The PopCulteer
July 05, 2024

We finish up our eighth anniversary of fresh programs for The AIR Friday as we offer up new episodes of MIRRORBALL and Sydney’s Big Electric Cat.  The AIR is PopCult‘s sister radio station. You can hear these shows on The AIR website, or just click on the embedded player found on this very page. These shows actually had sneak previews last Monday evening, but if you missed them then, they’re new to you.

At 2 PM, Mel Larch digs into the archives of Salsoul Records for a sampling of one of the key record labels of the Disco era on MIRRORBALL.

Salsoul Records was founded by three brothers, Joseph, Kenneth and Stanley Cayre, in New York City, and filled the dancefloors with their acts like The Salsoul Orchestra, Skyy, Aurra, Double Exposure, Instant Funk and more. They often hired Larry Levan to do their 12″ extended mixes.

With several key components of the Philly Sound jumping over to become The Salsoul Orchesta, the record label carved out a huge part of the musical map in the Disco era.  More than four years in, Mel continues with her mission to celebrate the classic Disco era, educate the masses about the importance of dance music and rehabilitate the reputation of this unjustly maligned musical genre.

Check out the playlist…

MB 103

The Salsoul Orchestra “Run Away”
M&S Presents The Girl Next Door “Salsoul Nugget (If U Wanna)”
The Salsoul Orchestra “Salsoul Hustle”
Skyy “Skyzoo”
Instant Funk “I Got My Mind Made Up”
Steve Arrington “Summertime Lovin'”
Charro & The Salsoul Orchesta “You’re Just The Right Size”
The Salsoul Orchesta “Magic Bird of Fire”
Aurra “When I Come Home”
The Salsoul Orchestra “Chicago Bus Stop”

You can hear MIRRORBALL every Friday at 2 PM, with replays Saturday at  9 PM (kicking off a mini-marathon), Sunday at 11 PM, Monday at 9 AM, and Tuesday at 1 PM  exclusively on The AIR.

At 3 PM, it’s Big Electric Cat time as Sydney Fileen delivers a special mixtape edition of her show that pays tribute to The Pretenders, who brought a little bit of Akron to the British New Wave scene.

Sydney focuses on the New Wave career of the British-American band, The Pretenders. With Akron, Ohio native Chrissie Hynde out front, and James Honeyman-Scott, Pete Farndon and Martin Chambers backing her up, this band soared out of the New Wave scene in London and burned brightly for two albums before, sadly, Honeyman-Scott and Farndon both succumbed to drug overdoses within a year.

Overcoming tragedy, Chrissie Hynde persevered and continued on with the The Pretenders, adding new musicians and rising to new creative heights.

This week we present a mixtape of the best of The Pretenders from 1979 to 1986, when they proved that a female leader could take a band to the top of the charts and inspire generations of young girls to follow their musical dreams.

Check out this killer playlist…

BEC 118

The Pretenders

“Brass In Pocket”
“Precious”
“Up The Neck”
“Tattooed Love Boys”
“Stop Your Sobbing”
“The Wait”
“Kid”
“Private Life”
“Mystery Achievement”
“Message of Love”
“Talk of the Town”
“The Adultress”
“Bad Boys Get Spanked”
“Birds of Paradise”
“Pack It Up”
“Day After Day”
“Middle of the Road”
“Back On The Chain Gang”
“Watching The Clothes”
“My City Was Gone”
“Thin Line Between Love and Hate”
“2000 Miles”
“Don’t Get Me Wrong”
“My Baby”
“Light of the Moon”
“Dance”
“I Remember You”
“How Much Did You Get For Your Soul”
“Chill Factor”
“Room Full Of Mirrors”
“Hymn To Her (live)”
“Brass In Pocket (live)”

Sydney’s Big Electric Cat is produced at Haversham Recording Institute in London, and can be heard every Friday at 3 PM, with replays Saturday afternoon, Monday at 7 AM, Tuesday at 8 PM, Wednesday at Noon and Thursday at 10 AM, exclusively on The AIR.

That’s what’s on The AIR Friday, and that is this week’s PopCulteer. Over the next week I’ll be tweaking the replay schedule of our musical specialty shows, so keep checking for more convenient ways to catch replays of your favorite programs. And also check PopCult for all our regular features, with fresh content every day. Our Sunday Evening Video is particularly special this week.