Here's the beginning of a new series i am planning, shedding light on radio shows
of excellence, both on-the-air and through the wires.
There is something mystical about the radio, disembodied voices coming to caress
and confront you, wherever you are. From the crackling cicada buzz of the AM dial, to
freeform freakouts from Finland, its like a circuit-ouija board, imparting wisdom and
sometimes bringing doom.
Sometimes i get tired of trying to be a music expert. Sometimes i can't think of what to
listen to. Sometimes i think i know it all. Turning the dial relieves the strain of playlists,
biographical information, statistics and formula. It swells and fills the air, blowing like a
cool breeze. EVERY TIME i listen to the radio, i hear something i've never heard before. I am
freed of the pressure of trying to be an expert, and i can just be a listener, and a fan.
To kick-start this on-going endeavour, i bring you the Exotic Pylon, brought to you weekly on Resonance FM by the consistently charming and worryingly hard-working Johnny Mugwump. The show is a bastion, a mainstay, a pillar of the British school of hauntological High Weirdness, Ghost Box weirdoes and Mordant maniacs, as well as other strands of experimental mutation. An excellent source of information, he's done shows on J. G. Ballard and stories by Thomas Ligotti, exclusive mixes from Moon Wiring Club, Position Normal and live in-studio performances from every strata of the underground.
The Pylon is a wonderful source of undiscovered gems. I came across the show, when i had pretty much scraped the bottom of the Ghost Box, exhausted The Caretaker discography, thought i had seen every horror movie worth seeing. I was lamenting! I was at wits' end. Through the graces of Johnny Mugwump, i have discovered the joys of the Moon Wiring Club, who has become a personal favorite, as well as Dolly Dolly, whose mixes i have enjoyed immensely, although i have yet to lay hands on a long-player. The mixture of weirdness, wackiness, kitsch, and sheery bloody-minded horror and darkness is right up my alley. I consistently listen, an hour to an hour and a half a week of bizarrity that i always look forward to.
You can download all of his shows from the website. You may start with last weeks' Samhain festivities, a bit behind the time, but a nice memento of the season. It features some exclusive tracks off of the forthcoming Moon Wiring Club record, for which i cannot wait, and the Dolly Dolly mix is wack! I also HIGHLYHIGHLY recommend listening to each and every episode of the Weird Tales for Winter, which are glorious. I have heard that he plans on doing a new series, this coming winter. Glad tidings, indeed!
Got a favorite radio show or station? Post 'em up, i'll write 'em up!
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