Random Signal

Welcome to the sixth annual Random Signal Halloween show! Here's the track list (full links to be updated shortly): 1. Night Creatures - Superchunk (from Tossing Seeds: Singles 1989-91) 2. Graveyard Ghoul - The Ills (demo track) 3. Invisible Man - Thee Spivs (from Taped Up) 4. Zombie Dance Party - Beware The Dangers Of A Ghost Scorpion (from Undead In the Fallout Shelter) 5. Blue Sunny Day - Jonathan Coulton (from The Aftermath) 6. Crowd of Drifters - The Magnetic Fields (from The Charm of the Highway Strip) 7. In The Backyard - The Rosebuds (from Life Like) 8. Halloween - Steve Goodie (from Something To Sneeze @) 9. Zombie Attack - Rock 'n' Roll Monkey and The Robots (from Back To Beatsville) 10. Halloween Is Awesome - GeminiDragon 11. What a Friend We Have In Cthulhu - Consortium of Genius (from Music For Supervillains)  

Hello! After a long break...we're back! If you came here looking for the annual Halloween show, have no fear (yet)! IT LIVES...SOON!!! Song 1: Ready To Start - Arcade Fire (from The Suburbs) [Emusic] [iTunes] [Merge] So what have I been up to these last many months? (Not podcasting, obviously.) I have discovered, and become slightly addicted to, Tumblr! Check out my many (too many?) new projects: Random Signal Annex - My general Tumblr for all things awesome. Droidcast - Short podcast on random topics. Soon to be included with this feed! The Brave & The Beard - Comics books and facial hair, together at last! Fuck Yeah, Merge Records! - Music, video, photos and news from my favorite indie label. Song 2: How I Left the Ministry - The Extra Lens (from Undercard) [Emusic] [iTunes] [Merge]  

Well, it turns out that this podcast is only mostly dead, and, as we all know, mostly dead means slightly alive! I'm actually incredibley excited that I now have clearance from Chapel Hill's Merge Records to podcast both their new releases and back catalog! A lot of my favorite bands are with Merge, and I never thought I'd ever have the opportunity to feature artists like The Magnetic Fields and Arcade Fire! Go to www.mergerecords.com to check out their complete roster, listen to free streaming music, and purchase CDs and downloads. Song 1: We Are The Men You'll Grow To Love Soon - Let's Wrestle (from In the Court of the Wrestling Let's) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [Blog]   Song 2: Coast of Carolina - Telekinesis (from Telekinesis!) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [Blog]   Song 3: Better - Jonathan Coulton (from Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [CD Baby]   Song 4: I Have the Moon - The Magnetic Fields (from The Charm of the Highway Strip) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [Merge] Other links from the show: Deep-Sea News MRI cyborg questionnaire Kraken Black Spiced Rum True Blood Season 3 on HBO

Aprilween (observed) was three days ago, and I have finally managed to overcome a vertiable Rube Goldberg machine of technical annoyances that was keeping me from getting this show finished. In grand Aprilween fashion, I have ten frightening tunes for your post-Tax day listening pleasure. I also muse about the future, if there is one, of the podcast. With shows coming so few and far between, is it time to face facts and call it a day, or should I let it evolve into something new? Any opinions? Let me know! Song 1: Evil Soul - The Young Werewolves (from The Young Werewolves) [Myspace] [Music Alley] Song 2: Creeps At Night - The Hydeouts [MySpace] [Music Alley] Song 3: Head Blown Off - Cretin 66 (from Demolition Safari) [MySpace] [Emuisc] [iTunes] [Music Alley] Song 4: The Black Scorpion - the Happy, Happy, Jihads [MySpace] [Music Alley] Song 5: World War Z - CSHC/Conyeezy [MySpace] [Music Alley] Song 6: It Is Pitch Dark - MC Frontalot (from Secrets From The Future) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [CD Baby] Song 7: HSAS - Zombies! Organize!! (from Before It's Too Late) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [CD Baby] Song 8: Graveyard Hand - Get Three Coffins Ready (from Get Three Coffins Ready: Era III An Experiment In Audio Science And Static Manipulation) [MySpace] [iTunes] [Music Alley] Song 9: Down In The Graveyards - The Creeping Cruds (from Tennessee Bloodbath) [MySpace] [Emuisc] [iTunes] [CD Baby] Song 10: Vulture - Artichoke (from 26 Animals) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [CD Baby]

It's the 5th Annual Random Signal Halloween Music Show!!! It's also been Halloween Week over at my Indie Squid Kid blog, so check it out if you want to experience the holiday from the cephalopod's perspective. Here's the play list for today's show: Song 1: Halloween - Artichoke (from Evaporation) [Emuisc] [MySpace] [iTunes] [CD Baby] Song 2: Diggin' Graves - Thee Gravemen [Emusic] [MySpace] [iTunes] [Music Alley] Song 3: Mosquitos - The Creeping Cruds (from Tennessee Bloodbath) [Emuisc] [MySpace] [iTunes] [CD Baby] Song 4: The Girls of Monster Island - Jerk Alert [MySpace] [Music Alley] Song 5: Vampires In My Neighborhood - Mors Ontologcia (from Used Kids Sessions and the WFMU Creative Commons Halloween Mix) [MySpace] [iTunes] [CD Baby] Song 6: Graveyard - Trailer Bride (from Smelling Salts and the WFMU Creative Commons Halloween Mix) [Emusic] [MySpace] [iTunes] Song 7: The Hangman's Song - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts (from The Executioner's Last Songs: Volume One and the WFMU Creative Commons Halloween Mix) [Emusic] [MySapce] [iTunes] Song 8: Vampire Strippers - The Astronauts (from the Astronauts EP) [Emusic] [MySpace] [iTunes] [Music Alley] Song 9: Zombie Manifesto - Zombies! Organize!! (from Before It's Too Late) [MySpace] [iTunes] [CD Baby] But wait! As a reward for coming to the site, here is a bonus music video. I couldn't include "Fresh Blood" by Eels in the podcast, but it did make it into this year's Halloween mix CD, and it's probably my favorite monster song of the past year!

We are pleased to finally announce that Paul Fischer, of the Balticon Podcast, is winner of the Great Random Signal Name Our RoombaTM Contest! His winning submission is...*drumroll*...3-Sweepio! Paul's prize is a plush robot by Futuregirl (Leah Riley). Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions.This episode is not only the first official Father's Day episode, but it also marks the podcast's fourth anniversary!Song 1: When I Was Your Age - Beatnik Turtle featuring George Hrab (from The Song of the Day podcast, March 30, 2009) Ryn and I discuss our thoughts on being new parents: drool, boogers, and chewed food. Code Name: Commander Awesome! surprise tangent:  Frasier Song 2: Mr. Fancy Pants - Jonathan Coulton (from Thing A Week Four) mint julep: the official drink of hot summer days (in the South, anyway) J. J. Abrams' Star Trek Vasquez Rocks Transformers ("robots from a planet made out of robots"): movie sequel is imminent and the first season of the classic animated series is out on DVD! Yes, CD Baby is still around (and still awesome)! Song 3: Elephant - Artichoke (from 26 Animals)[MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [CD Baby]

Random Signal crawls it's way out of the grave once more, proving that it is the Podcast That Wouldn't Die!!!News In Brief: It's a boy!And now, the music...Song 1: I Kicked Dracula's Ass - The Creeping Cruds (from Tennessee Bloodbath)[MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes]Song 2: Cool Coffin Kids - Dark Torch Anthem (from The Preamble)[MySpace] [Podsafe Music Network]Song 3: Re: Vos Cerveaux - Jonathan Coulton[MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [Podsafe Music Network]Song 4: Trioxin - Zombies! Organize!! (from Before It's Too Late)[MySpace]Song 5: Ghostified - Persian Claws[MySpace] [Podsafe Music Network]Song 6: The Livin' Dead - Troy Sinister & The Cemetery Men (from The Legend of Gordy Sawdust & The Spiders from Moncton)[MySpace] [Podsafe Music Network]Song 7: Return of the Mantis - The Hydes (from The Hydes' First Experimental EP)[MySpace] [Podsafe Music Network]Song 8: Zombie Werewolf Alien Vampire Monsters - The Volume Brothers [MySpace] [Podsafe Music Network]

It's the last day of 2008! It is also, somehow, the first day of 2009...weird. I never will get used to all this "time shifting." Ryn and I cover all manner of interesting topics, and play some songs by my favorite bands of 2008. Enjoy! Song 1: All Night - Countdown Quartet (from Party With! The Countdown Quartet) [MySpace] [Emuisc] [iTunes] Toxoplasmosis/Giant Microbes Trader Joe's 2008 Vintage Ale That shit is pajamas! We don't think our baby will be a Xenomorph! Clockwork Ball and Lemming Malloy Song 2: Don't Act Like Prey - Lemming Malloy (from Avalauncer EP) [MySpace] [Emuisc] [iTunes] Rocky IV, the best Cold War/Christmas movie of all time? Which movies will you always watch the rest of? Which is worse: Rocky V or Star Trek V? Discuss. Fringe VS Eleventh Hour (here's a hint, one sorta sucks and one does not) CANCELED: Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money MOVING: Scrubs DISAPPOINTING: Heroes We explain that we are old and don't want to watch TV on our computers. Dexter and the problem with High-Def Song 3: Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats - Los Campesinos! (from Hold On Now, Youngster) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [Podsafe Music Network] Goodreads.com Asimov and his short-sighted far future Sookie Stackhouse novels and True Blood Ryn's bizzare vampire-phobia seems to have passed. Read! Darwinia Reading! More Information Than You Require About To Read! Corrupted Sciene/Discarded Science Why Ryn doesn't like comics anymore. DC Comics Encyclopedia and On the Origin of Species: Illustrated Edition Star Wars prequels revisited Name our robot...LAST CALL! I Like Turtles Song 4: I Like Turtles - Zombies! Organize!! (from Before It's Too Late)

The Great Random Signal Name Our RoombaTM Contest is still open for submissions! So, to get your creative meat juices flowing, here is an assortment of robot-y songs. The supplier of the winning name will receive an piece of original hand-made robot art and/or craft by Futuregirl (Leah Riley) ! Stay tuned for further details. Song 1: Pathways to Progress - Eyes To Space (from From The Bureau of Robotic Affairs) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] Song 2: Techno Machine (With a Lazer Beam) - Math The Band (from Math The Band Banned The Math) [MySpace] Song 3: Speed Food Pyramid - Captured! By Robots (from The Ten Commandments/Get Fit With...) [MySpace] Song 4: Robotacus - Zombies! Organize!! (from Before It's Too Late) [MySpace] Robotacus by Zombies! Organize!! Song 5: Automaton - No They Do (from When Robots Rule The World) [MySpace] [iTunes] [Podsafe Music Netork] Song 6: Tom The T1000 - Jonathan Coulton (from Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [Podsafe Music Network] Song 7: FU Robot - Pro Audio (from Make The Happiness Stop) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [Podsafe Music Network] Song 8: World Robot Domination - Sudden Death (from Fatal Error) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [Podsafe Music Network] [The FuMP] Song 9: The Laws of Robotics - No They Do (from When Robots Rule The World) [MySpace] [iTunes] [Podsafe Music Network] This Thanksgiving, don't forget to thank all the hard-working robots in your life--the security and well being of the human race may depend on it!

Better late than never I suppose... Real show notes to follow. 1. Zombie I - CALABRESE 2. Shoot The Zombies - songstowearpantsto.com 3. Creature From The Black Lagoon - the Happy, Happy Jihads 4. Roy O'Bannon vs. The Mummy - Get Three Coffins Ready 5. When They've Come For You - Beatnik Turtle 6. Ghost With The Most - B-Movie Britz 7. Zombie Swamp - Thee Strawberry Mynde 8. Zombie Highschool - Sidekick Lupchen and The Bad Generation 9. Creepy Kids Club - Creepy Kids Club 10. Giant Robot - Lizards From Afar 11. Zombie Town - Midnight Peacocks 12. Monster In The Canyon - The Dynamite Brothers 13. Song For The Death Eaters - Harry and The Potters

Hello! We're back and we have lots of exciting news! What's all this news you ask? Well, you are going to have to listen to the podcast to find out! :p Speaking of podcasts, you really should be listening to: Radio Free Hipster Radio Isopod All three bands featured in this show were part of this past summer's Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo tour. Math The Band Song 1: Let's Hear It For Capitalism! Song 2: Everyone's Embarassing (from Math The Band Banned The Math) Uncle Monsterface [MySpace] [iTunes] Song 3: Lobster Building (from Letter Green (I Love You)) Song 4: The Gary Gygax Song (from This Is an Adventure!) Harry and The Potters [MySpace] [iTunes] Song 5: The Human Hosepipe (from Voldemort Can't Stop The Rock!) Song 6: Save Ginny Weasley (from Harry and The Potters)

As the summer comes to a close, Ryn and I talk vacation and books. This podcast begins in the mountains and ends at the beach...well, sort of. Video 1: Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him (from Volume One) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] Song 1: Human Hands - Bowerbirds (from Hymns For a Dark Horse) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] Buy Playing For Keeps by Mur Lafferty!!! Also, Dragon*Con 2008 is right around the corner! Song/Video 2: Valentine - Festival (from Come, Arrow, Come!) [MySpace] [iTunes] FESTIVAL - Valentine from Language of Stone on Vimeo. Books, books, books! A full list is forthcoming... Song 3: House of Cards - Lemming Malloy (from Avalauncher EP) [MySpace] [iTunes] ...and more books! Song 4: Playing For Keeps - Beatnik Turtle (from The Song of the Day podcast) Buy Playing For Keeps by Mur Lafferty!!!

Ryn and I went the midnight opening of Batman: The Dark Knight, and we discuss out thoughts on the movie while driving to my family reunion on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. SPOILER ALERT! We assume that anyone listening has either seen the movie, or doesn't care about having the details of the film revealed.Outro song: Batmobile - the Happy, Happy Jihads (courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network)

I'm beginning to suspect that my microphone is dying, and I apologize in advance if I sound like I'm recoring in a tin can. Ryn, on the other hand, sounds great! You'd think after three years I'd have this stuff down... Also, the crickets...WTF?! Song 1: Make My Day - Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies (from EP 1) [MySpace] [iTunes] We kick things of with an uplanned discussion of our favorite member of the Star Trek family: Deep Space Nine. We make special mention of the Season 6 episode "Far Beyond the Stars". Song 2: We Are All Accelerated Readers - Los Campesinos! (from Hold On Now, Yougster...) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [PMN] Superhero Move Roundup! The Marvel Universe: Iron Man The Incredible Hulk Thor (2010) Ant-Man (2010) Iron Man 2 (2010) Captain America (2011) The Avengers (2011) The DC Universe: Batman: The Dark Knight Wonder Woman (2009) Justice League (2011) and on DVD... Superman: Doomsday Justice League: The New Frontier Batman: Gotham Knight Wonder Woman (2009) Song 3: Dear Mr. & Mrs. Troublemaker - All Girl Summer Fun Band (from 2) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [PMN] And even more movies... Hellboy 2: The Golden Army WALL-E Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Song 4: The Crash, The Wagons, The Dying Horses - The Craft Economy (from All On C)

Not only is this episode 75 (it's divisible by 5, so you know it's important), but today is the 3rd anniversary, to the day, of the launch of www.randomsignal.com! All music in this episode is from the album Clap Along with... by The Dynamite Brothers from Chapel Hill, NC. [MySpace] Song 1: Bus Stop Ryn and I share our thoughts on Balticon 42, including... Geek Fu Morning Show After Dark #13, LIVE! The Takeover--Now with 100% more Ryn! The Balticon Podcast Song 2: My Lover Ryn and I talk, once again, about one of our most favorite topics: television. Song 3: One Way Blues A bit more about TV, specifically, Joss Whedon's new series Dollhouse and J.J. Abrams' new series Fringe. Introducing Indie Squid Kid, my new cephalopod-focused blog! Want to get a beet (or maybe a turnip) in the mail? Well, all you have to do is drop me an email. I guarantee it will be, at the very least, Maryland-quality produce. Song 4: Raw Dawggin' Again

Balticon 42 begins tomorrow! So here's a quick one before I go. Song 1: The World The People Together (Come On) - The Dandy Warhols (from ...Earth To The Dandy Warhols...) [MySpace] [iTunes] [PMN] And now, some awesome words for your sexy ears... The Takeover only at ZombInc.net (Zombies!! At work!!) The Failed Cities Monologues by Matt Wallace and Variant Frequencies Song 2: I'm Dungeons You're Dragons - The Alligators (from ???) [MySpace] [PMN] I'm providing a voice for Chris Lester's awsome new podcast novel Metamor City: Making The Cut Go see Iron Man, it's really very good. Song 3: Springtime Can Kill You - Jolie Holland (from Springtime Can Kill You) [MySpace] [iTunes] [PMN]

My wife Ryn joins me once again as co-host. Check out her brand new blog The Suburban Herbivore! All the music in this episode is from the album Our One Mistake by The Old Ceremony from Chapel Hill, NC. [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] Song 1: Get To Love The Great Bat Incident Bats my be hella creepy when they get in your house, but they are actually fascinating creatures! Read more about them on Wikipedia, The Source of All Knowledge. If you have a wild animal problem, we highly recommend AAAnimalControl.com Song 2: Believer Comic book reviews 1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Joss Whedon's Season EightPublisher: Dark Horse Comcis Writers: Joss Whedon, Brian K. Vaughan, and Drew Goddard Principle artist: Georges Jeanty2. Angel: After the FallPublisher: IDW Publishing Writers: Joss Whedon and Bryan Lynch Art: Franco Urru Song 3: Papers In Order

Hang on to your ear holes, and cover the furniture in plastic, because it's Aprilween and we may not make it out alive... Song 1: Monster Party - The Powerknobs (from Tomorrow's Never Going To Come) [MySpace] [iTunes] [PMN] Song 2: Where They Wander - Horrorpops (from Hell Yeah!) [MySpace] [iTunes] [PMN] Video 1: Ghouls - Horrorpops (from Hell Yeah!) Song 3: Hunting For Witches (Fury666 Remix) - Bloc Party (from Hunting For Witches [Remixes]) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [PMN] Video 2: Hunting For Witches - Bloc Party (from A Weekend In The City) Song 4: Who Wants To Be a Zombie Anyways? - The Mansfields (from Cramp Your Style, coming in May 2008 from Gearhead Records) [MySpace] [PMN] Song 5: Vampires of the West Coast - Ghost Bees (from Tasseomancy) [MySpace] [iTunes] [PMN] Song 6/Video 3: Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (from Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!) [MySpace] [iTunes] [PMN] Song 7: Knee Deep In Wolf Guts - Two Headed Phantom (from Her Majesty the Witch Demo) [MySpace] [PMN] Song 8: Black Cat - The Young Werewolves (from The Young Werewolves) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [PMN] Song 9: Demons Are a Ghoul's Best Friend - Ghouls Night Out (from The Mourning After) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [PMN] Song 10: Elena's Empty Tomb - Thee Merry Widows (from The Devil's Outlaws) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [PMN]

What's this? A new episode of Random Signal already? Could this be some kind of wonderful dream and/or psychotic break? Probably. My advice--roll with it... Song 1: Wreck My Flow - The Dirtbombs (from We Have You Surrounded) [MySpace] [Emuisc] [iTunes] [PMN] Comic review - The Twelve Publisher: Marvel Writer: J. Michael Straczynski Artist: Chris Weston Wikipedia entry Song 2: Pins In My Doll - The Dynamite Brothers (from Clap Along With...) [Ask me and I bet I can hook you up!] Comic review - Project Superpowers Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment Plot: Jim Kruegar and Alex Ross Scripts: Jim Kruegar Cover Art: Alex Ross Interior Art: Doug Klauba and Stephen Sadowski Wikipedia entry Watch Jon Stuart geek out about Man-Bat! Song 3: Boogie Chillen - John Lee Hooker (from Face To Face, Volume 1) [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [PMN]

Ryn joins me as co-host again to talk about her recent trip to South By Southwest Interactive and her new-found addiction to social networking. All music in this episode is by one of my new favorite bands, Los Campesinos! [MySpace] [Emusic] [iTunes] [PMN] Their first full lengh CD, Hold On Now, Youngster is realesed in the US on April 1, 2008 (pre-order here), but you can get it now at Emusic.com. Song 1: This is How You Spell "HAHAHA, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics" Video 1: The International TweeXcore Underground (from The International TweeXcore Underground EP) Ryn's SXSW report -- "There was a moustache going around." Song 2/Video 2: Death to Los Campesinos! Need a new drug? Socialthing! Get Satisfaction Good Reads Song 3: My Year In Lists A couple of sites that came up during listener feedback... Andy Lee - www.findandy.com The Clockwork Cabaret - www.clickcaster.com/clockworkcabaret Song 4/Video 3: We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives (from Sticking Fingers Into Sockets EP) Video 4: You! Me! Dancing!