WYEP Music Blog

I was going to write a mini-bio to precede the John Vanderslice interview below, but I can’t really tell you anything that way that you couldn’t read somewhere else.I can tell you that I did once ride the subway with him.  I sat a few seats away with a friend while John talked to two kids on an otherwise empty Manhattan train.  He asked them how they liked CMJ so far, what bands they had seen, how their stay in New York was going.  He never mentioned that he was a musician himself.  Never mentioned that he was also attending CMJ.  Never mentioned that he had his own showcase in the halls of Lincoln Center.  He was simply talking to some kids from somewhere that was not New York City about how their week was going.

I have the feeling that if I had written John 100 questions, I might have gotten 100 responses (or maybe 97 – one question I asked about his appraisal of the Rick Ross scandal went unanswered).  John Vanderslice is one of those people who seem to fill every second of every day re-recording entire albums in a chicken coop or taking a photo of a trebuchet or concocting a video blog tour or running a recording studio or opening for Death Cab for Cutie, in between eating a bagel or reading the paper or talking to his mom on the telephone.  It’s like he takes all these stories and experiences we’re all exposed to everyday and scraps them into beautiful little snowglobes.

Below are my questions and John’s answers, traded over email.  All punctuation and text credited to John are his own.

-Dave, host of WYEP Afterhours: Monday

Read the rest of this entry »

This summer we asked WYEP listeners to vote for their 10 favorite songs from the 1990′s. We tallied the votes, and turned the list into a countdown show that aired on Labor Day. There’s some surprises here, along with some “sure things”. Overall, we think its a pretty good list, our listeners have good taste.

Here it is…

100 Cake – The Distance “Fashion Nugget” 1996
99 Grant Lee Buffalo – Mockingbirds “Mighty Joe Moon” 1994
98 Natalie Merchant – Wonder “Tigerlily” 1995
97 Midnight Oil – Blue Sky Mine “Blue Sky Mining” 1990
96 Cracker – Low “Kerosene Hat” 1993
95 Depeche Mode – Policy of Truth “Violator” 1990
94 Liz Phair – Polyester Bride “whitechocolatespaceegg” 1998
93 Richard Thompson – 1952 Vincent Black Lightning “Rumour and Sigh” 1991
92 Nirvana – Come As You Are “Nevermind” 1991
91 Dave Matthews Band – Two Step “Crash” 1996
90 Goo Goo Dolls – Iris “Dizzy Up the Girl” 1998
89 No Doubt – Don’t Speak “Tragic Kingdom” 1995
88 Pavement – Summer Babe “Slanted & Enchanted” 1992
87 Presidents of the United States of America – Peaches “Presidents of the U.S.A.” 1995
86 Counting Crows – Round Here “August & Everything After” 1993
85 Pearl Jam – Better Man “Vitalogy” 1994
84 Aimee Mann – Save Me “Magnolia Soundtrack” 1999
83 Beck – Devil’s Haircut “Odelay” 1996
82 Blues Traveler – Run Around “Four” 1994
81 Concrete Blonde – Joey “Bloodletting” 1990
80 R.E.M. – Man On The Moon “Automatic for the People” 1992
79 Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealin’ “Ritual De Lo Habitual” 1990
78 Dar Williams – As Cool As I Am “Mortal City” 1996
77 Pulp – Common People “A Different Class” 1995
76 Red Hot Chili Peppers – Give it away “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” 1991
75 Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm “Siamese Dream” 1993
74 Tori Amos – Silent All These Years “Little Earthquakes” 1992
73 U2 – Mysterious Ways “Achtung Baby” 1991
72 Weezer – Buddy Holly “Blue Album” 1994
71 Wilco – Misunderstood “Being There” 1996
70 Ben Folds Five – Battle of Who Could Care Less “Whatever and Ever Amen” 1997
69 Blur – Song 2 “Blur” 1997
68 Counting Crows – Rain King “August & Everything After” 1993
67 Dave Matthews Band – Crash Into Me “Crash” 1996
66 Elliot Smith – Waltz #2 “XO” 1998
65 Iggy Pop – Candy “Brick by Brick” 1990
64 KD Lang – Constant Craving “Ingenue” 1992
63 Lemonheads – It’s a Shame About Ray “It’s A Shame About Ray” 1992
62 Tori Amos – Crucify “Little Earthquakes” 1992
61 Portishead – Sour Times “Dummy” 1994
60 Bush – Glycerine “Sixteen Stone” 1994
59 Cranberries – Zombie “No Need to Argue” 1994
58 Foo Fighters – Everlong “The Color and the Shape” 1997
57 Spin Doctors – Two Princes “Pocket Full of Kryptonite” 1991
56 They Might Be Giants – Istanbul (Not Constantinople) “Flood” 1990
55 Pearl Jam – Even Flow “Ten” 1991
54 Belly – Feed the Tree “Star” 1993
53 Billy Bragg & Wilco – California Stars “Mermaid Avenue” 1998
52 Mazzy Star – Fade into You “So Tonight that I Might See” 1993
51 Soul Asylum – Runaway Train “Grave Dancer’s Union” 1992
50 Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt “Us” 1992
49 James – Laid “Laid” 1993
48 Cranberries – Dreams Everyone “Else is Doing it, So Why Can’t We?” 1993
47 Whiskeytown – 16 Days “Strangers Almanac” 1997
46 Cornershop – Brimful of Asha “When I was Born for the 7th Time” 1997
45 Tori Amos – Cornflake Girl “Under the Pink” 1994
44 Radiohead – Karma Police “OK Computer” 1997
43 Alanis Morrisette – Ironic “Jagged Little Pill” 1995
42 Seal – Crazy “Seal” 1991
41 Dave Matthews Band – Ants Marching “Under the Table and Dreaming” 1994
40 Sublime – Santeria “Sublime” 1996
39 Fiona Apple – Criminal “Tidal” 1996
38 Barenaked Ladies – Brian Wilson “Gordon” 1992
37 Gin Blossoms – Hey Jealousy “New Miserable Experience” 1992
36 Indigo Girls – Galileo “Rites of Passage” 1992
35 Fugees – Killing Me Softly “The Score” 1996
34 The Wallflowers – One Headlight “Bringing Down the House” 1996
33 Lisa Loeb – Stay “Tails ” 1995
32 Smashing Pumpkins – Today “Siamese Dream” 1993
31 Pavement – Cut Your Hair “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain ” 1994
30 Oasis – Don’t Look Back in Anger “What’s the Story Morning Glory?” 1995
29 Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend “Girlfriend ” 1991
28 Bob Dylan – Not Dark Yet “Time Out of Mind” 1997
27 Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees “The Bends” 1995
26 Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah “Grace” 1994
25 R.E.M. – Nightswimming “Automatic for the People” 1992
24 Blind Melon – No Rain “Blind Melon ” 1992
23 Smashing Pumpkins – 1979 “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” 1995
22 They Might be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul “Flood ” 1990
21 The Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under the Bridge “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” 1991
20 Rusted Root – Send Me On My Way “Cruel Sun ” 1992
19 Radiohead – Paranoid Android “OK Computer” 1997
18 Live – Lightning Crashes “Throwing Copper” 1994
17 Radiohead – Creep “Pablo Honey” 1993
16 Pearl Jam – Alive “Ten ” 1991
15 Ben Folds Five – Brick “Whatever and Ever Amen ” 1997
14 Cranberries – Linger Everybody “Else is Doing it, So Why Can’t We?” 1993
13 Sarah McLachlan – Possesion “Fumbling Towards Ecstasy ” 1993
12 Sinead O’Connor – Nothing compares 2 U “I Do Not Want…” 1990
11 Pearl Jam – Jeremy “Ten ” 1991
10 Beck – Loser “Mellow Gold” 1994
9 Pearl Jam – Black “Ten ” 1991
8 Breeders – Cannonball “Last Spash ” 1993
7 The Counting Crows – Mr. Jones “August and Everything After” 1993
6 Alanis Morrisette – You Oughta Know “Jagged Little Pill” 1995
5 The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony “Urban Hymns” 1997
4 R.E.M – Losing My Religion “Out of Time” 1991
3 Oasis – Wonderwall “What’s the Story Morning Glory?” 1995
2 U2 – One “Achtung Baby ” 1991
1 Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit “Nevermind ” 1991