This week: Brit actor/director/provocateur Chris Morris terrorizes US movie screens… Black Bart’s last verse… and urban farmers get their goats. Plus, Curative new music from Crystal Castles, and an-“other” joke.
Icebreaker: Billy McLaughlin
Acclaimed Minnesota guitarist Billy McLaughlin – who invented a whole new style after a debilitating disease severely limited his ability to play – picks his favorite self-deprecating joke.
Small Talk: Rat Fur, Purple Windmills & Goodbye Kitty
The folks at Marketplace regale us with some news stories you might’ve missed. Like a new study that says that bugs are aesthetes.
Radio listeners heard Dan Grech, news director for Miami’s public radio station WLRN, tell us about guy who went to a gentleman’s club and almost had his eye fall out of his head.
A History Lesson With Booze: Black Bart and “The Annuity”
This week in 1883, gentleman thief Black Bart finally botched a job…after pulling off 27 stagecoach robberies. The lyrical larcenist left poems – but never dead bodies – at the scene of his crimes. Hold up a custom cocktail in his dishonor.
“The Annuity,” as created by Greg Lindgren, co-owner of Rye Bar in San Francisco, where Black Bart lived the high life, served his time, and was rumored to have been offered a golden parachute.
To a mixing glass, add:
- 1 1/2 oz. California brandy (try Germaine-Robin, from Ukiah in California’s gold country)
- 1 egg white
- 3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 oz. honey syrup
Shake and strain twice into a short glass. Politely hold it up. Recite some verse, and imbibe.
Guest of Honor: Chris Morris
English satirist Chris Morris is one of the UK’s most respected – and controversial – TV and radio personalities. So it’s no surprise his film directing debut, Four Lions, is a comedy about terrorism. Morris tells Rico about tackling taboo topics, and what it’s like to be asked to speak for God.
Main Course: Pets with Benefits
Novella Carpenter introduces Brendan to the new pet of choice for urban farmers: goats. Chickens are child’s play compared with these high-maintenance, high-reward animals, which produce sweet milk and creamy cheese. Just beware of stinky studs.
One For The Road: Crystal Castles – “”Not in Love”
Electronic duo Crystal Castles has a Cure for all that ails you – “Not in Love,” a pulsing nu-wave dance single with signature vocals provided by Robert Smith. (Expect it on CC’s upcoming album from Fiction). Perfect for tearing up old love letters into tiny, tiny pieces, or shopping for pastel blazers with padded shoulders.
Music On This Week’s Show:
Sea & Cake – “The Argument”
The Wedding Present – “Signal”
Link Wray – “Jack The Ripper”
Tipsy – “Liquordelic”
Joe “Fingers” Carr – “Somebody Stole My Gal”
Lucksmiths – “Jewel Thieves”
Dirty Gold – “California Sunrise”
Massive Attack – “Man Next Door”
Julie Andrews et al – “The Lonely Goatherd”
