Magic Junk Radio » Mark Sahm

The End of MJR As We Know It (And We Feel Fine)

Mark Sahm — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:35:19 +0000

If you are reading this post now, you have reached Magic Junk Radio too late. After sixteen fun filled episodes, the MJR podcast has been retired and will not be returning for the foreseeable future.

But this does not mean M. Sahm and S. Rod have surrendered to their day jobs or relented to a life of mediocrity and TV watching. You can find the Somrod duo’s current projects and activities at any of the links above.

Nevertheless, we encourage you to check out any and all of the podcasts and singles below. Thanks for listening. Cheers.

Magic Junk Radio 16: Failure To Sell Out

Mark Sahm — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:04:15 +0000

Rather than give you a complicated explanation, this podcast’s content can be summed up in some classic metaphors: Clearing out the vault. Emptying the clip. Wiping the slate clean. If we had even a one-hundredth of the talent of Led Zeppelin, you could say this is our Coda.

Magic Junk Radio 16: Failure to Sell Out is a commentary-free musical mix of every remaining composition that Sahm and S.Rod had saved or started since MJR began in 2005. Clocking in at all-time high of 47:12, MJR 16 leaves no Somrod stone unturned. It’s humble as always, but lovely in its’ own twisted right. Hope you enjoy the results. Cheers.

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INSTRUCTIONS: Right-click the MP3 link above to download the full podcast in MP3 format, which will play in any iPod or MP3 music player. Left click and the MP3 will begin playing in a new web browser window.

Magic Junk Radio 15: Flight of the Quitstay

Mark Sahm — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:14:12 +0000

Closure is a good thing. Maybe not the best of things… but when you know it’s there for you, it just feels right. For the past 10 months, we’ve been going back and forth on bringing Magic Junk Radio to an end after nearly five years of remixes and compositions. We had planned to publish Episode 15 back in November, and then plan out episodes for 2010.

But instead, we decided that there’s not much new we’re able to do with MJR to warrant the effort that is put into creating it. We’ve decided to concentrate our efforts into our more constructive creative endeavours (Exhibit A and Exhibit B) and go from there. Inevitably, we’ll be back one day in some audio shape or form, but not too similar to what we’ve already done. And that, as they say, is that.

Nevertheless, Magic Junk Radio 15: Flight of the Quitstay finds us retiring at the top of our game (or at least as good as our game can get). Clocking in at a finale worthy 42:57, MJR 15 is a strong representative of everything that has made MJR what it is. We always ask for feedback… but hell, if you don’t leave it now, then when? Thanks for listening and keep creating. Cheers.

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MJR 15 Content of Tables:
1. Buck ‘Em
2. MJR Theme Song
3. The End Begins
4. Where Are You Taking This Thing?
5. Bitch-O-Matic
6. Worker Bee
7. What Got Fleshed Out
8. Three Quarter Zen
9. Life In A Smokescreen
10. Stress Pill
11. Gracias & Adios
12. The Overpass (Pretty Fast)
13. Never Not Negative
14. Magenta Cat

Magic Junk Radio 14: Brain Smoke

Mark Sahm — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:15:25 +0000

Your first roller coaster ride was an experience all its’ own. But by the eleventh time you went on, it was fun but had lost a little luster. This is the comparison that we keep reciting to ourselves every time we start a new podcast— let’s get on a different ride this time, and try something new.

Of course, life loves to get in the way like a herd of sheep on a back road. Then we tend to lean on our comforts. So what could be more comforting than another all-cover song episode? Truth be told, we both enjoyed our previous all-cover episode #9, and had originally planned for #13 and 14 to be a double podcast. But along the way, the two drifted apart in concept and here we are.

Fortunately for our tightly focused listening audience, Magic Junk Radio 14: Brain Smoke still released less than 3 weeks later. Clocking in at a smoky 32:10, MJR 14 consists of four TV themes, a late 70’s song, a late 90’s song, a classical remix, and a SW battle song to warm your heart. Be sure to leave us some feedback if you have a minute. It could help save the life of a lonely blog post. Thanks and cheers.

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MJR 14 Content of Tables:
1. If You Can Find Them
2. MJR Theme Song
3. Something To Be Great At
4. Hovercraft With No Name
5. Case of Lust
6. Time To Turn The Page
7. Squiggy Pop
8. Itch Von Scratch
9. Kill Love Kill
10. The Average Hater
11. One More Pass
12. Glad You Came

Magic Junk Radio 13: Hiding As Noise

Mark Sahm — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:49:00 +0000

For anyone who thought Magic Junk Radio had a definitive sound, prepare yourself. What lies behind the download link below is something completely different.

If you’ve never listened to Magic Junk Radio before, this is NOT the quintessential episode to start with (we highly recommend Episodes #8 through 12 for our bread and butter). No, this episode is our black sheep. The one that doesn’t look, or in our case sound, like the rest.

This is our first big experiment, a litmus test of where our remixing skills are at, to see how far we can push a group of nearly 100 samples. This is our DJ mix on acid. Or at least, that’s what we’ve heard. Now you can decide for yourself.

Thus, Magic Junk Radio 13: Hiding As Noise is piece of sonic art. No host segments, no singles, no breaks. This also marks the first time we’ve opted to use songs as most DJ’s do— by playing them instead of clipping a sample. Clocking in at an overindulgent 44:44, MJR 13 is best listened to on headphones, to savor the full range of sound that will no doubt rattle through your brain.

If this experiment is not your slice of pie, then fear not— Magic Junk Radio #14 will be released within a month from this podcast, where you’ll find M. Sahm and S.Rod up to their usual remixing tricks.

If you do enjoy this episode, be sure to leave us a comment if you have twenty seconds to spare. Cheers.

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MJR 2008 Summary

Mark Sahm — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:29:30 +0000

In his song ‘Atoms for Peace’, Thom Yorke sang, “No more talk about the old days, it’s time for something great.” Here at MJR, we plan on taking those lyrics to heart… right after this post that is.

This was a renaissance year for us. As you probably already know, after not posting a new episode since November 2006, most people had assumed that MJR was as dead as the cassette tape. But 2008 proved we were not only alive, but setting up for an even more productive future.

Continuing the four episode-per-year ratio we had in ‘05 and ‘06, this past year really saw us step up our production value. At least we thought so— especially since we were still working with the same computers and software we used for Episode 1.

Of course, that won’t be the case for 2009. We’ve not only made our first financial contribution to MJR this past month in adding a MIDI controller to our arsenal, but should also be updating both of our computers very soon. For us, this is pretty exciting as we’ll finally be able to truly control the creation and editing process for all of our compositions without too many limitations.

Thus, 2009 is looking like a potentially phenomenal year for MJR. Why is that? Because we have set the ultimate goal for ourselves that by the end of 2009, we will put together our first album of “mostly” original material. This will be in contrast to the podcasts, which should become even more sample based than before.

And that’s the summary of ‘08 and the forecast for ‘09. As always, thanks for listening and we hope to have some fun stuff for you starting in January. Cheers.

Magic Junk Radio 12: Looks Good On You

Mark Sahm — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:24:58 +0000

Some people would question the logic of continuing on with a project for three years that makes no money, has a small listenership, and consumes a lot of free time to bring it to fruition. But getting a natural high is not always something that adheres to logic.

You see, in the world of podcasts and free sample-based music, everyone is king. You choose to listen to what you like when you like, and move on or return at your leisure. The Somrod duo get a nice natural high from being part of that food chain. The part that gets consumed.

When a new episode hits the webwaves, they just sit back and help make you the ruler of your downloadable universe. Simply put, by subscribing to our podcast, you look royal. Thus, Magic Junk Radio 12: Looks Good On You delivers (with only asking for your feedback in return). As usual, M. Sahm and S.Rod hand serve a podcast full of buttery-rich beats, savory audio clips, and a platter of fresh-caught electronica. Go ahead, eat up— we’ll make more.

Clocking in an eco-massaging 35:17, MJR 12 may be pressing its luck against the will of the universe, but it’s just the way that we roll. We’re in it for the music, and hope that one day, it can be more than a simple hobby. Time will tell. As always, leave us a comment if you have twenty seconds to spare. Thanks and take it easy.

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MJR 12 Content of Tables:
1. The Universe Will Do It For You
2. Greenwash and Go
3. MJR Theme Song
4. Sound, Fury and Soup
5. Dr. Jellyfish’s Last Stand
6. Lesser Pay
7. MJR Saves The Planet
8. 4/5 Train in 5/4 Time
9. Groovy Bloom
10. In It For The Music
11. Death Wish Signature
12. Make It Look Alive
13. Sticking With Random

Magic Junk Radio 11: Slow Ahead

Mark Sahm — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 04:30:11 +0000

Somebody once said that what we do every day is nothing more than distractions from the fact that we are slowly dying. Oh wait, that was Sahm who said that. Well, shit. Nevertheless, what those distractions are is entirely up to you. Some people watch lots of TV, some people enjoy the nightlife, some people have kids and spend twenty years taking care of them. Us? We podcast. That’s our distraction. Luckily, our podcast doesn’t need to be recorded on Tivo, have it’s diaper changed, or cause damage to our livers.

Thus, Magic Junk Radio 11: Slow Ahead comes to you with no baggage, free of charge to all. In a perfect world, we’d have titled this ‘full steam ahead’, but MJR 11 is more like a tank— advancing methodically in the world of sound production, but still blowing shit up. The chemically bonded duo of M. Sahm and S.Rod deliver a podcast worthy of a music critic’s cackle, a sustained foot tap, and a suite of catchy synth earwigs to follow you as you tend to your own distractions.

Clocking in a chum tossing 34:21, MJR 11 pulls no punches, and is not afraid to tell you that you have cilantro stuck in your teeth. Some may even dare to say that there are a few parts of this podcast that sound like the work of a professional, instead of two lost souls swimming in a fishbowl. But year after year, MJR continues on to bring you their best efforts in audio butchery. As always, leave us some feedback if you have a minute. Thanks. Take it easy.

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MJR 11 Content of Tables:
1. Sharkjumper – 2:44
2. Shiny Fighting Walkers – 2:48
3. Happy Podcasters?
4. Clothes Burned Off – 3:30
5. One Crazy For Another – 2:19
6. Table Turns
7. Smileyousonuva – 3:33
8. Game Select – 2:31
9. The Podcaster Who Loved Me – 1:55
10. Zero Training
11. Lunatic Is In The Remix – 5:24

All These Things Will One Day Swallow Whole

Mark Sahm — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:57:18 +0000

I know I don’t blog here as often as I should, but I did want to drop a status update on MJR 11. Currently, I have 2 songs completed, another 2 songs that are about 80% complete, and another 17 songs that are started in one form or another (many of which are S.Rod tracks, or Somrod collaborative works). So, things are in motion, it’s just that podcast tracks are not always the things getting moved the most.

Nevertheless, it’s not like I’m sitting around playing Xbox and watching VH1. I’ve been keeping busy with multiple projects (both creative and house-wise), so I’m hoping for a release of MJR 11 before we leave for Lollapalooza on July 31… of course, I could be smoking peyote on that one. You know how my podcasting releases go.

But this is the price I pay to give the podcast a more timeless feel. A fact that you may not have noticed is that there is a very low level (if any) of current events in MJR. This is done on purpose so that you can listen to the podcast many times, and not feel like we are talking about some event that happened six months ago.

See? Don’t ya feel better about us taking so long in producing new episodes of MJR… we’re looking out for your best interests, even when you don’t know them yourself. As the Radiohead line goes, all these things will one day swallow whole. But as we see it, if you’re going to get swallowed, we’d rather be a nice juicy steak than a piece of birthday cake. Peace.

Magic Junk Radio 10: A Series of Little Breaks

Mark Sahm — Tue, 27 May 2008 02:50:49 +0000

It was all supposed to be much different. This tenth podcast was supposed to be released in February 2007 in full surround sound. This podcast was supposed to have a loyal following of a few hundred listeners. This podcast was supposed to be filled with guest vocalists, a smattering of various singers and rappers making our electronic compositions complete. Of course, all this was dependent on us catching some type of “big break”. But it did not happen.

However, we have persevered thanks to what’s best described as “little breaks”. Hence, Magic Junk Radio 10: A Series of Little Breaks was born. Actually, it’s been in the works for a long time, nearly 17 months to be exact. But we’re pretty happy with the results. It’s everything you’d expect and more from the MJR duo of M.Sahm and S.Rod: catchy electronica, hard hitting jams, pop culture samples, playful host commentary, and a couple of tracks that are unlike anything we’ve ever done before.

Clocking in a supple 33:04, MJR 10 might just surprise someone who’s never heard us before, or even someone who heard just me early on in the podcast’s history. To boot, we now have a wiki totally dedicated to all of our singles from all 10 podcasts— take a visit, it’s all the backstories, details, and compositions— nearly 3 years worth of our blood, sweat and bandwidth. As always, leave us some feedback if you have a minute. Thanks. Take it easy.

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MJR 10 Content of Tables:
1. The Ceiling’s Floor
2. Pumpkin Bunny
3. The Podcast Room
4. A Series of Little Breaks
5. Grape Leisure Suit
6. Diva and Tyrant
7. A Scar Tells All
8. No Sequel
9. RWG 1
10. Plastic Brace Concerto
11. When Your Puzzle’s All Fucked Up
12. Wiki Is Born

A Primer Before We Spill The #10 Bucket

Mark Sahm — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:45:40 +0000

With Magic Junk Radio 10 just a black lion short of a Voltron, we decided to release a B-Side remix to start the fires going a bit on the Magic Junk campgrounds. Hell, this remix is so crazy, it’s causing me to overuse the metaphor.

Anyway, this remix missed getting on MJR 9, but didn’t quite fit with the material that’s going to be on 10. So since it was actually a “request” by one of our fellow podcasters out there in cyberspace, we have decided to give the remix its’ own entry. And I didn’t even have to pull Courtney Cox out of the audience to do so.

Robots On The Edge Of Town – 2:52

Keep your radar on for the MJR 10 release coming soon to a set of earphones near you. The break is coming. Enjoy. Cheers.

‘Nude’ Remixed: M.Sahm Vs. S.Rod

Mark Sahm — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:30:46 +0000

About two weeks ago, Radiohead released individual instrument stems for their song “Nude” from the album “In Rainbows” that anyone could use to remix in GarageBand, ProTools, Logic, etc. The rules were to re-interpret the song, using any means necessary, but the song had to stay copyrighted sample free, no disintegrations.

Being the remix junkies that we are (and since we enjoy challenging each other), we gave in to the addiction and started remixing “Nude” on Saturday night. Mark downloaded the stems, started playing around, and then challenged me to follow suit. Once the two of us had earphones in, we were clicking away in GarageBand, and we tried not to listen to each other’s songs before they were more than 50% complete. We were both happy with the results and for the fact that both songs sounded completely different!

Each can best be described as an eclectic maelstrom of… oh, wait… that’s Magic Junk Radio. Seriously, we have taken our individual styles from MJR to remix “Nude” to the best of our abilities. What you see below is our individual interpretations of Nude. Click the widget to vote for us, and YES, you can vote for us both. Give the Somrod duo your support, vote from every computer you have. Thanks! Cheers.

Magic Junk Radio 9: Cover Me Porkins

Mark Sahm — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:35:59 +0000

We just hunted down and killed that fifteen month old cold turkey. After all, it’s not easy to describe podcast withdrawal, especially since few are suffering from it. While you might call it ‘audiosexual frustration’, I’d prefer to just paraphrase Robert Plant: It’s been a long time since we did the stroll. Ooh, let us get it back, let us get it back. Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Of course, if you’re expecting me to hit the Plant high-note, then you must not like your car windows very much. Remember the NYC blackout of ‘03? That was me singing ‘Immigrant Song’ on karaoke.

Luckily on our newest podcast, Magic Junk Radio 9: Cover Me Porkins, we only do remixing, sampling and production. For those who don’t know, this episode’s subtitle refers an infamous character in the “original” Star Wars movie, as well as indicating that this entire podcast is made of remixed cover songs. The point is that if life is a giant hog, we’re just trying to be a crispy slice of bacon. Sure, our toxic slab of audio butchery may not be healthy for you, but as the immortal Vincent Vega stated, “Bacon tastes goooood.” After all, we know you cannot ask for too much when you have a eclectic mix like this.

Clocking at a crispy 26:31, MJR 9 consists of three TV themes, two late 60’s songs, two early 90’s songs, two movie themes, a classic SW overlay, with whipped cream and cherries optional. Be sure to leave us some feedback if you have a minute. It could help save the life of a lonely blog post. Thanks. Take it easy.

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[ Download the MP3 ] – 52 MB (high quality sound… because we care about your eardrums)
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MJR 9 Content of Tables
1. Get Us Out From Under
2. Shaking Off The Rust 101
3. Sexual Tyrannosaurus
4. Daft Jazz
5. In The Air of Wolves
6. The Hole Fixer
7. Losing My Flexibility
8. One Without The Other
9. Three Choices of Two
10. What’s Yours Is Me Me Mine
11. Ewok This Way
12. Frying Up The Pork

The Weekend At The College Didn’t Turn Out Like We Planned

Mark Sahm — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:53:00 +0000

The podcast lessons that pass for knowledge, we can’t understand. So it goes.

Here we are, nearly a year removed from the last MJR podcast, and at a loss how it has been so long since we were here. Worse yet, all of the upgrades we planned on making to the podcast were never capitalized upon.

As S.Rod and I sat in our living room on Columbus Day morning listening to where we left off here (MJR #8), it became apparent to us that this was never really about gaining an audience, or trying to market our musical creations. Doing MJR was a litmus test, a hypothesis to see if this creative outlet would lend us more perspective.

The good news: it did enlighten us, both in our present love for creativity and music, and our desire to leave something unique behind on the web.

The better news: we have about 25 compositions in half-shape to put together for a MJR #9. It may not have any radio-friendly unit shifters, but as I mentioned, that’s not what this is about. In truth, it may be us throwing down a bucket of concrete and signing our names in it. But if someone builds a wall in front of it, it’s really no big deal.

Live and let live. Cheers.

Magic Junk Radio 8: The Way Is Shut

Mark Sahm — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 05:16:57 +0000

Oscar Wilde once said, “Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” It’s a rather omnious quote for any creative person still trying to find their big break. Nevertheless, since the first 7 episodes of Magic Junk Radio were consistent on a level of composition, it was only natural that we avoided relaxing into any refuge. So a choice had to be made: either retire the podcast or evolve our compositions. Thus, we chose to take the Darwin route.

Of course, you could counter that Wilde was a scandalous anarchist and we shouldn’t believe a word he said. But hey, doesn’t the reasoning sound much better than “We got some new equipment to aid our podcasts, so this is the last one using the old stuff”? After all, you could say it was only ‘Logical’.

If you’ve haven’t tuned in before, MJR can best be described as an all-original eclectic maelstrom of sounds, voices and samples. #8 finds the creative duo of M. Sahm and Ms. S.Rod trading songs, barbs, and finishing each other’s sentences (as only a young married couple can do). This episode is a serenade to their stepping stones, as they try to keep each other laughing about an uncertain future.

It clocks in at a mega-quick 26:55— with all the funk riffs, hard rock beats, orchestra samples and pop culture references that you’ve heard us pimp for the past year. Nothing is restricted. Not our former masters. Not our heroes. We even do a ‘celebrity roast’ style piece of one of Blogcritics’ editors. Although be warned— it’s not for playing out loud in the office, or in front of your mini-me.

Be sure to leave us some feedback if you have a minute. It could help save an artist from BASE jumping for fun. Thanks. Take it easy.

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[ Download the MP3 ] – 37 MB (high quality sound… because we care about your eardrums)
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MJR 8 Content of Tables:

Six Mill

Four Shadows

Mr. Darcy At The Limelight

Six Years Gone

Between Curses

The Curse Anthem

Festival

Live At The Stadium

The Way Is Shut

Westchester Funk

Farewell