The WildWorks Station

A Slight Update for April 27, 2011 – Added is the April 27th radio show.

Even though it was a wet and gloomy day, Wednesday’s radio show did not dampen spirits as I played several new tracks and 1980s Cantopop songs. There was no interview segment and the Easter weekend is coming up as it was best to relax and take a break. What was played on the show were the usual top 10 countdown and several songs from a compilation by Paper Bag Records. It’s a cover to a Madonna album called True Blue as that album celebrates 25 years. The artists that took part in the compilation were Young Galaxy, The Acorn, Winter Gloves, The Rural Alberta Advantage and etc.

One the bands in the compilation whom announced their indefinite hiatus. You Say Party does a rendition of Love Makes The World Go Round and is considered to be the band’s final new song. Listening to the track felt bittersweet as the band won’t be together for the foreseeable future. The band will be greatly missed.
There was a shoutout to RTHK’s Ellie Davis as I decided to play a brand new song by Emmy The Great. Reason for it was listening to her New Year’s Day show and she interviewed the London-based folk singer. It’s nice to get in touch with other radio hosts elsewhere in the world.

R.I.P. – Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) of Doctor Who
On a sombre note, it was sad to hear that Elisabeth Sladen, known to Doctor Who fans as Sarah Jane Smith has passed away and it’s days before the return of Doctor Who (Series 6). It was quite a shock and surprise because her passing away was unexpected. Hopeful to do The New Midnight Jamz preshow podcast as myself & show host, DJ Daddy Rich will chat about the unexpected passing of a wonderful and excellent actress.

Just added for April 24, 2011. The New Midnight Jamz on CKCU-FM. The preshow podcast is added as myself and Daddy Rich talked about the passing of Elisabeth Sladen. The songs chosen were played on the tribute which followed the season premiere of Doctor Who in the UK. They were Someone Like You by Adele and She by Elvis Costello.

Final Mention
I forgot to bring up that this blog is nominated in a couple of categories (in Arts & Culture, Music, and Pop Culture & Entertainment) for the 2011 edition of the Canadian Weblog Awards. It should be a fun experience.

Without further ado, you can check the playlist at this link.
The Wild 10 Countdown summary is at this link.

April 27th Entry
It looks like I will be hosting solo for the foreseeable future. I’m starting to sound like Doctor Who as companions leave and move on. Enough of the sadness, Wednesday’s show had to do with Sandy Lam because April 26 was her birthday and I realize that last season’s show on the same topic had bad sound quality. It’s great to re-do it again with clearer sound.
I forgot to mention it on the show but on Twitter, Nat and Marie (whomever it was) wanted me to take a photo of what I’m wearing at the radio station. The photo is at this link. It was used on Incredibooth for the iPad 2.
The audio for the April 27th show is in the audio/podcast section. Enjoy!

Audio/Podcast
There’s two versions to listen.
The full 2 hour April 20th show  - press play to listen

The April 20th live show – press play to listen.

The April 24 edition of The New Midnight Jamz – press play to listen.

The April 27 edition of WildWorks – press play to listen. The playlist is at this link.

It’s every year that I always write about Leslie Cheung on his passing. It’s the 7th year since Leslie Cheung left his fans, followers and the Cantopop music industry in Hong Kong. This time is unique because I got to express it on my radio show. After several yearly entries of expressing by words, I got to express it by voice and music. As I explained on-air my reaction on the morning of April 1st in Canada, night time in Hong Kong, it still saddens me on April Fool’s Day because it was a total shock. Leslie Cheung is still missed but his legacy of his songs still continue on. I hope you will enjoy the March 31st edition of the radio show. I split it in 2 parts, one for the whole 2 hours and the other for the Leslie Cheung tribute.
Another thing, I aired the interview with Ottawa’s Musk Ox. They are a Neo-Folk and Classical trio based in Ottawa. It was recorded back on Feb. 28 at Bands Undone and it was after Team Canada won gold in Men’s Hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
I also mentioned about Doctor Who returning to the airwaves (England first and then North America on April 17th) and “retiring” the theme to Series 4. The 11th Doctor brings on the new look, new theme and new series. Totally can’t wait for it. Another event was this past weekend happenings as I enjoyed the Said The Whale/In-Flight Safety/Graham Wright concert at Zaphod Beeblebrox. The following day was the Snailhouse concert at Raw Sugar Cafe. Expect those interviews to be aired around April.
Here’s the playlist for hour 1 and hour 2. Hour 2 will be problematic if you have a Chinese text encoder on Windows.
Click on hour 1 to view the playlist.
Click on hour 2 to view the playlist, if you can read Chinese.

Radio Show
The entire show – Press play to listen.

The Leslie Cheung tribute from the 2nd hour – Press play to listen or go to this link to listen.

Musk Ox Interview – Press play to listen or download it.

On YouTube, I found this Mandarin version of “Missing You.” Here’s the live clip.

It’s now 2010 and I started off the new year by watching Doctor Who. It was part 2 of The End of Time and also the end of David Tennant’s stint as the Time Lord and the show’s head writer, Russell T. Davies. Ever since Doctor Who returned to the airwaves in 2005, they have been coming out with the Christmas specials. The Christmas specials have become a tradition for myself because there’s not much happening on Christmas day. This one is very important because in 2009, there was no full series of Doctor Who because Tennant was off acting on stage. There were the four specials and the final two were David Tennant’s final adventure and swan song. Here’s an image I put up and it’s from the ending where he regenerates. It’s a sad scene watching the Doctor go into regeneration. Doctor Who fans like myself have been fond of Tennant, it’s just hard to see him leave the role. I’m going to miss the brown pinstripe suit (there’s also the blue pinstripe suit), the Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers (I will continue to wear them no matter what), the glasses he occasionally wore and the sonic screwdriver.
Overall, the 2nd part of The End of Time was excellent. As non-spoiler as I can be, the acting among the cast was superb. Seeing the emotions of Tennant as The Doctor clings to his death was just strong and emotional. It was touching to watch the companions of previous seasons mark their farewell as they won’t be coming back for future episodes. The words, I don’t want to go will probably linger on for awhile because it’s so heartbreaking and us fans will have to move on that Tennant is no longer the Doctor.
I can’t wait for the Spring when Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) takes over for Doctor Who.
How could I not forget to mention that it’s wonderful to see another “iconic” British character (well, actor) appear in the show. I know Timothy Dalton did two James Bond movies. It was nice to see two famous British character sort of meet face to face. I know it’s silly of me to imagine James Bond meeting Doctor Who.
Since I wanted to embed the YouTube clip, here’s the link to the preview of Doctor Who Series 5.
It looked like the finale scored 10.4 million viewers in the UK. Thus ends the David Tennant years on Doctor Who.

The First Radio Show of 2010 – Another Themed Show to Wrapup the Holidays

Here is the first radio show of 2010 (on January 6). Started with Sadie Hell, played a new Basia Bulat song (album to be released on January 26, 2010), and almost ending with Doctor Who (again). I played the best of the 2000s. It was basically my picks throughout 2000 and I had to change my song choices due to the mainstream music that I’m not supposed to play regularly. In irony, I played several British hits from the 2000s and it seems like a few people are starting to remember S Club 7. I will resume the interviews for next Wednesday.
Playlist is up on CKCU’s website at this link.
Press play to listen

Read the rest of this entry »

We’re inching closer towards the end of 2009 and ringing in 2010. It’s also the end of the decade called the noughties. I won’t be resuming my Series 5 entries until after the new year as this is another special entry for the Christmas holidays.
January 1, 2010 update: Happy New Year to everyone!

The best of 2009 edition for Wednesday morning’s radio show at CKCU is now posted and you can listen to it.
Here’s a previous audio which is moved to this entry since it’s a wrap up to 2009. Here’s the embedded player to listen.
From the December 16, 2009 radio show, my top 10 Canadian albums of 2009. Press play to listen.

Here’s the December 30, 2009 edition of ASR and my radio show. Press play to listen to the entire show.

Press play to listen to my Best of 2009 edition. At the end of the show, I played a famous Chinese song by the late Anita Mui. It was December 30, 2003 when she passed away.

Playlist is at http://wildworks.wordpress.com/radio/

Yeah Yeah Yeahs -My Favorite of 2009
I picked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs as my favorite for 2009 and since I explained a bit on-air, I forgot to mention on-air that there’s this clip from NME’s YouTube site had the Yeah Yeah Yeahs talk about It’s Blitz track by track. It’s funny how they explained the first 2 tracks as “party, party, party!” Here’s the YouTube clip.


Remembering Anita Mui
At the end of the radio show, I played an Anita Mui song in a way of remembering her. Here’s a YouTube from her final concert in 2003 and she was ill but continued to perform under pain. The ending when she leaves the stage will put you into tears.

Read the rest of this entry »

What a way to start Wednesday morning with a blast of snow. Even though my blog is snowing (until January 4, 2010), it’s not as intense and cold compared to outside in Ottawa. I was able to make it to CKCU through blizzard conditions. The bus ride took me over an hour. Yep, Winter has arrived. During the show, I had to endure Lady GaGa by surprise, thanks to the host. Go ahead as you laugh it off. Today’s show included some several Christmas tunes and the interview with one of the members of The Most Serene Republic.
I still can’t stop playing You Say Party! We Say Die! Enjoy listening to the show.
Can’t wait to check out Bands Undone for Friday as it will be Mother Mother and Laurent Bourque at different times.
Here’s Wednesday edition of Audio Sensory Resuscitation and my show combine. Press play to listen.

Here’s my show. Press play to listen.

Due to the sound quality from the radio show being not so great, you can listen to the interview with Emma of The Most Serene Republic separately. Press play to listen or download it.

Read the rest of this entry »

It was a tight packed session at Canteen as Caledonia dropped by for Bands Undone. Let’s just say that the band brought the whole equipment for another stellar performance at the art shop & gallery.
The funny part for myself when Caledonia sang the first song was continuously eating Humpty Dumpty Party Mix due to the face that the lead singer kept saying “hunger!” It led me to keep eating on the pretzels and ringalos. They performed 4 terrific songs and it wowed the small audience.
The funny part with the separate interviews was Kara (the host) and myself had trouble saying ECMA (East Coast Music Awards) and it was unusual because the name looks easy because we had trouble saying it.
I didn’t expect to have a long Saturday as I decided to join the two Brian’s to go to Zaphod Beeblebrox for Caledonia (again) with Matt Ouimet and Sarah Hallman. Due to the competing gigs elsewhere in downtown Ottawa on Saturday and the Santa Claus Parade being held at night-time, it was not busy at Zaphods but there were several went to see Caledonia. Overall, they’re a great band from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Hallman and Ouimet’s performances were enjoyable.
You can view the photos at this link.
The Bands Undone review is now posted up.
Here’s the video taken by Brian. YouTube version also available.

Read the rest of this entry »

Updated on November 18, 2009

Monday’s show was sort of jammed packed with the Julie Fader (photo displayed) interview, the gigs I attended on the weekend and CBC Radio 3′s 2009 Bucky Awards short-list being unveiled.
Started the show by playing a classic TV theme from the animated show, The Raccoons. I got to talk about Doctor Who and the second 2009 Special, The Waters of Mars. I’m sad that it is the beginning of the end for David Tennant as the famous Time Lord. The sonic screwdriver was heard on the show.

Here’s the audio interview with Julie Fader. You can press play to listen or download it.

Monday’s show, press play to listen.

After the radio show, I went to Canteen Art Shop + Gallery for Bands Undone. This time, it was Vancouver’s Parlour Steps. I think CBC Radio 3 has played the band and from what I checked out at the session, they were very good. They were a rocking and easy-going band. I can’t think of words at the moment as I’m still under the weather. I didn’t know the band has been around for a decade and one of the members joined two years ago.
You can check out the photos by clicking here.
November 18, 2009 Update: The review is now up on the Bands Undone site, click here to read and watch.

In case you missed it, you can read the previous blog entry from about the Most Serene Republic, Think About Life and YSP!WSD! show at this link. I got various links from the Apt613 members using my video and others. I know writing a back to back entries would be confusing.
Read the rest of this entry »

It has been almost several weeks since going to a concert in Ottawa. Aside from the Ottawa Food & Wine Show from 2 weeks ago, I haven’t gone to any fun and interesting concerts lately. On Thursday night, I went to The Rainbow Bistro to check out The Balconies, who were one of the opening or ending acts for Whale Tooth. Another band that perform was Under The Weather. Overall, I enjoyed Whale Tooth and The Balconies as both bands brought some dynamic energy to their performances. Finally, The Balconies get a good crowd after usually being the opener acts at other concerts.
Here’s a silly photo my brother took using someone’s Canon EOS 5D. Pointing or thumbing at one of the members of The Balconies.

Oh yea, I am happy to get Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series on DVD. I have not got a chance to look at the special features and listen to the audio commentaries for the episodes.
Another yearly tradition is getting toques at Roots.
I am still video gaming with Guitar Hero World Tour on the Nintendo Wii but I hear so much talk of people playing Gears of War 2 and this zombie game on Xbox 360, Left 4 Dead.
That’s all for now.

What a way to endure the 23rd Annual Ottawa Food & Wine Show at the Lansdowne Park/Ottawa Civic Centre. It was my second time to be at the event as I previously went when it was at the Ottawa Congress Centre several years ago. This time, I went with my bro but he was with his friends and I was hanging out with a professional photographer, local singer, Ana Miura (pictured above) and two other people. Great moments were seeing some people I know from elsewhere and it couldn’t of made me any happy seeing them for a bit. I didn’t go for the wine as I was interested in the food aspect of the event. I only went for Big Daddy’s Crab Shack & Osyter Bar’s osyters and Arc The Hotel’s smoked salmon. Overall, it was fun time but later on, it was getting insane with the huge crowds as we tried to go through them. Four hours of walking straight was really straining. After leaving the Civic Centre, I did not expect to see a very long lineup, it was just crazy.
As you see on the photo that I was being very silly with the facial expression.

In other past events that happened, the US finally elected the first African-American President, Barack Obama. I stayed glued to CBC’s coverage instead of the US networks. I did flip through the US networks at times. I did not know about CNN’s “so-called” use of hologram for their election coverage.
I had a blast volunteering CKCU’s 2008 Funding Drive. I did 3 phone shifts to answer donation pledges. I met some radio hosts and they were pretty nice and funny to talk to.
Even the news was over a week old, I was saddened to hear David Tennant leave Doctor Who after four 2009 Specials. Tennant’s Doctor has become my favorite and best of the Doctor played so far. Let’s hope the 11th Doctor will fill in his shoes in an excellent manner. Tennant was “fantastic” being the lonely Time Lord. Fantastic was the word used by the current and the 9th Doctor.
To end the entry, it was totally awesome to have the warm weather hit Ottawa this week. It gave me a good time to put up Christmas lights outside of the house. I wouldn’t put them if the weather was pretty cold. What a wonderful week to start November.

Of all the Christmas programming throughout December, I was more than pleased to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Special 2007. The episode title called “Voyage of the Damned” and it also guest-starred Kylie Minogue. What did I think of the episode? As spoiler free as I can be, it was another excellent Christmas special for the Time Lord but it was last time that I felt sad watching the series since “The Girl In The Fireplace” from Series 2 in 2006. What a way to feel bummed out during the Christmas holiday in 2007.
How did I think of Kylie Minogue? She was great and overall, I found the cast and story to be strong on the third Christmas special.
I was more happy to watch Doctor Who Confidential at Christmas 2007 because they played clips from Kylie Minogue‘s hit songs. Songs like “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”, “I Should Be So Lucky” and “The Locomotion.”

Here’s another image from the Christmas special. I hope it is spoiler-free. Man, how many times has the Tenth Doctor snogged?

I hope to get another year-end entry which will be about my favorite moments that I have done.