All Over Albany

My Exit: Cliff Rohde

It's Monday, time for another My Exit. Here's tonight's guest DJ, who will be sharing his favorite music at 8 pm.

Here's more about him and the eclectic mix he's put together.

Who?

I'm an attorney, mediator, and online presence sherpa. I live in Niskayuna with my wife and children. I grew up in Michigan as an Ohio State fan, which shaped me in ways I'm only currently learning.

Importantly, I was cutting my teeth on rock music when the great bands of the 70s were recording live albums at Cobo Hall in Detroit (when not at Budokan).

How would you describe your taste in music?
I love all types of music. My mood and serendipity (or the random shuffling of my playlist) will determine what I'm listening to at any particular moment. Call it eclectic or ADD. That said, I find that I have a lot of guitar music saved up.

A few songs from Cliff's My Exit show:

"I Want You to Want Me" - Cheap Trick
Speaking of Budokan, this song was on one of the first albums I ever bought (along with, I'm afraid to say, Pat Benatar's "Crimes of Passion"). I couldn't decide if I wanted to be Bun E. Carlos (drummer) or Rick Nielsen (guitarist). For this song, definitely Bun E.

"Big Bad Bill" -- Van Halen
Van Halen is one of the most underrated cover bands of all times. I particularly like that David Lee Roth, a nice Jewish boy from Indiana, would grow up to become one of the best, if not the best, rock band frontmen of all time, and that on occasion he fashioned himself an early 20th Century blues singer. If memory serves, Eddie Van Halen's dad played the clarinet on this one.

"Be Aggressive" -- Faith No More
This entirely twisted version of a high school cheer can do nothing but, in fact, cheer a person up. These dudes were (are) from another planet.

"C'mon Billy" -- PJ Harvey
This track is from one of the most haunting and beautiful albums ever. It is amazing that one person can make so much music, and make it so meaningful, with so few instruments. Give her a pair of spoons and I'm sure she'd do just fine.

"Shake Your Thing" -- E.U.
If you lived in DC in the 80s, you did not miss the occasion to listen to Experience Unlimited. No other band captured the go-go beat like they did. You can't but get up and dance when E.U. is coming out of your speakers. And let's face it, sometimes you just gotta dance.

You can hear Cliff's My Exit show tonight at 8 on 97.7 or at exit977.org.

Here's how to schedule your own My Exit show on WEXT.