29.11.11 California Diner - 'Survived Thanksgiving!'

As you all know by now, I come from the United States, and we have this not-so-little holiday on the fourth Thursday of November called Thanksgiving. So what’s it all about? The short story--about four centuries ago, a bunch of us left the Mother Country (that would be England), and thought we’d give it a go in the barren hinterlands of North America. But the ones who made the journey turned out to be city dwellers, and as such, there were no cities yet in America. No corner grocery stores, no gas stations, no online internet shopping. No takeout pizza or Chinese food either. All in all, a pretty bleak retail landscape. But instead of letting us starve, the very hospitable locals put turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, apple cider, pumpkin pie, and chips and salsa on our table and welcomed us. So it’s become a big food holiday, and we celebrate by eating all these foods and more. And I do mean more. (And yes, I was only kidding about the chips and salsa, although if the first Thanksgiving had taken place in California, then chips and salsa would have been part of it!) So Thanksgiving is the official start of the holiday season! And with it comes all the lights, and the mad rush to get presents for Christmas. “Black Friday” is the craziest shopping day of the year, and people really do start their shopping in the middle of the night. The way I see it, by crushing all the holidays together, you’re really taking away the fun. And my excuse. I get my best shopping done on December 24th! Lots of excellent snap decisions are made on that day! But it’s also fun to savor the entire month of December, and enjoy everything about the season. But don’t worry--I won’t get all sappy on you. I usually don’t play that much Christmas music on my shows. I prefer the great indie music that we play all year long here at Recharged. But there are a handful of phenomenal original Christmas and holiday songs that some of my favorite artists have recorded over the past few years, and we’ll dole them out slowly--like maybe 2 or 3 a week. This week, we’ll hear great Christmas songs from Laurie Biagini--the original rockin’ surf songstress from Vancouver, Canada. We’ll also hear one from Kat Jones--the Fresno/Nashville/Portland indie goddess. But we’ll also sample some all around indie greatness. Another new pre-release track from Bud Rogers, rapidly shaping up to be one of my surprise faves of the year. (Don’t worry--his album Whiteout is scheduled to release on December 10th, so it still counts as having come out this year.) And how about a new track (for us) from Model Society, a great up and coming electro/alternative/pop band from London, UK! So let’s feast together. The California Diner kicks into high gear and cooks up some great holiday meals for you! www.lauriebiagini.com www.myspace.com/katjones www.reverbnation.com/budrogers www.modelsociety.co.uk/ If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, 8:00-10:00 p.m. (GMT), 12:00-2:00 p.m. Pacific, only at Recharged Radio—www.rechargedradio.com. This note also appears in the News section on the home page of RechargedRadio.com. See you then! Chef Mike mike(at)rechargedradio.com MN2BDNC Volary - Blackbird Fly EyeWood - Lawyers and Liars Jimmy Catlett - Ransom Baby Scream - Suddenly Isaac's Aircraft - My Baby Did Me Wrong Kat Jones - He's The One I Need The Most Cult of Wedge - The Birds and the Bees and Jaime Laurie Larson - Endless Thank You Loop Model Society - Tomorrow She Loves Me M.A.D.I.S.O.N. - Try Maxi Dunn - Why Do I Want You? Kaz Murphy - Midnight Fire Fractures - Nicotine (Single version) Rich McCulley - Far From My Angel Bud Rogers - Caught In A Wheel Corner Laughers - You Two Are The Ones Blake Jones & The Trike Shop - Forestiere Gardens Allyson Seconds - I'm Just A Country Girl Duncan Faure - Where Is The Music The Recusants - Sunday Afternoon Laurie Biagini - Christmas In The Air The Dashing Suns - Sally Moore Imani Hekima - Nothing's What It Seems Lindy LaFontaine (with KYRO) - Harmonics The Clutter Family - Head Maple Mars - Transcendental Guidance Emily Zuzik Band - How Did You Get So Good? Apple Rabbits - Wrong Again Fearless Vampire Killers - Fearless Vampire Killers Sarah Stanley - When I Lose My Heart