Being on vacation (from work) has a way of putting things into perspective. My 2 week stint officially started last night and I've been basically decompressing for the past 24 hours. Oh, I've got things planned - so don't worry about that. It's just nice having more than one or two days off... there's no "I've only got 2 days - I gotta get all this done" type of scenario.
Before I hit the blog, I checked the station's email. I always get a number of requests from people, as well as bands, to play certain songs or in some cases, entire CD's. If I decide to feature the band or a song, I always let the person know what we're doing and to thank them for the suggestion. If I don't decide to feature their suggestion, I still send them a reply anyway, but it's a little more generic, but still positive.
All in all, it's worked out very well, except for one, maybe two cases. In those cases, I've received an email or two back stating I don't know a thing about music, or I'm missing out on the next Nirvana, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah. These emails never bother me & I don't shoot back a reply. Mainly because it's not worth it.
The way I see it, and not to be crass, but it's my station... period. That's the reason why I started the bloomin' thing in the first place. I get to play what I want. I will always take suggestions and ideas. I will always respond to emails. It may take a while, but I will respond. Another footnote - I also pay the bills for the station. I pay royalty fees every month, as well as other expenses. If someone thinks this is something like $10 a month, think again. I'll be more than happy to show you my expense report. We've been on the air for 3 months - 2 out of 3 months, we actually made some money... not much, mind you, but hey - a win is still a win!
I feel the station is doing well. We have a total (as of this writing) of 1,089 listeners who have 360 Degrees as a dedicated preset... and listeners are only allowed a few. We have 147 listeners who have us listed as "their favorite" out of all the thousands of stations out there on line. I'm still hoping to finish the website soon. I know, I've been saying this for months. Unfortunately, some things are out of my control. We just roll with it...
I still get questions, but mostly positive comments, about the "mix of music" we play to coin a radio phrase. I have all those songs in there, because for one reason or another, I like them... a lot. I'm glad many people like the variety. I added more tunes today; everything from The Specials, Squeeze, Voyager One, and lots more.
Speaking of Squeeze, I was reading an article about the "early" years of this band. I was surprised to find out that "early" went as far back as 1974! Even back then, they were an old band with a new name (this was even before the name of Squeeze). Band members Difford & Tilbrook first got together when 15 year old Glenn Tilbrook saw an advertisement that Chris Difford put into a shop window in Blackheath Village. It read something like "Lead guitarist wanted for band. Recording soon." The two dubbed their band Cum and were among the 100 bands who played at the Windsor Free Festival. Even though the duo liked the band name, they eventually concluded that a group with the name of Cum, would have a snowballs chance in hell if they wanted to get on the radio or on TV with shows like Top of the Pops. So they changed their name to Captain Trundlow's Sky Co. (or Skyco for short). Ya know... I'm glad they eventually settled on Squeeze...
This past week I was discussing some Ramones history with a co-worker. He mentioned that in June of 1979 Sire records released the double album live set, "It's Alive". The 28 song set was recorded on New Years Eve in London back in 1977. The album was said to contain their best material to date and was an excellent performance. The album sells for only 4.99 (in English currency) which is an absolute bargain! Ironically, the album charts in the UK at #27 - and will be the highest charting album of their career. It's not available in the US. I can remember buying this album back in 1980 - I had to order it from a record store, it took 2-3 weeks to arrive, and it cost about $25. The record store clerk thought I was nuts... I told him it was worth every damn penny if not more so. I still have that piece of vinyl history although it's been put away for safe keeping. I have the same recording on CD. Sometimes, technology is good...
My wife and I were driving around town last Saturday, and as usual, I was occasionally changing radio stations whenever a commercial came on the one I was listening to. I came across a preset that was playing The Clash & "Rock The Casbah". After the song was over, it was to my horror that the station I was listening to was an "oldies" station... except they disguised themselves with a "classic hits" identification. Later on, I was browsing through some Clash history, and sure enough, back in June of 1982, The Clash released that song... 28 years ago... ouch! Believe it or not, that song broke the usual mold of charting here as opposed the UK. The Clash always charted better in England, but in this case, the song did far better here than across the pond. In fact, it reached #8 here in America, the biggest hit they'd ever have here. It was also the start of the bands demise. As the late Joe Strummer said in an interview in the 90's, that "success was the main thing that killed the band."
Finally, we'll close with a birthday & two moments of silence...
- Patrick Waite of Sonic Youth was born on this day back in 1958.
- James Honeyman-Scott of the Pretenders passed away on this date back in 1982.
- Kristen Pfaff of Hole also passed away on this day.
Until next time, keep listening & keep the suggestions coming!
Peace out,
Dave
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