You may or may not have read yesterday’s reports of a (disgruntled) junior staffer at HBO being ordered to create burner accounts for the purpose of attacking TV critics who had the temerity to suggest The Weeknd star vehicle “The Idol” was the televised equivalent of a flaming bag of dog shit.  Unethical?  Probably.  Petty?   DON’T DO ME LIKE THAT.  I’m just happy, nah thrilled this scandal has completely overshadowed my very-similar-efforts to preempt criticisms of the forthcoming ‘With Sympathy’ quadruple disc box.  “AL + STEVO HAVE BROUGHT JOY TO THE LIVES OF HUNDREDS. WHAT HAVE U EVER DONE HIDING BEHIND YOUR LAPTOP?”  You know, pithy stuff like that. This week’s show will not feature any of the ‘With Sympathy’ demos, not so much for quality control reasons but mostly because the label wouldn’t send me any music. Just like the HBO kid, it will all come out in the lawsuit. 

Tony Cluedo. Patch Lafeyette. Les McQueen. Bob Chagnall. Individually, their names don’t add up to much. Collectively, their ensemble, 1981 Eurovision entrants CRÈME BRÛLÉE are either one of the most important bands of the post-psych era… or one of the most important bands of the pre-psych revival era. I sometimes cannot recall which, which makes the Levitation Festival’s efforts to BAN Crème Brûlée especially galling. Sure, maybe the band (Cluedo specifically) pocketed Levitation’s deposit after claiming they couldn’t obtain work visas, but why hold a grudge? There’s an old cliche in sports that I think applies to music ; you can’t field an entire team of choirboys. I mean, I suppose you could do that with a band but no one wants to hear an A capella version of Crème Brûlée, not even persons who’d pay to see Anton Newcombe.

Last week’s passing of thespian/comic powerhouse Suzanne Somers was noted far and wide, in particular her pivotal role in shepherding the career of the reunited Wire in 1987.  As you all know, it was not a relationship that would stand the test of time ; Somers’ insistence that inviting Ex-Lion Tamers to support Wire’s first US tour in many years was “the worst idea ever”  didn’t go down well and the rest is history.  Except for the part where Somers claimed Sandy Hook mass murderer Adam Lanza was unduly influenced by the fumes of home cleaning products.  Maybe that didn’t really need to happen. 
 
 On this week’s show, I’ve attempted to dive into all of the above topics and if I’ve only managed to gloss over a few of them, hey, there’s something in this business known as TIME LIMITATIONS. 

this friday marks the first WFMU Record Fair since 2019 (typical dealer, shown above) and while I am deeply saddened to miss this event, I’ll be getting vicarious thrills galore seeing your successful hauls online.  Barring another global pandemic (or more likely, me oversleeping and missing my flight), I look forward to the 2024 edition and am warning all of you in advance that I am never again falling for the gag about L’Trimm pic discs being up for grabs with early entry.  Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me ten years running, shame on you X ten. 

so out of the blue some guy (who I've never met or spoken to before) insists that I intervene in a dispute between he and an ex bandmate (an acquaintance of mine) over ownership of some master tapes from the 1990's. I know nothing of the band or the recordings in question. I politely reply, stating this has zero to do with me and wish him luck resolving the matter. He responds with a series of insults, vague threats and blocks me (HURRAY). "Why can't you be more like (Tom) Hazelmeyer?" Like it's so easy to be like Tom Hazelmeyer, I wish. "I LIVE ALONE AND HAVE NO JOB SO I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO SPEND ON THIS" (i appreciate the personal details but I would've wagered on all 3 of these things being true)

Hey, "Sludge Metal Dan" or whatever your pseudonym is, why can't you be more like Carson Craig's amazing Jet City Womeme IG account? It's a high bar to clear, but if nothing else it's a more creative endeavor than harassing strangers online.

 i think we’re all familiar with the phenomena of an eagerly anticipated album that has great songs but is handicapped by a confusing, murky-at-best mix, we all know there is one prominent example that has been the subject of endless debate.  I’m speaking of course of Upsidedowncross’ 1993 album, ‘Evilution’, the recording of which (with all due respect to the very talented Wharton Tiers) doesn’t nearly do justice to compositions like “Black Mass In The Dark” and “Coffin Of Surprises”.   However, with the assistance of modern technology and the steady hand of Dick Urine Jr. , the 2023 mix of ‘Evilution’ is like you’re hearing the album for the very first time. It’s obligatory that everyone voice an opinion about this project and all the many “what ifs” surrounding Upsidedowncross, and with that in mind, this week’s program will feature listener calls on the subject. If it turns out no one rang wishing to discuss the 2023 mix of ‘Evilution’, at least they were given the opportunity. 

It’s been a more difficult week than usual at TRHTFLTH HQ and I am going to try to explain why. For several years I’ve been compiling intimate conversations with some of the most important icons of our age for my first book. Interview subjects included Joey Welz, the late Curt Low, James Dolan, “Get Metsmerized” auteur George Foster, Robert “Ozn” Rosen of Ēbn/Ōzn and The Great Kat. Sadly, when doing advance PR for the collection, I responded to a reporter’s suggestion that perhaps this wasn’t an especially diverse lineup by saying it’s very hard to find anyone as deeply philosophical or articulate as James Dolan (especially since Michale Graves didn’t return my calls). As you probably know, the backlash was swift, so much so that it felt more like a frontlash. Not only has my publisher put the kibbosh on the project, but the local branch of Souper Salad has rescinded my loyalty points.  

On the bright side, I’ve still got this radio show, but since I do it for free it really doesn’t feel like sufficient consolation

as we hit episode 172, I am reminded of the time Boston’s Channel 7 — after what has to be considered an exhausting manhunt — bragged they’d secured the services of a highly touted young anchorperson with the ad campaign, “WE FOUND BRAD HOLBROOK IN A DENVER HOTEL ROOM”.  Needless to say, may of us wondered what was happening in said hotel room. 
  
 By contrast, this week’s show was entirely conceived and recorded in a New York City hotel room, and after hearing recent audience feedback suggesting the program eclecticism was, shall we say, a bummer, I’ve made some careful adjustments to make certain it’s a BANGERZ-ONLY REPERTOIRE this week. BUT THIS WEEK ONLY.  It’s gonna be back to self-indulgence-fucking-city next week (ie. austin) so enjoy it while it lasts. 
 
 (above - hidden camera footage of someone who may or may not be Brad Holbrook conversing with someone who may or may not be law enforcement in what may or may not be a Denver Red Roof Inn). 

You may or may not have read this morning of a Swedish money laundering scheme in which "criminal networks have for several years been using money from drug deals, robberies, fraud and contract killings to pay for false Spotify streams of songs published by artists with ties to the gangs" If you're like me (and I suspect you're not), your first thought was "HOW CAN I GET IN ON THE ACTION", though for once, I'm flummoxed. If there was a method in which this program's repertoire could be employed to similar effect, you're fucking right I'd jump on it.  Instead, Mixcloud and Soundcloud pocket exorbitant fees and I'm left footing the bill for massive production overhead. I know, i've often promised I'd sell blood if that's what it took to keep this program going, but I didn't mean my own blood. 

At least Blabbermouth.net spared us the editorializing for a change. By contrast, the fucking ghouls at METAL INJECTION went with a headline reading "Killswitch Engine's bus hit an elk but everyone is ok". Everyone? The elk didn't survive what the band are optimistically calling "an accident", and it doesn't sit well with me at all that wildlife are being snuffed out in order for Killswitch Engine to continue their campaign of avarice and greed. 

With that in mind, for the 170th consecutive week, I will not be featuring any music by Killswitch Engine on The Radio Hour That Feels Like Two Hours. Mostly because they're fucking terrible, but also because they are elk murderers.