Ghost Faction brings you the illest hip-hop commentary and music, from the underground to mainstream. Sam of Ghost Faction talks to BreakThru Radio about why he enjoys hip-hop, his favorite albums of the decade, and geeking out with Aesop Rock and Mr. Lif about video games. Sam’s playlist has songs from Cage, Cannibal Ox, Company Flow and more, so kick back and enjoy the show! Listen now!

00:00 DJ Mimi (Kings of Animals – Small Black)
00:50 Hell’s Winter – Cage
05:55 Ghost Faction on Ghost Faction
07:23 The Overly Dramatic Truth – El-P
11:53 Ghost Faction on Aesop Rock & Mr. Lif
14:22 Fast Cars – Aesop Rock
18:56 Success (feat. Aesop Rock) – Mr. Lif
23:11 Ghost Faction on hip-hop
26:03 Reports of a Possible Kidnapping – The Weathermen
30:41 The F-Word – Cannibal Ox
36:08 Ghost Faction on albums of the decade
42:37 Illy – SA Smash
46:32 Ghost Faction outro
48:22 Scream Phoenix – Cannibal Ox
53:26 DJ Mimi (Kings of Animals – Small Black)
53:10 Vital Nerve – Company Flow

-Mimi Kim

It’s the comedy chat show with boundary issues! Join hosts Mark Normandand Matt Ruby as they bring New York City’s best comedians onstage to open up about their personal lives, sex, drugs, religion, race, and more.  Listen here on BTR!

00:00 Mark Normand and Matt Ruby Intro
02:24 Mark and Matt Live
07:50 Roger Hailes Interview
22:58 Giulia Rozzi Interview
34:55 Leo Allen Interview
52:50 Jesse Geller Interview
70:10 Matt and Mark Outro

Mark & Matt

Giulia Rozzi

Jesse Geller

Leo Allen

Roger Hailes

Hurry up! Even though there are great shows all throughout the wintertime, touring does slow down during the holidays. Bands have families too, and it’s the time of year to spend with them instead of running around entertaining us all over the country. Here are three bands you should catch on their tours beforehand.

Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros is the brainchild of Alex Ebert, originally of Ima Robot. He got dropped from his major label, moved to the woods, eschewed cell phones, and wrote music as fictional character Edward Sharpe. His songs are sprawling, cinematic, folk-pop tunes, enhanced by his girlfriend’s incredible voice. Their song “Home” has been licensed quite a lot. You might recognize it from Gossip Girl or Community, just to name a few. I haven’t seen this act live, but if their recent performance on David Letterman is any indication, their hippie earnestness makes for a particularly entertaining show. They’ll be all over the West Coast before taking a break for winter.

11/24 – El Mocambo Club – Toronto, ON, Canada
11/25 – El Macambo Club – Toronto, ON, Canada
11/27 – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
11/28 – High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
11/29 – The Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN
12/1 – Boulder Theater – Boulder, CO
12/2 – Sheridan Opera House – Telluride, CO
12/4 – The Bell Tower – Pullman, WA
12/5 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
12/8 – The Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC, Canada
12/9 – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
12/10 – WOW Hall – Eugene, OR
12/12 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
12/14 – The Mayan – Los Angeles, CA

This time last year Real Estate was still in their parents basements in New Jersey, occasionally venturing to Brooklyn to play uncrowded shows. Now the little Jersey band that could is playing big venues and was one of the best acts at CMJ. Dreamy, summery rock is exactly the kind of pick-me-up you need for your emerging winter blues. It seems fitting, since this was one of the first bands I discovered in 2009, to end the year catching them on tour. Their live show has improved leaps and bounds since last winter. They sound like a band that’s been touring around for much longer than a year. Catch them in these size venues while you still can!

11/24 – Echo Curio – Los Angeles, CA
11/25 – Modified Arts – Phoenix, AZ
11/26 – Black Market – El Paso, TX
11/27 – Mohwak – Austin, TX
11/28 – City Tavern – Dallas, TX
11/29 – Sticky Fingerz – Little Rock, AR
11/30 – The Lyric – Oxford, MS
12/1 – 529 – Atlanta, GA
12/2 – Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC
12/3 – TBD – Baltimore, MD
12/4 – Market Hotel – Brooklyn, NY

Capgun Coup is Conor Oberst’s Team Love’s latest signee. Like the record label, they are from Omaha, Nebraska, and will tour much of the South through Christmastime. They play rickety punk tunes that sound a lot like other similar 60s-inspired bands these days – Ty Segall, for instance. Capgun Coup is one of the few bands touring all the way through the holiday season, though they’re a band I’d recommend any time of the year.

11/24 – Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS
11/25 – Outland Ballroom – Springfield, MO
11/27 – Hailey’s – Denton, TX
11/28 – Mohawk – Austin, TX
11/29 – Cin El Ray – McAllen, TX
11/30 – Walter’s on Washington – Houston, TX
12/1 – Spanish Moon – Baton Rouge, LA
12/2 – One Eye Jacks -  New Orleans, LA
12/3 – Alabama Music Box – Mobile, AL
12/4 – Sluggos – Pensacola, FL
12/5 – The Social – Orlando, FL
12/6 – Common Grounds – Gainesville, FL
12/7 – Lenny’s – Atlanta, GA
12/8 – Proud Larry’s – Oxford, MS
12/9 – The Rev Room – Little Rock, AR
12/10 – George’s Majestic Lounge – Fayettville, AR
12/11 – Mojo’s – Columbia, MO
12/12 – Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA
12/13 – Waiting Room – Omaha, NE
12/27 – Bourbon Theatre – Lincoln, NE

Link to this article:
http://www.breakthruradio.com/index.php?b=article.php?id=1228

Listen to this exciting new show here on BTR!

This week on BookTalk I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephen Elliott, author of seven books including The Adderall Diaries (September 2009) and Happy Baby. He was a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lion Award and won best book of 2004 in Salon.com, Newsday, Chicago New City, the Journal News, and the Village Voice. In addition to writing fiction he frequently writes on politics. In 2004 he wrote Looking Forward to It, about the quest for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Elliott’s writing has been featured in Esquire, The New York Times, GQ, Best American Non-Required Reading 2005 and 2007, Best American Erotica, and Best Sex Writing 2006. He was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and is a member of the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto. He is the editor of The Rumpus, an online literary magazine (http://therumpus.net).

Stephen is currently on a book tour to promote The Adderall Diaries. Check his website, www.stephenelliott.com to see if he is coming to a city near you!

00:00 BookTalk with Piera
00:06 Interview with Stephen Elliott
02:34 BookTalk with Piera
02:38 Say Yes – Elliott Smith
04:46 BookTalk with Piera
04:51 Interview with Stephen Elliott
07:45 BookTalk with Piera
07:50 Giving It All To You – Liz Phair
09:52 BookTalk with Piera
09:58 Interview with Stephen Elliott
13:37 BookTalk with Piera
13:41 Moonshiner – Cat Power
18:19 BookTalk with Piera
18:26 Interview with Stephen Elliott
24:05 BookTalk with Piera
24:14 Dogs of L.A. – Liz Phair
26:30 BookTalk with Piera
26:37 The Adderall Diaries by Stephen Elliott
49:14 BookTalk with Piera
49:23 Pictures of Me – Elliott Smith

Catch Karl Blau LIVE!!!

Nov 23  -  Green House  -  Arcata, CA
Nov 24  -  Ike Box  -  Salem, OR

Link to this article:
http://www.breakthruradio.com/index.php?b=artist.php?id=254

- Emily Smith

I rarely go to shows with lineups that are completely unfamiliar to me, but I took a leap of faith and trusted my friends to bring me to a good show. The headliner was White Denim, a trio from Austin, Texas that’s known for its unique mesh of genres. What I was unprepared for was the rocking antics of three guys who are all excellent musicians, without a single weak link.

It was hard to tell where one song ended and another one began. In a stream of consciousness style of playing, White Denim seamlessly moved from one idea to another. They reminded me of Akron/Family, another band who fearlessly pushes the boundaries of what “rock” music should be. In the case of White Denim, everything was done with an unpretentious, artistic flair. I could have written a term paper on White Denim’s influences, and it still would been a humble portrait of the trio. Perhaps, it is to the band’s advantage that they look a little grunge.

As a first-time listener, I would classify the night’s performance as mostly psychedelic math-rock. For me, the complex time signatures were the centerpoint of the music, with the drummer leading the way. Guitarist and lead singer James Petralli had a certain affinity for the wah pedal, and Steve Terebecki was the most active bassist that I’d ever seen. I feel that it’s become increasingly rarer to experience live bands who can actually play their instruments very well. I respect that the members of White Denim are truly virtuosos on their instruments, something that a music lover should never take for granted.

In a time when it seems like anyone can make music with a laptop, it’s refreshing to know that there are people who are still making music with talent and dedication, which is unfortunately becoming the old-fashioned way. If you’ve grown tired of seeing overhyped, mediocre bands, White Denim is a must-see band that will restore your faith in music.

Nov 20 @ Cafe Eleven – St. Augustine, FL
Nov 22 @ One Eyed Jacks – New Orleans, LA

Link to this article:
http://www.breakthruradio.com/index.php?b=review.php?id=186

- Mimi Kim

You listen to the whole show here on BTR!

00:00 David Wingo of Ola Podrida
01:04 Closest We’ll Ever Be
04:40 Interview
10:00 Room Full of Sparrows
13:36 Jordana
18:18 David discusses the story behind Your Father’s Basement
20:11 Your Fathers Basement
24:20 We All Radiant
28:23 Sink or Swim
32:44 Interview
38:30 Donkey
42:14 Run Off the Road

12/11 @ Mohawk – Austin, TX

Great blogs usually start with great names. Microphone Memory Emotion’s name comes from the song “All Boy Band” by the band Park Ave., featuring the one and only Conor Oberst on the drums. Georgia of MME talks about some of her current favorite artists and has put together a tailor-made playlist for your listening pleasure. Our favorites are the very dancey tracks from Lemonade, Cold Cave, and Tanlines.  Listen now!

00:00 DJ Mimi (Let’s Rock The Beach – Real Estate)
01:19 Useful Chamber – Dirty Projectors
07:45 Lemon – Velvet Davenport
10:42 MME on MME
11:57 Get Up – Washed Out
14:55 Dance Song ‘97 – Sleater-Kinney
17:42 Pool Swimmers – Real Estate
20:54 MME on High Places
21:56 From Stardust to Sentience – High Places
25:26 False Jesii Part 2 – Pissed Jeans
27:58 MME on playlist part 1
28:40 Prisoner – Alex Bleeker & The Freaks
30:40 Daily Vacation – Ducktails
34:13 MME on playlist part 2
35:32 Bejan – Tanlines
39:07 Big Weekend – Lemonade
44:10 The Trees Grew Emotions and Died – Cold Cave
48:12 MME on podcasts, future projects
48:38 Faded Blind + Paper Thin – JP05
52:28 All of Denver is Wasted – Weed Diamond
55:33 Freeway – Kurt Vile
58:09 DJ Mimi (Let’s Rock The Beach – Real Estate)
58:43 Animal Tracks – Mountain Man

-Mimi Kim