Saturday, December 16, 2006

Wow.. ok, so I took some time off from blogging.
I'll start again, but maybe not the same format.

Coming next weekend, December 22nd - 25th, XMU will highlight over 60 performances recorded for XM. XMU LIVE begins Thursday, December 21st, midnight east and goes through December 26th, 3am east. 4 days of back-to-back sets of live music.

January 1st we have a cool event happening, you'll find out by listening on January 1st.

I am working on several new shows in early 2006 including a mix show, a most requested & most played - it will have 23 songs in the countdown.

Valentines will be better than ever but same concept and theme as last year.

We're still working on our chart, playlist and email list, all will be located at xmunation.com

XMU is digging back into the 90's for the college/indie/unsigned bands that are missing. if you have suggestions, please visit xmu.xmradio.com and send us an email with bands you want to hear and what songs you want to hear. bands like Ween, Sleater-Kinney, Belle & Sebastian, Jawbox, and others are being added now.. but we need your help.

more to come.

billy zero: pd xmu xm43
mornings: 5am w - 11am w

billy zero: partner Airtype Studio®
web: airtypestudio.com

Monday, October 09, 2006

10.09.06

Badly Drawn Boy is in now.
not bad, in keeping with everything previous sounds.

upnext is 3 dudes that call themselves The Fags. This is dirty rock, not so polished like all the crap you hear on FM POP. My favorite track is "Rockstar"

next up on Enabler Records is Jule Brown. The music is ok, the vocals are ok. Stand-out track is "Can't Get It Right". This cd is intersting, it has a Folk-Twang feel and the lyrics stoll closer to the anti-folk movement. Musically this CD meanders around.

The Oohlas are in now. This is gritty power Pop. I've always like the pop sounds.
Love track 2 - "Tripped". best line is in track 3 - the song is called "Across the stars in blue". Two good lines in this song - "you get yours and i'll get mines" and then "Some pretty-tittie-shaving-Kitty's gonna save the world".

In Reverent Fear has a new CD is called Stomacher. Lounging, strolling melodies permeate this release along with muted sounds and distortion clashing quickly and then parting to their respective corners. I like the voice. sometimes there's a whisper and you feel, just for a second, that a scream is coming, but then it's held back,
then on track 4 the scream-o begins a bit.

Aarah And The Ferns is up next. Indie pop with simple sounds on the first track including handclaps, washboards, bells, sticks and other cool sounds. so i get sidetracked while listening to this cd,, it's very cool, and i have to start the CD over as i find myself bee-boping along to track 5, which may be my favorite. Track 2, 3 and 5 are the best. well done.

ok more to come later..

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Listening to The DFA REMIXES - Chapter Two. you might as well just get the hell up, and start dancing before the first track even starts. Another great CD which has you moving from the get-go. i hear some nice beats and lyric-flows that mean this thing has some large market appeal, i would love to see a video contest to put this cd to a home-made video, in it's entirety. i might have to enter that. The song titles just set it up for such a thing. Tracks are listed in order, and when reading these, just think about shooting a video. i mean the music stands on it's on, so you just have fun with the video and make magic with edits. stand-out tracks, in order are 5,8,1,2,3,6,7,4. As you can tell I like this.

#. Track Name................Remixed by
1. Far From Home.............Tiga
2. Shake Your Coconuts.......Junior Senior
3. Colours...................Hot Chip
4. She Wants To Move.........N.E.R.D.
5. The Hand That Feeds.......Nine Inch Nails
6. Slide In..................Goldfrapp
7. Destination Overdrive.....Chromeo
8. In A State................Unkle

Next.
Ahh.. Various, an artist cd from XL recordings.
Nice collection. great first track, just an intro. then Track 2 is a rootsy-organic female voice that washes over you in a spiritual sense with whimsical, meandering lyrics. The CD is called "The World Is Gone". Track 3 dips into some Portishead-esque sounds. Track 4 gets dirty a bit more Chemical Brothers-induced. Track 5 sounds like Nine Inch Nails meets The Knife.Track 6 brings back a bit of the soul we hear in the first track. By the way interesting art on this thing. I Love track 7, maybe a tie with track 1 for my favorite. WOW, then you hear track 9. Beautiful Vocals. The Vocals on this track are similar to Simon & Garfunkel on "Scarborough Fair".

Next.
There's something about the voice of Neko Case, this next artist has that smae quality. Alela Diane is the artist. The CD is entitled "The Pirate's Gospel". Damn if that's not the perfect title. man it fits. I Like This. Track 1 and 3 are amazing. Damn i want to be spiritual! i Want some of this Pirate Gospel. I'm Hooked.

Next.
Piolot Speed.
Good., then track 2 starts. Now it's great - it's called "Barely Listening". Track 4 is another stand-out it's called "Over-Ground". Then Tracks 6, 8 and 10. i hear a young Bono on Track 10. I hear some Remy Zero mets Coldplay in the drums, bass lines.
And track 12 kicks in with a driving slow piano. nice.

Next.
Cut Chemist song featuring Hymnal "What's The Altitude" remixed by She Wants Revenge, The Astronauts, and Joe Buhdha.
Track 1 is the album version. Track 2 sounds like it's Spin Spin Sugar on the bass-line. This is the remix by She Wants Revenge. Track 3 is a remix by The Astronauts and it's a bit faster and obviously a bit more spacey. Track 4 is a remix by Joe Buhdha and this is a bit more Gritty and street with a club feel.

Next.
Copeland Stand out tracks are "Control Freak", "Careful Now", and "Eat, Sleep, Repeat".

Next.
Kevin Devine - "Put Your Ghost To Rest" is filled with honest songs with a hint of sadness. Track 1 and 3 are the stand-out tracks; "Brooklyn Boy" & "Just Stay".

Next.
Stephin Merrit of Magnetic Fields records audio books under the band name The Gothic Archies and this is the latest release. Very interesting and it creates this deep desire to pay to attention, follow along and see what happens. "Songs From A Series Of Unfortunate Events" sounds like the guy from Crash Test Dummies decided to step it up an octive and team up with XTC to write some songs. Tracks 2,6 and 3 are the stand-outs. Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) is on Accordian.

Next.
Unwed Sailor - "The White Ox". 6 Scaping tracks with very little in the way of vocals, they seem to be more accents. Slow at times, and driving at times, the music has a tribal quality on track 2 - "Gila". Track 3 is the stand-out for me, it's called "Numbers".

Next.
A band i featured on the Radar Report back in 2005. Looks like they got a label deal with Three Ring Records. Boyskout and the release is "Another Life". The first 3 tracks are the stand-out tracks. For those of you that don't know, I do a show on Thursdays called The Radar Report, and bands that get featured on the show generally begin to see some love from the industry. Many bands that have been featured on the report have gone on to bigger and better things. Bands like; Stellastarr*. Antigone Rising, Sugarland, Rhymefest, Louque, Virginia Coalition, Lake Trout, Morning Wood, Margot and The Nuclear So & So's, Dropping Daylight, The Matches, Clear Static, Army Of Me and more.
Tune in, Thursdays, 6pm West, 9pm East.

Next.
The Comfies - "Close TO Me" is a dreamy pop record. Tracks 2, 4 and 5 are the stand-outt's.

Next.
The Winter Blanket - "Golden Sun" is in the CD player now, and i stopped for a minute to take this in. The hushed sounds explode with fuzz. this is nice. Track 1 is captivating. The song is called "Sleepy Eyes". You can get addicted to music like this. Track 1 and 2 are the stand-outs

Next.
Thrift Story Cowboys - "Lay Low While Crawling Or Creeping" has some twang for sure, but it's a rockin-type twang. 12 Tracks. Track 1, "Beneath The Shoes" is a great song and perfect to start the listening experience for this collection of tunes. Track 3 is my second favorite on this record, it's called "Dirtied Your Knees".

Next.
Chrime In Choir - "Trumpery Metier" is in now and the first track is as if someone took 8 different Pink Floyd songs and gave them to another band to write and produce 1 great song that summed them all up. NICE... Ozric Tentacles come to mind. This is cool
all tracks stand out if you like the Prog but tracks 1, 3 and 6 stand out for me.

Next.
These Arms Are Snakes - "Easter". Kinda Punky, Kinda Screamy. Tracks 2 and 5 are the best.

Next.
Jeffrey & Jack Lewis - "City & Eastern Songs" - Track 1 sounds like they listened to the Giligan's Island Theme and then wrote a song a few seconds later. Intersting.

Next.
Subtle a single called - "The Mercury Craze". This is contagious. It's taken from the album "For Hero For Fool".

Anna McCue is up next with her release entitled "Koala Motel". This album features a ton of guests including; Nancy Wilson from Heart, Lucinda Williams, John Doe from X and Doug Pettibone. Tracks 1, 3, 7 and 4 stand out and don't forget the title track, the last track, it's an instrumental.

ok back with more posts soon, i'm tired.

labels, artists and musicians can submit to me here:

XM RADIO
ATTN BILLY ZERO
1500 ECKINGTON PLACE NE
WASHINGTON DC 20002

bz

Friday, October 06, 2006

Ok,, so i took the week off from posting, it's just been crazy around here. Were working on all kinds or promotions coming up and I start my on-air show this coming monday on XMU - again if you don't have XM you can sign up for a free 3-day-pass here. XMU is channel 43 on XM.

The amount of music that's coming in is just crazy. it's literally over 400 packages every week. here is a pic of just a small portion of the CD's I have to listen to this week>



This stack is just so big. I'll start listening now.
First in is Rhymefest. This is an artist i was featuring here at XM over almost 3 years ago. We played numerous songs off the last release including the amazing song - 'Bout To Get Ugly' which may have had some licensing issues as there were many samples, but it was ahead of it's time. I love his voice, it's soothing and has a rounded quality about it. The new record is called 'Blue Collar' and has 16 tracks. Stand-out tracks include "Dynomite", "Brand New" featuring Kanye West, and "Fever". This guy is witty and gritty with humor that goes back and lyrics that drive forward. hat's off to the kingdaddy from Chicago. Guest appearances by Mario, Kanye, Mike Puyne, Malik Yusef, Citizen Cope, Q-tip, Mikkey & Bump J.

Riding Paper Airplanes is a band from Seattle, a one-man band. Glitches, Fuzz, Thumps and other sounds collide to make an artful, organic, electronic wave of sound.
The wave is gritty at times and mellow at others. The man behind this project is a former member of Autumn Sonata. Track 1 is the stand-out, followed by tracks 2, 3 and 4.

Finally got Shiny Toy Guns. I like this CD. i've had the singles sent and the 4 song sampler. but the full length really shows how good this band is. I just like this sound. it's simple, electric/electronic, pointed lyrics and tightly produced. vocals are great and the guy/girl combo with vocals is fabulous. I LIVE EVERY SONG.

Tall Hands is in now. I like the first track "Fifteen on Ice" and the second track "Three Full Virginias".

Tonya Donelly has a new record entitled "This Hungry Life". A collection of 10 songs that are scaled back and simplistic with a bit of a twang.

ok,, i'll take a break,
by the way, i don't write too much on these CD's becuase i'm doing multiple things. this blog is more of a way for you to see what's coming across my desk.

i'm not hear to write paragraphs about these releases. If I was going to cover one CD per day, i would write a bit more, but the goal is to try to outline 10-20 CD's per day that i'm listening to.

more soon.

Monday, October 02, 2006

just put in the My Morning Jacket double CD. Wow, What a great recording.

Sproll is in now. Another great collection of songs. Only 6 songs, but worth the price whatever it is.

Ad Astra Per Aspera is in now. This pulls you in from the first chord. RIYL on this disk says Les davy Fav, So Many Dynamos & ...Trail of Dead.

Pacific UV is in. Just 4 songs, but they rock with a dirty chorus that seems to have a bit of that industrial feel, but only a distorted aspect. Track 1 is the stand-out.

Next up the intersting sounds of The Aquarium on Dischord Records. Scaping Sounds and etherial rhythms join for a diminished experiment in sound.

ok back for more after I open some new packages.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Just popped in "Nuclear Daydream" by Joseph Arthur. Wow. So many great tracks on this release. Standout tracks include; Too Much To Hide, Enought To Away, Woman, Nuclear Daydream,Don't Tell Your Eyes and Automatic Situation.

Of Montreal is in now, and i'm going to stop blogging now as i've been having troubles with Blogger, locking up, freezing, skipping letters that I type and losing the post once i hit publish.

Maybe I'll be back later if they fix these issues.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

I start listening after checking email and getting organized for the weekend.
I confirmed that i will be moderating a panel at CMJ this year - I was on a panel two years ago, but they make you wait 2 years before you can be on another panel.

I'll be on a panel this weekend at The Dewey Beach Music Conference - Click here for the panel.

We got accepted to be on HGTV as well so that's pretty cool, they just did the first shoot. We're gonna be on a show called Curb Appeal.

ok,,

First CD in the stack is The Kamikaze Hearts and we have a indie folk with a twang or as some say old-school rustic porch-folk. The CD is entitled Oneida Road. I like "Top Of Your Head" and "Ash Wednesday" and "Dear Hunter".

Next up is The Shimmers This band features Dave Bielanko of Marah and Jonathan Segal of Camper Van Beethoven. The CD is out next week. I like "The Letter", Beautiful vocals on "Sun Goes Down", the last track kicks in with the western sound - "Train Train" and it may just be my favorite. and then there is a hidden track as well - it's called "Coal" and they mention more trains.

The Hold Steady is in now. the first track reminds me of a young Bruce Springsteen. I like track 4 - "Same Kooks".

Next is A Bad Think on Vinylistic Records. not bad, but i don't like CD's that don't really give you information on the artist or websites that have any info, the only website listed is for Windmark.
hmmmmm

Next up is the Trentalange - featuring Barbara Trentalange from Crooked Fingers. Nice Etherial space in these songs. I like "Lonely Land", "The Motion", "Take Me Home" and "Venus".

next the Danish invasion with a band called Under Byen (pronounced - Oh' nah-boon - meaning "under the city"). Minimalistic and simple, the first track is a driving beat from beginning to end, but not a powerful thundering beat, rather a rhythm that permeates the track. Each track seems to have a bit of this. most tracks have the singers voice verging on a whisper. I Like "Pilot" and "Tindrer" and the speed picks up a bit with "Af Somme Stof Som Stof".

Mosquitos III is in the CD player now and reminds me of a combination of the last 2 CD's i listened to (above).
"One" is my favorite track next to "Mama's Belly" and "Nowhere Left To Go". this is faithful, winsome indie pop at heart. this CD is out now on Barnone Records.

Citizens Here And Abroad is in now.. Track 3 is my favorite - "Accelerator".

ok more in a bit,, i have meetings.

bz

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Next up in the CD Player is Finns Motel. I have to say, This has been a good Music-Listening-Day. Stand-tracks on this release entitled Escape Velocity (a term for the speed required to leave the gravity of a body) are Dramamine For Engine, Accelerate and Brake, Alright Tonight and The Physics of Drunk Driving.

Next is Wet Conefetti on Rice Bird Records through Pampelmoose. Worth a listen as the beats are raw, the bass and vocals are delivered by the lady in this outfit from Portland Oregon.

Califone is next in the preview list. The album is entitled "Roots And Crowns" and has a simplistic beginning that seems to build and regress on each song. This is acoustic and rootsy with layered instruments almost so sublte you miss them. my fav is track 6 - "My Kitten Sees Ghosts".


next up the rock sounds of Ouija Radio from their new release "Oh No... Yes! Yes!" on Crustacean Records. RIYL The Gossip, The Sounds and Pretty Girls Make Graves.

And now it's Portastatic. The clean, pop sounds dominate this release. 9 tracks on this Merge Records release entitled "Be Still Pleaes". The lead Track, "Sour Shores" is the stand-out track followed by "Song For A Glock, "Cheers and Applause", and "You Blanks".

Next is a release on subpop - a double CD from the band >Dead Moon entitled Echos Of The Past" and it's classic rock at it's heart and truly indepedent. 49 songs.

I just put in Tartufi. The CD entitled "Us Upon Buildings Upon Us", has interesting changes that make you want to hear more.

Home Video is the name of a band. and it's got an etherial-trance quality from the first track with layered vocals and driving beats that remind me a bit of another cool band called Lake Trout. The name of the album is "No Certain Night Or Morning". if you like one track, you'll most likely enjoy the whole CD. "Sleep Sweet", "Penguin" and "Confession Of A Time Traveler" are my favorites.

next up is a single from the band Forward, Russia! entitled "Nine", and I like it. it's unbridled and fun at the same time.

Tara Jane Oneil is in the CD Player now. just so you know, I get over 500 packages per week, so it gets a bit crazy here. She has a voice that you can't crawl away from. it's simple and beautiful. Just listen.

Pernice Brothers is up next. This is Pop Music. Track 2, Somerville, is my favorite.

Christine Fellows has a new release, Paper Anniversary, on Six Shooter Records. I love the way her voice pops out on in front of the music, it's only a bit under 2 minutes.

Getie Fox has a new release and it found it's way into my CD player. The band is from LA. Judge for yourself. take a listen. I like track 3, "Cry Complacent".

I'm now jamming to the Rock Sounds of Withdraw. This is their debut release entitled "The Perfectionsist Blacklist". This 5-piece band is from California and their songs go from chaos to beauty in a flash. My favorite is "Decompression".

next up and last for today is Shitake Mushroom. very interesting. I like track - "Maybe Lady".

ok,, my ears need a rest. now I'll go and relax for a minute and work on XMU.
Well by now you got the routine down for me, every day i come in and listen to a bunch of cd's, now i'm starting to write about it..

Much of the music featured here will be on XMU in the following week.

Just opened a package from VAEDA pretty good stuff. Straight-up Rock, Totally can hear this band on the radio, and if you have XM, you will, this band will featured on the RADAR REPORT in the coming weeks..

just opened the new Lemonheads, released on a great label called Vagrant. The cd just came out yesterday.
I like this record, might just be my favorite. These are honest songs with those great Dando-rolling-melodies. Stand out for me is track 2 - Become The Enemy and the last track - December.

Sally - this ep starts of with a driving emotional riff with squelched vocals and pulls you in, the deverts to a more punch beat, then into this noise bridge that's pretty interesting. Second tracks starts off with a Paddy-Cake type Hand-clap. I like the raw feel of this for the first 2 tracks. 3rd track is my least favorite and track 4 brings back the feeling f the first track, which is the coolest.

The Trolleyvox was just opened. best track on the record is track 2 - Just You Wait. the cd says - RIYD: The Essex Green, Rilo Kiley, Dressy Bessy.

just put in the new OOIOO - Trbial sounds on the first track and then a pause for more experimental sounds and structure. Interesting that all the songs have 3 letters in the name. the band is on a cool label called Thrill Jockey
the name of the album is TAIGA whcih means BIG RIVER in Japanese and FOREST in Russian. Track 1 and 7 are my favorites followed by track 4. The CD is out now.

and now a left turn to a band called The Old Ceremony release on a label called SonaBlast. These are great songs, My Favorites are Papers In Order, Poison Pen, and Get To Love. The Damnwells meet Elvis Costello with a hint of Randy Newman and Tom Waits.

Next I throw in a cd that just captivates me from the first note. Angela Desveaux released a new CD entitled Wandering Eyes. This is acoustic and clean with a hint of twang, not country, just twang-pop. Heartbeat is the best song i've heard today. ok so it could be my mood, but this is just good. one thing you'll come to know about me. I hold no bias or prejudice against or towards any one style or genre of music. I'm just open, wide open and ready to take it all in. it's the best way to take in music. with a clean slate like it's the first piece of music you ever heard. stand out tracks are all over this record, so go listen.

The Buffalo Killers have a self-titled release on Alive Records. My favorite track is Heavens You Are - i hear some Ween, Black Sabbath and Black Mountain on this track. Produced by John Curley of the Afghan Whigs.

Modeski, Martin & Wood - the new record is out on their own label, and they're still jammin.

Opened the new release from the band Honeycut. This is a Rock-Fusion-Soul outfit with beats.
The first track "The Day I Turned To Glass" is my favorite followed by track 3 - "Shadows".

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton was opened next. Piano-based-tunes with a sad flare. This voice reminds me of another amazing singer, Laura Burhenn, who is in an amazing band now called Georgie James. if you like Laura, you will like Emily.

Rolling melodies come back in full force with new Chin Up Chin Up release entitled "This Harness Can't Ride Anything". I love the first track, it's the title track. This release is from Suicide Squeeze Records.

ok.. i'll continue listening. more posts to come.
maybe even another one today.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

I saw Ladytron last night at >the nightclub 9:30 The club was a bit smokey, but not as smokey as the new club where I saw the Hourly Radio this past weekend. Ladytron was good, the club was not quite sold out, they played Seventeen and Destroy everything you touch, which is one of my favorites, but they didn't play Ladybird, one of my other favorites. the 930 Club and The Black Cat, Still the best places to see shows in DC,, BY FAR..

You'll notice that in my previous blog I went to see The Hourly Radio at a new local club - The Rock N Roll Hotel, and it's the smokiest club in DC with no ventilation. I mean literally NO FANS and smoke everywhere. Boggles the mind.
so i won't be checking anymore shows out there until the smoking ban hits DC in January.

Ladytron also came by XM RADIO yesterday as well, they did a Campus Revolt which will take place in the coming month. That's where they get to program XMU for an hour, playing whatever they want. This is gonna be way cool. For those of you that don't know what XMU is, we are located on Channel #43 on XM SATELLiTE RADiO - The Leading Satellite Company. check out THIS LINK and sign up for a free 3-day-pass - all you need is an email address.

ON MY PLATE
I'm heading out to Dewey Beach Music Conference this weekend,
Heading to see Tool this Saturday night at The MCI Center here in DC.

XMU will also be doing a Re-Broadcast of LIVE PERFORMANCES from AUSTIN CITY LIMITS 2006 - keep checking back here for all the details. The Live performances were simply amazing.

XMU will be heading to CMJ this year in a BIG WAY,, so hold tight and listen for Exclusive coverage and interviews.

any questions, just ask

Monday, September 25, 2006

Billy Zero here,
program Director for XMU here at XM SATELLiTE RADiO..

This is my first blog and I figured I would turn you on to some music that just came in. Music from a band called Crash Boom Bang. These guys are writing some great pop-rock.

Check out Tim Williams - I like the song "Novel". he's more of a singer-song-writer.

if you like Rock..
Check out Theo and The Skyscrapers - "Doppleganger Death Disco" is my favorite. but there are several tracks to preview and you have 2 discs on this release, the second is a DVD.

I Love The Hourly Radio and just caught them live, and they delivered.

also a band called Heavens is well worth a listen and a minute of your respect.

more soon.

bz.xm.xmu.airtype.dc