On "The FPT" (Monday, January 11th):

The Love Is Stronger Than Death episode.

Songs for the dead.

"Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." (Song of Solomon 8:6).

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara, Mondays in the winter from 11am-12noon PST.

Streaming live at www.kcsb.org, with an archival recording available for on-demand streaming for the next 2 weeks via the same URL.

Monday, January 4th, 2021, on KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara: an eclectic tribute to XTC's 1992 LP NONSVCH., the British Art Rock band's sprawling, final release for Virgin / Geffen Records.

I've come to think of my shows that salute fave artists and albums as something of a cross between Dennis Mitchell's "Breakfast With The Beatles" radio program and Hal Willner's tribute events and records.

This broadcast picks up my "XTCelebration," a comprehensive series along these lines that has examined the entire discography of the UK Art Rock band XTC who first emerged during the late 1970s Punk Rock / New Wave heyday.

Featuring covers by eclectic acts from around the globe, original tracks, demos, etc.

11am-12noon PST (streaming live at www.kcsb.org) –– with a streaming, on-demand archival recording available for your listening pleasure at the same URL for two-weeks thereafter.

This “Mondo Cane” episode of The FPT (translated as “Doggish World”) was sparked by time my partner and I had been away from our precious Bootsy, a big brindle mixed-breed Bully dog who was a part of my world since early in 2016. I helped care for Bootsy for about half of her time on this earth – and this muscular, intelligent, incredibly loving creature inspired me in some rather profound ways.

Bootsy had major surgery at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s world-class animal hospital on December 17th, but she died, at home, just hours before showtime. I had hoped to play it around the house as we tried to nurse her back to health, but that was sadly not to be. This show though was essentially my love letter to that beautiful animal, a celebration of Bootsy's incredible life force: her eager need to walk, to run, to play, her love of the sun, and warmth, and especially her calming generosity of touch. It now serves as a tribute to that time I was blessed by her healing spirit.

Both Bootsy and Freddie (a mix of Jack Russell Terrier and Chihuahua, who currently resides in a different household) were coincidentally enough both named in part after musicians from the world of popular music (Bootsy Collins and Freddie Mercury).

This playlist features a number of songs about dogs, or that refer to dogs, or are by artists / bands or from albums whose stage names or titles are somewhat canine.

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara (www.kcsb.org), Mondays from 11am-12noon PST, but a two-week archival recording follows at the same website. Through January 10th, 2021, can find a button to hear this original broadcast by clicking on the Spinitron Ark player above.

(Rest in peace Bootzilla, aka The Bootsinator.)

The week before Christmas, while at UC Davis for their world-class veterinary care, I passed the time with a haul of vinyl records from Armadillo Music in that sleepy college community (a town that’s especially slowed down during this time of COVID-19).

Among these eclectic LPs was a 1984 record called A Midnight Christmas Mess, one of the first full-length compilations of Yuletide music from a host of punk and garage-rock artists – which happened to include the late-great Shock Rockin’ R&B legend Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

That binge of support for a mom-and-pop business during rough financial times preceded a deep-dive (with surgical precision) down the proverbial “rabbit hole” of the World Wide Web. Two impressive sites – hipchristmas.com and christmasunderground.com – helped me locate other kindred holiday spirits, curated (or performed) by the likes of Rodney "On the Rock" Bingenheimer (aka "Rodney on the ROQ"), Modern Jazz Quartet, a host of indie artists on Bandcamp.com, and more.

The playlist airs first on Monday morning, December 21st, via KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara between 11am and High Noon, with a live stream at www.kcsb.org.


A selection of some seasonal tunes like no other. These ain’t your usual (tired) Xmas standards!

“The Freak Power Ticket” airs on Mondays from 11am-12pm PST through the remaining calendar year on KCSB-FM and kcsb.org – with a two-week archival stream to follow via that same website.

Monday, December 14th on "The Freak Power Ticket": A Very "Tiki" Xmas

60 minutes of Exotica, Lounge, Surf, Garage, & Indie Rock for The Holidaze.

Thanks to Otto von Stroheim of Tiki Oasis and Otto's Grotto at Forbidden Island (Alameda, CA) for the inspiration – and much of the material on this playlist!

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on Mondays through 2020 from 11am-12noon PST.

On the December 7th edition of “The FPT”: All Aboard the Wonkatania!

You’ve won! You’ve won a Golden Freak Power Ticket — embark live at 11am PST via KCSB-FM and the World Wide Web on a One-Hour-Long Sonic Trip (Part One) through many musical and audio takes on Roald Dahl’s Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

We’ve considered this classic children’s tale from 1964 — and its 1971 film adaptation — before; but today’s return to the heart of Willy Wonka’s artisanal and business empire is largely inspired by the 2014 LP, Primus & the Chocolate Factory, the eighth studio album by the San Francisco Bay Area psychedelic and funk-metal group Primus

That album is a re-imagining of the soundtrack of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the cult film which was directed by Mel Stuart and featured the music of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse.

The Primus record was released in October of 2014, and the project culminated in 2015 with a multimedia extravaganza that included: • “Primus Bars” • an extensive series of psych-rock posters marking each stop of the live concert tour • performances synced to images of the film, with special costuming, giant puppets, and a way-out light show • live pay-per-view feeds, and • a deluxe-edition DVD with special visual segments.

Today’s broadcast will revisit some songs we’ve shared before that cover, sample, and remix the memorable music of Newley and Bricusse — Primus-style.

But what’s more, we’ll also unveil new sweet treats by lesser-known artists from around the Western world: • hip-hop emcees • producer-DJs • musique concrete and experimental artists and • indie, alternative, and psych-rock bands who are all influenced — in some rather novel ways — by Dahl’s modern and satirical morality fable, and that original film.

This will eventually include (during a pending follow up sequel to our first hour) at least one Danny Elfman track from the solid but lesser 2005 film adaptation by filmmaker Tim Burton, and a nod to the original director Mel Stuart’s legendary 1973 concert film, Wattstax.

So that’s all in store and ahead.

"My dear friends, you are now about to enter the nerve center to the entire Wonka Factory."

“The Freak Power Ticket” airs on Mondays through 2020 from 11am-12noon PST on KCSB-FM in Santa Barbara.

Streaming live at www.kcsb.org — with an archival recording available for two-weeks thereafter via the same website.

Join me. Join the fun!

Revisiting Lady Bird.

This November 30 edition of "The Freak Power Ticket" is an annotated (close) reading of Greta Gerwig's award-winning coming-of-age film from 2017 – through music, commentary, and samples of sound. Sacramento nostalgia from yours truly. "Homesick for the Holidays."

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs from 11am-12noon PST through 2020 at 91.9 FM, streaming live at www.kcsb.org.

Today's FPT playlist is designed to energize us for Stay-At-Home Holidays, and to give y'all a hankering for some Thanksgiving Week Munchies!

Hear a mix of Indie / "Alternative" + Punk Rock, World Music, Hip Hop, + Soul:

ALL ABOUT EATING!

A Foodie's Delight.

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs from 11am-12noon PST through 2020 on KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara.

On Thursday, November 19th, UCSB’s Carsey-Wolf Center and the Pollock Theater present a throwback evening of cult horror cinema with a twist, at Goleta's West Wind Drive-in: The Love Witch + The Slumber Party Massacre.

Part of the "CWC Presents: Subversives” series, the evening recreates a classic drive-in double-feature tradition. It kicks off at 7pm with a screening of the 2016 retro feminist horror film, The Love Witch (written and directed by Anna Biller), followed by the iconic 1982 slasher movie, The Slumber Party Massacre (directed by Amy Holden Jones, and written by Rubyfruit Jungle author Rita Mae Brown).

This edition of “The Freak Power Ticket" previews a unique opportunity for local cult-film fans by sharing music from and inspired by these films. We’ll also consider works that likewise influenced their creators, writer / director Anna Biller (of The Love Witch), director Amy Holden Jones (Slumber Party Massacre), and the latter filmmaker’s composer-brother Ralph Jones. (There will also be songs included as indirect tributes to the two films.)

Blending the style of Italian erotic thrillers of the 1960s with overheated Technicolor melodrama, The Love Witch is both a sensory treat and a tongue-in-cheek exploration of the uses of female bodies onscreen. Written and directed by Anna Biller, The Love Witch follows Elaine (played by Samantha Robinson), a seductive enchantress who leaves a trail of male victims in her wake. Her web of romantic spells and deceit threatens to entangle and destroy both her and the homicide detective on her trail.

Next up, is The Slumber Party Massacre, an iconic 1980’s slasher that slyly subverts that genre while also indulging in its usual thrills, chills, and gory serial murder.

Written by feminist author and activist Rita Mae Brown and directed by Amy Holden Jones (who created Mystic Pizza), The Slumber Party Massacre delivered an original mix of horror and comedy two years before A Nightmare on Elm Street ushered in the tradition of a wisecracking supernatural killer.

Both films will screen between 7 and 11pm at the West Wind Drive-In, which is located 907 South Kellogg. This is a ticketless event, and admission will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis as long as space is available. Dave’s Dogs will be on hand along with the usual concessions. (Masks are required to leave your vehicle.)

Gates open at 6pm and more info can be found at CarseyWolf.ucsb.edu. KCSB-FM is a media sponsor of this event.

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on 91.9 KCSB-FM (www.kcsb.org) Mondays from 11am-12noon PST for the remainder of 2020.

Kyle Field of Little Wings is obsessed with the late 1970s surfer drama, Big Wednesday. In an interview with Vice online, he shares this sequence with the journalist profiling him: “'What are we drinking to?'" asks one of the characters in the film.

"An old grizzled surfer raises his bottle, and Field recites the line along with him: 'To your friends, come hell or high water!'"

I recently heard from Trevor Beld Jimenez, an old friend who was part of the mid-to-late 2000s indie-rock / indie-folk / psych-surf scene in Ventura. Trevor relocated with his family to Los Angeles, and more recently to Riverside, after making a name for himself in such 805 bands as Franklin for Short and Tall Tales and the Silver Lining. From there, he recorded with the duo Parting Lines, and now he's set to release his debut solo record, I Like It Here, on November 13th, courtesy of Curation Records, a newer label run by his old pal and musical mentor Brent Rademaker (of Beechwood Sparks, The Tyde, and GospelbeacH).

(Trevor Beld Jimenez's I Like It Here LP cover: courtesy image.)

Trevor is one of the finest human beings I've ever met who's actually made a go of things in the music industry. What's always impressed me is how his artistic community and social scene has been populated by so many decent, loving, and creative individuals. And that posse includes cult-heroes like Kyle from Little Wings. The DIY ethic is a priority, but so is a spirit of mutual aid and friendship, just like Kyle's favorite Big Wednesday quotation.

In light of all that positivity, this broadcast will feature debuts by old friends and lovely talents I've had the pleasure of meeting (and getting to know) in recent years, largely thanks to KCSB-FM. We'll share new tracks from Trevor Beld Jimenez, but also an old high-school friend of mine from Sacramento, CA: the prolific Anton Barbeau, whose most recent LP, Manbird, is something of a love letter to our shared hometown – but also acknowledges the efforts of a younger artist with a similar mission, Greta Gerwig and her Oscar-nominated debut film, Ladybird.

There's more. Tele Novella – a Texas group that features another old friend from Sacramento, Natalie Ribbons – will soon be releasing their debut release for legendary indie label Kill Rock Stars. It's called Merlynn Belle, and it's due in early February. We'll hear the first single from that new album.

Also in the mix: a new song by Stones Throw artist Black Shakespeare, a Jamaican-American musician who's made waves with the Los Angeles reggae-soul band The Lions, among other projects. Also in this mix: • a Little Wings fave • a track from the most recent Man Man LP, Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between, their Sub Pop Records debut which unfortunately might have gotten lost somewhat in the chaos of the early pandemic lockdown • more friends and acquaintances, like VNLVX, GospelbeacH, Gardens & Villa, Pearl Charles, The Blank Tapes, and a few from the vaults.

We'll also honor the memories of two figures who inspired and honed the skills of some of these other folks: Neal Casal (of Circles Around the Sun and Chris Robinson Brotherhood) and Richard Swift (of The Shins and The Black Keys, among other noteworthy efforts).

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara (streaming live at www.kcsb.org), Mondays in the fall from 11am-12noon PST.

On the Monday, November 2nd edition of "The Freak Power Ticket," we mark Dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead) with an hourlong radio salute to the great Mexican horror and genre film auteur, Guillermo del Toro.

We'll share trailers and music associated (mostly) with the early movies of this talented writer, director, producer, author, makeup-effects artisan, and collector / enthusiast, who was born in Guadalajara in 1964.

These include his debut feature film, Cronos, which starred Federico Luppi as an elder antique dealer infected with a disease caused by a golden device that brings him new virility but also a thirst for blood. Also on the list to be discussed – and celebrated – are the following: Mimic (1997), The Devil's Backbone (El espinazo del diablo) (2001), Blade II (2002), Hellboy (2004), Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) (2006), and Jorge Gutierrez's animated musical The Book of Life (2014), a tale co-produced by Del Toro that's inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead tradition.

We'll hear music featured in those films, but also works associated with Del Toro's musical collaborators, such as Javier Alvarez, Marco Beltrami, and Javier Navarette. We'll also pay tribute to some of his own influences, from the fan magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland to the 1973 Spanish drama, El espíritu de la colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive), by Victor Erice. Del Toro stands out because of his "trilogy" of intimate foreign films, along with Hollywood blockbusters associated with comic books, big movie stars, and nonstop action (including Pacific Rim). We'll also hear a few comments of Del Toro's that I recorded at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2018.

Tune in from late morning today as we mark day two of the Dia de los muertos folk tradition, and extend the macabre fun associated with Halloween, as well.

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on Mondays in the fall from 11am-12noon PDT.

The Criterion Channel recently released a curated selection of 29 Horror Films from the 1970s. Just in time for Halloween. The prestige “home of important classic and contemporary films” has listed these choices chronologically, and the second film in that sequence (after the cult B Movie Trog, with Joan Crawford) is Roy Ward Baker’s Hammer Films production of The Vampire Lovers, from 1970, with Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing, and Madeline Smith.

The Vampire Lovers is based on Irish author Sheridan LeFanu’s Carmilla, a gothic novella from 1872. The tale of the Countess Mircalla Karnstein, who haunts the teenaged protagonist Laura in one of the earliest works of vampire fiction, with its influential subtext of sexual transgression – and lesbianism more specifically. (LeFanu’s story preceded the more widely recognized novel Dracula, by fellow Irishman Bram Stoker, by 26 years.)

On the Monday, October 26th, pre-Halloween edition of "The Freak Power Ticket," an examination of the impact of Carmilla on a number of artistic (and multimedia) projects. This includes radio drama, early cinema (e.g., Carl Dreyer’s 1932 surreal and expressionist feature film Vampyr), and music.

Today’s playlist of sounds will feature: • excerpts from Sears Radio Theater’s Carmilla adaptation and a book-on-tape edition • trailers • original symphonic film scoring and a post-metal film rescore • gothic-tinged punk, blues, and metal • symphonic, extreme, death, and black metal • “bloodwave” • Texas country folk • indie rock • and art pop.

Tune into KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara from 11am-12noon PDT for “The Legend of CARMILLA and The Lesbian Vampire.”

Airing at 91.9 FM throughout California's Central Coast and streaming live at www.kcsb.org.

I love the Nightlife! The Halloween Nightlife.

Two weeks of seasonal fun before Halloween and Dia de los Muertos seems the perfect way for us to brace ourselves for the challenges of the winter (however muted those might be – at least temperature-wise – in sunny Santa Barbara).

I'd be remiss if I didn't assemble some related programming for y'all on the KCSB-FM airwaves!

On the Monday, October 19th edition of "The Freak Power Ticket," we're throwing A "Mad" Monster Party to get us all in the Holiday Spirit.

Today's broadcast, between 11am-12noon PDT, is a socially-distanced gathering featuring the likes of Dracula, The Wolfman, Victor von Frankenstein & his Monster, "Hocus Pocus" VVitches, the Creature of Whichever Lagoon, The Invisible (Hu)man, Igor, The Shadow, Rodan, the Evil Dead, etc.

All doing The Mash, The Transylvania Twist, The Danse Macabre, The Walking Dead, and a whole lot more.

To the music of: • Beauregarde & the Poppers • Ukulena • The Boss Martians • Bill Doggett • Rocket from the Crypt • John Harrison • Creature Feature • The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets • Gene Page • Flanagan & Allen • Roky Erickson • The Crazy World of Arthur Brown • Gein & the Graverobbers • Mr. Baseman & The Symbols • Kepi & Accelerators • and Dead By Dawn.

A few "Zombies," Witches Brews, + Blood Marys too are likely to be quaffed!

We'll also take a stroll over to The Haunted Mansion in the scary scary city of Anaheim, where Your Ghost Host with the Most will remind you of what that spooky attraction was like before flesh and blood guests were made unwelcome ... by that ultra-frightening "novel coronavirus."

Now, join me in your very own "Doom Buggy."

"Oh yes, and no flash pictures... please. We spirits are frightfully sensitive to bright lights.

Do not pull down on the safety bar, please. I will lower it for you.

And heed this warning: the spirits will materialize only if you remain safely seated with your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside. And watch your children... please."

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on Mondays in the fall from 11am-12noon PDT.

Subversives: Sorry to Bother You

The frontman of Oakland hip-hop group The Coup broke into filmmaking in 2018 when his debut feature film, Sorry To Bother You, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to a successful theatrical run and no small acclaim.

Set in an alternate-reality East Bay Area, Sorry To Bother You blends absurdist satire, science fiction, and leftist labor politics to skewer contemporary corporate capitalism and racism, etcetera. It stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer, Danny Glover, and David Cross, just to name a few.

The Virtual Q&A will be facilitated by UCSB Film & Media Studies doctoral student Miguel Penabella – who has also been a KCSB DJ, hosting the hip-hop program "Trashaholics Mixtapes."

On Tuesday night, he and the featured guest will discuss Boots Riley’s decades-long career in hip hop music, along with the film, including The Coup’s 2012 concept album of the same name.

Penabella is a guest on today's edition of "The Freak Power Ticket," as he and host Ted Coe dig into these same topics while also sharing sounds and music from Sorry to Bother You, The Coup, and associated acts and related films.

This Tuesday, October 13 event is part of the CWC’s fall and winter series, “Subversives,” showcasing films and TV shows considered politically, socially, culturally, and ideologically rebellious. Online registration for this Zoom event, and more info about the film’s availability, can be found at the Carsey-Wolf Center website HERE.

KCSB-FM is a proud media sponsor of this event.

The mother and grandmother of yours truly were both quite fond of Elvis Aaron Presley – aka, "The King of Rock'n'Roll – even though they were each from earlier generations.

On this edition of "The Freak Power Ticket," we'll consider Elvis' mystique by way of his extensive filmography.

Hear select Elvis originals, trailers, and mostly covers of songs (from artists working in a range of genres & time periods) that appeared on soundtrack albums for each of Elvis's first four films.

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on Mondays during 91.9 KCSB-FM in Santa Barbara's summer schedule from 11am-1230pm. Streaming live at www.kcsb.org.

90 minutes celebrating the life and legacy of the pioneering historian, WWII veteran, Left activist, and playwright, Howard Zinn.

A reflection on the ideas, life, and influence of the author of the perennial bestseller A People's History of the United States: 1492 to the Present; an American hero who still provokes Right Wing ire a decade after his passing.

(Pres. Donald Trump just last week blamed Zinn's teachings – and the New York Times Magazine's "1619 Project" – for encouraging domestic unrest, and introduced a new "patriotic education" commission "to reclaim our history, and our country.")

This broadcast features a range of music associated with Professor Zinn, spoken word, film trailers and samples, and more.

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on Mondays during KCSB's summer season from 11am-1230pm PDT.

I had a death in the family recently, and people have been telling me to go easy on myself and to look out for my well being. I’ve also found myself drawn to nostalgic popular culture of my past – which could hardly be a surprise to anyone who’s a regular listener of this program.

One example of that nostalgia at a time like now is taking pleasure in the 1960s & 1970s pop music of the great American composering duo Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Burt Bacharach is 92 years of age, the same age that my late father turned in May, just about 2 months before his recent passing. And it seems that Burt is still going strong: he was actually booked for concerts this spring in Japan’s biggest cities before those appearances were wiped away by COVID-19.

I didn’t want to just reair a broadcast interview I did from 8 years ago, talking with Film Score Monthly’s John Bender about probably my favorite collection of Bacharach songs, the thrift store perennial Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid: Original Score, an Oscar winner in its entirety, and not just for its hit BJ Thomas single, “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.”

As in that 2012 program, today's show reimagines that LP for you, but moreso in a way that approximates its tidy 30+ minutes of sounds, and will try to explain why it’s such a gem. We’ll furthermore consider the film that it punctuates, George Roy Hill’s hit proto buddy-movie anti-hero, quasi countercultural Western, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, from 1971, starring Robert Redford, Paul Newman, and Katherine Ross.

Newman was also something of a peer to my parents, agewise, and there’s yet another reason this motion picture, and its music, are personal obsessions of mine. In fact, I even have a woodblock print style icon of Butch Cassidy from the Saul Bass-inflected pop-art movie poster from the film.

So, today’s show is basically an hour with that focus, but also another half-hour cinematic fantasia on other titles that likewise expanded my mind while I was still a child. The Chaplinesque Jacques Tati’s Mr. Hulot films from France. The psychedelic animated feature for children, The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, directed by George Dunning. Nicolas Roeg’s 1971 drama set on the Australian Outback, Walkabout, with Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil, and Luc Roeg. Roger Moore’s debut as 007 in Guy Hamilton's Live & Let Die, from 1973, the one James Bond film with vibes stolen from recent Blaxploitation hits like Shaft. And that’s all just a small par to my complete list: a tribute to my parents, from me. I definitely wasn’t sheltered as a child, and I love them both for that!

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on Mondays in the summer from 11am-1230pm PDT.

Monday, September 7th on "The Freak Power Ticket," Volume 7 of “XTCelebration,” my series of special FPT broadcasts examining the magic of XTC, the almost indescribable new wave, neo-psychedelic, and guitar pop group that emerged during the late 1970s UK punk explosion.

Despite noteworthy popularity as a traditional touring and recording act for about a half-decade, XTC was forced to remake itself as a studio project because of mental health and prescription addiction issues suffered by its main songwriter, vocalist, and rhythm guitarist Andy Partridge.

This edition of "The FPT" is a revue focusing primarily on XTC’s 1989 double album Oranges & Lemons, the group’s first record since the surprise hit concept LP Skylarking (from 1986) – notwithstanding 1987’s full-length release Psonic Psunspot, attributed to XTC’s retro garage & psychedelic rock alter egos, The Dukes of Stratosphear.

Oranges & Lemons, like Skylarking, was recorded stateside, but this time on the West Coast, not in upstate New York – in Hollywood, California to be exact, with production handled by the American Paul Fox.

Oranges & Lemons was likewise evocative of the group’s recent indulgences in psychedelia, right down to a Peter Max / Yellow Submarine-style cartoon album cover, a sweeping “ages of man” concept akin to Skylarking, and more by way of colorfully synaesthetic wordplay and out-of-body imagery that the group had come to be known for. What was different though was the interpellation of unexpected styles into the overall mix: jazz, African, Caribbean, and Middle-Eastern world music, synth, and more.

While not always as on the mark as the Dukes’s pitch-perfect 1960s simulations, Oranges & Lemons was refreshing and impressive for its overall range, sense of fun, and sophistication. Known by this time as the 1980s’ answer to fellow studio-band The Beatles, one might venture that Oranges & Lemons was XTC’s White Album.

This broadcast picks up where my last, accidentally abbreviated XTCelebration left off: with a couple of Dukes of Stratosphear tracks not originally included in their original releases, plus some associated Nuggets-like “Artyfacts” from the Psychedelic Era that furthermore influenced them. Then we’ll segue into original songs from solo demos • select covers and samples • further influences • and commentary from yours truly.

“Welcome to the Garden of Earthly Delights.” Labor Day 2020 from 11am until 1230pm PDT.

Time to let your freak flag fly!

"The Freak Power Ticket" airs on KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara, streaming live at www.kcsb.org.