$16,000--Please Consider a Year End Gift to WTMD

WTMD has made a huge investment in ways to get you more information about the music you hear on every day.  This year we've made a searchable playlist database and you can see artist and title information right on your RDS or HD radio.  We've renovated our air studio to provide you with a better quality listening experience.  All of this happened because listener like you invest in the station.

You must make your year end gift by 12/31 to ensure a 2010 tax deduction.  Please consider making a generous gift today!  

We wish you peace in 2011.

Why this Year End Goal Is So Important

At this time of Year, WTMD looks to planning our future.

Your new, renewing or additional gift membership makes sure WTMD can meet its end of year obligations and makes sure you get a 2010 tax deduction.

The Count Down Begins: The Top 89 Songs of 2010!

You Voted. We Counted. Now We've Played Them Back!

Thank You for listening and we'd like to ask you to make a gift to WTMD to keep the station Independent-Commercial Free-and playing the music you rely on!

See The List

Make Year End Gift To WTMD to Keep The Music Playing in 2011

Remember...You're automatically entered to win a custom engraved 6th Generation iPod Nano preloaded with all 89 Songs! 

No contribution needed to enter the drawing, but we hope you'll support the station that keeps you in music heaven!

Here is your To Do List for the Weekend:

1. Be sure to tune in the Top Songs of 2010 Countdown All Day Friday
2. Make A Year End Membership Contribution to WTMD (We need to raise $50,000 by the end of the year!
3. Do Something Fun This Weekend!  Here is the Weekend on the Radio Recap

Make a contribution by 12/30/10 and you can win a custom engraved 6th generation iPod Nano with all 89 Top Songs of 2010 preloaded!

You Voted-We Play them Back: The Top 89 Songs of 2010!

The Top 89 Songs of 2010!

While we Countdown the top 89 Songs of 2010--We need to Count on You to Make an Additional Gift or Become  A New WTMD Member to Keep The Station Strong in 2011!  Click Here To Make Your Gift!

1.  Tighten Up by the The Black Keys
2.  Forget You by Cee-Lo Green
3. Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons
4.  Paris (ooh La La) by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
5.  MoneyGrabber by Fitz and the Tantrums
6.  Zorbing by Stornoway
7.  Laredo by Band Of Horses
8.  Slippin by Quadron
9.  Beg, Steal Borrow by Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs

It's never too late to support your favorite radio station, 89.7 WTMD!

10.  Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells
11.  Ready to Start by Arcade Fire
12.  Rolling in the Deep by Adele
13.  Witchcraft by Matt Costa
14.  BloodBuzz Ohio by The National

Support WTMD with your pledge!

15.  Empire by Jukebox the Ghost
16.  Father's Son by Fistful of Mercy
17.  The Mystery Zone by Spoon
18.  From Above by Ben Folds
19.  How I Wonder by Victoria Vox
20.  Breakin the Chains of Love by Fitz & the Tantrums
21.  Giving up the Gun by Vampire Weekend
22.  The High Road by Broken Bells
23.  Shadow People by Dr. Dog

Federal Funding for Public Radio Maybe Ending--this would have a huge negative impact on WTMD.  Learn More

24.  Zebra by Beach House
25.  Airplanes by Local Natives
26.  Don't Break the Needle by J Roddy Walston & the Business
27.  Sprawl II by Arcade Fire
28.  Sweetest Thing by JJ Grey & Mofro
29.  Radioactive by Kings of Leon

Support WTMD, the station you love with a monthly contribution!

30.  Haul Me Up by Richard Thompson
31.  She Needs Me by Fyfe Dangerfield
32.  Head Full of Doubt by Avett Brothers
33.  Blue Streak Mama by Frazey Ford
34.  We Used To Wait by Arcade Fire
35.  Tightrope by Janelle Monae
36.  Dilly of Band Of Horses
37.  Boyfriend by Best Coast

Become a Member of WTMD today!

38.  Crash Years by New Pornographers
39.  Always by Junip
40.  Modern Man by Arcade Fire
41.  Hannah by Freelance Whales
42.  Wake Up Everybody by John Legend and The Roots
43.  Total Life Forever by Foals
44.  Do You Love Me by Guster
45.  The Suburbs by Arcade Fire

Support WTMD with your pledge!

46.  In Sleep by Lissie
47.  Hey Hey Hey by Michael Franti and Spearhead
48.  Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap
49.  Cousins by Vampire Weekend
50.  Compared to What by John Legend and The Roots
51.  The Ghost Inside by Broken Bells

 Hello, are your a WTMD member?  NO?!?!?  Click Here and Fix That!

52.  Wen my Time Comes by Dawes
53.  Colors by April Smith
54.  Dance Yrself Clean by LCD Sound System
55.  Angel Dance by Robert Plant
56.  Hit 'em Style by The Carolina Chocolate Drops
57.  Everlasting Light by The Black Keys
58.  I can Change by LCD Soundsystem
59.  My Time by Minus the Bear


Federal Funding for Public Radio Maybe Ending--this would have a huge negative impact on WTMD.  Learn More

60.  For the Summer  by Ray Lamontagne & the Pariah Dogs
61.  Let Him Go by The Meckatones
62.  Norway by Beach House
63. Scissor Runner Jenny and Johnny
64.  Amazing by One Eskimo
65.  In the Sun by She and Him
66.  One Day by Sharon Van Etten
67.  Boy by Ra Ra Riot

WTMD Supports Baltimore Bands--Can You Support WTMD?

68.  Down by the Water by The Decemberists
69.  The Weekenders by The Hold Steady
70.  Ambling Alp by Yeasayer 
71.  What's In it for? by Avi Buffalo
72.  Howlin' For You by The Black Keys
73.  If It Wasn't For Bad by Elton John & Leon Russell II
74.  Madder Red by Yeasayer

Make a contribution to WTMD!

75.  On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz
76.  Burn It Down by Los Lobos
77.  Half A Mind by Jason Spooner
78.  Brave Man's Death by J. Roddy Walston & the Business
79.  Written In Reverse by Spoon

Support WTMD with your pledge!

80. Next Girl by The Black Keys
81. American Slang by Gaslight Anthem
82.  On the Road to Charlie Parker by Anders Osborne
83.  One Day by Kings Go Forth
84.  I Believe In You by Black Dub

Become a Member of WTMD today!

85.  You Wouldn't Have to Ask by Bad Books
86.  Bad Things by Jace Everett
87.  WTF? by Ok Go
88.  Conversation Missed by Benny Marchant
89.  Hollywood by Codeine Velvet Club

Ravens/Saints Funky Pre-Game Throwdown

The Ravens take on the Saints at M&T Bank Stadium this Sunday and getting you battle ready, though with a decidedly more cooperative vibe than on the gridiron, are some of Baltimore and New Orleans finest bands who'll rock the 8x10 stage Saturday night for a pre-game throwdown

Papa Grows Funk and the Honey Island Swamp Band represent the Crescent City while members of The Bridge and Old Man Brown have Charm City's back.

Don't expect tackling or sideline tripping, just lots of Baltimore and bayou roots rock from musicians who have jammed together before and embody the serendipitous spirit of a traditionally music-rich city and one that's becoming one.

We'll get you ready this Friday at 920am on Morning Sessions as we encore a smokin' set from last year by the Honey Island boys! .

Weekend on the Radio Recap

Every Thursday morning at 6:20 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. Sam Gallant of the Creative Alliance shares with you all the cool happenings around town on Weekend on the Radio. In case you missed a detail about a specific event, here's the list for this week.

All Weekend Long:

• Symphony of Lights, Symphony Woods 6-10 p.m.
• The Polar Express 4D Experience, National Aquarium in Baltimore, check website for showtimes
• A Peppermint Patty Christmas, The Strand Theatre, check website for showtimes (through Saturday)
• The BSO Holiday Spectacular, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, check website for showtimes
• Kenilworth Holiday Train Garden, The Shops at Kenilworth, during mall hours

Thursday, 12/16

• Houseboat; Dead Mechanical; Junkpile, Charm City Art Space 7 p.m.
• A John Waters Christmas, The Birchmere 7:30 p.m.

Friday, 12/17

• Trixie and Monkey's Holiday Spectac-u-thon, Creative Alliance at the Patterson 7 and 10 p.m. (also Saturday)
• Hack and Slash Christmas Special, Chesapeake Arts Center 8 p.m. (also Saturday and Sunday)

Saturday, 12/18

• Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers, upstairs at the Ottobar 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, 12/19

• The Wu-Tang Clan, Sonar 8 p.m.

Check Out WTMD's New Air Studio

Here is the story behind WTMD's new on air studio.  We've gone all HGTV on the place and no home improvement project (we think of the place as home) is complete without the before and after pictures....

Best Coast's Wild, Innocent Beach Shuffle

There’s nothing like the innocent sounds of surf rock and girl groups to mask the desperate pain within. Best Coast’s cathartic California beach pop counters the tortured relationships of its airy, yet alluring siren, Bethany Cosentino.

And like some of the sandy summer singles of the past, she and multi-instrumentalist partner Bobb Bruno keep things simple, with only one song clocking in at over three minutes. Earworm “Boyfriend” typifies the direct and revealing nature of Cosentino’s confessionals, though, it’s not all tortured diary entries; her cover cat, Snacks, inspires one of the tracks on Crazy for You.

Like another Golden State frontwoman, Jenny Lewis, Consentino acted as a child, appearing in local and national commercials. And while lyrically dramatic, the happy, sun-kissed, Everly Brothers-inspired sound of Best Coast might make you play beach blanket bingo with Annette and Frankie, or in the case of the video for "When I'm With You," a certain burger-hawking clown.

WTMD's New Diggs

If you've never thought just how important your individual financial support is to making WTMD a better radio station, well-Here's the pictures to prove it is!

One of Frontman Club families stepped forward with a very generous gift to renovate our main air studio. In making the gift, they told us they were motivated by WTMD's ability to impact the community and each listeners life. They also told us one key issue in their decision to make this transformational gift to WTMD is the level of community support WTMD receives from its listeners.

I hope you will take this opportunity to make a year end gift to WTMD today.  Your gift, in any amount, is pooled with other gifts and enables the station to bring you more music, interviews and programming everyday.  Not only is your gift important individually, but as a community, all of your support demonstrates how important WTMD is to our community.

You've already to heard the biggest benefit of the new studio:  More in-studio bands! Our friends at Ziger/Snead Architects reconfigured the space so we could have more space to bring bands in quickly and with fewer technical obstacles.  We'd also like to thank Ed Bukont of E2 Technical Services for helping put the place together and also to Vince Fiola of Studio Technology  for building the new furniture.

But the biggest thanks goes to Ryan Glaeser, AKA Bug, for leading this project and putting hundreds of hours putting all together.  Not only is Bug WTMD's Jam Band Expert, but he's pretty handy with drills, hammers, wiring diagrams and pulling cables all around the station.

So here are the before and after pictures.  Thanks again, your involvement with WTMD helped make this happen!

Steve Yasko
General Manager

Before:

After:

Vote for Your Top Songs of 2010!

The voting has closed.  Tune in this Friday for the countdown of the Top 89 Songs of 2010!  Your support makes WTMD happen for you every day. Please make a year-end gift to make sure 2011 is an even better year for you and the station!

Check Out the WTMD Staff Picks!

Altered Freebies: Wye Oak; Fang Island; Young Galaxy

What's better than music? Free music. Producer Nick Jackson has scoured the internet to bring you the best free downloads featured on this week's Altered Fridays, 4-7 p.m.
Wye Oak, “Civilian”
It seems Baltimore's Wye Oak is getting better and better with each album. Here is the title track from their upcoming album, Civilian, due out next year. Jenn Wasner kills her solo at the end, enjoy!

Fang Island (feat. Andrew W.K. and Joe Buzzell), “Patterns On The Wall”
Fang Island released a strong album this year and followed it up with a 7", featuring this song. You can grab the single at their Bandcamp. On a related note, this trend of leaving MySpace for Bandcamp is just grand.
Young Galaxy, “Cover Your Tracks”
Here's a band out of Montreal making some chill music, bro. More on their album Shapeshifting, expected soon.

A Statement from our GM about the Trademarking of the word Hon

WTMD doesn’t often wander into commenting on news stories or sticking our nose into other people’s business, but as the outrage grows over Denise Whiting’s trademarking of the word “Hon,” some of us at the station can’t get it out of our heads.  We keep trying to figure out why we, and thousands of others, feel anger and contempt for Ms. Whiting, owner of Café Hon in Hampden.

Ms. Whiting is certainly within her right to try and grow a business, build a brand and serve her customers.  But what angers people most is she is using a concept that predates her restaurant.  Ms. Whiting didn’t invent the Baltimore Hon. The images, emotions and memories encapsulated in these three letters are the very heart and soul of our city.

For most of us, the visual image of a Hon, an old Baltimore housewife from the 50s, is encapsulated in the transformation Edna Turnblad makes in Hairspray (the comedy, not the musical).  Hons were authentic women concerned about making sure their kids grew up ok, their husbands got to the steel mill on time and they kept an eye on Baltimore’s neighborhoods making sure they were safe and clean. They always had a pot of coffee on the stove to sip while gossiping with their girlfriends. Hons are selfless and even innocent.

Behind the glasses, the hair and the accent were strong, protective women who lived in their own world and never considered the changes that could take us from the Buddy Dean Show to the Wire in just one lifetime.  Coffee was black-no-sugar, not a Grande Skinny No Whip White Mocha.  Hons remind us that life was simpler once and perhaps we long for a time when a Blackberry was something you made into a pie.

They are our mothers and grandmothers, the older lady down the street we keep an eye on; they are people we care about.  We would never think to exploit them.  And that is what Ms. Whiting has done.  She didn’t invent Hon, she found it, sculpted it, and turned into something that makes money.  Trademarking the word so that others can’t print it is the final act of theft and I think we’ve all been shocked at how Ms. Whiting has manipulated the word and perhaps us.

Sure, we all think Honfest is a blast.  Dressing up in the exaggerated costumes and pushing the essence of the Hon to the limit seemed like we were paying homage to these women. But in many ways the brand Ms. Whiting has built on this word is just plain old disrespectful to the women that it’s based upon. Ms. Whiting is not alone in this stereotyping, we’ve all had a good time dishing the leopard skin prints, the cat’s eye glasses and spending big bucks on those rubber beehives.  I think a little collective guilt is playing into our reactions to Ms. Whiting’s theft of our beloved Hon.

Yet, as the Internet outrage points out, we all feel ownership of Hon. We don’t want the right to use the word in print taken away from us. And we don’t understand how Ms. Whiting doesn’t recognize that she has violated that sense of community.  A sense of community the women of 1950s Baltimore created by just being themselves.  Not being able to print that word on a coffee mug, T-shirt or bumper sticker cuts the rest of us off from people we care about and respect. By crowning herself head Hon, Ms. Whiting has taken away a very personal connection to our past and cheapens our relationship with our City’s heritage.

Stephen Yasko

WTMD’s General Manager

Weekend on The Radio Events and Doings around Town

From the Monument Lighting tonight to The Merry Mart at the Creative Alliance, there is always something going on in and around Baltimore to keep you busy when you're not shopping.  See the list.

From the Land of LaMontagne Meet Jason Spooner

Inspired by a trip to a world-renowned music store, Portland, Maine native Jason Spooner decided to leave the comfort zone of his acoustic guitar and plug in for his third album Sea Monster.

Along with the dynamic rhythm section that rounds out his trio, Spooner's quest for sonic adventure takes listeners on a tour of folk, blues, jazz and New Orleans soul, without sounding sloppy.

This Friday at 920am, we take Morning Sessions out of the WTMD studios and into the house of a WTMD friend and supporter, where you'll meet the Jason Spooner Trio. I think you'll like them, so join us!

Top 10 Songs of the Year! Staff Picks

Here's the WTMD Staff Picks for the Top 89 Songs of 2010.  Take a gander and the vote for your top songs. We'll countdown the Top 89 based on your votes on December 17th!

Please Consider an End of the Year Additional Gift or Become a New WTMD Member as we count down the memories of 2010, your support will make 201l even more memorable!

Erik Deatherage 
The Morning Man

1. Beach House- Silver Soul
2. Spoon- The Mystery Zone 
3. Citizen Cope- Lifeline 
4. Rogue Wave- Solitary Gun
5. Fyfe Dangerfield- She Needs Me
6. The Hold Steady- The Weekenders 
7. JJ Grey and Mofro- The Sweetest Thing 
8. Victoria Vox- Oh I Wonder 
9. The Magnetic Fields- You Must Be out of Your Mind 
10. Quadron- Slippin

Matt Galler
Weekend Host

1. The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition
2. Ra Ra Riot - Boy
3. Ceelo Green - F*** You! (aka Forget You)
4. Freelance Whales - Hannah
5. Fyfe Dangerfield - She Needs Me
6. Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em
7. Vampire Weekend - Cousins
8. Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs - Beg, Steal or Borrow
9. Broken Bells - The Ghost Inside
10. Arcade Fire - Ready to Start

Tyler Laporte
Midday Host

1. Stornoway – Zorbing
2. Delta Spirit – 9/11
3. Bad Books – You Wouldn’t Have To Ask
4. Yeasayer – O.N.E.
5. Vampire Weekend – Giving Up The Gun
6. Rostam, Bethany, & Kid Cudi – All Summer
7. Spoon – The Mystery Zone
8. Minus The Bear – My Time
9. Band of Horses – Dilly
10. Dr. Dog – Shadow People

John Mathews
Afternoons and Roadhouse

1. Spoon-Trouble Comes Running
2. Ray Lamontagne-For The Summer
3. Dean Rosenthal-Left Into Galesville
4. Yeasayer-Madder Red
5. Spoon-The Mystery Zone
6. Fistful Of Mercy-Fathers’s Son
7. Lee Ritenour, Steve Lukather, Slash-’68
8. Arcade Fire-We Used To Wait
9. Best Coast-Boyfriend
10. Brian Eno-Two Forms Of Anger

Paul Hartman
Detour

1. Great Big Sea- Long Life (Where Did You Go)
2. Ellis Paul-The Cotton's Burning
3. Johnny Clegg Manqoba (The Victorious)
4. Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars- Living Stone
5. Mollie O'Brien & Rich Moore- Saints & Sinners
6. Richard Thompson- Big Sun Falling in the River
7. Old Man Luedecke- Woe Betide the Doer of the Deed
8. Carolina Chocolate Drops- Trouble in Your Mind
9. Samy Izy- Igny Ihany
10. Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band- The Raven

Steve Yasko
General Manager

1. Adele- Rolling in the Deep
2. Grace Potter and the Nocternals- Paris (Ooh la la)
3. Janelle Monae- Tightrope
4. Jace Everett- Bad Things
5. John Legend And The Roots - Wake Up Everybody
6. Fitz and the Tantrums- Money Grabber
7. Quadron- Slippin
8. Guster - Do you Love Me
9. Julian Velard- Do It Alone
10. Gorillaz- On Melancholy Hill 

Kristin Bachran
Membership Manager

1. Spoon – The Mystery Zone 
2. Minus the Bear  - My Time  
3. Band Of Horses - Dilly 
4. Vampire Weekend  - Giving Up The Gun 
5. Local Natives – Airplanes 
6. Ok Go! – WTF? 
7. Gorillaz - Stylo 
8. LCD Soundsystem - I Can Change 
9. The Black Keys - Everlasting Light 
10. Arcade Fire –  Sprawl II
     

Crickett Herrmann

Manager of Individual Giving

1. MoneyGrabber- Fitz and the Tantrums 
2. Half a Mind- Jason Spooner
3. Avett Brothers- January Wedding
4. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals- Paris
5. Ben Folds- From Above
6. Ceelo Green- Forget You 
7. God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise- Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs
8. Matt Costa- The Season
9. Richard Thompson- Haul Me Up 
10. Los Lobos- Can't Stop the Rain

Alan Lotenberg
Underwriting Traffic Mgr

1. Fyfe Dangerfield- She Needs Me 
2. The New Pornographers - Crash Years 
3. Adele -  Rolling in the Deep 
4. Cee Lo Green -  F* You 
5. Quadron- Slippin 
6. Guster - Do you Love Me 
7. Fitz and the Tantrums -  MoneyGrabber 
8. The Avett Brothers - Head Full Of Doubt/Road Full Of Promise 
9. Codeine Velvet Club -  Hollywood  
10. Vampire Weekend -  Giving up the Gun

Nick Jackson
Producer, Baltimore Unsigned, Altered Fridays, Video 

1. “Conversation 16,” by The National  
2. “Tighten Up,” by The Black Keys 
3. “Month of May,” by Arcade Fire  
4. “Brave Man’s Death,” by J. Roddy Walston & The Business  
5. “I Want To Be Well,” by Sufjan Stevens 
6. “Giving Up The Gun,” by Vampire Weekend  
7. “In Sleep,” by Lissie
8. “Monster,” by Kanye West (featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver) 
9. “Tin Man,” by Future Islands
10. “I Can Change” by LCD Soundsystem
    

Don Rogers
Weekend Host

1. Don't Get Old- J Roddy Walston and the Business
2. Burn It Down- Los Lobos
3. Laredo- Band of Horses
4. Richard Thompson- Haul Me Up
5. Matt Costa- Witchcraft
6. The Black Angels- River of Blood
7. Fitz and the Tantrums- Breakin' The Chains of Love
8. The Black Keys- Tighten Up
9. Frazy Ford- Blue Streak Mama
10. Beady Eye-Bring the Light

Scott Mullins
Program Director

1. Kings Go Forth – One Day
2. Band of Horses – Laredo
3. Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3 – Colored Lights
4. Junip – Always
5. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Hit ‘em Up Style
6. Cotton Jones – Dream On Columbia Street
7. Quadron – Slippin’
8. Superchunk – Digging For Something
9. Foals – Total Life Forever
10. Matt Costa - Witchcraft

Melissa Lauren
Weekend Host

1. Sharon Van Etten - One Day
2. Ray LaMontagne - For The Summer
3. The Gorillaz - On Melancholy Hill
4. Broken Bells - The High Road
5. Arcade Fire - Ready to Start
6. Jenny & Johnny - Scissor Runner
7. The Black Keys - Everlasting Light
8. Alberta Cross - Old Man  Chicago
9. The Morning Benders - All Day Daylight
10. The New Pornographers - Crash Years

JJ Grey and Mofro: Singing Songs About the Swampland

There must be something in the water in Jacksonville, Florida besides gators.

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi make sweet sounds together and with their respective bands in their home studio. And fellow Northern Floridian J.J. Grey re-creates a Staxx-era vibe with old amps and worn-out microphones at St. Augustine’s Resophonics- where he’s recorded since he was eighteen.

A homespun album with a native insect serving as the title inspiration gets CD of the Week honors this week.

Georgia Warhorse gives off a swamp-like funk and seductively moistens the brow on tracks like “Slow, Hot and Sweaty” and the New Orleans-flavored opener “Diyo Dayo,” while Florida land grabbers and other bad guys get Grey’s ire in “The Hottest Spot in Hell,” which features a killer kick drum and fuzzy guitar riff.

Two tracks put the latest from this talented multi-instrumentalist and his collective Mofro ahead of their country-blues class: “The Sweetest Thing” which features Grey coaxing reggae maestro Toots Hibbert into a standout vocal performance and the ecologically-themed Southern rock ballad “King Hummingbird.”

Trucks’s unmistakable melodic note bends close out the album on “Lullaby,” a pine-soaked sendoff from two musicians who make the swamp sound like the land of milk and honey.

Thanks Baltimore and a Friendly Friday Tift!

Want to share a huge thanks to the listeners and supporters of WTMD. We are grateful you turn to WTMD for musical enlightenment, entertainment and inspiration. We hope your Thanksgiving rocks!

Tune in Thanksgiving Day starting at 7am for a Baltimore Unsigned marathon. Hear insightful interviews from some of the areas top talents and check out what's new from the artists in your backyard all day long, with one notable exception: You didn't think we'd have a WTMD Thanksgiving without Alice's Restaurant, did you?

We'll spin Arlo's holiday classic at 12pm!

And, on Friday, if you need a break from the shopping, hear an encore of a Morning Sessions with the always soothing sounds of Tift Merritt at 920am.

All the best to you and yours from the staff and volunteers at WTMD.

CD of the Week: Kings of Contradictions

The Followill boys traded in thrift shop clothes and garage band sounds for Fifth Avenue threads and arena-rocking musicianship for their 2008 worldwide smash Only by the Night. And while the follow-up Come Around Sundown stops just short of outright rejecting fame, high fashion and rock hedonism, the sons and nephew of a preacher man sound like they want to go home again.


“It’s in the water, it’s where you came from,” Caleb Followill wails over an ‘amen’ gospel corner and the familiar wall of ringing guitars from cuz Matthew on “Radioactive,” while on “The Face,” the frontman croons, “If you give up New York, I’ll give up Tennessee.”

It’s an interesting benchmark for Kings of Leon whose quest for authenticity sometimes conflicts with the instantly anthemic music they, now, prolifically craft. While showing disdain for bandwagon fans live, Caleb’s made-for-rock growl and his relatives’ growing mastery of their instruments seem poised to once again to get more people to hop onboard.

Reverb and Hemmingway Inspire Matt Costa's Chateau

Matt Costa's third album Mobile Chateau shimmies with British Invasion-era reverb and ponders in minor key English folk.

It's a marked departure for the nearly pro skateboarder who found artistic inspiration for the title of his third album in a place known to stir a creative juice or two.

"My wife and I were staying in a chateau four hours outside of Paris," Costa said. "We were just walking around and she was finding things on the ground and literally made a mobile inside the chateau. Then it kind of took on A Moveable Feast idea. I also felt like all the people in the creating of this record felt like a small piece of how Hemingway might have felt in Paris at that time in having all these creative people around."

Friday, on Morning Sessions, this week from NP Recording Studios in Towson, we bring you Matt and the creative forces who make up his band. They played a decadently pshycadelic set in front of some of our frontmen and women. Hear the results at 920.

NPR HIPS AND HOPS

This video is making the rounds and celebrates the good work done in public radio. If you listen to WTMD, WYPR, WEAA and WBJC and think public radio is the bomb, then take a listen.

Weekend on the Radio Recap

Every Thursday morning at 6:20 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. Sam Gallant of the Creative Alliance shares with you all the cool happenings around town on Weekend on the Radio. In case you missed a detail about a specific event, here's the list for this week.

All Weekend Long:

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, every movie theater on earth, check website for times.

Thursday, 11/18

• Sowebo Arts Group Presents: Little Big Show, Zella's Pizzeria 6 to 8 p.m.
• Mingle at the Mill, Clipper Mill 6 to 9 p.m.
• Disgrace: An Acoustic Trio, The 8x10 8 p.m.

Friday, 11/19

• Jerry Seinfeld, The Meyerhoff 7-9 p.m.
• History of Rock Opera 2, Anne Arundel Community College 8 p.m. (Also Friday)
• Macbeth, The Arena Players 8 p.m. (Also Saturday and Sunday)

Saturday, 11/20

• Baltimore Ski Swap, Maryland National Guard Armory 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Wreath Fest, Chesapeake Arts Center, all day
• Harry Potter Day, Maryland Science Center noon to 4 p.m.
• Baltimore: Songs of Our City, Creative Alliance 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, 11/20

• The Herd of Main Street, The Ottobar 9 p.m.
• Annapolis Christmas Tree Lighting, downtown Annapolis 5:30 p.m.

ADELE 'Rolling In The Deep' (Studio Footage)

A Deceptively Sophisticated Mobile Home

A true radical in sheep’s clothing, Nellie McKay defies convention once again on her latest, Home Sweet Mobile Home.

A year after a Verve-released Doris Day covers CD, the English-born, New York-bred songwriter opens our new CD of the Week with the vulnerable “Bruise on the Sky,” which asks to be sent a “smile like Charo.”

And like the award-winning flamenco guitarist and frequent Love Boat guest star with the wide-eyed “cuchi-cuchi”- catch phrase, Mc Kay’s throwback beauty and broad grin (she looks like she should be on a chewing gum commercial) may deceive the uninitiated into thinking she’s, well, ditzy!

But, underneath the perky, ukulele strum on “Adios,” it doesn’t take long to get a sense of her Randy Newman-like biting wit, sense of irony and comedic timing.

An expert musical masher, you’ll hear reggae on Mobile Home - she recorded several tracks in Jamaica- as well as meringue, tin-pan alley, calypso, gospel, and a New Orleans brass stomp.

Self-produced by the artist and her mother, actress Robin Pappas, and with help from David Byrne, this true chameleon and social activist (she's an outspoken vegan- and hilariously sings about it on "Unkown Reggae") proves once again brains and beauty are not mutually exclusive.

 The oysters were shucked by the harbor with care,

With hopes that great music soon would be there....

You're invited to

WTMD's NOT SO SILENT NIGHT HOLIDAY PARTY!

3 Rockin' Bands-One Night of WTMD Cheer!

Jukebox the Ghost

The Meligrove Band and Dynamite Walls

Thursday December 9, 2010

Doors: 6 - First Band: 7 - Rock All Night!

Tix: $22

Proceeds Benefit WTMD's Music and Programming Fund

Ramshead Live is donating a portion of the ticket fee back to WTMD

Please bring a canned food item to be donated to Paul's Place; providing community support in the
Washington Village and Pigtown Neighborhoods of Southwest Baltimore

Band information:  Jukebox the Ghost The Meligrove Band  Dynamite Walls

Jukebox the Ghost has gone from a Baltimore Unsigned favorite to
thrilling audiences around the country!

We're proud to have them bring two of their
favorite bands with them back to where it all began! 
Get your tickets quick!

Altered Freebies: Tapes 'n Tapes; Kanye West; Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.; Smith Westerns

What's better than music? Free music. Producer Nick Jackson has scoured the internet to bring you the best free downloads featured on this week's Altered Fridays, 4-7 p.m.

Tapes 'n Tapes, “Freak Out”
There is a new album coming from Tapes 'n Tapes on January 11 (1/11/11!) and they're passing out the new single fo' free.

Kanye West, G.O.O.D. Fridays
Kanye West has been releasing a new song every Friday for the past few months. The collection can be downloaded for free at Kanye's website. There are some legendary collaborations on there so grab them while you can.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., “Vocal Chords (Diego and Dissidents Remix)”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. have been making a name for themselves and have released a remix EP, featuring their songs "Vocal Chords" and "Nothing But Our Love". It’s a great tune to get the weekend on its way.

Stream me!

Smith Westerns, “Weekends”
Over the last month, a lot of musicians have become fans of this band, for good reason. Though you won't be able to throw this on your iPod, you can enjoy it's streaminess until the record is released in January.

Weekend on the Radio Recap

Every Thursday morning at 6:20 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. Sam Gallant of the Creative Alliance shares with you all the cool happenings around town on Weekend on the Radio. In case you missed a detail about a specific event, here's the list for this week.

All Weekend Long:

• Zippy the Pinhead: The Musical, The Theatre Project 8 p.m.
• All My Sons, Everyman Theatre, check website for showtimes
• ReEntry. Center Stage, check website for showtimes
• Magic City Massacre, Murphy Fine Arts Center, check website for showtimes
• Walter Wick, Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic, The Walters Art Gallery

Thursday, 11/11

• Veterans Day March, Washington Monument Mount Vernon 8 a.m.
• Experience Hendrix, The Hippodrome, 8 p.m.

Friday, 11/12

• Bobby Flay, Wegman's Hunt Valley noon
• Music 4 Maryland, Rams Head Live! 7 p.m.
• Baltimore Irish Festival, Timonium Fairgrounds 6-11 p.m. (Also Saturday and Sunday)

Saturday, 11/13

• Nature Puppet Show, Irvine Nature Center 1 p.m.
• Hanson in store appearance, The Sound Garden 4:30 p.m.
• Hanson, Sonar 7 p.m.

Sunday, 11/14

• Uncle Andy's Cats: A Reading with James Warhola, Baltimore Museum of Art 2-5 p.m.
  

Soundcheck Party With Leeds' Finest!!

You don't see many Jam bands out of England, but then again, The New Mastersounds aren't like many Jam Bands. Formed in 1997 these English rockers have been taking their funky sound all across the globe. They are also Veterans to many different Music Festivals throughout the country as well as The All Good Festival, located right in our back yards. Now they bring their unique sound to The 8x10 Club, Right here in Baltimore! On Tuesday, November 16th The New Mastersounds will be at The 8x10 with special guests The New Majority.

WTMD, "Stuck in the Jam", and Walther Productions want you to be able get a close look behind the scenes of a New Mastersounds performance. Ten lucky winners, will be able to bring a guest to attend a soundcheck party with the band. Winners will also receive tickets for them and their guest to the show that evening. All you need to do to enter the contest is send an e-mail, between now and Sunday, November 14th at 11:59pm, to BUG@towson.edu and put "New Mastersounds" in the subject line. Winners will be chosen at random, please see www.wtmd.org for full contest rules.

Heeeeeeeere's Jenny and Johnny!

Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis and her folk singer boyfriend Jonathan Rice forged their creative partnership during sessions for Jenny's solo disc Acid Tongue and contributions to Elvis Costello's Momofuku.

And it's serendipitous that Declan McManus has our CD of the Week.  His understudies of sweet melancholy Jenny and Johnny play this week's Morning Sessions Friday at 920am.

The, sometimes, biting songwriting, set against sun-kissed indie pop melodies on their debut I'm Having Fun Now offers the kind-of intriguing contradictions that often define relationships themselves.  Though their voices blend, beautifully, it almost seems like they're arguing.

"On the song 'Scissor Runner,' there's a line that Jenny sings" Rice says. "'I'll forgive you, if I outlive you.' And somebody said to me recently, 'I'm going to get that tattooed on my arm.' Another person said, 'Oh, that line makes me cry.' And this other person said...."

"What a couplet!" Lewis adds.

"That's a withering couplet you got there!" Rice says.

Sounds like THAT would make for nice matching tats!

Elvis Costello's Generous Offer

Whether it's a vintage, Steve Nieve organ riff on the title track,  the vaudevillian, Depression-era chamber pop of "Jimmie Standing in the Rain", or the Doc Watson-inspired "Dr. Watson, I Presume," Elvis Costello elevates American music to contemporary heights. His co-genre explorer and producer T-Bone Burnett (their 2'nd straight collaboration)  calls Costello the most generous of artists. And the two dish out a generous helping of delicious mash ups and guests on National Ransom, like dobro maestro Jerry Douglas playing lap steel and versitile guitarist Marc Ribo jamming on the title song and Leon Russell pounding out his boogie piano deep in the record.

From the exploding oil derricks and the wolf making off with the loot on the provocative album cover, it seems Elvis has something to say about moral and monetary bankruptcy and sets each of the 16 songs in a specific place and year.

Learning from the musical glory and the mistakes from scoundrels from America's past seems to dominate the mood on this weeks' CD of The Week. But, it's way more fun to dive into than a history lesson!

Altered Freebies: Girls; Lykke Li; The Decemberists; Dr. Dog

What's better than music? Free music. Producer Nick Jackson has scoured the internet to bring you the best free downloads featured on this week's Altered Fridays, 4-7 p.m.

Girls, “Heartbreaker”{via Stereogum}
Girls are releasing a six-song EP later this month. This follows up Girls' impossible to Google album, Album. Here's a free song. Yay!

Lykke Li, “Get Some”
The other day on a drive home, I asked my girlfriend where Lykke Li has been. Turns out she recorded some new music and put it up for free on her website. Grab them at LykkeLi.com.

The Decemberists, “Down By The Water”
As awesome as it would be to hear Colin Meloy sing his version of "Have you ever seen a llama, wearing polka dot pajamas," this is not "Down By The Bay". While we wait for The Demeberists' children's record, they are releasing The King Is Dead in January. This is the first song from it.

Dr. Dog, “Take Me Into Town”
You can't download it anymore, but it's worth putting up for a listen. Dr. Dog has been very prolific recently, with no complaints here. These should show up on a 7-inch at some point, hopefully in time to show up under the Christmas tree. I wonder if Santa has an in at Anti Records.

Weasel Returns to the Radio on WTMD - Saturday Programming Changes

Weasel back in the day...Note the Reel to Reel!

Sanctimonious Saturdays are back when Weasel spins the tunes on WTMD! Thousands of us know just how important Weasel is to music and the Baltimore/Washington region. We grew up with him introducing us to bands like REM and singers like Alison Moyet, now we're thrilled a whole new generation of mus...ic lovers will get know why their parents voices get a little softer when they remember the good old days of radio.

Here's what Weasel said when we offered him the show:

“Listening to WTMD takes me back to the glory days of progressive rock radio. Both old and new artists are treated with respect. I’m thrilled that WTMD has given me the opportunity of a lifetime to do what I could never do these days on a commercial station: that is to play quality music from different eras and genres and not be restricted to a 100 song playlist.”

Weasel will be doing Noon to 3pm every Saturday and we've told him to just have fun. He'll be building his own play lists and maybe even bringing back some of his most beloved segments. Email Weasel with your favorite memory or just to say "Welcome Back To Where You Once Belonged!"

We've made a few programming changes to make room for Weasel. The Baltimore Unsigned rebroadcast moves to 7am; Melissa Lauren now hosts "Good Morning Music," a special blend that goes well with your first cup of coffee from 8am to Noon; and Don Rogers keeps the music going after Weasel from 3pm to 8pm.

Scott Mullins
Program Director

CD of the Month: Fitz and the Tantrums- Pickin' Up the Pieces

Vintage soul has made a comeback in recent years, with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings carrying the torch for Stax and Mayer Hawthorne keeping the memory of Philadelphia International alive. Fitz and the Tantrums complete the circle with a sound straight out of Hitsville USA.

Pickin' Up The Pieces is completely devoid of guitar, drawing the melody from Fitz's vintage organ and James King's saxophone. The organ gives the songs the urgency of garage rock, while the sax provides the warmth. However, the key to Fitz and the Tantrums' success is the rythym section of John Wicks and Ethan Phillips, who keep everything in line with swinging precision. Not a single note or groove is wasted.

The first single, "Breakin' the Chains of Love," drips with ass-shaking style. Dig those syncronized dance moves. They'll make you want to buy a mohair suit.

Weekend on the Radio Recap

Every Thursday morning at 6:20 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. Sam Gallant of the Creative Alliance shares with you all the cool happenings around town on Weekend on the Radio. In case you missed a detail about a specific event, here's the list for this week.

All Weekend Long:

• Go Ape Treetop Adventures, Rock Creek Park

Thursday, 11/4

• Blue Man Group, Hippodrome Theatre 8 p.m. (also Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
• Judy Collins, Strathmore 8 p.m.
• Sac Au Lait, Joe Squared 9 p.m.

Friday, 11/5

• Wye Oak; Height; The Art Department, The Ottobar 8 p.m.
• The Laramie Project, University of Baltimore Student Center 8 p.m. (also Saturday and Sunday)
• Artists Helping the Family Crisis Center, St. Timothys Lutheran Church 7 p.m.
• Howard County Crafts Spectacular, Howard County Fairgrounds (also Saturday and Sunday)

Saturday, 11/6

• Envision Baltimore launch party, Silo Point 7 p.m.
• Light the Night Walk, M&T Bank Stadium 5 p.m.
• The Metal Show, Overlea Station 7 p.m.

Sunday, 11/7

• Ben Frock's 30th birthday extravaganza, Wind-Up Space 8 p.m.

CD of the Week: Rustic, Rural Ray

Despite a co-credit with his touring band the Pariah Dogs,  Ray LaMontagne flies solo in the sense that he's left longtime producer Ethan Johns and produced God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise himself at his home studio in Western Massachusetts.

The gritty, seductive opener "Repo Man" teases with a naughty blues riff, but the rest of the album settles into a gentler groove.  Greg Leisz's pedal steel exudes warmth on "Beg, Steal or Borrow."

His shy, rural-image ever present, on "New York City's Killing Me," LaMontagne's voice marinates in such sweet, mystic tones that you too will want to surrender to the call of the wild.

For Crabtown, a Claw of a Different Kind

As Sam Sessa reported in today's Baltimore Sun, U2 is bringing it's mammoth 360 Tour (featuring The Claw) to Baltimore on June 22, 2011. Tickets will be made available starting Monday at 10am.

So, after a month's worth of speculation, prompted by a premature U2.com post that had the date and the  city before being removed, it's finally official!

This marks the first time U2 has ever played a stadium in Baltimore.

The last time they did a show here was on October 19, 2001, during their  Elevation tour at the Baltimore (now, First Mariner) Arena.

And a few us may recall what almost was, what could have been, when, in 1992,  U2 scoped out stadiums where they could rehearse their, then, colossal Zoo Tv tour. Baltimore made the final cut, but alas, noise concerns from Memorial Stadium neighbors prompted the band go a little further up I-83 and camp at Hershey Stadium.

Weekend on the Radio Recap

Every Thursday morning at 6:20 a.m. and 8:20 a.m. Sam Gallant of the Creative Alliance shares with you all the cool happenings around town on Weekend on the Radio. In case you missed a detail about a specific event, here's the list for this week.

All Weekend Long:

• Disney on Ice, First Mariner Arena check website for showtimes
• Zoobooo!, Baltimore Zoo 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Bioengeneering: Making a New You, National Museum of Dentistry
  

Friday

• Celebration; Dustin Wong; Sri Aurobindo; Microkingdom, G Spot 8 p.m.

Saturday

• BSO Halloween Spectacular: Lemony Snicket's "The Composer is Dead," Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall 11 a.m.
• The Great Halloween Lantern Parade, Patterson Park 3 p.m.

Sunday

• Ciclovia, Roland Ave 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  

Kim Richey's Wheels Touch Down at TMD

The first time I heard “I’m Alright” by Kim Richey, the line, “Still shaky from the landing” entered my sub-conscious and I think of it now when I get off a plane.

The Zanesville, Ohio native probably experienced a turbulent flight or two commuting from her new home in London to Nashville, where she recorded another example of her exquisite penmanship, Wreck You Wheels.

She worked with in-demand producer Neilson Hubbard and co-wrote all the songs, something that she’s adept at doing.

“I love collaborating! When you find someone you really connect with, there’s nothing better,” she says. “A lot of my friends I met through writing songs like Chuck Prophet. When you write a song with somebody, you think of things you might not have otherwise. (But) when it’s not working, it’s like a bad blind date!”

Richey has a Midas touch for detail in her songs. But, her subtly works on other levels too.
“I love the space,” she says. “A lot of times people forget that it’s just as important as what you put in, the things you leave out. It’s like cooking. Sometimes when you first get into it, you want to put every good ingredient that you have into one thing. But, some of the dishes that are the best are the really simple ones.”

Tune in at 920am this Friday for a showcase in songwriting from Kim Richey on this weeks’ Morning Sessions.