Category: Dizzy Heights

Dizzy Heights #86: Baby Baby Baby

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Features Stone Temple Pilots, The Struts, The Babys, The Smithereens, and more

This one was a ‘cart before the horse’ show, which I’ll do from time to time. I had access to an album that I wanted to download without the obligation to write about it, so I came up with an idea for a show so I could work the artist into it. I asked the publicist if I could use a song for a show, and she said yes.

And then I got the title of the album wrong when I recorded my bits. (It’s called The Yearbook.) Oh, and this show was supposed to come out when the album did, which was back in September. In the end, the publicist helped me, but I did not help the publicist. I am ashamed.

LOTS of artists make their debut on the show this week. Like, a dozen. This is a weird show.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #85: Every Hour on the Hour – Flashback Chill Mix, April 2001

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Features Terry Hall, The Lightning Seeds, Marshall Crenshaw, No Doubt, and more.

This is a combination of two mixes. Eighteen of these songs come from a 19-song 2001 mix – I removed “Gone” by Madonna because it was only there to fill space at the end of the CD – and the rest came from a 1999 mix that I cannot find for the life of me, so I added what I could remember. Most of the songs were current, but there are a couple of tracks that will seem left-field until you learn that I was just getting into those artists at the time (Marshall Crenshaw, The Divine Comedy).

I came thisclose to removing No Doubt, but then I thought of how my kids are constantly retconning their lives so that they never made “mistakes,” and decided against it. At the time, I really dug this tune. And it still holds up, if you ask me.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #84: Count Me In

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Featuring Janet Jackson, Outkast, James Brown, Kraftwerk, and more

Credit where credit is due: my local modern rock station gave me this idea. They do ‘Top 5 at 5’ shows that are now theme-based (they used to be based on requests), and I happened to be listening just as they finished this, so I didn’t hear any of the songs they played, but knowing their tendencies, I’m pretty sure our lists have at least one song in common, and maybe two.

And after not having any Dizzy Heights debuts in the last show, we have SIX this week, including the Godfather of Soul himself making a long-overdue appearance. Also, Genesis, really? That one surprises me.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #83: Closers

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Featuring The Replacements, The Cars, The Clash, Aimee Mann, and more.

A friend of mine came to me with an idea: what if you did a show that was nothing but killer opening tracks? And that’s a good idea, but there are LOTS of albums with killer opening tracks. What is in much shorter supply are albums with killer closing tracks. Even some of my all-time favorite albums have less-than-ideal swan songs. I mean, they’re fine, but no one is putting on Steve McQueen and skipping to “When the Angels,” you know?

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Dizzy Heights #82: ‘Time’ Songs

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Features Love Spit Love, Muse, The Smiths, Pulp, and more

May I say once again that I have great respect for anyone who has a radio show with a schedule that, say, can’t be abandoned for three months. I clearly do not have the discipline to handle that much responsibility.

I’m sorry I was gone for so long. I had this general feeling of malaise that I couldn’t shake. Every time I thought about doing a show, I just…didn’t. Then my wife entered a flash fiction contest, and I suddenly had an entire weekend to myself, for all intents and purposes, and poof, a show was born.

I mention that someone made their debut in this show. That is not true. He debuted seven months ago. I should have remembered that, but here we are.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #81: Tonight

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Featuring The Cars, Supergrass, Spinal Tap, Cheap Trick, Jude Cole, Rick Springfield, and more.

It only made sense, after watching song after song pop up as I searched for songs about yesterday, today, and tomorrow, that I’d do a show about tonight. Tonight is filled with limitless potential. Lives will change. Names will be made. And it’s all gonna happen TONIGHT.

Then I went through my library, and didn’t have nearly as many songs as I thought I would.

Thankfully, my friends stepped up big time with some excellent suggestions. As one put it, this is an example where teamwork helped make the dream work.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #80: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

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Is there a song that reminds you of something embarrassing that you did, and no matter how much distance there is between that moment and the present, the association remains? A permanent reminder of what a fool you once were?

Just wondering. That definitely does not exist with me and one of the songs in this show, nope nope nope.

And I definitely didn’t delete the part in my talkie bit where I talked about it, and then uploaded a version of the show that INCLUDES THE EMBARRASSING THING I MEANT TO DELETE.

Sigh.

Thank you, as always, for listening. *crawls under rock*

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Dizzy Heights #79: A Show About Death

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Featuring Bis, Gary Numan, Mini Mansions, Midnight Oil, The Divine Comedy, and more.

This was supposed to run the week of April 8. Why did it not run then? I have no answer for that. I just didn’t get around to recording the talkie bits until now. Sometimes, life just gets in the way.

Gary Numan was the inspiration for this one, which means that David Bowie would probably have hated this. 

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #78: You

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Features Robert Palmer, Stereophonics, The Lightning Seeds, Ben Folds, Joe Cocker, and more.

This is a ‘rainy day’ show idea I’ve had for a while, and as luck would have it, as I’m uploading it to Mixcloud, it’s raining.

The rule is that every song has to start with ‘You.’ ‘You’re’ and ‘You’ll’ were right out. Just ‘You.’ I was even able to sync up the opening funny bit with the theme for the second time ever.

Oh, and you oughta know…that I didn’t play that song.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #77: Conjunction Junction, Vol. I

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This idea started where all good ideas start: in the shower.

Originally, this was going to be nothing but songs that start with ‘If,’ but I ultimately decided to mix things up. You will notice, though, that ‘if’ rules the roost, at least in this installment. Pretty sure I’ll be bringing this one back for a second tour of duty.

NINE artists make their Dizzy Heights debut this week, including two Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and an alt-rock giant that’s been a radio mainstay for almost three decades. I would argue that they’re a wildly inconsistent mainstay, but a mainstay just the same.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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