Episodes
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Celebrate the sounds of The Town with journalist Liam O’Donoghue, the host and producer of the popular local history podcast, East Bay Yesterday. Liam's show routinely covers the rich and underexplored tales of the East Bay's past, whether it's a deep dive into Emeryville's former "Rotten City" reputation, or a story about the long gone mass transit Key System that pre-dated BART and AC Transit. When he's not reporting on East Bay lore, Liam is also a music nerd and a DJ. In this episode he combines his love of history and music by taking us on an audio tour of Oakland's different musical eras through five special songs, spanning from mid-century West Coast jazz to warehouse party music.
Liam's Selections:
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - "Take Five"
Gene Russell - "Black Orchid"
Souls of Mischief - "'93 til Infinity"
Keak Da Sneak - "Super Hyphy (Thizz Remix)"
The Younger Lovers - "The Ballad of Two Stubborn Men"
Listen to these songs and so many more on Liam’s extended playlist of Oakland Jams!
Subscribe to East Bay Yesterday
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As the co-host of "Forum" on KQED Public Radio and a writer for the Atlantic, journalist Alexis Madrigal often reports on big ideas and urgent stories that affect the Bay Area and the world. But in his spare time, he loves running, gardening, and 70’s funk and disco. In our latest episode, Alexis talks about a wide-ranging selection of five tunes he holds dear from his past and present—from P-Funk, to Norwegian Jazz, to Latin Hip-Hop. Along the way, we’ll learn about how his Dad’s record collection got him through his post-college malaise, the song that gets him in a book-writing mood, and his deep appreciation of music and art borne out of colonial occupation and resistance.
Alexis's Selections:
Funkadelic - "One Nation Under a Groove"
Gato Barbieri - "Encuentros"
Daniel Herskedal - "The Mistral Noir"
La Dame Blanche - "Veneno"
Thao & The Get Down Stay Down - "Temple"
Catch Alexis on KQED’s Forum
Listen to his Containers podcast series
Learn more about his forthcoming book
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Missing episodes?
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February 2024 marks five whole years since Bar Shiru first opened to the public, and we are eternally grateful for the creative partnership of its owners, Dan Gahr and Shirin Raza Gahr. To mark this special occasion, we gathered a few Select Five friends and supporters to the bar and recorded our very first episode in front of a live audience!
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We're honored to kick off 2024 with the esteemed Cheryl Dunye, a world-renowned filmmaker and director of episodic television. Cheryl's work includes the groundbreaking 1996 film The Watermelon Woman, which is part of the permanent cinema collection at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and was added to the Criterion Collection in 2023. She's also directed episodes of The Umbrella Academy, Bridgerton, and Queen Sugar, among many other shows. Born in Liberia and raised in Philly, Cheryl is now rooted in the Town’s vibrant filmmaking community, having founded Jingletown Films, an Oakland-based production company. Hear her talk about five of her favorite tunes of the moment, the emotional places they take her, and the big wide cinematic possibilities that music can open up.
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We made it through another challenging year and we couldn't be happier! From forced career changes to grieving the death of a pet, 2023 was a real struggle. But now that it's mostly in the rear view mirror, we can look back fondly at some of the musical highlights that kept us afloat.
Brian's Selections:
5. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - "Nadja"
4. El Michaels Affair + Black Thought - "The Weather"
3. The Beatles - "For No One"
2. Muddy Waters - "She’s Alright"
1. De La Soul - "Trying People"
Kate's Selections:
5. Electric Light Orchestra - "Mr. Blue Sky"
4. Sylvan Esso - "Ferris Wheel"
3. Olivia Rodrigo - "bad idea right?"
2. L’Imperatrice - "Fou"
1. Kate & GAHR (aka, Daniel Gahr) - "Untitled07"
Pam's Selections:
5. De La Soul - "Simply"
4. Buscrates - Control Center (album)
3. Sessa - "Sereia Sentimental"
2. Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan (book) by Alex Pappademas & Joan Lemay + "My Old School" (song)
1. Antonio Carlos Jobim - "Aguas de Março (Waters of March)"
Listen to our 2023 Year Ender companion playlist, including all of the songs we discussed + others we loved this year Subscribe to The Creative Commonwealth Substack
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How do you turn a song into a scent? And what does music teach us about scent-making and its history? We take a deep dive into these questions with Saskia Wilson-Brown, whose mission is to disrupt, decolonize, and democratize perfumery. Saskia, who is Bay Area-bred, is the founder and executive director of the Institute for Art and Olfaction in Los Angeles, a nonprofit art studio that makes perfumery accessible to all. Listen as she takes us on an aromatic journey through five songs that relate to fragrance-making and its global origins, modern scent practies, and the complex world of naturals versus synthetics.
Saskia's Selections:
1.) Omar Souleyman- "Warni Warni"
2.) Charles Trenet - "La Mer"
3.) MC Solaar - "Nouveau Western"
4.) Otis Redding - "Cigarettes and Coffee"
5.) Mort Garson - “Symphony for a Spider Plant"/Mother Earth's Plantasia
For further listening, check out Saskia's playlist.
Check out Saskia's podcast, Perfume On The Radio
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Get inside the creative mind of music producer and ace remixer Trackademicks! Whether it's putting an amapiano spin on a '90s R&B ballad or mashing up two songs from disparate musical scenes, Track has a knack for weaving tunes from a variety of genres, eras, and tempos into fresh new joints that club DJs crave. In this episode we talk about five of his own remixes, his affinity to the original songs, and how he reimagined these familiar classics so they can be heard in an entirely different context.
Track's Selections:
1.) SWV - "Anything" (Trackademicks Remix)
2.) Jodeci - "Cry For You" (Trackademicks Remix)
3.) Trackademicks - "No Bammer Beats in the SFC" (RBL Posse Flip)
4.) Ready For The World - "Oh Sheila" (Trackademicks Remix)
5.) 2 Player Co-Op - “When the World Is Running Down” (cover of the Police “When the World is Running Down” & Jay-Z “Coming Of Age”)
Listen to Trackademicks' remixes and originals on Bandcamp or Soundcloud
Follow his IG to keep up with what he's doing -
It's time to deepen your disco knowledge with Patrick Lotilla, aka DJ Patrick. As a resident DJ at Bar Part Time in San Francisco, a key team member of Bar Shiru, where he curates records a couple of nights a week, and a co-founder of the Brouhaha party series that brought world class DJ talent to the Bay Area, Patrick is a big presence in the local nightlife scene. And his taste in dance music is vast and eclectic. In this episode we focus on five of his favorite rare grooves from the late 70s to early 80s. Hear Patrick talk about some of his producer/DJ heros, the threads between Philly Soul, disco & house music, and the importance of weaving humor and fun into his sets.
Editor’s Note: In the episode introduction, Pam states that Brouhaha has been around “for the past 10 years.” It actually ran from 2013 - 2018. Apologies for this error!
DJ Patrick's Selections:1.) The Boyfriends – Sumayaw Sumonod (1978)
2.) Bumblebee Unlimited – Everybody Dance (1977)
3.) Nightlife Unlimited – Peaches & Prunes (Ron Hardy Edit) (1980)
4.) Melita – I Love Music (1984)
5.) Bad Banana – Dancing In San Francisco (1982)
Listen to those selections & more, curated by Patrick here
Subscribe to Patrick's Bop 40 YouTube channel where he shares rips of rare dance music from his collection
Stream Patrick's DJ sets on Soundcloud
Follow him on Instagram @pqtrjk
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OPM, an acronym for Original Pilipino Music or Original Pinoy Music, is a term once used to describe pop ballads and other popular music styles originating from the Philippines starting in the late '70s. Since then, OPM has become a catchall phrase for music of any genre produced by Filipinos from around the world. And it's a subject Eduardo Daza Taylor IV (aka, ET IV) knows a lot about, as a Fil-Am DJ and visual artist whose creativity is often fueled by the sights and sounds from the Philippines and the diasporas. Eduardo is the founder of ASTIG Sound, an independent label and collective that hosts events and releases celebrating vintage and current OPM. He also DJs for Ruby Ibarra and the Balikbayans, and he's a key crew member of The Stacks record shop in Hayward. Listen to Eduardo take us through the past, present and future of OPM in five songs that hold special meaning for him.
ET IV's Selections:
1. My Sweet Lord - The Grandells
2. Unforgettable Love - Pilita Corrales
3. Balikbayan - Dale Adriatico
4. Minamahal Kita - Ngaw
5. Manila - Jason Dhakal
Dig these some custom OPM mixtapes from ET IV & ASTIG Sound:
ISIP by ET IV
A Tribute to OPM
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You asked, we answered -- so in honor of Valentine's Day we've got nothing but silly love songs for all your love problems! Inspired by the call-in radio shows of her youth in Barbados, Chef Sarah Kirnon serves up an eclectic stew of R&B and Brit new wave pop classics from the '70s and '80s as dedications to the listeners who submitted questions about their love lives. And since we got more than five questions, this episode contains some BONUS tracks!
Sarah's Selections:
1. One Hundred Ways - James Ingram/Quincy Jones (1981)
2. How Deep Is Your Love - The Bee Gees (1977)
3. Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club (1982)
4. Love Plus One - Haircut 100 (1982)
5. It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones (1965)
BONUS TRACKS:
6. Simply Beautiful - Al Green (1972)
7. Here We Go - Minnie Riperton (1980)
8. Found A Cure - Ashford & Simpson (1979)
Listen to Sarah's complete Valentine's Day playlist [links forthcoming]
Photo by: Fhay Arceo
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Put on your coziest pajamas and kick back with this episode featuring Wired Magazine Senior Editor Michael Calore, who shares five optimum snoozytime songs from his vast library of sleep music. From gentle jazz and folk tunes, to album-length single track compositions for deep relaxation, these songs are not only mellow enough to bring on easy sleep, but also enhance the sleep you get because they offer some unique and imaginative stimulation.
Michael's Selections:
1. Reflection - Brian Eno (2017)
2. Dream 11 (Whisper Music) - Max Richter's Sleep (2015)
3. Bamboo Rainsticks - Billy Martin (2004)
4. Into the Light - Marisa Anderson (2016)
5. Ruby, My Dear - Thelonius Monk (1959)
Follow Michael on Twitter or Instagram @snackfight
Follow North American Scum on Instagram to find out when they're playing next: @northamericanscumsf Check out his musical projects on Bandcamp: Twin Dimensions, Solar Keys
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Oakland-based, Brooklyn-bred Fresh Daily (Mike Richardson) hunkers down with Pam at "Select Five Studios"—AKA, Bar Shiru—to talk about coming up as a young rapper in New York City, finding community in Oakland, and the complicated work of crafting clever rhyme schemes. Listen to Fresh get nerdy about the rap songs that informed his writing process, and the rap songs he makes!
Photo courtesy of Robert Cohen
Fresh's Selections:
1. Eminem feat. Royce da 5'9 - Bad Meets Evil (1999)
2. Jay-Z - Squeeze First (2000)
3. Madvillain - Meatgrinder (2004)
4. Headwear Discount - Fresh Daily (2022)
5. Team Natural - Fresh Daily (2021)
Need to hear more Fresh Daily? Check out his Bandcamp
Need some Fresh duds? Shop his Very Relaxed art & clothing brand
Wanna vibe with beatmakers? Follow the Beathaus IG to find out about the next event
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Sarah Mujahid—aka DJ Mujie—has been gigging at clubs and day parties across the Bay for eight years, and is currently a resident DJ in the Afrobeats Oakland crew. Though she calls Oakland home, Mujie is an Ann Arbor, Michigan native who has a deep reverence for the music of her home state—a wellspring of world-shaping sounds, from Motown to techno. Find out which influential artists from the Mitten spurred Mujie's passion for DJing, production, and a life of musical expression.
Mujie's Selections:
1. Stevie Wonder - As (1976)
2. What's Goin' On? - Marvin Gaye (1971)
3. Thelonius - Slum Village (2000)
4. More Than A Woman - Aaliyah (2001)
5. Godzilla Beat - DJ Godfather
Listen to a full playlist of Mujie's Michigan selects: https://tinyurl.com/25v4bdmu
Follow @djmujie on Instagram to find out when she's playing next
Check out her mixes on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/djmujie/tracks
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In the late 70s and early 80s, San Francisco was home to a thriving punk and new wave scene and a scrappy independent label that launched the careers of bands like Romeo Void, Translator, and the Red Rockers. Music journalist Bill Kopp captures this moment in time in a new book called Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave published by HoZac Books. Listen to Bill chat with Pam about the label's brief but fascinating history, and five of his favorite tunes from the 415 Records catalog.
Bill's Selections:
1. Pearl Harbor and The Explosions - Drivin' (1979)
2. SVT - Always Come Back (1980)
3. Romeo Void - Never Say Never (1981)
4. Pop-O-Pies - Truckin' (1981)
5. Translator - I Need You To Love (1986)
Dive into the 415 Records catalog by listening to Bill's companion playlist: https://tinyurl.com/y7nrfy2u
Check out the book or read more of Bill's music writing: https://blog.musoscribe.com/
Get Liberation Hall's reissue of 415 Records early (pre-Columbia) recordings: https://tinyurl.com/mr2rdwxw
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Shaina Evoniuk is a classically trained violinist who leads the string section for the Bay Area-based musical collective Jazz Mafia. She has also has lent her talents to some of the biggest pop stars in the world. Hear Shaina share with Pam what it's really like being a recording artist, and how the violin adds texture and emotion to all styles of music, as demonstrated in five different tunes she performs on.
Shaina's Selections:
1. St. Panther - These Days (2020)
2. Monophonics - Last One Standing (2020)
3. Shawn Mendes & Camilla Cabello - The Christmas Song (2020)
4. Dougie Stu - Henny (2020)
5. Otis McDonald - Holiday (2019)
Bonus Track: Lizzo - Lingerie (2019)
Hear a complete playlist of recorded songs Shaina performs on: https://tinyurl.com/2p95s7wv
Shaina's website: https://www.shainaevoniuk.com/
Find out when Shaina is playing with Jazz Mafia: http://www.jazzmafia.com/calendar
Watch the live version of St. Panther's "These Days" featuring Jazz Mafia: https://youtu.be/uI5QObq-N-4
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We're trying new things, folks! In the first of our "Five Questions With" mini-episodes, we're honored to feature Philly-based/Pacific Northwest-bred musician Karl Blau. Karl is a prolific DIY artist with over 40 albums under his belt. His adventurous pop tunes have often defied genre, but he's been traveling down country roads since his breakout 2016 album Introducing Karl Blau, and his brand new album Love & Harm follows a similar soulful country path. Hear Karl talk to Pam about the making of this album in his hometown of Anacortes, Washington, and his own spin on what "cosmic country" music is.
Download Karl's new album "Love & Harm" (or buy the LP version called "Scream Time"):
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Getting a new bar & restaurant off the ground is hard enough. But during the height of the pandemic it became a crazy roller coaster ride for Matt Meyer and Daniel Paez, the co-owners of Low Bar in uptown Oakland. Now that their business is one year old and thriving, Matt & Daniel reflect on the wild journey that got them here and five songs that capture the vibe of this popular Chicano bar/eatery.
Matt & Daniel's Selections:
1. Time Hard - The Pioneers (1972)
2. Como La Flor - Selena (1992)
3. Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton (1996)
4. For You - Ago (1982)
5. I Want To Be Your Man - Roger (1987)
Listen to the Low Bar companion playlist, featuring the five songs we talked about in this episode + more.
Follow Low Bar’s Instagram to find out about events, specials, and what-nots.
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Another crappy pandemic year comes to a close, but at least we had good music to get us through it. And for the first time since early 2020, the Select Five team got their vaxxed and boosted selves together IRL to record this very special year-ender episode at their old stomping grounds, Bar Shiru! Whether it's old comforts or new discoveries, we'll dive into the five albums Brian, Kate, and Pam loved the most in 2021.
BRIAN’S ALBUMS
Joyce Wrice - Overgrown (2021)
Hiatus Kaiyote - Mood Valiant (2021)
Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be an Introvert (2021)
Herbie Hancock - Headhunters (1973)
Lewis Taylor - Lewis Taylor (1996)
KATE’S ALBUMS
Alice Coltrane - Ptah, the El Daoud (1970)
Sofiane Pamart - Planet Gold (2021)
St. Vincent - Masseducation (2017)
Tash Sultana - Flow State (2018)
Lorde - Melodrama (2017)
PAM’S ALBUMS
Sitka Sun - All the Way West (2021)
Brijean - Feelings (2021)
Sun Ra - Lanquidity (1978/2021 Reissue)
Emma Jean Thackray - Yellow (2021)
BadBadNotGood - Talk Memory (2021)
Listen to all the songs we discussed and many more in our year-ender companion playlist:
https://tinyurl.com/4ctkdf92 -
Back in the mid-'80s, Vietnamese American teens bonded over a shared love of sports cars, spiked hair, and a style of electronic dance music they called New Wave (now known as Euro and Italo disco). Vietnamese New Wave is now the subject of a forthcoming documentary by filmmaker Elizabeth Ai, who discusses the fascinating history of this subculture through five songs she grew up with. Elizabeth's Selections: 1. Brother Louie - Modern Talking 2. Jump In My Car - CC Catch 3. You're a Woman - Bad Boys Blue 4. Say You'll Never - Lian Ross 5. I Like Chopin - Gazebo There's a lot more where that came from! Check out Elizabeth's companion playlist of Viet New Wave classics, including the five songs discussed in the episode: https://tinyurl.com/4zmz76ks
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Hey bands, don't be afraid - take a Beatles song, and make it better ... is that even possible? Ponder that question in this episode with Bay Area filmmaker and crate digger extraordinaire, Jim Granato! Listen to DJ Jim G chat with Pam about five genre-spanning Beatles cover songs he loves, and what makes them unique.
Jim's selections:
1. Eleanor Rigby - Zoot (1971)
2. I Want To Hold Your Hand - Al Green (1969)
3. Happiness Is a Warm Gun - The Breeders (1990)
4. Everybody's Got Something To Hide (Except Me and My Monkey) - The Feelies (1980)
5. Tomorrow Never Knows - Junior Parker (1970)
Want even more of the Fab Four? Listen to Jim's handcrafted all-vinyl mix of Beatles covers you may have never heard before: https://www.mixcloud.com/wax_crackle_pop/miles-above-you/ - Show more
