The past couple weeks we’ve had quite the fun shows, particuarly if anyone caught the Halloween special on the webcam. Baron Von Cutler and recently deceased Mick Cullen put the actual WRLR ghosts that haunt the studios to shame. And of course there was the usual awesome music and fun segments.

Tonight will be the return of all the Mickettes as Rae is home from school for the weekend. I wish I could say this would involve me finally returning also, but due to recent life situations I will not be part of tonight’s show and will miss all of my WRLR/Subterranean buddies and listeners dearly. Sigh.

In more upbeat news, tonight’s show is sure to be another 2 hours of some of the best music, strange but true news, concert calendars and utter chaos that is Subterranean.  With bands including, but not limited to, The Xx, The Substitutes (gotta love that with my recent career paths) and a brand new, not even released yet, Tyler Jakes song–quality underground rock will not be lacking tonight.

I’ve also heard that there are some excellent upcoming concerts begging for your attendance and a very odd assortment of human interest stories that make us interested in why humans are so stupid. So tune in any way you want, all of which are listed below from Mick’s weekly facebook message because it’s so witty I don’t even want to attempt to write my own:

1) You may purchase a radio at Radio Shack, because obviously, that’s what they sell there! Take it home and insert three size ‘D’ batteries. Tune to 98.3 FM and listen in. Rejoice! 2) You may purchase a computer at Best Buy, where they have the best buys! Right? Because no one in America uses false advertising! USA! USA! Then download Firefox, because IE sucks. Then head to www.wrlr.fm to listen to our 100% free audio stream! 3) You may purchase a computer at Komputers ‘R’ Us, the centre for all your Communist technology needs! Point your Glasnostweb browser at our fantastic webcam site with full audio at www.justin.tv/wrlr! Chat with us! Watch us yuk it up Yakov Smirnoff style! In Soviet Russia, browser points you! 4) You may download iTunes through the evil, evil, evil iTunes website. Then click on the “subscribe through iTunes” button on our fantastic podcast website, subterraneanradio.podbean.com! All our past shows are there! You want them! Steph’s Subterranean blog is there too! You will read it! 5) You may purchase the Golden Gate Bridge, take it apart, and rearrange the pieces to form a GIANT antenna that will allow you to listen from ANYWHERE YOU DAMN WELL PLEASE. Take that, pigs. LISTEN IN!

No Commies were harmed in the writing of this message.

Also, if you actually think I have any negative attitude toward communism as a general philosophy, or people with communist philosophies, or cops, have a Coke and relax. I love everyone, remember?

GO TEAM SUBTERRANEAN!

“Monster,” Fred Schneider & the Shake Society

“Dig My Grave,” They Might Be Giants

“The Bottom of the Grave,” Bryan Scary

This Week’s Song My Friend Jason Will Hate: “I Walked with a Zombie,” R.E.M.

“They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!,” Sufjan Stevens

“Love Me Dead,” Ludo

“Dead Man’s Party,” Oingo Boingo

“The Haunting (Adult Mix),” Ectomorph

“Werewolves of London,” Adam Sandler

“I Was a Teenage Werewolf,” The Cramps

“Everyday Is Halloween,” Ministry

“Bloodletting (The Vampire Song),” Concrete Blonde

“Do the Vampire,” Superdrag

“Vampire,” Antsy Pants

“Drain the Blood,” The Rural Alberta Advantage

“Blood Makes Noise,” Suzanne Vega

“The House That Dripped Blood,” The Mountain Goats

“Attack of the Ghost Riders,” The Raveonettes

“Many Ghosts,” Akron/Family

“Ghost under Rocks,” Ra Ra Riot

“Ghost,” Neutral Milk Hotel

“Ghost Town,” The Specials

“Starblood,” Cranes

“Maine,” John Linnell

“Riding on the Rocket,” Shonen Knife

“Know Your Chicken,” Cibo Matto (sort of)

“Puffy’s Rule,” Puffy Ami Yumi

UNDERGROUNDBREAKERS: “The Ballad of Irving,” Frank Gallup

“Dead Puppies,” The Ogden Edsl Wahalia Blues Ensemble Mondo Bizarrio Band

“Those Two Dreadful Children,” Cruella Deville

“Green Starred Sleeve,” UUVVWWZ

“My Dog Was Lost But Now He’s Found,” The Fiery Furnaces

“16 Military Wives,” The Decemberists

“Supertheory of Supereverything,” Gogol Bordello

“Woody Woodpecker,” Dan Deacon

It’s the entire SHOW Jason will hate! An all-songs-Jason-will-hate extravaganza!

“Forever Growing Centipedes,” The Faint

“Mari in Love,” The Pugs

“Falling in Love,” Klaus Nomi

“xxzxcuzx me,” Crystal Castles

“Runaway or Stay,” Kevin Blechdom

“Daina Flores You’re the One,” Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

“It’s What You Need,” Cloud Cult

“Heart It Races,” Architecture in Helsinki

“Frontier Psychiatrist,” The Avalanches

“Fresh Horses,” The Buttless Chaps

“Gay Bar,” The Electric Six

“Happy Little Boozer,” Korpiklaani

“Smooth Death,” Danielson Famile

“Some Are Lakes,” Land of Talk

“The Devil in the Kitchen,” Ashley MacIsaac

“Permanent Scar,” O + S

“I Must Be Dreaming,” The Monolators

“Safe Home, Safe Home in Port!,” listenlisten

UNDERGROUNDBREAKERS: “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead,” XTC

“Senses Working Overtime,” XTC

“Love on a Farmboy’s Wages,” XTC

“Oh Death,” The Horse Flies

“Wicked Blood,” Sea Wolf

“Marching Off to War,” Morningbell

“In the Night Sky (I Hear Him Calling),” Sweet Baboo

“Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh” - Say Hi

UNDERGROUNDBREAKERS: “Never Let Me Down” - Depeche Mode

“Everything Counts” (Live) - Depeche Mode

“Submarines Of Stockholm” - A.C. Newman

“Contender” - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

“Frank, AB” - The Rural Alberta Advantage

“My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille” - Realpeople

“Jailbird” - M. Ward

“Personal” - Eleni Mandell

Needless to say, with a very pathetic sounding voice and a head that feels congest-y, I will not be live on air tonight. I’ll still be in the chat and I’m still writing this blog, but that’s about all I can do for this week. Boo. However, as usual it will be a great show because Mick has recovered from the flu and Carl who is now the only one there all the time I guess (haha) will be giving you strange but true news, covering my word of the week and back on to co-host. wooo.

Needless to say there will be quite the amazing playlist, as always, and some surefire shenanigans. Hopefully some of these will involve the You Can’t Do This On The Radio! crew who always outshine us, and because of this we hate them, and yet they always greatly enhance the qualities of shenaniganism on our show. No, shenaniganism is not a word, but I am an English teacher and my mind’s not really with it right now so it counts. Use it in a sentence this week. It’ll catch on.

Other exciting news that Mick may or may not mention on tonight’s show–WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE COMES OUT TOMORROW! Now, while there have been bunches of promos for it over the past couple weeks, the crew from Subterranean has actually been looking forward to this movie since the beginning of the year. Dave Eggers, (my favorite writer who I am pathetically, but also irrevokably in love with) co-wrote it so that got me excited. Then you might remember The Arcade Fire song we played a couple weeks back because we all loved it so much from the trailer. Basically, yay for this adaptation of a great kids book and for whoever decided to give Tony Soprano the role of one of the wild things. That’s not even sarcasm, I really think it was a good idea.

Ok, there’s my pop culture rant on the blog for the week. And apologies to all at WRLR who are waiting for their Halloween decorations. The ENTIRE subterranean crew will be reunited next week as Rae comes back! Which means Halloween enthusiasts will abound the station so get ready!! And get ready to watch on the webcam, as a record breaking segment that was in the works for tonight gets pushed back to next week! Woo!

But for now, enjoy this week’s show of good music, charming news and a whole lot of other adjectives + nouns that make you laugh, cry, and even hate a song if you’re Jason or absolutely LOVE the underground indie rock if you’re anyone else. Ciao for now.

-Steph

“Wantin’ Her Again,” Ben Kweller

“The Loneliness of Magnets,” The Handsome Family

“Boarded Doors,” The Morning Benders

“Sadie & Andy,” Princeton

UNDERGROUNDBREAKERS: “Can’t Stop Killing You,” Kirsty MacColl

“In These Shoes?,” Kirsty MacColl

“Treachery,” Kirsty MacColl

“Los Cruzados,” Elk City

“Headin’,” Kill Surf City

“God Is Going to Get Sick of Me,” Aberdeen City

“Big Sound,” The M’s

“Musician, Please Take Heed,” God Help the Girl

“The Sky Opened Wide like the Tide,” The Blow

“Scandinavian Warfare,” Champagne Riot

“Anywhere You Looked,” Au Revoir Simone

“This Is Our Lot,” Wild Beasts

“First Few Desperate Hours,” The Mountain Goats

“Nocturne,” The Love Language

“Cowbell,” Tapes ‘n Tapes

This Week’s Song My Friend Jason Will Hate: “If I’m Still in Love When I Get Back Home from Traveling (America),” Sweet Baboo

“Say Yes,” Langhorne Slim

“Hannah’s Trading Post,” Malcolm Holcombe

I swear, probably due to some stupid tokens things again, I wrote this wonderful post on Thursday explaining that Mick had the flu, I had a job interview on Friday at 8am and Carl was subsequently taking over Sub-t for the night. It was written to fully support and encourage Carl, who I knew was going to be awesome and is an amazing co-host/dj for taking over solo for the night! So, Carl, I fully apologize that the post was deleted/not saved without my knowledge and you did not get to read my supportive and loving lament of your filling in solo on this rad radio adventure (haha again, totallly sounds like a band we’d play).

In BETTER news, I’m writing now so I can say that even with the technical difficulties and our favorite WRLR crew from You Can’t Do That On The Radio and all the subsequent shenanigans (Thanks for calling out WRLR on making everything dirty in my absence Sonny)–Carl did a wonderful job covering for Mick and still representing the essence and thrills of our underground indie rock extravaganza! Also, as a side note I did NOT simply have better things to do than honor my Sub-t commitment, but in fact just more important things to further my career in education (I’m just kidding, nothing is truly more important than my Sub-t commitment, but alas, I have to be a grown up and interview for any job that wants me in this terrible economy. boo.)

Ahhh I’m just listening to the Song Jason Will Hate segment and I’ve got to give a quick shout out to Jason because his intros are truly amazing. I almost hate them, because I love them that much. Also, apologies for the lack of Word of the Week Segment, due to computer/AIM difficulties the moment Carl requested my word via instant messages my computer decided to freeze and I didn’t even see the message until it was too late. Again, boo.

In better news, wooooo for Mick’s stunning playlist, Carl’s endearingly odd but irrestistably factual news and Rae’s ever exciting concert playlist.

Hopefully next week the entire crew, sans Rae due to her collegiate studies, will be reunited. No illnesses, no job interviews (although I wouldn’t complain getting another one, just preferably not at 8am) and continuation of our craziness.

Enjoy the rest of your weekends and tune in next week to see what we do and/or we might have some special surprises in store (and by might i mean we WILL) and also, one last time, fantastic job Carl!

-Steph

“Are You Sleeping,” Sara Culler

“Thoughts on a Picture (in a Paper, January 2009),” Broken Records

“Haunts,” O + S

“The Mountain,” Heartless Bastards

UNDERGROUNDBREAKERS: “Lust for Life,” Iggy Pop

“Search & Destroy,” Iggy & the Stooges

“A Machine for Loving,” Iggy Pop

“Don’t Build the Bridge,” Immaculate Machine

“Champagne, Cocaine & Strawberries,” TAT

“Coal War,” Joshua James

“Imitation of the Sky,” Bryan Scary and the Shredding Tears

“Little Foot,” Eleni Mandell

“Lazarus Phenomenon,” Bike for Three!

“Stillness Is the Move,” Dirty Projectors

“Song of the Sad Assassin,” WHY?

“The Three of Us,” We Were Pirates

“The Deadroads,” The Rural Alberta Advantage

“All I Need Tonight (Is You),” Gentleman Jesse

This Week’s Song My Friend Jason Will Hate: “Eleven Saints,” Jason Webley with Jay Thompson

“Anime Eyes,” The Awkward Stage

“Give Blood,” Rain Machine

“Islands,” The Xx

So after typing the title of this entry, my boyfriend sent me an IM that ended with “our first failed photoshoot” and that, along with “Moving Makes Life Confusing” sounds like a band/song we’d play on Subterranean. I mean really, can’t you hear it now, Mick’s voice saying “Next up is a band whose name came from a conversation about their photoshoot back in 2000, and they’ve just come out with this new song which I couldn’t help but like, this is Our First Failed Photoshoot with Moving Makes Life Confusing”. Oh if only that band and song existed…

But truly, all photoshoot failures aside, I moved into a new house last week and because of this no blog was written. Moving is absolutely no fun at all, until everything is in place and you look around and realize how homey and good the new place feels and then it’s nice. Luckily, at WRLR I didn’t have to go through any part of the actual moving process except this last nice part because tonight we will be in the new, finished, fabulous, Studio B! In the pretend universe where not everyone is immediately watching justintv when Subterranean is on, this should obviously make you watch. Seriously, new studio, new angles to view us–Mick won’t look like he has a bald spot (it’s the lighting people, he actually has quite a bit of hair when he lets it grow out). Pretttty exciting.

Also exciting is the playlist, including one of mine and Rae’s FAVORITE bands of all time–Heartless Bastards. As usual, we dedicate their song of the night to the heartless bastards in our lives, although most of them have been phased out and the bastards remaining in our lives have hearts, most of the time. Also on the list is Bike for Three!, The Awkward Stage (story of our lives) and a band I’m excited to hear the intro of We Were Pirates.

You’ve also got another Rock Solid Radio segment with Strange but True News, which will be so oddly entertaining this week that Rock Solid is keeping the topics under wrap until the show. It’s going to be good, I can tell.

And, from your features director, you’ve got something so ground-breaking, so incredibly intense, so mind-blowingly underground, that I can’t even type it here. Let’s just say that there will be some sort of crazy shenanigans to break in our new studio. That’s all I’m saying.

Sorry for the week lapse in blogging, but I PROMISE it will never happen again. Or else I will let the zombies take me, if the pirates don’t get me first. Yeah, I said it.

So, as always, listen in from 11pm-1am for the best of the undergound and such on 98.3 FM, or via live audio stream at www.wrlr.fm OR give in to your stalking tendencies and watch/chat with us via webcam at www.justin.tv/wrlr. Do it or the gnomes will be real mad and come after you while you’re sleeping. I told them not to, but they wouldn’t listen.

-Steph

“Miss Teen Wordpower,” The New Pornographers

“Tammie,” The Dø

“Downtown Blues,” The Embracers

UNDERGROUNDBREAKERS: “American Music,” Violent Femmes

“Gone Daddy Gone,” Violent Femmes

“Breakin’ Up,” Violent Femmes

“Death to the Storm,” Joe Henry

“Love, and the Lack of It,” Syd Straw

“Song Up in Her Head,” Sarah Jarosz

“To Kingdom Come,” Passion Pit

“Hoods Up,” Rollercoaster Project

“High Ground,” Orenda Fink

“Faces,” The Happy Hollows

“Dreamin’ Alone,” Hightide Blues

“The Lady Vanishes,” White Rabbits

“Old Old Fashioned,” Frightened Rabbit

“Crying Lightning,” Arctic Monkeys

“Ribbon,” She Keeps Bees

“Fields Are Breathing,” Black Moth Super Rainbow

“Arrows of Eros,” Golden Silvers

This Week’s Song My Friend Jason Will Hate: “(Baby) Hold Me Tight,” Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis

“True Stories,” Datarock

“Hoping and Waiting,” The Hush Now

“Tony the Beat,” The Sounds

“Help, I’m Alive,” Metric

“Start Wearing Purple,” Gogol Bordello

UNDERGROUNDBREAKERS: “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” The Smiths

“Bigmouth Strikes Again,” The Smiths

“Panic,” The Smiths

“Istanbul (Not Constantinople),” They Might Be Giants

“The Curious Disappearance of the Sky-ship Thunder Man,” Bryan Scary & the Shredding Tears

“Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games,” Of Montreal

“Too Much Pork for Just One Fork,” Southern Culture on the Skids

“The Crook of My Good Arm,” Pale Young Gentlemen

“Turpentine,” Vandaveer

“Conquest,” These United States

“Winding Roads,” Reed KD

“Love Has Left the Room,” A Camp

“Useless,” Tiny Animals

“Pastures,” We the They

“Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh,” Say Hi

This Week’s Song My Friend Jason Will Hate: “Becoming Insane,” Infected Mushroom

“Ball & Chain,” Murder by Death

“Fitz & the Dizzyspells,” Andrew Bird

“I Am Leaving,” Blue Roses

“I’m Turning into You,” Wheels on Fire

“Sunlight,” Harlem Shakes

“Thoughts/Facts,” Ice Palace

All clear of zombies? Awesome. Tonight’s show–ok pause from my usual banter. I must just give you a visual of how I am writing this particular blog entry. I am in my kitchen, lap top on two red placements, listening to Cobra Starship’s “Good Girls Go Bad” and rocking out like I am Leighton Meester and Cobra Starship is at a club around me dancing and telling me that they make good girls go bad. I don’t want to admit this, or even dance with the attitude and confidence that I am right now, full on lip syncing, but truly this song just does that to me. Guilty pleasure number 234534 sure, but seriously, this song just has that inexplicable THING about it that makes you want to go bad, and sing about it. And be Leighton Meester, which is a hilarious name and person I would want nothing to do with otherise–THE MUSIC IS MAKING ME CRAZY PEOPLE. CRAZY.

Ok, after that insight into my rather silly-minded pysche…speaking of music making people crazy, we’ve got quite an array of impeccably hand-picked underground indie rock gems chosen by the one and only Mick Cullen tonight. Included in this selection is my favorite band to say on air and pause even though it’s such an easy name, really, involving one of my favorite things–letters. UUVVWWZ. So great, and not just the band name, the music is worthy of all 26 letters of the alphabet. Also included is Say Hi (undoubtedly we, and by we I mean me and Carl, will literally say “hi” when this band is introduced), These United States and Harlem Shakes. And that’s only the beginning.

Carl’s strange but true news will hopefully involve vampires or cobras or starships, all of which last week’s report was sorely lacking. If not, it’s sure to be full of odd stories, making us cringe, raise our eyebrows, laugh, grunt, snort or do an entertaining mixture of all of the above. Either way, look out for rock solid and his crazy stories of the world around us, making us question our humanity and essence while also giving us a little confidence boost that regardless of our unemployment or current maritial status or weight gain we are not a seven year old holding up his friend with a fake gun and stealing his bike. Or some creepy pastor texting a fake abduction so he can have an affair. Really, that’s gotta make you feel at least a little better about your life right? (Even though we all know you’ll get a fabulous job eventually with all your wit and talent, your boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband/ex/whatever will realize how they cannot live without you, or you will get sweet sweet revenge soon enough and it was just the skinny jeans).

3oh!3 is now playing. Pandora is thrusting guilty pleasure music at me like a box of Godiva chocolates. Look out for another word of the week segment and some random shout outs. And the unpredictable moments that come along with being radio personalities at WRLR 98.3 FM.

I’ve rambled on far long enough, and Carl and I will be making our usual coffee run before the show at an undisclosed Caribou somewhere on the way to the studio. (I can’t actually tell you which one in fear of paparazzi sightings again–they are nasty!) (That was a joke, our heads are not that big). (not really). (ok enough of these parentheses). (I spelled that wrong.)

Mick’s suggestions on how to listen to the show were again so stellar in the weekly fb message that I am simply copying and pasting them here–enjoy folks!

Except ONE last thing before I go–don’t forget about the SUB-T contest, where you can record a”bump”  (a 3-to-10-second recording we can use to transition from song to song during the show. It can be straightforward, silly, witty, bizarre, or whatever you like) and win on-air time for your bump, along with a Subterranean t-shirt and bumper sticker. So get on that people! And ps, I’ll give you a t-shirt and/or bumper sticker combo prize if you prove to me that you’ve read this much, because you deserve a prize.

-Steph

Carl, Stephanie and I will be in the studio for Subterranean at 11pm tongiht to deliver you two hours of the best in underground rock, strange news, and God knows what else. You have multiple ways to get what you crave: 1) It’s a radio show. Guess what you can use to listen to it if you’re close enough to Round Lake? 2) It’s the computer age. Swing with the cool kids and log on to www.wrlr.fm for a free audio stream. 3) I think I mentioned it’s the computer age, which of course means it’s easier than ever to be a creepy voyeur weirdo. We invite you to explore that shadowy side of yourself by spying on us via webcam at www.justin.tv/wrlr, where you’ll hear the show as well as watching us in the studio and chatting with us. Perhaps you’ll even give us orders to see if we follow them. Yea. We know you’re like that. Don’t even try to pretend you’re not. We see through you. 4) It’s the on-demand age. Why should you make an effort to listen to the show when you can microwave some popcorn, have some pizza delivered, and check out the podcast at your convenience? We wouldn’t want to cut into your copious reality TV-viewing schedule. (We want to apologize to you for Megan Wants a Millionaire getting canceled, but it would be insincere to do so.) 5) Send in for our free do-it-yourself Subterranean kit! Included are cardboard headphones, a playlist, cardboard speakers, sock puppets, cardboard studio, and post-show celebratory guacamole. You pay only $99.95 for shipping & handling! Associates are standing by.

“Shampoo,” Elvis Perkins in Dearland

“Not a Crime,” Gogol Bordello

UNDERGROUNDBREAKERS: “Big Dumb Town,” Stan Ridgway

“Pick It Up (and Put It in Your Pocket),” Stan Ridgway

“Mexican Radio,” Wall of Voodoo

“Down to Rest,” O’Death

“Empire,” Trampled by Turtles

“Easy,” Deer Tick

“Cabin Song,” T. Nile

“Jangling Jack,” Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

“Rainbow,” Thee Oh Sees

“Three Shoes,” The Horse Flies