In an effort to bring you the most tenuous of themes, this week I bring you Geology and Geography. Those are a couple of things I studied in college long ago.Believe it or not, Geography has changed some since then--a few countries changed their names, perhaps to keep it interesting, or maybe because they hired a marketing department. Some countries split into pieces, others merged. In any case, the map doesn’t look the same as it did back in the day.And Geology--now there’s a rock and roll field of study if I ever saw one. Earthquakes, tidal waves, molten lava, plate tectonics, erupting volcanoes. Crazy! It just doesn’t get more rock and roll than that.So to pull it all together, as dodgy as this theme may seem, I have a new song to play for you from each discipline.Sparklejet is a trio from Fresno, California, featuring Victor Sotelo on lead vocals and guitars, Wade Krause on drums, and Geoff Anderson on bass and vocals. We mentioned them in passing a couple of weeks ago on our “Fresno Rocks!” show. They started working their musical magic up and down the great Central Valley of California over a decade ago as a rootsy, Americana band. Then they hardened and honed their sound, and became more of a straightforward rock band. They recorded their most recent effort, “Beyond the Beyond”, with the legendary Chicago engineer Steve Albini about 5 years ago. This explosive album absolutely blew the roof off.So it’s been a long wait for we fans of the Jet, and they have not disappointed. Victor sent me a brand new track called “The World Before Longitude”. And this one’s a departure for them. The hard, focused sound loosens up just a bit. The songwriting and playing, however, are tight as ever, but genre-wise, they may have invented something here. Picture Jim Morrison fronting 1990-era R.E.M., and you might be close. Guitars are plentiful, both acoustic and electric. The lyrics are intellectual, and I literally listened to this one about 5 or 6 times in a row, just so my brain and ears could take in all the nuances. Magnificent, and you’ll hear it on the show.www.myspace.com/sparklejetLaurie Biagini writes and performs fun, sunny pop songs, heavily influenced by the more carefree side of the 1960’s beach sound. Lots of people, including myself, say that between her warm, honey-hued vocals and her upbeat keyboards, she sounds something like Karen Carpenter fronting the Beach Boys. Not a bad set of influences. She recently released a new album, “A Go-Go Girl in a Modern World”, and added some guitars into her sonic arsenal.So here’s the geographic rub--you usually think of beach music coming from California, but she hails from Vancouver, Canada! By my reckoning, she’s an honorary Californian. And she proves it--we’re going to hear her song that covers the Geology portion of our show--”The California Quake”. Yes, parts of our fair state do tend to shake quite a bit, and now, you can shake (and shimmy) when you hear this song--a choreographer friend of Laurie’s created a dance to go with this fun song. You’ll want to get out there and move!www.lauriebiagini.comHey! Recharged Radio now has a magazine! It’s a free monthly music e-zine called Sound of the Suburbs (not to be confused with our radio show of the same name--oh heck, go ahead and confuse it--we don’t mind!) It’s our joint effort with our friends at Perfect Pop Co-Op. You can get it on the left hand side of the home page of Recharged Radio. Just scroll down a bit, and get reading!If you'd like to make a request, just drop me a line at mike(at)rechargedradio.com. If you'd like to become an honorary California citizen, drop me a line at the same address. And if you'd like to hear all this great music—simply tune in to the California Diner, Tuesday night, See you then!Chef Mikemike(at)rechargedradio.comMN2BDNCThe Whiskey Saints - EastboundAnton Barbeau - MTV SongCult of Wedge - St George and the DragonAnny Celsi - Tangle-Free WorldAndy quirk - Hackney You're Not So CrapBen Swidenbank - Girl (Leave That Animal Tonight)Sparklejet - The World Before LongitudeLaurie Biagini - The California QuakeEmily Zuzik & Tim Lefebvre - E-VillPatrick Campbell-Lyons - Flowers For FridayThe Vinyl Junkies - GangsBaby Scream - Bad SeedJay Fraser - Breaking the ReignsJimmy Catlett - Everybody SezLindy LaFontaine - Sunday (Trip Hop remix)Auditorium - Did Your Heart Shake Like This Song?Braam - Way AwayMaxi Dunn - Why Do I Want You?Hail The Size - Crazy GirlM.A.D.I.S.O.N - Home part IISkip Heller - Let's Stay Home3 Foot Ninja - FearJet Electro - For Sale By OwnerTom Alford - Look To The StarsAgony Aunts - Linus's Fists Of DeathMaple Mars - The ExcursionVolary - Blackbird FlyThe Taters - Wolfman Told Me TonightMark Bacino - Queens EnglishLittle Guilt Shrine - One TwoDead Heart Bloom - Sentimental