Hell's Kitchen Radio #518: 13th Annual Annual: 1991

Listen to this show right here!!!

Listen into all my shows here!

Subscribe to my show, via 

When I was considering what year I was going to play for you for my 13th annual Annual Annual, I was a bit stumped. Every year has something amazing to offer. Where do I go? Back to the 50s? I haven't done that decade yet. Something in the past decade? Too soon? I turned 21 in 1991 (you do the math). Sounded perfect to me.

I was living in my first apartment, in Redwood City, CA. I was on the air at KFJC, hosting a morning show. There was no such genre known as Alternative at that time, until Smells Like Teen Spirit hit the airwaves. Thanks Nirvana. Ah, the memories. 

And college radio was popping back in 1991. Hip Hop, metal, indie-rock, industrial, shoegaze. There was so much to play back then. So many bands went on to influence the generation that followed. I'm not one to live in the past, but a show like this one allows me to shine a light on a year that really set a standard for what would follow.

Sadly, this was, in my opinion, the last year that non-commercial and college radio would be on the forefront when it came to breaking new artists. The consolidation of radio, Napster, and then streaming took that power out the hands of programmers, those who live and breathe music, and placed it into the hands of the corporatocracy. I was interning at KRQR back then in San Fransisco. I recall the music director blindly putting the playlist together for the DJs, without a thought of what songs worked well together. She was pulling from national lists of songs in the AOR top 20. Now MDs just allow Spotify to dictate the playlists. It's insulting. I'll remind you all that I do not have a Spotify account.

That's why you tuned in tonight, and that's why I have this show to share with you, that will take you back to a time when the artists and the DJs teamed together to bring your something special on the regular. 

If you're interested in the previous 11 editions of my Annual Annual, take a look below.

Enjoy and please share.

jh

2011 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1971
2012 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1972
2013 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1973
2014 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1974
2015 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1975
2016 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 2006
2017 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1992
2018 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1983
2019 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1969
2020 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1980
2021 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1978
2022 - ANNUAL ANNUAL - 1968

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 

Hog Leg: Melvins
Ring Ring Ring: De La Soul
Buck Whylin': Terminator X

By The Time I Get To Arizona: Public Enemy
Ace in the Hole: 3rd Bass

Scenario: A Tribe Called Quest

Housework: Fishbone

This Year in History Part One

Squeeze Me Macaroni: Mr. Bungle

Tommy the Cat: Primus
Jesus Was Way Cool: King Missile

Tunic (For Karen): Sonic Youth

This Year in History Part Two
Drain You (BBC Sessions): Nirvana
Emma: Urge Overkill

Little Fluffy Clouds: The Orb
Doctor Jeep: Sisters of Mercy
Rave Down: Swervedriver

The Power of Pussy (BBC Sessions): Bongwater

The Hurdy Gurdy Man: Butthole Surfers

The Wagon: Dinosaur Jr.

It's Shoved: Melvins

Hell's Kitchen Radio #517 Who You Calling A Turkey, Sucka?

Listen in right HERE

Listen into all my shows here!
Subscribe to my show, via 

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

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

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

Brainded Warrior: Zig Zags

Hell's Kitchen Radio #516: Befriend Hell

Listen in right HERE

Listen into all my shows here!
Subscribe to my show, via 

I had a conversation with a friend online recently, who was listening to a previous show of mine. She commented that it felt like I was speaking directly to her when I said that you may not be listening live, but perhaps somewhere in a distant time? 

It's true, you know? I often imagine you listening to these shows many decades (or centuries?) into the future. Once it's out there, it's out there forever. Every word I have spoken, every song I have played. It's all there. I was about to type "do anything you want with it. It's not mine anymore". But then I got to thinking about this world of ours where intellectual copyright and identity theft is a real thing. So go ahead and listen to these old shows, and my comments from those times, but do take it all in context, ok? Thanks.

I also know that my two darling children will possibly read these posts and listen back to my old shows. Anything's possible, right?

Not a lot of new music tonight. Ty Segall has a new release on the horizon: "Three Bells", and I have something off of that. New Beatles. Yes, you heard that right. And it's pretty good. The video almost brought me to tears. 

I'm heading to Bottom of the Hill Saturday night to see Radio Valencia's DJ Doug in his quartet 9 Dog Dick. It's their album release party. The headliner is St. Louis' Drunks With Guns. They're loud and the rock! I played them in the second hour tonight. Come on down and rock out with me.

As always, there's something for everyone here, as long as you enjoy 60s psych, 70s soul-jazz, 00s South-Asian garage-revival, 00s subversive hiphop, prog-metal and more. 

Have fun and share.

jh

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

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

Some Velvet Morning: Vanilla Fudge

Inner City Blues: Grover Washington Jr.

Leyla: Altin Gun

Pay Back Africa: Antibalas

Thlah Cinta Berlalu: Koes Barat

Breathless: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Heartattack and Vine: Lydia Lunch (ft. Nels Cline)

My Room: Ty Segall

Girlfriend is Better: Talking Heads

Islands in the Sky: Death Valley Girls

Now and Then: The Beatles

Beef Rapp: MF Doom

Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba: George Benson

Bird Song: David McMurray

I Get A Kick Out Of You: Frank Sinatra

Hell House: Drunks with Guns

Celestial Crown/Barael's Blade: The Sword

Majic Moonjynuh: Queen Crescent

Revenge: Embryo

Hell's Kitchen Radio #515: It's Gonna Blow

Listen in right HERE

Listen into all my shows here!
Subscribe to my show, via 

You have no idea what Radio Valencia has gone through the past few weeks. When it rains it blows. And boy howdy did it blow. What should have taken no longer than 90 minutes to fix, turned into two weeks of saying "what the fuck" over and over again. 

Note to self: do not hire a drug addict to "look into the issue".

Noted.

That being said, my own life has been quite topsy-turvy for the past number of months, which has led me to host my show every other week for the foreseeable future. Tonight was one of those nights.

Now that we're up and running we really could use your help. This station has been a labor of love and our own deep pockets, since 2010. We have some amazing shows, some of the best I have ever heard in my 30+ years in radio, and we want to keep this operation going strong for years to come.

We need to pay for regular upkeep of our equipment, purchase new equipment, build a new website, pay rent and bills, and so much more.

Please go to our site and click on the PayPal link on the right side of the page. Any amount helps and we're a 501c3 non-profit, so this would be a tax-deductible donation!!! 

Thanks in advance.

For this show it's what you have come to expect from me: a grab bag of what feels good to me at the moment. I always drag along a large amount of vinyl to make the pickings good. I feel good about this show. Take a listen and let me know what you think

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 

Nuclear War: Sun Ra
16 Shells From a 40 Ought 6: Tom Waits

Money: Roger Waters
NIB: Jazz Sabbath

Anglehead: The Monkeywrench
Road Runner: Thee Headcoatees
Bring It All Home: Led Zeppelin

Moonage Daydream: David Bowie
Nice, Nice, Very Nice: Ambrosia
Nancy From Now On: Father John Misty
Cardboard Pile: Kikagaku Moyo
The Letter: Joe Cocker and Leon Russell

Muddy Water: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Doriella du Fontaine: Lightnin' Rod (Last Poets) with Jimi Hendrix

Spy Girl: The Darts
The Devil's Chasing Me: Reverend Horton Heat

Intercepted Message: Oh Sees
Carletta's In Hats Again: Brigid Dawson and the Mother's Network
Down At The Rock and Roll Club: Richard Hell and the Voidoids

I Don't Mind: Buzzcocks
I Bid Goodnight: Joseph Spence

Hell's Kitchen Radio #511: No Shame In My Game

Listen in right HERE

Listen into all my shows here!
Subscribe to my show, via 

My high school years (84-88) were mostly spent in San Mateo, California; about 15 miles south of San Francisco. It was a really great place to grow up in the 80s. I was the kind of kid who enjoyed making my way across the high school campus at lunch, talking to many different kids of groups. In the immortal words of Edie McClurg, I was pretty close to "the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads". I was also one to bring many of these groups together, especially at weekend parties.

I used to hang out with the Odeski brothers: Scott, Howie and Nicki. These three were close in age and loved one another as much as they could hate on one another. I think Scott and Howie had a fight with baseball bats at one time? Their mother owned a lot of property in Foster City (right next to San Mateo), and local officials wanted her to sell much of that property to the city, which she regularly declined, so local law enforcement would harass her sons, often arresting on trumped up charges and then not following through, just to intimidate the family. They were used to it. Foster City cops were notorious in their intimidation tactics towards teens as it was. I learned to hate cops then and there. 

They had a big home, and turned their 2-car garage into Nicki's bedroom. And what a room! They put in the work to make it the real deal, along with video games, foosball table, pool table, television, bar, neon signs, and a sweet stereo. 

This is where I got my earliest education on Rap and Hip Hop. To be honest, we all called it Rap. I'm not sure when Hip Hop entered the vernacular, but it wasn't around us in the 80s.

Nicki was always playing Rap. He did a lot of record shopping and had the latest 12". LL Cool J, Eric B and Rakim, Ice T, NWA, Public Enemy, Kool Moe Dee, Salt and Peppa, BDM, Biz Markie, Schoolly D, Slick Rick, Too Short, Too Live Crew, and so much more.

I was a DJ at the very popular local ice rink, Ice Capades Chalet, at Fashion Island Mall, nearby. I bought records every week for that job, so I was also buying 45s and 12"s of these artists and so many more. I was also very much into punk, metal, psych and the Grateful Dead, so it's safe to say my early music education was expanding by leaps and bounds with Rap being added in.

I was also working for Good Vibrations Mobile DJs, spinning at weddings (oh so many weddings), school dances, birthday parties, and more. I was allowed to bring the DJ console to my high school every so often to spin at lunch in the quad. That was so much fun. I recall one instance when I placed "Walk This Way" by Run DMC on the turntable and let it roll. It was a huge hit at that time, and I really enjoyed it. Half way through the tune I slowly dragged the needle across the record (SACRILEGIOUS!!!!!) and then started up the Aerosmith version. I did for affect, obviously. I think I even made some comment on the mic like "this isn't how it's supposed to go...riiiiiiiiiipppppp. Here ya go!" So lame, but I was 16, so what do you want?

My years at KFJC (88-97) just added to my growing appreciation of Rap and Hip Hop. And what an excellent era it was for that genre. 

So on Monday night I wanted to pay tribute to this long-lasting and ever-evolving genre. I am truly happy it wasn't the fad that so many said it would be. This show isn't any kind of retrospective; it's just me playing some of my favorites in two hours. I kept the mic breaks to a minimum so the music would tell the tale. And yes, most of what I played was released between 87-95. That's my favorite era! 

That's not to say there isn't a lot happening now that I don't love. I'm a big MF Doom fan, as well as Kendrick Lamar, and many more. I still shy away from pop of any genre, so the pop Hip Hop doesn't do anything for me. 

I may bring Little Lauson Hell on again soon for her to play her favorite Hip Hop of this past decade. She has a lot on her playlist that I need to dive deep into. 

Enjoy and please share this gem.

Happy 50th Hip Hop! Let's hear it for many more awesome decades to come!

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 

Laugh, Love, Fuck: The Coup
JBs Comin' Through: Jungle Brothers
The Cactus: 3rd Bass

Car Thief: Beastie Boys
Potholes In My Lawn: De La Soul
Resurrection: Common
Am I Black Enough For Ya: Schoolly D

Ten Crack Commandments: Notorious BIG
Protect Your Neck: Wu Tang Clan
Don't Believe The Hype: Public Enemy

Buck Whylin': Terminator X
One Time For The Rebel: Son of Bazerk
Back in the Old Days of Hip Hop: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

Earth People: Dr. Octagon
Run This Town: Jay-Z (featuring Rihanna)
Come On Down: Big Daddy Kane
Soul Brother #1: Pete Rock and CL Smooth
I'm On The Mic: KRS-One

Rapp Snitch Knishes: MF Doom
Search 4 The Lyte: MC Lyte
Samba Soul: N.A.S.A. (featuring DJ Qbert, Q-Tip and Del the Funkee Homosapien)

Steady Mobbin': Ice Cube
No Shame in My Game: Gang Starr
Sucker MCs: Run DMC

Brother Rap: James Brown