Kendrick versus Drake. Where did all of this start, what the heck happened? I'm going to do my best to break it down. Some great bars and some great beats, but I have to admit that, by the end I really needed a palate cleanser. This one is extra long and is full of foul language; consider yourself warned. Drake ft. Kendrick Lamar - Marvin's Room/Bu…

The FNPS lost its most prominent feline co-host a month ago. In this short bonus episode, you'll find a collection of show outtakes featuring G.By thefnps

We're coming out of hiatus briefly to do a show dedicated to Ben Przybylinski, a dear friend of the show who passed away too soon on February 19, 2024, on the eve of his celebration of life, to keep him with us just a little longer. Alannah Myles - Black Velvet Genesis - Follow You Follow Me Howlin' Wolf - Down In The Bottom Simon & Garfunkel - Cec…

This week is a birthday episode for one of my longest-supporting Patrons, and it's the first of two looking at the work of Mike Patton. First, we get into his work with Faith No More! We Care A Lot* From Out Of Nowhere Surprise! You’re Dead Falling To Pieces The Morning After Epic The Edge Of The World Land Of Sunshine Midlife Crisis Everything’s R…

I lost a family member to fentanyl recently, so I wanted to take this opportunity to dedicate a show to him and do a little public education about naloxone. As promised, links to resources: Health Canada's page on naloxone, as well as where to get free kits Ontario-specific information about getting naloxone kits Ontario Harm Reduction Network page…

This week, we're going back to something that came up during the second Funky Drummer episode, a microgenre out of Japan that has some relation to City pop (and opens up even more rabbit holes!) Dionne Warwick - Walk On By Roger Nichols &The Small Circle of Friends - Always You Van Dyke Parks - Sailing Shoes Louis Phillipe - So Long Sailor Maki Nom…

This week, we're taking a look at the legal blowback that resulted from the rise of sampling, and where it's led us to in the present day. Tons of resources were used for this episode, so be sure to check the show notes on the website (now under News & Gigs) for the full details. Biz Markie - Alone Again Gilbert O’Sullivan - Alone Again (Naturally)…

The final installment on Clyde Stubblefield's Funky Drummer. This one's a bit of a grab bag including pop, house, industrial, and rock. If you want to learn more, I highly recommend this podcast, which features personal anecdotes and interviews with Mr. Stubblefield himself. Pop Will Eat Itself - Not Now James, We’re Busy Fine Young Cannibals - I’m…

After a week off to go check out some live music, we're back with our second episode on the legacy of The Funky Drummer sample. This time, the focus is on breaks and hardcore (of the rave variety, not the punk persuasion). Looney Tunes - Just As Long As I Got You 808 State - Pacific 212 Meat Beat Manifesto - Cutman The KLF - The White Room The Prod…

Finally we’re getting to the impact of Clyde Stubblefield’s famous loop! Part one: the golden age of hip-hop. James Brown - Funky Drummer (excerpt) Boogie Down Productions - South Bronx Kool Moe Dee - Go See The Doctor MC Hammer - Feel My Power Run-D.M.C. - Run’s House Ultramagnetic MC’s - Give The Drummer Some Stetsasonic - Sally Kurtis Blow - Onl…

For the show's anniversary this year, I'm doing a rundown of records that I've bought repeatedly. This tends to happen for a few reasons, some of which are deliberate! Oops I bought it again Ratt - Out Of The Cellar - Round And Round INXS - Kick - New Sensation Pat Benetar - Love Is A Battlefield (12” Mix) Howard Jones - One To One - All I Want Jea…

A Valentine for anyone who didn't have a Valentine. The War On Drugs - Thinking Of A Place Bob Dylan - Nobody ’Cept You Jim Croce - I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song Elbow - The Only Road The Wilderness Of Manitoba - Northern Sky The Killers - Running Towards A Place Gerry Cinnamon - Where We’re Going Bruce Springsteen - Do I Love You (Indeed I…

shrug it's a shrug oh it's a shruuuug Work has been nuts, to a point where I barely had time to even listen to music. When I did, I found myself digging through a few old playlists. Enjoy! Or don't. It's your life. York ft. Angelina - Iceflowers Conjure One ft. Poe - Make A Wish Elsiane - Morphing 808 State ft. Louise Rhodes - Azura Mandalay - Beau…

Four years ago this Wednesday, our friend Darrell left this world. I wanted to take some time this week to pay tribute to the man by collecting songs by artists that were meaningful to him, and some stories from the people who loved him. To learn more about non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other blood cancers, or to make a donation of time or money, plea…

Things have been a little nutty as of late. I have two shows I still need to do post on (one from Valentine's, and one from last week), and the two remaining episodes for Quiet Storm haven't happened yet. This one's out of order, and I have some catching up to do, but things should be back on track soon. This week's show is intended to describe wha…

This week, we're continuing our look at the Quiet Storm format for Black History Month, in particular material from 1979 through 1985. The Commodores - Still Cameo - Sparkle GQ - I Do Love You The Jones Girls - Who Can I Run To Teddy Pendergrass - Love TKO Shalamar - This Is For The Lover In You The Isley Brothers - Don’t Say Goodnight The Stylisti…

For Black History Month, we're going to do a deep dive into the Quiet Storm Movement pioneered by Melvin Lindsey. It's also perfect timing to get you into the mood for Valentine's Day, if that's your thing. And if it's not, well, you can still enjoy the tunes for what they are: a smooth selection of R&B, soul, rare grooves, and slow jams chosen in …

This episode picks up from where we left off last week, in 1985. Note that at least one song uses objectionable language, and I don't just mean f-bombs. Use your best judgement about what you're comfortable with. The Firm - Star Trekkin’ The Frantics - Boot To The Head Morris Minor & The Majors - Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime) Kip Adotta - Wet …

This week, we're checking out the fun little genre, novelty songs. It has a few subgenres, but we're mostly going to keep it broad for now. Be cautioned that some of the songs have themes that some may find to be in poor taste, and the Frank Zappa one contains a slur. Billy Jones And His Orchestra - Yes, We Have No Bananas! Helen Kane - I Wanna Be …

In this episode, we're taking a look at Jon and Marsha Zazula's baby, Megaforce Records. Features an excerpt from a Camp Chaos cartoon (nb: nsfw, and may offend some), as well as anecdotes from podcasts by Let It Roll and RIP A Livecast. If you want to check out Jonny Z's book, you can get more details about it on his website. Judas Priest - Betray…

This episode wraps up our look at some of the musicians we lost during 2022, as well as 2022 as a whole. Nazareth - Love Hurts The Delfonics - Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time) Q Lazzarus - Transformation (Demo) The Impressions - People Get Ready The Seekers - Georgy Girl Teenage Head - Those Things You Do Olivia Newton-John & Electric Light Orch…

Post on last night's show is going to be delayed as I prepare for tonight's gig, but I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who've tuned in this year. As always, you make this work worth doing. Here's to 2023; may it be better than 2022. Music: Cosmic Baby - FantasiaBy thefnps

As we come to the end of 2022, we're going to take this time to reflect on some of the musicians who we've lost this year. (Unrelated: I'll be DJing on Twitch on New Year's Eve, and you can find out all the details here: https://fb.me/e/38OBzsmnA) Force MDs - Tender Love Parliament - Flashlight The Dixie Cups - Iko Iko Five Satins - To The Aisle Th…

As the year comes to a close, there's lots of stuff going on with the day job, so I'm doing one final week of the café. As a sidebar, I'll be DJing on Twitch on New Year's Eve with the Retread crew, so if you want to check it out, here's the Facebook page: https://fb.me/e/38OBzsmnA Blondie - Call Me ZZ Top - Sharp-Dressed Man Smithereens - Girl Lik…

This week continues the throwback to the café days of the mid-aughts. Arcadia - The Promise (7”) Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly Thompson Twins - Doctor! Doctor! Robert Palmer - Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) Peter Gabriel - Shock The Monkey Corey Hart - Boy In The Box Soft Cell - Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go? The Communards - Don’t Lea…

This week, I'm continuing my dive into the crates and playing stuff I used to spin when I was doing a weekly in my house. MOAR 80s! With a fair bit of Canadian and even Torontonian nostalgia. Information Society - What’s On Your Mind Animotion - Obsession Pigbag - Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag The Shuffle Demons - Spadina Bus The Art Of Noise - Pet…

Years ago, I used to host a weekly out of my house for friends. I found myself thinking of it this week, and decided to go digging through the crates so I could play a selection of the tunes I would have played then. This week and next, you can expect a fair bit of 80s new wave and pop. Platinum Blonde - Doesn’t Really Matter The Cars - Hello Again…

After a week off to let my back injury heal, I'm back - no pun intended! This week, we're wrapping up our look at the work of Patrick Cowley, intended to coincide with the anniversary of his passing on November 12, 1982. Don't forget to check out all of Dark Entries' posthumous Cowley releases on Bandcamp, including last Saturday's brand-new releas…

In honour of what would have been Morricone's 94th birthday next week, we're diving into a look at some of his work. This episode's focus is on his work in spaghetti westerns. To take a look at the entire top 20 list, visit the Spaghetti Western database. With Duccio Tussari: Una Pistola Per Ringo (A Pistol For Ringo), 1965 Main title (instrumental…

This year for Hallowe'en, I decided against doing another installment of Killer Tunes, and instead went digging for some less-common Hallowe'en music, with a sprinkling of some old-pal faves. It's ghoulishly good! /dadjoke Danny Elfman - This Is Halloween Sippie Wallace - Devil Dance Blues Salty Holmes - The Ghost Song Louis Armstrong with Gordon J…

Friday's show is a bit late due to my spending yesterday prepping for last night's gig, but here we go: we're finally getting to our look at Patrick Cowley. This will be a two-parter, because there's a lot of material. This first one is his solo material and collaborations; the second part will be production and remixes. Additional resources includ…

Due to technical difficulties, you're getting a mixtape of sorts this week. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week. Hopefully. Ghostly Kisses ft. Louis-Étienne Santais - J'ai demandé à la lune Maya Hawke - Luna Moth Phoebe Bridgers - Moon Song James Blake - Atmosphere Ghostly Kisses - Call My Name The Cure - The Figurehead M…

I got knocked on my butt last week by a really bad migraine (presumably due to Hurricane Ian) so this week's show is actually the show I'd been planning to do last week. It's a first, in that it's three separate segments. The first one is on Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman whose tragic and preventable death on September 16th has spurred worldwid…

This week, the second part of our look at songs named for girls and women. There really could have easily been a third part, but I think this is enough for now. The Eurythmics - Jennifer Steve Perry - Oh Sherrie Starship - Sara Ready For The World - Oh Sheila The Sisters Of Mercy - Marian (version) Steve Winwood - Valerie Guns n’ Roses - My Michell…

This week and next, we're looking at the proliferation of songs named for girls and women over the last 70 years. Dale Hawkins - Susie-Q The Everly Brothers - Wake Up, Little Susie Harry Belafonte - Mary Ann Little Richard - Good Golly, Miss Molly Richie Valens - Donna Ricky Nelson - Hello, Mary Lou Ray Charles - Ruby Jerry Lee Lewis - Long Tall Sa…

On this week's show, we're listening to some songs that found themselves on the wrong side of censors for one reason or another. This episode is primarily focused on the US and the UK, but I imagine we'll check out other countries in the future. Shirley Bassey - Burn My Candle At Both Ends Pink Floyd - Arnold Layne Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin …

A busy week means another theme show. This week, it's all about the end of summer, for better or worse. If you're curious to hear more about the heat wave in China, the podcast I was referencing was Thursday's episode of It Could Happen Here. Billy Idol - Hot In The City The Cure - The Upstairs Room Jane Sibbery - Mimi On The Beach (edit) Cocteau T…

Me feeling a bit like a zombie all week means you get a theme show. Tonight, it's a variety of songs about dreams and dreaming. Enjoy! The Crew Cuts - Shboom The Everly Brothers - (All I Have To Do Is) Dream Lead Belly - Goodnight, Irene The Staple Singers - I Had A Dream The Butthole Surfers - Whatever (I Had A Dream) Ministry - Dream Song Kate Bu…

On this week's show, we're looking at dreampop - its origins, where it overlaps with shoegaze, how it evolved, what it borrowed from chillwave, and where it is now. The Velvet Underground - Venus In Furs The Beach Boys - All I Wanna Do George Harrison - Let It Down The Durutti Column - Sketch For Summer This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren Dead Can…

On this week's show, we take a look at the roots and peak of shoegaze in the 80s and early 90s. The excellent box set I reference in the episode can be found on Cherry Red Records website, and there's a solid post on Reddit about the history of shoegaze. Pitchfork's top 50 shoegaze albums is also an excellent read (though the pagination chafes my b…

On tonight's show, as a nod to the passing of Paul Ryder (bassist of the Happy Mondays), we're diving into the Madchester sound and the baggy scene. James Brown - Funky Drummer, pts 1 & 2 The Happy Mondays - 24 Hour Party People The Stone Roses - Fools Gold (edit) New Order - Fine Time Inspiral Carpets - This Is How It Feels James - Come Home (Floo…

After last week's national internet outage, we're back with the final part on the life and impact of the work of Dave Smith, inventor of the Prophet synthesizer, and one of the fathers of MIDI. Xiu Xiu - Crank Heart M83 - Midnight City ((pressures)) - Casting Shadows Angels & Airwaves - Surrender (remix) Tegan & Sara - Closer Bonobo - Don't Wait Da…

This week, we're continuing our look at the impact of Dave Smith's work on music. Tonight's focus is (broadly speaking) 80s pop. The Cars - Let’s Go Devo - Girl U Want Men Without Hats - Safety Dance Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight Japan - Ghosts Hall & Oates - I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes Duran Duran - Planet Ear…

This week, we finally begin our look at the impact that Dave Smith's work had on music. The first part of this series looks at the early days of the Prophet series synthesizers in experimental, ambient, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop. Excerpt: Doctor Mix - Prophet-5's Famous Preset Sounds Weather Report - Young and Fine Bill Bruford - Forever Until Sunday …

This week is the third and final part of our look at music from the Cold War era, 1945-1991. Technical issues with the stream last night (ostensibly caused by local high winds) meant that some bits had to be re-recorded, so you may hear variations in the audio. Mea culpa :) Resources for the excerpted footage, should you want to see/hear more: The …

"Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." This is so very late, but sometimes life happens. Regardless, here's part two of music of the Cold War era - this episode covers 1982 through 1985. Midnight Oil - US Forces Rational Youth - Dancing On The Berlin Wall Falco - Der Kommissar The Fixx - Stand or Fall Oingo Boingo - Nothing To Fear (Bu…

Get ready to get your history on! We're talking about the Cold War this week--what led up to it, the events through the decades, and the music that was a part of the time. (Except the Vietnam war for the most part, because that's much more common knowledge.) If you'd like to learn more beyond what I touch on in these episodes, check out this docume…

Another birthday show! This week's episode, by request of the birthday celebrant, focuses on clowns and happy hardcore - and I am more than happy to oblige :D Insane Clown Posse - Clown Love Clown Core - Diarrhea Inferno Welfare Burrito Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Tears Of A Clown Placebo - Pierrot The Clown The Murlocs - Lonely Clown Mike Emi…

This week, it's a birthday show featuring antifascist, anti-capitalist, and pro-union music! Woody Guthrie & Sonny Terry - All You Fascists Bound To Lose Pete Seeger - Talking Union Blues Faith Petric - Ain't Done Nothing If You Ain't Been Called A Red Phil Ochs - Love Me, I'm A Liberal Leon Rosselson - Song Of The Old Communist Bob Dylan - Talkin'…

Keeping it low-key this week with some chill and synth pieces while my arm heals up. - Northbridge/Southbridge Timecop1983 - On The Run Unfound - Without Hotel Pools - Nightshade Shikimo ft. Fractal Man - Ghost Trigger b o d y l i n e - Castles In The Air C418 - Beton Davz - Golden Igloo John Dunder - Vega Forhill - Odyssey A.L.I.S.O.N - Nightride …