People Like Us, DO or DIY
DO or DIY with People Like Us on WFMU
Since Autumn 2003 People Like Us have been doing a weekly show on WFMU, called DO or DIY. The aim of the show is to mix highbrow with lowbrow to challenge whether there is much difference. Also, many artists played on DO or DIY get very little radio play (a google search for many of these bands brings the show's airplay at the top of the results). Each weekly show has been known to have excess of 75,000 listens per year (based on average Realplayer stats archives collected over the space of one year).
Here are the archived playlists and realaudio streams of at least 200 shows from 2003 to the present day. www.wfmu.org/peoplelikeus
Subscribe to the Podcast of DO or DIY by clicking here - it will prompt your iTunes program to open, where you will receive the podcasts.
People Like Us' radio show DO or DIY is now also a separate 24 HOUR DO or DIY Stream on WFMU! Yes indeed - DO or DIY is available all day, every day. 24 hours of All Things Avant Retard.
You can listen to the stream through iTunes, by clicking here - it will download a file that you can then click on to play the stream.
DO or DIY biog
DO or DIY is a freeform sound art radio show broadcast weekly by Vicki Bennett (project name People Like Us) on WFMU.
The philosophy behind the show is simple. That within the realms of avant-garde and experimental sound art the goalposts defining "accessible" and "inaccessible" are constantly moving. As the radar rises and dips, fragments and shards of underground creations unearth, and popular culture and artist resonate, shifting shapes accordingly with one another in reflections of changing spotlights.
The avant-garde and popular culture rely on each other's energy. People Like Us collage both "hard to listen" works and popular listening matter, showing that in fact, beyond the restrictions of genre, genre IS the restriction and it is possible to like many kinds of art and music. The key is finding the door - DO or DIY leads the way into new and unusual realms of listening and hope to show the way in.
Each show consists of collages made of sound works from the 20th and 21st century, often layered and looped many times over, resulting in an album type effect on each show.
Suggested Listening:
The Avant-Retard Mixathon" - A selection of the best of one season of DO or DIY from 2005.
New Free WFMU iPhone/iPod Touch app!
Also, if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch we are also pleased to announce that you can listen to not only the regular WFMU stream on the move at a glorious 128k, but also all of our special streams, recent DJ show archives and DJ podcasts including all of DO or DIY!
You can download the much improved updated free WFMU app right here.
ABOUT WFMU
WFMU are very influential to NYC area record buyers, particularly ones who search for music out of the ordinary. The station was listed as #1 station in the USA by Rolling Stone critics for 4 consecutive years, was voted #1 station at 1999's Gavin Convention, subject of a New York Times magazine feature, and has gotten accolades from the WIRE, John Peel, Matt Groening & other luminaries. The format covers anything from home cassettes, noise, old country, rockabilly, electroacoustic, experimental, electronic, metal, out-jazz, krautrock, schlock, hip-hop, collage, garage, and pop from all decades. They've hosted Senegalese rappers, Japanese black metal bands, Tuvan psychedelic rock groups, Brit folk legends, indie rock darlings, and played about 2000 other genres they can't even begin to list.
"WFMU is known as an oasis in the airwave desert. While most stations practice one-dimensional 'narrow-casting', WFMU embraces everything in the wonderful world of sound." - SPIN
"WFMU is the best freeform radio station in America." - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
"Fantastic website, great archives. It is truly eclectic programming, unlike other stations, which claim to be eclectic." - MATT GROENING, SIMPSONS CREATOR
"There's nothing better late at night in this town than climbing into the car and turning on and tuning into WFMU cracklin' across the river with whatever weird shit they're playin' tonight." - LEE RANALDO, SONIC YOUTH
"Romping through the history of recorded sound, WFMU's disc jockeys often come up with unbelievable artifacts, revelatory juxtapositions and songs you thought you'd never hear again." - NEW YORK TIMES
"This is one full-on Limey who believes believes believes that when it comes to transformation through sound, we should support WFMU for their percipient ur-cultural bravado. It's the 21st century and WFMU is here to celebrate our coming of age!" - JULIAN COPE, MUSICIAN/AUTHOR/HISTORIAN
New DO or DIY Stream on WFMU!!!
NEW DO OR DIY STREAM
http://do-or-diy.wfmu.org/listen.pls
It's the beginning of the WFMU 2010 Fundraising Marathon, and to coincide with this we are very pleased to announce that People Like Us' radio show DO or DIY is now not only a regular radio show and podcast, but we now have our own 24 HOUR DO or DIY Stream on WFMU! Yes indeed - DO or DIY is available all day, every day. 24 hours of All Things Avant Retard.
You can listen to the stream through iTunes, by clicking here
- it will download a file that you can then click on to play the stream.
You can also find the DO or DIY stream through the front page of the WFMU website, alongside the Ubu and Ichiban streams.
NEW FREE WFMU iPHONE APP!!!
Also, if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch we are also pleased to announce that you can listen to not only the regular WFMU stream on the move at a glorious 128k, but also all of our special streams, recent DJ show archives and DJ podcasts including all of DO or DIY!
You can download the much improved updated free WFMU app right here.
IT'S THE WFMU 2010 MARATHON, TIME TO GIVE!
Have you ever listened to WFMU? Did you know it's listener sponsored? Did you also know that only 3-5 per cent of regular listeners ever give anything back? Time to change that. We give a lot - if you like it please support us. 15 dollars or more and we'll go away and get on with it again.
https://www.wfmu.org/marathon/pledge.php
TECHNICAL INFORMATION IF WE ARE CONFUSING YOU
To listen to the stream on your computer all you need to do is open iTunes, and paste this stream address (much like you would any other stream) by going to Advanced/Open Audio stream - paste this:
http://do-or-diy.wfmu.org/listen.pls
Alternatively, if you just click on the link above it will do the same for you anyway by downloading you a small file that you can click on to open up the stream in iTunes.
BACKGROUND ON PEOPLE LIKE US' RADIO SHOW ON WFMU
All you need to know here!
http://www.peoplelikeus.org/doordiy/
The WFMU 2010 Marathon is here!
The WFMU marathon 2010 has begun! If you are a fan of WFMU or indeed listen to DO or DIY with People Like Us please consider pledging, since the station runs on listener sponsorship. We're looking forward to the marathon and hope you are too! Here is the co-host schedule:
http://www.wfmu.org/marathon/schedule.shtml
And here's some of the marathon goodies you can get if you pledge:
http://www.wfmu.org/marathon/tch.shtml
Take me to the pledge page now!
The WFMU 24 Hour Short Fall Marathon has begun!
Please help us continue to broadcast on WFMU!
Our 24-Hour Marathon starts TONIGHT, Tuesday Nov 17th at 7pm and runs until
Wednesday November 18th at 7pm!**
We're setting aside our pride to interrupt programming this Fall for our
first, and hopefully last, 24-hour
Marathon http://www.wfmu.org/marathon/index.shtml .
Our coffers are empty thanks to the combined evil forces of the recession
and WFMU falling short of our March Marathon goal. Help us raise enough
money in 24 hours to stay on the air through the winter months!
We've got an *action-packed 24-hours* planned, including *co-host
madness* http://wfmu.org/marathon/schedule.shtml ,
on-air *prize drawings*, and all of the *fun-loving insanity* and surprises
you've come to expect from WFMU Marathons. Check out our new *Radio Bear
t-shirt https://www.wfmu.org/marathon/tch.shtml#pr100 *, as well as a fresh
batch of *DJ Premiums* by *Tom Scharpling, Terre T, Evan "Funk" Davies,
Marty McSorley, Ken, Maria Levitsky, and Seven Second Delay* that are up for
the taking. Visit our pledge page
https://www.wfmu.org/marathon/pledge.php>for details.
*
We hope you can help us out with a year-end
donation https://www.wfmu.org/marathon/pledge.php
!* Pledge online or by calling 800-989-9368.
WFMU Short Fall Marathon
WFMU is holding a 24-hour Marathon: Tues Nov 17th, 7pm - Wed Nov 18th, 7pm. We're setting aside our pride to interrupt our programming for 24 hours this Fall, so we can make it through the winter months. Our coffers are empty thanks to the combined evil forces of the recession, and falling over $100,000 short of our March Marathon goal. We hope you can help us out with a year-end donation! Check out our new fall swag and make a pledge right here or by using the brochure that is soon to arrive in your mailbox.
Interview on BBC Radio 3
People Like Us were broadcast on "Twenty Minutes" on BBC Radio 3 yesterday - about the Light Music composer named Roger Roger, who we have played a lot of on radio shows. The interview features the usage of it on DO or DIY with People Like Us on WFMU.
Awful Fun with DO or DIY on WFMU
It's the end of the Summer Season on WFMU and so time for DO or DIY to unplug the ethernet cable, give the ol' modem a bit of a dust and take the next season off. But before we go we haven't forgotten that it's somewhat a tradition to make a downloadable collection of the best of all things avant retard for your ears and eye-pods, you lucky people - complete with downloadable artwork. So here it is. I always say there's nothing like art, and this is nothing like art.
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2009/10/people-like-us-end-of-season-album-download.html
For playlists and archives of DO or DIY going back to 2003, have a look at the WFMU website homepage for the show.
Final DO or DIY of the Summer Season 2009
This Wednesday 7th October will see the final edition of DO or DIY on WFMU. As is now a tradition, this will be a "best of" show, and be downloadable (with artwork) after the show at both WFMU's Beware of the Blog and then here shortly after.
DO tune in! 7pm NY time at WFMU, both on air, and on line.
For more DO or DIY and radio related information and downloads visit our DO or DIY webpage.
People Like Us interview in Crawdaddy
http://crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com/Article/People-Like-Us-Vanguard-of-the-Avant-Retard.html
Subscribe to the DO or DIY podcast
It's easy! So long as you have iTunes installed if you click on this link it will do the rest for you.
http://wfmu.org/podcast/PL.xml
Also you don't need an mp3 player/ipod to play a podcast - all it is is an mp3 that gets delivered to your computer as soon as it's available - how about that?
If you'd prefer to just listen to archives you can listen here in just SO many ways. We've even got a fancy pop up player -
Install iTunes for both Mac and PC here
Codpaste mp3s!
Codpaste - People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz's podcast from 2008 is now available in mp3 form!
Just go along now to WFMU's Free Music Archive and grab them now.
Alternatively grab the mp3s here:
1 - Cartoon Music
2 - The Chase
3 - Hooked On Classics
4 - ThEdit
5 - Fwms Bo Wo
6 - Snow Day
7 - Banjos, Pots, Pans and Squeezeboxes
8 - Collage
9 - I Can't Tell A Waltz From A Tango
10 - Nana Mouskouri
11 - Sing Song
12 - Comedy
13 - Easy Listening
14 - Finale
More background information on Codpaste here -
http://www.peoplelikeus.org/2007/codpaste_podcast_on_wfmu.html
Codpaste was later developed into the album Rhapsody in Glue.
DO or DIY on Twitter
DO or DIY back on WFMU Summer 2009!
We are very pleased to announce that DO or DIY with People Like Us will return to the radio waves and internet tubes every Wednesday evening starting June 24th, right through the summer to October 7th inclusive, bringing you All Things Avant Retard.
The show will be on after the fantastic "Seven Second Delay" (with Ken and Andy) - between 7pm and 8pm NY time. That is midnight Wednesday evening in the UK.
Generally we do a live playlist and enable live commenting so do watch as well as listen if it's not too much of a distraction from the beeauutiful music. If you live in NY/NJ you can listen on the radio at 91.1fm in New York and 90.1fm in the Hudson Valley. If you're on the internet then listen anywhere by clicking on Live Audio Stream links at the top of WFMU.org.
For those of you unfamiliar with People Like Us' radio show, or indeed if you just fancy another listen, move your mouse over to the DO or DIY archives at WFMU.
We've also made a number of "Best of" compilations available since 2003, including these two from 2008.
DOwnloadable DO or DIY 1
DOwnloadable DO or DIY 2
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DO or DIY chart in The Wire
DO or DIY chart - The Wire (October 2008)
Final DO or DIY of the season
Downloadable DO or DIY, Volume 2
Just like last week, but this is the LAST DO or DIY of the season and People Like Us will be taking the next season off. So here is VOLUME 2 at the WFMU Blog - grab yourself the Best of DO or DIY for the past year's broadcasts.
Zip file (everything: MP3s, cover art jpgs, tracklist)
1. It's Just Amazing
2. More Noice Noise
3. Dancing On Hot Coals
4. Bringing You The Best In 1970s Rock
5. Tijuana Frog Trot
6. Put The Hammer Down
7. Wouldn't It Be Noise
DOwnloadable DO or DIY DOuble Bill - 2008
It's that time of the year again, when DO or DIY zip up their bags and... send it right over to you! Indeed, for the two final weeks of the WFMU Summer Season, DO or DIY with People Like Us are giving you an album sized chunk of all things avant retard - a lovely noisy collage, complete with artwork. So listen in live to DO or DIY at 7pm NY Time (that's midnight UK time) Monday evenings, then go over to the WFMU Blog and grab yourself VOLUME 1 of the Best of DO or DIY for the past year's broadcasts - or get it below.
Zip file of all tracks, atwork and playlist
or get it separately...
1. Sung Song Glue
2. I'm A Star In NY
3. O Wo Is Mio
4. I Am That I
5. All The Screamers
6. MupPet Sounds
7. We Don't Go Too Far
8. Tweety Takes A Holiday
9. Look What You've Done
People Like Us, WFMU & TouchRadio in today's Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/aug/11/radio.digitaltvradio
Mention in the Guardian (UK) - Click That Dial! (August 11 2008)
TouchRadio
Touch, an independent arts organisation that turned 25 last year, is home to artists such as Christian Fennesz, Biosphere and Chris Watson. Touch Radio features challenging and entertaining material, including field recordings, interviews and live performances. There are audio diaries from Chris Watson, where he illuminates his work as a wildlife sound recordist in the Galapagos Islands, taking in the Alcedo volcano. If you are truly tired of words by this stage, you will find an antidote in Touch 10: The Bits In Between by Vicki Bennett, whose own show on WFMU, a glorious mashup (peoplelikeus.org), will leave you in a spin. touchradio.org.uk
Pascal Wyse
WFMU-FM 91.1 FM
Home to an acclaimed country and western show hosted by singer Laura Cantrell, WFMU describes its output thus: "Rock'n'roll, 78rpm records, jazz, psychedelia, hip-hop, hand-cranked wax cylinders, punk rock, gospel, exotica, R&B." And, if that's not enough, there's "Andrew Lloyd Webber soundtracks in languages other than English".
Alexis Petridis
Documentation of the People Like Us Retrospective at alt.gallery
Documentation of the People Like Us Retrospective at alt.gallery
alt.gallery (entry via alt.vinyl) 61/62 Thornton Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4AW.
16 May-12 July 2008
alt.gallery is pleased to announce the first retrospective exhibition of work by People Like Us (aka Vicki Bennett).
ARTIST INFO
For the past seventeen years British artist Vicki Bennett has been an influential figure in the field of audio visual collage, through her innovative sampling, appropriating and cutting up of found footage and archives. Using collage as her main form of expression, she creates audio recordings, films and radio shows that communicate a humorous, dark and often surreal view on life. The exhibition will focus on the concept of collage, showing an edited selection of her work, including twenty album releases, numerous singles and remixes, live sets, seven films and over a hundred and fifty radio shows. These collages mix, manipulate and rework original sources from both the experimental and popular worlds of music, film, television and radio. People Like Us believe in open access to archives for creative use, and have made work using footage from the Prelinger Archives, The Internet Archive, and A/V Geeks. In 2006 she was the first artist to be given unrestricted access to the entire BBC Archive. People Like Us have previously shown work at Tate Modern, Sydney Opera House, Pompidou Center and Sonar, and performed radio sessions for John Peel and Mixing It. The ongoing sound art radio show 'Do or DIY' on WFMU has had over three quarters of a million hits since 2003. The People Like Us back catalogue is available for free download hosted by UbuWeb.
MEMORY STICKS
Every week during the exhibition a different collection of special downloads from the People Like Us archive will be available from the gallery, bring your memory stick along for a free take away!
ESSAY BY DR DREW DANIEL
A specially commissioned essay by Dr. Drew Daniel of Matmos accompanies the exhibition. Download pdf here. Drew's essay can also be linked to here
Download a larger version of this flyer here
Download the poster (featured top right) here
The exhibition also included a framed essay by Rick Prelinger on The Virtues of Preexisting Material. Here is an excerpt:
On the Virtues of Preexisting Material
© Rick Prelinger 2007
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License
1 Why add to the population of orphaned works?
2 Don't presume that new work improves on old
3 Honor our ancestors by recycling their wisdom
4 The ideology of originality is arrogant and wasteful
5 Dregs are the sweetest drink
6 And leftovers were spared for a reason
7 Actors don't get a fair shake the first time around, let's give them another
8 The pleasure of recognition warms us on cold nights and cools us in hot summers
9 We approach the future by typically roundabout means
10 We hope the future is listening, and the past hopes we are too
11 What's gone is irretrievable, but might also predict the future
12 Access to what's already happened is cheaper than access to what's happening now
13 Archives are justified by use
14 Make a quilt not an advertisement
Download a pdf of the full text here, or link to the essay here.
The exhibition will also launch a new CD curated by Vicki Bennett for Sonic Arts Network called 'Smiling Through My Teeth', a compilation of humorous music and sound art.
SPECIAL EVENTS
People Like Us Special on WFMU
Thursday 15 May, 11pm-midnight (UK time) www.wfmu.org/playlists/ER – To celebrate the exhibition opening Ergo Phizmiz hosts a People Like Us Special on his show 'Phuj Phactory' on WFMU, both on terrestrial radio and live internet stream.
People Like Us Talk and Screening
Friday 16 May, 7:30pm
Star and Shadow Cinema, Stepney Bank, Newcastle
Vicki Bennett presents a selection of films by People Like Us.
The Late Shows: Smiling Through My Teeth CD Launch
Saturday 17 May, 7pm-11pm
alt.gallery
www.altgallery.org
The Late Shows form part of NewcastleGateshead's world-class festivals and events programme. www.thelateshows.org.uk
Many thanks to Rebecca Shatwell for inviting us to do this retrospective, it was great fun to work together. Rebecca is now director of AV Festival.
DO or DIY on Australian National Radio!
Starting 23rd December for several weeks of their summer season on ABC Radio National, the radio program The Night Air will be rebroadcasting People Like Us's show, DO or DIY on WFMU - this means you can tune in on your transistor radio or online, or listen afterwards to the archive. Go along to their website now and check it out - the program details for the first episode are here. People Like Us guested on The Night Air back in 2001, alongside friends Irene Moon and The Evolution Control Committee - you can hear that in mp3 form here.
Codpaste podcast on WFMU
This is the archive page of People Like Us and Ergo Phizmiz's podcast "Codpaste". Playlists and archives can be accessed indefinitely at http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/CT. Please read on...
Episode 1 - 3rd December 2007 - Cartoon Music- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25395 Vicki and Ergo ride their little bicycles with square wheels and honky hooters and tell you about their love of this funny music. Features, amongst others, the music of Carl Stalling, Roger Roger and BBC Radiophonic Workshop, all collaged with conversation and ridiculously pointless repetitions.
Episode 2 - 10th December 2007 - The Chase- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25405 Ergo and Vicki show you how fast they can juggle without dropping everything, or at least make very fast music. They play you some of their very favourite speedy rhythms, generally all at the same time, then when it's finished they start it all over again. Features amongst others, different versions of William Tell Overture and Hungarian Rhapsody, and also the misc of Spike Jones, The Comedian Harmonists and Offenbach.
Episode 3 - 17th December 2007 - Hooked On Classics- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25406 In which Vicki and Ergo revisit the 1970's phenomenon of Hooked On Classics, classical cover versions as well as all things light, orchestral and popular. Features a medley of the best of this fine mulch of classical music with a disco beat, as well as some tangential visits to the world of amateur orchestras. Features Portsmouth Sinfonia, The Swingle Singers, John Oswald and Wendy Carlos, amongst others.
Episode 4 - 24th December 2007 - ThEdit- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25429 All about the wonderful world of editing and cutting up of sounds. Ergo and Vicki talk about their favourite editors of life, and demonstrate how one can mess up sound so easily and to such good effect. Features the work of William Burroughs, Negativland, Language Removal Services and cut ups of BBC Radio.
Episode 5 - 31st December 2007 - Fwms Bo Wo- http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25530 Features some of the best explorers of sound poetry, and general transformers of the spoken word. Is this nonsense? Is it music? Are we serious? Ultimately we don't know but we really enjoy it, and this is a fun introduction to a kind of audio art that all too often is alienating. Features, amongst others, the work of Jaap Blonk, Leif Elggren & Thomas Liljenberg, Christian Bok and Stanley Unwin.
Episode 6 - 7th January 2008 - Snow Day- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25533 People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz examine their obsessions with the classical piece Troika (Sleigh Ride), Queen, Rod McKuen and songs about the weather, plus Vicki tries to mix Mrs Miller with B.J.Thomas and wonders why it didn't turn out too well.
Episode 7 - 14th January 2008 - Banjos, Pots, Pans and Squeezeboxes- http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25819 In which Vicki and Ergo discuss the combination of sampling, live instrumentation and voices. Features Wendy Carlos, Sun Ra and Esquivel, amongst others.
Episode 8 - 21st January 2008 - Collage- http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25942 When does it stop being completely isolated from the rest of the universe and step into the world of collage, adding another patch to the huge quilt of sounds that have gone before? People Like Us "start at the very beginning" and try to find out. Features sounds from Noah Creshevsky, DJ Earlybird, Brion Gysin and Kid Koala, amongst many others.
Episode 9 - 28th January 2008 - I Can't Tell A Waltz From A Tangohttp://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25966 Can you? Vicki and Ergo offer a masterclass in the key of E Minor on all things that you can't dance to. Features the swinging sounds of Percy Faith, Charles Barlow & His Orchestra, Johann Strauss II and Ferrante & Teicher.
Episode 10 - 4th February 2008 - Nana Mouskouri- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25655 Why on earth is it called this? Well, this episode is all about those themes and songs that are just so catchy that we just keep returning to them. Includes such delights as Bert Kaempfert, Lenny Dee, The Swingle Singers, The Comedian Harmonists, and of course Nana Mouskouri.
Episode 11 - 11th February 2008 - Sing Song- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/25970 In which Ms. Us and Mr. Phizmiz play all their favourite songs and think about how artists fit in with the world of popular music, almost by accident at times. Features, amongst others, the fabulous works of Noel Coward, Winifred Atwell, The Ronettes and Xper. Xr.
Episode 12 - 18th February 2008 - Comedy- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/26276 Funny ha ha or funny peculiar, either way, we love that music with a sense of humour, a sense of the surreal and absurd. Vicki and Ergo reflect on the aftermath of chancing a visit to a village hall full of leaping lederhosen. Listen to, amongst others, Mary Schneider, Liszt, The Goons and a bunch of WFMU DJs.
Episode 13 - 10th March 2008 - Easy Listening- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/26488 No, don't switch off, you like it really, don't you. Easy Listening, it's nice. Hear the beautiful noises of Glen Campbell, Esquivel, Nelson Riddle and Martin Denny.
Episode 14 - 17th March 2008 - Finale- http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/26515 - and at the WFMU blog The final podcast of Codpaste - a 96 minute mix of the best of the show, which when we play it back, we're quite amazed at how much we fitted into this series in such a short space of time.
What it's all about
"Codpaste" is a weekly podcast series in which the two artists People Like Us and Ergo Phizmiz will attempt to compose collage music from the very beginning, in a "work in progress" style, attempting to open up the creative process. The theory is that it is rare to see compositions made from the outset, and usually the audience are only invited in once the piece is finished, done and dusted. It could be that new light may be shed on the creation of art if the curtains are opened and the audience are given access to the raw, the imperfect and the wrong as well as the polished and the finished. This is what we hope anyway!
From 3rd December 2007 WFMU will be hosting the podcasts of: (i) audio sources, the tracks used as the basis for the collage in the episode, (ii) sketches, mixes and collages combining track's elements, with added instrumentation, electronics, vocals, etc, and (iii) fragments, layers, and multitracks of the collage compositions. These elements will be tied together by snippets of light-hearted, tangential conversations and introductions and occasional mental overload and verbal meltdown.
The previous collaboration "Boots!" experimented with combining free digital downloading with more traditional formats and forms of distribution (record and CD through record stores), and came to the conclusion that the "gift economy" does work - with evidence of increased mail order sales and reports from stores hosting the record that customers also bought things at the same time. As a result, we will compile these weekly programmes into a mp3 album of the same name ("Codpaste"), taking selections of the free podcasts, shaping them into a finished pod-album format, for sale on iTunes. Once the project is completed, all elements will be hosted in perpetuum at WFMU's Free Music Archive, allowing the good work to continue once the artists are done with it!
It is a rare and new thing to be making work-in-progress in front of an audience - and hopefully will prove to be both fun and an inspiration for artist and listener (and ultimately listener as remixer), and a vital exploration of unique ways of making work in a market more than saturated with products.
Background on the collaboration
Since 2002 People Like Us and Ergo Phizmiz have collaborated on a number of compositional projects; including a radio show, two albums and two live performances; "Boots!" and "Screen Play". "Screen Play" was a live soundtrack for Christian Marclay's film of the same name, performed as part of the Wire 25 celebrations in London in November 2007. "Boots!", a year-long project (2006-2007), was presented online as a free downloadable 5-hour long archive (at UbuWeb), including compositional elements dissected into component parts, demonstrating creative processes that led to finished works, making it remixable by downloader. The project received radio play on BBC Radio, Channel 4 Radio - plus 450 subscribers to our subsequent 10" record - "Honeysuckle Boulevard", and an additional 200 who were too late to participate.
You can subscribe to People Like Us and Ergo Phizmiz's other solo podcasts, also on WFMU, at
DO or DIY with People Like Us and The Phuj Phactory with Ergo Phizmiz.
Codpaste timeline
July 2007 – So it begins: collecting sound sources and visual material, discussing structure, audio collaboration begins
The simultaneous collecting and making of work. The podcasts will to go out as the artists are making the work, so that the outlet is time sensitive to the creation. The creating and outputting will be going on throughout the following stages until completion in March 2008.
3rd December 2007 – Weekly podcasts begin on WFMU
A weekly podcast will go out at the same time each week - subscribe through http://wfmu.org/podcast, with playlists and other information added both on this website and also http://wfmu.org/playlists/CT
March 2008 – Develop the material into an album
The artists will steer the collaborative material in the direction of it being collated in "album" form. So in other words, this timeline contains a number of simultaneous and overlapping events - the making of material, outputting and collating.
May 2008 – Releasing the album plus hosting elements on WFMU's Free Music Archive
The album, entitled "Rhapsody in Glue" is now available at bleep.com! Watch this space for bonus tracks which will be hosted at WFMU's Free Music Archive shortly!
15 May 2008 - Rhapsody in Glue - digital album release
Following the success of the critically acclaimed "Perpetuum Mobile" CD of 2007, renowned UK collagists / composers People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz reunite for "Rhapsody in Glue", a cycle of bricolage-ballet-music, skewed-waltzes, and skewiff-pop.
There is a story behind every album, and with "Rhapsody in Glue" we find a unique approach to constructing a record. Both long-term contributors to New York radio station WFMU, People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz decided to publicly tear apart their respective practices and create an album "in the open", presenting on a seafood-filled-platter the process of collaborative collage composition - informally discussing and jabbering nonsense to one another, resulting in the "Codpaste" free podcast series. "Rhapsody in Glue" is the culmination of the ideas explored in the podcast series.
"Rhapsody in Glue" continues in the bizarre ballroom vein of their previous efforts together, however, increasing the sonic palette into textural depths previously uncharted in their work. If "Carmic Waltz" is an expressionist painting by aged ballroom dance teacher who's eaten the wrong kind of mushrooms in her soufflé, then "Gary's Anatomy" is a slice of pure absurdist pop shot through with slabs of exotica and Ethel Merman. Recurring through the record is an apparent obsession with Prokofiev's "Troika (Sleigh Ride)", which merges and mashes with Burt Bacharach and Queen on "Snow Day"' and lapses into pure fantasy on the almost entirely acoustic "Withers in the Whist", jarring with Ergo's strange, Victoriana obsessed lyrics. Then on "Dancing in the Carmen" we discover what happens if Nana Mouskouri is thrown into a pot with Peggy Lee and let simmer for 10 minutes, whilst "In The Waking" shimmers along on multitracked guitars, meandering melodies, and music boxes.
Rhapsody in Glue is available exclusively at budget price from http://www.bleep.com
3 June 2008 - Digital Single derived from Codpaste on the WFMU Blog
We are pleased to announce two brand new downloadable tracks from People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz, available to the web exclusively from WFMU's Free Music Archive and Beware of the Blog. The Music to Run Fast By digital 7'' is based around the idea of "The Chase", where Vicki and Ergo sourced from and collaged as many fast moving sounds as they could possibly think of! This music was originally conceived for a live soundtrack to Christian Marclay's film "Screen Play", performed by WFMU's delightful duo in London last year. It was then developed into "The Chase" episode of their "Codpaste" podcast on WFMU.
If you own a horse then do take this on your ipod next time you go out for a trot.
Download the mp3s at the WFMU Blog
Teaching Pack
We have produced a teaching pack to accompany the Codpaste series, in pdf form. Don't forget you don't need to subscribe now the series is over - just go to http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/CT to listen along with this!
Codpaste - Peaching Tack by People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 UK: England & Wales License.
Based on a work at www.peoplelikeus.org/piccies/codpaste/codpaste-teachingpack.pdf
This project is supported by Arts Council England and WFMU.
DO or DIY - Wet Sounds - WFMU download
In keeping with what is now becoming a tradition, the last on air edition of DO or DIY with People Like Us is being delivered alongside an album sized chunk of a megamix with the bitesize title of "Wet Sounds - The Best Of All Things Particularly Avant Retard 2007". Not only that, but it has fantastico artwork and a delectable bonus 15 minutes on top of what we are playing on the last show of the season. AND no mic breaks prattling on while you're trying to relax and realign your soul to this calming and cooling sonic breeze. People Like Us will be taking the next season off, but will resume podcasting in November, after a short break, so stay detuned.
Zip file of the whole album (including the cover art)
DOwnloadable DO or DIY on WFMU 2006
To commemorate our summer season of DO or DIY on WFMU we have made available a special downloadable edition of the best of DO or DIY on WFMU. We will be skipping the next (Winter) season in order to pursue other projects so grab it while you can (not that it's going anywhere) in mp3 form here at WFMU's BEWARE THE BLOG.
Get along little doggies...
Do or DIY with People Like Us is riding off into the sunset to attend to other audio and art projects. Until she returns to the WFMU schedule, Vicki leaves us with a Best of Do or DIY Megamixathon 2006 collection, complete with some high-res CD cover art and an annotated listing of source material, for those of you who still hanker for physical media:
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4
Track 5
Track 6
Track 7
Track 8
Track 9
CD Cover
People Like Us on TouchRadio
From the digital gutter, here lie all the soundbytes edited out of mic breaks for People Like Us's radio show DO or DIY on WFMU from June to September 2005. The show is all about cutting together avant with pop, and the only aspect of this one hour a week that has ever felt slightly out of place has been the necessary mic breaks. So now we do them justice by taking the entire unedited 3 hours, and in Language Removal Service style we take out all the meaning and are left with 34 minutes of delicious background noise, voice glitches and hesitations.
The file is here http://bulletin.touchmusic.org.uk/touchradio/Radio10/Radio10.m3u
If you go into iTunes you'll work out through the info page how to download it as an mp3 too.
Subscribe to Touch Podcasts here:
http://www.touchmusic.org.uk/TouchPod/podcast.xml
- or just open iTunes, go to "Podcasts" then "Advanced" on your menu settings. Then you can "Subscribe to podcast" by pasting in the above address.
The Avant Retard Mixathon
The final show of the 2005 Summer Season of People Like Us's radio show on WFMU featured a megamix of the best parts of the series - downloadable here!
The Avant Retard mixathon
Artwork here
and here
DO or DIY Premium 2004 - download here
The DJ Premium for People Like Us's radio show on WFMU for the 2004 WFMU Marathon.
Track 1
Track 2
Track 3
Track 4
Track 5
Track 6
Track 7
Track 8
Track 9
Track 10
CD inlay / CD label / CD cover
WFMU website
People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz - Xmas Special
DO or DIY Xmas Special on WFMU with special guest Ergo Phizmiz
Tis the season not only of Good Will, but also of Irritainment Music - but we don't agree that all Xmas music is bad! So just to illustrate the point, here is a chance to not only hear but download the Xmas edition of DO or DIY with People Like Us from 2003, with Special Guest and now WFMU DJ, Ergo Phizmiz! Pour yourself a nice drinky and careful you don't crack your nuts. Wishing you a pleasant Xmess!
http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KF/2006/12/DO_or_DIY_with_People_Like_Us_Xmas_Special.mp3
Nothing Special by People Like Us & Kenny G
Here's an album by WFMU's two terrible DJs, People Like Us, and Kenny G.
01. I'm From
02. Wake Up
03. Nothing
04. So Sorry
05. Close To Me
06. You'll Be A
07. More Sorry
08. Counting Time
09. Give Up It's Mine
10. Greatest Nobody
11. It Wouldn't It Be Nice In Yr Face
12. Too Far
13. I've Got You
And here's the full 3 hour WFMU show that this album was edited from - Nothing Special with Kenny G
Kenny G website
Mess Media through Soleilmoon website
Interview with People Like Us by Kenny G on WFMU, one week before this was recorded.