Tag Archives: On-Air Events

Fri 4/24, 10PM: Canadian Invasion Live On "Nocturnal Transmissions"!

~~On Friday 4/24 at 10PM ET Dr. Cosmo and “Nocturnal Transmissions” welcome Philadelphia’s Canadian Invasion!~~ (This performance has been postponed for a later date. Stay tuned!)

Take unlikely proportions of airline food, Built to Spill, and power pop sensibilities, mix, stir, electrify and bake over a copper wire, then serve chilled. This Philadelphia-based group answers your desperate musical questions with amusing and pointed lyrics and guitar whimsy. So says Magnet Magazine:

As if handed some imaginary baton from the late, great Bigger Lovers, the five-piece Canadian Invasion has inherited the title of Philadelphia’s best power-pop band. The proof is in sophomore album Three Cheers For The Invisible Hand (Transit Of Venus), a smartly written critique of—and ode to—suburbia. Three Cheers doesn’t rock the suburbs with rote teenage angst or anti-sprawl tirades, however; the voice of singer/guitarist Andy Canadian is coming from inside the ranch house, detailing the funny and sad lives of the members of an American family lost in their own bland anonymity. The clever lyrical conceit is held up by sturdy guitar-pop songwriting; Canadian Invasion sounds like Fountains Of Wayne with considerably less cheese, swapping regressive teenage fantasies and gimmicky Cars keyboards for Kinks-like character sketches and Teenage Fanclub guitar chime.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7yaK5FxVJE&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

Friday 4/3: The Tea Club Live On "Nocturnal Transmissions"!

On Friday 4/3 at 10PM ET Dr. Cosmo and “Nocturnal Transmissions” welcome Philly/NJ prog rockers the Tea Club!

Intensely punkish and atmospheric lyricism stitched with dramatic shifts and structured intentionality is the cloth of progressive rock from which this band is made. Rather than recycling the old prog themes, The Tea Club forges new paths and creates a sound that is immediate and urgent.

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Wed 4/1: World Broadcast Premiere of Phillip Glass' "The Juniper Tree"

Join Marvin Rosen and Classical Discoveries for the the world premiere broadcast of the opera “The Juniper Tree” by Philip Glass and Robert Moran, this Wednesday 4/1 at 11 AM ET.

“The Juniper Tree” is an opera in two acts for chamber orchestra, small chorus and soloists. It was commissioned the American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, MA) and debuted in 1985.

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Glass and fellow composer Robert Moran collaborated in virtually equal measure on the composition of The Juniper Tree. A Glass scene is followed by a Moran scene, with transitions composed by each. The result is a fascinating hybrid, each composer holding on to his own identity while melding with the other.

The famous Grimm fairy tale tells of a Wicked Stepmother who murders her stepson and serves him up in a stew to his unsuspecting father. The boy’s sister buries her brother’s bones under a Juniper Tree, and the child’s spirit returns as a singing bird who wreaks vengeance on the evil Stepmother before being restored to life in the bosom of his family. One of the most tuneful operas in the Glass repertory.

Marvin Rosen is the host of WPRB’s “Classical Discoveries” series. Marvin’s outstanding contributions won him an ASCAP Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award in 2005. Marvin’s unique contributions to the broadcasting landscape have been written about by the San Francisco Classical Voice and Charleston City Paper recently.

For more information about this special program, please visit www.classicaldiscoveries.org.

In Praise of Woman: "Classical Discoveries" Celebrates Women's History Month!

Join host Marvin Rosen as Classical Discoveries (Wednesdays, 5:30 AM) and Classical Discoveries Goes Avant-Garde (Wednesdays, 11 AM) celebrate “Women’s History Month” this March with a new program each week!

Each regularly scheduled weekly program will be exclusively to music written by women composers from all over the world as well as from all musical periods. On March 18th, both programs will be devoted exclusively to the works of American women composers.

Classical Discoveries’ 6th Annual “In Praise of Women” begins Wednesday 3/4 at 5:30 AM ET.

This year for the first time, Marvin’s new 2-hour weekly program, Classical Discoveries Goes Avant-Garde will also devote itself to women composers. This program airs every Wednesday at 11 AM ET.

For more information about these special programs, please visit www.classicaldiscoveries.org.

End of Year Marathon Extravaganza!

Join WPRB 103.3 FM as we close out the year with a series of music marathons!

Jon Solomon’s 21st Annual 24-Hour Christmas Show kicks off our marathon season on December 24th, followed by Marvin Rosen’s “Viva 21st Century” marathon on December 26th; Maria T closes out 2008 with a 12-hour New Year’s Eve countdown of the top 103 releases heard on WPRB. Keep reading for full program details and additional information.

Last but certainly not least,don’t forget to stay tuned to WPRB throughout December as our on-air staff host their own “Best of 2008” programs and more! Have a wonderful holiday season! We look forward to sharing 2009 with you!

Wednesday, December 24th at 6:00 p.m.

Jon Solomon’s one man radio show runs from 6:00 p.m. ET Christmas Eve until 6:00 p.m. ET Christmas Day and has done so every year since 1988, back when he was fifteen years old. 2008 marks the 21st edition of Jon’s show – 24 hours full of rare, strange and confounding records that are all holiday-related. Over the past two decades this show has become a Delaware Valley tradition with a devoted following world-wide.

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Friday, December 26th at 6:00 a.m.

Join Marvin Rosen, the award-winning host of WPRB”s “Classical Discoveries,” for a second 24-hour marathon starting 6:00 a.m. ET on Friday, December 26th. The “Viva 21st Century” marathon will be devoted to new works composed during the last nine years and will represent composers from all over the world. To learn more about Marvin’s fantastic program, visit the Classical Discoveries website.

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Wednesday, December 31st at 12:00 p.m.

Closing out 2008 is Maria T, host of WPRB’s “Her Jazz” and Top Ten programs, with a 12-hour marathon counting down the top 103 new releases of the year. The “103 of 2008” marathon begins at 12:00 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve and runs until the stroke of midnight.

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Marvin Rosen's "Viva 21st Century" Marathon Returns on 12/26!

Join Marvin Rosen for his second annual 24-hour marathon, “Viva 21st Century,” starting 6:00 AM ET on Friday, December 26.

“Viva 21st Century” will be devoted to new works composed during the last 9 years and will represent composers from all over the world.

Marvin Rosen is the host of WPRB’s “Classical Discoveries” program. Marvin’s outstanding program won an ASCAP Deems Taylor Radio Broadcast Award in 2005.

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Jon Solomon's 24-Hour Holiday Radio Returns To WPRB On 12/24!

Mark your calendars, set the clocks: Jon Solomon’s 21st Annual 34-Hour Holiday Radio Show is almost here! The marathon begins on Wednesday, December 24 at 6:00 PM ET and ends Thursday, December 25 at 6:00 PM ET.

If the Pope can forgive John Lennon, then maybe 30 years from now they’ll forgive us for the following bold statement: it’s not Christmas without Jon’s annual holiday marathon. Seriously! From the absurd and bizarre to the beautiful and almost-kinda-holy, Jon’s show traverses the terrain of holiday music. No two marathons are alike, and perhaps that’s why listeners both near and far flock to the radio and/or webstream. So says the New York Times:

Mr. Solomon has been the host of “Jon Solomon’s Annual 24-Hour Holiday Radio Show” at WPRB-FM, the Princeton University station, since 1988, when he was 15. Besides “Kung Fu Christmas,” listeners who tune in from 6 p.m. on Dec. 24 to 6 p.m. on Dec. 25 are bound to hear everything from a version of “The 12 Days of Christmas” that makes sense only to fans of the 1980s-era Cleveland Browns to a car-horn-honk rendition of “Frosty the Snowman” to a funky, hard-to-find cut by Blondie and Fab Five Freddie called “Yuletide Throwdown.”

Between on-air bantering and chatting with callers, Mr. Solomon said he played roughly 360 songs — most of them new or freshly unearthed — during each year’s marathon; requests account for as many as a third of them.

Jon wants you to know that if you would like to submit music for airplay or make some requests, by all means get in touch.

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One Week From Tonight: Jennifer O'Connor Plays Covers For Pledges!

Do you know the person above these words? You should. Her name is Jennifer O’Connor and she is both a WPRB favorite and a top-notch Matador recording artist. Her new album is called “Here With Me.”

Jennifer will be making her third visit to WPRB one week from tonight – Wednesday, October 1st – to play live on-air during the 2008 WPRB Membership Drive as part of Jon Solomon’s five hour “opening ceremonies” show, which will air from 7:00 pm ET – 12:00 am ET.

Like last year, Jennifer would be happy to try and play a slew of covers/requests in exchange for listener pledges during this special program.

However, Jennifer needs some advance warning to try and learn these songs!

So…

If you pledge $103.30 at pledge.wprb.com, you’ll not only get a WPRB shirt and your choice of tote bag or hoodie, but you also can ask Jennifer to play a song for you. Make sure you contact Jon Solomon in advance about what you would like to hear.

Jennifer will be joined in studio by Oxford Collapse and Brown Recluse Sings, among others.

Additionally, anyone in the NJ/PA/NY area who makes a pledge of any denomination is eligible to win a 2008 Toyota Yaris (!!!!!), our big prize for supporting WPRB this year, courtesy of Free Yr Radio.

WPRB Presents the Silver Jews & Monotonix on 9/9

WPRB & R5 Productions are proud to present an evening with Drag City recording artists the Silver Jews (pictured) and Monotonix on Tuesday, September 9th at the First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut St.) in Philadelphia. Doors are at 8PM and the show’s all-ages.

Stay tuned to WPRB — you can win tickets to this show! Visit the WPRB table at the show to say hi and pick up free swag!

Um, what can we say about the Silver Jews (or its mastermind, DC Berman) that won’t make us sound like sycophantic fangeeks? Here goes: From 1990′s Dime Map of the Reef 7″ and onwards, Berman & co. have merged Americana and poetry into a constantly compelling package. (And oh, the Pavement connection never hurt, too.) The band is currently on tour in support of its sixth album, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea.

Israeli garage-punkers Monotonix open up this show and if you haven’t caught their live show yet, you’re missing out. It’s a sweaty mess of fun that hearkens back to the days of when stoner rock and maximum riffage were pretty edgy. I mean, look at that guy in the photo to the right — he’s drinking beer out of an smelly old Adidas and he’s not even a contestant on Fear Factor!

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WPRB presents Vivian Girls, CaUSE Co-MOTION!, Crystal Stilts, Home Blitz, FNU Ronnies on Sat 8/16!

WPRB and our friends at 3914 Spruce Street are proud to present quite possibly the best jangly, noisy show of the summer with the Vivian Girls, CaUSE Co-MOTION!, Crystal Stilts, Home Blitz, and FNU Ronnies on Saturday, August 16 at 3914 Spruce Street in Philadelphia.

This is an all-ages show, and we’re giving away tickets all next week on WPRB, so stay tuned! (But if you do, this show is a punk rock-friendly $5!)

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And what of these fine musical acts? Walk with me, lover.

According to one of our DJs, “Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls are the hot shit of the whole international pop underground revival at the moment. The band swiftly combines the Softies, Dolly Mixture and occasionally the Raincoats in a way that doesn’t feel like an overt tribute act.”

“These dudes have a vibe that is pretty much glasses/geeky,” one DJ says of CaUSE Co-MOTION!, “though I bet this is just a bashful cover up for ruling a lot.” At WPRB we are more than happy to let Causeco’s geek flag fly. Ever since stumbling upon this band back on 2005, all of their 7″ EPs have found a home on our airwaves. Their next EP is due out on the venerable Slumberland Records label, and we can’t wait.

Speaking of Slumberland, Crystal Stilts’ first full-length will make its society debut on the label as well. We just got one of their records in the station, and we’re digging its heavy Flying Nun vibe. Pitchfork has been all over this band lately, so check them out before….

Just what can we say about Home Blitz that won’t sound like a massive load of incestuous ass-kissing? HB’er Dan DiMaggio does host a mighty fine show here on WPRB, after all. But if it weren’t for the band’s “scuzz-tinged homilies“, we wouldn’t have been hooked in the first place. Anyway, we’ve got three words for Home Blitz: Pride of Princeton.

Philadelphia’s FNU Ronnies kick things off. So says the review on their Meat 7″, “Another blistery slab of punk rock from [this band]… Screechy, garbled vocals that touch on electronic tweaks. But unlike their noisier/destroyed contemporaries, these for the most part, are actual songs that are juuuuust structured enough for you to sink some teeth into. Eat it up.” Well said.