Dizzy Heights #94: ‘House’ Music

Features The Heavy, Dead or Alive, Teddybears, Prince, Calvin Harris, and more

Yep, I refer to a movie as a song, but did I re-record the bit once I realized the mistake?

Reader, I did not.

This is the first in a two-part series of songs about living quarters. The ‘Home’ show comes in about a month, and that wraps it up. Can’t imagine I’d get very far on songs about apartments and condos.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #93: The Second Acrostic Show

This is probably going to be the new normal, flipping between themed shows and acrostic shows. Not only are these shows easier to make, they enable me to play songs I love that don’t fit a theme. Indeed, there’s a certain red-haired New Pornographer here who wrote a song that I can’t believe I’m playing for the first time in Show #93.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #92: Fire

I will be the first to admit that this is not the most original idea, but it’s filled with possibilities…for me to play the Boomtown Rats for the twelfth time. Not a typo.

On the other hand, six artists are making their debut in show #92, and even I’m like, I still have bands I haven’t played yet? Yes. Yes, I do.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #91: The Acrostic Show

Features The New Pornographers, Owsley, Veruca Salt, Elastica, and more.

This was so fun, and so much easier of a process, that I will probably do this many, many more times in the future. Fair warning.

Truth be told, I hadn’t even heard the word ‘acrostic’ before Popdose’s original game maker Scraps did an episode of Name That Tune using an acrostic to spell out a hint to the final track. So not only am I stealing one of his ideas, I’m stealing one of my own ideas, because I used this exact acrostic for Cover Me. Look at the artists above and see you spot a pattern.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #90: ____ Me

Features a-ha, Go West, The B-52’s, The Smiths, and more.

Recycling another Name That Tune idea for a show (and I’m doing it again for the next one). It’s been, what, 14 years? That feels like fair game to revisit.

Hold Me. Thrill Me. Save Me. Those are the names of songs that, um, didn’t make the cut, but you get the idea. I didn’t realize it when I began work on this, but in the end, this became a tribute show to my lovely wife. The first two blocks have her fingerprints all over them

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #89: The Eyes Have It

Features The Nazz, The Tubes, Shakin’ Stevens, Gorillaz, Devo, and others

I’m so sorry! I went away again. Spring soccer season is all-consuming, and to think, my daughter just moved up to a travel league. Cool!

If I’m being honest, the other reason for the delay is that I didn’t have any ideas that got me really excited. I’d like to get to 100 shows before I reuse any themes, so I need 11 more clever thoughts. That may not seem like that many, but to me, right now, it seems impossible.

And just like that, I got an idea. It’s stolen from a former DJ colleague of mine, but still, it’s an idea. So, yay?

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #88: Money

Featuring Johnny Marr, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, The Wonder Stuff, The Flying Lizards, and more.

“The answer to 90% of all questions is money.” – My friend Karen

The inevitable spinoff from DH #87 (The Finest Work Songs). I’m a bit surprised I haven’t done this one already. I mean, who doesn’t sing about money? (Answer: no one.)

But here we are. I even do a little beat mixing towards the end, which is a pretty big hint to those who know me well.

Coming up: I’m calling an audible. After suggesting a theme to my social media friends, I decided to try something else. I had lots of ideas for the other things, but not a whole lot of passion about it. So it can wait. This newer idea interests me more. I’m a cat. Please show me the shiny thing again.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #87: The Finest ‘Work’ Songs

But not that one.

Ed Goodman certainly gave me this idea (all of the good ones are his), and I finally acted on it. The subject opened so many doors that it will have its own spinoff show in two weeks!

Five debuts this week, including a brand-new band that I hadn’t even heard of, but thankfully a high school classmate had, and they might become one of my favorite new bands. Think Franz Ferdinand, but Irish.

Thank you, as always, for listening.

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Dizzy Heights #86: Baby Baby Baby

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

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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