I received an interesting gift for Christmas from my sister-in-law: to be a guest DJ on Toronto's CKLN 88.1 radio station. I was able to program 80 minutes of music of my choice on Jeff Wiseman's Twilight Spirits from 7:00 to 8:30 Sunday morning.

Given that most people who enjoy progressive rock think that bands stopped making this kind of music in the mid 1970s, I decided I would base my show on new progressive rock bands that I though would connect with that sort of person.

So my challenge was more about the bands I would want people to know of than about what I thought were the best prog songs. Two other constraints: because this is Canada, I had to have some Canadian content; and because most of the great prog songs since about 1995 are at least ten, many being fifteen to twenty minutes in length. Long songs limits the number of bands I could introduce to people.

I was able to talk about the bands and the progressive rock revival between sets.

Here's the playlist I finally went with:

Set 1
Klaatu - We're Off You Know (Orchestral Mix) [The band recorded the whole Hope album with an 83 piece orchestra, and then scrapped most of it after the Beatles rumours made their first album a bit hit. It was released for the first time as it was originally conceived in 2005 on their compilation album Sun Set.]

True Myth - Reach For The Heavens. [Great piano driven prog rock and the first digitally recorded album in Canada, the second in the world.]

The Factory - Spirit of Christmas [A guitar-driven psychedelic proggy album by a Toronto-based band that came out in 1974.]

Don Bell - Child of Infinity [Don is a good personal friend of mine, and I wrote the lyrics to all of the versus. It's not prog, but I had the chance to get this played on the radio.]

Set 2
Spock's Beard - The Light (The Light)
The Flower Kings - There Is More To This World (Retropolis)

Set 3
Frogg Cafe - Creatures (Creatures)
RPWL - The Way It Is/Perpetual Response (Stock)
Porcupine Tree - Last Chance To Evacuate Planet Earth Before It is Recycles (Lightbulb Sun)

Set 4
Proto-Kaw - Quantum Leapfrog (Before Became After)

I've been invited back, so I'll get the chance to play more prog rock for my family, because I'm sure there aren't too many people listening to college radio at 7:00 a..m. on Sunday mornings.

Maybe next time I'll have to include some Red Star and perhaps something from The Van Allen Belt, and ask the musical questions: Is there anybody out there?