Comments | wordasobject: his hand upon his leather belt now/ like it was the wheel of some big ocean liner

wordasobject

his hand upon his leather belt now/ like it was the wheel of some big ocean liner

Feb 11, 2006 23:59

Nashville has a publicly owned Low-Power Broadcasting station, WRFN (I suggest a wikipedia skim if you're unaware of the uniqueness of this situation). Their website strongly encourages programming applications and I’m seriously considering sending one. My pitch would be this: Nashville’s local college radio lacks insightful discussion of music. ( Read more... )

Comments 8

seraphseven February 12 2006, 08:45:29 UTC

A friend and I did something like that on a weekly SCAD radio show. We had the highest-traffic spot on Saturday nights and he'd take the first half and play what he would; I'd program the second half with indie rock, trip-hop, ambience-whatever fit. And we'd talk about it all-where we found it, what it meant, where it came from. And we'd banter a bit and sometimes play a song live. It was good times.

Eventually we were kicked off; I forget why...

wordasobject February 12 2006, 16:54:21 UTC

see now that is really encouraging, adam. thats just what i'm getting at: insightful discussion and spontaneity. A general sense of reflection. If Savannah can facilitate that, even for a brief time, so can Nashville.
i appreciate that.

katherinemorrow February 12 2006, 15:19:41 UTC

haha you said Music City USA

annie_linux February 12 2006, 15:58:26 UTC

I'm sure you already know this but WRFN was partially founded through the work of the Prometheus Radio Project. Your show idea sounds good although I gotta say, at least when I lived in Nashville, WRVU was a pretty top notch college radio station. I mean, the DJ's were obnoxious, but the shows were *very* eclectic and some of the public service announcements were hillarious. I.e. there was one that went, "hello, this is James Brown and I just want to tell you that drugs are super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad, super bad..." and so on for literally two minutes. There was also the WRVU Bluegrass Show which started off with some bluegrass noodling on a banjo and then a voice would come in, "yeeehaaa! You're listening WRVU Nashville, devil music!"

wordasobject February 12 2006, 17:28:16 UTC

Yes, wrvu is still pretty excellent especially in their variety. on sunday afternoons they have this show ‘goodness gracious’ that plays lots of old folk and country blues. I must call in there about three times every sunday trying to get names. its fantastic. Any derisiveness I might’ve suggested was mostly sarcastic. I know plenty of non-vanderbilt people who have shows on wrvu and I’ve always been tempted to try and get my own. But I’m much more excited by the idea of being a part of the prometheus project and it wasn’t until recently that I noticed how loose their current format was and how supportive they were of new applications ( ... )

roofwalking February 23 2006, 12:04:14 UTC

i just reread this for the first time after discussing all of it at length with you via emails and calls, and it is funny to me just how serious you sound in your post and comments here. it seems so unlike you! "reflection," you say, and that the "(lack of) division between art and entertainment these days is frightening," and it all seems to point toward some stodgy sense of High vs. Low cultures, which i think themselves are corporate manufactured distinctions (but that's another story). and that seems so antithetical to your music and the music to which you listen and the music both you and i love! i mean, man, we like punk rock, and you like old blues ( ... )

wordasobject February 23 2006, 18:58:06 UTC

I might like punk rock but I’m no libertarian, especially when it comes to music; it’s a communal activity and innocuous consumerism (ie commercial radio) is harmful to that activity by marginalizing thoughtfulness. I suppose my language in the post did make me out as wanting to further separate art from entertainment but I’m only interested in emphasizing art in entertainment. cause rock music can be really damn great and entertaining.
What’s more, I think “your favorite kind of music” marginalizes simple emotional music, which is why you’re so callous to the old country blues. I’m not interested in making anyone think one way about music; hegemony, in any sense, is limiting and boring and innocuous. I think all genres from all eras deserve a patient, thoughtful ear.

roofwalking February 23 2006, 21:38:33 UTC

what does punk rock have to do with being libertarian? punk rock may be populist, at least sometimes, but i certainly think it's too community-oriented to be 'libertarian.'

that interest you express here of "emphasizing art in entertainment" sounds a lot lot lot more like the tj i know. refreshingly so. i'd advise stressing that consciously on your show or in whatever other venues, since the way you talk about this stuff lapses into elitism like it does.

are you saying that my favorite kind of music marginalizes simple emotional music or that the very phrase "your favorite kind of music" does? if the former, well, i'm not purporting to like The Best or The Most Genuine or anything. i tend to like slightly abstract but also very physically galvanizing stuff; often emotion comes into it, yes, but not always (cf. mission of burma, sonic youth, public enemy - basically the more abrasive end of what i like -- or maybe that's just because abrasiveness to my sadsack ears isn't emotional, ha). if the latter, well, i don't really know ( ... )