Let it be known far and wide that The Balcony loves America. Or as we say it “Murrka.” So, with Lesson 59 of the 101 Series we pay tribute to Resident #1 and a few of the people who’ve tried to kill him. We don’t do all the presidents and some get more than one song. But it just shows that no topic (or its assassin) is sacred and even the White House should do a little dance every once in a while.
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Great songs may come and go, but sometimes the best songs are the ones that have fallen just off the radar. Welcome to episode 5 of Dusty Gems – the show that re-calibrates the radar for a more powerful search. We have a bevy of great bands playing some deep grooves that could be called lost tracks, forgotten melodies or hidden pleasures. But we plead no contest to liking only the deepest grooves. Time to turn over the record and listen to track 3. “Wow! I haven’t heard that before . . .”
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Webster’s defines the word ‘Eccentric’ as “Having it’s axis off center”. BalconyRadio assumes this definition as its motto and defines ‘Eccentric’ as music worth exploring. In Lesson 58 of the 101 Series we turn to artists who may never have been played on the radio, may not have had a hit single, or who have had a career on the outside fringes and give them a showcase and a mic. It’s good, weird and fun and proves that ‘eccentric’ is relative – madness or genius or a plate of Twinkies. Make of it what you will.
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Neither the turntables or the mic are strictly a man’s domain. Sometimes the soft, well-manicured hands of a female MC can grip it and rip it. In episode five of our hip hop series Deez Rhymes, we hand it over to the ladies. Join us for a couple of hours worth of girlz wid attitude spitting fire about boys, guns, dancing, how they’re better than that other bitch and cars with the boom. Not one single mention of fancy purses allowed.
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In the new millennium there has been a rise in the number of coffee shops in America – most belonging to one or two companies. We at The Balcony think it’s time to bring back the coffee shop as venue – the way it was in the days of Greenwich Village – with guitars, banjos and fiddles scattered freely about the room. For Lesson 57 of the 101 Series we revive Folk Music with a look back at small, crowded rooms filled with cigarette smoke, cups of espresso and a nasal whine emanating from a poorly-lit stage.
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To be perfectly truthful about Lesson 56, it really is more rock than glam. But we still like silver pant suits, bright red rouge and 8-inch platform heels. It all comes together under the heading of Glam Rock. If glamour is a genre then the music can be a gaudy piece of costume jewelry. But we know different. So for 2+ hrs we break out the glitter eye liner, strap on the electric boots and ride a rocket to Mars as we rock the stretch limo.
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When the spurs are janglin’ and the John Deere keys are jinglin’ it’s because dosey-do time at the Balcony has come again. Saddle up for the fifth episode in our toast to Americana: the Blue Highway. In this show we mosey into the studio for two hours of songs about old time religion, America, moms, drinking, no good exes, fast-ass cars, crying, fighting and not trying to make eyes at your first cousin.
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There is only one person in charge. Her. She that rocks, raps and generally kicks the asses of all men and boys. This is episode 4 of our tribute to the chicks that rule, dominate and control – “X Chromosome”. All the girrrls that are fit to riot step to the front and Molotov your asses till you fully understand who the true better half is. Take it on the jaw and sell it downtown – these ladies don’t care!
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Alright, people who bitch about Bob’s voice . . . here is a show of people who sing all pretty doing his songs. In episode four of our series devoted to Dylan–Time For Bob–we throw on some covers. Join us as we sit down for two dozen Bob Dylan songs excised of nasal whine. You’ll see, it’s nice, but just doesn’t feel the same . . . (insert left-handed jerking-off joke here)
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From 1964-1971, teenage girls on both sides of the Atlantic had a collective orgasm set to music you can dance to. We call it the British Invasion. Join us in Lesson 55 of the 101 Series where we listen to all the bands that followed the Beatles down the tarmac at JFK Airport. In this episode we spin all the singles making up K-Tel box sets they try to sell to you with infomercials starring John Sebastian at two in the morning. (We preferred when Peter Noone made the informercials . . .)
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