Last CB of Fall 2009: 12 December, 2009

Quick announcement: If you're not quite ready to be without CB for a month, I'm hosting a small gathering in Daum Hall this evening at 8 PM, where I'll be showing the documentary "Live Forever." Tea and goodies provided.

Also, since this is the last show of 2009, I'm including a few of my favorite releases from this year. Florence & The Machine's aptly-titled "Lungs" is without a doubt the most amazing, inventive thing I've heard in a long time, especially the track "Cosmic Love." As a result, frontwoman Florence Welch has officially become my muse, much to her dismay. Do me (and yourself) a favor and check it out, maybe even pick it up at your local independent music vendor.

Though they're not officially British (guitarist The Edge was born in Wales and bassist Adam Clayton is English), U2's 2009 release, "No Line On The Horizon," definitely makes my top-5 list. Produced by Brian Eno and recorded in Morocco, it appears that Vertigo is dead, thank god.

Oh, and the latest Kasabian album is pretty good, too.

Anyway, this afternoon's setlist:

Happy Christmas (War Is Over), John Lennon

Vlad The Impaler, Kasabian

Setting Sun, The Chemical Brothers

Waving Flags, British Sea Power

Drumming Song, Florence & The Machine

Long Snake Moan, PJ Harvey

I've Seen It All, Bjork featuring Thom Yorke

Colours, Donovan

Time Of The Season, The Zombies

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Dusty Springfield

Ghost In You, The Psychedelic Furs

April Skies, The Jesus & Mary Chain

Swamp Thing, The Chameleons

Aftermath, Tricky

Ciao!, Lush feat. Jarvis Cocker

Bangin' On, Johnny Marr & The Healers

Rise, Public Image Ltd.

Tonight We Fly, The Divine Comedy

Freedom '90, George Michael

Starz In Their Eyes, Just Jack

Gone Up In Flames, Morning Runner

Rockist Part 1, School Of Language

Fairytale Of New York, The Pogues

Trouble (Cat Stevens cover), Elliott Smith

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next semester!

"Multi-Tasker of the Decade" and setlist for 5 December, 2009

I'm totally having a Damon Albarn fangirl freakout. Pitchfork is reporting that in addition to the new Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, and the opera co-written by Alan Moore, there is a Blur documentary set to be released in 2010 called No Distance Left To Run. Check the link for the trailer and more details.

Other brief news bits: Johnny Marr is slated to score Tony Krantz's upcoming film The Big Bang, and Goldfrapp are planning to release Head First on 22 March (my birthday!).

This afternoon's setlist:

I Wanna Be Adored, The Stone Roses

You! Me! Dancing!, Los Campesinos!

0-0 A.E.T. (No Score After Extra Time), Thousand Yard Stare

No You Girls, Franz Ferdinand

Shoot You Down, Birdland

Space And The Woods, Late Of The Pier

Turn Me Well, Micachu

Straight No Chaser, Mr Hudson

Just Say Yes, Snow Patrol

The Devil's Crayon, Wild Beasts

Cold Shoulder, Adele

Mirror In The Bathroom, The English Beat

Trip & Slide, Bleach

Another Saturday, Stuart Murdoch

In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel

Stripped (Live), Depeche Mode

Daniel, Bat For Lashes

Made Up Love Song #43, Guillemots

Cornerstone, Arctic Monkeys

Uncertain Smile, The The

Monkey Bee, Monkey: Journey To The West

Ask, The Smiths

Falling And Laughing, Orange Juice

The Duelist, Air featuring Jarvis Cocker and Charlotte Gainsbourg

Fade Into You, Mazzy Star

21 November 2009

Counterpoint, Delphic

Doctor Robert, The Beatles

Girls And Boys In Love, The Rumble Strips

The Great Escape, The Rifles

Geraldine, Glasvegas

Mansize Rooster, Supergrass

Timeless Melody, The La's

I Fought The Law, The Clash

I Just Came To Tell You That I'm Going, Jarvis Cocker & Kid Loco

IRM, Charlotte Gainsbourg

Lorelei, Cocteau Twins

Here's Where The Story Ends, The Sundays

Asleep In The Back, Elbow

That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, The Smiths

Walkin' With Jesus (Sound Of Confusion), Spacemen 3

Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery, Graham Coxon

The Captain, Biffy Clyro

Time For Heroes, The Libertines

The Cutter, Echo & The Bunnymen

Waking Up, Elastica

Metal Mickey, Suede

Ramalama (Bang Bang), Roisin Murphy

Movin' On Up, Primal Scream

News and setlist for 14 November, 2009

You can now add "nuclear power combatant" to Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke's resume, which already includes "climate change advocat" and "vegan/bicycle enthusiast." Writing recently on Dead Air Space, Yorke sarcastically endorses the UK's proposed nuclear power system.

Poor Morrissey just can't catch a break. A few weeks ago, the former Smiths frontman collapsed onstage in Swindon, cancelled one show in support of his new album "Swords" (a collection of B-sides), and quickly made a full recovery. Now it appears that one Liverpudlian is unhappy about the Mozfather's return to the stage, and threw a drink at his head to voice his opposition. Of course, Moz quickly walked off the stage and didn't return. More about it here.

Speaking of theatrics, Gorillaz are teaming up with "Watchmen" and "V For Vendetta" writer Alan Moore to write an opera. Damon Albarn, ringleader of the group and the human incarnation of 2-D, is no stranger to the artform, having written "Monkey: Journey To The West," which included the top-200 single "Monkey Bee." More here.

This afternoon's setlist:

Weapon Of Choice, Fatboy Slim

Moonage Daydream, David Bowie

The Hill, Bombay Bicycle Club

My Turn, Basement Jaxx feat. Lightspeed Champion

Exterminate, Regenerate, Chameleon Circuit

Lost In The Post, The Wombats

Sight Of You, Pale Saints

Crashin' In, Charlatans

24 Hour Party People, Happy Mondays

Lazarus, The Boo Radleys

Time Flies, Porcupine Tree

These Are My Twisted Words, Radiohead

Ganglord, Morrissey

Clint Eastwood, Gorillaz

Take It In, Hot Chip

Wires, Athlete

Lonesome Tonight, New Order

Sail Away, David Gray

Strangers, The Kinks

Wonderwall (Oasis cover), Ryan Adams

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, Elton John feat. George Michael

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (Smiths cover), Clayhill

Final notes: If anyone would be interested in attending a Cool Britannia film screening, such as "Live Forever" or "Glastonbury," please let me know, and I'll start organizing it. Also, CB will be on the air next week, 21 November, despite the Thanksgiving holiday. As for 28 November, I'll be out of town, so I won't be on the air unless there's some overwhelming demand, which I doubt.

As always, thanks for listening!

VOTE DAVE! and the setlist for 7 November, 2009

Former Blur drummer Dave Rowntree is running as the Labour Party candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster seat in the British Parliament's House of Commons. In the BBC's words, the area is "considered a safe Tory seat," so Rowntree's got his work cut out for him. His platform revolves around housing. More info here.

Tunes I spun this afternoon:

The Stars Of Track And Field, Belle & Sebastian

Strange And Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You), Aqualung

Music Is Math, Boards Of Canada

Obscurity Knocks, The Trashcan Sinatras

Hearts & Bones, Thom Stone

Lose My Breath, My Bloody Valentine

Deep Blue Day, Brian Eno

Breathe, U2

Pictures Of You, The Cure

King Of Pain, The Police

Trimm Trabb (Live), Blur

Oh Jim, Gay Dad

Angie, The Rolling Stones

Crystalized, The xx

Rabbit In Your Headlights, UNKLE

Kid A (Radiohead cover), John Mayer

Flashing Red Light Means Go, The Boxer Rebellion

Drive You Home, The Verve

News and setlist for Halloween

A few quick news updates:

London group The Rakes have announced their separation and the cancellation of their UK and US tour. In a statement, the band said, "The Rakes have always been very adamant and proud of the fact that we give 100% to every gig we've ever played. After much deliberation we have come to the shared conclusion that we can't give it 100% anymore and regret to announce that the Rakes are calling it a day."

After a two-year hiatus to focus on side projects School of Language and The Week That Was, Field Music has announced the upcoming release of their third album, "Measure." The double album will be released 16 February, and the band will begin a UK and US tour in November. Click here for more information on the album, and to stream the title track.

Lastly, more shenanigans from former Pulp frontman and current twig insect Jarvis Cocker, who will takeover the Sunday 3:30 to 5:30 PM airshift on BBC6 Music beginning in early 2010. More information here.

Here's today's setlist:

Block Rockin' Beats, The Chemical Brothers

That's The Reason, The Rakes

Measure, Field Music

Scratch The Surface, The Week That Was

Common People, Pulp

Baba O'Riley, The Who

What Took You So Long?, The Courteeners

Kiss With A Fist, Florence & The Machine

Accidents Will Happen, Elvis Costello

Instant Karma, John Lennon

Bang A Gong (Get It On), T. Rex

Dangerous Animals, Arctic Monkeys

Mercury, Bloc Party

New In Town, Little Boots

Doctor Who Theme, Orbital

Temptation, Heaven 17

Girl Like You, Edwyn Collins

Oblivious, Aztec Camera

Champagne Supernova, Oasis

Shadowplay, Joy Division

Undisclosed Desires, Muse

Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand

Road Rage, Catatonia

Flashback, Calvin Harris

Born Slippy (Nuxx), Underworld

Setlist for 24 October 2009

Jetstream, Doves
In For The Kill, La Roux
Trains To Brazil, Guillemots
My Biggest Thrill, The Mighty Lemon Drops
Young Love, Mystery Jets
Brimful Of Asha, Cornerstone
Munich, Editors
Who Can Say, The Horrors
I Never Said I Was Deep, Jarvis Cocker
Hey Scenesters!, The Cribs
Monkey Bee, Monkey
Blue Boy, Orange Juice
Right As Rain, Adele
Space And The Woods, Late Of The Pier
Sparky's Dream, Teenage Fanclub
French Navy, Camera Obscura
Spitting Games, Snow Patrol
Light Aircraft On Fire, The Auteurs
The Jean Genie, David Bowie
All That Money Wants, The Psychedelic Furs
Notorious, Duran Duran
This Time Tomorrow, The Kinks
Cool 'N' Out, Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros
The Globe, Big Audio Dynamite
The Riverboat Song, Ocean Colour Scene
I Know It's Over (live Smiths cover), Jeff Buckley

First CB on the airwaves!

This week, we graduated from the internet-only station in The Lab to the official FM station. The phone number for KRUI is (319) 335-8970, and the AIM account is RequestKRUI. Unfortunately, the KRUI web stream is currently down, but you can still tune in at 89.7 FM.

Running Up That Hill, Kate Bush

Kiss Of Life, Friendly Fires

Bang Bang You're Dead, Dirty Pretty Things

Town Called Malice, The Jam

Pulling Mussels (From The Shell), Squeeze

Another Girl, Another Planet, The Only Ones

Get The Message, Electronic

Smack My Bitch Up, The Prodigy

Satin Chic, Goldfrapp

Virtual Insanity, Jamiroquai

Sink Or Swim, Bad Lieutenant

And I Was A Boy From School, Hot Chip

Two Steps, Twice, Foals

Dare, Gorillaz

Strangers, Portishead

Teardrop, Massive Attack

Vienna, Ultravox

Disappointed, Morrissey

King Of The Kerb, Echobelly

Ciao!, Lush featuring Jarvis Cocker

Red Receiver, Sons And Daughters

Little Discourage, Idlewild

You're Not Alone, The Enemy

All The Young Dudes, Mott The Hoople

For Lovers, Wolfman featuring Pete Doherty

Hearing Damage, Thom Yorke

John Peel: Margrave of the Marshes

If you're not yet familiar with (arguably) the most iconic figure in British radio, read about him here. In short, he did what every radio personality aspires to. He played what he wanted for the entirety of his career (starting in the '60s and ending with his death in 2004), and exposed new and exciting sounds such as Joy Division, The Smiths, and Pulp. Five years ago today, he was preparing what was to be his last program.

But let's avoid sentimentality, shall we? The point is, he was a pretty cool bloke, and in just a few weeks you'll be able to rock out to some of his favorite live sessions on Kat's Karavan - The History of John Peel on the Radio. There's a very real possibility that an upcoming installment of CB will be dedicated to Peelie, because, well, he's kind of my hero.

In other news, deluxe editions of some of Pulp's most popular albums (including Different Class) are set to be rereleased in November, and, as usual, former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker is up to all sorts of silly shenanigans. Read about it here.

Just a reminder: Cool Britannia will now broadcast from the Main Studio of KRUI from 3-5 PM. You can still stream the show through the stations website, but now you can also listen to us on the air at 89.7 FM. Exciting stuff, eh?

New time and location!

Hey, everyone!

Just a quick update: Starting 17 October, Cool Britannia will air 3-5 PM from the Main Studio of KRUI. You can still stream the show through the website, but now we're on the Main Studio station instead of The Lab. Plus, for those of you in the Iowa City area, you'll be able to listen to CB on 89.7 FM.

I'll be out of town this weekend, so the next installment of CB will be 17 October in the Main Studio, 3-5 PM. I hope you'll be listening!

Lydia

3 October Setlist

The Last Ride, Johnny Marr & The Healers

Dogs Of Lust, The The

Cheat On Me, The Cribs

Uprising, Muse

To Lose My Life, White Lies

Pump It Up, Elvis Costello

Lips Like Sugar, Echo & The Bunnymen

Airline To Heaven, Billy Bragg & Wilco

Plan B, Mute Math

Blue Monday, New Order

Teenage Angst, Placebo

Paranoid Android, Radiohead

Money, Pink Floyd

Doctor Who Theme, Orbital

Setting Sun, Chemical Brothers

Tin Man, Animal Kingdom

Lucky Man, The Verve

Let's Make Out, Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Rock & Roll Queen, The Subways

I Get Along, The Libertines

Golden Phone, Micachu

Suburban Knights, Hard-Fi

West End Girls, Pet Shop Boys

Atomic, Sleeper

Dry The Rain, The Beta Band

Thom Yorke forms new group

According the The Guardian, the frontman for Radiohead has teamed up with longtime producer Nigel Godrich and Flea (of Red Hot Chili Peppers). On Radiohead's blog Dead Air Space, Yorke says he formed the group "for fun to play the eraser stuff live and the new songs etc."

What are your thoughts on this proposed "supergroup"? More importantly, how does this affect, if at all, the future of Radiohead? At the moment, the band aren't planning a follow up to 2007's "In Rainbows," but you can catch Thom in action 4 and 5 October in Los Angeles... perhaps you'll get an extra ticket for your favorite radio DJ?

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

Photo from Dead Air Space.

Welcome to Cool Britannia!

Seeing as I haven't blogged since middle school, and I don't know how many people actually listen to the program, I'm not sure how successful this will be, but for now, I'll use this page to post setlists, Britpop-related news, and things of that ilk. Feel free to use this as a place to post comments and suggestions, as well as song requests.

Here's the setlist for the second installment of Cool Britannia:

"Gone Up In Flames," Morning Runner

"She Knows," Thom Stone

"Herculean," The Good, The Bad, & The Queen

"Lucid Dreams," Franx Ferdinand

"People Are People," Depeche Mode

"Animal Nitrate," Suede

"Late In The Day," Supergrass

"There She Goes Again," The La's

"Tonight We Fly," The Divine Comedy

"Meeting Place," The Last Shadow Puppets

"How Are You," Bombay Bicycle Club

"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)," Florence and The Machine

"Sow Into You," Roisin Murphy

"Babies," Pulp

"Not Nineteen Forever," The Courteeners

"Waving Flags," British Sea Power

"Fools Gold," The Stone Roses

"Just Like Honey," The Jesus & Mary Chain

"Cosmic Dancer," T. Rex

"When You Sleep," My Bloody Valentine

"Don't Go Away," Oasis

"Wild Horses," The Sundays

"That Summer At Home I Had Become The Invisible Boy," The Twilight Sad

"One Day Like This," Elbow

"Reel Around The Fountain (Peel Session)," The Smiths

First Installment of Cool Britannia

"Transmission," Joy Division
"Let's Dance to Joy Division," The Wombats
"Bulletproof," La Roux
"Ever Fallen In Love?," The Buzzcocks
"2:1," Elastica
"Tracy Jacks," Blur
"Letters to Elise," The Cure
"The Guns of Brixton," The Clash
"Loaded," Primal Scream
"Mulder and Scully," Catatonia
"Helicopter," Bloc Party
"Crying Lightning," Arctic Monkeys
"Focker," Late of the Pier
"Is It Any Wonder?," Keane
"Long Snake Moan," PJ Harvey
"Revolution (45 version)," The Beatles
"The Only One I Know," The Charlatans
"Unbearable," The Wonder Stuff
"Step On," Happy Mondays
"Careless Whisper," Wham!
"Trouble," Coldplay
"Expectations," Belle & Sebastian
"El President," Drugstore featuring Thom Yorke
"Basic Space," The xx
"Geraldine," Glasvegas
"6 Underground," Sneaker Pimps

Remember, you can always make requests to our email address (krui.dj@gmail.com) or our AIM account (KRUIrequests).