Tune into Hell's Kitchen Radio, with John Hell, every Monday night 8-10PM (Pacific), on Radio Valencia (https://radiovalencia.fm) in San Francisco. You can find my playlists and links to the podcasts right here.
It would appear I went a bit long and neglected my responsibility of posting my show. Sorry about that folks. I had a new Radio Valencia DJ in the studio for the night, training for his new show. You can check out The Final Step with Izzy Tuesdays 10-midnight. Nice guy. I'm looking forward to his show.
We have a lot of really great shows on Radio Valencia. And I'm nit just saying that. When I started this station I had a vision of a freeform station that allowed DJs to not only share the music they love, but to also continue to explore music of many genres, ready and excited to play what they find on their show, just for you.
That's what still excites me about hosting a radio show after all these years.
So, even though I was distracted training our new host, I made certain to have some great music ready for you over two hours. New music from the Murlocks, Melvins with Helms Alee covering some early Scorpions, new Meatbodies, Population II from Montreal, Slift, Kim Gordon, and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets whom I'm seeing in San Francisco next week!
There's also some rare San Francisco punk with pre-Flipper band Negative Trend, as well as some SF funk/punk with Dread Zeppelin, and many other treats sprinkled about.
Enjoy and please share.
jh
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
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The holidays are upon us, whether we like it or not. Seasonal affective disorder? Raise your hands. Anyone? Anyone? Not me, to be honest, but that doesn't mean I don't feel ya, for those who get down about this time of year. Strangely, when the clock turned back a few weeks ago, seeing it get dark early hit me in a way I don't recall it ever striking me before. I did not like it.
It's sunny today. I should really get out in this, but I'm off work all week, and this couch is super comfy, and I'm not wearing any pants.
Pants are for suckers.
So yeah, I'm off all week because I'm an educator. A teacher. My lessons last an eternity, which is how long it takes to grade all these damn papers! I'm not here to turn you all on to the extra amount of work us teachers bring home; I don't wish to depress you all and add to your SAD. Oh hey, wow, did the DSM mean to make the disorder spell out SAD as an acronym when they named it? WTF DSM? Ironic joke indeed. And the joke is on us all it would appear.
Anyway, eat as much as you want and don't put on any pants for the next month.
And enjoy this show! I was actually training to new Radio Valencia staff members, so I hope this came out OK. Since I was off work I took the time to not only pull some records I wanted to share, but I also put them in some kind of order that made sense to me. I don't often do that.
Take a look at the playlist that follows, and click the link above to listen in.
Enjoy and please share.
Gobble gobble.
Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell Mondays 8-10PM Pacific Radio Valencia in SF http://radiovalencia.fm
Niggers Are Afraid of Revolution: Last Poets Stagolee: Jesse Fuller
Tater Pie: Sonny Terry Sloppy Drunk Blues: Big Joe Williams The Sky is Crying: Dave Alexander
The Way You Look Tonight: Wes Montgomery A'int Nobody Home: BB King
The Gates/Take Me To The Water: Mark Growden Common People: Leonard Nimoy Skinny Minnie: The Mummies I Don't Like You: Thee Headcoats Femme Fatale: Ty Segall Heroin: Burnt Ones
I'm Waiting For The Man: Velvet Underground 1970: Mission of Burma Dirt: The Stooges
Heart of Darkness: Pere Ubu Barmy: The Fall
Gilgamesh: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard Ha Ha Ha: Flipper Feels Blind: Bikini Kill
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Will this madness of 2016 never end.
Guitarist and singer/songwriter Eric McFadden and his Queen delphine joined me in the studio Monday night to pay tribute to two greats of the music world who recently passed on to the great beyond.
While I was never a big fan of the way Leonard Cohen phrased his own tunes, I was a huge fan of the many covers of his classics. I believe I first was turned onto the brilliant songwriting of Mr. Cohen through the Joe CockerMad Dogs and Englishmen version of "Bird on a Wire". I was hooked from that moment on the storytelling and eagerly sought out other covers. Easily my favorite cover of his was "Hallelujah" by the late, great Jeff Buckley. "I'm Your Fan" is a great tribute record to Cohen, which was released in 1991, featuring REM, Nick Cave, The Pixies, and John Cale. Check it out!
Leonard Cohen died November 7th of cancer at the age of 82. I appreciate that he was buried in a simple Jewish ceremony next to his parents in Montreal.
The piano player on the Mad Dogs record was none other than my other featured player for the night: Leon Russell. Russell's stride piano playing and exaggerated vocal style helped him stand out from others during his high profile era of the 1970s. Starting with the Mad Dogs record I spent many hours enjoying his early 70s solo efforts. Though he wasn't as often covered as much as Cohen, Russell made a profound impact on many songwriters that followed him. His birthplace, Tulsa, Oklahoma, named a street after him in 2010. He died this past Sunday after a few years of failing health. He was 74.
Listening to music is supposed to be a joy. Even when the artist we love and respect has passed to the great beyond we have their songs to carry us through to our own old age. I've told my friends and family if I ever get to a point where they have to prop me up in a corner just place some headphones on me and place my iPod on shuffle. Losing Cohen and Russell is indeed sad, but it also will lead to a renaissance of their music. Perhaps your favorite band will cover their songs. Maybe, like after Jerry Garcia died, there will be a huge outpouring of new versions of some of their deeper album cuts that you never knew they wrote. From loss comes inspiration. Through grief comes resilience and vision.
At this writing Mose Allison has passed away at the age of 89. I can't host enough shows to pay tribute to all the musical greats who we have lost this somber year.
Take heart my friends, and hold each other closer. We're going to need all the good love and strength we can muster.
Girl From North Country: Leon Russell (02-05-1971 - Baarn, NL)
The Partisan: Leonard Cohen
Bird on a Wire: Joe Cocker
This Masquerade: Leon Russell
Hummingbird: B.B. King
Dream a Little Dream of Me: Cass Elliott
Chelsea Hotel No 2: Lana Del Rey
A Song for You: Donny Hathaway
Everybody Knows: Leonard Cohen
Who By Fire: Coil
Avalanche: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Alcatraz: Nazareth
Back to the Island: Toots and the Maytals
First We Take Manhattan: REM
Roll Away the Stone: Leon Russell (11-20-70 Fillmore East, NYC)
I Can't Forget: Pixies
The Partisan: Eric McFadden
Delta Lady: Joe Cocker
Hallelujah: Jeff Buckley
As I said above the Joe Cocker Mad Dog and Englishmen tour and record made a profound impact on me as a youth. Luckily for us YouTube has much of the film to share. Below features a rather fun version of Space Captain. Sing along with all the "oohs" and "ahs".
Stream the craziness, HERE! Download the straight TRUTH, HERE! Listen into all my shows here, or just scroll down
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There were so many amazing sets tonight. For the past month or so I've been designating a "Set of the Week" to sets that have the type of character that stands out against the rest of the program. Tonight, I swear there must be at least three sets that I could have given the title to. It was that kind of night. Everything just made sense. Just take a look at the playlist below, and I think you'll agree.
Really, take a look at the Set of the Night™. It's all about T. Rex. First, there's the new LP release from Ty Segall "Ty Rex", which is all T. Rex covers Ty originally released on 7", with the addition of the track I played, for vinyl only. Hell yes! I follow that up with a John Zorn produced track from Zorn's "Great Jewish Composers" series on Marc Bolan. Finally I have to play some T. Rex. Do I play "Bang A Gong"? Fuck no! What radio station are you tuned into? Get your head out of your ass. No. I play "The Motivator" because it kicks serious ass! Now THAT is a quality set.
But later in the night I connected Black Sabbath to Primus. How did I do this? I know you're interested. Get this: The Butthole Surfers track I played, "Dum Dum", uses the exact same drum melody as "Children of the Grave" by Sabbath. I followed up the Buttholes with some Melvins, featuring Pinkus and Leary from the Buttholes, off of the 2015 Melvins "hold it in" release. But wait, it gets better! Dale Crover is the drummer from the Melvins (but you know that). He's also the guitarist/singer for Altamont! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! And Altamont is a local SF band, which leads to me playing the next four local bands: Rube Waddell from Oakland; The Mummies from San Mateo (where I went to high school, thank you very much, and saw The Mummies at Pony Express Pizza in Redwood City, when I was 16-18); SF's Polkacide, which if you haven't seen them then you just plain suck, and you know it. Give it up already. Really. Give it up. Finally, South Bay's Primus. They suck, but I still love them. I was at that Berkeley Square shows that turned into "Suck on This". Party. With. Me.
What a ride. If memory serves the banter was humorous at times, and I didn't stick around long enough to make you run away screaming.
There's some very early (1965) Pink Floyd near the end, and an isolated vocal track from a young and wild (though probably not nearly as wild as he would be following the electro shock treatments he received for skipping out on Vietnam) Roky Erickson.
That's probably more than you wanted to read, but aren't you happier for doing so? No? Thanks for being a friend. Can you feel the love? Just feel the love, already.
21st Century Schizoid Man: King Crimson
Starliner: Montrose
Easy Now: Hot Tuna (request)
Into the Sun: Grand Funk Railroad
Give Me Some Skin: James Brown
***Set of the Night***
20th Century Boy: Ty Segall
Children of the Revolution: Arto Lindsey and Marc Ribot
The Motivator: T Rex
Stay Away From Downtown: Redd Kross
Steppin' Out: John Mayal's Bluesbreakers (featuring Eric Clapton)
The Thrill is Gone: BB King
Rubber Biscuit: Blues Brothers
Spazz: The Elastic Band (request)
Baby Let Me Kiss You: King Floyd
Children of the Grave: Black Sabbath
Dum Dum: Butthole Surfers
Bride of Crankenstein: The Melvins
Young Man Blues: Altamont
Boom Boom: Rube Waddell
The Frisco Freeze: The Mummies
Glorious: Polkacide
John the Fisherman: Primus
Africa: Sun Ra
Double-O Bo: Pink Floyd
Below is a great and grimy commercial from Pony Express Pizza's Hair Metal Week. I'm so happy this place existed. We need more all-ages venues for the kids, today.
The rain has finally arrived in the Bay Area, and with it the loss of the 49ers. Dang. I could go on and on about the 2nd year Williams, and his two errors, but he has enough to deal with without me harassing him. Poor kid. The Niners got farther than any of us fans expected they would this year, so for that I salute you.
It still sucks though.
And therefore I bring you tonight's show: Stormy Monday.
I was raised by a father well versed in the genre of Blues. It was often playing in the garage when my dad was working on his old cars. We even had a jukebox, packed with 45s, many of which featured old blues. I've MCd the Northern California Blues Festival a few times, and have quite a large collection of great blues musicians, past and present.
Tune in Monday's, 8-10PM (PST) for A Season in Hell, with John Hell
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Stormy Weather: Etta James Got My Mojo Working: Ann Cole Flip, Flop and Fly: Big Joe Turner
"B" Movie Boxcar Blues: Delbert McClinton Bottle Up & Go: Hooker and Heat Shake Your Moneymaker: Elmore James I Got My Eye You: Buddy Guy
Come On In My Kitchen: Eugene Huggins Messin' With The Kid: Junior Wells Bulldoze Blues: Henry Thomas Suzie Q: Dale Hawkins Tollin' Bells: Lowell Folsom
Stormy Monday: Allman Brothers Band (02/1970 - Fillmore East) How Blue Can You Get: B.B. King
Ball and Chain: Janis Joplin and the Kozmic Blues Band (04-01-69) Trouble No More: Muddy Waters
Two Trains Running: Butterfield Blues Band Got to get Better in a Little While: Derek and the Dominos Hear My Train A Comin': Jimi Hendrix
I Ain't Superstitious: Howlin' Wolf I'm A King Bee: Slim Harpo Shotgun Blues: Blues Brothers (12-31-78)
Bringin' it all Back Home: Sonny Boy Williamson I Left My Heart in San Francisco: Tony Bennett (50th anniversary of this fine release) Cold, Rain and Snow: Dillard Chandler