Hell's Kitchen Radio #603: No, You're Stunning!

Listen to this show right here!!!

Listen into all my shows here!

Subscribe to my show, via 

So much has changed in the past few weeks, that I think it's creeping into the music I play for you. You can't tell? Then you aren't paying attention. 

We put on such a fine show at the FabMab and On Broadway on February 28th, I'm still floating above the floor. And I think about what Bowie said about doing your art: don't get too comfortable, and don't do it for the listeners; it'll compromise you. 

How true.

There are many weeks, in the middle of my show, when I'm playing something with a sweet groove, that I think about playing a 15 minute long, dissonant track, but I often hold back, not wanting to alienate my audience. What's that about? I come from a long history of left-of-the-dial DJs who pride themselves on pushing the limits. I've written before about the two schools I carried on with at the mythic KFJC: always play something "accessible", versus "fuck 'em if they don't like it". 

I've tried to walk the line in the middle over the years, but I'll admit I err on the side of the former a wee bit too often.

I need to recommit to pushing the sound in the direction that always brings me the most joy. This is not a selfish act. This is why you tune in. I take requests about .05% of the time, so it's not like I'm abandoning you. 

Tonight was good ol' quality music that I tapped my toes along to the whole show. 

I've got music spanning seven decades...or is it eight? 

This Monday night Daniel Haver of Mabuhay Gardens is joining me to guest DJ. He has a $1000 7"-45 he's threatening to bring in. I may need to change the needles.

We have an exciting show Radio Valencia is co-presenting, and yours truly is producing on June 13th. Set your calendars. You do not want to miss this!

Enjoy and please share.

jh

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

Follow me on Blue Sky
Follow Radio Valencia on Facebook
Follow Radio Valencia on Instagram

Wake Up The Sun: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (Person A - 2015)
Let Me Roll It: Paul McCartney and Wings (Band on the Run - 1973)

Up In My Soul: The Darts (Halloween Love Songs - 2026)

Loose: Iggy and the Stooges (Fun House - 1970)

Candy Sam: Ty Segall and the Muggers (Live at the BBC - 2026)

Handsome Nick: People's Temple (Musical Garden - 2014)

Pedro - Toulon: The Pedro Toulon Connect (I Mean Alarmed - 2021)

Lilac Wine: Jeff Buckley (Grace - 1994)

Odds Against Tomorrow: Bill Orcutt (Odds Against Tomorrow - 2019)
Bad Luck: Sonny Terry (Sonny is King - 1962)

Die By The Sword: Pancho and the Wizards (Cemetery - 2019)

Hallogallo: Neu! (Neu! - 1972)

SS Cygni: Chrome (Alien Soundtracks - 1977)

Evil People: Mien (Miien - 2025)

Prince of Darkness: Bow Wow Wow (7" - 1981)

Fatalidad: Money Chicha (Chicha Summit - 2021)

Little Red Hen: Taj Mahal (Oooh So Good 'n' Blues - 1973)

Bron-Y-Aur Stomp: Led Zeppelin (III - 1970)

Liar: Bikini Kill (S/T - 1992)

I'm Not A Loser: Amyl and the Sniffers (Big Attraction - 2019)

The Green Manalishi: The Flesh Eaters (I Used To Be Pretty - 2018)

Jack O'Diamonds: Odetta (Mojo - The Complete Unknown - 2025)

Blue 'n' Boogie: Miles Davis (Walkin' - 1955)

Hell's Kitchen Radio #565: What Am I Scheming At?

Listen to this show right here!!!

Listen into all my shows here!

Subscribe to my show, via 

I missed you all last week when I saw Melvins and Napalm Death at Great American Music Hall. How much fun was that? I think we both know the answer to that one. And to top it off, Jello Biafra joined in the fun singing Nazi Punks Fuck Off and ended the song with a stage dive. Good God, Man, people had to carry you. You practically took someone's head off.

Great show though. 

This was an inspired show. There's a flow in the musical sets. Just take a look for yourself. Do you see it? You see it, right? You see it? 

Paying some love to Amyl and the Sniffers to start out. I took the fabulous Lauson Hell to see them last week at The Fox Theater. There's some new Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. You do have your tickets to the show at the Bill Graham Civic in May, right?

Can I confide in you? I'll have to wait until you leave a comment or something. 

I'll wait.

In the meantime, there's some spaghetti westers, jazz flute, misogynist funk, obscure SF punk, not-so-obscure SF punk. Then I moved the punk down the coast and eventually across the pond. Do we still say that? I end with some Linda Lindas because they ROCK!

Monday, April 21st I'm hosting an Iggy Pop birthday special, part one. I can't wait to celebrate Papa Stooge. Tune in and be my dog.

Enjoy and please share.

jh   

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

Follow me on Blue Sky
Follow Radio Valencia on Facebook
Follow Radio Valencia on Instagram

Control: Amyl and the Sniffers
The Rite of Spring: Hubert Laws

Frogs: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Muleskinner: Harry Belafonte

Images: Sun Ra Arkestra

Canto Di Morte #3: Gianfranko and Gian Piero Reverberi (Preparati La Bara! - 1968)

The Ecstasy of Gold: Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly)

It's A Man's Man's Man's World: James Brown and His Famous Flames

Fool For You: GUM/Ambrose Kenny-Smith

Dumpster Fire: Pancho and the Wizards

Blue and Her Strawberry Balloon: Sgt. Splendor

Now: Negativland (GUNS)

The Slow Version: Pop-O-Pies

Mirror: Sleepers

Savage: Nuns

Nazi Punks Fuck Off: Dead Kennedys

Tossing Coins Into the Fountain of Fuck: Melvins and Napalm Death

Gimme Gimme Gimme: Black Flag

John Wayne Was A Nazi: MDC

The Light, The Heart: Flipper

Manimal: Germs

Rise: PIL

Neighbourhood of Infinity: The Fall

Resolution/Revolution: The Linda Lindas

From The First Hello To The Last Goodbye: Jane Morgan

Hell's Kitchen Radio #542: Can't Spell Malfunction Without Fun

Listen to this show right here!!!

Listen into all my shows here!

Subscribe to my show, via 

I was this close (you'll have to imagine me holding my fingers really close together) to playing only three or four tunes for the entire two hours. And then I realized that's foolish when I brought a whole stack of albums with me. 

The first hour was only about four tunes though. Hard Bop (I originally wrote that as "Hard Bob" and that would have probably lost me a few listeners...or added a few), Free Jazz, Kraut Rock and modern Free Jazz/Electronic. Then I realized I really had to start sharing some other treats, including new Nick Cave, The Bell Rays and King Gizzard. There's also a 50th anniversary remaster of the Frank Zappa classic Apostrophe that I threw in. It's the album that got me into Zappa, though I admit I'm not as obsessed as my boy The Alchemist (Saturday nights on Radio Valencia).

If you like what you're hearing, please check out our other shows. This station was started with the mission of having real live DJs curate shows from their own deep knowledge of music, not from some algorithm. We're proud of the work we've put in. 

And if you want to support what we're doing, please consider donating. This is labor of love, and we all pay monthly dues to keep the lights on and the turntables spinning. We need help maintaining the equipment we have, and regularly replacing worn out parts. We also have a deep desire to update our website. If you know anyone that can donate items for a raffle please let me know. Thanks in advance.

Enjoy and please share.

jh

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

Follow me on Facebook
Follow Radio Valencia on Facebook
Follow me on Instagram 

Suite Sioux: Freddie Hubbard

Selflessness: John Coltrane

Flowers Must Die: Ash Ra Temple
London: Angel Bat Dawid

Wild God: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Killer of Peace: Crow Jane
Children of the Grave: Brown Sabbath
Reoccurring Cave: Pancho and the Wizards

Wolf's Sun: The Bell Rays
Crash Dancing: Sgt. Splendor

Apostrophe (Side One): Frank Zappa
I'm Feeling Alright: Big Mama Thornton

Antarctica: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Goo Goo Much: The Cramps

Hell's Kitchen Radio #532: Digital Gremlins

Listen to this show right here!!!

Listen into all my shows here!

Subscribe to my show, via 

Last Monday I had some bug up my butt about playing a bunch of local punk and then the whole thing went sideways, as it should. I'm a creature of habit and my radio habit is to keep myself guessing as much as you. I bring a stack of vinyl and throw something on. It's not rocket science! But the fun comes when I have to figure out what I'm going to play next. 

If I'm having a special or a tribute, then I have an idea of what I'm going to play set-by-set, but even writing that I'm giving myself more credit than I deserve. Really, I just throw a record on and let it direct me; sometimes it actually works!

Tonight I started out with some 70s punk, thinking it was going to rule the night, before I took a left turn with Sonic Youth. Then I wanted to get to current garage-psych-punk, so check out San Luis Obispo's Pancho and the Wizards, who I saw open for Australia's Psychedelic Porn Crumpets at The Independent a few weeks back.

Then I jumped back to the punk with classic San Francisco's Pop-O-Pies. I was crate-digging at a store I will not divulge, and grabbed this treat. Hot damn, it's a fun one.

I opened the next set with a gift to my little one, Bodhi. He's six years old and obsessed with steam trains, and that's putting it lightly. The Amtrak conductors know him by name. I'm not joking. I used to tale him to a local station to watch the trains go by almost daily for three years. He wants to rebuild old steam trains. I truly believe that he believes one day he will do this. Adorable. Anyway, I played his latest jam: "Wreck of the Old 97", as sung by the late great Johnny Cash. 

I hate this song now. Don't tell Bodhi

After a couple Americana and Swing tunes I jumped back into the subversive punk, before celebrating Jello Biafra's birthday with a few tunes. 

I closed out the night with some of my more preferred garage-punk from the past few years.

Why did I write all this? No real clue. Just started typing and here ya go. 

I'm back doing a show live in the studio each week, so please set your calendars for Mondays 8-10PM Pacific.

Enjoy and please share.

jh

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

Follow me on Facebook
Follow Radio Valencia on Facebook
Follow me on Instagram 

Pablo Picasso: The Modern Lovers
Subway Train: Johnny Thunders

Waiting For The Man: David Bowie
Superstar: Sonic Youth

Die By The Sword: Pancho and the Wizards
Bill's Mandolin: Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
The Catholics Are Attacking: Pop-O-Pies

Wreck of the Old 97: Johnny Cash
King of California: Dave Alvin
Teardrops From My Eyes: Ray Condo and His Ricochets

All the Girls Cry: Toiling Midgets
Swastikas On Parade: The Residents
Diamonds in the Rough: Dead Moon

Kill The Poor: Dead Kennedys
Sharks in the Gene Pool: Jello Biafra with Nomeansno
Lost Orgasm: Jello Biafra
Will the Fetus Be Aborted: Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon
My Biggest Mistake: Joan of Arkansas

Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster: Thee Oh Sees
Handglams: Ty Segall
Pink Gorilla/Enthusiasm/Be Right Too: White Fence

Chaise Lounge: Wet Leg