The debut episode of "Music It's Powerful Stuff," hosted by Mike Park, aired on 92.9 FM KPCR Pirate Cat Radio, with online streaming also available (though the website was experiencing issues). Mike, still getting the hang of the board, expressed his excitement for the show, which will run every Wednesday from 8 to 10 PM Pacific time. He also encouraged listeners to share the show and call in.
Setlist & Discussion Points
- The Police - "Fallout"
- Elvis Costello - "The Imposter" (from the album "Get Happy")
- Mike introduced himself and the show, noting the internet listening options via Alexa, Google, or the TuneIn app.
- X-Ray Spex - Oh Bondage Up Yours!
- Mike shared his love for X-Ray Spex since high school, appreciating their use of saxophone in a punk band. He also noted the similarity between Poly Styrene's vocals and Kathleen Hanna's (Bikini Kill).
- Bikini Kill - "Rebel Girl"
- Played to compare the vocal styles as discussed.
- Seven Seconds - "Young Till I Die"
- Mike expressed his strong admiration for Seven Seconds, sharing a personal anecdote about spray-painting their stencil everywhere in high school. He also spoke about touring with them in 1995 with his band Skankin' Pickle and his positive experience becoming friends with Kevin, the band's frontman, emphasizing that "meeting your heroes" can be a great experience when they are genuinely good people.
- Joe Jackson - "Hometown" (live track)
- Mike discussed Joe Jackson's role in producing the first two Toasters albums, "Ska Boom" (1988) and "Thrill Me Up." He recalled the excitement as a teenager learning about mainstream artists intertwined with the ska scene and his conversations with "Bucket" from The Toasters about working with Joe Jackson. He also briefly mentioned a possible alias Joe Jackson used for a production (possibly for "New York Fever").
- The Selector - "On My Radio"
- Mike recently saw The Selector play and sadly noted the passing of Gaps, their other vocalist, two days after the show, where he was absent due to illness.
- Stiff Little Fingers -
- Mike praised Stiff Little Fingers after seeing them live for the first time at Punk Rock Bowling, highlighting the vocalist's "flawless" and "amazing" voice.
- The Queers - "Daydreaming" (from "Love Songs for the Retarded")
- Mike shared an interesting fact about the album being recorded in 24 hours at Sonic Iguana in Lafayette, Indiana, by Mass Giorgini. He praised the album as a classic and mentioned his love for "Ramones-core pop-punk bands."
- Mike also floated the idea of doing an entire episode dedicated to Lookout! Records, which was well-received by someone in the studio.
