this show makes me cry

I think I know what you mean, listener Dilon in Portland—so moving, as to inspire tears of joy, and other strong emotions. Certainly, that qualification applies to last night's special radio event, exclusive music from Philippe Petit, "Electric Psalterion processed through electronics," a piece so good, so deep, that I'm still getting to know it, the morning after its worldwide debut. Philippe is an artist so generous and kind, that over three years' of correspondence between us, and at least two attempts at a live appearance, he finally just up and whipped out an amazing, multi-mood, layered piece of exclusive music for our show and WFMU. Thanks, Philippe! Damn fine. DAMN FINE, as good as any of our live, in-person performances, to be sure. Hooray! Petit saves the day, a musical superhero. As listener Adam in Portland and Lynnwood put it, and I'm grateful for the notice, "What a powerful exclusive for your fine program, Wm. Berger!"

And as was noted on the playlist, yes we are both men, Philippe and I, men and all that entails, the good and one supposes, the bad (though as to the latter, I can only speak for myself.) And as men, we are expected to be fearless, sometimes brash, but always ultimately to get the job done. And that he did.

And as to my own getting the job done, I was deeply honored and proud to be singled out in The Wire magazine's April-issue review of WFMU's Interplanetary Remixes: WFMU Interprets the Music of Sun Ra (buy here.) And shit, I better get a copy of the issue, as the May issue is already out. My reinterpretation of "Dancing Shadows" from Nothing Is..., one of my favorite Sun Ra albums, was singled out as "the most extreme," an honor I'll take with pride. There's a lot of good material on the disc, my colleagues did well, and I'm pleased to be part of a collection that is getting some well-deserved international recognition.

'Twas a lively playlist, and it was a special treat to have pals Nathan and Erica from Long Distance Poison at home listening, commenting on the board and texting me in excitement, that which comes from having a day off, and being able to stay up late and tune in, in real time.

So, which tracks superlatively dazzled the faithful? Certainly, Philippe Petit's musical magic grabbed the high honors last night. Also, he who never fails to elicit a charge—Moonknight, aka James Brown III, the hardest-working man in black metal, or one of them, recording solo as Moonknight, playing also in DARGAR and Harassor. You can acquire downloads and hard copy of the new Moonknight CD, Ligeia, and the s/t DARGAR tape via Rising Beast Recordings' bandcamp page, right here. Moonknight's Toplov also comes highly recommended. Along with the Crepusculo Negro crowd, Rhinocervs, Legion Blotan, CW Productions, Seed Stock, and a few others, this is some of the most challenging, highly original black metal being crafted today.

I'm also deeply excited for our live guest in two weeks, NY's Occultation, metal of a very different, though highly "Castle appropriate" stripe. Original, otherwordly songs, with one foot in the 70s, and gloomy, dark fortresses. Lucky me~!

Until then, here's to "man power," for all its fairs and foibles. Some of us will even polish the nails of our dead girlfriends! Click on the image above from Living Doll, to see the playlist, and peruse the audio archives, of last night's horrorcast™.