I once again returned to the radio airwaves at my beloved alma mater last night. Thanks to a substitution call from longtime pal who holds down a regular Sunday slot — not to mention current student leadership’s continued kind accommodation of old-timers haunting their space from time to time — I had three hours to spin records, CDs, and maybe a tale or two. Unlike other recent-ish instances when I took the air chair in the station, I didn’t have an overarching theme or concept behind the show. I simply played music, taking advantage of the breadth offered by the program’s title, Then and Now. It felt great. It always feels great.

For posterity’s sake, and my own record-keeping, this is my playlist from Then and Now on February 27, 2022:

Interpol, “Not Even Jail”
The Police, “Next to You”
The Waterboys, “Old England”
Talking Heads, “I’m Not in Love”
Kate Bush, “Kite”
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, “Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?”
Elliott Smith, “Speed Trials”
Phoebe Bridgers, “Punisher”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Dull Life”
Pixies, “Brick Is Red”
Buzzcocks, “You Say You Don’t Love Me”
De La Soul, “Eye Know”
Fiona Apple, “Get Him Back”
The Call “I Still Believe (Great Design)”

Sleater Kinney, “The End of You”
Wilco, “Modern Girl”
Billy F Gibbons, “Casino Queen”
Tori Amos, “Crucify”
Haim, “The Steps”
Lene Lovich, “Lucky Number”
Nirvana, “About a Girl” (from MTV Unplugged)
Billy Bragg, “Sexuality”
The Godfathers, “She Gives Me Love”
Material Issue, “2 Steps”
Wire, “Three Girl Rhumba”
Gang of Four, “Producer”
Diet Cig, “Thriving”
Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, “Vibrating”
Robyn, “Call Your Girlfriend”
Sam Phillips, “I Need Love”

The Black Keys, “10 AM Automatic”
Parquet Courts, “Paraphrased”
Blackfoot, “Train Train”
The Leaves, “Too Many People”
Perfume Genius, “Just Like Love”
10,000 Maniacs, “A Campfire Song”
Swamp Thing, “Your Aunt Nellie’s Dead”
Belly, “Now They’ll Sleep”
The Cure, “The Baby Screams”
Hinds, “Just Like Kids (Miau)”
Too Much Joy, “Poison Your Mind”
Lou Reed, “Finish Line”
Minutemen, “Corona”
The Replacements, “I Bought a Headache”
The Strokes, “The End Has No End”
R.E.M., “Zither”
The White Stripes, “Hypnotize”
Smashing Pumpkins, “Rhinocerous”

Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Radio Days” tag.