A Beginner's Guide To Whatever's Cool With Me

Whatever's Cool With Me is a general music show hosted by Ryan Bresee every Thursday morning from 9:30 - 12. He plays a little bit of this, a little bit of that and he takes requests! Visit the Whatever's Cool With Me website to check out his playlists (http://www.coolckcu.com) or follow him on Twitter (@coolckcu). Here are 10 discs with which one could start a Whatever's Cool With Me collection.

Dinosaur Jr. - Whatever’s Cool With Me



A great EP (although not my favourite Dinosaur Jr. album) and my show was named after the title track.

Infinite – 360 Degrees

For as long as I can remember, the instrumental version of the title track from this Canadian MC has been the theme music that introduces my show.

Outkast – ATLiens

This is my favourite rap album of all time and still gets play on my show to this day.

Sebadoh – Bakesale



A classic indie rock album. As a teenager, this kind of stuff defined campus radio for me.

Eric’s Trip – Love Tara



Much like Sebadoh, this was a campus radio staple for me.

DJ Shadow – Endtroducing



A landmark album that I have never tired of. It’s a classic that spawned countless copy cats.

Ketch Harbour Wolves – Dead Calm Horizon



This is an example of a relatively unknown band that I fell in love with and used my spot on the radio to try let as many people know about this fantastic record.

Henry Cyr- Sending Angels Down



This is really just a few songs burned onto a CD-R. Henry is a homeless man in Ottawa that you might recognize. He’s missing his left hand and plays guitar with a mug over the stump using it as a slide. He sings original and very passionate blues music that will knock you on your butt. Look him up on Youtube to get a taste. Having a show on a campus/community station allows me to play stuff like this that you wouldn’t hear unless you saw him on the street.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook- Night Song

CKCU has exposed me to music from around the world and that has been reflected in my playlists over the years. Prior to his passing, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan teamed up with Canadian Michael Brook to create that blends electronic sounds with traditional Qawwali music.

Dawn Upshaw and the London Sinfonietta – Gorecki’s Symphony #3

Not being on a commercial radio station allows me to play some very long, but very beautiful music. This particular recording of this famous piece is haunting and I make sure it gets played at least once per year.