17th Annual Holiday Hub

The seventeenth annual Holiday Hub, Monday, December 20, 2021 6-8pm MST on 91.3FM KXCI Tucson, AZ. Stream at www.KXCI.org

For the past seventeen seasons, good old Saint Nick has combed through the musical landscape searching for the most unusual seasonal tunes.

Songs of summer come and go. Once-ubiquitous hits of the past are relegated to “throwback” playlists. Year-end album lists codify the past and clear the slate for the future. But Holiday music is timeless. It is a musical genre full of good cheer mostly. This musical aesthetic and its warm vibes extend beyond the year round pop and rock. These are Holiday songs, cutting across genres and decades. Songs that elbow their way through the dross to enshrine themselves in the Christmas-music canon, cementing what would otherwise be long-forgotten music trends into a shared, classic holiday remembrance.

So kick off your boots, put an ornament on the tree, fire up a mug of mulled wine and enjoy The Holiday Hub this Monday December 20^th 6-8pm. Ho ho ho.

Microwave Oven

Microwave Oven. The Hub Radio Show for Monday December 6, 2021. View the completely steamy playlist for 12-06-21 (CLICK HERE)

Geese, IDLES, Liily, TV Priest, Dry Cleaning

Microwave ovens use non-ionizing radiation that has a frequency between that of radio and infrared wavelengths. Unlike X-rays, which use ionizing radiation, and can be harmful, the non-ionizing radiation from microwaves is safe. A process called dielectric heating allows water, fat, and other substances to absorb energy. Molecules in these substances are electric dipoles, meaning they have a positive charge on one end and a negative charge on the other. The molecules move as they try to align themselves in a microwave, which creates heat.  
 

All Saints Day

All Saints Day. The Hub Radio Show for Monday November 1, 2021. View the supernatural playlist for 11-01-21 (CLICK HERE)

My Morning Jacket, The Record Company, The Velveteers, Morningsiders, Matthew E White 

All Saints' Day is a Christian festival that honors saints. The day takes place on November 1. In some congregations, a candle is lit or a bell is rung, and the names of congregants who have passed away in the previous year are read. Other prayers and readings may take place on the day. Various customs take place in different countries, such as offerings being made and graves being visited. The roots of the day go back to the early Christian church. In the late fourth or early fifth century, days dedicated to all saints began being celebrated.  
 

Toot Your Flute

Toot Your Flute. The Hub Radio Show for Monday October 4, 2021. View the completely self-serving playlist for 10-04-21 (CLICK HERE)

GARZA, War On Drugs, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Hatchie, Ada Lea 

To toot or blow one's own horn is "to talk boastfully about oneself or one's achievements". International Toot Your Own Flute Day is a self-centered day to focus on yourself and your own achievements. It is a day to pause, slow down, and enjoy life. It is also a day to bask in your strengths and accomplishments, and to let others know about them.  Do something for yourself on this day instead of thinking only of others.
 

Labor Day

Labor Day. The Hub Radio Show for Monday September 6, 2021. View the completely unionized playlist for 09-06-21 (CLICK HERE)

TSHA, Joon Moon, Morly, Yola, Zelma Stone

Labor Day is a public and federal holiday in the United States. It honors the American labor movement, and the contributions that workers have made to the country. Starting in 1882, labor days first began being organized and celebrated by labor unions, and Oregon became the first state to make Labor Day an official public holiday in 1887. Traditionally, Labor Day consists of parades, followed by gatherings of workers with their families and friends. Labor Day also marks the unofficial end of summer, and it is around this time that students go back to school, and fall sports begin.
 

Ice Cream Sandwich

Ice Cream Sandwich. The Hub Radio Show for Monday August 2, 2021. View the completely delicious playlist for 8-2-21 (CLICK HERE)

Manchester Orchestra, The Murlocs, The Tell, Hovvdy, Yves Tumor 

Today we celebrate ice cream sandwiches in all their forms and flavors! They first appeared in the late 1890s in New York City, being sold by street vendors for a penny. They consisted of a thin quarter-inch layer of ice cream between two thin graham wafers. There are many ice cream sandwich variations in the United States and around the world. The most common is made of a vanilla ice cream slab between two thin chocolate cookie layers that resemble a chocolate cake. Ice cream sandwiches are also popular around the world. In Australia, the most popular ice cream sandwiches are called Giant Sandwiches. Another favorite in Australia are Maxibons, which are partially dipped in chocolate. In Singapore, popular flavors consist of honeydew, red bean, and yam. 
 

Graham Cracker

Graham Cracker. The Hub Radio Show for Monday July 5, 2021. View the completely sweet playlist for 07-05-21 (CLICK HERE)

Islands, Evolfo, Griffith James, King Ropes, Parcels 

Reverend Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister from Bound Brook, New Jersey, developed the graham cracker in the 1820s. He designed it to be a health food that was part of his "Graham Diet"—a diet he believed would eliminate lust and suppress all carnal urges, which he thought led to various maladies like insanity, epilepsy, spinal disease, and tuberculosis, and to everyday ailments like headaches and indigestion. His diet was vegetarian and also required abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and refined white flour. His graham crackers were made with graham flour, a coarsely ground and unsifted whole-wheat flour. The flour is brown and slightly nutty and sweet, and Graham used it to make graham bread and graham crackers. The crackers were biscuit-like and somewhat bland, as they didn't include any spices or sugar. 

June Bug

The Hub Radio Show for Monday June 7, 2021. View the completely bugged out playlist for 06-07-21 (CLICK HERE)

Durand Jones and The Indications, Haerts, The Go! Team, Neil Frances,

Fittingly, June Bug Day takes place in June. This is the month when June Bugs, a member of the Phyllophaga genus, which consists of over 260 species of New World scarab beetles, tend to be most visibly active. This is because they emerge from the ground this time of year and search for food and a mate. They may have been in the ground as larvae for up to three years. Adults are about an inch or a little less in length, have a hard black or brown casing, as well as wings. During the day they hide in trees, but at night they tend to swarm and are strongly attracted to light. This is also when they do their feeding, which mainly consists of trees and bushes.

Lumpy Rug

Lumpy Rug. The Hub Radio Show for Monday May 3, 2021. View the completely natural playlist for 05-03-21 (CLICK HERE)

The Wallflowers, Far Lands , Teenage Fanclub, New Madrid  

Remember when that old lumpy rug in your living room used to be smooth and comfy to walk on? Do you find yourself tripping on it now? Well, today you are in luck because National Lumpy Rug Day is a day to toss out that rug and get a new one. There can be a broader view of the day as well. It can be a day for spring cleaning in general. Not only could you replace your lumpy rug, but you could mop the floors, vacuum carpets, clean sinks and countertops, and get everything else in your house ready to go for warmer weather.
 

Go For Broke

Go For Broke. The Hub radio show for Monday April 5, 2021. View the completely reckless playlist for 04-05-21 (CLICK HERE)

Lana Del Rey, Tune-Yards, The Antlers, Haunted Shed  

Go For Broke Day is a day for taking a chance, giving it all you have, and leaving nothing undone. The motto of the American 442nd infantry division during World War II was "Go For Broke." This division was made up of Nisei, Americans of second-generation Japanese descent. The soldiers fought in Europe and became the most decorated regiment in American history. Of the close to 14,000 that served, 9,486 received Purple Hearts. Twenty-one members received the Medal of Honor.
 

Share A Smile

Share A Smile. The Hub Radio Show for Monday March 1, 2021. View the completely dopamine-inducing playlist for 03-03-21 (CLICK HERE)

Blathazar, Claud, Dom La Nena, Bomba Estereo, Laure Briard

On March 1, since at least 1997, people share a smile or multiple smiles. When they do so, the person they are smiling at often smiles back. This response is largely automatic, being caused by an unconscious automatic response area of the brain called the cingulate cortex. By smiling at them, and causing them to smile, the initial smiler helps to release feel-good chemicals like dopamine in the brain of the recipient of the smile, which can help elevate their mood. 
 

Hula in the Coola

Hula in the Coola. The Hub Radio Show for Monday February 1, 2021. View the completely aloha playlist for 02-01-21 (CLICK HERE)

Fontaines DC , Little Dragon & Moses Sumney , Ian Sweet , Wax Tailor 

It may be cold outside, but today people venture out to hula, and maybe even have a luau, regardless of temperature. The hula dance goes back to ancient times, and different Hawaiian islands claim to be its birthplace. Its creation is steeped in myth and legend, and most stories connect the beginnings of hula dancing to Hawaiian goddesses. It is accompanied with a chant called an oli, or a song called a mele. The words of the oli or mele are expressed in dance form. There are different types of hula dances, and there are two main categories. Hula kahiko is ancient hula performed by those native to the islands; it is done with chants and musical instruments. Hula ʻauana evolved with Western influences in the nineteenth twentieth centuries; it is accompanied with Western-influenced musical instruments such as the guitar, ukulele, and double bass. Hula dancing can be done while sitting, which is known as the noho dance, or by standing, which is known as a luna dance. Some hula dances use both types.

Bubble Wrap

Bubble Wrap. The Hub Radio Show for Monday January 25, 2021. View the completely popped playlist for 01-25-21 (CLICK HERE)

Haerts, The Besnard Lakes , Clairo, Gracie Abrams,

In 1957, Engineers Marc Chavannes and Al Fielding worked in a garage to create a three dimensional plastic wallpaper, by sealing two shower curtains together. They were not successful in selling their wallpaper, so they began marketing it as greenhouse insulation. In 1960 they started the Sealed Air Corporation. The following year they realized their product could be used as a cushioning and packaging material. It was originally used to package IBM 1401 computers for shipment. Now it is used for food packaging more than for anything else. Bubbles are generally different sizes, usually 1/4 inch in diameter to 1 inch in diameter. Bubble Wrap is often made from polyethylene film.

17th Anniversary

17th Anniversary Hub. The Hub Radio Show for Monday January 11, 2021. View the completely nostalgic playlist for 01-11-21 (CLICK HERE) 

Grandaddy, The Sleepy Jackson The Shins The Rapture  Friends of Dean Martinez 

It all started in the early morning hours of January 8, 2004.  The very first The Hub, hosted by Bob Girth, aired from 2-4am on KXCI.  It was a fairly inauspicious debut for this new ‘new music’ showcase.  The stated mission of The Hub, then as now, is to feature ‘the most interesting, cutting edge indie rock and pop.’  To celebrate the seventeenth anniversary (Furniture is the traditional gift) on Monday January 11, 2021 6-8pm, Bob has recreated the original first hour of The Hub, which initially aired January 8, 2004, and a mix of the most current 2021 pop and rock for the second hour – a ‘Then & Now’ show that compares and contrasts the eclectic world of independent music over the last seventeen years. Frankly, it’s astonishing how little the indie world has changed over the years.  The longevity of the genre is a testament to the bedrock musical basics embraced by the early purveyors of the genus.  Simply put, good music is always good music. So pull up a rocking chair, raise a mug (Wood of course) and toast The Hub, “Here’s to seventeen more!”