A Rarity and a Remembrance ---and a TRADITIONS Thought

Both Ron Olesko and I will be in attendance this Sunday on the program since our annual fundraiser is still under way. I will be making a few comments about what and who we play on the program over time and how it something that you will not hear elsewhere on the radio dial----in this area and on commercial radio. Wait for the comments on Sunday; but, an example would be that WQXR will play newer artists performing newer classical music along with newer artists interpretation of the older classics---and the conductors and orchestras of the here and now as well as the past. You get the idea as it relates to TRADITIONS.

So---the rarity. One of the artists that has been played (and much requested) over the years and who's family I had the pleasure of having on the program a number of years back is KATE WOLF. This coming Sunday her music will be a part of the show---including some others that you might not hear elsewhere or, perhaps, only one or two pieces that are commercially well known. Stay tuned.

Now we get to the rarity---which would not work on radio but YouTube has proven to be a boon to letting us always revisit the past while also viewing the present---perhaps too much amateurish "present", but no editorializing now. While there is just so much there and so much more coming down the proverbial Pike every second one has to search and find the rarities---and this is one. Kate Wolf---not as a performer (there are plenty of great videos there---Austin City Limits) but her doing what I try to do---and, hopefully, in her league---Kate, if you read her bio, was also a radio host---DJ if you will---I like host. This video captures ever so briefly her warmth and charming voice and features an interesting performance by---well,you can see that:



I hope you will be joining us this Sunday on the air or on the web---we will have a few other artists that you will not be hearing in other places too frequently. Ron, as well, will have a few interesting and unexpected things to present----AND--we certainly hope you will call and pledge to the program---any amount is appreciated in the same way as any other pledge amount. You can also pledge by e mail to wfdutraditions@yahoo.com and if you call this Sunday---the number is 201 692-2012.

Check a previous blog---below---for the schedule of premiums which are our way of saying thanks to you and for you to thank yourselves for keeping a program you feel at home with on the air for another year---as you have done for over 30 now.

Finally let me just offer a personal thought about large and small venues and , as the term used "the great unwashed"(a term that comes from a novel from the "50s - or "60s" about radio). The government is looking into the possible merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation and the monopolistic aspects of this. "the great unwashed" ---they work hard and throw money at these behemoths to within shouting distance of a stage that features the name and hyped performers---be the smart (I guess "washed and showered") ones that realize that you will have a better and more meaningful time visiting your local venue where you interact with artist for a fraction of the cost---and the artist is, usually, more relevant and intriguing. You can also join TDF and get show tix for a fraction of the box office charges.

THURSDAY--Another Edition of........

The weekly flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon

Nobody Asked Me But:

1) Why is everyone so upset about Toyota when the U S automakers managed to manufacture exploding and defective clunkers for years and tried to avoid any publicity about them and Toyota has admitted a problem and the corporate execs actually take responsibility?

2) Speaking of cars—why don’t manufacturer’s follow the good old rule---“..if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”---or improve it until it is so sophisticated electronically the user does not have any control. Which goes for many other items as well.

3) Do you think that violent criminals have a criminal version of Miranda Rights they read to their victims?

4) I liked it better when the only Miranda was the one with the fruit garden on her head.

5) I wonder if Sarah Palin has a script writer to write crib notes on her hands—and how do you squeeze “my fee is $100,000—you betcha” in such a small area?

6) Whatever happened since Harry Truman famously declared he would not accept fees because the Presidency is not for sale?

7) With all the talk of Ticketmaster and Live Nation merging it might be nice for people to realize that some of the finest entertainment costs a fraction that their venues charge---local coffeehouses (and, yes, they actually do serve coffee), local theater companies, and the like. People running to grab up the overpriced tickets for the sake of being in the proximity of the latest fad in entertainers really needed to have a Shelty dog nearby---he controls the sheep herds.

8) I surely hope that when the Hudson River cleanup continues after all the foot dragging by GE people will remember who started everyone thinking about the river and its pollution. You fill in the name---you should know it.

9) Most songwriters write one song that becomes their trade-mark—their logo, if you will. Rick Nestler has done many memorable songs but one he will never top---his classic---You fill in the name—you should know it.

10) It certainly is nice to see a Vice President acting Vice Presidential as opposed to an imitation of Iago.

11) Sometimes the most interesting companies to invest in are the least dramatic---Darling International has little competition because it is a nationwide company that picks up the grease in grease traps and re-cycles it into other products. The places the grease comes from are more dramatic investments but the clever investor will single this one out.

12) Summer is a ways off still but this summer portends to be a very special one in NYC with the appearance of the Royal Shakespeare Company in a number of plays in a totally redesigned Armory that will be a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. I am pressing my pantaloons at this very moment.

13) Do you remember when Valentines Day was just a nice day to give someone a card (the greeting card companies were delighted), some flowers or candy (the florists and candy folks delighted) and the recipients were equally delighted and not a day that turned totally commercial so that restaurants (in many places) take reservations weeks in advance for overpriced dining specials, the alleged Valentines were disappointed if they were not properly wined & dined and recognized by this commercialism. By the way—who the hell was St. Valentine and should we care? He was celibate---right?

THURSDAY---Another Edition of....

The weekly flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon

Nobody Asked Me But:

1) I am certainly hoping that people still love radio as much as I do and support the program(s) on WFDU for the eclecticism and the listener friendliness in our annual fund raising drive.

2) Some people, when you say “...I read this in the NY Times...” respond in an ever so prideful manner “..I NEVER read THAT paper”. Seems that openmindedness is not a very wide spread trait.

3) The Times reports that there is a uptick in heart attacks during Super Bowl (or other big event) days. Glad I never felt the need to care about athletic outcomes since the main outcome is obscene rewards for athletes that create tension and---as follows---heart attacks for those who care so much.

4) Why is it that Saturday Night Live lives on as it becomes less and less clever and MadTV is gone when it was getting better and better?

5) Have you ever noticed how your perception of yourself in other people’s eyes is not the perception they have---and, probably, the same is true in reverse---your perception of them is not what they perceive themselves to be?

6) I am hoping that someone someday will produce something that will put Phil Ochs into the category and importance that Bob Dylan has acquired. Might that be because he outlived him?

7) It was nice to see my feelings about “The Blind Side” agreed with by a critic on NPR----all that cloying “schmaltz” must have been bad for the cholesterol levels.

8) Whatever happened to less being better and making things more appreciated---think Kids, TV, and all the instant gratification we get from the Internet and its sites? That is the more part and is it better?

9) When your neighbor sells his house should one be happy because he was a bad neighbor or worry the next one might be worse? I’ll stick with “happy” and tell them “come on the lawn”.

10) With NYC (and other areas) gentrifying what happens to the poor people being priced out of even the most humble abodes---that now rent/sell in prices that are in the stratosphere?

11) Should I dress up to watch The Oscar ceremonies in front of my TV set since they are selling tickets (for hefty prices) to see them in a movie theater along with overpriced cocktails.

12) Does having the ceremony in a theater make it interactive---sort of like Purple Rose of Cairo where the actors step out of the screen to chat with you?

13) It is a delight to be able to say---Happy 90th Birthday to a musical icon---OSCAR BRAND

An Interesting Rarity

Many of you who are listeners to TRADITIONS know of my thoughts and feelings about Phil Ochs. You may also have picked up on my feelings about him vis a vis Bob Dylan. What follows is a clip from You Tube (we live in an amazing techno world now) that I hope you will enjoy and then go to You Tube to read the story behind the clip. More after you view this----


Yes, that was John Lennon and after discovering this clip I really wanted you all to see this as well. After you go to You Tube you can read the history of it---but do not read the comments since most are inaccurate regarding Dylan / Ochs. The story is quite different and I have the tape where Phil states his version of events.

Suffice it to say Phil left us too soon and may well, in my opinion, be on an equal--if not higher--footing than The Bob---Kennedy Center honors included.

Take a peek now at THE ALMOST DAILY ROOSTER and see some other great entertainers of importance in our musical history and also ones that I have had the pleasure---no ==honor --of presenting on SUNDAY SIMCHA and TRADITIONS.

Once again I urge you to send me any names of people you want a focus on for either of those programs and I shall surely get on it even when our many guests are scheduled to appear. There is room for everybody---well, let's avoid the Grammy Winners in the main categories and stick to those that the Grammys do not feel worthy of TV coverage---after all when you go to WFDU you are on the " Right place on the LEFT Side of the dial". Love that slogan---and love the thought it conveys and one of our very early guests did as well by her intonation of it in our ID---Ronnie Gilbert.

Since we have spoken of YouTube and this Blogspot (which is owned by Google) I would like to recommend a book to you that truly puts this brave new techno world into perspective---GOOGLED by Ken Auletta. Trust me---long but you will not put it down. And, if you are of a certain age, you will see how far we have come from the days of 7 TV channels that needed a roof antenna to hundreds of channels on cable and satellite that have little on them and how interactivity via the internet is replacing all this. You reading this now---you prove it.

THURSDAY --_Another Edition of........

The weekly flip of the fedora to Jimmy Cannon.

Nobody Asked Me But:

1) WFDU still has not offered 30 Million to get me off the station. To paraphrase Sally Field on her Oscar award---“...they like me”. Damn.

2) It is a truism that technology advances used to take decades and now they seem to take nano-seconds. Google achieved more in 5 years than Microsoft did in over 10 and IBM and Xerox wanted to forget all about it. Guess they thought typewriters and photo=copy machines were the end.

3) What a loss was having Kate McGarrigle leave us at a fairly young age. So many Kates gone too soon---let us hope Kate Campbell sticks around for a very long time.

4) Why do some people think it is immoral for a homeowner to walk away from an “underwater” home (mortgage) and not think of the predatory banking industry and its wheeling and dealing in those same issues?

5) Did not Tishman/Speyer do the same thing after failing to raise rents high enough to support their gamble on the NYC investments? They did, legally, to their backers the same thing dear old Bernie did illegally since they had a property.

6) When did corporations get vocal chords so that they could enjoy “freedom of speech”. The Supreme Court thought that they---artificial entities for commercial purposes—did. Why does it take the eldest of the group to demur and realize they are not people?

7) Cell phones are ubiquitous and I have to wonder why people cannot ---teenagers, adults, et al; manage to walk, shop, and drive without constant contact and conversation. As to danger---no more need be said there.

8) Laurel & Hardy and their humor stand up after all these years and, thankfully, one can view them on TCM at times

9) I surely do hope that the multitudes who view this blog will support both TRADITIONS & SUNDAY SIMCHA during the annual WFDU fundraising month---which, unlike others, is an annual and not a monthly, bi-weekly, or eternal experience. It is the price of a truly eclectic and non-commercial station that offers talk, music, and variety in a non confrontational vein. Also we don’t puncture any of your veins to draw out a pledge---we trust you ---as Sally Field said—above---“....you like me”.

10) I am happy to report that the Met. Museum believes they can repair the tear in the over 100 year old Picasso painting---as they said “...it was not in a focal point”---looks like the “tush” will be intact---Hallelujah. Thank heaven for such important things.

11) After reading the Radiation Therapy pieces in the NY Times it has really dawned on me not to put so much faith in the wonderful tech advancements; especially since it involves even more people to run them and human error is all too prevalent.

FUNDRAISING FEBRUARY UPDATE

To bring you an update on some of the artists and recording labels that have generously donated their talents and works to TRADITIONS here is a listing of just a few of them---more to follow. Please look below (to the earlier post) to see the pledge schedule for CDs---though, my guess is that many of you will just want to support the program and the station and this gift is just our way of saying thanks to you---and, of course, the artists who support the program doing said same thing---pictures and links to the artists follow:

APPLESEED RECORDINGS



DAN BERGGREN
COSY SHERIDAN

In addition to these amazing artists---

Buskin & Batteau


In addition to all these there will be many more; including the likes of Joe Jencks, Evy Goldberg, Kim & Reggie Harris, The Capitol Steps, John Jacob Niles (for the real aficionado), Mara Levine, Wolf Krakowski, and---you know---the famous many others.

The schedule is below and the CDs are pre-packaged so you would receive a single or a variety in that package; depending on the pledge amount---and let the surprises await you when you open your package.

As mentioned earlier---feel free to e mail me at wfdutraditions@yahoo.com with a pledge---if you want the Pete Seeger gift I would urge you to do that.

The bottom line---as the expression goes---is you are supporting a program you feel a homeplace on Sundays and a station that still maintains its belief in bringing eclectic programming to you---programming that the commercial stations and, surely, some non-commercial stations have abandoned quite a while ago.