Altered Freebies: Bright Eyes; Oh Land; James Vincent McMorrow

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.

Bright Eyes, “Shell Games”
Conor Oberst returns with the long-awaited, possibly-last album under his alter ego. Those who may have gotten over Bright Eyes might want to give him another try this go 'round.

Oh Land, “EP”
A friend sent me the Oh Land EP after meeting her at CMJ. Since then, MTVU won't stop playing her videos. Now, it's not a free download, the site displays the whole EP for streaming purposes. Each song features a different video so you may want to get off your iPhone to enjoy the full experience.

James Vincent McMorrow, “If I Had A Boat”
In theme with WTMD's 500 Desert Island songs, this one is a pretty literal pick. If you're not familiar with James, his album should hold you over until the release of the new Fleet Foxes LP. Grab this one for those cold winter nights.

WTMD Renovates Program Schedule

Hey Everyone,

WTMD is making some big changes to our program schedule based on the listener surveys we've conducted over the past three years.  Thanks for filling them out and helping us program the station.

The new schedule includes 16 new hours hosted by one of our DJs or is a new national program.  


Some Highlights:

• We've added a new DJ to our weekday line up.  Listeners told us local DJs are the most important part of our schedule and Scott Mullins hosts Noon to 3 pm. Tyler moves to 9 am to Noon.  You might have guessed some of our current DJs will have shorter shows.  That's a good thing!  They'll be preparing new program segments and hosting weekend shows too!
• Don Rogers takes you to the Witching Hour Monday through Thursday from 10 pm to Midnight
• Weasel gets a repeat broadcast Fridays from 7 to 10 pm.  The Roadhouse and Altered Fridays move to Saturdays (yep, it's now called the Saturday Alternative!).
• World Cafe moves to 7 pm Monday through Thursday.  Listeners told us moving this show to evenings would have no effect on the amount of listening to WTMD. The show is also available on line at worldcafe.npr.org anytime.
• WTMD's Jam Band Line Up moves to Sunday Night starting with the recognized expert-Bug!  Stuck in the Jam starts at 9 pm then The Grateful Dead Hour and Keller's Cellar.

Here's a PDF of the full program schedule you can print out or send to your mobile.
  

• The Dirty Soul Party is about music listeners feel…from the waist down!  Every week it will feature a saucy bump and grind blend of vintage designed to get listeners off the couch and on the dance floor.  The DSP is played mostly from the original 45s, hand-mixed into a gritty night of funky floor shakers.  The Dirty Soul Party airs Saturdays from 9 pm to Midnight.

• Mat the Cat’s Juke in the Back showcases the unknown rhythm and blues tracks that gave birth to modern rock n’ roll.  Listeners can join Mat for this journey back in time every Friday night at 10 pm on WTMD. 

• The Weekly Feed brings the newest, most discussed tracks making news in the blogosphere to the airwaves every Wednesday night.  Kyle Meredith will guide listeners through a musical detective story with surprise call-ins from known and unknown artists each week.  The Weekly Feed is the crystal ball into what is going to happen in music next and airs Wednesdays at 9 pm.

There is something else going on this weekend besides the game....

Here's a list of all the other things that you might want to do when you're not drinking purple beer or wearing purple undergarments or trying to die your cabs and shrimp purple.  And please, if you give birth this weekend...Lavender is about the only acceptable purple name you can use.  Think of the rest of the child's life!  Here's the list

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. Sam was out of town this week, so Erik was joined by The Creative Alliance's Megan Hamilton.

All Weekend Long:

• Baltimore County Restauraunt Week, various restauraunts in Baltimore County. Check website for details
• I Have a Dream Weekend Celebration, Port Discovery

Thursday, 1/13

• Das Racist, Sonar 9 p.m.

Friday, 1/14

• Chef Mac's and All That Blues Louisiana Buffet, 7-11 p.m.
• IMAX Film Festival, Maryland Science Center, check website for details
• The Second City Does Baltimore, Center Stage, check website for showtimes
• Stone Hill All-Stars with Jonathan Gilmore, Creative Alliance 8 p.m.
• Punk Rock Tribute Night, The Ottobar 9 p.m.

Saturday, 1/15

• Ravens vs. Steelers, every sportsbar in the greater Baltimore area, seriously
• Fells Point Food Tour, various spots in Fells Point
• School of Rock, Recher Theatre 8 p.m.

Sunday 1/16

• Mark Brine and Caleb Stein, The Wind-up Space 5 p.m.

CD of the Week: The Decemberists Keep it Sweetly Simple

"Here we come to a turning of the season," Colin Meloy declares over a bluesy harmonica riff which opens WTMD's new CD of the Week, The King is Dead.

It's an organic, straightforward return for this Portland, Oregon band, whose ambitious The Hazards of Love, featured a hard-to-digest plot line and cast of characters. The Decemberists new salt of the earth songs come courtesy of the comfortingly familiar, Fables of the Reconstruction-era guitar and mandolin of REM's Peter Buck, some sweet steel guitar from multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk and the ghostly Appalachian background vocals of Gillian Welch, who sings on most of the album's ten tracks.

A serene, seasonally-themed album that sees Meloy mining American roots influences rather than his usual English folk muse, The Decemberists' The King is Dead makes the first, "now top that!" statement in 2011. Listen this week on WTMD to hear more!