Radio Helsinki Listener! My name is Henry Rollins and I was given the great opportunity to put together some shows for Radio Helsinki.
Months ago, the station contacted me and asked if I would be interested in putting together twelve shows to run weekly over the summer. I said yes and got to work on the first show immediately.
If all goes according to plan, we will be together for twelve shows! The dates are as follows:
01. June 07 2017
02. June 14 2017
03. June 21 2017
04. June 28 2017
05. July 05 2017
06. July 12 2017
07. July 19 2017
08. July 26 2017
09. August 02 2017
10. August 09 2017
11. August 16 2017
12. August 23 2017
With this many shows, there were a lot of different ways to go. I listen to a lot of music from Finland. You should hear me on my radio show on KCRW 89.9 FM in California as I try to pronounce Kemialliset Ystävät or Tomutonttu. Actually, it’s probably better that you didn’t. At least I have the records. I figured I would stay away from Finnish music as you would probably be familiar with it and it would be too frustrating to fail at pronouncing Finnish words to a Finnish audience. Believe it or not, bands from Finland make up a large part of my listening. I would like to hear more of their work and learn more about them.
I also decided that perhaps it was best to stay away from too much Drone, Noise, Musique Concrète and other Avant forms of music. These genres make up a large part of my listening as well. It’s one thing to listen to some of these records in your room but on the radio, in context with other music, I don’t know if it works as well. I am in no way trying to imply that you don’t have the ability to appreciate all kinds of music. I am sure there is nothing you can’t handle, it’s just that just because a piece of music is good, it doesn’t mean it’s right for a certain kind of radio show.
Since there is time for about ninety some minutes of music per show, my goal was to make a really good C-90 mix tape. For the most part, I wanted to keep the sonic landscape changing frequently try to match the music to the temperature and light cycle you will be experiencing in the weeks to come. From what I was able to gather, your high temperatures will be in the low 20’s Celsius and since the show goes on at 1900 hrs., then it will be daylight. Believe it or not, I actually put together these shows with that in mind.
I know that might sound strange and it probably is but I associate certain bands/albums/songs with different times of the year. To me, there is cold weather listening, warm, hot, etc. There are records I will not play in the day time. Maybe a song or two but not the entire album. Here are some examples of what I mean. Will we listen to David Bowie? Of course! Just not anything from Station To Station, Low, or Heroes. To me, those are not warm weather Bowie albums. Will we listen to music by The Damned? We better! Just not anything from the Black Album. If we were together in October, we might listen to the entire album. These associations are exactly that. It’s in my head, basically. I think it comes from all the years I have been on the road and dragging tapes all over the place with me for months at a time.
Hopefully, you will dig the show enough to check it out all the way through and maybe even listen to it again.
I have had a radio show in America for well over a decade. I sometimes do guest “residencies” if you will, on stations all over the world, kind of like what I’m doing with Radio Helsinki. I occasionally substitute for The Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of Rock and Roll, that would be Iggy Pop, on his BBC Radio 6 show. Getting music out to people is one of the best things I have ever been able to do. One of my main aims is to of course, make a really good show but more than that, to perhaps make you curious to where you go search out more information on some of these bands and actually get the records, thus helping to keep the band moving forward. In my opinion, great bands and music is ours to lose when we don’t show our support.
You might think I’m a maniac, (which is most likely the case) but I try to buy one to three records a day and try to listen to five minimum. I actually keep lists of what I listen to and in what order. You want to see one? No problem! Here’s from April of this year.
01. Steve Hauschildt - Tragedy & Geometry LP
01. Damaged Bug - Bunker Funk – (Glow In The Dark 200 pressed) LP
01. The Stooges – The Stooges (2LP re-issue) LP
01. David Bowie - Golden Years / Can You Hear Me (Australia / New Zealand) 7”
01. Razar – Stamp Out Disco (yellow label 1st pressing) 7”
02. Chain & the Gang – The Best of Crime Rock (test pressing) LP
02. The Make Up - Destination: Love; Live! At Cold Rice (1st pressing) LP
02. Makers of the Dead Travel Fast - Zoom Man LP
02. Air Miami – Fuck You Tiger EP (test pressing) 7”
02. Rat Columns - Stay (lathe 60 made) 7”
02. Crystal Fairy – Necklace of Divorce (red w/ black splatter) 7”
02. David Bowie – Heroes (stereo/mono) 7”
02. The Reatards – Get Out of Our Way 7”
02. Avarus - Luonnon Ilmiöitä 7”
03. Crisis - Kollectiv (gray vinyl) LP
03. Rat Columns - Fooling Around EP 12”
03. Rat Columns – Leaf LP
03. The Stooges – Metallic K.O. (Skydog 2nd pressing) LP
03. Ulaan Passerine – Light in Dust 10”
03. Yes I’m Leaving (black vinyl) LP
04. Rat Columns – Sceptre Hole LP
04. Outer Space - Phantom Center 12”
04. Makers of the Dead Travel Fast - Tael of a Saeghors / The Dumb Waiter 7”
04. Scattered Order - Screaming Tree 7”
04. Step Panther – Strange But Nice LP
05. Weird War - If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Bite ‘Em LP
05. Iggy Pop – TV Eye 1977 Live (UK) LP
05. Ty Segall - Ty Segall High in Paradiso LP
05. The Ruts - Shine On Me (Paris Theater) (green 99 pressed) LP
05. Joy Division – How Many Echos Are There . . . LP
05. Richard Teitlebaum w/ Anthony Braxton - Time Zones LP
05. Guam River – New Maps of Hell LP
06. Joy Division - Morituri Tu Salutant – Victory (black vinyl) LP
06. The Stooges - A Thousand Lights LP
06. Dinosaur Jr – Chocomel Daze LP
06. The Fall - In: Palace of Swords Reversed (test pressing) LP
06. Suzuki Junzo - Shark-Infested Custard LP
06. Pow! – Hi-Tech Boom (colored vinyl) LP
06. Les Rallizes Denudes - France Demo Tapes LP
06. Demons – Frozen Fog LP
07. Gun Club – Miami (test pressing) LP
07. Unrest - Imperial f.f.r.r. (first press) LP
07. Birthday Party – Mutiny EP (Powderworks pressing) 12”
07. Damaged Bug - Bunker Funk - (Pastille Pointillist - 500 pressed) LP
08. The Damned – Machine Gun Etiquette (France) LP
08. Direct Current - Live Qbico Unite XIII LP
08. Cellular Chaos - Diamond Teeth Clenched (purple vinyl) LP
08. Electric Wizard – Electric Wizard (green vinyl 1000 pressed) LP
08. Cold Meat – Jimmy’s Lipstick (pink vinyl) 7”
08. Bent - Skeleton Man 7”
09. Chicos de Nazca - Fire Ride (transparent orange vinyl) LP
09. Can’t – Can’t LP
09. No - Once We Were Scum Now We Are God LP
09. Grouper / Roy Montgomery split LP
09. Grouper – Hold / Sick 7”
10. Kikagaku Moyo – House in the Tall Grass (white splatter 100 pressed) LP
10. J Mascis & the Fog - Free So Free - (test pressing) LP
10. Gun Club - Pastoral Hide and Seek – (Play It Again Sam / Solid test pressing) LP
10. Suicide – Suicide (Holland) LP
10. Pumice – Quo LP
10. The Ruts - Shine On Me (Paris Theater) (red 96 pressed) LP
11. These Immortal Souls - Marry Me 12” – SST (test pressing)
11. Public Image – Memories / Another 12”
11. Birth Refusal / Cassis Cornuta single sided LP
11. Black Pus – Pus Mortem (fluorescent yellow 200 pressed) LP
12. Charles Moothart – CFM (purple red vinyl) LP
12. The Cramps – CBGB’s (TMOC version) LP
12. Birthday Party – Complete Peel Sessions LP
12. The Fall – Totale’s Turns LP
13. Feedtime – Gas LP
13. Vert:x/Dead Sea Apes/Blown Out/Earthling Society – Magnetic North (orange vinyl) LP
13. Pure Hell – The 1975 Acetate (gold vinyl) 7”
13. Dinosaur Jr. - Bug (test pressing) LP
13. Stooges – Soundtrack for Gimme Danger LP
13. The Make Up – Untouchable Sound LP
13. Joy Division - Walk Away . . . In Silence (black cover/white labels) LP
13. Amazing Births - Younger Moon LP
13. Wolf Eyes – Undertow LP
14. The Damned – Machine Gun Etiquette (Greece) LP
14. The Damned – Damned Damned Damned (New Zealand first pressing) LP
14. The Damned – Music for Pleasure (New Zealand white label promo) LP
14. The Darling Downs – From One to Another LP
14. Föllakzoid – III (clear yellow vinyl) LP
15. Slug Guts - Stranglin’ You Too 7”
15. Rangoons – CBT Asylum 7”
15. Orb – Birth (toxic pool edition) LP
15. David Bowie – Boys Keep Swinging / Fantastic Voyage (France) 7”
15. Alan Vega – Juke Box Babe / Lonely (France) 7”
16. The Ran Dells – Martian Hop (red label A label promo London Rec. UK) 7”
16. Ty Segall - split w/ Loch Lomond – Gotta Get Up / Me & My Arrow 7”
16. Sonic’s Rendezvous Band – City Slang / Electrophonic Tonic 7”
16. Brian James – Walkin’ Round Naked / Born To Kill 7”
16. Sweet Knives - Burnt Sienna Blues / I Don’t Wanna See (color vinyl) 7”
16. Sweet Knives - Sound on Sound / Strange Animals (color vinyl) 7”
16. Lurkers - I Don’t Need to Tell Her / Pills - (label misprint w/ Tubeway Army label) 7”
16. The Rezillos - Good Sculptures / Flying Saucer Attack (Belgium test press) 7”
16. Iggy Pop - Fire Engine / Warrior Tribe (orange vinyl) 7”
16. Ty Segall / Thee Oh Sees - The Drag / Maria Stacks (20116 re-issue) 7”
16. Henri Salvador - EP w/ Martian Hop 7”
16. Melt-Banana / Napalm Death – single on Ipecac 7”
17. Generation X – Ready Steady / No No No (black outline on lettering version) 7”
17. Thee Oh Sees – In the Shadow of the Giant + 7”
17. Meatbodies/ The Blind Shake – Wet Bridge Records (2 copies)
17. Lower Plenty – Strange Beast 7”
17. Ex-Cult - Mister Fantasy / Through the Blinds (black vinyl) 7”
17. White Fence / Jack Name – LAMC #12 (black vinyl) 7”
17. Mikal Cronin / Wand – LAMC #11 (milky clear w/ blue and green splatter vinyl) 7”
17. Alex Cameron – Jumping the Shark cassette
18. VUM - Laura Palmer / Are You Animal? (test press) 7”
18. Unrest – Bavarian Mods (clear vinyl) 7”
18. Trouble Funk - E-Flat Boogie – Moneytown Records (one-sided white label promo)
18. Arcade Funk – Search and Destroy 7”
18. Trouble Funk – Spin Time / Share Your Love (blue label) 7”
18. Ty Segall - split w/ Chad & Meatbodies LAMC #07 (bronze & beer haze vinyl) 7”
18. Sic Kidz - Rhythm Gurl 7”
18. Sir Alick and the Phraser - In Search Of The Perfect Baby / Nursery Chymes 7”
18. TV Smith - Dangerous Playground / The Rock ‘N’ Roll (electric vers.) 7”
18. The Tea Set - Keep On Running / Flaccid Pot 7”
18. Terror Visions - Blood In America 7”
18. Tex and the Horseheads – Big House / Cloudia 7”
18. Tex and the Horseheads – 1982 (?) demo CDR
18. Tokyo Electron - Will Put a Charge in You (black vinyl) 7”
18. Tokyo Electron - She Keeps Me Shut (green cover) 7”
18. The Fall – Victoria / Tuff Life Boogie
18. The Ruts – Jah War / I Ain’t Sofisticated (Australia) 7”
18. The Ruts – Staring at the Rude Boys / Love in Vain (Australia) 7”
18. The Ruts – Something That I Said / Give Youth A Chance (Australia) 7”
18. The UK Subs – Stranglehold (red vinyl pushout one label blue not green) 7”
18. The UK Subs – Keep on Running / Perfect Girl (blue vinyl) (signed by band members) 7”
18. The Unfuckable - Complicated Meditation Class 7”
18. The UV Race - Acid Trip / Speed Freak 7”
18. The Julie Ruin – Brightside / In the Picture 7”
18. Japandroids - Younger Us / Sex and Dying in High Society (clear vinyl) 7”
18. Iggy Pop – Loco Mosquito / Take Care Of Me (Australia) 7”
18. Hot Pursuit – Basketball / Hawaii 7”
18. Jimi Hendrix - Burning of the Midnight Lamp / STP-LSD (pushout) 7”
18. GHQ - Requiem For Bhopal 7”
18. GHQ - Split w/ Ex Cocaine 7”
18. Family Underground - Commiseration / Blood Temperature Pool 7”
19. Ty Segall – Sentimental Goblin (blue & yellow vinyl) 7”
19. UK Subs – She’s Not There (test pressing) 7”
19. Chain & the Gang – Best of Crime Rock cassette
19. Scene Creamers – AK 47 / Luv Wuz 7”
19. Bent - Mattress Springs 7”
19. Gun Club – In My Room LP
20. The Fall – Sir William Wray 7”
20. Labels Unlimited - The Second Record Collection (UK) LP
20. Shine On Me (Paris Theater) (black 180 pressed) LP
20. Iggy Pop – TV Eye 77 (Germany) LP
20. Joy Division – Live at the Apollo Manchester October 1979 (black vinyl) LP
20. Mako Sica – Invocation LP
20. Buzzcocks – Access All Areas LP
21. AM 728 Painting + cd “A CDR
21. Iggy Pop – Lust For Life (UK) LP
21. Iggy Pop – The Idiot (UK) LP
21. The Damned – Damned Damned Damned (France 1st pressing) LP
22. Les Rallizes Denudes – France Demo Tapes (colored vinyl) LP
22. Iggy Pop – Lust For Life (UK) LP
22. Jungle Nausea – Untitled 12”
22. Half High – Calling Nina cassette
22. Lost Animal – Demo cassette
22. UK Subs – Brand New Age (UK clear vinyl) LP
22. Zaïmph - Between The Infinite And The Finite LP
23. Buzzcocks – Promises / Lipstick (solid center) 7”
23. Iggy Pop – China Girl / Baby (UK) 7”
23. → ↑ → - Nice Noise (first pressing) 7”
23. David Bowie – Ashes to Ashes / Move On (black label ) 7”
23. Air Miami – Fuck You Tiger EP (test pressing) 7”
24. Wire Pink Flag (Portugal) LP
24. Joy Division - Factory By The Moonlight - Three Nights At The Moonlight Club (red vinyl) 2LP
24. My Cat Is An Alien + Jean-Marc Montera – Union of the Supreme Light LP
24. FM St. Jude – Almost Lost LP
24. Avoid!avoid – Particle and Wave LP
24. Unrest – Lisa Carol Freemont CD
25. Iggy Pop - Sister Midnight - Live At The Agora (red and blue vinyl) 2LP
25. Joy Division - Martin Hannett’s Personal Mixes (blue vinyl) 2LP
25. David Bowie – No Plan 12”
25. The Darling Downs - In the Days When the World Was Wide LP
25. Dinosaur Jr. – No Freak Scene LP
25. Boris w/ Merzbow – Sun Baked Snow Cave (blue) 2LP
26. Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers – LAMF (the Track LP restored) LP
26. Sort Sol – Under en Sort Sol CD
26. Deadboy and the Elephantmen – We Are Night Sky LP
26. Jimi Hendrix – Miami Pop Festival 2LP
26. Devo – Live in Seattle 1981 2LP
27. NOTHING PLAYED! SAD!
28. The Damned – Machine Gun Etiquette (Ace Records pressing) LP
28. UK Subs – Another Kind of Blues (blue vinyl) LP
28. The Damned – Damned Damned Damned (Australia EMI 2nd pressing) LP
28. HTRK - / Sweetheart 12”
28. Conrad Schnitzler – Live Action LP
29. The Damned – Music For Pleasure (Japan white label promo) LP
29. Kawabata Makoto - I Wished You Were Here Once Again LP
29. Knead - This Melting Happiness - I Want You To Realize That It Is Another Trap LP
29. Family Underground / Quintana Roo – Vengeance Valley / Horses Neck (300 pressed) 7”
29. Knife Fight – Hobbies 7”
29. The Ooga Boogas – The Octopus Is Back (chalkboard with lots of cavemen cover) 7”
29. The Ooga Boogas - Sentimental Stranger 7”
29. X Ray Spex – Oh Bondage Up Yours (UK) 7”
29. Rowland S Howard – Autoluminescent / The Ocean (withdrawn version pitched down) 7”
29. Total Control – Total Control (2nd or 3rd pressing) 7”
29. Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers – LAMF (the demos) LP
30. G.I. Joe – Cobra LP
30. Jutok Kaneko w/ Kikukawa Takahisa - Wedged Night LP
30. Æthenor - Betimes Black Cloudmasses LP
30. Ninetynine - 180° LP
I don’t think you can ever have enough music. How many is too many records? I would like to find out!
As I write this to you, it is May 14, 0226 hrs. I am in a small room in Cuzco, Peru, way up in the Andes. I like to get things done in advance whenever I can.
For our first show together, I thought it would be best if we started out strong with Mr. David Bowie and his cover of the Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat. I hope you dig the Penetrators track that follows. My best friend Ian MacKaye turned me onto this band a few years ago. Wait until you hear the backing vocals. Tom Waits covering the Ramones is about as good as it gets. I thought leading with those three, we couldn’t lose.
So, here’s the plan: I will write up show notes kinda like these for every single one of these shows. I will post them on my site, HenryRollins.com and they will also be posted on RadioHelsinki.fi, so you can get at them two different ways. I will try to have them at Radio Helsinki days before the broadcast so they can post them whenever they see fit, and I will post them on my site a day before the show goes to air.
I have made notes for my radio shows like this for years. You can always go to my site and see what I’m playing each week on my KCRW FM show.
Below are all the songs we’re going to listen to. I hope you like this show! More to come.
–– Henry
Twitter: @henryrollins
Instagram: HenryandHeidi
Our Program
01. David Bowie - White Light/White Heat / Bowie At The Beeb
02. The Penetrators – Teenage Lifestyle / Basement Anthology
03. Tom Waits - The Return Of Jackie And Judy / Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
04. El Guapo – Underground / Fake French
05. Dax Riggs - Living Is Suicide / We Sing of Only Blood or Love
06. Thee Oh Sees - Ticklish Warrior / A Weird Exits
07. Crystal Fairy - Necklace of Divorce / Crystal Fairy
08. Kemialliset Ystävät - Apinatkin Laulaa / Alas Rattoisaa Virtaa
09. Iggy Pop - Some Weird Sin / Lust for Life
10. Terrible Truths - Lift Weights / Terrible Truths
11. Drinks – Cheerio / Hermits On Holiday
12. Roky Erickson - Click Your Fingers Applauding The Play / Gremlins Have Pictures
13. Prince Jammy & Scientist - The Crushing Of The Stormtroopers / Strike Back!
14. Seekae - Oxen Calm / The Worry
15. The Felt Letters - 600,000 Bands / single
16. Zomes - Se Genom Tiden / Near Unison
17. The Fall - Two Librans / The Unutterable
18. Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds - La Araña / La Araña Es La Vida
19. Soccer Team - Solid Ring Fighters / “Volunteered” Civility & Professionalism
20. Robert Petway - Boogie Woogie Woman / Mississippi Blues Vol. 3
21. Vum - The Jungle / Night Sun
22. The KVB - In Deep / …Of Desire
23. Lorelle Meets the Obsolete - Medicine to Cure Medicine Sickness / single
24. Guerilla Toss - Color Picture / Eraser Stargazer
25. Exhaustion - Your Memory Don’t Want You / Future Eaters
26. Mosquito Ego – Local Zero / Glomb
27. Nun – Cronenberg / Nun
28. Sonic’s Rendezvous Band – City Slang / single
