♪ Rare Charm 007 & 008

🌞 Slacker Sunshine + Cool Dusk Breeze 🌚

Writing these features on archived shows in pairs has been an enlightening undertaking because it’s revealed to me many parallels across my thought processes behind them, even when I think I’m doing something different from month to month. I hope it’s been as interesting for you to read about as it’s been fun for me to write about.

This week we dive into local San Diego radio nostalgia and tease the threads from the past that continue to fascinate and inspire. I’ve also got a mini interview courtesy of the editor of Possessed Fanzine in store for ya!

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May 25, 2022 - Slacker Sunshine

Channel into the nostalgic, sun-drenched moments of growing up in Southern California and the inescapable sounds of an endless summer. A tribute to late ‘90s-early 2000s SoCal alternative rock radio while also an homage to the soundtracks of teen comedies of the same era. Featuring a special guest mix on hour two from Possessed Fanzine, the fanzine for slackers and haters, whose intention was to recreate “the vibe of hanging out with your friends and showing each other shit that’s cool but also funny on a lazy day.”

These tunes are best paired with SPF 50, a Sobe or Fruitopia in hand, and a boardwalk to putter about. Primo slacker jams infused with Gen X irony and attitude across indie pop, shoegaze, post-grunge, fun samples, and more.

As a kid I was never really into pop punk, but I remember being ten or eleven and listening to Alien Ant Farm on local alt rock station 91X, then later seeing the music videos for “Movies” and their cover of “Smooth Criminal” and not being immune to their goofy and infectious energy. I asked my parents for ANThology on CD for Christmas that year and it soundtracked many late night sessions of Donkey Kong Country on SNES. Though none of their songs made the cut in my mix like I’d initially intended, they were a huge driving force behind the mix. I’m not on Twitter anymore, but secondhand sources informed me AAF were making rounds on the nostalgia circuit online a few weeks ago which I found amusing.

I LOVE this painting by Los Angeles-based artist Mia Scarpa featuring a close-up of Dryden Mitchell, frontman of Alien Ant Farm, in the “Smooth Criminal” music video.

Ultimately, this broadcast was an attempt at reclaiming this alt rock radio sound from the bros by surveying certain stylistic components that make this summer slacker attitude so fun and that I think transcends bro-dom. Some of the elements present in this mix include sun-bleached guitars; turntablism; playful sampling; narcotic and stony breaks; pop-punk angst; baggy Madchester and electronica from the UK; lackadaisical, perfunctory vocal delivery; and sing-songy playground rhyme cadence. Another commonly used technique among artists is the “transmitted” vocal effect, employed as if to suggest they’re being broadcast from around the world or even out of this world in the intergalactic way that P Funk pioneered.

I juxtaposed seemingly disparate artists like Kitty Craft, whose homespun beats and sweet ‘n sassy vocals don’t necessarily call to mind Sugar Ray, but when heard in conjunction you can identify some pop commonalities between the two through their warm guitars and bouncy, melodic vocals. It was my intention to showcase and appreciate elements of what could be written off as outdated MTV spring break party fair and place them into a context that highlights their value and potential for enduring influence. We’ve already seen this recontextualized by figures like George Clanton, who collaborated with Nick Hexum of 311 to create cosmic, swirling vapor-tinged anthems for the terminally online, and Daisies from Olympia, WA who borrow more from UK electronica but at times sound reminiscent of Len. I honestly think this is the next watering hole from which inspiration will be scooped in increasing proportion, especially in combination with electronic experimentation, so I’m anticipating more to be excavated and modified from starry-eyed alternative rock artists from the late ‘90s and early 2000s.

But enough from me! I asked my special guest, editor of Possessed Fanzine, a few questions to give context to their hour of the broadcast and to share some stories about growing up with the radio in San Diego.

🦎🦋🌻🌞🤙🍉🌶🌯🥏🏄🏻‍♀️🎢🦎🦋🌻🌞🤙🍉🌶🌯🥏🏄🏻‍♀️🎢🦎🦋🌻🌞🤙🍉🌶🌯🥏🏄🏻‍♀️🎢

Slacking Off with Possessed: A Mini Interview

Tell me about some of your earliest memories of listening to the radio as a kid in San Diego. 

So, I have memories of listening to and loving “Blue” by Eiffel 65, “Try Again” by Aaliyah, and “It Wasn’t Me” by Shaggy on the radio and loving them. But my first real concrete memory of the radio was some morning zoo type shit on Channel 933 which was always like this radio pop hit station. It was April Fool’s Day and they were claiming to tattoo a baby. Obviously, as an adult you hear that segment and you’re like “okay they’re just playing the sound of a baby crying simultaneously with a buzz of a tattoo needle,” but in my 7-year-old mind I was like, “what the fuck, this is so evil, how are they getting away with this this?” Also, I remember clearly hearing “Sweet Honey” by Slightly Stoopid for the first time. I was coming home to Clairemont from school in Point Loma, on the bridge that leads onto Sea World Drive. The alt rock radio moments didn’t come until middle school. I had radio privilege in the morning on the way to school and my sister had the radio on the way back. I was fucking blown away the first time I heard “Lazy Eye” by Silversun Pickups on 94/9. I was turning left onto West Point Loma Blvd from Nimitz to get to Correia Middle. 

For inspiration and to hunt for more tracks, I watched teen movies like Loser (2000), Gossip (2000), and Disturbing Behavior (1998). I know you drew a lot from the atmosphere and attitudes of Toonami and Adult Swim programming blocks in your mix. Can you talk about the qualities of those TV spaces that you associate with this showcase of “slacker” sounds we assembled?

To preface this, I think what makes someone a “slacker” as opposed to a “lazy piece of shit” (although that is def a part of it), is the conscious knowledge that you know about the alternative, you just choose not to partake in it. You know that the life of a worker bee/star student will be better for you in the long run, but you choose to shun that lifestyle for the instant gratification of slamming your tush down on the beanbag to watch cartoons say the word “damn” on TV. As a kid who was obsessed with Toonami and then Adult Swim, I knew the alternative (Disney sitcoms and Nickelodeon cartoons), I just wanted something heavier. In the early 2000s, watching anime and especially watching Adult Swim, it felt like you were in on a secret. It did not feel like something a kid should know. There was this edge to it, even if you couldn’t identify it as a kid, you knew subconsciously that you were watching something completely subversive to the norm of the entire TV landscape. I was a kid then, so I couldn’t really label myself as a slacker, but looking back, Adult Swim definitely makes sense as the programming block for lazy assholes who hate effort. The shows were short, the humor crass, the music underground, and the time slots late; perfect for when you get off of your 3pm-12am pizza delivery shift. 

Andy French from Mission Hill, an American adult animated series which originally aired on the WB from 1999-2000, and later rebroadcast on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim in 2002.

What in particular about this era of late ‘90s and early 2000s alternative rock do you think is so appealing? It's already happening on a fashion level, but what elements from the music do you think young musicians might extract and remix into something fresh and new (or potentially shitty and watered-down)?

To be honest, the appeal to me is nostalgia. At least that ranks highest. Even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself, it always does. But being fair, there was a degree of eclecticism around this time on the radio that is pretty respectable, especially when compared to the complete domination of the airwaves by iHeartRadio and the subsequent homogenization. The “slacker” sound (if there is one) still survives today, in some really great ways and some really bad. Hotline TNT and Sustains, who I used on the mix, both really capture the feeling of just kicking it with your friends and cracking jokes. The younger generation seems to give less of a fuck about subcultural boundaries (something I actually don’t like very much), and that gives way to some pretty interesting ideas. Just look at hyper pop. There’s kids out there mixing drum n bass and shoegaze from their bedroom and they’ve probably never listened to Swervedriver in their life. Sounds pretty slacker to me, for better or for worse. 

Were there any tracks you wanted to add but weren’t able to fit in your mix? 

Yea, they were all songs you already used on your mix! You should have let me gone first! Len especially. I felt affronted because I am a Len superfan. Did you know they had a promotional frisbee for “Steal My Sunshine”? Their earlier shoegaze stuff is also so cool. It’s dreampop in JNCOs. 

One track I really wanted to use was by an older San Diego pop punk band called Unwritten Law. They have a great song called “Lonesome” that has a music video that was shot in Logan Heights and even cracks a joke at Blink 182, who they were friends with. I couldn’t find a place for it. 

I originally wanted to end with a song by the Black Flag/Minutemen collaboration called Minuteflag, the song “Fetch the Water”. It is totally chilled out and has a Grateful Dead kind of vibe. I love that song and those bands but I just felt “Firme Hyna” worked better. 

There were also songs that were a bit too “heavy” to have used, along with others that were pretty on the nose so I put them aside. I’m not gonna reveal what they are though, in case there’s a next time. 

Anything else you want to add? 

Thanks for including me in this, it’s an honor, especially since you’ve shown me so much that I’ve stuck into Possessed myself. I had never made a mix before so doing this was a lot of fun and it came out better than expected. It also inspired me in other ways regarding my own projects, so thanks for that too I guess! No thanks for stealing my song ideas though. WACK!

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You can read a few past issues of Possessed Fanzine here and purchase physical copies here. And check out Possessed Radio on Lower Grand Radio every first Thursday of the month. The most recent episode in which they discuss subcultures with the worst fashion sense is a fun listen. Sorry for “stealing your sunshine” 😖 and thanks so much for your contribution to the show, Rare Charm was lucky to have you! I had a blast with this one and have listened back a few times already—even played it at La Jolla Shores where it pairs so well with the sand, surf, and sea gulls!

June 29, 2022 - Cool Dusk Breeze

No lofty thoughts or grand insights here. But in keeping with the memories of local radio theme, I do consider this my own interpretation of Big Sonic Chill, a late night radio block on FM 94.9 that was very formative to me as a teenager. And the host, Midori, had a voice that probably lured many listeners down the ASMR rabbit hole as videos became more accessible on YouTube. Like the name implies, it was an eclectic grab bag of chilled out music, predominantly focusing on electronica, folk, and indie rock, for zoning at night. Perfect soundtrack for teenage introspection and projecting images and dreams of what the future may hold. Listening to it coincided with my growing curiosity in independent and world cinema, and sometimes there’d be crossover between the two. It was around the time I was branching out from artists like Björk and Radiohead and digging deeper into artists like Slowdive, Air, Portishead, Massive Attack, and Amon Tobin. Big, big feelings.

Two hours of wistful/hopeful songs that shimmer, glisten, and connote an airiness; perfect for meditating on these infernal nights where the unexpectedness of a cool breeze floating delicately thru your window is the only thing that matters in the world to your sticky skin and animal brain. A part of me is forever chasing after the experience of dipping into new worlds listening to Big Sonic Chill on balmy summer nights as a teen, and this installment is further proof. 

My favorite track on this mix is Durutti Column’s “Grace”, an appropriate title for a song that lifts you to the heavens and cradles you in its wings. It’s otherworldly and deeply comforting. A real treasure.

Enjoy the music. 💜♫✧˖*°࿐

Dusk. Leonard Koscianski, 46″x62″, oil on canvas, 2004.

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