Sunday Sounds on WSID
Sunday mornings are meant for relaxation. They’re the time to linger over a cup of coffee, to savor a pastry, to tackle the Times or to listen to some music. The beautiful thing about Sunday morning music is that it can be a mix of things. There’s room for the introspective lilt of folk, the twang of classic country, the plaintive wail of soul and the driving sounds of rock and punk. Any way you slice it, though, Sunday morning music is old school music, with a few modern tunes thrown in for good measure.
That’s why Sid Mashburn’s new radio show is the best thing to happen to Sundays since the advent of the donut shop. The show airs on AM1690 out of Atlanta, a station known as Atlanta's Voice of the Arts, and features Sid spinning vinyl - no CDs or MP3 files here. Though the show airs on Wednesday night, the eclectic mix of music embodies the Sunday morning spirit, where it can be streamed on Soundcloud through the Sid Mashburn website. Where else can one find Brian Eno, Desmond Dekker and the Bee Gees - the early stuff, before they tore up the disco charts - on one playlist?
The setlist for show number two.
Sid’s musical taste runs deep, and he’s as likely to spin cuts from childhood and adolescent favorite as he is a ‘90s indie jam, a lost and hazy Atlanta soul track or socially conscious R&B. During his first show, Mashburn ran the gamut from the legendary Nina Simone’s “Just in Time” to Swedish cowboy Lee Hazelwood’s “The Girls in Paris” to 21st century San Francisco psych-rockers Thee Oh Sees’ “Drop.” The past show’s breadth is as deep and diverse, with appearances from jazz flautist Herbie Mann - with his rendition of “All Blues” - trippy Brazilian indie kids Boogarins - “As Plantas Que Caram” - and Waylon Jennings, with “Delia’s Gone.” Not since Henry Rollins’ radio show on KCRW have I enjoyed a music hour so much.
Take one look at Sid Mashburn’s web store, and it’s clear he’s a crate digger. He carries a selection of vinyl in the shop, and he’s as likely to carry Duke Ellington as he is Jonathan Richman, Digable Planets and Todd Rundgren. It’s just one more piece of evidence that life is not only best enjoyed when well-dressed, but with open ears to boot.