Unkle Max Radio Show playlist for 3-21-2006
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"Well... THAT Was Sure Fucking Annoying!!"
Really, today's show had to be the most ANNOYING SHOW I've done yet at this "station." Someone ought to be ashamed and embarrassed for the state the studio and the station is in. Unfortunately, since ~ I ~ was the one behind the mic, guess who's ashamed and embarrassed??

And just what was wrong? Let's see...

* Studio locked and inaccessible until 8:15 am. My show is supposed to start at 8:00 am, so by the time I'd gotten into the station, I'd already lost 15 minutes.

* Sound system in cafeteria inaccessible, so the station's on-campus listeners (few as they are) can't hear us.

* THE FUCKING BOARD IS STILL WIRED AND PATCHED WRONG!!! This annoys me no end. It's bad enough that the turntables don't have styli and aren't hooked up... or that the cassette deck isn't patched into the board so you can record your show if you want to... but of our FIVE CD players, only two work... and those are patched into the board wrong. CD 1 plays the left channel only, in the left speaker only; CD 2 plays the left channel only in mono through BOTH speakers. So you're only hearing one side of the stereo of every song that gets played, unless it's a mono record.
WHY DOESN'T THIS SEEM TO BOTHER ANYONE BUT ME??? WHY CAN'T THEY FIX IT???
Meanwhile, let's talk about the mics. The mic closest to the control board doesn't work; the mic four feet away from the board works. So in order to talk, YOU HAVE TO STRETCH SO YOU CAN'T REACH THE PLAY BUTTON FOR THE CD PLAYERS. This made between song chat or intros impossible.
And finally...

* The station was a mess: CDs out of cases all over the counter, papers and empty CD cases (non of which seemed to match the discs) all over... no PSA or ID discs.

The staff and management of the station talks sometimes about elevating the station from a "club" to an actual over-the-air, licensed by the FCC BROADCAST station. (Right now, WRFM is internet and on-campus only) While I admire their enthusiasm and ambition, such talk reminds me of a friend who took an intro engineering course at CMU, where the Japanese grad instructor instructed the students to construct models of the basic solids. One kid struggled to make a cone from the piece he'd been given, at which point the instructor grabbed the paper and snapped "GIVE ME! ENGINEERING MAJOR AND YOU CAN'T EVEN MAKE FUCKING DIXIE CUP!"

In other words, they've got a long way to go to get anywhere CLOSE to getting on the air.

But enough rantin' and ravin'... the playlist, for the three people who may have heard the show. Seriously, this is getting to be more trouble than it's worth.

Crosby Stills and Nash - "Blackbird"
A live cover of the Beatles tune, from an old vinyl entitled ALLIES (Atlantic Records); no idea if this one is on CD yet.

The Beach Boys - "Hushabye"
Their great cover of this tune, in a live version from 1964; track 35 on disc one of the GOOD VIBRATIONS: THIRTY YEARS OF THE BEACH BOYS boxed set on Capitol.

Elvis Presley - "It Hurts Me"
This is an outtake that Elvis recorded for his 1968 NBC TV special: a remake of his 1964 single "It Hurts Me." His vocal on this outtake is much more impassioned than on the original single; he sounds more emotionally invested in it. It's gotta be on CD, though I don't know which CD... I have it on an old vinyl of ELVIS: A LEGENDARY PERFORMER VOLUME THREE.

Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane - "Blue Monk"
From the recent Blue Note CD THELONIOUS MONK AND JOHN COLTRANE LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL (Blue Note).

Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers - "Astral Plane"
From the great 2-CD set on Sanctuary, ROADRUNNER ROADRUNNER.

Merle Haggard - "Misery"
From Merle's 1970 Capitol album A TRIBUTE TO THE BEST DAMNED FIDDLE PLAYER IN THE WORLD, OR MY SALUTE TO BOB WILLS... the album that got me into Bob and into Merle, for which I am eternally grateful. Several original Texas Playboys appear on this album.

Neil Diamond - "Thank The Lord For The Nighttime"
One of those great Bang! records 45s from Neil's early days.

The Move - "California Girls"
A most unusual power pop treatment of the Beach Boys classic from the BBC SESSIONS cd of the Move. 1968 or 1969.

The Beatles - "Lovely Rita"
From the mono SGT PEPPER'S I found on eBay a couple weeks ago.

Crosby Stills and Nash - "Wasted On The Way"
Yet another live take from that ALLIES vinyl mentioned above.

Jan and Dean - "Summer Means Fun"
One of the best J&D album tracks ever, from their LITTLE OLD LADY FROM PASADENA album (1964) and good luck finding it on CD!

The Move - "Don't Make My Baby Blue"
Great loud rocker from their 1969 album SHAZAM!, which again, good luck finding it on CD.

Will this be the swansong of the Unkle Max Radio Show on WRFM? Stay tuned...