as we...

This week my initial plans were to air another new episode of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES to finish up the month but unfortunately, as it seems to happen lately, those plans had to change. Instead of pouting I’ve come up with a novel solution to keep everyone smiling by resurrectingmy ‘Pull Up The Covers’ show, (TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES Episode #158) which originally aired on February 26, 2016 over San Francis...

Another week has flown by so quickly my head is spinning so to re-establish my inner ear equilibrium this edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #430) has quite a few gems littered along the path of musical bliss in store for you from all parts of the world.  I’ve got new music from the Moroccan band BAB L’BLUZ, followed by a collaboration from Germany’s DISSIDENTEN with Casablanca’s LEM CHALEB,...

Get out your boogie board, grab the SPF 50 sunscreen, spread out that large beach blanket, and open up your favorite thermos that you’ve filled with margarita's as this week’s TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #429) catches the hottest musical waves with new (and older as well) surf inspired tracks all gathered together during today’s second set.  You’ll hear the premiere of ‘Hadrial,’ the latest inter...

It’s time for another TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #428) and this week I’ll start it all off with PATTI SMITH’S ‘Summer Cannibals,’ add in some ‘Salt Peanuts’ to snack on courtesy of DIZZY GILLESPIE, and surround those pieces with KEN NORDINE, TALL DWARFS, humor from FIRESIGN THEATRE, and swinging cafe music from RAMNE, RICHARD GALLIANO, DEVOTCHKA, and BRAVE COMBO (taking you to ‘Hernando’s Hideaw...

Transmusic Airwaves presents another 'vault' treasure from my early days at KUSF-In-Exile/SFCR (San Francisco Community Radio). Today's it's Episode #13 of my original freeform radio program called 'Vicotin Popsicle's' which was to air on Friday, July 20, 2012 from 6-8 am but due to unforeseen technical issues, the program never aired. It was put on the station's web page for a limited number of w...

Can you believe July is at its end already? The older one gets, the faster ones life rushes by. I can no longer slow it down to the point I had in grade school where that clock seemed to barely move for the first hour each day and I couldn’t wait for the day to be over.  Now, it’s always the 50th anniversary of something on a daily basis so today on TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #427) I’ll honor th...

It’s time for another weekly edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #426) and today’s program has plenty of ‘vault’ choices, new releases, and even a theme of sorts all neatly assembled for your listening pleasure. I’ll start off with DAEVID ALLEN’S ‘French Garden’ from his ‘Good Morning’ album, then follow it with a brand NEW track from THE BREAKERS, a classic Canterbury cut from early CARAVAN f...

On this edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #425) the program begins with a track from the latest album by ALTIN GUN (Amsterdam’s Turkish/Psychedelic folk specialist’s) and over the course of the next thirty minutes, covers styles ranging from ethereal (BRIAN ENO, BLACK DUB, and MILOS) to much edgier (DUKES OF STRATOSPHEAR, QUILT, THEE OH SEES, and JORMA KAUKONEN). The show evolves for the rem...

It’s time for another weekly installment of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #424) and today I’ve got a set that honors ‘World UFO Day,’ another that explores Mediterranean song structures, and one that has at it’s core, some uniquely unusual spoken word pieces intermixed with equally unusual melodies. Intrigued? Here are a few descriptive clues for you. The first set starts off with the UFO based the...

This week’s TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #423) covers a lot of ground as I’ll honor the legacy of musician JON HASSELL and synthesizer pioneer PETER ZINOIEFF (founder of EMS and inventor of the VCS3), play several holiday appropriate tracks, and incorporate several Ohio artists (TIN HUEY, PERE UBU, THE BLACK KEYS, WUSSY, and COLIN JOHN) into various sets along the way. Jon Hassell starts it all of...