kickin'

it back to the 00's & 90's
this is one thing that i really really really miss. the ability to command airwaves with a click of a button and a jostle of a peg. also the phonecalls from generous callers, the crazy dizzying affect of coming in a 0235 am not having any sleep and playing a show until 0600 am handing it over to the next dj and then sleeping until 1200 into the afternoon, to do it all over again a week later.

sometimes i would be on a good roll, linking song and song, and set and set, creatively and coincidently intertwining songs that have similar beats that grew into others. it was like sewing a button, it seemed easy, but it required some sort of ability to be detailed. and yes, most of the time i had no idea what i was doing. it was all chance.

i had 30 minutes to choose about 3 hours of music. going in walls lined and crowded with years of tunes that have been forgotten, scratched, and abused, i piled through them, grabbed them, tossed them around, and added more years to the tunes. read the reviews on the cd's sometimes went on the whim of an interesting cd cover, or found something that was next to another band that i found. jazz folk indie electronica hip hop international psychedelic rock from cambodia minimal old school scratched barely audible songs and whatever else i can lay my hands on and get confused about and play on a whim.

playing records at the wrong speed, playing the wrong song, playing two songs at once, forgetting to press play, stumbling my words on air, forgetting what i was reading, talking to listeners about music, talking to other dj's, checkin' out how they run things, not being cool and collected as jesseluscious (the dj that trained me), tremblin' cos i was hungry, but heart beatin' cos the music fed me.



mistakes were beautiful.

i recently found out that my uncle/family friend works for the tele-communications office in long xuyen, which controls the tv and RADIO. in my first few days here i instantly knew where the radio station was. the gigantic red and white eiffel tower is where the stations are held. i somehow got on the air in thailand. maybe i can do it here.





for now im exploring other sounds, but the cacophony im discovering is out of my command.



settling at around midnight as my dreams drift off into reality, karaoke vibrations slowly disappearing, crying cats subsided, it begins again around 549am, the surrounding buildings begin to stir.




the melodic prayer music that reverberates against my ear drums as my mind attempts to piece together the noises
hammers pound
dishes break and clash
women being to yell
the prayers
the dishes
the hammers
the women
yelling, pounding, clashing, chanting, screeching
and how they blend into one another just right
by chance


"what the heck is happening?"
its a city waking up much to early for my tastes






i still remember my last and final caller, after i played my last song on air "that was such a wonderful way to end your show, best of luck"

what a rare irony it is to end things, in such a wonderful way.


and now i've woken up.






enjoy kids, click away for your listening pleasure:

you only live once == the strokes
lover's spit == broken social scene
parkdale == metric
my favorite game == the cardigans