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Monday, February 27

MADNESS

The March Madness Facebook Page Challenge begins Thursday! 
To qualify, you must "like" the KJRW - West Seattle page on Facebook.  http://www.facebook.com/KJRW.WestSeattle
Then, watch for status updates with instructions on how to compete in the Challenge.

Friday, February 24

KJRW TOP TEN LIST

The song at the top this week is "This Job Sucks".  I guess I'm not the only one unhappy with my day job.  Ah, if I could only make a living from KJRW.  Here is the list:
  1. This Job Sucks - Gang Green
  2. He Gets Me High - Dum Dum Girls
  3. Superstition - Kills
  4. Suffragette City - David Bowie
  5. Trust - Generationals
  6. I Think I'm Paranoid - Garbage
  7. Have A Cigar - Foo Fighters
  8. Paralyzed - Rock Kills Kid
  9. Typical Girls - Slits
  10. Mad Dash - 7 Year Bitch
New Band of Skulls and Red Hot Chili Peppers on KJRW soon!

Thursday, February 16

KJRW TOP TEN LIST

Only one "love" song made it into the list, but it was number one, and the word "love" is only in its parenthetical title.  Here are the top ten songs on KJRW this week:
  1. Pride (In The Name Of Love) - U2
  2. This Job Sucks - Gang Green
  3. Pretty Noose - Soundgarden
  4. Typical Girls - Slits
  5. Rise - Public Image Ltd.
  6. I Think I'm Paranoid - Garbage
  7. Suffragette City - David Bowie
  8. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Devo
  9. Superstition - Kills
  10. Rock the Casbah - Clash
See your favorite songs in the Top Ten by clicking the "thumbs up" while they are playing on KJRW.

Monday, February 13

GAUGING THE GRAMMYS

In recent years, I have felt like a bit of a grandma watching the Grammys.  Kids today!  You call that music?!  So, I was expecting a show full hip hop artists with their pants around their ankles when I turned on the program.  I was never so happy to see Bruce Springsteen.  I figured the opening act would be some pop tart.  Instead, it was the E Street Band (minus a missed Clarence Clemons).  A rock 'n' roll band.  In fact, there was very little hip hop this year. 

The big winner of the night was Adele.  She has a wonderful voice, and I am happy for her that she still possesses it after vocal chord surgery.  While I'm not a fan of that style of music, I can appreciate her talent.  Same goes for Taylor Swift.  I surprisingly liked her performance with her banjo slung low.

LL Cool J was a decent host.  His introduction included a respectful honoring of Whitney Houston.  Later, Jennifer Hudson delivered a beautiful rendition of "I Will Always Love You" at the end of the In Memoriam segment. 

Veterans like Glen Campbell, Paul McCartney and the Beach Boys were not in as good voice as they used to be, but their presence served as a reminder to the music stars of today what came before them.

A couple acts that left me scratching my head were Nicki Minaj and Deadmau5.  And prior to the awards, I thought Bon Iver was a band, not just one guy.  I guess these were my grandma moments for this year.

Random things I enjoyed: National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences President Neil Portnow speaking about keeping music in schools, Cherie Currie and others praising the MusiCares Foundation, Katy Perry's blue hair and Bonnie Raitt's tribute to Etta James.

The two highlights of the show for me were the Foo Fighters winning the Best Rock Performance award and the finale.  I loved watching Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh, Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney jam on guitars in the midst of the Golden Slumbers medley.  During Dave Grohl's acceptence speech he said, "The human element of making music is what's most important.  Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that's the most important thing for people to do."  I couldn't agree more.

Thanks for reading my ramblings.  Feel free to leave comments of your own.

Sunday, February 12

YOU DRIVE ME WILD

One year ago, I stood front and center for a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts show in Seattle.  Joan saw me from above, singing along to her every word.  After the concert, I caught the attention of her manager, Kenny Laguna.  He was looking for Joan, and I pointed him in the direction of the door I saw her walk through moments before.  I told him I had a gift for her, and he said they would be back in soon.

I waited.

Ed, the tour manager came in to see what my gift was.  He shined his flashlight on the slate sculpture I had made.  I thought he would take it from me and send me on my way, but he told me to wait there.

I waited.

Ed, Kenny and Joan came back through the door in a group and ushered me to a corner.  I shook their hands.  Ed shined his flashlight on the sculpture again.  On the back, I had written information about KJRW.  I told Kenny and Joan how their show on the Underground Garage had inspired me.  I listed the Blackheart Records (their label) artists played on KJRW.  I mentioned that I had been a Joan Jett fan for 30 years.

And then, Ed said they had to go take some pictures.  I figured that meant it was time for me to depart.  To my surprise, Ed asked me to walk with them.  There I was, walking side-by-side with my idol, with her tour manager leading the way with his flashlight.

I looked on as photographs were snapped of Joan with various groups of people.  Kenny was talking to some blonde about emailing him at Blackheart, saying he produced all the records.  The blonde did not seem to be showing him any respect, so I leaned over to inform her this man had played with Tommy James and the Shondells.  Kenny smiled.  She probably did not know the creators of "Mony, Mony" and "Crimson and Clover".  When it was the blonde's turn for a picture, Ed held up a hand and said he wanted me to stand with Joan for the next photo.  I was a little embarrassed because I didn't ask to be in a photo, nor do I consider myself very photogenic.  But, I did not mind putting my arm around Joan's waist while she gripped my shoulder as a few flashes of light went off.

When it was ultimately time to leave, I watched Ed, Kenny and Joan walk back to the door. 

"Wait," Joan said.  She turned around, walked back to me and gave me a hug. 

It was the best night of my life.

Friday, February 10

KJRW TOP TEN LIST

Meet the new list, same as the old list.  This week's top 10 is almost the same as last week's.  Just a couple ch-ch-ch-changes.  Here are the songs that got the 'thumbs up':
  1. Pretty Noose - Soundgarden
  2. Suffragette City - David Bowie
  3. Warsaw - Joy Division
  4. Shot By Both Sides - Magazine
  5. Rise - Public Image Ltd.
  6. He Gets Me High - Dum Dum Girls
  7. Take It Off - Donnas
  8. The Promise - Eyeliners
  9. School Days - Runaways
  10. Speaking In Tongues - Eagles of Death Metal
Loading up on "love" songs for next week...

Thursday, February 9

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Today is the first anniversary of this page.  The KJRW blog has been viewed almost 13 hundred times in the past year.  The top 10 countries reading the posts are:
  1. U.S.A.
  2. Russia
  3. Germany
  4. Malaysia
  5. Denmark
  6. Qatar
  7. U.K.
  8. Greece
  9. Hungary
  10. China
We think you like the top ten lists.  What else would you like to see here?  Music trivia?  Personal stories?  Something that doesn't have anything to do with music at all?

Another milestone in the KJRW story is that there have now been over 10 thousand streams launched.  The 'play button' has been clicked 10,235 times in the 14 months the station has been online.

What's next for KJRW?  You tell us.  What do you want to see and hear?  We can tell you there will be more music added every week.  Click the links above to listen to KJRW and join us on Facebook and Twitter.  Bookmark this page and check back for updates.  We will let you know about the next milestones we achieve together.

Tuesday, February 7

YOU SPIN ME RIGHT ROUND, BABY

I am awaiting the arrival of a record player.  I have crates full of vinyl that I have not been able to listen to in years.

I miss the days in front of a couple turntables, queuing and mixing records.  It's like Beck said, "Two turntables and a microphone (is) where it's at." 

I recall the day when the computer system was being installed at KZOK.  The engineer was saying how great it would be because we would be able to leave the studio to go talk to the receptionist during the show.  I commented, "I miss records."  His head just about exploded.

But, everything is digital now.  And I don't mind as much that a computer can run my music show while I am doing something else.  There would be no KJRW if not for that.  The added bonus of the turntable is an adapter that will allow me to convert the songs to music files on my computer.  Soon there will be more great old songs on KJRW that you just don't hear anymore anywhere else.

Friday, February 3

KJRW TOP TEN LIST

Last week, I wrote the Top Ten List while in Delray Beach, FL.  Ah...sunshine...cool breeze...
Now, I am back in chilly West Seattle for this week's list:
  1. Pretty Noose - Soundgarden
  2. Warsaw - Joy Division
  3. Drain You - Nirvana
  4. Someday - Strokes
  5. Incinerate - Sonic Youth
  6. Suffragette City - David Bowie
  7. School Days - Runaways
  8. The Promise - Eyeliners
  9. He Gets Me High - Dum Dum Girls
  10. One More Thing - L7

Wednesday, February 1

JAMMIN' IN JANUARY

Hello and welcome to February!  2012 has gotten off to a good start for KJRW.  There were over a thousand visits to the station page on live365.com in January.  KJRW's rank on the site rose over 3 hundred points, and 18 points within the rock stations.  People are spending more and more time listening to KJRW.  Where are these people?  Here are the top ten countries:
  • USA
  • Canada
  • France
  • Mexico
  • Netherlands
  • Chile
  • Italy
  • Slovenia
  • Taiwan
  • Austria
And here are the top cities in the U.S.:
  • Los Angeles
  • Seattle
  • Cleveland
  • Birmingham
  • San Francisco
  • Butte
  • Portland
  • Rapid City
  • New York
  • Las Vegas
Thanks for your continued support of KJRW.  Let me know if you have any suggestions on how to improve the station.