Show Number 9: Really?!

So show number nine was the show that broke the camels back, the show that finally proved that I, Shawn Taggart, was a good Disk Jockey.  I knew how to play the music right on the board, I knew how to cue up the commercials, and I still didn’t know how to answer the phone so the entire world could hear the people talk.  Yes, I know upsetting, but what can you do?  This weeks show was pretty straight forward, which is always a good thing, said happy holidays for those who celebrate that holiday, wished everyone a Happy Easter for those who wish that it was actually Sunday, and Easter sometimes would fall on the 20th of April.  But instead it was Monday this day of April 20, so no one could get what they wished for.

But, it wasn’t a sunny day.  It’s been awhile where I can say I’ve walked to my radio show in the morning heading towards the radio station, and saw actually saw the sun out.  It’s crazy that I could even think that would be possible.  Checking next weeks forecast though, I should be right.  I really should walk out to sun, so that better happen.  Show number ten, looks like I’ve reached a milestone next week.  Haven’t really decided on what exactly I’m going to do for the show yet.  Maybe something big, maybe I’ll open the request lines up finally (201-825-1234; WRPR903 on AOL Instant Messenger) – or just maybe I’ll just pick songs that I enjoy that everyone is going to have to deal with.  I’ve played close to 170 songs this semester through the nine shows, so hopefully by the last show I can reach up to 200.  That would be a goal that I think can easily be hit.

This show in particular I warned everyone about a flood watch, and for those who were listening, hopefully and I honestly do hope everything went planned, everyone was safe but then again I’m not so sure.  But it seems promising.  Oh, talked more about the NHL Playoffs, and gave the weather forecast.  But the most important thing was me continuing to play the music that I enjoy.  Music has such an impact on me.  This week the songs reflected my ever so shocking good mood, there weren’t really that many songs that could make a person depressed, so I know for once if I’m happy so is my music.

1. Pump it Up – Elvis Costello
2. There’s Never Enough Time – The Postal Service
3. Out of Reach – The Get Up Kids
4. Hello City – Barenaked Ladies
5. Honest Goodbye – Bad Religion
6. My Hero – Foo Fighters
7. Don’t Stay Home – 311
8. Hey Ya! – OutKast
9. Nothing Too Much, Just Out of Sight – The Firemen
10. When I’m Sixty-Four – The Beatles
11. Cat Like Thief – Boxcar Racer
12. Future Reflections – MGMT
13. The Harrowing Adventures of… – Tokyo Police Club
14. Nice Dream – Radiohead
15. Reintroduction – Ace Enders and a Million Different People
16. Caroline. London 1940 – Sleep Station
17. Bixby Canyon Bridge – Death Cab for Cutie
18. Song for the Myla Goldberg – The Decemberists
19. Devil’s Song – Anthony Green
20. Let Me Roll It – Paul McCartney & Wings
21. Claire – Jimmy Eat World

So 21 songs, played a few bands that I normally do play, some that I have not, songs that you recognize the singer but didn’t know he was in that band.  But show 10 is next week, such a big show I got planned (or not).  See you next week.

- Shawn

Show number 8: Let’s do the Time Warp Agaaain!

So show number 8, right after easter.  Hope everyone enjoyed theirs, cause I did.  All the ham, sweet patatoes that tasted like apple pie, broccoli, salad and you can’t forget the rolls and bread pudding.  Throw that ontop of the lemon cake made famous at Olive Garden, brownies and sugar cookies, and what do you get?  A overly stuffed Shawn.

But enough of that, music was on tap this week, and music I played.  I started off very different than what everyone is use too.  I played Hip-Hop.  But just not any Hip-Hop, rap whatever you call it I played some old school Rap.  Yes, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Biz Markie, and Run-D.M.C. came onto the airwaves of the radio show for the first time ever.  Go figure, I bet no one even expected it.  I know it was a shock for many viewers who were listening in, and heard Will Smith spit the rhyme “Some DJ’s are (good)/Some DJ’s are (fresh)/Some DJ’s are even (def)/But here’s a little somethin’ about my DJ (the magnificent) Jazzy Jeff”.  Yes, no one really expected it, and some were excited.  IMs of “Really?” And “OMG! I <space> LOVE <space> YOU!”  Were across my AOL Instant Messenger messaging list.  And yes, I really played rap.  Deal with it.  Rap you have to listen to because sometimes its just that good sometimes you just need to have a good beat going on in the background.  So I did just that.

Oh, by the way the NHL playoffs start wednesday.  Get excited, and I gave my sure fire predictions.  The predictions that are going to shock the world because that’s how true they are.  And I predict two upsets, The Blues will defeat the Canucks in six, and the Rangers will defeat the Capitals in six as well.  For the Rangers series it all depends on how they handle Alexander Ovechkin, who as I said could have his playoffs coming out party this post season, after getting it cut short by the Philadelphia Flyers the season before.

Then baseball came into the picture.  Opening day was last week, and I talked about the failures of the Yankees, but also the good things that I saw from the Yankees as well.  We’ll see, I mean Cody Ransom can escape death without a scratch but can’t hit a baseball (Damn you Cody and you’re .050 batting average through six games!)  But it’s still early and the Yankees 3-3 start, is a lot better than last season.  So time will tell where this ends up.  One thing I do know, Captain Derek and his .231 batting average will go up.  And Sabathia’s 4.50 ERA will go down.

By the way I did play music, and it was swell.  21 musical selections in all ranging from some old funky fresh Rap to some Rock and Roll songs with guitar solo’s involved (figures the only song on the album with a guitar solo wasn’t done with the lead singer/songwriter/guitarist doing all that work).  But I digress, and share my musical breakdown with you.

1. The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff – DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
2. Just a Friend – Biz Markie
3. It’s Tricky – Run-D.M.C.
4. Idlewild Blue (Don’tchu’ Worry ‘Bout me) – OutKast
5. Goodnight, Travel Well – The Killers
6. San Ferry Anne – Paul McCartney and Wings
7. Cease – Bad Religion
8. Welcome to the Working Week – No Fun at All
9. Wave of Mutilation – Pixies
10. Lucky Denver Mint – Jimmy Eat World
11. Who Needs Sleep? – Barenaked Ladies
12. The Youth – MGMT
13. Take Time and Find – The Early November
14. Send Packing – All-Time Quarterback
15. The Passenger – Bad Astronaut
16. 1000 Hours – Green Day
17. Getaway – Maxeen
18. If Only – Goldfinger
19. I Knew – Slick Shoes
20. Stunt Double – No Use for a Name
21. Automatic – Weezer

So that was my week in music.  Tune in next week and find out if I will go back in time on the web stream and the first hour will happen all over again!  Because I was just doing the Time Warp.  So let’s do the time warp again!  Shall we?

Until next week, where time doesn’t mean nothing to me.  All time is to me is an excuse to slow myself down.

- Shawn

Show number seven: NWS says hi.

Show number seven, was probably my strongest one yet.  Everything flowed perfectly, and everything went real well.  Music was great, as I was picking the songs I wanted to hear as the show progressed, not that I say that’s the right thing to do everytime, but it worked out great for me, and I can sit back and talk about it to everyone who cares to listen.  Now, in other news, the National Weather Service had a special announcment around the end of the first hour of the show about Nautical conditions being bad, and for everyone to be careful with it.  But after that the show ran and went smoothly.  Music was great, I don’t know if the show had a theme, but the music I picked had a somewhat somber tone than what I am usually use to playing, but it didn’t mind me.  I just picked the best songs that I could.

I also brought up the Men’s National Championship game in the sport of Basketball between North Carolina and Michigan State.  The game should be a good close match up but in the end I see UNC pulling it out, and having Lawson and Hansbrough leave UNC with a National Championship in hand.  I remember hearing on ESPN during the weekend, its not every day you see many seniors play in the college level, because by the time they’re ready to be Sophmore’s their already going into the NBA.  Every year its hard to follow, because you normally don’t see that same standout player, because he’s too busy worrying about his draft position in the NBA draft, instead of working on his studies.  So I commend people like Hansbrough and Lawson for doing the right thing, getting their degree, and finishing school.

I also talked about how superior hockey is to the sport of basketball, because hockey is more about skill than anything else, anyone can pass and shoot a basketball, but when it comes to hockey, not only do you have to pass and shoot a puck, there has to be a way to get to that point, from point A to point B, without losing it.  So honestly, hockey does have more skill, but Basketball is just as fun of a sport to watch and play than you would think.

Oh and opening day started with one game yesterday with the Phillies losing to the Braves 4 to 1, rest of the games start today.

As for my music.

1. Pay No Mind – The Special Goodness
2. The Course of Human Life – The Early November
3. Put it There – Paul McCartney
4. New Empire Blues – The (International) Noise Conspiracy
5. Fox – Millencolin
6. Coney Island – Death Cab for Cutie
7. Crazy – Barenaked Ladies
8. Your Feeble Mind – No Fun at All
9. Somewhere a Clock is Ticking – Snow Patrol
10. Confessions of a Futon-Revolutionist – The Weakerthans
11. Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right – The Decemberists
12. For No One – The Beatles
13. Red Letter Day – The Get up Kids
14. Archer v. Light – Chris Walla
15. Clark Gable – The Postal Service
16. Chalk Line – Strike Anywhere
17. The Purification of Water – Rivers Cuomo
18. The World has Turned and Left me Here – Weezer
19. Your English is Good – Tokyo Police Club
20. Summerbaby – Polaris

Well there you have it, everyone have a safe and happy Easter, and I will see you all next Monday.

Show 6: Thanks iTunes.

Show number six.  So fun, it lasted all but the last minute and thirty-two seconds of the Special Goodness song “Pay no Mind” off their 2003 album Land, Air, Sea.  Yes, iTunes decided today to play the part of the party pooper, and freeze up and thus close during the nice dramatic guitar solo during this song.  After a quick delay which concluded with me explaining myself, “Blue Carolina” by Alkaline Trio started up, and that few minutes of uh what ended.

I promised next week I would play the full version of “Pay no Mind” and I do intend to keep that promise.  I once again also plugged this place, the blog where I post about the show, and share with everyone what I played during the week, and you know with the way things are going, the economy being as low at it is, and people not trusting investors, people need me.  People need me to cheer them up, make them laugh a little bit and make them wonder as well.  I have that affect on people, make their eyes widen, ears more eager to listen, and their mouths moist, licking their lips engrossed in thought.

But that usally lasts for more then five seconds, and I normally do something better than that.  I play music.

See, the reason I’m not so eager to take requests (ie – Fall Out Boy, Metallica, etc.) is not because I don’t like you people I do.  I like everyone so much, that I want to express my gratitude by playing the music I like.  No I know, you’ve seen my iTunes playlist, and yes it has Fall Out Boy, well sorry.  But you do also know, I have another group of musical artists, that you might like better so I play them instead.  But, maybe I should start caving in and ask for requests maybe that’ll get more listeners.  Maybe that’s what I need.  Fine I’ll do that, I’ll start opening up for requests.  But they have to be real.

No crazy stuff, that I will probably cut off within the old ‘10 second’ rule that I learned recently.  You can tell if the song is going to be good or not.  I like to say I learned that from someone who’s smart, and they are in their own right, but not really overall.  Short tempered, and mainly a big jerk.  But, everyone has their moments.

I was orignally planning the all out Brand New theme, since their coming to Ramapo this Friday, but I didn’t care to do that, I wanted variety I wanted something different, so I did.  So I just went with my normal set up by playing some rocking music.  And I had fun doing so like I normally do every week.

And for those who were listening, and didn’t like me talking about what I read on CNN about the 5 year old girl getting beheadded by her 23 year old brother.  Well, I am sorry.  I just saw it on CNN, and I was disgusted.  I had to share the news.  WHO’S GOING TO WRITE THE NEWS, or tell the news if there is no news to begin with?  So I shared.  I heard through the grapevine that some people were upset with it, maybe the wording was wrong.  It was only a video, about the story, and I said if they wanted to see this, go do it on their own time.  But I’ll think better next time.

Also, we talked about how my picks for the final four were ruined thanks to Villanova and Michigan State.  I should of never went against Tom ‘H to the’ Izzo, such a solid coach.  Also, played my favorite television show theme song ever, well what else did I play, let the list begin!!!!1!111!111!1!

1. For Your Lungs Only – Alkaline Trio
2. Down – 311
3. Hey, Johnny Park! – Foo Fighters
4. Sweet Caroline – Me First and the Gimme Gimmes [Neil Diamond cover.]
5. Your Mother Should Know – The Beatles
6. Birdhouse in Your Soul – They Might be Giants
7. On Letting Go -  Circa Survive
8. Bright Lights, Big City – Madclap
9. Alec Eiffel – The Pixies
10. What Would I Say to You Now – Jimmy Eat World
11. Polar Opposites – Modest Mouse [Request sent in by Diana, thanks!]
12. Pig – Weezer
13. Apology Song – The Decemberists
14. Debate Expresses Doubt – Death Cab for Cutie
15. Myself – Big D & the Kids Table
16. Mary Without Sound – Motion City Soundtrack
17. Can’t Run Away – Ace Enders and a Million Different People
18. Hey Sandy – Polaris [The Adventures of Pete and Pete theme song.]
19. This Place is a Prison – The Postal Service
20. Brat – Green Day
21. Just Like Heaven – Goldfinger [The Cure cover.]
22. Juno – Tokyo Police Club
23. Nervous Breakdown – Nerf Herder
23.5. Pay no Mind – The Special Goodness [Song cut out halfway through -- silly iTunes.]

So there you have it a good amount of music, theme songs, covers, and a song that decided it had enough.  What’s in store for next week?  Well the entire song by The Special Goodness of course, and well more music.  As I decide what songs are good enough, it’s alright for me to say, send in your requests, as I feel confident you the listener, will want something rocking.

Until next week.

- Shawn

Show number 5: Break free.

So I expect people to wonder why the post about my show is so much later than usual.

I don’t know why.  I got a little lazy, plus you know I started classes again.  I was on break, it was hard to start back up again.  But you know, there’s only six more weeks to the semester and I probably have four to five shows left for the semester, so we’re going to make the final ones count am I right?

Spring break happened last week for those who forgot, when I mentioned it like twenty times throughout the show, talking about spring break and all that fun stuff.  But you know what I did, I worked and hung out with friends who I haven’t seen in awhile.  It’s always a magical time reuniting with old friends that you haven’t seen in awhile.  Makes them feel bad for you know, not making the effort to come and see you.  But, I digress.  No need to complain about that.

My twenty first birthday will be two weeks from March 31.  Am I excited?  Sure I am.  Should I be, yeah I should.  Deal with it.  You get older, and its always a good time when family and new soon to be family gathers together to celebrate the day you were born, with a big cake, and a reception for it.  Yes, my birthday will be on my cousin’s wedding.  I’m happy for him.  He’s deserving of the day.  My birthday was suppose to be on Flag Day anyway, but I decided I couldn’t take it anymore, and popped out.  What a mircle that was.

Anyway, today’s show consisted of me talking about spring break, and also talking about sports.  Hockey and March Madness is all anyone needs to talk about right now as both are pretty relevant.  They are taking time out of people’s days.  You know Thursday and Friday, people cannot watch their day time shows on CBS, because college students are too busy trying to get their draft ranking higher.  Or, you know win something for their college.  I pick North Carolina, only if Ty Lawson stays healthy.  That’s pretty much all I’m going to talk about that.

The New York Rangers.  So good.  6-3 since the hiring of John Tortarella, but mainly 6-3 since the return of Sean Avery.  Who cares that they have a new coach.  It’s all about Sean Avery right now.  Speed, energy, passion.  That’s what the Rangers need, and they have that with him.  You watch him skate, watch him fight for pucks, this is the thing the Rangers lacked.  They needed that girt.  So I’m glad he’s back on the team, cause I missed him.

As for music, 22 songs.  Played from 9AM, last song finished at 11AM. So it was action packed with music.  What did I play since you missed the show?  Aw, how kind of you to ask.

1. Sweeter Light – Ace Enders and a Million Different People
2. Mr. Coffee – Lagwagon
3. American Gigolo – Weezer
4. The Rake’s Song – The Decemberists
5. Citizens of Tomorrow – Tokyo Police Club
6. Girls – Beastie Boys
7. Cashmere – Nerf Herder
8. White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes
9. G.L.D. – Big D & the Kids Table
10. Westfall – Okkervil River
11. Paper Face – Rivers Cuomo
12. Wrapped around Your Finger – Brazil [The Police cover]
13. T.V. – Blink-182
14. We Care – MGMT
15. Off the Hook – Barenaked Ladies
16. Califone – Anthony Green
17. Machine 15 – Millencolin
18. Tournament of Hearts – The Weakerthans
19. Don’t Call it a Comeback – Motion City Soundtrack
20. They Look Like Strong Hands – Bayside
21. Party In a Forest (Where’s Laura?) – The Wombats
22. Lightness – Death Cab for Cutie

So there you have it a lot of music on an enjoyable show.  Until next week, it’s been fun.

- Shawn

Reminder.

Spring break is over.

BOOOO.

Time to go back to school, time to learn again.  Time to you know actually buckle down and get down and do business.

It’s what I do best, its also known as show number 5.

9-11 AM 90.3FM WRPR Ramapo Radio Mahwah, NJ.

http://phobos.ramapo.edu/wrpr

Show Number 4: Hey Ladies

So Hot.

Hey, so after a week off, and me being a half hour late due to lack of an alarm clock issues the show was rocking.  The iPod cable that I normally plug my Macbook was under the weather and broken, so I had to use the record players sound, hopefully for those who were listening it didn’t sound terrible it sounded funky fresh and smooth.  I started the show off this week with some MGMT, and ended it with Beastie Boys.  For some reason those two bands I’ve constantly been listening to a lot.  Recently completed the discography collection of the Beastie Boys over the weekend, and MGMT I need a couple more of their releases, which I should get soon enough.  But, something about the Beastie Boys  I like a lot.  Their mix of rock with rap, or the sounds of their ever so lovely voices.

Also this week, I covered the NHL trade deadline, talked about the Rangers moves that they made by getting Sean Avery through re-entry waivers, Derek Morris for Petr Prucha, Dimitri Kalinin, and Nigel Dawes, and Nik Antropov for a third round draft pick, and a conditional pick which is starting at the fourth round, but can improve depending on the Rangers success in the playoffs.  Which could be something interesting if they continue the way they’re playing hockey right now.  The deadline saw Mark Recchi and Bill Gueirn switch teams, which they are somewhat accustomed to during this time of year, to help teams have that leadership that is needed to do well during the NHL’s “Second Season” known as the playoffs.  Where players grow beards, some awesome.. Some downright awful.

So for the music  played, since I was a half hour late, not all the songs in my playlist that I had could of been played, it was trimmed down to 16, which is still a good number of songs to play. So  here’s the listing.

1. Electric Feel – MGMT
2. Surf Wax America – Weezer
3. No Control – Bad Religion
4. I Know the Sum and Substance of my Evil – I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody’s Business
5. The Bends – Radiohead
6. Scream and Run – Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer
7. Superman – Goldfinger
8. Casanova, Baby! – The Gaslight Anthem
9. A Record Year for Rainfall – The Decemberists
10. The Girl Next Door – Blink-182
11. Ghostwrite – Bad Astronaut
12. Shorty – The Get Up Kids
13. A Sunday – Jimmy Eat World
14. Intensity in Ten Cities – Chiodos
15. Long Division – Death Cab for Cutie
16. Hey Ladies – Beastie Boys

And remember men, to be a real man, listen to these 75 albums.  I have two of them.

No Show

Oh, well this is about three hours late to tell you all.

Show’s Canceled due to the snowy weather.

Blame everyone who wanted it to snow.

And then punch them for me.. because they are nothing but jerks.

See you next Monday, unless people want a Monsoon or something.

- Shawn

It’s Snowing Outside…

And due to that, if the school is closed, the show is canceled.

Boo me all you want, blame the weather not me.

Alright, thanks for reading this short message.

- Shawn

RIP Tom Renney, New York Rangers coach. 2004 – 2009.

February 25, 2004 – February 23, 2009

Well, I couldn’t say I didn’t see this coming, because I did.  Tom Renney, fired as New York Rangers coach after dropping their game against Toronto last night 3 – 2 in overtime.  But this was something that was a long time coming, dropping ten games in a twelve didn’t help him.  Losing against teams like St. Louis, Dallas, Florida, Toronto.. the list goes on and on.  These are games that you shouldn’t lose too nor just gain a point out of.  A full two points ahead of ninth place Carolina, is now the shock of a lifetime, to put the stop, and take out a coach that well I mean has done his best.

You have Wade Redden, Marcus Naslund, and Michal Rozival eating up precious salary cap space that could be used towards getting some names in the trading deadline to shake things up a bit.  You have two top centers in Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, who looks like they’ll never find strong enough line mates to carry them.  Wade Redden gets booed every time he touches the puck in Madison Square Garden, and Ranger fans are chanting “Fire Renney”?  Come on, at this point people should be asking for Glen Sather to get the ax, because this is getting a bit old.

Glen Sather thinks by buying players it equals to winning the Stanley Cup.  They have no true veteran leader, you cannot count Naslund or Redden because they haven’t been to a total of one Stanley Cup final between them (Redden in 2006 with Ottawa), and you don’t even bother trying to talk to Brendan Shanahan who stated that he wanted to stay with the Rangers, because Sather felt that he was getting too old, or not really worth the money he was asking for.  Jaomir Jagr gets thrown out of town and in Russia, well not only because he wanted too, but once again a player who wanted to stay with the Rangers, was instead told that he’s not worth the money.  But yet, players like Wade Redden, Michal Rozival and Marcus Naslund are?

Sure Naslund leads the team in goals with 18, but this isn’t 2003, when he was an elite player.  Jagr was still playing at an elite level, Shanahan was still that strong veteran leader who has been to the big dance a few times, same with Jagr.  In the end greed over powers everything else in the sports world.  Something that was working, was not the fix that Sather thought would be the proper at this said time.

It’s sad to see Tom Renney go, but Rangers fans seriously he was the problem?  Get your facts straight at look at our General Manager Glen Sather, who now all of a sudden changed his mind about then “immature, and a nuisance to the team” Sean Avery.  You should’ve kept him to begin with Glen.

But whoever the next coach may be (ex Tampa coach John Tortarella is rumored to be taking the spot) will have an interesting time trying to coach the players that Glen Sather picked out of a hat at the right time.

Drury while a good player was not worth the money he’s making (sorry Chris), and neither was Gomez, though both good players, are under that same spell “I got overpaid by Glen Sather.”

But, we will see what happens, all I know is that right now as of this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rangers did not make the playoffs.