Back On The Boards!

I have some more vacation time to use before the end of the year, so I took the day off from work... but that doesn't mean I wasn't busy! More on that in a sec...

I did check into my work email during the day, and discovered that the Museum's new holiday billboards are up... and if you see them around the Berkshires, you may recognize a couple dedicated do-gooders!

Yep, that's me in the Spidey suit, along with my web-slinging nephew Ben! The Museum wanted to promote our latest exhibition (Heroes & Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross), but we were having a heck of a time trying to get the copyright holders of Ross' artwork to agree to let us showcase his art on a promotion of that size... but me, I had no problem (they don't call me a wallcrawler for nuthin'!). 

Seriously, it's pretty cool... I'll have to take a better picture once I get back to the Berkshires (and find the locations of these displays). 

Minor earth, major sky...! Celebrating my "A-ha" moment at WEXT's
studios in Troy, NY. Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

Continuing my bid to be called the new "king of all media," I returned to radio station WEXT's studios today to finally record my tribute show on 

A-ha. Actually, it was a re-record... I had already given it a shot a couple years ago at the request of Program Director Chris Wienk, but it was decided to put it on hold... in the meantime, the band retired (2010), briefly reunited to perform during a memorial concert for the victims of that tragic shooting in Norway last year, and on a more joyous occasion... were actually knighted by their home country last month during a ceremony held in Oslo to honor the 30th anniversary of their founding and contributions to Norwegian culture... the least I could do was re-record my tribute, and pull out all the stops!

I'm happy with how the recording session went... I thought my delivery was even stronger than the MyExit show I recorded a few months back. Radio production assistant Katie G was wonderful as usual, and was encouraging during my hour-plus, reading my prepared notes. Now I just have to wait for her to produce it... I prepared a couple discs full of music and editing background themes, and she has my notes... make her job a little easier. There's a chance it might air before the end of the year, otherwise early next... hopefully. So cross fingers and Morten Harket's leather wristbands that it will finally see "the living daylights"... soon! 

I'm ending the day by continuing to organize our new home. We are supposed to host a night of Hanukkah for our family, but I'd feel better if we could straighten it up a bit more... having said that, we lit our own candles earlier... not a bad day at all today!

Related Link:

http://exit977.org

Break On Through To The Other Side...

Spent the day trying to finalize the script for the tribute show I am finally recording for WEXT, that looks at the career of Norwegian rock band A-ha. I have to say, it's been one of the more difficult projects I have attempted to work on since it was initially pitched to me in 2010... because I'm such a big fan of their music, there's so much I could say... but I need to figure out how to edit it all down to two, digestible one hour segments for broadcast. Hmm... I guess I should take a cue from this blog, where in the past year I have attempted to do the same kind of streamlined storytelling.

Music is the most important thing, and luckily I have that more or less fleshed out... with selections spanning from the band's 1985 breakthrough to final recordings in 2010. Here is one of my favorites, "Dark Is The Night"−a very U2-esque song from 1993 (I also included it in the "My Exit" program I recorded earlier this year):





Believe it or not... for a band known for their groundbreaking videos, this one was actually banned by MTV America when it was released (guess the guy on stilts was deemed too "disturbing"). I love it myself... the dark tone is sublime, and both the song and video perfectly sum up the challenges of being creative (among other things) during this lifetime. It's an important track for me, and I think I'll call it my "theme song" as I try to finally wrap up this project (the video documentary is yet another thing... sigh...)!

Stay tuned...

The Clowe Show!

Thanks to all who tuned into My Exit show last night on WEXT. We were in Schenectady, so we had a chance to listen in to the program on the good old-fashioned stereo. It felt good. Made me hungry for more...


For those who missed it (or loved it so much they want to tune in again), the show will be airing again this Sunday, May 20, at 10 a.m. eastern time. You can listen in at 97.7 WEXT-FM in New York's Capital Region (and outlying areas) or online at exit977.org


In the meantime, here is my playlist and a line from each of the songs, which I love:

Waxing poetic... vinyl is hip again! Photo ©Jeremy Clowe.
All rights reserved.

1. "Dark Is The Night," A-ha: "It's time to break free, we need to celebrate the mystery..." (indeed).


2. "Here Comes The Sun," The Beatles: "Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting... little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear..."


3. "(I Know) I'm Losing You," The Temptations: "Ooh, I can tell when we kiss... from the tenderness I miss... Ooh, little girl I'm losing you..."


4. "A Girl Like You," Edwyn Collins: "You've made me acknowledge the devil in me, I hope to God I'm talking metaphorically, hope that I'm talking allegorically, know that I'm talking 'bout the way I feel..."


5. "Superstitious," Stevie Wonder: "Keep me in a daydream, keep me going strong... you don't want to save me, sad is my song..."


6. "Don't Gotta Work It Out," Fitz & The Tantrums: "I don't know but I've been told... the world outside is oh so cold, late at night when you're along... do you think about me now that I"m gone? When I'm on the road I often dream and think of you, girl... I hope that you do too..."

Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

7. "Heart In Your Hand," Colwell (Hector on Stilts): "You've got my heart in your hand, Sarah... have you ever felt this before..."


8. "My Eyes," Travis: "Ya ya yay, ya ya yay... you got my eyes... we can't see what you'll be, you can't disguise... and either way I will pray you will be wise... pretty soon you will see tears in my eyes..." (I think this is the sweetest song ever written from a father to his child!)


9. "People C'mon," Delta Spirit: "If you're feeling what I'm feeling c'mon, all you soul-searching people c'mon..."


10. "Girl of the North Country," Bob Dylan: "If you're going when the snowflakes storm, when the rivers freeze and summer ends... please see for me she has a coat so warm, to keep her from the howlin' wind...."


11. "Rebel Rebel," David Bowie: "You like me and I like it all, we like dancing and we look divine... you love bands when they're playing hard, you want more and you want it fast..."


12. "Live Forever," Oasis: "Maybe I will never be all the things that I wanna be... but now is not the time to cry, now's the time to find out why... I think you're the same as me, 
we see things they'll never see, you and I are gonna live forever..." 

Funny how a-ha records keeping popping up when I enter a store... 
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

13. "Home," Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros: "We laugh until we think we'll die, barefoot on a summer night, never could be sweeter than with you..."




14. "Hey Ya!" Outkast: "Shake it like a Polaroid picture..."




15. "Analogue," A-ha: "All I want you to know: I love you... all I need is the time to show you..."


Related:


All Over Albany profile


Up Next:


RBIT has an improv show this Friday, May 18, at the Spectrum Playhouse in Lee, MA...and it's exactly two months until the BIG day! Whoa...

My Music = My Exit

Well, tonight's the night when I take over the airwaves of New York's Capital Region! Tune into WEXT's My Exit show, to hear me host an hour of my favorite music. If you're not in the Albany, NY, area, you can listen online at exit977.org. This really was great fun, and reminded me of how much I loved DJing back in college and during the mid-90s at WBER—maybe I need to look into doing a regular gig again...

Standing in the shadows of Motown... Detroit, 2004.
Photo ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved.

As I mentioned yesterday, the website All Over Albany has posted a profile and preview of my show on their website today. It gave me a great opportunity to promote my TV music interviews, and talk about some of the music I will be playing on tonight's My Exit program. 

When asked to describe my taste in music, I responded: "I'm a soul man. I respond to music that is emotionally honest. Classic soul, indie rock, alternative, Britpop, classic rock, reggae, ska, jazz, etc. I'm a big fan of melody, and Sarah is always teasing me for frequently being drawn to melancholic songs. Moreover, I tend to be attracted to songs that deliver a sweeping chorus--these are the moments that usually give me goose bumps, and remind me why music is such an important part of my life."

Rock on!

Links: 

alloveralbany.com/archive/2012/05/14/my-exit-jeremy-clowe

My Exit promos

http://exit977.org

Bandstand

Wow, first Soul Train, now American Bandstand... not a good year for music show hosts, eh?  (Yikes. I better keep quiet...)

As a teenager growing up in the 1980s, Dick Clark provided me with a window to many of the weird new wave bands that I loved (Blancmange anyone?). "Has a good beat and you can dance to it..." Back then you thought the host might live forever.

New Year's Eve just 
won't be the same... R.I.P.

Related Links:

"Dick Clark dead at 82," CBS News, April 18, 2012

Public Image Ltd. wreck havok on American Bandstand, 1980