Inside the WFMU archives.

​It's fundraising time again for awesome local freeform radio station WFMU, and rather than do another fall marathon, music festival, record fair, or art benefit, the station has organized an online auction, with all proceeds going to support the beloved and increasingly beleaguered institution. (Last year, they fell $100,000 short of their goal during their annual March fundraiser, and the station is currently trying to build an antenna in the middle of Manhattan after losing the lease on their old transmitter site.) Luckily, one thing WFMU is not short on is friends, and so this auction is actually pretty incredible. Below, the best of the things you should probably buy anyway, on principal:

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Note the chanting.

Ace critic Jeff Chang points us to the never-less-than-prescient blog of local freeform radio titans WFMU, where one intrepid writer traces the origins of "Waka Waka"--the song now famous for providing the base text for Shakira's official/abysmal World Cup anthem "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)." (The station did this in March, by the way, before Shakira's song was a even glimmer in FIFA's eye. The lesson, as always? Respect WFMU.) Anyway, the tale begins in Senegal, and proceeds backwards through Liberia, Santo Domingo, Suriname, Holland, meandering all the way to the '80s, where the song first surfaced as a Cameroonian marching tune. Though it turns out that no one really knows what the words mean. Want to know if "Waka Waka" has gotten better with age? Let's A-B it with Shakira's current version:

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WFMU's Tom Scharpling, who might think about calling in a favor from Joe Francis

​Here is your terrifying press release of the day, courtesy of beloved local radio station WFMU, which we do not want to fail: "At WFMU we've always prided ourselves on being able to support ourselves on one pledge drive a year, plus whatever we can scrape together by selling roses outside the Holland Tunnel.But that was before the great recession. Before we fell over $100,000 short of our goal during our March fundraiser. Before we lost our lease on our main transmitter site and set out to put an antenna in midtown Manhattan." Hence, an off-season benefit, kicking off tonight at 7pm.

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poster design by Henry Owings

With shows ranging from "Give The Drummer Some" (featuring "the finest in Micronesian doo-wop"), Do or DIY With People Like Us ("Home of all things avant-retard") to The Frow Show ("Grand pianos in the surf, singing frogs, hyphenated psych, outtakes, live collaging... and the Grateful goddamn Dead"), it must be an arduous task to compile three days of music that accurately represents the heterogeneity of sound that is the free-form non-commercial station WFMU/91.1. But Brian Turner gave it a shot anyway. The station's music director took the lead on organizing the bill for the first ever WFMU Fest, which continues this weekend after last night's performance from krautrock uberlords Faust. No-wave progenitors Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and scuzz-punks Pissed Jeans will headline the next two nights of the festival, which takes place at the at the Williamsburg Hall of Music. The station has recently partnered with South By Southwest and All Tomorrow's Parties, but this is the first time they've hosted their own live showcase. (Should the show do well, they hope to do it again.)

Turner, who was once named the "Music Director Most Likely To Never Sell Out" at the CMJ College Radio Awards, recently talked to the Voice about turning down promotion offers, scheduling the Fest, Faust, and sheep.

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Twitpic via Eardrumnyc

​Faust
WFMU Fest/Music Hall Of Williamsburg
October 1

Dear American experimental underground, Faust has a message for you: You're no fun. Last night was a rollicking, all-smiles 90-minute set from a bunch of Germans who were making weird records when Mike Patton was still rocking a stroller. Their show made any band you're championing right now look like a bunch of dire blowhards.

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​Tonight they play their biggest hometown stand to date at Roseland--tickets are still available--and this afternoon, Yo La Tengo will be on WFMU, talking with David Suisman at 3pm. It's a nice way to get excited about what is--even for New York--a big show. Gary Panter and Joshua Light are set to handle the visuals, Black Lips open up, and the excellent Popular Songs will be the centerpiece, but this band does few things better than surprises. Get your "Here to Fall" requests in now. [Matablog]

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In 2008, the pioneering Jersey City-based freeform radio outfit WFMU celebrated its 50th anniversary. One year later, the party evidently continues: WFMU will host a music festival over the first three days of October at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and they're bringing out the heavy hitters. The kids over there somehow wrangled German kraut-rock legends Faust and NYC's own long-dormant Teenage Jesus and the Jerks to headline a lineup that is also set to include Cold Cave, Sightings, Talk Normal, Drunkdriver, and more.

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Freeform radio guys and all around essential broadcasters WFMU just announced their 50th Anniversary Art Benefit, an event held for the reason of assembling funds "towards building a new antenna in Manhattan," which pretty much makes this The Fountainhead of charity drives. The weeklong art auction promises to provide holiday gifts via work by artists such as Swoon, Christian Marclay, Cindy Sherman, Jad Fair, as well as former Bones' Beat subjects Richard Prince and Olaf Breuning (the "e" comes first, dudes!). Check the Ben Eine print that actually depicts a gnarly antenna and get excited.