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A night of romance awaits as River Westin rocks a playlist selection in hour two of favorite old and new(-ish) inspirations to his fantastic sound, a reclaiming of the sounds of an intolerant era for the LGBTQ community. Let the romance flourish!
"The Drop with Danno" on GFN 광주영어방송 98.7FM in Gwangju & 93.7FM in Yeosu, Korea. An eclectic radio curation of all things musical spanning the spectrum every week. Broadcasting 8-10pm KST nightly.
Nov 25, 2022
Cleo Sol – 23
Billie Eilish - Billie Bossa Nova
Ricky Rosen - Home
Galimatias - Blowback
Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band - Xxplosive
River Westin - Made in the Shade
River Westin - Cinema
Nat King Cole - The Very Thought of You
Bobby Vinton - Blue Velvet
The Flamingos - Mio Amore
Ricky Nelson - Again
The Drifters - Up on the Roof
Ben E. King - Spanish Harlem
Etta James - Stormy Weather
Frank Sinatra - That's Life
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It is 20 hours past midnight and Thanksgiving has come and gone along with the World Cup opener for our mighty Taeguk warriors (reeeeee..sult) so you’re probably lookin’ to chill this evening and we got the perfect aperitif to the tryptophan madness starting right now, with tonight written on a love letter from long ago as November 25, 2022. Danno here making the hearts flutter from studio 2 GFN HQ in downtown Gwangju, how do you do? Tonight we are extra thrilled to welcome River Westin to the session for hour 2. The artist just dropped his sophomore LP called The Honeymoon Suite last Friday, and he has a bifurcated playlist of old time love songs and more contemporary inspirations for part 3 and 4 respectively. The sound River Westin puts out is an amazing meld of lo-fi vibes and love ballads from the 40’s 50’s and 60’s, a kind of modern LGBTQ twist on that beautiful era of music, which we’ll talk about more in hour 2 tonight after we hit the top of the clock again. As to what happens for here in the first 57, we of course are laying out the red carpet and making sure of a VIP landing once River Westin joins us, and we’ll do the same but mirror opposite, with some lo-fi & pop inspirations in part 1 then a playlist of old time all timers to finish the first half. For right now, we open with 23 and an ode to mamas everywhere, it’s Cleo Sol and THIS is The Drop.
Cleo Sol – 23
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The Drop has begun things right tonight on our guests & requests Friday night. Danno here, making things go here in hour 1 until we are joined by River Westin in hour 2, who is out with his sophomore LP called The Honeymoon Suite as of last Friday, and we’ll discuss the old & modern inspirations to his unique sound coming up in parts 3 & 4 respectively.
Since we’re looking in the mirror across the ocean and at River Westin, we’re doing a mirror opposite playlist to ready the steady for when he joins us and plays some older stuff then modern vibes, and we’re going in the opposite order for hour 1’s playlist.
That was Cleo Sol with a lovely bit of strings and beauty called 23. Dedicated to the moms out there everywhere this Thanksgiving weekend, that was from the London-based artist’s 2021 album called Mother.
Of course, Cleo Sol is one of the prime suspects in the group SAULT which bumps below me, although that has never been confirmed officially by the mystery massive. They recently put out FIVE LP’s earlier this month so go support on bandcamp, one of the best out there as is Cleo Sol on the solo tip.
I personally haven’t been home in over three years’ time now, so shouts to my fierce protector in my own mother tonight along with all the other moms in my life from my sister and in-laws on up the chain to my gram. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you back home.
#9870, @gfnthedrop, podcast…
So that’s it for the lamentable promotion of self for now, and we’ll go back to the music starting with a little something from Billie Eilish which was cut for time in hour 2, then we have joints from Ricky Rosen, Galimatias, along with the Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band to finish the square that’s not too square, and THIS is The Drop on your River Westin Friday Romance.
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Back on The Drop as we head towards the jump during quarter one of our nightly game of audio mirrors. Danno here in studio 2 GFN HQ, and currently warming up for River Westin who joins us in hour 2. River Westin’s sophomore album The Honeymoon Suite is out as of last Friday, and we’ll talk with him about his unique LGBTQ twist on the classics of yesteryear starting in part 3 tonight (and yes, it’s he…we did check and do care about the pronouns, ladies and gentlemen and non-binaries). Let’s run down what we just did to your ears though…
Billie Eilish – Billie Bossa Nova (…2021 definitely a theme here so far in the show, this being off Eilish’s latest LP Happier Than Ever. This, like the next tune was cut for time in hour 2 from River Westin’s playlist, so had to air it.)
Ricky Rosen – Home (…another very interesting artist out of Australia right here, this being a standalone from this year and another more modern inspiration for River Westin’s sound cut from part 4 but not thrown out, cuz that would be wrong.)
Galimatias – Blowback (…I actually listened to this artist for a long time thinking they were from LA, but alas that is not the case. Galimatias is actually from Frederica, Denmark originally, and this is a doo-wop inspired bit of standalone biz from 2017.)
Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band - Xxplosive (…fast forward to 2018 with this steel drum collective that does their thing via Big Crown Records. What a genius concept here. The band by the way are out of Germany, in case you were wondering.)
Okay, so let’s get to some studio work from this fantastic new album from River Westin called The Honeymoon Suite. Up first we’ll rock a tune called Made in the Shade, and then we’ll head to the Cinema like we did to start the festivities tonight as festivus season hath arrived. This is The Drop on your River Westin Friday feels.
River Westin – Made in the Shade
River Westin – Cinema
II
The Drop returns as the 2nd can is cold opened every so tenderly and warmly on our River Westin Friday night. Danno here, very excited to have our guest artist take over the playlist in hour 2 with some favorite old school and contemporary vibes to his sound. The new album is called The Honeymoon Suite, and we’re currently going through some old love vibes for here in part 2, doing the mirror opposite to what’s coming up in parts 3 & 4. Let’s get to the recap for now, that was…
Nat King Cole – The Very Thought of You ( …one thing you’ve got to say is the production value on old tunes like this is absolutely top notch. The full orchestra, the studio perfection, just the hiss of the tape breaking the silence. This tune is a cover of an original by All Bowlly written by Ray Noble in 1934. Nat King Cole released his version in 58.)
Bobby Vinton – Blue Velvet ( …fast forward a few years to 1963 with this one, made famous for sure by Vinton but it was also a hit with the original from Tony Bennett, who put it out in 1951.)
Now before we continue with what we’re doing here….#9870, @gfnthedrop, pod.
So let’s keep things going in the vintage vein for the next block, and we’ll start with something from The Flamingos, completing the square with Ricky Nelson, The Drifters, and Ben E. King. All the sides will get talked about but not until everything is complete, and THIS is The Drop on your River Westin Friday Romantics.
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Moving along towards the finality of our first 57 tonight. Danno here, readying for River Westin, who joins us in just a bit. The artist’s sophomore album The Honeymoon Suite is available everywhere now, and we’ll get down to the vintage and modern inspirations behind his dreamy loving sound in a bit. As to what just went into the cosmos and came back, that was a quartet of old school joints, some cut for time so let’s get to the details...
The Flamingos – Mio Amore (…one of the most famous doowop groups of the era right here, with a tune released as the B side on a 7” single or 45 as they called it back then. What a group, so New York what else can you say?)
Ricky Nelson – Again (…a real quick hitter even for these times released in 1959 in the lead-up to Nelson’s Ricky Sings Again LP, which dropped in full the next year. The vocal accompaniment on this joint is provided by The Jordanaires, for those of you looking for some background on this classic, another one cut for time from River Westin’s lovely playlist coming up shortly.)
The Drifters – Up on the Roof (…while obviously Under The Boardwalk is this African-American quintet’s stamp on music history, I personally love the daydreaming free qualities of this song. Being in the city, having roof access can be an amazing escape whether it’s night or daytime.)
Ben E. King – Spanish Harlem (…another famous but not the most famous tune from earlier Ben E. King, but again this is our own personal romantic favorite from the discography, and we’ll hear more from the artist during hour 2 with River Westin.)
Now, let’s start the end here, and shouts to my dear Gramma Leen back in Chicago, still kickin’ today and lookin like a million bucks in her mid-90’s. There’s nobody else I think of when I see the name Frank Sinatra, and we’ll close the hour with That’s Life (don’t worry gram, we still got more Frank lined up in hour 2), right now though we’ll begin the end with Etta James and Stormy Weather as River Westin waits in the wings tonight. THIS is The Drop and that’s the first half, wrapped with tender, loving care.
Etta James – Stormy Weather
Frank Sinatra – That’s Life
III & IV: River Westin
River Westin – Pink Velvet
Julie London – I’m In The Mood For Love
Paul Anka – Put Your Head On My Shoulder
Frank Sinatra – Autumn In New York
Ben E. King – Moon River
Ritchie Valens – We Belong Together
Bobby Vinton – Mr. Lonely
River Westin – Flowers
Joey Pecoraro – Your Eyes
Arlo Parks – Green Eyes
Laufey – Like the Movies
Lana Del Rey – How to disappear
Harry Styles – Music for a Sushi Restaurant
November Ultra – soft & tender