LIC Radio

Jorge Luis Borges, 1951 Photo by Grete Stern Oh man, today was fun. Today Brett and I discussed the genre of sunshine pop, esoteric percussion, and songs about 60s and 70s television. In the process, I believe that we put the lie to the notion that Batman is connected with excess of sodium. Listen to the show and you’ll know what I mean.   On a less goofy note, we opened the show with a haunting instrumental composed by the ever-inventive John Zorn, inspired by the work of the great Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, born on this day in 1999.     Click here to check it out: LIC Radio 8/24/2026     John Zorn “The Forking Path” (John Zorn) From A Garden of Forking Paths   (Tzadik, 2022)   Guitars: Bill Frisell, Gyan Riley, Julian Lage   The stores of Jorge Luis Borges (August 24 th , 1899 – June 14 th , 1986) explored concepts of dreams, labyrinths, chance, and construction of mythology. His story “The Garden of Forking Paths” explores the metaphys...

Fun show. Post-motrum to come, but here is the playlist: Santana “Every Step of the Way” (Michael Shrieve) Dillon Stadium, Hartford, CT, 8/17/73 Studio version released on Caravanserai   (Columbia/CBS, 1972)     Keely Smith "The Song Is You" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Jerome Kern) From Politely!   (Capitol, 1958)     Miss Maybell and Her Ragtime Romeos “New York, I’m All for You”   (from 1917) (Edwin Weber) From Under the Midnight Moon   (Rivermont, 2026)     Big Bill Broonzy “I Feel So Good” (Big Bill Broonzy) Single A-side (Okeh, 1942)  (Okeh, 1942)     Boz Scaggs “I Feel So Good” (Big Bill Broonzy) Pacific High Studios, San Francisco, CA, 12/19/71 Originally recorded by Big Bill Broonzy; released as single A-side (Okeh, 1942)       The Who “Amazing Journey” > “Sparks” (Pete Townshend) Woodstock Music and Art Fair, Bethel, NY, 8/17/69 Studio versions released on Tommy   (Track/Decca, 1969)   ...

The late, great Ronnie Spector Seriously, this is the third week in a row where my voice has been complete shit. I guess bronchitis will do that to you, but this has gone on way too long. I also ended up missing three days of work. Evidently, people don’t want their bartenders to be hocking up a lung while making their drinks. The upside to this, however, was that I had quite a bit of extra time to plan the show. Not to give away too much of my “process,” while the birthdays often inspire some good musical choices, they frequently are off the cuff, last-minute picks.   Today, I believe, they were the highlights of the show.   The late, great Ronnie Spector was the woman of the hour. The embryonic recording of “Be My Baby,” not yet adorned by backing vocals and orchestra, is quite enlightening. Hearing her vocal before it got wedged between the cracks of the “wall of sound” gives the listener a chance to really hear her voice and phrasing. Her live tracks, backed by the Asbury ...

Photo by Richard E. Aaron One week later and I still feel and sound like shit. I thought I was getting better, but then…   In any event, I powered through and there were some nice gems in there today. Def Leppard covering CCR is something I never thought I would hear. Metallica covering Queen was much better than I thought it would be.   The highlight of the show, I think, is the complete live recording of the debut performance of “Purple Rain.” Captured during a benefit concert for the Minnesota Dance Theatre at the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis, this recording served as the basic track to the version that appeared, after some editing and overdubs, in the film and its soundtrack. It is almost five minutes longer than the officially released version. I did the best I could in the time allowed to fix some issued with the source tape. It is definitely worth a listen.   Click here to check it out: LIC Radio 8/3/2026         Weather Report “Boogie ...