Radio Show Playlist for 3/10/12

Hour 1
"Heart Attack" - Low vs. Diamond - Low vs. Diamond
"Change" - Poets of the Fall - Twilight Theater
"The Lonliest Start" - Thirteen Senses - Crystal Sounds
"Jane Says" - Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking
"Only the Young" - Brandon Flowers - Flamingo
"Black Night" - The Dodos - No Color
"Assessment" - The Beta Band - Heroes to Zeros
"My Time" - Minus the Bear - Omni
"Where Do I Fit" - Tonic - Tonic
"Circles" - Electric President - The Violent Blue
"Echoes" - Klaxons - Surfing the Void
"Summertime Clothes" - Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Radio Show Playlist for 3/3/12

Hour 1
"I'll Run" - The Cab - Whisper War
"Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare" - Matt & Kim - Grand
"Promises Promises" - Incubus - If Not Now, When?
"Restless Heart Syndrome" - Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown
"Selling the News" - Switchfoot - Vice Verses (REQUESTED)
"Never Let Me Go" - Florence & the Machine - Ceremonials
"We Care a Lot" - Faith No More - Introduce Yourself
"Plug In Baby" - Muse - Origin of Symmetry
"Paperthin Hymn" - Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal (REQUESTED)
"The Sound of Winter" - Bush - The Sea of Memories
"Leech" - Eve 6 - Eve 6
"Losing My Religion" - R.E.M. - Out of Time

Radio Show Playlist for 2/25/12

Hour 1
"Architects" - Rise Against - Endgame
"Sabotage" - Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
"We Won't Back Down" - Escape the Fate - This War is Ours
"Main Offender" - The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious
"Stop"- Hard-Fi - Killer Sounds
"Your Touch" - The Black Keys - Magic Potion
"We Are All on Drugs" - Weezer - Make Believe
"Everybody's Changing" - Keane - Hopes and Fears
"Jars" - Chevelle - Sci-Fi Crimes
"Avondale" - Yellowcard - The Underdog EP (REQUESTED)
"Can't Finish What You Started" - Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me
"Burn It Down" - AWOLNATION - Megalithic Symphony
"My Doorbell" - The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

Radio Show Playlist for 2/18/12 (Epic Show)

Hour 1
"Welcome Home" - Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
"Viscera Eyes" - The Mars Volta - Amputechture
"Grim Goodbye" - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Don't You Fake It
"Jesus of Suburbia" - Green Day - American Idiot
"Daybreak" - Saves the Day - Daybreak
"New Day" - Karnivool - Sound Awake

Hour 2
"Goodbye Sky Harbor" - Jimmy Eat World - Clarity
"The Feel Again (Stay)" - Blue October - Any Man in America
"Knocked Up" - Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
"Champagne Supernova" - Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
"Take a Picture" - Filter - Title of Record
"Konstantine" - Something Corporate - Songs for Silent Movies

Hour 3
"23" - Jimmy Eat World - Futures
"(*fin)" - Anberlin - Cities
"Leave" - R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
"Crush" - Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets
"Blackbird" - Alter Bridge - Blackbird
"Knights of Cydonia" - Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

Radio Show Playlist for 2/11/12

Hour 1
"Moving Pictures" - The Cribs - Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever
"Times Like This" - Lit - Lit
"Makes Me Wanna Die" - The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up
"Inside Out" - Eve 6 - Eve 6
"Shameful" - Atreyu - A Deathgrip on Yesterday
"Stuck in the Middle" - Four Year Strong - In Some Way, Shape, or Form
"Where Do We Go From Here" - Filter - The Amalgamut
"Rock N Roll Lifestyle" - Cake - Motorcade of Generosity
"Cute Without the 'E'" - Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends (REQUESTED)
"Breakout" - Foo Fighters - There is Nothing Left to Lose
"Ball and Chain" - Social Distortion - Social Distortion
"Psychosocial" - Slipknot - All Hope is Gone

Radio Show Playlist for 2/4/12

Hour 1
"Ignorance" - Paramore - Brand New Eyes

"I'm Like a Lawyer with the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You)" - Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High

"The War" - Angels and Airwaves - We Don't Need to Whisper

"The Way We Get By" - Spoon - Kill the Moonlight

"Red Flag" - Billy Talent - Billy Talent II

"Trust in You" - The Offspring - Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace

"Never Let You Go" - Evermore - Real Life

"Waking Up" - OneRepublic - Waking Up

"Capricorn" - 30 Seconds to Mars - 30 Seconds to Mars

"White Crosses" - Against Me! - White Crosses

"Walking Away" - She Wants Revenge - This is Forever

"PDA" - Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

Radio Show Playlist for 1/28/12

Hour 1
"Here We Are" - Breaking Benjamin - Phobia
"Supermassive Black Hole" - Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
"It's Not You" - Halestorm - Halestorm
"The Hardest Button to Button" - The White Stripes - Elephant
"Keep on Bringing Me Down" - Forever the Sickest Kids - Forever the Sickest Kids
"Stars in Your Eyes" - Armor for Sleep - Smile for Them
"This Time" - Depswa - Two Angels and a Dream
"Breaking" - Anberlin - New Surrender
"Pattern Against User" - At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command (REQUESTED)
"3s and 7s" - Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
"Lien on Your Dreams" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81
"Underdog" - Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
"Kids" - MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Radio Show Playlist for 1/21/12

Hour 1
"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" - Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant
"31 Floors" - The Higher - On Fire
"Coin Operated Boy" - The Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls
"Learning to Breathe" - Switchfoot - Learning to Breathe
"Wishing Well" - Blink-182 - Neighborhoods (REQUESTED)
"Dumb" - Nirvana - In Utero
"The Great Salt Lake" - Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
"Armistice" - Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
"Have You Ever" - The Offspring - Americana (REQUESTED)
"Combat Baby" - Metric - Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?
"The One I'm Waiting For" - Relient K - Mmhmm
"Better Days" - Goo Goo Dolls - Let Love In

Radio Show Playlist for 1/14/12

Hour 1
"Deadbeat Holiday" - Green Day - Warning
"No Apologies" - Trapt - No Apologies
"Mind Reader" - VersaEmerge - Fixed at Zero
"Lethal Enforcer" - We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery
"Beast and the Harlot" - Avenged Sevenfold - City of Evil
"Moon Baby" - Godsmack - Godsmack
"Revol" - Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible
"Until Morning" - Dashboard Confessional - Alter the Ending
"Finished in a Day" - Halifax - Start Back at Start (REQUESTED)
"Niki FM" - Hawthorne Heights - The Silence in Black and White (REQUESTED)
"You're Not Alone" - Saosin - Saosin (REQUESTED)
"Anthem of Our Dying Day" - Story of the Year - Page Avenue (REQUESTED)

Radio Show Playlist for 1/7/12

Hour 1
"The Anthem" - Good Charlotte - The Young and the Hopeless
"Take Me Out" - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
"Think I'm in Love" - Beck - The Information
"Corduroy" - Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
"Where Were You" - Every Avenue - Shh, Just Go With It
"Staplegunned" - The Spill Canvas - One Fell Swoop
"Slither" - Velvet Revolver - Contraband
"My Eyes Burn" - Matchbook Romance - Stories & Alibis
"Ghost Town" - Shiny Toy Guns - We Are Pilots
"Lying from You" - Linkin Park - Meteora
"10 Days Late" - Third Eye Blind - Blue
"Light Sleeper" - Hawthorne Heights - If Only You Were Lonely
"Don't Leave Me" - Blink-182 - Enema of the State

Valencia: The Awesome Show's Final Goodbye (for Now)

If you've been a fan of Valencia for any amount of time, you probably know that Wednesday, December 28, 2011, was the band's last show for the foreseeable future. Playing in front of 2,300+ fans, family members, and fellow bands Valencia toured with, the Electric Factory in Philadelphia (where the band hails from) lived up to its name. On a cold, windy night, the venue was warm with a bittersweet ending to a phenomenal career. Now, I'm sure by now you're wondering: in a year when scene stalwarts Thrice, Thursday, and Alexisonfire break up, why does Valencia get their own post? That question has more than one answer, come to think of it. One, the write-ups for those other three bands may very well be coming soon

And two, because other than Jimmy Eat World, Valencia is probably the most important band to The Mike and Tom Awesome Show.

Let's take a look back, shall we? The Mike and Tom Awesome show began in October of 2008, a few months after Valencia's incredible sophomore full-length We All Need a Reason to Believe came out. Shortly after, a streak of pure luck and coincidence brought the band into the WTSR DJ booth to play an acoustic set, where they became the first "HOLY #@%$!" moment the show has ever had (there have been a few more after that, I can assure you). Reason to Believe ended up the #2 album of the year on the Top Albums 2008 countdown, trailing only The Gaslight Anthem's The '59 Sound. The album had major staying power on the show, getting near-regular airplay in the years after its release, and a few "Which song is the best on the album?" debates to boot.

Then, when I (Donald) was made an official panelist on the show, Valencia brought us all together in an even bigger way. With their third full-length Dancing with a Ghost due out in less than two weeks, Mike, Tom, and myself made the trek up to the School of Rock East in South Hackensack, NJ (RIP) to see Valencia's first headlining tour behind the album. The show was especially important for us, as this was the first show the three of us attended together. As proof of our devotion (and borderline obsession) to the band, the three of us all bought a copy of the album at the show (again, before the release date), and eagerly popped it into the CD player to listen to on our way home. The car ride was quiet, which, for us, is a pretty big deal. Somehow, three radio DJs were left speechless, and our silence was only broken by the occasional "This song/album is awesome," "This is so good," or my personal favorite "Oh my God, they did it again," as we were all floored by the maturation Valencia had showed on Dancing. We played the title track on the show the next day, and Dancing With a Ghost ended at #3 on the Top Albums 2010 countdown, with Valencia becoming the first band in the show's history to have two albums show up in the Top 10, Top 5, or even Top 3 of our year-end countdowns.

If that was too long, here's the jist: Valencia was a great band, the kind of band you don't come across too often. Their deeply personal lyrics and constantly-evolving musicianship were a rarity during a time when pop-punk was lacking both (see: Low, All Time), and the band never disappointed. So, to put it in the simplest terms I can, Valencia's Farewell show in Philadelphia was surreal. Seeing so many people recite lyrics they may or may not have had tattooed on them so passionately was one of the craziest feelings Tom, Mike, or I will ever have, and the only bad part about Valencia's set was that it had to end.

So in conclusion, to the friends, fans, family members, crew members, merch guys, and anyone else involved in Valencia, and of course, Shane, George, JD, Brendan, Trevor (who filled in for guitar at the show), Dan, and Max (Rest in Peace), from the bottom of The Mike and Tom Awesome Show's collective heart:

Thank you, and Goodbye (For Now).
The Mike and Tom Awesome Show
Mike Leatherwood, Tom Taylor, Donald Wagenblast

-Donald.

Radio Show Playlist for 9/24/11

Hour 1
"1983" - Neon Trees - Habits
"This is the Last Time" - Keane - Hopes and Fears
"The Way" - Valencia - Dancing with a Ghost
"All Downhill from Here" - New Found Glory - Catalyst
"Some Might Say" - Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory
"Definite Darkness" - Cymbals Eat Guitars - Lenses Alien
"Bambi" - Tokyo Police Club - Champ
"Boomboxes and Dictionaries" - The Gaslight Anthem - Sink or Swim
"Last Night" - Carolina Liar - Coming to Terms
"Follow the Leader" - Sloan - The Double Cross
"I Would Do Anything for You" - Foster the People - Torches
"Even If It Kills Me" - Motion City Soundtrack - Even If It Kills Me

Radio Show Playlist for 9/17/11

Hour 1
"Fight, Fight (Reach for the Sky)" - Go Radio - Lucky Street
"Born to Lead" - Hoobastank - Every Man for Himself
"Work for the Working Man" - Bon Jovi - The Circle
"Reptilia" - The Strokes - Room on Fire
"Living Together" - Circa Survive - On Letting Go
"Wake Up Call" - Authority Zero - 12:34
"Sillyworld" - Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May
"Long Time" - Cake - Showroom of Compassion
"To All the Crowded Rooms" - Senses Fail - Still Searching (REQUESTED)
"Run this City" - Jet Lag Gemini - Fire the Cannons
"Lay Me Down" - Crossfade - We All Bleed
"Light Me Up" - The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up

Radio Show Playlist for 9/10/11

Hour 1
"It's Only Natural" - The Higher - It's Only Natural
"Howlin' for You" - The Black Keys - Brothers
"Drive" - R.E.M. - Automatic for the People
"Teeth" - Fireworks - Gospel
"Hurricane" - Something Corporate - Leaving Through the Window
"The Royal We" - Silversun Pickups - Swoon
"Smashed Into Pieces" - Silverstein - When Broken is Easily Fixed (REQUESTED)
"Requiem" - Boysetsfire - The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years (REQUESTED)
"Seventy Times Seven" - Brand New - Your Favorite Weapon (REQUESTED)
"Magnets Caught in a Metal Heart" - Thursday - No Devolucion (REQUESTED)
"Lollipop" - Framing Hanley - The Moment (REQUESTED)
"Smooth Criminal" - Alien Ant Farm - ANThology (REQUESTED)

Radio Show Playlist for 9/3/11

Hour 1
"Will Do" - TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
"Black Treacle" - Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See
"Screaming Bloody Murder" - Sum 41 - Screaming Bloody Murder
"Four Letter Word" - Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding
"Home" - Thirteen Senses - Crystal Sounds
"Blow It Up" - The Vaccines - What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?
"Lotus Flower" - Radiohead - The King of Limbs
"Jump into the Fog" - The Wombats - This Modern Glitch
"Pararelevant" - The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules
"Climbing a Chair to Bed" - Dropkick Murphys - Going Out in Style
"Goodbye" - Eddie Vedder - Ukulele Songs
"Saints and Sinners" - Flogging Molly - Speed of Darkness

Radio Show Playlist for 8/20/11

Hour 1
"I'm Not Over" - Carolina Liar - Coming to Terms
"Burn the Witch" - Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze
"Numb" - The Airborne Toxic Event - All at Once
"Never Take Friendship Personal" - Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal (REQUESTED)
"Louder Than Ever" - Cold War Kids - Mine is Yours
"Gravemakers and Gunslingers" - Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow
"Unspoken" - Lacuna Coil - Comalies
"Satellite" - The Kills - Blood Pressures
"High Pressure Low" - Against Me! - White Crosses
"Wicked World" - Cold - Superfiction
"The Foreboding Sense of Impending Happiness" - HIM - Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice
"Deep Enough" - Live - V

Radio Show Playlist for 8/13/11

Hour 1
"Reckless Abandonment" - The Spill Canvas - No Really, I'm Fine
"So Long, Astoria" - The Ataris - So Long, Astoria
"Running Out of Time" - Hot Hot Heat - Elevator
"Any Other Heart" - Go Radio - Lucky Street
"Come Out and Play (Keep 'em Seperated)" - The Offspring - Smash
"Solo Impala" - The Fashion - The Fashion
"Punk Rock Princess" - Something Corporate - Leaving Through the Window
"Rise from the Ashes" - Quietdrive - When All That's Left is You
"Do What You Want" - OK Go - Oh No
"Bang the Doldrums" - Fall Out Boy - Infinity on High
"Diamond in the Rough" - Social Distortion - Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes
"Loser" - Beck - Mellow Gold

Radio Show Playlist for 8/6/11

Hour 1
"Becoming the Bull" - Atreyu - Lead Sails, Paper Anchors
"Sillyworld" - Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May
"Sick, Sick, Sick" - Bayside - Killing Time
"Rider" - Okkervil River - I Am Very Far
"When It Dies" - The Get Up Kids - There Are Rules
"Buy Nothing Day" - The Go! Team - Rolling Blackouts
"The Fantasy" - 30 Seconds to Mars - A Beautiful Lie
"The Hardest Mile" - Dropkick Murphys - Going Out in Style
"Another Love Song" - Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
"White Rabbit" - Egypt Central - White Rabbit
"Splinter" - Sevendust - Cold Day Memory
"Woman" - Wolfmother - Wolfmother

Radio Show Playlist for 7/30/11

Hour 1
"Flavor of the Weak" - American Hi-Fi - American Hi-Fi
"Hash Pipe" - Weezer - The Green Album
"I Did It" - Dave Matthews Band - Everyday
"The Rock Show" - Blink-182 - Take Off Your Pants and Jacket
"Million Miles Away" - The Offspring - Conspiracy of One
"Understanding (in a Car Crash)" - Thursday - Full Collapse
"New Born" - Muse - Origin of Symmetry
"Crawling" - Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
"Duck and Run" - 3 Doors Down - The Better Life
"Alive" - P.O.D. - Satellite
"Fat Lip" - Sum 41 - All Killer, No Filler
"Screaming Infidelities" - Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most

Radio Show Playlist for 7/23/11

Hour 1
"Under Fire" - Halifax - The Inevitability of a Strange World
"I Don't Need a Soul" - Relient K - Forget and Not Slow Down
"Eyes Wide Open" - Rival Schools - Pedals
"Hands Open" - Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
"Sleep" - The Dodos - No Color
"Step Out of the Car" - The Boxer Rebellion - The Cold Still
"All That's Left" - Thrice - The Artist and the Ambulance
"Journal for Plague Lovers" - Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
"Stay With Me" - You Me at Six - Hold Me Down
"Beat the Devil's Tattoo" - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Beat the Devil's Tattoo
"Get Thru This" - Art of Dying - Vices and Virtues
"The Same Space" - Klaxons - Surfing the Void