Common thread: Busy Doing Nothing with Charlie

Listener comments!

11:45am Perri:

Whoops! Gonna have to straighten out that tape first... Happy Thursday and Hello Charlie!

11:45am kat330:

Hi, Charlie! Will be back after the show's going, but listening all through.

BTW, had a concept involving knots in the middle of the night, so your tangled tape image fits me well. :)

11:46am Katya Oddio:

Hey, gals!

11:47am Katya Oddio:

Is Moffitt in town here now, Perri?

11:50am Brian in UK:

Hello Charlie & chums, reel to real?

11:51am Perri:

Yes, and hello Katya! I am talking to him right NOW! :-)

11:55am Charlie:

oh darn! my tape! aaaarrrggghhhh, there goes the show!

11:56am Charlie:

Hi there Perri, kat330, Katya and Brian in UK!

11:56am Carmichael:

Good day, Charlie and co-listeners.

11:56am Katya Oddio:

We thought about those two when passing The Waffle House off I-10 last night. Still only 36F degrees here now. Here's hoping you have a fireplace there, Charlie, if the power is sketchy there. Brrr!

11:57am Doug S.:

Mmmm, waffles.

11:58am Michael:

Hiya Charlie. And everyone else too! I C30, C60, C90.

11:58am ndbob:

heya charlie and everyone!

11:59am Brian in UK:

Is that Doug Simpson?

11:59am Michael:

I'll trade anyone waffles for some deer antler spray!

12:00pm Katya Oddio:

Nice, Michael! Love that song. Howdy, fellow devoted listeners

12:01pm Doug S.:

@Brian in UK
You can call me D'oh!g S.

12:02pm Charlie:

And greetings Carmichael, Doug, Michael, Bob! Save a waffle for me!

12:04pm Perri:

Moffitt says, "Hello Katya!" I have that Waffle House photo right here on the wall. :-) Hmmmm, waffles do sound good right now. (Got a waffle song, Charlie?)

12:05pm glenn:

chicken and waffles IS the best thing ever.

12:07pm Charlie:

Oatmeal and beans and tempeh for me this morning.

12:07pm S.A. from S.F.:

Hi, Charlie -- I'll be needing a fork and spoon for all that brown pasta.

12:08pm glenn:

deer antler spray. the first time i saw that in print i thought somebody had made a bad edit. but no.

12:10pm Charlie:

Hello Gleann and also S.A. -- welcome to the tape sprawl.

12:11pm Michael:

Never heard of it until this week and now it's everywhere. So to speak.

12:11pm ndbob:

fried eggs for breakfast today

12:12pm northguineahills:

I had some crackers w/ a new hot sauce for breakfast.. (i was really lazy this morning). Munching on olives now, about to make migas for lunch.

12:12pm kat330:

OK, finally back to the keyboard, enjoying all the sounds, and also really enjoyed the piece just before your show began. If my Squeezebox got it right, the Mary Halvorson Quintet -- nice! :)

12:13pm Charlie:

All the cassette tape you can eat. Here's a spork.

12:14pm S.A. from S.F.:

Not seeing nearly as many of those wrecked cassettes on the street as I used to -- wrecked CDs outnumber them by at least 10 - 1.

12:15pm kat330:

While in the kitchen making a sandwich, there were big fluffy flakes of snow coming down. Now the sun's out and it has stopped.

12:16pm Carmichael:

Hey hey! It's Bow Wow Wow, an old favorite.

12:16pm S.A. from S.F.:

Is there any song about CDs that is as great as C30C60C90, though?

12:17pm ndbob:

sunny and bitter cold here - minus 17 with a minus 47 wind chill when i went out to breakfast - the cd player was half frozen

12:18pm kat330:

Has anyone else ever fixed an unraveled cassette tape? I have! NOT as unraveled as the one you've pictured, but still it was quite the tedious job. Somehow scotch tape was involved, too.

12:19pm ndbob:

not me kat - it would end up getting progressively worse

12:21pm Brian in UK:

Who was the woman covered in tape?

12:21pm S.A. from S.F.:

I've done it, kat, but nowadays it would make more sense to just cut it up in pieces and splice randomly.

12:21pm kat330:

So, Charlie, is this show's theme to taunt us for no longer having to solve math problems?

12:22pm Katya Oddio:

My TVC15

12:22pm glenn:

brian - is that a wilkie collins book?

12:23pm kat330:

@S.A. from S.F.: Oh, believe me, it was a looonnng time ago I did that. I still have a drawerful of cassettes, but it's been a long time since I've listened. I have tapes of my radio theater shows on a few.

12:23pm Charlie:

Yes, @Katya, was thinking of that Bowie song too! Played it not too long ago though.
btw -- anyone -- what does TVC15 mean?
@kat330 -- yes, i've fixed cassette tapes too!

12:24pm northguineahills:

I have multiple times kat, and yes, as bad as the one pictured. Tedious doesn't even cover it. I've been told I was insane and that I should quit, or at least stop yelling.

12:24pm ndbob:

@glenn haha

12:24pm kat330:

Hey, Katya! Where you been the past couple weeks? Good to see you again!

12:26pm Carmichael:

I used to work at a radio station producing commercials, and I had to edit tape manually. Razor knife, scotch tape, and roll it into a self-setting tape cart for DJs. This concept is still in use today, in some of the lower dollar markets.

12:27pm jan:

I've been looking forward to your show after reading the morning New York Times: an obituary on the passing of the last Andrews Sisters and a review of the Barry Manilow Concert. All I had to do was read the titles of their songs and the music was stuck in my head. Ready for the ear purge of Busy Dong Nothing.

12:27pm kat330:

Sorry about your mighty winds there, Charlie. We had it Tuesday eve and why we missed out on Yo La Tengo and Calexico. :/

12:27pm S.A. from S.F.:

@Charlie -- Wikipedia says: "The track was inspired by an episode in which Iggy Pop, during a drug-fuelled period at Bowie’s LA home, hallucinated and believed the television set was swallowing his girlfriend. Bowie developed a story of a holographic television, TVC 15. In the song, the narrator's girlfriend crawls into the television and afterwards, the narrator desires to crawl in himself to find her." Seems reasonable.

12:27pm Doug S.:

@kat330
That indeed was Mary Halvorson. The track was "The Periphery of Scandal (No. 23)"

12:28pm Ike:

Good afternoon, all. Fuji or Maxell?

12:29pm kat330:

Doing the Bump on the dance floor offers plenty of butt-to-butt resuscitation, whether needed or not. ;)

12:29pm Doug Schulkind:

@jan
"Busy Dong Nothing" sounds like the porn-movie-name version of Charlie's show.

12:31pm kat330:

Thanks, Doug! It was quite nice, and this time I had the presence of mind to look at my SB screen before it was finished.

12:32pm Doug S.:

The rest of the Drummer Stream schedule, porn-movie-named:

D:Oh! Radio
The Tony Colt Her Show
Nazario Sin-nario
Come 'n' Sky Kamoutsky
Give the Drummer Some (perfect as is)

12:33pm Carmichael:

Avatar-ing my answer, Ike!

12:33pm kat330:

@Doug: Well, I don't know if the "nothing" in the title would sell the film though. ;)

12:33pm glenn:

the matt nineinch show.

12:34pm Charlie:

Hi Jan -- whew, I'm glad, at first I thought you were expecting Barry!
Hi Ike -- is it live or is it Busy Doing Nothing?

12:34pm S.A. from S.F.:

@Doug S. - HA!

But it should be "Give The Drummer Some, Baby".

12:35pm kat330:

@glenn: Matt Fiveass?

12:36pm S.A. from S.F.:

Debbie Does WFMU really IS perfect!

12:36pm Katya Oddio:

Everyone here has probably re-spooled a cassette with a pencil, right? Only missed last week, kat330. Worked through the show. Always more fun when I can catch the show and you folks!

12:36pm glenn:

no. fineass.

12:37pm Doug S.:

@glenn
Thanks for remembering. Yes, Matt Fiveash and his wonderful show are moving over to the Drummer Stream from our sister stream Rock 'n' Soul Ichican. Matt's show will air on Thursdays, 2-4pm, beginning next week.

12:38pm Michael:

Always a pencil and always an older cassette that had something really, really good on it. Or so we thought.

12:38pm kat330:

And glenn, I have an avatar for that Matt show.

12:39pm Charlie:

S.A. -- thanks for that info re TVC15!

12:39pm S.A. from S.F.:

Itchycan?

12:40pm glenn:

you guys are perverts. i like that.

12:42pm Perri:

Ahh yes, pencils--the perfect impromptu cassette winder!

12:42pm kat330:

@Michael: Yes, a pencil was indispensible. I just opened my drawerful (two actually) of cassettes and see I still have a couple of Pfanstiehl from late '60s. Holy moley.

12:44pm kat330:

@glenn: That piece of ass is what fell from an old beater Cutlass I bought when I first moved out to L.A. ($600 bargain). I've kept it as a good luck memento. Not sure it worked, at least not out in L.A.

12:44pm Tower:

I found a cassette copy of Point of Know Return by Kansas unraveled along the road when I was a kid. Wound it back up and played it many, many times. Still one of my favorite albums, and still have the cassette.

12:46pm S.A. from S.F.:

Looking up Teddy Charles Tentet as I type; groovy sound, man!

12:47pm Charlie:

for those who collect this kind of arcane jazz data:
Vibraphone - Teddy Charles
Piano - Mal Waldron
drums - Joe Harris (3)
Bass - Teddy Kotick
Guitar - Jimmy Raney
Saxophone [Alto] - Gigi Gryce
Saxophone [Baritone] - Sol Schlinger (tracks: A1, A3, B4);
Saxophone [Tenor] - J.R. Monterose
Trumpet - Art Farmer
Tuba - Don Butterfield

12:47pm kat330:

OK, back to the usual, as if the kicked ass was never ever here. :)

12:48pm kat330:

Enjoying TCT as well.

12:49pm glenn:

in the same vein, i drove across canada in a 1976 amc matador with atomic rooster and savoy brown 8 tracks to keep me company. oh, 10 years after as well.

12:49pm Katya Oddio:

We know it was, and it was awesome. Love the memory of my huge old Cutlasses.

12:50pm Tower:

Dental Floss!

12:50pm S.A. from S.F.:

OK, this is my sing-a-long track for today; I have it memorized.

12:51pm Parq:

Montana? Well, my concentration's shot for the next however many minutes it is.

12:51pm Charlie:

Me, I floss with cassette tape.

12:51pm Parq:

Everybody sing!

12:51pm Michael:

FZ: My first concert as a kid!

12:51pm Tower:

His name is tiny little he's a good horse!

12:52pm S.A. from S.F.:

Gonna be a menil toss flycoon.

12:52pm Katya Oddio:

kat330, you might just be Perri's and my lost sister. The taste in music is the first clue. The hair is the clencher.

12:53pm Charlie:

Ladies and gentlemen, Tina Turner and the Ike-ettes.

12:53pm S.A. from S.F.:

@ Michael - me too, Petite Wazoo.

12:53pm Parq:

I don't care if you think it's silly, folks.

12:54pm Tower:

I have Montana on 45. Kinda hard to find that one.

12:55pm Michael:

Ha! Would have loved to see the Petite band. I saw the Flo and Eddie verison; Carnegie Hall 1971. Mom put us on the bus to NYC alone for the first time. =)

12:55pm glenn:

i'm gonna start a t shirt company and call it ike-ons. nothing but wife beaters. and then i'll sell them at my t shirt store - the ides of merch.

12:56pm S.A. from S.F.:

Zappa miming the zircon-encrusted tweezers with his hand.

12:56pm kat330:

@Katya: Red hair you mean? Then Doug's our brother! If you're looking at profile pics, check out the animation on the far right upper row (an old headshot proof sheet).

12:57pm Parq:

Glenn, I will travel across the country by bicycle, if necessary, to shop at that store.

12:59pm Carmichael:

Yippee Ki Yo Ki Yay!

12:59pm S.A. from S.F.:

@Michael - I'm a little jealous, of you, too.

1:00pm Doug S.:

Gotta go run some errands and sell a car. See you all back here tomorrow at 9am (ET).

1:00pm Matt from Springfield:

Hi Charlie and Joe BDNs!

1:01pm S.A. from S.F.:

Do I have to kick the Drummer's tires, now?

1:01pm kat330:

So Matt is actually Doug and Doug is actually Matt?? Aha!

1:02pm kat330:

Bye Doug and hi Matt!

1:02pm kat330:

I presume Doug is not selling a Lincoln.

1:03pm kat330:

Stephen!! He's Wright for all the wrong reasons! :)

1:03pm Matt from Springfield:

Hi Kat!
If "Doug's our brother", then Bob's your uncle! Say, where is NDBob...

1:03pm ndbob:

hey matt!

1:03pm Matt from Springfield:

Speak of the Bob! :)

1:04pm kat330:

Yes, I got in FOUR IN A ROW! [is that a record with only a 2-min. gap?]

1:04pm Charlie:

Howdy Matt!

1:04pm S.A. from S.F.:

@ glenn - bad taste -- I like it!

1:04pm Katya Oddio:

Was once trapped in a yellow Subaru from NY to VT and back to NY with Ukulele Lady stuck in the cassette player and sadists who thought it was be fun to let it play the whole way. (shiver)

1:05pm Matt from Springfield:

"My pappy said 'Son you're gonna drive me to drinkin' / If you dont stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln"

I assume a prophecy of the upcoming 2016 show with Lincoln and DJ HotRod? ;)

1:05pm Parq:

Steve Wright -- man, I hope he managed his money wisely while he was making it. If he sent it up his nose, he's kind of out of luck.

1:05pm Matt from Springfield:

Re: the record, kat: Not even close! I oughta know! :)

1:06pm Uncle Michael:

Greetings, Drumheads.

1:06pm kat330:

@Parq: Craig Ferguson helps him out -- at least keeping him in the SAG-AFTRA unemployment loop, which is a lifesaver.

1:06pm S.A. from S.F.:

Is Jens Lekman secretly John Cale?

1:06pm glenn:

maybe "i gotta sell a car" is pittsburghian for "i gotta see a man about a horse"?

1:07pm kat330:

Yes, I realized I could never take you down to the Matt.

1:08pm S.A. from S.F.:

Uncle Michael, my favorite podcaster.

1:08pm Uncle Michael:

I gotta go liquidate my assets.

1:09pm Uncle Michael:

Wow, S.A. Thank you!

1:09pm kat330:

An interesting pairing of instruments.

1:09pm ndbob:

greetings Michael!

1:10pm Matt from Springfield:

@kat: It IS possible, however, to take me down to the 'mat while playing the 'Mats!

1:10pm Charlie:

Hey there, Uncle Michael!

1:11pm kat330:

@UM: You missed out on some ass-inine avatars and comments.

1:11pm Uncle Michael:

I gotta tell y'all that the last 12+ hours has been a scramble. Some of you that know my show know that I do the live broadcast over Stickam and yesterday they announced that they're shutting down...today.

1:11pm Uncle Michael:

Hi Bob...Hi Charlie.

1:12pm kat330:

I wonder if Charlie and other david will ever have an avatar wrestling match.

Ohhh, Unc, that's such a shame. :/

1:13pm Charlie:

Bummer, Michael.

1:14pm S.A. from S.F.:

Unka Mike -- Oh noes! What's gonna happen?!

1:15pm Matt from Springfield:

@UM: Hopefully you can find another service!

1:15pm Ike:

I've also been stuck with bad music (e.g. Andrea Bocelli, a.k.a. Popular Only Because He's Blind & Cute) on trips from NY to VT (or NH) which is why I don't hike there as much as I'd like. Next time, I will drive, and I will keep total control of my car's cassette deck, dammit!

1:15pm Matt from Springfield:

I'm sure you will, I just hope soon and with minimal interruption.

1:16pm Parq:

OK, this baritone Numa Numa is creeping me out.

1:18pm Uncle Michael:

Going to go with BlogTV beginning tonight.

1:23pm S.A. from S.F.:

Another sing-a-long!

1:23pm S.A. from S.F.:

Charlie is going with a tuba theme!

1:23pm Matt from Springfield:

Heh, Bonzo Dog Band does it again! :)

@UM: Whew, nice save!

1:24pm frenchee:

Oh my. THE BONZOS ring my bell like no other. RIng a DING!

1:24pm kat330:

@Jens Lekman track: That guy is really unraveling.

1:24pm frenchee:

or perhaps I should say
they OOMP my oomp-pah-pah!

1:25pm Parq:

Is anyone else finding that you can't "favorite" a track while it's in play? The star spins around and remains blank, until the next track gets posted. I don't know whether or not it's supposed to do that.

1:26pm Matt from Springfield:

@frenchee: Ding Dog Bell!

1:26pm kat330:

@Parq: That happens to me sometimes, but not always by any means. So I wonder if it is something else, like many trying to click at once (or even only two at the same time).

1:27pm S.A. from S.F.:

@ Parq - this "favorite" thing that some of you have puzzles me -- is that something to do with Facebook widgets?

1:27pm Matt from Springfield:

@Parq: I have noticed--though only some of the time for me. Maybe the DJ had advanced the playlist during the other ones from their end. It's a small wait in any case.

1:28pm S.A. from S.F.:

Quasimodo on bells!

1:28pm Matt from Springfield:

@SA SF: Take a look at the stars next to tracks (and at the top for the whole episode. And for the show in general!) Click on one :)

1:30pm S.A. from S.F.:

Thanks, Matt. Comprende.

1:30pm northguineahills:

Wait, there's a floor?

1:31pm Matt from Springfield:

Funky little version of "Billie Joe"!
@SA SF: No problemas!

1:34pm ndbob:

indeed Matt - never heard this before

1:35pm Charlie:

lol S.A. -- "J. Arthur Rank on gong."
Hi Frenchee!

1:35pm Parq:

Just to amplify, SF, once you've marked a song as a favorite or a Society member as a friend, it gets add to a list that becomes part of your profile page.

1:38pm βrian:

Smiths on helium?

1:39pm S.A. from S.F.:

Well, that raises another question -- where's the star next to member's names?

1:39pm northguineahills:

It's been a long time since I've heard this Schneider TM.

1:40pm Matt from Springfield:

I've heard a few covers of "There Is A Light", this is the most washed-out electronica version yet!

(The Dum Dum Girls also do a great version).

1:40pm kat330:

I had thought Nancy Wilson was somehow involved in the old news parody "That Was the Week That Was," but my searching just now only showed an overlap at the 1964 Grammys. Wonder what singer I was thinking of?

1:40pm S.A. from S.F.:

@βrian - funny.

1:42pm ndbob:

@kat Nancy Ames

1:45pm kat330:

@Bob: Aha! THanks! I knew someone could fine it for me. At least I had the Nancy part right. :)

1:46pm kat330:

refine find

1:47pm Tower:

Enjoying the Yo La Tengo.

1:48pm Uncle Michael:

I muted for work. Did I miss Dueling Tubas?

1:48pm frenchee:

Every week brings new delights, ChazLEW! thanks and my goodness is this the best YLT album ever or WHAT?

1:48pm Charlie:

YLT fresh off the press, yo!

1:48pm ndbob:

@kat Now the theme song is running through my head:)

1:49pm S.A. from S.F.:

Ne'mind, I found it!

1:49pm Katya Oddio:

Fresh Yo label in the house! Fantastic!

1:50pm kat330:

I guess "Ohm" is the piece de resistance. ;)

1:50pm Charlie:

Learned about that one, @Katya from your Oddio electronic music post. Got a link handy?

1:51pm Uncle Michael:

What *did* happen to the stars by the screen names?

1:51pm S.A. from S.F.:

@Uncle Michael - Sadly, no. Nor The Ridiculous Trio, neither, nor Henry Threadgill.

1:52pm Carmichael:

Wow, what a great ol' album, Charlie!

1:53pm kat330:

I'm quite enjoying the arrangement and music of this one, but the singer is, um, not doing it for me. [james gang]

1:54pm Carmichael:

If you're talking about the electronica collection "Ohm", yes, that is the musical Mecca for that genre. I'm so happy to have found it on the dollar table at a Goodwill.

1:54pm Matt from Springfield:

@kat: Not a slight on Joe Walsh, I hope? ;)

1:54pm Uncle Michael:

Joe Walsh forgives you.

1:55pm Katya Oddio:

Always quick with a link and a smile!

Fresh yO! Label
freshyolabel.com

Vibrating Electrons (Blogio Oddio)
oddiooverplay.blogspot.com...

Also, the earlier track "TESO LE45 9859 LT24" by Favors is available for download here
freemusicarchive.org...

1:56pm kat330:

Didn't sound like Joe Walsh to me, but if that's the lead on that Ashes song, then I guess so.

1:56pm Charlie:

ty, Katya! -- Yes, I got the Favors from your post too I think :)

1:56pm kat330:

Smiles of a Summer Finland -- Bergman mixed with Sibelius?

1:57pm Michael:

Thanks Katya.

1:57pm S.A. from S.F.:

For the second day in a row, I feel moved to document what I'm drinking while listening to the Drummer stream: dry sherry, while working on my resume. Not the best of combinations, of course, but not bad.

1:58pm kat330:

Thanks, Katya! And thanks, Charlie, for everything before, between and after Tengo la Voz and Yo La Tengo! May your weekend be wonderful and your winds do no damage, everybody! Bah-byeee!

1:58pm Charlie:

Hey all you groovy gals and guys, thanks for your presence here today! See y'all next time :)

1:58pm Katya Oddio:

Cheers!

1:58pm northguineahills:

Wow, I love Es, and that whole Finnish scene...

Awesome set, Charlie!

1:58pm Matt from Springfield:

Hey Katya, I totally dig that you Favorited a bunch of old and non-active WFMU programs! The Best...of All Time!

1:59pm Uncle Michael:

Thank YOU, Charlie.

1:59pm Matt from Springfield:

Thank you much, Charlie!

2:00pm Tower:

Thanks for the music, Charlie!

2:00pm ndbob:

excellent show Charlie!

2:01pm Carmichael:

Here's to you, Charlie <lifts drink>!

2:01pm Michael:

Thank you Charles. Wonderful stereophonic sounds.

2:02pm Katya Oddio:

Long Live WFMU -- and the WFMU archives! Today's and yesterday's shows. Thanks, Charlie. Cheers, all

2:03pm Matt from Springfield:

Hmm, thought the move was this week. Oh well, great to know Fiveash will still have a Thurs afternoon show!

In that case, have a good afternoon everybody!

2:09pm Perri:

Excellent good fun, thank you!