Andy Gapin

So after seven years, The Playlist is over. It’s hard to believe that something that’s been a large part of my life for so long is gone, but it’s true. Almost fittingly though, last night’s show was the most fun I ever had doing a radio show. It reminded me of everything I loved about doing college radio, much of which got lost in a cloud of jadedness. Hosting an all new music show was great, but it was often hard to fill the entire show with music I was excited about. There’s only so much great stuff that can come out each week. I’d get to play a few great records and fill in the rest with average records. That was always the biggest struggle, but last night had none of that. Last night’s show was nothing but music I love.

I spent the night before running some really custom queries against our database–you get this luxury when you’re the sucker that wrote the software that the radio station relies on for music databasing and logging. I found the artists that I played the most over the last four and a half years and built a playlist from there. I would have liked to go all the way back to when the show first started, but we were still using paper logs up until the beginning of 2006 and there was no way that I was going to try to hunt those down…assuming they still exist. The playlist I created was over two hours long so I had more than I was able to play, but it was alright, I was able to prune down as I was doing the show. I decided not to order anything, I didn’t want to make a pre-planned show and just sit there on autopilot. Instead, I burned two identical MP3 CDs–works out better than playing everything from a computer–and stuck them in the CD players. I had a list of the tracks and switched between players selecting what felt right at the time and what was going to create a solid flow. It’s the way that I always did my show and I didn’t want to change that. I’ve always been about going with the moment and what songs just feel right together. I feel like I nailed this as well as I ever have last night.

I was lucky to be able to score a second hour for last night. It was the first time in two years that I’ve done a two hour show, but it was great, I was able to fit in 34 songs along with a lot of stories about the last seven years and about the music I was playing. I always tried to talk about what the bands I played meant to me, but it wasn’t easy when much of the music was coming from new artists and not just new albums by artists I already was into. Last night, I was able to tell many stories about the bands and what they meant to me. It was great and it made me remember why joining the radio station was my first priority when I started college nine years ago.

The decision to end the show wasn’t easy, I knew it would come eventually, but I could never bring myself to do it. Once I finally made that decision, it was a tough back and forth between knowing how much I’ll miss it and being relieved that I could end it positively and free up a little bit of much needed time in my personal life. Though, as I progressed through the show, I felt myself becoming sadder and sadder that it was ending. By the end, I was feeling almost like I was going to cry. I knew walking away wasn’t going to easy. So I’m sad that it’s over now, but I do know that it was the right time for me and that the show had an amazing seven year run. I had many dedicated listeners and got to expose them to over 1500 different artists and bands over that time. I don’t know how many different albums I played, but my best estimate puts it well over 2000. To me, that’s pretty impressive. That’s a ton of new music. I can walk away knowing that the show was very successful in doing what I created it to do, push new music.

Over the last week, I’ve learned that beyond doing what I set out to do with The Playlist over the airwaves, I also was able to extend that via my blog for the past few years. I learned that I not only had listeners who looked to the show for new music, but I also had readers that couldn’t listen to the show and instead came here to see what I played and found out about the music that way. So awesome.

So last night’s show was a seriously stacked playlist, there was a ton that I still wanted to play, but I couldn’t get it all in. I dediced to end the show with the band that had the most spins on The Playlist. I was surprised when I found out it was The Loved Ones, but thinking back, I did play Keep Your Heart in its entirety when it came out. I wanted to post a big list of the most played artists, but I didn’t know where to cut it off. I may save that for a future post to milk one last entry about the show here. We’ll see, but if you’re really interested, let me know and I’ll make it happen.

The show wasn’t entirely hiccup free though. Just as I was about to start, the internet in the studio went out and for a while, I had to do the show entirely old school. I had to log on paper and couldn’t look up album info. I guess it was an appropriate reminder during the last show of what it was like when the show first started. It was surprisingly fun. However, this seems as though it may have messed up the beginning of the recording of the show. I haven’t verified this yet, but if it’s true, I will almost definitely cry. It was such a memorable show for me and to not have a recording of it would be seriously upsetting.

I’m staying an active DJ at the station so I don’t plan for this to be the last time I have a radio show playlist to post, but when it comes down to it, only the future knows how much I’ll actually end up subbing shows when needed. So for the very last time ever, here’s the playlist from last night’s The Playlist…

• Cheap Girls – A Lesser Rate – Find Me A Drink Home
• Ted Leo And The Pharmacists – Me And Mia – Shake The Sheets
• Drive-By Truckers – The Day John Henry Died – The Dirty South
• Minus The Bear – Knights – Planet Of Ice
• Spoon – Don’t You Evah – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
• Electric Six – Night Vision – Switzerland
• Tilly And The Wall – Bad Education – Bottoms Of Barrels
• Feist – So Sorry – The Reminder
• Frank Turner – Poetry Of The Deed – Poetry Of The Deed
• Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band – Air Mattress – Outer South
• The Thermals – I Don’t Believe You – Personal Life
• Maritime – Parade Of Punk Rock T-Shirts – We, The Vehicles
• The Pipettes – Pull Shapes – We Are The Pipettes
• M. Ward – Never Had Nobody Like You – Hold Time
• The Hold Steady – Chips Ahoy! – Boys And Girls In America
• The Copyrights – Knee Deep – Make Sound
• The Steinways – Arena Rock – Gorilla Marketing
• Against Me! – Thrash Unreal – New Wave
• Murder By Death – Rum Brave – Red Of Tooth And Claw
• Coconut Records – Microphone – Davy
• Neko Case – The Next Time You Say “Forever” – Middle Cyclone
• The Lawrence Arms – The Revisionist – The Greatest Story Ever Told
• Radiohead – 15 Step – In Rainbows
• Okkervil River – Pop Lie – The Stand Ins
• Lucero – I Don’t Wanna Be The One – Rebels, Rogues, And Sworn Brothers
• She And Him – I Was Made For You – Volume One
• Bryan Scary – Macedonia Hotel – The Shredding Tears
• Lemuria – Pants – Get Better
• The Measure [SA] – Portland – One Chapter In The Book (A Collection Of Standard Waits And Measurements)
• The Gaslight Anthem – Orphans – American Slang
• Rilo Kiley – The Moneymaker – Under The Blacklight
• Mclusky – She Will Only Bring You Happiness – The Difference Between You And Me Is That I’m Not On Fire
• NOFX – Seeing Double At The Triple Rock – Never Trust A Hippy
• The Loved Ones – Living Will (Get You Dead) – Keep Your Heart

90.3 The Core

I just wanted to post a quick update and reminder about my last ever edition of The Playlist tomorrow. It will be a two hour show starting at 8pm. I’m planning to do a kind of greatest hits thing for the show. Make sure you’re listening!

www.thecore.fm

The third to last ever edition of The Playlist went off pretty well last night. Except for a few minor things, I was pretty happy with the show. I started off with The Gaslight Anthem even though it’s months old now. The DJ before me ended about five minutes early with a different song on the album, so I played a quick sting and then moved on a few tracks to play “Orphans.” Worked out well.

I got a request for The Thermals, which I was very happy to play, while most of the rest of the playlist was new stuff that was added to our library in the last week. Though, as is something I’ve been struggling with there recently, that doesn’t mean it’s actually very new.

I think the last The Playlist ever will be on 9/15 at 9pm. I’m trying to get a second hour for it, but we’ll see. :-/

• The Gaslight Anthem – Orphans – American Slang
• The Cinnamon Band – Buena Vista – All Dressed
• Versus – Gone To Earth – On The Ones And Threes
• Woven Bones – Hey Kid – I’ve Gotta Get [Single]
• Bare Wires – Family Heart – Seeking Love
• Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band – At Night – Where The Messengers Meet
• Thieving Irons – Babylon Is Burning – The Midnight Hum
• The Thermals – Heres Your Future – The Body The Blood The Machine
• Ra Ra Riot – Boy – The Orchard
• The Ivy Walls – Ghost – The Elegant Universe
• Frontier Ruckus – Silverfishes – Deadmalls And Nightfalls
• Samantha Crain – Lions – You (Understood)
• Chief – The Minute I Saw It – Modern Rituals
• The Acorn – I Made The Law – No Ghost
• Social Studies – We Choose Our Own Adventures – Wind Up Wooden Heart
• Of Montreal – Coquet Coquette – Coquet Coquette [Single]

90.3 The Core

Last night’s The Playlist was one of the last ever that I’ll be doing. The decision has been made that I’m not going to continue the show in the Fall semester. That would be the start of my tenth year at the station, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. I still plan on keeping my status as an active DJ by attending meetings, but I will not have a regular show anymore. I’ve been doing The Playlist itself for seven years and I will definitely be sad to see it come to an end, but last night sort of solidified the decision for me.

Ultimately, what it comes down to is that the station is a different place than it was a few years ago. The station is different, almost all of the people are different, the atmosphere is different. That’s not to say that it’s better or worse, it’s just different. It isn’t the station that I feel in love with and devoted much of my life to. The station is directly or indirectly responsible for most of the things in my life even now, but that’s not the same station that I still host The Playlist at. That difference really is the breaking point on top of all other things pointing towards moving on.

Like I said, I still plan on staying active and maybe subbing a show here or there and I’m not ruling out doing another show in the future sometime, but it won’t be called The Playlist and it won’t be the same format. With that being said, I don’t know the exact date for my last edition of The Playlist, but it will probably be in a few weeks. I’ll update when I know.

Last night’s show was a reminder of how bipolar doing a radio show based on new music can be. One week can be great and the next can be a struggle with no emotional connection to it. It was the latter last night, I just wasn’t there emotionally for the show, I didn’t feel connected to it at all. It was just CD in, CD out.

Here’s what I played…

• The Love Language – Heart To Tell – Libraries
• The Orbans – Left Side – When We Were Wild
• White Fence – Destroy Everything – White Fence
• The Like – Wishing He Was Dead – Release Me
• The Streets On Fire – Hey Lou – This Is Fancy
• Menomena – TAOS – Mines
• Seneca Hawk – Steal Your Heart Away – Sun Year Long
• These United States – Water And Wheat – What Lasts
• Upstairs Downstairs – Stationary’s Helping – Inland And Out
• Dean And Britta – Herringbone Tweed – 13 Most Beautiful: Songs For Andy Warhol’s Secret Tests
• Rogue Valley – I-5 Love Affair – Crater Lake
• Miniature Tigers – Dark Tower – Fortress
• Social Studies – Drag A Rake – Wind Up Wooden Heart
• Maps And Atlases – Living Decorations – Perch Patchwork

Source: 90.3 The Core

I guess I could have just posted these along with the playlist for the show last night, but they were still sitting on my camera at the time. I haven’t posted much in the way of photos (or anything) recently, so I figured I’d at least post a few of these pictures even though the subject matter isn’t super interesting and I’ve posted way more than enough pictures from the station. It’s not that I haven’t been taking pictures, I have, I just haven’t really had many that I’ve loved. Maybe I’ll have pictures to post soon that aren’t from the radio station or of my cat.

Last night’s show wasn’t too shabby, I kicked it off with a Gorillaz track again for something like the third week in a row, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

I’ve been listening a lot to the new albums from She & Him, Against Me!, and Ted Leo recently. I’m still totally in love with She & Him’s Volume Two, but Against Me’s White Crosses has only slightly grown on me. As much as I try to love it, I only feel lukewarm about it. There are songs I like a bit, but overall, it feels like the kind of album that I would be more positive about if it was from a different band. The Ted Leo record is kind of the opposite though, I think I’d like it less if it were from any other band. It’s a bit too polished, but for some reason, I’m not that bothered by it.

I finally got my hands on the new Murder By Death and Drive-By Truckers records as well. I’m about three songs into Drive-By Truckers as I type this. Not bad so far. Murder By Death’s Good Morning, Magpie feels like a solid record from the few times I’ve listened to it already. Not as good as Red Of Tooth And Claw, but still a nice offering.

Alright, back to last night’s show. It was the first show in a while where I didn’t get a listener request. I was almost disappointed by it, but overall, I was pretty happy with the show. I know the Weakerthans song I went with from the new (and probably unnecessary) live album was kind of the obvious choice, but it’s a great song either way.

• Gorillaz – Glitter Freeze – Plastic Beach
• MGMT – Flash Delirium – Flash Delirium [Single]
• Go Find, The – Running Mates – Everybody Knows It’s Gonna Happen
• One For The Team – Every Little Thing – Ghosts
• Postelles, The – White Night – White Night [EP]
• Weakerthans, The – Plea From A Cat Named Virtute – Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre
• Family Of The Year – Stupidland – Songbook
• Archie Bronson Outfit – Chunk – Coconut
• Whigs, The – Automatic – In The Dark
• She & Him – Over It Over Again – Volume Two
• Frightened Rabbit – Nothing Like You – The Winter Of Mixed Drinks
• Drink Up Buttercup – Gods And Gentlemen – Born And Thrown On A Hook
• Rocky Votolato – Red River – True Devotion
• Ted Leo And The Pharmacists – The Mighty Sparrow – The Brutalist Bricks
• Liars – Scissor – Sisterworld

Source: 90.3 The Core

It was a decent show last night. Not super amazing, but relatively solid. There wasn’t too much to comment on in my mic breaks though…and I was competing with Obama. But despite competing with Obama, I did get a request for Budos Band which I was able to fit in.

I finally got to check out some Bad Lieutenant (members of New Order) as we’ve got the album in now. Pretty good, I’d say. I’ll have to listen to more later though.

That’s really about it so here’s the playlist; if you’re reading on Facebook, you’ll have to click the link to the original or it will just be a jumbled mess.

Source: 90.3 The Core

Great show this week, definitely a huge bounce back from last week‘s disaster. I felt completely on top of it all and it was a return to more of the randomness that normally makes up The Playlist. For the past month or so, I’ve been picking out my entire playlist ahead of time instead of merely grabbing about fifty CDs to work from and then just flying by the seat of my pants during the show. I finally returned to the unplanned style last night and, even though it’s a bit harder to do a show that way, it’s a ton more fun and comes with a greater connection to the listener.

My only low points of the show were the Erik Hassle and Twilight Hours songs that I played. I’d never heard either before and thought they would fit in well based on the reviews on the albums. I was wrong. Definitely not a fan of either, but that’s one of my favorite things about the way I do The Playlist. It’s not only an adventure for the listener, but it is for me as well. I play a lot of music that I haven’t listened to yet on the show. To sound overly cheesy, I feel like it makes every week a journey that the listener and I take together.

On the opposite end of the spectrum from those two are the albums by Dawn Landes, Thomas Function, and Spoon. Spoon’s Transference is an excellent follow up to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. While not quite as good, it gets very close. And before next week, I want to spend some time with the Taylor Hollingsworth and Curtis Harvey albums as well. I liked the songs I played a lot so I’m anxious to give the rest of each album a listen.

On a final note, last night was actually the first time I’ve ever heard Vampire Weekend. It’s not like I haven’t heard of them seemingly incessantly for quite some time now, but I just never actually heard their music. I guess it had something to do with the people who were obsessing over them? I mean, nothing against them, but the people that always talked about Vampire Weekend seemed to be people that had different tastes than I do. So I always figured it was something I wouldn’t be into. I was kind of impressed though.

Alright, that’s all I have to blabber about this week so I’ll just give you the playlist, but remember, if you’re reading on Facebook, you’ll have to click the link to the original or it will just be a jumbled mess.

Source: 90.3 The Core

This week’s edition of The Playlist was probably the worst show that I’ve done in the last year. Probably longer, actually. I don’t know, I just felt incredibly off. I had nothing to say, I couldn’t really focus. I was just all kinds of uninterested. It’s weird too because I had a lot of new music to play this week for the first time in about a month. Maybe it was just because of the rough day that I had at work prior? Let’s say that.

I still need to check a lot of this music out, but I’m very excited about the Thomas Function and Dawn Landes records. I don’t really know anything about either of them, but the songs I played last night were awesome. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Just like last week, I brought my camera with me to take some pictures around the studio. I turned the lights up a little brighter this time which helped a lot. I took a few shots that I liked a lot so I figured that I’d share them with you. The one of the console is probably my favorite. It’s nothing special, but I like how the focus and lighting came out a lot.

Source: 90.3 The Core

Last night’s show was a bit interesting since there hasn’t been any new music to work with in a few weeks. It’s just a slow time of year, but I think I made due alright though. For the most part, I felt really, really on. I had things working just the way I wanted and my mic breaks came more naturally than normal with that conversationy type feel that radio DJs strive for. That is except for the completely botched one where I got confused by a CD that was put back in the wrong case, but I think I recovered nicely from that mess.

So on the music front, there’s not really anything to highlight that I haven’t spoken about before, but I did snag a shot of the Godzilla we have standing at the top of our main rack of equipment in the air studio. It was hard to snap the shot being that it’s up on top of a rack of equipment and I’m a short guy. The positioning of the lighting in the room didn’t help much either; it was difficult to keep all of the lights out of the shot. This was the best of the shots I took last night, but it’s still not that great. Though, to be fair, I couldn’t really focus on shooting while I was trying to do a radio show.

Here’s the list of what I played, some of it was reaching back a few months, but that’s okay. And as usual, Facebook will drop the table formatting and just give a jumble of words so click the original if you need to!

Source: 90.3 The Core