underneath the radar: week nine

Well, Summer of SYN is ending so the station can draw a heavy sigh of relief. But don't breathe too soon because "SYN is the Word" is about to be pumped down the airwaves for the next 12 weeks. Ignore the fact that SYN is not really a word but an acronym for the Student Youth Network. Regardless, it's sure to be great. Do be tuned to 90.7FM

This week's show was really sweet. The theme was the incredibly self indulgent radarlove mixed tape of love and radar. I brought it upon myself to play uncharacteristically romantic tracks - note the departure from gloom (ie Morrissey) and sex (ie The Faint). Despite this I made no promises about the radio-friendliness of these songs. So good. Love radio.

Songs from the Front Row featured Freddie Mercury encouraging the masses to sing Love of My Life with Brian May on an acoustic twelve string. That's with Queen by the way. This provided something of a contrast to the Postal Service's efforts to create something of a live atmosphere on their KCRW studio session. Karaoke? Yeah. I think so.

Cover-ups featured Merril Bainbridge's sublime cover of Being Boring, originally penned by the Pet Shop Boys for their album, Behaviour. Other tracks included Wilco's live interpretation of Blue Oyster Cult's Don't Fear the Reaper, Cat Power trying out Wonderwall and Sub Pop's star act Low, in fact Dreaming Last Night That Somebody Loved Them. I am so tacky aren't I?

Fallen Figures featured the rise of INXS and the fall of Michael Hutchence.

PLUS! An unutterably bizarre collaboration leaked from the Radar Vaults - Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury. Many have disputed this track actually exists but guess what, Radar has it. And Radar played it. HA.

Playlist for Feb 14th
The Music - Breakin'
Prosaics - Teeth
Maximo Park - Apply Some Pressure
Queen - Love of My Life (live - 1979)
Postal Service - Clark Gable ("live")
Erasure - My Heart, So Blue (orchestral mix)
Badly Drawn Boy - Logic of a Friend
Coldplay - Trouble
Bloc Party - Pioneers
Merril Bainbridge - Being Boring
Wilco - Don't Fear the Reaper (live)
Cat Power - Wonderwall
Low - Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved me
Frou Frou - Close Up
Moving Units - Unpersuaded
Franz Ferdinand - 40 Ft
INXS - By My Side
Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays
The Cure - A Letter to Elise
Freddie Mercury & Michael Jackson - There Must Be More to Life Than This
The Decemberists - Shiny
Depeche Mode - Policy of Truth
Broken Social Scene - Cause=Time