DJ Mike Lidskin spent ten years at a National Public Radio station in Chicago, returned to California in 1997 and created Twirl Radio, and now hosts 30 hours of programming a month at Woody Radio. His two shows, “The Show With No Name” and “The Saturday Thing”, feature the finest independent music and artists from the rock era. Mike’s on a mission to not “just spin rock music, but to educate listeners about this vital art form.” Indeed, he doesn’t just announce the songs, but gives histories about some of the artists, the albums, and the songs themselves.
You can catch the DJ Mike Shows live on Tuesday nights at 8:00 p.m. PST and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m. PST at Woody Radio, http://www.woodyradio.com.
Artist | Track | Album
Mad Tea Party | Blues Slip In | Found A Reason
The Chandler Travis Philharmonic | Sexy Ivan With Bongo | The Ivan Variations
Gail George with Early Times | Gonna Get Worse | The Barrio Sessions
XTC | No Thugs in Our House | English Settlement
Natalie Cortez & the Ultra Violets | Take You Home | Stupid Fresh Or Stupid Bad
The Amplifier Heads | Black Mascara | Music For Abandoned Amusement Parks
Maple Mars | Borrowed Sunshine | Galaxyland
Elizabeth McCullough interview
Alpha Cat | Something of Value | Pearl Harbor 2020
Alpha Cat | Straw Hat | Pearl Harbor 2020
Alpha Cat | (Something having to do with) Spring | Pearl Harbor 2020
The Who | Bell Boy | Quadrophenia
Lisa Mychols & SUPER 8 | Witchi Tai To | LISA MYCHOLS & SUPER 8
The Sleep Junkies | The FIrst Time Is Never The Last Time | The Fowl Tone Sampler
R. Stevie Moore and Jason Falkner | I Am The Best For You | Make It Be
Kaz Murphy | Hardly Think About That | Home For Misfits
Dolph Chaney | Cuddle Party | This Is Dolph Chaney
Lisa Said | Some Dudes | Estranged
The Corner Laughers | For The Sake Of The Cat | Ultraviolet Garden
Lannie Flowers | What Did I Know | March To Home
Iggy Pop | Something Wild | Brick By Brick
Suburban Urchins | Squalor At 59 | Born In The Suburbs
Brandi Ediss | Linoleum | Bees and Bees and Bees
Allyson Seconds and Anton Barbeau | Neil Young Song | Bag of Kittens (2020 Reissue)
Sunshine Boys | Every Step | Work and Love
Ryan and Pony | Trouble In Mind | Moshi Moshi
Rachel Taylor Brown | We’ll Have A | Falimy
Yung Wu | Shore Leave | Shore Leave
Krista D | Steady | Single release
Glenn Case | Old Problem | That Sound, That Vibe
The Police | So Lonely | Outlandos d’Amour
Cast | Alright | All Change
Nick Lowe | Shake That Rat | Bowi
Hannah Judson | Parachute | Stingray
Sparklejet | Somewhere Along The Way | Phonovella
The Schramms | Hearts And Diamonds | Omnidirectional
Elvis Costello | This Year’s Girl | This Year’s Model
The UNDECIDED by Default | Fangin’ it | Totally Undecided
Felsen | Self Medicate | Accidental Drowning
The Stan Laurels | Florida Man | There Is No Light Without The Dark
Petrified Max | Year Gone By | Year Gone By
The Vulgar Boatmen | Change the World All Around | You and Your Sister
Danny Wilkerson | Carry The One | Wilkerson
Sue Leonard | Who Wrote This Book On Love | Leonardville
Rooftop Screamers | The Ladder |
Marshall Holland | Waiting For That Peace & Love | Paper Airplane
Adam Marsland | Cut and Run | Go West
John Wesley Harding | Dead Centre Of Town | Why We Fight
THIS WEEK’S GUEST:
On this show, Elizabeth McCullough of Alpha Cat returns with some more new music for us to hear. Sort of.
It seems like it was only last July that I last chatted with Elizabeth on my show. That’s because–she was on my July 18th show! That’s when we met for the first time, and so I had a lot of questions about Elizabeth herself–her musical origins, the origin of Alpha Cat, and of course, we chatted about the album that was out at the time, Thatched Roof Glass House.
Fast forward to now, and hey, since we’re kind of old friends, we cut right to the chase–we talked about the reissue of the magnificent record, Pearl Harbor 2020.
To be technically correct, it was called Pearl Harbor when it was originally released in 2001, just after 9/11 (but presciently recorded before). The timing was unfortunate. The tastemakers and the listening public were probably not ready for an album with that name, an image of an exploded bomb from World War II on the cover, and a song containing sound effects of a glass building falling down. It didn’t really get the attention it deserved at the time. Although it’s being released right now, in February 2021, it’s called Pearl Harbor 2020 for obvious historical reasons, considering how large last year looms in our collective psyche.
It really is a great, cohesive musical piece, augmented by a couple of additional tracks that round it out. The song sequencing is really important, and the album works best if listened to all the way through, in one sitting. The songs mark a journey, from sadness and loss to redemption and a way to a better future. The centerpiece upon which the album turns is the title track, Pearl Harbor, right in the middle of the set. The whole album is very listenable. It rocks rather hard. Elizabeth’s smoky, powerful voice delivers the goods, and her band is the well-oiled machine that drives her vision and songs.
We also talked about one of the recently-added songs, (Something Having To Do With) Spring. This one literally saved somebody’s life. Sobering. There will be a video released sometime in the future, which illustrates this powerful and meaningful song.
I cannot recommend Pearl Harbor 2020 enough, and it comes out this week. More information at https://alphacat.band/
