Playlist: Tuesday, June 22, 2010

David Byrne / Don't Fence Me In [Cole Porter cover]
Ozomatli / Are You Ready
Admiral Radley / Ghosts Of Syllables
Earlimart / Answers & Questions
Panty Lions / Dedication
Grandaddy / Pre-Merced
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse feat. Julian Casablancas / Little Girl
Jesus & Mary Chain / God Help Me
Archie Bronson Outfit / Wild Strawberries
Flying Lotus feat. Thom Yorke / And The World Laughs With You
Devo / Fresh
Tame Impala / Alter Ego
Tokyo Police Club / Bambi
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti / Fright Night
Joanna Newsom / Good Intentions Paving Co.
Trumpet Solo / Hard Working Economy
Coliseum feat. Bonnie "Prince" Billy / Skeleton Smile
Scout Niblett / Duke Of Anxiety
Black Keys / Never Gonna Give You Up
Sleigh Bells / Kids
M.I.A. feat. Jay-Z / XXXO
Head Like A Kite / Director's Cut
Slug & Murs / Henrietta Longbottom
u-Ziq / The Hwicci Song
Flaming Lips / Worm Mountain
White Rabbits / Percussion Gun
Sloan / People Think They Know Me
Akron/Family / River
Carolina Chocolate Drops / Trouble In Your Mind
Big Pig / Hungry Town
Band Of Horses / Compliments
Blitzen Trapper / Below The Hurricane
Dead Weather / Blue Blood Blues
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings / The Game Gets Old
New Pornographers / Crash Years
Dum Dum Girls / Bhang Bhang, I'm A Burnout
Rafter / Animal Feelings
Thomas Dolby / She Blinded Me With Science
Delorean / Stay Close
Pains Of Being Pure At Heart / Say No To Love
Wheels Of Fortune / Give It All Back
Foals / Total Life Forever
Neverever / Young And Dumb
She & Him / Lingering Still
Harlem / Spray Paint
Male Bonding / Year's Not Long

Fierce Creatures live tracks

In a shameless attempt to attract more page views to my little blog, I am posting three live tracks from the Fresno art-pop band Fierce Creatures here for downloading, courtesy 90.7 KFSR. They have a pretty loyal local following for being such a new band and that's sure to be stoked by the release party for their debut EP, I Mostri Feroci, on July 6 at The Captive, a new Tower District venue run by Johnny Quiroz and his hard-working Love The Captive promotions crew. I recently had the band live and unplugged in the studio on my Evening Eclectic show and they were a real treat. RIYL Arcade Fire, hand claps, sunny afternoons.

Fierce Creatures - Phantom Athletes [Live on 90.7 KFSR]

Fierce Creatures - The Great White [Live on 90.7 KFSR]

Fierce Creatures - The Brut and the Beast [Live on 90.7 KFSR]

Note for hardcore FC fans: If you tried listening/downloading these before on KFSR.org and they didn't work, you might have to empty your browser's cache before trying to listen/download to these. The previous files have now been replaced.

An afternoon with my brother

I've always kind of wanted a brother, someone to talk to about dude stuff. I already have a little sister who is a schoolteacher in Las Vegas. But she and I don't talk much. So when Eric Parker came along a few years ago, I got my wish. Not only does the guy wash windows (above), write a great blog (here), and regularly rub elbows with literary greats (here and here) but he has also has been just about the best brother I could have asked for.


Eric grew up in Clovis, lived in San Diego, and got both his BA in English and his MFA in creative writing here at Fresno State. He currently lives in San Diego where he blogs and is working on a book project. Ever since I met him in 2004, Eric and I have talked about doing some daytime tours of the little towns that surround Fresno. Even though both of us have lived in the central San Joaquin Valley off and on for most of our lives, there are so many people and places right under our noses here that we want to check out and immerse ourselves in--a la Gay Talese or Susan Orlean, two of our favorite writers--just to see what we find.


Eric was in town this past week or so doing research for his book. We had a couple chances to get together for meals and to catch up. This past Tuesday afternoon, Eric and I went on a quickie tour of spots in Minkler, Reedley, Dinuba, Kingsburg, and Selma. Our first stop was the Minkler Cash Store on Highway 180 northeast of Sanger. We bellied up to the bar and visited with the owner, Mary, whose mother Sylvia knows my dad from his days as a truck driver at the former Central Valley Ready-Mix, and a local, Jeffrey, who was playing the piano when we got there. Mary said she remembered me from when I was a kid. We had a great visit with them and loved the organized clutter of the store.


Next stop was Uncle Harry's restaurant on G Street in Reedley. This is not the Uncle Harry's that most people know as a bagel shop. This is the Uncle Harry's of Harry Horasanian, a longtime restaurateur and a friend of my mother's family for generations. His Armenian food is well known by folks all over the valley and even my vegetarian brother Eric went animal style with the turkey kabob sandwich during our visit. He said when you're going local, you've got to do what the locals do. I'm pretty sure he didn't regret it.


We motored into Dinuba to visit my parents next. Eric snapped this shot of me and my mom before we left. But mostly, Eric and I hung out in the garage with my dad, playing billiards and ping pong. The results? Well, my dad did a lot of shit talking and beat everyone in billiards. But no one could touch me in ping pong. Eric held his own in both and he even shared a can of Olympia with my dad. I've never been a beer drinker and I think my dad has sometimes wished I was. But two out of three dudes (67%) kicking back an Oly on a hot summer day worked better for us than one out of two (50%).


We rounded out the tour with a stop at the Sun Maid raisin plant just outside of Kingsburg and a quick drive down Golden State Boulevard through Selma, past the famous Wilkins Drive-In, on our way back. The Sun Maid plant was a little disappointing because only the gift shop is now open to the public. No tours inside like back in the old days. But at least there were free samples, good conversation, and a few photo opps for two brothers who made time to take their own little tour of a couple places that had always been there.

Playlist: Monday, June 14, 2010

The Breeders / Fate To Fatal
Papercuts / Jet Plane
Kid Mud / Federated
Black Keys / Tighten Up
Portugal. The Man / Guns And Dogs
Delta 5 / Anticipation
Animal Collective / Guys Eyes
Rademacher / Today Is Different
Vivian Girls / Where Do You Run To
Circulatory System / Until Moon Medium Hears The Message
St. Vincent / Save Me From What I Want
Aesop Rock feat. John Darnielle / None Shall Pass
Ghostface Killah feat. Cappadonna, U-God & Masta Killah / Winter Warz
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks / Elmo Delmo
Xiu Xiu / Dear God, I Hate Myself
Of Montreal / Gallery Piece
Home Blitz / Stupid Street
Trumpet Solo / Mamma's Kiss
Blake Jones & The Trike Shop / Sing Along
Mountain Goats / Marduk T-Shirt Men's Room Incident
David Byrne / Things To Do (I've Tried)
The Smiths / How Soon Is Now?
Mos Def / Casa Bey
Gil Scott-Heron / On Coming From A Broken Home (Part 2)
Blakroc feat. Mos Def & Jim Jones / Ain't Nothing Like You
Moby / Shot In The Back Of The Head
Black Lips / Elijah
The Vaselines / Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam
Hot Chip / Wrestlers
Morning Benders / Temptation Inside Your Heart [Velvet Underground cover]
Crystal Stilts / Shattered Shine
Earlimart / Song For
Passion Pit / Cuddle Fuddle
Gorillaz / Pirate Jet
Massive Attack feat. Hope Sandoval / Paradise Circus
Charlotte Gainsbourg / Trick Pony
Scout Niblett / Cherry Cheek Bomb
Fay Wrays / This Song's About Brotherly Love
Beach House / Real Love
YACHT / The Afterlife
Women / Cameras
Cold Cave / I.C.D.K.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Isis
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings / Mama Don't Like My Man
Ozomatli / Aqui No Sera
Carolina Chocolate Drops / Cornbread And Butterbeans

Playlist: Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Joanna Newsom / Easy
Bill Callahan / The Wind And The Dove
Scout Niblett / Duke Of Anxiety
Bonnie "Prince" Billy & The Cairo Gang / Kids
The Breeders / Fortunately Gone
Mountain Goats / Genesis 3:23
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti / Bright Lit Blue Skies
The National / Lemonworld
Male Bonding / Franklin
The Vaselines / Dying For It
Foals / Miami
Blitzen Trapper / Laughing Lover
A Place To Bury Strangers / Everything Always Goes Wrong
Wheels Of Fortune / SF Wind
Head Like A Kite / Director's Cut
Admiral Radley / Ghosts Of Syllables
Yo La Tengo / Here To Fall [De La Soul remix]
Cave Singers / Beach House
Helium / Leon's Space Song
New Pornographers / Your Hands (Together)
Black Keys / Ten Cent Pistol
Carolina Chocolate Drops / Trouble In Your Mind
Magnetic Fields / We Are Having A Hootenanny
Tori Amos / You'll Be Taken Care Of
Beck / He's A Mighty Good Leader
Karl Blau / Crucial Contact
Angelo Spencer / Shivers
Hornet Leg / Disco Junkie
Solillaquists of Sound / Fittin' In
Jason Lytle / This Song Is The Mute Button
Neko Case / Magpie To The Morning
Dr. Dog / Where'd All The Time Go
Broken Social Scene / Texico Bitches
Feist / My Moon My Man
Amy Millan / I Will Follow You Into The Dark
Los Campesinos! / I Warned You: Do Not Make An Enemy Of Me
Le Loup / Family
Unnatural Helpers / Girl In The Window
The Dutchess and The Duke / Scorpio
Golden Triangle / Jellyroll
Chemical Brothers / Setting Sun [feat. Noel Gallagher]
Royksopp / This Must Be It [feat. Fever Ray]
Bat For Lashes / Daniel
Hot Chip / I Feel Better
Music Go Music / Thousand Crazy Nights
Yeasayer / Ambling Alp
Damien Jurado / Arkansas