COW #142 -- 23-July-1994 -- "When Lightning Strikes"

Doh! I forgot to let my loyal blog readers know that I put up a great new episode of Chas' Crusty Old Wave up recently. Interestingly, the original recording and the release as a podcast were both on July 23 -- only 20 years apart!

When I tell you that this one is truly an electrifying episode, I mean that literally. Not only does it feature another great array of 80s music (with a couple of new-for-1994 releases thrown in), part of the original broadcast was knocked off air by lightning! We were right in the middle of Tim Curry's "I Do the Rock" when the station got hit with a lightning strike near enough to take us down. For this podcast, I've restored the full song that was interrupted, since you just DO NOT interrupt Tim Curry when he's on a roll!

On top of that "shocking" event, this episode features music from Spandau Ballet, XTC, the Undertones, new releases from the Pet Shop Boys and Erasure, Joey Ramone and Holly Beth Vincent, the Bolshoi, David Bowie, Ultravox, the Knack and more. There's also a live acoustic version of "Wild Boys" by Duran Duran, and some rarely-heard music by amazing Athens-Atlanta swing-pop band Donkey, who hosted an unforgettable concert in Orlando that evening. And this is just the first half of this originally three-hour episode (I'll post the second half next month!

Prepare to get your ears zapped with pleasure as we listen to the night WPRK went from 1,300 watts to 50,000 volts! Enjoy!

You can listen to the episode below, download it from the web site or subscribe to it in iTunes for free. Let us know how you like it at crustyoldwave@me.com, and enjoy!

COW 20-May-2013 -- "Candy and Records"

This is a super-fantastic new episode (well, recorded on the 20th of May, 2013), and I was back in Orlando as part of a Fringe Show a friend of mine did -- he later went on to win Best Comedy! If you've heard of "rap battles" or a battle of the bands or even the double-dutch dance-offs between those New York City girls, then this delightful DJ duel is going to be a special treat.

Sometimes when WPRK DJ Phantom Third Channel and I get together, we challenge each other -- with music! As Frankie says, when two tribes go to war, the audience is the winner. This show has a tremendous diversity of sound pulled from across several decades of indie and college rock, but with a definite 80s atmosphere. Over the next two hours you'll hear bands like Wire, XTC, They Might Be Giants, Bruce Wooley, Veronica Falls, Roxy Music, PIL, Galaxie 500, the Stone Roses and John Foxx -- and more!

In between songs, we chatter and gush over all the great stuff we play for each other. One of our best sessions, but stay tuned ... there's more new episodes to come!

You can listen to the episode below, download it from the web site or subscribe to it in iTunes for free. Let us know how you like it at crustyoldwave@me.com, and enjoy!

COW #173 - 20-March-1995 - "Bryan Ferry Cross the Mersey"

Here’s a treat for those listeners who remember the local band scene in Orlando and all the great concerts we used to have -- this episode’s twin focus is on the upcoming Bryan Ferry appearances that were happening that week, as well as both concerts and a new seven-inch, four-track EP put together by a handful of great local bands.

Our pal Jim was on the show, bringing along the latest Bryan Ferry album (which we go all fanboy over) and news of his upcoming appearance, and the two of us cooked up plenty of familiar and obscure New Wave gems, a few rarities and dance mixes as well. We took a little time to spotlight the local band EP and our special guest Aaron of Thee Exotic Aarontones in the middle of the show, and we also have a special all-new "bonus track" at the end from NYC-based Rude Boy George, who do a killer ska cover of the Romantics' "Talking in Your Sleep" with a guest vocalist from the English Beat!

You can listen to the episode below, download it from the web site or subscribe to it in iTunes for free. Let us know how you like it at crustyoldwave@me.com, and enjoy!

COW Episode #86:Part 2 -- Electric Boogaloo!

Finally! Here’s the second half of the epic three-plus-hour Episode 86, originally recorded on the 23rd of April, 1993! It features a nice mix of familiar and deeper cuts of great 80s and even some 90s music. Part one is also available (either here or on iTunes if you need to catch up), but for now just sit back, put on those headphones and let us take you back to the happy sounds of the early Clinton Administration!

Starting off the episode, we find our younger self carrying on with his obsession with the electrifying artist Webb Wilder, but we move on from there, since by this point we were naturally pulling in a lot of requests from you, the loving public, during the second half of the show. Familiar favourites like Echo & the Bunnymen, Katrina & the Waves, Culture Club, The B-52s and Ultravox turn up, but we still have time for deeper tracks from Ian Dury, Pseudo Echo, Kirsty MacColl, the Psychedelic Furs, and the Flying Lizards among others. It's a great mix of the popular and the profound and much that was so good about the 80s. 

You can listen to the episode below, download it from the web site or subscribe to it in iTunes for free. Let us know what you think at crustyoldwave@me.com!

The Idol of Idle Youth: COW Episode #86 -- 23-April-1993

Well here we are with a completely amazing episode from April of 1993 -- its so good in fact that I'm having to split it up into two parts so you get the full glory!

Your old pal Chas had caught the Nash Vegas fever of Webb Wilder's incredible root-rock-a-tronic southpaw music, and he pops up a couple of times in a show dominated by the great New Wave and Art Rock songs that weren't the biggest hits but scored a lot of points. From John Foxx to the Dickies, from Wall of Voodoo to Bow Wow Wow, from early Devo to Christina, you're going to hear a lot of songs and versions you haven't heard in a long time, spiced with a few more tracks more familiar to fans of the many groups represented here.

You can listen to the episode below, download it from the web site or subscribe to it in iTunes for free. Let us know what you the loving public think at crustyoldwave@me.com, and keep an ear out for part two of this shindig, coming soon!.

Bargain Bin Crusty Old Wave -- 13-May-2013

Here's another all-new episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave, this time recorded on the 13th of May, 2013 live at WPRK. With our dear friend Phantom Third Channel behind the board, we once again took to the air to bring out the long-lost and beloved treasures of the New Wave era -- but this time we did things a little differently.

Just to change things up, Phantom and I took turn playing the kind of music that normally plays on our show when I'm not taking over the place. Naturally I brought my early 80s-centric songs, and he brought his avant-garde selection of eclectic thrift-store finds, lost gems from bygone decades and enough oddball curveballs to win a baseball game. It made for an interesting mix that saw John Foxx followed by Robert Johnson, Captain Beefheart opening for Lesley Gore and Roky Erikson going head-to-head with Steeleye Span. This episode is a wild one, to be sure.

You can listen to the episode below, download it from the web site or subscribe to it in iTunes for free. Enjoy.

COW Episode 38 -- Girls! Girls! Girls!

Annnnd here we are with another fun-filled episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave! This episode (#38) comes to us from the first of May, 1992 is serves not only as a two-hour testament to how great some of the music of the 80s was, but also to showcase a little of the wonderful cast of characters that I was privileged to work with on WPRK at Rollins College in the 90s.

This episode has some unusual selections. You'll hear obscurities from Noel's Cowards, Gina X Performance, Jerry Harrison, Landscape, and Seattle group Uncle Bonsai alongside album cuts from XTC, Adrian Belew, Falco, They Might Be Giants, the Rutles, the Pet Shop Boys, Adam Ant and many more. It's a party in the basement, and you're invited! Let's kick it off with a little sauciness from Duran Duran, and listen out for a cut from Sesame Street. Yes, Sesame Street.

You can listen to the episode below, download it from the web site or subscribe to it in iTunes for free. Enjoy.

COW #168 - 10-Dec-1994 - Rock On with Your Bad Self

Here it is, the latest episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave, fresh out of the oven! It’s a humdinger as well if I do say so myself, with lots of killer tunes. Heck, any episode with both They Might Be Giants and Weird Al Yankovic is bound to be good, plus you throw in lots of original punk, an interview and music from Orlando band Potential Frenzy, some particularly brilliant but less-heard music from Bruce Woolley, Bill Nelson, Modern English, Joe Jackson, The Assembly, the Buzzcocks, Paul Collins' Beat, and Georgia bands The Woggles and Hillbilly Frankenstein.

Oh wait, there’s more! How about a rare remix from Yazoo, some ska from the Toasters and Madness, and more great local music from The Hatebombs? And did I mention a bit from Monty Python? It’s all here, friends, in two hours of delightful fun. Get it streaming or downloadable on the site or from iTunes.

Get your dancing shoes on -- by the time Malcolm McLaren’s “Double Dutch” shows up, you’ll already be out of your chairs and hip-hopping down the stairs! Enjoy.

Catching up with C-COW

A few months back, I had to move my podcast (Chas’ Crusty Old Wave, or C-COW to some) to a new host so that people could continue to listen to it either from a site or through iTunes. I ended up using a host called Buzzsprout which I like very much except for one thing, but apart from that one thing they have been fantastic. If you have an MP3-based blog, I really can’t think of a better host unless you’ve got your own Wordpress thing going on -- and believe me I looked at a lot of podcast hosts before settling on these guys. Great support, fair pricing, no hassles no worries.

The “one thing” that bugs me is that they don't support the mpeg-4-based “enhanced podcasts” I had been doing, and I am still researching a solution that will let me achieve all my goals (9 out of 10 of which Buzzsprout have managed) plus that 10th thing. Many people listen to my podcasts without worrying about the format or noticing that using MP4 means I can insert cover art for every song that plays, or that the podcast will pick up where you left off. MP3-based ones preserve the music just fine, but they don't offer graphics of any kind nor do they have bookmarking.

I hope that Buzzsprout will consider taking on “enhanced podcasts” (and believe me I’ve lobbied them!) but if it doesn’t happen soon I’ll make other arrangements. Life is change, though any movements I make shouldn’t effect listeners much other than the return of cover art, et cetera.

While I work on the next episode, I thought you might like to “catch up” on the latest three episodes that have been posted, so I’ll post them here for your listening pleasure.

SuperCOW loves SuperMOOOOON!

And back into the tape vault we go! Here's a classic one from 1993, episode #102. This was just two weeks after my old Black Volvo was broken into and the core of my CD collection I used for the show stolen. In some ways (and with a lot of hindsight) I think it may have made this episode better than average.

I will always remember these days -- I was so shocked when it happened (first time my car had ever been broken into) and it came on the heels of a perfectly DELIGHTFUL evening (up to that point at least) in a period where I was doing very well for myself on most fronts. Popular show, king of downtown, some lovely relationship happenings, good day job ... Lucky Pierre, that's me ...

Anyway, a great mix of familiar and obscure 80s tunes. That's what makes COW so special.

You can grab your copy from the website or directly from iTunes.

Enjoy.

That COW ... it's ALIVE!!

Wow, sorry that took so long, but here it is -- part two of our madcap 20th Anniversary celebration as it aired on WPRK this past July 4th. On this episode, we took down the “80s only” sign and grabbed great music from the past 30 years to play for our listeners and to dance around the studio like mad fools in the wee hours to.

As I say in the introduction to the show, some of these songs are not just pieces of music ... they’re my friends! Seriously, I have long and cherished memories with some of these tunes, from the They Might Be Giants song I sang with a TMBG cover band (seriously!) to the way Kraftwerk melted my 70’s-rock, guitar-addled brain, to the way the Hidden Cameras and the Botticellis (both contemporary bands) make me feel so alive the way Punk and New Wave (and Ska) did way back when ...

There’s plenty of familiar stuff over the course of the 2.5 hours, like the B-52s and Elvis Costello and Violent Femmes and Talking Heads. But there’s also some stuff both old and new that’s so obscure I dare you to name every song on the playlist without cheating. Lots of really great tunes in my opinion!

You can grab your copy from the website or directly from iTunes.

Enjoy.

COW XX -- 20 years of Crusty Old Wave

WPRK threw a party and invited me ... and, by proxy, you ... to a celebration of 20 years since the first episode of what would become Chas’ Crusty Old Wave. I returned to Florida for the first time in nearly two years, and we did not one but two two-hour shows featuring the music we all love so much -- the red-headed stepkids of the 80s!

Today, three months after the event, we present the first of the two anniversary shows, hosted by Phantom Third Channel and myself. We get on terribly well and giggle like schoolgirls reading Tiger Beat magazine when we talk about music and bands and records and stuff, and this shows in our several extended conversation breaks -- but don't worry, there's lots of great music there, with an emphasis on Brian Eno, David Bowie and Elvis Costello. A lot of the tunes on this episode slot neatly into that all-too-brief era between the fall of UK punk and the rise of commercial "alternative" music. For a bit there, before MTV and in a few cases even before punk rock, there was a period where Weird Was Good. We touch on a lot of that with things like the Stiff Records single You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties by Jona Lewie, or Bruce Woolley's original take on Video Killed the Radio Star, or Bow Wow Wow's call for sonic revolution, C30 C60 C90 Go!.

We also hit some songs that are sheer nostalgia for me personally, within and without the New Wave movement -- such as Love and Loneliness the most over-produced record in the world, and Monochrome Set's odd little B-I-D Spells Bid, one of the very few songs written by and about the lead singer of the band. There's also some Ultravox from both "eras" of the band, some bona-fide classics like Gary Numan's Me! I Disconnect From You and more. You can grab your copy from the website or directly from iTunes.

Enjoy.

COW your head -- the epic Episode #19 is complete!

Like the relief felt at the completion of the end of the Lord of the Rings, I have managed to split a massive six-hour (well, five after editing) show into two parts, including artwork and for the most part very high audio quality into two great new episodes of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave (actually, its predecessor Chas n Gwen’s Pop Pajama Party), both parts of which you can now download directly from the website or via iTunes.

As was the case with Chas n Gwen’s Pop Pajama Party more so than the later solo show, we mix up the 80s songs with a healthy helping of music from the very early 90s, to great effect in my opinion. This far on, only the most dedicated collectors and historians of the New Wave era will remember specifically that bands like They Might Be Giants (for example) weren’t part of the original New Wave movement, but of the first wave of great stuff that came after it, so it all ends up a bit of a wash of nostalgia. Looking back, it’s kinda cool to see the obvious impact the punk aftermath had on artists that were actually paying attention -- before that awful grunge crap came around and ruined everything for a while.

I'd suggest -- if you think you can stand five hours of 80s, 90s and Chas with his multiple personalities -- downloading both parts of episode 19 and use them as a good workout tape or just for revelling in memories of your own misspent youth. There’s a heck of a lot of great stuff in there. Enjoy.

Fall Back, Spring COW

With the flowers and warmer weather comes a great new episode of Chas' Crusty Old Wave (actually, its predecessor Chas n Gwen's Pop Pajama Party), part one of which you can now download directly from the website or via iTunes. Part two of this (originally) six-hour funfest will arrive next month, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new somewhat-monthly-ish episodes are automatically delivered to your computer.

I’m very pleased in particular with the audio quality on this episode, given the age of the tapes -- there is still a hint of carrier-wave static and normal FM compression as always, but for the most part you won’t even notice it. Mainly because you’ll probably be dancing around your kitchen a lot -- this is some seriously great tunes.

It's Fall, and the COWs are Turning

The (ahem) October episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new more-or-less monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your computer.

I want to particularly highlight Liz Langley’s contribution to this (and other) episodes, her “Horror-Scopes” are always a comedic delight and this show features a specially-written one for the holidays that’s just plain hilarious.

Oh, and there’s also a crapload of great 80s tunes, a nice mix of stuff you’ll have heard before and maybe a few songs or artists you aren’t that familiar with. Please do check it out.

Light Summer Listening … the August Episode of COW

Back on schedule, or at least my schedule ... the August episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your computer.

Not many shows have the cahones to play The Fabulous Poodles in this day and age, no sir. Plus there’s a nice set of International (read: non-English) New Wave at the beginning, plus plenty of familiar favourites from bands like A Flock of Seagulls and Bananarama. Toss in a pair of Naked Weather Girls™ and now we’re cookin’ with gas.

But it’s not just great 80s music, you know -- there’s also some goofy government PSAs, a bit of Monty Python and some Barnes & Barnes, and a pro-life message from the Pork Institute as well. But yes, it’s mostly light, fun 80s music. Enjoy.

Summer COW at Last!

So yeah, took a little bit of an unexpected break in June there -- sorry about that -- but the now-renamed “June/July” episode of Chas’ Crusty Old Wave is now available via the website or directly from iTunes. We’ve been very pleased with the attention the show has been getting lately, and we hope you will subscribe (it’s free) so that new monthly episodes are automatically delivered to your computer.

How long has it been since you last heard Duran Duran’s “A View to a Kill?” Or “Waterfront” from Simple Minds? Or, for that matter, Monty Python’s song “Sit On My Face” on a radio broadcast? We’ve got all that and much more, including a record-breaking three Naked Weather Girls in attendance, serious public service announcements gone hilariously wrong, and a few songs you’ve probably never heard before despite having living through the 80s and 90s. Not to mention our usual mix of popular and obscure gems from throughout the Alternative era.

Two and a half hours of good radio. Hard to find these days, so download it and enjoy.