OPAQUE MELODIES 100!
A special extended OM that aired 5/20/25 on 97.3/107.9 The Rock in Morro Bay, CA.
I figure now's as good a time as any to take a moment to reflect on doing this radio business...
At the gracious invitation of ROCK elders, I started OPAQUE MELODIES in the spring of 2020. Feels like a lifetime ago. Amongst hundreds of hours of (questionable) FM programming and numerous life interludes, I became a father twice over, and our family experienced the loss of my brother Ian to cancer.
Ian's initial encouragement was instrumental in me doing the show. Growing up and throughout our lives we shared countless concert experiences together, some of them incredibly formative (Tool/Melvins, SB Bowl '98). His understanding of what music meant to me ran deep. In response to my apprehension about being a 'DJ' of any merit, his thought was, "Well, at first it will probably suck, but after a while it won't anymore." Straight talk from him that I miss dearly.
After he passed, OM became a vehicle for me to process my grief; curated sound environments to emotionally inhabit and mend myself in. Often, the nostalgia felt from hearing certain songs or artists triggered intense hurt. Over time though, increasing levels of catharsis crept in. Music is the great healer because it freely expresses our multitudes, the only ask is we listen with our hearts, not heads. Heck, just Alice Coltrane's hands on the harp and keys alone is a whole universal continuum, enough to keep the soul fed!
If I've somehow passed along with this silly show a fraction of the solace and humbled gratitude that I've experienced, I'll hang the mic and headphones up a happy bloke. So 100 shows in, who knows how many more…cheers to anyone who's listened over the years, I hope it doesn't suck anymore.
Thanks Ian
PS - a huge THANK YOU also to Dr. Robert, Drew Ross, and Hal Abrams for the opportunity to share music and be a small part of their beautiful community radio experiment. ROCK on!
Killing Joke ~ Change
Suburban Lawns ~ Flavor Crystals
Tones on Tail ~ Twist
Horse Lords ~ Mess Mend
L'Rain ~ Two Face
Meshell Ndegeocello ~ Folie A Deux
Preacherman ~ Out of this World
Grace Jones ~ Nightclubbing
Annette Peacock ~ The Succubus
Gloria Ann Taylor ~ Love Is a Hurtin' Thing (7" Version)
A.R. Kane ~ Pop (Short Version)
Nabihah Iqbal ~ Dreamer
The Veldt ~ In A Quiet Room
Sun Ra ~ Solar Drums
Jaimie Branch ~ simple silver surfer
Sonny Sharrock ~ Who Does She Hope to Be?
Jeff Parker ~ 3 For L
Bill Frisell ~ Hour Glass
Thelonious Monk ~ Dinah
Mary Lou Williams ~ O.W.
Acetone ~ Germs
Rocket 808 ~ (The Girl With The) Raven Hair
PJ Harvey ~ Water
Richard Thompson ~ Put It There Pal
Angel Bat Dawid ~ We Are Starzz
Nikki Giovanni ~ The Life I Led
Hailu Mergia ~ Belew Beduby
Mort Garson ~ This Is My Beloved
The Space Lady ~ Fly Like an Eagle
Neu! ~ Isi
The Durutti Column ~ People's Pleasure Park
Disco Inferno ~ Second Language
Nite Jewel ~ Clive
Alice Coltrane ~ Jagadishwar
Kelela ~ Fooley
Moor Mother ~ Tarot (feat. Yatta & Dudu Kouate)
Pauline Anna Strom ~ The Unveiling
Brian Eno & John Cale ~ The River
Matthew Shipp ~ Void Equation
Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru ~ The Home of Beethoven
Erroll Garner ~ Spring Is Here
Art Tatum ~ Out Of Nowhere
The Caretaker ~ A relationship with the sublime
Bark Psychosis ~ The Loom
Stars of the Lid ~ Dungtitled (In A Major)
Arrowounds ~ Winding Serpent Dance
Carmen Villain ~ Future Memory
Shackleton ~ Shimmer, Then Fade
King Crimson ~ Improv Crim Chill Thrill
Captain Beefheart ~ Golden Birdies
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