Looking Back on Looking Back in 2021 | 7-10 PM EST

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, we spin three hours of tracks from some of our favorite 2021 reissues and historical compilations.

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Yegor & Yanka | 7-10 PM EST

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins deconstructions and tributes, deep cuts and favorites by Soviet-era Siberian legends Yegor Letov (leader of Grazhdanskaya Oborona) and Yanka Dyagileva.

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Baligh Cafe | 7-10 PM EST

 

TONIGHT 7-10 PM EST: Drawing in part from CDs found on a recent trip to Paterson, NJ, we salute this (very real) cafe's titular composer with our second three-hour tribute. (Hear our first, from 2016, here.)

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CITY OF GOD | 7-10 PM EST

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins Brazilian punk, protest, funk, samba, hip-hop, electronic, tropicalia, folk, disco, bossa nova, underground, lo-fi, capoeira, and pop sounds

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Guitar Hero: Mauritania | Western Sahara | Mali | Niger

Tonight from 7-10 PM EST on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins three hours of shred-heavy Saharan guitar-forward tracks

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Os Mutantes | 7-10 PM EST

 

Tonight on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, we focus on the greatest Brazilian rock band of all time, spinning hits, deep cuts, solo outings, side projects, samples, covers

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BLACK + BLUE IN HARAJUKU | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Tonight on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins three hours of Japanese hardcore, rockabilly, punk, and retro sounds.

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On the DL: Music Blogs, Yesterday and Today

 

Join us tonight from 7-10 PM EDT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio for this very special program!

Tim Abdullah (Moroccan Tape Stash), Peter Doolan (Monrakplengthai), and WFMU’s Doug Schulkind (Give the Drummer Some, Mining the Audio Motherlode) join us for a celebration of the audio-centric download weblog, the death of which has been pronounced countless times over the last decade-and-change. We’ll talk (and play tracks from) pioneers, GOATs, influencers, guilty pleasures and buried treasures—as well as the sustainability of the medium post-Bandcamp, -Spotify, and -reissue culture.

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Arabic Singles Going Steady | 7-10 ET PM Tonight

 

Every October, WFMU conducts its Year End fund drive. And the third week of every October, WFMU DJs participate in Singles Going Steady Week, a 7-day celebration of those little records with the big holes.

This year, for the first time ever, we'll be spinning Arabic 45s. Hear rare tracks by artists from Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, and Syria tonight from 7-10 PM EDT.

Stop by, give a listen, and say hello. If you can, throw a bit of cash our way to keep this great station on air and online 24/7, just for you.

Psychedelic Man | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Is Psychedelic Man performing a genre? A period-style? A sensibility or feeling? Or does he simply represent a state of being? Find out tonight from 7-10 PM EDT on Bodega Pop on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio

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It's a Small World (Millie Small)

 

TONIGHT, from 7-10 PM EDT, Bodega Pop on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio celebrates Jamaica's first international superstar with hits, deep cuts, mashups, covers, and deconstructions.

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Radio Douala | 7-10 PM EDT

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins Cameroonian bikutsi, funk, disco, bend-skin, hip hop, makossa, and more.

Listen to the show and join the conversation (starts 7:00 PM ET)

 

OUT THERE | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Tonight on WFMU's Give the Drummer: Psychic emanations from Benin City to Ramallah. Who's Zoomin' Who?

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STRANGERS | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Tonight on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, we share sonic emanations from Afghanistan to the banlieue. Feelings without name.

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Groupe Ouled Chtiwi | Sawt al Ochat cassette

 

This morning's offering is what Moroccan Tape Stash's Tim Abdellah (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIM!!!) describes as "cassette-era chaabi, heavy on the aita." I found this, along with dozens of other cassettes I have yet to share, at Naseem Meat Market & Grocery on Steinway Street here in beautiful Astoria. The store has long since closed and reopened under new ownership with a new name, but I owe a quarter to a third of my cassette collection to that place, a goldmine back in the day.

Not wanting to bother the aforementioned Tim, I made an attempt to identify, transliterate, and (when possible) translate all of the tracks using Google translate, but it was ultimately a mystery as the number of titles on the cover didn't seem to correspond to what I was seeing and hearing in Audacity.

I gave in and sent the files to Tim, who realized that part of the problem is that the track order appears to be flipped. I've updated them in the metadata and now offer the FLAC files to you, dear visitor, for your listening pleasure.

Here is Tim's corrected transliteration/translation/order and notes on tracks 2-5:

Groupe Ouled Chtiwi مجموعة اولاد الشتيوي

Sawt al Ochak cassette صوط العشاق

1) Al Ghorba (Alienation) الغربة

2) Ana Lghram (Me and Lovesickness) انا الغرام

3) Kachkoul Aswaken (Medley: The Residents)  كشكول السواكن

4) Jaaidan - Al Halga - Al Ghaba (جعيدان -الحلگة - الغابة)

5) (Taarida)

--

Track 2: Your translation of "Ana Lghram" is correct for title as written. But listening to the vocals he says "ana w lghram, ma3andi tbib ana", which means something like "me and lovesickness, i have no doctor, me". So I would go with "Me and Lovesickness" for the translation.

Track 3: I didn't know the term "kachkoul" before, which Google translates as "notebook" or "patchwork". But looking around on YouTube, I get the idea that in a musical context it means something like a medley. The track is definitely related to Swaken - it's a term used in Aita that means "residents", in the sense of those possessor spirits whose residence in bodies manifests during trance.

Track 4: The terms Jaaidan and Halga are new to me. They appear to be Aita pieces, and I found different versions of them on YouTube that sound like parts of this long medley. I do know Al Ghaba (the forest), which is a well-known chaabi/aita song but I don't hear it in Track 4 or Track 5.

Track 5: This seems like just a filler instrumental to run out the tape. I usually label these "Taarida", which is a term used for formulaic musical instrumentals, and it literally means "making wider", or "stretching out". So I used that here for Track 5 title.

It's a terrific ride. As often is the case, massive thanks to Tim! Link in the comments.

Chinatowns | 7-10 PM EDT

 

On tonight's show, we'll share a diversity of sounds found in disparate Chinatowns, from New York City to Bangkok.

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Brain 1972 | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Tonight on Bodega Pop, we spin tracks from the first year of Bruno Wendel and Günter Körber's legendary Hamburg-based krautrock-forward label

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Polnareff | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Inspired by a recent article by Richard Metzger, we take a deep dive into Michel Polarneff's work and influence. HT to Tim Abdellah for pointing us to the article.

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BODEGAPOPLOOZA | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU'S Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins rare and thrill-inducing live tracks from Egypt, Germany, Iran, Japan, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Puerto Rico, Sudan, Syria, the UK, and USA. 

Everyone here is vaxxed up and the porta-potties are definitely on their way, so grab another chilidog and brew!

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Beirut 20/21

 

An immersive evening in recent recordings from the Lebanese capital. (Hat tip to this compilation.)

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STREET JAMS: Hip Hop 1979-83 | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins three hours of the genre's first five years on wax

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TAKE A CHANCE WITH MOÉ: The Aut'chose Experience

A romp through French-speaking Canada's punk, proto-rap, prog, disco, stoner, and sci-fi metal scenes by way of Lucien Francoeur & Co. 

For our good buddy Brandon Downing, who introduced us to the band many years ago.

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International Vinyl | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins our first-ever all-vinyl show! Featuring recently acquired LPs, EPs, and 45s from Armenia, Cambodia, Canada, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, India, Iran, Lebanon, and Mexico

Listen now in the archives

Pathé 100 : The Series

From 7-10 PM TONIGHT, Bodega Pop on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio spins Folk, jazz, mandopop, movie songs, rock 'n' roll, and shidaiqu from the now ultra-rare reissue series

Listen to the show in the archives

 

Portland & Seattle Score | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Bodega Pop returns tonight to spin tracks from cassettes, CDs, singles, and 10" records found on a recent trip to the Pacific Northwest

Listen to the show in the archives

Benin | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Inspired by the first episode of Stephen Satterfield and Jessica Harris's High on the Hog, we spin field recordings, funk, neo-traditional Bariba & Dendi music, and more from the West African Republic

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Orchestra Zeitouni | FLAC cassette rip

 

Here's a high-energy Moroccan cassette I found at Nassem Halal Meat and Mediterranean Grocery on Steinway Street, walking distance from my place here in Astoria, Queens.

There is no track list for this cassette, not on the J-card, not on either side of the cassette itself.

The kamenjah on the cover is featured prominently throughout. Supporting it: Percussion, guinbri, keyboard (barely detectable rhythmic pumping on Side 1, Track 3; a bit more prominent on Side 2), and vocals.

Grab it now (link in the comments) 

Massnawa | Cassette FLAC rip

 

I know next to nothing about Massnawa, other than that they are a Moroccan group, in the ballpark of similar Moroccans Lemchaheb, Jil Jilala, and Nass El Ghiwane.

I don't even know what year this cassette is from; no one has yet added this album to Massnawa's Discogs page.

All I can tell you is that it is one of the most inventive Moroccan albums I've ever heard and I doubt you'll feel any different.

TRACKLIST

Side 1
Rujue Hayya رجوع هيئة

Warda Fi Al Sahra وردة في الصحراء

Side 2

Al Gharib الغريب

Sidi Moussa Ben Ali سيدي موسي ابن عاي

Mawsim Al Sayda موسم الصيدة

Link in the comments. Grab it while you can.

Cassettes | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Tonight on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop plays scorchers from around the globe on everybody's least favorite analog format!

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Orchestra Abdel Hamid | FLAC cassette rip

 

I've had this Moroccan cassette for years, something I picked up on Steinway Street's Nassem Halal Meat and Mediterranean Grocery long before the owner sold the store. This is an enjoyable ride, with bursts of punchy strings and organ fills -- are they real strings and organ or synth? -- over a driving, complex but steady, rocking beat. Terrific, subtly emotive vocals, with call-and-response chorus.

I've made a first attempt at a track list, but I don't entirely trust my transliteration skills. Worth noting that most of the songs bleed into each other, thus tracks 2 and 3 on Side One are really two songs, and Side Two is a continuous track consisting of four songs.

SIDE ONE

Awad عواد

Fatna فاطنة and Taxi تکایسي

Ana Al Maebud Allah أنا المعبود الله and Alalat Rah Kwany  الالة راه کواني

SIDE TWO

Ma Yuqit Lak Qabar ما يقيت لك  قابار and Mimai Dariha ميمىي دارها and Eayt Ana Manhbur عيت أنا مانحبر and Malo Malo مالو مالو

Link to FLAC files in the comments. If you're still downloading things from here, it would nice to hear from you. Leave a message, say hello.

Rubaiyat Salah Jahin | Salah Jahin, Ali al-Haggar, Sayed Makawy (1988, Egypt, FLAC rip)

This cassette is not listed on Discogs, but there does exist a poor-quality YouTube video that I'll leave it to you to find if you really want to.

This is a remarkable recording, from 1988, of a collaboration between long-time friends composer Sayed Makawy and poet and cartoonist Salah Jahin (or a tribute by the composer to his then recently deceased friend). It is not the first time Makawy had scored Jahin's poetry; Discogs lists this cassette, with the same title (which I think translates as The Poetry of Salah Jahin). 

However, the main difference between that one (pictured directly above) and the cassette I'm sharing today (pictured at the top of this post) is that the latter features the singing voice of Ali al Haggar in addition to whomever is reciting Salah Jahin's poetry (perhaps Jahin himself, although the poet died in 1986, two years before this release).

Al Haggar is an interesting choice. His voice has a smooth, mid- to high-range huskiness that, to my ear, at least, is more than a little reminiscent of Abdel Halim Hafez--the one famous singer that composer Sayed Makawy famously never worked with.

I've never heard an album quite like this. Clearly Egyptian in orchestration and composition, there are distinct touches that make it unique. Plus, more obviously, it toggles rather aggressively back and forth between passages of recited and sung poetry--something I've only ever heard before in recordings of Persian poetry, and even there, there was only one vocalist. This is clearly two, one for each mode.

Link to FLAC files in comments.

Lust for Life. | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio: Mind-blowing cassettes from Congo, Kuwait, and Mali. Egyptian-Palestinian experimentation. A rediscovered Brazilian underground classic. Il Maestro. Horny reggae. And Nico.

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Goodbye, Rock. Yuri Morozov | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins Soviet freak folk, progressive & psychedelic, avant-electronica, esoteric funk, and more by Russia's greatest bedroom star

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Madagascar | 7-10 PM EDT

 

The Mushrooms Fever

Tonight on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins punk, pop, hip hop, field recordings, old cassettes, 78s, and more from the red island

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Slanted and Enchanted | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Dreamy pop, rock, psych, field, avant-garde, and more, from four or five corners of the world

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Keyboard Kings | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio we spin favorite and obscure tracks by keyboard kings, queens, dukes, and duchesses

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Lao New Year | 7-10 PM EDT

 

Photo by Laurent Jeanneau (aka Kink Gong)

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins three hours of country stars, ethnic minorities, 80s & 90s Lao-American synthpoppers, French Lao beatmakers, forgotten rockers

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NICE UP THE DANCE | 7-10 PM EDT

 

TONIGHT on WFMU's Give the Drummer Radio, Bodega Pop spins Jamaican dancehall hits, dis tracks, deep cuts, and come-ons

Listen to the show and join the conversation (starts 7PM EDT)