Hell's Kitchen Radio #387: The Quarantine Question

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Well here I am, week four of this shelter-at-home, and I'm finding I'm not that bored. I just want to go record shopping in a record store. Oh don't get me wrong, I have plenty of music to keep my going, and I have purchased a few LPs online, and ever took sweet advantage of the recent Ripple Records download deal. WOW! But there is nothing like walking into my favorite record stores, thumbing through the new arrivals, chatting with the clerks about what they are enjoying, searching the 7" sections, checking out my very long want list, and looking to see if is hidden in the stacks.

I love how stores are willing to order for me, but part of the fun for me is to see if a record like Money Chicha has shown up, just so I can get that deep feeling of satisfaction for finally landing that long sought after LP.

There's a ritual to the whole process of record buying. I think only crate-diggers really know what I'm talking about. I used to be a club DJ in San Francisco, and I used to shop for 12"s weekly. Damn, I had a lot. It actually felt pretty good to unload those about a decade ago when I started up Radio Valencia.

Speaking of Radio Valencia, we have a new home. The lease is about to be signed, and since we're in a shelter-at-home and cannot move in yet, our new landlord is willing to hold off on rent until we actually move in. Thanks landlord, you rock! And we cannot wait to rock very soon in our new digs. Details are coming once everything is secure. But after ten years and our fourth home, I can promise you when I say this is going to be the absolute BEST home for Radio Valencia. I hope we're here for years to come. And you can even come hang out there with us!!!

As for this recent show you are about to enjoy, it's a deeper dive into my digital library. It's large, but I miss playing my vinyl for you. There are a few live treats in there, and even some brand spanking new Ty Segall. He covers Harry Nillson on a new EP.

I may try to host a show between my Monday night show, featuring my live library. I have over 4000 live shows from over 500 bands of many genres. And with all this sitting around the house, I'm downloading multiple shows a day. As of this writing I have a PIL show from 1982 and a Germs shows from 1978 downloading. And I have over 1000 Grateful Dead shows too. Maybe I should log into a separate slot just to play live Dead?

Hmmmmmmmm.....

That's enough for now. Time to enjoy two hours of Hell's Kitchen Radio.

Enjoy.

jh

Hell's Kitchen Radio with John Hell
Mondays 8-10PM
Radio Valencia in SF
http://radiovalencia.fm

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Stormy Monday: Allman Brothers Band (March 20, 1971 The Warehouse, New Orleans, LA)
Lilac Wine: Nina Simone

The Mob Rules: Black Sabbath
I Shot All The Birds: The Blind Shake
Kisses Sweeter Than Wine: Bongwater (Peel Sessions March, 19, 1991)

Pink: Boris
Bad Ma Fucka: Brother Ali
Messin' With The Kid: Buddy Guy and Junior Wells
Ramblin' (Wo)man: Cat Power
Ha Ha Ha: Flipper

That's How It Goes: Meat Puppets
Police and Thieves: The Clash
Barn Burning: Dave Alvin

Coconut: Ty Segal
I'm In Love With The Ooo-Ooo Man: GTOs
Dinah-Moe Humm: Frank Zappa (October 31, 1977, The Palladium, NYC, NY)

Radebe: Johnny Dyani
Star Spangled Banner: Kronos Quartet
New York New York: The Last Poets

Mountain: Meatbodies
Salad Days: Minor Threat
Not Boweevil: Sex Mob

Saved: Swans
What A Wonderful World: Louis Armstrong

Hell's Kitchen #202: Grunge vs. BritPop

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It's all Grunge vs. BritPop tonight on Hell's Kitchen with John Hell and David Fraser.

It's hard to believe that the 90s ended 15 years ago. It's even harder to believe that Grunge started more than 25 years ago. That's just ridiculous to me. What's even more ridiculous to me is that I was in my 20s that long ago. Like many, I too was smitten when I first encountered the early sounds of Grunge and Britpop and Shoegaze, starting around 1989. And who wouldn't you be? The distorted guitar, the pounding rhythms of the drums and the bass, the lyrics so full of angst and Generation X-style miasma. Everyone called us Slackers, but I never saw us like that. There was some serious talent coming out of that time. I remember so many friends being into bands like Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice In Chains, and of course Pearl Jam. I couldn't stand any of those bands. I remember asking all of them, out of all of these bands that you love so much who will you remember, and which will be played regularly on the radio 20 years from now? I correctly predicted that Nirvana would stand the test of time, and not because they were so brilliant, which I do think that they were, but mostly because they borrowed from heavy hitters, such as the Pixies and the Beatles, and also because Kurt Cobain was really an amazing songwriter.

My favorite band of the time and still in my top five today, is Mudhoney. And why not? What an amazing band. If you know your history, then you know that Mark Arm and Steve Turner only started Mudhoney as a bit of a joke and a side project. They never meant for it to go as far as it has. And though it's hard to see how the Melvins are considered the godfathers of Grunge, I can appreciate their obvious influence on the genre, while still recognizing that there really isn't any grunge in them at all.

As for Britpop, there are a few bands in the genre that I took two. Mostly Swervedriver to be honest. I also like The Vaseline's, and My Bloody Valentine. But I mostly looked at Britpop as a genre that was trying to rip off what was happening in Seattle. I may get hate mail for that, which is fine, but I standby it.

This show reminded me so much of my early days at KFJC. David was a great co-host too! David grew up in Seattle during the Grunge heyday and knows his music history. We both soon realized that this is obviously part one in an ongoing series. Listen for David's return in the months to come. He may even take a shot at joining the ranks of great Radio Valencia DJs. Excellent!

Enjoy.

jh

Hell's Kitchen with John Hell
Mondays 8-10PM
Radio Valencia in SF
http://radiovalencia.fm

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Show Me The Way: Dinosaur Jr.
Rocket Reducer #62: The Melvins
Dies Iraea: Melvins
I Wanna Be Adored: Stone Roses

D7: Wipers
In And Out Of Grace: Mudhoney
Son of a Gun: Vaselines
Grease Box: Tad

Only Shallow: My Bloody Valentine
Revolution: Mudhoney
Song 2: Blur
Backwater: Meatpuppets

Lady Killers: Lush
I Like Fucking: Bikini Kill
Seaweed: The Gits
Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam: Nirvana
Queen Bitch: Green River

The Scratch: 7 Year Bitch
Rave Down: Swervedriver
I Hate Rock and Roll: Jesus and Mary Chain
Mousetrap: Ride
Black Metallic: Catherine Wheel

Dollar Bill: Screaming Trees

Fade Away: Oasis

A Season in Hell #168: Daughter from HELL

What an excellent show today. It being spring break, I brought my daughter, Lauson Hell down to the studio to guest DJ with me. She's a natural. Two years ago Lauson guested on my show, which you can find here. It's fun to see how she's found her voice over the last couple of years. She's not shy, I can tell you that. I wonder where she gets that from?

We were filling in for DJ Cam Dam, who was kind enough to let me take over the day.

Lauson did her part, planning a set, which you can see below, announcing what we played, and answering my questions...kind of.

To stream this father/daughter reunion, go here.
To download this love-fest, go here.
To tune into all of my shows, go here, or just scroll down.

Enjoy.

jh

A Season in Hell with John Hell
Mondays 8-10PM
Radio Valencia, 87.9FM in SF
http://radiovalencia.fm

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Kick out the Jams: MC5
White Light/White Heat: Velvet Underground
Down in the Street: The Stooges
Frankenstein: New York Dolls

Jocko Homo: Devo
Jenny Jones: The Clash
Sonic Reducer: Dead Boys

California Girls: The Dictators
Welcome to the Dustward: Fear
Teenage Lobotomy: Ramones
Who Stole the Kishka: Polkacide

Lauson's Set:
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite: Eric McFadden
Sun King - Mean Mr. Mustard - Polythene Pam - She Came in Through the Bathroom Window: The Beatles
Live with Me: Rolling Stones

Boris the Spider: The Who
Locked Out Of Heaven: Bruno Mars
Down at the Rock and Roll Club: The Voidoids

Daddy's set:
I Swallowed a Dragonfly: Heartless Bastards
Something I Learned Today: Husker Du
Eat Steak: Reverend Horton Heat
Good Golly Miss Molly: Meat Puppets
Rock and Roll High School: PJ Soles

Anarchy in the UK: Sex Pistols
Youth of America: Melvins

One: Fuzz (Live in San Francisco)

March of the Lor: The Sword

A Season in Hell #143: My Musical Meanderings

No, my show is not genre specific. You've figured that out already, yes? Last week it's all jazz, the week before it's hard rock. This week I'm in the mood for PUNK! Fuck off!!!!

Why Punk? I don't have to tell you!

OK, I'll tell you. But I'm only telling you because I think deep down you'll understand. I'm willing to bare my soul to you. I'm willing to take the chance that you won't laugh at me, and ridicule me, or point and laugh.

sigh

I like Punk.

There, are you happy now?! Good.

I was born in 1970. I was raised on jazz and blues of the 50s and 60s, as well as the classic rock of the 70s. By the age of 8 I was into KISS. They were my first favorite band. At that age you're only allowed to have one favorite band. It's a law or something. When I was 10 I fell in love with the Beatles, but I felt sooooo bad for admitting to myself that I liked them more than I liked KISS. It was not the friendliest of break-ups. I'll admit, if there were cell phones back then, I would have texted the break up to KISS; I was so ashamed. By 12 I "discovered" Led Zeppelin. Oh damn, now what was I going to do? I still wonder where this KISS poster ended up?

All this time my dad is playing John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and every artist the Blues Brothers covered, in our home, as well as Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry. My sisters (6 and 7 years older than me) were playing the rock of the day (Eagles, Boston, Bob Segar) as well as playing American Bandstand every Saturday. I preferred Soul Train even at an early age.

I used to lay by my speakers with a tape recorder and pretend I was a DJ and back announce all of the songs I would play on the stereo. I wish I still had those tapes. I once hid a tape recorder on the stairs leading to our living room, and taped the family hanging out watching Saturday morning cartoons. I REALLY wish I had that tape today. I probably taped a Grateful Dead concert over it.

And then there's the Dead. I got into them around the same time I got into Zeppelin. I think it was the iconography. It looked so dark, weird and trippy. Like many others, I thought they would be a metal band. I was slightly disappointed when I found out they weren't. I was hungry for something more at this point in my musical journey. Having moved as much as we did (once a year between the ages of 5 and 15; three different states (four if you consider SoCal and NorCal two different states)) I found that I got bored very easily. Music needed to change to really move me.

The Grateful Dead really moved me. I won't get into it here, but their meanderings took me on some amazing journeys. What they didn't do for me however, was drive the teenage angst energy out of me. They mellowed me and made me want to shimmy and dance. I still love them. But I always need something more.

Here comes Punk.

I had always listened to The Clash and The Ramones, but really didn't have a penchant for the wider variety of Punk until I was about 14 and in high school. It was there that my friend Etienne and I started to listen to Metal together. Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio. As a matter of fact, my first "official" concert was November 30, 1984 at the Oakland-Alameda County Auditorium (where the Warriors play basketball) to see Dio (Last in Line) and Dokken (Tooth and Nail). I was 14. I wore my jean jacket. I was afraid the guy next to me, who asked us to save him a seat in exchange for smoking us out, would share a heroin-laced joint and I would be dead before the show even began.

My love for KISS helped for the easy transition to Metal, but it didn't last too long. I still really love Metal, but it was Punk that really spoke to me. Metal spoke of fantasy characters in a fantasy world. Punk was political! Politics was always spoken about in my home. My parents didn't shy away from their negative feelings towards Reagan. The Punk movement was political. I was drawn to it pretty easily.

Starting at KFJC in the fall of 1988 also helped. The Wave of the West is a bastion of musical knowledge; especially that of all-things-alternative. This was before alternative was a genre (thank you very much Nirvana). Punk didn't get me angry. It made me happy! It made me feel like I wasn't alone in my thoughts against the state. It made me feel like my generation wasn't as lost as many thought we were. And the lyrics were hilarious, inane, intense, intelligent, ridiculous.

Being a Deadhead and a Punk isn't as far apart as it would seem. If you like the Dead you pretty much are open to anything, considering how many people DETEST the Grateful Dead. The same could be said for Punk. Though I think more Deadheads like Punk, than Punk likes the Dead. It's all good.

There's not much difference in the spiral dancing of a Dead concert, and a mosh pit at a Punk show. Both are ways of sharing energy. Is one more aggressive? Perhaps, but all good-natured. Even at Punk shows, if you fall down, more often than not there's a hand there to pick you up and get you moving again.

If I've learned anything through my musical journeys, it's that life is all ONE. The mystical, magical ONE. Whether it's Punk, Funk or Junk the musical odyssey that takes us through life is all based on how open we are to the meanderings of the road. I'm truly blessed to have a diverse music library as I do. You're just as likely to find a Black Flag LP in my collection as a Johnny Cash (he's Punk as fuck, btw).

As for tonight's show, it's all punk. Why? I just told you why! Sheesh.

Enjoy.

jh

To stream this musical journey, click here.
To download this odyssey, click here.
To jump in the pit and hear all of my shows, go here, or just scroll down.

A Season in Hell with John Hell
Mondays 8-10PM
Radio Valencia, 87.9FM in SF
http://radiovalencia.fm

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Orgasm Addict: The Buzzcocks
Never Talk To You Again: Husker Du
Tension: Minutemen

Gut Feeling/Slap Your Mammy: Devo
Ex Lion Tamer: Wire
Elevation: Television
Search and Destroy: The Dictators

Gimme Danger: Iggy and the Stooges
Motor City is Burning: MC5

We Must Bleed: Germs
Six Pack: Black Flag
More Beer: Fear
Ain't Talkin' About Love: Minutemen
Wendy: Descendents

Peking Spring: Mission of Burma
Southern California: Flipper
Sonic Reducer: The Dead Boys
I Just Want To Make Love To You: Meat Puppets

Show Me The Way: Dinosaur Jr.
Goin' Up The Country: Three Stoned Men
Stars and Stripes of Corruption: Dead Kennedys
I Wanna Get Rid of you: Psychotic Pineapple

Out of our Tree: The Mummies
Glorious: Polkacide
Sweat Loaf: Butthole Surfers

I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement: Ramones
Career Opportunities: The Clash
Personality Crisis: New York Dolls
25 Minutes To Go: Johnny Cash

A Season in Hell #82: Radio Valencia: I Wanna, Wanna Be A Star

There are some days that I'm just full of so much angst that I have to get it out by listening to some very loud music and shaking a lot. SST does this for me better than most. Oh, how I miss the 80s. Don't get me wrong, I listen to new music all the time, and LOVE it. But there is just something about that era that sets me free. Tonight I play over an hour of some of the best SST bands there were.

Enjoy.

As always you can stream the show by going here.
Download this show a drive your car through a tree rockin' out so damn hard, here.
Scroll down for my playlists of previous show, as well as the links to hear it all. They're good.

Common People: FIDLAR
Spoonful: Hollis Brown

Last Cab From Tunis: Hundred Visions
I Am Not A Game: Ty Segall & White Fence

Concert Outlook (music from "Debbie Does Dallas")

Bottle Bin: Jackson Firebird
Dolomite!
I Wanna be a Star: The Black Jaspers
Think About Your Troubles: Harry Nilsson

SST night starts here:
Diane: Husker Du
Mystery Girl: SWA

She's a Diamond: Opal
Do You Want New Wave or Do You Want the Truth: Minutemen
Todo Para Mi: Tom Troccoli's Dog

White Magic/Black Magic: Saint Vitus
I Just Want To Make Love To You: Meat Puppets

Show Me The Way: Dinosaur Jr.
Pay To Cum: Bad Brains
Theme From An Imaginary Western: DC3
Wendy: Descendents
Tom Violence: Sonic Youth
Woman Hell: The Flesh Eaters

Ain't Talkin' About Love: Minutemen
Louie Louie: Black Flag
TV Party: Black Flag
Grateful Dead: Anal Cunt (not an SST band, but really LOUD!)

I Left My Heart in San Francisco: Tony Bennett