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Thursday, April 26, 2012


With the usual flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon


NOBODY ASKED ME BUT.......


1)            A few personal thoughts today as opposed to the usual format.  Still the fedora is still tipped to Jimmy Cannon for that title and thought.

2)            Phil Ochs.   Admittedly I am a Johnny Come Lately to the talent of this great talent since I only started to appreciate his work in about the 1970s—the late 1970s at that.  But, having come to the realization of his great talent I have to wonder as so many probably do what he might have accomplished had he lived longer than his short span of life.   Would, and I would hope, he have eclipsed or been on a par with Bob Dylan?  Would all those honors have accrued to him since he may not have reinvented himself so many times.  I am assuming the non-re-invention and, frankly,  I find it hard to believe in change so I only hope he would not have re-invented himself. As the current expressions goes---“it is what it is” and I would hope “he would have been what he was”.  If that makes sense.
a. My compliments to his sister--Sonny Ochs. I had the honor of meeting her so many years back (thanks to my wife) and for her keeping the music of Phil alive with the Phil Ochs Song Nights she presents.  Once again, as I said when introducing Work O The Weavers last week---I am delighted that I was there at the beginning.

    2)   The Weavers, as you know, were the foundation of the “Folk Revival” of the 1950s and 1960s and also so much more in a political sense.   Happily there is a group that is now celebrating the 10th anniversary of its founding---Work O The Weavers.  As I said in my introduction to them at a concert in Nanuet NY---“...bringing the music of this group (The Weavers) to another generation..”.  Interestingly, all the people I have spoken with recently said they wished they knew of this event since they loved The Weavers. Too bad they did not tune in to TRADITIONS---or read a local paper.  The good news is that this group, as many know, are perfect in their representation of them and, even better,   they now do new material they have created in the mode of The Weavers.  All greatly talented artists.

3)   You all have heard of the death of Pete Fornatelle. I cannot, in all honesty call him a colleague since the only contact I had with him was quite some time back when I was doing a Harry Chapin Tribute and he would not come on the air due, I believe, to contractual reasons with his employer at the time.    My sympathies go out to his family and multitude of friends and fans since, I do believe, the death of anyone diminishes all.   It is, however, life.  Some leave us sooner than others. 
        That said, one can only hope that I am so appreciated by people in the radio community when my time comes.   I know, and I hope it is not soon, that my response to my WFDU colleagues would be equal to that of the folks at WFUV.

3)            Now for a simple thought and query.  This item is linked to Facebook and I am always amazed by how we value privacy and yet open our souls to the soulless entity of Facebook.   The query is this----why do serious comments get little response there and nonsense such as---dental problems, birds in backyards, bowel movements (?), and cute kittens amongst other things get inundated with comments---nonsensical comments posted seriously.
4)            Since this personal diatribe is now over I will return you to your regular programming which, one can only hope, is better than what today’s TV can offer you and, also, leave you with these few thoughts or recommendations.
a. Read Lunatics by Dave Barry &   Zweibel
b. Read Dropping Names by Frank Langella
c.Dickens is a good choice if you do not want to follow my suggestions.  Stick with classics and bore yourself to death in the 21st century.  Seriously---they are great and classic but one needs a laugh a day for good health. 
d.Tune in to Sunday Simcha and Traditions where we do try to raise the level of the presentations and the artists.  This Sunday will be a perfect example of both items---I do hope you like some of the greats you will hear on both programs.