Jesca Hoop’s densely packed literary songs gently unfurl with little regard for the strictures of  conventional pop songwriting -- she has more in common with wandering folk troubadours of old. That makes them ideal for sharing in a living room, which is just what the Southern California native did early Thursday at the Laurel Canyon home of KCRW-FM deejay, author and music supervisor Gary Calamar.

Hoop, having recently wrapped up a 17-date U.S. tour, offered a small handful of songs from her recent album, “Hunting My Dress,” minus the inventive and quirky found-sound production that she and co-producer Tony Berg used on the recording.

When a man wears head-to-toe pink and he has a PhD in mathematics, well, we just don’t know what gender stereotype to slap him with. That’s the appeal of Caribou’s Daniel Snaith –- he’s not a predictable band frontman. His intellectual curiosity and sense of play infects all of his work, including the excellent 2010 album “Swim,” inspired by swimming lessons his wife gave him and shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, Canada’s highest musical honor.

At Friday’s "Morning Becomes Eclectic" session at KCRW, Snaith, joined by Brad Weber on drums, Ryan Smith on guitar, keys and samples and John Schmersal on bass and vocals, illuminated some of the most sonically intricate moments on “Swim.” Part warm-up for the show Friday night at the Henry Fonda, part its own long-form, recorder-friendly jam -- particularly on the extremely catchy “Odessa” and the resplendent, refracted “Sun” –- the 45-minute session got host Jason Bentley to rethink the band a bit. “I had put you in this box as an electronica artist,” he said during the interview portion of the visit. “But seeing you here today, [there’s] a lot of live instrumentation and I feel like I was wrong in assuming.”

His point brings up another unique aspect of the band –- it’s more than Snaith and a souped-up sample machine, though he does write music, as he put it, at a very slow pace and with each decision up to him. Live, it’s a different story, open to improvisation and collaboration, good news for those who fear that the show will be laptop pyrotechnics only. Weber, who was situated in his own little practice room for the KCRW recording, was militantly responsive on drums, following each twist and turn in Caribou’s maverick and lush landscapes.

It is perhaps this yin and yang, the balance of plotted decisions and off-the-cuff playing, that informs the best of Caribou’s work. When Bentley asked Snaith about the relationship between math and music for him, he dismissed the usual ideas about the analytical or rational nature binding the two. Instead, he said, “music is an intuitive, emotional kind of thing. But the thing I always emphasize is that mathematics has those kinds of notes in it as well… at a certain point it becomes more abstract, an intuitive, genuinely intuitive kind of thing.” We don’t remember that from algebra class but we’ll take his word for it.

-- Margaret Wappler

Caribou plays Friday night with Nite Jewel and Emeralds at the Music Box @ Henry Fonda, 6126 Hollywood Blvd. (323) 464-0808. 9 p.m. $23.

Meet Eric J. Lawrence. If you're a musician, he can be one of the most important people in your life.

Lawrence is in charge of one of the most critical avenues to an independent rock band's success -- getting your songs played on KCRW-FM (89.9).

As the music librarian at KCRW, his job is to dive into the hundreds of albums sent to the Santa Monica station every week and surface a handful of CDs to place on a row of compact wooden shelves in his library. And it is these shelves that the station's 25 DJs and producers turn to to figure out what to play next.

For indie bands, getting their music played on KCRW is a sign of success -- and not just because of the estimated 375,000 people per week who listen to the station's music programming, both online and over the air. That's because the public radio station has a reputation for being a tastemaker, with its fingers on the pulse of independent music trends poised to be the next big thing. It's one reason why music directors in Hollywood troll the station for new music to include in their television shows and movies.

As a result, the station gets anywhere from 200 to 400 unsolicited albums each week. Lawrence listens to every album and makes a record of whether it is added to the library or rejected. Of those, only 30 to 35 albums are chosen.

"I view my job as putting ears to every single record sent to us," Lawrence said. "Anything sent to us gets some amount of attention."

That's a lot more than you can say for just about all the commercial radio stations with 10 times the resources.

Lawrence doesn't want people to think he's the all-powerful magical genie that dictates all the music that airs on KCRW. In fact, the station's DJs are free to play whatever they want. It just turns out that much of what they spin comes from the shelves that Lawrence diligently maintains in the station's library.

"I tend to think of myself rather as a genial Santa Claus-like character who can make a very merry Christmas for some artists," Lawrence said.

We interviewed Lawrence, who has been at KCRW for 17 years and hosts his own show on Sunday nights, and asked him how artists can boost the chances of their CDs ending up on those hallowed shelves, alongside the Dead Weather, Arcade Fire and Massive Attack. Here are his five tips:

1. Make it personal. Don't waste money on fancy folders, glossy photographs and premium packaging. All of that ends up in the trash without so much as a backward glance. Instead, write a personal note and stick it on the jewel case. Address the person by name and say why the music fits with the station's vibe or the show you'd like it to play on. Lawrence recalls seeing a handwritten note from an artist, referencing some songs he played on his show. "They took the time to know me, so I took more time to know them." If it's an album, call attention to its best tracks. "There's no way we can listen to the entire record," Lawrence said. "We tend to sample two or three. So go ahead and recommend a track or two."

He's raw, unflinchingly honest and hopelessly candid, and because of those qualities, it's almost impossible to dislike Anthony Bourdain, the host of the Travel Channel's "No Reservations." While most food celebrities offer sanitized happy-go-lucky caricatures, Bourdain is the archetypal cool older brother who turned you onto smoking cigarettes, good food and the occasional harder substance.

After all, it's tough to have a problem with someone whose bio describes him as an "author, world traveler, insane eater and a punk rock aficionado. He was attracted to sinister and angry music at an early age, but it was when he discovered The Stooges that his 'downward spiral' began."

With a new book, "Medium Raw," to promote, Bourdain trekked down to KCRW's Santa Monica studios to participate in the station's Guest DJ Project, a series that has included Tyler Perry, Nick Hornby and Jake Gyllenhaal. Befitting his punk roots, Bourdain stepped to the turntables with five gems, plus some sharp descriptions that reveal that he'd have a career in music journalism waiting if he ever decides that he's eaten one raw seal eyeball too many.

Here's just a few examples of the knowledge dropped:

On ? and the Mysterians' "96 Tears":

"Even at age 10, I responded right away to that. Cheesy, evil, roller-rink organ…it laid out for me the possibility for darkness in an otherwise happy landscape of AM radio pop music. This was a very sinister-looking band -- Question Mark had sort of a Ramone-like bowl haircut and wraparound shades. It's essentially a very angry song about revenge."

Chrissie Hynde has been sneaking around Los Angeles for the last few days, doing quiet, low-key shows for small crowds curious as to what the heck this new project of hers -- JP,  Chrissie and the Fairground Boys -- is exactly. 

On Monday night, they performed at Bardot in Hollywood; on Tuesday night, she and a pared-down version of the band appeared at Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio in Santa Monica to record a live session for DJ Chris Douridas' show on KCRW-FM (89.9).

Because this was a casual, intimate evening that was closed to the public -- the majority of the crowd were major KCRW donors invited as a reward for supporting the station -- it'd be bad karma to actually review the private performance.

The trio were laid back and a touch unpracticed, but the chemistry was there, which led many to wonder whether she and this JP Jones fella had something going on behind the music. Hynde and the young Welsh singer, guitarist and producer were making googly eyes at each other most of the night, and the flirty smile she flashed at Jones was an indicator that the two were, well, smitten. (Word is there had been some public displays of affection at the Bardot.)  

After she had played a dozen songs both old and new, had thrilled a crowded group of cocktail KCRW sophisticates with her cool, rich soul music, Corinne Bailey Rae introduced one last one, a cover version, she said, of a song originally done by Doris Day, but later covered by Sly and the Family Stone.

 “Que Sera Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be),” of course, which made so much sense that it brought a little ooh of delicious anticipation from the audience, and she and her five-piece band rolled into slow burn of Stone’s last great achievement (so far -- hope springs eternal). The vast Cathedral of  St. Vibiana (now renamed, simply, Vibiana), with its interior like a billionaire’s wedding cake and candles fluttering behind the band, got deathly quiet, the musicians began with an a cappella moan perfect for the former church, and the bass and organ lifted into a gospel-like intro. Bailey Rae stepped up to the microphone, touched it, and gently offered the first lines like she was waking from a golden slumber: “When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, ‘What will I be? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? Here’s what she said to me …’”

And in our hearts and out of the speakers came the response, as reassuring and true as a mother’s embrace, “Que Sera Sera, whatever will  be, will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera sera.” The song as covered by Bailey Rae, as covered by Stone, had that spirit, that feel, its laissez-faire philosophy rendered beautifully.

As she finished songs throughout the concert, which was being recorded as a live session for "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on KCRW-FM (89.9), this little grin would creep across her face, the smile revealing what was happening inside her head, and you felt this genuine happiness for the woman with the dimples and the freshly nail-polished voice. It's a voice that goes where it wants to go, expertly supported by a band of fellow northern Englanders, one that gave the sold-out crowd the songs they wanted to hear: "Like a Star," "Put Your Records On" and "I'd Like To," as well as budding tracks from her new album, "The Sea." Make no mistake, this is KCRW music -- like pornography, it's something you can't really define, but you know it when you hear it (but we'll try): progressive enough without being shocking, adult and contemporary with melodies everywhere they're supposed to be and structures for the ages.

What could be better than dancing to DJ Shadow, spinning live from a crate of vinyl in a small ballroom at L.A.’s Park Plaza Hotel with an almost-full moon pouring through the patio windows? Doing it with that room full of people in outrageous Halloween costumes.

L.A. came out swinging for Masquerade, KCRW’s Halloween Ball, filling the neo-Gothic Park Plaza with thousands of epic costumes such as matching luminous jellyfish, a giant blue “Yip-Yip” from “Sesame Street,” a human marionette, an iPhone and a “missing” face on a milk carton -- all of it proof that we live in a town full of prop shop folks. 

Of course, there were also miles of sexy Spartans and schoolgirls and Bo-Peeps and whatever else you were looking for. 

The five opulent and differently themed rooms were hot (despite the cool evening) and nearly packed, and Shadow had his fans jumping up and down from the very first wild outburst of scratching. Minutes in, he laid into an inspired mix of “Bustin’ Loose” from Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers entwined with the Zombie’s version of “Time of the Season,” with the phrase “Who’s your daddy” hiccuping out every few bars. 

“Y’all ain’t ready for this next one,” Shadow dropped enigmatically, saying his next piece was “where Kanye West meets Metallica.” It wasn’t nearly as well received, but like he said, we obviously just weren’t ready.

Upstairs in the Terrace Room, KCRW’s Liza “Diva of Death” Richardson held it down in a gorgeous white tangle of corsets and what she called “rehearsal skirts” for doing Shakespeare and Moliere, topped with creepalicious face paint, as she turned over a good-size crowd to a live performance by Sea Wolf. 

The L.A. musical landscape is thick with options over the rapidly approaching Halloween weekend.

Beat-crazy dance aficionados can choose between the 12th annual Monster Massive at the L.A. Sports Arena and the expanded two-day HARD Haunted Mansion event at the Shrine. Indie rockers can check out stalwarts Built to Spill at the Echoplex and/or new heroes the Dirty Projectors at the Jensen Rec Center.

Public radio powerhouse KCRW has entered the Halloween party fray with “Masquerade,” a costume ball and dance party at the Park Plaza Hotel in downtown L.A. that now boasts Bay area legend DJ Shadow as the headliner.

DJ Shadow joins a lineup that already includes Swedish indie urban rock outfit Little Dragon alongside such local acts as mod folkie Sea Wolf and sunshine-poppers Edward Sharpe and  the Magnetic Zeros. A who’s who of KCRW DJs, including Liza Richardson, Jason Bentley and Garth Trinidad, will spin at the event too.

Tickets are available at KCRW.tix.com

-- Scott T. Sterling

Photo: DJ Shadow performing at the Mayan Theater. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times.

Well, it's started. One of the few other destinations for progressive radio in L.A. has scooped up Henry Rollins, who will air his new show live at KCRW on Saturdays from 6 to 8 p.m., starting March 7. Next question: Who's taking Jonesy?

When Entravision folded Indie 103 last month, Rollins diligently followed other DJs such as Joe Escalante and Jose Galvan to the Web version of the radio station, but it always seemed like a stop-gap measure. The Black Flag rager-singer isn't anti-technology -- he deejayed from his iPod for MOCA's Target Video night last summer -- but, as he writes on his website in an announcement for the new show, "the pre-tape thing was better than nothing but live is best." His show won't have an official name (KCRW only has "Morning Becomes Eclectic" as an officially titled show), but he'll have a DJ page on KCRW.com where his audience can send him e-mails.

Rollins is scheduled to appear as a guest DJ on "Morning Becomes Eclectic" on Thursday, so listeners who worry that the passionate vinylist and raconteur will have his tastes suddenly streamlined by his new home can try this out as a test-run. And Jason Bentley, KCRW's marquee DJ and "MBE" host, had this to say in an e-mailed statement about Rollins joining the team:

“I feel Henry’s tastes and perspectives are a good fit because he has a strong point of view and there are ideas behind all of his music selections. He plays songs he is passionate about, and that makes great radio. It is also something he shares with other KCRW DJs. It’s not so much that he will cater his program to us, but that we will be giving a passionate voice a forum.” 

It should also be noted that Rollins isn't new to the station -- he worked with revered DJ Deirdre O'Donoghue on her KCRW program "Snap," which showcased countless cutting-edge acts, and also nurtured Bentley. O'Donoghue, who died in 2001, also originated and hosted "Breakfast With the Beatles."

-- Margaret Wappler

Photo by Lori Shepler/Los Angeles Times

On weeknights, as Jason Bentley sits in KCRW's basement studios, building a city of the mind out of music, he often gets feedback from listeners tuning in around Southern California and across the globe. Some are artists engaged in their own solitary labors. Others are weary night-shift workers and jazzed-up club kids, floating down the freeways on a river of sound. A few are restless souls on the other side of the world, where the sun has already risen, firing off electronic messages in bottles from Shanghai, Guam, Europe.

Most are strangers, tapping out communiqués on their iPhones and laptops, but a number are friends and colleagues who say that "Metropolis," Bentley's popular show of electronica, dance music and whatever else he decides to stir into the mix, has remapped their aural horizons. "He doesn't like this part, but sometimes when I'm driving at night I'll text-message him because I'll be literally dancing in my car," says Johanna Rees, who programs special concerts and presentations for the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Then there are the lovers, making after-dark confessions to the smooth-voiced man behind the mike. "For some reason, people like to tell me that they've had some sexual encounter," Bentley says. "They're like, 'Dude! We just had sex in the back of my car to that last set!' "

Bentley laughs. "Music is powerful stuff. People are looking for inspiration, and that really makes me happy because that's what I'm trying to do, is inspire by music and be inspired by music."

For the last 16 years, Bentley, 38, has been delivering countless hours' worth of syncopated uplift via KCRW's Santa Monica-based signal (FM 89.9). With "Metropolis," a beat-rich concoction heavily influenced by his long tenure spinning records in clubs, he has constructed a soundscape that resembles the L.A. evening skyline: angular, futuristic and pulsing with nocturnal energy. On those occasions when the tempos all come together and the moods segue seamlessly, listeners might feel that, stepping into the night air, they've become characters in some ultra-chilled-out 21st century film noir.

He has come a long way with the station since joining as a phone volunteer in the summer of 1988. But soon Bentley will face a new challenge. This month, KCRW announced that on Dec. 1 he would be its new music director and host of the station's signature "Morning Becomes Eclectic" program, succeeding Nic Harcourt.

The new voice of “Morning Becomes Eclectic" will be familiar to fans of KCRW-FM (89.9), if they like their evenings eclectic, also.

Jason Bentley, host of the public station's nighttime music show, will take over as music director at KCRW and as host of its signature music program when Nic Harcourt leaves both posts Nov. 30.

"I'm excited by this opportunity to grow personally and help grow the station," Bentley said. "It's a place where I've grown up."

Nic Harcourt, the music director of Santa Monica-based public radio station KCRW-FM (89.9), tells The Times he will step down Nov. 30. Harcourt has presided over KCRW's nationally known "Morning Becomes Eclectic" music program for 10 years.

Harcourt won't be completely splitting from the station -- he will continue to host a three-hour music program on Sunday evenings. "As a parent of two young children, I believe it’s time for me to explore new career opportunities and expand upon my other activities in movie, television, voiceover work, advertising and the Internet," Harcourt is quoted as saying in a statement released today.

Reached by phone in the midst of Monday's "Morning Becomes Eclectic," Harcourt says he will host the show through Thanksgiving. After that, he will concentrate on building his own business, Samluna Media. 

"It’s not the politician’s thing, like, ‘Oh, I’m spending more time with my kids'," Harcourt says. "The bottom line is I’ve been in public radio for 10 years, and regardless of how great my job is, I make public radio money, and I have two 5-year-olds. I have to think about their future ... I’m going to be busy. I’m looking forward to building some equity for myself."

Outside of KCRW, Harcourt has been active in music supervision roles in film and television. He was behind the music on the short-lived CBS series "Love Monkey" and has worked on such films as "Ice Age," "Igby Goes Down" and "Anchorman." Currently, Harcourt is serving as a music supervisor on The CW's "90210."

"It’s expanded my musical palate, to be honest with you," Harcourt says. "You can sort of get known as the cool guy at KCRW, but at '90210,' you have to find songs that will turn on an 18-year-old girl. So what we’re doing with that show is featuring artists like Rihanna, Pink, Lady Gaga and people like that. At the same time, we’re putting cool stuff in where we can. We had Stereolab in last week’s show."

With Harcourt at the helm, "Morning Becomes Eclectic," which first aired in 1977, became a nationally known brand, one that's attached to concerts, compilation CDs and music events around the country. KCRW, for instance, is one of the most prominent brands featured at the annual South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas.

"Morning Becomes Eclectic" has been instrumental in supporting the careers of a number of developing and independent artists. In this morning's statement, Harcourt himself takes credit for "introducing artists" such as Coldplay, Damien Rice, Dido and Norah Jones to a wider audience. Even before Harcourt took over "Eclectic" hosting duties from Chris Douridas in 1998, the morning show was known for helping launch the career of Beck.

Harcourt does not have a debut date for his Sunday program, which will be a three-hour show beginning at 6 p.m. It will replace the syndicated "Sounds Eclectic," which currently airs Sunday evenings as a two-hour mix of the best of the past week's "Morning Becomes Eclectic." Harcourt says there are no plans to syndicate his new Sunday show.

"It’s been a labor of love," Harcourt says of the syndicated "Sounds Eclectic." "It never really picked up that much traction."

Harcourt and "Morning Becomes Eclectic" have won praise from music industry executives. "It gives a stamp of approval that is unimpeachable,"  Jason Flom, former chairman/CEO of Capitol Music Group, told The Times last year. "People know that you can't do anything to influence Nic, other than have great music that he responds to. It's watched by lots of people throughout the industry."

In the same story, Jeff Antebi, founder and CEO of the Waxploitation label and management firm, credited the station for giving crucial exposure to his client Gnarls Barkley, whose "Crazy" became the biggest hit of 2006. "Very few programs have as big an impact as 'Morning Becomes Eclectic' on the film and TV industry, which is one of the few growth areas for music," he says.

KCRW General Manager Ruth Seymour says the non-profit is "in the process of choosing a new music director." An announcement, according to the station, can be expected in the coming weeks.

-- Todd Martens

Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times