One of these days I’m gonna write an entire blog on why you should all listen to campus/community radio.  Sure, I’ve got a vested interest – campus/community radio pays my mortgage  - but the longer I sit behind this desk here, tucked into the basement of the Mac student centre, the more I see the importance of what community radio tries to do. 

One day, I’m going to write that post and convince you all to tune in to 93.3 CFMU (or our sister station up on the hill, C101.5 FM).  Today,  however, isn’t that day.  I’m not going to write an entire blog about that.  I am, however, going to do my damndest to get you to drop by the Pepper Jack Café (38 King William St) this Friday, the 18th, to support CFMU’s annual fundraising show.

The line-up of this year’s show is outstanding on a whole pile of levels.  First, we have some truly original and interesting acts from out of town, such as Laura Barrett.  Barrett hails from the big smoke, is a self-professed science nerd, and she plays songs with titles such as “Robot Ponies” and “Stop Giving Your Children Standardized Tests.”  Oh, and she plays the kalimba, aka the “African thumb piano.”  Odd?  Yep.  Good?  Absolutely.  www.myspace.com/laurabarrett

Also from Toronto are Rabbit Season, a band I heard only recently.  On first listen, I’m hearing electronic pop that’s informed by dance as well as 80s artists (in my head, “Ready Set Fire” is somehow the bastard baby of bands like Blancmange and China Crisis, but somehow it isn’t retro).  It’s synthy art-pop that manages to have as much pop as art. www.myspace.com/rabbitseason1

It wouldn’t be a CFMU show, however, if we didn’t give much-deserved props to the local contingent.  We were trying to keep this show all electro-like, so it only made sense to include Stabcity.  Zach and Simon were half of Cities in Dust, but they’ve put the guitars aside for their new project, favouring driving beats and buzzy stabs of synth.  www.myspace.com/stabcitynights

One of the more unusual local “dance” acts – for lack of a better term – is Circuit Breaker.  When I first heard their track on last years’ C+C Music Festival compilation, I thought, how in the world does a real human drummer mimic the breakneck beats of drum’n’bass?  Jamming on a variety of “electronic” music style, they bring to mind The New Deal – you’ve heard this kind of thing before, but not this way – and probably never created by a live trio on stage.  Very cool.  Hardly the most astute summary, but it fits.

Finally, topping off the evening, we have one of my favourite bands in recent years – from anywhere, let alone The Hammer – headliner Junior Boys.  Junior Boys are Matt Didemus and Jeremy Greenspan, who once had a program here on 93.3.  They started making music in 1999, and the results were a unique blend of ideas  and a distinct “Junior Boys” sound.  They use elements similar to those of certain 80s artists (Jer will punch me if I say Gazebo, but dammit, in my head, that’s what I hear).  Yet they never sound retro, perhaps because they sound so original and have a soulful vibe that those artists never possessed.  They’ve received world-wide acclaim – quite literally – for their two albums, Last Exit and So This Is Goodbye, which has led to successful tours on several continents.  They’ve also landed on the list of sought-after producers and remixers.   Oh, and the songs are stellar.  www.myspace.com/juniorboys

For all this music, it’s only $10 in advance and $12 at the door.  Come out – you’ll be supporting CFMU as a by-product of enjoying some fantastic artists.