Put Your Money Where Your Ears Are!

CKUT funding drive, March 30 - April 9


If you read this blog then it's safe to assume that you listen to CKUT at least once in a while.

Well, now is the time to think about what it is worth to you to have this independent cultural beacon broadcasting in our belle ville (and worldwide on the net too, of course), and consider contributing a few bucks to help the station keep on keepin on.

You may have heard that the students of McGill voted in a recent referendum to continue giving $4 per semester from their student fees to fund the station - and we thank them heartily for that! - but did you know that this represents just 40% of the station's operating budget? This year we are asking listeners to help keep the station going by sending in a measly $70 000 in total. In return, anyone with a radio or an internet connection can enjoy an astounding variety of aural riches for another year.

To this end, CKUT will be haranguing you non-stop until midnight on Sunday April 9. We on the Free Kick show will do our bit of pleading on Saturday April 1 from 9-11 pm Eastern time, while spinning the usual eclectic selection of tunes.

If you like the Free Kick show, or any others on CKUT 90.3 fm, remember that without financial support from our listeners, we simply could not continue broadcasting. So please think about making a pledge - even the small ones make a difference. The phone number for pledging is :

(514) 398 8991

and you can also pledge on the CKUT website. You can do it right now in fact.

Whew! Now that we've finished with that, you might want to look at these videos of Robert Wyatt, Soft Machine, Caravan and so on.

If that's not your thing, how about Konono no.1, Bebel Gilberto, & Taraf de Haidouks, among others? For those of you who haven't heard, Konono No. 1 will be in Montreal for the Jazz Festival in July - hooray!

bye now
Dave

March 18 2006 - Murga Memories of Montevideo
Another other Saturday night, another freeform hoedown! With Shawn back from his travels bringing us, among other things, a Beatles medley done in Uruguayan carnival rave-up style, the Free Kick zone was the place to be...

The list of tunes we played is here. Check it out, we added tons of interesting web links!

Elis Regina!
About this time last year I was in the midst of a three-month stint filling in for Dan Behrman (AKA The Immigrant) on CKUT 90.3 FM, Wednesday nights from 10-midnight. I called that show the Bluebird Lounge, and I usually tried to present little feature segments each week focusing on a particular artist or musical style. On March 17 2005 that spot was devoted to Elis Regina, who would have been 60 years old on that St.Patrick's Day (were she still with us - she died in January 1982, only 36 years old).

In my opinion, Elis is one of the greatest singers ever. She was born on March 17 1945 in Porto Alegre, Brazil and began singing professionally in her early teens. She made her first record at the age of 15 and and within a few years rose to fame through recordings and TV appearances in Rio. By 1966 she was a huge star, reportedly the highest paid singer in Brazil, and continued as such until her death. You can find a little more info about her life here.

Elis was known for her tempestuous character, on- and off-stage, which earned her nicknames like "furacao" (hurricane) and "pimentinha" (little pepper). Her edgy ebullience comes through loud and clear in her music - about as far from the cliche of bossa-nova cool as you can get, - shining particularly in performances of fantastic songs by Milton Nascimento, Tom Jobim, Gilberto Gil, and the rest of the usual suspects.

To mark her 61st birthday, I am posting the Elis Regina segment of last year's show, which includes my some of my favourite tracks, dating mainly from the mid to late 60s (about 17 MB). Enjoy ! - Sorry, it's been taken down.

title (composer)

• Roda (Gilberto Gil)
  
• Cancao do sal (Milton Nascimento)
• Upa neguinho (Edu Lobo)
• Vera cruz (Milton Nascimento)
• Aguas de marco (Tom Jobim)
• Vou deitar e rolar (qua qua ra qua qua) (Baden Powell)

Remember to listen to the next edition of the Free Kick on CKUT 90.3 FM this Saturday, March 18, from 9-11 pm eastern time.

Hello, How Do You Do Tube?
Hi folks, I hope this finds you all well. Do you feel the spring in the air?

• Here's some news: Free Kick show playlists are now posted over on freekick.ca . So go check out them out or risk being recognized as a square, baby. Just kidding.

This is a quick post with a few tips regarding some videos available on the interweb. Actually, I am just talking about youtube , a site that allows people to upload video clips for viewing by anyone with a web browser (and a fast internet connection). There is a staggering amount of great professional stuff on this site - just search for a few of your favourite musicians, you'll be surprised - and a few interesting amateur music videos, as well as a lot of footage of teenagers goofing off in their bedrooms. Of course, much of this material is copyrighted etc. and the site is an obvious potential target for harrassment by the entertainment industry (I hear NBC already got a Saturday Night Live sketch removed) .

So, enjoy it while you can. Here are some suggestions. These links take to pages that automatically load the (flash-encoded) videos in your browser; you can also download and save them, as described a bit further down.

First of all, a few who have recently left us - rest in peace!

• Ray Barretto
  
• Ali Farka Toure
  
• Ivor Cutler

And some more...

• The Mothers of Invention on French TV, 1968
  
• Chico Science & Nacao Zumbi - Maracatu Atomico
  
• Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit
  
• Afrirampo - akankonomamakaesanai
• Can - Paperhouse

Bye now, & remember to listen this Saturday on CKUT 90.3 fm from 9-11 pm eastern when the Free Kick returns, with Shawn safely back from exotic Uruguay!

Now, about saving those videos on your own computer... it's discussed here.

March 4 2006 - Freekickalicious!
In the absence of Shawn, I had to split myself in two... Hope you liked it!

(oops - hold on, it's Robert Altman on the Oscar show - hooray! About freaking time, even if it is just an "honorary" award.)

Alright, now I'll get right to posting the playlist for Saturday's show (note that I stayed on for an extra hour to fill in for the following show, but I didn't include those tracks in the list. Post a comment or email me at daveatfreekickdotca if you want info.)

(artist - album (VA-various artists) - song)

• Chuck D. - Autobiography of Mistachuck - No
• Rahsaan Roland Kirk - Left & Right - Black Mystery Has Been Revealed
  
• Ray Barretto - Acid - The Soul Drummers
• Bettye Lavette - Soul Underground Vol. 1 (VA) - I Feel Good (All Over)
• Honey Cone - Soulful Sugar - While You're Out Looking For Sugar
• Marva Whitney w/ James Brown - James Brown's Original Funky Divas (VA) - You Got To Have A Job (If You Don't Work You Don't Eat)
• The Brides Of Funkenstein - Live At The Howard Theatre - Birdie
• John Lee Hooker - Trilogy - House Rent Boogie
• Afrirampo - Urusa In Japan - track 2
• Bango - Bango - Inferno No Mundo
• Gal Costa - Gal Costa (1969) - Tuareg
• Tinariwen - Amassoukoul - Oualahila Ar Tesninam
• Fela Kuti - Yellow Fever - Yellow Fever
• Deerhoof - The Runners Four - O'Malley Former Underdog
• Ennio Morricone - Crime And Dissonance - Memento
• Goblin - Suspiria S/T - Sighs
• Can - Ege Bamyasi - I'm So Green
• Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen - Autonomy
• The Dedication Orchestra (Louis Moholo) - Ixesha (Time) - I Wish You Sunshine
• Cedric Brooks & The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari - One Truth - Song For South Africa
• talkover music: Lennie Hibbert - Studio 1 Roots (VA) - More Creation