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Seth Hoffman Performs On The Children's Radio Hour
To celebrate teachers and the end of school, The Children's Hour featured Albuquerque musician and teacher, Seth Hoffman performing his untitled ode to teachers. The performance was live in our studios, with Seth on banjo, and aired May 26, 2007. Seth teaches 3rd grade at East San Jose Elementary, a bilingual public school in Albuquerque's South Valley.
Click on the link below to hear Seth's cool song!
Listen: MP3 audio
Mr. Hoffman's MySpace page!
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Playlists Now Online!
Listeners have been wanting it, so here's the KUNM Playlists Online. The playlists are as comprehensive as we can make them, but please keep in mind that these lists are maintained by our vounteer programmers. Please feel free to drop them notes of encouragement!
Click here to see the playlists
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Music You Won't Hear Anywhere Else!
Requests/On-air DJ Phone: 505-277-5615
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Music Info and Releases
If you are a musician, band or a label with new music -- or if you are going to be playing live in New Mexico, be sure to let our Music Department know.
music@kunm.org
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About Music on KUNM
Getting information about a piece of music played on a locally produced music program may take some persistence! First, try calling the programmer on the request line, at 505-277-5615, while the show is still in progress. If you don't get through (programmers cannot always answer the phone during a show), note the day, date and time, and a description of the piece. Try calling the request line again as soon as the program ends. Or, contact the Music Department later. They may be able to reference the play list (if you provide the date and time) and identify the piece.
You can also check out our message boards (for local programming) using the link below.
Music Program Pages and Message Boards
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Schedule interviews, submit recorded music
Phone: 505-277-8022
Address:
KUNM-FM
Music Dept.
Oñate Hall, UNM
Albuquerque, NM 87131-1011
music@kunm.org
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Latest Column by the Music Director...
Rounding Up 2006
January 1, 2007
by M. Finch, Music Director
A Best Of 2006? Not quite. Music is much too personal, tastes too subjective, and no, we don’t get every single release, so best to consider this a short survey of notable (to me) 2006 releases … with a few trends thrown in … and maybe a snark or two … and some wholly bogus awards just to make it seem Official:
The universe of Pop 2006 was such a parade of tabloid buffoonery that you’d be forgiven for giving up on Pop Music as just another social disease, but think of what you missed:
1. “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. The Cee-Lo/Danger Mouse project’s single evokes the breakout songs of Terrence Trent D’Arby and was hands-down the genre-crossing song of the summer. We started spinning it as soon as it came in, and within 10 days the song was all over the dial (generally that’s our cue to lay off a CD). Some reports have it that this collaboration began as a side project, the artists unconcerned about a mass audience. If so, the success of the “St. Elsewhere” album says a lot about what musicians can do when freed of career concerns.
2. Career concerns were all people thought the Dixie Chicks had left before they released “Taking the Long Way,” and we got calls from listeners glad to hear at least someone was playing this “banned” CD. Life after “The Comment” informs much of the record, but in true Chicks fashion that life was full of so much more than just that noise: new motherhood, aging parents, the love/hate relationship with the places that formed you. On balance it seemed the Chicks spoke to family values far better than did their detractors and were so blunt about it that any charges of political show-boating, much less or being victims of a trans-continental mind-meld with Michael Moore, were laid to rest in ‘06. And by the end of the year they were quietly slipping back onto commercial Country playlists. Theirs is an important story because these days even the best-intentioned artists can find themselves sucked into the 4th grade food fight that passes for political discourse. The Chicks provided an object lesson in how to stand up to that, may our political hopefuls learn it too.
3. Before the release of “The Greatest” any mention of Cat Power would come with tags like “cult artist” or “emerging oddball” but Chan Marshall’s own back-from-the-abyss story coupled with these powerful Memphis sessions and guest turns like her duet with Karen Elson on the tribute CD “M. Gainsbourg” introduced this frosty-voiced songwriter to the pop audience at just the right time.
4. Burt Bacharach’s contributions to American Pop are indelible and continued through this year, just not in the manner he intended. He released “At this Time,” a gloomy song cycle about the kind of world his children face, but this outspoken effort was totally eclipsed by the Bacharach ditty that ruled the airwaves, “I Was Hit in the Rear.”
The tide of Jazz releases in ‘06 in all styles, from all points, labels big & tiny, was a bit overwhelming for this Music Director; credit the steadfast Jazz champions in performance venues and non-commercial radio across the state. (New Mexico boosters with a fondness for the term “destination” need look no further than the Jazz scene to see how it’s done.) I’ll leave it to KUNM’s Jazz specialists to judge the top releases, though I did have some sentimental favorites:
“Simpatico” by The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project. A very lush take on Latin Jazz made earthier by guest vocalist Lila Downs … “Do the Boomerang” Don Byron’s second release of 2006 in which the restless reed-man puts down his clarinet to take up tenor sax in tribute to Junior Walker (& briefly, James Brown) with an assist from Chris Thomas King on guitar and vocals … “ER” by trumpeter Nils Petter Molvaer, a spooky exploration of brass & electronics … How’ bout some rangy Afro-Cuban workouts with Arabic figures? That would be “Welcome to My World” an independent release by Miguel Romero.
Rock veterans Van Morrison (“Pay the Devil”) and Los Lobos (“The Town and the City”) made important additions to their catalogs in 2006, and Bob Dylan’s “Modern Times” continued his late-career winning streak (the lean & hungry one even topped the Billboard album charts for the first time in 30 years).
Neil Young’s urgent opus “Living with War” arrived as a kind of challenge to younger musicians to address our national distress, and he was tersely reminded that younger musicians by the hundreds have been doing just that all along. Neil had the grace to post one such response on his own website before taking off on The Free Speech Tour with CS&N. Just as urgent, and far more dimensional, was the Elvis Costello/Allen Toussaint project “The River in Reverse” one of more than a dozen albums dedicated to the relief and survival of the people of New Orleans … wherever they may be.
Yet Bruce Springsteen’s “The Seeger Sessions” was the signal boomer generation achievement of 2006, in part because this project could have gone so wrong in so many ways: Pete Seeger was already the iconic “Pete” by the time Springsteen began to check out his catalog, and “The Boss” – an icon himself – isn’t above fits of earnestness. What could have been a Mount Rushmore conversation – all stony and righteous – turned out to be an ass-kicking good time with Springsteen and his burly acoustic band serving up all-but-live versions of songs written or championed by a Seeger more man than icon. In the process these Sessions celebrate precisely the vitality, humor and anger that tend to be lost when we make icons of our favorite musicians.
“I wish this song was louder!” Warren Zevon may be gone, but he’s not forgotten, not judging by “Switzerland” from The Electric Six. While this hard rocking outfit’s musically on a rather different planet than Zevon, lyrically they’re his bastard children and treat each song on this album as an opportunity for mordant, miserable fun. And in a year where once again Rock was struggling against the four-chords-&-nothing-to-say syndrome, the guitar & drums (& nothing more) sound of The Black Keys’ “Magic Potion” provided one alternative.
2005 saw Latin artists & beats come to the rescue of “Chill” music which was close to becoming a 21st century Muzak from Nowhere; the trend continued with releases from Brazil, Mexico and the cosmopolitan dance floors of Europe, even as a new kind of Latin funk – no, not Reggaeton – became more than just flavor of the month. A fine example of this was “11:11” by Tita Lima, daughter of a founding member of Brazil’s legendary psychedelic group Os Mutantes.
Elegant, eccentric, bewitching and original, “Son” by Argentina’s Juana Molina and “Le Fil” by French vocal dynamo Camille charted new territory in song style and left most American songwriters looking tired by comparison.
This was the first year in over a decade that I didn’t come across a Blues release of exceptional daring or depth, but I’m sure our “Blues Show” DJs will prove me wrong. Keb’ Mo’s Soul-inflected “Suitcase” was as infectious as any album in any genre, and slide master Bob Brozman who’s better known for Hawai’ian & International work returned to his roots in fine style on “Blues Reflex.”
Folk & semi-acoustic releases in 2006 all took a back seat to “Last Days of Wonder” by the Handsome Family. The sweet-bye-and-bye becomes a circle of Hell in this toe-tapping exploration of the Great American Gruesome, and whether the band’s based in New Mexico (they are) or Neptune (they could be) the off-hand approach to myth-making puts these ballads right at home alongside the work of David Lynch, Annie Proulx and Flannery O’Connor. If there’s any justice in this world this makes Album of the Year … which there isn’t.
The intentionally nebulous field of Americana continued to be home to high craft and deep roots, and surprisingly it was NYC not Portland or Austin that incubated some of the best: the band Hazmat Modine defied down home definitions of Americana by placing immigrant sounds (in their case, Balkan) into a blues vibe and inviting Tuvan all-stars Hun Huur Tu to add vocals on the CD “Bahamut.” Watch for this band to throw more curves – and be less stingy with the songs -- in their next release … The female-led Pistolera kicked Frontera style into a semi-electric place on “Siempre Hay Salida” but never lost that driving accordion flavor of the border’s roots music … And the Little Willies began life as a country-flavored pick-up band in Tribeca’s Living Room space with no aspirations of releasing a record, after all, a line-up that includes Richard Julian, Lee Alexander & Norah Jones has other records to think about. The band was so disarmingly fun that they found time to record a disarmingly fun self-titled album, and Jones fans got to hear a less calculated side of the starlet.
Not to be outdone, New Mexico’s Boris McCutcheon moved into vibrant and funny new territory in “Cactus Man Versus the Blue Demon.” “Vibrant and funny new territory” also applies to “The Red Road” Arigon Starr’s one-woman original cast recording – watch for this to return in new incarnations over coming years.
The passing in 2006 of Ali Farka Toure would be enough to elevate his final completed record “Savanne” to any notable list, but this CD is strong beyond any circumstance of timing. Although his reputation in the States grew as part of an overall interest in international fusions and Afro-pop, the Malian master more typically presented his work as direct from the source and needing little embellishment beyond amplification and, thankfully, full lyric translations. “Savanne” is a study in how songs can be spare and majestic at the same time.
A steely opus that allows for rhythm only under extreme pressure, Dwight Ashley’s “Ataxia” reasserted ambient music’s reputation as “mood music for post-moderns.” The mood here is of foreboding, but what makes ambients so compelling is that a listener can respond in unexpected ways: you may as easily find yourself blissing out as hiding under the bed.
Remix culture emerged from novelty status long ago and continues to perplex, anger, delight & educate listeners world-wide. “Nina Simone: Remixed & Reimagined” was this year’s strongest. It would be hard to imagine an artist whose fans have less need for the Remix Treatment, but then there are few voices that stand up so well to it. The producers here wisely chose Simone’s late 60s soul & pop sides, including outtakes, as raw material and approached them with the same careful touch as last year’s remix masterpiece “Impulsive!” … The ongoing Electric Gypsyland project invited an international ensemble to take on Balkan Gypsy originals on “EGII” and like many remixers added a disc of the original tunes … More a mash-up than a remix, George Martin returned one last time to the Beatles’ vault to create “Love” and found intoxicating new ways to apply the very strategies they employed back when; with the exception of two clunky takes on early rockers the whole album feels like side 2 of “Abbey Road” … & you know that can’t be bad.
Another cause for relief in ‘06 was the decline of the dreaded Duets Album. How did a sub-genre that came on the scene with such promise –esteemed players of different styles & generations working on a song of their own choosing in the electric space of a sound studio – go so limp? They didn’t make the kind of record Jerry Lee Lewis and his pals did. This “Duets” out-did all others by sticking to the original idea: get a piano, surround it with gear, invite Keith Richards, Neil Young, George Jones & Co. to come on by and just dare them to keep up with the Killer. Engineered for maximum snap & crackle, this sloppy throw-down is everything the others are not … you may want some cocktails to appreciate it fully.
In contrast, Tribute Albums (the Duets’ hardier older siblings) continued in fine form, viz. the Seeger, Walker and Gainsbourg projects mentioned above, as well as “I’m Your Man” a live recording of Leonard Cohen songs (also a film) and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s overpowering “What’s Going On?” A special pleasure was the Hal Wilner/Johnny Depp-produced “Rogues Gallery,” a 2CD set of pirate & maritime songs as done by an off-beat and in one case incognito roster of artists … supposedly a tie-in to some movie or other.
As the chefs say, that was a “soop-son” of notable releases from 2006 with a garnish of flagrant adjectives. Keep checking this site as other DJs will be serving their choices for 2006. And now for the “lan-yapp”:
THE WHOLLY BOGUS MARVIN PONTIAC AWARDS, 2006
The Can’t Be Denied Award (for Pop Single of the Year): Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy”
The Mack Daddy Genius Award (for Album of the Year): The Handsome Family: “Last Days of Wonder”
The Sean Penn Curse of Excellence Award (for consistent brilliance most taken for granted): Cassandra Wilson, “Thunderbird”
The Chrissie Hynde “Don’t Call Me Honey” Award (for the female artist who refused to be anybody’s girl): Cat Power, “The Greatest”
The Brass Balls/Brass Ova Award: The Dixie Chicks, “Taking the Long Way”
The D’oh Award (for reminding us all of why music matters & how): Richard Thompson, “1,000 Years of Popular Music”
The Harry Smith Memorial Award (for historical rescue): the Eccentric Soul series for 2 releases, “Deep City Label” and “Mighty Mike Lenaburg”
The Earwig Award (for stuck-in-the-head pop fragment): Burt Bacharach, “I Was Hit in the Rear”
The Pulitzer Prize in Non-Diction: Jolie Holland, “Springtime Can Kill You”
The Comet Kahoutek Award (for biggest disappointment): Linda Ronstadt & Ann Savoy, “Adieu False Heart.” A note of explanation – past winners of this award include Ray Charles and Willie Nelson (if disappointment’s what you’re after, get it from the best I say). This is a very pretty CD, but consider this: Ronstadt joining voices with one of Cajun country’s finest singers, a melding of sturdy roots traditions with sessions split between California and post-Katrina Acadie, and the winningest cut’s a cover of “Don’t Walk Away Renee?” For shame.
The Plastic Bono Award (for false shows of global concern): Madonna
The All Lost in the Supermarket Award (for artists who pay so much attention to The Industry they forget to how make music): Unawarded -- sorry, we don’t play those people.
Email Matthew Finch
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More Columns by the Music Director...
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Music Programs
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All that Jazz
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12:10pm-1:30pm
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Ear to the Ground
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Hosted by: MatthewFinchLocal and regional music recorded LIVE and presented to you on the air. Plus interviews with musicians and more.
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Folk music from the heartland.
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Mondays-Tuesdays, Thursdays-Fridays
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Freeform (Wed.)
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Hosted by: Carol BossDJ picks the music for a lovely afternoon.
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Fresh
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Hosted by: FloydVasquez, Alan Liddell, Ed deBNew, avant, and edge music with your rotating Fresh crew.
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Global Music
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10pm-1am
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Home of Happy Feet
Tuesdays
7:05pm-10pm
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Iyah Music Show
Thursdays
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local music
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Music to Soothe the Savage Beast
Tuesdays
10pm-1am
local music
The lastest in progressive and indie rock.
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Other Voices, Other Sounds
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9pm-11pm
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Contemporary music & sound art with an international perspective; composed, improvised, acoustic, electronic.
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Overnight Freeform
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Overnight Freeform
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local music
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Overnight Freeform
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Overnight Freeform
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Performance Today
Mondays-Fridays
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Performance Today features live concerts by famous artists in concert halls around the globe and from the American Public Media studios as well as interviews, news and...
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Performance Today
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Performance Today features live concerts by famous artists in concert halls around the globe and from the American Public Media studios as well as interviews, news and...
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Raíces
Mondays
7:02pm-10pm
local music
If you would like more information about how to become a Raices volunteer contact Henry Gonzalez at 892-2592 (henrygonzal2000@yahoo.com) Or contact Rachel Kaub at 277-4516...
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Salsa Sabrosa
Fridays
7:05pm-10pm
local music
Salsa music -- hot music for a hot New Mexico.
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Singing Wire
Sundays
12pm-4pm
local music
Music from Indian Country.
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Southwest Stages
Wednesdays
10pm-11pm
independent music
Regional music recorded live in concert, plus interviews.
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Street Beat
Fridays
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New Mexico’s source for live turntablism, featuring Underground Hip Hop wax from the state’s most respected DJ’s, mixing and cutting up a variety of rare funk, rock, jazz, and soul breaks, from the old to the new.
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The House that Jazz Built
Sundays
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Tombstone Rock
Wednesdays
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Train to Glory
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Gospel music -- from traditional to contemporary. Plus announcements about area churches and more.
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