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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Juxtaposition: The Difference Time Makes

by Sean Carolan

(...hat-tip to Mark Frauenfelder at BoingBoing and in-thread commenter "laurent"...)

Morrissey, Age 17:

Morrissey, some time later:

posted 9/27/2012 05:00:00 PM
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Saturday, September 22, 2012

FM Showcase Tracklisting for 9/21/2012

by Sean Carolan

We do the FM Showcase every week, and this week - our 372nd - was no different.  Here's what we played...

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posted 9/22/2012 01:00:00 AM
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Saturday, September 08, 2012

FM Showcase Tracklisting for 9/7/2012

by Sean Carolan

Another week, another FM Showcase - our 370th - and in all fairness this week's selection represents only the frothy bits of the tsunami of new releases that hit our inbox.  It's September, and that means all the releases that have been awaiting the return of college students that listen to college radio are finally being let out of the gate. Some you've been hearing on Altrok 90.5 HD2 (what? You haven't tuned in? For shame!) already, and some you'll hear this coming week.

There'll be another two hours of quality Altrok next Friday night on 90.5 The Night, like clockwork - and as soon as it finishes airing, we'll put up the tracklisting for that one.

By the way, you'll notice the songs are linked off to Amazon - if you follow the link there and buy them, you help support Altrok. So if you're feeling like a spending binge, don't let us stop you...

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posted 9/08/2012 01:00:00 AM
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Thursday, September 06, 2012

A Bit Of Smiths-Oriented Reading

by Sean Carolan

Tony Fletcher, of whom much has been written here at Altrok (and of whose literary abilities we're in awe) has a new book out. It's about The Smiths. Need more convincing? Here's the note Tony sent out about it...
Today, September 6, my new book, ‘A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths,’ is published in the UK, Australia and some other English-speaking countries by William Heinemann/Random House. Those of you who’ve been in personal contact with me over the last couple of years will know how hard I’ve been working on this biography, traveling back to the UK frequently to conduct interviews with band members, friends, business associates and other musicians; those of you who have not been in such regular contact will now know what I’ve been up to!
It is not entirely coincidence that this week marks the 25th anniversary of The Smiths’ break-up, only five years after they formed and barely four years after their debut single. During that time, Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce recorded four albums, some 70 Morrissey-Marr compositions and left an indelible mark on popular culture. You don’t have to travel far, anywhere in the world, to hear the likes of ‘How Soon Is Now?’ or ‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want’ or ‘This Charming Man’ on the radio, in clubs, or on TV or film soundtracks. I’d like to believe that my book pays proper tribute to the band and to the remarkable impact they had on a generation of devoted fans, not only in the UK, but in the USA as well.
The cover copy for ‘A Light That Never Goes Out’ can be found here. You can see the cover wrap here. An excerpt from the book appears in the October issue of Mojo magazine, which has the Smiths on the cover. Mojo is also running a competition for free copies (UK readers only) until September 14. The book has already been reviewed in the Guardian, the Sunday Times and the Independent with significant radio publicity to come next week when I return from our family’s first-ever cross-country road trip. (I am writing this from a suburb in Denver!) You can order the book online via the usual suspects (it has been in Amazon's Rock & Pop Top 10 for a week already), but I would encourage my British readers to buy it at a proper old-fashioned book store while they still exist. (Waterstones has proven particularly supportive of this book, so do return the love!) ‘A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths’ sells for £20 before the usual discounts, and though it is some 700 pages long, it is actually a shorter book than my Keith Moon bio; we just went for a larger type size!
The US edition will be published by Crown Archetype (also Random House) on December 4, with an entirely different cover and interior design, though the words will be the same (but for those damn American-English differences in spelling and meaning, which have caused me no end of editorial nightmares!). For American readers who prefer not to wait that long, I’m afraid I can’t offer you too much advice, as officially there is an embargo until then. In the meantime, if any of you out there think you might be able to help with the publicity of either the UK or US edition, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line. And feel free to share this e-mail.
If you want to chat about the book in a public forum, my author Facebook page is the best place. I am often to be found whittering away at Twitter. I still use my web site iJamming! for longer and larger posts.
Thanks for your time. I hope you dig the book.
Tony

posted 9/06/2012 01:34:00 PM
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Saturday, September 01, 2012

FM Showcase Tracklisting for 8/31/2012

by Sean Carolan

Here's what we played on the 369th Altrok Radio FM Showcase...

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posted 9/01/2012 01:00:00 AM
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Please Look At Our Advertisers (Or The Website Gets It)
Congratulations, you've found the hidden text.
 
Welcome to Altrok.com, also available at AltrokRadio.com and AltrockRadio.com. Here's where the remaining listeners of several fine radio stations have retreated, regrouped, and built a replacement strong enough to stand on its own. It builds on the independent legacy of New Jersey's FM106.3, New York's WPIX and WLIR, Oklahoma's 105.3 The Spy, the pre-buyout mindset of KROQ, WBCN and WHFS and of every other alternative station that was destroyed at a moment's notice - not because they weren't making money, but because there was bigger money to be found elsewhere.
 
We've stood by as truly independent alternative rock radio died. Sure, something called "alternative" took its place, but we know for sure that anything that "tests well" with soccer moms just ain't alternative. (Even if some of us happen to be soccer moms.) So we've taken matters into our own hands.
 
This really is independent alternative rock radio, visible here at Altrok.com and audible at our web radio station. It has the classic music that fired our passions back in the day - or that we maybe only heard about from our elders - but it's mostly made of the new music that does precisely the same for us now. We're paying attention to scenes all over the world, watching the energy build, and waiting to see what it creates. Wherever it happens, we'll make sure you can hear about it here. We've been slowly building all this since 2001, and now that you've noticed us, we're glad you're here.
 
Of course, it's only here because you want it to be here, and it can only stay if you help it along - especially by checking out our advertisers (they support us) and by listening (the more that listen, the more visible we are.) Please use the "feedback" link above to let us know whether it works for you, and what you want it to be as the future unfolds. (And if you need help hearing it, let us know that, too.)