Indie 103.1 FM is no longer on the air, in case you haven’t heard. This was the only station that I would listen to in my car. They had shows that included music from virtually every genre punk, metal, reggae, country/rockabilly, funk, electronica, jazz and even middle-eastern music (thank you Henry Rollins with Harmony In My Head). They also featured many big name dj’s such as Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols, Henry Rollins of Black Flag, Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction and even Rob Zombie at some point. There is no radio station on terrestrial radio that can compare before or after. They can be heard online now (click here), but have cut back on the number of djs (Thank God Henry Rollins Harmony In My Head is still on).
On their last day on terrestrial radio, they played straight ahead punk songs from X, The Clash, The Buzzcocks (“Harmony In My Head”), Black Flag (“Gimme Gimme Gimme”), and The Sex Pistols (“Anarchy In the UK) . At least they gave the last F.U. to terrestrial radio with their last statement (read below) and by playing the cover of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” done brilliantly done by Sid Vicious.
“Indie 103.1 will cease broadcasting over this frequency effective immediately. Because of changes in the radio industry and the way radio audiences are measured, stations in this market are being forced to play too much Britney, Puffy and alternative music that is neither new nor cutting edge. Due to these challenges, Indie 103.1 was recently faced with only one option — to play the corporate radio game.
We have decided not to play that game any longer. Rather than changing the sound, spirit, and soul of what has made Indie 103.1 great Indie 103.1 will bid farewell to the terrestrial airwaves and take an alternative course.”
Well it’s been a month and a week or two, since I have been unemployed (Feels like a week to be honest). Part of a massive layoff (approximately 22 at the same time), which helped me feel less strange because I was part of a group. I could see it coming with the many changing faces, the outsourcing and the economy. It seemed to have become a revolving door long before I was let go.
I first saw Leon Redbone on a SNL 70’s rerun doing a tune called “Harvest Moon”. After hearing his voice, I knew I had heard it somewhere and that place was a cover of “Frosty The Snowman”. I had to check out some of his work and it was wonderful if you like his sort of style. Albums On the Track and Double Time showcased his unique style and blend of jazz, folk and blues standards.
By Far the Best and Most Comprehensive DVD in the lot. You get the whole spiel on thrash metal history. Starting and giving props to Metallica and even more importantly bassist Cliff Burton (R.I.P.). Interviews with Anthrax and Kirk Hammett (of Metallica) describe him as a quiet shadowy figure. Kirk said he would always practice guitar, so much so that Kirk would have to join him (Note: Cliff wasn’t even the guitarist!!!) It goes on to show the other 3 major thrash bands of the time Anthrax, Slayer and Megadeth. Then the documentary dives into another level of thrash metal bands under them with bands such as Death Angel, Kreator, and Overkill. And the extra features go by region and feature even more bands. A personal favorite of mine is the Canadian band Annihilator. I found out guitarist Jeff Young was asked to join Megadeth. All in all, this documentary is like a visual Heavy Metal Thrash magazine and gives you insight into the fact that Metallica wasn’t the only Heavy Metal Thrash band.
This is another documentary, but only available at Best Buy as a 4-disc set (3 DVDs and 1 CD). This is the only documentary of Tom Petty worth checking out. The first two dvds are detail Tom Petty and The HeartBreakers start in Gainesville, Florida to present. You get insight as to what happened to Tom Petty and his band at the time (now called Mudcrutch) when he arrived in Hollywood. The inner turmoil with his drummer and eventual dismissal. The cons would be the later part of the 90’s are skimmed over quickly. The She’s The One soundtrack and albums Echo, The Last DJ and Highway Companion are skimmed over as footnotes and instead the last half is filled with a lot more filler as a result. The 3rd DVD is a crystal clear view of Tom Petty in concert. The best you can find as of this time and includes most of his hits. Although it leaves out the song “You Don’t Know How It Feels” and “Yer So Bad”, it makes up with special guests Stevie Nicks and a stunning rendition of “Southern Accents”. The CD is mainly of unreleased songs such as “Honey Bee” with Dave Navarro on SNL and a cover of Hank Williams “Lost Highway”. Overall, one of the best buys this year ($14.99 at bestbuy.com), no pun intended.