Donde No Hay Sufrimiento: Transmission 155, 2014 September 28

Here is a detour from regular programming, apparently. Every now and then some offhand remark will throw me off balance for an unconscionably long stretch, and about a month ago Slade the Engineer, hearing me cue a T. Rex track, remarked that "this is a happy song for your show." Really? Anyway I decided to use this fill-in program to play nothing but "happy" tunes, whatever that means. I'm still not sure. I shouldn't take these things to heart when they come from someone who likes jazz, so I guess it's my issue.

About 15 years ago I went through my music collection and culled all the pieces that I thought were "too depressing" ("Gothic crap," as I think I termed it then). I jettisoned about a third of my collection this way. I thought only the happy stuff was left. But in assembling this program, I realized just how rare thoroughly happy music is, and I'm doubtful that I managed to play any of it. It seems I have a lot of work to do.

You know what it is about "happy" music? It's brief, so if you try to play two straight hours of it, it makes you frantic. It's difficult to make proper segues happen. It doesn't have much in the way of atmosphere or quiet margins. It begins and ends abruptly. Its "musicality" is very traditional and doesn't have much to do with sound per se. No wonder it's not my thing!

The Boyoyo Boys are fantastic, though. They deserve better than the admiration of Paul Simon, or proximity to anything David Lowery's done.

BOMBAST playlist, 2014 September 28, 2100-2300:

1. "Let The Music Play" | 400 Blows | Look | Trance - Line
2. "Melvin" | Thee Headcoatees | Girlsville | Damaged Goods
3. "Maraba Start 500" | The Boyoyo Boys | Back In Town | Rounder | "Physical Evidence"
4. "Programme 7" | Dr Calculus | Programme 7 | 10
5. "Kickin' Back" | Beachbuggy | Sport Fury | Poptones
6. "Breaking Down The Pressure" | Singers & Players | Breaking Down The Pressure | On-U Sound
7. "Dube Station" | The Boyoyo Boys | Back In Town | Rounder | "Physical Evidence"
8. "It's Wonderful" | The Durutti Column | Keep Breathing | Artful
9. "Shake Baby Shake" | Johnny O'Keefe | Sin Alley Volume 3 | Crypt
10. "Daveyton Special" | The Boyoyo Boys | Back In Town | Rounder | "Physical Evidence"
11. "Tina" | Camper Van Beethoven | Telephone Free Landslide Victory | Independent Project
12. "Silver Screen" | Felix da Housecat | Kittenz And Thee Glitz | City Rockers
13. "Isla de Encanta" | Pixies | Come On Pilgrim | 4AD - Rough Trade
14. "Phoenix City" | Roland Alphonzo | Bonanza Ska | Trojan
15. "Mickey Way" | A Certain Ratio | Mickey Way (The Candy Bar) | Factory
16. "Brakpan No. 2" | The Boyoyo Boys | Back In Town | Rounder | "Physical Evidence"
17. "Soul Typecast" | Jon Spencer Blues Explosion | Extra Width | Matador
18. "Back In Town" | The Boyoyo Boys | Back In Town | Rounder | "Physical Evidence"
19. "Bring On The China" | Pell Mell | Flow | SST
20. "Hymn" | African Head Charge | Songs Of Praise | On-U Sound
21. "Back in Denim" | Denim | Back In Denim | Junior Boys' Own
22. "Duba Duba" | The Boyoyo Boys | Back In Town | Rounder | "Physical Evidence"
23. "Tighten Up" | James Brown | Say It Live And Loud | Polydor
24. "Archie Special" | The Boyoyo Boys | Back In Town | Rounder | "Physical Evidence"
25. "The Devil Is My Friend" | The Jazz Butcher | The Human Jungle | Glass
26. "Your Ace From Outer Space" | U Roy | Version of Wisdom | Front Line - Virgin
27. "Wonderful World" | Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart | Rising Above Bedlam | Atlantic

next time: there but not there. Enjoy the music! --kid catharsis