Fireball XL5 is the name of an indie-pop show hosted by Frank Seglenieks that for 18 years was on CKMS 100.3 FM Radio Waterloo. However, as a result of a format change in mid-2008, Fireball XL5 is now heard only as a podcast.

Of course I stole the name of the show from the 60s British Supermarionation program, which featured puppets kind of like the movie Team America.

I play alternative music that usually classified as indie-pop with the occasional feature on a particular artist or theme as well as discussions on pop culture topics of the day. I start off each show with the best song that I have heard since the last
show.

Note that the links to shows older than 6 months might not be working, if you really want those shows please send me an email and I can get them to you.

Friday, October 26, 2007

October 26, 2007

Theme: Party rock to Twee
On Air: Frank

Once again I had to make a comparison between Jens Lekman and Jonathan Richman (and I know I promised that this would be the last time during the show but I might have to do it just one more time). In both of these songs they narrate a little story about their past that goes along with the song, they even have some of the same articulation. In the case of Lekman, this version of the song is 7 minutes long from the digital-only EP that was released before the album and it gives a lot more background on the story than the 4 minute version that is on the CD.

Not much else to say about the rest of the show: a set about upcoming shows, a party rock set, and a few random sets of great songs. A few notes about a few of the songs are shown below.


TALK-Theme
The Brunettes - Baby
Strawberry Whiplash - Falling Through
Heavenly - Three Star Component
The San Marinos - Guess How Much I Love You
TALK (Upcoming show set)
Bella - None Will Ever Know (C)
Knock, Knock Ginger - Syllables (C)
Square Root of Margaret - Time Bomb (C)
The Pipettes - Dance & Boogie **See Note 1
TALK (very Twee)
Jens Lekman - Postcard For Nina
Jonathan Richman - Monologue About Bermuda
Oh! Sweet Music - Four Long Years
Tullycraft - The Punks Are Writing Love Songs
TALK (party rock)
Shout Out Out Out Out - Chicken Soup For The F*** You (C) **See Note 2
The Russian Futurists - These Seven Notes (C)
Bocce - Again Again Again Again (C)
The Go! Team - Doing It Right
TALK
Tokyo Police Squad - Box (C)
The Sequins - Lost Art Of Friendship
Chuck Prophet - Doubter Out Of Jesus
Simply Saucer - Bullet Proof Nothing (C)
Small Sins - On The Line (C)
TALK
Juni Jarvi - Asleep

Note 1: I don't like that the Pipettes put a couple of extra songs on the US release of album after I bought the import version last year.

Note 2: Saw them at the Starlight the night before the show, crazy crowd, great show.

(C) Denotes Canadian Content

Friday, October 12, 2007

October 12, 2007

Theme: Some old time garage rock
On Air: Frank

I've been listening to the first set of this show over and over again, it was just a really, really good set.
Anchored by the incredible new release by Swedish pop sensation Jens Lekman (he actually did have the number 1 album
in Sweden for a week). The album is called "Night Falls Over Kortedala" and it reminds me a lot of the great songs
that Jonathan Richman was recording in his prime, so of course I had to play Richman in the set. Interestingly,
Lekman's sound is not for everybody and I can see how he might not be eveybody's cup of tea, but for those who are
into him they are usually really into him and so you should give him a shot as he might just become one of your
favourite artists.

The second set ended with Shout Out Out Out Out. Interesting fact I found out about the band while I was listening
to a session they did on CBC radio was that their lead singer is the son of a guy who used to be in band called
Wilfrid N and the Grown Men. I might be wrong on this but I think that I used to listen the them back in the day.
In this case "the day" was back in the late 1980s when I used to listen to a bunch of "garage" bands and I think
they were one of them.

Not only was it kind of cool that he was able to cover a song by his dad it also gave me a great idea for set of
music by garage bands (with the added bonus of making me feel old). Many of the songs I played are available as
free downloads from the London music archive provided by CHRW, the UWO campus radio station where I used to be a DJ.
Many of the songs from the set I played were from cassette compilations that came as part of homemade music "zine"
called What Wave. You can see the archive that contains the What Wave compilations here:
http://chrwradio.com/lma/LMA1990.htm

TALK-Theme
Jens Lekman - Friday Night At The Drive-in Bingo
Jonathan Richman - Our Swingin' Pad
Juni Jarvi - If We Just Want To
Irene - End Of The Line
Murder Mystery - What My Baby Said
TALK
Small Sins - Drunk e-mails (C)
Stars - Midnight Coward (C)
The Go! Team - Grip Like A Vice
You Say Party! We Say Die! - What's The Hold Up? Where's The Fire? (C)
Shout Out Out Out Out - For Ever Indebted (C)
TALK
Wilfrid N And The Grown Men - Sad New Day (C)
Misc S - Real World (C)
Colour Me Psycho - October God (C)
The Gruesomes - You're Not The Boss Of Me (C)
The Empty Hours - Same Time, Same Place (C)
TALK
Those Dancing Days - Hitten **See Note 1
Novillero - Lost Possibilities (C)
Stuffy And The Fuses - Joe C (is an idiot)
Sun Parlour Players - The Detroit River Is Alive (C)
The Zoobombs - Highway A Go-Go **See Note 2
TALK
Sunny Intervals - Sixty Seconds To Fall In Love
Everyday Sensations - Things We Never Had
Little Name - Picked Out The Line
Amida - Virtue Was Your Downfall
The Saturday People - Man Without Qualities
Pipas - Sorry Love
The Doers - Just Saying (C)
TALK
Mission Of Burma - That's When I Reach For My Revolver **See Note 3


Note 1: I really got excited when I first heard about this all girl band from Sweden

Note 2: I saw the Zoobombs at the Starlight the week before the show

Note 3: There was a description of the recent UN humanitarian envoy to Mynamar (formerly Burma) as a "Mission from Burma", so of course I had to play this song

(C) Denotes Canadian Content