Excused Absence

Last night, TMC skipped out on our weekly radio show for good reason. TMC+1 ventured to the seedy GW Lisner Auditorium to see The Magnetic Fields perform. I will review the concert in the next few days but in the mean time, please check out opener Shugo Tokumaru.

Shugo Tokumaru is a Tokyo-based singer/songwriter with the voice of Jónsi Birgisson (Sigur Rós) and the guitar skills of a less percussive Kaki King. Check out Tokumaru's whimsical folk pop for yourself with the first track from his latest album Exits.



EDIT: When Shugo Tokumaru performed this song, I thought it was called "Brown Shoe." That said, it would be great if either Wes Andersen or Sofia Coppola could make a new movie just so we could enjoy charming quirky moments set to this music. - Kate

Station Identification

Touch My Clickwheel is a wholly internet-dependent operation, but our home station, WGTB, was an actual radio broadcast station for quite some time, until their influence and politics got them booted off the airwaves. I just ran across this brief overview of the most interesting part of WGTB's history - it was a cover article for the City Paper back in 1999 (god, that seems like a lifetime ago). In any case, it is recommended reading for radio aficionados, and any one interested in the environment at Georgetown during the Vietnam war era.

Touch My Clickwheel Contest

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Some deviant (Kate) pressed the space bar during a song, and there was some terrible radio silence.

The first person to email us the time location of the awkward pause in podcast #5 will win a t-shirt personally decorated by TMC and a 6-pack of some decent beer.

The beer is only for Georgetown locals, but the t-shirt is up for global grabs! When is the pause?? 13:52? 1:30:41? You tell us.

Fall Podcast #5

Here's the podcast from yesterday's Touch My Clickwheel show.

We discuss long-term decisions, our awkward topic of the week, as well as "retarded" as the new "gay". Of course, we've got some great music coming your way.

Listen to:
Fall Edition #5

Send us some love! We'd love to hear some feedback or suggestions for future shows.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

.... a navel-gazing post inspired by the last post. While we may have a soft spot for Hear Music and the pleasing albums sold at Starbucks, we've still got a little coffee street cred.

Check out:
Mecca in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Intelligentsia in Chicago and Los Angeles
& Saxby's in Washington (Jess swears by their iced vanilla lattes, I dig their Tanzanian Peaberry blend)

And sip on these:
Black Coffee by Ella Fitzgerald
A bold, classy blend.
Buy The Best of Ella Fitzgerald here.

Two Beds and A Coffee Machine by Savage Garden
A guilty pleasure with all the calories of a frappucino.
Buy Savage Garden here. Seriously.

UPDATE: Amy MacDonald

TMC has a long(ish) history of embracing Starbucks music. Say what you will, but I was charmed by Paul McCartney's "Dance Tonight," released on their label, and Lauren was just thankful that they convinced Joni Mitchell to get back in to the recording studio. We've also spotted the Fleet Foxes debut album on sale next to the after-coffee mints!

Most importantly for TMC loyal readers, or perhaps just for those with good taste in music, Starbucks' free download of the week (in collaboration with iTunes) is none other than "Run" by Amy MacDonald. Check for the cards with the download codes if the smattering of mp3s we posted didn't satisfy your appetite for music even more delicious than Edinburgh's famed fried Mars bars.

Fall Podcast #4

Here is the podcast from yesterday's Touch My Clickwheel show.

We discuss dancing, our awkward topic of the week, as well as scent/smells and homecoming weekend events. Of course, we've got some great music coming your way. Please excuse how often I say the word "like." I blame this on illness.

Listen to:
Fall Edition #4

Send us some love! We'd love to hear some feedback or suggestions for future shows.

The (Other, More Northern) British Invasion

I spent Spring Break this past year in the British Isles, some of it wandering the London's Portobello Road with Jess, and the rest of it riding around Scotland in a ridiculous bus. Organized tours aren't really my thing, but some friends and I wanted to make it up to the Highlands and the Isle of Skye (home to both some supposed TMC forbearers, and also electronic music wizard Mylo), and there didn't really seem to be any other way.

Our tour guide/drive also filled in as a dj, and played us a lot of Amy MacDonald, who came out of the Glasgow music scene and had just made it big in Scotland. She plays mostly pleasant guitary-y music, and I really like her distinctive inflections, and slightly deeper voice. I spent a long time looking for her music after hearing it, and her album This is the Life has finally dropped in the U.S. If you need good driving tunes, or mellow music, she's worth checking out.

Tasty MP3s:

"This is the Life" by Amy MacDonald

Scottish favorite "Caledonia" by Amy MacDonald

"Sweet Child of Mine" (Guns n Roses cover) by Mylo


Buy This is the Life here.

Buy Mylo's Destroy Rock & Roll here.

UPDATE: Lykke Li's Lacy Little Bits

Jess posted earlier about the exciting use of "Little Bit" by Lykke Li in the most recent Victoria's Secret commercial, and for those of you who didn't catch it on television, Stereogum has the video here.

This has been a big year for European TMC faves finding commercial success stateside, with Noah and the Whale's "5 Years Time" making for one of the few advertisements for an automobile I have been able to bring myself to watch.

N.B. This photo is actually not from Vicky's Secret, but is from possibly my favorite lingerie ad campaign: Maggie Gyllenhaal for Agent Provocateur. She's better cast here than she was in The Dark Knight.

Fall Podcast #2... Abridged

Friends and lovers,

TMC had a great second show, but due to some recording problems, we lost Kate's second set and both of Lauren's. But never fear, we still have some good music and topics captured on podcast! Topics include GEMA Rocks, dinner dates, and cell phones at the dinner table.

Listen to:
Fall Edition #2

Be on the lookout for this week's uncomfortable topic, and tune in Sunday 6-8PM EST at geogetownradio.com. Also, be sure to email us any suggestions for future shows or just to chat!

Lovingly,
TMC