A "thematically-linked" show of radio on every Tuesday at 11am - 12pm on CKCU 93.1FM in Ottawa or www.ckcufm.com across the world.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tarek Al-Zand and Armen Ashekian make the variety shows semi-cool again with their radio rampage “Thematics”
Ottawa, ON – September 18, 2007 – Started in June 2005 by two aspiring themologists, the Thematics show is topic-driven media for people with beating hearts. The recipe is simple. Step 1: A topic is chosen. Step 2: Interviews, music, and commentary bloom from step 1’s choice. Step 3: Use leftovers sliced in sandwiches or crumbled in sauces or chili.
Listen to Thematics every Tuesday at 11am - 12pm on CKCU 93.1FM in Ottawa. Or anywhere else in the world, click on “CKCU LISTEN LIVE” at www.ckcufm.com
Thematics; a live show that links pop culture, pop music (not really pop) and pop personality to create a variety mix tape for the people.
Tarek Al-Zand & Armen Ashekian
Thematics
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Request Line: (613) 520-CKCU (2528)
themelab@hotmail.com
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The weekly thematic main courses include:
2009
-- January 6: thanks --
Appreciation, merci. Please is not allowed.
-- January 13: k-tel love --
The beautiful vinyl of K-Tel. It is time to celebrate this beautiful record label. Music snobs need not apply. K-Tel is pure pressed goodness.
-- January 20: presidential essentials --
Inaugural inauguration episode for El Presidente (not Expos' Dennis Martinez).
-- January 26: turn up the heat --
Hawt hawt hot burning scorching heat. A profile.
-- February 3: EPs --
Short and sweet. Mini-albums.
-- February 10: "the ____s"
You know what we mean. Bands with THE and then a word that is plural. Is it a bottom of the barrel or cream of the crop thematic?
-- February 17: the message --
From Grandmaster Flash to the answering machine greeting. This week, "The Message" is the medium!
-- February 24: straight from the crate --
More records, more of the time. We pull wreck chords from the CKCU archive and from our home crates. An episode of platter turning.
2008
-- January 1: review 2007 --
As the ball drops, what should you have done/heard/understood/contemplated in the last 365.
-- January 8: food --
In-house cooking and music to cook to. Taste-test just-like mom styles.
-- January 15: shout outs --
Someone introduced us to this and we respect them and give them shout outs and play the related recommendation.
-- January 22: the --
The word "the". It is important. The art of this article in song, dance and culture. Maybe not dance.
-- January 29: ice-t, ice cube, vanilla ice --
Finally, the conference you've all been waiting for. Ice as a name and a way of life.
-- February 5: weather --
Storms, winter, hail and the mystery of sleet. Dedicated to Welychka.
-- February 12: celebrity endorsements --
Better than iTunes picks. This what Edna Garrett listens to. We cut the fat. Who does Tesh listen to?
-- February 19: fictional characters --
Unreal people in song and life. That sounds really pretentious.
-- February 26: opposites --
You know what Paula Abdul said. We present the facts of the case.
-- March 4: alcohol --
The drink.
-- March 11: books --
Literature and high-brow styles. The written word. Word.
-- March 18: follow the sample --
How sound is used and abused. From one song to the next without a second thought of who it's hurting.
-- March 25: exclamations --
!!!!!!!! are all round us. And don't get us started about the !?!?.
-- April 1: the funk --
We bring it. Funk in name and sound. Funk in walks, talks and high-tops with chops.
-- April 8: dances --
The mash-potato, the locomotion, the funky chicken, the macarena, the twist, the YMCA, the loop de loop, the bird, the duck, the monkey, the boogaloo, the bony maraony...you get the idea.
-- April 15: the comma --
More grammar rock. It is essential to proper communication.
-- April 22: body parts --
Ears, eyes, noses and divets. Educational and semi-musical.
-- April 29: harmonies --
Armenonies and harmonies always make music better and radio shows.
-- May 6: mind melts --
Letting loose. No more holding back. Pure shocking tracks that amaze.
-- May 13: forgotten letters --
Q, W, X, Y, Z. We represent the underground letters.
-- May 20: alan thicke --
What everyone has been waiting for. An hour devoted to Thicke.
--- May 27: alliteration --
Mad marvelous music for lucky listeners.
-- June 3: clothing --
Long underwear underneath jeans were popularized by Chris Chelios' best friend Eddie Vedder.
-- June 10: mispellings --
You know this one. Misuse of letters, i.e. the Z as an S and other purposeful and creative letter abuse. Spelling is the new everything.
-- June 17: nxne wrap-up --
A radio reenactment of our insane weekend of venue jumping and watching bands all night at north by northeast. Definitely found some musical gems...get some tips on what to play at your dinner parties.
-- June 24: title tracks --
Ya know, the name of the album is also a track on the album. Bonus points if there is a self-titled album with a track with the band name (dang!). Plus the usual cultured pop.
-- July 1: can-con can-can --
Not simply playing Canadian music -- too easy. But cuts with references to Canada. We want you to celebrate with us...pre-party.
-- July 8: coffee --
Java joe and timmy ho. Caffeine for music fiends. Cultural for popular means.
-- July 15: bill cosby --
He is linked to everything...hopefully. A thematic high-end joust.
-- July 22: just one song --
In-depth cultural and musical analysis on only one song. We will present many different versions and get expert opinions.
-- July 29: sequels --
Separate parts. Are they equal? Sequel? Prequel? Meaningful.
-- August 5: slash --
The "/" not the "..". I don't think. And not that guy with the top hat.
-- August 12: greetings + departures --
You say hello and I say goodbye, Thematics style.
-- August 19: past tense
It happened, we report it.
-- August 26: the seven seas
Nautical times, the best of times. We sails the seas.
-- September 2: who's got the vocab? --
Verbose and mad diction. Learn new words through music. The way every teacher should do it.
-- September 9: thomas john bata
A tribute to shoes in the honour of TB.
-- September 16: o.g.s and covers
Armen finds cover songs, Tarek find original sample sources. Nice play Shakespeare !
-- September 22: an award called polaris --
We run down the nominees but somehow differently than the other guy.
-- Septmeber 30: instrument-nation --
The words piano, guitar, bongo and triangle often appear in song titles, band names and mo'. We unearth these penny-jars hidden in holes beneath your porch.
-- October 7: genrefication --
Jazz, blues, heavy metal, reggae...Genre names used as parts of song names/bands/ideas. This is genre-bending.
-- October 14: and repeat --
Repetition emphasizes a point. Repetition in song and life, this week on Thematics.
-- October 21: onomatopoeia --
Bzzz, beeeeeeeeeep, oink, bang, clakkka, meow...Songs representing words representing sounds.
-- October 28: funding drive --
Time for giving! $108,000 goal in 2008. Keep CKCU alive and happy!
-- November 4: funding drive --
A retrospective of our work on Thematics over the past year with a hope to motivate donations for the great station of ours, CKCU!
-- November 11: time --
Tick tock, time is of the essence on this exploration of time a.k.a. clock studies.
-- November 18: untitled --
What's in a name? The no-name game on Thematics.
-- November 25: future thematics and missed opportunities --
What is ahead? What could have been played but wasn't. Why?
-- December 2: prolific artists --
Lots of music a lot of the time. Quantity of quality? You decide.
-- December 9: 7" straight from the crate
All 7" vinyl from the CKCU crates. The record players will get a workout.
-- December 16: shapes and sizes --
Circle small, gums and all...but without the gums and all. Square, rhombus, equilateral triangle, big, small and grande.
-- December 23: a thematics christmas --
The annual Christmas special. This is one for you and the people you somewhat like.
-- December 30: bios of something --
A biography of some ordinary object. Let's make it a day to remember.
2007
-- September 18: be polite --
A look into etiquette. Decorum for the people. An interview with Suzanne Nourse, Founder of the Protocol School of Ottawa, on how to get the job, schmooze at the party and generally be more couth. And that’s the truth, ruth!
-- September 25: rhythm section leaders --
Bands with bass or drum lead singers. Breaking the paradigms, we will speak with some in-town rhythmers and see how they transcend.
-- October 2: versus --
A secret show that will match two bands against each other in a winner takes all hissy fit. Mad amounts of games, quizzes and combats for the listener. This is versus.
-- October 9: six degrees of separation --
Connect the bands, one track at a time. Kevin Bacon of the musical world. We talk of how Will Smith maybe knew it all is his 1993 film.
-- October 16: strange instruments --
Saws, water glasses, fog horns need apply. Local desk-drummers and pot-smashers tell us how instruments are so passé.
-- November 6: duets --
Collaborations, feat., guest appearances. Fill up the studio with wittiness and witness the carrying capacity.
-- November 13: product placement --
Spot the advert in the song, spot the song in the advert, campy youtube pop-culture ads (Kurtis Blow and Sprite anyone? Kriss Kross and sprite?), movie product placement...lots to wrath.
-- November 20: thrift stores --
We go on the road. Comparing the musical and fashion finds in the Salvation Armies, St. Vincents, garage sales and garbrages. What is the vinyl surplus in this city (Collins? Humperdink? Chicago?)
-- November 27: misplaced dedications --
Sending out songs to people that may not know but should.
-- December 4: jokes --
An interview based episode. We take the streets and gathers the ha-has and play back to an in-studio jury. Do you have a funny?
-- December 11: "rude boy"--
Bad manners in a song. Exciting expletives.
-- December 18: bad ideas --
We often have ideas that we think about doing episodes on, but then we realize that there is no way they can sustain a whole show. These are the bad ideas, spread with love. A whole whack of them.
-- December 25: christmas --
Instead of choir ambient Christmas, have thematic ambient Christmas.
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OTHER PAST EPISODES HAVE INCLUDED:
Ep 30 - Shorties, Ep 31 - Animals, Ep 32 - Local Music, Ep 33 - Foreign Tongues, Ep 34 - Death, Ep 29 - Money, Ep 28 - Letters and Numbers, Ep 27 - First Name Basis, Ep 26 - Straight from the Crate, Ep 25 - Spoken Word, Ep 24 - Doubleshots, Ep 23 - The Great Outdoors, Ep 22 - Acoustic, Ep 21 - Drugs, Ep 20 - Collaborations, Ep 19 - Politics, Ep 18 - 2005, Ep 17 - Road Trip, Ep 16 - Christmas, Ep 15 - Food, Ep 14 - Jobs, Ep 13 - City to City, Ep 12 - Calendar, Ep 11 - Live, Ep 10 - Leftovers, Ep 9 - Halloween, Ep 8 - Girls and Boys, Ep 7 - Instrumentals, Ep 6 - Back to School, Ep 5 - Explorations, Ep 4 - Remixes, Ep 3 - Drugs, Sex, + Rock + Roll, Ep 2 - Theme Songs, Ep 1 - Music Listening Habits
For detailed playlists of how each theme was conquered, check out our myspace blog and check us out on facebook.
