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 #038 - 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.

Happy Canada Day!

Welcome to Crawling From the USA’s anniversary celebration!

Here’s a little gift from the brilliant Canadian comedy troupe, Three Dead Trolls in a baggie:

Meanwhile in ... oh it's obvious isn't it?

COW #168 -- 10-Dec-1994 -- Rock It to the Moon!

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.

31 years ago (and a day)

One of the things that always amazes me about Canada is that, in the form we know it today, it is a very young country. The document above is the equivalent of the US “Bill of Rights,” and forms the first part of the Constitution of Canada -- and was only passed in 1982, just 31 years ago.

There was a Bill of Rights prior to the Charter (going back to 1960), but it was only a statute rather than a constitutional document and could thus be narrowly interpreted, changed and generally ignored. This document stemmed largely from the work of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau -- whose son Justin has just become the leader of the Liberal Party -- and the process of hashing out the complicated issues of judicial versus legislative versus provincial and individual rights was actually filmed for television.

I’d like to think that those discussions were much like the ones the US founding fathers had over the original Bill of Rights, and that the filmed record gives us some insight into what happened way back in  1789. The Canadian version -- which to me seems to be roughly equally influenced by the US Bill of Right and by British laws and rights -- is very well laid out and articulate. You can read the actual text of the document here.

Happy birthday, Canada-USA-CFTUSA!

Yes, it’s that time of year once again! This year, I decided to wait until July 4th to post my annual Happy Birthday greetings to Canada (145 years old), the USA (236 years) and of course to this very blog, begun FIVE YEARS AGO (on July 1st to be specific). I needed the extra time to edit together a short little video to mark the celebrations that have gone on (or are about to happen as I post this) in both countries. Really, guys, the whole population turns out to celebrate the 5th anniversary of this blog? You shouldn’t have!

We had a great time on Canada Day. It was a moderately warm, sunny day (we’re having a very mild summer so far even by our northern standards -- it's been rare that we’ve cracked much above 60°F! As I write this it is 63, but we're hoping to get to 68 later this week. Sorry, all you Eastern-residing folks -- I know this is making you jealous! :)

Anyway, here’s the video. Hope you had or are having a great holiday, and we’ll try to update this blog a bit more regularly as we go forward.