Transmusic Airwaves

Sometimes while watching TV an ad will appear with a song that attaches itself to my brain and produces an ‘ear-worm’ that I can’t get out of my head. This week it was an anti-tracking ad by a cell phone maker using an obscure 70’s new wave band (DELTA 5) singing ‘Mind Your Own Business’ so that song leads off today’s TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #422). That song inspired songs by XTC and PETER HA...

Summer Solstice is upon us so what better way to kick it off than with several songs about it to start this edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #421). RALPH CARNEY get the festivities going with ‘The Happy Solstice Song,’ then grab your medieval shroud in honor of SPINAL TAP performing ‘Stonehenge’ and HAWKLORDS playing tribute with their song ‘The Ancient Ones.’ Following that I’ll play anoth...

As we rapidly approach the official start of summer, this week’s latest TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #420), heats up musically just like the weather (metaphorically) with more smokin’ new tracks, ageless ‘vault’ selections, and other song styling's from around the world. From the latest offering category, there’s more songs from DR, LONNIE SMITH (with IGGY POP accompanying him on ‘Sunshine Superma...

Transmusic Airwaves returns this week with Episode #419, a brand new program filled with recent releases from local artists THE BLACK KEYS, COLIN JOHN, and CHRIS BUTLER (his latest song, ‘Beautiful Tail’), a long anticipated live recording by Germany’s legendary CAN (a track from ‘Live in Stuttgart 1975’), and an Ornette Coleman piece covered on the latest album by CHARLES LLOYD & THE MARVELS...

Greetings Campers, As we begin the latest Memorial Day festivities this weekend after a year of cocooning (like caterpillar larvae) to avoid the dreaded plague, I thought it would be nice to revisit one of the numerous ‘Character Study’ features that I began producing back in 2013 featuring an in depth look at an artist or group that’s made a significant contribution to modern music. Today, from m...

Spring has finally arrived and the weather is absolutely gorgeous, just as mask restrictions are lifting and vaccinations increase, allowing all of us to become more optimistic about things to come. Music has been an integral part of coping with life over the last year so now it’s role (to me) is to bring that joy we always associate with it back to where it belongs. This week on TRANSMUSIC AIRWAV...

It’s a new music extravaganza on this week’s TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #417) as I’m adding the latest from RHIANNON GIDDEN’S & FRANCESCO TURISSI, DR. LONNIE SMITH (with guest vocalist IGGY POP), RODRIGO Y GABRIELA’S ‘live’ album, a previously unreleased track from ROBERT PLANT’S solo retrospective, THE AVETT BROTHERS, Mali guitarist ANASY CISSE, and the astounding new remake ‘Tea For The Ti...

Got a hankering for SANDY DENNY & FAIRPORT CONVENTION? How about BRYAN ENO and THE BYRDS doing the classic country melody ‘You Don’t Drink Your Water’ (separately)? Or maybe you’d prefer some vintage CAMEL and CAN. If so then this week’s TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #416) is definitely music to your ears. I’ve got all of what I just mentioned plus a whole lot more on this program. I’ll get sta...

Life is full of lemons or so the quote goes, so get going and make lemonade. After two weeks of addressing production issues, it’s time for a new TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #415), the perfect refreshment for all of the woes I’ve dealt with lately. In fact, this program began right as those hurdles began to appear, and as I continue to address them, I found ways to make this show happen without l...

It’s been a rough couple of week's as a technical issue has forced me into dipping into my archival ‘vault’ and pulling out some programs from the past until I can get new programming back to levels you’ve come to expect from this show. As it now stands, new shows will remain on hiatus for the next couple of weeks, so this week I’ll offer up TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #105) from February 20, 201...

Today I'm offering a look back to an earlier time and present a show from my archives, marking the anniversary of my second year back on the air at KUSF-In Exile, San Francisco Community Radio. It's TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES EPISODE #61, which originally aired on April 18, 2014. Below is the description of the program and the show's playlist. Two years...24 months...104 weeks (and episodes)...three diff...

Greetings campers, It's time for another weekly foray into the world of freeform radio. This week on Transmusic Airwaves (Episode #414) it's a doozy of a show and I think you'll have a swell time listening to it. Jeepers, maybe I should quit describing it like a nineteenth-century charlatan and actually tell you some of the things you'll be hearing this week There's songs about Martians by David B...

There are plenty of great reasons for listening to this week's TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #413). I'll be featuring several selections from both the 'Rough Guide' compilation series and artists from Peter Gabriel's Real World label, playing a slew of Akron artists, and adding more choice cuts from the 'vault' all as part of today's programming. Both the Rough Guide and Real World labels have been...

Transmusic Airwaves presents the EASTER WEEK SPECIAL. Today I'm returning to the archives and replaying my Easter week special from March 29, 2013 that was broadcast on SFCR - San Francisco Community Radio. Below is the program details and set listing for the this special 'rewind!' This week I’m devoting the entire second half of my show to what else, EASTER? And for those of you who choose to lis...

It seems that March has flown by this year and as we complete the first full week of spring, I'll celebrate with music from MCKENDREE SPRING, BRUCE COCKBURN, and DAEVID ALLEN to start off this edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #412). Following those artists, I've assembled another great show with lots of twists (musically) to keep it interesting including completing that first set with a rem...

It amazes me sometimes that even a TV commercial can lead to a moment of inspiration and that's exactly what happened on this week's TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #411). Amidst watching a nature program a commercial for a trendy item aired during the break, and there was an element of familiarity in the background music for the ad. Immediately I knew that a track by the artist, the African psychede...

On this week's TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #410) I'll salute the late Michael Stanley, reminisce about the last live event I attended before the lock-down (the Akron Music Awards) by playing the bands that were honored there, produce a Gamelan inspired set, and in general keep the great music flowing as the light at the end of the tunnel gets brighter these days. Leading things off this week is S...

It's time for another weekly tour through my 'musical mindscape' with the latest edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #409). Each week's journey varies widely as a program evolves based on several loosely formed outlines from song choices I've compiled and thrown into a specific show's folder. That folder always includes new releases, tracks I've initially chosen from the 'vault,' a group or tr...

On this edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #408) I'll celebrate the eighth anniversary of this program under it's current name as I continue to bring the listener my vision of freeform radio. That concept has always involved various musical genres, spoken word, and comedy seamlessly blended and intergrated into six sets over the course of three hours. Things get started today with WILCO (from...

Transmusic Airwaves presents a special 'rewind' from my radio archives originally broadcast on March 8, 2013 on KUSF-In-Exile, San Francisco Community Radio. It's the debut of my very first 'Character Study,' featuring the life and and music of KEVIN AYERS, shortly after he passed away in 2013. Here are the program notes and the playlist from that program. Enjoy! Today on the 3rd installment of Tr...

It was with great sadness that we learned last week of the passing of jazz legend CHICK COREA, so in honor of his legacy, on today's TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #407) I'll incorporate a composition from various points in his career (including his work on Miles Davis's 'Bitches Brew') into each of today's six sets. It all starts off with 'You're Everything' from the RETURN TO FOREVER album, 'Light...

It's mid-February already and there's no telling when this bone chilling cold snap will release it's grip so why not just settle in with that giant quilt you pulled from the closet weeks ago, grab a hot beverage, and listen to my latest TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #406). I've got my usual bag of goodies (new releases, international tracks, jazz, psychedelic, and 'vault' classics to name a few) li...

On this week's TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #405) I'll delve into how I go about creating each program and the realization that the very first artist that I pick to lead off each show usually determines the overall success of that show. That may seem like I've oversimplified it to some of my listeners so I'll actually walk you through the entire process of this program as it's assembled. I decided...

It's hard to believe the entire month of January is nearly over as I prepare yet another weekly foray into the world of freeform radio, but here we are, and I remain as excited as I've ever been with this edition of TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #404). Assembling the show has become almost second nature to me, but like everyone else, I hit a couple of creative road blocks this time and spent some a...

There's a few new things that arrived this week (in addition to the new occupant in the White House) so during the latest TRANSMUSIC AIRWAVES (Episode #403) I'll add those musical gifts to my usual programming while doing my best to unify a diverse array of musical style's into six cohesive sets over the course of today's program. LEO KOTTKE* (with MIKE GORDON) from his latest offering 'Noon' gets...